"Hide and standby?!" Hearing Sokov's order, Fomenko was a little stunned. He was worried that Sokov might have made a slip of the tongue, so he quickly reminded the other party: "Comrade Commander, you want to say, let Rusov Are you going to join the regiment to reinforce the friendly forces?"
"No, General Fomenko." Sokov heard from Fomenko's words that the other party had misunderstood him, so he explained to him: "What I said was to let the Rusov regiment stay hidden and wait for my next move. One step order, don’t participate in any battles for the time being.”
"But why is this?" Fomenko could not understand Sokov's intention. He said puzzledly: "You know, the towns of Ratseve and Jinki were captured by the commanders and fighters of the Rusov regiment. You let They watched helplessly as the enemy took back these two towns again, and I was worried that it would affect the morale of the troops."
"Yes, the towns of Ratseve and Kinki were indeed captured by the commanders and fighters of the Rusov regiment." Sokov did not deny what Fomenko said, but he continued: "But the defense was handed over last night Given to the 15th Guards Division, even if we have to resist the German attack, it is a matter for friendly forces. If we rush into the battle, I am afraid it will cause some unnecessary disputes."
Fomenko thought about Sokov's words carefully and felt that they made sense. If the defense had not been handed over to friendly forces, there would be no way to participate in the battle in the face of the German attack. Now that the towns of Ratsewe and Kinki are already the defense areas of the 15th Guards Division, it seems a bit unnecessary for the Rusov Regiment to participate in the battle again.
He paused for a moment and then asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, since the Rusov regiment does not need to participate in the battle, why not withdraw them but still let them stay outside the town of Ratsewe?"
"The Germans continued to launch an attack impatiently, proving that they wanted to retake the lost riverside stronghold in the shortest possible time." Sokov shook his head and said: "And whether the 15th Guards Division stationed here has the ability to Blocking the enemy's attack is still unknown. I asked the Russov Regiment to stay in place to prevent the German army from advancing towards the area where we are now after occupying the town of Ratsewe."
"Comrade Commander," after understanding Sokov's intentions, Fomenko couldn't help but worry about the safety of his men: "If the German army really captures the towns of Ratseve and Kinki from the 15th Guards Division, , then even if Colonel Russov’s troops stay nearby, it may be difficult to block the enemy’s attack.”
"If you rush into battle and there are no fortifications to rely on, there is a high probability that you will not be able to stop the enemy." Sokov explained to Fomenko: "So when you send a message to Colonel Rusov, remind him to get in hiding as soon as possible. Disintegrate the fortifications in the area, so that even if the enemy defeats the friendly forces and rushes towards them, they can rely on the fortifications to resist for a while."
"If the enemy is really strong enough to easily break through the defenses of the 15th Guards Division, I'm worried that even if the Rusov Regiment has fortifications to support it, it may be very difficult to block the enemy." Fomenko asked tentatively. Kov: "Comrade Commander, do you think we should send troops to reinforce them?"
"Don't worry yet, General Fomenko."
Sokov knew very well that once it really started, it would be basically impossible for Rusov's regiment to stop the German army with high morale. But if reinforcements are sent in that direction too early, it doesn't seem to be necessary. After all, the southwest of the city is still threatened by the German army, and the 188th and 384th Divisions placed there do not dare to use it easily.
"I only have three divisions in hand now, and two of them are placed in the southwest of the city to prevent the enemy from attacking from that direction. And in the city, there are only two infantry regiments of yours that are not full, so where are the troops? Used to strengthen the Russov Regiment?”
Now that Sokov had heard about the deployment of two divisions to the southwest of the city, Fomenko quickly said: "Comrade Commander, I think it would be a bit wasteful to deploy two divisions to the southwest of the city."
"Why?" Sokov asked.
"The reason is very simple." Fomenko replied: "If Chigilin was captured by other friendly forces, then the German army would definitely not be willing to lose the city and would definitely send troops to carry out continuous attacks. But now it is your troops who have liberated the city. I think the Germans will never dare to act rashly after knowing this."
Fomenko's words awakened the dreamer, and Sokov suddenly realized that he seemed to have overestimated Manstein and his generals a little too much. They had suffered so many defeats at their own hands, and they had long been disdainful of themselves, and they all tried their best not to fight with them. Now that their own troops are occupying Chigilin, the Germans may shift the focus of their attack to other directions in order to avoid greater losses.
"General Fomenko, you are right. This matter was caused by me jumping into a corner and not considering the problem comprehensively." Sokov said to Fomenko: "You should reply the telegram to Colonel Rusov first, don't let him wait. ”
While Fomenko was on the phone, Sokov called the division chief of staff and asked: "Comrade chief of staff, is the phone line to the 188th Division connected?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." The division chief of staff replied respectfully: "In order to facilitate your command of the troops, I have ordered the communications corps to connect the telephone lines of the 188th and 384th divisions overnight. You can contact the other two at any time. The division commander is on the phone."
Sokov secretly yelled OK, and then told the division chief of staff: "Please let the communications troops answer the 188th Division's headquarters. I want to speak to Colonel Koida."
Two minutes later, the call from the 188th Division headquarters was connected: "Hello, Colonel Koida, this is Sokov."
"Hello, Comrade Commander." Koida on the other end of the phone asked respectfully, "What instructions do you have?"
"How is the situation? Have you found any traces of Germans in front of your defense area?"
Koida replied unhurriedly: "Comrade Commander, except for some destroyed tanks and combat vehicles, as well as a large number of German corpses, there are no other enemies."
"Very good, very good." After learning that no trace of the German army was found in front of Koida's defense area, Sokov recognized Fomenko's statement even more. Now his name is enough to form a deterrent to the German army, so that They had to focus their attack on the direction defended by the 15th Guards Division.
After a moment of pause, Sokov asked tentatively: "If the war in other directions becomes tense, how many troops can you use?"
Although Koida didn't know the reason why Sokov asked this, he still answered truthfully: "Comrade Commander, since the southwest of the city is jointly defended by our division and the 384th Division, I only need to put one regiment at the front." , enough to withstand possible attacks from the enemy."
Sokov was very satisfied with Koida's answer. He nodded and said, "In addition to leaving one regiment behind, the other two regiments should withdraw to the city as soon as possible to rest."
"Is there any combat mission?"
"There will be." Sokov did not tell the other party the truth, so as not to make it known to everyone in a short period of time, which would be very detrimental to the confidentiality work: "I will put the troops of your division into battle at the appropriate time."
Since all the troops of the 188th Division, except for one regiment stationed at the front, were behind the 384th Division's defense area, after receiving Sokov's order to retreat, these troops were immediately assembled urgently, and then followed the designated route toward the city. retreat.
The retreat of the 188th Division attracted the attention of the commanders and soldiers of the 384th Division. When a battalion commander discovered that friendly troops were retreating in large numbers, he realized that the problem was serious and reported directly to Gritsenko.
Gritsenko learned that the main force of the 188th Division began to retreat without even saying hello, feeling abandoned. He quickly ordered the communications soldier to connect Sokov's phone and prepare to give him a small report on Koida.
Sokov heard that it was Gritsenko who called him, and asked with some surprise: "General Gritsenko, you called me, what's the matter?"
"Comrade Commander, I would like to ask." Gritsenko asked angrily: "Why did the main force of the 188th Division start to evacuate their positions and hide in the city without even saying hello?"
After figuring out what was going on, Sokov said with a smile: "General Gritsenko, you are right. The main force of the 188th Division did withdraw into the city. But the situation is different from what you imagined. I put They withdrew to the city because there might be fighting in other directions, and I intended to send them to fight."
When he learned that the main force of the 188th Division had withdrawn into the city because Sokov was preparing to use them for operations in other directions, Gritsenko couldn't help but blush and defended himself with some embarrassment: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, it's I was mistaken. I thought they thought the southwest side of the city was too dangerous and snuck back into the city."
After defending himself, Gritsenko carefully asked in order to change his image in Sokov's mind: "Comrade Commander, in what direction do you plan to use them?"
Although the mobilization of Koida's troops to Racwe is still a matter that needs to be kept secret, for a division commander like Gritsenko, there is no need to hide it, because once the fighting in the north becomes tense, I am afraid that Cove also had to consider mobilizing the division for reinforcements.
"The enemy unexpectedly launched a powerful offensive at the landing site established by the 7th Guards Army." Sokov said: "I am worried that once the enemy breaks through the friendly defense lines, they will rush to us, so I plan to strengthen the landing site." direction of defense."
After hearing Sokov's explanation, Gritsenko suddenly understood what was going on and said quickly: "Comrade Commander, do you plan to send our division to this area to perform combat missions?"
"Hide and standby?!" Hearing Sokov's order, Fomenko was a little stunned. He was worried that Sokov might have made a slip of the tongue, so he quickly reminded the other party: "Comrade Commander, you want to say, let Rusov Are you going to join the regiment to reinforce the friendly forces?"
"No, General Fomenko." From Fomenko's words, Sokov heard that the other party had misunderstood him, so he explained to him: "What I said was to let the Rusov regiment stay hidden and wait for my next move. One step order, don’t participate in any battles for the time being.”
"But why is this?" Fomenko could not understand Sokov's intention. He said puzzledly: "You know, the towns of Ratseve and Jinki were captured by the commanders and fighters of the Rusov regiment. You let They watched helplessly as the enemy took back these two towns again, and I was worried that it would affect the morale of the troops."
"Yes, the towns of Ratseve and Kinki were indeed captured by the commanders and fighters of the Rusov regiment." Sokov did not deny what Fomenko said, but he continued: "But the defense was handed over last night Given to the 15th Guards Division, even if we have to resist the German attack, it is a matter for friendly forces. If we rush into the battle, I am afraid it will cause some unnecessary disputes."
Fomenko thought about Sokov's words carefully and felt that they made sense. If the defense had not been handed over to friendly forces, there would be no way to participate in the battle in the face of the German attack. Now that the towns of Ratsewe and Kinki are already the defense areas of the 15th Guards Division, it seems a bit unnecessary for the Rusov Regiment to participate in the battle again.
He paused for a moment and then asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, since the Rusov regiment does not need to participate in the battle, why not withdraw them but still let them stay outside the town of Ratsewe?"
"The Germans continued to launch an attack impatiently, proving that they wanted to retake the lost riverside stronghold in the shortest possible time." Sokov shook his head and said: "And whether the 15th Guards Division stationed here has the ability to Blocking the enemy's attack is still unknown. I asked the Russov Regiment to stay in place to prevent the German army from advancing towards the area where we are now after occupying the town of Ratsewe."
"Comrade Commander," after understanding Sokov's intentions, Fomenko couldn't help but worry about the safety of his men: "If the German army really captures the towns of Ratseve and Kinki from the 15th Guards Division, , then even if Colonel Russov’s troops stay nearby, it may be difficult to block the enemy’s attack.”
"If you rush into battle and there are no fortifications to rely on, there is a high probability that you will not be able to stop the enemy." Sokov explained to Fomenko: "So when you send a message to Colonel Rusov, remind him to get in hiding as soon as possible. Disintegrate the fortifications in the area, so that even if the enemy defeats the friendly forces and rushes towards them, they can rely on the fortifications to resist for a while."
"If the enemy is really strong enough to easily break through the defenses of the 15th Guards Division, I'm worried that even if the Rusov Regiment has fortifications to support it, it may be very difficult to block the enemy." Fomenko asked tentatively. Kov: "Comrade Commander, do you think we should send troops to reinforce them?"
"Take your time, General Fomenko."
Sokov knew very well that once it really started, it would be basically impossible for Rusov's regiment to stop the German army with high morale. But if reinforcements are sent in that direction too early, it doesn't seem to be necessary. After all, the southwest of the city is still threatened by the German army, and the 188th and 384th Divisions placed there do not dare to use it easily.
"I only have three divisions in hand now, two of which are placed in the southwest of the city to prevent the enemy from attacking from that direction. And in the city, there are only two of your under-manned infantry regiments, where are the troops? Used to strengthen the Russov Regiment?”
Now that Sokov had heard about the deployment of two divisions to the southwest of the city, Fomenko quickly said: "Comrade Commander, I think it would be a bit wasteful to deploy two divisions to the southwest of the city."
