Chapter 1850

  After a test shot, the artillery regiment quickly corrected the shooting parameters according to the prompts of the artillery observers, and then came a salvo, and the city wall to the south of Uman City collapsed amidst the sound of the artillery.

Seeing the city wall in the distance collapsed after a round of volleys, Sokov couldn't help showing a smile on his face. This kind of red brick city wall, despite its tall and mighty appearance, can't stand the bombardment of artillery fire at all. , The collapse is also expected.

   Sokov picked up the phone and said loudly into the microphone: "Colonel Konev, tell your subordinates not to attack yet. Repeat, don't attack yet."

   "Then when can we attack?"

   "I will notify you when the time to attack is ripe."

   Hearing Sokov's order, not only Konev was confused, but even Stemenko didn't understand it either. He waited for Sokov to put down the phone, and asked curiously: "Comrade Sokov, since our artillery fire has blasted a gap in the city wall, why don't we let the infantry take the opportunity to attack?"

   "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff," Sokov saw that Shtemenko didn't understand his intentions, so he explained to him: "Tell me, if our commanders and fighters rush into the gap at this moment, what will happen?"

   "It's needless to say," Shtemenko replied without thinking: "The Germans will definitely invest in the gap here, trying to block the gap opened by our army."

"Yes, the actual situation will definitely be like this." Sokov nodded and said: "Even if I order the troops to rush into the city through the gap at this moment, after entering the gap, they will definitely be attacked by the German troops who came to reinforce them." Crazy counterattack. Even if they can hold it, the two sides can't, and it becomes a stalemate near the city gate. It will take a long time for us to expand the results of the battle."

   "Well, what you said makes sense." Shtemenko asked curiously: "Then what can you do to break the enemy's tactics?"

"I ordered the troops to stop attacking because the Germans will soon flock to the gap." Sokov said calmly: "When they approach the gap, I will order the artillery to fire two rounds of extreme rapid fire to cover these enemies with firepower." Wait until the enemy is almost wiped out by our artillery fire, and then send troops to attack, so that we can easily break into the city."

After listening to Sokov's explanation, a smile appeared on Shtemenko's face: "Comrade Sokov, your method is really good. First use artillery fire to cover and destroy a large number of the enemy's vital forces, and wait until the enemy is almost wiped out by the artillery fire." Let’s send troops to charge again, so that we can successfully rush into the city before the enemy’s new reinforcements arrive.”

Sokov called Major Rubimov and said to him: "Comrade major, after you blow up a big enough gap in the city wall, stop shooting temporarily. When the large German troops approach the gap in the city wall, you will come again." Two rounds of rapid fire, we must use powerful artillery fire to destroy the enemy's vitality. Do you understand?"

   "Understood, Comrade Commander." Rubimov replied: "I firmly obey your orders."

   What happened next was exactly as Sokov expected. The German garrison commander learned that part of the city wall in the south of the city had been destroyed by Soviet artillery fire, and immediately mobilized troops to come over for reinforcements. As the order was issued, a battalion of German infantry, under the cover of two armored vehicles, rushed towards the location where the city wall was blown down.

The artillery observer sent by Major Rubimov hid in a bomb crater several hundred meters away from the city wall, observed the situation in the city through binoculars, and saw a large number of German infantry under the cover of two armored vehicles heading towards the gap. Coming from the direction of the enemy, he directly fired two signal flares to indicate the target for the artillery.

  The German soldiers who had just arrived at the gap were suddenly bombarded before they could disperse. Many soldiers hadn't even recovered their senses before they were pulled up from the ground by the explosion's air waves, thrown high into the night sky, and fell heavily to the ground in fragments. In just a few minutes, the gaps in the city wall were filled with the remains of the German army and the wreckage of two armored vehicles.

  After defeating the enemies near the gap, the artillery quickly shifted the shooting area and used artillery fire to clear the German troops on other parts of the city wall.

Seeing this scene, Shtemenko couldn't help applauding: "Great, Comrade Sokov, these German soldiers didn't even have a chance to shoot, and they were directly reimbursed by artillery fire. Your tactic is really great. , no wonder your troops have the least casualties every time, it turns out that you have used tactics reasonably.”

When Sokov heard Shtemenko's compliment to him, he just smiled lightly, then picked up the microphone, and gave Konev a combat order: "Colonel Konev, the enemy who is rushing to the gap for reinforcements has been captured by our troops." The artillery fire is almost wiped out. I order you, let the infantry charge immediately, and rush into the city of Uman from the gap opened by the artillery fire."

   Konev, who had been holding back his strength, immediately agreed loudly when he heard Sokov's order: "Yes, Comrade Commander, I will immediately order the infantry to charge."

   Not long after, the commanders and fighters of the 3rd Airborne Division launched a charge. Participating in the attack were not only the 8th Airborne Regiment, but also the 10th Regiment. After they rushed into the city, they were quickly broken into pieces, and they used the battalion as a unit to intersperse in the city of Uman to intercept the fleeing German officers and soldiers.

Sokov picked up the phone again, and this time he called Afunin, commander of the 18th Guards Corps: "General Afunin, Colonel Konev's 3rd Airborne Division has entered the city. What about your follow-up troops?" Can you make it in time?"

Hearing that the 3rd Division of the Airborne Forces had rushed into the city of Uman, Afunin couldn't help being surprised and delighted: he was happy that his troops rushed into the city first. Several divisions must be on the list; what is surprising is that the large troops are still marching and cannot enter the city for support in time. If this delays the fighter, I am afraid that I will be severely punished.

   "Hello, General Afunin!" Seeing the sudden silence from the receiver, Sokov thought there was a problem with the line, so he raised his voice and shouted a few times: "General Afunin, are you still there?"

   "Yes, Comrade Commander." Afunin's voice came again from the receiver: "The main force of the army is on the way, and I believe it will not be long before they arrive outside the city of Uman."

   "General Afunin, you must move quickly." Although Sokov was very anxious, the road was difficult. Even if he gave strict orders, the marching speed of the troops might not be able to increase. He could only say euphemistically: "If it takes too long, the enemy will be able to mobilize more troops to prevent the 3rd Airborne Division from expanding its results."

   "Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Seeing that Sokov didn't blame himself, Afunin was somewhat relieved, and quickly said: "I will let the troops rush to Uman as soon as possible."

After finishing the call with Afunin, Sokov called Smirnov again and asked bluntly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how is the situation there, have the 49th and 57th armies arrived at the designated positions? "

"Not yet." Smirnov replied with some embarrassment: "Comrade commander, you also know that the heavy snow has just stopped and the roads are difficult to walk, so the marching speed of the troops has been greatly slowed down. It will take about two hours to reach the outside of Uman City."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, get in touch with the two army commanders immediately and ask their troops to march faster." Sokov originally wanted to order the two troops to speed up, but on second thought, even if they dared not follow his order However, he deliberately slowed down the marching speed during the execution, which would still delay his business, so he emphasized to Smirnov: "Now the 3rd Airborne Division of Colonel Konev has re-entered the city of Uman. Extend the victories. If they want Colonel Konev to get full credit, I have no objection."

After hearing this, Smirnov was taken aback for a moment, then guessed Sokov's intentions, and quickly said with a smile: "Comrade Commander, I understand your intentions, and I will convey your intentions to the two army commanders. It depends on what choices they are prepared to make."

Sure enough, as Sokov expected, when Melekhov and Chumakov received a call from Smirnov and learned that the 3rd Airborne Division had entered the city and was expanding the results of the battle, they couldn't help panicking. up. After notifying the whole army of the matter, they urged them to speed up their march, and they must rush to the outside of Uman City in the shortest possible time to support the friendly forces fighting in the city.

   Let’s talk about the commanders and fighters of the 3rd Airborne Division who entered the city. They rushed forward along the streets to destroy the oncoming enemies. And in some important buildings, fire support points are arranged to ensure that the whole division can retreat to a safe zone smoothly if the attack is not smooth.

After making several consecutive phone calls, Sokov realized that it would take a long time for the reinforcements to be in place, so he called Colonel Konev again: "Comrade Colonel, if I were you, I would choose to send The rest of the troops are also put into battle to ensure that the troops entering Uman City can quickly gain a foothold."

   Colonel Konev saw the 8th and 10th regiments rushing into the city, thinking that the main force of the Guards would arrive soon, so he didn't put the seriously damaged 2nd regiment into battle.

Although Sokov didn't say it clearly, he could hear from the other party's tone that he might not be able to get any reinforcements in a short time. If he wanted to defend the fruits of victory, he could only use all the remaining troops in his hand. sent to town.

Konev put down the phone, got up and went to the wall, took off a submachine gun hanging on it, put on the helmet again, and announced in public: "From now on, except for the chief of staff and a small number of communications and combat staff officers Get out, and the rest follow me to the city."

   Many of the staff officers in the division headquarters dreamed of making contributions on the battlefield, but due to their status, they could only stay in the headquarters and quietly do their duties. Hearing what Konev said at this moment, they immediately became excited. They chose weapons that suited them one after another, and followed Konev out of the headquarters.

  A staff officer volunteered to find Fritzman, the head of the 2nd Airborne Regiment, and said to him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the division commander has something urgent to see you."

   Fritzman was depressed that his troops could not participate in the battle to capture Uman. Hearing what the staff officer said, a glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in his heart: "Comrade staff officer, do you know what the division commander is looking for me for?"

   "I don't know the specifics." The staff officer replied, "But I guess it has something to do with letting you participate in the battle."

   What the staff said made Fritzman very happy: "Comrade staff, is this true?"

"I think there is a high probability that it can't be fake." The staff officer raised the rifle in his hand and said to Fritzman: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, didn't you see that I also picked up the gun and planned to go to the city to participate in the battle with Comrade Division Commander?" ?”

   Fritzman learned that his troops could participate in the battle, and followed the staff to meet Konev in a hurry.

Konev, who was assigning missions to the staff, stopped giving the assignment when he saw Fritzman approaching, walked towards Fritzman quickly, and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Fritzman, you are here." !"

   When Fritzman saw Konev in military uniform, he realized that the staff officer hadn't lied to him. The division commander planned to take people to join the battle himself. He hurriedly stood at attention on the spot, straightened his body and replied: "Comrade Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Fritzman, commander of the 2nd Airborne Regiment, here on your order, I obey your order, please instruct!"

   "Please rest easy, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Konev asked: "How many people are left in your regiment?"

   "Seven hundred people, Comrade Master."

   "Seven hundred people, the number is a bit small." Konev nodded and said: "But as long as they operate within a fixed area, this force can still be used."

   "Comrade commander, please give the order." Fritzman said: "Our regiment has always been ready for battle and can participate in battle at any time."

   "Map," Konev stretched out his hand to an intelligence staff officer, signaling that the other party would hand over the combat map to him. The staff officer didn't dare to neglect, and quickly took out a map folded squarely from his satchel, and unfolded it in front of Konev. Konev stared at the map for a moment, and then said to Fritzman: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, after our artillery blasted a gap in Uman's city wall, the 8th and 10th regiments have already rushed into the city and are on the way. Fight enemies everywhere.

   And the task of your regiment is to follow me. Strive to establish a support point in the south of the city, and use it as a base for supplying weapons, ammunition and military supplies. "

   "Comrade commander, where do you plan to build the support point?"

Fritzman pointed to a location and said: "The artillery blasted a gap in the city wall here. When the main force of the guards arrived, they must have entered the city through this gap. In my opinion, let's build a support point here. "

"Okay, Comrade Commander, I'll go back and mobilize the troops immediately." But Fritzman stopped after walking a few steps, and said to Konev: "Comrade Commander, all our divisions have entered the city, so the Commander The vicinity of the observation post will become empty, if an enemy bypasses us and sneak attacks on the observation post, it will cause serious problems."

Konev hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Fritzmann, Comrade Commander has two guard companies beside him. Even if the enemy comes over, I'm afraid it will not pose much danger to his safety. This is not something you should worry about, you should hurry back to the regiment and mobilize troops."

   "Yes, Comrade Commander." Fritzman said, "I'll go back and mobilize the troops." After speaking, he turned and left.

"Lieutenant Colonel Fritzmann, you have to remember one thing." Konev said behind him: "The better we fight, the safer Comrade Commander will be, because the Germans simply cannot spare the strength to deal with him." .”

  (end of this chapter)