Chuikov believed in his heart that forming a new battle group would help improve the current unfavorable situation in Stalingrad. As long as he proposed it, Sokov, who could get benefits, would readily agree to him. Who knew that Sokov would actually do this?
Rejecting himself politely, he frowned and asked dissatisfiedly: "Why, tell me your reasons?"
Sokov noticed Chuikov's dissatisfaction and knew that if he didn't explain clearly, he might leave a thorn in the other's heart. After reorganizing the words in his mind, he said: "Comrade Commander, the enemy
They have launched countless attacks on Mamayev Heights, but they all ended in losses. They realized that it was completely unworthy to invest a lot of troops and technical equipment in order to seize this so-called commanding heights of the city. Therefore, they are now
They adjusted their strategy and used the troops of the slave countries to continue the attack, while the main forces were transferred to the factory area to the north in an attempt to capture the Barricade Factory and the Dzerzhinsky Factory. As long as they captured these two factories, they could
Go forward to the Volga River and go down the river to seize the ferry behind us and completely cut off the connection between the defenders in the city and the outside world. If a battle group is formed at this time, it will attract the enemy's attention from the north of the city...
…”
"Colonel Sokov," Gurov suddenly asked after hearing this: "So, you are afraid? Are you afraid that the enemy will regard your place as the focus of the attack?"
"Yes, Comrade Military Commissar, I'm scared." Sokov felt that he needed to talk the issue out in front of Chuikov and Gurov, otherwise, if he really set up a battle group in the south of the city, Stalingrad would be devastated.
The situation has become even more confusing: "The two chiefs must also know that the battles in the old city in the south of the city are mainly small-scale. Therefore, although our troops deployed here are small, we can still prevent the enemy from occupying the entire old city.
.
However, once a battle group is formed and the enemy discovers that our army poses a threat to them in the old city, it is possible to adjust the main attack direction. Once the enemy's main force gathers in the south of the city, I am afraid that our troops can only sustain it for a day or even less.
At that time, the enemy can go north along the Volga River, take the back road of Mamayev Hill, occupy the ferry by the river, and cut off the connection between the city and the outside world. If this happens, all the factories in the north of the city will be destroyed.
It fell when it ran out of ammunition and food."
After listening to Sokov's analysis, Chuikov said nothing. He just tapped his fingers on the table slowly, thinking about whether he should give up the idea of forming a battle group.
"Comrade Commander..." Seeing Chuikov's delay in speaking, Gurov called him softly.
Chuikov raised his hand to stop Gurov, looked up at Sokov and asked: "Colonel Sokov, I know that if a battle group is established, the pressure on you here will increase. But, apart from that, you
Is there any good way to reduce the pressure on the Barricade Factory and Dzerzhinsky Factory?"
"If you want to defend the Barricade Factory and the Dzerzhinsky Factory, you cannot engage in passive defense." Although Sokov knew in his heart that in his own capacity, he had no right to dictate the defense of the two factories, but since it was Chuikov who asked
, he could only say carefully: "An appropriate counterattack must be carried out to disrupt the German offensive steps."
"We have always used this style of play." Chuikov was obviously not satisfied with Sokov's answer: "The question is, why did your counterattack succeed, but the friendly counterattack failed?" He was deeply afraid that Sokov was hiding something secret.
, and also specifically emphasized, "In order to defeat the German attack on the city, you can't hide any good methods you have."
"I think that for a counterattack to be successful, it must be sudden and concealed." After Sokov expressed his thoughts, he was afraid that Chuikov and the others would not understand, so he specifically explained: "We do not have the number of tanks and artillery.
There are many enemies and there is a lack of air cover. If we prepare artillery fire before the counterattack begins, it is equivalent to telling the enemy that we are about to launch an attack in this area. You should hurry up and prepare..."
Sokov's words immediately caused a burst of laughter in the room. After everyone laughed, Chuikov nodded and said: "Yes, Colonel Sokov, what you said makes sense. We are at a disadvantage in terms of the number of artillery and tanks."
, when there is no air cover, the short artillery preparation in the area where the counterattack is to be carried out is indeed notifying the enemy that we will carry out the counterattack here, allowing them enough time to take countermeasures."
After saying these words, Chuikov turned to look at Gurov sitting next to him, and said with a smile: "Comrade Military Commissar, you see, the enemy's psychology has been figured out by Colonel Sokov. No wonder his troops
Always win battles."
"Yes, Comrade Commander, what you said makes sense. Colonel Sokov has understood the enemy's psychology, so he can be more targeted when formulating combat plans." After listening to Chuikov's words, Gurov
Afterwards, looking at Sokov, he continued to elaborate on his point of view: "Because of this, I think it is very necessary to establish a battle group. If Colonel Sokov can command more troops, he can achieve greater results, thus
It will greatly weaken the enemy's strength and reduce the pressure on the troops in the north of the city. It will lay a good foundation for the final victory in the defense of Stalingrad."
The smile on Sokov's face gradually disappeared. He did not expect that after spending a long time talking and talking, he finally managed to persuade Chuikov to change his mind. In the end, Gurov was still stubborn and insisted on raising the issue of establishing a combat group again. He
He quickly turned his attention to Chuikov for help, hoping that the other party would stand up and say a few words for him.
Chuikov saw Sokov's gaze, but he did not rush to express his position. Instead, he frowned and thought for a while, then turned to Gurov and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, I don't think the establishment of a combat group is a good idea."
It needs to be considered in the long term. Even if a consensus is reached within the group army and Colonel Sokov agrees to serve as the commander of the combat group, it is still unknown whether the superiors can approve this plan and whether they can send us more troops."
"Comrade Commander, I reserve my opinion." Gurov said stubbornly: "I propose that after returning to the headquarters, we should immediately convene a meeting of the members of the Military Committee to discuss the plan for establishing a battle group.
"
Chuikov knew that Gurov's starting point was good. If he refuted him in public, he would be unable to get off the stage, so he nodded and said: "Okay, Comrade Military Commissar, should we set up the establishment in the south of the city and the Mamayev Heights area?"
Regarding the battle group, we will convene the members of the military committee to discuss it after we return to the headquarters."
"Colonel Sokov," Chuikov asked Sokov again: "What are your plans for the next battle?"
"I plan to rely on the existing fortifications on Mamayev Hill to consume the enemy's effective strength and wait for the arrival of the major counterattack."
After listening to Sokov's words, Chuikov grinned and asked: "When do you think we can launch a counterattack?"
Sokov clearly remembered the specific time of the Soviet counterattack, but he was not stupid enough to report it to Chuikov. Otherwise, Chuikov would find out that the time Sokov mentioned coincided with the real counterattack time, and he would not be able to justify it.
Therefore, he pretended to think for a long time before saying slowly: "Comrade Commander, the major counterattack under Moscow last year was on December 6. I think our major counterattack may be launched before December."
"Launch a counterattack before December?!" Chuikov repeated the time, with a bitter expression on his face: "In other words, we must survive the enemy's strong attack for two more months. I think, the next