"Comrade Commander," after Starcha and Sokov finished speaking, he said cautiously: "Donetsk is more than 200 kilometers away from Zaporoze. The scouts we sent will have to wait at least three or four days before the reconnaissance information can be transmitted back."
"Let them wear German uniforms and pair them with a tricycle," Sokov ordered without saying a word: "In this way, they will only need five or six hours to get close to Zaporoze."
"Comrade," Berkin saw Sokov finished speaking, and interrupted, "I think under the current circumstances, we should not focus on the direction of Zaporoje. With our existing battlefield delivery capabilities, it is too far away from us."
"Comrade Political Commissar," Sokov didn't know why Belkin, who had always had a tacit understanding with him, sang the opposite at this time, but guessed that he must have his own ideas and asked quickly: "Do you have any other ideas?"
"Yes, comrade of the division commander." Belkin nodded and pointed to the map and said to Sokov: "Not long ago, General Popov's troops were defeated in the Red Army village northwest of the city. According to my estimate, there must be a small group of our army's troops in this area. If we try to attack the Red Army village, we might gather these broken teams again."
Sokov was stunned. He stared at the map in front of him for a long time without saying a word. He was thinking repeatedly about the words of Berkins: Yes, it is more than 200 kilometers from here to Zaporoze, and it is only 40 kilometers to the Red Army Village in the northwest. The Tank Brigade only takes two hours to reach the outside of the city. Moreover, after the early battles, the fortifications there have been basically destroyed. If an attack is to be launched, the enemy may not have any fortifications to rely on fortifications to rely on.
Thinking of this, he smashed his fist hard on the table and said in annoyance: "Yes, the political commissar is right. We can attack the Red Army Village in the northwest direction. Why do we have to go so far to attack Zaporoze?"
He quickly issued an order to Starcha: "Comrade Colonel, continue the task of reconnaissance on Zaporoze. Other reconnaissance teams adjust their direction, conduct reconnaissance on the German troops in the Red Army village, and find ways to establish contact with the broken small troops, so that they can cooperate with each other during siege."
Starcha nodded and then asked, "Comrade Commander, do you have any other instructions?"
"We have occupied Donetsk, and the Germans will definitely not be willing to do so." Sokov felt that although the German army had no troops to counterattack in a short period of time, if they did not send them, they would send air forces to bomb the city indiscriminately. He added: "I am worried that they will send air forces to bomb here. Therefore, you must seize the time to build air defense fortifications to reduce losses in German bombing."
"Comrade Commander," Starcha immediately realized after reminding Sokov that although his troops occupied Donetsk, they could not rest assured. Even if the Germans could not come on the ground, they would definitely dispatch bombers to bomb the city. "But now we only have 4,000 people. If we want to build fortifications in such a large city, there may be a gap in manpower."
"Col. Starcha, have you forgotten the residents of the city?" Sokov reminded the other party: "There are at least 30,000 to 40,000 residents in this city now. You can organize them and assist us in building the fortifications."
"Comrade Commander, when mobilizing residents, you should leave it to me to take charge." Berkin said with a smile: "No matter what, I am the political commissar of the regiment and promote and encourage the citizens, but my duty is."
Seeing that Belkin took the initiative to take on this task, Sokov said with the flow: "Okay, Comrade Political Commissar, then I will hand over this task to you to complete."
After Starcha left, Belkin resumed his previous name for Sokov: "Misha, when will our follow-up troops arrive?"
Sokov smiled bitterly and said, "I guess it will take two days at the earliest to arrive. After all, it is almost a hundred kilometers away from Lugansk. In addition, the roads in some areas have been destroyed by the German army, which has to slow down our marching speed."
"Two days?" Belkin frowned and thought for a while, and said to Sokov: "Misha, if our army really does arrive in two days, it will take another day to rush to the Red Army Village. In this way, it will be equivalent to giving the German army three days to prepare. At that time, we will probably pay a greater price to occupy the Red Army Village."
"You are right." Sokov agreed: "Only soldiers are fast and attacking them unexpectedly before the Germans are ready can they achieve the greatest victory with the smallest casualties."
"Misa, do you have any good ideas?"
"Let our division's troops speed up the marching speed and arrive in Donetsk as soon as possible." Sokov said: "At that time, in order to confuse the enemy, the other divisions still maintained their original marching speed, so that the enemy misjudged the time when our army arrived in Donetsk."
After agreeing with Sokov's plan, Berkin put forward his own opinions: "Misha, since Donetsk has fallen into the hands of our army, the convoy of the transport troops can be directly entered into the city, reducing the time spent on the road for the troops, so that our completion time can be greatly advanced."
Sokov took a pen and drew a circle in the northwest of Donetsk, and said to Berkin: "Comrade Political Commissar, I plan to let the convoy drive here directly. By then, the soldiers will be able to walk a lot less roads, which will also help them preserve their physical strength. When they enter the battlefield, they will have enough physical strength to fight."
"This time, which regiment are you going to be the vanguard regiment for the attack on the Red Army Village?" After asking this question, Belkin took the initiative to make a request without waiting for Sokov to answer: "I think it's better to hand over this difficult task to our regiment to complete. After all, the commanders and fighters have just occupied Donetsk and are in a state of high morale. Once they are put into battle again, I believe they will definitely be able to exert extraordinary combat effectiveness."
Sokov almost agreed to Belkin's request, but when he thought about it, he shook his head and said, "You are right. Your regiment just won a huge victory not long ago, but we should also see that some troops were crippled in the battle. If they were allowed to continue participating in the battle, I am afraid that many numbers would be cancelled after the battle ended."
"Then which team do you plan to use to take on the main attack mission?"
"Col. Yershakov's 125th Regiment, which has Major Shamrikh's Marine Battalion. They are not only strong in combat, but also good at fighting tough battles." Sokov said: "I feel relieved to hand over such a difficult task to them."
Belkin once commanded the battle of the Marine Battalion, and he knew very well how powerful they were. Since Sokov was preparing to let the 125th Regiment, which belonged to the Marine Battalion, serve as the main attacker, he was not easy to object and could only nod, "Okay, Misha, just do as you can, let the 125th Regiment carry out this difficult and glorious task."