Burning Moscow

At 6 o’clock in the morning on the 11th, with Rokosovsky’s order, the roar of cannons broke the silence of the severe winter morning, and the overwhelming cannonballs smashed into the fog-shrouded Skirmanowo. The battle of Skirmanovo, which was deployed hastily by the Western Front Army Headquarters, officially kicked off.

I stayed in the forward observation post of the group army, and stood in the observation hole with Rokosovsky. The thick fog makes us unable to see the battlefield clearly, and it is useless to use telescopes or observation mirrors. The milky white fog mantle was only reflected in red by the flashing cannonball fire…the rumble of the cannon didn’t stop for a moment.

The sound of the bomb explosion moved far away. This meant that the artillery began to shoot out. At this time, I clearly heard the shout of “Ula” and the creak of the tank track. The offense has begun! I can’t help but look at Rokosovsky next to him. He looked straight ahead blankly without saying a word. Maybe his mind is thinking about the same problem as mine-we can break through the enemy’s defenses. Fortifications?

I focused on listening to the movement on the battlefield. The German artillery began to fire back, but the sound of the artillery was sparse, and the artillery shots seemed to be scattered and disorderly. It seems that the German artillery positions have suffered considerable losses during the artillery preparations just now. . Suddenly, I heard the sound of German machine guns sounding across the board. It seems that our artillery fire has not yet destroyed all the German machine gun positions. Suddenly, scattered cannon sounds came from the dense fog. I secretly guessed that it might be that our artillery was advancing to the front in order to suppress the German firepower.

“Is there any smoke?” I was staring at the dense fog outside and was in a daze. Suddenly I felt someone touch my arm and turned my head to see that it was Rokosovsky. Maybe he is thinking about it now. He wants to smoke a cigarette to relax his nervous mood, so he casually asks the person next to him for a cigarette. He didn’t expect to find me by mistake.

“Sorry, Comrade Commander, I don’t smoke.”

“Oh, it was you, I didn’t pay attention.” He turned his head and shouted from behind: “Chief of Staff, do you have a cigarette there? Give me one.”

“Yes, Comrade Commander.” Malinin promised to run over, took the cigarette from his pocket and handed it to Rokosovsky. The commander took one out of the cigarette case and held it in his mouth, and the chief of staff hurriedly lit a fire for him. He took two snorings, then burst out a few smoke rings, and then asked, “Where is Chief Romanchenko?”

“I went back to Moscow after the meeting yesterday.” The chief of staff replied.

“Where is the police detachment, how did you arrange it?”

“The civilian police detachment from Moscow has a total of 150 people. I divided them into three groups and equipped them with local militias. At one o’clock in the morning, I had sent them to infiltrate the area we were about to attack, to conduct reconnaissance and sabotage. .”

“Well, do they have news now?”

“Not yet, Comrade Commander.”

Rokosovsky threw the cigarette **** on the ground, smashed it with his foot, and then picked up the binoculars and looked into the dense fog. In the winter, the sky was always bright, and coupled with the rare foggy weather, it was impossible to know the situation on the battlefield in time. No wonder he was so upset.

“Comrade Commander.” The voice of Romanov, Director of the Political Department, came from the door of the observation station. Before Rokosovsky could answer him, he continued to say: “The Truth from Moscow Comrade Vladimir Stavsky, a reporter from the newspaper, is here. He wants to interview you, do you think it’s okay?”

“No!” Rokosovsky refused the request altogether, and said impatiently: “Now there is a war. I will wait until the battle is over.”

“Yes!” Romanov replied, and turned to walk outside.

“Wait a minute, Comrade Romanov.” General Kazakov, the artillery commander who had been sitting at the table looking at the map, stopped the Director of the Political Department and whispered to him: “You haven’t seen Comrade Commander. Are you upset? First find a place to settle Comrade Vladimir Stavsky, and talk about the interview after the battle is over.”

Romanov said bitterly: “I have arranged a resting place just now, but Comrade Vladimir Stavsky was unwilling. He said that he was coming to the front line for interviews, and he wanted to go to the front line and the soldiers. We stay together. For his safety, I arranged for him to interview Comrade Commander, but you see… how is this good?”

General Kazakov walked back and forth several times, then stopped and said to Romanov: “Comrade Director of the Political Department, you can arrange him to the 259th Anti-tank Artillery Regiment of Major Yevremenko first. The regiment belongs to the reserve team of the group army and will not go into battle for the time being. Staying there can guarantee his safety.”

“Yes!” Romanov saluted General Kazakov, turned and left happily.

Time passed by minute by minute, and the sky gradually brightened, but the dense fog was lingering. The sound of guns outside had become sparse, but there was still no news. Waiting is painful, especially not knowing what the end of this waiting is. I hope that news can be passed from the front as soon as possible, so that we can know whether the outcome of the battle is won or lost. However, I don’t know whether the person who comes to deliver the news will bring good news or bad news. Because of this counterattack, there is nothing in my limited memory of the defense of Moscow. So I both hope that news will come soon, and I am afraid that news will come. This kind of emotional entanglement makes me a little anxious.

At this moment, the phone on the desk rang, and the chief of staff stepped forward to pick up the microphone and asked, “This is the group army observation post, where are you?” As soon as the other party spoke, he excitedly rushed to Rokosov. Sky called: “Comrade Commander, Colonel Chernenov of the 18th Infantry Division, he wants to report to you…”

Before he could speak, Rokosovsky had already grabbed the microphone and said loudly into it, “I am General Rokosovsky. Tell me, how is the situation on your side?”

The observation station is small, and the sound from the microphone is enough for everyone in the room to hear it. “Report to Comrade Commander that under the cover of the Katukov Tank Brigade, my 18th Infantry Division has captured Skirmanovo, and most of the German forces have been wiped out by us. The troops are currently cooperating with the 50th Cavalry Division. Next, clear out the remnant enemies in the occupied area….”

Colonel Chernenov’s words relieved everyone in the observation center. Rokosovsky was even more excited. He said loudly, “Great job! I congratulate you, Comrade Colonel. A small group of troops was left in Skirmanovo to clear out the remaining enemies, and the rest The troops must continue to attack the enemy’s line of defense, and they must move fast! Understand? Although our tanks and artillery have an advantage over the Germans, we have no air superiority. As soon as the dense fog disperses, the Luftwaffe’s aircraft will be dispatched, yes. Indiscriminate bombing by the offensive forces will inevitably cause heavy casualties to our army. So you must seize the time to expand the results and try to regain a few more settlements before the enemy planes destroy you. Understand?”

“I fully understand, Comrade Commander.” Colonel Chernenov on the other side of the phone seemed confident.

Rokosovsky put down the phone, looked at his watch, then grabbed the other phone on the table, shook the handle a few times, picked up the microphone, and said, “Send me to Comrade Zhukov, the commander of the front.”

After the call was connected, Rokosovsky reported to Zhukov that Schilmanovo had been retaken~www.wuxiax.com~ Zhukov on the other end of the phone quietly listened to the report without interrupting him. After a while, I said, “Except for the reserve team, I suggest that you immediately put the second tier into the battle, and move fast!” After speaking, he hung up.

Rokosovsky ordered Malinin who was standing by: “Immediately connect me to all the commanders of the second echelon.”

Ma Lining picked up the phone and began to call the units of the second echelon in turn. Rokosovsky walked up to me and asked with a smile on his face: “Lida, what kind of effect do you think our counterattack can achieve?”

“It can effectively **** the speed of the German forces advancing to Moscow, and buy precious time for those troops who are gathering in the capital and preparing to participate in the counter-offensive.”

Hearing what I said, Rokosovsky’s face showed an obvious disappointment. He might want to hear my praise for this battle, but I did not expect that I would say such a disappointing remark. When he was about to say something, the chief of staff was already calling him: “Comrade Commander, the phone number of the second echelon is already connected, please give your order!”

Rokosovsky took a deep breath, then shouted into the microphone: “Comrades! Brothers! The time has come for the counterattack, for the motherland! For Moscow! Go ahead!”

Not much effort, the sound of rushing horseshoes, mixed with the sound of soldiers shouting “Ula”, spread from far to near to the observation post.

“Comrade Commander, you hear, it is the cavalry unit of the second echelon, they are coming up.” Hearing the movement outside, Ma Lining flushed with excitement.