After Sokov assigned the task, he did not return to the ward immediately, but stayed in the headquarters. He felt that since Vitkov was now his deputy, it was necessary to have a good chat with him to eliminate his knot, so that
We can cooperate better in the future.
"Colonel Vitkov, please sit down." After Sokov asked Vitkov to sit down, he said with a smile on his face: "I think we should have a good chat."
"Comrade Brigadier," Vitkov did not call Sokov by his name and rank as before, but called his position coldly and said, "If you want to say anything, please say it."
Sokov waited for Witkov to sit down before he said: "Colonel, I know you were demoted, and you must be feeling emotional." At this point, he paused intentionally for a moment to observe the other party's reaction, and when he heard Witkov
After Cov snorted heavily, he continued, "Although I have been recovering from my injuries for the past half month, I still know a little bit about the situation in the brigade. Under your command, the defenders of Mamaev Hill,
At least thousands of German soldiers were wiped out, and at least more than fifty tanks, assault guns and armored vehicles were destroyed. Overall, this record is quite astonishing."
Hearing Sokov affirming his achievements during this period, the expression on Vitkov's face softened a lot, but when he thought about his inexplicable demotion to deputy brigade commander, his dissatisfaction emerged again: "
Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, since you think my command is pretty good, why are you so eager to resume your duties?"
Vitkov's attitude was already expected by Sokov. He waited for the other party to finish speaking before he said slowly: "Comrade Colonel, before you take over the post of brigade commander, we will gradually recruit
There were some scattered troops in the city, and the whole brigade totaled more than 4,600 people. But only half a month later, the total strength of the brigade dropped sharply to more than 1,500 people..."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I think such casualties are completely acceptable." When Vitkov heard this, he immediately interrupted Sokov's words: "When some infantry divisions entered the city, they had seven or eight soldiers.
Thousands of people, but often after a week of fighting, there are only a few hundred of them left. The cruelty of the fighting in the city far exceeds your imagination."
Sokov tried hard to control his emotions and said in a calm tone: "Comrade Colonel, my troops have been arranging defenses at Mamayev Heights since July. The purpose of doing this at that time was to survive the cruel
In street fighting, the casualties of the troops should be minimized..."
Vitkov interrupted Sokov again: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I would like to remind you that the slogan of victory with less bloodshed has been adopted by the Supreme Command after the arduous and arduous Finnish campaign.
It was criticized as an incorrect slogan that led the army to dream of an easy victory.
As a commander, we must clearly realize that this war with the German *** will be long and arduous, so we must be mentally prepared to pay a huge price..."
Regarding the views expounded by Vitkov, even the political commissar Belkin on the side could not find a reason to refute in a hurry. He could only shrug his shoulders at Sokov, spread his hands and signaled
He was also helpless.
The phone ringing in time resolved the embarrassment in the room. Sidorin grabbed the phone and said loudly: "I am Sidorin, where are you from?...Oh, it's Captain Golia!...You guys
About to set off?!...Okay, I wish you good luck and return from your mission as soon as possible."
After Sidorin put down the phone, he said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, Captain Golia and the others are receiving equipment at the exit. They will be ready to leave in five minutes at most."
After learning that Golya and the others were receiving equipment and making final preparations before departure, Sokov suddenly felt a little uneasy and quickly asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, when they pass through the enemy's defense line, will there be any danger?"
?”
"I don't think so." When Sidorin said this, he glanced at Vitkov quickly and said: "Some time ago, the enemy was frightened by our sneak attack tactics. Even at night, their vigilance was still weak.
It was very strict, and the passwords were changed every two or three hours, which caused a lot of trouble for the scouts who passed the defense line. However, the enemy's guard seemed to have relaxed a little during this time, and the scouts we sent yesterday passed smoothly.
beyond the enemy's defense line."
Sidorin's reaction was seen by Sokov, and he knew as clearly as a mirror. What Sidorin meant was that since Vitkov adjusted his tactics, the enemy had seen their rear.
They were not attacked again, so they relaxed their vigilance. In this way, there should be no problems for Golia and the others to pass through the enemy's defense line smoothly tonight.
Since Golya and the others were able to successfully pass through the enemy's defense line, Sokov did not dwell on the matter any longer. He ordered Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, send a telegram to Major Yakov and ask about the new batch of
When will the rockets be delivered? If we have to send small teams to operate deep behind enemy lines in the future, this kind of rockets will be indispensable."
"I understand, Comrade Brigade Commander." Sidorin nodded and said, "I will now arrange for the telegraph operator to send a report to Major Yakov and ask when the new rockets will arrive."
While the two were talking, a voice suddenly came from the door: "Misha, why are you here?"
Everyone followed the sound and looked toward the door, only to see Asiya standing at the door carrying a medical kit, looking inside. Belkin saw that it was Asiya, and quickly stood up and waved to her: "Asiya
Ya, what are you doing standing at the door? Come in quickly."
Asiya walked in slowly, looked at Belkin and asked, "I didn't disturb you, did I?"
"Asia, look what you said, why are you disturbing us? We are also chatting." Belkin said with a smile: "You are here to see Comrade Brigade Commander, right?"
Asiya nodded and replied: "It's time for him to get an injection, but I didn't see him in the ward. I asked the soldiers who took care of him, and I found out that he was here." After that, she faced Sokov.
Said, "Misha, let's go back to the ward. Don't affect other people's work here."
"Asiya, my injury is almost healed. I won't go back to the ward from today on." Sokov waved his hand to Asiya and said, "I want to stay here to command the troops."
When Asiya heard what Sokov said, she had an embarrassed expression on her face. She glanced at Vitkov, who was sitting silently next to her, and lowered her voice and said to Sokov: "Misha, you are not a traveler now."
Chief, what are you doing here?"
Vitkov heard clearly what Asiya said, tried his best to put a smile on his face, and said: "Asiya, you may not know yet, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov has returned to the post of brigade commander.
.”
"What, Misha became the brigade commander again?" This unexpected news shocked Asiya. She stared at Sokov and asked: "Misha, is this all true?"
"Yes, this is all true." Sokov nodded at her and said with a smile: "Now I am the commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade again."
"When did this really happen?" Asiya looked at Vitkov who was aside: "You became the brigade commander again. What will Colonel Vitkov do? Should he return to the army headquarters?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov will continue to serve as the brigade commander of the infantry brigade. It was a decision made by Army Commander General Chuikov half an hour ago." Vitkov said to Asiya calmly: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov
After the officer is reinstated, I will still stay here as deputy brigade commander and assist him in commanding the troops to protect Mamayev Heights."
…………
Although Sokov asked Golya to select ten soldiers to carry out a sneak attack mission behind enemy lines. However, when Golya was selecting manpower, he found that the commanders and fighters in his battalion suffered heavy casualties, so it was difficult to gather enough numbers. In the end,
Including him, only six people were chosen.
On the way to the enemy's defense line, Sergeant Tavlin, who was working as an interpreter, asked with a grimace: "Comrade Battalion Commander, the enemy's defense line is heavily guarded. Even if we wear German uniforms and ride in German armored vehicles, if we want to pass,
I’m afraid it’s not an easy task, right?”
Golia glanced at his subordinate and said expressionlessly: "Don't worry, Comrade Sergeant, according to reliable intelligence, the German defense line has been lax recently, and we should be able to pass smoothly."
Hearing what Golia said, Tavlin was silent for a moment, and then asked: "Comrade Captain, I feel very strange. Since the new brigade commander took office, he has canceled all operations behind enemy lines. Why did he suddenly order us to arrive today?"
Where are we going to the enemy's rear? Is there any conspiracy in this? Isn't it to let us die?"
Tavlin's words made Goliya laugh: "Come on, Comrade Sergeant, you are not a big shot, will anyone conspire against you? Let me tell you the truth, this mission is for Lieutenant Colonel Sokov
He was personally deployed by the colonel, and he returned to his position as brigade commander."
"What, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov has returned to serve as our brigade commander?" Hearing what Goliya said, other soldiers in the car gathered around and asked: "Comrade Battalion Commander, what do you mean?
Are all of them true?"
"Am I still going to lie to you?" Golia pointed to the wooden box containing the rockets in the carriage: "You have all seen this wooden box, right? Comrade Comrade Brigade Commander personally ordered it to be prepared for us so that we can use it.
This one goes to bombard the enemy’s headquarters.”
"Great, this is really great." When the soldiers heard that Sokov returned to the position of brigade commander, they couldn't help but be overjoyed and said repeatedly: "The brigade commander is back to command us. I believe that in the next battle, we will win the battle."
The casualties can be greatly reduced.”
While everyone was enjoying themselves, the driver suddenly turned around and said to the back: "Comrade Battalion Commander, we found an enemy sentry on the road ahead. What should we do?"