"Comrade Commander, our air defense force is still too weak." After Smirnov waited for Lida to leave, he said to Sokov with emotion: "It would be great if the superiors could allocate one or two more anti-aircraft artillery divisions to us.
Already."
Regarding Smirnov's statement, Sokov could only smile bitterly after hearing this: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think it is impossible for our superiors to give us any more anti-aircraft artillery divisions. You know, the war has been going on for nearly three years.
The enemy is still us, and we all know in our hearts that although the anti-aircraft artillery division is an air defense force, it can be used as ordinary artillery as long as the muzzle of the gun is leveled on the battlefield."
When Smirnov thought about it, it seemed that this was really the case. I don’t know when the anti-aircraft artillery began to neglect their duties. When enemy tanks and aircraft appeared on the battlefield at the same time, they first attacked the tanks instead of the aircraft. He
Once a question was raised to the commander of the air defense force, and the other party responded plausibly: "Although we are anti-aircraft artillery, if all the German tanks are rushing in front of us, what is the point of air defense?"
Although Smirnov was contradicted by his subordinates at the time, if you think about it carefully, what the other party said is still very reasonable. If the anti-aircraft artillery blindly defends the air, ignores the German tanks that are about to rush up, and waits for the enemy tanks to rush.
Come up and destroy the anti-aircraft guns, and the air defense will be completely meaningless.
"Comrade Commander, this is what I think about." While Sokov and Lida were chatting, Smirnov was not idle. He was thinking about how to strengthen his own air defense force. Asking his superiors to send an air defense division over, obviously
It is unrealistic; to form a new air defense force by yourself, firstly, the establishment is difficult to solve, and secondly, it is difficult to recruit soldiers. But the sudden appearance of Lida gave Smirnov a new idea: "Is it possible to form one or two more
A women’s anti-aircraft artillery regiment to strengthen the army’s air defense capabilities?”
"Form one or two more women's anti-aircraft artillery regiments?!" Sokov looked at Smirnov and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, where will the soldiers and equipment come from?"
"This is why I suggest you form a women's anti-aircraft artillery regiment." Smirnov reported to Sokov: "Whether it is soldiers sent from the rear or recruits we recruited locally, incorporate them into the anti-aircraft artillery regiment.
Regiment is unrealistic. But if you recruit female soldiers, the difficulty can be greatly reduced."
Sokov stared at Smirnov for a long time, thinking quickly in his mind whether he should follow the other party's proposal to recruit female soldiers and form a new female anti-aircraft artillery unit.
"Well, Comrade Chief of Staff, your idea is good." Sokov thought for a while and felt that Smirnov's suggestion was very appropriate: "I think it may be more difficult to recruit male soldiers in newly liberated areas.
, but when it comes to female soldiers, I think there will be a lot of people who agree with the conditions for joining the army, and then we will have enough air defense capabilities."
"Then when do you think it is appropriate for us to start conscription?" Smirnov said to Sokov: "I have observed all the cities we liberated and found a very interesting phenomenon. The cities are basically all women, children and
Old man. If we talk about the general army recruitment, even if these women want to join the army, they may not have the chance to join the army. But if they are allowed to join the women's anti-aircraft artillery regiment, things will be much simpler."
Perhaps because he was worried that Sokov would refuse, he also specifically emphasized: "The skills required by anti-aircraft gunners are not complicated and can be fully mastered after a very short period of training. During the battle to defend Stalingrad, our army used some
The students from the school were directly incorporated into the army, and after a short training, they participated in the battle."
"I think we will never have the opportunity to encounter such a tragic battle as the Battle of Stalingrad in the future." Sokov said to Smirnov: "Most of the female soldiers recruited into the army will survive.
See the day of victory.”
"Comrade Commander, I would like to ask." Smirnov's tone suddenly became hesitant after hearing what Sokov said: "When do you think we can achieve the final victory?"
Sokov almost blurted out the day of victory. The words came to his lips, but he swallowed them back. Fortunately, he quickly changed the subject in time: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if our troops survive the
If we cross the South Bug River and then go west through the Dniester River, will we soon enter Romania?"
"Not so fast," Smirnov said, shaking his head: "Between Ukraine and Romania, there is Moldavia, which is one of the 15 member countries of our country. We must capture this place before we can enter the northeastern part of Romania.
department."
"Oh, so that's it." Sokov became uneasy. He was worried that if his troops' strategy went well, he would be arranged by the high command to liberate countries such as Romania, Hungary and Czechoslovakia. What if in the future?
If he is really arranged to fight in these countries, he will have no chance of liberating Berlin.
He stared at the map for a long time, and then asked Smirnov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you think if our army maintains its current offensive, will our superiors arrange for us to liberate the countries in Eastern Europe occupied by Germany?"
"It's hard to say." Sokov's words made Smirnov also fall into deep thought: "Judging from the current situation, our army may become the first unit to enter Romania, but as for whether we will be ordered to go there in the future
It’s hard to say how to liberate those countries in Eastern Europe.”
Sokov saw a glimmer of hope in Smirnov's words, and he hurriedly asked: "Chief of Staff, will things turn around?"
Smirnov looked at Sokov in surprise and answered truthfully: "The troops launching the offensive in southern Ukraine are the troops of the 3rd and 4th Ukrainian Fronts, coordinated and commanded by Marshal Vasilevsky.
As long as they liberate southern Ukraine, the Supreme Command should hand over the task of liberating Eastern Europe to the troops of these two fronts. And our army group may be transferred to the north to participate in the final operation to liberate Ukraine."
He picked up the red and blue pencils on the table and drew a dotted line on the map: "According to the intelligence currently available, we are facing Weller's German 8th Army and Racovitza's Romanian 4th Army.
Among them, the German army has six divisions, which are considered their main force. As long as they are defeated, the remaining Romanian army will not be surprising."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, what you said makes perfect sense." Sokov had fought against the Romanian Third and Fourth Group Armies during the Battle of Stalingrad. The bravery of the Romanian army officers and soldiers on the battlefield impressed him.
He was deeply impressed. However, considering that the Fourth Army was basically wiped out at the end of the battle, the combat effectiveness of the newly formed unit was naturally greatly reduced. Therefore, he did not take this reorganized unit seriously.
Above: "It is entirely possible that we will fight the Romanian Fourth Army."
"Comrade Commander, I heard that the Romanian army performed very bravely on the battlefield." Smirnov said with some worry: "If we want to destroy this enemy, we will probably pay a high price."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you can rest assured on this." Sokov said confidently: "I command the 41st Guards Division and once fought against the Romanian army in Stalingrad. I have to say that the soldiers of this country are the best in combat.
He was very brave, but he seemed not very smart and only knew how to blindly obey orders. As a result, in the end, he was basically wiped out by our army."
When Smirnov heard this, he became happy: "Comrade Commander, let's put it this way: the Romanian Fourth Army we are about to face is a new army with little combat effectiveness."
"I think there is a high probability that this is the case." Sokov nodded and said: "Before the war broke out, Romania had more than 500,000 troops, but they suffered repeated defeats under the command of the Germans. Now the newly formed third
The four-day holiday should be mainly for new recruits. I really can't think of any combat effectiveness such a unit can have."
"But those six German divisions are giving us a huge headache." Smirnov reminded Sokov: "I don't think we will be fighting one of these six German divisions in a few days. I hope we
The performance of our commanders and soldiers on the battlefield should not disappoint us."
"Report to Commander, Comrade Chief of Staff." The director of the Communications Corps came over and reported to Sokov and Smirnov: "The communication lines have been laid out. I wonder where Comrade Commander plans to contact you?"
Sokov thought that before the headquarters entered Helsin, there was a battle going on in Jeplik in the south, and he did not know what the current situation was. So he ordered the director of the communications corps: "Comrade director, please help me get through to General Afnin."
Call me, I want to know how the war is going over there."
"Okay, Comrade Commander." The director of the communications corps replied, "I will help you get through to the headquarters of the 18th Guards Corps right away."
Two minutes later, Sokov heard Afunin's voice on the phone and asked straight to the point: "General Afunin, how is the situation there?"
"Report to Comrade Commander," Afunin heard Sokov's voice, straightened his back quickly, and replied respectfully: "Our 8th Guards Airborne Regiment, which detoured from the north, has successfully rushed into the city.
And in a very short period of time, they occupied several blocks, and now the war is developing in a direction that is beneficial to our army."
"Very good." Sokov said to the topic: "Keep working hard, General Afnin, I hope to hear news of your victory soon."
Just when Sokov was about to hang up the phone, he suddenly heard Afunin say: "Comrade Commander, there is another important situation that I think it is necessary to report to you."
"What important situation?" As soon as he heard that there was important information, Sokov was naturally reluctant to put down the phone. He urged the other party: "Hurry up and tell me what important situation it is."
"That's right. Lieutenant Colonel Pinkov, commander of the 8th Guards Airborne Regiment, reported to me that the enemy they were fighting was part of the 20th Infantry Division belonging to the Romanian Fourth Army. The opponent found that their defensive positions were occupied.
After the breakthrough, a messenger was sent to Lieutenant Colonel Pinkov's regimental headquarters, hoping that we would accept their surrender."
When he learned that the Romanian army in the city of Teplik wanted to surrender, Sokov's heart beat faster: "General Afnin, how did you restore Lieutenant Colonel Pinkov?"
"Comrade Commander, I dare not make any decisions without getting in touch with you." Afuning said hesitantly: "I don't know if they really surrendered or if they deliberately set a trap for us...
"
"General Afunin, let me ask you." Sokov said into the microphone: "Tell me, how much area does the Romanian army control in the city of Ceplik?"
"According to Lieutenant Colonel Pinkov's report," Afnin replied: "The north and west sides of the city are areas controlled by the Romanian army. The east and south sides are defended by the Germans."
"General Afnin, ask Lieutenant Colonel Pinkov to ask the courier why they returned after they abandoned the city."
"I have already asked," Afnin obviously guessed that Sokov would ask this question, so he replied confidently: "The Romanians felt that even if they stayed in the city, they would not be able to stop our attack, so they chose
Withdrew. But not long after they withdrew, they encountered German reinforcements on the road. They had no choice but to return to the city of Jeplik."
With this explanation, Sokov immediately understood why he saw the defenders retreating at first, but when the leading troops of the 18th Guards Corps entered the city, they were ambushed inexplicably and suffered certain losses. It turned out that
The Germans who came for reinforcements were responsible.
"What about Helsing?" Sokov continued to ask: "What happened to Helsing City? Are the defenders in the city all Romanian troops?" Jeplik's defenders left and came back.
However, after the defenders of Hexin City left, they did not return. Only a few sabotage soldiers remained.
"I haven't had time to ask about the situation in Hesin yet." Afunin replied: "But according to my analysis, it should be the situation you mentioned. The defenders in Hessin are all Romanian troops. Seeing me
A large army of troops rushed over, knowing that they could not defeat them, so they abandoned the city in advance and retreated. Their luck was better than that of the defenders of Jeplik, at least they did not encounter German reinforcements on the way, and were forced to return to the abandoned city again.
"
When Afunin reported the situation, Sokov was thinking that no matter how powerful the Romanian army is today, it will still cost a lot to destroy them. But if they directly accept their surrender, then the attack force will have to pay a high price.
The city's troops can reduce many unnecessary casualties.
Thinking of this, he said to Afunin: "General Afunin, please tell Lieutenant Colonel Pinkov immediately that we can accept the surrender of the Romanian army to avoid unnecessary casualties. At the same time, it is best to let the Romanian army cooperate with us.
The army fought to eliminate the German troops in the east and south of the city."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Afnin vowed: "I will immediately notify Lieutenant Colonel Pinkov and ask him to accept the surrender of the Romanian army and let the other party cooperate with them to eliminate the German troops in the city."
"Very good, General Afnin, I'm waiting for news of your victory." Before putting down the phone, Sokov felt that in order to improve the efficiency of the other party, it was completely necessary to stimulate him, so he continued: "Now the 49th
We and the 57th Army are crossing the South Bug River and advancing deep into the enemy's defenses. I hope you will not fall behind, otherwise all the credit will belong to others."