Chapter 2080: Relief Action (Part 1)

  Chapter 2080 Relief Action (Part 1)

  After a day of fierce fighting, the Ismailov Division broke through the defense line of the German 2nd Army and left the Belovizh Forest area with Batov's headquarters.

  Batov's army headquarters made contact with the 4th and 40th Guards Divisions shortly after they left the forest. After the two guard division commanders learned of Batov's whereabouts, they immediately rushed to the Bug River to join the headquarters.

  Seeing the commanders and fighters of the two Guards divisions coming one after another, Ismailov felt that his mission had been completed, so he said to Batov: "Comrade General, my mission has been completed. May I leave?"

  Batov held Ismailov's hand and said with some sobs: "Listen, my friend, you saved my life, and I will always remember you."

"What are you talking about!" Ismailov said a little surprised at Batov's words. "What are you talking about, Comrade General! Look at what you said. I was ordered to rescue you. If you want to Thank you, and you should also thank our commander, without his order, I have no right to lead troops away from my defense zone without authorization."

   "Comrade Colonel, I also thank you and General Sokov." Batov smiled again: "If possible, I will go to the 48th Army to visit General Sokov in person."

  Ismailov returned to his defense zone with the troops, and then went directly to the headquarters to meet Sokov.

Seeing Ismailov's arrival, Sokov was very happy. He shook hands with him and said with a smile: "Comrade Colonel, because your division has successfully moved the Batov headquarters from the Belovizh Forest. Li was rescued, and the Front Army Headquarters is going to reward you and award you the Division Red Banner Medal."

  The Order of the Red Banner is divided into two types, one is awarded to individuals, and the other is awarded to collectives. Troops that have won the Order of the Red Banner will add the honors they have received to their serial numbers in the future. For example, the 1st Guards Division under the command of Tolstikov, the full title in later generations is "Red Banner Minsk Infantry Guards who have won the Order of Lenin, the Order of Suvorov, the Order of Kutuzov and the Order of the Red Banner twice." Division 1".

  The 6th Guards Division commanded by Onuprienko, the full name is "The 6th Guards Red Banner Rovno Infantry Division awarded the Lenin Medal and the Suvorov Medal".

  The 284th Infantry Division under the command of Ismailov, even if it will not be awarded the honorary title of Guards Division by the headquarters in the future, its name will be changed to: the 284th Infantry Division awarded the Order of the Red Banner.

  Bornjelin and Sidolin also came over to congratulate Ismailov on the honor he had received.

Finally, Sokov told the other party an exciting news: "Comrade Colonel, in view of your outstanding performance and achievements in Operation Bagration, as well as the achievements you have made today, we have already submitted an application to your superiors, I hope to award you the rank of major general."

  Although the ranks of colonel and major general are only one level apart, it has become an insurmountable moat for countless commanders in their lives. At this moment, Ismailov became excited when he heard Sokov say this: "Comrade Commander, is this all true?"

   "Of course it is true." Sokov nodded and said, "As long as my subordinates have made meritorious deeds, I will find a way for him to get rewards that match his achievements."

  Sokov was talking when the phone on the desk rang. Sokov looked at the several telephones on the table, trying to find out which one was ringing.

Sidolin walked to the table, stared at several telephones for a while, then grabbed the handset of the high-frequency telephone, put it close to his ear, and said, "I am Sidolin, where are you? ... What? You Comrade Marshal! Hello, do you have any instructions?"

   After a while, Sidolin covered the receiver with his hands, handed it to Sokov, and said in a low voice, "Comrade Commander, your call is from Comrade Marshal himself."

   "Hello, Comrade Marshal." Sokov took the microphone and said respectfully, "Do you have any instructions?"

"It's like this, Misha." Rokossovsky said on the phone: "General Pliyev's 4th Guards Cavalry Army was stubbornly blocked by the German army when it was advancing westward. After a week After the fierce fighting, they were driven by the German army to the Bug River in the northwest of Brest, and fell into the siege of the German army..."

  Sokov couldn’t help but thump when he heard this. Although he knew that today’s cavalry army is also equipped with tanks and artillery, if it is surrounded by the German army, the possibility of being wiped out is far greater than that of infantry.

Just as he was thinking wildly, he heard Rokossovsky continue: "Fortunately, there is a fortification area in this place, so General Pliyev ordered troops to garrison the fortifications and successfully repelled several enemy troops. attack."

   Knowing that the cavalry army now occupies a fortified area, where it resisted the German attack, Sokov felt a little more at ease. It is important to know that the targets of the cavalry are larger than that of the infantry. If they stay in an open place without fortifications, they will become the target of the German artillery and air force.

  After a short pause, he tentatively asked: "Comrade Marshal, the cavalry army is besieged in the fortification area, how did the superior provide them with supplies?"

"The weapons, ammunition and various supplies needed by the cavalry army were all completed by airdrops at night." Rokossovsky said: "From the current situation, the cavalry army can still last for a few days. I will give you today The purpose of the call is to hope that you can dispatch troops to rescue the besieged cavalry army."

  After listening to Rokossovsky's order, Sokov did not give an answer immediately, but looked down at the map spread out in front of him. After some calculations, he felt that if he sent troops to rescue, the probability of success was still very high. So he said into the microphone: "Comrade Marshal, I will send troops to rescue the 4th Guards Cavalry Army as soon as possible."

   "Very good!" Rokossovsky was very satisfied with Sokov's answer, and he went on to say: "I will ask Malinin to send the army's information to your headquarters as soon as possible."

After finishing the call, Sokov told Ponejielin and Sidolin the content of the call, and finally said: "If you want to rescue the 4th Guards Cavalry Army of General Pliyev, you need to use at least Two infantry divisions, one tank brigade and several artillery regiments will do."

Before Ponedelin and Sidolin could speak, Ismailov rushed to say: "Comrade commander, our division has just completed the rescue mission to the headquarters of the 65th Army Group, and has rescue experience. Leave the task to our teacher."

   Regarding the request made by Ismailov, Sokov did not immediately express his position, but asked Ponedelin and Sidolin: "Comrade Deputy Commander, Comrade Chief of Staff, what do you two think?"

Ponedelin glanced at Ismailov, then nodded and said: "Comrade Commander, I think it is okay. As Colonel Ismailov said, they have just completed the inspection of the 65th Army headquarters. Not to mention the experience in the rescue, the troops are still in a state of high morale, if they come forward to participate in the rescue, I think the chances of success are very high."

   And Sidolin went straight to the point: "Comrade Commander, besides Colonel Ismailov's 284th Infantry Division, which infantry division do you plan to send to participate in this rescue mission?"

"I think the 211th Infantry Division of Colonel Liujikov should also participate in this operation." Sokov said: "The 202nd Tank Brigade, which was on mission with Colonel Ismailov, and the few An artillery regiment is also involved in this rescue operation. Do you have any disagreement?"

   "No!" Pornegerin was the first to express his opinion.

  Sidorin also shook his head and said, "Me neither!"

  Seeing that neither Bonejelin nor Sidolin had any objections, Sokov ordered Sidolin to call the commanders of the troops who were about to participate in the rescue to the headquarters, and personally assign tasks to them.

   When several notified commanders arrived at the headquarters, Rokossovsky also sent someone to send information about the 4th Guards Cavalry Army to Sokov.

Sokov saw that there were several pages of documents, so he handed them to Sidolin, and said to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, read the documents of the 4th Guards Cavalry Army for everyone, so that everyone can understand what is going on." There are many."

Sidolin took the information and began to read: "The 4th Guards Cavalry Army, namely the Kuban River Cossack Cavalry Army, is called the Guards Red Banner Kuban who won the Lenin Medal, the Suvorov Medal and the Kutuzov Medal. River Cossack Cavalry Army. Formed in Krasnodar Territory in April 1942, the designation is the 17th Army of the Kuban River Cossack Cavalry. Initially governed the 10th, 12th and 13th Divisions of the Kuban River Cossack Cavalry, all of which were militias The division was incorporated into the North Caucasus Military District after its establishment. On May 20, 1942, it was transferred to the North Caucasus Front Army, responsible for the left bank of the Don River and the east bank of the Sea of ​​Azov. Frontline defense missions.

...The entire army showed perseverance in the battle with the German army, and showed a high degree of organizational discipline and heroism. On August 27, 1942, it was renamed the 4th Army of the Guards Kuban River Cossack Cavalry, and the 12th Cavalry under its jurisdiction The 13th and 13th Divisions were renamed the 9th and 10th Divisions of the Guards Kuban River Cossack Cavalry respectively.

  ...In June 1944, the army was transferred to the First Belarusian Front Army, and participated in the Belarusian offensive campaign in the cavalry mechanized group commanded by Lieutenant General Pliyev. After fierce fighting, the cities of Slutsk, Stolbuzy and Slonim were liberated. He was awarded the Order of Suvorov 2nd Class on July 25, 1944 for his exemplary completion of the combat tasks of forcibly crossing the Shara River and liberating the city of Slonim. On July 20, 1944, the army forcibly crossed the West Bug River in the Rudovets area, 20 kilometers northwest of Brest, and entered Poland. Before mid-August, it went out to the Karchev area, 20 kilometers southeast of Warsaw. Vistula River. "

  After reading the information, Sidolin put down the document in his hand and waited for Sokov to speak to the commanders present.

"Commanders, you all know the information about the 4th Guards Cavalry Corps." Sokov said to the commanders who came to the meeting: "The army advanced to the west too fast, and was attacked The crazy counterattack of the German army. Now they have retreated to a fortified area on the bank of the Bug River and are surrounded by the German army. I have summoned you here today to send you to rescue the cavalry army from the enemy's siege. "

  The commanders present had long guessed that Sokov summoned them to arrange a combat mission, but they did not expect that it was to rescue a besieged cavalry unit. Liuzhikov stood up and asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, how long can the cavalry corps survive the encirclement of the enemy?"

Sokov heard the meaning behind Liujikov's words, and said to him: "Comrade Colonel, the cavalry army has successfully repelled many German attacks by relying on the fortified area. Airdrop at night to provide them with weapons, ammunition and various supplies. I believe they will be able to support them until our reinforcements arrive."

  After listening to Sokov, Liuzhikov said: "I have no problem." Then he sat back in his seat.

  Pornegelin was speaking next. He pointed at the map on the wall with a explaining stick, and introduced the just-drawn battle plan to the commanders involved in the rescue. And the commanders below are carefully recording, and they know very well in their hearts that as long as Sokov participates in the designated plan, as long as they follow it, they will not suffer losses.

  After Ponegerin finished speaking, Sokov glanced over the commanders present one by one, and asked, "Anyone have any questions?"

   "No more!" The commanders present replied in unison.

"Since there is no problem, let's return to our respective units immediately." Sokov raised his hand and looked at the time, and said to everyone: "You will launch an attack on the German army in five hours, and try to fight in the shortest possible time. Rescue the besieged cavalry army. How about it, do you have confidence?"

   "Confidence!" The commanders replied loudly again in unison.

After all the commanders who participated in the meeting left, Ponejielin reminded Sokov: "Comrade commander, we will definitely achieve our goal by sending so many troops to relieve the cavalry army. But I am worried that if we do this, we will The casualties of the troops must be serious, and these troops may not be able to participate in the next stage of the battle by then."

Sokov never talked about anything, as long as he felt that what the other party said was reasonable, he would accept the other party's opinion. Hearing what Ponejielin said now, he immediately asked modestly: "Comrade Deputy Commander, do you have any suggestions?" ?”

"Look." Ponedelin pointed to the map and said to Sokov: "Now General Batov's 65th Army has left the forest and is leveling the front between us and them. At the same time, further north Some of the 70th Army Group also seemed to show signs of speeding up their advance westward.

  If you can persuade Comrade Marshal to let the two armies also send troops to participate in the relief operation, I think the next battle will be relatively easy. "

   Upon hearing Sokov's words, Ponejielin made a very reasonable point. If you only rely on one of your own troops for reinforcements, even if the cavalry army is rescued, the troops will probably suffer a lot of casualties. But if Batov's 65th Army and Popov's 70th Army can also participate in the relief operation, the German forces will be dispersed. At that time, not only will the casualties of the troops be reduced, but the chances of a successful siege will also be higher.

   "You're right, Comrade Deputy Commander." Sokov nodded in agreement with Pornegerin's proposal: "I'll call Comrade Marshal right now and ask for his opinion on this matter."

  (end of this chapter)