After the call was connected, Chuikov heard Sokov's voice and immediately ordered: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, there is a troop sent to us from the base camp today, which may cross the river and enter the city. You must monitor the river closely. If there is any
If you have any news, report it to me immediately."
When Sokov heard what Chuikov said, he couldn't help but be a little stunned. Didn't the defenders at the ferry report the news of the landing of the 13th Guards Division to Chuikov and the others?
Chuikov did not hear Sokov's answer, so he raised his voice and said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what are you doing, why don't you answer me?"
"Comrade Commander, I can report to you right now that the leading troops of the 13th Guards Infantry Division have completed crossing the river and are heading towards the city from the ferry." Sokov glanced at Rodi who was standing next to him.
Mtsev, added: "General Rodimtsev is next to me and he wants to talk to you."
Chuikov was also surprised to learn that Rodimtsev had arrived at Sokov's headquarters, but he quickly returned to normal and said into the microphone: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, give the microphone to Rodimtsev
, I want to speak to him personally."
Sokov handed the microphone to Rodimtsev and did not leave. He wanted to hear what Chuikov planned next. After chatting with Chuikov on the phone for five or six minutes, Rodimtsev put down the microphone and asked Sokov
Kokov said: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the commander has said that from now on, the troops from the Mamayev Hills to the Tsaritsa River will be under my unified command."
Sokov had long guessed that Chuikov would hand over the troops scattered near Mamayev Heights to a certain commander. But he felt that it was wrong to let Rodimtsev unified command of so many troops.
Inappropriate. Although Rodimtsev is a general, he has just entered the city, and it can be said that he has no idea what the situation is. How can he plan a series of defense or offense in a targeted manner?
Where's the plan?
But an order is an order, and sometimes you have no choice but to carry it out even though you know it is wrong. So he straightened his body and said to Rodimtsev: "Comrade General, I am willing to obey your command, please give the order."
." Although he said this, he was murmuring in his heart. If the other party ordered him to lead the troops stationed at Mamayev Heights to launch a full-scale counterattack against the German army, would he execute the order or choose to disobey?
Fortunately, Rodimtsev did not give Sokov such an order that put him in a dilemma. Instead, he said to him in a negotiating manner: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, Comrade Commander ordered me to lead the troops to retake the occupied territory.
The expert building occupied by the German army and the strengthening of the defense of the central railway station. I don’t know where these places he mentioned are located. Can you send someone to guide us?”
Knowing that he only needed to send someone as a guide, Sokov naturally agreed: "No problem, Comrade General, I will immediately mobilize capable people to serve as guides for your troops."
As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Sidorin suddenly asked: "Comrade General, since Commander Chuikov ordered you to command the troops near Mamayev Ridge, where do you plan to place your headquarters?
?”
Sidorin's question made Sokov's heart skip a beat. If Rodimtsev decided to place the headquarters here, wouldn't he have no choice but to change the location? Thinking of this, he couldn't help but blame Sidorin secretly. Why?
I suddenly thought of asking such a question.
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Rodimtsev just shook his head and said: "I plan to stay with my troops. When my troops take over the expert building, I will set up the headquarters there. Lieutenant Colonel Sokov
Principal, I have two things to ask of you."
Knowing that Rodimtsev would not set up his headquarters in Mamayev Heights, Sokov could not help but feel relieved, so he said without hesitation: "Comrade General, as long as it is within the scope of my ability, I will
I’ll definitely do it.”
Rodimtsev said with some embarrassment: "Although my army has tens of thousands of people, there are still more than a thousand people without weapons. I wonder if you can help us solve the problem of weapons."
Before the German army approached the city, Sokov sent troops out to harass the enemy many times. Especially when Christopher led the attack, he directly took away a German military warehouse and seized a large amount of supplies from it, including
Including a lot of weapons and ammunition. Sokov considered that the supply of ammunition from across the river was prone to problems, so he replaced most of the troops in the brigade with German equipment. At this time, he heard that the Guards Division has more than a thousand
Since the man had no weapons, he said readily: "Comrade General, there happens to be a batch of unused weapons in our warehouse. You can send someone to collect them."
Seeing Sokov so readily agreed to provide weapons for his troops, Rodimtsev smiled on his face and made a second request: "According to the previous river crossing arrangement, whoever will be the first to cross the river with me will
, are the 34th and 39th Guards Regiment. Colonel Ye Lin's 42nd Guards Regiment may have to wait until night to cross the river. The soldiers who lack weapons are now concentrated in the 42nd Guards Regiment. I hope that when they cross the river
, you can send someone to respond, place them properly, and provide them with weapons."
Hearing that Ye Lin's 42nd Guards Regiment was about to enter the city at night, Sokov couldn't help but his eyes lit up and his heart beat faster than expected. He thought to himself, if he remembered correctly, the new recruits who had just joined the army would
Vasily Zaitsev should be in the 42nd Guards Regiment. In addition, Sergeant Pavlov, who was guarding the Pavlov Building, was also from this regiment. If possible, he must find a way.
I doubt Colonel Ye Lin would have any objections to poaching these two people.
Sokov was so absorbed in his thoughts that he did not hear what Rodimtsev said later. It was Sidorin who gently pulled his sleeves a few times to wake him up from his thoughts. He hurriedly
Putting on a serious look, he said to Rodimtsev: "Don't worry, Comrade General, I will send someone to wait at the ferry. When Colonel Yelin's troops arrive, we will lead them here."
A quarter of an hour later, the 39th Guards Regiment sent by Rodimtsev to the Central Railway Station set off. In real history, as soon as this regiment crossed the Volga River, it carried out an attack on the German troops occupying Mamaev Hill.
Counterattack. At this moment, because the 73rd Infantry Brigade commanded by Sokov did not allow the enemy to occupy Mamayev Hill, the mission of this unit changed from attacking Mamayev Hill to
Go to reinforce Central Station.
Sokov stood with Rodimtsev in the observation post on the top of the hill, looking at the retreating troops, and murmured to himself: "Now there is a guard regiment of more than 2,000 people guarding the central railway station. The Germans
If we want to capture this place, we will inevitably use more troops than in history. In this way, the pressure on Mamayev Heights will be greatly reduced."
Sidorin called from the headquarters and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, a commander came from the army headquarters. He said he wanted to see General Rodimtsev."
"I understand." Sokov said into the phone: "Let's go down right now." After putting down the phone, Sokov immediately said to Rodimtsev, "Comrade General, a man from the Army Headquarters is here.
Commander, I said I came here specifically to see you."
When the two of them left the observation post on the top of the hill and walked towards the command post in the tunnel, Rodimtsev suddenly asked: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I want to ask what prompted you to attack in Mama
Are tunnels dug under Yevgan?"
Naturally, it was impossible for Sokov to tell Rodimtsev that he was a person from the future. He knew that throughout the entire battle to defend Stalingrad, Mamayev Hill was the focus of contention between the two sides. If there were no solid defenses, it would be impossible.
If you want to defend this place, you can only fill it with human lives. He hesitated for a moment and said in a way that the other party could accept: "Comrade General, this is the commanding heights of Stalingrad. I think it will definitely become the focus of the German attack. Due to the geology
The reason is that it is impossible to build strong fortifications on the surface of the hills, so I thought of using tunnel fortifications and surface positions to resist the German attack."
When the two returned to the headquarters, they saw a lieutenant colonel chatting with Sidorin. Judging from the expressions on their faces, they should be acquaintances.
Seeing Sokov and Rodimtsev walking in from outside, the lieutenant colonel quickly stopped talking to Sidorin, walked up to Rodimtsev, raised his hand to salute him, and politely
Said: "Hello, General Rodimtsev! Let me introduce myself. I am Lieutenant Colonel Weinrub, director of the armored forces of the group army. I was ordered to come to cooperate with you in seizing the expert building."
Hearing that the other party was the director of armored vehicles, Rodimtsev couldn't help but be overjoyed and asked quickly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I wonder how many tanks you can provide to cooperate with our attack on the expert building."
Weinrubu stretched out a palm and replied a little awkwardly: "Comrade General, our tanks suffered huge losses in the early battles. Therefore, in cooperating with your attack on the expert building, we only
I can provide you with five tanks."
Five tanks?! When Rodimtsev heard this number, he couldn't help but frowned slightly, but he quickly relaxed: "Yes, yes, our troops were in a hurry to enter Stalingrad, so they did not carry any heavy equipment."
Weapons. With the cooperation of these five tanks, we will be more certain to recapture the expert building from the enemy's hands."
When Weinrub heard what Rodimtsev said, he couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was originally worried that the other party would dislike him for bringing too few tanks. Seeing that the other party was so reasonable, he said easily: "Comrade General, we
The tank is being refueled at the moment and will reach the attack position in about half an hour. How about I accompany you to see the terrain first?"
…………
After Rodimtsev left with Weiyinrubu, Sokov immediately ordered Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, Colonel Yelin's 42nd Guards Regiment is crossing the river tonight. You should immediately send a few smart soldiers to arrive.
Cross the river and wait for them."
"After they arrive, where should we place them?" Sidorin waited for Sokov to finish speaking and asked him for instructions: "We can't let them stay in the open space, otherwise they will wait until dawn.
Become a target for enemy aircraft."
Sokov thought for a while and then said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, isn't there a deep trench in Krutoy on the northern slope of Beigang? It can lead directly to the factory area. It is said that both sides of the trench are filled with
The waste residue transported from the factory is a very convenient place for concealment. Why not place the 42nd Guards Regiment there first, and then adjust their positions after the conditions improve."
Sidorin heartily disagreed with Sokov's arrangement. But after thinking about it for a while, he found that there really was no other place where he could store two to three thousand like the Krutoy Deep Trench.
He was not discovered by the German reconnaissance plane. Thinking of this, he nodded and said: "Okay, Comrade Brigade Commander, I will do as you say. After the 42nd Guards Regiment crosses the river tonight, I will
Let people take them there and hide them."
"By the way, General Rodimtsev said that more than half of the commanders and fighters of the regiment are not equipped with weapons." Sokov remembered Rodimtsev's words and quickly reminded Sidorin: "After Colonel Yelin comes ashore,
Ask someone to invite him here, and we will provide them with enough weapons and ammunition."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Sidorin said to Sokov hesitantly: "When you just said these words in front of General Rodimtsev, I thought you were just trying to make a gesture.
Do you think you really plan to provide them with weapons?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I would like to remind you that the Germans are very powerful. No matter how powerful our brigade is, we cannot defeat them independently. We need the cooperation of friendly forces. Do you understand?" Sokov finished his words.
After that, seeing that Sidorin still looked confused, he continued: "Also, the commanders and fighters of our brigade are now almost all equipped with German equipment. The eliminated equipment of our army can only be piled in the warehouse. Rather than letting these weapons
Rusty, it is better to use it to support friendly forces. They are fighting the Germans the most fiercely, and the less pressure we will bear here."
Sokov's words convinced Sidorin, who nodded and said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are right. Anyway, we can't use those obsolete weapons for the time being, so we might as well use them to support friendly forces. This way.
After the battle begins, someone will be able to provide us with some help in critical moments to reduce the pressure we are under."
The next step was to arrange for the candidates to go to the ferry to pick up the 42nd Guards Regiment. Sidorin advocated sending Guard Company Commander Seryosha up, but Sokov rejected it: "No, Seryosha still has to command the troops and be responsible.
The safety of the headquarters cannot be allowed to take risks. Chief of Staff, you'd better change someone else."
Sidorin was silent for a moment and then asked again: "What about Christopher?"
Sokov still shook his head and objected: "He is the commander of the reconnaissance company, and there are more important things waiting for him to do. It is better to arrange for other people to send people to the ferry to meet the troops."
Seeing that the two candidates he proposed in succession were rejected by Sokov, Sidorin asked with some frustration: "Comrade Brigade Commander, tell me, who do you think is the best person to perform this task?
"
"Samoilov." Sokov said without hesitation: "Second Lieutenant Samoilov, the commander of the third platoon of the guard company, I think he is the best candidate."
Sidorin was also aware of Second Lieutenant Samoilov's ability. Seeing that this person was the candidate proposed by Sokov, he did not object, but nodded and said: "Okay, brigade commander."
Comrade, then send Second Lieutenant Samoilov to meet Colonel Yelin."