"As long as we cut off the enemy's supply line, no matter how large their numbers are, they will not be able to sustain it for long in the face of our powerful offensive." Sokov said to Merkulov: "Wait for the enemy's ammunition and supplies When it's almost exhausted, you can put the entire division into battle. Even if you can't completely wipe out this group of enemies, you should still be able to inflict heavy damage on them."
Merkulov was overjoyed when he heard what Sokov said. He quickly said: "Understood, Comrade Commander, I will arrange the troops immediately to launch a feint attack on the enemies in the town of Roginsik..."
"General Merkulov," Vitkov interjected from the side: "I remember that your division doesn't seem to have that new type of rocket, right?"
"Yes." When Merkulov answered this question, he also looked at Sokov specifically: "This new rocket is basically used to equip the 41st Guards Division, and the other divisions do not have it at all."
"Comrade Commander," Vitkov knew in his heart that if he wanted to equip other divisions with new rockets, Sokov's consent must be obtained, so he looked at Sokov and said, "Are you from the 41st Guards Division?" How about devoting a company with new rockets to assist General Merkulov’s troops?”
"No problem." Sokov said, picked up the phone on the table, and asked the communications soldier to connect to the division headquarters of the 41st Guards Division. He said to Sidorin who answered the phone: "Comrade Colonel, I plan to let May General Erkulov's troops launched a feint attack on Roginsik, and they need to borrow one of your companies to assist them in the battle."
"You want a company?" After hearing Sokov's order, Sidorin asked with some confusion: "Comrade division commander, what role can a company play in battle?"
Hearing that Sidorin was still calling his division commander, Sokov couldn't help but smile lightly, and then said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if it was just an ordinary infantry company, I would definitely not call you. Now that I have so many troops, don't Speaking of a company, even a battalion, it can be drawn from other troops at any time. The company I borrowed from you refers to the kind of company that can use new rockets, do you understand? "
"Understood, Comrade Division Commander." Sidorin immediately understood Sokov's meaning and quickly replied: "I can immediately send the most elite company to support General Merkulov. But..."
Seeing that Sidorin was hesitant in speaking, Sokov quickly asked: "But what?"
"The German Imperial Division is stationed in the town of Rojinsik. They have fought with our division before and know that we are equipped with a large number of new rockets and can carry out long-range strikes against them." Sidorin reminded Sokov. : "Once the enemies in the town of Rojinsik discover that they have been attacked by new rockets, they will definitely think that it is our division attacking the town, and they will definitely bring in more troops from the rear. I am worried that Mel The pressure on General Kulov will be very great."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry." Sokov comforted Sidorin and said, "I just want the German army to send more troops to the town of Roginsik, so that we can easily eat this enemy. Make the next battle less difficult.”
Sidorin had been partners with Sokov for several months, and naturally knew that he often had many fantastic ideas. Now that he was asked to allocate manpower to assist General Merkulov's troops, he must have had his intentions. If the other party was still the former division commander, he could ask him what happened, but now the other party's identity is the commander of the group army, and he is just a division chief of staff under him, and he is not qualified to ask about many things. Therefore, he did not ask the reason, but said obediently: "I will mobilize the manpower as soon as possible and rush to the defense area of the 67th Guards Division so that they can accept the command of General Merkulov."
After settling the problem of the troops, Merkulov asked Sokov for instructions: "Comrade Commander, when should we launch an attack on the enemy?"
It's now April, and the sky breaks out at four o'clock every morning. Although it dawned early, the Germans still got up at seven o'clock every day. It was precisely because Sokov understood this that after thinking for a moment, he said to Merkulov: "Comrade General, your attack will begin at dawn." Carry out the attack one hour later. At that time, your commanders and soldiers can clearly see the target of the attack, while the enemy's officers and soldiers are sleeping soundly. Choosing this time period to attack can catch the enemy by surprise."
After Merkulov left, Sokov felt that although it was just a feint, he was sending troops to attack the enemy's position after all. Once there is a problem in a certain link, the situation may get out of control, so it is still necessary to report to the superior. Thinking of this, he quickly called the director of the communications corps and ordered him to connect himself to the front army headquarters.
The communication lines at the front army headquarters were busy, and it took half an hour for the director of the communications corps to get through to the headquarters. After hearing Malinin's voice from the receiver, Sokov quickly straightened his body and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff, I am Sokov."
"Oh, it's Major General Sokov." Malinen asked in a friendly tone: "You called me, what's the matter?"
"That's it, Comrade Chief of Staff. I plan to launch a small-scale attack on the Imperial Division entrenched in the town of Roginsik tomorrow morning." Sokov said cautiously: "But I am worried about such a small-scale attack. , it may irritate the enemy's nerves and cause them to retaliate on a large scale, so I want to communicate with you."
"Oh, are you planning to launch an attack on the Imperial Division stationed in the town of Roginsik?" After checking the map on the table, Malinin found that he only had one regiment, so he asked Sokov curiously: "General Sokov , how many troops do you plan to dispatch to eliminate the enemies in the town?"
"The troops that went into battle this time were only an infantry regiment, a company equipped with new rockets, and some artillery." Sokov said to Malinin: "The goal of this attack is only to harass the enemy, not to destroy it. "
"What the hell is going on?" Originally, Malinen was ecstatic when he heard Sokov said he wanted to attack the enemy. He felt that with Sokov's strength, there was no problem in eating this isolated enemy. But when he heard that it was just to harass the enemy, not to destroy it, he couldn't help but frowned: "If you send out troops to harass the enemy at this time, what else can it do besides attracting revenge from the Germans?"
Before Malinin finished speaking, Rokossovsky, who was looking at a map at the side, snatched the microphone and asked in a stern tone: "General Sokov, please tell me, what is your purpose for doing this? "
Sokov did not expect that in just a moment, the person who answered the phone changed from Malinin to Rokossovsky. He replied in a panic: "Report to Comrade Commander of the Front Army that I sent troops to harass the enemy. Just to let the enemy send more troops to Luojinsik Town."
"To make the enemy increase their troops?" Rokossovsky asked puzzledly, "Why do you do this?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, the aviation division affiliated to our group army dispatched a bomber squadron today to attack the German transportation line from Pavlograd to the Skull Division defense area, destroying nearly forty trucks, making the enemy Within this period, supplies cannot be provided to the Skeleton Division..."
"What I'm asking is, why did you send troops to harass the town of Roginsik?" Before Sokov could finish speaking, Rokossovsky interrupted him and asked impatiently: "You sent What does the air force’s attack on the enemy’s transportation lines have to do with this?”
"The connection is very strong, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Seeing that Rokossovsky did not guess his intention, Sokov explained to him: "Since we can use the air force to destroy the supply line of the Skull Division, then the supply line of the Imperial Division , we can also send the air force but cut them off. But now there are too few enemies in the town of Luojinsik, so sending the air force but cutting off their transportation lines is a bit wasteful. Therefore, I want to harass the enemy and force the enemy to attack Luo Jinsik. Jinsike increased their troops. After their troops in this area increase, they will send the air force to cut off their transportation lines.
Think about it, if the enemy's supply line is cut off by our air force, no matter how many troops they have, it may be difficult to resist the attack launched by our army. In this way, we may be able to eliminate more effective forces of the German army during the attack. "
"Well, Misha." After hearing Sokov's words, Rokossovsky changed his name from his surname to his nickname: "I don't deny that the air force can destroy the enemy's lines of communication, but It’s impossible to completely cut it off.”
"For example, the German army needs forty trucks of supplies every day." Seeing that Rokossovsky still had questions, Sokov further explained to him: "But under our air strikes, the supplies they can obtain are only It can be half or even less. Without enough supplies, they will not dare to attack us easily, but we can take the initiative to attack us and attack whenever we want, making the Germans unable to defend themselves. .”
"Your idea is good, but if the Germans find that their transport convoy will be attacked by air attacks during the day, and adjust the transport time to night. What will you do?" Rokossovsky reminded Sokov : "You know, our air force is not very effective at bombing moving targets at night."
Regarding Rokossovsky's concerns, Sokov quickly explained: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I have already considered the issues you are worried about. Now we have sent many sabotage teams deep into the enemy's rear. Carrying new rockets, it can attack enemy transport convoys from a long distance. In a word, no matter whether the enemy is transporting supplies during the day or at night, they are all within our attack range. We can use all means to reduce the supply the enemy receives. to the lowest level.”
After listening to Sokov's statement, Rokossovsky was silent for a long time, and finally said: "Misha, your tactic is very novel. It attracts the enemy to concentrate a large number of troops on the front, and then sends air force and The sabotage team came to cut off their transportation lines, leaving them facing the dilemma of running out of ammunition and food. I think if the plan succeeds, a large number of enemies can be incapacitated in a short period of time."
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I have a request." Sokov thought that he would send the air force to cut off the German supply line. Even if the number of aircraft dispatched each time was small, the ammunition and fuel to be consumed would not be a small amount, so he He politely asked Rokossovsky: "Is it possible to give priority to the supply of fuel and ammunition to the two aviation divisions of our army group?"
"If you can really achieve the desired results." Rokossovsky did not give Sokov a clear answer, but said seriously: "Even if you don't make this request, I believe that Moscow's logistics department will We will also proactively provide you with priority supplies.”
After a pause, he continued: "Misha, I got news not long ago. Yakov has developed a new type of transportation vehicle that can travel at high speed on muddy roads when fully loaded. If he is willing to use this kind of transport to transport ammunition, fuel and supplies for you, it will be enough to support you in a long battle."
When he learned that Yakov had developed a new type of transportation, Sokov couldn't help but feel itchy. He asked curiously: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, do you know what kind of transportation it is?"
"I don't know." Rokossovsky answered simply. "I heard this news from an old friend who came to the front occasionally. Because this kind of transportation is still top secret, so Not many people know the inside story. I know Yakov and you are good friends. If you ask him directly, maybe he will give you a satisfactory answer."
Seeing Sokov hanging up the phone, Vitkov, who heard only a few words on the side, couldn't help but asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, what kind of transport is General Rokossovsky talking about? What is it?" What kind of transport can travel at high speed on muddy roads?"
Hearing Vitkov's question, Sokov shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and replied with a wry smile: "I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't think I can answer this question. Unless I see the real thing, I can't answer it." I don’t know what new form of transportation Yakov is researching.”
Lunev came over and said to the two of them: "Are you talking about the new type of transportation developed by Yakov?"
"That's right." Listening to Lunev's taste, Sokov seemed to have some understanding of this new type of transportation, so he asked curiously: "Comrade Military Commissar, have you seen this new type of transportation?"
"No." Lunev shook his head and replied like a rattle: "This kind of transportation is top secret. At my level, I am not qualified to know about it."
