Facts quickly proved that Yegor's suggestion was completely correct. The German soldier brought here this time was a coward. As soon as Mikhailev asked, he knew everything and kept telling everyone in Pavlish. The situation was revealed clearly.
After grasping the situation in the city, Mikhailev asked people to take the German soldiers away, and then smiled and said to Yegor: "Captain Yegor, we can grasp the situation in the city so smoothly, we have to thank you very much." . Without your reasonable suggestions, we might still be interrogating German prisoners in vain."
In response to Mikhailev's compliment, Yegor just smiled faintly, and then he said with emotion: "Comrade Battalion Commander, I think the commander deserves a lot of credit for arriving here so smoothly tonight."
"You are right, Captain Yegor." Mikhailev immediately agreed with Yegor's statement: "When Comrade Commander ordered commanders above the company level to master German, I also I once complained about him. Unexpectedly, the reason why he issued such an order at that time was to facilitate future operations behind enemy lines. Now one-third of the battalion commanders and fighters can speak proficiently in German, which is also today The fundamental reason why the operation can be so smooth."
"Egor," Narva, who was standing nearby, suddenly asked, "You arrested all the German soldiers at the entrance of the village and were not discovered by the enemies on the road, right?"
"Don't worry, Narva." Yegor comforted Narva and said: "In order not to alert the enemies on the road, I ordered people to trick the soldiers at the entrance of the village into one by one and control them. Take them all After he was arrested, I sent several soldiers with good German skills to stay at the entrance of the village to monitor the enemies on the road."
After confirming what happened in the village and not alerting the enemies outside, Narva asked Mikhailev: "Comrade Battalion Commander, now that the situation in Pavlish City is clear, when will we enter the city?"
"Don't be anxious, Comrade Captain." Mikhailev replied: "I want to report the situation here to my superiors first and hear what the brigade commander wants."
Narva and Yegor knew in their hearts that the so-called request for instructions from the brigade headquarters for the next step was actually just a cover, and the final decision-maker was still Sokov.
Ten minutes later, Sokov received a call from Guchakov himself: "Comrade Commander, I just received a telegram from Captain Mikhailov, deputy brigade commander and commander of the first battalion."
"What did the telegram say?"
"They captured several soldiers from Pavlish who became the garrison headquarters, and learned about the city's defense situation from the other party's mouth." Guchakov reported: "With the transfer of large units, the defenders in the city There is only one incomplete regiment left, with a total strength of no more than two battalions. Among them, the enemy guarding the material transfer warehouse only has the strength of one company."
After understanding the strength of the city, Sokov breathed a sigh of relief. If there were only two battalions of defenders in the city, Mikhailev's troops would be able to hold on for a few days or even longer after occupying the transfer warehouse. However, Sokov, who was worried about the comfort of the first battalion, still asked nervously: "Major Guchakov, what is the current situation of the army? Has it been noticed by the enemy?"
"The First Battalion is still staying in a village on the roadside. The few German soldiers at the entrance of the village have been eliminated by them and replaced by our own people." Guchakov did not wait for Sokov to ask again. Take the initiative to say: "Captain Mikhailov said that when there is no trace of the enemy on the road, he will lead people to seize the city. Judging from the comparison of forces, as long as they occupy the material transfer warehouse, there will be enough time. , hold on until our reinforcements arrive."
From the tone of Guchakov's words, Sokov heard a hint of underestimating the enemy, and quickly reminded him: "Comrade Major, you must not underestimate the enemy. You know, although with the transfer of the main force of the German army, Pa There are only two battalions of defenders left in Fleish, but once the Germans know that their material transfer warehouse has been occupied by our army, they will definitely send some troops back to support them."
He was deeply afraid that Guchakov would turn a deaf ear to his words, and specifically emphasized: "If it was just the city's defenders who besieged Mikhail Camp, they should be able to hold on for a while with the supplies in the warehouse, until our Reinforcements have arrived. But if the German army returns with heavy reinforcements, how long do you think they can sustain it?"
Sokov's words scared Guchakov into a cold sweat. He did have the idea of underestimating the enemy as Sokov had guessed. I felt that there were only two battalions of defenders in the city. Even if they were all used to besiege Mikhailev and the others, it would take ten days and a half to destroy even one battalion. But if the German army sends heavy troops back to ensure the safety of the transfer warehouse, the time that the troops staying in the warehouse can last is very limited.
Thinking of this, he quickly said seriously: "I understand, Comrade Commander. I will send a report to Captain Mikhailev right now to ask them to stay vigilant and be prepared to resist the heavy German attack. At the same time, once the attack starts, The main force of our brigade will go all out to break through the German defense line in the shortest possible time."
"Comrade Commander," Samyko asked tentatively as soon as Sokov hung up the phone: "When should we launch an attack on the German army?"
"Don't be anxious, Comrade Chief of Staff." Although Sokov wanted to lead his troops to attack Berlin tomorrow, he now had to wait patiently for the opportunity: "It will take more than ten hours for the 69th Group Army to take over our defense. , to reach Klemenkoug. It will take more time for them to enter the landing site on the right bank. In other words, we need to wait at least 24 hours before we have a chance to launch an attack on the German army."
"We still have to wait for more than 24 hours?" Hearing what Sokov said, Sameko showed a disappointed expression on his face: "If we delay like this, will it delay the fighter plane?"
"No." Sokov shook his head and said, "In fact, the later we launch the attack, the better it is for us." Seeing Sameko's confused expression, he continued, "If we don't make any move for a long time, , the Germans will confidently and boldly devote their forces to the attack on the new landing site. And when their fighting is in full swing, we can unexpectedly launch an attack on the German defense line south of the landing site, and we will achieve unexpected results."
In order to ensure that he could break through the German defenses in one fell swoop, Sokov also specifically told Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the artillery has a limited number of shells. Please urge the logistics comrades to prepare more shells for the artillery. I don't want artillery shelling." Halfway through, all the artillery shells were fired. Once we lose the cover of artillery fire, our troops participating in the attack will have to pay more sacrifices."
Samyko knew that although Sokov did not like to prepare artillery fire before an attack, when the troops attacked, they still couldn't do without artillery cover. When the First Artillery Division liberated the town of Ratsewe, it had already exhausted its inventory of artillery shells. If they were not replenished in time, when the offensive battle started, the only artillery division that could participate in the battle would be the Second Artillery Division.
"Comrade Commander, you don't have to worry about this." Samyko quickly explained to Sokov: "I talked with the director of the Logistics Department, and he said that he would give priority to replenishing the 1st Artillery Division. Since he has made a guarantee , I believe that at the beginning of the attack, there will not be only one unit of the Second Artillery Division performing a one-man show."
Facts quickly proved that Yegor's suggestion was completely correct. The German soldier brought here this time was a coward. As soon as Mikhailev asked, he knew everything and kept telling everyone in Pavlish. The situation was revealed clearly.
After grasping the situation in the city, Mikhailev asked people to take the German soldiers away, and then smiled and said to Yegor: "Captain Yegor, we can grasp the situation in the city so smoothly, we have to thank you very much." . Without your reasonable suggestions, we might still be interrogating German prisoners in vain."
In response to Mikhailev's compliment, Yegor just smiled faintly, and then he said with emotion: "Comrade Battalion Commander, I think the commander deserves a lot of credit for arriving here so smoothly tonight."
"You are right, Captain Yegor." Mikhailev immediately agreed with Yegor's statement: "When Comrade Commander ordered commanders above the company level to master German, I also I once complained about him. Unexpectedly, the reason why he issued such an order at that time was to facilitate future operations behind enemy lines. Now one-third of the battalion commanders and fighters can speak proficiently in German, which is also today The fundamental reason why the operation can be so smooth.”
"Egor," Narva, who was standing nearby, suddenly asked, "You arrested all the German soldiers at the entrance of the village and were not discovered by the enemies on the road, right?"
"Don't worry, Narva." Yegor comforted Narva and said: "In order not to alert the enemies on the road, I ordered people to trick the soldiers at the entrance of the village into one by one and control them. Take them all After he was arrested, I sent several soldiers with good German skills to stay at the entrance of the village to monitor the enemies on the road."
After confirming what happened in the village and not alerting the enemies outside, Narva asked Mikhailev: "Comrade Battalion Commander, now that the situation in Pavlish City is clear, when will we enter the city?"
"Don't be anxious, Comrade Captain." Mikhailev replied: "I want to report the situation here to my superiors first and hear what the brigade commander wants."
Narva and Yegor knew in their hearts that the so-called request for instructions from the brigade headquarters for the next step was actually just a cover, and the final decision-maker was still Sokov.
Ten minutes later, Sokov received a call from Guchakov himself: "Comrade Commander, I just received a telegram from Captain Mikhailov, deputy brigade commander and commander of the first battalion."
"What did the telegram say?"
"They captured several soldiers from Pavlish who became the garrison headquarters, and learned about the city's defense situation from the other party's mouth." Guchakov reported: "With the transfer of large units, the defenders in the city There is only one incomplete regiment left, with a total strength of no more than two battalions. Among them, the enemy guarding the material transfer warehouse only has the strength of one company."
After understanding the strength of the city, Sokov breathed a sigh of relief. If there were only two battalions of defenders in the city, Mikhailev's troops would be able to hold on for a few days or even longer after occupying the transfer warehouse. However, Sokov, who was worried about the comfort of the first battalion, still asked nervously: "Major Guchakov, what is the current situation of the army? Has it been noticed by the enemy?"
"The First Battalion is still staying in a village on the roadside. The few German soldiers at the entrance of the village have been eliminated by them and replaced by our own people." Guchakov did not wait for Sokov to ask again. Take the initiative to say: "Captain Mikhailov said that when there is no trace of the enemy on the road, he will lead people to seize the city. Judging from the comparison of forces, as long as they occupy the material transfer warehouse, there will be enough time. , hold on until our reinforcements arrive."
From the tone of Guchakov's words, Sokov heard a hint of underestimating the enemy, and quickly reminded him: "Comrade Major, you must not underestimate the enemy. You know, although with the transfer of the main force of the German army, Pa There are only two battalions of defenders left in Fleish, but once the Germans know that their material transfer warehouse has been occupied by our army, they will definitely send some troops back to support them."
He was deeply afraid that Guchakov would turn a deaf ear to his words, and specifically emphasized: "If it was just the city's defenders who besieged Mikhail Camp, they should be able to hold on for a while with the supplies in the warehouse, until our Reinforcements have arrived. But if the German army returns with heavy reinforcements, how long do you think they can sustain it?"
Sokov's words scared Guchakov into a cold sweat. He did have the idea of underestimating the enemy as Sokov had guessed. I felt that there were only two battalions of defenders in the city. Even if they were all used to besiege Mikhailev and the others, it would take ten days and a half to destroy even one battalion. But if the German army sends heavy troops back to ensure the safety of the transfer warehouse, the time that the troops staying in the warehouse can last is very limited.
Thinking of this, he quickly said seriously: "I understand, Comrade Commander. I will send a report to Captain Mikhailev right now to ask them to stay vigilant and be prepared to resist the heavy German attack. At the same time, once the attack starts, The main force of our brigade will go all out to break through the German defense line in the shortest possible time."
"Don't be anxious, Comrade Chief of Staff." Although Sokov wanted to lead his troops to attack Berlin tomorrow, he now had to wait patiently for the opportunity: "It will take more than ten hours for the 69th Group Army to take over our defense. , to reach Klemenkoug. It will take more time for them to enter the landing site on the right bank. In other words, we need to wait at least 24 hours before we have a chance to launch an attack on the German army."
"We still have to wait for more than 24 hours?" Hearing what Sokov said, Sameko showed a disappointed expression on his face: "If we delay like this, will it delay the fighter plane?"
"No." Sokov shook his head and said, "In fact, the later we launch the attack, the better it is for us." Seeing Sameko's confused expression, he continued, "If we don't make any move for a long time, , the Germans will confidently and boldly devote their forces to the attack on the new landing site. And when their fighting is in full swing, we can unexpectedly launch an attack on the German defense line south of the landing site, and we will achieve unexpected results."
