After the phone was connected, Cuikov heard Sokov's voice and immediately ordered: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, today there is a troops sent by a base camp to us, which may cross the river and enter the city. You must closely monitor the river surface and report to me immediately if there is any news."
When Sokov heard Cuikov say this, he was a little surprised, thinking that the defenders at the ferry did not report to Cuikov and the others when they were landing.
Before hearing Sokov's answer, Trekov raised his voice and said, "Lt. Colonel, what are you doing, why don't you answer me?"
"Comrade Commander, I can report to you now that the vanguard of the 13th Division of the Guard Infantry has completed crossing the river and is heading towards the city from the ferry." Sokov glanced at Rodimtev who was standing next to him, and added: "General Rodimtev is next to me, and he wants to talk to you."
When he learned that Rodimtev had arrived at Sokov's command center, Trekov was also surprised, but he quickly returned to normal and said to the microphone: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, give Rodimtev the microphone, I want to talk to him personally."
Sokov handed the microphone to Rodimtev and did not leave. He wanted to hear what Trekov arranged next. After chatting with Trekov on the phone for five or six minutes, Rodimtev put down the microphone and said to Sokov: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the commander said that from now on, the troops from Mamayevgang to the Charica River will be under my unified command."
Sokov had long guessed that Cuikov would hand over the troops scattered near Mamayev's hill to a commander for command. But he felt that it was inappropriate to let Rodimtev unified command of so many troops. Although Rodimtev was a general, he had just entered the city and could be said to be in a dark way and could not figure out anything. How could he formulate a series of defense or offensive plans in a targeted manner?
However, orders are orders. Sometimes even though he knew it was a wrong order, he could only execute them with a slightest order. So he straightened his body and said to Rodimtev: "Comrade General, I am willing to obey your command. Please give orders." Although he said that, he was muttering in his heart, if the other party ordered him to lead the troops standing on Mamayev's post and launch a comprehensive counterattack against the German army, would he execute the order or choose to disobey?
Fortunately, Rodimtev did not give Sokov such an order that made him embarrassed, but said to him in a negotiated taste: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the commander ordered me to lead my troops to regain the expert building occupied by the German army, and to strengthen the defense of the Central Railway Station. I don't know where the places he mentioned are. Can you send us a guide?"
When he learned that he only needed to send someone to be a guide, Sokov naturally agreed: "No problem, Comrade General, I will immediately draw effective personnel to serve as a guide for your troops."
As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Sidolin suddenly asked: "Comrade General, since Commander Cuikov ordered you to command the troops near Mamayevgang, where are you going to place your command center?"
Sidolin's question made Sokov's heart skip a beat. If Rodimtev decided to arrange the command center here, wouldn't he have to change the place? Thinking of this, he couldn't help but secretly complain about Sidolin, why would he suddenly think of asking such a question?
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Rodimtev just shook his head and said, "I plan to be with my troops. When my troops take down the expert building, I will set up the command center there. Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I have two things to ask you."
Knowing that Rodimtev did not set up his command in Mamayev, Sokov couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, so he said without hesitation: "Comrade General, as long as it is within my ability, I will do it."
Rodimtev said with some embarrassment: "Although my army has tens of thousands of people, there are still more than a thousand people without weapons. I wonder if you can help us solve the problem of weapons."
Before the German army approached the city, Sokov sent troops out to harass the enemy many times, especially when Christopher led the team to attack, directly took down a German military warehouse and seized a large amount of supplies from it, including a lot of weapons and ammunition. Considering that the ammunition supply from the other side of the river was prone to problems, Sokov replaced most of the troops in the brigade with German equipment. At this moment, he heard that there were more than a thousand people in the Guard Division without weapons, so he said readily: "Comrade General, there is a batch of weapons that no one uses in our warehouse. You can send someone to collect them."
Seeing that Sokov promised to provide weapons to his troops so readily, Rodimtev smiled on his face, so he made a second request: "According to the prior crossing arrangements, the first ones to cross the river with me are the 34th and 39th Guards Regiments. Colonel Yelin's 42nd Guards Regiments may have to wait until evening to cross the river. The warriors who lack weapons are now concentrated in the 42nd Guards Regiments. I hope that when they cross the river, you can send someone to pick them up, properly place them, and provide them with weapons."
Hearing that Ye Lin's 42nd Guards Regiment was about to enter the city at night, Sokov couldn't help but lit up his eyes and his heart beat faster without competing. He thought to himself that if he remembered correctly, the newly recruited Vasirizaitev, who had just joined the army, should be in the 42nd Guards Regiment. In addition, there was Sergeant Pavlov who was guarding the Pavlov building, which was also from this regiment. If possible, he must find a way to dig these two people over. I believe Colonel Ye Lin would not have any objections.
Sokov was so obsessed that he didn't hear what Rodimtev said later. Sidolin gently pulled his sleeves a few times before he woke him up from his thoughts. He quickly put on a serious look and said to Rodimtev: "Don't worry, Comrade General, I will send someone to wait at the ferry and when Colonel Yelin's troops arrive, they will lead them here."
A quarter of an hour later, Rodimtev sent the 39th Guards Regiment to the Central Railway Station. In real history, as soon as this regiment crossed the Volga River, it launched a counterattack against the German troops occupying Mamayev. At this moment, because the 73rd Infantry Brigade commanded by Sokov did not allow the enemy to occupy Mamayev, the mission of this unit changed from the original attack on Mamayev to the reinforcement of the Central Railway Station.
Sokov stood in the observation center at the top of the hill with Rodimtev, looking at the troops leaving, muttering to himself: "Now there is a guard regiment of more than 2,000 people at the Central Railway Station. If the Germans want to take this place, they will inevitably use more troops than in history. In this way, the pressure on Mamayev's hill will be greatly reduced."
Sidolin called from the command center and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, a commander came from the Army Command. He said he wanted to see General Rodimtev."
"I understand." Sokov said to the microphone: "Let's go down now." After putting down the phone, Sokov immediately said to Rodimtev, "Comrade General, a commander came from the Army Command, saying that he was here to see you."
When the two left the observation center at the top of the hill and walked towards the command center in the tunnel, Rodimtev suddenly asked: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I want to ask, did you motivate you to dig the tunnel under the Mamayev hill?"
Sokov naturally could not tell Rodimtev that he was from the future and knew that in the entire Stalingrad defense battle, this Mamayev hill was the focus of the competition between the two sides. If there were no solid fortifications, if you wanted to defend it, you could only fill it with your life. He hesitated for a moment and said in a way that the other party could accept: "Comrade General, this is the commanding heights of Stalingrad, and I think it will definitely become the focus of the German offensive. Due to geological reasons, solid fortifications cannot be built on the surface of the hill, so I thought I would use tunnel fortifications and surface positions to resist the German offensive."
When the two returned to the command center, they saw a lieutenant colonel chatting with Sidorin. Judging from the expressions on their faces, both sides should be familiar.
Seeing Sokov and Rodimtev come in from outside, the lieutenant colonel quickly stopped talking to Cydolin, but walked to Rodimtev, raised his hand to salute him, and said politely: "Hello, General Rodimtev! Let me introduce myself. I am Lieutenant Colonel Weirnrub, the director of the Armored Soldier of the Group Army, and was ordered to cooperate with you to seize the expert building."
When Rodimtev heard that the other party was the director of the armored vehicle, he was overjoyed and asked quickly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I don't know how many tanks you can provide to cooperate with our attack on the expert building."
Weiyinlub stretched out a palm and replied a little embarrassedly: "Comrade General, because our tanks suffered huge losses in the early battles, we can only provide you with five tanks in conjunction with your offensive operations against the Expert Building."
Five tanks?! When Rodimtev heard this number, he frowned slightly, but soon stretched out: "Not bad, our troops were in a hurry to enter Stalingrad, so they did not carry any heavy weapons. With the cooperation of these five tanks, they were even more sure of regaining the expert building from the enemy."
Weinrub couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when he heard Rodimtev say this. He was worried that the other party would despise too few tanks he brought. Seeing that the other party was so reasonable, he said easily: "Comrade General, our tank is refueling at the moment. It's about half an hour to reach the attack position. Why don't I accompany you to see the terrain first?"
…………
After Rodimtev left with Wei'erub, Sokov immediately ordered Cydolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, tonight, Colonel Yelin's 42nd Guard Regiment crossed the river. You immediately send a few smart warriors to cross the river and wait for them."
"Where should we place them when they come?" After Sidorin finished speaking, he asked Sokov and said, "We can't let them stay in the open space. When the day dawns, they will become targets for enemy planes."
Sokov thought for a while, then said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, isn't there a deep Krutoi ditch on the northern slope of Beigang? It can lead directly to the factory area. It is said that the sides of the ditch are filled with waste from the factory, which is a very convenient place for concealment. It is better to place the 42nd Guards Regiment there first, and after the conditions are improved, it will not be too late to adjust the location for them."
Cidolin did not agree with Sokov's arrangement in his heart. But after thinking for a while, he found that there was really nothing else that could hoard two or three thousand people like the deep ditch of Crutoy without being discovered by the German reconnaissance planes. Thinking of this, he nodded and said, "Okay, Comrade Brigade Commander, just do what you said. After the 42nd Regiment of the Neighbors crossed the river tonight, I will let someone take them there to hide."
"By the way, General Rodimtev said that more than half of the commanders and fighters of the regiment were not equipped with weapons." Sokov remembered Rodimtev's words and quickly reminded Sidolin: "After Colonel Yelin comes ashore, someone will invite him here, and we must provide them with enough weapons and ammunition."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," said Sidolin to Sokov hesitantly, "When you just said these words in front of General Rodimtev, I thought you were just trying to make a gesture, but I didn't expect you to really plan to provide them with weapons?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I remind you to pay attention to the fact that the Germans are very strong. No matter how strong our brigade is, we cannot defeat them independently. We need the cooperation of friendly troops. Do you understand?" After Sokov said this, seeing that Sidolin was still confused, he continued: "And the commanders and soldiers of our brigade are almost all German equipment now. The equipment eliminated by our army can only be piled in the warehouse. Instead of making these weapons rust, it is better to support friendly troops. They fight the Germans the most fiercely, and the pressure we are under here will be lighter."
Sokov's words convinced Cidolin, who nodded and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are right. We cannot use the eliminated weapons for the time being, so it is better to use them to support friendly forces. In this way, after the battle begins, someone can provide us with some help in times of crisis to relieve the pressure we are under."
Next, we were arranged to go to the ferry to meet the candidates of the 42nd Guard Regiment. Sidolin advocated sending the guard company commander Selyosha to come up, but was denied by Sokov: "No, Selyosha also needs to command the troops and be responsible for the safety of the command center. He cannot let him take risks. Chief of staff, you should change someone again."
Ciderin was silent for a moment and asked again: "How about Christopher?"
Sokov still shook his head and objected: "He is the reconnaissance company commander, and there are more important things waiting for him to do. I'll send people to the ferry to pick up the troops, so I'd better arrange for others."
Seeing that the two candidates he proposed were denied by Sokov, Cidolin asked in frustration: "Comrade Brigade Commander, then tell me, who do you think is the best candidate for this task?"
"Samoilov." Sokov said without hesitation: "I think he is the best candidate for the third platoon leader of the guard company."
Chapter completed!