Seeing that Sokov suddenly became silent, Samyko thought that he was still upset about the matter he was arguing with Nedelin, so he quickly comforted him and said: "Comrade Commander, I think General Nedelin's character is like that. He It’s just that you don’t have to worry about things and people.”
Sokov raised his head with a confused expression on his face. He had not yet woken up from his meditation, so he did not understand what his chief of staff had just said?
"What were you talking about just now, Comrade Chief of Staff?" Sokov asked.
Samek also didn't expect that Sokov would be distracted while he was speaking, so he quickly repeated what he just said.
After figuring out what Samyko was talking about, Sokov waved his hand and said magnanimously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what you said makes sense. In any case, General Nedelin, as an artillery commander, From his point of view, the points he made were all correct.”
Seeing that Sokov was so open-minded, Samek asked tentatively: "Then do you really agree to hand over the artillery to his command?"
"Yes, the artillery units transferred from the 7th Guards Army will be handed over to him one by one. He has the final say on how to use these artillery units." After Sokov said this, he specifically added: "However, the two artillery divisions we have in our hands cannot be handed over to his command."
"Comrade Commander, is this not good?" Samyko heard what Sokov said. Although he didn't understand the reason for what he said, he still reminded him: "No matter what, he is the artillery commander of our group army. "Commander, how can we not let him command the artillery within the army group?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, there is a reason why I did this." Now that he remembered who Nedelin was, Sokov naturally knew where the other party would go next: "He will only temporarily serve as the artillery commander of the group army until our army breaks through the German army. After the Dnieper River Defense Line, he will be transferred to other fronts."
"Transferred to other fronts?" Samyko was suspicious of Sokov's words. Just a few hours ago, Sokov didn't even know the name of the new artillery commander. How could he know that he would be transferred soon? Woolen cloth? This is obviously illogical. Thinking of this, he asked: "Comrade Commander, where did you hear this news?"
Sokov was stunned for a moment, thinking that he had been to the Front Army Headquarters two days ago, so he took the opportunity to blame Konev: "When I went to the Front Army Headquarters two days ago, I heard that Commander Konev I said it myself.”
"Oh, it turned out to be Commander Konev who said that." Now that Sokov has moved out of Konev, it is enough to eliminate Samyko's doubts. Sameko nodded and asked curiously: "Do you know which unit he was transferred to?"
"It won't be long before he is transferred to the Southwest Front as the artillery commander."
"Really?"
"Of course it is true." Sokov replied affirmatively: "He only holds a temporary position with us and will be transferred soon. Therefore, if we do not give him the command of the artillery of the group army, there will be nothing." Influence."
After listening to Sokov's explanation, Samyko no longer struggled, but nodded and said: "You are right, Comrade Commander. The most taboo thing for the army is to change commanders frequently. If we really change commanders, The group army's artillery was given command to him, and after a few days he left, the superiors sent a new artillery commander, and by then the artillery commanders had to adapt to the new commander's style."
The attack on Merefa Fortress was delayed by two hours due to heavy artillery fire.
Nedelin used these two hours of precious time to set up artillery positions on both sides of the Muza River and convened a meeting with artillery commanders to let them clarify the target of their attack.
When everything was ready, Nedelin called Sokov and asked politely: "Comrade Commander, my artillery is ready. Can we start the bombardment?"
"Let's begin, General Nedelin!"
Less than a minute after Sokov put down the phone, he heard the rumble of artillery outside. Although he could not see the situation outside at the headquarters, Sokov knew very well in his heart that it was the 7th Guards Army. The artillery is bombarding Merefa Fortress.
As soon as the artillery fire started here, Konev's phone came over.
"Comrade Sokov," Konev asked straight to the point, "are your artillery shelling the fortress?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander of the Front Army."
"The fortifications of Merefa Fortress are very strong. Among the artillery you have, there are no heavy artillery. Are there any difficulties?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, there are definitely difficulties, but we will find ways to overcome them." Sokov replied: "Our artillery fire is mainly focused on bombarding the walls of the fortress. As long as we can blast a gap in the walls, our troops will Able to quickly rush into the fortress and start a battle with the enemy."
"Then do we still need support from the air force?"
"Of course." Sokov continued: "The enemy also has artillery units in the fortress. I am worried that when our infantry launches an attack, the enemy will use intensive artillery fire to block them. At this time, the air force will be needed to attack the enemy's artillery. The position was bombarded to completely destroy the heavy weapons the defenders relied on."
After Konev said "hmm", he continued: "I wonder when the air force should be dispatched?"
Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch and replied: "Our artillery has just started shelling the enemy, and it will last for at least an hour. As soon as the shelling ends, our ground troops will launch an attack on the fortress. I hope Then we can get support from the air."
"Understood," Konev said: "After your bombardment is over, the air force will go to the sky above the fortress to provide you with the necessary air cover."
After saying this, Konev paused for a moment, and then asked tentatively: "Have you met General Nedelin?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander of the Front Army. I had an argument with him not long ago."
"There was an argument?" Konev asked nervously, "What did you argue about?"
"That's right, Comrade Commander of the Front Army. You also know that my troops generally don't need any artillery preparations before attacking; General Nedelin's opinion is exactly the opposite to mine. He thinks that artillery preparations before attacking are necessary. .That's what we were arguing about."
After listening to Sokov's explanation and knowing that there was no major conflict between him and Nedelin, Konev felt somewhat at ease. He had already received the news from the Supreme Command that Nedelin was about to be transferred to the Southwest Front Army as the artillery commander. Naturally, he did not want Sokov to have a grudge against Nedelin over a trivial matter, so he specifically told Sokov: "Sokov Comrade Kov, after all, General Nedelin is older than you and has more seniority in the army than you. You must respect him and ask him for advice if you don’t understand anything. Do you understand?”
"Understood, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov judged from Konev's words that the other party also knew that Nedelin was about to be promoted. His own information came from the history books of later generations, while Konev's source should be the Supreme Command. In order to reassure Konev, Sokov assured him: "I will definitely have a good relationship with General Nedelin. If there is anything I don't understand, I will humbly ask him for advice."
"Very good, very good." After hearing Sokov's answer, Konev nodded with satisfaction and said repeatedly: "Since you have such an awareness, I am relieved."
When Samyko saw Sokov put down the phone, he quickly asked with concern: "Comrade Commander, what did General Konev say?"
Sokov felt that the conversation with Konev was not confidential, so he told Samyko truthfully: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army told me that I must have a good relationship with General Nedelin. If there is anything I don't understand, If you are in a different place, you should humbly ask him for advice."
"Comrade Commander, it seems that that incident is true."
"what's up?"
"That's what you just said." Samek looked left and right. Although the staff officers closest to them were more than ten steps away and couldn't hear their conversation clearly, he still lowered his voice and said: "It seems that the superiors are really planning to let General Nedelin go to the Southwestern Front as the artillery commander. Otherwise, General Konev would not specifically tell you on the phone to have a good relationship with General Nedelin. He is probably worried that you will suffer in the future. "
Sokov felt that what Samyko said made sense, but he did not continue to dwell on this issue. Instead, he ordered Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, call the division commanders at the front and ask them where they are. How is it going?"
The call first went to the division headquarters of the 182nd Division. As soon as he heard Khokhlov's voice coming from the earphone, Sokov asked directly: "Comrade Colonel, how is the situation there?"
Khokhlov recognized Sokov's voice and quickly replied: "Comrade Commander, the artillery shelling is very fierce. Now the direction of the fortress has been covered by artillery fire. We can't see anything except the smoke that covers the sky." arrive."
Sokov didn't get the answer he wanted from Khokhlov, and felt a little disappointed, but he still told him: "Pay close attention to the direction of the fortress. If you have any latest news, report it to me in time." Samyko saw the answer. Kokov suddenly fell silent, thinking that he was still brooding over the matter he was arguing with Nedelin, so he quickly comforted him and said: "Comrade Commander, I think General Nedelin's character is like that. He just doesn't care about the situation but the person." , don’t worry too much.”
Sokov raised his head with a confused expression on his face. He had not yet woken up from his meditation, so he did not understand what his chief of staff had just said?
"What were you talking about just now, Comrade Chief of Staff?" Sokov asked.
Samek also didn't expect that Sokov would be distracted while he was speaking, so he quickly repeated what he just said.
After figuring out what Samyko was talking about, Sokov waved his hand and said magnanimously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what you said makes sense. In any case, General Nedelin, as an artillery commander, From his point of view, the points he made were all correct."
Seeing that Sokov was so open-minded, Samek asked tentatively: "Then do you really agree to hand over the artillery to his command?"
"Yes, the artillery units transferred from the 7th Guards Army will be handed over to him one by one. He has the final say on how to use these artillery units." After Sokov said this, he specifically added: "However, the two artillery divisions we have in our hands cannot be handed over to his command."
"Comrade Commander, is this not good?" Samyko heard what Sokov said. Although he didn't understand the reason for what he said, he still reminded him: "No matter what, he is the artillery commander of our group army. "Commander, how can we not let him command the artillery within the army group?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, there is a reason why I did this." Now that he remembered who Nedelin was, Sokov naturally knew where the other party would go next: "He will only temporarily serve as the artillery commander of the group army until our army breaks through the German army. After the Dnieper River Defense Line, he will be transferred to other fronts."
"Transferred to other fronts?" Samyko was suspicious of Sokov's words. Just a few hours ago, Sokov didn't even know the name of the new artillery commander. How could he know that he would be transferred soon? Woolen cloth? This is obviously illogical. Thinking of this, he asked: "Comrade Commander, where did you hear this news?"
Sokov was stunned for a moment, thinking that he had been to the Front Army Headquarters two days ago, so he took the opportunity to blame Konev: "When I went to the Front Army Headquarters two days ago, I heard that Commander Konev I said it myself.”
"Oh, it turned out to be Commander Konev who said that." Now that Sokov has moved out of Konev, it is enough to eliminate Samyko's doubts. Sameko nodded and asked curiously: "Do you know which unit he was transferred to?"
"It won't be long before he is transferred to the Southwest Front as the artillery commander."
"Really?"
"Of course it is true." Sokov replied affirmatively: "He only holds a temporary position with us and will be transferred soon. Therefore, if we do not give him the command of the artillery of the group army, there will be nothing." Influence."
After listening to Sokov's explanation, Samyko no longer struggled, but nodded and said: "You are right, Comrade Commander. The most taboo thing for the army is to change commanders frequently. If we really change commanders, The group army's artillery was given command to him, and after a few days he left, the superiors sent a new artillery commander, and by then the artillery commanders had to adapt to the new commander's style."
The attack on Merefa Fortress was delayed by two hours due to heavy artillery fire.
Nedelin used these two hours of precious time to set up artillery positions on both sides of the Muza River and convened a meeting with artillery commanders to let them clarify the targets of their attacks.
When everything was ready, Nedelin called Sokov and asked politely: "Comrade Commander, my artillery is ready. Can we start the bombardment?"
"Let's begin, General Nedelin!"
Less than a minute after Sokov put down the phone, he heard the rumble of artillery outside. Although he could not see the situation outside at the headquarters, Sokov knew very well in his heart that it was the 7th Guards Army. The artillery is bombarding Merefa Fortress.
As soon as the artillery fire started here, Konev's phone came over.
"Comrade Sokov," Konev asked straight to the point, "are your artillery shelling the fortress?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander of the Front Army."
"The fortifications of Merefa Fortress are very strong. Among the artillery you have, there are no heavy artillery. Are there any difficulties?"
