As the German resistance became more and more stubborn, Rokossovsky had to adjust his tactics in time, regroup his previously scattered forces, and actively prepare for the capture of Volokolamsk. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

On the afternoon of the day before the offensive, Rokossovsky summoned his subordinate division and brigade commanders to his command for an impromptu operational meeting.

After the meeting began, Chief of Staff Ma Lining stood in front of the map hanging on the wall, pointed at the map with an explanation stick, and said loudly to the dozens of commanders sitting below: "...... After the artillery preparation was completed, our cavalry, as the first echelon, followed the tanks of the tank brigade, launched a charge on the defensive positions of the German troops. Once the German line of defense was broken, the infantry, as the second echelon, should follow in time and tear the breakthrough even bigger. …… The cavalry of General Dovatol advanced towards the Ruzha River, broke through the German positions along the river, and after a successful crossing, went around the rear of the enemy from the north of the city of Volokolamsk, cutting off the defenders of the city from the rear and their retreat......"

After introducing the mission, Ma Lining turned to the many commanders and asked, "Do you have any questions?" ”

According to the usual practice, the commanders below should answer in unison, "No problem," because just now Malinin has talked about all the problems that he may encounter in offensive battles. Who knew that as soon as he finished speaking, a commander immediately stood up and said loudly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I would like to ask, why after the artillery fire is over, it is the cavalry that follows the tank to charge, and not our infantry?" ”

Seeing that the person who spoke was Beloborodov, the commander of the 9th Guards Division, Malinin replied with a smile: "Comrade division commander, I think you should see that the snow is very deep outside, and there is an open area of almost three kilometers from the starting point of our attack to the outlying positions of the German army, and if the infantry are allowed to charge, they will not be able to keep up with the speed of the tanks at all." ”

"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff is right." As soon as Malinin's words were finished, the commander of the 27th Tank Brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Lemizov, stood up and added: "Without the cover of infantry or cavalry, our tanks will become targets in the face of German anti-tank fighters." It's not that we don't want to cooperate with infantry, but because we have to pass through several kilometers of snow-covered open land, our sluggish infantry will pay huge casualties. ”

After waiting for Lemizov to finish speaking, Mlagintsev also got up from his seat and said: "Chief of Staff, I would like to ask, what measures should our troops take when they are intercepted by German artillery fire when passing through these open fields for several kilometers?" ”

Seeing that the commanders below stood up one after another and asked their own questions, which made Malinin a little overwhelmed, Rokossovsky hurriedly stood up and relieved him: "Comrade commanders, please rest assured, now our strength is far above the German army, and air supremacy is also in the hands of our army. When our artillery fire is ready to end and the troops are charged, I will ask the air forces of the Front to strike and bombard the German artillery positions so that they will not be able to intercept our attacking forces with long-range artillery fire. ”

Hearing that the air force would provide air support, the few commanders who stood up sat down again, and everyone remembered that at this moment it was a major counteroffensive under the city of Moscow, and in the face of the attacking Soviet army, the Germans could only retreat in their defensive positions and panic all day, whether their worries were a little too much.

After a few more commanders asked inconsequential questions, no one spoke. Rokossovsky stood up again and announced: "Since everyone is fine, let's dismiss." As soon as they returned to their respective units, they began to prepare for battle. ”

The commanders attending the meeting stood up and said yes in unison, then turned around and walked out of the headquarters in a row.

Seeing that Katukov was lagging behind, Rokossovsky hurriedly stopped him and asked with concern: "General Katukov, how many tanks in the tank brigade can be put into battle now?" ”

"Comrade commander," Katukov hurriedly stopped and reported, hearing Rokossovsky call himself: "After the superiors replenished us with antifreeze, fuel, and ammunition, our brigade has eighty tanks that can be put into battle, half of which are captured German tanks. ”

Speaking of this, Katukov glanced at the door, and saw that Lieutenant Colonel Lemizov had long disappeared without a trace, so he turned back and said: "And the 27th tank brigade is about the same number as ours, and after the battle begins tomorrow, we can also give the Germans a taste of being crushed by a tank cluster." ”

……

At dawn the next day, the artillery of the 16th Army, which had already been preparing for action, launched a heavy artillery attack on the German field positions south of Volokolamsk.

Rokossovsky saw the dazzling fireballs and billowing black smoke rising from the enemy's position through the telescope, put down the telescope and walked back to the table, picked up the phone and dialed Katukov, and asked thoughtfully: "Hey, General Katukov, are you all ready?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Katukov confidently said on the phone: "The commanders and fighters of the tank brigade are ready for all battles and are ready to go into battle at any time." ”

Then Rokossovsky called the commander of the 17th Cavalry Division, Gaidukov, and asked: "Comrade Colonel, is your cavalry division ready for battle?" ”

The 17th Cavalry Division, which has been replenished, is now strong and strong, and when it participated in the war in the early days, the whole division had only 3,000 men. After a long battle, there were less than 1,000 people left, but in the past few days, they have received a lot of reinforcements from their superiors in the light of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Army, and the total strength has increased to 5,000 at once, so Rokossovsky will hand over the task of following the tank attack to their division.

As soon as Gaidukov waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, he immediately replied with a smile: "Comrade commander, rest assured, my troops have long been ready for all battles. At this moment, the cavalry fighters are feeding the horses with bean cakes, not to mention breaking through the outlying positions of the German army, even if they rush directly to the city of Volokolamsk. ”

After learning about the situation in the first echelon, Rokossovsky made another phone call to Dovatol, who was about to leave for a long time, and asked with concern: "Dovatol, how are you ready?" ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Dovator also said confidently: "My troops are almost finished, and they are about to march to the Ruza River, so you can wait for the good news of our victory." ”

Rokossovsky's heart suddenly swelled up with an ominous premonition, and after a moment of silence, he told Dovatol: "General Dovatol, are all the injuries you suffered last time you led the troops to charge?" ”

"It's out of the way." Dovator has not yet recovered from his injuries, but he still smiled and said, "But this small injury will not affect my fighting." In battle, I was able to chop down a few more enemies with my own hands. ”

Hearing Dovator say this, Rokossovsky immediately restrained the smile on his face and said in a stern tone: "Comrade Dovatol, remember that you are the commander of the Guards Cavalry Corps, and your command position is in the command headquarters, and not personally lead the troops to the charge like a company commander and platoon commander, understand?" ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." In response to Rokossovsky's reminder, Dovator said with a big grin: "Don't worry, the bullet that can kill me hasn't been made yet." I will definitely lead my troops to cut off the enemy's rear route, and cooperate with you to wipe out the enemy in Volokolamsk City. ”

Because of the limited number of artillery and ammunition of the army group, the preparation of artillery fire lasted only forty minutes and then stopped. As soon as the artillery fire stopped, before the smoke cleared, three red flares rose in the air, which was the signal for the attack.

The first to attack was Lemizov's 27th Tank Brigade, nearly a hundred tanks divided into five columns, twenty-two each, and rushed towards the German positions with full horsepower. Immediately behind, a regiment of the 17th Cavalry Division, wearing cylindrical caps, black cloaks, and towering shoulders, raised their sabers high and pointed diagonally ahead, rode their horses and followed behind the tanks, charging towards the enemy's positions.

The German positions were silent at first, but as Soviet tanks and cavalry advanced, some mortar groups on the positions opened fire. Shells whistled and exploded in the snow, sending a mixture of dirt and snow into the air, and shrapnel clanged across the tank's hull. Some of the unlucky cavalrymen, who were hit by shrapnel, dismounted, and before they could get up, they were trampled under the feet of the galloping horses behind.

Seeing this, Rokossovsky was about to ask Kazakov to give an order to the artillery to suppress the mortars on the German positions with artillery fire, when the tanks that were opening the way in front had already opened fire first. I saw that these tanks adopted the tactics of pause, fire, advance, pause, and fire again, and quickly suppressed the German firepower. At the same time, more than 30 Soviet bombers, also in a four-plane formation, swept over the heads of the attacking troops and swooped straight at the artillery positions deployed by the Germans in the rear of Volokolamsk. Then Rokossovsky called the commander of the 17th Cavalry Division, Gaidukov, and asked: "Comrade Colonel, is your cavalry division ready for battle?" ”

The 17th Cavalry Division, which has been replenished, is now strong and strong, and when it participated in the war in the early days, the whole division had only 3,000 men. After a long battle, there were less than 1,000 people left, but in the past few days, they have received a lot of reinforcements from their superiors in the light of the 2nd Guards Cavalry Army, and the total strength has increased to 5,000 at once, so Rokossovsky will hand over the task of following the tank attack to their division.

As soon as Gaidukov waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, he immediately replied with a smile: "Comrade commander, rest assured, my troops have long been ready for all battles. At this moment, the cavalry fighters are feeding the horses with bean cakes, not to mention breaking through the outlying positions of the German army, even if they rush directly to the city of Volokolamsk. ”

After learning about the situation in the first echelon, Rokossovsky made another phone call to Dovatol, who was about to leave for a long time, and asked with concern: "Dovatol, how are you ready?" ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Dovator also said confidently: "My troops are almost finished, and they are about to march to the Ruza River, so you can wait for the good news of our victory." ”

Rokossovsky's heart suddenly swelled up with an ominous premonition, and after a moment of silence, he told Dovatol: "General Dovatol, are all the injuries you suffered last time you led the troops to charge?" ”

"It's out of the way." Dovator has not yet recovered from his injuries, but he still smiled and said, "But this small injury will not affect my fighting." In battle, I was able to chop down a few more enemies with my own hands. ”

Hearing Dovator say this, Rokossovsky immediately restrained the smile on his face and said in a stern tone: "Comrade Dovatol, remember that you are the commander of the Guards Cavalry Corps, and your command position is in the command headquarters, and not personally lead the troops to the charge like a company commander and platoon commander, understand?" ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." In response to Rokossovsky's reminder, Dovator said with a big grin: "Don't worry, the bullet that can kill me hasn't been made yet." I will definitely lead my troops to cut off the enemy's rear route, and cooperate with you to wipe out the enemy in Volokolamsk City. ”

Because of the limited number of artillery and ammunition of the army group, the preparation of artillery fire lasted only forty minutes and then stopped. As soon as the artillery fire stopped, before the smoke cleared, three red flares rose in the air, which was the signal for the attack.

The first to attack was Lemizov's 27th Tank Brigade, nearly a hundred tanks divided into five columns, twenty-two each, and rushed towards the German positions with full horsepower. Immediately behind, a regiment of the 17th Cavalry Division, wearing cylindrical caps, black cloaks, and towering shoulders, raised their sabers high and pointed diagonally ahead, rode their horses and followed behind the tanks, charging towards the enemy's positions.

The German positions were silent at first, but as Soviet tanks and cavalry advanced, some mortar groups on the positions opened fire. Shells whistled and exploded in the snow, sending a mixture of dirt and snow into the air, and shrapnel clanged across the tank's hull. Some of the unlucky cavalrymen, who were hit by shrapnel, dismounted, and before they could get up, they were trampled under the feet of the galloping horses behind.

Seeing this, Rokossovsky was about to ask Kazakov to give an order to the artillery to suppress the mortars on the German positions with artillery fire, when the tanks that were opening the way in front had already opened fire first. I saw that these tanks adopted the tactics of pause, fire, advance, pause, and fire again, and quickly suppressed the German firepower. At the same time, more than 30 Soviet bombers, also in a four-plane formation, swept over the heads of the attacking troops and swooped straight at the artillery positions deployed by the Germans in the rear of Volokolamsk.