After giving the attack order to the 254th Division, Samyko asked Sokov for instructions: "Comrade Commander, since the 254th Division attacks according to the plan, what about the other divisions also launching attacks on the city at the same time?"
"Yes, the other divisions have also launched attacks according to the plan." After Sokov said this, he thought for a moment and then said to Samyko: "By the way, Comrade Chief of Staff, according to our original attack plan,
The 384th Division detoured back to the south of Dergach to cut off the Germans' retreat. But I changed my mind now and asked the 384th Division to stop advancing and assist the 182nd Division in attacking the west of the city. Another regiment was deployed to support the attack from the north.
Shechtman division."
"Comrade Commander," Samyko couldn't help but feel moved when he heard Sokov's order: "If the German army's retreat is not cut off, once they see that the battle situation is not going well, the enemy can calmly withdraw from the south of the city.
"
"I know." Sokov said a little distractedly: "If we still follow the original plan and trap the Germans in Dergach City, once they jump over the wall and destroy the cultural relics stored in the city, what will happen to them?
When the superiors investigate, who will bear this responsibility? If the city cannot be defeated today, we can continue to attack tomorrow. But if the enemy destroys the cultural relics, it will be completely destroyed."
Samyko originally wanted to dissuade Sokov, but after hearing what he said, he swallowed the words on his lips again and replied: "I understand, Comrade Commander, I will immediately give you your order."
Pass it on."
Half an hour later, five infantry divisions, including the 84th, 182nd, 188th, 254th and 384th Divisions, under the cover of two tank brigades of the 4th Guards Tank Corps, simultaneously attacked from the north of the city.
, the east and west launched attacks.
As soon as the battle started, Sokov, who was feeling uneasy, said to Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you will be responsible for this. I will go to the front to have a look."
"Comrade Commander," when Sokov said he wanted to go to the front, Samyko quickly grabbed him and persuaded him: "Have you forgotten that a few days ago you took a plane to inspect the sky above October Town?
Were you shot down by an enemy plane?" He was afraid that he would not be able to convince Sokov, and even moved Zhukov out. "Marshal Zhukov once warned you that if you go to the front line and take risks again, he will never spare you."
Now that Samyko has moved Zhukov out, it is obviously unrealistic for Sokov to go to the front alone. But he cannot sit still if he is asked to stay here and wait for news from the front.
However, a living person cannot suffocate to death. Sokov sat down and smoked a cigarette, and then came up with a good idea. He threw the cigarette butt on the ground, and then said to Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff,
Our front is constantly advancing, and it is obviously inappropriate for the headquarters to be so far away from the troops. Therefore, I plan to move the headquarters forward to near Dergach as soon as possible so that I can better command the troops.
"
Samyko easily saw through Sokov's little thoughts. He shook his head with a wry smile, and then said: "Comrade Commander, I understand what you mean. If the command is moved forward, Marshal Zhukov will not be able to hold you accountable for going to the front without permission."
It's over. Okay, I'll arrange the transfer of the headquarters."
Seeing that his plan had succeeded, Sokov laughed twice and said to Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I will lead a security company to Dergach first, and you and the members of the headquarters will catch up later.
.”
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Sameko said helplessly: "Remember to bring the radio so that we can contact you at any time."
"No problem, I will definitely bring the radio." In this era without mobile phones, if you want to stay in touch with the outside world at any time, the best choice is to bring a radio with you. "This way, if you have anything, you can use the radio
Contact me."
After Sokov finished speaking, he picked up the phone on the table and called the guard directly, asking Lieutenant Serelkov's guard company to accompany him. Of course, Lieutenant Samoilov, who often followed him everywhere, could not
I forgot, so I called him again and asked him to take the security platoon and set off with me.
By the time Sokov walked out of the headquarters, Samoilov had already assembled his guard platoon, while Serelkov's guard company was still in formation.
Samoilov ran up to Sokov and asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, where are we going?"
"Go to Dergach." Since Samoylov was responsible for protecting his own safety, Sokov naturally would not hide anything from him, but answered truthfully: "Our five infantry divisions and two
The tank brigade is attacking the city. As the commander, naturally I cannot stay far away from the front line."
"Comrade Commander," Samoilov couldn't help but laugh after hearing what Sokov said. He knew that Sokov was just making a name for himself, but in fact, his real purpose was to go to the forefront to see the progress of the battle in person: "What?
Time to set off?"
Sokov looked at the guard company lining up and replied: "We will set off after Lieutenant Serelkov's guard company is assembled."
Samoilov looked at the company that had just been incorporated into the headquarters' security force not long ago. He frowned and said with some worry: "Comrade Commander, before the soldiers in this company were incorporated into the 182nd Division, I had
I followed you to see them. These are basically new recruits with no combat experience. I am afraid that many of them will be scared to wet their pants when they hear the gunshots. I don't think it is safe to let them be responsible for your safety."
"Comrade Lieutenant, don't worry." Sokov waved his hand and said disapprovingly: "No one is born to fight. I just saw that they were new recruits, so I took them to perform the mission. Now from October
From the town to the north of Dergach, it is an area controlled by our army. Not to mention that the probability of a battle is low, even if a battle occurs, as long as they can sustain it for half an hour, nearby reinforcements should arrive."
"But, Comrade Commander, look at their equipment and their military appearance." Samoilov said anxiously: "If they really encounter the enemy, can they last for half an hour?"
Sokov looked at Samoilov and said earnestly: "Comrade Lieutenant, this is why I brought your platoon. If we really encounter the situation you are worried about, we will rely on your platoon to support us until the end."
Reinforcements are arriving."
After listening to Sokov's words, the expression on Samoylov's face became solemn: "Comrade Commander, don't worry. If any accident does happen on the way, our platoon will fight to the last man to ensure that
Your safety."
"Don't say these unlucky words." Sokov raised his hand and slapped Samoilov's helmet, and said angrily: "I hope you all live well and live until the day we win.
.”
The two chatted for a long time before the guard company formed a neat queue. Company commander Serelkov trotted up to Sokov and said with a blushing face, somewhat embarrassedly: "Comrade Commander, the guard company has been assembled.
, ready to go at any time.”
Sokov looked at the guard company again. Although the formation had been completed, the entire formation looked crooked. Seeing this, Sokov shook his head and said to Serelkov: "Lieutenant Serelkov, your company is standing in this formation."
They are not very good, you should train them more if you have time."
"Yes, Comrade Commander!" Serelkov replied loudly and quickly: "When I have time, I will definitely conduct formation training properly."
Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch, then waved his hand and said: "It's getting late, let's go."
Five minutes later, a convoy of three jeeps and nine trucks set off.
Samoilov, who was in the same car as Sokov, waited for the car to start, turned around from the passenger seat and asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, can you tell us, can our troops capture Dergach today?"
?”
"It's hard to say." Sokov was unsure whether he could capture Dergach today. He shook his head and said, "If the enemy is not willing to resist, maybe we can capture Dergach today."
, otherwise we will be delayed here for two more days."
"What about the 98th Guards Division hidden behind enemy lines?" Samoilov, as Sokov's closest subordinate, naturally knew many inside stories. Taking advantage of the opportunity when there were no outsiders in the car, he asked cautiously: "What are they?"
When can we launch an attack on the enemy?"
Hearing Samoylov ask this, Sokov looked at the other party in astonishment, wondering how he knew about this? But then he thought about it, Samoylov is basically his personal guard and can be free
Going in and out of the headquarters, it is not surprising to occasionally hear some combat deployments.
Sokov coughed lightly, and then said: "As long as our troops occupy Dergach, they can attack the enemy positions along the Oud River and seize the bridges on the river with lightning speed.
, enabling the main force of the group army to pass through the Oude River smoothly."
"Last time we forcibly crossed the river outside Belgorod, didn't we use the hovercraft brought by Colonel Yakov?" Samoylov once witnessed the troops riding the hovercraft quickly crossing the wide river. The enemy even
Before they could recover, our military commanders rushed in front of them and wiped them out like chopping melons and vegetables. "Aren't you going to use a hovercraft when crossing the river this time?"
"Yes, Comrade Lieutenant, we will not use hovercrafts to cross the Oude River this time."
After Sokov finished saying this, he saw a disappointed expression on Samoilov's face and continued: "Last time, we forcibly crossed the river outside Belgorod to let the enemy know that we have this new weapon.
In order to deal with us, the enemy laid a large number of mines along the Oude River and pulled up barbed wire, rendering our hovercraft useless. Therefore, we could only change our strategy and use the method of seizing the bridge to let the group army
The main force crossed the Oud River."
"So that's it." Samoylov then asked: "So, Yakov's troops will not participate in our attack on Kharkov..."
Sokov originally thought that the road seemed boring, and it would be nice to have someone to talk to to pass the time. But when he heard that Samoylov kept asking questions, some of which even involved secrets, he straightened his face and said seriously:
"Comrade Lieutenant, haven't you learned the confidentiality regulations and know what things can and cannot be asked?"
Hearing what Sokov said, Samoylov immediately realized that he had made a fatal mistake, and blushed and apologized to Sokov: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I was wrong, I didn't dare to inquire randomly.
"
"Forget it this time." Sokov couldn't bear to punish his personal guard, so he said reasonably: "Don't make random inquiries next time, do you understand?"
"clear!"
…………
The troops attacking Dergach progressed faster than what was captured by the camera. The reason for this was that the Germans were used to the Soviet army's overwhelming artillery preparations before attacking. When had they ever dared to attack the city without artillery cover?
The troops that launched the attack were immediately overwhelmed and found it difficult to organize a large-scale resistance.
The unit that made the most progress was the 254th Division, which launched an attack from the north. Since the north of the city was burned to ruins by fire, it was impossible to establish a decent line of defense. Moreover, according to the German commander's ideas, the Soviet army was destroyed by one of his own troops in the early morning.
After driving the fire out of the city, it was absolutely impossible to launch another attack without three to five days. Therefore, he only deployed one battalion in this direction. How could he withstand the 254th Division, which was bent on revenge?
Within half an hour, the Soviet troops retook most of the areas they occupied yesterday.
The troops attacking from the east and west sides also fought very smoothly. The enemy tried to organize a counterattack to drive out the Soviet troops who rushed into the city. However, they were met with tank fire and new rockets, which blew up their attacking ranks.
After eight falls, the remaining soldiers dispersed and looked for a safe place to hide.
When the battle lasted until two o'clock in the afternoon, the 254th Division, which attacked from the north gate, recaptured the municipal building and put the red flag on the top floor again. The 182nd Division and the 384th Division, which attacked from the west, also walked along the street step by step.
The ground approached the city center. Even the joint forces of the 84th and 188th Divisions, which were the slowest to attack, captured important facilities such as the station, post office, and broadcast center in the east of the city and drove the enemy away from these facilities.
Seeing that the situation was not good, the German commander quickly called General Kenff and reported to him the situation in Dergach, hoping that the other party would allow him to withdraw from the city.
After Kenf carefully inquired about the Soviet offensive route and the approximate strength of the Soviet army, he realized that if his troops continued to hold on, they might be in danger of being annihilated, so he ordered the other party to lead troops from the south of the city where there were no Soviet troops.
Withdraw, retreat along the road into Kharkov and strengthen the city's defenses.
After receiving the order to retreat, the German troops had no intention of continuing to fight in Dergachi. They used alternate covering methods to cover each other and retreat toward the south of the city.
Shechtman, who was attacking from the north, found that the enemy had begun to retreat on a large scale, and quickly reported to Sokov by phone: "Comrade Commander, the enemy has begun to retreat. It seems that they are planning to escape from the south of the city.
"
"Colonel Shechtman, if the enemy wants to escape, let him escape." Sokov was not concerned about the fleeing enemies now, but whether the cultural relics in the city were completely protected, so he asked with concern: "Find
Those precious cultural relics?"
"Comrade Commander, about a company of German officers and soldiers have retreated to the church after being attacked by our army, trying to rely on the terrain to carry out a stubborn resistance." Shechtman replied: "Because of the fear of damaging the cultural relics stored inside,
Our commanders and fighters do not dare to use new rockets and rocket launchers. If they want to capture the church, they will probably pay a heavy price."
"Colonel Shechtman," Sokov said domineeringly after waiting for the other party to finish: "Send someone to give an ultimatum to the enemies in the church in my name. If they don't lay down their weapons and surrender within half an hour. Once
After we storm the church, we will definitely not leave a single person alive."