Chapter 392

When all the people in the interior department left the headquarters, I was relieved to know that I was out of danger this time. Meletskov came up to me, raised his hand, patted me gently on the right shoulder, comforted me and said, "Rita, don't worry, it's all over." Then he said to the rest of the generals, "that's all for today's meeting. Go back to the army. Seize the time to prepare for the war and attack the enemy on time in the morning the day after tomorrow. "

After saluting meletskov, the generals left one after another. As starikov and Gagan were about to leave, meletzkov stopped them and said, "general starikov, I will visit your army tomorrow. You should pay close attention to the preparations for the campaign. There is only one more day left. "

"Please rest assured, comrade commander." "I'll go back to deploy and make sure that before 0 o'clock on the 17th, my troops will move to the offensive starting position to ensure the smooth progress of the campaign," he said

Meletzkov nodded with satisfaction and said softly, "go ahead."

"Yes Starikov agreed loudly, and after Gagan saluted meletskov again, he turned and strode toward the gate of the headquarters.

As soon as they got to the door, a general was about to go inside. Seeing that they were about to leave, he stopped to say hello to them: "general starikov, I heard that your meeting is over. Are you going back to the army? "

"Yes, Comrade General. After the meeting, comrade Gagan and I will not talk more about the deployment of our troops. You can go in and ask the commander about specific matters. Goodbye. " With that, they raised their hands to salute the general and turned away.

The general looked at their backs in surprise and asked meretzkov strangely, "Comrade commander, what's the matter with them? It seems that they have a problem with me." With that, he walked into the headquarters.

When meletskov saw the general coming, he quickly took me to him and introduced me to him, saying, "Rita, let me introduce you to general jaggyaliov, the artillery commander of the front army we just mentioned."

The bald general in front of him, without a hat, looked like a man of honor. His stomach was as big as a pregnant woman in October. When he walked, his whole body was leaning back, as if he could keep his balance. I took a look at the four Venus on his badge, immediately stood at attention and said respectfully, "Hello, Comrade General. I'm major oshanina, the new combat staff officer of the front army. Nice to meet you

"Hello! Comrade major. " Admiral jaggyaliov did not return my salute. Instead, he reached out to shake my hand.

After shaking hands, he turned his head and asked meretzkov curiously: "Comrade commander, I met general starikov and his subordinate general Gagan at the door just now. They seemed very unhappy. After a few words with me, they left in a hurry. What's going on? "

"It's a long story. I'll sit down first."

As soon as we sat down, a second lieutenant hurried in with a cup of hot tea, went straight to the table and put the hot tea in front of general jaggyaliov. The tea was put in a transparent glass with a smart silver cup holder. The general picked up the tea, put it to his nose and smelled it. Then, with a straight face and half joking, he said to the tea delivery lieutenant, "I say again, there can only be a spoonful of sugar in the tea, but what about you? Comrade second lieutenant, I've put three spoonfuls of sugar into it. I'm fat enough as an artillery commander. If I get fat any more, I won't be able to walk. "

In the laughter of me and meletskov, the second lieutenant saluted the artillery commander with a smile, turned and walked out of the headquarters.

General jaggyaliov took a sip of tea and then asked meletzkov, "Comrade commander, what's the matter with general starikov? He doesn't even want to talk to me. Does anyone make him angry?"

Meletzkov looked at me and said to general jaggyaliov, "old man, at the meeting just now, major oshanina proposed to withdraw the command of the artillery units participating in the campaign from general bezruk, the artillery commander of the eighth group army, and give it back to you. After consideration, I have agreed to her proposal, perhaps because of the surrender of the command of the Artillery Force, general starikov felt a bit lost

"Let the artillery headquarters of the front army command the Artillery Forces in the campaign. What's the matter? Comrade commander, I am confused. "

Meletskov continued to explain: "major oshanina suggested that in the campaign, we should follow the principle of concentrating artillery firepower in the main assault direction, and increase the gun density from 70 to 100 guns per kilometer to 150 to 180 guns. Old man, how many artillery units are there in the front army now? "

Jaggyaliov put down his tea cup and looked dignified. He thought for a moment and replied, "Comrade commander, I used to have 24 artillery regiments in my hands, including two close guard artillery regiments, namely rocket artillery regiments. Of the remaining 22 regiments, there are 18 artillery regiments and four mortar regiments. These troops were all assigned to the 8th group army some time ago, and were evenly distributed among divisions by general bezruk, the artillery commander of the group army. "

"I think major o'shanina is right in saying that all artillery units should be used in the main assault direction of the campaign, and after the infantry have made progress, the artillery positions should be moved forward quickly to continue to provide the necessary firepower support for the deep fighting. To command such a large Artillery Force requires an experienced and excellent commander, and you are obviously more suitable for this position than general bezruk. " After listening to meletskov's words, jaggyaliov bowed his head and pondered. After a while, he raised his head and said slowly, "Comrade commander, I want to remind you that it was with my consent that general bezruk distributed artillery equally among divisions. The reason why we want to do this is that the Germans firmly hold the air supremacy of the battlefield. Once such a large-scale Artillery Force is used intensively, it is bound to call on the German air force to carry out savage air raids and cause great losses to our artillery forces. "“ You can rest assured, old man. " Meletzkov lost no time to give him a reassurance, "when the campaign was launched, Leningrad's front army would send out air force to compete with the Germans for the air supremacy of the battlefield." At this point, he turned to me and asked, "Rita, do you have anything else to say?" The German army controls the air supremacy of the battlefield, which is really a big problem that can not be avoided. After thinking about it, I said to jaggyaliov in a deliberative tone: "Comrade General, do you think this is OK? We deploy artillery units in different areas as regiments. After the campaign starts, you will command the artillery to fire at the same area. In this way, we can not only concentrate on the use of artillery, but also effectively avoid the air attack of the German air force. " As soon as my voice was over, meletzkov had already preempted and expressed his support: "I think major oshanina's proposal is feasible. What do you mean, old man? " It seems that jaggyaliov still wants to say something against it. However, seeing that meletzkov is also speaking for me, he has no choice but to nod his head and say, "well, comrade commander, do as you say."“ Old man, when you go back, you should arrange the preset positions of the artillery regiments as soon as possible. " Jaggyaliov stood up with a teacup in his hand and said bitterly, "I'll go back and let the staff plan. In about a week, the artillery will be able to enter the designated preset position."“ A week? No, it's too long. " Meletskov immediately objected, "the new order given to us by the Supreme Command today is to launch the campaign of the bulge no later than the 17th of this month."“ What? " Jaggyaliov was surprised. The cup in his hand didn't hold steady and fell directly on the table. All the tea in the quilt was spilled on the map. I quickly got up and went to the corner to find a towel to wipe the tea on the table. Jaggyaliov complained to meletskov in a loud voice: "Comrade commander, artillery cannons are not toys. They say that they can be set up wherever they are. In order to enter the designated position, first of all, there must be suitable roads and necessary transport vehicles. In addition, in order to cope with a long period of fighting, we also need to reserve enough shells. All these preparations will take time. "“ No, you only have one day to prepare. By tomorrow night, all artillery units under your command must enter the designated positions. If the progress of the campaign is affected because the artillery can not enter the position late, not only you but also I may be sent to the military court. " Meletzkov didn't save face for his old man, and he spoke in a much heavier tone. He asked tentatively, "Comrade commander, can't you discuss with the Supreme Command and give us a few more days to prepare?"“ No way Meletskov answered firmly: "just now, comrade Stalin got angry on the phone. He asked us to launch a campaign at all costs as soon as possible to join the front army of Leningrad and completely break the German siege of Leningrad." Seeing that there was no chance for things to turn around, jaggyaliov had no choice but to harden his head and say, "well, comrade commander, since that is the case, I will go back to deploy as soon as possible and let all the artillery units enter the preset positions before the prescribed time limit."“ That's right, old man Meletzkov walked over, patted him gently on the shoulder and said in a friendly way, "since it's the order of the base camp, we should carry out it to the letter."“ I see, comrade commander. I'll go back to the headquarters and give the latest operational orders to the troops. " With that, the serious face of jaggyaliov raised his hand to salute. Without taking the quilt on the table, he turned and left.