Chapter 227 Hot Potato

   Originally thought that attacking the city of Zizdra would be an easy victory. But after the battle started, the situation changed unexpectedly. The infantry attacking the city was intercepted by German artillery fire; the tank army covering the infantry attack was deployed too far from the city, and they were bombarded by enemy planes as they entered. fry.

  The attack lasted for two days, and Orlov's infantry army and the tank army that cooperated in the battle had suffered more than half of the casualties. Not to mention capturing the city, even the outer positions of the German army were never cleared. What was originally thought to be a fruit-picking battle turned into a hot potato. Faced with this situation, the Army Command held another military meeting to discuss how to capture the city.

At the beginning of the meeting, Rokossovsky asked Kazakov directly: "Comrade artillery commander, when our troops rush to the city, they will be intercepted by German artillery fire. Do you have a way to counter them with artillery fire?" ?”

"Comrade Commander, this is very difficult." Kazakov said with some embarrassment: "The supplements from our superiors are very few and come very slowly. We simply don't have enough shells to counter the German artillery positions. "

   "Where is the Minister of Logistics?" Hearing this, Lobachev immediately interrupted and asked, "What did they do? Why didn't they send the shells to the front line in time? Don't they know that we are launching an offensive?"

"Comrade Military Commissar, you misunderstood. This matter has nothing to do with the logistics department." Seeing that Lobachev wanted to blame the logistics minister of the army group, Ma Linin quickly interrupted and explained: "Yesterday, the troops under the command of Marshal Timoshenko were in Kazakhstan. For a long period of time in the future, the supply focus of the base camp will be concentrated there. Even if we can get supplies, the quantity will be very limited, so we can only rely on ourselves. "

"The Chief of Staff is right." After Malinin finished speaking, Rokossovsky immediately continued: "The Battle of Kharkov is the top priority in the near future, so not only weapons and ammunition, but even soldiers, supplies and A large number of air forces have been transferred to this direction by the base camp. We must make careful preparations and rationally use the resources in our hands to complete this offensive mission."

"But Orlov's infantry army has suffered heavy casualties after two days of attack. And we don't have many shells left." Kazakov waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking. Immediately remind him: "It needs to be replenished before it can attack again."

"The chief of staff and I have just said that the current attention of the base camp is focused on the direction of Kharkov. Before the end of this offensive campaign commanded by Marshal Timoshenko, we will basically get nothing to supplement. , Everything can only depend on you to figure out a way."

"But, what can I think of, Comrade Commander?" Kazakov said with some despair: "If there is something wrong with the artillery, my artillery can repair it by itself. But if the artillery shells are gone, I really don't have any." Method."

Seeing his old friend so worried, Rokossovsky took out a cigarette from the cigarette case and handed it over to him, saying: "General Kazakov, last year you came to work with me in the 16th Army Bar."

Kazakov took the cigarette in Rokossovsky's hand, nodded in his mouth, and agreed in a daze, "Yes, I was sent to the 16th Army with you last year. "

"Since you came with me," Rokossovsky continued after lighting a match for the opponent, "then you should remember that when many commanders rushed out of the enemy's encirclement, They are all bare-handed, how do they deal with their weapons and ammunition?"

   Rokossovsky's words reminded Kazakov, he widened his eyes and said: "Comrade Commander, what do you mean, there may be a hidden ammunition depot for our army in the nearby forest?"

   "I can't rule out the possibility." Rokossovsky nodded and said, "But whether you can find the ammunition depot depends entirely on your luck. After all, you can't find the person who handled it at that time."

Hearing what Rokossovsky said, Kazakov couldn't sit still any longer. He stubbed out the cigarette he had just taken two puffs of, stood up and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, allow me Leave? I think I'll send someone into the forest now to find ammunition depots."

"Wait a minute, General Kazakov, don't worry." Rokossovsky did not agree to Kazakov's request, but motioned him to sit down first: "Let's talk about the attack on Zhizdra first." OK."

   "How can we talk about it?" Kazakov asked a little puzzled: "If the artillery does not receive enough ammunition, then it will not be possible to provide them with the necessary artillery preparations when the infantry army attacks."

"Commanders, Comrades," Rokossovsky did not answer his words, but said to several other army chiefs: "Orlov's infantry army has been attacking Zizdra for two days. But unfortunately, they did not make any progress, but suffered heavy casualties. Therefore, I suggest that the siege force should be adjusted immediately, and the 31st Guards Division should complete this glorious task."

"What, the 31st Guards Division will complete this task?" Lobachev was taken aback by Rokossovsky's words, and he asked back in a panic: "We can't take Zizdra with a single army." , can he do it with a single teacher?"

Hearing that Rokossovsky planned to let the 31st Guards Division take over the task of attacking Zizdra, Malinin's eyes lit up immediately, and he quickly said: "I agree with Comrade Commander, the 31st Guards It may be the best choice at present to attack Zizdra with the division."

   Kazakov did not comment on Malinin's statement. After all, it was he who proposed that the infantry army should take over the main offensive task. Orel, who chose to abstain last time, echoed it very simply: "I agree with the commander and the chief of staff that the 31st Guards Division will replace Orlov's infantry army."

Although Rokossovsky, Marinin and Orel all proposed that the 31st Guards Division be responsible for attacking Zhizdra, but Military Commissar Lobachev still insisted on his opinion: "For the 31st Guards I am very satisfied with the division's recent performance. However, the acting division commander, Major Sokov, was only a battalion commander before, and I feel uneasy about letting him take charge of such an attack."

Regarding Lobachev's questioning, Orel argued: "Comrade Military Commissar, although Major Sokov was only a battalion commander before, judging from the recent series of outstanding performances of the division, his ability is in line with his The positions are commensurate. If their divisions attack Zizdra, the chances of liberating the city will be greatly improved."

While the Army Group Headquarters was discussing whether the 31st Guards Division should take over from the Infantry Army to complete the task of attacking the city of Zizdra, Sokov was also calling three officers in the division headquarters of the 31st Guards Division. The head of the meeting. Lieutenant Colonel Ajik, the newly transferred head of the 1139th regiment, said angrily at the beginning of the meeting: "Comrade commander, tell me, what do you think about it? The forward of our division is only five kilometers away from the city of Zizdra. , but the task of attacking the city was handed over to General Orlov's infantry corps. You must know that although their vanguard troops are not far from the city, their main force is still 20 to 30 kilometers away. By then, the enemy had used the time to strengthen the city's defenses."

"An infantry army plus a tank army." Bindasov snorted coldly after waiting for Ajik to finish speaking, and then said: "I launched two consecutive attacks on Zizdra, but they failed. Know how they command."

But Pavel was much more cautious. After Bindasov and Ajik finished speaking, he took a peek at Sokov, and seeing that the expression on his face had not changed, he said cautiously: " Comrade division commander, according to reconnaissance, the enemy in front of us, except for a few who are on guard in their positions, have all retreated to Zhizdra. In this way, if General Orlov wants to seize Zhizdra, I am afraid It's even more difficult."

  While the three heads were speaking, Sokov remained silent. After the three people finished speaking, he said: "Comrades, I called you here today to discuss the reasons for the failure of the Orlov Army's offensive. What we have to consider is: the offensive they adopted Is the method correct? What should we do if our division is assigned the task of attacking Zizdra? The defeat of the Orlov Army has proved that a simple force attack is not advisable. Faced with this situation, we should adopt What kind of offensive tactics?"

  Sokov's series of questions left the three heads speechless. He waited for a while, and when he saw that no one had expressed his opinion, he pointed at Bindasov: "Comrade Colonel, your regiment is the closest to Zizdra. If your superior orders your regiment to seize the city, what are you going to do?"

Bindasov raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, and said with some embarrassment: "Comrade commander, I think the density of shelling should be increased to destroy all the enemy's fortifications. In this way, when the troops launch a charge, they can easily Take the enemy's position."

"Comrade Colonel, don't you know that the artillery unit of the Army Group is currently in a state of insufficient ammunition?" Sokov looked at Bindasov and said with some confusion: "Even if our army's artillery fire destroyed the German army's outer positions, but When our troops enter the city and fight the enemy on the street, how are you going to fight?"

"Before the attack, I will ask political workers to go to each company to do propaganda and agitation work, and call on the commanders and fighters to make meritorious deeds in battle." Bindasov said with some hesitation: "As long as the morale of the troops is improved, I believe the commanders and fighters They will be very heroic in battle, even facing the enemy's guns, they will bravely rush forward..."

"Comrade Colonel, you can't just rely on violent strikes and dashes." Sokov did not wait for Bindasov to finish, he raised his hand to interrupt him, pointed to his temple, and said: "War is not only about Rely on bravery, but also rely on brains, as a commander, you must know how to use tactics reasonably. Whoever applies the tactics correctly on the battlefield will be the final winner."

Potukin, who hadn't finished speaking for a long time, said as soon as Sokov finished speaking: "Comrades, I believe you are very familiar with some of the division commander's past battles. Whether it is defending the Istria Reservoir, or In liberating the town of Marklaki, the troops commanded by the division commander at that time were able to win because of the reasonable use of various tactics on the battlefield, so as to achieve the greatest victory with the least casualties."

   "Comrade Commander," Pavel asked cautiously, "If your superiors entrust our division with the task of attacking the city of Zizdra, how are you going to complete this task?"

   Don’t look at what Sokov said just now, but in his heart, he also hopes that the artillery preparation time before the attack will be as long as possible, so that more German fortifications can be destroyed, so as to reduce the resistance of the troops during the attack. But now it seems that this kind of idea of ​​mine is obviously impossible to realize. Therefore, reasonable tactics must be used to attack. But what tactics to adopt, he has no idea in his heart.

   While he was silent, the phone on the desk rang. Potukin picked up the receiver and listened for a while, then handed it to Sokov, and said to him: "Comrade Commander, it's a call from the headquarters."

   Sokov quickly took the microphone, whispered in his ear, "I'm Major Sokov."

  "Major Sokov." Malinin's voice came from the receiver: "Come to the Army Group Command immediately. Comrade Commander has important tasks for you."

"Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff. I'll be there right away!" After putting down the phone, Sokov looked around at the several subordinates standing by the table, and said to them: "The Chief of Staff asked me to go to the Army Group Command immediately. It has something to do with capturing the city of Zizdra. Don’t rush back to your respective regiments for the time being, just stay here and discuss what tactics to use to attack the city.” After speaking, Sokov walked to the wall and took off the He put a steel helmet on his head, and then strode out of the division headquarters.

  When Sokov walked into the headquarters of the army group, he saw the head of the army group sitting at the table, and he couldn't help being surprised: How come the people are so complete? Could it be that before I came, they were holding an important military meeting.

  Seeing Sokov walking in, Malinin stood up immediately, and said with a smile: "Major Sokov, you came very quickly." Then he pointed to the empty seat next to him and said, "Sit down first!"

  Although Ma Linin beckoned him to sit down, Sokov still raised his hand and gave a ring salute to the chiefs present before sitting down in the vacant seat beside Ma Li Ning.

   "Major Sokov," Rokossovsky stared at Sokov and said with a straight face, "I called you here today because there is an important task for your division to complete."

  (end of this chapter)