"Comrade Commander, if all the troops participating in the war are our troops, we can accurately identify ourselves and the enemy without changing the paint or raising the red flag." General Polubyarov said confidently:
"This is our specialty."
It was hard for Sokov to believe what General Polubyarov said: "Without changing the paint or putting up a red flag, can we complete the identification of ourselves and the enemy?"
"Of course." General Polubyarov said proudly: "We tank crews have absolutely the means to complete the identification of ourselves and the enemy without making any changes."
General Polubyarov's words gave Sokov a new idea. He knew that friendly forces were counterattacking in the Oboyan area, trying to drive the enemy across the Pena River. If Polubyarov's troops could really
By completing the identification of friend and foe without changing any marks, we can make full use of this to achieve the goal of driving the enemy across the Pena River.
Thinking of this, he said to Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, contact General Katukov immediately and say that I have important matters to discuss with him."
The call was quickly connected, and Katukov's kind voice came from the receiver: "Comrade Sokov, do you have anything important to discuss with me?"
"Comrade General," Sokov said with great admiration for this accomplished tank general. He said in a respectful tone, "I heard that you are still attacking the German troops entrenched along the Pena River?"
"Yes, the enemy's defense is very strong and they fight tenaciously. None of the attacks we launched have achieved the desired results." After Katukov briefly explained the situation, he asked: "Comrade Sokov
, why do you ask this?”
"Comrade General, I have a way to eliminate the enemies by the Pena River as quickly as possible, but it requires your cooperation."
If others say this, Katukov may think that he is bragging, but Sokov is a man who has repeatedly performed miracles. Since he said that he has a way to break through the enemy's defenses and eliminate the enemies entrenched by the Pena River,
, that can definitely be done. He took a deep breath and tried his best to ask in a calm tone: "Comrade Sokov, do you have any good ideas?"
"Yes, Comrade General, I do have a good idea, but for safety reasons, I cannot tell you on the phone." Sokov asked cautiously: "Can I go to your headquarters to interview you?"
"Okay." Katukov felt that Sokov did this because the matter was of great importance. He did not say it on the phone because he was worried about leaking secrets, so he nodded and replied: "My headquarters is east of Oboyan.
Someone will be sent to pick you up."
After Sokov put down the phone, he said to Polubyarov: "Comrade general, call your chief of staff immediately and order him to dispatch a group of skilled tank soldiers and accept the captured tanks. Also, send
Whether your mechanized brigade can destroy the enemies entrenched by the Pena River depends entirely on you."
Although General Polubyarov didn't understand why Sokov issued such an order, he still followed his order and called his chief of staff and ordered the other party to redeploy manpower, accept the captured tanks, and at the same time,
Move the mechanized brigade south and prepare for battle.
On the way to Katukov's headquarters, General Polubyarov couldn't help but asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, what can you do to eliminate the enemies entrenched by the Pena River?"
Seeing that there were only himself, General Polubyarov, Samoylov and the driver in the car, Sokov believed that what he said would not be leaked, so he confidently and boldly told Polubyarov about his plan.
General Rove spoke in detail.
After listening to Sokov's story, General Polubyarov's eyes widened in surprise. He looked at Sokov and murmured: "Comrade Commander, your plan is so bold. I think
Apart from you, I'm afraid no one else can come up with such a bold battle plan."
"Comrade General," Sokov asked with a smile: "Do you think my plan can break through the enemy's defense?"
"No problem, no problem." General Polubyarov shook his head first, then nodded vigorously and said: "If General Katukov can agree to let his troops cooperate, then the chance of success will be at least 80%.
.”
"Comrade General, I can come up with a good battle plan, but the people who will implement the plan are your troops." Sokov asked cautiously: "Can you complete this mission?"
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." General Polubyarov patted his chest and assured Sokov: "We will never let you down."
When the car Sokov was riding in arrived at the location of Major General Gritsenko's original division headquarters, a soldier wearing a tank uniform came forward immediately. After he raised his hand and saluted Sokov, he said: "General Sokov,
I am here to greet you on the orders of the commander."
After nodding his thanks, Sokov asked with a smile: "Comrade commander, how far is this place from your group army headquarters?"
"Less than eight kilometers." The tank soldier replied expressionlessly: "It takes more than 20 minutes to get there by car at most."
Sokov couldn't help but be secretly surprised when he learned that Katukov's army headquarters was only eight kilometers away from here. Katukov had placed his headquarters so close to the front, so he didn't have to worry.
Will he be in danger? He said politely to the tank soldier: "Comrade commander, please lead us quickly. I have something urgent and need to see General Katukov immediately."
Half an hour later, Sokov appeared in Katukov's headquarters. Here, in addition to Katukov, there were many commanders with generals on their shoulders. When they saw Sokov entering,
, Katukov immediately stepped forward and gave him a warm hug: "Comrade Sokov, welcome to the headquarters."
After Sokov introduced General Polubyarov to him, he also introduced the generals standing around the table to Sokov one by one. It was through his introduction that Sokov learned these things
He turned out to be the commander of the 6th Tank Corps, the 31st Tank Corps and the 3rd Mechanized Corps.
"Comrade Sokov," after introducing each other and exchanging a few words, Katukov went straight to the point: "You just said on the phone that you have a way to break through the enemy's defense lines and let them all go.
Pena River. Is everything you said true?"
"Yes, Comrade General. I have a way to drive the enemy across the Pena River, but I need your cooperation."
Katukov knew that Sokov's visit to him would definitely involve the cooperation between the two armies, so he nodded and said: "Tell me about your plan first. If it is feasible, I will definitely let my troops
I will fully cooperate with you."
Sokov came to the map, first looked at the map of the situation between the enemy and ourselves, then picked up the explanation stick leaning against the wall, pointed at it and said to Katukov: "General Katukov, I hope you
Continue to send troops to attack the enemy's positions..."
"Comrade Commander," Sokov just said this, he was interrupted by the commander of the 3rd Mechanized Army. He said to Katukov: "Our army has been launching attacks on the enemy, but because the enemy has strong
Our offensive has never been able to make progress despite the fortifications. If we are still allowed to continue attacking, what will the friendly forces do?"
"Comrade General," Sokov said politely after waiting for the other party to finish speaking: "Please listen to what I have to say before expressing your own opinion, okay?"
"Listen first to Comrade Sokov." Katukov was eager to understand Sokov's plan. After stopping his men, he gestured to Sokov and politely said: "Please continue!"
Sokov nodded and continued: "When your troops launched an attack on the enemy's position, suddenly a German armored unit appeared from behind you, followed by groups of armored units.
Infantry, your attack on the enemy will immediately fall apart..."
"How could the Germans appear behind us?" The commander of the mechanized army suddenly became anxious when he heard what Sokov said: "Are the other troops just watching the enemy take our retreat?"
After Katukov raised his hand again to stop his subordinates from talking, he asked Sokov tentatively: "Comrade Sokov, if I guess correctly, you are planning to let your troops pretend to be Germans, right?"
"Exactly, Comrade General." Seeing that Katukov guessed his intention at once, Sokov felt very relieved. Talking to smart people would save trouble. He continued: "After our fake German army appears, we will
Shoot at your defeated troops to prevent the enemy from seeing any flaws. After eliminating the enemy's suspicion, they can swagger into the enemy's defense area and launch a surprise attack to seize the enemy's position."
Seeing the doubtful expressions in everyone's eyes, Sokov quickly smiled and added: "Don't worry, fellow commanders, after our tank troops appear, the targets of the attack will mainly be those tanks that have been destroyed, and
For tanks that are still intact, high-explosive bombs are used to attack them. Although the explosions are earth-shattering, they are unable to destroy our tanks. As for the infantry, they will shoot into the sky to try not to accidentally injure their own people."
Regarding the combat plan proposed by Sokov, Katukov pondered for a long time, and then asked: "Comrade Sokov, I want to ask, where are you going to get so many German tanks? You know, our army
The tanks are different from the German tanks. Even if they have the same paint job, they will be seen through at a glance."
"Comrade General, you don't have to worry about this." Sokov explained with a smile: "We captured 29 tanks in the battle to annihilate the Imperial Division. We can use these tanks to impersonate German armored units. As for the infantry
Well, there’s no need to worry, the military uniforms we captured are enough to arm one or two brigades.”
"Your plan is good, but there are still many flaws." Katukov said cautiously: "If anyone among the Germans observes carefully, they will definitely find the problems."
"What's the problem?" Sokov was stunned when he heard what Katukov said. He thought about the plan over and over again, taking into account all the issues that should be considered. How could there be any problems? Thinking of this
, he asked tentatively: "Comrade General, I don't know where there is a flaw."
"You said that the infantry used shooting in the sky when charging to avoid unnecessary casualties. This is the biggest flaw." Katukov explained to Sokov: "You fought for a long time, and there was only one person on both sides.
None of them fell down, anyone else would be suspicious."
Sokov felt that what Katukov said made sense, so he humbly asked him for advice: "Comrade General, what should we do to make up for this flaw?"
"Since it is a war, there will definitely be casualties, not only from the enemy, but also from our own people." Katukov said: "When both sides meet, they can raise the muzzle of their guns one inch and shoot, so that
This can avoid accidentally injuring one's own people. When the commanders and fighters at the front hear the sound of gunfire, it is best to fall down a group and hide in a nearby bomb crater while they are down, so as not to be accidentally crushed by the tank."
As soon as Katukov finished speaking, Sokov immediately imagined the battle scene: troops wearing German uniforms and Soviet uniforms were shooting from a short distance away, and people kept falling to the ground and rolling in.
nearby bomb crater.
"Also," Katukov continued: "I can order people to release smoke behind some malfunctioning tanks, and you, the fake German armored forces, can shoot at the smoking tanks, no matter what you use,
I still don’t know whether it’s an armor-piercing projectile, but the more lively the fight, the better, so that the Germans in the position will completely believe that this is a force breaking out from the rear of our army.”
"This plan is really great." The commander of the 31st Tank Corps said to Katukov: "Comrade Commander, I think the task of feigning the attack will be handed over to Colonel Inov's 100th Tank Brigade. They are here
After successive battles, many tanks have malfunctioned. In my opinion, these tanks can be driven onto the battlefield and used as targets for friendly tank attacks."
After Katukov discussed some details with Sokov, he asked: "Comrade Sokov, when will your tank unit be put on the battlefield?"
Sokov turned to General Polubyarov and asked: "Comrade General, when will your troops go into battle?"
Polubyarov raised his hand and looked at his watch, then straightened up and reported to Sokov: "I think in two hours at the latest, we will be able to pretend to be the enemy and go into battle."
"Very good." In response to General Polubyarov's reply, Sokov nodded with satisfaction, and then continued: "However, when the troops are marching, it is best to be escorted by troops wearing our uniforms to avoid unnecessary
misunderstanding."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." General Polubyarov grinned: "I will never make such a stupid mistake. I will ensure that all troops are safely brought to the starting point of the attack."
"Also, before you set off, you must check whether the ammunition and fuel of those German tanks are sufficient." Sokov warned with some worry: "If it is not enough, remember to replenish it in time."
"Comrade Sokov, since it will take two hours for your troops to arrive, I will postpone the upcoming attack until you arrive at the designated position before attacking the enemy."
"Comrade General," Sokov reminded Katukov: "You hope that you can convey this plan to more commanders, at least to the platoon-level commander, so as to avoid fighting between yourself and your own people.