"Comrade Commander, phone!" A communications staff officer held up the microphone in his hand and reported to Sokov: "This is the call from General Onuprienko, commander of the 6th Guards Division."
The 6th Guards Division was the vanguard of the attack on Mienzirec. When Sokov heard that the call was from Onupryenko, he quickly walked over and took the phone: "General Onupryenko, your Have the troops reached the attack position?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Onupriyenko replied on the phone: "My troops all entered the attack position half an hour ago and were ready to launch an attack on the city."
After hearing this, Sokov showed a happy smile on his face, and then asked: "General Onupryenko, since your troops have arrived at the designated attack position and are ready for battle, immediately attack the city. Let’s attack.”
"Comrade Commander, I'm calling you just to discuss the offensive." Onupryenko said hesitantly: "I think the attack on Mienzirec is no longer necessary."
"Why?" Sokov frowned: "General Onupryenko, why is there no need to launch an attack? What happened there?"
"Before the attack, I sent people to search the city." Onupriyenko said hesitantly: "But according to the scout's report, there is not a single enemy in the city. Is it an empty city?"
"What?" Sokov was shocked when he heard this: "What do you mean, Menzirec is an empty city?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander. This is what my scouts reported to me. Not only are there no enemies in the city, there are not even any residents. It is an empty city."
After learning that Mienzirec was an empty city, Sokov tapped his fingers quickly on the table. He was thinking, in any case, Mienzirec is a gateway to Sedelce. How could the Germans say that? What if you just give up? Thinking of this, he asked into the microphone: "General Onupriyenko, in addition to the scouts, do you have other troops entering the city?"
"No, Comrade Commander." Onupryenko answered simply: "Except for the scouts, no troops entered the city."
"Okay, then you can dispatch a regiment to enter the city first to search. We have encountered this situation before. The Germans felt that they could not stop our attack, so they took the initiative to abandon some insignificant cities and withdrew their troops to the rear. Strengthen defenses." Sokov warned the other party on the phone: "In order to prevent the Germans from setting a trap for us, the other two regiments stayed outside the city to serve as guards. Once they found that something was wrong, they would rush in and kill the troops inside. Rescue. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Onupryenko replied loudly: "I immediately sent Colonel Ivanov's 10th Guards Regiment into the city to search."
As soon as Sokov put down the phone, Ponedelin came over and asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, what emergency happened in Mianzirec?"
"General Onupryenko reported that the scouts he sent found no trace of the enemy in the city." Sokov said: "Not only were there no enemies, not even the residents could see any. So I ordered Onupryenko to General Priyenko immediately sent a regiment into the city to search and find out what was going on."
"Comrade Commander," Sidorin waited for Sokov to finish and then offered a suggestion: "If the Germans really abandon Mienzirec, then our original attack plan needs to be adjusted."
"What kind of adjustment?" Ponejelin asked.
Sidorin quickly walked to the map, pointed to the enemy and enemy situation map above and said: "Comrade commanders, according to the original plan, the 6th Guards Division took the lead in attacking Mienzirec, and the 1st Guards Division They serve as a reserve team and wait until the 6th Guards Division's attack fails before they go into battle.
Now that the Germans have given up on Mienzirec, I think the mission of the 1st Guards Division can be adjusted so that they can rush directly to Sedelce and launch a surprise attack on the city before the enemy can react. "
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Ponejelin waited for Sidorin to finish speaking and immediately raised his own doubts: "Have you ever considered that if Menzirec is really a trap set by the Germans? The 1st Guards Division has been transferred to the direction of Sedelce, who will support the 6th Guards Division at that time?"
"Comrade Deputy Commander, you don't have to worry about this." Sokov picked up the explanation stick on the wall, knocked on the location of Menzirec, and said confidently: "Even if Menzirec was set up by the Germans, It's a trap. They won't be able to capture our 6th Guards Division in a short time. As long as General Onupriyenko can hold on for four or five hours, the 3rd and 109th Infantry Divisions following behind will be able to arrive. .
Mienzyrec is a small city, and the German army can only deploy one regiment at best. Do you think they can withstand the joint attack of our three divisions? "
"Misha." Khrushchev, who had been listening, couldn't help but interrupt when he heard this: "If there is really only one German regiment in Mienzirec, no matter what trap they set, with the 6th Guards Division A single division of troops can annihilate them, without the need for support from follow-up troops."
"Comrade Khrushchev," Sokov didn't know that the other party was telling the truth. He said with a smile: "If the German troops deployed in the city of Mienzirec are only the National Defense Forces, then the existing strength of the 6th Guards Division is close to , there is no big problem in annihilating them. But if the defenders deployed in the city are elite SS troops, then even if the 6th Guards Division has a numerical advantage, they may not be able to annihilate them in a short time, and there may even be The possibility of being defeated by them.”
"Comrade Commander is right." Sidorin added: "According to the intelligence we have obtained, the German Skeleton Division is probably deployed nearby. With the combat effectiveness of this division, even if the strength ratio of our army is three to one, I am afraid that You will also suffer a loss.”
Bulganin deeply believed in Sidorin's statement. He clearly remembered that during the Battle of Kursk, a German SS division could defeat a Soviet army group. If the German army really deploys a regiment of the SS division in Mienzirec, then the 6th Guards Division may be defeated even if it has a numerical advantage.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Khrushchev said disapprovingly: "Misha, if it were other troops, they would be panicked when they heard that the enemies they encountered were the Guards Division, the Imperial Division, the Skeleton Division and the Viking Division. But. You are different from others, among these arrogant SS divisions, which one has never suffered a defeat at your hands?"
Regarding Khrushchev's statement, Sokov smiled bitterly: "Comrade Khrushchev, if I am still commanding the 27th Army now, let alone a regiment of the SS Division, even the one you mentioned With the four SS divisions coming together, I am still confident that I will beat them to pieces. But today's army cannot be compared with the 27th Army of the past, whether in terms of technical and tactical level or weapons and equipment. , that is to say, even if I face any SS division, I am not completely sure of defeating the opponent."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov turned around and ordered Sidorin: "Call General Tolstikov immediately and ask him to lead the troops of the 1st Guards Division to bypass Mienzyrec as quickly as possible. Rush to Sedelce. If possible, it is best to send out a reconnaissance team first to find out the enemy's defense situation in the direction of Sedelce."
An hour later, Sokov received another call from Onupryenko: "Comrade Commander, the 10th Guards Regiment has conducted a complete search of the city and only found a few scattered residents."
When Sokov heard this, he couldn't wait to interrupt Onupryenko's words and asked: "Comrade General, have you asked those residents where the Germans have gone?"
"I asked, Comrade Commander." Onupriyenko replied: "I just finished asking the residents, and they said that last night the German army suddenly notified all residents in the city to move towards Warsaw overnight. If anyone is unwilling to leave If they did, they would be shot dead on the spot by the Germans. And the reason why they were able to stay was because they hid in the attic or cellar and were not discovered by the Germans."
Hearing that the Germans shot many residents who refused to leave Mianzirec, Sokov asked tentatively: "General Onupryenko, do you know how many residents were shot?"
"According to our statistics, approximately two hundred residents were brutally killed."
"Damn Germans." After Sokov finished this sentence through gritted teeth, he ordered Onupryenko: "Comrade General, these dead residents must be buried properly. Do you understand?"
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Onupryenko replied: "Colonel Ivanov's soldiers are doing this."
"General Onupryenko, since it has been determined that there are no enemies in the city of Mienzirec, the original plan must be adjusted accordingly." Sokov said to Onupryenko: "The original battle plan. It is your division that is responsible for the main attack mission in Mienzirec, and the 1st Guards Division serves as your reserve. And now that the troops of the 1st Guards Division have bypassed Mienzirec and headed for Sedelce, then you Leaving one battalion in Mianzirec, the rest of the troops immediately marched towards Sedelce, where they served as reserves for the 1st Guards Division."
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Onupryenko said: "I immediately followed your order, left the garrison behind, and headed in the direction of Sedelce."
After Sokov put down the phone, he said to himself: "I wonder if General Tolstikov's 1st Guards Division has reached Sedelce now."
Bulganin came over and said to Sokov: "General Sokov, I think you are very busy. If Comrade Khrushchev and I continue to stay here, it may affect your command of the operation. I think we should go first." leave."
"Wait a moment, Comrade Military Commissar. Please don't leave for now." Although Sokov does not want to have outsiders with a higher rank than himself stay here when he is commanding the operation, it will make him feel pressured, which will lead to him being unable to direct the operation. He seemed helpless at times. But at this moment Bulganin offered to leave, but he stopped him. There was an important matter that needed to be reported to the two of them.
"Is there anything else?" Bulganin asked.
"That's it, Comrade Military Commissar." After Sokov finished speaking, he realized that he seemed to have neglected Khrushchev, and he felt that he had added: "And Comrade Khrushchev, I have something important to do. Report to you two."
"I have important things to report to us." After Bulganin and Khrushchev looked at each other, they asked Sokov curiously: "General Sokov, what is it?"
"Comrade Military Commissar, didn't my troops occupy the Majdanek concentration camp near Lublin a few days ago?"
"That's right." Bulganin nodded and said: "I read your battle report. You fought very well. You rescued more than 40,000 prisoners from the Germans. If you were replaced by other troops, you might be able to do the same thing. Less than this."
"Before my troops evacuated the concentration camp today, they found some important things on the hillside of the concentration camp." Sokov knew that the Jewish treasures discovered by his troops would definitely not go into his own pocket and could only be handed over to The superior said straight to the point: "The owners of these things basically died in the German concentration camps, so I plan to hand over all the things I found to the front army headquarters."
Bulganin asked tentatively: "I wonder what is there?"
"Jewelry, clocks, brushes, pipes, lighters, kitchen utensils, etc." Sokov said: "Comrade Military Commissar, defeating the Germans is only a matter of time. After the war is over, we will rebuild the cities that were destroyed by the war. It requires a lot of funds, and I hope the treasures found can be of some use."
Bulganin and Khrushchev looked at each other and smiled, then walked up to Sokov, raised their hands and patted him on the shoulder, and said with a smile: "Well done, General Sokov, you are well done. Yes! This is what I want to say to you."
At this time, the phone rang. Sidorin picked up the phone and listened, then covered the phone and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, General Tolstikov reported that the reconnaissance team he sent was near Sedelce. , discovered our tank force."
"What, our tank unit was discovered near Sedelce?" Sokov asked in surprise: "Comrade Chief of Staff, ask him if he knows which unit these tanks belong to?"
Sidorin nodded and replied: "The scouts have asked that these tanks belong to the 50th Independent Heavy Tank Regiment, which now belongs to the 11th Guards Tank Corps of Major General Guttmann Tank Corps."
"What tanks are they equipped with?" Sokov heard that the other party was a heavy tank regiment, and couldn't help but curiously asked: "Is it the latest model T-34 tank?" He asked because he knew in his heart that the German army was There are a large number of Tiger and Panther tanks deployed near Warsaw. If the tank regiment is equipped with T-34 tanks, it will be equivalent to giving death to the enemy.
"No, Comrade Commander." Sidorin replied: "General Tolstikov reported that the regiment is equipped with IS-2 heavy tanks, even if it encounters German Panther tanks or Tiger tanks , don’t worry about not being able to beat it.”
"Oh, it is actually equipped with an IS-2 tank?" After hearing this, Khrushchev turned to Bulganin and said: "This is a heavy tank that our army has recently installed. If it encounters the old-fashioned German Panzer III or Panzer IV, it was simply a one-sided massacre. Even if we encounter the Panther tank, which caused a lot of losses to our T-34 tanks, the chance of victory is equally high."
