Sokov mentally recalled the parameters of the IS-2: This heavy tank produced by the Chelyabinsk Tank Factory is equipped with a D-25T 122mm tank gun, which evolved from a 122mm naval gun. of. The types of ammunition it uses include: BR-471 armor-piercing projectiles and OF-471 grenades, both of which weigh about 25 kilograms. The firing speed is only 2 rounds/minute, and the base ammunition count is 28 rounds.
The armor-piercing power is 152 mm at a 500-meter shooting distance; 142 mm at a 1,000-meter shooting distance; 133 mm at a 1,500-meter shooting distance; and 122 mm at a 2,000-meter shooting distance. In other words, even at a distance of 2,000 meters, it can penetrate the 102 mm thick frontal armor of the German Tiger heavy tank.
Sokov raised his head and asked Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, ask General Tolstikov if he knows who the commander of this unit is?"
"The leader of the heavy tank regiment is Lieutenant Colonel Ilya." Sidorin replied: "He is with our scouts now."
"You ask again, how many infantrymen assist the tank regiment in fighting?"
"Comrade General," after hearing what Sokov said, Sidorin quickly released his hand covering the microphone and asked, "The commander asked, how many infantrymen are there to cooperate with the heavy tank regiment?"
"No, not a single infantryman."
"What, not a single infantryman?" After listening to the report, Sokov asked in surprise: "Without infantry to coordinate operations, how can we attack with tanks alone?" He pointed at Sidorin with his hand and ordered, "You let General Tolstikov told the scouts that friendly tank units should not attack Sedelce for the time being, and at least wait until the infantry of the 1st Guards Division arrived before launching an attack on the city."
Seeing Sokov's serious expression, Sidorin realized the seriousness of the problem and quickly relayed his words to Tolstikov, telling him to inform the friendly tank regiment not to attack the city for the time being, lest he Suffer.
When Sidorin put down the phone, he saw Sokov staring at the map with a serious expression and quickly reported to him: "Comrade Commander, I have conveyed your intention to General Tolstikov. I believe he is very interested." We will soon be able to reach a consensus with the commander of the heavy tank regiment."
But a few minutes later, Tolstikov called and said helplessly to Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have conveyed your intention to the commander of the heavy tank regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Ilya, but the order Regrettably, he rejected my proposal. He also said that the mission their regiment received was to attack Sedelce alone and did not require the cooperation of other troops."
"It's over, it's all over." When Sokov heard Tolstikov's reply, he suddenly became pessimistic: "I don't think it will take long before this heavy tank regiment will disappear from our army's structure. .”
Seeing Sokov's pessimism, Sidorin, who had just put down the phone, comforted him and said: "Comrade Commander, the heavy tank regiments are all equipped with heavy tanks like the IS-2. Even if the German army uses 88mm anti-aircraft guns, there will be no It has to be able to penetrate the armor of these tanks. I think they might have a chance of success if they attack the city alone."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said with a serious expression: "If a tank unit without infantry support encounters German anti-tank fighters, it will only end up being destroyed. Maybe the frontal armor of these tanks can withstand it. The German 88mm anti-aircraft guns or tank guns, but what if the Germans laid a large number of anti-tank mines on their way forward? Or ambushed anti-tank fighters carrying Panzerfaust rocket launchers on both sides of the road? Here Under these circumstances, do you think they can still capture Sedelce?"
"General Sokov, you are right." Bulganin, who had been listening, suddenly said: "In fact, the 11th Guards Tank Corps encountered a similar situation when it fought against the Viking Division at the beginning of this month. .The tank battalion that came forward was completely wiped out by the Germans in less than ten minutes because it was not covered by the infantry."
"What, the Viking Division?" Sokov commanded the troops and fought with many SS divisions. The only one that could not win was the Viking Division, so this unit left him with a little shadow: "Where are they now? , how many troops are left?”
"It has been defeated by your friendly forces." Bulganin did not tell Sokov the detailed results of the battle, but simply said: "The Viking division that suffered heavy losses has now retreated towards Warsaw."
Sokov was thinking that since the Viking division had appeared, there must be other SS divisions nearby. Thinking of this, he asked Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, when you just spoke to General Tolstikov, did he say what the number of the German troops stationed in Sedelce was?"
"No, Comrade Commander." Sidorin answered simply: "I think even General Tolstikov himself doesn't know the designation of the German troops stationed in Sedelce."
After saying this, Sidorin saw Sokov's brows frowning again and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, what are you worried about?"
"Since there are Viking divisions on the Belarusian battlefield, there should be other SS divisions nearby." Sokov tapped the position of Sedelce with his hand and said: "I am now worried about stationing in Sedelce The defenders in Caicheng are a certain SS division of the German army. If the heavy tank regiment attacks alone, there is a risk of the entire army being annihilated."
"General Sokov," Sokov's words made Bulganin feel uneasy. He felt that if a tank unit was truly annihilated by the Germans, it would have a negative impact on his own military morale and morale, so he took the initiative to attack Sokov. The husband said: "I immediately called Comrade Marshal and asked him to contact General Guttmann and ask the heavy tank regiment to wait until the infantry of the 1st Guards Division arrived before launching an attack on the city."
"Comrade Military Commissar, it would be great if you could call Comrade Marshal." Sokov said to Bulganin with some excitement: "If you let the heavy tank regiment wait for the infantry of the 1st Guards Division to arrive, Finally, we will launch an attack on the city. I believe that our army will be able to liberate the city from the Germans before dark."
The call to the front army headquarters was quickly connected. Bulganin said into the phone: "I am Bulganin, is Comrade Marshal here?... What, he went to the grassroots units? When can he come back?... Don’t know?!…Then you ask the chief of staff, General Malinen, to answer the phone, I have something important to tell him.”
A few minutes later, Bulganin put down the phone, looked at Sokov with a blank expression and said, "General Sokov, the information provided by your troops may be biased."
This time it was Sokov's turn to be confused: "Comrade Military Commissar, I wonder where this matter went wrong?"
"Chief of Staff Malinin told me that in addition to the 50th Heavy Tank Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Ilya, the 36th Tank Brigade of the 11th Guards Tank Corps had already broken through the German defense line. , the 65th Tank Brigade was heading towards Sedelce from the northeast at this time.
The 50th Independent Guards Heavy Tank Regiment has been involved in the fierce battle in the city of Sedelce, moving forward side by side with the 20th Tank Brigade, advancing from the southern suburbs of Sedelce to the north of the city. "
"What is going on?" Sokov asked Sidorin awkwardly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how come the information you obtained from General Tolstikov is so different from what Comrade Military Commissar said? Woolen cloth?"
"Comrade Commander, I think it may be that the scouts gave General Tolstikov the wrong information." Ponedelin said to Sokov: "It is better to order the 1st Guards Division to speed up the march and arrive as soon as possible. Sedelce rendezvous with friendly forces. In any case, the more troops attacking the city, the higher the chance of success."
"Comrade Deputy Commander, what you said makes sense." Sokov agreed with Ponedelin's statement, and then told Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are informing General Tolstikov to speed up At the same time as the marching speed of the troops, we will also inform him of the real situation in Sedelce City so that he can be well aware of it."
When Tolstikov received a call from Sidorin and learned that two tank brigades of the 11th Guards Tank Corps were fighting fierce battles with the Germans in the city, he realized how wrong he had been in obtaining the information. He immediately ordered the troops to speed up their march and rush over as soon as possible to cooperate with friendly forces in combat.
The 50th Heavy Tank Regiment entering the city from the southern suburbs was ambushed by the German Skeleton Division. The three tanks that opened the way were directly destroyed and burned on the road. The tank soldiers who luckily escaped from the tank were also shot by German troops in nearby buildings, and they all died near their tanks.
The tank crews of the 20th Tank Brigade drove the German troops from the city of Sedelce to the northwest suburbs after a tenacious battle. Then they rushed to the northwest suburbs of the city and had a fierce battle with German infantry, artillery and tanks. Due to the lack of infantry accompanying and artillery cover, the tank brigade was forced to withdraw to the southwestern suburbs of Sedelce after suffering certain casualties.
Malinin knew that Bulganin was in Sokov's headquarters at the moment, and that the 1st Guards Division of the group army was advancing in the direction of Sedelce at a rapid march speed, so he promptly reported various battle reports to Bulganin. .
After recording the contents of the phone call, Bulganin recounted to everyone: "...At 12 noon, the 20th Tank Brigade has successfully established a position at the intersection of the railway line and the road line near Sshala.
At 13:00, with the support of artillery, the German army invested 21 tanks, 7 assault guns and 1 motorized infantry battalion to launch a counterattack from the Sshala area against the new position of the 20th Tank Brigade.
At 15:00, the 20th Tank Brigade destroyed 6 German tanks and 7 assault guns, and lost 9 tanks. The main force of the 20th Tank Brigade withdrew to the southwestern suburbs of Sedelce.
Some units of its 3rd Battalion assisted the 3rd Guards Cavalry Division in blocking the two traffic arteries of the Sedelce-Warsaw road and the Sedelce-Senlochen road. "
After Sokov waited for Bulganin to finish reading, he turned to Sidorin and asked: "Chief of Staff, where is the 1st Guards Division now?"
"They are approaching the northeastern outskirts of Sedelce."
Sokov looked at the situation map of the enemy and ourselves that the staff had just drawn, and ordered Sidorin: "Chief of staff, tell General Tolstikov to get in touch with the commander of the 65th Tank Brigade immediately, and then in the tank Under the cover of the troops, we launched the final attack on the city."
Ten minutes later, Tolstikov called the headquarters. He reported excitedly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have good news for you. The leading regiment of our division is in the northeastern suburbs of Sedelce. We encountered the 65th Tank Brigade of our army and the 12th Motorized Infantry Brigade. Now we have enough strength to launch an attack on the city."
"This is great, General Tolstikov." Sidorin couldn't help but be overjoyed when he learned that the leading regiment of the 1st Guards Division had joined forces with the friendly tank brigade and motorized infantry brigade on the northeastern outskirts of the city. He quickly ordered: "Immediately order the vanguard regiment to launch an attack on the city under the cover of the tank brigade. The remaining defenders in the city must be cleared out in the shortest possible time."
The conversation between Sidorin and Tolstikov could be heard clearly by Sokov standing next to him. He turned to ask Ponijelin, who was also looking at the map next to him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, what do you think of us putting the 6th Guards Division into battle?"
Ponejelin nodded, pointed to the east of Sedelce and said: "Since the 1st Guards Division has reached the northeastern suburbs of Sedelce, the 6th Guards Division can launch from the eastern suburbs of the city. Attack. In this way, our offensive forces form a pincer offensive, which can effectively break through the enemy's defense and deal them a devastating blow."
"General Sokov," although Bulganin's military level was average, he couldn't help but express his opinion after hearing the tactics studied by Sokov and Ponedelin: "Would you like to put your Plan to report to Chief of Staff Malinen, maybe he can still help you."
Sokov felt that what Bulganin said made sense. The 11th Guards Tank Corps was attacking Sedelce now. Although his troops were actively assisting the friendly forces in the attack, some friendly commanders were critical of his own interference. There may be resistance to this approach, but if Ma Lining steps in to coordinate, all possible problems will be solved.
He picked up the phone and connected to the front army headquarters. After hearing Malinin's voice, he immediately said: "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff of the front army, I am Sokov."
"Comrade Sokov, what's the matter?"
"That's it, Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army." Sokov said with his eyes on the map: "The leading regiment of our 1st Guards Division has arrived at the northeastern outskirts of Sedelce, and I have also arrived at the 6th Guards Division. Prepare for them to rush to the eastern suburbs of the city and launch a pincer offensive against the remaining defenders in the city."
"Comrade Sokov, I really didn't expect that you would act so quickly." After listening to Sokov's words, Malinin said happily: "I am worried about where I should allocate troops to reinforce the guards attacking Sedelce. The 11th Tank Corps, I didn’t expect that your troops are already close to the attack position.
You did the right thing! I will immediately contact the commander of the tank corps, Major General Guttman of the tank corps, and ask them to work together with your troops to clear out the remaining defenders in Sedelce City. "
"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army," Sokov waited for Malinin to finish and then added: "My two Guards divisions lack a sufficient number of artillery. I hope they can receive artillery support from the Guards Tank Corps when they attack."
"Don't worry, Comrade Sokov." Malinin said with a smile: "There will be artillery support, there will be tanks to clear the way to clear the fire points along the way, everything will be there."
