Konev received Sokov's report and saw that the unit had completed its planned combat objectives and inflicted heavy casualties on the enemy. In the battle that ended not long ago, a total of 25 German tanks and 32 armored vehicles were destroyed.
There were more than 100 other combat vehicles, more than 1,240 German troops were killed, and more than 400 prisoners were captured.
Seeing such a result, Konev couldn't help but feel happy. But the smile only stayed on his face for a moment, and then disappeared without a trace. He put the battle report he had just read on the table, and his own eyes were
Staring closely at the map on the table, he fell into deep thought.
Seeing Konev's expression, Zakharov quickly asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, what's on your mind?"
Konev looked up at Zakharov and said seriously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I am thinking about a question. If Sokov's troops are allowed to participate in the attack on Poltava, can you tell me whether the city has been occupied?
Did we take it?"
Regarding Konev's question, Zakharov frowned and thought for a moment, and then expressed his thoughts: "Comrade Commander, it's hard to say whether we can capture Poltava. But with the first
With the participation of the 27th Army, our attack on Poltava will be much smoother than it is now."
"Comrade Sokov once proposed to me that he would personally lead a part of the army to participate in the attack on Poltava, but I refused without hesitation." Konev said with a grimace and annoyance: "
It would have been better if I had agreed to his request. Even if we can't get Poltava for the time being, our army's progress will definitely be much better than it is now."
Seeing that Konev had the idea of mobilizing Sokov's troops, Zakharov asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, since you said that Sokov's troops participated in the attack on Poltava and have a higher chance of capturing the city,
It’s better to take advantage of the fact that the situation on Kremenchug’s side is still relatively stable, transfer him over first, and capture Poltava first.”
"No, Comrade Chief of Staff." Konev suppressed the tempting thought in his heart and said to Zakharov: "Now Sokov's task is to use all means to resolutely defend the landing site on the right bank. As long as we overcome
Lemenchug and the landing site on the right bank are in the hands of our army. Once the enemies in Poltava are eliminated, our army can successfully cross the Dnieper River and establish a wider landing site on the right bank."
Zakharov knew that what Konev said made sense. Although transferring Sokov's troops at this moment could increase the chance of capturing Poltava, Sokov was a man, not a god.
There is a chance of capturing the city, but no one can guarantee that Sokov will be able to liberate Poltava in a very short time after his arrival, so it is better not to let him come and take risks.
After a pause, Konev continued: "Chief of Staff, give Zadov and Shumilov a call and ask them to rush to the headquarters as soon as possible."
Hearing that Konev wanted to summon the two commanders of the Guards Army, Zakharov couldn't help but be startled, and then asked: "Comrade Commander, what are you asking them to do here?"
Konev sneered: "Our two Guards armies have not been successful in their attacks during this period. They have not captured Poltava so far. Should we invite their commanders over to study what they are doing?"
Are there any problems in daily command operations?"
Hearing what Konev said, Zakharov immediately felt that he should talk to the two commanders to see if there was any way to reverse the current unfavorable situation and capture Poltava as soon as possible.
After receiving the call, Zadov immediately handed over all matters in the headquarters to his chief of staff, and he took a jeep, accompanied by two soldiers and a driver, and quickly rushed to the front.
headquarters.
When the car arrived, Zadov just got out of the car and saw Shumilov getting out of another car. He quickly greeted him: "General Shumilov, I really didn't expect to meet you here."
Shumilov was also surprised when he saw Zadov appearing in front of him. He was very surprised and said: "General Zadov, why are you here?"
Zadov spread his hands, shrugged his shoulders, and said with an embarrassed look: "No way, it was Chief of Staff Zakharov who called me, saying that Commander Konev had something urgent to see me. Schumi
General Love, did you receive a similar call?"
"Yes, I also received a call from General Zakharov, asking me to immediately transfer command to the chief of staff, and then rush here to see the commander."
Knowing that Shumilov only appeared here after receiving a call from Zakharov, Zadov muttered in his heart: "Could we be recruited here just to attack Poltava?"
thing?"
Shumilov saw the doubts in Zadov's mind, and while walking inside with him, he said: "General Zadov, you don't have to guess. I think Commander Konev suddenly found the two of us here.
, it must be about Poltava."
Seeing that Shumilov had the same idea as his own, Zadov sighed softly and said helplessly: "General Shumilov, when we attacked Poltava, our commanders and soldiers performed very bravely, but still
Unable to break through the strong German defenses."
"Yes," Shumilov agreed with Zadov's statement: "After the Germans occupied Poltava, they renovated the city's fortifications and added more strength to our offensive.
Difficulty. When I meet Commander Konev later, I will definitely talk about the difficulties we face."
The two walked into the headquarters. Zakharov looked up just in time. When he saw them entering, he smiled and said: "Two comrades, generals, did you make an appointment together, or did you meet on the road?"
As soon as Zakharov finished speaking, Zadov and Shumilov answered in unison.
"Met him at the door."
"Met him at the door."
After Konev asked the two of them to sit down, he asked straight to the point: "Do you know the purpose of coming to you today?"
Shumilov asked tentatively: "Is it related to the attack on Poltava?"
"That's right." Seeing that Shumilov had guessed the reason why he called him here, Konev simply said straight to the point: "I called you two here just to discuss the liberation of Poltava."
As expected, Konev mentioned the issue of liberating Poltava. After Shumilov and Zadov looked at each other, they both saw helplessness in each other's eyes. Shumilov coughed lightly and cleared.
He cleared his throat and said: "Comrade Commander, it's not that our soldiers are not brave enough, but that the defense fortifications in the enemy's city are too dense. Almost every meter we advance requires a lot of effort."
casualties."
"Yes, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Zadov echoed from the side: "The brutality of the street fighting is not much worse than last year's Battle of Stalingrad."
"That's enough." After Konev saw the two men arriving, he did not actively think of ways to solve the current difficulties. Instead, he was looking for reasons for his offensive failure. He slammed the table in anger and said sternly: "That's enough. Don't do it."
Moreover."
After the two of them calmed down, he continued angrily: "I want to ask you, whose subordinates were the first troops to rush into Belgorod?"
The two thought for a while and replied in unison: "It's Sokov's 27th Army."
"Where was the first unit to storm Kharkov?"
"It's still General Sokov's 27th Army."
"Who captured Merefa Fortress?"
After listening to Konev's three questions in succession, all related to Sokov's troops, Shumilov felt an ominous premonition in his heart. He felt that the other party might list Sokov's series of achievements next.
came to criticize himself and Zadov, and strictly ordered his troops to capture Poltava as soon as possible.
"Comrade Commander," Shumilov said first: "Although in the battles to liberate Belgorod and Kharkov, Sokov's troops were the first to enter the city; not long ago, in the liberation of Mele
In the battle to open the south passage to the French Fortress, General Sokov's troops also performed well. However, even if they are allowed to participate in the attack on Poltava, there may not be any good solutions."
"That's not necessarily the case, General Shumilov." Unexpectedly, as soon as Shumilov finished speaking, Konev interrupted him and said in a stern tone: "Based on Sokov's achievements.
, his troops have almost never lost any battles. No matter how difficult the position is, his troops can hold it; no matter how difficult the position or city is, his troops can be the first to break into the city.
You only need to think about how long it took his troops to capture the Merefa Fortress to know their combat effectiveness. If his troops really participated in the attack on Poltava, maybe half the city would be destroyed by him.
Occupied."
Zadov originally wanted to refute, but after reviewing Sokov's record in his mind, he realized that he really couldn't compare with his opponent. At least when his troops participated in the attack on Kharkov, they fought for two days.
Unable to break through the German outer positions, Sokov's troops broke into the city in less than a day.
Seeing that both Shumilov and Zadov were silent, Konev slowed down and said: "I called you two here today because I want to discuss it with you to see if there is any way to break through as soon as possible.
The enemy's peripheral defense allows more troops to enter the city and start street battles with the enemy."
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Shumilov said in a low mood after waiting for Konev to finish: "We have exhausted all methods and have never been able to effectively break through the German outer positions. Last time we finally had troops.
They rushed to the edge of the city, but were beaten out by the Germans with a single counterattack."
Konev looked at Shumilov, thinking that although his subordinate was a commander with rich command experience, sometimes he just looked at things too pessimistically. During the battle to defend Stalingrad last year, he
He used to be the commander of the 62nd Army, but because he had no confidence in defending the city, he was dismissed by his superiors and Chuikov took over his position. Otherwise, he would not still be a lieutenant general today.
"General Shumilov," Konev felt that he should give the other party confidence, so he said sternly: "Although the enemy's defensive positions are strong, your two armies have a huge number of heavy artillery, and they can use fierce artillery fire. In Germany,
A hole was ripped open in the human defense line."
"However, every time we shelled, the cunning Germans hid in the second line of defense." Zadov said distressedly: "After our army's artillery fire extended, the enemies hiding in the second line of defense moved along the second line of defense."
The traffic trenches re-entered the front-line positions to block our offensive troops."
"As far as I know," Konev said, "Sokov's troops never made any artillery preparations before attacking. According to him, as soon as our army's artillery fired, the enemies hid in the second line of defense.
Our shells landed on almost unoccupied positions."
Although Zadov knew that Sokov's troops often won battles, he really didn't know that Sokov's troops never prepared artillery fire before attacking. He asked Konev in surprise: "Comrade Commander, there is no artillery fire."
Cover, then won’t they have to pay huge casualties when they attack?”
"That's not necessarily the case, General Zadov." Konev said with a smile: "Usually, behind the attacking infantry, some artillery battalions of 76.2 mm field guns will be deployed. If the firepower on the enemy's position is found to be too strong, the attacking infantry will be attacked.
If the troops pose a threat, these artillery battalions will use direct fire to destroy the enemy's firepower points."
"Direct shooting?" Zadov's eyes widened and he asked in surprise: "Comrade Commander, is this kind of shelling effective?"
"The effect is very good." Konev nodded and said: "After a general artillery bombardment, many firepower points will definitely survive. When our army's attack begins, these firepower points will fire wildly, causing huge damage to our army.
Casualties. The advantage of direct-aimed shooting is that it can directly destroy these German firepower points like target practice.
Sokov gave this kind of direct-aimed shooting of the cannon an interesting nickname, "Cannon with Bayonet."
"A bayonet on the cannon?!" After Zadov repeated the unfamiliar word, he said with some surprise: "Comrade Commander, don't tell me, this word is really appropriate. Artillery is originally a weapon used at long distances.
Nowadays, when used to destroy the enemy's firepower at close range, isn't it similar to infantry fighting with a bayonet?"
"General Shumilov," Konev saw that Zadov understood the essence of the bayonet on the cannon, and turned to Shumilov and asked: "What do you think about this matter?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Shumilov, who was deep in thought, heard Konev calling his name and replied in a panic: "I am considering that since artillery can use this tactic to destroy the enemy at close range
As a peripheral position, can it also be used in the city?"
Hearing what Shumilov said, Konev showed a pleased expression on his face: "General Shumilov, you are right. The best place to use this tactic of bayonets on cannons is in cities."