After settling the matter with the 120th Guards Division, Sidorin tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, do you need to report this matter to the Front Army Headquarters?"
Sokov thought in his mind that it would be a bit of a fuss for a small German scout to report to the front army headquarters for such a trivial matter, so he waved his hand and said: "No need, the matter ends here."
"Comrade Commander," Sidorin reminded Sokov: "The commander of the front army just went to Luran Town during the day, and something like this happened at night. If he didn't report it, and when Comrade Marshal knew about it, how could he be blamed?
manage?"
"Don't worry, the recent focus of the Front Army Command is on how to liberate Warsaw. What happens here is nothing to them." Sokov waved his hand and said: "What we have to do now
, which is to consolidate the Luran landing site as much as possible and use it as the starting point for future attacks."
Sidorin agreed with Sokov's statement. You must know that the main attention of the front army headquarters is now focused on the left wing troops, while the three armies fighting on the Narew River on the right wing are
They rarely asked. If they hadn't intercepted a false intelligence from the Germans, I'm afraid Sokov wouldn't have had the chance to meet Rokossovsky.
"Comrade Commander," Sidorin thought for a while and asked Sokov tentatively: "As far as I know, the 8th Guards Army has deployed two divisions into Warsaw and is trying to get in touch with the Warsaw Uprising Army.
Assist our main force to cross the Vistula River."
But after hearing this, Sokov shook his head and said disapprovingly: "Although two divisions of troops have entered the west of Warsaw, I feel that the time is not mature enough to liberate the entire Warsaw."
Regarding Sokov's statement, Ponejelin expressed a different view: "No, Comrade Commander. You must know that the troops attacking Warsaw now, in addition to the 8th Guards Army, there are also the 47th Army and
The Polish 1st Army, the German army in Warsaw, is currently being restrained by the insurgents and cannot concentrate its forces to resist our attack..."
Before Ponejelin could finish speaking, Sokov raised his hand and interrupted him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, if the rebels in the city have close contact with us, then when we attack Warsaw, they can
Constantly harassing the rear of the German army, causing the enemy to focus on one thing and the other. But what is the actual situation today? The insurgents are only thinking about cooperating with the Allied forces hundreds of kilometers away, but they ignore our troops approaching the city. Even if our troops
Even if the army enters the city, they will not actively cooperate."
"So, we won't be able to capture the city of Warsaw in a short period of time?" Ponedelin looked at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Commander, is my understanding correct?"
"Absolutely correct." Sokov said with a sneer: "Not only can our army fail to successfully capture Warsaw City, but even the defenders in Warsaw City may not be able to hold on for long. Otherwise, the Allies will not take the risk of organizing a fleet of transport aircraft to attack
The city has implemented airdrops."
What Sokov said was confirmed a few days later. In a report issued by the front army headquarters, it was stated that shortly before the troops of the Polish 1st Army carried out the landing operation, the troops of the Krajow Army followed the instructions of Komorovs
Following the orders of Key and Montel, they withdrew from the coastal suburbs into the city, leaving their positions to the Germans. Moreover, when the Klajov Army evacuated the river bank, they did not even notify the detachment of Liudov Army, which resulted in these
All remaining units were annihilated by the Germans.
The Polish 7th Regiment that entered the west of Warsaw, as well as two Soviet divisions and one regiment, had to give up the attempt to capture the city after a week of hard fighting because they could not get in touch with the rebels, and the supply lines were damaged by the Germans.
I crossed the river and returned to the right bank of the Vistula River.
After reading the report from the Front Army Headquarters, Ponejelin and Sidorin were convinced of Sokov's "judgment". Sidorin said with emotion: "Comrade Commander, I really didn't expect that as early as a few days ago,
, you analyzed that the two divisions entering the city would not play a big role at all. I didn’t expect that you were right.”
"Comrade Chief of Staff, it's actually very simple." Sokov said with a normal expression: "The Magnushev landing site established by the 8th Guards Army has been under continuous attack by the German army from the beginning. In order to cooperate with the Polish
The 1st Army Group captured Warsaw, and they tried their best to barely open a passage. If the troops sent to Warsaw could gain a firm foothold and quickly open up the situation, it would not matter whether they could obtain supplies from the landing site.
But the actual situation is that the troops entering Warsaw do not have the support of the rebel army and are fighting alone in a strange place. The bridge connecting the two sides of the Taiwan Strait has not been repaired for a long time, and they can only gain access to themselves through the Magnushev landing site.
Urgently needed supplies. But once this supply line is cut off by the Germans, the two divisions in the city will soon fall into a situation of running out of ammunition and food due to lack of supplies. At that time, they will not capture the city, but they will be captured by the city.
The enemy inside must be eliminated. Under such circumstances, Comrade Marshal's decisive order to withdraw the troops is completely correct."
"Our army cannot gain a foothold on the left bank of the Vistula River," Ponedelin said thoughtfully after Sokov finished speaking, "Then the prospects for the rebels in the city are not good."
"If I'm not wrong," Sokov said, pretending to be mysterious: "In one week at most, the Krajow Army in the middle of the rebel army will order everyone to lay down their weapons and surrender. This uprising that broke out in Warsaw,
It ended up being a tragedy."
If Sokov had said this a few days ago, Ponedelin would never have believed it. Instead, he would have thought that the other party was being alarmist. But at this moment, he was lost in thought. As a senior military commander, he
He knew very well that once the uprising in the city was suppressed by the German army, the German army would be free to engage in a life-and-death battle with the Soviet army, and the situation on the battlefield would then develop in an unpredictable direction.
"Comrade Commander," Ponejelin said with a bitter look on his face: "I trust your judgment. If the rebel army in Warsaw really surrenders to the Germans under the order of the commander of the Klajov Army, the Germans will
Then we can concentrate on dealing with our attack. By that time, let alone the liberation of Warsaw, it is still unknown whether we can hold the area we currently occupy."
"Comrade Deputy Commander, I think the focus of the next battlefield will be towards our area." Sokov smiled and said to Ponedelin: "You have to be mentally prepared first."
"No way." Hearing what Sokov said, Ponedelin had an expression of disbelief on his face: "Judging from the fighting situation for more than half a month, what we are doing in the Narew River is just
How could the superiors put the focus of the battle on us in such a difficult and fruitless battle?"
"Indeed, the artillery fire from Modlin Fortress suppressed our army from making greater progress." Sokov said: "But we should also see that the German army was on the east bank of the Vistula and Narev rivers.
There is also a triangular piece of territory. As long as this is captured, the three armies can become a powerful whole, and use this as the starting point for the offensive to launch a new round of attacks deep into the German defenses."
"Although the enemy's territory is not large, it is not an easy task to capture it." Ponejelin shook his head after hearing this and said: "The top of the triangular landing site is at the intersection of the two rivers.
This section can only be attacked from the front. However, the enemy's defense line is under the cover of cross artillery fire from the other side of the river, and the enemy can also bombard our offensive troops from the Modlin Fortress at the top of the triangle."
"You are right, Comrade Deputy Commander." After Sokov agreed with Ponedelin's statement, he continued: "But if the enemies in this area are not eliminated, we will be near the Narew River.
The battle is meaningless, and there is no way to advance deeper into the enemy from here."
While the three were discussing, Rokossovsky called: "Misha, come to my headquarters immediately. I have an important combat mission to give you."
"Okay, Comrade Marshal, I will rush over as soon as possible."
"I will send a plane to pick you up later so that you can reach the front headquarters faster."
After Sokov put down his point, he said to Ponedelin and Sidorin: "Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff, it seems that I was wrong again. Comrade Marshal asked me to go to the front army headquarters and said that there was something important.
The combat mission is assigned to me. In fact, even without saying it, you can analyze what mission Comrade Marshal plans to assign to me."
"So, destroying the enemies in the triangle area is the top priority right now?" Ponjelin asked tentatively.
"Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander, this is an obvious problem." Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch and said: "I have to rush to the airport immediately. The plane sent by Comrade Marshal to pick me up will be here soon.
arrive."
But when Sokov arrived at the field airport by car, he happened to see a transport plane landing. After seeing the plane stop on the runway, Sokov patted Koshkin, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat: "Captain
Comrade, please drive over."
Koshkin nodded and said to the driver beside him: "Drive the car next to the plane."
When we arrived at the plane, the cabin door had already been opened and the gangway was lowered. A pilot stood beside the ladder. After saluting Sokov, he asked politely: "Is this General Sokov?"
"Yes, it's me." Sokov nodded: "Are you here to pick me up?"
"Yes, Comrade General." The pilot nodded and said, "I came to pick you up on orders from the Front Army Headquarters. Please get on the plane."
After Sokov took Koshkin onto the plane, he unexpectedly saw an unexpected person. He was surprised and said: "General Popov, why are you here?" It turned out that the commander of the 70th Group Army was also sitting on the plane.
Popov stood up, shook hands with Sokov, and said with a smile: "General Sokov, of course, like you, was also ordered to go to the front headquarters."
Sokov looked at the pilot in the cockpit, then at Popov in front of him, and suddenly realized: "Oh, I understand. Comrade Marshal, let the pilot pick you up first, then pick me up on the way back, and then pick us up
The two of them were sent to the headquarters together."
"Yes, that's it."
After the plane took off, Popov asked curiously: "General Sokov, do you think Marshal Rokossovsky is so anxious to ask us to go to the front headquarters, what tasks do you think he has assigned to me?"
When Sokov heard what Popov said, a smile appeared on his face: "General Popov, I think you have already guessed the reason why Comrade Marshal summoned us, right?"
Popov also grinned and said: "Yes, I do have a bold idea, but now I want to hear your guesses to see if we want to go together."
"The triangular area at the confluence of the Vistula and Narew rivers blocks our way forward." Sokov said: "If we want to advance the enemy's defense depth, we must capture this area first."
"Since our group army crossed the Vistula River, there have been attacks in this area." Popov frowned and said, "But the enemy's powerful artillery fire caused huge casualties to our attacking troops.
Not only did the soldiers suffer huge losses, but they also wasted a lot of ammunition, but they failed to drive the enemy out."
"The existence of the triangle is very detrimental to our army's next operation." Sokov didn't know whether Popov had read the report from the front army headquarters, so he took the initiative to say to him: "The attack on Warsaw City has already begun.
If it fails, I think the superiors should focus the next phase of their attack on the Narew River Basin where we are located."
"Ah, the attack on Warsaw failed?" Popov asked in surprise after hearing this: "Didn't it mean that the two infantry divisions that entered the city had to cross the river because their supplies were cut off and they could not contact the rebels?
Return to Jian? When did you say that the attack on Warsaw failed?"
"General Popov, in the report from the Front Army Headquarters, it is true that there was no mention of the failure of the attack on Warsaw, but as a senior commander, you should learn something from this information."
Popov began to think carefully about what Sokov said. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that what he said made sense. He raised his head, looked at Sokov and said: "General Sokov, I think your analysis is very reasonable. The superiors may
We are really planning to attack the Triangle. But if our troops are attacked by enemy crossfire and artillery fire from the Modlin Fortress at the same time, how should we respond?"
When Sokov's troops were expanding their results, they were hit by German artillery fire, resulting in considerable casualties. Since there was no powerful artillery fire to suppress the enemy's artillery positions and the Modlin Fortress, it took more than half a month.
Here, Sokov's troops were consolidating the existing defense lines and had no plans to expand the landing site.
He shook his head and said to Popov: "I'm sorry, General Popov. To be honest, I have no way to deal with the powerful German artillery fire. Comrade Marshal today recruited us to the headquarters. If he really wants us to eliminate the two rivers
In the triangle area at the intersection, we must first ask him if he can find a way to suppress the German artillery fire to ensure the success of our offensive operations."
Unable to get the answer he wanted from Sokov, Popov couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. But thinking that the next task might involve two armies operating at the same time, he nodded and agreed: "Yes.
, General Sokov. If we want to eliminate the triangle area occupied by the Germans, we must find a way to suppress their artillery fire first, thereby reducing the casualties of our troops during the attack."