When the 41st Guards Division entered the Safran area, Ponedelin asked Sokov his question: "Comrade Commander, there is something I don't quite understand. Now the entire 18th Guards Army
Here, the 41st Guards Division is the worst in terms of equipment and soldiers. Why do you want them to be the vanguard? If any of the other two Guards Airborne Divisions were used, they would be able to fight without air support today.
situation, seize positions controlled by the Germans."
"The reason is very simple." Sokov replied: "Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin, you are right, the 41st Guards Division is indeed the worst among the 18th Guards Army in terms of soldiers and equipment.
I asked the 41st Guards Division to serve as the vanguard and stationed in the Safran area in advance because they would not encounter too high-intensity battles. New soldiers can overcome their fear on the battlefield in small-scale conflicts and fight against
Improving the combat effectiveness of this division is very helpful. Placing a weak force in Safran can also paralyze the enemy."
"Can it also paralyze the enemy?" Ponejelin asked in confusion: "What do you mean?"
"The Germans know that I am now the commander of the 53rd Army. Once they find that troops belonging to me appear in Safran, they will be more vigilant." Sokov explained to Ponedelin: "They will even send troops,
Launch a tentative attack on the defenders. If we find that the defenders have strong combat effectiveness, we will definitely mobilize heavy troops to confront them. This will bring great obstacles to our attack."
After Ponedelin waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, does that mean that when the enemy launches a tentative attack on our defense zone, our troops must deliberately appear vulnerable in order to
Let the enemy relax their vigilance?"
"No, this is definitely not possible." Unexpectedly, Sokov shook his head after hearing this and said: "If our troops stationed in Safran are too weak, the Germans may turn from a feint attack into a formal attack and destroy the position.
Take it away from our army. This will cause our army to lose an ideal offensive position."
"It's hard to grasp the balance." Ponejelin said with emotion: "If we fight too hard, the Germans will mobilize heavy troops to guard against our army; if we fight poorly, the Germans may turn a false attack into a real attack.
Enter into a strong attack and seize our army's offensive position."
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Sokov saw Ponedelin looking worried and said to him with a smile: "This kind of matter should be left to General Afnin. He is an old commander.
, has rich combat and command experience, I believe he has a way to solve this problem."
Cao Cao was about to arrive, and as soon as Sokov mentioned Afunin's order, he called.
Afunin said on the phone: "Comrade Commander, I am honored to report to you that I have just received a telegram from General Kurishenko that the 41st Guards Division has successfully entered the Safran area."
Sokov couldn't help but be stunned, and then asked: "General Afnin, how many telegrams have you received from General Kurishenko?"
"One serving!"
"A portion?!" Sokov couldn't help raising his voice: "This is impossible."
Afunin didn't know why Sokov's tone suddenly changed, but he still answered truthfully: "Yes, Comrade Commander, General Kurishenko sent me a telegram. No, I
I just received his telegram and will call you to report the good news."
When Sokov heard this, he couldn't help but frowned. He thought that he had received several telegrams from the 41st Guards Division, but Afunin, as Kurishenko's immediate boss, only received one telegram.
This thing is too abnormal.
However, considering that telling the truth at this moment would make Afuning have bad thoughts. Therefore, after praising the other party a few words, he asked: "General Afuning, when will your army headquarters and two airborne divisions be ready?"
Can we enter Safran?"
"Tomorrow, Comrade Commander, we will not be able to reach the Safran area until noon tomorrow at the earliest." Afnin explained to Sokov: "The road is too difficult to walk, and our marching speed cannot be increased at all."
"Well, I know." Sokov said briefly: "Safran is right on the edge of the German defense area, and a battle may break out at any time. It is completely necessary for the main force of the 18th Guards Army to enter the position early.
"
After ending the call with Afnin, Sokov saw that Smirnov was already sitting at the table, sighed softly, and then said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I feel that Kurishenko seems to be interested in Afnin."
Does General Ning have any resistance?"
Smirnov, who had just finished the phone call, did not hear the conversation between Sokov and Afunin at all. Naturally, he did not know what happened, so he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, what happened?"
?”
Sokov did not answer the question immediately, but asked instead: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how many telegrams did the 41st Guards Division send us before entering Safran?"
Smirnov calculated in his mind, and then replied: "Five telegrams were sent to us one after another. Comrade Commander, did something happen?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said with some helplessness: "Kulishenko sent us five telegrams, but Afnin only sent him one telegram after entering Safran.
"
"Comrade Commander, you are not mistaken, are you?" Smirnov said with some surprise: "The 41st Guards Division sent us five telegrams, how could it only send one telegram to the army headquarters?
"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, haven't you seen the problem yet?" Sokov's words finally hit the point, "This means that Kurishenko is not convinced by Afunin and is unwilling to accept his command, so he reported the work
At that time, he went beyond the military level and reported directly to us."
"Leap-level reports, no matter what the starting point, are inappropriate." Gorokhov, who seldom spoke in the headquarters, interrupted: "Comrade Commander, I think you should give the following a good hammering when you have time.
Commander, don’t let them develop such bad habits.”
Sokov didn't want to prevent similar things, but he had only been with the 53rd Army for a short time and had not yet established enough prestige. Even if he specifically greeted the commanders below, others might do it in an underhanded way to excuse him.
He frowned and thought for a while, then said: "In two days, Yakov's second batch of weapons should arrive. I will go to Safran with him then to talk to General Kurishenko face to face.
Advise him not to report casually to higher-level officials in the future."
Although the two of them were talking about Kurishenko's leapfrog report, both Sokov and Smirnov knew very well that Kurishenko was not willing to let Afunin command him, so he adopted this method.
to express their dissatisfaction.
Knowing that Sokov was going to Safran to meet Kurishenko in two days, Smirnov immediately guessed his other intention and asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, are you planning to command this army in Safran?"
An attack?"
"Is there anything wrong?" Sokov felt that his current headquarters was more than a hundred kilometers away from the front line, and all enemy information could only be known through reports from the front line. If there was poor communication, he might
It will delay the fighter plane: "General Rokossovsky once said that the headquarters should be located near the front line. In this way, when the commanders and soldiers are fighting, seeing the commander with them will boost their morale.
"
"However, it is too dangerous to stay at the front." Smirnov said euphemistically: "Our command post can move forward, but it cannot be too close to the front line. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, the entire army group will collapse due to the command system.
problems and got into chaos."
Although Sokov has been injured more than once on the battlefield, and has not recovered since the last injury. However, as the first major battle after his comeback, he felt that he should lead from the front so that he could quickly establish a
His prestige. He said to Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have already made up my mind, so you don't need to persuade me anymore. Before the offensive campaign begins, I will establish a forward headquarters in the Safran area.
I will command the operations there. But don’t worry, I will pay attention to my own safety. If something unexpected happens to me, you will take over my command."
Seeing Sokov's firm attitude, Smirnov knew that no matter what he said, he could not make Sokov change his mind. He could only say regretfully: "Okay, Comrade Commander, I respect your decision. Establish a forward command."
At that time, I suggest that Lieutenant Colonel Ponejelin and the students serve as your deputies to assist you in command."
Of the dozens of trainees that Sokov brought from the Frunze Military Academy, only half are now assigned to the troops, and the remaining half stay in the headquarters to serve as staff officers every day. At this moment, I heard Smirnov’s words
Suggested, Sokov nodded slightly and said: "Okay, I will only take Ponedelin, Muzichenko and the students to the Safran area to establish a forward headquarters. The existing staff in the headquarters
There will be no changes in personnel.”
While Sokov was arranging the manpower to establish the forward command, Konev unexpectedly called.
Hearing Sokov's voice, Konev said: "Comrade Sokov, I just received a call from General Goryunov. He said that his subordinates sent the air force to Safran to assist your troops in combat?
"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Sokov replied truthfully: "The 41st Guards Division, which was ordered to advance to the Safran area, encountered a stubborn blockage by the German army and could not continue to advance, so I asked Ryazan to
General Hu's attack aircraft aviation group launched an attack on the German ground positions."
Konev called Sokov, not to know whether the air force had dispatched to support ground troops, but to learn about the flying fortress unveiled today: "Comrade Sokov, I want to ask, what is going on with the flying fortress?
"
"Comrade Marshal, here's the thing." Seeing Konev's interest in the flying fortress, Sokov explained to him: "If an aircraft wants to attack a target on the ground, it can only dive. If the target of the attack is not on the aircraft's
In the attack area, if you want to destroy the opponent, you can only raise the plane and dive again.
I just saw that the aircraft needed to make repeated dives in order to hit the target. I felt that this would be too inefficient in attacking the target, so I suggested that General Ryazanov install the machine gun on the side of the aircraft so that it could surround the target and attack from a high position.
shooting."
"General Goryunov said that you call this modified transport aircraft a flying fortress." Konev said: "After I just discussed with General Goryunov, the existing transport aircraft can be transformed so that
These aerial fortresses will play a greater role in future battles."
"Comrade Marshal, I don't think too many transport aircraft should be transformed into flying fortresses."
"Why?" Konev expressed confusion about Sokov's statement: "The flying fortress that was put into actual combat did not achieve good results in today's battle. Why should we limit the number of modified transport aircraft?"
"Comrade Marshal, first of all, transport planes are used to transport supplies and soldiers." Sokov replied in a moderate tone: "If too many transport planes are modified, there will be a shortage of transport planes that originally transported supplies and soldiers. In order to make up for this, the superiors
Part of the loss of transportation capacity will require the addition of more aircraft."
"Well, that makes sense." Konev said, "Go on."
"Secondly, transport aircraft fly slowly and have weak armor. When conducting ground attacks, they may also become targets of German air defense weapons." Sokov said cautiously: "Maybe the Germans will learn that we have a large number of air fortresses.
, and even fighter jets will be dispatched to intercept. When transport planes encounter small, fast-flying fighter jets, it is like a sheep entering a tiger's mouth, and what awaits them is the fate of being slaughtered."
Konev had to take Sokov's words seriously, and he began to think about whether it was necessary to transform transport aircraft into flying fortresses on a large scale. After a long time, Konev, who wanted to understand, sighed and said into the microphone: "You
That's right, Comrade Sokov. We only equip a small number of flying fortresses, which can carry out air strikes against the Germans by surprise. But if we equip them on a large scale, the Germans will definitely pay close attention to the formation of flying fortresses, and maybe we
As soon as it took off from the airport, the enemy knew about it and immediately dispatched the air force to intercept it."
The plan to renovate the flying fortress on a large scale was temporarily shelved. Konev changed the subject and asked about Sokov's preparations: "Comrade Sokov, our offensive campaign will start in three days. Your troops should be prepared."
Yet?"
"Comrade Marshal, if I tell you that we have made all preparations for combat, I will definitely lie to you." In order to let Konev understand the real situation, Sokov answered truthfully: "I can only answer
You said that my troops are gradually entering the designated combat area. I believe that they can all reach the designated position before the attack begins."
"The artillery and tank units of the front army are also advancing in the direction of Uman." Konev said to Sokov: "Before the attack begins, we will provide you with sufficient artillery preparations to destroy the enemy's defenses and prepare for
Open a passage for your attacking forces."
Although Sokov has not been to the frontier yet, he also knows that it is the spring thaw season, and the Ukrainian plains have turned into large quagmire everywhere. If the tank troops want to participate in the attack, they have to risk being stuck in the quagmire and unable to move.
Risk. Therefore, he said to Konev: "Comrade Marshal, it is difficult to use tanks in the area where we attack, so we only need to provide sufficient artillery support before we attack."