The theory and tactics of urban warfare are that the Soviet army finally mastered a full set of urban defense tactics in the battle to defend Leningrad after losing a series of important cities such as Minsk, Kiev, and Smolensk one after another. Through the Battle of Stalingrad, they gradually learned how to conduct urban fortifications.

If it was the troops who had followed me in the Battle of Stalingrad, then they had a lot of experience in both defensive and offensive battles. However, at this moment, almost all the troops under my command have only fought urban defense battles, and they have little experience in attacking fortified positions, so I gathered the commanders and division commanders of the 23rd Guards Army to teach them some tactics of urban fortification.

When everyone had arrived, I beckoned them to sit down in a corner of the headquarters and began to teach them the theory of urban warfare. "Comrades, maybe tomorrow your divisions will be thrown into the battle for the liberation of Kharkov. Before the battle begins, I'm going to tell you how to do it.

Cities are known to be extremely defensible terrain. In order to capture Kharkov, we have at least three to five times as many troops as the defenders, and at present we have an absolute advantage in strength compared with the Germans; Secondly, in order to successfully capture Kharkov, we must effectively besiege the city so that the enemy does not receive reinforcements......"

While I was lecturing to Tavart Kiradze, Chistyakov and Managarov stood by and listened with interest to the theories I had instilled in the division commanders. I vaguely heard Chistyakov saying, "...... During the Battle of Stalingrad, Comrade Commander led a division of troops to cover the port at Mamayev Posts, so that the Germans could never cut off the connection between the city and the east coast, so that our troops in the city could hold out until the arrival of the counteroffensive......"

In view of the fact that these division commanders like to charge in dense formations in the city. I deliberately emphasized: "...... In the city, the defenders can set up fire points in all the buildings, so we must remember not to use the tactics of group charge, but to be mainly small and prepared for hand-to-hand combat and house-to-house sweeping.

When attacking a building, it is in an adjacent building. The most effective tactic is to launch a multi-point simultaneous attack on the target building. Before entering the building, you should prepare hand-to-hand weapons and grenades, and once you rush into the building, you must give priority to the staircase, staircase and commanding height. As soon as the entire building has been captured, defenses should be placed in the building to resist a possible counterattack by the enemy. The first thing to pay attention to in defense is your supply lines and flanks, which should be able to withstand enemy counterattacks from multiple sources.

In addition to the fact that tanks and artillery had to cover the movement of infantry with constant fire, communication support was a top priority, and the units were in the process of changing positions. Allies must be notified clearly and unambiguously to avoid misunderstandings. ……”

The teachers who listened to the lecture buried their heads and quickly recorded every word I said in their notebooks.

After I finished speaking, I felt a little dry in my mouth, so I went to pour a cup of tea, and casually asked while drinking: "Anyone who doesn't understand something, can bring it up." ”

As soon as I finished speaking, the commander of the 375th Infantry Division, Govorinenko, stood up. With a serious expression, he asked: "Comrade commander, you said that when the troops were fighting in the city. Small formation actions should be used. If we encounter the absolute superiority of the German army, then are not our troops in danger of being wiped out? ”

One stone stirred up a thousand waves, and Govorinenko's words immediately resonated with several other division commanders. Nekrasov, commander of the 52nd Guards Division, also stood up and said: "Comrade commander, you should know that the proportion of recruits in our ranks is relatively high, compared with the Germans in terms of technology and tactics. It's at a disadvantage. If we were to fight in platoons in the city, not to mention the superior strength of the Germans, our troops would have been defeated even if they were equal in numbers. ”

I heard the two of them say this, and handed the teacup in my hand to Akhromeyev, who had just walked over. opened his mouth and said to the two: "Two division commanders, you have thought it through, now I will explain it to you."

I think that when attacking a city like Kharkiv, the so-called small formation of troops is not the same as you think. I believe that each unit should consist of at least one infantry battalion, one assault engineer company, as well as an armored and mortar company, a cannon or howitzer company, and an anti-tank infantry company.

An assault force, in addition to the necessary attackers, needs to be divided into three to six combat detachments as support or reserves. Each combat squad should have an infantry company, plus one or two assault engineer platoons and an anti-tank infantry platoon to provide the necessary support to the assault force.

In addition, according to the tactic of 'bayonet on artillery,' which I have always advocated, there should be two or three tanks or self-propelled guns to cover the advance of our infantry by suppressing enemy fire, or destroying enemy fire points. ……”

After listening to my addition, Govorunenko and Nekrasov suddenly came to their senses, and after nodding vigorously, they said in unison: "Comrade commander, I understand." ”

When I finished my tactics and Tavart Kiradze was packing up and preparing to leave, Managarov gave me a thumbs up and said, "Comrade Commander, these theories of attacking fortifications that you just talked about are really fantastic! At this point, he sighed and said with some regret, "If I had known such tactics earlier, perhaps my troops would have rushed into the city from the north of Kharkiv." ”

In response to Managarov's compliment, I modestly said: "Comrade General, these are just some theories, and as for whether they work, they need to be tested by battle. ”

"Comrade Commander, I think there are a few more points that should be added." After some thought, Chistyakov said to me solemnly: "Our troops rushing into the city should quickly seize some important buildings, cut the German lines apart, and then destroy them one by one."

Also, we should consider what we would do if the Germans occupied the high ground or the bottom of the building and opened heavy fire on our troops. It is important to know that the tank gun of the tank is affected by the firing angle, and it is difficult to effectively shoot at the enemy's firing point, and it may become the target of the German anti-tank attack, which was confirmed in front of the 'Pavlov Building' in the Battle of Stalingrad. As soon as the first and last of our tank columns are destroyed, the other tanks will be blocked and become a living target for the enemy. ”

"You're right," I couldn't help nodding my head when I heard what Chistyakov said, and said that what I learned from books was sometimes not applied to the experience I had learned in actual combat. So, as soon as Chistyakov finished speaking, I immediately said to several division commanders: "Comrade division commander, you all heard what the deputy commander said. When you get back, gather all your commanders and study what you should do if you encounter such a situation during the attack. With that, I looked at my watch, and then waved at them, "Alright, you all go back to your respective troops." ”

As soon as I finished speaking, suddenly a series of muffled explosions were heard in the distance, and the ground beneath my feet was trembling slightly. My first reaction was: Was it an earthquake?

"What's going on, where did the explosion happen?" The expression on Chistyakov's face suddenly became serious, and he said sternly to Akhromeyev: "Comrade Director, listen to the sound, the explosion should be coming from the south of Dergach, you immediately contact the commander of the 71st Guards Division, Colonel Babachin, and ask him if he knows what happened." ”

Tawart Kiradze and his men had been preparing to leave, but now the sound of an explosion from an unknown place gave them a reason to stay, and they probably wanted to find out what was going on with the explosion that covered the sound of gunfire coming from a distance.

I vaguely heard someone behind me whispering, "...... Did the Germans explode an ammunition depot in the forest? "When I turned my head to see who was speaking, I found that all the teachers were looking at me with blank faces, as if no one had spoken, and what I had just heard was just an illusion on my part.

Akhromeyev quickly put down the phone and reported to me with a smile: "Comrade commander, I asked Colonel Babachin, and he said that the explosion was coming from the south of Kharkov, and that the explosion was going on, accompanied by billowing smoke, and he judged that it was possible that our bombers had destroyed the German train transporting munitions. ”

Hearing this good news, the command headquarters suddenly boiled, and I don't know which commander couldn't help it, and vented the joy in his heart with loud cheers: "Great, our air force is really amazing!" Ulla! Ulla!! ”

"Ulla! Ulla!! Ulla!!! Someone started first, and soon the other commanders shouted, and then everyone in the command shouted in unison, as if this was the only way to best express their inner joy.

When the cheers of the command had stopped, I instructed Akhromeyev: "Major, call Colonel Babakhin again and ask him to immediately send someone to reconnoiter and find out what is going on." ”

"Yes!" Akhromeyev agreed, picked up the telephone on the desk, and called Colonel Baashin, as I had ordered, to send his best scouts to the south at once to find out what the air force had achieved. (To be continued.) )

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