"Impossible, how is this possible?" The instructor shouted in surprise after a brief moment of confusion: "You know, he is just a captain, how can he be qualified to hold a general-level position?"
The teacher's voice was so loud that it passed through the closed door and reached the office outside. The female secretary who was typing was startled. She quickly put down her work, got up, came to the door, and put her ear to the door.
Next, listen carefully to what's going on inside.
"Hristonia, don't completely believe what you see with your eyes." The teacher's surprise was obviously expected by the dean. He said calmly: "Although the collar badge he carries on his shoulder is the rank of captain,
But that doesn’t mean he is really a captain.”
From the dean's words, the teacher heard the implication, and his breathing became rapid. Taking two deep breaths in succession, he forced himself to calmly ask: "Comrade dean, can you tell me about this Captain Sokov?"
His true identity?" Worried that the dean would continue to hide something from himself, he also emphasized, "As his faculty member, I have the right to know the true information about him."
"In fact, you also know his true identity." The dean stood up, walked out from behind his desk, came to the teacher, raised his hand and patted his shoulder: "He is the former commander of the 27th Army
Lieutenant General Sokov."
"What, he is General Sokov?" The instructor's eyes widened in surprise.
"Yes, he is your idol General Sokov." After the dean said this, he said with some regret: "Although his deeds are often reported in newspapers, for reasons of confidentiality, they have never been published in newspapers.
It’s normal if you don’t recognize him after seeing his photo.”
"Comrade Dean, I don't understand." It took the teacher a long time to wake up from the shock, and he asked with full of doubts: "Since Sokov is a general, why does he wear the rank of captain?
"
"You are now in charge of the intermediate commander training class. The students in it are basically captains or majors, and there may be one or two captains among them." Faced with the question raised by the instructor, the dean explained to him: "Have you ever
Have you ever thought about how much psychological burden it would put on other students if Sokov, who was participating in the training, sat in it wearing his lieutenant general title? In order to avoid this situation, he only
Wearing the rank of captain, when he is promoted to a higher-level training class, his military rank will be changed to lieutenant colonel. Only when he enters the most advanced training class, he will wear his true military rank."
After the dean's explanation, the teacher finally understood what was going on. He asked with some anxiety: "Comrade dean, I feel a lot of pressure now."
The dean laughed after hearing this: "Look, I'm not wrong. As a teacher, you became uneasy just after knowing the true identity of General Sokov. Those who were in the same training class with him
If the commanders in the squad knew his identity, what kind of reaction would they have?"
The teacher took out the cigarette case from his pocket, shook out a cigarette from it, held it in his mouth, and struck a match to light the cigarette. But because he was too nervous and his hands were shaking too much, he quickly cut a few matches.
Didn't light the cigarette either.
The dean took the match from the teacher's hand, helped him light the cigarette and said: "Christonia, the reason why I placed General Sokov in your class was because you are the most capable teacher in the intermediate training class.
The strongest. As long as you treat him as an ordinary student, you won't be so nervous."
"Then what should I tell them during class?"
"This is not your first time leading an intermediate training class. Do you still need me to teach you what you are going to teach?" The dean said to the teacher: "If you still feel unsure, you don't have to look at General Sokov during the lecture.
Pretend he doesn't exist."
The teacher took two more puffs of his cigarette, then put out the cigarette butt in the ashtray, looked up at the dean and said, "Okay, comrade dean, I'll give it a try."
Even so, when the teacher saw Sokov in the classroom the next day, his heartbeat couldn't help but quicken. He remembered the dean's words and tried his best to avoid looking at Sokov's position during the lecture.
.But despite this, his condition is still not ideal. The entire military theory class was stumbling, making the students below frown.
The instructor also realized his gaffe, put down his book, and said to the many students in the audience: "Comrade students, today's military theory class will stop here. Next, we will discuss the classic battle examples that have been included in the textbooks.
.”
As soon as the instructor said that he would introduce several classic battle cases that were included in the textbook, the students automatically ignored the teacher's absence and looked at each other curiously, wanting to hear what classic battle cases he was talking about.
Seeing the students in the audience sitting upright and looking at him expectantly, the instructor regained his confidence and said: "We all know that the defense of Stalingrad was a great turning point. I
Not only did the army annihilate the 6th Army, the most elite German army, in this city named after the supreme commander himself, but also captured tens of thousands of German officers and soldiers, including Commander Paulus.
According to post-war statistics, the survival time of soldiers who entered Stalingrad was 24 hours; as for officers, it was only 72 hours. But even in such a tragic battle, the entire city's defense line was never destroyed by the German army.
The offensive was divided. The reason for this is that the troops holding Mamayev Heights are indispensable..."
When the teacher said this, he accidentally saw Sokov and suddenly shivered all over. He suddenly realized that he was talking about the importance of holding on to Mamayev Heights in the entire battle to defend Stalingrad.
The meaning seems a bit inappropriate. After all, the commander of the troops who stood guard at Mamayev Heights was sitting down below to listen to the lecture.
After the teacher explained the importance of holding on to Mamayev Heights, he turned his attention to Sokov. His attitude towards Sokov had changed at this moment. He was polite yesterday because he felt that the other party was a great person.
Talent. At this moment, the teachers who knew Sokov's identity changed their attitude towards Sokov from politeness to respect.
He looked at Sokov and said respectfully: "Captain Sokov, what do you think of what I said?" Knowing Sokov's identity, he was careful when he spoke to avoid saying the wrong thing and inadvertently offending someone.
own.
Sokov was surprised to hear that the teacher asked him to comment on the defense of Mamayev Hills. Why did he get involved in the lecture while talking about it? But since the teacher took the initiative to ask him to give his opinion, Sokov did not
It's a good excuse. He looked at the teacher and said, "Comrade teacher, can you do me a favor and let me go to the blackboard? Because some things are not clear and I have to draw pictures to explain in detail."
"No problem, I'll help right here on the podium." The teacher readily agreed to Sokov's request, and even planned to come over in person to push Sokov's wheelchair, but Sokov politely refused.
When Sokov said he wanted to draw a diagram in front of the blackboard, the most excited people were Victor and Sukhalev. Without waiting for the teacher's instructions, they got up and pushed Sokov to the blackboard.
After thanking the two men, Sokov said to the students present: "Comrade students, let me share my views on the Mamayev Hill during the Battle of Stalingrad.
First of all, I think that to defend Mamayev Heights, it is necessary to have strong fortifications. Everyone knows that in the early days of the battle, the Germans had an absolute advantage not only in terms of troops but also in equipment. According to convention,
Strong fortifications should be built in key defense areas to minimize casualties when the troops suffer heavy shelling and bombing from the Germans.
But before the battle began, our army had differences on whether the German army would attack Stalingrad. In the eyes of most people, the attraction of Caucasus oil to the Germans was far greater than that of Stalingrad. It is precisely
Because of the existence of this wrong idea, when the enemy approached Stalingrad, the city's defense fortifications began to be rushed. In this case, even if they wanted to repair the fortifications, there was simply no time.
Since there was no time to build permanent fortifications, the troops stationed at Mamayev Hill used reverse slope fortifications and tunnel fortifications to improve the defense of Mamayev Hill..."
"Comrade Captain," Sokov just said this, a captain raised his hand and asked: "Can you explain to us what reverse slope fortification is?"
Sokov had long expected that someone would ask such a question, so he asked Victor and Sukhalev to push him in front of the blackboard in advance. When he heard the question raised by the captain student, Sokov asked
He turned the wheels of the wheelchair so that the wheelchair faced the blackboard. He picked up the chalk and drew a simple shape on it.
He explained while drawing: "We usually build fortifications on the side of the hillside facing the enemy's attack to resist the German attack, and this direction is the positive slope. Building fortifications on the positive slope can indeed help in the first time
It found the attacking enemy, but it also had a fatal flaw, that is, it was easily killed by the powerful German artillery fire.
As for the reverse slope, as the name suggests, it is behind the high ground. It is not easy to be bombarded by the enemy. Placing troops here can greatly reduce their casualties.
When I say this, some students may want to ask, since we have reverse slope fortifications, why do we need to dig tunnels?"
Before the students below had a chance to speak, Sokov asked himself again and said: "Although the troops hiding on the reverse slope can effectively avoid German artillery fire, they will still pay a huge price when encountering enemy bombings."
casualties. Therefore, tunnel fortifications came into being.
The troops originally placed on the surface of the hillside can be moved into the tunnels in time when the enemy's shelling or bombing begins, and hide underground to avoid the enemy's shelling or bombing, thus minimizing the losses of our troops."
"Comrade Captain, I have a question." As soon as Sokov said this, a major stood up and asked him: "Our troops are hiding in the tunnels, and it is difficult to observe the enemy's movements.
.Once the enemy launches an attack at this time, wouldn’t there be a possibility of losing our position?”
"Comrade Major," Sokov said, looking at the major who asked the question: "When the troops withdraw into the tunnel, they will also leave several observation posts outside to monitor the movements of the German troops. Due to our tunnel fortifications, there are exits and
The fortifications on the front and back slopes are connected. Once we find that the enemy has begun to attack, our commanders and soldiers can attack in time.
Even if the surface position is unfortunately occupied by the Germans, it is no big deal. Our commanders and fighters staying in the tunnels can still fight the enemy. We can even launch a counterattack when the time is right to take the position back from the enemy.
.”
The major who asked the question had obviously never seen this kind of fortification connecting the reverse slope with the tunnel, so he naturally didn't know how effective it was. After Sokov finished speaking, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Captain, is this kind of fortification really effective?
"
"Of course," Sokov nodded and said in an affirmative tone: "If the 73rd Infantry Brigade holding Mamayev Heights and the 41st Infantry Division later reinforcing it had not adopted this tactic, Mamayev
Fugang has long been occupied by the Germans."
Although Sokov knew that the students here knew the importance of Mamayev Heights in the battle to defend Stalingrad, he still added: "Once the Germans occupied Mamayev Heights, the industrial area in the north of the city and the industrial area in the south of the city
The old city will be split into two disconnected parts. The Germans can set up artillery on the high ground to bombard the boats crossing the river, and the areas occupied by our troops in the south and north of the city."
"What I just mentioned is only the first point, and I will talk about the second reason next." Sokov continued; "Being able to defend Mamayev Heights requires not only a complete defense system, but also the support of friendly forces.
very important."
After he drew a few strokes on the blackboard, he continued: "At that time, on the right wing of Mamayev Hill was the Red October Factory. In order to defend the factory and ensure the safety of the right wing of Mamayev Hill, the garrison commander even sent
A regiment of troops was recruited to strengthen the defense in the factory area.
As for the left wing, it is a unit directly under the 62nd Group Army. It is precisely because friendly forces serve as cover on both wings that the troops holding on to Mamayev Heights can concentrate on defense."
When the instructor heard this, he couldn't help but nodded slightly. He didn't expect that when Sokov talked about his classic battle, not only did he not take credit for it, but he even gave part of the credit for defending Mamayev Hill to the friendly forces on both wings.
"In addition to the complete defenses and the cover of friendly forces on both wings, another important factor is that the commanders and soldiers performed extremely bravely in the battle." Sokov thought of the Marine Corps Battalion when they took over the defense of Beigang.
With no ammunition or food supplies, Battalion Commander Shamrih led the entire battalion commanders and fought with bayonets against the invading enemies: "At the height of the fighting, the troops that took over the defense mission of Beigang were the newly arrived Marine Corps Battalion.
.
Due to their hasty arrival, the troops were not replenished in time, resulting in insufficient ammunition. Faced with several times of enemy attacks, Battalion Commander Shamrih personally led the entire battalion of commanders and fighters to fight with the enemy with bayonets, and forcefully repelled several enemy attacks.
Charged once and held the position."
As soon as Sokov finished speaking, someone immediately raised a question: "Comrade Captain, you seem to be very aware of what happened at Mamayev Heights. Have you ever participated in this defense battle?"