The officers and soldiers of the Imperial Division did not know that their division commanders had fled. Faced with the Soviet army coming from all directions, they were still fighting desperately.
If only ordinary Soviet troops attacked them, they would have the potential to put the war in a stalemate and even be repelled by the small-scale counterattacks they launched.
But when they met Sokov's troops, they could only be considered unlucky. Once they found out that the German army was gathering and were about to launch a counterattack on them, the offensive troops would use rocket attacks to eliminate the enemies gathered together.
As for the enemy's strong firepower point, it is no problem for them. If an ordinary unit is an ordinary unit, it will take at least a dozen lives to blow it up. Sokov's troops sent soldiers carrying rocket launchers to see that they are approaching the bunker, and one rocket will kill the enemy's firepower point. If one rocket cannot handle it, then use two rockets.
According to Sokov's vision, the infantry brigade, which served as the first echelon, was pushed forward less than five kilometers, and the second echelon of the marine brigade would probably need to replace them. Unexpectedly, when it was dark, the infantry brigade actually advanced eight kilometers. The commanders and soldiers did not feel tired, but instead became more and more energetic.
When the brigade commander Lieutenant Colonel Uzakov even reported the situation to Sokov, he said confidently: "Comrade Commander, don't worry, according to my observation, the enemy standing in front of us is simply vulnerable. Don't call us a Marine Battalion to replace us. I am confident that I can fight until I meet with friendly forces."
Although the infantry brigade is progressing smoothly at the moment, as the Germans begin to shrink in the same direction, the resistance they encounter will become more and more tenacious. For this reason, Sokov said to the sender: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I will now solemnly tell you that if your brigade advances another two kilometers, you must stop and rest. The 62nd Marine Brigade connects your offensive. Do you understand?"
"I don't understand, Comrade Commander." Lieutenant Colonel Uzakov said aggrievedly: "My troops are progressing so smoothly, but you asked me to stop. If the commanders and soldiers ask, how should I answer them?"
"Ltd Colonel," Sokov said sternly to the sender: "The enemy defeated by our army is gathering towards a place, that is, the more you advance, the more German troops you encounter and the stronger the resistance you suffer. In this case, it is necessary to stop your troops temporarily and allow the Marine Brigades following you to take over the attack."
Hearing Sokov say this, Uzakov realizes that it will be a matter of time before his troops stop attacking, and no matter how much they argue, it is useless. He asked unwillingly: "Comrade Commander, then when the attack of the Marine Battalion is set, can we arrange for our brigade to continue the attack?"
"I have said that the attack from north to south is carried out by your three brigades in turn." Sokov continued: "That is, when the offense of the 62nd Marine Brigade was frustrated, the 84th Brigade replaced their attack. When the offense launched by the 84th Brigade does not work, it will be your brigade's turn to enter the battle. Now, have you figured it out?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, I've figured it out." Lieutenant Colonel Uzakov nodded and replied, "I will arrange the task immediately so that everyone can be mentally prepared."
Sokov finished the call and handed the headphones and the sender in his hand back to the radio operator. Colonel Chuwashov, who was standing beside him, suddenly said, "Comrade Commander, I have any objections to you."
"Do you have any opinions on me?" Sokov said in confusion: "Let me tell me, what do I have for me?"
"You look down on our brigade." Chuwashov said dissatisfiedly: "When I heard you talk to Lieutenant Colonel Uzakov, I said that if our brigade cannot break through the enemy's defense line, they will put their brigade into battle again. Comrade Commander, is it in your impression that our brigade's strength is so weak?"
When Sokov heard Colonel Chuwashov say this, he couldn't help but feel a little sad, and he was in trouble. You know, among the Soviet army today, the most powerful force is the water drawn from various fleets. Compared with ordinary army soldiers, sailors have high education and generally undergo professional military training, and their combat effectiveness is a little longer than that of the army. But when he was talking just now, he mentioned that the two marine brigades were unable to break through the enemy. Such statements would definitely hurt Colonel Chuwashov's self-esteem.
After figuring out what happened, Sokov quickly apologized to Chuwashov with a smile: "Comrade Colonel, in my mind, the most powerful force in our army is your sailors. You should know that in many battles, the attacks launched by the army are repelled by the enemy again and again, but as long as the sailors are put into battle, the enemy's defense line can be broken through quickly. In this attack, the reason why I only used three brigades in the front was that I took into account the combat effectiveness of the two marine brigades and were stronger than the two infantry divisions..."
Sokov's explanation finally made Chuwashov smile again: "Comrade Commander, when it's our brigade's turn to participate in the battle later, I will definitely let you see our true strength. I can't guarantee that with less and more; but when the troops are equal, we can completely defeat the enemy."
The attack from north to south was smooth, while the 384th Division commanded by Major General Gricenko did not go smoothly. Because they had to face not only the imperial division, but also two ordinary German divisions. After launching three attacks on the enemy's defense line, but no progress was made, Gricenko was a little anxious. He called several commanders under his command and asked loudly: "What's going on with you? The battle has started for several hours, but you can't take the enemy's position until now. You must know that the troops attacking from north to south have advanced for a full ten kilometers. Our division's performance in battle is so poor, how can I raise my head in front of the commander in the future?"
Faced with Major General Grizenko's roar, a lieutenant colonel said tremblingly: "Comrade Commander, the enemy's firepower is too strong, and we do not have artillery, so it is difficult to suppress them. So much so that the soldiers had to attack the enemy's positions without any fire cover."
"Bastard." Major General Grizenko slapped the table in front of him in anger and asked sternly: "Where are your new rockets and rockets? Why don't you use them during the attack? Are you planning to keep the cub?"
"Comrade of the Division Commander," said the criticized lieutenant colonel in aggrievedly: "After we seize the enemy's position, we will definitely be furiously counterattacked by the enemy. Those new rockets are used to deal with the enemy's large forces. Are not rocket launchers used to deal with enemy tanks? What can we use when we attack?"
Hearing his subordinates say this, Major General Grizenko wished he could raise his hand to slap him. He had seen stupid people, but never seen such stupid people. He said angrily: "Yes, the new rockets are the best in dealing with enemies on the open ground. But now we don't have artillery, so when attacking, we can use rockets to eliminate enemies hiding in fortifications. Also, that rocket launcher can not only attack enemy tanks, but also destroy them with rocket launchers when encountering those strong firepower points. Didn't the troops send you training manuals during training a few months ago? Haven't you read it?"
"Comrade Commander," said a little embarrassedly when the lieutenant colonel heard this: "I don't know many words, so I have never read the training manual I sent."
"What, you have never read the training manual?" Grizenko was angry. He did not expect that his regiment commander would be so ungrateful. If he could read the training manual and understand the various uses of new rockets and rocket launchers, how much casualties would be reduced in the army.
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath and then said to the Lieutenant Colonel: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, from now on, I will remove you from your position, and your Chief of Staff will take over your command, and reorganize the troops to launch a new attack." He raised his hand and looked at his watch, saying, "The new attack will begin in half an hour."
After taking over the command, the chief of staff of the regiment, he changed his tactics after knowing what happened in the division headquarters. He first fired rockets at the enemy's position, especially the area with the strongest firepower, which was the center of gravity of the rockets' care. After a burst of bombardment, the troops launched an attack again, and this time they were still seventy or eighty meters away from the German trenches before they were subjected to sporadic resistance.
Seeing that the enemy's resistance was so weak, the commanders and soldiers accelerated their charge and jumped into the trenches to fight the enemy in hand-to-hand combat. Many of the German rifles did not have bayonets at all. Faced with the Soviet commanders and soldiers who were coming like a tide, they could only fight with the opponent with rifles without bayonets.
The German army never dreamed that it was already dark and the Soviet army would launch such a fierce attack. In addition, this position was just plowed by rockets not long ago, and the defenders inside had already suffered heavy casualties, and the battle quickly became one-sided.
After clearing out the enemies in this area, the Soviet army continued to advance towards the enemy in depth, preparing to meet with friendly troops heading south, and once again wiped out the German imperial division.
If Tansen did not flee in a hurry after being attacked, but instead found a place to re-establish the command center and command the troops to fight the Soviet attack. With the cooperation of friendly forces, even if they could not stop the attack of Sokov's troops from both sides, they would not be annihilated. However, since Tansen had already escaped, and the German officers and soldiers below did not know about this. Faced with the Soviet attack, they could only choose to fight on their own and could not get any support or supplements at all, and they were defeated one by one by the Soviet army from both directions.
When it was almost dawn, Sokov received a call from Katukov, asking him about the battle at night, whether the troops under his command were encircling and annihilation of the enemy?
After reading the telegram, Sokov looked at the map spread on the hood of the jeep, thinking to himself that part of Katukov's First Guards Tank Army is now in Oboyan. If they were asked to take active actions, they might speed up the annihilation of the enemy.
Thinking of this, he called the radio operator to himself and said to him: "Immediately call General Katukov and said that our army is encircling and annihilation of the German Imperial Division, and asked them to take active action to restrain the rest of the German troops to ensure that our troops can successfully annihilate the Imperial Division."
After receiving Sokov's call, Katukov stared at the map in front of him and fell into deep thought. Just two days ago, the troops of the First Tank Army continuously blocked all the impacts of the 48th Armored Army and the 52nd Infantry Army in the Oboyan area, ensuring the second defensive position in the area of ​​Krasny-Pochnok-Cherkaskoye-Alksevka. The brutal battle caused huge losses to the troops, so that they could only defend but were unable to attack.
If implemented, the plan proposed by Sokov may attract more enemies to his position. The junction of the 3rd Mechanized Army and the 5th Guards Tank Army, Oboyan, was the focus of the German offensive. The only force he can still use is Colonel Inov's 100th Tank Brigade. He originally wanted to strengthen the defense in the direction of Oboyan, but now it seems that they can launch a feint attack to attract the attention of the enemy and ensure the smooth implementation of the plan of friendly troops to encircle and annihilate the Imperial Division.
Thinking of this, Katukov said to his chief of staff: "Chief of staff, immediately call Colonel Inov and ordered him to lead his troops to launch a feint attack on the area controlled by the enemy to attract the attention of the enemy."
"Comrade Commander, I feel it is necessary to remind you." After hearing this order from Katukov, the Chief of Staff said cautiously: "Our tanks have never had an attack at night. I worry that they will lose their way in their operations. If they are in chaos, then the enemy's anti-tank hands can calmly eliminate all our tanks."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I understand what you mean." Katukov pointed to the location of Oboyang on the map and frowned and said, "General Sokov's troops are launching a full-scale attack on the Imperial Division, and the enemies near Oboyang will not watch the destruction of the Imperial Division. They will definitely dispatch a large number of troops to reinforce. In this way, Sokov's troops may not be able to eat the Imperial Division, but are surrounded by enemies coming from all directions.
I ordered Colonel Inov's tank brigade to launch a feint attack on the enemy in order to attract some of the enemy's attention, thereby reducing the pressure on General Sokov's troops and ensuring that they can complete the plan to annihilate the Imperial Division."
Chapter completed!