Chapter 97: Counterattack
"No less than two regiments," Yuri said without hesitation. Before coming to the headquarters, he had obtained relevant information. In order to verify the firepower of the German army in Sollechnogorsk, he even ordered the troops to do some probing. And this approximate data was estimated based on the strength of the German counterattack.
"Are you capable of taking Sollechnogorsk?" Rokossovsky continued to ask.
Yuri did not answer directly. He walked quickly to the table and looked at Rokossovsky's map. The map was very large. Yuri wanted to reach out and point to a location on the map, but found that he could not reach that point even with his arm stretched out. So, he picked up a pen on the table and pointed to that location.
"If I were in charge, I would not recommend attacking the city of Sollechnogorsk directly," Yuri pointed at the location with his pen and said, "I would choose to bypass the city and seize this place first, so as to cut off the retreat of the German troops in the city."
The place Yuri pointed to was the Charyshpeli railway station in the southwestern suburbs of Sollechnogorsk, which was also an important stronghold for the German army to provide supplies to the troops stationed in the city. Once it was occupied by the Soviet army, the German troops trapped in the city would collapse without a fight.
Rokossovsky nodded and said nothing more. He was probably still deducing his battle plan, even though it was unlikely that this plan would be adopted.
"Comrade Commander, is it time for a full-scale counterattack?" Yuri asked.
Rokossovsky remained silent, but Lobachev answered for him: "The specific operational plan has been drawn up, but whether the plan is feasible still needs to be studied and discussed by the Supreme Command."
"I think Klin is a good direction for assault," Yuri said. "After the previous battle, the German army should not have enough time to build defenses on the new front, at least not strong defenses, which is very beneficial for our successful breakthrough."
Rokossovsky nodded and said in agreement: "I also think that this salient must be used well, but it does not need to be changed as the main attack direction."
He rested one hand on the table and pointed to Kryukov and Istra on the map with the other hand and said, "We should set the main attack direction of the first phase here. It would be best if we could, with the cooperation of the troops on both wings, force the German troops in this area to retreat towards Zvenigorod to eliminate the threat to Moscow."
At this point, Rokossovsky paused, thought for a moment, then pointed to Golitsyno and Podolsk on the map and continued, "We should also intensify our offensive in these two directions, and strive to push the front line ten to fifteen kilometers westward, forcing the Germans to retreat to the Ruza River line."
"We will strive to complete the first phase of the offensive within three to five days," Rokossovsky continued. "In this way, we should be able to draw the main force of the German army to the front of the Luza River, creating conditions for the assault on both wings."
Yuri almost understood his intention after hearing what he said. In fact, Rokossovsky's tactics should be considered to be learned from the Germans. The three-way attack, the central route was launched first, pressing the enemy in the front, forcing them to use their reserves or withdraw troops from the two wings to reinforce, and then launching an assault from the weak positions on the two wings of the enemy, using a pincer attack to encircle the enemy troops that had previously assembled in the front.
If the central offensive successfully breaks through the enemy's defense line in the first phase of the battle, then the subsequent troops will rush into the enemy's defense line through this gap, bypass the enemy's rear, and outflank the troops on both wings.
This tactic is actually a naked conspiracy. From the beginning of the battle, the enemy can easily see through our combat intentions, but they either have an advantage in manpower and can turn around to eat up the enemy's troops that rush in, or they have to choose to retreat or fight to the death. Apart from this, there is no other way.
Since the outbreak of the war, the German army has been using this tactic. In Kiev, Minsk, and Smolensk, their tactics caused great pain to the Soviet army, especially those commanders. They knew the German army's combat intentions and knew that their troops were likely to be surrounded. But whether to choose to fight to the death or to retreat, it was very painful for any commander.
Now, Rokossovsky intends to use this tactic against the German army. He may have his own ambitions. Of course, there may also be some utilitarianism, because according to this combat arrangement, the Sixteenth Army under his command will inevitably launch a counterattack in the first phase.
Yuri could guess Rokossovsky's mentality, but he could also understand it. Who in this world doesn't have selfish motives? For a commander, the first counterattack in the Battle of Moscow was indeed very tempting.
In his previous life, Yuri remembered that the relationship between Zhukov and Konev had always been bad. The fundamental reason was that the former stole the limelight from the latter in capturing Berlin.
For Yuri, his mentality is relatively calm now, because no matter how the combat plan is arranged, the 133rd Division under his command will definitely be a front-line combat force. After all, his troops are in a very critical situation now.
The upcoming Moscow counter-offensive campaign can be said to have touched the hearts of countless people. Some people are concerned about who will win or lose this battle, while others are concerned about when this battle will be launched and when it will end. As for the Soviet commanders, they are more concerned about what kind of tasks the troops under their command can receive.
Yuri's calmness did not last long. He stayed at the army headquarters for a day and returned to the 133rd Division headquarters at dusk the next day. In the following two days, the fighting in the Sollechnogorsk area was calm. The German army did not launch a large-scale counterattack, and the 133rd Division did not show any intention of capturing the urban area.
On the third day after Yuri returned to the division headquarters, an order from the 16th Army Command arrived, requiring Yuri's 133rd Division to enter the outer area of Sorlechnogorsk on the night of the 20th, while the defense in the direction of Klin City was handed over to a mechanized army under the 10th Army that was secretly transferred in that direction.
Yuri was very dissatisfied with the order, because it meant that in the upcoming counterattack, his 133rd Division would be mainly responsible for the blockade of the German troops in the Sollechnogorsk area, and he would most likely have no part in the attack.
But orders are orders, and no matter how dissatisfied Yuri is, he can only carry them out honestly. Moreover, as the follow-up troops arrived one after another, he also knew that his infantry division was too weak, and the newly deployed troops were no match for him.
By the 20th, the Soviet troops secretly mobilized by the Supreme Command to the Klin area had reached a considerable scale, including the entire 10th Army and an infantry division of the 20th Army. In addition, the Supreme Command also mobilized 1,600 artillery pieces and 270 tanks to this area to support the offensive in this direction.
Artillery pieces, tanks and various transport vehicles painted white were continuously assembled towards the city of Klin for a week. The elite troops of the Siberian Division, carrying skis and rifles and wearing white coats, hid in the woods northeast of Klin, staring at the German positions less than two kilometers away.
At the same time, on the southern front, the 1st Assault Army began to assemble in the Podolsk area. After the battle started, they would advance from this area towards Naro-Fominsk. The intention of the operation was to cut off the retreat route of the German 2nd Armored Group to the south.
It has to be admitted that the Soviet Union's mobilization capability was extremely strong. In just over a week, hundreds of thousands of troops were deployed from the rear of Moscow and quietly entered their respective positions. They were all waiting for the order to attack.
All arrangements were carried out in an orderly manner. The Soviet intelligence department believed that the German army should not have noticed anything unusual because there was no large-scale mobilization of their troops.
In the early morning of the 24th, Yuri received a notice from the 16th Army Command. This notice was issued by the Supreme Command and distributed to various combat units through the front command and the army command.
The Supreme Command had only one order: to launch a full-scale counterattack against the German troops in the Moscow area at 3 a.m. on the 24th. After the order was further refined by the front and army headquarters, the 133rd Division's combat mission became to launch an attack on Sollechnogorsk, eliminate the German troops defending the city and liberate the city.
Yuri, who received the order, did not know that at the same time as the order was issued, the German defense line, which had been normal before, suddenly changed. The main force of the German 2nd Panzer Army, which was attacking in the direction of Gotchino, suddenly withdrew from the battle at nightfall and took the initiative to retreat in the direction of Podolsk. Although the retreat of less than 9 kilometers seemed insignificant, it caused a lot of trouble for the 1st Assault Army, which was about to launch an offensive in the direction of Podolsk. Because in the upcoming offensive, the 1st Assault Army will have to directly confront this elite armored force of the German Army. At that time, whether the 1st Assault Army can successfully break through the German defense line, it will have a great impact on its subsequent combat plan. At least, the combat intention of encircling the main force of the German 2nd Panzer Group will most likely fail.
However, the combat order has already been issued, and it is no longer realistic to make temporary adjustments. I wonder if Konev will boast about his foresight after learning the news .
