At dawn the next day, the commander responsible for guarding the Chengbei Airport called the headquarters and reported to Sameko who answered the phone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, there is the roar of aircraft engines in the northeast sky.
Our fighter planes should have arrived."
After listening to the other party's report, Sameko was secretly happy, but he still maintained sufficient vigilance: "Comrade Captain, immediately order the airport's security forces to enter air defense mode and be ready to fire at any time."
The captain on the phone couldn't help but be startled when he heard Sameko's order: "Comrade Chief of Staff, this is our plane, why do we need to prepare for air defense?"
"Comrade Captain, you only heard the roar of the aircraft engine, but you didn't see the aircraft." Sameko said with a solemn expression: "How do you know whether it is our army's plane or the German plane? In a word,
Well, it never hurts to be more vigilant.”
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." The captain replied loudly: "I immediately issued an air defense alarm and asked everyone to enter their combat positions."
"Comrade Captain," Sameko was very satisfied with the captain's reaction. He finally warned: "If it is confirmed that it is our fighter plane, guide them to land."
Regarding Samyko's caution, Sokov didn't say anything. Although the probability of enemy planes coming from the northeast was very low, we should not take it lightly. However, if the enemy really pretends to be a Soviet
If fighter planes come in from the northeast, they will probably cause considerable losses to the ground troops.
Seeing that Samek was about to put down the phone, Sokov quickly warned: "Chief of Staff, ask him to call us again after our plane lands smoothly."
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Sameko agreed, and then said to the airport commander: "After the plane lands smoothly, remember to give us a call."
After Managarov learned that the plane had arrived, he made a special statement in his heart. He discussed with Sokov: "General Sokov, if the German army launches another attack on the mechanized army's position today, do you think you can let the air force attack?
Teach the Germans a lesson." He was deeply afraid that Sokov would reject his proposal, and specifically added, "Even if only a four-machine formation is dispatched, the Germans will be taught an unforgettable lesson."
Sokov knew very well that although Konev put Solomatin's 1st Mechanized Army under his command, it was only temporary after all. Sooner or later, they would return to the organization of the 53rd Army. Therefore, Managarov said this
It's totally justified to be nervous about them.
"Don't worry, comrade general." Sokov saw through the situation and replied with a smile: "Now the 1st Mechanized Army is my subordinate, and I will never let them suffer."
Ten minutes later, the airport commander called Sameko again. He said excitedly on the phone: "Reporting to Comrade Chief of Staff, the two squadrons sent by the Air Force have successfully landed at the airport."
"Landed smoothly? This is great." Sameko then asked: "How many planes are there and what types are they?"
The airport commander hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I'm not familiar with aircraft, so I really can't name their models. But there are eight aircraft that have just arrived, four attack planes and four bombers each."
"I understand." Samek nodded and told the airport commander: "Comrade Captain, ask your people to take good care of the pilot. At the same time, send someone to disguise the plane to prevent it from being discovered by German reconnaissance planes.
"
"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff." The airport commander replied: "We have arranged for the pilots to rest in a semi-underground shelter. As for the camouflage work of the aircraft, I have also arranged manpower to carry out it."
"Well done, Comrade Captain." Samek said into the microphone: "Protect the planes well and don't let them suffer any damage. Once the battle is over, I will personally award the medal to you."
When he learned that Sameko would personally award him the medal, the airport commander couldn't help but be overjoyed and said repeatedly: "Thank you, thank you, Comrade Chief of Staff, I will definitely not betray your trust."
After Samek put down the phone, he immediately reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the airport commander reported that the two aircraft squadrons that just arrived have a total of eight aircraft, including four attack aircraft and four bombers each."
"Eight planes?!" When he learned that there were actually eight newly arrived planes, Managarov couldn't help but reflect. He said to Sokov: "General Sokov, we have so many planes."
, but you no longer have to worry about enemy attacks."
"You are right, Comrade General." Sokov nodded and said: "When the enemy starts shelling our positions, bombers can be ordered to bomb the German artillery positions; when the Germans start a ground attack, attack planes can attack the enemy.
tanks and armored vehicles, thereby weakening the enemy's offensive capabilities."
"Comrade Commander," Samyko waited for Sokov to finish and then asked tentatively: "Do you want to send attack aircraft to patrol in the air, so that after discovering the enemy, we can launch a timely attack on them?"
"There is no need." Sokov shook his head and rejected Sameko's proposal, explaining to him: "The distance between the airport in the north of the city and the southernmost position of the landing field on the right bank is no more than forty kilometers. When the enemy's attack begins, let the air force
We have enough time to attack."
"I think General Sokov is right." After Sokov finished speaking, Derevyanko echoed in time: "Fighters patrolling in the air need to consume a lot of fuel, and they may also be killed when the enemy appears.
, happened to be in a situation where they ran out of fuel. Therefore, I think it is better to let the plane stay at the airport on standby. Anyway, it doesn’t take much time to get from the airport to the battlefield."
Seeing that Sokov and Derevyanko had the same opinion, Samyko no longer persisted in his opinion, but nodded and said: "Okay, Comrade Commander, then I will notify the airport later and let the air force fighters
Stand by at the airport and wait for the enemy to start attacking before it is too late to attack."
The German army did not know that the Soviet army had fighter planes stationed in Klemenkoug. Before the attack began, they bombarded the Soviet army's position with fierce artillery fire just like yesterday, trying to destroy the fortifications on the position and consume more defenders.
Solomatin learned that his defense area was bombarded by German artillery fire, and immediately called Sokov for help: "Comrade Commander, the enemy's artillery is shelling our army's forward positions. I request artillery support. Artillery support."
!”
"I'm sorry, Comrade General." Sokov said politely to Solomatin: "My artillery division is still at Merefa Fortress and will not be able to arrive in a short time. I cannot provide you with artillery support for the time being."
"Then what should we do?" Solomatin, who was rejected by Sokov, said desperately: "Our artillery is not as strong as the enemy's, and it will be suppressed by the enemy's artillery fire as soon as it fires. If it doesn't work, I can only order the tank
The brigade went out to clear up the German artillery positions."
"Comrade General, I think the Germans have been on guard against your attack for a long time. Maybe your tank brigade will be bombarded by an overwhelming artillery shell as soon as it is dispatched." Sokov cautiously reminded Solomatin: "Before you get close to the enemy,
I am afraid that more than half of the artillery positions have suffered casualties. The Germans only need to dispatch a group of anti-tank fighters to destroy the remaining tanks."
Just when Solomatin felt that he was speechless, he suddenly heard Sokov say: "But comrade general, please don't worry, I will never watch the enemy shelling you without taking any action. I
We will immediately order the air force to attack and let them bomb the enemy's artillery positions to reduce your pressure."
"Great, this is really great." Solomatin couldn't help but be overjoyed to learn that the air force was assisting the battle. After he cheered repeatedly, he asked Sokov tentatively: "Do you need ground troops to command the attack target?"
"There is no need, Comrade General." Sokov replied carelessly: "Our pilots will find the German artillery positions."
After ending the call with Solomatin, Sokov asked Samyko to notify two squadrons to take off to attack the enemy's artillery positions and reduce the pressure on the mechanized army.
The artillery that bombarded the position of the 21st Mechanized Brigade was the 150mm howitzer with the highest production volume in the German army. When a shell fell, it created a crater about ten meters wide. The commanders and soldiers near the explosion point were either killed or shocked to death.
Seeing this situation in his command post, the brigade commander was so angry that his eyes turned red and he kept cursing the damn German artillery. He said: If I had planes, I would blow up all your damn heavy artillery.
Lose.
The complaining brigade knew that the eight Soviet fighter planes parked at the airport north of Klemenkog had already taken off one after another and were reorganizing in the air, preparing to bomb the German artillery positions.
It only took the two squadrons a few minutes to reach the sky above the German artillery position.
The first ones to dive were the squadrons of attack aircraft, which used machine guns to straf the artillery units on the position; the next ones were the slower bombers to dive, and their attack targets were the artillery pieces that were firing.
The sky was clear at this moment. In the eyes of the pilots with excellent eyesight, the German artillery on the ground was simply a target. There were no enemy planes to intercept in the air, and there was no anti-aircraft fire on the ground. Today's attack was tantamount to a target practice. For these combat experiences
For experienced pilots, it is simply too easy to hit targets on the ground.
Aerial bombs landed on the artillery position and exploded, blowing the cannons to pieces and throwing the remains of the artillery soldiers high into the air. They were then scattered like flowers into the mist of soil and smoke.
.Those trucks loaded with ammunition, under the machine gun fire of the attack aircraft, burst into flames, and the shock waves and shrapnel generated by the explosion tore the soldiers near the explosion point into pieces.
Not long ago, the German artillery, which was still bullying the commanders and fighters of the mechanized army, suddenly became a piece of meat on the chopping block of the Soviet Air Force, ready to be slaughtered.
When the attack planes and bombers had exhausted all the ammunition they carried, the artillery positions on the ground had turned into a sea of fire, with almost no moving figure visible. Seeing this scene, the pilots who had completed the mission turned around and returned.
After receiving the report from the airport commander and learning that the air force had completely destroyed the German artillery positions, Sameko excitedly said yes. After his mood stabilized a little, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Captain, please ask
Air Force commanders, can they be dispatched again?"
"I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff." Unexpectedly, the airport commander was silent for a few seconds after hearing this, and then replied: "I think they may not be able to attack temporarily."
"Why?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I just asked the commander of the Air Force." The airport commander replied: "Although they did not consume much fuel in the battle that just ended, all the ammunition they carried with them has been used up. After obtaining
They can't attack again until new ammunition is supplied."
"So that's the case. That's such a shame."
When Sokov learned that the Air Force was unable to attack again due to lack of ammunition, he couldn't help but feel full of regret. As soon as Samyko put down the phone, he quickly ordered him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please contact the logistics immediately and let them
Find a way to transport a batch of fuel and ammunition needed by the air force first."
After Sokov finished instructing Samyko, he turned to Managarov and others sitting at another table and said: "The air raid that just ended made us understand that as long as we have control of the air on the battlefield,
A side without air supremacy, no matter how powerful its ground forces are, can only be passively beaten."
"It's a pity that we don't have enough troops and the number of fighter planes is too small." Derevyanko said with emotion: "If all the troops are in place and there are enough fighter planes to support us, we can definitely launch a counterattack against the Germans. If
If we're lucky, maybe we can expand the area of the landing site."
"General Derevyanko," Sokov said with a smile in response to Derevyanko's statement: "Even if we have the ability to launch an attack at this moment, we cannot blindly expand the landing site."
Sokov's words puzzled Derevyanko: "Why, General Sokov?"
"The reason is very simple." Sokov said to Derevyanko: "If we expand the area of the landing site, it means that we have to use more troops to hold it. But at present, our troops on the right bank are smaller than those of the enemy.
, both in terms of troops and equipment, we are at an absolute disadvantage. If our troops are further dispersed, our hands and feet will be tied up. We will not be able to actively attack the enemy, and we can only stay on the position and passively defend."
Seeing that Derevyanko seemed to want to argue with Sokov, Managarov raised his hand to stop him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, General Sokov is right. Under the current circumstances, even if we have the ability to expand the landing site
The area is large, and we cannot take action for the time being, otherwise the troops in hand will become weak due to scattered defense. If the Germans launch a fierce attack on us under such circumstances, do you think we can stop them?"
Derevyanko still respected Managarov very much. After hearing what he said, he replied in a low voice: "That will definitely not be able to stop the enemy." After saying this, he obediently closed his mouth and looked down.
The map in front of him to hide his embarrassment.
"General Sokov," Managarov, having tasted the sweetness of victory from the air raid that ended not long ago, suggested to Sokov: "See if you can make a request to General Goryunov to let him
He sent more planes over so that we could firmly control the air superiority over the landing field on the right bank. As long as the Germans dare to launch an attack, we can give them a severe lesson."