Chapter 1986

"Comrades, division commanders," Sukov chose this title when he thought that the commanders present were all division commanders: "I said that canceling the construction of fortifications on the edge of the swamp does not mean that we are not defensive. We will choose to ambush in the swamp On some of the high ground, artillery and machine gun fire were deployed to block the swamp."

  As for Sokov's statement, everyone thinks it makes sense at first glance, but when you think about it carefully, there are still many problems in this defense. Then one of the generals stood up, looked at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Commander, I don't deny that setting up artillery and machine gun fire on the high ground can indeed seal off the swamp. But there are too few high grounds beside the swamp. If the German army only attacked with a small force, our troops on the high ground could still destroy them. But if they dispatched a large force, then such a defense would appear too weak."

  General’s words immediately aroused a crowd of echoes: “That’s right, that’s indeed the case.”

   "Relying on the artillery fire and machine gun fire from a few high grounds, it still seems a little powerless to face the attack of the German army."

   The concerns of the division commanders, Sokov has long considered and reported to Rokossovsky. When everyone was almost done discussing, he raised his hands and pressed down, signaling for everyone to keep quiet.

   Seeing Sokov's gesture, the teachers who were discussing in low voices immediately fell silent. They all turned their eyes to Sokov in unison, wanting to hear his opinion.

"Comrade commanders, in addition to the defense on the high ground, I also plan to deploy some tanks near the swamp." When he said this, he saw the eager expression of the division commander just now, and he seemed to get up and say Something, he quickly raised his hand to stop the other party: "Comrade General, please don't worry, listen to me before I finish."

"I think some people will definitely say that the soil next to the swamp is soft, and even a mortar cannon can sink into the mud, let alone a tank that weighs tens of tons? I'm right. right?"

   Seeing that Sokov had considered this problem, everyone stopped talking, but nodded neatly, and some were eager to hear what solution Sokov had.

"I plan to build some tank shooting platforms in the grass by the swamp." Sokov explained to everyone: "The shooting platforms are built with logs, and there is a road paved with logs to the rear. The roads not only allow tanks to In and out, even trucks delivering fuel and ammunition can drive directly into the firing platform through this road."

   Building a tank's firing platform next to a swamp? Hearing what Sokov said, the commanders present all began to imagine the scene where the tank entered the shooting platform and was already shooting on the platform.

  After careful consideration, they felt that Sokov's plan was quite feasible. To build a tank shooting platform on the edge of the swamp, only the sappers cut down the trees and used the logs to build them. The workload of this project is much smaller than that of building fortifications on the edge of the swamp.

After thinking about this, the general first raised his hand and said: "Comrade commander, I agree with your plan. Stop the construction of fortifications, deploy artillery and machine gun firepower points on the high ground, and build a certain number on the edge of the swamp. A platform for tanks to fire on."

The general is obviously the representative of everyone. After he expressed his support for Sokov, the rest of the division commanders also echoed and expressed their approval of Sokov's plan. They established artillery and machine gun fire points on the high ground to control the swamp area in the defense zone; and At the edge of the swamp, build a log platform where the tanks can fire.

Seeing that everyone agreed with his opinion, Sokov went on to say: "Comrade commanders, since everyone does not object, then the deployment of artillery and machine gun fire points on high ground, as well as the construction of tank shooting platforms, need to be done. Immediately mention the daily work. Do you have any questions?"

  Hearing Sokov's question, everyone was silent for a moment, and then replied loudly: "No problem."

"Let me add one more thing." Seeing that there was no objection from the crowd, Sokov appropriately revealed some information to them: "Maybe after a while, we will pass through the swamp area and launch an attack on the enemy on the opposite side. And now we The built tank shooting platform will become a tank attack position in the future."

Sokov's words shocked everyone. The general stood up again, looked at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Commander, I don't think it is possible to launch an attack from the swamp. You know, the swamp next to our army defense area The area is huge, even if the German army on the opposite side does not prevent us from passing through the swamp, I am afraid that many commanders and fighters will fall into the quagmire and die. Therefore, I think it is unlikely that the superior ordered us to attack from the swamp area."

"Comrades, commanders, please keep quiet." Sokov realized that the general might be quite prestigious among the many division commanders because of his high military rank. He was worried that after he finished speaking, many people would echo him, so he said first : "I know that everyone hopes to push deep into the enemy's defense through wide roads. But we can think this way, and the Germans also think this way. They will definitely deploy heavy troops on easy-to-pass roads, relying on solid Fortifications for defense."

"In this way, it means that every time our army advances, it will pay huge casualties. Not only the casualties of the troops will not be small, but the speed of advance will not be fast. Maybe it will take two or three months, and everyone will find out that we The army only advanced two or three kilometers deep into the enemy's defense, and most of the troops lost their combat effectiveness due to heavy casualties, and could not participate in the ensuing battle at all."

   "Do you want this to happen?"

   Facing the question asked by Sokov, after a brief silence, everyone replied neatly: "I don't want it!"

"Very good!" Sokov was very satisfied with everyone's answers. He nodded and continued: "Since you don't want your troops to suffer heavy casualties and be unable to break through the enemy's defense line, then we need to change our offensive strategy." route. And where is this route?"

Without waiting for everyone to answer, Sokov asked himself and said: "This route is naturally the swamp area in front of us. The Germans on the opposite side think that our army will not launch a large-scale attack on them from the swamp area, because in the They really can't use armored units at all, so their defenses will become relatively weak. On our way forward, they will at best deploy some small numbers of troops on some dry high ground."

"I would like to remind everyone that the main task of these enemies deployed on the high ground is not to defend, but to monitor the actions of our army, so they have no ability to stop our advance. After the offensive started, they could break through the German defensive positions in a very short time, quickly rush to their defensive depths, divide and encircle the German troops, and split their complete defense lines."

   "Comrade Commander," the general stood up again and asked in a questioning tone: "Will the future situation really be like what you said?"

  Sokov felt that the general was a little rude to him, and repeatedly questioned his speech, so he suppressed the anger in his heart and asked politely: "I don't know what to call this general?"

"Comrade Commander, let me introduce you." Pugachev obviously saw Sukov's dissatisfaction with this person, and hurried out to smooth things over: "This is Thors, the commander of the First Guards Division. Major General Tikov."

Knowing that the opponent was actually the commander of the First Guards Division, Sokov felt relieved. You know, the First Guards Division was the first unit to be reorganized as a Guards Division after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. It is understandable for the commander to be a little rebellious.

"It turned out to be General Tolstikov. Nice to meet you." Sokov nodded at the other party and said in a friendly tone: "I believe that under your leadership, this army will definitely be able to obtain the same number as it." To the honor of symmetry."

Tolstikov was taken aback when he heard what Sokov said, but he quickly understood what the other party meant. He nodded and said, "Comrade Commander, I believe that the commanders and fighters of the First Guards Division will never Will live up to your expectations."

Sokov nodded after hearing this, then turned his gaze to another general beside Tolstikov, and asked tentatively: "If I'm not mistaken, this general should be the commander of the Sixth Guards Division, right?" ?”

  The major general who was named stood up, straightened his back and reported to Sokov: "Comrade commander, I am Major General Onuprienko, commander of the Sixth Guards Division. I obey your orders, please instruct!"

   "I don't have any instructions for the time being." Sokov smiled and said to Onuprienko: "You and General Tolstikov sit down first, our meeting is not over yet."

  Since Pugachev started to make an introduction, Sokov felt that he should use this time to get acquainted with the teachers present. But before again, he felt that he should introduce his deputy to everyone first: "Comrades, let me introduce to you, this is Lieutenant General Pornegelin, who was appointed by his superiors as my deputy, that is, the leader of this army group." Deputy Commander."

"Bornegelin?!" A division commander sitting below suddenly frowned and said, "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, did our deputy commander serve as the first commander in the Southwest Front Army when the war broke out?" The post of Commander of the 12th Group Army?"

  The other party's question immediately aroused Sokov's vigilance: "Yes, he was indeed the commander of the 12th Army when the war broke out. Why, is there something wrong?"

"Comrade Commander," the division commander stood up abruptly and said with a serious expression, "I have read the report from my superiors, saying that he defected after being captured in the Battle of Uman, and was sentenced in absentia by our court-martial." Death penalty. I don't understand why such a person can serve as our deputy commander?"

  The teacher's words immediately caused an uproar in the conference room: "What, the new deputy commander is actually a traitor, isn't it impossible?"

   "I also think it's impossible. How could the superior appoint such a person as the deputy commander of our army without reviewing it?"

Facing everyone's doubts about Ponegerin, Sokov interrupted them again, and he raised his voice and said: "The colonel just now was right. He was captured because he was seriously wounded. At that time, in order to shake the morale of our army, the Germans deliberately took some photos of him and several other captured commanders, and spread rumors that they had surrendered to them.”

"I can tell you today that these are shameful rumors. When my troops liberated Klemenchug and rescued General Pornejerin and two other generals from the enemy's prisoner-of-war camp, they Because of the long-term inhuman torture by the Germans in the prisoner-of-war camp, their bodies had already become weak, and they were sent back to Moscow to recuperate for more than half a year before they recovered. If they really surrendered to the Germans, how could they almost be tortured to death? Woolen cloth?"

  Seeing Sokov defending himself in front of everyone, Ponegerin's eyes were red, and he wanted to defend himself, but he couldn't speak at all as if something was stuck in his throat.

"Let me tell you the truth, after I commanded the troops to cross the Dnieper River, I was sent back to Moscow for treatment for quite a long time due to injuries, and the review of Ponedelin and the other two generals ended at that time. The court-martial quashed the sentences against the three of them, which means they are not guilty."

"I have almost recuperated, and I returned to the army and served as the commander of the 53rd Army. Since then, General Pornejerin and his companions have been by my side, but because they used to I was captured and couldn’t restore my original rank, so I followed me to the new unit with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.”

Seeing that everyone looked at Ponegerin full of doubts, Sokov understood that they wanted to find out why Ponegerin became a general again, so he continued: "Everyone may want to know, General Ponegerin Since I followed me to the new unit with the rank of lieutenant colonel, why did you become a general in just a few months?"

At this point, he intentionally paused for a moment to observe everyone's expressions. Seeing that everyone was nodding, he continued to say: "Because after arriving in the new army, I handed over a well-deserved guard division to Ponejie. General Lin commanded, and his deputy was Colonel Sidolin sitting next to him. He was the chief of staff of the Guards Division. He once commanded the troops to defend Mamayev Gang with me in the Stalingrad battle. For months."

  Everyone heard that Sidolin had served as Sokov's chief of staff and commanded troops with him to guard Mamayev Post, and they couldn't help admiring him.

"During the offensive campaign at the beginning of the year, my troops made rapid progress and achieved brilliant results, and then my superiors successively handed over the 27th Army, the 2nd Tank Army and the 6th Army to my command." Sokov felt that he wanted to let The commanders present here are convinced of themselves, so they must let them know about their illustrious military exploits in the past: "The troops under my command quickly entered the territory of Moldavia despite the liberation of Uman, and became the first to reach the old border. The troops. And General Ponegelin led the three divisions I handed over to him, took the lead in breaking through the joint defense line of the German army and the Romanian army, and commanded the troops into Romania."

   "And in recognition of his achievements, Comrade Stalin personally awarded him the rank of lieutenant general."

  The commander who was still somewhat resistant to Ponegerin, when he heard Sokov say that Stalin personally conferred the rank of Lieutenant General on Ponegerin, his eyes changed when he looked at him.

  (end of this chapter)