Chapter 394

The ensuing news of victory excited the people in the headquarters. For example, the fact that the artillery regiment lacked enough shells was directly ignored by everyone. Unexpectedly, because of this little negligence, it became the fuse of the tragic defeat of this campaign.

Because of the suddenness of the campaign and the powerful artillery fire of the front army of warhoff, unprepared Germany was caught off guard. The fortifications, which took several months or even longer to build, were quickly turned into ruins under the attack of heavy artillery fire. After the shelling stopped, when the surviving German officers and men struggled to climb out of the ruins of the fortification, they were faced with the crushing of the tank tracks of the eighth group army and the death muzzle in the hands of the infantry commanders and fighters. After a little resistance, these German defensive positions were successively occupied by the troops of the eighth group army.

In order to let the generals in the headquarters have a more intuitive understanding of the progress of the campaign, the commander of the operations department, Colonel semunov, specially hung a large map of the sinavino area on the wall, and arranged two other operational staff members to mark the enemy and ourselves on the map according to the battle reports sent from time to time.

As the battle is developing in favor of our side, the nervous generals in the headquarters all relax and sit around the rectangular conference table, drinking hot black tea and eating the rich food sent by the cooks. While eating, they comment on the progress of our army.

After lunch, zaborozetz, a military commissar of the front army who had been keeping silent, looked at his watch, then leaned close to meletzkov and reminded the commander who was reading the war report in a low voice: "Comrade commander of the front army, it's noon now. Should we report the progress of the campaign to Comrade Stalin?"

Meletzkov nodded, then stood up, took a report of the war, went to the high frequency phone, picked up the phone and began to dial. Knowing that the commander was going to call the supreme commander, the people who were still chatting in the room immediately calmed down and turned their eyes to meletskov, quietly watching him call.

The phone was soon put through, and meletskov politely said to the receiver, "Hello, is that Comrade bosklebshev? I'm meletskov. I'd like to report to Comrade Stalin on the progress of the campaign of the siniavino bulge. " After a brief silence, meletzkov began to speak again: "Hello, comrade Stalin! I have the honor to report to you that our army has made great progress in the campaign of the bulge launched early this morning. As of 12 noon, the eighth group army, which was in charge of the assault mission, had opened a five kilometer wide opening in the enemy's defensive area and wedged into the enemy's defensive depth of four kilometers. "

At this point, maybe Stalin asked some questions, and meletzkov stopped reporting. After a few minutes, he continued: "there are many reasons why we can achieve such results. First of all, the German command did not expect our attack. Of course, this is only my guess. In addition, the first assault of our army was sudden both in campaign and tactics, and we were unprepared for the inconvenient German army.

According to our interrogation of the prisoners, it is the 26th infantry of the 18th German group army that is responsible for the defense task in front of our army. With the 227th division on the left and the 223rd division on the right, they guard the area on the West Bank of the volhoff river. At the end of our artillery preparation, the four infantry divisions of the 8th group army, under the cover of the tank brigade, launched an attack right at the junction of the two German divisions. First, the 19th division of the guards occupied the station, then the 24th infantry division of the guards was on the left and the 265th Infantry Division was on the right. They successfully captured all the German positions in the first line. "

After the report, meletzkov returned to the conference table with a smile on his face, holding the table in his hand, leaning forward and excitedly saying, "Comrade Stalin is very satisfied with the results we have achieved today on the phone. He also asked us to make persistent efforts, take advantage of the victory and pursue the victory, join forces with the Neva group of Leningrad's front army as soon as possible, and break the siege of the city by the bandits. "

Although the headquarters is full of laughter, I have been doing nothing in the headquarters. Standing by the wall to watch the excitement, I feel a little uneasy. I always feel that something big is going to happen.

The fighting continues, and our offensive forces are still progressing smoothly. At noon on the second day of the battle, another phone next to the high-frequency phone on the table beside the wall suddenly rang. Because I was close, I went over and picked up the phone and politely said, "Hello! This is the headquarters of the front army. "

Soon, general starikov's excited voice came from the microphone: "is it major oshanina? Please put general meletzkov on the phone

"Comrade General, please wait a moment! I'll call the commander for you right away With that, I covered the phone and looked up to greet meletskov. When I saw him coming towards me, he had already noticed when the phone rang. He came up to me, took the phone and said, "Hello, general starikov! I'm meletskov. "

I heard starikov's excited report clearly: "Comrade commander, I have good news for you. The vanguard battalion of the 19th infantry division of the guards has reached the south side of the sinavino highlands and is engaged in a firefight with the German troops."

When he heard that the troops had attacked near the sinavino Highlands, meletskov was also excited. He immediately told starikov, "Comrade starikov, since some troops have already attacked the sinavino Highlands, what are you waiting for? Immediately transfer the following troops up and take down the highlands as soon as possible."

After reading so many war reports, I know very well that if we can take the sinavino highland as soon as possible, our army can set up artillery positions on it and bombard the German defensive positions from the north side of the highland to the Neva River.

On hearing meletskov's order, starikov, who should have readily agreed, became hesitant. Meletskov soon found something wrong and asked, "what's the matter? Comrade starikov, are there any insurmountable difficulties? "

After a moment's silence, starikov replied, "Comrade commander, the ammunition of the attacking forces has been used up, and there is no way to launch a large-scale attack."

"What? The troops are out of ammunition? " Meletzkov slapped the table and yelled, "tell me what's going on?"

"Comrade commander, please don't get angry. Please listen to my explanation." In the face of meletskov's anger, starikov said in a flustered way: "this is because there are so many submachine guns in the front line for the first time. Although before the battle, I asked commanders at all levels to remind the troops to save ammunition. But it didn't work. At the beginning of the impact, the commanders and fighters pulled the guns and shot out the whole set of bullets at one go. Of course, their doing so also reflects some psychological factors. Because the submachine gun against the abdomen, keep shooting, impact forward is not so nervous. The commanders and fighters all think that in the attack, the firing of our jaggyaliov and shpakin submachine guns inspires the Red Army soldiers, and when a series of bullets fly over the heads of the German aggressors, they can defeat them in momentum. "

"What's the use of exhausting all the ammunition and overpowering the Germans?" Meletzkov almost angrily yelled this sentence at the microphone, which scared starikov not to speak. After a while, he slowed down and asked, "what are you going to do with the next battle?"

"Comrade commander, I intend to keep the first battalion of the 19th division of the guards in contact with the enemy, and the rest of the troops will rest in place until they have replenished their ammunition before launching an attack," he murmured

Meletzkov's breathing became heavy, and I stood by me quietly stepped back to avoid suffering from the fish in the pond. However, he didn't get angry as I imagined. Instead, he quickly stabilized his mood and said to starikov, "let the troops rush to repair the fortifications in place and have a rest as soon as possible. I will ask the logistics department to replenish your ammunition as soon as possible." Finish saying, wait for the other side to say again what, hang up the phone directly.

Meletzkov hung up and stood where he was. Chief of staff steglimacher came up to him and asked with concern, "Comrade commander, what's the matter? Is there something wrong with the Eighth Army? "

Meletskov snorted and said angrily, "general starikov reported on the phone that their troops have reached the south side of the sinavino highlands. However, the troops have run out of ammunition and can no longer maintain a strong offensive against the Germans. "

"Then what? Comrade commander. " When stilimacher figured out what was going on, he was also worried.

"What else can I do?" Meletskov immediately told stilimah: "Comrade chief of staff, you should contact the logistics department immediately and ask them to send the ammunition needed by the 8th Army as soon as possible."

"Yes Stilimacher agreed, turned and trotted out of the headquarters.

Meletzkov stood still for a while. He picked up the high frequency phone and began to dial. It seems that he wanted to report the progress of today's campaign to Stalin.

The telephone was soon put through, and meletzkov cautiously said to the Supreme Commander: "Comrade Stalin, today the eighth group army has advanced another three kilometers. Among them, the vanguard battalion of the 19th infantry division of the close guard has reached the south side of the sinavino highlands."

Stalin listened and said slowly, "Comrade meletzkov, when do you think the army will be able to conquer the Highlands?"

A simple question like Stalin made meletzkov nervous. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat on his forehead and replied, "Comrade Stalin, there is something wrong now, and the attack may have to be postponed."

Stalin's voice became serious: "what's the matter?"

"Because the campaign was launched too hastily, many materials were not fully prepared, and the eighth group army spent too much ammunition and did not receive timely replenishment in two consecutive days of offensive fighting," meletzkov said with fear. According to the report of general starikov, commander of the group army, the ammunition carried by the troops has been exhausted, and they can not launch another attack until they have replenished their ammunition. "

Stalin asked faintly, "when do you think the troops who have replenished their ammunition can launch another attack?"

Meletzkov thought for a moment and replied seriously, "I think the attack can start again at about six tomorrow morning."

After listening to Stalin, he did not comment on his words, but suddenly changed the topic: "is Rita in your headquarters?"

I was surprised to hear Stalin mention my name. Meletzkov was also surprised. He didn't understand why the supreme commander would suddenly ask me about this little man. He looked back at me strangely and then replied, "yes, comrade Stalin, she's right beside me. Would you like to speak to her? "

"No, just tell her what I said. You ask her, if she was the commander of the front army, what would she do at such a time? "

Meletzkov took the microphone away from his ear. I was afraid I didn't hear what Stalin said, so he told me the original words. Almost without hesitation, I replied, "now it's time to transfer the second echelon of general krakov's troops. As the second shock group army is being reorganized, only the 327th division of Colonel anchufiev and the infantry brigade of Colonel zhicaoliv are slightly weak. Therefore, after the second shock group army is transferred to the south side of the sinavino Highlands, the Fourth Army of general Gagan's guard will move forward from its present position, ready to take over the attack tasks of the eighth or the second shock group army at any time. "

"When do you think the second shock group army can launch a new attack if it is transferred to the north?" I spoke in a loud voice, and Stalin could hear me clearly without meletskov, so he directly asked the questions he was interested in.

I looked at my watch. At one o'clock in the afternoon, I calculated in my heart the speed of the troop's transfer. Finally, I answered in a positive tone: "if the troop's transfer is successful, we should be able to launch another attack around eight o'clock tonight."

Stalin still did not express his opinion after listening, but asked the commander of the front army: "Comrade meletzkov, which German army is defending the heights of sinavino?"

Upon hearing this question, meletzkov almost without thinking replied, "according to the prewar reconnaissance, the two regiments of the 96th infantry division of the German army are reporting to Comrade Stalin that they are defending the Highlands, with a force of about 5000."

Stalin was silent for a while, and then said slowly, "since there are not many Germans in the Highlands, we should replenish the ammunition for the eighth group army first, and attack again tomorrow morning."

When I heard Stalin's statement, my heart immediately cooled. I didn't want to talk to him directly, and even my proposal was negated. To wait until the troops are replenished and attack tomorrow morning is to give the Germans a breathing space all night. When our commanders and fighters want to conquer the fortifications reinforced by the Germans, they will pay a greater price.

However, since Stalin had already spoken, even meletzkov did not dare to oppose it, let alone my humble little combat staff officer, so I immediately shut up and ran to help Colonel semunov go to the communication room to get the latest war report.

The attack on the sinavino highlands started at 6 a.m. on the 19th. After the battle started, meletskov anxiously walked around the headquarters, constantly urging Colonel semunov to inquire whether there were the latest war reports.

It was not until eight o'clock that the report of the Eighth Army came. Meletzkov took the report, only looked at it a few times, then slapped the paper on the table, and said angrily, "what's the matter with this starikov? A whole infantry division, with a tank brigade, launched five charges in a row, but they were all beaten back by the German of the two regiments."

Military commissar zaborozetz picked up the war report, looked at it, frowned and said, "Comrade commander, it's not supposed to be like this. You know, the mountains and slopes of the sinavino highlands are low and gentle, which is conducive to tank attack. In addition, we have more troops than the Germans, so we should not be unable to attack. I think we should call general starikov and ask what's going on? "

Meletzkov nodded and told general stilimach, "Comrade chief of staff, go and call starikov and ask what's going on?"

Stilimacher got up and made a phone call to the 8th Army headquarters. When he came back, his face was very ugly. He went up to meletskov and solemnly reported, "Comrade commander, I asked general starikov. He said that after four successive setbacks in the charge, he interrogated the captured prisoners and unexpectedly found that many of them belonged to the 180th German division. "

"What?" When meletskov heard the news, he immediately jumped up from his position and asked in disbelief, "isn't the German 180th infantry division in the Kremlin area? When did they enter the heights of sinavino? "

"It's the highland that he entered at about ten o'clock last night," he replied with a deep expression. Moreover, the prisoners also said that the troops of the 12th tank division soon came to the highlands to take part in the counterattack against our army. As a result, the balance of forces between the enemy and ourselves has changed, and it will be very difficult to conquer the Highlands if new forces are not put in. "

"Chief of staff," meletzkov heard, decisively ordered stilimach: "you immediately call general krakov of the second shock group army, and ask him to quickly lead the second echelon to the sinavino highlands to assist the 19th guard division in attacking the highlands." At this point, he thought for a moment and added, "give general Gagan a call and ask him to send the 98th tank brigade to the highlands as well."

Stilimacher left the headquarters and went to the communications room to call Krakow and Gagan. At this time, semunov came to meletskov with several war reports. Seeing the new battle report, meletskov said impatiently, "Comrade Colonel, has our army been frustrated in any direction of attack?" Surprised by meletskov's attitude, semunov quickly waved his hand and said, "Comrade commander, you have misunderstood me. These are all good news. "“ All good news? " Meletzkov accepted the report with half faith. After a few eyes, the expression on his face became rich. From the change of his expression, I guess that semunov is telling the truth and the war report is really good news. Meletzkov handed the war report to zaborozetz. The military commissar looked down at the war report, nodded and said, "Comrade commander, this is really good news. Although our army's attack on the heights of sinavino was frustrated, the attacks of the 24th infantry division and the 265th infantry division of the close guard on the right side of the heights were very smooth. They have broken through two lines of defense in a row and advanced three kilometers to the German defense. " At this point, he calculated with his fingers, and then said excitedly, "that is to say, we are only five kilometers away from the Neva River."“ Yes, "meletzkov said confidently," now let the units of the 19th guard division and the assault group army, plus two tank brigades, entangle the enemy on the high ground, so that they can't transfer forces to support other areas. At the same time, we deployed the third echelon to strengthen the troops on both sides of the highland, increase the attack intensity, and force to the Neva River as soon as possible, so as to realize the battle intention of joining the Leningrad front army. "