Chapter 1645

   Less than an hour after staying in the Women's Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, Sokov received an emergency call from Sameko: "Comrade Commander, something happened, can you come back immediately?"

Although Sokov could directly ask what happened on the phone, considering that his conversation with Sameko might be intercepted by German secret agents lurking in the city, he did not directly ask for the answer, but simply said : "I'll go back right away."

After putting down the phone, Sokov said to Chuvashov next to him: "Comrade Colonel, there is something in the headquarters, and the military commissar and I must rush back immediately. The aftermath of the transfer of the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion is up to you and Lida." The major discusses what to do."

   After finishing speaking, without waiting for Chuvashov to respond, he stood up and said to Lunev, who had not recovered, "Comrade Military Commissar, there is something waiting for us to go back to the headquarters, let's go now."

  On the way back to the headquarters, Lunev asked Sokov curiously: "Comrade commander, what happened?"

   "I don't know." Sokov shook his head and said, "I was worried that the telephone line of the Women's Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion was not safe, so I didn't ask. But in my estimation, this matter should have something to do with the Guchakov Brigade."

   "Is it related to Guchakov's brigade?" After repeating Sokov's words, Lunev said to himself: "Could it be that the German army noticed our actions and strengthened the defense of the relevant areas?"

As soon as the two returned to the headquarters, Sokov quickened his pace and walked towards Sameko who was standing by the table. He asked loudly, "Comrade Chief of Staff, what happened?" Did it happen? Did the Germans discover our plan to attack Pavlish?"

"Comrade Commander," Seeing Sokov coming back, Sameko directly cut to the topic without caring about greetings: "As soon as you left, I received a report from the landing site that the German troops in the south of the landing site were withdrawing. "

   "What, the German troops to the south of the landing site are withdrawing?" Sokov was taken aback by this unexpected news, and he hurriedly asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, is this news reliable?"

   "To be honest, when I got this information, I also doubted its reliability, so I immediately sent someone to verify it."

  Sokov knew Sameko well, and knew that he would not report to himself hastily without a final conclusion, so he tentatively asked, "How about the verification result?"

Sameko nodded vigorously, and replied: "I asked the reconnaissance plane at the North City Airport to dispatch, and conducted a reconnaissance of the area south of the landing site. Our pilot found that there were indeed signs of a large troop mobilization on the ground. When he wanted to fly low When he could see a point better, he came under machine gun fire from the ground, causing his plane to be hit multiple times and had to leave the area as quickly as possible."

Before Sokov could speak, Lunev rushed to say: "Comrade Chief of Staff, could this be a conspiracy by the Germans? They pretended to retreat in order to wait for our army to give up their vigilance, and then return Launch an attack suddenly and unexpectedly, in order to achieve the purpose of breaking through our army's defense line."

In order to prove that his statement is correct, Lunev also added: "You must know that in order to divert the enemy's attention, our army often makes some fake actions to achieve the purpose of paralyzing the enemy. Moreover, the enemy's mobilization, reconnaissance planes The pilots only saw it from a high altitude, and when they lowered their altitude a little, they were attacked by ground firepower. Therefore, I think the Germans' transfer is entirely likely to be a conspiracy."

  Sokov did not express any opinion on this matter. As the commander of the group army, he must determine whether the German army has really withdrawn before he can formulate a series of targeted combat plans. He frowned and thought for a while, then asked Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, in which direction did the enemy retreat?"

"After the enemy left the existing garrison, they moved towards the northwest." After pointing out the direction of the German army's withdrawal on the map, Sameko boldly stated his judgment: "I think the troops withdrawing from the south side of the landing field The German army should have finished the Chijilin area, assisting the enemy there to launch an attack on the 7th Guards Army, trying to drive them all into the Dnieper River before our friendly forces can gain a firm foothold."

   Sokov stared at the map in front of him, approving Sameko's analysis in his heart, but he didn't show it on his face, but asked blankly: "What is the size of the enemy's withdrawn troops?"

   "Analysed from the information obtained so far, there should be no less than one division." Sameko said to Sokov: "However, this is only the preliminary reconnaissance result. Further information needs to continue reconnaissance."

   "Let the director of reconnaissance notify all the reconnaissance teams located in the south of the landing field to immediately find out the real movement of the German army and how many troops have left the current defense zone."

   "Yes, I will call the Director of Reconnaissance immediately."

"Wait a minute." Just as Sameko was about to make a phone call, Sokov stopped him again, and added: "Inform the 254th and 300th divisions on the front line at the landing site to build fortifications with great fanfare, especially in the Set up minefields and pull up barbed wire fences in front of the positions, and put on a posture of preparing to strengthen the defense."

Regarding Sokov's order, Sameko seemed a little puzzled: "Comrade commander, we will soon launch an attack on the enemy. If we lay minefields and pull barbed wire in front of the position at this moment, it will not be against us. Was the offense an inconvenience?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry." Sokov comforted Sameko: "Even if we lay minefields and pull up barbed wire, we can send engineers to clear the way for the attacking troops before attacking, and it will not affect the road at all. to our impending attack."

But after he finished speaking, he found that Sameko was still in a daze, so he could only explain further: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think what you said makes sense. The German army is preparing to deploy troops to the south of our landing site to attack those who have not yet The 7th Guards Army with a firm foothold. But out of scruples about us, they will be extra cautious when withdrawing, and our posture of overhauling fortifications is to create an illusion for the Germans that we only want to Strengthen the defense, and have no idea of ​​​​attacking, so that they can mobilize more troops."

Having said that, he turned his attention to Lunev who was on the side again: "Of course, the possibility that Comrade Military Commissioner said cannot be ruled out. As long as we strengthen our defenses, even if the Germans want to give us a surprise blow, we These newly built fortifications can also cause huge casualties to them."

After figuring out that Sokov asked the frontline troops to repair the fortifications, he was making two-handed preparations. Sameko couldn't help but his eyes lit up, and he said repeatedly: "It's still Comrade Commander who is thoughtful. Regardless of whether the German army withdraws troops from the south of the landing field, it is true. It was still a conspiracy, and our army repaired fortifications, it was all right.

  Seeing our posture of strengthening the defense, the Germans will think that we have no intention of attacking, and they can safely and boldly transfer more troops to the landing field established by the 7th Guards Army. Even if it is their conspiracy, seeing that our army's defense has been strengthened, they have to adjust their tactics and reconsider using new methods to deal with our army. "

  However, before making the call, Sameko asked Sokov cautiously: "Comrade Commander, does the Guchakov Brigade's plan to attack Pavlish need to be adjusted?"

"No, no, no." Sokov waved his hands and said, "Since the German army has started to mobilize on a large scale, it may be more beneficial to their actions. You should inform Guchakov of the latest situation, so that he can know what's going on, and let him According to the original plan, he sent troops to attack Pavlish's material transfer warehouse."

While Sameko was on the phone, Sokov, who was staring at the map, suddenly had a thought in his mind: "Should I notify Shumilov of this matter in time, and report the situation here to Konev? "

According to the information Sokov possessed, he knew that the battle at the new landing site was fierce. Although the commanders and fighters of the 7th Guards Army fought tenaciously against the German attack, they were still pushed towards the Dnieper River step by step. Possibility of being driven into the river by the enemy.

   "Comrade Commander," Lunev noticed that Sokov was staring at the map in a daze, guessing that he might be thinking about something in his mind, so he asked, "You have been staring at the map in a daze, are you thinking about something?"

   Lunev's voice pulled Sokov back from his contemplation. He turned to look at his military commissar and replied, "I'm considering whether I should report the situation here to General Shumilov."

Although Sokov did not explain the reason for reporting the news, Lunev understood it instantly. He nodded and said: "General Shumilov fought very hard. If another German army launches from their flank If they attacked, the landing field they established would be lost. And those troops who had crossed the river were either driven into the river, or were annihilated or captured by the German army."

  Since Lunev already understood what he meant, Sokov didn't need to explain any more. Instead, he expressed his thoughts with great concern: "If General Shumilov is notified of this matter, he will definitely ask us to send troops to cover their flanks, restrain the main force of the German army, and give them enough time to fight back. The right bank stands firm."

"If we really do this, it will affect our plan to attack south." Lunev quickly saw the problem, and said dissatisfiedly: "When they gain a firm foothold on the right bank, they will definitely be attacked. Praise or even rewards from superiors. As for us, we may make huge sacrifices to contain the enemy, which will lead to the failure of the plan to attack the south. In this way, not only will we not have the slightest credit, but we may also lose the punished by superiors."

"Comrade Military Commissar, you are right." Sukov approved Lunev's analysis, and continued: "Even if this matter is not reported to General Shumilov, it must be reported to the Front Army Command. I am worried that after General Konev knows this, out of overall considerations, he will also order us to send troops to contain the enemy so that they cannot attack the landing field established by the 7th Guards Army from the side and rear."

   Lunev shook his head and said: "In this attack, half of our troops were unable to participate in the attack. If the superior asked us to cover the rear of the friendly army, I am afraid that all the original plans would be ruined."

   "That's right, that's how it is." Sokov thought of Konev's promise that General Gargan's 57th Army would take over his defense. With such a force, not only can they hold the positions they handed over, but they can even support themselves when their offensive is not going well. Unexpectedly, it suddenly became the 69th Army with an incomplete organization, so that I had to deploy the most elite guards, the 98th, to assist their defense. In addition, two divisions were set aside as a reserve team, which limited the number of troops that he could use. If he had to deploy troops to protect Shumilov's flank, the original attack plan would be completely ruined.

When Sameko came back from the phone call, he saw that Sokov and Lunev looked sad, and couldn't help asking curiously: "Commander, military commissar, what's wrong with you? Look preoccupied?"

  Sokov told Sameko what he was embarrassed about.

   After figuring out what was going on, Sameko also began to meditate. After an unknown amount of time, he raised his head and said to Sokov, "Comrade Commander, I think this matter should not be reported to the Front Army Command or General Shumilov in the short term."

"why?"

"Although from various indications, it is very likely that the German army will withdraw from the south side of the landing site and go to Chijilin for reinforcements." Sameko said: "But this news has not been confirmed after all. What about a trap set by people? If we report to the superiors too early, I am afraid that the superiors will misjudge and make wrong decisions.”

  Sokov showed a smile on his face, and then asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what do you say?"

"Everything is still carried out according to the original plan, and at the same time let the scouts seize the time to find out the real movement of the enemy." Sameko said: "No matter what the final truth is, as long as our offensive starts, even if General Konev knows that the enemy is Attacking the flanks and rears of friendly forces is also impossible for us to deploy troops to reinforce General Shumilov. In any case, it is far more important to take down medium-sized cities like Alexandria and Kirovgrad than to build new The landing field is more important."

   "This is a good way." Sokov felt that Sameko's method was good. Since the enemy's situation has not been clarified yet, it is inappropriate to report to the superior or inform the friendly army rashly. The safest way is to send people to conduct a comprehensive reconnaissance while preparing for the attack. "If it was on the eve of the offensive that we found out that the German army was really going to attack the friendly army's rear, even if we reported it to the superior, it would be impossible to deploy our troops to contain the enemy attacking the friendly army's rear."

  Hearing that Sokov and Sameko had reached an agreement, Lunev couldn't help hesitating for a moment, thinking that if he did this, if his superiors found out, would there be any trouble? But as soon as this idea came up, he was forced to suppress it. He thought to himself: There are still so many idle troops, why do we have to let the 27th Army give up the attack and contain the enemy? It is entirely possible to hand over this arduous task to other units that have no combat missions for the time being.

  (end of this chapter)