Chapter 400

Col. gorovchner left the headquarters and sat around the conference table, leaving only three men, meletskov, starikov and Gagan. Because of the coming battle in the Highlands, starikov seems a little excited. However, Gagan was very nervous because he didn't get the report of his troops arriving at the designated position and worried about losing his job. He kept wiping the sweat from his forehead.

Meletzkov looked at starikov and asked flatly, "Comrade starikov, apart from the plan to attack the Highlands, are you sure of the attacks in other areas? When do you think our troops on both sides of the highland will be ready to attack? "

When starikov heard meletskov's question, he stood up, straightened up and answered in a loud voice, "report commander, although several divisions of our group army have been greatly reduced in these three days of fighting, the morale of their commanders and fighters is very high. As long as general Gagan's troops are strengthened, they can immediately attack the enemy face to face."

Meletzkov pointed and calculated: "in an hour or two, the Neva group of Leningrad's front army will launch a river crossing operation, if the attack on the two wings of the Highlands can be launched earlier. In the process of crossing the river, the German resistance they encountered would not be so strong, and only after landing could they quickly advance to the enemy's defense in depth and realize the reunion with our front army. "

When he said this, his tone did not fluctuate at all. It seemed that he was just talking about a common thing with his friends. However, I listened to it closely. He was implying that starikov must launch an attack immediately, disperse the German defense forces, and ensure the success of Leningrad's front army's crossing the river.

When Gagan heard these words, he couldn't sit still any more. He quickly stood up and said to meletskov in a loud voice, "Comrade commander, please don't worry. I'll call the army headquarters to urge them to speed up the March and try to reach the designated position as soon as possible."

Meletzkov nodded and said, "go ahead, let Comrade rogensky tell the troops to speed up the March. If they enter the position earlier, we can attack the enemy in front of us earlier."

When Gagan went to make a phone call, meletzkov and starikov began to talk in a low voice, because they were so far apart that I couldn't hear what they were saying. However, since they were talking in a low voice, maybe they didn't want outsiders to know something, so I stood in the same place and didn't move.

General Gagan soon returned from the phone call. He stood in front of meletskov and reported: "Comrade commander, I have just spoken with Comrade rogensky. He said that the whole brigade of the 140th brigade has reached the south side of the highland and will join the remnants of the 19th division of the guards. After a little rest, we can launch an attack on the highland."

Meretzkov snorted and said with some displeasure, "the 140th brigade is really fast. Look for yourself. How many hours did they walk on the road? If they had not been slow, our artillery positions would not have been destroyed by the Germans, and the headquarters of the front army would not have sent special service officers to enforce battlefield discipline against the brigade commander. "

Gagan was speechless when he heard what meletskov said. He stood in the same place and wiped his sweat. Seeing his action, I can't help but despise him in my heart. Thanks to you, you are still a great general. When the superior leaders say a few words to you, you are scared into a cold sweat.

Perhaps seeing that the atmosphere in the room was too awkward, starikov quickly came out to make a comeback: "Comrade commander, please come here and let's study the next action of our group army." Then he got up and went to the wall, opened the curtain and showed the map inside. I saw meletskov and Gagan both standing in front of the map, so I also stepped forward and approached the map.

Starikov, holding a stick, pointed to the map and said to us, "please see, the sinavino highland is the only commanding point in this area. You can observe the situation of several kilometers with a telescope on it. If we don't take this place, but directly walk around from both sides, the attacking troops will be killed by the German artillery from the highlands, It caused heavy casualties. At present, the two lines of defense built by the German army on the southern hillside are the first targets to be captured by our offensive troops. Because the artillery of our front army was destroyed by the German army, and the artillery of Leningrad front army and Baltic Fleet could only hit the north slope of the highland, but they could not do anything about the fortifications of the south slope. As a result, the German Fortifications on the highland survived under the seemingly fierce artillery bombardment of our army, but when the infantry launched a charge, The Germans would hide behind the intact fortifications and shoot as hard as they could. "

Meretzkov said with disapproval: "when our kV tanks rush up, these solid fortifications will be destroyed one by one, and then the infantry will rush up again to seize the German positions. When the highland is completely occupied, we can attack the northern part of the highland in depth with the captured artillery from above

Holding the stick in both hands, starikov said to meletskov, "Comrade commander, it is the most ideal result to capture the high ground and then bombard the enemy from a commanding position. But we still need to fully consider how we should deal with the failure of the attack on highlands. "

"What do you think? Let's hear it. "

"At present, the infantry attacking the highlands are only a remnant regiment of the 19th division of the guards and the 140th infantry brigade that has just arrived. Their strength is a little weak, so they need to be replenished to increase their attack strength."

"You say, where can I find reserves to supplement and strengthen these troops on the south side of the highland?" Regarding meletskov's question, starikov looked at Gagan and replied, "in addition to redistributing the forces of the fourth close guard army, I ask you to give me the command of the second shock group army. You know, although they are called a group army, they actually have only one division and one brigade. "“ How do you plan to adjust the deployment? " Starikov raised his explanation stick again, pointed to the map and said, "Comrade commander, please see, I transferred the 327th division of the 2nd shock group army to the offensive position on the south side of the highland and handed it over to the commander of the group army, Col. golovchner. The infantry brigade of Colonel zhizolifu, as well as the 259th infantry division of the 4th guard, and the 22nd, 23rd and 32nd infantry brigades, were strengthened to the 3rd Infantry Division of the guards on the left side of the highland. On the left side of the highland, the 24th division of the guards, strengthened by the 33rd, 53rd and 137th brigades of the 4th Army of the guards, rapidly advanced to the defense depth. The 265th infantry division, which was originally fighting with the 24th infantry division of the guards, was on standby on the south side of the highland as a reserve of the group army. " When I heard starikov's explanation, I could not help frowning slightly. I said that where there was a conflict between his plan and the orders issued by the front army, now the war is in chaos. It is impossible to mobilize the troops as usual. His adjustment may make the army tired. However, meletskov did not speak, and my little combat staff officer had no voice. As for my worries about these problems, I can only think about them in my heart, and no one will listen to them. Just then, several telephones in the room rang at the same time. Several staff officers who had been busy answered the phone and called out: "Comrade commander of the front army, your phone number!"“ Comrade commander of the group army, your phone number! " Meletzkov and starikov each went to their own phone and took the phone from the staff. After a few simple words, both of them had a look of joy on their faces. They didn't have much time. They came back after calling. Although they are trying their best to control their emotions, from the angle of their slightly upturned mouths, I know that the phone is good news. As expected, meletskov said with a smile: "comrades, I have good news. Just now I received a phone call from general govolov, commander of Leningrad front army. He said that after a short period of artillery preparation, the commanders and fighters of Neva group had begun to cross the river and launched an attack on the German defensive position on the South Bank of Neva River."“ Wula General Gagan couldn't help cheering at the good news. Starikov patted him on the shoulder and jokingly said, "I said, comrade general, why are you so upset? You are so excited when you hear only one good news. If you hear more good news, are you going to celebrate here with vodka?" General Gagan laughed with embarrassment and asked, "Comrade commander of the group army, do you have any good news for me?" Starikov nodded and said with certainty, "yes, comrade Gagan. The phone call just now was from my chief of staff, golov chner, who said that our kV tanks had launched an attack on the highlands. Although on their way forward, they were subjected to heavy artillery fire from the highlands. These tanks, as major oshanina said, are indestructible. " At this point, he gave me a friendly smile, and then said: "when the smoke of gunfire dispersed, the chief of staff saw our tanks continue to advance towards the German position." When I heard that the kV Tank was not afraid of the German artillery, I was relieved. I didn't expect that a post of later generations could be used in this situation. I asked tentatively, "Comrade General, did our infantry attack?"“ Of course, when the chief of staff saw that the German artillery could not pose any threat to our tanks, he had ordered the infantry of the 19th division of the guards to launch an attack to assist the tanks in seizing the German positions. The 149th infantry brigade is still resting, but it will be able to fight soon