red moscow

Chapter 3050

Fearing that changing shifts at night would cause unnecessary confusion, Sokov and Zhuravlev consulted and decided to wait until dawn to carry out the shift change.

Just as dawn was breaking, the German army, eager to save face, launched an attack from the north of the city.

The shells landed and exploded on the Soviet positions, interrupting the ongoing troop rotation.

Sokov and Zhuravlev, who were in their office in the city hall, were both startled by the sound of artillery fire. Sokov immediately grabbed the phone on his desk and called Belkin, who was in charge of the troop rotation in the north of the city, trying to find out what was going on. Zhuravlev, on the other hand, shouted towards the door, "Someone come here! Someone come here!"

At the shouts, five or six soldiers rushed in from outside. After entering, they held their guns and looked around warily, trying to figure out if a German spy had infiltrated and posed a threat to their superiors.

After observing for a while, they found that everything seemed normal, and nothing unusual had happened. The sergeant leading the group put away his weapon, approached Zhuravlev, saluted, and politely asked, "Comrade Colonel, what brings you in?"

"Cannon fire has suddenly come from the north of the city. Take two men and go check it out to see what's going on."

The sergeant agreed and turned to leave, but was stopped by Sokov, who had just finished making a phone call: "Comrade Sergeant, you don't need to go."

After saying this, Sokov turned to Zhuravlev and said, "Comrade Colonel, the situation is clear. The German army is shelling our positions north of the city. It seems that they intend to launch an attack from this direction."

"In that case, our defensive rotation will have to be suspended."

“That’s for sure, Comrade Colonel,” Sokov nodded. “Changing troop positions under enemy fire would first increase casualties. Secondly, some new recruits who have only recently enlisted and have little combat experience would experience unnecessary panic if they saw friendly forces retreating under fire. So it’s not too late for us to continue the troop rotation after the enemy shelling has ended.”

“Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the troops in the north of the city include both your infantry brigade and my men.” Since the troops being relieved of their duties would remain in the north of the city to fight the Germans, the question of who should command them arose. Zhuravlev tentatively asked, “Who do you think would be more suitable to command them?”

“My deputy brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Belkin, is perfectly suited for this position.” Sokov, worried that Zhuravlev might have some reservations, offered his opinion: “He is a commander with equally rich combat and command experience. He was already a regimental commander before joining the infantry brigade. Moreover, when our brigade was defending Taiyangshan City, he was in charge of the defense of the north side of the city. Letting him command the troops in the north is undoubtedly the best choice.”

“Alright, then we’ll do it your way. The troops in the north of the city will all be under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Belkin.”

As time went on, the German artillery bombardment of the north side of the city became increasingly intense. Several sections of the city wall collapsed under the bombardment, burying several infantry squads that were hiding there under the rubble. Several key defensive positions were also bombarded by German artillery fire, causing them to erupt like volcanoes.

Belkin, who was hiding in the fortified bunker, saw this situation and immediately called Sokov to report: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the enemy's artillery fire is very fierce. Many sections of the city wall on the north side have been blown down. It seems that they want to use artillery fire to wear down our strength. You need to think of a way to suppress the enemy's artillery fire as soon as possible."

"I understand, Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander." Sokov was also very anxious when he learned that the troops holding the north of the city were suffering from heavy enemy artillery fire, but he did not have any artillery units that could fight back against the enemy. He could only harden his heart and say, "Tell the soldiers to take cover. I will contact the higher command and ask them to provide us with artillery support."

After hanging up the phone, Sokov began to think about who he should call for help.

Although Rokossovsky was his superior, the 16th Army's current offensive focus was on the Istra Reservoir area, meaning its artillery units were concentrated there and unable to provide him with artillery support. His only recourse now was Vlasov, since that was the area the 20th Army was responsible for attacking.

Thinking of this, he cautiously said to Zhuravlev, "Comrade Colonel, the garrison north of the city has suffered heavy casualties from the enemy's fierce artillery fire. Do you think it possible to call General Vlasov and ask him to provide us with artillery support?"

Zhuravlev hesitated for a long time before finally nodding slowly at Sokov's request: "Alright, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I'll call the commander right away and ask him to provide artillery support for our garrison. But I must make it clear beforehand that while I can make the request, I can't guarantee whether the commander will agree."

"Hurry up and make the call." Seeing Zhuravlev's dawdling, Sokov was furious. He urged, "The commanders and soldiers holding out in the north of the city are suffering casualties every minute. Every minute you call earlier will reduce their losses." Urged by Sokov, Zhuravlev finally picked up the phone and dialed the army group headquarters directly.

After the call connected, Zhuravlev explained his request to the army group chief of staff who answered. The chief of staff, somewhat hesitantly, said, "Colonel, our army group is engaged in combat with the Germans in many areas and requires artillery support. Could you perhaps make an effort to wait until the army group's artillery has completed its mission in other areas before coming to support you?"

Upon hearing what the army group chief of staff said, Zhuravlev immediately adopted a submissive expression, not daring to refute the other party's opinion.

Standing nearby, Sokov clearly heard the army group chief of staff's words and felt a surge of anger. If he waited for the army group's artillery to finish providing artillery support to other units before coming to provide his own, it would be too late. He snatched the receiver from Zhuravlev's hand, held it to his ear, and said sternly, "Comrade Chief of Staff, please hand the phone to Comrade Commander. I have something to say to him."

The army group chief of staff was surprised to find a different person on the other end of the phone, and that the person was speaking to him in an unusually rude tone. He angrily asked, "Who are you? How dare you speak to me in such a tone?"

"I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, commander of the infantry brigade of the 16th Army. I was sent by my superiors to assist you in liberating Taiyangshan City." Despite the fact that the other party was the army chief of staff, and possibly even a general, Sokov showed him no respect. "Our brigade captured Taiyangshan City and was preparing to hand over its defenses to you when we were subjected to heavy German artillery fire. Now, our troops are suffering continuous casualties under the enemy's intense bombardment. If the casualties become too high and affect our subsequent combat operations, who will be held responsible if the higher-ups want to investigate? You, or me?"

Sokov's stern words immediately made the army chief of staff tremble. If the person speaking to him like this were an officer from the 20th Army, he could reprimand or even scold them. But the person speaking to him now was a commander from the 16th Army, an allied force that had come to assist in the operation, and who had even been a subordinate of General Vlasov, a figure he could not afford to offend. "Lieutenant Colonel, please don't be angry. I'll have the commander come and answer the phone right away."

Soon, Vlasov's voice came through the receiver: "Misha, you have quite a temper. You actually dared to give my chief of staff a good scolding."

Sokov grinned silently, then said, "Comrade General, I implore you to find a way to provide us with artillery support in order to reduce casualties in our troops."

Vlasov was silent for a moment, then said, "Misha, I agree to your request, but you will have to wait a little longer."

"Wait a moment?" Sokov asked tentatively. "How long will it take?"

“At most half an hour,” Vlasov said. “I need to provide you with artillery support to counter the enemy’s artillery positions. I need to figure out their location and deploy the artillery in place, which will take time.”

“Alright, Comrade General.” Sokov knew that Vlasov was telling the truth, so he could only say helplessly, “Then we’ll wait another half hour.”

After ending the call with Vlasov, Zhuravlev immediately leaned over and asked eagerly, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, has the Commander really agreed to provide us with artillery support?"

“Yes.” Sokov nodded and continued, “But we need to wait half an hour, firstly to deploy the artillery and secondly to find out the location of the German artillery positions.”

After Sokov finished speaking, he picked up the phone on the table and reconnected with Belkin's command post, wanting to reassure them and let them wait patiently for a turning point.

Half an hour later, a strange rumbling sound suddenly came from the sky, followed by two loud booms, as if two volcanoes had erupted simultaneously in the German artillery positions.

Two 300mm heavy shells landed and exploded on the German positions. Artillerymen within twenty meters of the blast point were instantly vaporized, while those a little further away were knocked to the ground, coughing up blood. Shrapnel flew in all directions, felling many more of the previously aggressive artillerymen. Artillery pieces that had been wreaking havoc near the blast point were reduced to piles of scrap metal. Even the artillerymen in safe areas were momentarily stunned, their ears ringing, and their ability to react temporarily impaired, thus ceasing their bombardment of the Soviet positions.

"What's going on?" Belkin, who was inside the sturdy building, was astonished to see the shelling outside suddenly become sparse. "Why is the enemy's artillery fire becoming sparse? Are they about to stop firing?"

(End of this chapter)