red moscow

Chapter 2835

Kazakov slapped his thigh and said excitedly: "Comrade Commander, I know. The infantry brigade of Sokov Shaoxing provided us with artillery support. Didn't they get more than a dozen 122mm howitzers? The power of the shelling just now should have been caused by these artillery pieces."

Rokossovsky nodded slightly: "It seems that my decision to leave the howitzer to them was completely correct."

"Needless to say." Malinin could already confirm from the conversation between the two that it was Sokov's troops who defeated the German attack on the headquarters with heavy artillery. He said excitedly: "If you hadn't decided to leave the heavy artillery to Major Sokov, I'm afraid we would be in great danger today."

Orel, who had just walked in, raised his own question: "Comrades, I also know that the heavy artillery was left to the infantry brigade. But what I am wondering now is, how did he know that we were attacked by the enemy and how he could use long-range artillery to accurately strike the enemy without letting the shells fall on our own people?"

"Colonel Orel, the question you asked is exactly what puzzles me." Rokossovsky said to Malinin with a serious expression: "Chief of Staff, please send a telegram to the infantry brigade and ask what is going on."

Malinin agreed and was about to send a telegram when the phone in front of him rang.

He quickly grabbed the microphone: "I'm Malinin!"

An urgent voice came from the receiver: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I am at the observation post. I just spotted a convoy heading towards the village."

Malinin was shocked when he heard this. He thought, we just repelled the enemy's attack, but now there is another enemy coming? "Did you see clearly who is coming?"

"The soldiers on the vehicle are all wearing our army's uniforms, but I don't know which unit they are from," the observation post reported.

"I see." After Malinin put down the phone, he reported to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, the observation post reported that a convoy is coming towards us. The people sitting in the carriage are wearing our military uniforms. According to my guess, they are coming to reinforce us."

“The reinforcements?” Orel looked at Rokossovsky and asked curiously, “Comrade Commander, which unit do you think it will be? General Panfilov’s 316th Infantry Division, or some other unit?”

"Although we have asked for help from the 316th Infantry Division," Rokossovsky shook his head and said, "but they have no means of transportation. Even if they immediately sent troops to reinforce after receiving the request for help, I'm afraid they are still on the way. The only possibility is Misha's Infantry Brigade."

Everyone was skeptical about Rokossovsky's analysis. After all, the attack on the headquarters happened very suddenly, and the infantry brigade was very far away. How could it be possible for them to rush to reinforce in such a short time?

"Report!" A voice came from the door.

"Come in!" Malinin shouted at the door.

A staff officer walked up to Malinin and reported to him: "A dozen soldiers came outside. The second lieutenant leading them said he was from the infantry brigade guard company and had something to report to you."

"Let him in."

Soon, the guard platoon leader, led by the staff officer, appeared in front of Rokossovsky, Malinin and others.

"Comrade Lieutenant," Malinin asked the strange major in front of him, "Which unit are you from and what are you doing here?"

The guard platoon leader looked at Rokossovsky standing next to him, not knowing whether he should answer Malinin's question first or salute Rokossovsky first.

Rokossovsky saw the embarrassment of the guard platoon leader and said magnanimously: "Comrade Lieutenant, since the chief of staff asked you a question, you should answer him first."

The guard platoon leader, who had received instructions from Rokossovsky, reported to Malinin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I am the guard platoon leader of the infantry brigade. I am here on the orders of the brigade commander to deliver the wreckage of the enemy aircraft engine that we found."

"Oh, you are the ones delivering the wreckage of the plane engine?" Since Rokossovsky had handed over the matter of taking over the wreckage of the plane engine to Orel, when he heard the guard platoon leader say this, he took two steps forward and asked, "Where is the thing?"

"In the forest one kilometer away from here." The guard platoon leader explained: "On our way here, we heard gunfire from the headquarters, so we found a place to stop and reported what we encountered to the brigade headquarters."

"This place is not close to the infantry brigade." Malinin asked curiously, "I want to know, how did you pass the information to the brigade headquarters?"

"It's very simple." The guard platoon leader replied easily: "The brigade commander equipped us with a radio so that we can keep in touch at any time."

Malinin laughed. "Your brigade commander is quite generous. He sent you to deliver the wreckage of an airplane engine and a radio."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," the guard platoon leader explained, "Actually, the brigade commander equipped us with radios because he was worried that we might run into the enemy and be unable to escape while searching for the wreckage of the aircraft engine. With the radio, we can use it to call for help from the brigade headquarters, and the brigade's artillery will then fire at the enemy based on the firing parameters provided by the artillery observers, thus helping us to successfully escape from the enemy."

When Kazakov heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up. He quickly came over and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant, you said that your brigade commander equipped you with a radio so that you can contact the artillery unit in the distance and launch artillery fire on the enemy when you encounter the enemy?"

"Yes, that is indeed the case, Comrade General."

"So the bombardment of the enemy attacking the headquarters was carried out by the artillery of your brigade based on the data provided by the artillery observer?"

The guard platoon leader nodded again and said in a positive tone: "That's right, Comrade General. I heard from the brigade commander that this practice is called 'calling for artillery support'. When necessary, the artillery can be contacted through the radio and let them effectively attack the enemy according to the firing parameters provided by the artillery observers." "Great, this is really great." Kazakov was immediately excited after hearing this. He turned to Rokossovsky and said, "This Major Sokov is simply a talent. Only he can come up with such a genius tactic."

Rokossovsky nodded slightly after hearing this, feeling a little proud. He thought that if this was true, it meant that he had made the right decision to ask for him from the 5th Army. He paused for a moment and asked the guard platoon leader, "Did your brigade commander say that he would send troops to rescue the headquarters?"

The guard platoon leader shook his head in confusion: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I'm not sure about this."

"Comrade Commander, don't worry. Once the convoy enters the village, we will know which unit is coming."

A few minutes later, Sokov appeared in the headquarters.

Seeing Sokov appear, Rokossovsky smiled.

Before Rokossovsky could finish, Malinin, who had spotted Sokov, immediately came forward and said, "Major Sokov, why are you here?"

After raising his hand to salute Malinin, Sokov replied respectfully: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I received reports from my subordinates and learned that the headquarters was in danger, so I immediately brought two companies of soldiers to reinforce. Look, he was the one who reported to me." He pointed to the guard platoon leader standing next to him.

"Major Sokov," Although all signs showed that it was the infantry brigade that used heavy artillery to bombard the German troops attacking the headquarters and successfully repelled them, for the sake of safety, Kazakov still asked the question in his mind: "Did you use heavy artillery to defeat the enemy attacking the headquarters?"

"Yes, artillery chief." Sokov nodded and gave Kazakov an affirmative answer: "When our subordinates told me that the headquarters was attacked by the enemy, I assembled the troops and ordered the artillery of the brigade to carry out a fierce artillery bombardment on the enemy attacking the headquarters according to the firing parameters provided by the artillery observers."

Sokov felt particularly relieved when he thought of the piles of German corpses and several destroyed tanks he had just seen outside the village. He continued, "I saw the situation outside the village. Our brigade's artillery achieved good results."

"Major Sokov," Malinin said in a grateful tone, "If you hadn't supported us with artillery fire in time, the Germans would have rushed into the village by now..."

When Malinin was talking, Sokov seemed a little absent-minded. He remembered that Rokossovsky wrote in his memoirs that he had been in danger many times during the Battle of Moscow. The headquarters was attacked by the German army several times. The most dangerous time was when the Germans rushed into the village and they began to move. If it weren't for the houses blocking the enemy's view, I'm afraid they would not have been able to escape.

"Misha." After Malinin finished speaking, Rokossovsky came over, patted Sokov on the shoulder, and said in a grateful tone: "On behalf of all members of the headquarters, I would like to express my gratitude to you and your subordinates. If you hadn't extended a helping hand in time, I think we would have been in danger of our lives. By the way, there is also you, Comrade Lieutenant." Rokossovsky's next words were to the guard platoon leader standing next to him, "We were able to turn danger into safety, and you have made an indelible contribution. You will get the honor that belongs to you!"

When the guard platoon leader heard that Rokossovsky was going to award him the honor, he was overjoyed and quickly thanked him: "Thank you, thank you, Comrade Commander!"

"Major Sokov," Kazakov asked with interest, "Can you tell me how you came up with the tactic of 'calling for artillery support'?"

Sokov did not answer Kazakov immediately, but looked at Rokossovsky and said, "Comrade Commander, the wreckage of the aircraft engine we sent is not far outside. Do you think we should send someone to receive it?"

After Sokov's reminder, Rokossovsky immediately remembered the task assigned to him by his superiors, and turned to Orel and said, "Colonel Orel, follow this second lieutenant comrade to receive the wreckage of the aircraft engine."

After Orel and the guard platoon leader left, Rokossovsky smiled and said to Sokov, "Misha, tell me, how did you come up with the tactic of 'calling for artillery support'? We are all eager to know the answer."

Seeing that Rokossovsky, Kazakov and others were looking at him expectantly, Sokov did not hide anything and explained this tactic that only appeared in the 1950s to them: "In the past, when our troops were fighting and needed artillery support from the rear artillery, the usual practice was to conduct blocking fire in front of the position. Doing so can indeed achieve the effect of blocking and delaying the enemy, but the disadvantages are also obvious, such as high ammunition consumption and limited number of enemies eliminated.

I was thinking, is there a way to efficiently destroy the enemy without wasting ammunition? After repeated thinking, I thought that artillery observers could stay at the forefront and promptly feed back the firing parameters to the artillery in the rear through the radio, thereby improving the accuracy of the artillery fire.

To enhance his persuasiveness, Sokov used a battle that ended not long ago as an example: "For example, in today's battle, according to past practices, if we want to provide artillery support for the headquarters' defenders, we can only cover this area with firepower. Although it can block and delay the enemy, many shells will definitely hit our own people. In the small unit that first approached the headquarters, there was an artillery observer who could report the enemy's location to the artillery in the rear in a timely manner through the radio and guide them to carry out precise strikes on the enemy. In this way, we can not only destroy the enemy, but also avoid the tragedy of shells falling on our own heads."

"Well done, Misha, you are really well done." Rokossovsky praised Sokov as soon as he finished speaking, saying, "Judging from the results achieved by the artillery in today's battle, your tactics are very effective. Comrade Kazakov," he then said to Kazakov, "Do you think it is possible to promote this tactic in the artillery unit to increase the accuracy of artillery fire?"

Kazakov nodded and said, "When I return, I will gather the artillery commanders and study Major Sokov's tactics carefully."

"Misha, how many people did you bring to reinforce us this time?" Rokossovsky asked.

"Two companies," Sokov replied briefly, "about three hundred people."

"That's a lot of people. It seems that Misha is quite concerned about our safety." Rokossovsky expressed his feelings to his deputies and asked Sokov with concern: "You have mobilized so many people to support us. Will it weaken your strength?"

"No, of course not." Sokov said proudly, "I didn't use any of the three main battalions. Those who came with me this time are all officers and soldiers from the reserve. You know, we have taken in quite a few officers and soldiers during this period, so it won't be a problem even if we organize three or four more battalions."

Rokossovsky was silent for a moment after hearing what Sokov said, and then asked tentatively: "Misha, there are too few troops here at the headquarters. I wonder if you are willing to give up and leave the two companies you brought with you?"

According to Rokossovsky's idea, after he made this request, even if Sokov agreed, he would definitely have to go through some bargaining.

Unexpectedly, Sokov said without hesitation: "No problem, Comrade Commander. I will only take away the guard platoon that transported the aircraft engine wreckage, and the two companies I just brought will stay to protect the safety of the headquarters."

(End of this chapter)