In the end, Askel took a step forward. He put the microphone to his ear and said loudly: "I am the brigade chief of staff, Askel. Where are you?"
"Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Askel." Sameko's voice came from the phone: "I am Sameko, Chief of Staff of the Army Group."
"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Group Army." Askel tried to control her emotions and asked in a calm tone: "Are you notifying us to attack?"
Samek laughed out loud: "Lieutenant Colonel Askel, I know you have friends in the headquarters. I believe they must have told you the progress of the 254th and 300th Divisions, right?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Group Army." Since Sameko had guessed it, Askel told the truth: "Other troops are fighting fiercely with the German army at the front, but we are standing still here. To be honest with you,
, Comrade Brigade Commander and I were very anxious and worried about the Mikhailov camp trapped behind enemy lines."
"Lieutenant Colonel Askel, I am aware of your mood." Samek said: "But only if the 254th and 300th Divisions attack successfully can all the German army's attention be focused on the area where they are fighting, thereby reducing the risk of
The resistance you encountered when attacking."
He paused for a moment and continued: "Not only are you worried about the Mikhailov Battalion, but Comrade Commander and I are equally worried. Now that the time is ripe, launch an attack immediately and strive to join forces with the Mikhailov Battalion as soon as possible."
"Yes, Chief of Staff of the Group Army." After receiving the order to attack, Askel couldn't help but be overjoyed and quickly replied loudly: "We will immediately launch an attack on the enemy's defense line."
After putting down the phone, Askel excitedly said to Guchakov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the headquarters has given us the order to attack, and we can start taking action."
Although the troops had already made all preparations for the attack, for the sake of safety, Guchakov still asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you know how many enemies we have on the opposite side?"
"It's all figured out." Askel nodded and said: "The position opposite us was originally defended by a battalion of troops, but after the Mikhailov Battalion occupied the transfer warehouse, they transferred a company;
When our army launched an attack on the defense areas of the armored division and infantry division, more troops were transferred away. Now the defenders on the entire position only have less than one company of troops."
"The German position in front of us is two kilometers wide." After listening to this, Guchakov sneered and said: "A full company of the German army only has about two hundred people, which is equivalent to a front width of ten kilometers for each person to defend.
rice……"
Before Guchakov could finish speaking, Askel interrupted him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, each German soldier defends a width of more than ten meters. Think about it, their position is not just one trench.
There are also many communication trenches and trenches, so the distance is at least fifteen meters or more wide."
"No matter how wide the front they defend is, they can't stop our army's attack." Guchakov said confidently: "When there was originally a battalion in the front position, I was somewhat worried that this offensive battle would cost too much.
It takes less time, but now they only have one company, and we only need to invest two or three battalions to easily break through their defense line."
According to the original plan, in order to break through the German defenses as quickly as possible, the second, third and fourth battalions would be put into battle at the same time, so that the enemy whose defense front was too wide could not concentrate its forces in one place. Now the enemy's forces are thin.
The fourth battalion that originally participated in the attack became the reserve team of the second echelon.
Just when Askel was about to issue an attack order, he suddenly remembered an important thing and quickly asked Guchakov: "Comrade Brigadier, what about the artillery company? Let them approach the enemy's position according to the original plan.
Shoot, or stay where you are and wait."
"Let's implement it according to the original plan." Guchakov said to Askel: "Comrade Chief of Staff, since we have no artillery preparation before attacking, some firepower points on the enemy's positions will cause huge damage to our attacking troops.
Obstruction. By pushing the artillery battery forward, the enemy's firepower points can be discovered in time and destroyed."
"Okay, then I will notify the artillery company commander and ask them to push the artillery to the forefront to deal with the German firepower."
The infantry brigade did not encounter much hindrance in the subsequent attack. The occasional machine gun fire points on the position would be destroyed by the artillery that fired at close range within less than a minute of firing.
In this way, the battle lasted less than an hour, and the offensive troops of the infantry brigade completely occupied the German position and wiped out all the defenders on the position.
After learning that the second and third battalions had successfully occupied the position, Guchakov immediately issued a new order: "Chief of Staff, call the commander of the fourth battalion and order their battalion to advance at full speed and immediately rush to Pavlish and hold on to the position.
Meet at Camp Mikhailov in the Kurdistan Region."
The fourth battalion commander had been particularly depressed since he learned that his unit had been changed to a reserve unit and would not participate in the attack. After receiving Askel's call, he suddenly became excited, and he immediately ordered the three companies to be transferred to the reserve unit.
The commander came to the front and said to them emotionally: "Comrades, company commanders, the second and third battalions are fighting the enemy in the front, and we are here on the bench. Everyone must be feeling aggrieved."
Now, the time has come for us to be proud and proud. Our superiors ordered our battalion to immediately advance to the city of Pavlish and join the Mikhailov battalion standing in the reservoir area of the city. Are you all ready to go?"
"Yes, Comrade Battalion Commander." The three company commanders replied in unison: "We are all ready."
"Now that we are all prepared, let's move according to the original order of numbers." The fourth battalion commander waved his hand suddenly and said energetically: "Let's go, comrades company commanders, let the friendly forces see how fast our battalion can move.
quick."
The commanders and fighters of the fourth battalion, who were already ready to go, immediately formed three columns after hearing the departure order, trotted away from their stationed positions, and headed in the direction of Pavlish.
Askel, who was staying in the headquarters, saw the fourth battalion setting off, and said to Guchakov with a smile: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I can see that the commanders and fighters of the fourth battalion are holding back a lot of energy in their hearts. I believe them.
We will reach Pavlish in the shortest possible time."
"Just getting to Pavlish is not enough. If we want to enter the city, the German troops in the city must start a fierce battle." After Guchakov expressed his views, he ordered Askel: "Chief of Staff
Comrade, order the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Battalion and the artillery company to seize the time to clean the battlefield. After completing all this, rush over as soon as possible to support the 4th Battalion."
"clear."
…………
Seeing that the troops were progressing smoothly, Sokov couldn't sit still. He was thinking of finding some reason to go to the front to have a look. It happened that Samyko answered a phone call and then reported to him: "Comrade Commander, I
We just received a call from the Chief of Staff of the 69th Group Army, and their headquarters will arrive at our location in an hour."
Klyuchinkin's arrival meant that the defense of Kremenchug City would be handed over to the 69th Army. Sokov disliked dealing with these handover tasks, so he took the opportunity to push all these matters to Samyko:
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are responsible for receiving General Kryuchinkin and his headquarters. I will take people to the front to have a look."
Samyko understood Sokov's character and did not persuade him. Instead, he suggested to him: "Comrade Commander, since you want to go to the front, you might as well take Lieutenant Samoilov with you. He is your veteran."
I know how to ensure your safety, subordinate."
"No need," Sokov waved his hand and said, "Lieutenant Samoilov is leading the special company to maintain order in the city. Let's wait until we hand over the defense to friendly forces."
Although Samoylov and his men were not taken with him, Sokov, with his current status, still had a platoon of guards around him when traveling to protect his safety.
A small convoy consisting of two jeeps and two trucks drove towards the landing site on the right bank after leaving Kremenchug.
The convoy passed the Dnieper River Bridge and entered the right bank area.
The staff officer sitting in the co-pilot seat turned to ask Sokov: "Comrade Commander, we have now entered the right bank landing area, where should we go next?"
Sokov thought for a while and felt that after withdrawing from the Chigilin area and not having any contact with Fomenko, he just took this opportunity to visit his division, so he replied: "I want to go."
Take a look at the 84th Division Headquarters."
The staff officer knew the location of the 84th Division Headquarters. After pointing out the exact direction to the driver at a fork in the road, he turned around and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, drive along this road for up to twenty minutes."
, you can reach General Fomenko’s division headquarters.”
The convoy drove forward not far and stopped at an abandoned railway crossing.
Seeing the car stop, Sokov couldn't help but frowned: "Why did you stop?"
"Comrade Commander, I'll go down and ask."
The staff officer who got out of the car to learn about the situation soon came back with a second lieutenant. He reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, there are mines on the road ahead, and our engineers are clearing them."
As soon as the staff officer finished speaking, the second lieutenant who followed him raised his hand to salute Sokov and said respectfully: "Comrade General, there are many mines laid by the Germans on the road ahead. For your safety, before completing the demining,
Your convoy is temporarily unable to pass."
Sokov opened the door and got out of the car, looked forward, and sure enough he saw five or six soldiers holding metal detectors to check whether there were landmines buried on the road.
Seeing this situation, Sokov asked the second lieutenant: "Comrade second lieutenant, how long will it take you to complete the demining work?"
"It's hard to say, Comrade General." The second lieutenant shrugged his shoulders and said with a grimace: "If you are lucky, it will take an hour. If not, it may take four or five hours."
Sokov didn't have the patience to wait on the road for four or five hours, so he turned to his staff and asked: "Is there any other way around it?"
"No, Comrade Commander." The staff officer shook his head and replied, "This is the only way."
"Comrade General," the second lieutenant said to Sokov on his own initiative: "There is a squad room next to it. You can rest in it. We will clear the mines as soon as possible."
Sokov would definitely not be able to bear sitting in a car for several hours. But with the guard room, the situation would be better. At least he could stretch his legs and feet while sitting. So he said to the second lieutenant: "Let's go, comrade second lieutenant.
Take me to the prison room."
There are two rooms in the road guard room, one is where the workers who watch the road crossing sleep, and the other is the room where the workers are on duty.
The second lieutenant directly led Sokov to the duty room and said apologetically: "Comrade General, the sleeping room is too messy, so I can only ask you to sit here for a while."
Sokov saw a chair placed next to the table by the window. It was clean and there was no dust on it. It must have been wiped by someone, so he walked over and sat down.
After seeing Sokov sitting down, the second lieutenant said apologetically: "Comrade General, I'm sorry, we have just arrived here and there is no tea to entertain you. Please forgive me."
Sokov just wanted to find a comfortable place to sit, and did not care about the second lieutenant. He waved to the other party and said: "Comrade second lieutenant, there is nothing for you to do here. You can continue to work."
"Comrade General," the second lieutenant said with a smile, "I will order our men to speed up and try to clear the mines on the road as soon as possible so that you can pass as soon as possible." After saying this, he raised his hand and saluted Sokov.
He turned around and walked out of the prison room.
"Comrade Commander," the staff officer said with emotion as he looked at the back of the departing second lieutenant: "This commander looks quite young, but he has very good military qualities. He seems to have graduated from a military academy."
"Comrade Staff," Sokov didn't pay attention to what the staff was saying. He just wanted to pass here as quickly as possible and rush to Fomenko's division headquarters, so he casually ordered the staff: "We don't know how long we will stay here. You
Let all the soldiers in the car get out of the car and move around nearby."
After the staff officer left, Sokov stood up and stood in front of the window, looking at the soldiers who were detecting mines in the distance. After watching for a while, he found something was wrong. Two of the soldiers holding metal detectors seemed a little absent-minded.
The forward speed was too fast, and it was not at all like the cautious engineers Sokov had seen before when clearing mines. And the second lieutenant who had just left the squad room was now walking towards his subordinates in a swaggering manner, without the slightest worry about stepping on them.
to the mines.
An ominous premonition suddenly arose in Sokov's heart. He felt that something was not right about what he encountered, so he turned around and prepared to leave the Taoist room and let his staff go find out about the situation.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he turned around, he hit a hard object with his toes. Sokov lowered his head and saw that it was a leather suitcase. He bent down and was about to open the suitcase to see what was inside when he suddenly heard a slight ticking sound.
The sound seemed to be the sound of a stopwatch running, and this sound came from the suitcase under my feet.
An instinctive reaction to danger made Sokov's eyes widen. He realized that the suitcase might contain a bomb, and hurriedly turned around and jumped out of the window. But before his body hit the ground, he was placed on the table.
The suitcase underfoot flashed with fire, followed by an earth-shaking loud noise. The earth convulsed violently. The glass of the car parked at the intersection was shattered one after another. The commanders and soldiers who had just got out of the car were also knocked down by the shock wave of the explosion.
land.
Although Sokov responded in time, his body was still like a dead leaf blowing in the wind under the violent explosion shock wave, flying out in the air and falling heavily on the abandoned railway track.
The Taoist prison collapsed amid the explosion. Thick black smoke mixed with flames rose from the ruined Taoist chamber, like a giant black dragon, twisting its huge body in the air, constantly expanding and swaying.
.
Lying on the railway track, Sokov felt as if the bones around him were shattered. The shock wave of the explosion and the impact of falling from high altitude made him feel unbearable pain. Blood spurted out of his mouth, and his eyes were bloodshot.
, he opened his mouth wide and gasped sharply, his heart filled with despair.