Seeing the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs leaving the headquarters, Sokov quickly thanked Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, thank you, thank you for coming in time to help me rescue me."
"You fool, a huge fool." Unexpectedly, as soon as Sokov finished speaking, Chuikov pointed his finger at his nose and cursed, "Do you know where the Ministry of Internal Affairs is? Do you think you can get there if you go in?
Come out intact? If you can't come out, what will happen to your troops and what will happen to Mamayev Heights? Will they all be handed over to the Germans?"
"Comrade Commander, I'm sorry, I was wrong." Sokov just wanted to leave with the people from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but he was thinking that the other party was going to arrest him. It was nothing more than disobedience. Since he had already reported it to Khrushchev
, even if he arrived at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the other party would not dare to do anything to him. Now when he heard Chuikov say it, he realized that he had oversimplified the problem, and he quickly apologized to Chuikov.
After Chuikov waved to the battalion commanders immediately, he first sat down at the table, and after inviting the three of them to sit down, he looked at Sokov and asked: "When I went to the front headquarters to accept my appointment, General Yereomenko asked me
In one sentence: 'Are you having trouble?' Guess what my answer was."
Hearing Chuikov's question, Sokov said the answer without hesitation: "You must have answered: 'There are difficulties, but I will not give up Stalingrad.'"
His answer startled Chuikov, who looked at him for a long time and then gave a thumbs up: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I have to say, you guessed it very accurately. That is indeed what I answered."
Belkin and Sidorin, who were sitting aside as spectators, had expressions of surprise on their faces when they heard what Chuikov said. They did not expect that Sokov could actually guess that Chuikov was at the front army headquarters.
As he spoke, he looked at Sokov with a hint of admiration.
After a pause, Chuikov asked again: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, what do you think is the most pressing problem of our army group at the moment?"
"Communication!" Sokov blurted out.
"Communication?!" Chuikov thought that Sokov would answer the current problem he was facing, which was the shortage of troops and equipment, as well as the lack of a complete defense system. Unexpectedly, Sokov said in an understatement that the most pressing problem was communication.
This confused him. He frowned and asked, "Why?"
"Comrade Commander, although the war has been going on for more than a year, communications are still the weak link of our army." Sokov explained to Chuikov: "As far as I know, all German troops are equipped with radios.
, and our army’s communication is still mainly based on wired telephones. Once there is a problem with the line, we can only send communication troops everywhere to deliver orders. If the troops are very close, it doesn’t matter; but if the troops are too scattered, not only will they not be able to grasp the information in time,
The situation of the troops also makes it difficult to convey orders in a timely manner."
When Sokov said this, he deliberately stopped to observe Chuikov's expression. Seeing that he was deep in thought, he continued: "Now the German army is getting closer and closer to Stalingrad, and the defense lines of both the enemy and ourselves are constantly changing.
If there is no reliable means of communication and only the communication troops are relied on to transmit orders, it is possible that by the time an "urgent" order is sent to the troops, the position to be held stipulated in the order has already been lost; there may even be troops designated to execute the order.
, the entire army has been destroyed under the attack of the German army..."
"You are right, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov." Chuikov waited for Sokov to finish and said in agreement: "It seems that if I want to command the troops better, I must first be equipped with enough radio stations for daily use.
communication."
"Yes, that's right, Comrade Commander." Since Chuikov is now the commander of the 62nd Army, Sokov no longer calls him general, but instead calls him commander: "As long as the troops below have enough radios
, you can convey various orders to the troops below in a timely manner, and at the same time, you can also understand the current status of the troops at any time."
Chuikov asked Sidorin next to him for a cigarette. After lighting it, he asked Sokov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I would like to ask, to what level is your brigade's radio station equipped?"
"Currently, every company in the brigade is equipped with a radio." When it comes to the communication situation of the infantry brigade, it is undoubtedly what Sokov is most proud of. Every time he seizes a German warehouse, he orders the troops to look for it first.
It's the radio. "Because of the special nature of the reconnaissance company, I equipped them with two."
"You have quite a few radio stations." Chuikov couldn't help but envy after listening to Sokov's introduction: "The 64th Group Army I originally commanded was only equipped with radio stations up to the regiment level. If I want to contact the troops below, I can only
We can use wired telephones or send communications troops to deliver orders."
"Comrade Commander, while the front army headquarters is still in the city, you should immediately request them to equip you with more radio stations." Sokov explained to Chuikov: "If your headquarters and the troops below are all
With enough radios, even if the main force of the 62nd Army is cut off by the Germans, you can still use the radio to command the troops in the encirclement and enable them to carry out organized battles."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, what did you just say, taking advantage of the opportunity that the front army headquarters is still in the city?" Chuikov asked back: "Do you think they will leave the city?"
"If the fighting becomes intense, for security reasons, I think the front army headquarters will definitely leave the city, cross the river to the left bank of the Volga River, and establish a new headquarters there to command the troops in the city to continue fighting."
Regarding Sokov's statement, Chuikov laughed and said: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, do you really think that the enemy's attack will force the front army headquarters to withdraw to the other side?"
"I think this is entirely possible," Sokov nodded and said, "If I remember correctly, Comrade Khrushchev once participated in the Battle of Kiev in order to prevent the tragedy of the front headquarters being annihilated by the enemy again.
, he is very likely to move the headquarters to a safe place before danger comes."
"Your statement makes some sense." Chuikov stood up and said: "Khrushchev is a cautious man. During the Battle of Kiev, he was one of the few senior commanders who successfully broke through. In order to avoid tragedy,
If it happens again, it is entirely possible for him to withdraw his headquarters to a safe area."
"Comrade Commander, where are you going?" Seeing Chuikov stand up, Sidorin quickly asked: "Aren't you going to stay here and have dinner before leaving?"
"There is no time," Chuikov shook his head and said: "The main force of the 62nd Army has been cut off by the Germans. I need to immediately assemble the reserve team in the city to counterattack the enemies who break through our defense lines and restore the relationship with the Army.