Chapter 2242:

  Chapter 2242

  After Batov returned to his defense zone, he immediately dispatched reconnaissance personnel to carry out reconnaissance operations on the Oder River.

  According to the scouts' feedback, there are indeed many riverbanks on the upper reaches of the Oder River that are not submerged by water, which can completely become the starting point for the troops to attack.

After learning about the situation on the Oder River, Batov said to Glebov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if we want to build a pontoon bridge on the East Oder River, we need a lot of bridge-building materials. Let the engineering troops seize the time to collect bridge-building materials." Materials. In addition, to successfully cross the East Oder River, you will need a lot of ships. You can call the engineer director of the Front Army Command later and ask, how many ships can you provide us?"

   "Okay, Comrade Commander." Glebov nodded and said, "I'll call right away."

Glebov called the logistics department of the front army, and the person who answered the phone was General Blagoslavov, the director of engineering. Comrade Marshal's notice said that if the troops want to reach the west bank of the Oder River, they need to launch a forced crossing operation, so let us start preparing the equipment for you to cross the river. There are probably dozens of flat-bottomed boats, hundreds of thousands of ships of various types , and the timber needed to build the pontoon bridge, etc... In a word, in addition to providing you with some boats for crossing the river, you need to prepare the rest of the bridge building materials yourself."

"Comrade General," Glebov waited for the other party to finish, and said with a smile: "as long as you can provide us with boats to cross the river, as for the timber for the pontoon bridge, there are a lot of forests in our defense zone, we can Arrange for the Corps of Engineers to cut down trees as material for bridges."

Blagoslavov told Glebov and said: "General Glebov, although the air supremacy on the battlefield is in the hands of our army, German planes will still appear in the sky occasionally, and the materials you have prepared are also important. Pay attention to concealment, and don't be discovered by the German air force."

   "Understood, Comrade General, you can rest assured that we will conceal the bridge-building materials so that the Germans will not discover our intention to build bridges on the river."

After the phone call, Glebov reported to Batov: "Comrade Commander, the director of the engineering department said that they have prepared boats for us to cross the river, but we need to figure out the materials needed for erecting the pontoon bridge. "

   "There is no problem with the materials for the bridge." Batov said confidently: "We can organize troops to go to the forest to cut down trees as materials for the bridge."

   "Which division do you plan to send as the advance force across the river?" Glebov asked.

  Batov thought for a while, and replied: "I think the Teremov Division will be the advance team for crossing the river."

   "Well, I will call Colonel Teremov immediately and inform him of your arrangements."

   The day after Batov's visit, Fejuninsky also appeared at Sokov's headquarters.

   Seeing Fejuninsky's appearance, Sokov couldn't help being a little surprised, how could the assault on the 2nd Army come so quickly. He hurriedly walked around the table and came to Fejuninsky, raised his hand to salute him, and said warmly: "General Fejuninsky, welcome to my headquarters as a guest."

   Fejuninsky shook Sokov's hand and said with a smile: "General Sokov, my troops will officially enter your right-wing area tomorrow. I'm here to fight the front."

After Lunev and Sidolin greeted Fejuninsky, Sokov tentatively asked: "General Fejuninsky, have you checked your defense zone?" He asked, He wanted to know whether Fejuninsky had seen the great river that lay in his way.

"I've seen it." The expression on Fejuninski's face became serious: "I really didn't expect that such a wide river would appear on our way forward. I think that without the cooperation of the fleet, if we want to It may not be an easy task to complete the forced crossing mission."

  Sokov is not familiar with the history of the Soviet army breaking through the Oder River, and it is not clear whether the Soviet army used the fleet in order to successfully land on the other side. But after thinking about it, if the Soviet army is forced to cross, it is not impossible to get the support of the fleet. The shallow-water gunboats equipped by the Volga River District Fleet and the Dnieper River District Fleet can pass through the Baltic Sea and enter the Oder River region to provide artillery support for the Soviet troops who are forced to cross.

  He said cautiously: "General Fejuninski, if the mouth of the Baltic Sea is controlled by the German army, then it may not be easy for our shallow-water gunboats to enter the Oder River."

"General Sokov, you don't have to worry about this." Fejuninsky said to Sokov: "Our army is the defense zone that succeeded the Polish First Army, and General Romanowski's 19th Army, I will occupy the mouth of the Baltic Sea on my right flank to ensure that the shallow-water gunboats sent from the rear can enter the Oder River smoothly."

Knowing that the Soviet Army had controlled the mouth of the Baltic Sea, Sokov felt more at ease. Although the two Oder Rivers were five kilometers wide, as long as the Soviet Army's shallow-water gunboats could enter the Oder River, they could Shelled the German positions on the west bank at close range, suppressed the enemy's various firepower, and covered the smooth landing of the troops responsible for the forced crossing task.

   Sokov knew for the first time that the right flank of Fejuninsky's troops was Romanovsky's 19th Army, but he also had no idea which troops Batov's left flank was. So he asked tentatively: "General Fejuninsky, do you know which unit is General Batov's left wing?"

"General Popov's 70th Army." Fejuninsky replied without hesitation: "Their task is to cover Batov's left flank and ensure that when our three armies forcefully cross the Oder River, they will not be attacked by the enemy. Flank attack."

Sokov knew very well that the enemy in front of him was at the end of his battle at the moment. Regardless of the number of troops they had, most of them were People's Stormtroopers with little combat effectiveness, or the Air Force's ground crews. It's fine for defense, but if it's used for offense, it's tantamount to letting them die in vain.

However, he said in the same tone as Fejuninsky: "Yes, when our two wings are covered, when we attack the west bank of the Oder, we can devote all our forces to the frontal battle without having to stay behind. What kind of reserve team is there?"

"General Feduninsky," Lunev interjected, "Misha has been worrying about how to cross the river for the past two days. The river in front of us seems to be one, but it is actually the East Oder and the West Oder. The two rivers, because of the spring thaw, the melting of ice and snow caused the water level to rise, directly submerging the shoal between the two rivers, so it looks like a river."

Hearing what Lunev said, Fejuninsky immediately guessed why Sokov was worried, and said quickly: "I understand, General Sokov is worried that the flooded shoal will become our Obstacles in crossing the offensive? It doesn't matter, as long as the shallow water gunboats of our river fleet can enter the Oder River, the German fortifications on the left bank will become extremely vulnerable. As long as they open fire, our gunboats can directly attack them with artillery fire Suppression, so as to achieve the effect of covering the infantry crossing the river."

"General Fejuninsky, in fact, even without the support of shallow-water gunboats, it is not impossible for us to successfully cross the river." Sokov said to Fejuninsky: "Before crossing the river, dispatch the air force to attack the troops on the west bank." The German firepower points, headquarters, communication hubs and artillery positions were intensively bombed. When the bombed German army fell into chaos, General Batov's 65th Army could cross the river first, taking advantage of the fact that the German army was suppressed by our air force and could not organize effective resistance , quickly cross the Oder River east of the river, seize a shoal that is not submerged by the river, establish artillery positions there, and build a pontoon bridge to transport more troops and equipment to the shoal, then forcefully cross the West Oder River and board the left bank Afterwards, a landing field will be established to attract the strength and attention of the German army and create favorable conditions for the forced crossing of our two armies."

Feduninsky didn't know the agreement reached between Batov and Sokov at all. Hearing what Sokov said at this moment, his eyes lit up and he said repeatedly: "This is a good way. Batov's troops cross the river." At that time, let the shallow-water gunboats enter the Oder River, destroy those exposed German firepower points with artillery fire, and cover my troops to start crossing the river. General Sokov, as long as I and General Batov's troops successfully completed from your two flanks Break through, and then you carry out the crossing operation, and you can minimize the casualties."

  Sidorin felt a little anxious when he heard what Fejuninsky said. You know, according to the plan of the Front Army Command, it was the 48th, 65th and 2nd Assault Army that forcibly crossed the Oder this time. If the left and right troops were allowed to cross the river first, wouldn't they have taken the lead? Just when he was about to say a few words, he saw Sokov waving his hand on the table to signal him not to speak. Sidolin felt that Sukov might have his own thoughts, so he obediently shut his mouth.

After finally waiting for Fejuninsky to leave, Sidolin asked Sokov urgently: "Comrade Commander, how can we let the friendly troops on the left and right wings cross the river first? You know, we are the vanguard troops assigned by the Front Army Command .”

   But Sokov just smiled lightly after hearing this, and then asked back: "Is there anything wrong with letting them cross the river first?"

   "If they are allowed to cross the river first, wouldn't that be the same as letting them take the lead?"

"Even if they take the lead, what does it matter?" Sokov said lightly: "You know, landing on the west bank of the Oder River does not mean the end of the battle. On the contrary, it is just the beginning , what awaits us is a defense depth of 40 kilometers in depth. It doesn't matter who lands on the west bank of the Oder first; It's a real head start."

After Sokov's explanation, Sidolin immediately calmed down, "Yes, even if we landed on the west bank, the next thing we have to face is a defense system with a depth of 40 kilometers. Who can break through first?" The defense of the German army can be regarded as the first achievement."

  Before Fejuninsky's visit, Sokov was still worried. If he wanted to cross the Oder River, he might have to bypass the defense area of ​​the 65th Army and cross the river on the pontoon bridge they built. But now it seems that I can completely let some troops carry out forced crossing operations. After building a landing field on the opposite bank, I will build a pontoon bridge connecting the two banks, and then I will be able to send my technical equipment and more troops to the opposite bank.

   "Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said to Sidolin: "I think it is necessary for us to build a pontoon bridge on the river in order to send the technical equipment and soldiers needed on the other side faster."

Sidolin just wanted to remind Sokov that the danger of building a pontoon bridge on the Oder River was too high, but then he thought that the 65th Army on the left wing would establish artillery positions in the middle shoal area and use artillery fire to suppress the enemy on the left bank; The 2nd Assault Army will also be supported by shallow-water gunboats, and will use naval guns to cover the forced crossing of the troops. With these two friendly forces to disperse the strength and attention of the German army, my own army in the middle can minimize losses no matter what method is used to cross the river. Especially after the troops arrive on the other side, how to send more soldiers and important technical equipment is a big problem. It is definitely not realistic to use small boats to transport them. The best way is to build pontoon bridges to achieve the purpose of rapid transportation.

   "Okay, Comrade Commander, I will immediately notify the Chief of Engineering Corps and ask him to arrange manpower to go to the nearby forest to cut down trees and make rafts as materials for erecting pontoon bridges."

  When Sidolin called the director of the engineering corps, Sokov asked Lunev who was sitting next to him: "Comrade Military Commissar, what is the number today?"

   "15th." After Lunev said the date casually, he might feel that the expression was not accurate enough, so he quickly added: "April 15th!"

Sokov thought that Mustache committed suicide on April 30th, that is to say, Mustache's life has entered a countdown, and in half a month, he committed suicide in the bunker, and then his body was thrown into a bunker by his subordinates. The crater was poured with gasoline and burned into coke.

   Lunev saw Sokov's half-smile expression, and couldn't help but ask, "Misha, is there anything happy for you?"

"I was thinking, there are still five days left, that is, April 20, when we will launch an attack on the frontal enemy." Sokov said with a smile: "It just so happens that this day happens to be Mustache's birthday. When he heard the news of the fall of the Oder River, he didn't know what kind of mood he would feel."

"I think he will definitely scold the marshals and generals under him, saying that it is because of their incompetence that our army has advanced to the outside of Berlin." Lunev said with a smile: "I really do I want to see for myself how funny the mustache look is."

"Comrade military commissar, I think so too, but I don't have a chance." Sokov said with a smile: "Scenes like this that damage the image of the head of state cannot be known to outsiders, otherwise it will damage their military spirit and morale. It's going to be a huge blow."

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin reported to Sokov after the phone call: "I have already made an agreement with the director of the engineering department. They will cut down trees in the forest from today and store them until we It will be used to build a pontoon bridge on the day of crossing the river."

  (end of this chapter)