In the early morning of August 3, it was three minutes before five o'clock.
Sokov held a telescope in his hand and was observing the German positions on the other side of the river. It was quiet there, no one could be seen and no sound could be heard.
Samyko walked up to Sokov, raised his binoculars and looked at the German positions on the other side for a while, then put down the binoculars and said: "Comrade Commander, it's really quiet on the other side of the river. It's a pity that we will break it soon." A kind of silence.”
"Since this silence will be broken sooner or later, it is better for us to break it than for the Germans to break it." Sokov put down the telescope, looked at Sameko and asked: "How long until the bombardment starts?"
Samek raised his hand to look at his watch and replied: "Thirty seconds left!"
"Director of the Communications Corps!" After Sokov listened to Samyko telling the time, he turned to the Director of the Communications Corps who was standing not far away and asked: "Has the call with the artillery been connected?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." The director of the communications corps replied respectfully: "The two artillery division commanders are online. You can talk to them at any time."
Sokov grabbed the phone and said into the receiver: "Colonel Terenga, Colonel Besonov, hello, I am Sokov."
"Hello, Comrade Commander!" After greeting Sokov, the two colonels said neatly: "The artillery is ready to fire and can shell the enemy's positions at any time."
After taking a deep breath, Sokov said into the microphone: "Comrade colonels, in order to destroy the enemy, we have to open fire on our own city. This is the price of victory. I wish you good luck!"
After speaking, he handed the microphone in his hand to Sameko who came over. Sameko took the phone and put it to his ear but did not speak. Instead, he quietly looked at the second hand on his watch. When the second hand pointed to the 12 position, he shouted loudly into the microphone: "Fire!"
"Yes!" The two artillery division commanders heard Sameko's voice and replied loudly at the same time: "We will fire immediately!"
Ten seconds later, there were screams in the air, and batches of artillery shells streaked across the sky, landed on the position on the other side of the river, and exploded. In an instant, the enemy's position was shrouded in thick smoke. From time to time, broken limbs and weapon parts could be seen flying around in the smoke and dust, falling like rain in all directions.
Seeing that the enemy's position was being bombarded by his own artillery fire, Sameko couldn't help but smile. But when he turned around inadvertently, he saw Sokov frowning, as if he had something on his mind. He couldn't help but ask: "Comrade Commander, what's wrong with you? Why do you look a little unhappy?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov turned to look at Samyko and said with concern: "There are still hundreds of thousands of our residents in this city. I'm worried that when the artillery fire spreads later, we will inevitably give them Causing casualties.”
"Comrade Commander." Understanding what Sokov was worried about, Samyko comforted him and said, "Didn't you just say that we are shelling our own city in order to drive away the enemy? This is to win victory. The price that must be paid. I think that when the residents of the city heard that the shelling started, their first reaction would definitely be to hide in the basement nearby, so as to minimize unnecessary casualties. If there are really casualties, it can only Blame their bad luck, after all this is war.”
Samek's words reminded Sokov that there would be no immortals in a war. Naturally, he had become indecisive just now and could not accept even a few tolerable civilian casualties. How could he command the troops to fight in the future?
In order to divert his attention, Sokov picked up the phone, connected to Dobrushin's command post, and asked straight to the point: "Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin, have your troops boarded the ship?"
"Comrade Commander, we have just pushed the hovercraft out of its hiding place. I'm afraid it will take another quarter of an hour to start boarding."
Although less than ten minutes had passed since the bombardment started, Sokov still urged anxiously: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, time is urgent. Let your people seize the time to avoid delaying the fighter plane."
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Dobrushin quickly replied: "As soon as the hovercraft is in place, I will immediately organize the officers and soldiers to board the ship. I will definitely complete the boarding operation before the bombardment ends."
"How far is your attack location from the enemy's position?"
"Our officers and men placed the hovercraft two hundred meters away from the river." Dobrushin replied: "It is no more than four hundred meters away from the enemy's position. As soon as the shelling ends and the smoke clears, we can Ride your hovercraft up to your enemies and catch them off guard.”
Let’s talk about the German position on the other side of the river. Five minutes after the Soviet artillery bombardment started, the soldiers ran out of the shelter in disheveled clothes. But before they could figure out what was going on, a row of artillery shells fell, and the ground was covered with body parts and pieces of meat. , blood flowed into a river.
Less than a quarter of an hour after the artillery bombardment of the First Artillery Division and the Second Artillery Division began, the positions along the river were basically destroyed amidst the rumbling sound of artillery. There was almost no living person in the position, and the entire defensive position became a purgatory on earth.
The shelling lasted for about half an hour. Sokov, who had been observing the enemy's movements, realized that the positions along the river had been completely destroyed by artillery fire. Continuing the shelling would only waste artillery shells, so he ordered Samyko: "Chief of Staff, Immediately call the artillery and order them to carry out extended fire."
"What, carry out extended shooting?" Sameko said in surprise: "Comrade Commander, didn't we say we were going to shell the German riverside positions for an hour? How could we suddenly think of extending shooting?"
"Chief of Staff, haven't you noticed that the enemy's riverside positions have been completely destroyed by our artillery fire?" Seeing that Samyko was so inflexible, Sokov said with some displeasure: "Since there are no enemies anymore, Then why should we waste precious shells?"
After hearing what Sokov said, Samyko finally understood Sokov's intention and quickly agreed: "Understood, Comrade Commander, I will call the artillery immediately and order them to extend their firing immediately."
While Samyko called the artillery, Sokov was not idle either. He called Dobrushin's command post again and asked directly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, have your troops completed boarding the ship?"
"The first and second battalions have boarded the ship." Dobrushin reported on the other end of the phone: "The third and fourth battalions and the troops directly under the brigade will immediately carry out boarding operations after the hovercraft returns."
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the situation has changed now." Sokov said into the microphone: "Under the cover of our army's powerful artillery fire, the enemy's riverside positions have been basically destroyed. Once our army's artillery fire extends, you will Attack immediately. Do you understand?"
Dobrushin did not question Sokov's decision, but replied simply: "Understood, Comrade Commander. Once the artillery fire begins to extend, we will immediately launch an assault on the other side."
Two minutes after the extended artillery fire, Sokov saw more than twenty hovercrafts rushing towards the still smoking German positions on the other side like lightning. In almost the blink of an eye, the hovercraft crossed over a hundred meters of water and washed up on the other side.
After landing, the hovercraft rushed forward for several dozen meters and then stopped. As soon as the hovercraft stabilized, the commanders and fighters inside rushed out like tigers descending from the mountain, and then scattered around to seize advantageous terrain.
The pilot of the hovercraft waited for all the commanders and fighters on the ship to disembark, then turned around and drove back to pick up the third and fourth battalions and the troops directly under the brigade who were on standby.
Sokov carefully observed the movement on the other side. Except for sporadic gunfire in the distance, the expected crazy enemy firepower did not appear. It seemed that the shelling just now had completely destroyed the enemies in this area.
Sokov picked up the topic again, called the 84th Marine Brigade, and said loudly: "This is Sokov, let Colonel Chuvashov answer the phone."
"Comrade Commander, I am Chuvashov. What instructions do you have?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin's troops have successfully landed on the other side, have you seen it?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, I have seen it." Chuvashov asked curiously: "Is the boat they used to cross the river the same kind of new river crossing equipment you mentioned at the meeting the day before yesterday? Its speed is really It was so fast that before I could see clearly what it was, it actually rushed into the enemy position on the other side."
"Colonel Chuvashov, you immediately take your people to Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin's defense area and prepare to cross the river on a hovercraft." Sokov said: "While you are on the boat, you can slowly study this new type of missile. What are the advantages of river crossing equipment?”
Shortly after Dobrushin's second group of troops crossed the river, Sokov heard the radio operator calling him: "Comrade Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin wants to speak to you."
Sokov walked over and took the earphones and put them on his head. Then he said loudly into the microphone: "Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin? I am Sokov. I will report you the situation there immediately."
"Report to Comrade Commander," a huge explosion came from the earphones, making Dobrushin's voice a little unclear. Sokov could only press his hands on the earphones, trying to hear every word the other party said clearly: " We have occupied all the positions along the river. I repeat, we have occupied all the positions along the river."
"Great, this is great. Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin, I congratulate you and congratulate you on taking the lead in establishing new achievements in the battle to liberate Belgorod." Sokov praised the other party. After a few words, he then ordered: "Our shelling will stop soon. You immediately send troops to advance towards the city. Be sure to occupy as much area as possible before the enemy recovers, so that our follow-up troops can Get a big enough landing field.”
"I understand, Comrade Commander." Dobrushin replied loudly: "I plan to leave the fourth battalion and the troops directly under the brigade to hold the position along the river, while the remaining troops advance deep into the enemy's defenses."
"Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin," Sokov worried that Dobrushin would be dazzled by the victory in front of him, reminded him specifically: "Remember, the enemy in the city is very powerful. If you divide your forces and advance, It is easy to be broken by the enemy one by one, so you have to concentrate your forces, rush towards one point, and strive to break through the enemy's defense in the shortest possible time."
After assigning the task, Sokov returned the earphone and microphone to the operator. After heaving a sigh of relief, he said to Sameko who was standing next to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, we have completed the planned goal. Next, we will see how we can wedge ourselves into the enemy's territory before the friendly fire stops." How far is the defense line?”
"Comrade Commander," Sameko raised his hand and looked at his watch with a smile on his face: "It has only been fourteen minutes since the Marine Corps assault started, which is one minute faster than you thought at the time. Minutes. Do you think we need to report the results of the battle to the front headquarters immediately?"
"Okay." His troops captured the German riverside positions as scheduled. Sokov felt that it was absolutely necessary to report the matter immediately to make Konev happy, so he ordered the director of the communications corps: "Comrade director of the communications corps, Please help me get through to the front army headquarters, I want to report the results I just achieved to Commander Konev."
"Great, this is great. Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin, I congratulate you and congratulate you on taking the lead in establishing new achievements in the battle to liberate Belgorod." Sokov praised the other party. After a few words, he then ordered: "Our shelling will stop soon. You immediately send troops to advance towards the city. Be sure to occupy as much area as possible before the enemy recovers, so that our follow-up troops can Get a big enough landing field.”
"I understand, Comrade Commander." Dobrushin replied loudly: "I plan to leave the fourth battalion and the troops directly under the brigade to hold the position along the river, while the remaining troops advance deep into the enemy's defenses."
"Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin," Sokov worried that Dobrushin would be dazzled by the victory in front of him, reminded him specifically: "Remember, the enemy in the city is very powerful. If you divide your forces and advance, It is easy to be broken by the enemy one by one, so you have to concentrate your forces, rush towards one point, and strive to break through the enemy's defense in the shortest possible time."
After assigning the task, Sokov returned the earphone and microphone to the operator. After heaving a sigh of relief, he said to Sameko who was standing beside him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, we have completed our intended goal. Next, we will see how well we can wedge ourselves into the enemy's territory before the friendly fire stops." How far is the defense line?”
"Comrade Commander," Sameko raised his hand and looked at his watch with a smile on his face: "It has only been fourteen minutes since the Marine Corps assault began, which is one minute faster than you thought at the time. Minutes. Do you think we need to report the results of the battle to the front headquarters immediately?"
"Okay." His troops captured the German riverside positions as scheduled. Sokov felt that it was absolutely necessary to report the matter immediately to make Konev happy, so he ordered the director of the communications corps: "Comrade director of the communications corps, Please help me get through to the front army headquarters, I want to report the results I just achieved to Commander Konev."
