Hearing Malining said this, the army commanders present fell into new confusion. They felt more and more that what they heard was unreal: "What? There are troops in the encirclement that can jump out of the encirclement and successfully seize the enemy's position?"
"Yes, the 73rd Infantry Brigade was occupied by the German positions." Rokosovsky confirmed to everyone: "According to General Cuikov's telegram, this army was originally stationed in Orlovka, waiting for us to rush into the encirclement and meet with them. Unexpectedly, our troops failed to break through the enemy's defense, and their retreat was cut off. In desperation, they could only choose to break through. I really didn't expect that they did not break east or south, but chose to break north. Not only did they successfully break out of the enemy's encirclement, but they also seized the enemy's position that gave us a headache."
"Comrade Commander," Kuznetsov felt that he should come forward and make up for the dilemma of his troops' inability to break through the German defense line and joining the defenders in the encirclement: "I think we should send troops to join forces and strengthen the fortifications there to fight against possible counterattacks by the German army."
"I have issued an order to General Kazakh Ning to immediately send powerful troops to that area to join the 73rd Infantry Brigade to consolidate the defense there." Rokosovsky explained to everyone: "Everyone should be very clear about the terrain there. We have to overcome many difficulties in deploying armored troops on that position. Not only do we have to cross a river that is dozens of meters wide, but also climb a steep slope..."
Faced with the questions raised by Rokosovsky, several commanders looked at each other, and no one could make good suggestions. Seeing that everyone was not talking, Kilithenko spoke, seeing that they were not talking, he said, "Comrade Commander, it seems that we will let the engineers set up two or three pontoon bridges on the river so that the tanks of the Tank Brigade and the artillery regiment can pass through the river."
"Comrade Military Commissioner, you may not know that the reason why our army's attack on the German position failed was entirely because the terrain there was too special." Although Kilitschko took office on the first day, Kuznetsov had guessed his identity from the rank of political workers he wore, and said politely: "The north side of the hill is too steep, and it is difficult for infantry to climb, let alone tanks and cannons."
"What should we do, Comrade General?" Kilitchenko looked at the unrecognized general in front of him and asked, "Can we not get tanks and cannons to the hillside because of the steep terrain?" At this point, his eyes turned to another command center, "Are the engineer commander here?"
"I am Proshlyakov, the commander of the Engineer Corps." As soon as Kilitschko finished speaking, a burly general took a step forward, "What instructions do you have?"
"Comrade General," Kilithenko looked at the other party and asked, "I want to ask, what method do you plan to transport tanks and cannons to the hillside?"
Hearing Kilithenko's question, Proshlyakov did not answer immediately, but turned his eyes to Rokosovsky, who was standing beside him. Rokosovsky waved his hand at him and said, "General Proshlyakov, since he is a military member asking you questions, just answer it. What do I do?"
After obtaining Rokosovsky's permission, Proshlyakov straightened his body and reported: "Comrades of the Military Commission, it is quite simple to get tanks and artillery through the river. It only takes a few floating bridges on the river. As for getting technical equipment up the hillside, it will be relatively troublesome. We need to use explosives to blow up a passage on the hillside,..."
"General Proshlyakov," Rokosovsky immediately interrupted the words behind Proshlyakov and said to him: "The Germans may launch an attack at any time. You must complete the establishment of the pontoon bridge and the opening of the road as soon as possible."
After Proshlyakov agreed loudly, Rokosovsky shouted into the crowd: "General Orel!" The commander of the front army armored soldiers who were named quickly took a step forward, straightened his body and waited for the other party to give orders.
"General Orol," Rokosovsky said to him: "You gather two tank brigades immediately, and immediately deploy the tanks on the position after General Proshlyakov paves the road."
"Comrade Commander, what about our artillery?" Seeing that Rokosovsky had assigned tasks to the commander of the engineering corps and the commander of the armored corps, but seemed to have forgotten himself, the commander of the artillery corps of the front army, Kazakov, hurried out and asked on his own initiative: "Do you need to move forward?"
"Not for the time being." Rokosovsky shook his head and said, "Our main task is defense, and the assistance of the Tank Brigade is enough. When we turn back to the offensive, your artillery can be used for a big purpose."
…………
Just when Rokosovsky was dispatching troops, Sokov received a telegram from General Kazakhsen. The general asked Sokov to not give up his position for the time being. On the contrary, he should build new fortifications and prepare for defensive wars. He also promised that he would send troops to replace the defense soon.
After seeing the telegram, Sokov said to Bere and Gurdiev: "Two Colonels, I just received a telegram from General Kazenin, the commander of the 24th Army, and he asked us not to give up our positions. On the contrary, we must build new fortifications here and wait for the troops he sent to come here to take over the defense."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, I think General Ning's consideration is completely correct." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Bere continued: "Look at the terrain here, the south is flat and the north is steep. Once we give up the position, we don't know how much it will cost to take it back."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, the terrain on the south is too flat. Apart from a trench that has not been completed, there is no barbed wire, minefield, civil fire point, and anti-aircraft hole." Gurdiev asked worriedly: "Once the German army launches a fierce attack on us, can we defend it with just the little force we have in place?"
"We must guard even if we can't defend it!" Bere glared at Gurdiev and said in a stern tone: "It's very simple to give up the position. As long as the brigade commander gives us the order, we can withdraw from the position immediately. But once the position is abandoned, the Germans will occupy the place again. If friendly forces want to seize it, they may have to fill in one or two divisions."
"Col. Berrey, you're wrong." Gurdiev quickly defended himself: "I'm not saying that I'm giving up the position, but that with our existing troops and weapons and equipment, it's probably difficult to resist the German attack."
"With our tank battalion here, what do you have to worry about?" Berre continued: "We still have 11 tanks, which can be used as fixed turrets, but when the enemy tanks rushed up, they can also rush up to fight them."
"Col. Bere is right." If Sokov was still undecided to hold on or retreat a while ago, after seeing the telegram from Kazanning, he decided to stay and hold on, because he knew very well that Rokosovsky would never stand dead and would definitely send reinforcements to reinforce himself. "Although our fortifications are not perfect enough, as long as we have these tanks, it is not easy for the enemy to regain their positions."
"If the Germans launch a fierce attack, how long can we last?" Gurdiev was afraid that the two of them would be lost by victory, so he specifically reminded them: "You know, there is not much ammunition and fuel left in the tank."
The speaker was unintentional and the listener was intentional. Gurdiev's words reminded Sokov. He slapped his forehead with his hand and said repeatedly: "Damn, damn, why did I forget this most important thing." He quickly ordered the radio operator sitting not far away, "Immediately send a report to General Kazan Ning, saying that there was not much ammunition and fuel left in the tank battalion of my brigade, and asked him to find a way to solve some of it for us."
When the radio operator sent a message to General Kazuna Ning, Gurdiev took out a cigarette, dispersed one for Sokov and Berele. After igniting them, he asked Berele tentatively: "Comrade Colonel, if General Kazuna Ning had replenished ammunition and fuel for the tank, how long can you last here?"
After sucking two puffs of cigarettes, Bere said with some amusement: "Col. Gurdiev, it depends on whether the German guns were fired accurately. If their gunfire covered the position, it would be an unknown number to survive."
"Before the enemy attack, we will definitely carry out violent shellings in our positions." Gurdiev sighed when he heard Bere say this, "In this way, how many tanks we can survive after the enemy's shelling is a problem, let alone assist in defense and participation in counterattacks."
"Col. Gurdiev, your words reminded me." Sokov came up with a way to preserve the tank in the shortest time. He said to the two: "If the enemy wants to shell our position, the shells will definitely fall on the front incline on the south side, and the back incline on the north side, the enemy shells will definitely not be able to hit."
"Yes, it's true." Gurdiev looked at Sokov like an idiot and asked back, "But does this have anything to do with how to save tanks in artillery fire?"
"Why is there no contact?" Sokov squatted on the ground and sketched on the ground with his hands: "If we hide all the tanks on the north slope, wouldn't we avoid the enemy's shelling?"
Bie Lei frowned and asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I wonder if you have ever considered that the hillside on the north side is so steep. If we drive the tank over, even if we don't turn it down the hillside, but we need to go into battle, but we can't drive it up, what should we do?"
Thanks to book friend l599xl, Guan Shan A for his reward and support!
Chapter completed!