red moscow

Chapter 2934

In order to avoid any further complications, Sokov decisively ordered an attack after roughly figuring out the enemy's troop distribution on the other side.

As Olga's troops charged towards the bridge, the Germans began firing from their firing points in the town, trying to block the Soviet army's advance with a dense firepower network.

Sokov, who was supervising the battle from behind, saw that the attacking troops were suppressed by the enemy's firepower, and decisively ordered the artillery deployed 600 meters away to use direct aiming to fire at the firing points in the town. After two rounds of artillery fire, all the exposed firing points were completely destroyed.

Seeing the firing points in the town destroyed by artillery fire, the officers and soldiers lying on the ground stood up and rushed towards the bridge shouting.

Unexpectedly, just as they rushed to the bridge, a destroyed fire point in the town revived, and the MG3 machine guns fired, and the soldiers who rushed to the front fell to the ground one after another. What Sokov didn't expect was that there was actually a German tank hidden in the town, and the tank gun fired at the queue crowded at the bridge head.

With a loud "boom" explosion, all the officers and soldiers near the explosion point fell down immediately.

"Artillery commander." Seeing this, Sokov quickly called the artillery commander over and told him, "There is a German tank in the town. Destroy it immediately, otherwise our soldiers will not be able to rush across the bridge."

Unexpectedly, the artillery company commander looked at it for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I'm sorry, I can't destroy that German tank."

The artillery commander's reply annoyed Sokov: "Why?"

"Look." Seeing that Sokov was angry, the artillery commander quickly explained: "Although the German tank is parked in the middle of the street from where we are, there are several piles of rubble far away in front of it. We use direct shooting, and the shells are likely to hit the rubble in front of us and will not even touch the edge of the tank."

The artillery commander's words silenced Sokov. It must be said that the German tank was parked in a very tricky position. Hiding behind several piles of rubble, it could fire at the officers and soldiers who tried to seize the bridge, while the artillery covering the attack of the troops could not pose a threat to it.

"You go back." Sokov waved his hand at the artillery commander and said helplessly: "Even if we can't destroy the enemy tanks directly, we have to find a way to create some smoke to interfere with the German gunner's vision and affect his judgment."

As soon as the artillery commander left, Khabarov came over and asked curiously: "Misha, what's going on? Why are the German tanks still shooting?"

Sokov glanced at Khabarov, bent down to pick up a few stones on the ground, and arranged them in a line. He then explained to Khabarov: "Anton, the situation is like this. For example, this stone is where the German tank is, and these stones are the rubble in front of it. Since our artillery adopts the direct shooting method, the shells fired can only hit the rubble in front of the tank, and do not pose any threat to the tank behind it."

After hearing Sokov's explanation, Khabarov immediately understood what was going on. He stared at the stones on the ground, frowned, and asked, "Misha, what should we do? If we can't destroy the enemy's tanks, it will be very difficult for our soldiers to rush across the bridge."

"It was your great-grandfather who commanded the attack." Sokov looked at Khabarov and asked, "How good was his military command ability?"

"As far as I remember, he was a lieutenant colonel when he retired, the same rank as you are now." Khabarov said thoughtfully, "It only took you a few months to go from a private to a lieutenant colonel. But for him, it took him more than 30 years to go from a private to a lieutenant colonel. In other words, his command ability was mediocre, neither too good nor too bad."

Originally, Sokov still had hope in Olga, but after hearing what Khabarov said, he couldn't help but become uneasy, and even began to consider whether he should let Laev take over his command.

Just as Sokov was hesitating, the officers and soldiers in charge of the offensive mission at the front, although they suffered heavy casualties under the enemy's machine gun fire and tank gun bombardment, they successfully rushed across the bridgehead and into the town.

Seeing this, Khabarov shouted excitedly: "Misha, did you see that? They rushed in. Our people rushed into the town. Once they clear out the remaining enemies in the town, our convoy will be able to pass through the bridge smoothly and head towards the defense zone of our brigade."

Things seemed to be moving in a direction favorable to the Soviet army, but before Sokov could laugh out loud, he found that he was too happy too early.

Although the vanguard rushed into the town, they engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy in the town.

Some soldiers took advantage of the street fighting between their comrades and the enemy to rush out of the town and set up a landing site on the south bank of the Ruza River. However, what they did not expect was that a large number of German troops were gathered outside the town. When they saw someone rushing out of the town, they opened fire with machine guns, submachine guns, rifles and mortars that had been deployed long ago. The powerful firepower caused heavy casualties to the officers and soldiers who had just rushed out of the town. The remaining people had to retreat back to the town and rely on relatively solid buildings to fight back.

When the troops were frustrated outside the town, Olga quickly sent someone to report to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the enemy has assembled a large number of troops outside the town. As soon as our people rushed out of the town, they were hit back by dense bullets."

Sokov couldn't help but frown when he heard this. If the German army really gathered heavy troops outside the town, then he would have to send reinforcements to the town so that they could eliminate the remaining enemies in the town in the shortest possible time, and then they could concentrate on dealing with the enemies outside the town.

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov!" Sokov was thinking about what to do next when he heard Bolkin's voice behind him.

He turned his head and saw that Bolkin and Lukin on a stretcher were indeed coming towards him.

"Comrade Generals, how did you get here?" Although this place is several hundred meters away from the town, if the German army finds out that there are high-ranking commanders here and uses mortars or tank guns to bombard this place, then the lives of Bolkin and Lukin will be in danger. He quickly persuaded them: "It's too dangerous here, you should go back first. It won't be too late for you to come here after my men have cleared the road."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov." Lukin, sitting on a stretcher, waved his hand and said, "We are worried, so we came here to take a look. Are you sure you can break through the enemy's blockade?"

"Comrade General, please rest assured." Sokov hastily assured Lukin, "We will find a way to open a passage to our defense zone, no matter how high the price."

Lukin took the telescope from Sokov, looked in the direction of the town for a while, then put down the telescope and asked: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I see our officers and soldiers are engaging in street fighting with the enemy in the town. I believe it won't take long for them to control the entire town. But why do I feel that you seem a little unhappy?" "Comrade General, judging from the current situation, we seem to have the upper hand." Sokov said embarrassedly: "According to the latest intelligence, not only are there a considerable number of German troops in the town ahead, but they have also gathered heavy troops outside the town. Our soldiers just tried to break through their defenses. Unexpectedly, they were beaten back by the enemy's intensive firepower."

After hearing this, Lukin frowned slightly and asked: "Can your artillery hit the enemy on the other side of the town?"

"Captain of the artillery battery," Sokov called the commander of the artillery battery over and asked in front of Lukin, "Can your guns reach the enemy on the other side of the town?"

"No," the artillery captain answered simply, "We are equipped with cannons, which cannot fire indirect fire, so we can't hit the other side of the town. If we want to use artillery to deal with the enemy outside the town, we can only wait for the artillery to cross the river and then shoot at the enemy outside from the town."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you heard it all." Lukin said to Sokov, "If we want to use artillery fire to deal with the enemies outside the town, we can only get the artillery into the town as soon as possible and establish suitable firing positions in the town to eliminate the enemies outside the town."

After Lukin finished speaking, before Sokov could speak, a colonel standing next to Bolkin suddenly said, "It's a pity that you are only equipped with cannons. If you have howitzers, even if you don't move your position forward, you can still provide fire coverage to the German-controlled area."

Sokov looked at the colonel in surprise, wondering what this guy did and why he was so casually telling him what to do.
Seeing Sokov's expression, Bolkin quickly explained to him: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, this is the artillery director of our army. If the artillery is used better in battle, he has a say."

Sokov was somewhat surprised that this colonel who always followed Bolkin was actually the artillery chief of the 19th Army. A bold idea suddenly popped up in his mind. Since the other party was an expert in artillery, he could command several heavy artillery of the Second Artillery Battalion to bombard the area where the German troops were assembled, which would surely achieve good results.

Thinking of this, Sokov said to the colonel: "Comrade Chief of Artillery, I wonder if you can take over the command of the artillery to strike hard at the enemy, weaken their manpower, and ensure that we can open a safe passage."

The colonel glanced at the cannons in the distance, then shook his head and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please forgive me for being blunt, but with the few cannons you have now, you are simply not going to cause significant damage to the enemy."

"Comrade Colonel, you misunderstood. I didn't ask you to command these guns, but the heavy artillery deployed on the position of my brigade."

The colonel was immediately interested when he heard this: "Heavy artillery? What caliber is it, 105mm?"

Sokov shook his head and replied, "There are seven 122mm howitzers, deployed at a position seven or eight kilometers from the river. Each gun is equipped with two basic shells."

The colonel showed a pleasant expression on his face. "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, if you are really willing to let me command this artillery battalion, I am fully confident that I can use artillery fire to severely damage the German troops outside the town. But the prerequisite is that I must be able to communicate directly with your artillery battalion."

"No problem." Sokov pointed to the telegraph machine beside him and said, "Comrade Colonel, our radio can not only send telegrams, but also make direct voice calls." After that, Sokov ordered the radio operator: "Help me contact the artillery staff immediately and tell him that I have something important to talk to him about."

The radio operator easily contacted Lieutenant Artyom, the chief of the artillery staff. Before handing the earphone and transmitter to Sokov, he deliberately reminded him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, in order to prevent the enemy from eavesdropping on our conversation, it is best to use code words."

"That's not necessary." Sokov said, and then spoke into the transmitter: "I'm Sokov, are you Lieutenant Artyom?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, I am Lieutenant Artyom. What are your instructions?"

"The enemy has blocked our way forward, and they are in a blind spot for the artillery we carry." Sokov said simply and clearly: "From now on, the Second Artillery Battalion will accept the command of an artillery commander from the friendly forces. He will provide you with firing parameters, and then you will bombard the designated area according to the data he provides."

After receiving Artyom, Sokov handed the earphone and the transmitter to the artillery chief: "Comrade Artillery Chief, from now on, my heavy artillery battalion is under your command. Wherever you point, their shells will hit."

After a brief exchange, Lieutenant Artyom, the artillery chief, put down his headset and transmitter, turned to Sokov and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, in order to provide the artillery battalion with more accurate firing data, I need to go to the town ahead. I hope you can send someone to escort me."

"Lieutenant Zhukov." Sokov called over his most trusted Lieutenant Zhukov and told him, "This artillery chief comrade is going to the town to provide accurate firing parameters for our artillery. You take a platoon of soldiers with him and make sure he is safe."

"Comrade Brigade Commander," Zhu Kewen vowed, "As long as one of us is still alive, we will never let anyone harm the artillery chief."

Soon, Zhu Kewen and the soldiers of the guard platoon escorted the artillery director of the 19th Army to the small town on the other side of the Ruza River.

Seeing that Sokov's eyes were following the artillery chief, Bolkin smiled at Lukin and comforted Sokov, saying, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, don't worry. The colonel is an artillery commander with rich combat experience. If he were to command your artillery unit, he would surely teach the Germans a lesson they will never forget."

Sokov looked at Bolkin, smiled and nodded, then said: "Comrade General, I believe what you said very much. With the help of your artillery director, I believe that the German troops on the other side of the town will definitely suffer a devastating blow."

Luju considered the problem from a different perspective than Borkin. He knew that if the artillery chief was dispatched, it would definitely cause huge casualties to the enemy on the other side of the town. But he was worried about the safety of the artillery chief. He asked Sokov carefully, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, can the second lieutenant you sent really ensure the safety of the artillery chief?"

"Comrade General." Facing Lukin's concerns, Sokov confidently replied: "Second Lieutenant Zhukov is from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Security work is his forte. It is most appropriate for him to protect the safety of the artillery chief."

Seeing Sokov's assurance, Lukin could not say anything else. He could only nod slightly and murmured, "I hope so. You know, whether we can open a safe passage depends entirely on your artillery unit."

(End of this chapter)