Chapter 670: Making up for the situation before it is too late
After Sokov imparted street fighting experience to the company-level commanders of the third battalion, he hurried back to Mamayev Heights before dawn. As soon as he entered the headquarters, he couldn't wait to ask Sidorin
: "Chief of Staff, is there any news from the Army Headquarters?"
Sidorin knew what Sokov was asking, and nodded vigorously and replied: "I called the commander, and he said that around ten o'clock in the evening, the collapsed division headquarters was dug up and trapped inside.
All the people were rescued. Except for being a little depressed, no one was injured."
Although Sokov had long believed that both Gurov and Zoludev would be safe and sound, but now that he heard Sidorin's personal confirmation, his heart that was hanging in his throat finally returned to his stomach.
"How is the situation in the city?" Seeing Sokov back so soon, Sidorin was worried that something had happened, so he asked nervously: "Nothing happened, right?"
"The enemy's and our defense lines in the city are intertwined and intertwined. The enemy's aircraft, tanks and artillery are useless." Sokov took a trip to the city and got a general understanding of the situation there. He heard
When Sidorin asked, he said casually: "The enemy knows that they cannot capture the city in a short period of time, so they can only concentrate their main forces in the direction of the factory area, hoping to achieve greater results."
"Then do you think the superiors will allocate troops from us to strengthen the defense of the factory area?" Sidorin obviously heard what Ivanov said, so he asked tentatively: "Wouldn't our strength be weakened by then?
Defense force?”
"If the situation of the friendly forces is critical, we can't just ignore it, right?" Although Sokov was deeply unwilling to have his superiors deploy his own troops, in front of outsiders, he could only slap his face in shame.
Fatty Chong pretended to be nonchalant and said: "Helping the friendly forces hold their positions is equivalent to holding our flanks. This is a very cost-effective deal for us."
Sokov walked to the table, leaned over and looked at the map spread out on it. Seeing some newly added arrows and defense icons, he asked curiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is there any new content added to this map?"
"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Sidorin nodded and replied: "Based on the latest information provided by the headquarters, I made adjustments to the existing defense areas and the German offensive direction on the map."
In order to give Sokov a more detailed understanding, Sidorin specially explained to him: "Comrade division commander, from the Red October Factory, the Silicate Factory, the Barricade Factory to the Dzerzhinsky Tractor Factory, we have a total of six
The troops of the division are defending..."
While listening to Sidorin's explanation, Sokov carefully checked the enemy and enemy situations on the map. After looking at it for a while, he couldn't help but frown. He pointed to a line between the Red October Factory and the Barricade Factory.
Asked Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, what is this place?"
"It is a gully that extends from the Volga River to the west and is filled with slag." After answering this question, Sidorin asked: "Comrade division commander, is there anything wrong?"
"Chief of Staff, do you know which unit is defending?" Sokov asked noncommittally.
"I don't know." Sidorin shook his head and replied, "After all, that's not our defense zone."
"Immediately find out which troops are defending this gully." Sokov picked up a red and blue pencil and tapped the position twice, and said with a serious expression: "Once the enemy bypasses the silicate plant, they can move along the gully.
The gully between the Red October Factory and the Barricade Factory goes all the way to the bank of the Volga River. At that time, the few divisions we hold on to at the factory may be surrounded by the enemy."
Sidorin stared at the map for a while and said in an uncertain tone: "Comrade division commander, that is the defense area of the 308th Division and the 95th Division. I guess it may be a unit of one of these two divisions."
"I don't want to hear any estimates," Sokov said impatiently: "I want to know exactly the number of the troops holding there and the name of the commander."
Ivanov, who had remained silent, saw the increasingly serious expression on Sokov's face and realized the seriousness of the problem. He asked tentatively: "Comrade division commander, do you think the enemy will send troops through this gully?
Directly towards the Volga?"
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander," Sokov gently tapped the location of the gully with a pencil and said to Ivanov: "The enemy will not only send out scouts to conduct reconnaissance on our defense area; at the same time, they will also send out reconnaissance aircraft.
If there are no our troops in this gully, the enemy will probably know it soon. They will take advantage of our army's attention and being attracted by the battle in the factory area, secretly send troops into the gully, and then rush directly to
Volga."
When Sokov introduced the situation to Ivanov, Sidorin also realized the seriousness of the problem. He quickly picked up the phone and called Chuikov, preparing to report the problems discovered by Sokov to the other party.
Chuikov worked all night in the headquarters. It was almost dawn before he lay down on the table and took a nap. Unexpectedly, as soon as he closed his eyes, the phone on the table rang. Before the phone rang for the second time, Chuikov worked hard at the headquarters all night.
This time, he grabbed the microphone and put it to his ear and said: "I am Chuikov, where are you from?"
"Comrade Commander, I am Sidorin!" Sidorin asked cautiously: "I didn't disturb your rest."
Chuikov knew that Sidorin had nothing important and would never call him at this time, so he asked directly: "What happened?"
"That's right, Comrade Commander." Sidorin quickly replied: "When the division commander was looking at the map, he found that between the Red October Factory and the Barricade Factory, there is a road extending from the Volga River to the west, which is full of ashes.
The gully of Zha. The location of this gully seems to be undefended by our troops..."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sidorin," Chuikov, who was awakened from his sleep, said dissatisfiedly after listening to Sidorin's report: "Your responsibility is to hold on to Mamayev Heights. The defense of other areas has nothing to do with you. You
Just stop meddling in other people’s business.”
Krylov walked in from the outside and saw Chuikov hanging up the phone angrily. He couldn't help but asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, who called?"
"It's Lieutenant Colonel Sidorin," Chuikov said dissatisfied: "He said that between the Red October Factory and the Barricade Factory, there is a gully filled with ash and slag, and it seems that there is no defense force..."
"Where is the gully?" Unexpectedly, Krylov became nervous when he heard this. He quickly looked at the map on the table and quickly searched for the gully mentioned by Chuikov. After seeing the location clearly,
He couldn't help but take a breath: "Comrade Commander, once the enemy bypasses our army's defensive position at the silicate factory, they can successfully enter this gully. If there is no defense force in this gully,
The enemy will soon be able to rush to the banks of the Volga River, and then the situation will be unimaginable."
"Which division's defense zone is this gully in?" Chuikov asked briefly.
"It should belong to the junction of the 308th Division and the 95th Division." Krylov knew the defense areas of each division very well. As soon as Chuikov finished asking the question, he gave the correct answer: "Due to the strength of the troops,
Not enough, there is a gap of about one kilometer between the two divisions."
"So," after listening to Krylov's answer, Chuikov realized the seriousness of the problem: "Neither Gurdiev nor Gorishny have troops to fill the gap at the junction of the two divisions?
?”
"I think so, Comrade Commander." Krylov nodded and gave Chuikov a positive answer: "You know, the two divisions first suffered a lot of losses in the counterattack; yesterday, the German army
After fighting tenaciously for a day under the heavy attack, the casualties will definitely not be small. I think it is very difficult for them to mobilize troops to fill the gap."
"Then, which troop do you think we should use to fill the joint between the two divisions?" Chuikov looked at Krylov and asked tentatively: "Should we use Sokov's troops again?"
In fact, when he talked about sending troops to fill the gap, Krylov thought of Sokov. But he was worried that Chuikov would object, so he didn't know how to speak. When Chuikov asked first, he said smoothly: "I
Looking at this arduous task, it can really only be completed by Sokov’s troops.”
"Chief of Staff, call Colonel Sokov." Chuikov thought that he had just scolded Sidorin, and it would be embarrassing to call him for help so quickly, so he ordered Krylov: "Let him send
At least one battalion of troops rushed to the gully between the two factories to set up defenses, and the enemy must not be allowed to rush to the bank of the Volga River through there."
Krylov immediately conveyed Chuikov's order to Sokov via phone, and also emphasized: "Colonel Sokov, since the enemy may launch an attack on our defense area at any time, the troops you sent should be dispatched as soon as possible.
Bit."
Sokov put down the phone, looked at the people in the headquarters and said with a smile: "It seems that Comrade Commander really thinks highly of us. As long as it is a difficult task, he will leave it to us to complete without hesitation."
After saying this, Sokov suppressed the smile on his face, looked at everyone and asked: "Tell me, which troop should we send to support?"
"I think Lieutenant Colonel Papuchenko's 122nd Regiment will carry out this mission." Ivanov hesitated for a long time and finally said: "After all, their regiment does not have any combat missions now."
"No," Sokov shook his head and said, "The 122nd Regiment suffered serious losses in the battle the day before yesterday. We need to give them time to recover. I think we should send other troops to perform this task.
"
"Comrade Division Commander," Sidorin looked at Sokov and asked, "Which unit have you decided to send over?"
"How about the Marine Corps Battalion in Shamrich?" Sokov said without hesitation: "There are hundreds of people in this battalion, and they are all experienced sailors. They will be responsible for the defense of the gully. I think it is
It couldn’t be more appropriate.”
"Then, who will directly command this unit?" Ivanov asked tentatively: "Comrade division commander, if you trust me, let me command this defensive operation!"
To be honest, Sokov was really worried about Ivanov. In any case, the opponent had been in the army for more than ten years and his tactical style had already been finalized. If he was allowed to command the troops, there might be a fight.
A war of attrition. Thinking of this, Sokov shook his head and said, "I think it's better for me to command this army myself."
"No." Hearing that Sokov planned to take action personally, Sidorin and Ivanov said in unison: "You are the commander of a division, how can you take risks casually? It is better to leave this task to someone else.
Commander, let’s finish it.”
"You don't have to argue with me." Sokov waved his hand to interrupt the words of the two people behind him, and said stubbornly: "The superiors asked us to go to the gully to set up defenses. They only asked us to prevent the enemy from passing through the gully. They did not ask us to take positions with the enemy.
Therefore, I plan to personally lead the troops there and deploy the defense of the gully based on the actual situation."
Although Sidorin had some objections to Sokov's practice of always going to the front line in person, he felt that he could not convince him, so he sensed the interest and did not argue. Instead, he took the initiative to ask: "Comrade division commander, besides the Marine Corps Battalion,
Besides, which other troops do you plan to bring there?"
"Bring another guard company." Thinking that the division headquarters now has a four-company guard battalion, Sokov simply took a company and followed him to the gully. Since he was leaving the division headquarters, the division's
Sidorin and Ivanov can only continue to be responsible for the work: "Chief of Staff, Deputy Division Commander, the old rules are still the same. When I am not at the division headquarters, all matters in the division will be resolved through consultation between the two of you."
"Don't worry, comrade division commander." Sidorin expressed his position to Sokov: "While you are away from the division headquarters, the deputy division commander and I will definitely do a good job in the defense of Mamayev Hill and never let the enemy occupy the hill.
.”
After everything that needed to be explained was completed, Sokov did not bother to rest, so he strode out of the headquarters, found Seryosha, and asked him to take the guard company, which was all the original members of the infantry brigade, with him.
Let's go to the factory area to perform tasks together.
After receiving the notice, Shamrih personally sent to meet Sokov as soon as he completed the assembly of the troops, and said respectfully to him: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, the Marine Corps Battalion has been assembled and ready to go at any time. I'm waiting.
Your orders, please give instructions!"
Sokov hoped that the troops could reach the designated position before enemy planes were dispatched. This would not only reduce unnecessary casualties, but also catch the enemy by surprise in the ravine without the enemy noticing. As soon as he heard that the troops
After the assembly was completed, Sokov nodded and said: "Very good, we need to rush to the combat area immediately before the enemy's shelling and bombing has started. This can avoid many unnecessary casualties." At this point,
He waved his hand suddenly, "Let's go!"
"Yes!" Shamrih replied resoundingly, then turned around and ordered Captain Yakuda, the deputy battalion commander: "Comrade deputy battalion commander, lead the troops and set off immediately!"