Chapter 1778 The final ending

Since Selivanov's 5th Guards Cavalry Corps was only temporarily assigned to Sokov's command and did not really belong to the 53rd Army, so Stemmerman committed suicide by drinking a bullet and did not report to Smil who stayed at the headquarters. Nove reports. After Sokov replied to the headquarters, he was eager to contact Konev, but did not have time to inform Smirnov of the matter.

   It wasn't until Sokov mentioned Stemmerman's death on the phone that Smirnov learned about it belatedly. After waiting for Sokov to finish talking with Konev, he asked Sokov with a look of shock: "Comrade Commander, is this all true?"

Sokov naturally didn't understand Smirnov's nonsensical words. He asked casually: "What?" But then he understood what the other party asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you want to ask Shi?" Temerman committed suicide by drinking a bullet?"

   "That's right, that's right." Smirnov nodded vigorously and said, "Did he really commit suicide?"

"Yes, he committed suicide." Sokov gave the other party an affirmative answer: "I let Koshkin stay there to deal with the aftermath, and prepare to return his body to the Germans when the time is right." Worried that Smirnov didn't understand his purpose, he also specifically explained, "Although General Strommerman is our enemy, he is also a real soldier and an opponent worthy of our respect. .”

"You're right, Comrade Commander." Unexpectedly, Smirnov not only understood Sokov, but also offered: "Lieutenant Koshkin's rank is too low. Out of respect for this real soldier, I I feel that this matter should be handed over to Comrade Military Commissar. Do you think so?” His last sentence was aimed at Gorokhov who was sitting beside him.

Gorokhov, who has long been a transparent person in the headquarters, felt that he was doing his part in this matter, so he stood up and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the Chief of Staff is right, Lieutenant Koshkin's rank is too low , it seems inappropriate for him to handle this matter, let me take the responsibility."

  Since Gorokhov took the initiative to ask for a job, Sokov naturally wished for it. He nodded quickly and said, "Okay, Comrade Military Commissioner, I will leave this matter to you."

After Gorokhov left, Smirnov said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, whether Stammerman committed suicide or was shot dead by our army, it is a great achievement for us." Victory. You must know that the command organs above the German regiment level are usually set up far away from the front line, so that among the German officers killed by us, there are very few officers at the school level, let alone generals."

When he said this, Smirnov showed a painful expression on his face. He thought that in the early days of the war, the Soviet army, which was not ready for war, was defeated by the German army. Not only ordinary soldiers and grassroots officers suffered casualties It was terrible, and even the commanders at the general level also lost a lot.

"Comrade Chief of Staff, what's wrong with you?" Sokov saw that Smirnov's expression was unnatural, and thought that his body was suddenly unwell, so he asked tentatively: "I don't think your complexion is very good, do you?" Uncomfortable? Or, I'll ask the military doctor to check you up."

   "No, no, no, Comrade Commander." Smirnov waved his hands hurriedly and said, "I just think of the comrades who died. It would be great if they could live to see our victory."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, those commanders and fighters who died in defense of the motherland, whether they are soldiers, officers, or even generals, our motherland and people will never forget them." Years or even hundreds of years, our children and grandchildren will still remember their achievements."

   "Really?" Regarding Sokov's statement, Smirnov asked dubiously: "Can our descendants really remember those of us who shed blood on the battlefield in order to defend the motherland?"

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov, who came from later generations, clearly remembers the annual Victory Day. When those veterans with medals appear on Victory Square, there will always be countless people who don't know them. I once gave flowers to several veterans like this. Because of Smirnov's questioning, he replied in an affirmative tone: "I assure you, our children and grandchildren will always remember those who died in defense of the motherland."

"Comrade Commander," Smirnov wiped away the tears on his cheeks with his fingers, and changed the subject in time: "According to the information I have obtained, many units under the Front Army launched an attack on the German army today. What do you say?" Say, can we wipe out the besieged enemy?"

"I'm afraid it will be very difficult, my comrade chief of staff." Sokov knew about the historical Battle of Cherkasy. Although the Soviet army mobilized more than one million troops from the two front armies and besieged more than 60,000 German troops, In the end, more than 40,000 German troops escaped. Although the number of German troops wiped out will increase because of his appearance, it is still impossible to wipe them all out: "I believe that there will be a considerable number of German officers and soldiers who will escape our encirclement."

"That's impossible, Comrade Commander." Smirnov raised his own doubts about Sokov's statement: "You know, we dispatched more than one million troops, while the Germans are just mere There are more than 60,000 people. It means that one hundred of us beat six of them, can't we still beat him?"

"That's right, we do have the advantage in terms of military strength." Sokov has no doubts that the Soviet army has the upper hand in strength, but he still insists on his point of view: "But the combat effectiveness of the participating troops, I'm afraid It is not as strong as we imagined. In defensive operations, the casualty ratio between us and the enemy is three to one; Casualties, but I think it is basically an impossible task to wipe them out."

"Comrade Commander, you seem to have forgotten that in addition to the troops participating in the offensive, we also set up five lines of defense on the way for the Germans to break through. No matter how strong the Germans' combat effectiveness is, it will definitely take a lot of money to break through these lines of defense. A lot of time, and our attacking troops can take advantage of the opportunity to arrive and flank the Germans back and forth with the troops holding the line."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, when we analyze the battle situation as commanders, we must not only consider the issue of military strength and equipment, but also the will to fight." Seeing that Smirnov was cornered, Sokov quickly reminded him: "We must also Look at factors such as the environment and climate, which may have adverse effects on our operations."

   "Oh, Comrade Commander, do you mean that environmental and climatic factors will also affect our final victory?" Smirnov asked back: "Do I understand correctly?"

Seeing that Smirnov had unknowingly raised the bar with himself, Sokov didn't want to continue arguing about this kind of matter, so he could only laugh and cry: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't think we have any more arguments." It is necessary. Anyway, judging from the current situation, the battle may end before dark, and we will just wait and see the final result."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Hearing what Sokov said, Smirnov also realized that even if he continued arguing, there would be no results. It would be better to simply wait until the battle is over and then look at the results of the final front army statistics: " We'll just have to wait and see the final result."

  The two were talking, and a staff officer came over and reported: "Report to the commander, Comrade Chief of Staff, General Ryazanov, the commander of the 1st Army of the Assault Air Force, is here to visit."

  Smirnov obviously had dealings with this air force general. Hearing what the staff officer said, he asked in surprise, "Where is General Ryazanov?"

   "It's at the door."

   "Quickly invite him in!"

   Soon, a burly, middle-aged general walked in from the door with great vigor.

  Seeing Sokov and Smirnov, he raised his hand first to salute, and said in his mouth: "Hello, comrades generals! I am Major General Ryazanov, commander of the 1st Air Force Army."

   "Hello, General Ryazanov!" Sokov hurriedly stepped forward, stretched out his hand to the other party, and said in a friendly tone, "Nice to meet you."

   And Smirnov gave each other a warm hug. It seems that the friendship between the two is not shallow.

   After the three of them took their seats again, Ryazanov said to the two apologetically: "The superior arranged for our army to provide you with air support, but the **** weather made it impossible for my plane to take off."

  For Sokov, it is indeed a pity that he did not receive air support for this battle. If he can get the support of the air force, he is absolutely sure to achieve greater results.

"Ryazanov, don't blame yourself." Smirnov comforted his old friend and said, "No one thought that the weather during this period was so bad that the air force could not take off. But that's okay, we The planes of the Germans could not be lifted into the air, and the German planes could not be put into use, so we could concentrate our superior artillery fire and carry out heavy bombardment of the area where the German troops were concentrating."

"Yeah, the weather is bad, and the visibility in the sky is limited." Ryazanov also said with emotion: "Even if our pilots forcefully take off, I'm afraid they won't be able to see the attack target on the ground clearly. Hey, when will we be able to develop Aircraft that can hover over targets and carry out precise strikes will make our ground support more effective."

The speaker was not interested in the listener, and Ryazanov's words awakened the dreamer. Sokov coughed quickly, and after attracting the eyes of both of them, he said, "I have an idea that can make our air become more effective."

  Hearing what Sokov said, Riazanov immediately became interested, and asked quickly: "General Sokov, tell me your idea, let me see if it is feasible?"

   "Do you have transport planes in your army?"

"Yes." Ryazanov nodded and gave Sokov an affirmative answer: "It is a C-47 assisted by the Allied Forces, with a load of 11,800 kg, a top speed of 360 km/h, and a cruising speed of 260 km/h. After reporting the basic parameters of the aircraft, he asked Sokov curiously, "General Sokov, are you planning to use the transport plane to transport any supplies?"

   Not only Riazanov was curious, but even Smirnov also cast a curious look at Sokov. He also wanted to find out why Sokov thought of asking the transport plane.

   "General Ryazanov, you misunderstood. I asked the transport plane, not to transport any weapons." Sokov said with a smile: "I intend to transform it into an aerial fortress that can support ground operations."

"Fortress in the sky?!" Ryazanov looked at Smirnov next to him with a puzzled face, and saw the doubts in the eyes of the other party, so he turned to look at Sokov and asked in puzzlement: "I don't understand. did you mean."

"Our army's fighter jets or attack planes can only attack frontal targets. If you want to attack targets from different angles, you must constantly adjust the angle of the fuselage." Sokov asked Ryazanov specifically. One sentence: "General Ryazanov, am I right?"

   "That's right, that's true." Ryazanov asked confusedly, "But what does it have to do with the sky fortress you mentioned?"

   "I was thinking, if a machine gun is installed in the transport plane, and when it is circling around the target, it can shoot down from the side cabin door or porthole, can it carry out effective precision strikes on the ground target?"

   After listening to Sokov, Ryazanov did not express his opinion immediately, but frowned and thought.

   And Smirnov asked curiously: "Comrade commander, how many machine guns do you think should be installed on the plane?"

"I think at least four machine guns must be installed so as to form sufficient attack firepower." Sukov said: "And you can't use 7.62mm machine guns, which are too weak. It is best to use 12.7mm high-level two With a machine gun."

"We don't have 12.7mm machine guns, and the Allied forces don't have machine guns of this specification among the weapons that support us." Ryazanov interrupted suddenly: "General Sokov, do you think installing a 14.5mm anti-aircraft machine gun in the cabin would How about it?"

"The 14.5mm anti-aircraft machine guns are all quadruple." Sokov said hesitantly: "If four are installed on the plane, I worry that the recoil force when shooting will be too large, and the plane will not be able to bear it. And such a large-caliber machine gun, It's not light in itself, which limits the amount of ammunition it can carry."

"General Sokov, you don't need to wear four guns." Ryazanov said, "A 14.5mm anti-aircraft machine gun is quadruple. We will disassemble it into two double guns and install them on both sides of the engine room. .In this way, the weight of the aircraft is greatly reduced, and more ammunition can be carried at the same time."

   "That's not bad." Sokov felt that Ryazanov's idea was good. After expressing his approval, he urged: "General Ryazanov, when will you be able to complete the transformation?"

   Ryazanov stared at Sokov for a while, and then replied: "It will take at least two days to complete the installation of the machine gun in the engine room."

   While Sokov and Ryazanov were discussing details, the phone on the desk rang. After Smirnov picked up the phone and listened for a while, his face became serious. After he put down the phone, Sokov asked curiously, "Comrade Chief of Staff, what happened?"

"The Chief of Staff of the Front Army, General Zakharov, called." Smirnov replied blankly, "Some of the German troops who broke out from the encirclement have already crossed the Gniloydikich River and joined the troops who came to meet them." Join us and jump out of our encirclement." He paused for a moment, then continued, "Comrade Commander, you are right, it is indeed a difficult task for us to wipe out the encircled enemies."

  (end of this chapter)