April was approaching in a blink of an eye. Due to insufficient troops and poor road conditions, the German army did not launch an attack in any direction.
At Manstein's urging, Houser ordered the Imperial Division, Skeleton Division and the 17th Armored Division troops to choose a suitable location five kilometers away from the Red Army Village, and began to build fortifications and prepare to confront the Soviet army.
Seeing that Kharkov and Belgorod, who should have fallen half a month ago, are still firmly in the hands of the Soviet army. Sokov felt very relieved. He knew very well that as long as this situation continued, there would be no Kursk Battle in July. Maybe the fourth Kharkiv Battle that arrived early. As long as the Soviet decision makers do not make fatal mistakes, they will probably drive the German army across the Dnieper River a few months in advance in the next battle.
Of course, what made Sokov even more happy was that his superiors agreed to replenish his troops and began to come in one after another. Originally, he said that he would send three infantry divisions to him, but in fact, four divisions came.
The first unit was the 45th Infantry Division, which was reorganized into the 74th Guards Division due to its great achievements in the battle to defend Stalingrad, and the division commander Sokolov was promoted from colonel to major general.
The second unit was the 99th Infantry Division, which had just been adapted into the 88th Guard Division, and the division commander was Major General Vladimirov.
The third unit was the former 226th Infantry Division, which was adapted into the 95th Guard Division, and was commanded by Colonel Nikichenko.
The fourth unit is the 212th Infantry Division, which is the most complete unit in the former Sixth Army.
Sokov met these newly arrived division commanders in his command center.
Sokov first held Major General Sokolov's hand and said with a smile: "Comrade General, I'm very happy to see you. I'm relieved to see you when you are safe and sound."
"Hello, Comrade Commander." Sokolov's troops had defended the Derrensky factory in Stalingrad together with Sokolov's troops. The two troops formed a deep fighting friendship in the battle. He held Sokov's hand and said excitedly: "When we learned that my troops will engage in a new battle with the enemy under your command, all the officers and soldiers of our division were excited, hoping to achieve more results under your tie."
Sokov was still very optimistic about Sokolov's army. The opponent could hold on to the Derrensky factory for so long while the German army was attacking, which proved that the division was also a force that could fight tough battles. Although the division's current number was the 74th Guard Division, it is estimated that there were only a handful of Guard Divisions that could match them in front.
Then, Sokov shook hands with the other three division commanders one by one and said hello to him.
After a simple greeting, Sokov began to set up defenses for these division commanders: "Comrades in the division commanders, due to our insufficient troops in the early stage, we placed three guard divisions outside the city and one guard division in the city, preparing to use this formation to deal with the German attack.
But now that you have come, we have sufficient troops. Therefore, I plan to establish a second echelon, and all your four divisions will be incorporated into the second echelon. When the first echelon's troops cannot stand up under the attack of the German army, we will transfer you to the front line."
Hearing Sokov said this, Sokolov immediately stood up and said to him: "Comrade Commander, you should know that our division has very rich defensive experience in the battle to defend Stalingrad. Therefore, I beg you, can we transfer our division to the first echelon?"
Seeing Sokolov suggesting to Sokov that he wanted to go to the first echelon, the commanders of the other three divisions were not to be outdone. Although they had just arrived at the Red Army Village, the results achieved by Sokov's troops had long been spread in the rear. Everyone finally came here, so they naturally would not miss all kinds of opportunities to make achievements, so they asked Sokov for battle.
"Comrades in the division, please be quiet!" Seeing that all the mayors wanted to put their troops on the front line, Sokov was satisfied with their reaction. However, now the defense line has basically stabilized and there is no need to change defenses, he refused their compulsory requests. He said to everyone: "The first-tier troops have been on the front line for almost a month. I think it is inappropriate to replace them at this time."
Seeing everyone's look of disappointment, he added: "But please don't worry, you will have a chance to go to the front line sooner or later."
"What is our current mission?" asked Colonel Anisimov, commander of the 212th Infantry Division.
"The task of your four divisions is to build fortifications in their respective defense zones." Sokov also emphasized in order to prevent them from understanding the importance of building fortifications: "With solid fortifications and a complete defense system, even if the enemy breaks through our first line of defense, you can still use your fortifications to block the enemy's attack."
Seeing that the four division commanders were no longer as excited as they were just now, Sokov continued: "The snow has melted almost now. Although there may be some heavy cooling and heavy snowfall in the coming days, the weather will be getting warmer and warmer. On the way you come, you should have found that there is mud everywhere. In this case, it is not easy to build fortifications."
"You are right, Commander Comrade," Sokolov echoed: "If we want to prevent water from accumulating in the trenches, we must use a lot of wood when building fortifications. But our four divisions have to build a lot of fortifications, and they should need a lot of wood. Where should we go to find these wood?"
When Sokolov heard this question, Sokolov was stunned at first, and then said: "Your defense zone is surrounded by forests. You can arrange soldiers to enter the forest to cut down trees and use the number of cuts to build fortifications."
Colonel Nikichenko questioned Sokov's plan: "Comrade Commander, we need to cut down forests, which seems to need to be recognized by the forestry department. With the cutoff certificates they provide, the soldiers can cut down trees."
Sokov did not expect that there were such a scheming commander in his own army. Now it was during the war and not during peacetime. If he had to ask the forestry department for approval, he might not have completed the fortifications when the enemy's attack began.
Sokov stared at Colonel Nikichenko for a while and said, "Comrade Colonel, I once heard Commander Rokosovsky say that a week after the outbreak of the great Patriotic War, there were still many trains loaded with agricultural machinery, food and various resources that were continuously sailing into Germany. Do you know why this is?"
Colonel Nikichenko didn't understand why Sokov mentioned something that had nothing to do with the moment, so he shook his head and replied truthfully, "I don't know."
"This is because our people are dull and do not know how to adapt." Sokov stared at the other party and said, "We and the Germans have clearly entered a state of war, and these departments are still following the delivery time step by step, and continue to transport the materials that need to be provided to Germany in the pre-war agreement to Germany. However, these trains were attacked by the Germans without exception, and finally they were destroyed and killed."
After saying this, Sokov looked at the other party and asked, "Comrade Colonel, do you understand what I mean now?"
"I understand, Comrade Commander." Colonel Nikichenko's old face turned red and replied: "We just need a lot of wood to cut it in the forest ourselves, and there is no need to ask the forestry department for instructions."
"That's right, comrade Colonel." Seeing that Colonel Nikichenko understood his intentions, Sokov nodded and said with satisfaction: "As a commander, you need to know how to adapt so that you can have a greater confidence in winning on the battlefield."
"Comrade Commander," Colonel Nikichenko asked tentatively, "Can you make a little clearer?"
"Let me give an example. For example, your superiors ordered you to attack a German position. The firepower on the enemy's position is very fierce. If you attack from the front, you will definitely suffer huge losses. Even if you barely break through the enemy's defense, you may lose all the troops." Sokov asked Nikichenko again: "Comrade Colonel, how will you command the troops at this time? Should you make a breakthrough from the front regardless of all casualties, or use a frontal feint attack to attract the enemy's attention, and then use the troops to detour from both wings to seize the position?"
Nikichenko thought for a while and replied: "Since our superiors ordered us to break through the enemy's position from the front, no matter how much the price it costs, I think we should break through the enemy's defense from the front."
After hearing his answer, Sokov felt speechless. He had already given him a reminder, but he still had to take the wrong answer. He shook his head and said, "Comrade Colonel, you are wrong. Fighting on the battlefield requires not only courage, but more importantly, having a mind, so that you can achieve greater victory with the smallest casualties."
"Comrade Commander, the tactic you mentioned has been criticized as early as after the end of the Sufen War." Colonel Nikichenko said with striking remarks: "This kind of bloodless guard will make our soldiers cowardly in the battle."
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov didn't expect the colonel to be so stubborn and said speechlessly: "As a commander, you must know how to use tactics reasonably on the battlefield. You also know that today's troops have too many casualties in combat, but few supplements from superiors, and they come very slowly. Think about it, if you fight all the troops in combat, then in the next battle, if you don't get supplements, then all you can do is stand aside and watch the fun, or retreat to the rear to supplement."
"Col. Nikichenko," seeing that Nikichenko was always entangled and Lunev couldn't stand it anymore, he stood up and said to the other party: "Don't look at you being older than Major General Sokov, but when it comes to war, you don't even have the qualifications to be a student. In the following days, I will pay attention to you. If I find that you are not qualified to be a division commander, I will use my authority to report to my superiors and ask them to remove your position."
Nikichenko didn't know who was talking to him, but when he saw the blue hat on the other party's head and the two stars on the shoulder stamp, he knew that the other party was a big shot. He quickly replied loudly: "I understand, Comrade General, I will strictly implement the command of Comrade Commander and strive to fulfill the duties of a division commander."
When Sokov heard Lunev's speech, he realized that he had not introduced Lunev's identity to everyone so far, so he hurriedly said to them: "Comrades in the division commander, I will introduce you to you. This is General Lunev. He is not only a military member of the army, but also a deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and serves as the representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs stationed in the army."
Sokov's words scared several division commanders. They did not expect that General Lunev, the military committee member of the group army, was actually the deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Colonel Nikichenko, who had been singing opposite Sokov, was scared and trembled all over. He thought to himself, if Lunev found out that he was incompetent, he wouldn't really let his superiors remove him from his post, right?
"Everyone must be very tired after rushing so far." Seeing everyone's fearful look, Sokov hurriedly came out to rescue them: "You all go back to their respective troops to rest. When tomorrow morning, we will start to build fortifications."
After everyone left, Lunev said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, you are so friendly to them. In this way, they will look down on you in their hearts and will be discounted when performing your mission. I think you should be strict at some times so that you can establish prestige in the minds of the commanders and fighters this time."
Sokov knew that Lunev said this for his own good, but his personality was that as long as the other party did not make any big mistakes, he would not stare at the other party. Therefore, he just smiled lightly at Lunev's statement, but did not express his opinion.
Lunev may have seen Sokov's embarrassment. He knew that Sokov's character was a gentle boss. If one day it suddenly became strict, his subordinates might not accept it. Therefore, he could only wait and say second-hand: "Comrade Commander, if you feel that you can't be strict with your subordinates, then you should leave all the offensive things to me. I believe that in my identity, they will be afraid of me."
Sokov knew very well that to manage the troops well, as the highest-level commander, he must have the role of rosy and rosy. Since Lunev took the initiative to take on this offensive work, he said with the flow: "Comrade Military Commissioner, I will trouble you more in the future."
Chapter completed!