Ponedelin returned to the new headquarters with the two brigade commanders, and admitted his mistake to Sokov with a red face: "Comrade Commander, you are right, we cannot take down the Brest Fortress with our current strength.
.”
Although Sokov had long expected that this attack would not be successful, he was still surprised when Ponedelin and others were defeated so quickly: "Comrade Deputy Commander, what are the casualties of the troops?"
"The two brigades each suffered one-third casualties." Ponjelin said with a wry smile: "In the end, they didn't even touch the shore of the other side."
"What, you didn't even touch the other side of the shore, and one-third of the troops suffered casualties?" Sidorin said with shock on his face: "How did you fight this battle?"
The commander of the 118th Brigade said: "After the shelling ended, we ordered the soldiers to put the rubber boats into the river and prepare to board the other side by force crossing."
"Use a rubber boat to force the crossing?!" Sidorin's eyes widened in surprise: "I remember there is a bridge leading to the fortress. Don't you know that you use tanks to charge in front, followed by infantry?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I think the deputy commander's approach of using a rubber boat to cross the river was right." Unexpectedly, as soon as Sidorin finished speaking, Sokov spoke to Ponedelin from the side: "I think the Germans must be there.
Anti-tank weapons are deployed in the fortress opposite the bridge. As long as the leading tank is destroyed on the bridge, the road behind it can be blocked, making the tanks and infantry following behind it a target for the Germans."
After saying this, he asked Ponijelin: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I heard from the artillery director that they fired tens of thousands of artillery shells at the fortress. Didn't they blow a gap in the city wall?"
Ponejelin shook his head first, and then said with a bitter look on his face: "The caliber of our artillery was too small. Although tens of thousands of shells were consumed, it only blasted the city wall full of holes, but it was never able to open the gap.
The most terrible thing is that many of the fortifications along the river were not destroyed by artillery fire, so as soon as our crossing operation began, the enemy's machine gun fire caused us huge casualties."
Sidorin heard what Ponedelin said and realized the seriousness of the problem. He looked at Sokov and asked: "Comrade Commander, what should we do? Should we reorganize our troops to attack, or should we stop temporarily?"
"Let the troops stop temporarily." Sokov sighed softly and said: "If we cannot destroy the enemy's fortifications along the river and cannot blast the gap in the city wall, even if we send more troops to attack, it will be nothing more than
It will only increase casualties.”
"Comrade Commander, if we stop the attack." Sidorin reminded Sokov kindly: "What should we do if the Front Army Headquarters pursues the case?"
Sokov knew that Sidorin was telling the truth. If he ordered the troops to stop the attack on the Brest Fortress without authorization, Rokossovsky would definitely call to raise troops to accuse him. Instead of being passive then, it would be better to attack first.
Give him a phone call and explain clearly to him the difficulties he is facing: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you don't have to worry about this matter. I will personally call Comrade General and explain everything here to him."
A few minutes later, Sokov answered the call from the headquarters. After recognizing that the person who answered the phone was Ma Linin, he asked politely: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I have something important to report to Comrade General. Can you please
Does he answer the phone?"
"If Comrade Commander is not here, if you have anything to do, you can tell me the same thing."
Knowing that Rokossovsky was not at the headquarters, Sokov became a little hesitant: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, when will he come back?"
"It's hard to say. Maybe in ten minutes, maybe in a few hours." Malinin said with a smile on the phone: "General Sokov, if you have something to do, you can tell me the same thing."
Sokov hesitated for a moment, and then reported to Malinin the failure of the troops' attack on the Brest Fortress. Finally, he said: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I am responsible for the failure of the attack, and I am willing to accept all punishments from my superiors.
.”
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Ma Linin said with a smile: "So that's what happened. General Sokov, you don't have to have any psychological burden. Comrade Commander has long considered that to seize such a strong fortification, with your
The current strength is definitely not enough, so I’m asking my superiors for help, hoping they can help you.”
"Ask for help from your superiors?" Sokov asked in surprise: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I wonder what kind of equipment our superiors can give us?"
"What else could it be? Of course it is a magic weapon for attacking the fortress." Malinin said on the phone: "Comrade Commander received a call from Marshal Zhukov an hour ago, saying that the Weapons and Equipment Department in Moscow provided you with
The super heavy artillery has arrived. This kind of heavy artillery is equipped with special condensate-breaking bombs, which is perfect for dealing with fortresses with strong fortifications. After he answered the phone, he personally took people to see the super heavy artillery sent by his superiors. "
When Sokov heard what Malinin said, his eyes suddenly lit up, and then he asked tentatively: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, what kind of super heavy artillery is it?"
"I don't know." Unexpectedly, Ma Linin answered simply. "Marshal Zhukov only said it was a super heavy artillery. As for what kind of heavy artillery he didn't say, I didn't see it, so naturally I don't know what it is."
Although he didn't know what kind of super heavy artillery his superiors were about to provide him, Sokov felt much more at ease. With the help of the super heavy artillery, the wall blocking the Soviet commanders and fighters would become like paper.
It's generally ridiculous. Maybe a few shots can blow up the gap, and then the troops who successfully cross the river can rush into the fortress through the gap.
After putting down the phone, Sokov excitedly said to everyone: "Comrades, let me tell you good news. In order to ensure that our unit can successfully conquer the Brest Fortress, our superiors are about to send us a batch of super heavy artillery and supporting equipment.
Destroying condensate bombs to deal with the strong fortifications of the fortress."
"Great, this is really great." After hearing the news, the most excited person was Sidorin. He said excitedly: "As long as these heavy artillery can break open a few gaps in the city wall, our troops can quickly
The ground rushed into the fortress."
But Ponejelin thought of some details and asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I wonder what the caliber of the super heavy artillery that our superiors are preparing to assist us is. Can it blast a gap in the solid city wall?"
"I don't know about this at the moment." Malinen didn't even know what the super heavy artillery provided by his superiors was, and Sokov naturally didn't know either. He could only shake his head and said: "But the front army headquarters will soon put it in
These super heavy artillery are sent here, and once you see the real ones, you will know what they are like."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov told Sidorin: "Call the artillery director and ask him to come over as soon as possible to prepare to receive the super heavy artillery sent by his superiors."
"Comrade Commander, I was just about to tell you about this." Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Sidorin showed a troubled expression on his face: "The artillery director can't come."
"Ah, he can't come?" Sokov was stunned after hearing this, thinking that he might also have been killed by a mine on the road, right? "What happened to him? Why can't he come?"
Sidorin smiled bitterly and said: "His deputy called and said that he has been sent to the military hospital due to an acute appendicitis attack. It is estimated that he will not be discharged in half a month."
"Hell, the artillery director can't continue to perform his duties." Sokov thought of the armored force director who died due to a mine strike not long ago, so he asked Colonel Malyshev to take over his post. Now the artillery director is hospitalized with acute appendicitis.
, he still had to find someone to take over his position. Thinking of this, he asked everyone: "Do you have a suitable candidate?"
If it were an infantry commander, Sidorin, Ponyjelin and others might be able to come up with many candidates, but for the position of artillery director, two people with infantry backgrounds really couldn't think of a suitable candidate.
Seeing that the two of them were still silent, Sokov knew that they must not have a suitable candidate. In order to prevent this important position from being left vacant, Sokov began to think about the group of students who had followed him and who among them could take over the position.
.But after thinking about everyone, he sadly discovered that there was really no one who could take over this position.
"Hey, since you don't have a suitable candidate, this position will be temporarily vacant." Sokov said helplessly: "The artillery work will be temporarily handled by his deputy."
Sokov had a headache over the selection of the new artillery chief, but things took an unexpected turn in the evening.
A staff officer came in and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, an artillery unit came outside, saying that it was equipped by superiors to provide our super heavy artillery unit."
"What, the super heavy artillery unit has arrived?" When Sokov heard this, he was overjoyed and asked quickly: "How many heavy artillery units did you see, and what is the rank of the commander who led the unit?"
Before the staff officer could answer, a familiar voice came from the door: "Misha, I am the one leading the team."
Sokov instinctively looked at the door. After seeing who was coming, he opened his mouth in surprise: "Yasha, why is it you?"
"Why can't it be me, Misha." Yakov walked quickly towards Sokov and opened his arms. "Give me a hug, my brother!"
Sokov quickly stepped forward and gave Yakov a warm hug, and then continued to ask: "Yasha, you haven't told me yet, why are you here?"
"I'm bringing you super heavy artillery."
"Did you send the super heavy artillery here?" After hearing this, Sokov asked in surprise: "Yasha, weren't you transferred to the General Staff Headquarters? How could you be the one to send us the super heavy artillery?"
Where’s the head?”
"You are right, I was indeed transferred to the General Staff Headquarters." Yakov explained to Sokov: "But I received a call from Comrade Ustinov a few days ago, saying that the Artillery Headquarters was preparing to transport an army
To send a batch of super heavy artillery to Belarus, we needed to send a trustworthy commander to lead the team, and I was chosen.”
Sokov figured out the reason why Yakov appeared here, and continued to ask: "I wonder what kind of super heavy artillery it is?"
"There are two super heavy artillery battalions coming with me this time." Yakov said to Sokov: "One is the 203 heavy artillery battalion equipped with six 203mm howitzers; the other is equipped with three 280mm howitzers.
280th Heavy Artillery Battalion.”
When Sokov heard the numbers, he found that the numbers of the two heavy artillery battalions were quite easy to remember. They were both named after the caliber of the artillery. As soon as he heard the numbers, he knew the caliber of the artillery equipped by the battalion.
"Oh my God." Sidorin heard what Yakov said and said with shock: "A 280mm howitzer actually has such a terrifying large-caliber artillery. I believe no matter how strong the walls of the Brest Fortress are,
I’m afraid it can’t withstand the bombardment of such a howitzer.”
Yakov nodded, and then introduced the two types of artillery to everyone: "...the 203mm howitzer has a barrel length of 37 times the caliber and a maximum range of 47.5 kilometers..."
"The 280mm howitzer is an improvement on the 1915 Schneider 280mm howitzer. It has a range of 10.65 kilometers. It fires separate ammunition. The weight of the projectile is 246 kilograms. The muzzle velocity is 356 meters per second. The elevation angle is 0 to 60 degrees. The direction angle is 0 to 60 degrees.
8 degrees, with a combat weight of 18.4 tons. This gun can be dismantled into three parts for transportation. The gun is towed by a Voroshilov tractor. It takes 2 hours to convert during marching combat, and the rate of fire is one round every four minutes."
Sokov was an outsider in artillery, but after listening to Yakov's explanation, he still had an unclear feeling: "Yasha, with so many super heavy artillery, I believe no matter how strong the fortifications of the Brest Fortress are,
It will also be blown into ruins."
"Misha," after Yakov introduced the parameters of the super heavy artillery, he scanned the room and then asked Sokov: "Where is your artillery director? I have some things that I need to explain to him."
"I'm sorry, General Yakov." Before Sokov could speak, Sidorin said first: "Our artillery director had an acute appendicitis attack this morning and was sent to the hospital. Now the artillery work is done by his deputy.
He's in charge. Otherwise, I'll call his deputy over. If you have anything to do, I'll tell him the same thing."
Hearing that the artillery director was hospitalized, Yakov showed a helpless expression on his face: "It's okay to call his deputy over, and I'll tell him some precautions."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." When Sokov saw Sidorin pick up the phone and prepare to contact the deputy of the artillery director, he stopped him in time: "Don't be busy making phone calls yet."
Sidorin put down the phone with some surprise, looked at Sokov and said: "Comrade Commander, why don't you call the artillery director's deputy?"
"Yes, no need to fight."
"If you don't make a call, how will the deputy to the artillery director know what you need to pay attention to when using these super heavy artillery?"
"I have an idea of who will fill the position of artillery director."
"who?"
Sokov looked at Yakov and said: "Yasha, since you escorted these super heavy artillery, why not let you act as my artillery director!"
He was deeply afraid that Yakov would refuse, and even pointed out the other party's previous identity: "If I remember correctly, you once served as an artillery lieutenant. I feel more at ease with you commanding the artillery of our group army."
"Yes, yes, what Comrade Commander said makes sense." Sidorin spent the most time dealing with Yakov, and they talked to each other very casually. After hearing Sokov's proposal, he struck while the iron was hot and said: "Yakov
General Husband, I think you will be reluctant to temporarily act as the artillery director of our army group and command these heavy artillery to bombard the solid defenses of the Brest Fortress."
Yakov did not expect that he was just ordered to send super heavy artillery, but Sokov actually offered him the position of acting artillery director. He wanted to refuse, but seeing the sincerity of Sokov and Sidorin, he thought about it
After a moment, he decisively agreed to the request: "Okay, Misha, then I will temporarily act as the artillery director for a period of time. After the Brest Fortress is liberated, you will find someone to replace me."
"No problem." Sokov stretched out his hand to Yakov: "We have an agreement."