Chapter 366: The Great Counterattack under Moscow (8)
Before the outbreak of the war, Rokossovsky thought that with the history he knew, coupled with his military command ability, he would be able to rewrite history. But after the outbreak www.biquge.info of the war, he found that he had thought about the problem too simply, except for the whole army to storm the German supply base in Lublin and achieve gratifying results, the rest of the time was almost always pressed by the German army.
For example, in the early days of the war, he put forward his own views on different occasions, believing that under unfavorable conditions, it is necessary to withdraw the troops, preserve the vital forces, not care about the gains and losses of one city or one place, avoid fighting under unprepared unfavorable conditions, rely on forests, rivers and swamps to establish a relatively complete defense, and carry out continuous resistance in order to consume the living strength of the German army.
However, both Stalin and the successive commanders of the Western Front believed that abandoning the territory without resistance would not only affect morale, but would also create political passivity, which would not be conducive to international aid. Therefore, at the first opportunity, they ordered their troops to carry out a non-stop counter-assault, even when there was no coordination and no supplies, and they knew that they would inevitably be encircled and annihilated in the end, they had to carry out counter-assault without stopping, so as to prevent the German army from calmly adjusting its deployment and attacking again.
It turns out that Stalin and Zhukov did not have nothing in their tactics. It was with this great sacrifice that the Soviet army bought precious time and gathered enough counterattack forces.
Although before he crossed, he was just an ordinary non-commissioned officer in the army in China, and he did not go to the military academy for systematic command training. But if you haven't eaten pork, haven't you seen a pig run? He understands the development of history, as well as some advanced tactics that are superior to this era, and after several months of passive beatings, Rokossovsky can be suffocated, and now that the major counteroffensive has begun, he is also ready to use some special tactics to expand the results.
Therefore, when he assigned the task, he explained to Malinin: "Chief of Staff, inform General Leviagin that after the 8th Guards Division has crossed the Istrian River, it will move in tandem with the 9th Division and quickly strike at the depth of the German defense. ”
After listening to his order, Ma Linin frowned, and said euphemistically: "Comrade commander, if these two main divisions are allowed to advance in unison, it will inevitably weaken the intensity of the attack. As long as the enemy has a stubborn defense, they can be easily blocked. ”
"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff, I know it in my heart." Regarding Malinin's concerns, Rokossovsky said lightly: "Let the two division commanders divide the troops into battalions, change the tactics of simply advancing by road in the past, pay attention to seizing Shantou, fighting for commanding heights, and carry out a multi-channel attack with a wide frontage, and at the same time attack the German defensive zone." ”
Seeing Ma Lining's worried expression, he continued: "At the same time, I also have to tell the two division commanders that although the troops are scattered, they cannot fight separately. It is necessary to adopt the tactics of moving closer to each other, advancing hand in hand, and fighting steadily and steadily, and strive to maintain mutual correspondence and support in battle, and maintain a continuous front.
Our tank brigade continued to advance along the road, maintaining contact with the retreating German units. As soon as the Germans carried out a fierce counterattack, the troops stopped advancing, and appropriately adopted the tactics of retreat, sticking to the retreating troops of the Germans.
In addition to tanks and infantry, our artillery also needs to move forward quickly, and after using artillery fire to consume the strength of the German army, according to the size of the German army's troops, take or delay the opponent's action, cover the main force to retreat and go on the defensive, or occupy a certain area, and attack with the help of heavy artillery fire. ”
After recording Rokossovsky's words, Malinin's face showed an excited expression: "Great, comrade commander, this tactic of yours is really fantastic. I felt that after giving orders to the troops, I should report to the front command and strive to spread this tactic throughout the army. ”
"Not yet." Rokossovsky did not know whether the tactics he borrowed from later generations could achieve the desired results in this major counteroffensive, so he did not hesitate to reject Malinin's proposal, and said a little to cover up: "This is just a new tactic that I have explored, and whether it will be effective or not will be known through practice." Alright, Chief of Staff, don't waste time, hurry up and give orders. ”
That night, when the troops of the 16th Army managed to regain the entire Istrian region, Zhukov called from the command of the Front. He asked in amazement on the phone: "Comrade Rokossovsky, according to the battle reports I have received, your unit is the one that advances the fastest and achieves the greatest results. Tell me, what's the trick? ”
After a day of fighting, Rokossovsky found that he had borrowed tactics from later generations, and although there were still some flaws, the overall effect was still good, so he told Zhukov about this set of tactics.
After listening to this, Zhukov was silent for a long time before he asked carefully: "Comrade Rokossovsky, although this tactic has achieved good results in your troops, I can't see the advantages of tactics for the time being, can you talk about it?" ”
"Yes, Comrade General." Hearing Zhukov's humble request for advice, Rokossovsky did not hide his secrets, and described the success of this tactic: "After the German army was attacked by us suddenly, due to logistical supply difficulties and paralysis of the command system, it was unable to form an effective resistance. The German army, which is on the run, has abandoned a large amount of heavy equipment, and we can use the armored forces to quickly maneuver to raid the important communication arteries in the theater of operations, control the communication arteries, and cut off the retreat routes and logistical supplies of the German army. Using the rapid coordination between the airborne forces and the main forces, they engaged in repeated engagements with the German troops who had fallen into passivity, forming a situation of local encirclement against them. ”
"Fantastic, Comrade Rokossovsky, the tactics you are talking about are simply fantastic." After listening to Rokossovsky's account, Zhukov could not help but applaud, and he said into the microphone: "I will report this to Comrade Stalin as soon as possible, and I hope that he will hand over all the remaining reserves to me, and then we will be able to adopt this tactic and continue to launch a full-scale counteroffensive against the German army." By the way, where do you think we can advance this counteroffensive? ”
Rokossovsky did not know whether his appearance would change the course of history, so he could only say vaguely: "I think it will probably be possible to drive the enemy to a place two hundred kilometers away from Moscow." ”
"What, two hundred kilometers away?" Zhukov was very dissatisfied with Rokossovsky's analysis, "Do you think that the Germans will not repeat the mistakes of Napoleon and be driven out of the border by us in one go?" ”
"Hitler was not Napoleon." Rokossovsky felt that Zhukov was a little carried away by the great results he had recently achieved, and felt that he had to remind him of it, so he said euphemistically: "Hitler understands very well that if he allows his men to retreat, then they will repeat the mistakes of Napoleon, and be wiped out by the cold and our pursuing troops." I don't think the enemy will make this stupid mistake again, and after the initial panic, they will definitely turn from the original full line of retreat to alternately cover the retreat, and turn some of the advancing supply bases into their bases of resistance. ”
After listening to Rokossovsky's words, although Zhukov felt that he was very reasonable, he was unwilling to admit such a fact, so he could only say insincerely: "Comrade Rokossovsky, although your analysis is very reasonable, I think that the Germans will definitely collapse under our powerful offensive, or it will not be long before they will roll out of our land in ashes, just like Napoleon in those years." ”
Before putting down the phone, Zhukov suddenly remembered something again, and hurriedly said to Rokossovsky: "By the way, there is one more thing I forgot to tell you." Moscow has sent a group of war correspondents to the front to cover the counteroffensive of our troops, and among them ten reporters from the newspaper "Red Star" will arrive at your headquarters tonight, and you should receive them well. After speaking, without waiting for Rokossovsky to speak again, he hung up the phone directly.
Lobachev, who was standing on the sidelines, heard Zhukov's words and said excitedly: "It's great that the reporters of the newspaper "Red Star" are coming. ”
"What's good?" Rokossovsky rolled his eyes at him and said unhappily: "The front line is so dangerous, what are they coming to do?" When they come, we have to send special people to protect them. If everything goes well, it's okay to say, but if there is something long, I don't know how to explain it to my superiors. ”
After speaking, he called Ma Linin over and ordered: "Comrade Chief of Staff, while it is still dark, the headquarters will be transferred immediately, and we will continue to advance with the combat troops." ”
After listening to the order, Ma Linin immediately and cheerfully agreed: "Okay, Comrade Commander. I'll arrange it. ”
An hour later, the three commanders of the army group were in the same jeep, passing over the re-frozen Istrian River and following the combat troops along the road.
There were quite a few villages along the way, and Malinin, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, turned his head and asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, I don't know where we are camping tonight?" ”
Rokossovsky looked at the intact villages on both sides of the road, and asked Malinin with some surprise: "Chief of Staff, I saw that most of the villages along the road were well protected and had not been burned by the Germans, what is going on?" ”
"Do you need to talk about that?" Lobachev interjected with a smile: "It must be that our troops are advancing so fast that our troops have arrived before the Germans have time to destroy these villages." ”
"It's not that simple." Rokossovsky, who had been frightened by the mines last night, bit his head and said: "I don't think the enemy burned these villages, there must be some ulterior motives." ”
"Hitler was not Napoleon." Rokossovsky felt that Zhukov was a little carried away by the great results he had recently achieved, and felt that he had to remind him of it, so he said euphemistically: "Hitler understands very well that if he allows his men to retreat, then they will repeat the mistakes of Napoleon, and be wiped out by the cold and our pursuing troops." I don't think the enemy will make this stupid mistake again, and after the initial panic, they will definitely turn from the original full line of retreat to alternately cover the retreat, and turn some of the advancing supply bases into their bases of resistance. ”
After listening to Rokossovsky's words, although Zhukov felt that he was very reasonable, he was unwilling to admit such a fact, so he could only say insincerely: "Comrade Rokossovsky, although your analysis is very reasonable, I think that the Germans will definitely collapse under our powerful offensive, or it will not be long before they will roll out of our land in ashes, just like Napoleon in those years." ”
Before putting down the phone, Zhukov suddenly remembered something again, and hurriedly said to Rokossovsky: "By the way, there is one more thing I forgot to tell you." Moscow has sent a group of war correspondents to the front to cover the counteroffensive of our troops, and among them ten reporters from the newspaper "Red Star" will arrive at your headquarters tonight, and you should receive them well. After speaking, without waiting for Rokossovsky to speak again, he hung up the phone directly.
Lobachev, who was standing on the sidelines, heard Zhukov's words and said excitedly: "It's great that the reporters of the newspaper "Red Star" are coming. ”
"What's good?" Rokossovsky rolled his eyes at him and said unhappily: "The front line is so dangerous, what are they coming to do?" When they come, we have to send special people to protect them. If everything goes well, it's okay to say, but if there is something long, I don't know how to explain it to my superiors. ”
After speaking, he called Ma Linin over and ordered: "Comrade Chief of Staff, while it is still dark, the headquarters will be transferred immediately, and we will continue to advance with the combat troops." ”
After listening to the order, Ma Linin immediately and cheerfully agreed: "Okay, Comrade Commander. I'll arrange it. ”
An hour later, the three commanders of the army group were in the same jeep, passing over the re-frozen Istrian River and following the combat troops along the road.
There were quite a few villages along the way, and Malinin, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, turned his head and asked Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, I don't know where we are camping tonight?" ”
Rokossovsky looked at the intact villages on both sides of the road, and asked Malinin with some surprise: "Chief of Staff, I saw that most of the villages along the road were well protected and had not been burned by the Germans, what is going on?" ”