Chapter 395

With these words, meletzkov looked left and right. Seeing that the chief of staff, general stilimah, was not in, he immediately called the chief of operations, Mr. semunov, and gave him an order: "Col. semunov, record my order. The 22nd, 23rd, 32nd and 33rd infantry brigades of the 4th guard infantry army were immediately transferred to the east side of the sinavino highland, cooperating with general starikov's 3rd guard division to attack the Neva River. The 53rd, 137th infantry brigade, and 122nd tank brigade, go to the right side of the highland, strengthen the close guard division 24 and 265th infantry division of the 8th group army, and cut off the contact between the enemy of the sinavino highlands and the Neva River defense area. "

At this point, he turned to the artillery commander sitting at the table, jaggyaliov, and asked, "old man, how many artillery regiments do you have enough ammunition?"

This time, jaggyaliov didn't say anything casually. He looked down at the notebook in front of him, looked up and said, "there is also a heavy cannon regiment and four independent mortar battalions."

After listening to the data reported by jaggyaliov, meletskov then ordered semunov to say, "let general Gagan immediately send out the 140th infantry brigade to cover these artillery units and establish positions on the south side of the sinavino highlands to provide artillery support for our troops attacking the highlands."

After recording the order, semunov turned to the communication room and gave the order. When I saw him leaving, I frowned a little. I said that meletzkov's command ability was not a bit worse than Zhukov's. to command such a big battle, I didn't arrange enough communication equipment in the headquarters, so that whether it was to give orders to the department or to receive feedback from the battlefield, Special personnel should be sent to and fro between the headquarters and the communication room, and the two places are not close to each other. You know, fighter planes are often fleeting. As they are, it's easy to delay them.

Soon after semunov left, the high-frequency telephone in the room rang again. This is a special line to the Kremlin. You don't have to guess that the person calling at this moment must be the Supreme Commander himself.

Meletzkov picked up the phone, said respectfully to Stalin, and then said with a smile: "Comrade Stalin, I'd like to report a good news to you. The 24th infantry division and the 265th infantry division of the close guard on the right side of the sinavino highland, after a tough fight, advanced three kilometers to the defense depth of the German army. At present, the army is only five kilometers away from the Neva River."

At this time, he suddenly stopped reporting, put the microphone close to his ear, as if listening carefully to Stalin's inquiry. After a while, he murmured, "Comrade Stalin, the highlands are still in the hands of the Germans. Last night, the 180th infantry division, originally stationed in crimson, quietly entered the Highlands in the dark. Because our scouts did not find the enemy's reinforcements and strengthened the fortifications, all the five attacks this morning ended in failure. " At this point, he took the microphone away from his ear, turned around and waved to me standing by the wall to let me pass.

I quickly walked up to him, just want to speak, he raised his hand to make a silent gesture, and then handed me the microphone. Knowing that I was about to talk to Stalin, I couldn't help getting so nervous that my words were incoherent: "Hello! Stalin and Comrade

Stalin on the other side of the microphone burst out laughing and said, "what's the matter with you, Rita? Why are you stuttering? It's not like you. "

I didn't know how to answer, so I had to giggle at the microphone.

Stalin coughed, but he didn't give me any more politeness. He asked frankly, "Rita, if you were the commander of the front army, how would you fight the next battle?"

For a big man who can decide life and death in one sentence, he can not accept the suggestions put forward by his subordinates. However, since he has asked all the questions, if you dare not say them, the consequences will be very serious. I immediately opened my mouth to say what I thought, but suddenly I thought of the proposal that was rejected last time. I was worried that the proposal I put forward to him this time would come to the same end. I could not help hesitating.

Stalin couldn't hear my answer. He couldn't help urging me. His tone became very severe: "Rita, why don't you speak? Don't you know how to answer me? "

When I heard that Stalin was on the verge of anger, I quickly replied, "no, comrade Stalin. I have an immature idea. I'm thinking about how to tell you about it. "

"Tell me."

I quickly sorted out my thoughts, and then said clearly: "Comrade Stalin, at present, our army's offensive forces are only five kilometers away from Neva River. I think at this time, we should let the Neva group of Leningrad front army cross the river immediately, attack from behind the German army, and coordinate the offensive action of the eighth group army. Our two-way attack is bound to disperse the German defense forces. In this way, the volhoff front army can quickly break through the German defense zone and realize the purpose of joining the Leningrad front army. "

Stalin was silent for a while before he said slowly, "Comrade Rita, Neva group lacks enough tools to cross the river. Now is not the right time to cross the river. They should wait until the troops of the volhoff front army reach the Neva River before crossing it. Of course, they did not stand idly by in this campaign. The heavy guns of Leningrad's front army and the naval guns of the Baltic Fleet did not always provide the necessary artillery support for the attack of the eighth group army. At the same time, the fighter planes of Leningrad's front army constantly patrol over the battlefield to ensure that the German air force will not pose a threat to our ground forces. "

"But Comrade Stalin. If the Neva group does not cross the river immediately, and after the German army has confirmed that its rear will not be threatened, they may leave only a small number of troops to monitor the Neva group on the other side of the river, and confidently and boldly transfer the rest of the troops to the breakthrough area to prevent our army from attacking the Neva River. "

After listening to my brief analysis, Stalin said noncommittally, "well, I see." Then he told me, "Rita, give me the phone."

Disappointed, I took the microphone away from my ear and handed it to meletskov. I came to the map with a gray face and looked at the two combat staff officers with a blank face. According to the battle report, I marked the enemy and ourselves situation on the map.

At this time, meletskov's heroic words came to my ears: "Comrade Stalin, please rest assured. Before lunch, our troops should be able to take the heights of sinavino. " Hearing this, I can only smile bitterly to myself. If we had launched the attack last night, the inferior German troops would not have been able to stop our army's attack. Maybe we would have stepped on the high ground at this moment. Now, the reinforcements of the 19th division are still on their way. It is uncertain whether they can reach the designated position before lunch, let alone win the high ground.

The generals in the headquarters of the front army are very optimistic about the next war. They generally believe that the overall situation has been decided. It is only a matter of time before the second and third echelons of the army and general starikov's Eighth Army join together to eliminate the Germans in the defensive zone and join lenningler's front army. But at the moment when everyone was optimistic, I had a stronger and stronger premonition,

At 12 o'clock at noon, as everyone was preparing for dinner, an emergency call from general krakov made meletzkov and the rest of the generals lose their appetite.

As soon as general krakov heard that it was meletzkov who was answering the phone, he said anxiously, "Comrade commander, something's wrong."

Meletzkov was stunned and asked, "what's the matter?"

"As soon as the 327th division of Colonel anchufiev arrived at the area two kilometers away from the sinavino highland, it was attacked by heavy artillery fire. The troops suffered heavy casualties. The command system has fallen into chaos. The division commander can't find the commander, the commander can't find the battalion commander, and the company commander can't find his own soldiers. In a word, the army is in a mess. "

"What's going on? To be clear, where was the fire coming from? " Meletzkov tried to keep calm and patiently asked krakov.

"I don't know. Fortunately, the infantry brigade of Colonel zhizolifu started half an hour later than the troops of anchufiev, otherwise my second assault group might be completely destroyed. "

Meletzkov put down the phone, his face became particularly ugly, he answered the table, said in a heavy tone: "as soon as the troops of the second assault group army entered the battlefield, they were hit by the strong German artillery, the command of the troops failed, and the casualties were heavy. Now it seems that they can not complete the task of attacking the highlands. Therefore, I have ordered general Krakow to try his best to gather up the troops and temporarily retreat to the original station for rest. "

Just then, an officer rushed in from the outside, saluted everyone and handed in a telegram to artillery commander jaggyaliov. Jaggyaliov only looked at it for a moment. He was shocked. He quickly took the telegram to meletskov and said angrily, "Comrade commander, look, this is the telegram from the surviving commander of the artillery unit I sent to the highlands. As soon as they had laid out their artillery positions, they were attacked by the superior German forces. Without the cover of infantry, after the battle, the artillery positions were occupied by the Germans. "

After reading the telegram, meletskov slapped the table and stood up. He ordered stilimach: "chief of staff, you should call general Gagan of the Fourth Army of the guards immediately and ask where is the 140th infantry brigade that I asked him to cover?"

After the chief of staff got up to make a phone call, meletzkov hesitated and said to the generals at the table, "I suspect that the artillery attack on the 2nd shock group army came from this position occupied by the German army."

Meletskov's words surprised everyone present. Military commissar zaborozetz looked up at him and said: "I agree with the analysis of the commander. The German army should use our artillery to bombard our infantry after seizing our artillery positions without infantry protection."

Although the commander and the military commissar have reached a conclusion, some people still raise objections. A general sitting next to zaborozzi asked suspiciously, "it's impossible. Since the German army sent troops to attack the artillery positions of our army, they should blow up all the cannons and move quickly after successful attack. How can they stay in the positions and turn the muzzle to attack our infantry. Is there any artillery in the troops they attacked? "

"This possibility exists, Comrade General." When meletskov said this, he turned to ask stilimach who called: "Comrade chief of staff, have you contacted general Gagan?"

"The man on duty in the army headquarters told me that general Gagan had gone to the army and could not be contacted for the time being," he replied with an unnatural look

"Did you ask where all the units of the Fourth Army of the guards have gone?"

Stilimach knew which unit meletskov was asking, and quickly replied, "the 140th infantry brigade lost its way in the forest and swamp because there was no guide. It was unable to reach the designated position in a short time."

After listening to steglimacher's reply, meletskov looked down at zaborozzi and asked in a deliberative tone: "Comrade military commissar, the military discipline of large regiments should be strict. The 140th infantry brigade was slow to move, resulting in the artillery position being occupied by the German army, and the Anqiu feyev division of the second echelon suffered heavy casualties. I suggest that the brigade commander be severely punished. What's your opinion? "

Zaborozzi nodded and said decisively, "Comrade commander, I agree with you. I suggest that the special service section should be sent immediately to the 140th infantry brigade to exercise battlefield discipline on the brigade commander and let the Deputy brigade commander act as the brigade commander temporarily. Chief of staff, do you have any comments? " His last words were addressed to stilimacher.

Stilimach immediately replied, "I have no opinion. I'll do it according to the proposal of the military Commissar."

When meletzkov heard zaborozzi say this, he was obviously stunned for a moment, and then nodded his head in agreement. According to my analysis, the severe punishment proposed by meletskov was just dismissal and sending to the military court. I didn't expect that zaborozzi directly proposed to shoot the brigade commander on the spot, which was obviously unexpected. However, as soon as he proposed the severe punishment, he pleaded for the brigade commander, It is bound to affect his prestige in the headquarters, and can only make mistakes right.

Meletskov told semunov: "Comrade chief of operations, this task should be carried out by lieutenant turchinov, chief of the special service section. For the sake of safety, let him take a few more people." When he said this, he might think that I escaped from this man's hands not long ago. He was afraid that I would have any idea and even gave me a special smile.

More than an hour later, turchinov called and said that they had found the 140th infantry brigade and had shot the brigade commander on the spot according to the order of the headquarters of the front army, so that the Deputy brigade commander would temporarily take the post of brigade commander.

The person who should have been shot was killed, and the troops that should have been deployed were all in place. However, the five kilometer defense zone was still like a natural moat in front of the attacking troops of the front army of warholf.

As the only remaining Artillery Force of the front army was destroyed by the German army, the heavy artillery of Leningrad's front army and the naval guns of the Baltic Fleet had to be relied on to provide the necessary artillery support for the army in the subsequent ground attack. Because of the distance, the artillery could not effectively destroy the German defensive positions. Although the troops on the left and right sides of the highland repeatedly launched a tenacious charge, they were still unable to advance. The German army repulsed every attack of our army.

Just at this time, Colonel semunov, who had just received the phone call, reported to meletskov that general starikov had just called and reported that our fighters, who had been escorting the offensive troops, were disappearing from his view one by one. He asked the headquarters of the front army to contact the Leningrad front army to see what was going on?

After listening to the report, meletskov immediately told stilimach: "Comrade chief of staff, go and contact the Leningrad front army to see why their air force suddenly withdrew from the battlefield?"

When stilimacher went to make a phone call, I had a bad feeling in my heart. According to my experience, once the fighters of Leningrad front army withdraw, it is equivalent to giving up the air supremacy of the battlefield. After the German Air Force regains the air supremacy, our offensive troops will become the target of the enemy's attack, so we don't wait for them to get close to the position, It will be defeated by the German air force.

After making a phone call, stilimach came back to report to meletskov and said, "Comrade commander, I have contacted the Leningrad front army. Now the German army is sending out air force to carry out fierce air strikes on their heavy artillery positions and the Baltic Fleet, so we have to transfer our fighters back to defend these important targets."

After hearing this, meletskov said with disapproval: "even without the support of Leningrad Air Force fighters, we can break through the German defense zone. Comrade chief of staff, order the troops to speed up the attack and get close to the Neva River as soon as possible, so that the Neva group of Leningrad front army can cross the river to meet us. "

When I heard this, I could not help but step forward and summon up courage to say to meletskov, "Comrade commander, I want to remind you that the situation is very unfavorable to our army."

After listening, meletskov frowned and asked, "why?"

"With the withdrawal of the Air Force fighters of Leningrad's front army, it is tantamount to ceding the air supremacy of the battlefield to the Germans. Once their fighters bombard our army indiscriminately, our offensive troops will soon be bombed

After listening to this, meletzkov thought about it. Maybe he thought I had a point, so he asked, "what do you think we should do?"

"Now we have two options. One is to let the troops withdraw from the fighting immediately to avoid greater losses."

"Withdraw from the fighting?" Meletzkov shook his head unequivocally and said: "it seems that we are going to join the Leningrad front army in a few kilometers. At this time, we will withdraw from the battle. Not to mention Comrade Stalin's failure, even the commanders and fighters of the group army who are fighting fiercely will not agree. What's the other option? "

"Let the Neva group of Leningrad's front army immediately cross the river and attack from behind the German army. If the two front armies attack each other, the German defense system will be disrupted. In this way, it is possible to achieve the goal of the two armies joining forces. " At the end of my speech, stilimacher went on to say, "Comrade commander, I think major oshanina has a point. Judging from today's war situation, the Germans are constantly mobilizing troops along the Neva River to strengthen the defensive zone in front of our front army." When steglimacher finished speaking, meletskov did not immediately express his position. Instead, he asked zaborozetz, "Comrade military commissar, what's your opinion?" Zaborozzi also felt that the current situation was not good, thought about it, and then replied: "I also think we should let the Leningrad front army launch the river crossing operation immediately, otherwise our front army offensive troops without air supremacy and artillery support will not be able to break through the German damned five kilometer defense zone." Seeing that everyone's opinions were unified, meletzkov also made his final decision. He said decisively, "well, since everyone's opinions are unified, I'm going to call Comrade Stalin and ask him to let the troops of Leningrad's front army immediately launch a river crossing operation to coordinate our army's offensive."