red moscow

Chapter 2869 Attack Direction

After Romanov arrived, Sokov stood up and said to Tonya and Vera, "I'm going back to the brigade headquarters. I'll leave Chevaryag to you."

"Don't worry, Misha." Tonya said with a smile, "When his condition gets better, I will let Vera go and inform you."

After Sokov brought Romanov back to the brigade, he introduced him to Belkin and Karsokov, saying, "Deputy brigade commander, chief of staff, this is Comrade Romanov. From now on, he will be the clerk of the brigade and help us organize battle reports, telegrams, etc."

"Hello, Comrade Romanov." Karsokov knew that Romanov was an old subordinate of Sokov, so as soon as Sokov finished speaking, he immediately walked over to shake hands with Romanov and took the initiative to say: "Let me introduce you to the work you usually do."

While Karsokov was arranging work for Romanov, Sokov asked Belkin: "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, what is the situation of the Third Battalion's position? On my way back from the field hospital, I heard that the artillery fire in that direction had stopped. I wonder if the Germans have launched a ground attack?"

"There has been no movement yet." Belkin said in a puzzled tone, "I don't know what the Germans did today. First they bombarded the second battalion's position, and then they bombarded the third battalion's position. After completing the bombardment, they showed no signs of attacking. I really don't understand what their intention is."

"What about the 1073rd Infantry Regiment's defense zone on the right wing of my brigade?" Sokov frowned and asked, "Have they been attacked by the enemy?"

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Karsokov came over after assigning tasks to Romanov, and continued, "I spoke to the commander of the friendly army not long ago. He said that his defense zone was under a frenzied attack by the Germans, and some areas were even broken through by the Germans. Fortunately, he deployed the reserve troops in time, drove the enemy out, and blocked the torn defense line."

After listening to this, Sokov didn't say anything, just nodded, stared at the map in front of him and began to wonder what the Germans' intention was.

The telephone on the table rang, and Karlsov picked up the receiver and put it to his ear: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Karlsov, Chief of Staff."

After listening for a while, he covered the microphone and said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the call is from the commander of the 1073rd Regiment. He said the situation there is very critical and asked us to provide them with assistance."

Sokov looked up at Karsokov and asked, "What kind of assistance does he want us to provide? Artillery support?"

But Karsokov shook his head and said, "No, he said that the regiment has suffered heavy casualties in the battles over the past few days, and he hopes that we can send troops to reinforce them?"

"No, absolutely not." Karsokov just finished speaking, and Sokov shook his head and said, "I can't send troops to reinforce any area without the order from my superiors."

"But are we just going to watch our friendly positions being breached by the enemy?" Karsokov said.

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you must remember that there are no troops behind our brigade. If we withdraw troops to reinforce friendly forces, thereby weakening our defense and causing our defense line to be breached by the enemy," Sokov reminded Karsokov, "then the enemy can rush directly to the headquarters of the army group headquarters, and then..." Sokov's words came to an abrupt end, and he suddenly realized why the Germans only bombarded the positions of the second and third battalions instead of sending out ground troops to attack.

Seeing that Sokov stopped talking halfway, Karsokov seemed very anxious: "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you mean that we should not send reinforcements?"

Belkin also interrupted and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, if the situation of the 107th Regiment is critical and we do nothing about it, their defense line will be in danger of being breached. Even if we cannot send reinforcements, it is absolutely necessary to provide them with artillery support."

"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander and Chief of Staff, under the current circumstances, we can only hold our troops in place and wait and see what happens."

Belkin and Karsokov looked at each other and asked in confusion: "Why?"

Sokov pointed to the map on the table and explained to the two people: "Look, the position of the Fourth Battalion is flat except for a high ground next to it. If the Germans choose to break through here, their tanks can rush to the army headquarters without any hindrance."

"Comrade Brigade Commander, you are right. Once the Germans break through the Fourth Battalion's position, not only will the First Battalion's defense line become precarious, but their path to the Army Group Headquarters will also become unimpeded." After confirming Sokov's statement, Karsokov raised his own doubts: "But there is no trace of the enemy in front of the Fourth Battalion's position, so they are unlikely to launch an attack on the Fourth Battalion in a short period of time."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I just figured out something." Sokov said to himself, "I think the enemy bombarded the positions of the second and third battalions without launching a ground attack in order to confuse us and make us think that they might attack in these two areas, so that we dare not mobilize troops easily. In this way, they can concentrate superior forces in the direction of the fourth battalion and catch us off guard."

"I'll call Major Vasya." Hearing what Sokov said, Karsokov picked up the phone and asked him whether the scouts he sent out have returned.

The call was quickly connected. After Karsokov introduced himself, he asked directly: "Major Vasya, did the scouts you sent out report any news?"

"I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, I may disappoint you." Vasya said apologetically, "The scouts I sent out have not received any news so far."

"No trace of Germans was found in front of your battalion's position?"

"No, Comrade Chief of Staff," Major Vasya answered very straightforwardly, "There is no trace of the enemy in front of my position."

After Karsokov put down the phone, he said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I have asked Major Vasya. So far, the scouts he sent out have not received any news. At the same time, no trace of the enemy was found in front of his position."

There were some things that Karsokov was not comfortable saying, so he winked at Belkin next to him, signaling him to answer. Belkin nodded to Karsokov and then said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, based on Major Vasya's report, we can draw a conclusion that the Germans have no intention of launching an attack in the direction of the Fourth Battalion."

But Sokov shook his head and expressed his concerns: "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, the situation on the battlefield may be more serious than you think. More than an hour ago, Major Vasya reported to us that there were roars similar to those of armored vehicles and tank engines coming from the forest in front of their position. I can now basically confirm that the Germans are diverting our attention by shelling the positions of the second and third battalions, so as to cover their assembly in the direction of the fourth battalion."

He picked up the teacup on the table, took a sip of the cold tea, moistened his throat, and continued: "According to my analysis, the Germans may not have completed their assembly. In order to prevent our army from noticing, they may bombard the positions of the first battalion next."

Belkin's mouth twitched, and he said unconvincedly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, this is just your judgment. The German attack in the direction of the Fourth Battalion two days ago was crushed by us. If they want to break through our defense line, they can only choose other areas, and the positions of the Second and Third Battalions are their chosen targets."

"I think what the deputy brigade commander said makes sense." Karsokov promptly echoed Belkin: "I think since the Germans have suffered defeats in front of the 1st and 4th Battalions, they will definitely choose a new direction of attack, and the 2nd and 3rd Battalions are their targets."

Although Sokov analyzed the reasons to the two, Belkin and Karsokov did not believe Sokov's statement at all. After all, Germany was powerful, and if they wanted to break through a certain area, there was no need to use such tricks.

Seeing that Belkin and Karsokov were not convinced by his analysis, Karsokov was too lazy to waste words and just said briefly: "Then let's wait and see. I believe that it won't be long before the Germans can bombard the positions of the first battalion to buy time for them to assemble."

Before the enemy could launch an artillery attack on the first battalion's position, a call came from the army headquarters.

The caller was Malinin, who was contacting Sokov on Rokossovsky's orders: "Hello, Major Sokov!"

"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov asked respectfully, "May I ask what instructions you have?"

"It's like this." Malinin said, "General Panfilov called the army headquarters not long ago and said that his 1073rd Infantry Regiment, which was deployed on the left wing, suffered a fierce attack from the German army and hoped that we could send troops to reinforce it. Major Sokov, you also know that the army headquarters has no reserve troops now. I have no choice but to call you for help. How much troops can you mobilize to reinforce the 1073rd Regiment?"

But Sokov's answer surprised Malinin: "I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, the situation here does not allow me to transfer the garrison to other directions."

Malinin couldn't help but frowned after hearing this and said unhappily: "Major Sokov, as far as I know, the Germans only bombarded your defense zone but did not send ground troops. In this case, you are fully capable of withdrawing at least one battalion of troops to reinforce the 1073rd Regiment on the right wing."

To be fair, in addition to the four battalions deployed on the front, Sokov had more than 107 reserve troops, which were fully capable of supporting the 1073th Regiment under attack. But now Sokov was basically certain that the enemy would launch a fierce attack on the position of the th Battalion after completing the assembly. If he drew people to reinforce the rd Regiment, resulting in a sharp decrease in the number of troops he could mobilize, then once the German army tried to break through from the th Battalion, he would probably not be able to draw many troops to strengthen the defense of the area.

Sokov organized the words in his mind, and then reported his analysis to Malinin in detail so that the other party would be aware of it and avoid someone telling tales behind his back, which would have an adverse impact on him.

Fortunately, Malinin was a reasonable man. After listening to Sokov's analysis, he immediately reached out and pulled the map in front of him and began to study whether Sokov's statement was correct.

Malinin made a judgment in his heart in just a few minutes. He felt that Sokov's statement was correct. Once the German army really achieved a breakthrough from the position of the 16th Battalion of the Brigade, the enemy tanks would rush to the vicinity of the headquarters in just over an hour. You know, Comrade Stalin will soon inspect the army headquarters. If the enemy tanks really rush over, it will threaten the safety of the supreme commander himself. If the supreme commander himself has problems in the defense zone of the th Army, then the army leaders including himself, Rokossovsky, and Lobachev will be sent to the military court.

Thinking of this, Malinin nodded and then asked, "Major Sokov, does this mean that the troops in your defense zone cannot be moved around at will?"

"That's absolutely right, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov agreed, "If the enemy launches a surprise attack in the direction of the Fourth Battalion, their simple field fortifications will suffer heavy casualties under the enemy's superior artillery fire. Therefore, I must have a reserve force that is stronger than the troops and deploy them to the areas where they are needed at the critical moment."

"I understand, Major Sokov," Malinin said, "I will report the situation there to the commander."

Malinin kept his word. After he hung up the phone, he immediately reported to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, I have contacted Major Sokov. He said that none of his officers and soldiers can move. They may soon be involved in a fierce battle."

Then Malinin repeated in detail to Rokossovsky what Sokov had said.

After listening to Malinin's words, Rokossovsky stood up and walked quickly to the wall. He looked up at the map hanging on the wall and analyzed in his mind whether Sokov's judgment was correct.

After looking for a while, Rokossovsky pointed to the forest area in front of the infantry brigade's defense zone and said to Malinin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, look, there are forests in front of the infantry brigade's defense zone. If the enemy really chooses to assemble here, I'm afraid they will still find it difficult to find."

"Comrade Commander, Major Sokov also said that the enemy's shelling of the positions of the second and third battalions is to attract their attention so that they can hide in the forest in front of the fourth battalion's position. After they have assembled, they will launch a surprise attack on the defense area of ​​the infantry brigade." Malinin said to Rokossovsky: "You see, there are no troops between the infantry brigade and our army headquarters. Once the Germans complete a breakthrough at the position of the fourth battalion, they will soon launch a direct attack on the army headquarters. After that, we will have to move again."

"Misha's analysis makes sense." Rokossovsky nodded and said approvingly, "If the Germans really break through the infantry brigade's defense line, their tanks will only need an hour to rush to the vicinity of the headquarters. If Comrade Stalin happens to arrive at that time, he will be in danger."

Malinin understood what Rokossovsky meant, that is, there was no need to transfer troops from the Infantry Brigade to reinforce the 1073rd Regiment. He said with some concern: "The 1073rd Regiment is under fierce attack by the German army. If we cannot send troops to reinforce it in time, once their position is broken by the enemy, the flank of the Infantry Brigade will be exposed to the enemy."

(End of this chapter)