red moscow

Chapter 3044

Sokov spent more than half an hour giving Vlasov and the two brigade commanders a detailed introduction to the city of Sun Mountain.

The two brigade commanders were initially dismissive, but after hearing Sokov recount the various defensive deployments within the city in great detail, their expressions gradually became serious. They took out paper and pen from their satchels and carefully recorded what Sokov was saying.

After Sokov finished speaking, Vlasov immediately asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the Germans haven't occupied Sunhill City for long, so they probably haven't had time to build new fortifications yet. What do you think, should we send two artillery observers familiar with the terrain, along with the army group's artillery observers, to observe the area close to the enemy and provide firing parameters for the artillery in the rear?"

Upon hearing Vlasov mention artillery, Sokov quickly asked, "Comrade General, how many artillery pieces does your army group have, and what caliber are they?"

“火炮的口径很多，”弗拉索夫有些迟疑地说：“有76.2毫米、85毫米、105毫米、122毫米和152毫米的火炮。当然，122毫米和152毫米这两种火炮属于重炮，数量不会太多，加起来也不过20门。”

“It’s enough to destroy the enemy’s fortifications,” Sokov said. “Even if these cannons can’t destroy the enemy’s strong fortifications, don’t we still have railway guns?”

"A train gun?!" Vlasov was taken aback and asked, "What train gun?"

“Comrade General!” Sokov explained, “In yesterday’s battle, at the passing station next to the village of Kamenka, our brigade captured two newly arrived train guns.”

"What role can two railway guns play in battle?" Colonel Valev said dismissively.

"Comrade Colonel, you can't say that." Seeing that Colonel Valev seemed to look down on the railway guns he had captured, Sokov quickly added, "These two railway guns are both 300mm caliber. No matter how strong the German fortifications are, one shot can destroy them."

"What? 300mm railway guns?" Vlasov asked in shock. "Misha, where are those two railway guns now?"

“It was in the forest near the village of Kamenka,” Sokov replied. “After capturing the railway guns, fearing an enemy air raid, I arranged for them to be moved to the nearby forest and covered with camouflage netting.”

"Fantastic, absolutely fantastic!" Vlasov exclaimed excitedly after slapping the table. "If we can use these two railway guns during the attack on Sun Mountain, then no matter how strong the enemy's fortifications are, they will become utterly vulnerable."

Seeing that Vlasov was getting a little too excited, Sokov quickly reminded him, "Comrade General, I would like to remind you that the railway artillery is no longer under the command of the infantry brigade."

"Ah, how could the technical equipment you captured not be under your jurisdiction?" Sokov's words surprised Vlasov, who asked in astonishment, "Who has these two railway guns now?"

“Before nightfall yesterday, the NKVD took over the railway guns.” Sokov reminded Vlasov, “If we want to use these two railway guns in the battle to attack Sunhill, we will probably need to apply to General Zhukov.”

After listening, Vlasov frowned and said thoughtfully, "Since the railway guns have been taken over by the NKVD, I'm afraid General Zhukov has no right to use these two railway guns."

“Comrade Commander, I think you should still communicate with General Zhukov.” Zhuravlev said quickly when he saw that Vlasov seemed to want to back down. “After all, the 300mm railway gun is a rare siege weapon for us. As long as we let the railway gun fire a few shots, the enemy’s strong fortifications will all collapse, and our subsequent attack will become much easier.”

Faced with his appointed commander-in-chief of the front, Vlasov hesitated for a long time before finally nodding slowly: "Alright, Colonel Zhuravlev, I will contact General Zhukov later to see if he will allow us to use these two railway guns."

……

The battle to attack Sun Mountain City began on the morning of the second day.

The artillery fire was primarily targeting the locations Sokov had specifically mentioned the day before. Meanwhile, artillery observers from the infantry brigade and the 20th Army, concealed near the targets, continuously provided firing parameters to the army's artillery. Standing in his observation post, Sokov peered through his binoculars at the distant flames and black smoke. Although he couldn't see clearly whether the enemy's fortifications had been destroyed, he was still quite pleased, knowing that the Germans were currently under heavy artillery fire.

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov!" Valev approached Sokov and said with a hint of pride, "Look how fierce our artillery fire is! The enemy will surely suffer heavy casualties under our bombardment."

Sokov disagreed with Valev's statement. After all, the Germans had extensive experience in dealing with Soviet artillery fire. As soon as the shelling started, their main force would retreat to the second line of defense, and then return after the shelling ended to prepare for the Soviet offensive.

Zhuravlev also came over and said to the two men, "According to the pre-arranged battle plan, after the artillery preparation is over, Colonel Valev's 28th Brigade will launch the first attack. After they break through the enemy's defenses and control part of the area, my 35th Brigade will then launch the next attack, enter the battlefield through the gap, and try to expand the breakthrough. As for Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's infantry brigade, it has no combat mission for the time being and will stand by as a reserve force."

He turned his gaze to Sokov and continued, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I've heard from the Commander that your brigade is extremely powerful. The reason you're being assigned to the reserve is to prepare you for battle in case the enemy's resistance is too strong and neither of our two brigades can defeat them."

Sokov knew perfectly well that Zhuravlev's arrangement was simply because he feared his troops would perform too well on the battlefield and steal their credit. Therefore, he was simply using his troops as reserves, denying him any opportunity to distinguish himself. However, he didn't argue with him too much. Instead, he forced a smile and said to Zhuravlev, "Comrade Colonel, you are the commander-in-chief of the front lines, and I will naturally obey your orders unconditionally. Whenever my troops are needed, just say the word, and we will throw ourselves into battle without hesitation."

Zhuravlev was very satisfied with Sokov's statement. He turned to Valev and said, "Colonel Valev, I told you Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is a magnanimous man. He certainly won't object to our arrangements."

After an hour-long artillery barrage, three red signal flares rose into the air, signaling the start of the attack.

The commanders and soldiers, who had been waiting in the trenches, saw the signal flare rise and climbed out of the trenches, picked up their weapons, and shouted "Hurrah!" as they rushed toward the settlement a kilometer away.

Looking at the settlement where the smoke of battle had not yet dissipated, Sokov couldn't help but feel uneasy. He didn't know whether the enemy in the settlement had been wiped out by the shelling or had just crawled out of their hiding places and were rushing to their firing positions, ready to give the Soviet army a head-on blow.

"Zhuravlev, look! My troops are charging up!" Valev shouted excitedly to Zhuravlev. "In a few more minutes, my troops will be able to storm the settlement and wipe out the remaining enemy inside."

Sokov, observing the troops silently through his binoculars, noticed that those charging at the forefront were soldiers armed with submachine guns and rifles, while the soldiers dragging heavy machine guns and ammunition handlers were left far behind. If the charge was stalled, the heavy machine guns would have difficulty providing immediate fire support to the soldiers.

Seeing Sokov constantly looking through his binoculars, Zhuravlev couldn't help but ask curiously, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I've noticed you've been observing the situation on the battlefield. What are your thoughts?"

Sokov put down his binoculars and said to Zhuravlev, “Comrade Colonel, don’t you think the attacking forces have become disjointed? The heavy machine gun teams are so far behind that if the troops ahead suffer setbacks and need fire support and cover, they simply won’t be able to get into position in time.”

But Valev was misled by the illusion before him and scoffed at Sokov's concerns: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you are overthinking it. After such a large settlement was subjected to our heavy artillery bombardment, there are probably only a few defenders left. What threat could it pose to us? Even without the cover of heavy machine gun fire, our soldiers can easily take over this settlement."

The wind that swept across the battlefield dispersed the smoke from the settlement. Through his binoculars, Sokov could clearly see steel helmets swaying behind the ruins, and there were quite a few of them.

Sokov hurriedly put down his binoculars and shouted to the somewhat smug Valev, "Colonel, look quickly! The smoke in the settlement has been blown away by the northwest wind, and you can clearly see a large number of German soldiers moving around inside."

Valev was skeptical of Sokov's statement. Reluctantly, he raised his binoculars and muttered, "No way, Lieutenant Colonel, how could anyone have survived such a fierce shelling attack?"

But after Valev looked through his binoculars for a while, he exclaimed in surprise, "My God, there are so many Germans in the settlement! Where did they come from?"

Before Sokov could finish speaking, Valev put down his binoculars, lunged at the telephone on the table, grabbed the receiver and shouted, "Hello, communications officer, connect me to the 28th Brigade headquarters, connect me to the 28th Brigade headquarters right now!"

(End of this chapter)