After Trofimenko waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he paused for a moment, and suddenly came up with a bold idea: "Comrade Commander, I have an idea."
"what idea?"
"What if our airborne troops do not land in Poland, but in Romania?" Trofimenko said: "For example, if they land near Bucharest, will Romania be frightened into surrendering directly to us?"
"Comrade Deputy Commander, your idea is good." Sokov said with a wry smile: "But if you put it into action, it is somewhat unrealistic."
"Why?"
"Now the 18th Guards Army has two Guards Airborne Divisions, which are the most elite airborne troops of our army." Sokov said: "Their total strength is more than 20,000 people. Even if we have enough transport aircraft, we can carry them out."
They all parachuted into the vicinity of Bucharest, can their appearance influence the situation in Romania?"
After Sokov said this, he paused intentionally for a moment to observe Trofimenko's reaction. Seeing that he was deep in thought, he continued: "If the defenders in Bucharest were all Romanian troops, according to their current situation
Under such circumstances, Bucharest may indeed be easily captured by our airborne troops.
But the actual situation is that the Germans have heavy troops stationed in Bucharest. Once they discover that our airborne troops are airborne near the city, they will immediately send troops to clear them up. Airborne troops who only carry light weapons cannot defeat tanks equipped with them.
, the German troops equipped with armored vehicles and artillery will only waste our precious troops in vain."
Trofimenko just had a whim. After listening to Sokov's explanation at this moment, he knew that he had thought too much. Now the Ponejelin battle group has entered Romania and is expanding the occupied area in an orderly manner. There is indeed no need to fight in Bucharest.
What's happening nearby?
"Comrade Commander," Samyko came over, holding a telegram in his hand, and reported excitedly: "General Afunin, commander of the 18th Guards Army, sent a telegram saying that Colonel Konev's Guards Airborne Forces
The 3rd Division has successfully crossed the national border and officially entered Romania."
"This is really good news." When he learned that another unit had entered Romania, Sokov's smile became even brighter: "Chief of Staff, call General Afunin back immediately and ask them to establish a foothold in Romania as soon as possible.
, to accommodate more troops crossing the border."
"Okay, Comrade Commander. I'm going to send a report to General Afnin."
"Wait a minute." When Samyko was about to send a telegram, Sokov stopped him: "Don't forget to send a telegram to General Kravchenko to inform him of the progress of the 18th Guards Army.
Also ask him, when will his troops enter Romania?"
Looking at Samyko's back, Trofimenko gave Sokov a thumbs up: "Comrade Commander, your move is really wonderful. If General Kravchenko knew that the 18th Guards Army had
Once you enter Romania, you will definitely feel unconvinced, and you will definitely make the troops speed up their advance in order to enter Romania in the shortest possible time."
The phone on the table rang without warning. Sokov, who was closest to the phone, instinctively grabbed the receiver: "I'm Sokov, where are you?"
"Hello, Comrade Sokov, I am Zakharov." Zakharov's joyful voice came from the receiver: "I have great news to tell you."
"What great news?" Sokov couldn't help but be stunned: "What great news?"
"The troops of the 4th Guards Army and the 57th Army have defeated one German division and three Romanian divisions near Wingene, and are rapidly advancing towards the national border. If nothing goes wrong, they will be in the sky
You can enter Romania smoothly before the blackout."
"What, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, what did you say?" Zakharov's words shocked Sokov. He had just imagined that after the 18th Guards Army, Kravchenko's 6th Tank Army could also
He recently entered Romania. Unexpectedly, Zaharov told him that two other armies were almost reaching the Romanian border. This was simply unbelievable: "Can you say it again?"
Zakharov did not notice anything strange about Sokov, and thought that the other party really did not hear clearly, so he repeated what he had just said, and finally said: "Comrade Sokov, your Southern Front Corps can step up its efforts."
, don’t wait until all friendly forces have entered Romania, you haven’t reached the border yet.”
When Sokov heard this, he was extremely unconvinced and retorted: "Chief of Staff of the Front Army, no matter how fast the two armies you just mentioned move quickly, I am afraid they will not be able to enter Romania ahead of my troops."
When Zakharov heard what Sokov said, there seemed to be something in his words, and he quickly asked: "Comrade Sokov, what do you mean, can you make it clearer?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army," Afunin reported the battle results not long ago, which made Sokov confident. He said proudly: "Not long ago, the 3rd Guards Airborne Division under the 18th Guards Army has
It successfully crossed the national border, entered Romania, and is advancing towards the nearest town."
"Ah, the 3rd Guards Airborne Division has also entered Romania?" Sokov's report shocked Zakharov. He was silent for a long time before asking in an uncertain tone: "Comrade Sokov, you
Is what you said true?"
"It's completely true, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Sokov knew his subordinates very well and would never deceive himself on such a matter, because fabricating such a lie would be easily exposed. Therefore, he said confidently:
"If you don't believe it, you can send someone to verify it."
"I really didn't expect that the 18th Guards Army would move so fast." Zakharov slowed down and said, "Comrade Sokov, in fact, the reason why the 4th Guards Army and the 57th Guards Army were able to advance so quickly was
Near the border, it is also related to the 6th Tank Army."
"Oh, is it related to the 6th Tank Army?" Sokov asked in surprise: "What's going on?"
"It's like this. After a German armored regiment was defeated by the 4th Guards Army, it retreated in the direction of Wengerner. As a result, it encountered troops of the Tank Army halfway. After a fierce battle between the two sides, the German armor
After the regiment was annihilated and the enemy's plan to build a new defense line near Ungene collapsed, the defensive positions of the German and Romanian coalition forces were broken through by the 57th Army and the 4th Guards Army."
"Oh, that's it." After figuring out what happened, Sokov said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I think General Kravchenko will be very happy if he knows about this. After all, they
The military actions taken accelerated the speed at which friendly forces could break through the enemy's defense lines."
"Comrade Sokov," Zakharov continued: "Once several troops enter Romania, in order to quickly expand the results, I will consider letting the troops concentrate their operations. What do you think?"
Sokov did not immediately express his attitude, but humbly asked: "Chief of Staff of the Front Army, if these troops are concentrated, how do you plan to use these troops?"
Before Zakharov called Sokov, he had already thought about the tactics for the troops to enter Romania, so he spoke clearly and logically. After talking for almost half an hour, he finally stopped and asked: "How is it?
Comrade Sokov, what do you think of my plan?"
"Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I feel that in this case, it is very inappropriate to combine three armies plus a Guards Corps." Since Zakharov asked for his opinion, Sokov said politely.
Pointed out the shortcomings of the concentrated use of troops: "When entering Romania from the vicinity of the Wingene area, the front of the troops is blocked by forests, lakes and swamps, which is not conducive to the deployment of our mechanized troops and is not suitable for large group operations.
If we really concentrate our forces and launch an offensive against the enemy in this area, the enemy will only need to occupy some commanding heights to block our army's path forward with firepower. At that time, not only will our army's offensive speed be slow,
But for every step forward, you will pay a heavy price."
Seeing that Sokov rejected his plan, Zakharov felt a little unhappy, so he asked displeasedly: "Then tell me, what should we do?"
"I think we can develop in several directions at the same time," Sokov heard the displeasure in Zakharov's tone and explained to him: "In this way, not only can our troops be fully deployed and fully exert their
Its own combat effectiveness can also disperse the enemy's forces, forcing them to divide their forces and conduct defensive operations in numerous areas."
"Comrade Sokov, aren't you afraid that even after our troops are dispersed, we still won't be able to break through the enemy's defense line?"
"No, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Sokov said confidently: "The most effective force in Romania today is the German army, but their number is limited, and they will definitely find a way to concentrate their use in one direction. If we use
If the troops on the southern front are all concentrated in one area to fight, the Germans will be able to deploy tight defenses in that direction and frustrate our offensive.
But if we disperse our forces, it means that the forces used by the Germans for defense will also have to be dispersed. In this way, they have limited forces to defend at various locations, and they will not be able to block our offensive. The defense lines they established will not last long.
, will be broken through one after another.”
Zakharov was silent. He thought for a long time and felt that Sokov's words made sense. He nodded slowly and said: "Comrade Sokov, I think what you said makes some sense. So,
I will discuss it with Marshal Konev to see what his intentions are, and then decide whether to combine the several armies on the southern front."
When Sokov put down the phone, Trofimenko asked impatiently: "Comrade Commander, what did General Zakharov say?"
"He told me that the 57th Army and the 4th Guards Army have approached the national border from the area south of Wingene and can enter Romania at any time."
"Ah?!" Trofimenko was shocked after hearing this: "Where did these two army groups come from? How come they reached the national border without making a sound."
"Comrade Deputy Commander, according to my analysis, they should be units used as reserve forces by the front army headquarters." Seeing Trofimenko's confused look, Sokov analyzed to him: "The 52nd Army is on our left flank.
Step by step, they encroached on the enemy's defense area and advanced towards the border. The two reserve army units took advantage of the enemy's attention and being attracted by friendly forces to unexpectedly break through the enemy's defense line and arrived at Wenger.
The area south of Nei."
"I seem to have heard him say that he planned to concentrate the troops on the southern front for use. Is this the case?"
Sokov felt that Trofimenko might have heard the conversation between him and Zakharov, and asking this question now was just to let him explain it to him in detail.
But Sokov was not impatient because of this. On the contrary, he patiently explained to him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, General Zakharov plans to integrate two combined arms armies, a tank army, and a guard army.
He thought that by gathering so many troops together, he could quickly break through the enemy's defense lines and advance deeply into Romania."
"Is there something wrong?" Trofimenko vaguely heard some of the conversation between Sokov and Zakharov, but at the most critical moment, a staff officer came to report the situation to him, interrupting his listening.
process, at this moment he wanted to find out why Sokov opposed this plan: "With so many troops concentrated, I don't think the enemy has the ability to stop them."
"My comrade deputy commander, this is theoretically the case, but when General Zakharov came up with this plan, he ignored the terrain in Romania." Sokov said: "Look, after passing Prut
Behind the river, there are forests, lakes and swamps everywhere, and the troops cannot deploy at all. In other words, even if they engage in firefights with the enemy, they can only be a division or a regiment under a certain group army, and the rest of the troops can only stay behind.
, watching the comrades in front of him and the enemy fighting to the death, but he could not do much to help.
Once the Germans discover the location where our troops are gathering, they can dispatch their air force to bomb the area, or use artillery fire to bombard the area, causing huge casualties to our troops.
It was out of this consideration that I decisively rejected General Zakharov's plan and did not intend to hand over the 6th Tank Army and the 18th Guards Army to his command, so as not to appear in the enemy's bombing or artillery attack.
Massive casualties."
After Sokov's explanation, Trofimenko finally realized: "No wonder you objected to General Zakharov's centralized use of troops. It turned out to be this reason."
"That's right." Sokov continued: "But if the troops are separated, and the group army is used as a unit, and each chooses a direction as its own combat area, it will force the German army to separate its limited troops and place them in various areas.
To defend."
"What about the Romanian army?" Seeing that Sokov kept talking about the German army, but did not mention the Romanian army at all, Trofimenko couldn't help but remind him: "They have a lot of troops!"
"Today's Romanian army is just a mess. No matter how large the number is, it is not a concern." Sokov said disapprovingly: "I think in areas where no German troops are involved in defense, as long as our troops arrive at the city, the Romanians in the city will be
Stop resisting, put down your weapons and surrender to us."