The first offensive campaign launched by Zhukov after taking office had an embarrassing ending.
The two troops of Chuikov and Kolpak in the south advanced more than ten kilometers into the enemy's defense; while the attack launched by the 65th and 70th Group Armies in the north towards the Modlin Fortress ended in failure. Soko
The 48th Group Army under the command of husband captured the triangle area from the enemy and became the only bright spot of the northern cluster.
When Batov convened a meeting with members of the headquarters, he received the news that the 48th Army successfully occupied the triangle area. After hearing this, he was completely stunned and murmured: "How could Sokov's 48th Army achieve its combat objectives?
, how is it possible to achieve the combat purpose?"
The leaders of the group armies present had the same idea as Bartov. Judging from various signs, if they did not first occupy the Modlin Fortress and launch an attack on the triangle area, it would be equivalent to letting the troops die from the rear of the German defense area.
The artillery fire, as well as the cross-fire of the Modlin Fortress, were enough to wipe out the troops on the offensive road.
"Comrade Commander," after a long silence, the first person to speak was Military Commissar Rajetsky. He said with a wry smile: "You should know very well that General Sokov is the youngest general in our army. If
If I remember correctly, he seems to have just turned 26 this year. The reason why he became a senior commander of our army at such a young age may have something to do with his personal military commanding ability."
With Rajecki's suggestion, Chief of Staff Glebov also echoed: "I agree with Comrade Military Commissar, General Sokov is an excellent commander, and the various tactics he used in battle can be
It is said to be very novel. It is precisely because of these special tactics that our enemy has repeatedly suffered heavy losses. I think that his victory today is probably related to the fact that he used this kind of tactics."
"Chief of Staff, please be specific." After Bartov waited for Glebov to finish speaking, he said angrily: "Tell me what tactics he used to achieve this victory."
Bartov's words put Glebov into embarrassment: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, the notification we received only said that the 48th Group Army successfully completed the task of its superiors and captured the Mesopotamia from the Germans.
The triangle area. As for the tactics they used in the battle, it is unknown."
"Since you don't know, then ask." Batov said with gritted teeth: "If the front army headquarters can't ask, just ask Sidorin directly to see if you can get useful information from him."
Glebov could tell that although Batov was very angry at the moment, he also wanted to find out what tactics Sokov's troops used in the battle and successfully completed the combat mission assigned by their superiors.
Glebov thought in his mind that the front army headquarters must be very busy at the moment. If he called Chief of Staff Malinin and asked what tactics Sokov's troops used in the battle, he might not get the ideal answer.
The reason for this is that the first is that the other party is busy with work and has no time to explain it to me in detail; the second possibility is that the tactics used by Malinin in his victory over Sokov are unknown, so it is better to ask directly.
You should be able to get the answer you want from Major General Sidorin, Chief of Staff of the 48th Group Army.
After thinking about this, he said to Bartov: "Comrade Commander, I will call General Sidorin now and ask him about the entire battle." Seeing Bartov nodding in agreement, he picked up the
The telephone in front of you.
When Sidorin received the call from Glebov, he was a little surprised. He said that his troops had no cooperative mission with the 65th Group Army. What was the other party calling him for? In order to find out what was going on,
He asked tentatively: "Hello, General Glebov, what can I do for you?"
"General Sidorin, I heard that you successfully captured the triangle area of the Mesopotamia." Glebov said with a smile: "On behalf of Commander Batov and Military Commissar Rajecki, I would like to congratulate you!"
"Thank you! Thank you, General Glebov!"
"General Sidorin, actually I made this call because I want to ask you something."
"Please tell me, what do you want to ask?"
"We are studying your battle to capture the Triangle Zone," Glebov said, "but no matter how you think about it, you will definitely have to pay a heavy price to complete these tasks. Can you tell me how your battle went?"
Faced with Glebov's request, Sidorin did not immediately agree. Instead, he covered the phone and asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, this is a call from General Glebov, Chief of Staff of the 65th Group Army. He wants to ask us something."
The detailed process of seizing the triangle area. What to do? Can you tell him to scold me?"
Sokov thought for a while and felt that there was nothing that needed to be kept secret about his troops' battle to seize the triangle area. He nodded and said, "It's okay. He will answer whatever he asks. I hope they can learn from our battle today."
I learned something useful."
After receiving Sokov's authorization, Sidorin removed his hand covering the microphone and said into the microphone: "General Glebov, since we are friendly forces, it is natural to share the battle process with you.
"Then he told Glebov everything that happened in the battle.
After making the phone call, Glebov told the commanders present what Sidorin said, and finally said: "This is the entire battle process of the 48th Group Army to seize the Mesopotamia triangle. I wonder what you can understand from it.
To what."
After listening to Glebov's story, Panov, commander of the Don Tank Corps, tapped his fingers lightly on the table, frowned and began to think.
These actions of his were noticed by Glebov, so he asked by name: "General Panov, what do you think of this matter?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Panov looked up at Glebov and said: "If the superiors give the task of seizing the triangle to our group army, I think my tank army will definitely go into battle, but it will not play a role in the battle.
Not big."
Hearing what Panov said, Bartov couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and then asked: "General Panov, tell me your reasons. Why do you say that your tank army can play such a role in the battle?"
limited?"
"It's very simple, Comrade Commander." Panov shrugged his shoulders, tilted his head, and said with some helplessness: "The triangle area of the Mesopotamia is not suitable for the use of armored forces. If our tank corps is put into battle,
I believe that the tanks that lead the infantry charge will soon get stuck in the quagmire. Not only will they not be able to help the infantry, they will even become a burden to the infantry."
"You are right, it is indeed difficult to use tank troops in that area." After Bartov agreed with Panov's statement, he then asked: "Do you think the tactics used by friendly forces when seizing the triangle area?
Is there anything we can learn from?"
As an old subordinate of Batov, Panov knew the other person's character very well, so he did not talk in circles and say some irrelevant things, but truthfully said what was in his heart: "To be honest, I used to be so kind to General Sokov.
At a young age, he served as the commander of the group army and was even awarded the rank of general. I was somewhat resistant to it. However, today's battle made me change my view of him. I feel that he is worthy of his current position.
Very suitable.”
"General Panov, you are not the personnel director of the front army, so you should not make any judgments on the senior commanders of friendly forces." Bartov interrupted Panov and asked impatiently: "I asked
The question is, what do you think of his tactics?"
"If I want to speak my mind, I just want to say, well done!" Panov said: "Only the tactics used by General Sokov can seize the triangle area from the Germans."
Seeing Batov frowning, Panov realized that he seemed to have said something nonsense again, and quickly added: "General Sokov divided the troops into left and right wings and launched an attack on the German defense area at the same time. When he
When it was discovered that the Germans had blown up the reservoir and used floods to flood the troops' path forward, the measures taken were very effective. The troops on the left were allowed to advance deeply into the enemy's defenses; while the troops on the right, who were likely to be attacked by the floods,
Then stop attacking and switch to defense on the spot.
His tactics of attacking from the left and defending from the right successfully confused the enemy, making them think that the friendly right wing would not attack again, so they confidently and boldly transferred the main force of the right wing to the left wing to strengthen the defense there.
General Sokov's subordinates were also good at seizing opportunities. When he found that the German troops in front of him became empty, he decisively launched another attack. The Germans realized that they had been fooled and wanted to move their troops back, but found that
It was too late. In this way, the friendly forces successfully captured the weak right wing and sent troops to support the left wing, forming a pincer attack on the enemy..."
After Bartov waited for Panov's long speech to finish, he stood up and made a concluding speech: "Comrade commanders, today is a day of shame for us. This is the last time that we and the 70th Group Army will be in the first front army sequence.
The First World War could have been well represented, and it could have left a strong mark when compiling the first aspect of military history in the future.
But what is the result? Our two armies have more than 100,000 people, but they can't even take down the Modlin Fortress defended by thousands of people. It's shameful, comrades, it's shameful! Although I don't know what you are thinking, anyway
I find it quite embarrassing.
In a few days, our group armies, the 48th and 70th Group Armies, will be officially placed under the command of the Second Front Army. But so far, the only ones who can report to the Second Front Army with their heads held high are probably General Sokov's 48th Group Army.
As for us, we will become the objects of ridicule by others..."
Bartov's words made all the commanders present lower their heads. Yes, there is no harm without comparison. If this offensive operation involving the three armies ends in failure, then the eldest brother, let alone the second brother, will go
The new units are all the same. But now the 65th and 70th Group Armies lost in the battle, while Sokov's 48th Group Army suddenly emerged and achieved good results, which made his unit lose face.
Just when the situation was awkward, the phone ringing on the table broke the silence.
Glebov picked up the phone and listened for a moment, then a look of surprise appeared on his face: "Hello, Comrade Marshal, have you returned to the Second Front now?"
When Bartov heard what Glebov said, he immediately realized that the person talking to him might be Rokossovsky, and he quickly asked tentatively: "Chief of Staff, is this Comrade Marshal?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, the call is indeed from Comrade Marshal." After saying that, Glebov handed the phone to Batov.
"Hello, Comrade Marshal." Batov took the phone and said with some anxiety: "Are you here to notify us to return to the army?"
"That's right, Bartov, that's what I mean." Rokossovsky said with a smile on the phone: "It's been half a month since I took office in the new army, but you guys haven't come to report for a long time.
what is going on?"
"Comrade Marshal, we have just concluded our attack on the Modlin Fortress today." Bartov explained to Rokossovsky: "This is the combat plan designated by you when you were still in office. After Marshal Zhukov took office, he will
It’s implemented.”
"Yes, yes, I remember this." Zhukov did not inform Rokossovsky of the results of this battle, so he did not know how the operation was carried out: "Tell me about it.
What kind of results have been achieved?”
Before answering this question, Bartov took two deep breaths, and then replied with a heavy heart: "I'm sorry, Comrade Marshal, I may have disappointed you. Our group army and the 70th Group Army jointly launched an attack on the Modlin Fortress.
It ended in defeat.”
"The Modlin Fortress is surrounded by water and has only a few bridges to communicate with the outside world. It is indeed very difficult to seize this fortress." Rokossovsky said: "Because there are only a few bridges that maintain contact with the outside world.
It is indeed very difficult for us to attack across the bridge. But at the same time, we must also realize that if we block these bridges, the Germans in the fortress will not be able to get out. As long as the siege lasts for a period of time, the Germans will run out of ammunition and food.
If we are in desperate situation, if we launch an attack again at that time, we may be able to achieve unexpected results."
"You are right, Comrade Marshal." Batov agreed with Rokossovsky's statement: "Marshal Zhukov also came to the same conclusion."
"Hey, if we can't take the Modlin Fortress, it will have a negative impact on the strategy to the north of Warsaw." Rokossovsky waited for Bartov to finish speaking, and then said with emotion: "If nothing else, just
Our army will not be able to capture the triangle area at the confluence of the Narew River and the Vistula River..."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Marshal." Bartov heard this and quickly interrupted Rokossovsky's words, "You may not know yet, at the same time that our group army and the 70th group army attacked the Modlin Fortress,
General Sokov's 48th Army also launched an attack on the triangle area. Although our attack failed, General Sokov's troops destroyed the defenders of the triangle area and successfully captured this area."
"What, Mischa's 48th Group Army has successfully captured the triangle area?" Rokossovsky was shocked when he heard what Bartov said: "If our army had not captured the Modlin Fortress, Mischa's troops would have
How did you break through the German artillery blockade and successfully seize the triangle area?"