Lieutenant Colonel Bosanskaya, the commander of the 588th Regiment, who was sitting on the side, mentioned his name when he heard the two arguing. X She knew in her heart that Roskova was eager to fight, so she didn't squeak and quietly listened to the two continue to argue.

Rudenko thought that Persianskaya would stand up and help, but seeing that she was still sitting in place as if she was nothing, he could only explain to Roslava with a wry smile: "Comrade Major, according to the order of the superiors, we will carry out 24-hour non-stop bombardment of the German defensive positions in the Rostov region. Of the entire army group, only the 588th Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Bosanskaya had the ability to bomb at night, so they were irreplaceable in this mission. ”

Roslava knew that the 588th Regiment had just been reequipped with a batch of Mosquito bombers imported from the United Kingdom, which were very suitable for night bombing missions, so she did not dwell on this issue anymore, but changed the topic and said: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army once said to me personally that he would add a burden to our regiment and let us carry out more important tasks. Isn't the upcoming bombing mission to Rostov an important mission? ”

When Rudenko heard Roskova say this, he couldn't help frowning and asked in wonder: "Which front commander said it, and when did you say it?" ”

"Who else, of course, said the commander of our Stalingrad Front, Rokossovsky." Roskova said with some pride: "Two days ago, I led a flying team to escort his special plane back from Moscow. ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky had moved Rokossovsky out, Rudenko knew that if she refused the other party's request again, she might just run to make a small report. Thinking of this, he finally relieved: "Okay, since the commander of the front army said it himself, then I will let your regiment also participate in this operation." ”

"Great, that's great." When she heard that her bomber regiment could participate in the bombing mission, Roskova suddenly smiled: "Thank you, comrade commander, you are so good!" ”

"Don't be in a hurry," Seeing that Roskova was a little carried away, Rudenko hurriedly said: "Your 587th Regiment waits for the male pilots to complete the bombing mission every day before attacking, to bomb the minefields and barbed wire fences laid in front of the German positions, and clear the way for our attacking troops to attack." ”

Hearing that it was only for her troops to bomb those inconsequential minefields and barbed wire, the expression on Roskova's face darkened, and she asked puzzledly: "Comrade commander, I would like to ask, why did you arrange such a task for us?" ”

"The Germans have a well-developed defense system in Rostov-on-Don, and they have a lot of anti-aircraft fire deployed in their fortifications, and I can't let you risk it." Rudenko looked at Roslava and said: "If we want to attack the enemy's defensive positions, those minefields and barbed wire will block the advance of the troops, so we must completely remove them." Do you understand? ”

"Understood," Roslava figured out, since her superiors had already given such an order, it would not lead to anything if she continued to argue. Anyway, when the flying regiment reached the German defensive zone, in addition to bombing the designated targets, no one would be able to "accidentally" drop a few bombs on the enemy's positions, so she replied decisively: "Our 587th Regiment will definitely successfully complete the task assigned to us by the superiors." ”

While the Air Force Group was in full swing preparing to bomb Rostov-on-Don, Rokossovsky was in his headquarters discussing with Malinovsky some problems that the troops might encounter during the offensive.

Malinovsky pointed to the map and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, the distance between our positions and the enemy's positions is four kilometers, and in the middle is all knee-high snow, and if you charge with infantry, it will take at least an hour to pass through this section." The Germans, hidden in the fortifications, would have used our sluggish infantry as targets. ”

In response to Malinovsky's difficulty, Military Commissar Terekin, after looking at the map for a long time, sighed and said: "The distance in the middle is indeed too far, if only we could do anything to enable the infantry to pass through this area quickly." ”

"Comrade Commander, I have a solution." When Chief of Staff Malinin heard Malinovsky say that there was a thick layer of snow between the enemy and our positions, he immediately thought of a good idea, and he hurriedly looked up at Rokossovsky and said: "We can let our troops pass through this wide area in the shortest possible time." ”

"Chief of Staff, do you have a good idea?" Rokossovsky, who was at a loss, couldn't help but light up when he heard Malinin say this, and when he saw the other party nodding in affirmation, he hurriedly urged: "Hurry up and listen, how can our troops quickly pass through this area?" ”

"Comrade Commander, have you forgotten the automatic sleds that we used to use?" Malinin reminded Rokossovsky: "Although there was only one company, it inflicted considerable casualties on the Germans. ”

After Malinin's reminder, Rokossovsky immediately remembered that in the Moscow counterattack, the establishment of this automatic sled was a great success, but unfortunately the number of sleds at that time was too small to form a scale, otherwise the formation of a fast force would have inflicted heavy losses on the German troops who were marching in the snow.

Rokossovsky nodded and asked, "I wonder where we can find this kind of sled?" ”

"I've been in contact with Moscow, and in the next day or two, fifty automatic armored sleds will be sent to us." Malinin reported to Rokossovsky: "The front of this new type of sled is a sloping steel plate with a mouth on it to facilitate the driver's observation and driving; On top of the sled, a machine gun with a shield can suppress or destroy the enemy with dense fire. ”

After listening to Malinin's introduction, Rokossovsky said with some regret: "There are only fifty vehicles, the number is too small." ”

"Comrade commander, I calculated carefully." Malinin did not perceive Rokossovsky's disappointment, and continued: "On four skid boards of each sled, eight fighters can be carried, and fifty sleds are four hundred. That is, we can throw the strength of one battalion at a time into the offensive, and at the speed of an automatic sled, it will take only a few minutes at most to pass through these kilometers of snow-covered areas. Even if there would be casualties under the resistance of the Germans, they were able to transport hundreds of fighters to the enemy's position in the shortest possible time. ”

"That's a good idea." After listening to what Malinin had to say, Kazakov immediately continued: "In the preparation of artillery fire before the attack, I will order the artillery to concentrate on bombarding the enemy's positions, trying not to hit in front of the positions, lest the snow in this area melt and our automatic sleds will not be able to rush in front of the enemy's positions." ”

If Kazakov had not spoken, and Terekin had not yet thought that a prolonged shelling would cause the snow on the German positions to melt, he interjected: "Comrade commander, if the snow in front of the German positions melts because of the shelling, then only the infantry can be put where the sleds can reach." In this way, will the sled parked there become a target for the enemy's attack? ”

"No, Comrade Military Commissar," Malinin replied immediately and simply, "even if our automatic sleds cannot get close to the enemy's positions because the snow is melting, then it doesn't matter. We can wait for the infantry to go down and then let the sleigh turn around and pick up more fighters. ”

When Rokossovsky heard this, he silently calculated in his heart that if the infantry were to charge on foot in the snow, it would take at least nearly an hour to pass through the open field, which was four kilometers wide. But if the automatic sleds had transported their troops back and forth in this section, at least five to eight battalions of troops could have been delivered to the German defensive positions at the same time.

Malinovsky had never seen the automatic sled that Rokossovsky mentioned in their arms, so he behaved calmly. In his mind, this so-called automatic sled may still be pulled by horses or dogs, and once the horses and dogs are killed by bullets during the charge, then these sleds will not lose power.

When he said the question in his heart, it immediately caused everyone to laugh. After laughing, Rokossovsky explained to him: "Comrade Malinovsky, don't worry, this automatic sled is mechanically driven, not pulled by horses or dogs. The enemies we had captured in the first place were surprised to see our armored vehicles speeding through the thick snow. ”

After Rokossovsky's words were finished, Malinovsky only sighed faintly, because he had never seen such an automatic sled, so he did not take Rokossovsky's description to heart at all.

However, this indifferent expression of his was not noticed by Rokossovsky, on the contrary, Rokossovsky also asked with concern: "How is it, Comrade Malinovsky, are there any difficulties?" ”

"No, Comrade Commander." Malinovsky shook his head and said: "We are ready for all battles, we will definitely be able to liberate Rostov from the Germans." ”

…………

The bombing of German defensive positions by the Soviet Air Force began in earnest on January 3.

Rudenko had the Air Force take off 40 planes at a time, and flew to the bombing area in a four-plane formation, indiscriminately bombarding the exposed fortifications, headquarters, firing points, and anti-aircraft fire on the ground.

Seeing the bombers taking off one after another, the girls of the 587th Women's Dive Bombing Regiment who stayed at the airport were a little breathless, and more than one person ran into Roskova's room and asked anxiously: "Comrade Major, I see that the male pilots have been dispatched several times, when will it be our turn to attack?" ”

"Don't be in a hurry, girls." Since from time to time female pilots came in and asked when they would attack, Roskova could only explain to them over and over again: "I am also waiting for orders from my superiors." As long as the male pilot completes today's bombing mission, it will be our turn to strike. ”

A female pilot pouted and said, "Since all the male pilots have completed the bombing mission, what else do you want us to attack?" ”

The unguarded Chief of Staff Catherinanova was angry, and she said to the whining female pilots: "This is an order from the superiors, there is no room for bargaining, understand?" ”

When only herself and Roskova were left in the room, Catherinnova reminded the other party: "Major, although Commander Rudenko took care of us and sent us ground crews, I still don't feel at ease with them. Anyway, the girls can't be idle, so it's better to find something for them to do, let them supervise and cooperate with the ground crew to refuel the plane and hang bombs. Do you think it's okay? ”

"Chief of Staff, you're in a good way." Roskova immediately expressed her support for Catherinnova's proposal: "Let's go, let's go out and announce it to them." ”

Seeing Rosciva and Kathelenova coming out of the house, the female pilots, thinking that they had received an order to take off, hurriedly surrounded them and asked nonchalantly: "Major, did the superiors order us to attack?" ”

Roskova spread her hands and said, "Not yet." Seeing that everyone's faces showed disappointed expressions, he hurriedly added, "Although the order to attack has not yet been issued by the superiors, we cannot be idle." Now I give you a task, all of them to cooperate with the ground crew to refuel the plane and hang bombs. ”

Hearing Roslava say this, a female pilot immediately muttered: "Isn't there a ground crew sent by the superior who is refueling us and hanging bombs, do we need to do more?" ”

"No, it's not redundant." When Catherineva heard this sentence from the female pilot, she immediately corrected her: "Although the superiors sent us ground crew, so that we no longer have to do everything ourselves like before, we can't be lazy because of this, after all, it is the plane we fly." Whether the aircraft has enough fuel and ammunition is always in mind before taking off. You're right, aren't you? ”

"Yes!" After Catherina said this, only a few female pilots around replied weakly.

"I can't hear what you say!" Kathelenova raised her voice.

"Yes!" The female pilot hurriedly shouted in unison.

After hearing the neat answers of the female pilots, Katherinanova glanced at Roskova, and then said loudly: "Since you all understand, don't go and do your own thing." ”

As soon as her words fell, the female pilots dispersed in an uproar, and ran to their planes one after another, cooperating with the ground crew to refuel and hang up bombs.

Seeing that her chief of staff sent the female pilots away in a few words, Roslava nodded with a smile and said with satisfaction: "Okay, comrade chief of staff, with you as my deputy, I really have to worry a lot." ”r