After listening to Rokossovsky's words, Sokov couldn't help laughing.
Hearing Sokov's laughter, Rokossovsky couldn't help but frowned. He asked displeasedly: "Misha, what are you laughing at? What's so funny?"
"Comrade Marshal, you have misunderstood." Sokov explained: "I just said that I have one thing to report to you, which is to prepare to send troops to the Puutusk area to reinforce friendly forces."
"So that's what happened." After figuring out what was going on, Rokossovsky smiled sheepishly, and then asked: "What are you going to do?"
"Now our group army has three Guards divisions deployed at the Luran landing site, but no matter which troops are deployed, it will weaken the overall defense strength of the landing site." Sokov expressed his inner plan: "So I plan to deploy from the right bank area An infantry division and a tank brigade crossed the river and rushed to the Puutusk area to reinforce friendly forces."
Regarding Sokov's deployment, Rokossovsky did not raise any objections, but asked politely: "Misha, I wonder how long it will take for your troops to enter the battle?"
"Comrade Marshal," Sokov said confidently: "I have long expected that the German army may take large-scale operations in the Narew River area, so I have already deployed Ismailo on the right bank near the river. The husband's 284th Infantry Division and 202nd Tank Brigade. It will only take an hour at most before they can begin to cross the river in large numbers."
Rokossovsky originally thought that even if Sokov was willing to send troops, he would have to wait at least until noon to cross the river. Unexpectedly, he could start taking action within an hour, which made him overjoyed: "Misha, then take action as soon as possible. Puu Whether the Tusk landing site can be defended or not depends entirely on whether your troops act quickly."
After Sokov ended his call with Rokossovsky, he connected with Ismailov's division headquarters.
As early as two days ago, when Sokov moved the 284th Infantry Division and the 202nd Tank Brigade to their current positions, he announced that the two troops would be commanded by Ismailov and explained to them their march once the battle started. Routes and targets to be attacked.
It was precisely because of the prior arrangement that when Ismailov heard Sokov's voice, he immediately asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, is it time to take action?"
"That's right." Sokov nodded and continued: "Colonel Ismailov, the enemy has launched an attack in the Puutusk area, and now it is your turn to appear."
"Comrade Commander, our troops have been ready for a long time and can set off at any time." Knowing that his troops were about to enter the battle, Ismailov suddenly became excited: "The commanders and soldiers were all filled with energy. I I believe that on the battlefield, they will be able to exert their strongest combat effectiveness. When will we set off?"
"Of course, the sooner the better." Sokov said: "Whether the 65th Army's Puutusk landing site can be saved depends entirely on you."
"I will assemble the troops immediately and set off to the designated place." Ismailov assured Sokov on the phone: "Comrade Commander, don't worry, we will never betray your trust and will definitely be there in the shortest possible time. Within the time limit, defeat the enemy attacking the friendly landing site."
Sokov called Ismailov not only to inform the other party to send troops, but also to explain more important things. Otherwise, there would be no need to call himself and just ask Sidorin to inform them to set off.
Hearing what Ismailov said at this moment, he quickly raised his voice and said: "Colonel Ismailov, I'm calling you. I have more important things to tell you."
Knowing that Sokov had something more important to tell him, Ismailov quickly and respectfully said: "Comrade Commander, if you need anything, just give me your orders."
"After you arrive at the designated position, don't rush to attack the enemy. Instead, stay at the starting point and stand still." Sokov said: "When the enemy drives the friendly troops to the river, it will not be too late for you to launch an attack again."
Sokov's words confused Ismailov, and he asked puzzledly: "Comrade Commander, isn't our mission to reinforce friendly forces? Why can't we send troops immediately when we see them being attacked by the enemy? To provide support, do we have to wait until they retreat to the river before attacking?"
"The reason is very simple." Sokov sent troops to reinforce friendly forces. Naturally, he wanted to achieve maximum results with minimum casualties. He was definitely not willing to engage in a war of attrition, so he explained to Ismailov: "If the enemy just starts attacking , you go into battle, then the enemy will allocate part of its forces to deal with you. At that time, the battle may become a stalemate. If you want to get closer to the friendly forces, you may need to pay huge casualties.
When the enemy attacks friendly forces, if you choose to stand still, it will give the Germans the illusion that you are worried that our landing site will be attacked, so you send troops to be on guard. In this case, they usually leave only a small number of troops to monitor you, and devote the main force to the attack on friendly landing sites.
After the Germans occupied most of the friendly landing sites, they would divide their forces to guard them, resulting in a dispersion of forces. If you launch an attack at this time, you can easily break through the German defense line and completely disrupt their offensive plan, thus rescuing our friendly forces from danger. "
After listening to Sokov's explanation, Ismailov suddenly realized: "So that's it. I understand, Comrade Commander, I will definitely follow your instructions and wait until the time is right before attacking the enemy."
Seeing that Ismailov understood his intention, Sokov smiled and nodded, and said with satisfaction: "Yes, Colonel Ismailov, this is what you should do. When you come back after completing this mission, I believe Not only is the medal waiting for you, but you may also be promoted to a higher military rank, and then you will change from Colonel Ismailov to General Ismailov."
When Ponedelin waited for Sokov to put down the microphone, he asked with some worry: "Comrade Commander, you asked Colonel Ismailov to temporarily stand still after arriving at the designated position. Will this delay the fighter plane? I am worried that the friendly forces will With our strength, we may not be able to defend the landing site at all.”
"Comrade Deputy Commander, your guess is correct. With the strength of the friendly forces on the left bank, it will be difficult to defend the landing site." Sokov did not hide his true opinion at all: "It is precisely because of this that if Ismailov If they go into battle as soon as they cross the river, the enemy will allocate a considerable number of troops to deal with them. At that time, let alone rescuing friendly troops, it is still unknown whether they can survive.
And if they stop at the designated place and stand still after crossing the river, firstly, it will give the soldiers a chance to breathe, and secondly, it will give the Germans the illusion that this force does not want to be their enemy and appears here. It's just to ensure that your landing site will not be attacked by the opponent. "
Let's talk about the front army headquarters. Although Rokossovsky received Sokov's guarantee that he would send troops to rescue Batov's troops, he still felt uneasy. As soon as I put down the phone, I started to call the names at the headquarters: "Terekin, Kazakov, Orel and Comrade Proshlyakov, the engineer of the front army, will come with me to Batov's headquarters later. , where we will direct the battle."
Malinin heard what Rokossovsky said and quickly reminded: "Comrade Commander, Bartov's headquarters is on the right bank of the Narew River, too close to the front. I'm worried that you will encounter danger in the past. I Look, you’d better stay in the headquarters and let someone else go to General Bartov on your behalf.”
Telekin agreed very much with Malinin's proposal and echoed: "Yes, Comrade Marshal, I think what the Chief of Staff said is very reasonable. How about you stay, Kazakov, Orly and I will go to Batov General’s headquarters.”
"Comrade Military Commissar, thank you for your kindness." Rokossovsky expressed his gratitude to Telekin for his proposal and said: "The situation in Batov is very bad now. If you don't see them repelling the German army with your own eyes, I feel uneasy about the attack." Seeing that Telekin seemed to want to say something, he quickly raised his hand to stop him and continued, "Don't worry, we are only going to Batov's headquarters, not to There shouldn’t be any danger at the front.”
Seeing Rokossovsky's resolute attitude, Malinin knew that no more persuasion would be of any use, so he could only avoid his persuasion. He looked at Rokossovsky and asked: "Comrade Commander, is there anything else we can do for General Bartov at the moment?"
"The weather is bad today and the Air Force cannot take off for combat." Rokossovsky said: "Immediately mobilize the anti-tank destroyer units directly under the Front Army Headquarters and the tank brigades to go to the 65th Group Army to participate in the battle. With their help, I believe that Batov’s troops should be able to hold the landing site on the left bank.”
"But hasn't General Sokov already sent troops for reinforcements?" Malinen said: "I think his troops can disrupt the German offensive steps, and there is no need to draw troops from the depth of our defense for reinforcements."
"Misha sent only an infantry division and a tank brigade this time. In the face of a powerful enemy, his power is insignificant." After Rokossovsky and Sokov finished talking, they thought about it. Fan felt that just relying on the few troops sent by Sokov would not have much effect at all, so he decided to mobilize anti-tank troops and tank brigades from the directly affiliated troops to reinforce them and alleviate the unfavorable situation as soon as possible: "And with my Knowing Misha, he will definitely not launch an attack immediately after his troops arrive at the designated attack position."
"What, General Sokov's troops will not launch an attack immediately after arriving at the designated position?" Malinin asked in surprise: "Why, Comrade Commander?"
"The reason is very simple." Rokossovsky, as a senior and excellent commander, can naturally guess Sokov's little thoughts. He said thoughtfully: "If the troops have just crossed the river, they will If you rush to attack the enemy, the enemy will definitely allocate part of their troops to deal with them. Think about it, how much combat effectiveness can a unit that has just completed its march and has not had time to regroup rush into battle?"
After he finished speaking, he deliberately remained silent for a moment to observe everyone's reaction. Seeing that everyone was silent and just looking at him, he continued: "I believe that Misha's troops will support Batov, but he will wait until the best time to act."
"The best time?" Telekin asked curiously: "Comrade Marshal, I wonder what you mean by the best time?"
"Come and see." Rokossovsky pointed at the map and said to everyone: "The Puutusk landing site is very large. If the Germans occupy most of the landing site, they will have to divide their forces. Guard. As a result, their local strength will become weak. If Misha's troops launch an attack at this time, the result will be far greater than if they launch an attack as soon as they arrive on the left bank."
Telekin crossed his arms on his chest and said with a frown: "But I don't understand. Even if General Sokov's troops don't attack, won't the Germans take the initiative to attack them?"
"Comrade Military Commissar, you have mentioned the key issue." Rokossovsky guessed that others might also have the same doubts as Telekin, so he explained to everyone: "The target of the German attack this time is Batov's When they attack the Puutusk landing site, they will definitely send troops to monitor the Ruran landing site. As long as Mischa's troops remain stationary after crossing the river, it will give the Germans the illusion that this troop is coming. To defend the Luran landing site, we will not divide our forces to attack them. We will follow the original plan, with a small force monitoring Mischa's troops, while the main force will continue to attack Batov's landing site."
After listening to Rokossovsky’s explanation, Telekin continued to ask: “Comrade Marshal, what if the troops at the landing site on the left bank failed to stop the enemy and allowed the Germans to occupy the entire landing site? "
"If Batov's troops lose the entire landing site," Rokossovsky said with anger on his face, "it proves that Commander Batov is incompetent. I will consider sending someone else to take his place." .”
"Comrade Marshal," Telekin felt that the situation was a bit embarrassing and quickly changed the topic: "It's getting late. Should we rush to General Batov's headquarters immediately?"
"Yes, it's getting late, we have to leave as soon as possible." Rokossovsky said to Malinin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, during our absence, you will be responsible for the internal affairs of the front army."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Malinen said, "I will take care of everything."
When Rokossovsky and others left the headquarters and went to the nearby airport to board the plane, Malinin picked up the phone on the table and called the troops directly under the front army, asking them to rush to the designated location as soon as possible to prepare to participate. The battle to defend the Putusk landing site.
After receiving the order, several anti-tank artillery regiments and tank brigades completed their assembly in the shortest time and then drove along the road towards the 65th Group Army's defense area, preparing to participate in the battle there.
When Malining learned that all the notified troops had set off, he stood up and walked over to the operator's station and told the other party: "Send a report to the operator next to Comrade Commander, saying that the participating troops directly under the front army have set off and will arrive at the soonest possible date. Two hours later, we reached the Narew River and took part in the battle there."
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