When Sokov received the call from Smirnov, he thought he had some good news and asked with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, call me at this time. Do you have any good news for me?"
"Comrade Commander," Smirnov hesitated for a moment and said in a serious tone: "I think I may have brought you bad news."
Sokov knew that Smirnov was a steady man and never joked around. Since he said that, something must have happened somewhere. He quickly asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, tell me quickly, what happened?"
"The attack on the town of Golovanivsik failed." Smirnov said: "A regiment that participated in the battle originally had more than 1,900 people, but less than 300 people retreated."
"What, more than 1,600 people were lost in one battle?" Sokov was shocked by the news. He slammed the table hard and asked angrily: "This is nonsense. Which regiment participated in the attack this time and who is its leader?"
"
"It's the 699th Regiment of the 233rd Infantry Division of Colonel Yesenin." Smirnov heard Sokov's anger and did not dare to name the regiment commander. Instead, he asked in a evasive manner: "Comrade Commander, I think this matter
If it is not handled properly, it may have a negative impact on the morale of the troops."
Sokov agreed very much with Smirnov's statement. Today's progress on the right wing was not smooth, and now that it has suffered such a big loss outside the town of Golovanivsik, it is not good for the troops.
It is impossible that military morale and morale will not be affected. What we need to do now is to find ways to minimize the impact of this matter.
When Smirnov heard that Sokov had not spoken, he cautiously asked: "Comrade Commander, are you still here?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, I am still here." Sokov replied: "I am considering what measures should be taken to minimize the impact of this loss."
"Do you have any good ideas?"
Sokov frowned and thought. When he accidentally saw Yakov chatting quietly with Sidorin, a bold idea immediately came to his mind: "Yakov, your hovercraft has been repaired.
Yet?"
"Under maintenance." After Yakov casually answered the question, he realized Sokov's intention and asked tentatively: "Misha, you don't want these transport ships to carry your troops to where?
A place, right?”
"Yes, that's how I think about it." Sokov stretched out his hand to Sidorin and said, "Colonel Sidorin, please hand me the map."
Sidorin stood up in a hurry, took a map from nearby, and placed it in front of Sokov: "Comrade Commander, map."
After thanking Sidorin, Sokov pointed to the map and said to everyone: "It is only ten kilometers from us to the town of Golovanivsik. I plan to send a force to go around the back of the town to catch everyone by surprise.
He launched an offensive on the ground and caught the Germans by surprise."
Seeing that everyone seemed to have something to say, Sokov said first: "I plan to let Yakov's hovercraft send them there, so that they can go around to the back of the town in half an hour at most."
"One hovercraft can carry 30 soldiers. Now I can provide 12 transport hovercrafts, which is 360 people." Yakov said to everyone: "Add two assault hovercrafts..."
"Yasha, your algorithm is wrong." Sokov interrupted Yakov's words, "The transport hovercraft carries 30 soldiers, which means that they carry a small number of weapons and ammunition. If each person is equipped with double
If the ammunition base is large, the number of people the hovercraft can carry will be reduced accordingly."
"Comrade Commander," Sidorin interjected: "I think we can detach a battalion from our division, carry new rockets and rockets, take Colonel Yakov's hovercraft, and rush to the town of Golovanivsik as soon as possible
We will launch a surprise attack on the enemy from the rear. If the troops at the front can cooperate in time, I think we will be able to capture the town."
Sokov nodded and said into the microphone that had not been put down: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you have heard it, I plan to transfer a battalion from the 41st Guards Division and go around to the town of Golovanivsik.
In the rear, carry out a sneak attack on the enemy. When the troops in the front hear the sound of gunfire from the other side of the town, they immediately launch an attack, flanking the attacking troops in front and back, and must seize the entire town before dawn."
"I understand, Comrade Commander." Smirnov nodded first, then remembered an important thing and asked quickly: "I wonder what you are going to do with the regiment commander who failed in the attack?"
According to Sokov's idea, a commander like this who is incompetent in combat should be dismissed without mercy. But now that the war is imminent, it is a taboo for military strategists to change generals on the spot, so he plans to wait until the battle is over before fighting with this commander.
The leader comes to settle accounts after the fall.
"Comrade Chief of Staff, the battle is still going on. It is obviously inappropriate to change the regiment commander at this time." Sokov said into the microphone: "Let him continue to stay in the army, and we will deal with it after the battle is over.
His problem."
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Smirnov felt more at ease when he heard Sokov said that he would not deal with the regiment commander for the time being. He finally said: "I will convey your intention to the 57th
Army Commander General Chumakov."
Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Kurishenko quickly asked: "Comrade Commander, I wonder which battalion you plan to send to carry out this long-distance attack mission?"
"I think we will let the 122nd Regiment perform this task." Sokov was worried about what Kurishenko was thinking, so he specifically explained to him: "They have just upgraded to assault rifles and new rockets.
and rockets, it is perfect for them to launch a sneak attack on the town of Golovanivsik."
Kurishenko said: "Then I will call Colonel Papuchenko over, and you will personally assign him tasks."
"No need," Sokov waved his hand, and then directly assigned the task: "This task will be handed over to the second battalion of the regiment, and they will mobilize 300 people to form a temporary assault battalion. The battalion will be led by deputy commander Vic.
Many lieutenant colonels serve.”
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Sidorin stood up and said, "I will call Colonel Papuchenko and ask him to assemble the second battalion first."
"Do we need to prepare a batch of white towels for them?" Kurishenko asked: "They are just for identification purposes tied to their arms."
"There is no need." Sokov shook his head and said: "The visibility in night operations is low, and commanders and soldiers can only see vague shadows when fighting. If they have to identify themselves through white towels, they will not be able to see the opponent's arms clearly.
When there were no white towels on them, the enemy had already shot at them."
"Okay, Comrade Commander, I will listen to you." Kurishenko nodded and said, "It is not an easy task to find hundreds of white towels in a hurry."
"Yasha," Sokov turned to Yakov and said, "You will take Lieutenant Colonel Victor to board the ship later, but you do not need to participate in tonight's offensive operation."
Yakov knew that Sokov was worried that he would be in danger, but the hovercraft unit was under his command. The team members had gone out to perform tasks, and it was obviously inappropriate for him to sit here and hide away. Thinking of this, he felt sorry for Sokov
Cove said: "Misha, I have to participate in this operation. After all, I am the commander of the hovercraft unit. But don't worry, I will pay attention to safety, so you don't have to worry about me."
The reason why Sokov didn't want Yakov to participate in the battle was because the risk factor on the battlefield was too high. If something happened, he wouldn't be able to live with it.
At this moment, when the other party insisted on going to the frontier, he straightened his face and said seriously: "No, Colonel Yakov, I don't agree with you going to the frontier. You are an engineer and technician, not a combatant. When you get to the frontier, not only can you not help
If you are busy, you may even hinder everyone, so you should stay here and wait for the outcome of the battle."
Sokov's words immediately aroused Shtemenko's echo. He also knew in his heart that as a representative of the base camp, he was now by Sokov's side. If Yakov ran to the forefront and something happened, he would be
It is also inseparable. Therefore, he agreed with Sokov's proposal: "Comrade Yakov, I think Sokov is right. You are an engineer and technician, not a combatant. There is really no need to come in person."
Go forward."
Seeing Sokov and Shtemenko trying to persuade Yakov one after another, Sidorin understood what was going on and quickly kicked Kurishenko lightly under the table. He waited until the other party looked at him strangely.
When he looked at him, he hurriedly winked at him, signaling the other party to also persuade Yakov.
Fortunately, Kurishenko was not too stupid. He immediately understood Sidorin's intention and joined in the persuasion: "Colonel Yakov, I don't think you are suitable to participate in the battle."
"I'm not fit to fight?" Yakov asked, "Why?"
"The reason is very simple." Kurishenko had studied Yakov's resume and naturally knew that he was an artilleryman in the past: "Yes, you did work in the grassroots army, but you were an artilleryman at that time, and now
The battle at night is carried out by the infantry. If you, an artilleryman, participate in such a night battle, your effect will be limited, and you may even injure your companions."
"Yes, yes, I think what everyone said makes sense." Although Sidorin had long wanted to persuade Yakov, because his level was too low, he could only wait until several people had expressed their opinions.
Stand up and persuade Yakov, hoping that he will not go to the battlefield: "Colonel Yakov, your mission at the front this time is to transport weapons and ammunition to our army, not to fight the enemy face to face with weapons."
Faced with the persuasion of a group of people, Yakov's idea wavered. Not long ago, he did want to join the long-distance raiding troops to take part in the capture of the town of Golovanivsik. But as soon as he expressed his thoughts,
He encountered opposition from countless people. Faced with this situation, he could only choose to give up.
"Okay, okay," he raised his hands to signal everyone to stop talking: "Everyone, please stop talking. Isn't it okay if I don't go?"
Seeing Yakov personally saying that he would not participate in the night attack, Sokov breathed a sigh of relief. But for the sake of safety, when Yakov took Victor and his troops to board the ship, Sokov deliberately
Koshkin was sent to go with him. It was nominally to ensure his safety, but in fact he was worried that Yakov would have a whim later and jump directly on the hovercraft and run to the town of Golovanivsik to participate in the battle.
There is nothing I can do.
After watching Yakov and Koshkin leave, Kurishenko asked Sokov with some concern: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Yakov will not secretly board the ship and follow the assault battalion to participate in the battle, right?"
"No, General Kurishenko." Shtemenko shook his head and said, "I know Colonel Yakov. Once he says something, it will basically not change. So we don't have to worry about whether he will.
Board the ship secretly and follow the assault battalion to join the battle."
Kurishenko looked outside the door and said with lingering fear: "If anything happens to Colonel Yakov here, I think the superiors will definitely hold him accountable."
"There is no doubt about it." After Shtemenko said this, he turned to Sokov and asked: "Comrade Sokov, what are your plans for tomorrow?"
"I plan to wait for the second echelon of troops to take over our defense, and then move the headquarters forward." Sokov said: "As for the troops who have been replaced, they will also gradually move to the front. In any case, we must
If I want to rush into Uman in the shortest time, I must maintain a strong enough force in the main direction of attack."
While several people were talking, Yakov, accompanied by Koshkin, returned to the division headquarters.
Yakov sat down opposite Sokov and said with a relaxed expression: "Misha, I'm back. You should be relieved this time."
"Don't worry, of course I don't." After Sokov asked Yakov to sit down, he asked tentatively: "Can the hovercraft return here before dawn?"
"I don't know." Yakov said angrily: "At least those two assault hovercrafts will definitely not be able to come back. The soldiers on board will use anti-aircraft machine gun fire to provide fire support for the attacking troops."
The transport hovercraft carrying the assault battalion, under the cover of two assault hovercrafts, successfully arrived one kilometer north of the town of Golovanivsik. As soon as the hovercraft stabilized, Lieutenant Colonel Victor, who was leading the team, greeted
The commanders and soldiers disembarked from the ship, and after completing their assembly, they cautiously moved towards the town.
The reason why Victor chose to disembark far away from the town was entirely because the hovercraft made too much noise when operating at night, and could be discovered by the Germans at any time. Therefore, the hovercraft stopped one kilometer away from the town, and then all
The commanders and soldiers headed towards the town on foot.
However, when Victor left, he also had an extra thought and specifically told the commander of the assault hovercraft that once they saw the signal he sent with a flashlight covered with a red cloth, the hovercraft would rush to the edge of the town to support him. For him
The commander of the hovercraft agreed to the proposal and confirmed the contact information provided by Victor.
Victor called the three company commanders of the assault battalion in front of him and planned the direction of attack for them. The first company used a sneak attack to sneak into the town, while the second company set up positions outside the town so that they could be discovered by the enemy.
Later, we can rely on this place to carry out resistance. As for the third company, as a reserve team, we can carry out assault operations at critical moments.
After handing over the mission, Victor glanced at the three of them, and then asked: "Are the missions clear?"
"It's clear." The three company commanders replied quietly.
"Okay, now that your missions are clear, go back to your respective troops and prepare to attack." Victor waved to the three of them: "Let's all go back to our respective troops."
"Yes!" The three company commanders agreed softly, turned around and walked towards their respective companies.