red moscow

Chapter 1096

When the idea of ​​capturing Donetsk came to Sokov's mind, he had been thinking about how to get all the troops into attack positions in the shortest possible time.

Now that his combat plan has been approved by Rokossovsky, how to mobilize troops as soon as possible has become a top priority.He knew very well in his heart that the war in the direction of Kharkov had already developed in a direction that was not conducive to the Soviet army. If he moved slowly here, many troops might be in danger of being wiped out.

"Comrade Commander," Witkov asked after seeing Sokov staring at the map for more than half an hour without speaking, "Do you think we can launch an attack on the city in a few days?"

"A few days later?" Sokov raised his head, looked at Witkov and said with a wry smile, "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you think many of our troops can support us for a few more days?"

Vitkov knew that Rybalko's two tank corps and three infantry divisions were defeated by the Germans in less than two days, so when he heard Sokov's question, he could only shake his head and smile wryly. Said: "Comrade Commander, you are right. Many friendly troops can't last that long, but we are nearly [-] kilometers away from Donetsk. Even if the soldiers set off immediately, relying on their walking speed, It will take at least two days to reach the starting point of the attack."

"I was thinking, as long as we have enough transport vehicles, then we can get the troops into the attack position earlier."

"Comrade Commander, where should we get vehicles to transport troops?"

"That's right, we really don't have any convoys. The 21st Army deployed to the south of us at that time had them." Sokov said to Witkov, "I can ask General Krylov for help and ask him to provide us with a convoy transport troops."

"Comrade Commander, let alone whether General Krylov will provide us with a convoy. Even if he is willing, we may not be able to hide our large-scale mobilization from the Germans. Once they make preparations in advance, I am afraid it will also make our offensive change." It's difficult."

"Chief of Staff, look here." Sokov pointed to the map on the table and said to Witkov: "I plan to use the convoy to transport the troops to the town of Khalzisk, east of Donetsk. The city is only [-] kilometers away, so even on foot, it only takes three hours to reach the outside of the city. After the troops enter the attack position, if the time is still early, we can even take advantage of the darkness to carry out a sneak attack on the city to reduce the casualties of the troops.”

Vitkov stared at the map for a long time, then nodded and said: "Comrade commander, your plan is very interesting. The line from Lugansk to Khalzisk is currently under the control of our army. In the process of mobilizing troops, the possibility of being discovered by the German army is very small."

"Do you have a different opinion?"

"In any case, this place is too close to the city. Once the German scouts find that a large number of troops have assembled, our whereabouts will be exposed, and the sneak attack will turn into a storm. The casualties must still be serious."

"In order to avoid being discovered by the German army, our plan may have to be adjusted." Sokov said: "I am going to let the 41st Guards Division complete this attack task independently. After the city is captured, the remaining infantry divisions and tank brigades , and it will not be too late for the artillery to rush over.”

From Sokov's words, Vitkov heard a key question: "Did the 41st Guards Division not even have artillery and tanks when they attacked the city? If they encounter the enemy's strong fortifications, how should they deal with it?"

"Chief of staff, you don't have to worry about this." Sokov said with a smile: "The 41st Guards Division is equipped with a large number of new rockets and rockets. Whether it is attacking or defending, they have enough chances of winning."

Seeing that Sokov was so confident, Witkov changed the subject in time: "Then, next, we should get in touch with General Krylov and ask him to send us a convoy to transport troops to Kharzisk. "

Sokov originally thought that if he asked Krylov to borrow the team, the other party would definitely agree.But after listening to Sokov's request, Krylov said in embarrassment: "Colonel Sokov, it's not that I don't help you, but that I don't have the right to move transport vehicles without an order from my superiors."

"Then what should I do?" Sukov was extremely anxious if the troops could not get to the designated attack location as soon as possible without transport vehicles.

Fortunately, Krylov made a timely move for him: "Colonel Sokov, you can report this matter to General Rokossovsky, as long as he gives me an order, I can justifiably give it to you." You dispatched the vehicle."

Since Krylov needs an order from Rokossovsky before he can dispatch vehicles to himself, Sokov immediately contacted Rokossovsky after finishing his conversation with him: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I need a lot of trucks to move troops."

"Transport troops?" After hearing Sokov's request, Rokossovsky said with some puzzlement: "If my judgment is correct, there are German troops everywhere on the road from Luhansk to Donetsk." If you go by car, the speed is indeed increased, but the danger is also very high."

"I am going to let the convoy of the transport troops go through the defense zone of the 21st Army and go out to the town of Khalzisk. This route is under the control of our army. Not only is the chance of encountering landmines along the way low, but it is also not easy. The enemy detected it." Sokov explained to Rokossovsky: "When the troops reached the town, they immediately changed to walking and approached Donetsk quietly."

"If I give you enough vehicles, when can you launch an attack on the city?"

"If everything goes well, I think it is possible to launch an attack on the city in the early hours of tomorrow."

"Tomorrow morning?!" Rokossovsky thought that when he talked to Stalin, the deadline given by the other party was to launch an attack before dark tomorrow.Regarding the attack time proposed by Stalin, Rokossovsky found it difficult to achieve, but Sokov directly advanced it to the early morning, and he couldn't help asking worriedly: "General Sokov, can you really launch the attack on time? "

"Yes, Comrade Front Army Commander." Before answering this question, Sokov first raised the prerequisites: "But the premise is that we must obtain enough transport vehicles."

"Don't worry, you can get the transport vehicles you need in a maximum of two hours." Rokossovsky asked, "How many trucks do you need?"

"No less than two hundred vehicles." After Sokov said this number, fearing that Rokossovsky would not agree, he hastily added: "With so many vehicles, even one regiment cannot be transported at a time."

"I'll call General Krylov right now, just wait for my news."

"Chief of Staff," Sokov said to Vitkov as soon as he put down the phone: "Immediately call the division commanders and tank brigade commanders and ask all regimental commanders to come to me for a meeting. Arrange combat missions."

While Vitkov was on the phone, Sokov said to Sidolin again: "Colonel Sidolin, immediately call the three regiment leaders and order them to start gathering troops and be ready to transfer by car at any time."

"Comrade division commander," Sidolin reminded Sokov cautiously: "Our division has a larger establishment than other units. There are more than 5000 people in a regiment. I'm afraid [-] trucks can't fit in them."

"You're right, so there may be only one regiment that takes the lead in attacking the enemy. Tell me, which regiment should be the vanguard?"

As the chief of staff of the 41st Guards Division, Sidolin is very familiar with the combat effectiveness of each regiment.Regarding Sokov's question, he only thought for a moment before he replied decisively: "I think it is most appropriate for Colonel Starcha's 124th Regiment to be the main attack."

"Why, Comrade Colonel?" Vitkov, who had just finished a phone call, just heard what Sidolin said, so he couldn't help asking.

"The reason is very simple. The political commissar of the regiment is Colonel Belkin, the old partner of the division commander, and there are many veterans of the infantry brigade in the regiment. Their combat effectiveness is stronger than other troops." Sidolin said confidently: "Don't look They only have one regiment, but their role on the battlefield will definitely not be lower than that of a division."

"Well, since you think so too." Sukov naturally had no objection to Sidolin's statement, and nodded in agreement: "Then leave this most difficult task to them to complete. "

(End of this chapter)