The artillery preparations carried out by other troops often lasted two hours, two and a half hours, or even three hours, and hundreds of thousands of artillery shells were destroyed at one time. The artillery preparations of Sokov's troops can be carried out simply with stinginess. Usually fifteen to twenty minutes after the artillery fire, the troops that quietly approach the enemy under the cover of artillery fire have already entered the attack position. As soon as the artillery fire stops, they will immediately Attack the enemy's position.
This time, while the artillery preparations of friendly forces continued, the artillery fire of Sokov's troops had stopped. 25 transport hovercrafts full of commanders and combatants, under the cover of 5 combat hovercrafts, quickly rushed to the opposite side of the swamp.
Since the terrain in the swamp is relatively complex, the speed of the hovercraft cannot be compared with the speed of traveling on the river. However, even so, it only took five minutes for 30 hovercrafts to pass through the 800-1000 meter wide swamp and enter the German defense zone.
Since most of the enemies on the high ground near the edge of the swamp had already evacuated, the first batch of commanders and fighters who disembarked did not spend much time and easily occupied all the high ground at a very small cost.
Seeing the red flag raised on the high ground and the hovercraft returning to transport the second group of soldiers, Sokov breathed a sigh of relief and said to Belgin beside him: "Bergin, my troops can pass through the swamp so smoothly. , you are indispensable for occupying the German forward positions. When the battle is over and rewards are given, you will definitely get a significant medal."
Hearing Sokov's compliment, Belkin grinned and said, "Misha, don't forget, you invented this hovercraft. To say who has the greatest credit, of course it's you."
"I just provided an idea, but it was the weapons and equipment department that produced the hovercraft. Without their full cooperation, this kind of transportation vehicle would not have been able to come out." Sokov said with emotion as he looked at the hovercraft getting closer and closer. Said: "The original hovercraft could only carry 30 soldiers at a time, but now it has increased to 40. In other words, at least a thousand soldiers can be delivered to the opposite side of the swamp at a time, thus greatly shortening the passage of our troops. Swamp time.”
"Misha, I'm thinking about something." Belkin waited for Sokov to finish and then said, "If you advance too fast, will there be any problems?"
Sokov looked confused and asked, "What's the problem?"
"As far as I know, usually after the bombardment ends, the air force will bomb the enemy's rear." Belkin reminded Sokov: "If your troops attack too fast, they will rush to the German second-line position. When the Space Force carries out bombing, isn't it possible that your troops will be bombed?"
Belkin's words shocked Sokov into a cold sweat. He clearly remembered that during the previous battle to defend Stalingrad, Chuikov went to the outskirts to receive a troop that had just arrived from other places on a military train. Unexpectedly, as soon as the troops got off the bus, a group of Soviet bombers came and violently bombed the ground troops without any explanation. As a result, nearly half of the friendly troops who had just arrived fell to their own air force before they entered the battlefield. under the bomb.
Although the offensive campaign had only started for half an hour, Sokov knew in his heart that the air force responsible for bombing the German positions was probably already in place and would fly to the designated location for bombing as soon as the order was given. If your own troops rush in too fast and happen to occupy the area that the Air Force originally planned to bomb, there may be an accidental bombing.
Thinking of this, he picked up the phone on the table and ordered the communications soldier to answer Rokossovsky's call: "Hello, Comrade General! This is Sokov."
"It's Misha!" Rokossovsky heard the call from Sokov and asked with a smile: "I heard that you don't always prepare artillery fire for a long time. I don't know if you plan to bombard the enemy's position this time. How long?"
"Reporting to Comrade General, our artillery preparations have ended." Sokov reported respectfully to Rokossovsky: "Now the leading troops have occupied all the German highlands on the edge of the swamp. They are waiting for the second batch of troops to arrive. When it arrives, it will immediately advance deep into the enemy's defense to seize the enemy's second line of defense."
After listening to Sokov's report, Rokossovsky was in shock. Other troops were still preparing for artillery fire, but Sokov's troops had already occupied the German first line of defense. Although he knew that Sokov would definitely perform dazzlingly during Operation Bagration, he did not expect that he would be so dazzling.
He was stunned for a long time before he asked tentatively: "Misha, didn't you suffer a counterattack from the enemy?"
"Not yet, Comrade General." Sokov replied: "When our shelling started, the enemy must have been hiding in their positions and not daring to move. But they never dreamed that we have a hovercraft that can quickly pass through the swamp. In just a few minutes, thousands of commanders and fighters were transported from one side of the swamp to the other. As a result, we were caught off guard. Before we even reacted, our troops occupied their outposts. .”
"This hovercraft is really a treasure." After Rokossovsky said this with emotion, he realized that Sokov's call to him was definitely not to show off, but that he had other things to ask him, so he He asked tentatively: "Misha, what do you want from me?"
"Comrade General," Sokov said: "Based on past experience, after each artillery preparation is completed, the air force will bomb the enemy's position again. I am worried that my troops will advance too fast and rush into the bombing. Area, causing unnecessary losses may affect the morale and morale of the troops."
"Oh, so that's what happened." After Rokossovsky figured out what was going on, he comforted Sokov and said, "Don't worry, Misha, I will immediately notify the Air Force and ask them not to bomb the offensive you are responsible for. area to avoid accidental explosions. Do you think this is okay?"
"Of course." As long as the Air Force does not bomb its own combat area, it can avoid accidental bombings. However, Sokov considered that there will definitely be many areas that require the cooperation of the air force in the next battle, and quickly added: "If we need air force support, I will call you to make a request."
"I think it's okay." Rokossovsky nodded and said, "Although I have canceled the air force's bombing mission in your combat area, if you need air cover, just ask me and I will send another one at that time. The Air Force is here to support you.”
After ending the call with Sokov, Rokossovsky held the phone and chatted for a while, then made a decisive decision and asked the communications soldier to help him get through to the 3rd Army Headquarters. He was going to talk to the waiter. Zhukov called there and informed him of the results achieved by Sokov's troops.
After the call was connected, Zhukov asked with a smile: "Koschka, are you too anxious? As soon as the artillery preparations before the attack started, you called to ask about the results of the battle. Let me tell you, in this powerful attack There will be no results for the time being until the artillery preparations are completed."
"Speaking of the results, we can't say there are none." Rokossovsky said lightly: "At least Mischa's 48th Group Army has now occupied the front-line position facing the enemy, and is now preparing to advance deep into the enemy. "
"What, what, what did you say?" After hearing this, Zhukov asked in surprise: "Koschka, is everything you said true? Misha's troops have broken through the first line of defense of the German army?"
Before Rokossovsky could answer, he asked himself: "This is unlikely. You know, our army's artillery preparations are not over yet. How could he break through the enemy's defense line? Isn't he afraid of being attacked by our troops?" Was it accidental damage from artillery fire?”
"Comrade Marshal," Rokossovsky explained: "Misha's troops have a very short time to prepare for artillery fire before attacking. This is because he said that as soon as each artillery attack begins, the captured enemy will retreat through the communication trenches By the second line of defense, the artillery shells fell on unmanned positions. So he changed his tactics and used short-term artillery bombardment to destroy the enemy's fortifications, and let the troops take advantage of the cover of the artillery bombardment to quietly approach the enemy's position. In this way, as soon as the bombardment stops, they can immediately launch a charge and occupy the enemy's position before the enemy returns to their position."
"Then did he do the same thing today?"
"More or less." Rokossovsky continued: "As soon as the bombardment ended, his troops took the hovercraft he got from the weapons and equipment department and quickly crossed the swamp area, seizing all the German troops on the edge of the swamp. Highlands.”
"Well done." After Zhukov said this, he said to Rokossovsky: "Koschka, I will call him now and ask him about his next plan." After that, before Rokossovsky could wait, Kosovsky didn't react at all and hung up the phone.
A few minutes later, Zhukov connected to the observation post where Sokov was located, and said with a smile: "Misha, I congratulate you on your victory in the first battle. While other troops are still preparing for artillery fire, your troops have captured the enemy's third A line of defense.”
Hearing Zhukov complimenting himself like this, Sokov didn't know how to reply for a while, so he could only laugh dryly.
Zhukov was obviously used to Sokov's reaction and continued: "What are your plans next?"
Sokov had just finished a phone call with Sidorin before Zhukov called, studying what to do after the troops crossed the swamp. When Zhukov asked about it, he answered truthfully: "Comrade Marshal, according to my original idea, once we break through the German defense, we will quickly rush into the depth of the enemy's defense. But after the troops passed the swamp, I Only then did I realize that I had oversimplified the problem.”
"Oh, why is it so easy to imagine?" Zhukov asked pleasantly, "Why don't you tell me."
"The soil on the other side of the swamp is not suitable for tanks or heavy artillery to travel at all. In other words, even if we use hovercraft to transport many tanks and heavy artillery there, it will not be usable at all." Sokov said with a grimace: "Don't talk about tanks traveling. After a few steps, it will fall into the quagmire. Even if it is a heavy artillery, as long as it fires one shot, the huge recoil will make it fall into the quagmire."
"Then have you thought of a solution?"
"I thought of it." Sokov replied: "I plan to send engineers to pave the road with logs and pave a road for tanks to drive on. As for the heavy artillery, because the occupied highlands are relatively dry, artillery positions can be set up on the highlands. , so that you can bombard the enemy's second-line positions from a high position."
"Misha, you are very thoughtful." After listening to Sokov's story, Zhukov praised: "If I were in charge, what I could do would be similar to what you are planning to do."
"Comrade Marshal," despite the fact that the battle was progressing so smoothly as soon as it started, Sokov did not take it lightly. Instead, he humbly asked Zhukov: "Do you think there is anything we need to improve on?"
"Misha, in the next battle, if your troops continue to attack smoothly, it will be a good thing, but it will also bring you certain dangers."
When Sokov heard this, he immediately became vigilant: "Comrade Marshal, can you explain in more detail?"
"Think about it. In this Operation Bagration, we used troops from four fronts to deal with four German armies. This means an unprecedented large-scale battle." Zhukov took his time. He said: "If your attack speed is too fast and leaves the friendly forces on the left and right wings far behind, then you will be in danger of exposing your flanks to the enemy. If the enemy circles back to your two wings and attacks, then Your offensive troops and rear may be cut off. At that time, friendly reinforcements cannot arrive, and your surrounded troops cannot break out, and there may be a possibility of being annihilated by the enemy."
Although Zhukov's words didn't sound good, Sokov knew in his heart that the other party cared about him and specifically pointed out the problems he had now.
"Comrade Marshal," Sokov asked cautiously, "Then what should I do?"
"At that time, we were fighting steadily, adopting the tactic of consolidating a place after occupying it, and gradually pushing the depth of the German defense." Zhukov said: "In this way, even if the friendly troops on the left and right wings of your army are pulled down a long distance by you, the enemy will move forward. When you attack, you can also rely on solid defensive positions to defend without being cut off by the enemy.”
After hearing this, Sokov thought to himself that this was a steady and step-by-step attack. Although the speed of the attack would be slowed down, it would ensure that his forward attacking troops would be cut off and surrounded by the enemy. Thinking of this, he nodded and said: "Comrade Marshal, I understand. I will move forward cautiously as you said."
"Well, Misha, that's all you can think about." Zhukov said earnestly: "Although I also hope you can achieve good results, I am also worried about your safety. Our troops are often in When we gained the upper hand, a certain unit stood out and was surrounded by the enemy, disrupting the entire offensive process and ultimately leading to failure. I don't want you to encounter a similar situation."
"Comrade Marshal, thank you for your concern." Sokov said gratefully: "I will definitely follow your instructions and steadily advance deeper into the enemy's defenses, and I will never give them a chance to encircle me."
"That's the end of our conversation." Zhukov said with a smile: "Misha, I wish you good luck!" But before he hung up the phone, he also deliberately added, "I forgot to tell you that I am now in No. 1 This is the 3rd Army Headquarters. If you have anything, you can call me directly here."
