After the Chief of Staff of the Front Army Zakharov learned about Sokov's plan, he tentatively asked Konev: "Comrade Commander, do you think this counterattack plan should be reported to the Supreme Command?"
"Why?" Konev asked in surprise: "It's just a limited counterattack. I don't think it's necessary?"
Zakharov actually understood in his heart that with this kind of limited counterattack, if he was lucky, he could kill one or two thousand enemies, but if he was not lucky, he might kill two or three hundred enemies and it would be overwhelming. Before, there was no need to report it.
But the situation was different at this time. The attack on Poltava had never made progress. Konev had been reprimanded several times by his superiors. Reporting Sokov's plan might improve his superiors' mood.
"Comrade Commander," Zakharov said cautiously: "I also know that this limited counterattack will not achieve much results, and there is no need to report to superiors. However, our army's recent attack on Poltava has not been able to achieve much.
Good luck, I guess someone above you already has a problem with you, this counterattack plan may be able to divert everyone's attention."
Zakharov's words made Konev fall into deep thought. He recalled that from the outbreak of the Soviet-German war to the present, he had been dismissed from the post of commander of the front army twice. If he had not received Zhukov's protection, he would have ended up with Pavlov.
Even so, before the battle of Kursk began, he appointed himself as the commander of the Steppe Front Army, commanding a force with a very poor sense of presence. If it were not assigned to the troops fighting on the front line, it is estimated that this
This unit has long since been deactivated.
"Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff." Konev, who weighed the powerful relationship, said to Zakharov: "It's up to you to report this counterattack plan to the General Staff."
A few minutes later, Zakharov reported Sokov's counterattack plan to Chief of General Staff Antonov.
After Antonov carefully examined Sokov's counterattack plan, he picked up the phone on the table and dialed a number. When a voice came out of the receiver, he asked politely: "Hello, Boskele
Comrade Beshev, I am Antonov."
"Hello, Comrade Chief of General Staff." After hearing the call from Antonov, Poskrebyshev asked in a friendly tone: "What can I do for you?"
"Is the Supreme Commander himself in the office?" Antonov said politely: "I have important things to report to him."
"Yes, Comrade Chief of General Staff." Boskrebyshev replied: "He is in the office. You can come over now."
After Antonov put down the phone, he put the counterattack plan he had just received into a folder, then stood up and walked out from behind his desk, preparing to report to the bearded man.
In fact, frontline troops usually do not report such small-scale and inconsequential counterattacks. Even if they are reported to Antonov, they will not let the bearded man know about it. After all, the Supreme Commander himself has so many affairs to deal with every day.
Much, I didn't bother him for such a trivial matter.
But the reason why Antonov chose to report to Big Beard in person today was entirely because the recent performance of the Steppe Front Army was unsatisfactory. The two most elite Guards Groups attacked Poltava, which was only defended by three German divisions.
Progress was slow, and it was still unknown when the city would be liberated. Just because of this, Big Beard got angry several times.
Antonov quickly arrived at the other party, and he greeted Poskrebyshev who was sitting outside: "Hello, Comrade Poskrebyshev, I am here, can you go in now?"
"Please wait a moment, Comrade Chief of General Staff." Poskrebyshev stood up and said politely: "I'll go in and take a look first."
Poskrebyshev came to the door, pushed one of the doors open, walked in, and closed the door. After two or three minutes, the door opened, and he walked out and stood by the door with a respectful attitude.
He said: "Please come in, Comrade Chief of General Staff! The Supreme Commander himself is waiting for you inside."
Antonov thanked Poskrebyshev and then walked into the office.
After entering the office, Antonov immediately saw the bearded man holding a pipe and walking around in the open space in the middle of the office. Seeing Antonov enter the door, the bearded man stopped and asked expressionlessly: "
Comrade Antonov, are you so anxious to see me, is there something urgent?"
"Yes, Comrade Supreme Commander." Antonov took out the folder tucked under his arm, pulled out the counterattack plan from it, handed it to the bearded man, and said respectfully: "This is the document I just received from the 27th Army.
I would like to ask you to take a look at the counterattack plan."
"The 27th Army?!" After the bearded man repeated the unit number, he asked hesitantly: "Is it the unit commanded by Xiao Misha?"
"Yes, it is the 27th Army commanded by Major General Sokov."
After confirming that the plan came from Sokov's troops, a smile appeared on the bearded face. He took the plan from Antonov's hand and browsed it carefully. Antonov stood aside.
, quietly waiting for his next instruction.
The counterattack launched by Sokov was only a limited counterattack, and the plan was certainly not too long. Zakharov's account and Antonov's record were only one page.
It only took the bearded man two minutes to read the counterattack plan. He shook the plan in his hand and said with some displeasure: "Comrade Antonov, this is the counterattack you want to report to me.
plan?"
"Yes!"
"I originally thought that in this plan, we could see our army further expand the landing site during the counterattack, but unexpectedly it turned out to be only a limited counterattack." The bearded man said in a stern tone: "A counterattack of this scale will not be possible.
It was actually reported to the General Staff Headquarters, isn’t it a bit of a fuss?”
"I think the reason why General Sokov made such a plan is completely restricted by their current situation."
Antonov's words aroused the bearded man's curiosity: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, what on earth is going on?"
"The attack on Poltava is still continuing, so the weapons, ammunition and materials we supply to the front line are given priority to the troops attacking the city. Sokov's troops are too far away from the logistics, so they receive limited supplies.
." Antonov explained calmly: "Precisely because they could not obtain sufficient supplies, they could only launch a limited counterattack at the landing site to avoid exhausting the limited number of weapons, ammunition and supplies.
When the Germans counterattack, they will no longer be able to stay at the landing site to resist the enemy's attack."
The bearded man picked up the cigarette case on the conference table, took out a cigarette from it, crushed it with his fingers, and stuffed the tobacco into the butt. After doing all this, he put the pipe in his mouth, but did not immediately
Instead, he asked slowly: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, is what you said true?"
"It's completely true, Comrade Supreme Commander." Seeing that the bearded man still had doubts about the matter, Antonov quickly explained to him: "Marshal Zhukov contacted me two days ago and said that he hoped that I would come forward to negotiate with the Air Force.
, allocate some transport aircraft to provide supplies to the 27th Army Group far away in Kremenchug."
Big Beard knew that the troops stationed in Kremenchug at this moment, in addition to Sokov's 27th Army, also had Managarov's 53rd Army, and they had to provide air supplies to two troops with as many as hundreds of thousands of people.
, the number of transport aircraft required will be very terrifying.
He frowned and said: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, how could Zhukov have such a ridiculous idea? You know, our transport aircraft are limited in number and cannot meet the needs of two army groups at the same time."
Hearing what the bearded man said, Antonov realized that he had not expressed clearly, which resulted in misunderstanding on the other side. He quickly explained: "Comrade Supreme Commander, I have asked Marshal Zhukov. The Air Force only needs to transport the 27th Group Army."
Just the heavy artillery shells the troops need."
"Heavy artillery shells?!" The bearded man asked with some confusion: "I want to ask, where do these heavy artillery shells come from?" The reason why he asked this was entirely because Antonov once mentioned that the supplies in the rear were all
Priority was given to the troops attacking Poltava. He wanted to know where the heavy artillery shells that directly supplemented Sokov's troops came from?
"Comrade Supreme Commander, this matter has something to do with your son Yakov." Since Antonov wanted to report the matter to the bearded man, he must have done some investigation work beforehand: "He ordered a spare arsenal in the eastern suburbs to start construction.
Specifically to provide the 27th Army with the heavy artillery shells it needs."
"Does Ustinov know about this?"
"I don't know." Antonov shook his head and replied: "Comrade Ustinov is still inspecting work in Kuibyshev and has not returned to Moscow for the time being."
"Nonsense, this is simply nonsense." The bearded man started walking around the room again, and said angrily as he walked: "Who gave him the right to activate the spare arsenal for production without authorization?"
Seeing that the bearded man was angry, Antonov quickly explained: "Comrade Supreme Commander, the landing site on the right bank of the Dnieper River held by Sokov's troops is being attacked by the German army every day. Without sufficient artillery support, it is very difficult to hold the position.
It’s difficult. I think Yakov’s arbitrary assertion this time, although inappropriate, is still excusable. After all, it’s all for victory.”
Hearing what Antonov said, the bearded man stopped, picked up the match on the table, and lit the pipe. After taking a puff, he took the pipe out of his mouth, held it in his hand and pointed it at Antonov
One pointed: "How many transport planes can the Air Force dispatch to transport heavy artillery shells for the 27th Army?"
"Two, Comrade Supreme Commander." Antonov replied: "The newly opened arsenal is small in scale, and it is more than enough to use two transport planes to transport heavy artillery shells."
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, the bearded man waved his hand at Antonov, indicating that he did not agree with this plan.
Seeing that the bearded man rejected his plan, Antonov couldn't help feeling a little panicked. He secretly guessed that the other party thought that two transport planes were too many, so he could only ask cautiously: "If you think two transport planes are too many, we can reduce the number."
We get one aircraft and transport it every two days.”
"Comrade Antonov, you misunderstood me." The bearded man shook his head and said: "I mean, only providing two transport aircraft is too little. You can discuss it with the Air Force Commander and see if he can
Should ten transport planes be specially deployed to transport supplies for the 27th Group Army?"
Hearing that Big Beard had suddenly increased the number of transport aircraft from two to ten, Antonov was secretly surprised. He said cautiously: "Comrade Supreme Commander, I just said that the production capacity of the newly opened arsenal
Not enough, the supplies that can be provided to the 27th Group Army every day are limited. Isn’t it a bit wasteful to provide them with ten transport planes?”
"It's not a waste at all." Big Beard said sternly: "I asked the Air Force to provide them with ten transport planes, not only to transport artillery shells, but also to transport other supplies. Even some seriously injured people on the front line can also take the transport planes.
The plane returned and he received better treatment at a military hospital in Moscow."
Antonov did not expect that the bearded man suddenly became so easy to talk to. He nodded quickly and said: "I understand, Comrade Supreme Commander, I will convey your intention to the Air Force Commander and ask him to help Sokov's troops."
Ten transport aircraft are provided.”
The bearded man nodded and continued to ask: "Comrade Antonov, what do you think the 27th Group Army's counterattack can achieve?"
The bearded question really stopped Antonov. He was silent for a long time before he said: "Comrade Supreme Commander, since this is a limited counterattack, even if it is commanded by our ever-victorious general Sokov
Yes, the results that can be achieved will be limited. I think we can probably eliminate three hundred to five hundred enemies, which is the most optimistic estimate."
The bearded man did not refute Antonov's speculation. After all, there had been many similar counterattacks before. Most of the results were the annihilation of one or two hundred enemies, but the Soviet army, as the attacker, had to pay
Two to three thousand casualties.
After Antonov finished speaking, seeing that the bearded man did not refute him, he continued: "Whether it is offensive warfare or defensive warfare, General Sokov is very good at it. At the same time, he also knows how to fight with the minimum cost.
, achieved the greatest victory, so in this counterattack, the number of casualties of our army should be roughly the same as that of the German army, or even slightly lower."
"I really didn't expect you to be so optimistic about Xiao Misha." Big Beard said with a smile on his face: "If he can really control the casualties of the troops within the range you said in this counterattack, I will definitely personally
Reward him."
"Comrade Supreme Commander," when Antonov heard the bearded man saying that he wanted to commend Sokov, Antonov thought of an important thing and quickly took the opportunity to put it forward: "I think General Sokov's military rank is a bit low. He is just a military officer."
Major General, but in the troops he commands, there are commanders with higher military ranks than him. Although this is an arrangement from superiors, commanders with higher military ranks than him can only choose to obey, but there will definitely be some resistance in their hearts.
You see..."
Antonov's words stopped abruptly, but the bearded man did not understand what he wanted to express, so he nodded slightly and said: "Comrade Antonov, you are right, Xiao Misha's military rank is indeed a bit...
Low, it was because he was young. If he was promoted too quickly, he would inevitably become domineering. But now it seems that our original worries were unnecessary. I think he will be officially promoted to military rank after this battle is over.