"Guerrillas?!" Paulus almost yelled after hearing Schmid's words: "It's a dream to take down Kotluban Station with those mobs. Even if most of the troops at the station are transferred away, the remaining company can wipe out all the guerrillas attacking the station."
Paulus said this, and no one present thought he was exaggerating. For them, the Russian guerrillas were just like that. At best, they were doing some damage in their rear and sneak attacking the lonely soldiers. If they wanted to attack the station, they would be seeking death.
"That's right, Commander." Schmid saw Paulus get angry and quickly blushed and explained: "This is how the telegram from the commander of the 113th Infantry Division was reported."
"Chief of Staff, there must be something wrong." Paulus pointed at Schmid with his hand and said to him in a stern tone: "You go and call the division commander yourself to figure out what's going on. At the same time, tell him that if you report such alarmist reports to us, be careful that I will send him to the military court."
Before Schmid called to verify the lost battle situation at the station, the communications officer who had just sent the telegram appeared in the house again. As soon as Schmid saw him, he immediately asked with a dark face: "What bad news did you bring to me this time?"
The staff officer had never seen Schmid speak to himself in such a tone, and he couldn't help but answer in a panic: "His Excellency Chief of Staff, the commander of the 113th Infantry Division sent another telegram, saying that the 564th kilometer station was also occupied by the Russians."
Even if a shell fell into the house and exploded, the shock brought to the generals present was not as good as the news mentioned by the staff. The news of the loss of Kotluban Station had not been confirmed, and news of the loss of the 564th kilometer station was heard. What was going on? When did the combat effectiveness of the Russian guerrillas become so strong?
The atmosphere in the room became awkward and silent again. Unexpectedly, he focused on how to deal with the main force of the Soviet army attacking in the north, but the guerrillas were suddenly stabbed behind him. Moreover, the stab was particularly fierce, and the transport artery was cut off directly.
The first thing to break the silence was Schlemmer. He said thoughtfully: "Mr. Commander, I have a bold idea. The Russians launched a sudden attack on our army in the area of ​​Kachalinskaya, not to isolate our troops in the small bend of the Don River, but to attract our army's attention, but to launch a feint attack on us."
"General Schlemmer!" As soon as Schlemmer finished speaking, Schmid asked in a suspicious tone: "You mean, in order to allow the guerrillas to seize these two stations, the right wing launched a feint attack in the Kachalinskaya area to restrain our army's main force? Do I understand correctly?"
Schlemmer nodded slightly: "That's right! That's what I thought about. In order to ensure that the guerrillas can seize the station and cut off our transport artery, the Russians intend to launch a feint attack on the north side of our defense zone."
"Absurd, it's simply ridiculous." This time, the person who jumped out to refute Schlemmer was Kurtzbach, the commander of the 51st Infantry Army. He sneered: "I have never heard of the guerrillas cooperating with the regular army's attack. I have never heard of the guerrillas. In order to seize the two railway stations, the regular army dispatched a large-scale operation to cooperate with the guerrillas. This is probably the biggest joke I heard today."
Kurtzbach's words aroused the consent of several other commanders. They also felt that what Schlemmer said was too ridiculous. He had worked in the army for decades and had never heard of regular troops cooperating with guerrilla operations. Not to mention that there is no such example, even in the military history of various countries, there is no such example.
Schlemmer did not refute the ridicule of everyone, but turned his eyes to Paulus, wanting to hear what he thought of his own speculation. Paulus sat in his seat, staring at the table in front of him as if there was something beautiful on it. Seeing that he had not responded for a long time, Schmid quickly called him twice.
Hearing Schmid calling him, Paulus raised his head, looked at his chief of staff blankly, and asked, "What's the matter?"
"Mr. Commander," Schmid said anxiously when he saw Paulus's absent-minded look: "Everyone is still waiting for you to express your opinion on the loss of the station."
Paulus stood up slowly, holding the edge of the table with both hands, leaned forward slightly, and said to his subordinates: "You are right. It sounds unrealistic to let the regular army cooperate with the guerrillas to fight. But when I was thinking about it, I suddenly thought of a possibility..."
Schlemmer heard from Paulus's words that the other party seemed to agree with his speculation, and quickly interrupted and asked, "What's the possibility, Lord Commander?"
"I don't say what the Russians' tactics are, I believe everyone should know." Paulus said slowly: "The Russians' offensive tactics are rigid. The attacks they launched are always carried out in the area expected by our army and in a precise time period. Therefore, after we repel the Russians' attacks in a certain area, we know that in the next few hours, the Russians will not make another round of impact. This allows us to shift the focus of the next defense to another direction.
The reason why our army was able to advance so smoothly to the city of Stalingrad was because our officers mastered the Russian tactics and took effective responses. But here we encountered a headache-inducing attack that made our original effective tactics unable to work..."
When Schmid heard this, he immediately realized who Paulus was talking about, and asked tentatively: "His Commander, are you talking about the Russian colonel Sokov who is standing on Mamayev's hill?"
"Yes, I'm talking about him." Paulus swept through every general present and continued to say: "Many of your troops have fought with this Russian colonel, but what is the final result? Every attack of yours, except for losing troops and constantly consuming the vitality of our army, will never be able to occupy Mamayev."
Seeing that Paulus did not talk about the two lost train stations, but inexplicably talked about a Russian colonel far away in Mamayev hills, Kurtzbach reminded him: "Hiss Commander, we are discussing the occupation of the two stations by the Russian guerrillas. How did you say what Russian colonels have?"
"General Kurtzbach, haven't you understood what I mean?" Paulus looked at Kurtzbach with a questioning face and replied with a wry smile: "If there were no Russian colonel named Sokov, there would never be a ridiculous thing in the world where regular troops cooperated with guerrillas to fight. But now, I think General Schlemmer is right. We are fooled. The attack launched by the Russians in the north is just a feint. Their real purpose is to cover the guerrillas hiding in the forest to occupy the railway station where we stockpile a large amount of supplies."
Kurtzbach retorted dissatisfiedly: "But the commander, the colonel named Sokov is far away from Mamayev. I don't understand what connection is between him and this guerrilla operation to seize the station?"
As Paulus' chief of staff, Schmid was naturally a smart man. From Paulus's words, he heard what the other party wanted to express, and quickly explained to Kurtzbach: "General Kurtzbach, have you not understood the commander's meaning? He said that among the commanders who commanded the guerrilla operations this time, there must be Colonel Sokov's subordinates. It is even possible that this combat plan for the east to attack the west was formulated by Sokov himself."
Kurtzbach raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, and replied awkwardly: "Chief of Staff, since the two stations have been lost, should we send troops to take them back immediately? You must know that there are also a large number of winter coats stored there. If they are burned by the Russians, our officers and soldiers will probably suffer from the cold rather than fighting."
Sokov, who was far away in Mamayev hill, never dreamed that Kurtzbach's inadvertent words made Paulus make a decision that was not right or wrong. Paulus looked at Kurtzbach and said, "General Kurtzbach, you are right. The station is stockpiling a large amount of military supplies needed by our army. I originally wanted to send the air force to bomb and eliminate the Russian guerrillas occupying the station, but doing so may cause the materials in the station to be destroyed. Therefore, I decided to let your 389th and 295th Infantry Divisions change the direction of the march and immediately take back these two stations."
"I understand, Commander." When he learned that his troops no longer had to attack the flanks of the regular Soviet army, but instead dealt with guerrillas that had no combat effectiveness, Kurtzbach's confidence immediately stood up and said to Paulus: "I will contact Major General Magrus, the commander of the 389th Infantry Division, and Dr. Kofes, the commander of the 295th Infantry Division, so that they can immediately change the direction of the march and regain the station occupied by the guerrillas."
Major General Magrus's 389th Infantry Division had just completed boarding when he received a call from Kurtzbach. He thought the commander would ask if he was confident of breaking through the Russian flanks and had organized the words to deal with them in his mind. Unexpectedly, after asking about his identity, the other party said bluntly: "General Magrus, your division's mission needs to be adjusted and you will no longer attack the Russian flanks."
"What, don't attack the Russian flanks?" Magrus was startled by Kurtzbach's words. He thought that the other party would order him to lead his troops back to the factory area and continue to attack the defenders. Although the defenders in the factory had suffered heavy losses under the attack of his own troops, his own troops suffered a lot of casualties. He was afraid that he would continue to fight. Even if he barely occupied the entire factory, it would be a terrible victory and there would be no one left in his subordinates. Therefore, he asked cautiously: "Then where are you planning to let us attack?"
"The Russians occupied the 564th Km Station and the Kotluban Station," Kurtzbach said on the phone. "The next task of your division is to immediately take the train to the 564th Km Station and snatch the station from the damn guerrillas in the shortest time."
"What, Mr. Commander, what did you say?" Hearing the task assigned by Kurtzbach, Magrus' chin almost fell to the ground: "You said that the Russian guerrillas occupied the 564th kilometer station, I heard that I was right?"
"You heard it right, General Magrus." Kurtzbach said: "It was a group of damn guerrillas. They took advantage of the situation in the north and the station defenders were drawn out and suddenly launched an attack on the station, which led to the loss of the station, which was originally closely defended. How about it, do you have the confidence to take the station back from the Russians?"
Magrus was originally worried that the Soviet army would occupy the station, and there would inevitably be a fierce battle. But when he heard clearly that the station was just a group of guerrillas, he immediately despised the defenders of the lost station in his heart, and even thought: If my troops were asked to guard the station, even if only one company was arranged, no matter how many Russians were, he would not attack. He quickly said to the microphone: "Master, please rest assured, my troops will rush to the 564-kilometer station as soon as possible to regain the lost station. But I am still worried about one thing now."
"What are you worried about?" Kurtzbach asked in confusion.
"I'm worried that after destroying these damn guerrillas, the Russians will make a fuss about this matter again." Magrus said cautiously: "The guerrillas wear casual clothes, and the Russians may slander us, saying that we are massacring civilians."
"So you are worried about this." After Kurzbach figured out what his subordinates were worried about, he said lightly: "Don't worry, General Magrus, when the station is recaptured, we will send a reporter to report on your recovery of the station in detail. At that time, even if the Russian propaganda department wants to slander you, I'm afraid there will be no chance."
Hearing that Kurtzbach had made a guarantee for himself, Magrus felt much more at ease. He assured the other party: "Mr. Commander, we are less than 30 kilometers away from the 564th kilometer station. It only takes half an hour to reach the destination by the train. Then in another five minutes, we can take the station back from the Russian guerrillas."
Seeing that his subordinates were so confident, Kurtzbach was very pleased. He nodded and said, "General Magrus, I will give you two hours. Two hours later, I hope to hear that you have successfully regained the station. Do you understand?"
Chapter completed!