Chapter 1773 The Final Breakout (Part 1)

Smirnov picked up the phone and was about to contact Timofeyitch, when he suddenly thought of a question, stopped what he was doing, and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, if we directly give Timofey Is it considered a leapfrog command when Vich gave an order? In this way, will Comrade Solomatin have bad associations?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are right. If we bypass General Solomatin and issue orders directly to Timofevich, it will be a leapfrog command." Sokov agreed: "If we do this However, even if General Solomatin doesn't say anything, he will definitely have a lump in his heart, which will have a negative impact on future operations. Also, if Solomatin issues different orders to the troops, I'm afraid he will Mofevic would also feel awkward, not knowing who to follow orders, which would cause confusion in the chain of command."

  After talking about the harm of leapfrog command, Sokov then told Smirnov: "Chief of Staff, then you contact General Solomatin and ask him to send the 219th Tank Brigade to support the 13th Cavalry Division."

After Solomatin answered Smirnov's call, he called Colonel Timofevic to his headquarters, and said to him with a serious expression: "Comrade Colonel, I just received a call from Smirnov, Chief of Staff of the Army Group. General Husband’s phone call, saying that the 13th Cavalry Division was stopped by the German army on the way over, and I hope our tank brigade can go to meet it.”

  Hearing what Solomatin said, Timofeyitch hurriedly asked: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, how many tanks does the enemy have?"

   "According to the report of the Chief of Staff of the Army Group," Solomatin said: "The enemy is just infantry hiding in the fortifications, and no tanks or armored vehicles have been found."

Knowing that the enemy had no tanks or armored vehicles, Timofeyitch couldn't help showing a smug smile on his face, and he said in a relaxed tone: "Comrade Commander, if the enemy has a large number of tanks or armored vehicles, our brigade will definitely not be able to handle them." It's a big bone. But now..." he said with a smirk, "what do these fortifications of the German guys call it? They all look like they haven't had enough to eat. Let our tanks teach them what they are called fight."

   Solomatin was worried that Timofevic underestimated the enemy, and specifically reminded him: "Comrade Colonel, you must not take it lightly just because the enemy has no tanks. This is very dangerous."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Timofeyitch assured Solomatin: "I will not underestimate the enemy. Since the Germans have no tanks, to deal with our tanks, they can only rely on anti-tank guns or anti-tank guns." Hands. It will be daylight soon, and the intentions of the Germans will be easily detected by us."

   At this time, the German infantry battalion blocking the 13th Cavalry Division did not know that they were about to face disaster. The battalion commander was still drinking coffee comfortably in his command post at this time, and said to his subordinates: "It is said that the Russian cavalry is powerful, but in front of our fortifications and machine guns, they are a group of pitiful targets. It’s okay if you don’t attack, but if you want to attack, our soldiers will shoot them off their horses one by one like shooting targets on a shooting range.”

  The reason why the German Battalion Commander made such remarks was entirely because yesterday when he ordered the soldiers to build the fortifications, he encountered resistance from the soldiers. Everyone felt that since they were going to break through, what was the need for building the fortifications? It is precisely with this mentality that the fortifications built are somewhat perfunctory.

  But it was such a crude fortification that still repelled the attack of the Soviet cavalry. The small victory made the German battalion commander swell up. After taking a sip of coffee, he shook his head and said: "If the superior ordered us to garrison, with the combat effectiveness of our battalion, we could have launched a counter-charge and knocked down the opposite Russian army." The cavalry were all wiped out."

  The German officers and soldiers outside were still secretly cursing the battalion commander in their hearts a few hours ago, thinking that he ordered everyone to dig fortifications here, purely looking for trouble, and they could not help complaining in private. However, the attack of the Soviet cavalry made the officers and soldiers more vigilant. They found that if the battalion commander hadn't been stubborn and insisted on repairing the fortifications here, the entire battalion of officers and soldiers might have died under the impact of the Russian cavalry at this time.

  In addition to complaining, the soldiers who were lying weakly and sleeping in the tents were all staying in the trenches at the moment, heightening their vigilance and monitoring the Soviet cavalry on the opposite side. When you are ready to wait for the opponent to attack, give them a head-on blow.

  Seeing that the sky was about to dawn, the soldiers felt that the Russian cavalry on the opposite side would definitely attack them again, when they suddenly heard the roar of tank engines behind them.

  Hearing this sound, the soldiers all looked back at the same time, and they all felt that the tanks from their side must have arrived. With the support of these tanks, they were able to launch a counter-offensive against the attacking Soviet positions.

But then, they heard the whistling sound of shells piercing the air, and soon, a shell landed near the trench and exploded, a column mixed with mud and continuous columns shot up into the sky, dust and snow piled up Feiyang, and then the goddess scattered flowers on the German soldiers.

"What the **** is going on here?" A second lieutenant brushed the dust off his shoulders with his hands, and said to himself, "Damn it, how can our tanks fire casually? Don't they think that we are here in Russia?" People's positions?"

   Before the second lieutenant could come up with an answer, another shell roared in, landed beside the second lieutenant and exploded, instantly blowing him to pieces.

   Then, more shells fell from the sky, landed near the fortifications and exploded, bursting out countless dazzling fireballs, and making deafening explosions. In an instant, the German army's position became an erupting crater, which was tightly wrapped by the rising black smoke. The black smoke exploded one after another, one after another, and there were explosions everywhere, everywhere. fire.

  It turned out that Timofevich had learned the lessons of previous battles. In order to break through the German positions as soon as possible, he decided to cover the enemy with a wave of artillery fire before the attack began. In addition to an artillery battalion, more than 50 tanks from three tank battalions participated in the shelling.

   Timofeyitch, who was standing in the observation post, saw that there were constantly enemy or weapon parts, and even wood fragments used in civil firepower points, which were blown away by the blast waves. He couldn't help waving his fists and applauding loudly.

The 219th Tank Brigade was using all its strength to bombard the German positions. Sokov, who was staying in the headquarters, suddenly felt a slight tremor under his feet, and then there was a rumbling sound like thunder outside. Asked in surprise: "What's going on, is there an earthquake?"

"It's not an earthquake, Comrade Commander." Smirnov reported to Sokov with a smile: "I just received a telegram from the enemy's rear destruction team. They have discovered the enemy's oil depot and ammunition depot, and are preparing to destroy it. .If I'm not mistaken, the reason you feel the ground trembling is simply because the ammunition depot and fuel depot exploded and made too much noise."

What Sokov was concerned about was that all the personnel who participated in the mission would be able to return. He hurriedly said to Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, send a telegram to ask how their casualties are? You know, from the just now Judging by movement and static, when blowing up two targets, if you get too close, you will definitely lose your life."

   After Timofevic's troops shelled the German positions for 20 minutes, they launched a formal offensive. Seeing his own tank unit attacking the German positions, the commander of the 13th Cavalry Division was overjoyed and quickly ordered his subordinates: "Brothers, our reinforcements are here! All of them are here. Listen to my password and attack the enemy's positions." attack."

  The original crude fortifications of the German army have already become potholed after a round of shelling. The German soldiers who were preparing to repair the fortifications were frightened when they first saw the Soviet tanks attacking. Seeing that the Russian cavalry that he had been defending had actually launched an attack, he panicked and quickly picked up his gun and started shooting indiscriminately.

  However, these Germans have forgotten that they have neither strong fortifications nor tanks or armored vehicles. In the face of the Soviet assault force composed of tanks and cavalry, any resistance they have is futile.

  As the 219th Tank Brigade and the 13th Cavalry Division approached, the German troops on the ground had completely lost their confidence in resisting. Seeing the Soviet commanders rushing up, they put down their weapons and surrendered without even thinking of resisting.

When Stemmerman heard the news that the large Soviet army was gathering, he quickly contacted Jiller through the telephone: "General Jiller, I feel that the atmosphere is a bit wrong now. The Russians are pressing us from all directions. If you The speed of action cannot be faster, I am afraid that the entire army is in danger of being wiped out."

   "So what should we do?"

"The Baker Heavy Tank Regiment has suffered a lot. They can no longer pose a threat to the Russians, so it is difficult to open a gap for us." The North Face Campaign…”

   "What, moving north?" Giller asked in surprise: "Your Excellency, don't you know that we can return to the friendly defense zone as long as we advance two or three kilometers west?"

"That's right, General Giller." Stemmelman patiently explained to Giller: "Although the distance between us and our friendly forces is only two or three kilometers, the Russians will definitely do everything possible to sabotage us in order to prevent our meeting. , I am afraid that our vital strength will be exhausted, and we will not be able to break through their last defense."

  He slapped the map with his hand, and then said: "But our attack to the north will definitely give the Russians the illusion that we will return to the north of the encirclement and rush to join the friendly forces there."

  General Stemmerman's plan was completely beyond the expectations of the Soviet commander. They also thought that the enemies inside and outside the encirclement would definitely find ways to join forces, so a large number of newly arrived troops were thrown in the direction of the breakthrough to prevent the German army from jumping out of the encirclement.

   Unexpectedly, the German army would go all the way north. As a result, those defenses with few troops were like fake fortifications, and the German army broke through one after another. Konev realized that he had fallen into the trap of the German army, and quickly mobilized troops to stop the German army who was about to break out.

  As soon as the assignment here was completed, I received a call from Stalin. The Supreme Commander himself said angrily on the phone: "General Konev, we have announced to the world that the heavy German army group in the Korsun-Shevchenkovsky area has fallen into the encirclement of our army. .

   But not long ago, we received reports from the front that the besieged Soviet army had broken through the 27th Army's front and was fleeing towards its own troops. Tell me, how much do you know about the situation of your neighboring troops? "

  From the tone of Stalin's speech and its blunt language, he understood that the Supreme Commander himself was anxious, and it seemed that the cause was caused by whose report was not entirely accurate.

Faced with Stalin's concerns, Konev quickly reported: "Comrade Stalin, please rest assured, I assure you. The enemy who is surrounded cannot escape. Our front army has taken measures. In order to protect the cooperation with the Ukrainian First Front Army In order to drive the enemy back into the encirclement, I have ordered the 5th Guards Tank Army to advance towards the formed breakthrough area. At this moment, they are successfully completing their mission."

After listening to Konev's words, Stalin's tone became gentle: "Comrade Konev, I believe in the combat effectiveness of the 5th Guards Tank Army, but have you ever considered that if your troops advance northward, they may cross the The dividing line of the front army."

   Konev replied: "Yes, Comrade Stalin."

  Stalin said: "This is very good. We will discuss it in the base camp and then call you."

Half an hour later, Stalin called me again and said: "Can you transfer all the troops that acted in the face of the besieged group, including the 27th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front, to you, and you can command and destroy the besieged group? "

Konev did not expect that Stalin would propose such a plan, and immediately replied: "Comrade Stalin, it is very difficult to transfer the 27th Army of the 1st Ukrainian Front to me. First of all, this force is on the other side of the encirclement. It's the opposite of our troops, and they're moving in a different direction.

   And the entire logistical supply of the army, as well as communications with the command of the front, was carried out through Betserkovy and Kyiv. Therefore, it will be difficult for me to command the army, communication along the entire circumference of the encirclement through Kremenchuk, Kyiv, Baitserkovy is complicated, and now the breakthrough corridor is fighting, with the 27th Army It is not possible to establish direct communication. In addition, the army's strength is very weak, and it is distributed on a wide front. It cannot prevent the besieged enemy from breaking through at all. "

Konev's repeated evasion made Stalin very dissatisfied. He said to Konev with a strong attitude: "General Konev, this is a decision of the high command. You must obey the order. In order to reduce your burden, the 27th After the group army is placed under your command, the logistical supply will still be in charge of Vatutin's Ukrainian First Front Army. Do you understand?"

"Comrade Stalin, I understand what you mean." Facing the pressure exerted by Stalin, Konev did not choose to compromise, but continued to argue: "I do not agree to transfer the 27th Army to me because the two The coordinated plan of the front army has been destroyed, and the transfer of the army has become more difficult. I am very worried about the outcome of the battle. You know, even if the 27th Army is transferred to me, I will not be able to supplement them with the necessary troops."

  (end of this chapter)