"This won't work, that won't work either." Seeing that all the suggestions put forward were rejected without exception, Lunev, who had never spoken, couldn't help but became anxious: "Then what should we do?"
As soon as Lunev's words came out, the entire command center became silent.
"Comrade commanders," despite Sokov's usually resourceful appearance, he was also helpless when faced with this kind of thing. He could only ask everyone with a wry smile: "Do you have any other ideas?"
"Comrade Commander!" At this moment, Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin, commander of the 62nd Marine Brigade with the worst presence, stood up: "I have an original idea, I don't know whether to say it or not."
"Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin!" Sokov said enthusiastically: "We are now thinking of ways to deal with the Germans. You can say whatever you think of. Even if you say something wrong, no one will blame you."
"We can use underwater reconnaissance to allow scouts to cross the river from the bottom of the water and quietly sneak into the German defensive areas to conduct effective reconnaissance."
"Underwater reconnaissance?" Sokov asked with some confusion: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, can you be more specific?"
Dobrushin nodded and continued: "We can remove the filter tank in front of the gas mask and connect more corrugated pipes to the corrugated pipe to turn it into a long pipe. Then in this long pipe At the end, secure a wooden float.
After doing this, we can let the scouts put on gas masks, tie bricks to their feet, and sneak into the water quietly. They could breathe through a hose with a pontoon, and sneak into the German defense zone from the bottom of the water along the rugged, silt-filled river bottom. "
"This is a good idea." After praising the other party, Sokov struck while the iron was hot and said: "Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin, there are many sailors in your Marine Corps brigade. I believe they have good water skills. I think this reconnaissance Let your brigade complete the task.”
Seeing that his proposal was approved by Sokov, Dobrushin's face showed a look of joy. He quickly stood up and replied in a loud voice: "Comrade Commander, please don't worry, my subordinates will definitely Can successfully complete the reconnaissance mission."
If it were in the past, when they saw Dobrushin taking over the reconnaissance mission, the other division commanders would definitely complain or even go against him. But after Sokov's order was issued this time, no one expressed a different opinion. It seems that everyone feels that to complete this kind of underwater reconnaissance mission, the sailors of the Marine Corps Brigade are undoubtedly the best candidates.
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Sokov said to Dobrushin: "Our army will soon launch an attack on Belgorod, so you must race against time to understand the enemy's defense situation in the city and report back as soon as possible. , so that we can formulate corresponding attack plans based on the strength of the German troops in the city."
"Comrade Commander, please rest assured." Dobrushin assured Sokov: "As soon as I return to the brigade, I will arrange capable soldiers to carry out this important reconnaissance mission."
The reconnaissance mission is great, and the next step is the issue of artillery cover.
"Two comrades artillery commanders," Sokov's eyes this time rested on the two commanders of the 1st Artillery Division and the 2nd Artillery Division, "if we want to launch an attack on the city from the west of Belgorod, , can your artillery preparations destroy the German coastal fortifications in the first time?"
After hearing Sokov's question, the two artillery division commanders looked at each other. Colonel Terenga, commander of the 1st Artillery Division, stood up and said solemnly: "Comrade Commander, you need to know that if artillery fire is needed to destroy a certain target, , First of all, the artillery needs to know the specific location of the target, so that we can achieve the purpose of destroying the target when we carry out artillery bombardment."
"I understand." Sokov heard the hidden meaning of Terenga's words, nodded and said: "Once Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin's men complete the reconnaissance mission, I will give priority to letting your artillery know the enemy's firepower. distribution.”
"That's a good feeling," Terenga said with a smile on his face: "As long as we can grasp the specific location of the enemy's firepower point, we can completely destroy the German defenses in the first round of artillery hits and cover our infantry to successfully cross the river. .”
When it comes to crossing the river, Sokov immediately thinks of the 150-meter-wide river. If the bridge is not captured and the troops are simply transported by boat, not only will the number of people crossing the river each time be limited, but also tanks, including tanks, will not be able to cross the river. of heavy weapons across the river. Thinking of this, he turned to ask Sameko: "Chief of Staff, if the enemy blows up the bridge across the river after our attack begins, what can you do to transport the tanks and artillery to the other side of the river?"
"Comrade Commander," faced with Sokov's troublesome question, Samyko was not worried at all. He turned his attention to an elderly lieutenant colonel and said with a smile: "This kind of professional I think it’s up to the director of the Corps of Engineers to answer your question. I believe his answer will definitely satisfy you.”
When Samek ordered his life, the elderly lieutenant colonel quickly stood up and replied respectfully: "Comrade Commander, as long as our vanguard force successfully crosses and establishes a landing site on the other side, even if the bridge on the river is blocked by the enemy, If it is blown up, our engineers can build a pontoon bridge on the river within an hour."
Although the director of the engineering corps has made it clear that the erection of the pontoon bridge can be completed in a short time, Sokov still asked uneasily: "Can your pontoon bridge allow tanks and heavy artillery to pass?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, it is absolutely possible." In order to make Sokov have confidence in himself, the Director of the Engineering Corps continued: "In order to allow the troops to pass quickly, we can use a two-pronged approach, and send people to repair the bridges that were blown up by the Germans. , while choosing a location where the water flow is gentle to build a pontoon bridge. This will prevent infantry, tanks, and artillery from fighting for the way when crossing the river."
"Comrade Director of the Engineering Corps," Sokov waited for the other party to finish speaking, nodded with a smile, and said to him in an approving tone: "You are very thoughtful. If you can set up a barrier in time for infantry and technical equipment to pass through, Bridge, when the battle is over, you and your troops will be rewarded."
A few years ago, Lieutenant Paul was awarded a medal in his hospital bed and was promoted to the rank of captain, which had long been spread within the army. As the mid-level commander of the group army, the director of the engineering corps naturally knew about this. Hearing the promise made by Sokov at this moment, he couldn't help but feel ecstatic, but he still tried to control his emotions and said to Sokov in a calm tone: "Comrade Commander, don't worry. When the battle starts, , my engineering troops will never let you down."
The meeting continued for a while. Samek felt that all the details to be discussed were basically discussed, so he approached Sokov and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, the meeting is almost over. Do you think the meeting can be dismissed?"
Seeing Sokov nodding in agreement, Samyko stood up and said to the commanders participating in the meeting: "Comrade commanders, today's meeting ends here. When everyone goes back, we will start doing things according to the results of the discussion. Various preparations. Before the battle officially begins, Comrade Commander and I will personally insist on the completion of your work. Okay, let's break up the meeting now."
…………
When Dobrushin returned to the brigade headquarters, he called his most trusted third battalion commander and said to him: "Comrade Major, the commander ordered our brigade to send scouts to the other side to conduct reconnaissance and find out the German defense situation. , indicating the target for artillery attack.”
The third battalion commander waited for Dobrushin to finish speaking, and immediately said: "Comrade Brigadier, according to my observation, the enemy monitors the river very closely. In addition to searchlights shining on the river from time to time, there are also patrol boats cruising on the river. .If we send scouts to cross the river, whether they are rowing or swimming, they may be discovered by the enemy."
"Comrade Major, don't worry. I have already considered the situation you mentioned." Faced with the concerns of the third battalion commander, Dobrushin said with a smile: "It is indeed easy to be discovered by the enemy when walking on the river, but if Our scouts pass through the water, so the enemy cannot detect them."
"Go through the bottom of the water?" The third battalion commander was stunned at first, and then said in surprise: "Comrade Brigade Commander, this is a good idea. It just so happens that there are several soldiers in my battalion who have been divers before, so let them do this. This mission is perfect. But where should we borrow diving equipment? You know, there is no fleet nearby."
"Comrade Major, if we don't have professional diving equipment, we can use simple diving equipment."
"Simple diving equipment?" The third battalion commander asked in confusion: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I would like to ask, what does simple diving equipment look like?"
"The simple diving equipment is to remove the filter tank in front of the gas mask, lengthen the bellows and fix it with screws, and fix a wooden buoy at the end of the bellows, so that our soldiers can breathe underwater through the gas mask.
As a senior sailor, the third battalion commander instinctively thought of a key question after listening to Dobrushin's words: "Comrade Commander, the problem of underwater breathing has been solved, but how to solve the problem of weighted shoes? If you can't walk underwater, If you wear weighted shoes, you won’t be able to walk very far and you’ll float on the water, which puts you at risk of exposure.”
"Comrade Major, I have already considered the issue you are worried about." Dobrushin said to the third battalion commander: "The soldiers can be tied with bricks on the soles of their feet. This can replace weighted shoes and at the same time prevent The soldiers were stuck walking in the mud."
Seeing that Dobrushin had considered this problem and came up with a solution, the third battalion commander felt much more at ease. He quickly straightened his body and asked: "Comrade Brigadier, when should our battalion send out scouts? "
