Chapter 1831 Attack from both sides

  The advance speed of the 18th Guards Army was very fast. By noon, they had broken through the three German defense lines in a row and reached the town of Ulyanovka seven kilometers away. After a fierce battle, the enemies who stood firm were either wiped out or fled to Uman in a hurry.

After receiving a call from Afunin, Sokov first praised the 3rd Airborne Guards Division after learning about the results achieved by the army, and then said: "General Afunin, the 3rd Airborne Division has fought This morning, the commanders and fighters must be very tired..."

"Comrade Commander," Division Commander Konev was obviously by Afunin's side, and when he heard Sokov say this, he hastily stated, "Although our division has fought all morning, this is the moment when our morale is high. , can continue to fight.”

"Colonel Konev," Sokov heard Konev's voice, and said to him earnestly: "I know your division fought very well, but the commanders and fighters are exhausted after a whole morning's fighting. They stopped to rest, to eat, to recover their strength so that they could continue to complete the next combat mission."

  Since Sokov has already said this, what else can Konev say, he can only agree aggrievedly.

   When Afunin saw that Sokov ordered the 3rd Airborne Division to stop and rest, he tentatively asked: "Comrade Commander, are you planning to stop our army from attacking temporarily?"

"General Afunin, I just asked the 3rd Airborne Division to stop and rest, but I didn't order your army to stop the attack on the German army." Sokov said in a stern tone: "Order Major General Rumyantsev's 4th Airborne Division to take over the attack. Remember, two divisions are put into battle in turn. This can not only ensure that our commanders and fighters have enough physical strength, but also prevent the enemy who is in panic from getting a rest. Victory with minimal casualties."

  After finishing the call with Afunin, Sokov directly called the 49th Army Headquarters, and said straight to the point: "I am Sokov. Let your army commander, General Melekhov, answer the phone."

   Melekhov's voice came from the receiver soon: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am Melekhov. Do you have any instructions?"

   "The troops of the 18th Guards Army have successfully occupied the town of Ulyanovka. How is your attack?"

"Since the replacement of Colonel Stirlitz's 116th Division, our progress has been much smoother." Melekhov replied: "So far, they have successfully broken through the two German lines of defense and are heading towards the The third line of defense launched an attack. If all goes well, it should be possible to break through the German third line of defense before dark."

  The reason why Sokov placed the troops of the two armies in the Velishanka area at that time was because the German army had many fortifications in that direction and the defense force was relatively strong. But unexpectedly, the 49th fought for a whole morning without even breaking through the third line of defense of the German army.

  According to the original combat plan, the troops attacking in the Velishanka area will capture the town of Golovanivsik by 2:00 pm at the latest. The Germans have set up four lines of defense between the town and the Velishanka area, and now they haven't even broken through the third line. If we fight at this speed, we will have to wait until tomorrow at the earliest before we can reach the outskirts of the town.

"General Melekhov, it's too slow." Sokov frowned and said, "Your army's offensive speed is too slow. You must know that you not only have to break through the two German defense lines in a row, even if you reach Golov In the town of Nivsik, we still have to fight against the enemies who stand firm in the town. If you are sluggish like you, when will you be able to complete the planned combat objectives?"

Melekhov, who was criticized, did not dare to refute, and finally waited for Sokov to finish before he murmured: "Comrade Commander, I will immediately call Colonel Stirlitz and ask him to speed up the attack. "

   Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch, and then said, "I'll give you another hour. If you still can't break through the German third line of defense, I'll go to another unit."

   "Comrade Commander," Melekhov said in a hurry when he heard that Sokov planned to replace him, "I will break through the German third line of defense within an hour."

After Sokov finished talking with Melekhov, he connected to Smirnov's call: "Comrade Chief of Staff, General Melekhov's 49th Army is not fighting well. I plan to send Chumakov The General's 57th Corps will be sent up."

   "Comrade Commander," Smirnov couldn't help being taken aback after hearing this, and quickly reminded Sokov: "Aren't you planning to use the 57th Army as a reserve force? Why did you go into battle so soon?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, our attack today caught the Germans by surprise. If the delay is longer, the Germans will have enough time to re-consolidate their defenses. At that time, if our army wants to break through their positions, There are bound to be heavy casualties."

   "Okay, Comrade Commander." Smirnov replied: "I will immediately contact General Chumakov and ask him to transfer the troops to the front line. When do you plan to let him launch an attack?"

   "I gave Melekhov an hour. If he still can't break through the German third line of defense, then the troops of the 57th Army will take over his attack."

   "Comrade Commander, please forgive me." Smirnov said: "The combat effectiveness of the two armies is similar. Since the 49th Army cannot break through the enemy's defense line, then the 57th Army should not have too much hope."

"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff, I won't let them fight alone." In order to reassure Smirnov, Sokov told him his plan: "I plan to send a force from Ulyano In the town of Fuka, attack the flank of the enemy on the right from the flank to ensure that the 57th Army can smoothly advance to the intended target."

  Hearing what Sokov said, Smirnov felt his eyes light up. Yes, attacking from the front will definitely face the tenacious defense of the German army. If an attack is launched from the flanks at the same time as the frontal attack, it will inevitably disperse the German defense forces, and it will be difficult for the Germans who are attacked on both sides to support them.

   "Comrade Commander, I agree with your plan." Smirnov asked tentatively, "Will you give the order to the flanking troops, or should I give the order?"

Sokov felt that for the convenience of command, he should be in charge of the Safran area, so he said decisively: "Comrade Chief of Staff, we are now making a new division of labor. I will be in charge of all battles in the Safran area." ; and the battle in the Velishanka area, this is up to you. If there is any problem, it is not too late for us to communicate."

   "That's fine too." Smirnov replied readily, "Then I will follow your orders."

Shtemenko heard the conversation between Sokov and Smirnov and asked with great interest: "Comrade Sokov, how do you plan to attack the enemy army in the town of Golovanivsik from the flank? "

"Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, this is how I think about it." Sokov pointed to the map on the table and began to introduce the situation to Stemenko: "Didn't I tell General Afunin on the phone to stop the 3rd Airborne Division?" Attack, rest in the town of Ulyanovka. When the 4th Airborne Division takes over from them and continues to attack Uman, I will ask the 3rd Airborne Division to draw a regiment of troops to attack Golovanivsik from the flank. The flank of the German army near the town launched an attack, pinning down a part of the enemy's defensive force, so that the troops attacking from the front could successfully break through the German defense."

   "Is one regiment too small?" asked Shtemenko.

"The 3rd Airborne Division fought all morning, and it is estimated that the troops suffered a lot of casualties." Sokov said: "In addition, they have to leave enough troops to defend the town of Ulyanovka. Therefore, drawing a regiment to participate in the battle is already their limit."

   "Doesn't the 41st Guards Division still have several thousand people?" Shtemenko continued: "It is absolutely possible for them to deploy troops to participate in the attack on the enemy near the town of Golovanivsik."

   "No, the troops of the 41st Guards Division cannot be used."

  Sokov's words confused Shtemenko, and he asked in bewilderment: "Why?"

"The 41st Guards Division has too many new recruits. Most of them have not received any military training and have little combat experience." Sokov explained: "If they fight defensive battles or fight with the wind, they can barely make do. But if they are allowed to Going to offensive operations, the problem of insufficient combat power will be exposed, and there may even be a situation where it is too late to seize the enemy's position, and you will be defeated instead."

   "So that's how it is." Shtemenko knew very well in his heart that what Sokov said was true. After a long period of fighting, the troops had experienced a large number of attrition, and now the new recruits are basically the newly liberated Ukrainian regions. The cities in these places were occupied by the German army shortly after the war broke out. Residents living under the notice of the German army, where are there any opportunities to participate in military training? The recruits recruited into the army in this way don't have any fighting power at all.

   "You are right, Comrade Sokov." Shtemenko echoed Sokov's opinion: "Then let the 41st Guards Division stay where it is and hand over the offensive task to other troops."

   Sokov picked up the phone again, connected to the military headquarters of the 18th Guards Army, and asked the person who answered the phone to inform Afunin to answer the phone.

  A moment later, Afunin's voice came from the receiver: "Comrade Commander, I am Afunin."

   "General Afunin, when can the 4th Airborne Division take over the attack from the 3rd Division?"

   "It will take an hour at the earliest, Comrade Commander."

   "Let them speed up and replace the 3rd Airborne Division as soon as possible. I have a new task for them."

   "What task?"

"The attack of the 49th Army on your right wing is not going well. So far, it has not taken down the third line of defense of the German army. I am afraid that it will not be able to complete the pre-determined battle plan." Sokov said into the microphone: "Therefore, I plan to Send a force to attack the German flank near the town of Golovanivsik from the town of Ulyanovka, and create favorable conditions for the right wing to break through the German defense line."

   "Which troops do you plan to send to carry out this glorious mission, my comrade commander."

   "Didn't I order the 3rd Airborne Division to stop and rest?" Sokov said: "I plan to draw a regiment of troops from the division to attack the German flank."

   "One regiment?!" Afunin said in surprise, "Comrade Commander, the strength of one regiment may not be enough, right?"

"That's enough. Their mission is to contain and disperse the German frontal defense force, creating conditions for the friendly army to break through. Don't worry, it won't take long for the friendly army on the right to break through the German defensive line and rush over to join them. .”

   "Comrade Commander, Colonel Konev happens to be here with me, why don't you assign tasks to him yourself."

   Soon, the voice in the receiver became Colonel Konev: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am Konev."

"Colonel Konev," Sokov said, "the task is very simple. You send a regiment from the town to attack the German positions near the town of Golovanivsik, attract the attention of the Germans, and contain them." Their strength, to relieve the pressure on the attacking friendly forces. How is it, is there any difficulty?"

  Konev was silent for a moment, and then replied with some reluctance: "There is no difficulty."

"Colonel Konev," Sokov heard his hesitation, and comforted him, "The friendly army on the right flank has the strength of two armies and six divisions. It won't be long before you break through the German defenses and join your men."

   "Well, I obey orders."

   "Which regiment do you plan to send to carry out these important tasks?"

"I think the 8th Guards Airborne Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Maxim Pinkov can be transferred." Colonel Konev said: "So far, the regiment is still adequately manned and well-equipped, and all the soldiers They are all well-trained, and it is undoubtedly the most suitable for them to perform this task."

"That's really great." Sokov waited for the other party to finish speaking before continuing: "I have given an ultimatum to General Melekhov, the commander of the 49th Army. If there is no breakthrough within an hour The third line of defense of the German army, then I will use the troops of the 57th Army to take over his attack."

  Konev felt inexplicably relieved when he learned that the 57th Army was about to enter the battle. This army was equivalent to a new force. As they entered the battlefield, the third and fourth lines of defense of the German army appeared to be in jeopardy. At first, I was worried that the troops that went into battle might be wiped out, but at this moment, it seemed that even if the Pinkov Regiment was unfortunately trapped by the German army, as long as they persisted for about half an hour, the friendly troops that broke through the enemy's defense line might rush over. join forces.

  Sokov kept making phone calls to learn about the situation on the battlefield from the commanders and fighters in front. At the same time, he continued to issue various new orders based on the real-time battle situation. Because he was so busy, he didn't even find out when Koshkin came back.

   After he was so busy, he turned around inadvertently and found Koshkin standing at the door, so he asked casually, "When did you come back?"

   "Just came back."

  Sokov remembered that he had sent him to check the situation of the air defense position, so he asked casually: "Koshkin, how is the situation at the air defense position?"

   "It's not very good, Comrade Commander." Koshkin said solemnly: "To be precise, the situation is very bad."

   "What's going on?" Yakov interrupted and asked, "Quickly tell me."

   "The anti-aircraft machine guns on the position were all blown up by German planes." Koshkin said sadly: "The air defense battalion sacrificed 91 soldiers and injured 123 people. It can be said that the entire battalion has lost its combat effectiveness."

  (end of this chapter)