After the artillery regiment conducted a test firing, it quickly corrected the firing parameters according to the artillery observer's prompts. Then a salvo came, and the southern wall of Uman City collapsed amid the sound of artillery.
Seeing the city wall in the distance collapse after a round of volleys of fire, Sokov couldn't help but smile on his face. Although this kind of red brick city wall looks tall and majestic, it actually can't withstand the bombardment of artillery fire.
, collapse is also expected.
Sokov grabbed the phone and said loudly into the receiver: "Colonel Konev, tell your men not to attack yet. Repeat, don't attack yet."
"Then when can we attack?"
"When the time is right to attack, I will notify you."
Hearing Sokov's order, not only Konev was confused, but Shtemenko was also confused. He waited for Sokov to put down the phone and asked curiously: "Comrade Sokov, since we
The artillery fire has already opened a gap in the city wall, why not let the infantry take the opportunity to attack?"
"Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff," Sokov explained to Shtemenko when he saw that Shtemenko did not understand his intentions: "Tell me, what will happen if our commanders and soldiers rush into the gap now?"
"It goes without saying," Shtemenko replied without hesitation: "The Germans will definitely invest their troops in the gap to try to block the gap opened by our army."
"Yes, the actual situation must be like this." Sokov nodded and said: "Even if I order the troops to rush into the city from the gap at this moment, after entering the gap, they will definitely be attacked by the German troops who come for reinforcements.
Crazy counterattack. Even if they can withstand it, the two sides cannot reach a stalemate near the city gate. It will take a long time for us to expand the results."
"Well, what you said makes sense." Shtemenko asked curiously: "Then what method do you have to crack the enemy's tactics?"
"I ordered the troops to stop attacking because the Germans will soon rush to the gap." Sokov said calmly: "When they approach the gap, I will order the artillery to fire two rounds of rapid fire to cover these enemies with firepower.
.Wait until the enemy is almost wiped out by our artillery fire, then send troops to attack, so that we can easily break into the city."
After listening to Sokov's explanation, a smile appeared on Shtemenko's face: "Comrade Sokov, your method is really good. Cover it with artillery fire first to eliminate a large number of the enemy's effective forces, and wait until the enemy is almost wiped out by the artillery fire.
Then send troops to charge, so that we can successfully rush into the city before the enemy's new reinforcements arrive."
Sokov called Major Rubimov and said to him: "Comrade Major, after you have blown a large enough gap in the city wall, you will temporarily stop shooting. When the large German army approaches the gap in the city wall, you can come back again."
Two rounds of extremely rapid shooting must use powerful artillery fire to destroy the enemy's physical strength. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Comrade Commander." Rubimov replied: "I will resolutely obey your orders."
What happened next was exactly as Sokov expected. The German garrison commander learned that part of the wall in the south of the city had been destroyed by Soviet artillery fire, and immediately mobilized troops to come over for reinforcements. Following the order, a battalion
Under the cover of two armored vehicles, the German infantry rushed towards the location where the city wall was blown down.
The artillery observer sent by Major Rubimov hid in a crater a few hundred meters away from the city wall. He observed the situation in the city through a telescope and saw a large number of German infantry moving toward the gap under the cover of two armored vehicles.
Coming from the direction, two signal flares were fired directly to indicate the target for the artillery to attack.
The German soldiers who had just arrived at the gap were suddenly bombarded before they had time to disperse. Many soldiers were pulled up from the ground by the blast of air before they could even recover, and were thrown high into the night sky before being torn apart.
It fell heavily to the ground. In just a few minutes, the gaps in the city wall were filled with broken limbs and broken arms of the German army, as well as the remains of two armored vehicles.
After attacking the enemies near the gap, the artillery quickly moved the firing area and used artillery fire to clear out German troops in other areas of the city wall.
Seeing this scene, Shtemenko couldn't help but exclaimed: "That's great, Comrade Sokov. These German soldiers didn't even have a chance to shoot, and they were wiped out by artillery fire. This tactic of yours is really great."
, no wonder your troops suffered the least casualties every time, it turned out to be a reasonable use of tactics."
When Sokov heard Shtemenko's praise for him, he just smiled faintly, then picked up the microphone and gave Konev a combat order: "Colonel Konev, the enemies who have rushed to the gap to reinforce have been defeated by our
The artillery fire has almost been eliminated. I order you to immediately have the infantry charge and rush into the city of Uman through the gap opened by the artillery fire."
Konev, who had been holding back his energy, heard Sokov's order and immediately agreed loudly: "Yes, Comrade Commander, I will immediately order the infantry to charge."
It didn't take long for the commanders and fighters of the 3rd Airborne Division to launch a charge. Not only did the 8th Airborne Regiment but also the 10th Regiment participate in the attack. After they rushed into the city, they quickly broke into pieces and formed a battalion-based unit in Ukraine.
Weaving through Manchester City, intercepting the fleeing German officers and soldiers.
Sokov picked up the phone again, this time he called Afunin, the commander of the 18th Guards Army: "General Afunin, Colonel Konev's 3rd Airborne Division has entered the city, what are your follow-up troops?"
Can you make it in time?"
Hearing that the 3rd Airborne Division had rushed into the city of Uman, Afuning couldn't help being surprised and happy: his troops were the first to rush into the city. If his superiors awarded the honorary title named after the city in the future, his troops would
Several divisions must be on the list; what is surprising is that the large army is still marching and cannot enter the city in time for support. If it delays the fighter plane because of this, I am afraid that I will be severely punished.
"Hey, General Afunin!" Seeing that there was suddenly no sound in the receiver, Sokov thought there was something wrong with the line, so he quickly raised his voice and shouted several times: "General Afunin, are you still there?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Afuning's voice came from the receiver again: "The main force of the army is on the march. I believe it will not take long to arrive outside Uman City."
"General Afunin, you have to move fast." Although Sokov was very anxious, the road was difficult. Even if he gave the strictest order, he might not be able to increase the marching speed of the troops. He could only say politely.
: "If it is delayed for too long, the enemy will be able to mobilize more troops to prevent the 3rd Airborne Division from expanding its results."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Seeing that Sokov did not blame himself, Afunin felt somewhat relieved and said quickly: "I will have the troops arrive in Uman as soon as possible."
After ending the call with Afunin, Sokov called Smirnov again and asked directly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how is the situation there? Have the 49th and 57th armies reached their designated positions?
"
"Not yet." Smirnov replied with some embarrassment: "Comrade Commander, you also know that the heavy snow has just stopped and the roads are not easy to walk, so the marching speed of the troops has been greatly slowed down. I guess it will eventually
It will take almost two hours to reach the outside of Uman."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, please contact the two army commanders immediately and ask their troops to speed up their march." Sokov originally wanted to strictly order the two troops to speed up, but then he thought about it, even if they did not dare to obey his order
Although he disobeyed, but deliberately slowing down the march during execution, he would still delay his own business, so he emphasized to Smirnov: "Now Colonel Konev's 3rd Airborne Division has re-entered the city of Uman and is in the process of
Expand the results of the war. If they want Colonel Konev to get all the honors, I will not object."
After hearing this, Smirnov was stunned for a moment, then guessed Sokov's intention, and quickly said with a smile: "Comrade Commander, I understand your intention, and I will convey your intention to the two military commanders.
It depends on what choice they are prepared to make."
As expected, as Sokov had expected, both Melekhov and Chumakov couldn't help but panic when they received a call from Smirnov and learned that the 3rd Airborne Division had entered the city and was expanding its results.
After reporting the matter to all the troops in the army, he urged them to speed up their march and be sure to rush outside Uman City in the shortest possible time to support the friendly forces fighting in the city.
Let’s talk about the commanders and fighters of the 3rd Airborne Division who entered the city. They rushed forward along the streets to eliminate the oncoming enemies. They also arranged fire support points in some important buildings to ensure that the entire division’s attack would not go smoothly.
situation, you can successfully retreat to a safe area.
After making several calls in succession, Sokov realized that it would take a long time for the reinforcements to be in place, so he called Colonel Konev again: "Comrade Colonel, if I were you, I would choose to
The remaining troops were all put into battle to ensure that the troops entering Uman City could quickly gain a foothold."
When Colonel Konev saw the 8th and 10th regiments rushing into the city, he thought that the main force of the Guards would arrive soon, so he did not send the 2nd regiment, which had been seriously damaged, into the battle.
Although Sokov did not say it explicitly, he could tell from the tone of the other party's words that he might not be able to get any reinforcements in a short time. If he wanted to defend the fruits of victory, he would have to use all the remaining troops in his hands.
Sent to the city.
Konev put down the phone, stood up and walked to the wall, took off a submachine gun hanging on it, then put on his helmet again, and announced in public: "From now on, except for the chief of staff and a few communications soldiers, the combat staff will remain
Go outside and the rest of the people will follow me to the city."
Many staff officers in the division headquarters dreamed of making contributions on the battlefield, but due to their status, they could only stay in the headquarters and silently do their jobs. When Konev said this, he suddenly changed his mind.
Feeling excited, they all chose weapons that suited them and followed Konev out of the headquarters.
A staff officer volunteered to find Fritzman, the commander of the 2nd Airborne Regiment, and said to him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the division commander has something urgent to ask of you."
Fritzmann was depressed that his troops could not participate in the battle to capture Uman. When he heard the staff officer say this, a glimmer of hope suddenly appeared in his heart: "Comrade staff officer, do you know what the division commander wants from me?"
"I don't know the specifics." The staff officer replied, "But I guess it has something to do with letting you participate in the battle."
The staff officer's words made Fritzmann very happy: "Comrade staff officer, is this true?"
"I think there is a high probability that it can't be faked." The staff officer raised the rifle in his hand and said to Fritzman: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, didn't you see that I also picked up the gun and prepared to follow Comrade Division Commander to the city to participate in the battle?
?”
Fritzmann learned that his troops could participate in the war, and hurried to see Konev with his staff.
Konev, who was assigning tasks to the staff, saw Fritzman coming, so he stopped assigning tasks, walked quickly towards Fritzman, and said: "Lieutenant Colonel Fritzmann, you are here.
!”
When Fritzmann saw Konev wearing a military uniform, he realized that the staff officer had not lied to him. The division commander was planning to personally lead people to join the combat force. He quickly stood at attention, straightened his body and replied: "Comrade division commander,
Lieutenant Colonel Fritzmann, commander of the 2nd Airborne Regiment, is here on your order. I follow your order, please give me instructions!"
"Please rest a moment, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Konev asked: "How many people are left in your regiment?"
"Seven hundred people is a bit small in number." Konev nodded and said, "But as long as they move within a fixed area, this force can still be put to use."
"Comrade division commander, please give the order." Fritzman said: "Our regiment has always been prepared for battle and can participate in the battle at any time."
"Map," Konev stretched out his hand to an intelligence staff officer, indicating that the other party would hand over the combat map to him. The staff officer did not dare to neglect, and quickly took out a square map from his bag.
Konev stared at the map for a moment, and then said to Fritzman: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, after our artillery blasted a gap in Uman's city wall, the 8th and 10th regiments have already
He rushed into the city and was fighting enemies everywhere.
The mission of your regiment is to follow my actions and strive to establish a support point in the south of the city and use it as a base for supplying weapons, ammunition and military supplies."
"Comrade Commander, where do you plan to establish the support point?"
Fritzmann pointed to a location and said: "The artillery blasted a gap in the city wall here. When the main force of the Guards arrived, they must have entered the city through this gap. I think a support point should be established here.
"
"Okay, Comrade Division Commander, I will go back and mobilize the troops immediately." However, after taking a few steps, Fritzman stopped again and said to Konev: "Comrade Division Commander, our entire division has entered the city, then Commander
The area around the observation post will become empty. If an enemy bypasses us and attacks the observation post, big problems will arise."
Konev only hesitated for a moment, then shook his head and said: "Lieutenant Colonel Fritzman, Comrade Commander has two guard companies around him. Even if an enemy comes over, I'm afraid it won't pose much danger to his safety.
This is not something you should worry about, you should go back to the regiment and mobilize the troops as soon as possible."
"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Fritzman said, "I'll go back and mobilize the troops right away." After saying that, he turned and left.
"Lieutenant Colonel Fritzmann, you have to remember one thing." Konev said behind him: "The better we fight, the safer Comrade Commander will be because the Germans simply cannot spare the power to deal with him.