Glushike and Yin Fan quickly arrived at the headquarters.
After Sokov invited the two of them to sit down, he and Yin Fan began to reminisce with Lieutenant Colonel Yin Fan: "Lieutenant Colonel Yin Fan, we have known each other for more than three years. Why are you still a lieutenant colonel now?"
Hearing Sokov's question, Yin Fan showed an embarrassed expression on his face: "Comrade Commander, there are many reasons. First of all, I don't have your ability, so naturally I can't be promoted as quickly as you; secondly, I was unfortunately injured in Kharkov in the summer of 1942 and lay in the hospital for almost a year, which also indirectly affected my promotion."
Sokov asked so directly, not to show off to the other party, nor to suppress the other party, but to find out why a commander who was a major at the beginning of the war was only promoted after three years of the war. As a lieutenant colonel, is it due to lack of ability or other reasons?
If the ability is insufficient, then it would be more appropriate for Yin Fan to stay in the 118th Brigade as deputy brigade commander. But if it was for other reasons, Sokov planned to give him a chance to see if he could grasp it. If he can grasp it, he can be appointed as brigade commander or division commander in the future.
"Comrade Commander, I have an idea." Yin Fan suddenly said: "But I need your consent."
"What do you think?" Sokov asked.
"I heard that when you went to the 122nd Brigade, you conducted a training on overcoming the fear of battle for new soldiers, and the results were pretty good."
"Yes, I did carry out such training in the 122nd Brigade, and the overall effect was not bad. At least those who had just put on the military uniforms with new tactics could experience the feeling of bullets flying over their heads." Sokov said Glushko said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if you think this training method is good, you can also promote it in your brigade."
After Grushiko and Yin Fan looked at each other, Yin Fan said: "Comrade Commander, before coming here, we had a special discussion. In addition to developing this training method to overcome the fear of facing battles in the brigade, we also prepared Promote the three-by-three assault tactics you invented before. As we all know, our troops adopt a multi-layered formation of skirmishers. When experienced veterans only attack, it is difficult to effectively use firepower for fear of accidentally injuring their comrades in front. So we plan to promote the three-by-three assault tactic in the brigade."
"Three-three assault tactics?!" Ponyjelin and Xidorin had confused expressions on their faces when they heard what Yin Fan said. Ponejelin frowned and asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, don't you know what the three-three assault tactic is?"
Hearing the other party mention the strongest tactic of ground light infantry - the three-three assault tactic, Sokov's face showed a smile. Seeing that Ponejelin and Sidorin were both full of curiosity, he began to introduce to them the tactics used by the Chinese People's Liberation Army to defeat invincible opponents in the world: "The three-three system assault tactic refers to the division of squads into three combat groups. There are three people in each combat group. In order to facilitate mutual coordination, they are usually arranged in three echelons.
The three-person combat team formed a triangular attack formation, and each soldier had a clear division of labor and was responsible for attack, cover, and support. The squad leader, deputy squad leader, and team leader each lead a combat team. When the combat team attacks, the two soldiers are in front and the team leader is behind, forming a triangle formation. Three combat teams form a combat squad, and three combat squads form a combat group. When attacking, they develop in a 'skirmish line' formation. "
After listening to Sokov's words, Ponedelin turned to Sidorin and asked: "Comrade chiefs of staff, this is the first time I have heard of this tactic. How about you?"
"This is also the first time I have heard of it." Upon hearing Ponejelin's question, Sidorin said with a wry smile: "I have been working with Comrade Commander for two years, but I have never heard of this tactic." Then, he asked curiously, "Comrade Commander, what are the characteristics of this three-three assault tactic?"
"The characteristics of the three-three assault tactics are evacuation formation, team coordination, and small group assault." Seeing that the tactics he mentioned aroused Sidorin's interest, Sokov continued: "In terms of firepower distribution, The echelons are clear and coordinated with each other. It is a perfect offensive and defensive formation, which can overcome the shortcomings of our army's skirmishers' difficulty in exerting firepower when advancing in multiple layers. Each combat group is kept at a reasonable distance, which avoids The problem of excessive losses when encountering artillery fire coverage.”
When Sokov said this, he paused intentionally to see how everyone would react.
And Ponejelin raised his chin at him and said: "Comrade Commander, you are right, keep talking."
"According to my calculations, a mortar shell falling into the attack formation can only cause one casualty; a 152 howitzer shell can only knock out two groups at most." When citing this set of data, Suo Cove couldn't help but blush, and continued: "Even if you encounter the most terrifying machine gun fire from the side, there will be no casualties of two combat squads, while the casualties of ordinary skirmish formations under the same circumstances usually reach dozens of people. So much."
"I have seen this three-three assault tactic with my own eyes, and the effect is quite good." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Yin Fan took the initiative to explain to him: "It is precisely because I have seen this tactic with my own eyes that I I feel that in addition to implementing training to overcome the fear of facing battles in the brigade, this excellent three-three assault tactic should also be promoted."
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"Comrade Commander, I don't understand." At this time, Ponejelin interrupted and asked: "If this tactic is really as good as Lieutenant Colonel Yin Fan said, why have you never been in the army in the past two or three years? Has it been promoted here?”
Faced with Ponejelin's question, Sokov hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "Although this tactic has many advantages, it has a fatal flaw. Perfect cooperation between various combat groups requires years of experience accumulation. and constant training. You also know that the war has not stopped in the past few years, and the troops are almost always in combat. Attrition and recruitment are commonplace. Some new soldiers have joined the army and have not had time to get familiar with their comrades or superiors. , died or was injured in the battle, and when he recovered and returned to the army, he found that there were a group of new faces. Tell me, how can I use this tactic casually when there is such a large turnover of personnel? What? If there is chaos on the battlefield due to lack of tacit cooperation, it will increase unnecessary casualties."
Ponedelin thought about Sokov's explanation carefully and felt that it made sense. This kind of assault tactic that requires close cooperation requires skilled people to cooperate with each other to achieve the desired effect. However, if the three-person team always changes people, this kind of cooperation will be impossible. Next, he began to think about how to solve the problem of frequent troop movements to ensure that the three-by-three assault tactics were promoted within the group army.
Before he could think of a way, he heard Sokov say to Glushko and Yin Fan: "Two comrades, lieutenant colonel, I agree to carry out training on overcoming the fear of battle and the three-three system assault tactics in your brigade. In the near future, I will not assign combat missions to you for the time being, just to give you enough time to increase the tacit understanding among the team members so that this excellent infantry assault tactic can fully play its role."
"Comrade Commander," Sidorin asked curiously from the sidelines: "Are you going to personally teach them this tactic?"
Sokov shook his head and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Yin Fan saw this tactic with his own eyes back then. I think he should be the one to guide the soldiers." He turned around and asked Yin Fan, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you have any questions?"
"No problem, Comrade Commander." Lieutenant Colonel Yin Fan was particularly excited when he saw Sokov asked him to be responsible for the training of three-three assault tactics: "I have two veterans under my command, and they have also seen your behavior with their own eyes. I am a kind of warrior, they can help me carry out this training work."
"That's great." Sokov nodded and said, "Then you train first. If you have any questions, you can call me directly. If you can't handle it on the phone, I will go to your brigade in person."
After sending the two people away, Sidorin asked Sokov for instructions: "Comrade Commander, since Lieutenant Colonel Yin Fan spoke so well about your three-three assault tactics, should we immediately promote it within the entire army? "
Regarding Sidorin's proposal, Sokov shook his head and rejected it: "No, Comrade Chief of Staff, the conditions are not yet mature, and we cannot rush to promote it within the group army, otherwise it will have the opposite effect."
"Comrade Commander is right." Seeing that Sidorin seemed to want to persuade Sokov, Ponedelin interjected: "Although I have not seen this kind of tactics of the Commander with my own eyes, he has never seen it in the past few years. Promoting it in the army shows that it is not easy to master this tactic. I think the 118th Brigade is piloting it now. If the effect is good, it will not be too late to promote it to the entire army."
Seeing that neither Sokov nor Ponyjelin agreed to promote this kind of warrior at this time, Sidorin could not force it, so he had no choice but to agree, and said with some disappointment: "I really want to see this kind of warrior with my own eyes." Tactics."
"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov comforted him and said, "It won't be long before you can see it with your own eyes."
"By the way, Comrade Chief of Staff." At this time, Ponejelin remembered an important thing: "Has the enemy in the north launched an attack on our defense area?"
"No, Comrade Deputy Commander." Sidorin shook his head and said: "So far, everything is calm. The commander at the front reported that the enemy was only building fortifications and there was no sign of attacking us."
"Although the enemy is building fortifications, the construction work of our defenses cannot stop." Sokov warned Sidorin: "Once the enemy launches an attack on us, without solid defenses and a complete defense system, There is no way to stop the enemy.”
"I understand." Sidorin nodded and said, "I will explain it."
"Also," Sokov then asked: "If I remember correctly, today should be the day when General Chuikov's troops forcibly cross the Vistula River. How about it? Did they succeed in crossing the river?"
"I don't know. I haven't received any relevant reports yet." After Sidorin said this, he took the initiative: "How about I call the front army headquarters to find out about their situation?"
"Forget it." Seeing Sidorin about to get the phone, Sokov raised his hand to stop him: "Since the front army headquarters has not reported yet, it means that the river crossing operation of General Chuikov's 8th Guards Army is not going well. We’d better not make this call easily, otherwise it will make Comrade Marshal angry.”
"Comrade Commander, although we do not know the specific location of General Chuikov's troops crossing the river." Sidorin said: "But according to your analysis, the locations they chose should not be conducive to the deployment of mechanized troops, and the Germans cannot deploy them. With the heavy troops in the position, they should not encounter much resistance if they carry out a forced crossing."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you can't say that." Ponyjelin shook his head and retorted: "The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. Even if you think carefully in advance, accidents may still happen. So the 8th Guards Army I am not surprised at all that we were unable to successfully cross over and establish a landing field on the left bank within the originally planned time."
In the evening, Malinin called and informed Sokov of the situation of the 8th Guards Army. On the phone, he introduced the battle in detail, as well as the news that the opponent had established a landing site 10 kilometers wide and 5 kilometers deep on the left bank. Finally, he said: "The task of the army tomorrow is to continue to consolidate and expand the landing site. …”
After patiently listening to Malinin's story, Sokov asked tentatively: "Chief of Staff of the Front Army, if General Chuikov wants to consolidate and expand the existing landing site, then he needs to transport more troops and heavy equipment to the left bank as soon as possible, otherwise It will be difficult for the defenders at the landing site to achieve their intended goals."
"You are right, Comrade Sokov." Malinin said on the phone: "General Chuikov also considered this, so he ordered the engineers of the group army to work overtime to erect pontoon bridges and prepare large-scale bridges that can pass tanks and artillery. A floating bridge connects the two sides.”
"The Germans are absolutely unwilling to allow our troops to establish a landing site on the left bank. So they will definitely try their best to drive our troops away from the left bank." Sokov analyzed to Malinin on the phone: "And to do this, they We must find a way to destroy the pontoon bridge connecting the two banks. So I ask you to tell General Chuikov that we must strengthen the force to protect the pontoon bridge. Otherwise, the troops on the left bank will be driven into the Vistula River by the enemy because they will not receive enough supplies. "
"Comrade Sokov, your guess is correct." Malinen said: "After General Chuikov reported the situation to us, he also considered strengthening the protection of the pontoon bridge to ensure that more troops and equipment can be transported to the left bank as soon as possible. Go. And the pontoon bridge connecting the two sides will also become the focus of their protection."
Sokov knew what happened next. Less than a day after the pontoon bridge was built on the Vistula River, it was blown up by German planes. The 8th Guards Army has only one anti-aircraft artillery division, which is responsible for the air defense mission in a river basin with a width of dozens of kilometers. Naturally, it seems inadequate.
But knowing is one thing, telling Malinen is another. If you really said it, I'm afraid it would arouse Malinin's suspicion. You don't even know the specific landing place of Chuikov's troops. How did you know that the pontoon was going to be blown up by German planes? Instead of taking the time to explain to your superiors, it is better to say nothing to avoid unnecessary trouble for yourself.
But before hanging up the phone, Sokov still asked a question that concerned him: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, I wonder what the situation is like in Warsaw. Have the citizens really staged an uprising?"
