Captain Rettenmaier confirmed the reinforcement of the barricade factory through the documents of the Soviet soldiers who fell, which was the troops commanded by Sokov. He immediately reported the matter to the regiment headquarters through the radio station. The regiment commander Colonel Wentzel received a call and felt that the matter was of great importance, so he quickly called Steinmetz in person.
The person who answered the phone was Steinmetz's adjutant. After hearing Wentzel's voice, he apologized: "I'm sorry, Mr. Colonel, the division commander has rested. If you have nothing important to you, please call me after dawn."
"Adminton, call the division commander immediately." Although Steinmetz was the division commander, because he had not been in office for a long time and had not fully established his prestige in the division, Wentzel heard the adjutant say that the other party had rested, so he said to the adjutant impatiently in an orderly tone: "I have important information to report to him. If the matter is delayed, be careful of your head."
When the adjutant heard Wentzel's tone so stern, he immediately realized that it was very important that the other party should report to the division commander. He quickly laughed and said, "Mr. Colonel, please wait for a while, and I will ask the division commander to answer your call immediately."
Steinmetz was woken up from his sleep by an adjutant, and his face was full of displeasure. Before he could attack, the adjutant said first: "Your Excellency the Division Commander, it is a call from Colonel Wentzel, the leader of the 578th Regiment."
As soon as he heard that it was Wentzel's call, Steinmetz remembered that he ordered the regiment to enter the barricade factory tonight. At this moment, he called himself. Either the troops had been deployed or there were other important things to report. He took the microphone handed over by the adjutant and put it in his ear and said, "Col. Wentzel? I am Steinmetz!"
"Grand Commander!" Wentzel reported: "I just received a telegram from the first battalion commander Captain Retemier. He had figured out that the Russian troops to reinforce the barricade factory were part of the 41st Guards Division commanded by Sokov."
I was really afraid of something, but I just came. Steinmetz was always worried about reinforcement of the troops in the barricade factory, Sokov's guard division. When he heard Wentzel's report, he found that his worries had become reality, which made him tremble. After a while of silence, he hesitated and asked: "Col. Is this information reliable?"
"Reliable, completely reliable!" Wentzel said with confidence: "Before Captain Rettenmair's troops entered the No. 4 factory, a Russian army attempted to attack the No. 4 factory and was repelled by the defenders who were stuck inside. They concluded that the reinforcements were the 41st Division of the Guards through the documents of the Russians who were shot dead."
"This important information needs to be reported to the Military and Army Command immediately." Steinmetz thought so in his heart, and asked casually: "Col. Wentzel, have your troops entered the barricade factory?"
"The first battalion has entered the No. 4 factory." Wentzel replied: "The second battalion, the third battalion and the regiment headquarters will arrive at the designated location before dawn."
Steinmetz is also a smart man. From Wentzel's report, he guessed that the other party had only dispatched the first battalion, the second battalion, the third battalion and the regiment headquarters, and they were probably still there. However, he did not expose the other party, and only said: "Be sure to enter the barricade factory before dawn." After that, he hung up the phone directly.
After putting down the phone, Steinmetz couldn't sleep anymore. After sitting by the bed smoking a cigarette, he felt that he should report the matter to the commander, so he turned off the cigarette butt in the ashtray, picked up the phone on the bedside table, and dialed a number. After hearing a sound from inside, he said to the microphone: "I am General Steinmetz, immediately connect with me to the military headquarters and find General Kurtzbach."
When Kurtzbach learned that the troops stationed in the barricade factory were Sokov's 41st Guard Division, he couldn't help but frown. Although his troops have been winning streaks since the Battle of Kharkov, his subordinates suffered a great loss in several battles with Sokov's troops, so that whenever his division commanders heard Sokov's name, everyone would be frowning.
Since his opponent is Sokov, Kurtzbach felt that he could not take it lightly and needed to report the matter immediately. He raised his hand and looked at the watch. It was already one o'clock in the morning. According to the time, Commander Paulus must have gone to bed. However, this matter is of great importance and cannot be delayed. He could only call the Group Army Command with a tough bullet.
The officer on duty heard that it was a call from Kurtzbach and guessed that there must be something important, so he quickly said respectfully: "General Kurtzbach, please wait for a moment, and I will immediately forward the phone to the Chief of Staff."
Chief of Staff Schmidt heard that the officer on duty said there was a Kurtzbach's phone call, so he ordered the other party: "Transfer the phone in." After answering, he asked curiously: "General Kurtzbach, it's so late, you call. Is there anything important?"
"His Excellency Chief of Staff," Kurtzbach heard Schmidt's voice and quickly said: "My subordinates report to me that the Russian troops stationed in the barricade factory during the day were the 41st Guard Division commanded by Colonel Sokov. I think we are in trouble."
"What kind of Guards 41st Division?" Schmidt also felt a headache when he heard the number Kurtzbach said, but for the sake of safety, he asked: "Is it the Russian army that holds the Mamayev hill?"
"Yes, it's them."
"Has this information been confirmed?" Schmidt asked with a serious expression.
"It has been confirmed, Your Excellency Chief of Staff." Kurtzbach replied: "This information was reported by Captain Retemier, the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 578th Regiment of the 305th Division. He judged the number of this Russian army based on the documents of the Russian soldiers who were killed."
"It seems all true." After confirming that the Russian troops stationed in the barricade factory were indeed Sokov's 41st Guard Division, Schmidt also realized the seriousness of the problem: "General Kurtzbach, do you have the ability to deal with them?"
"It's very difficult, Chief of Staff." Kurtzbach complained to Schmidt: "You also know that several of my divisions have become very weak after a long battle. In addition, there are problems with supply today. I think it's very difficult to defeat Sokov's troops and occupy the barricade factory."
As the chief of staff of the army, Schmidt knew very well about the situation of the soldiers of each division. He knew that Kurtzbach's words were not alarmist, but facts. He tapped the table with his fingers, thinking about how to help Kurtzbach. After thinking for a long time, he finally came up with a good idea, but before obtaining Paulus' permission, he did not disclose more information to Kurtzbach: "General Kurtzbach, I will report this matter to the commander after dawn and ask him to send reinforcements to you to destroy the Russian troops in the factory."
Kurtzbach knew Schmidt and knew that he was not a person who casually opened a verbal check. He smiled and said, "Since that's the case, Lord Chief of Staff, I'll wait for your good news."
After finally staying up until dawn, Schmidt calculated the time that Paulus should get up, so he took the call record of his and Kurtzbach and went to Paulus's bedroom.
Paulus had just woken up and was sitting by the bed in the bedroom, eating his first breakfast. When he saw Schmidt hurriedly walking in, he put down the coffee in his hand and looked up and asked, "Chief of Staff, are you doing anything?"
"Hisser Commander," Schmidt came to Paulus and handed over the call record in his hand, while saying, "A few hours ago, General Kurtzbach called me and said that they had figured out that the Russian troops who reinforced the barricade factory yesterday were the 41st Guard Division commanded by Sokov."
Hearing Sokov's name and the number of troops, the muscles on Paulus's face twitched violently. He quickly finished the call record, then looked at Schmidt and asked, "Chief of Staff, where are you going to transfer troops to strengthen the attack on the barricade factory?"
"Engineering Battalion!" Schmidt said without hesitation: "I think I can send the 52nd, 162nd and 294th Engineering Battalions that have just been transferred to the city to the barricade factory to strengthen the attack power there."
"What, send the engineer battalion to the barricade factory?" Paulus naturally knew that the three engineer battalions Schmidt mentioned were not the kind that only knew how to clear mines and build pontoon bridges, but a special combat force. Most of the officers and soldiers participated in the French battle and made countless military achievements on the Russian battlefield. To put such an elite force into the battle to seize the barricade factory, Paulus was somewhat reluctant to let go: "Chief of Staff, are there no other troops to send?"
"We do have other troops to mobilize, but they are all incomplete units." Seeing that Paulus was a little reluctant to put the engineer battalion into battle, Schmidt said carefully: "The morale of these troops is generally low. Even if they are sent to the barricade factory, it will be difficult to seize the factory in a short time. And our engineer battalion..."
"Okay, Chief of Staff, you don't have to say anything more." Paulus realized from Schmidt's words that it was undoubtedly the best choice to seize the barricade factory as soon as possible. He gritted his teeth and said to Schmidt: "You give orders to the three barricade commanders of the barricade, and let them immediately rush to the barricade factory and participate in the battle to seize the factory."
"Mr. Commander, I want to ask." Schmidt asked respectfully before leaving Paulus' bedroom: "Who should command these three engineer battalions?"
"As far as I know, these engineer battalions can maximize their combat effectiveness every time they fight independently." Paulus said without hesitation: "Tell these three battalion commanders that after entering the barricade factory, they do not have to obey anyone's command, and can flexibly use various tactics based on the actual situation of the battlefield."
Chapter completed!