The combat effectiveness of the two new female fighter squadrons was greatly beyond everyone's expectations. In just two days, they shot down fifteen and injured six, while their side suffered no losses.
When Rokosovsky learned about the results of the women's fighter squadron, he called Sokov. He smiled and said, "Misha, I think your luck is really good. I was worried that I would add two women's squadrons to you. At best, it was better than nothing and would not have much effect at all. Who knew that in just two days, he had achieved such huge results."
"Comrade Commander of the Front," Sokov and others said with a smile: "We have interrogated the captured German pilots. According to their confession, after learning that the white roses of Stalingrad appeared, all the pilots seemed very panicked, fearing that they would meet Lieutenant Lielia."
"The White Rose of Stalingrad?" Rokosovsky couldn't help but ask curiously: "What's going on? What's the relationship with Lieutenant Lillia? Why are the German pilots afraid of her?"
Although Rokosovsky was the commander of the front army, he had no idea about many things. Sokov quickly explained to him: "Lt. Lieutenant Lillia shot down many German aircraft in the air battle, including their ace pilot. Because lilies were painted on both sides of her fuselage, the enemy mistakenly thought of white roses, so she gave her the nickname "Stalingrad White Rose."
"So that's the case." Rokosovsky nodded, and then said: "I heard that she is the first queen pilot in our army. In any case, you must ensure her life is safe, do you understand?"
Sokov remembered that Lilia died in 1943, but she couldn't remember the specific date. In order to avoid the withering of this beautiful white rose, Sokov decided to use his abilities to ensure the safety of the other party's life. At this moment, he heard Rokosovsky say this and quickly replied loudly: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I believe that the pilots of the aviation division will definitely love their eyes to protect her safety."
"Misha, based on the information we obtained from our reconnaissance." Rokosovsky continued to ask Sokov: "The officers and soldiers of the Imperial Division can only obtain three hundred grams of bread a day now. It seems that your blockade is very effective."
Sokov couldn't help but smile when he heard Rokosovsky's praise. Rokosovsky continued to ask: "When are you planning to launch an attack on the enemy?"
"Tomorrow, Comrade Commander of the Front." Sokov quickly replied: "Our troops are ready for attack and will launch an attack on the enemy's positions at 6 a.m. tomorrow."
Rokosovsky did not ask about the specific attack steps, because he knew very well that according to Sokov's personality, he would definitely adjust the combat deployment according to the specific form on the battlefield. He only said to the microphone: "Then I wish you good luck!" After that, he hung up the phone directly.
Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Vetkov asked him for instructions: "Comrade Commander, do you need artillery preparations before tomorrow's attack?" According to Vetkov's idea, Sokov always believed that artillery preparations before the attack were a waste, consumed a large number of artillery shells, not only could not destroy many enemy fortifications, but could not kill several enemies. It would be better to use artillery shells in more important places.
Unexpectedly, as soon as he finished speaking, Sokov nodded unexpectedly, and then said: "Before the attack tomorrow morning, you can prepare for artillery fire for ten minutes."
"What, ten minutes of artillery preparation will be carried out tomorrow before the attack?" Vetkov was stunned when he heard Sokov say this. He asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, aren't you the most opposed wasting shells in such meaningless shellings? Why did you suddenly change your mind this time?"
When Lunev heard this, he asked Vitkov curiously: "Chief of Staff, the artillery fire preparations before the attack are to destroy the enemy's fortifications and kill the enemy's living forces. How can it be said that it is a waste of artillery shells?"
"Comrade Military Commissioner, let me explain this matter to you." Seeing Lunev ask curiously, Sokov explained to him: "Often the enemy in the first line of defense will retreat to the second line of defense when the artillery of our army begins. After the artillery of our army is over, they will return to the first line of defense to block our attack. Therefore, although our army blows the enemy's position into a sea of ​​fire before a large-scale attack, there are actually not many enemies on that position. Our shells can only destroy some insignificant fortifications and cause little damage to the enemy."
Lunev, who learned the truth for the first time, was stunned after hearing Sokov's explanation. After a long time, he asked Sokov tentatively: "Comrade Commander, according to your statement, our army will not have any effect on the artillery preparations for the enemy's positions before every large-scale attack?"
"It cannot be said that if thousands of cannons were launched at the same time and bombarded the enemy's positions, some of the enemy's defensive positions could be destroyed." Sokov continued: "Once the fortifications are destroyed, the enemies returning from the second line of defense will not have time to repair the fortifications, and our troops will rush up."
"Oh, so that's it." After hearing this, Lunev nodded thoughtfully and said, "No wonder I checked your battle records every time, and basically didn't mention how long it took to prepare for artillery before the attack. It turned out that you had never prepared for artillery at all."
"Comrade Commander," Vitkov asked his question again when he saw that Sokov did not answer his question: "Since we have never used artillery preparations in our previous attacks, why should we use it this time?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, as a commander, we must know how to adjust tactics in time according to the situation on the battlefield." Sokov explained to Vitkov and Lunev: "The enemy on the first line of defense will definitely move to the second line of defense when the enemy is bombarded by our army. I plan to order the artillery fire to extend the fire after ten minutes of shelling, so that the enemy thinks that our attack is about to begin. When they return from the second line of defense, they will attack them with new rockets. In this way, a large number of enemy infantry can be eliminated."
"Yes, this is a good idea." Vitkov only thought about the method mentioned by Sokov, and realized the advantages of this tactic and said excitedly: "Often when our artillery fire is extended, it means that the infantry will start to attack. The enemy is very familiar with our tactics. When they see our artillery fire extending, they must think that our army is ready to attack, and they will order the troops retreating to the second line to re-engage the front line position and prepare to block us. At this time, our army unexpectedly attacks with rockets, which can eliminate the enemy's biological forces in large quantities and make the next battle easier."
"Comrade Commander," Witkov took a few strokes on the map with his hand, and said regretfully: "I think if the troops deployed in the north were not the 67th Guard Division but the 41st Guard Division, perhaps the attack we launched would be smoother. As long as they quickly detoured behind the Skeleton Division, they could cut off the enemy's retreat. If they were lucky, we could wipe out the two elite German divisions."
"Yes, I regret it too. It was because I didn't think it carefully at the beginning." Sokov, with the commanders and fighters of the 41st Guard Division, retreated from the enemy's rear. Since the troops were reduced to a certain extent, if the Germans followed and pursued, it would definitely cause greater casualties. Therefore, he took his own initiative and transferred his troops to the defense zone of the 71st Guard Division. He was preparing to launch a counterattack against the German army, but he found that the enemy the 41st Guard Division was facing was the Skeleton Division.
However, the situation is already done, and it is too late to change. If the troops are mobilized at this moment, it will cause unnecessary chaos. Therefore, Sokov said to Vetkov: "The Chief of Staff, according to the original plan, Major General Merkulov's Guards 67th Division will attack the Imperial Division. An hour after their battle started, the 41st Division of Guards will attack the defense zone of the Skeleton Division."
As a soldier, what he likes most is naturally that his troops are constantly launching attacks on the enemy again and again. Therefore, when he heard Sokov's order, Vetkov's answer was particularly loud.
The next day, it was clear that there were two minutes before six o'clock. Colonel Miakotin, the artillery division commander, called Sokov and asked Sokov for instructions: "Comrade Commander, when will we start shelling the enemy's positions?"
“Are you ready?”
“It’s ready.”
"Very good," Sokov raised his hand and looked at the watch on his wrist and said to Miakotin: "Now, there is still one minute and thirty seconds left before the shelling begins. Let your subordinates be prepared."
As soon as Sokov finished speaking, he heard Miakotin sending orders on the phone: "The shelling is about to begin, and all the gun positions are ready to fire."
When pointing to the twelve position in the minute, Sokov yelled suddenly: "Fire!"
"Yes!" Colonel Miakotin on the other end of the phone answered loudly, and then conveyed the order to fire at his subordinates.
In just a dozen seconds, there was a rumbling sound of cannons outside. More than 80 artillery pieces of artillery divisions fired at the German positions outside Rojinsik Town. For a moment, balls of black smoke rose from time to time on the enemy's positions, and the splashing mud turned the German officers and soldiers in the trenches into mud monkeys.
"Retreat, retreat quickly!" The German battalion commander on the position heard the explosion outside and quickly issued an order to his subordinates: "Retreat to the second line of defense immediately!"
In fact, even if the German battalion commander did not shout, the German officers and soldiers on the position knew how to do it. However, after the battalion commander ordered, their retreat became more legitimate. In less than two minutes, more than 400 German soldiers on the position retreated along the traffic trenches to fortifications near the town.
Merkulov held up his telescope and looked at the German positions that were being bombarded in the distance. He told the chief of staff standing aside: "Tell the commander of the 196th Regiment that if he encounters firepower suppression from above the church, he will let friendly troops destroy it with a rocket launcher."
"I understand, comrade of the division commander." The Chief of Staff quickly replied, "I will pass your orders in the past."
Ten minutes passed in a flash, and the artillery fire of the artillery division began to extend to the enemy's second line of defense. The German battalion commander, who was hiding in the second line of defense, saw that the Soviet artillery fire began to extend and fire, quickly issued an order to his subordinates, asking them to return to their original positions immediately and prepare to stop the Soviet army's upcoming attack.
But what the German battalion commander did not expect was that after he led his troops back to the front line, he did not see the attacking Soviet commanders and fighters, but they were greeted by more than a dozen rockets dragging long flames. In an instant, the German battalion commander and his subordinates were shrouded in dazzling flames and choking smoke.
As a red signal flare rose into the air, the attack began. The commanders and soldiers who had been waiting for a long time jumped out of their hiding fortifications, shouted "Ula" loudly, and rushed towards the enemy's position.
Sokov and Lunev carefully observed the troops charging forward with telescopes in an observation center not far away. Although he understood that it was basically impossible to destroy all the enemies in the fortifications with just those dozen rockets, he still had a lucky mentality in his heart, hoping that the enemy had not recovered from the shelling and that the commanders and soldiers could successfully rush into the enemy's trenches.
When the attacking troops were more than fifty meters away from the enemy's trenches, dense gunshots suddenly sounded on the position. The commanders and soldiers who rushed to the front fell in pieces like cut wheat. The rest of the soldiers hurriedly lay down on the ground and shot at the enemy.
However, these soldiers with rich combat experience do not just lie down on the spot and shoot grenades constantly. When the enemy's sight is blocked by the explosion of smoke, they quickly get up from the ground, use the tactic of a short leap forward to quickly approach the enemy's position.
Soon, soldiers approached the bomb drop position twenty meters. When they threw grenades into the enemy's trenches one after another, the shooting sounds of individual areas stopped. The soldiers took advantage of this brief time to quickly jump from the ground, rushed into the trenches not far away, and launched hand-to-hand combat with the enemies inside.
Seeing more and more commanders and fighters jumped into the trenches, Sokov felt that there was no problem in seizing the position, so he picked up the phone and answered the artillery division: "Hey, Colonel Miakojing, the troops of the 67th Guards' 67th Guards' 67th Guards' 60th Guards' 60th Guards' 60th Guards' 60th Guards' 60th Guards' 60th Guards' 60th Guards' 60th Guards' 60th Division should not be much problem. Now, your division will immediately move west to establish a new artillery position to provide artillery cover for the Guards' 41st and 71st Divisions that attack the Skeleton Division."
Chapter completed!