Time quickly entered April. Due to insufficient troops and unsatisfactory road conditions, the German army did not launch an attack in any direction.
At Manstein's urging, Hausser ordered the troops of the Imperial Division, the Skeleton Division and the 17th Armored Division to select a suitable location five kilometers away from the Red Army Village and begin building fortifications in preparation for a confrontation with the Soviet army.
.
Seeing that Kharkov and Belgorod, which 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
If this situation continues, there will be no Battle of Kursk in July. Maybe it will be the Fourth Battle of Kharkov that comes in advance. As long as the Soviet army’s decision-makers don’t make fatal mistakes, there will be
In the next battle, the German army will be driven across the Dnieper River several months in advance.
Of course, what makes Sokov even more happy is that the troops his superiors promised to supplement him began to arrive one after another. Originally, it was said that three infantry divisions would be sent to him, but in fact, four divisions came.
The first unit was the original 45th Infantry Division. Because of its great achievements in the battle to defend Stalingrad, this division was reorganized into the 74th Guards Division. The division commander Sokolov was also promoted from colonel to major general.
The second unit is the original 99th Infantry Division, which has just been reorganized into the 88th Guards Division. The division commander is Major General Vladimirov.
The third unit was the original 226th Infantry Division, which was reorganized into the 95th Guards Division, and the division commander was Colonel Nikichenko.
The fourth unit is the 212th Infantry Division, which is the most complete unit in the original Sixth Army.
Sokov met these newly arrived division commanders at his headquarters.
Sokov first held Major General Sokolov's hand and said with a smile: "Comrade General, I'm glad to see you. I feel relieved to see that you are safe and sound."
"Hello, Comrade Commander." Sokolov's troops once defended the Dzerzhinsky Factory in Stalingrad with Sokov's troops, and the two troops forged a deep friendship during the battle.
Friendship. He held Sokov's hand and said excitedly: "When we learned that my troops will be under your command to fight the enemy in a new battle, all the officers and soldiers of our division felt happy and excited. We hope that under your command
Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, we will achieve more results."
Sokolov is still very optimistic about this unit of Sokolov. The enemy was able to hold on to the Dzerzhinsky factory for so long despite the fierce German attack, thus proving that the division is also a force capable of fighting tough battles.
Troops. Although the current designation of this division is the 74th Guards Division, it is estimated that there are only a handful of Guards divisions in front of them that can compete with them.
Then, Sokov shook hands with the other three division commanders one by one and said hello to him.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Sokov began to arrange defenses for these division commanders: "Comrade division commanders, due to our insufficient strength in the early stage, we placed three Guards Divisions outside the city and one Guards Division inside the city.
, prepare to use this formation to deal with the German attack.
But now that you are here, we have sufficient troops. Therefore, I plan to establish a second echelon, and all four of your divisions will be organized into the second echelon. When the troops of the first echelon cannot hold up under the German attack,
Then I’ll transfer you to the front line.”
Hearing what Sokov said, Sokolov immediately stood up and said to him: "Comrade Commander, you should know that our division has very rich defense experience in the battle to defend Stalingrad. Therefore, we
Please, can you transfer our division to the first echelon?"
Seeing that Sokolov proposed to Sokov that he wanted to go to the first echelon, the commanders of the other three divisions were not to be outdone. Even though they had just arrived at the Red Army Village, the results achieved by Sokov's troops had already been achieved.
Word spread from the rear that everyone had finally arrived here, so naturally they would not let go of various opportunities to make contributions, so they all asked Sokov to fight.
"Comrades, division commanders, please be quiet!" Seeing that all the mayors wanted to put their troops on the front line, Sokov was satisfied with their reactions. However, now that the defense line has basically stabilized, there is no need to change defenses at all.
Rejecting their insistence, he said to everyone: "The first echelon troops have been on the front line for almost a month. I think it is inappropriate to replace them at this time."
Seeing the disappointed looks on everyone's faces, he added: "But please don't worry, you will have a chance to get on the front line sooner or later."
"Then what is our mission now?" Colonel Anisimov, commander of the 212th Infantry Division, asked.
"The current task of your four divisions is to build fortifications in their respective defense zones." In order to prevent them from not understanding the importance of building fortifications, Sokov also emphasized: "With solid fortifications and a complete defense system
, even if the enemy breaks through our first line of defense, you can still use your own defenses to block the enemy's attack."
Seeing that the four division commanders were no longer as excited as before, Sokov continued: "Now the snow has almost melted. Although there may be some strong cooling and heavy snowfall in the coming days, the weather will
It’s getting warmer and warmer. On the way here, you should have noticed that there is mud everywhere. It is not an easy task to build fortifications under such conditions.”
"You are right, Comrade Commander." Sokolov agreed: "If we want to prevent water from accumulating in the trenches, then we must use a lot of wood when building fortifications. But the fortifications that our four divisions have to build
There should be a lot of wood, so where should we find the wood?"
Hearing Sokolov's question, Sokov was stunned for a moment, and then said: "Your defense area is surrounded by forests. You can arrange soldiers to enter the forest to cut down trees, and use the cut number to build fortifications."
Colonel Nikichenko questioned Sokov's plan: "Comrade Commander, if we want to cut down the forest, it seems that we need to obtain approval from the forestry department. Only with the felling certificate provided by them can we let the soldiers cut down the trees.
"
Sokov did not expect that there would be such an old-fashioned commander in his army. Now is a war, not a peace time. If you want to cut down trees and build fortifications, you still need to seek approval from the forestry department. I am afraid that when the enemy's attack begins, the fortifications will not be completed.
Still can't finish the repair.
After staring at Colonel Nikichenko for a while, Sokov said: "Comrade Colonel, I once heard Commander Rokossovsky say that one week after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, there will be no more
Trains carrying agricultural machinery, food and various resources are constantly heading towards Germany. Do you know why?"
Colonel Nikichenko didn't understand why Sokov would mention something that had nothing to do with the moment, so he shook his head and answered truthfully: "I don't know."
"This is because our people are inflexible and don't know how to adapt." Sokov stared at the other party and said: "Obviously we and the Germans have entered a state of war, and these departments are still following the delivery time step by step, and delivering those goods
The supplies that were required to be provided to Germany in the pre-war agreement continued to be transported to Germany. However, these trains were all attacked by the Germans during their travels, and ended up with a crash and fatalities."
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 he replied: "We can just go to the forest and cut the wood we need. There is no need to ask the forestry department for instructions."
"That's right, Comrade Colonel." Seeing that Colonel Nikichenko understood his intention, Sokov nodded and said with satisfaction: "As a commander, you need to know how to be flexible, so that you can have greater success on the battlefield.
The certainty of victory.”
"Comrade Commander," Colonel Nikichenko asked tentatively, "can you speak more clearly?"
"Let me give you an example. For example, your superior orders you to attack a German position. The firepower on the enemy 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, I am afraid that the troops
They will all be lost." Sokov asked Nikichenko again: "Comrade Colonel, how will you command the troops at this time? Should you implement a breakthrough from the front regardless of all casualties, or should you use a frontal feint attack to attract the enemy's attention?
How about using force, and then using troops to take a 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 high the price is, I think we should break through the enemy's defense from the front."
After hearing his answer, Sokov suddenly felt speechless. He had already given him a hint, but he still had to take the wrong answer. He shook his head and said: "Comrade Colonel, you are wrong. Fighting on the battlefield
, not only must you be brave, but more importantly, you must have brains, so that you can achieve greater victory with minimal casualties."
"Comrade Commander, the tactics you mentioned have been criticized as early as the end of the Soviet-Finnish war." Colonel Nikichenko said plausibly: "This kind of less bloodshed precautions will allow our soldiers to
He became cowardly in battle."
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov said speechlessly, not expecting the colonel to be so stubborn: "As a commander, you must know how to use tactics reasonably on the battlefield. You also know that today's troops are
The casualties are too great, but the reinforcements from the superiors are very few and come very slowly. Think about it, if you use up all your troops in the battle, then in the next battle, if you do not get reinforcements, then
All you can do is stand aside and watch the excitement, or retreat to the rear to supplement."
"Colonel Nikichenko," seeing that Nikichenko was always entangled, Lunev couldn't stand it any longer. He stood up and said to him: "You may not be older than Major General Sokov, but if you say
Until the war, you are not even qualified to be his student. In the days to come, I will pay attention to you. If I find that you are not qualified for the position of a division commander, I will use my authority to report it to my superiors so that
They removed you from your position."
Nikichenko didn't know who the person he was talking to was, but when he saw the blue hat on the other person's head and the two stars on the epaulettes, he knew that the other person was a big shot, and he quickly replied loudly: "I understand.
Comrade General, I will strictly implement the orders of Comrade Commander and strive to fulfill the duties of a division commander."
When Sokov heard Lunev's words, he realized that he had not introduced Lunev's identity to everyone until now. He quickly said to them: "Comrade commanders, let me introduce it to you. This is Lu Nev.
General Nev, he is not only the military commissar of the group army, but also the deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and serves as the representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs stationed in the group army."
Sokov's words shocked several division commanders. They did not expect that General Lunev, the military commissar of the group army, was actually the deputy minister of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Colonel Nikichenko, who had been opposing Sokov just now, was frightened.
Shivering, he thought to himself, if Lunev found that he was incompetent, he would not really let his superiors remove him from his post, right?
"Everyone must be very tired after traveling such a long way." Seeing everyone's frightened appearance, Sokov quickly came out to help them: "You all go back to your respective troops to rest. We will start tomorrow morning.
Start building fortifications."
After everyone left, Lunev said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, your attitude towards them is too friendly. In this way, they will look down on you in their hearts and will discount you when performing your tasks."
.I think you should be a little stricter sometimes, so that you can establish prestige in the minds of the commanders and fighters."
Sokov knew that Lunev said this for his own good, but due to his character, as long as the other party did not make any big mistakes, he would not glare at the other party. Therefore, he responded to Lunev's statement.
He just smiled lightly but did not express his opinion.
Lunev may have seen Sokov's embarrassment. He knew that Sokov's personality was that of a gentle boss. If one day he suddenly became harsh, his subordinates might not be able to accept it. So he could only retreat.
Next, he said: "Comrade Commander, if you feel that you cannot be strict with your subordinates, then leave all the offending matters to me. I believe that with my status, I will make them fear me."
Sokov knew very well that in order to manage the troops well, as the highest-level commander, he must have the role of both a good person and a bad person. Since Lunev took the initiative to take on this offending job, he said in passing: "Military
Comrade committee member, I will trouble you more from now on."
Lunev grinned and replied: "Comrade Commander, I don't understand military matters. I will not participate in commanding the war. But helping you manage your subordinates is what I am good at. You can rest assured about this."