The arrangement of such an unpopular unit in an army group on the right flank of the Front, where there was no fighting, was the result of prior consultations between Rokossovsky and several leaders of the Front. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

Although everyone kept saying that these former prisoners came to the front voluntarily to atone for their past sins by making meritorious deeds on the battlefield, the higher-ups who sent them here also believed that their passion came from the heart. However, when they really arrived at the battlefield, it was still necessary to maintain the necessary vigilance against them, and no one could say whether there would be any people with ulterior motives who would have any evil thoughts after the battle began.

Korzun's 3rd Army held out across the Zusha River east of Orel and confronted the German 294th Infantry Division across the river. As soon as the special brigade reached the defense zone on the right bank, Korzun immediately transferred a group of army cadres to the special brigade to serve as commanders at all levels, and the brigade commander was called Yershov, an officer with rich command experience.

When the appointment was announced, he began to give Yershov an order: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you also know that the Germans have been on the left bank of the Zusha River for a long time, and in order to consolidate the defensive zone we occupy, I order you to lead your troops to build a landing ground on the left bank suitable as a starting point for the attack. Difficult? ”

Lieutenant Colonel Yershov hesitated for a moment when he heard the order given by Korzun, and then asked rhetorically: "Comrade commander, I don't know how much time you can give me to prepare?" ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, we are running out for time." Korzun said coldly: "The current situation on the battlefield is very unfavorable to our army, the enemy is approaching Stalingrad step by step, and the task of our troops is to contain the current enemy, so that they cannot draw too many troops to reinforce the enemy in the south. Every minute is precious to us now, so I hope that within three days you will be able to attack the enemy on the other side. ”

"Three days?" Hearing the time that Korzun had given him, the corners of Yershov's mouth couldn't help twitching violently a few times, "Comrade commander, three days is too tight. Considering that these new fighters have never been trained in military affairs, and we don't have enough weapons, I don't think it's appropriate to rush them into battle. ”

"Inappropriate, what's inappropriate." Regarding Rokossovsky's assignment of this unit to himself, Koltun, who had always been worried about it, said impatiently: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I remind you that this is just a group of prisoners, and the reason why they came to the battlefield is to atone for the sins they committed in the past through their own bloody sacrifices. If it weren't for the fact that they had just arrived today and were too tired, I would have asked you to launch an attack on the Left Bank right now. ”

Seeing that Korzun had already said this, Yershov knew that it was useless for him to say anything, so he could only reply stubbornly: "Well, Comrade Commander, since you say so, then I assure you that in three days we will definitely attack the enemy on the left bank." After saying that, he raised his hand and saluted, then turned around and left the headquarters.

Looking at the back of Yershov's departure, the military commissar asked Korzun with some concern: "Comrade commander, isn't it not for a group of people who have no combat experience to launch an attack on the well-defended German troops on the left bank?" ”

"Even if you die, you can consume the living force of the German army." Korzun said disapprehantly: "If it weren't for the fact that the commander of the front army must assign this force to us, I don't want this force at all, let them die early, and I can also clean up my ears." ”

"Three days later, launch an attack on the enemy on the left bank of the river, this is to send them to their death!" Yershov, who had returned to the brigade command post, had just finished talking to his deputies about the arrangements of his superiors, when the chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Shebshin, said in surprise: "As far as I know, almost none of these people have any military training, and they can't even shoot guns. ”

"These people used to be prisoners, there was no discipline at all, and even when they came to the army, they were still scattered." A battalion commander said with a headache: "I don't think it's possible to train them into qualified fighters in a short period of time." ”

Yershov said with a grim face: "This is the arrangement of Comrade Commander, and I can't help it." We must make good use of these three days to conduct assault training for the soldiers, and at least let everyone learn the skills of shooting, throwing bombs, etc. As long as you learn these skills, even if the whole army is wiped out in the river crossing battle, it will be able to consume some of the enemy's living force. ”

Faced with the tasks assigned by Yershov, several battalion commanders attending the meeting could only answer stubbornly: "Understood, comrade brigade commander, we will definitely teach all fighters to familiarize themselves with the use of guns within three days." ”

Although Korzun did not pay attention to the new troops, it did not mean that Rokossovsky did not pay attention to this unit, and when he learned that the special brigade had entered the defense zone of the 3rd Army, he hurriedly called to inquire about the situation. Hearing Korzun say that he was going to let the special brigade go into battle in three days, he didn't say anything, because during the war, some recruits just enlisted in the army, they went directly into battle, and they didn't even have time to participate in military training.

After listening to Korzun's report, he then asked: "How is the equipment of the special brigade?" ”

"They were equipped with 900 guns, including 800 rifles, 50 pistols, 45 submachine guns, four Dzhegarev light machine guns, one M1910 heavy machine gun, and one anti-tank rifle." "That's all we can offer at the moment," Kolzun reported dryly. ”

"What?" After listening to what Korzun said, Rokossovsky asked in surprise: "There are three thousand people in the brigade, and less than a third of them have weapons. I guess those fifty pistols were originally worn by the commanders at all levels you appointed, right? No, you have too few weapons for them, so you have to find a way to add some more. ”

"Comrade Commander," said Kohl, embarrassed, "although there are still some weapons in stock in the warehouses of the group army, they are intended for replacement by front-line combat units. If they were all given ......"

"Comrade Korzun!" Rokossovsky interrupted the other side and said unceremoniously: "Since you have ordered the special brigade to attack the enemy on the left bank of the river in three days, then they belong to the front-line combat units. If you don't equip them with enough weapons, will you allow our warriors to fight the enemy with sticks? ”

“……”

Although Kortsun's answer was not heard, Rokossovsky continued: "For the offensive in three days, how long are you ready to provide them with artillery preparation. ”

"No, no artillery preparations." This time Korzun replied very dryly: "I intend for them to attack the enemy directly on the opposite bank." ”

"No artillery preparation before the attack?" If Kolzun had stood in front of Rokossovsky at this moment, Rokossovsky would have grabbed everything he could catch in front of him and threw it at Kolzun: "Let an untrained and poorly equipped unit attack the heavily defended left bank of the German army without any fire cover." It would have turned into a one-sided massacre, and thousands of our soldiers would have died under the intense German fire. ”

After firing a fire, Rokossovsky turned his head and saw Malinin sitting not far away, and announced to Kolzun: "General Kolzun, I will send Deputy Chief of Staff General Malinin to supervise the three-day offensive." ”

After putting down the phone, Rokossovsky said to several deputies sitting at the table with a serious face: "Comrade commanders, maybe it will be an unforgivable mistake for us to hand over the special brigade to the 3rd Army. ”

"Comrade Commander, what's wrong?" Hearing Rokossovsky say this, Chief of Staff Kazakov hurriedly nervously asked: "Could it be that General Korzun has done something wrong?" ”

"That's right, he made a bad decision, a decision that careless of human life." Rokossovsky said with a heavy expression: "He is ready for the special brigade to launch an offensive against the Germans on the left bank in three days." There was nothing wrong with this active defensive approach to the German army, which was supposed to attack the Germans on its own initiative. But he was not prepared to provide the necessary artillery support to the troops carrying out this offensive mission, and even two-thirds of the soldiers did not even have weapons, didn't this make our soldiers go to death? ”

After figuring out the cause and effect, Malinin said cautiously: "Comrade commander, didn't you say that I should go to the 3rd Army to assist General Korzun and command this offensive battle?" Not sure when I should go? ”

Rokossovsky thought for a moment, and then instructed Malinin: "Comrade Malinin, I remember that the logistics department still has a batch of weapons stored, and before you go to the 3rd Army later, find General Antipienko, who is in charge of logistics, and ask him to prepare two truckloads of weapons and ammunition for you and send them to the special brigade together." ”

When Malinin arrived at the brigade headquarters of the special brigade with two truckloads of ammunition, he found that the atmosphere in the house was particularly silent. There were no staff officers in front of the map to do the mapping work, and no signal corps was answering the phone, only a few brigade leaders gathered around the table with sad faces, smoking cigarettes with long sighs.

"Comrade Commander, what are you doing?" Ma Lining saw that none of the people in the brigade headquarters were working, and he suddenly felt dissatisfied with them in his heart, "I am the deputy chief of staff of the front army, who is the brigade commander here?" ”

Hearing that it was the deputy chief of staff of the front army, several people hurriedly stood up, threw the cigarette butt in their hands to the ground, and after crushing it with their toes, they straightened their bodies and faced Ma Lining. Yershov hurriedly stepped forward, raised his hand to salute Malinin, and said respectfully: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Yershov, commander of the Special Brigade, Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff of the Front, and you are welcome to us. ”

Malinin raised his hand and returned the salute, walked to the table and sat down, looked up at Yershov and asked: "Comrade brigade commander, I heard that your superiors ordered you to launch an attack on the enemy on the left bank in three days. How's it going, have you made a battle plan? ”

Yershov shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Comrade General, anyway, we are all sent to death, whether we make a battle plan or not, it is the same for us, anyway, we will not escape death in the end." ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, let me remind you that if you do not have a battle plan, it is indeed an act of death to attack the fortified positions of the German army." Ma Lining said expressionlessly: "But if we can formulate a practical battle plan according to the actual situation, we may be able to achieve the desired results." ”

Yershov spread his hands and said helplessly: "Comrade General, do you think that we do not want to fight the battle well? But the superiors can't even match the weapons of the soldiers, so what do we use to fight the enemy? Is it with a wooden stick? ”

"The front army command also has a certain understanding of your situation." Ma Lining felt that it was time for him to express his intentions, so he said straight to the point: "Knowing that you are short of weapons, I asked me to bring you a batch of weapons." And on the day of the attack, I will personally command it, so that you don't have to worry about being treated as artillery fire, sent to the front line as artillery fire, and sent to die in vain. ”

"Comrade General, you brought us weapons?" Yershov couldn't help but be a little surprised when he heard Malinin say this. It took him a long time before he tentatively asked, "Is this all true?" ”

"That's right," Malinin nodded, and said affirmatively, "In addition to the two truckloads of weapons and ammunition I brought you, Commander Rokossovsky also gave General Kortun an order to immediately replenish you with the weapons you need." That way, you'll be able to make sure that every warrior has a weapon to use. ”

After seeing two trucks full of weapons and ammunition parked outside the door, the brigade chief of staff Shebushin was still a little uneasy, so he immediately ran back excitedly and reported to Yershov: "Brigade commander, there are two trucks outside the door, and the trucks are full of weapons and ammunition. ”

"Let's wait a little longer," Yershov thought that maybe Korzun would also send someone to send weapons and equipment, and if the battalion commanders were recruited to receive the equipment now, and when the equipment sent by the army headquarters arrived, they would have to be there again, so he said cautiously: "After the commander has sent us the equipment we need, we will notify the battalions to come and receive the equipment." ”

Ma Lining waited for the two of them to finish speaking, and then said unhurriedly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, since you have seen the weapons I sent, then, should we consider how to formulate a battle plan?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff," Yershov, knowing that his troops would soon be replenished with sufficient weapons, was suddenly full of confidence, and he hurriedly replied: "We will now begin to draw up a battle plan." ”