After Chuikov read the telegram forwarded by Yeremenko, he immediately jumped up from his seat and said repeatedly: "Impossible, this is an impossible task. In order to relieve the transportation pressure of the fleet in the Volga River area, we have all moved the artillery to
The purpose of the east bank is to free up space for transporting artillery shells to transport more important supplies. If we were really able to transport three full divisions into the city within three days, our situation would not be as difficult as it is now.
Already."
After saying this, Chuikov saw Gurov looking at him blankly, and quickly handed over the telegram in his hand and said to him: "Comrade Military Commissar, the superiors have given us a difficult problem and asked us to use three
Transporting three full infantry divisions into the city in just one day is simply an impossible task."
Gurov took the telegram and read it carefully. The more he looked at it, the tighter his frown became. After reading the telegram, he put it on the table and said: "Comrade Commander, at the end of the telegram, it is mentioned that all
The task of the troops crossing the Volga River within three days was handed over to Colonel Sokov. What on earth is going on?"
"I think maybe the superiors saw that we had chosen Colonel Sokov as the only candidate and were ready to test him, so they specifically asked him to complete this task." Chuikov said with interest: "Actually, I
I also want to see if Sokov is capable of completing the task assigned to him by his superiors."
"Director of the Communications Corps." Chuikov shouted to the side. After hearing Colonel Yulin's reply, he then asked: "Is the telephone line between us and the front army headquarters open?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, the communication line has always been open." After Colonel Yulin finished answering, he proactively asked: "Do I need to connect you to the front army headquarters?"
"That's right, Comrade Colonel." Chuikov nodded and said, "I want to speak to Commander Yeremenko to find out what this telegram is about."
The call was quickly connected. When Yereomenko's voice came from the receiver, Chuikov quickly said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am Chuikov!"
"It's Chuikov." Yeremenko recognized the call from Chuikov, looked at each other and smiled at Khrushchev, who was sitting across the table, and then asked, "What do you want from me?"
"Comrade Commander, I'm calling you about the telegram I just received." Chuikov said with some embarrassment: "I think our superiors asked us to get through the three newly arrived full-strength divisions within three days.
I think this is an impossible task for the Volga River. If we force the crossing at all costs, our troops will suffer heavy losses from the enemy's shelling and bombing."
"Comrade Chuikov, I understand what you want to express." After carefully studying the contents of the message, Yeremenko and Khrushchev discovered the mystery, but they deliberately did not tell Chuikov and pretended to be serious.
He said, "But orders from superiors are orders. As subordinates, we can only obey orders, not discuss orders. Do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand, I understand." After Chuikov said "I understand" twice, he said awkwardly: "The superior has given this problem to Colonel Sokov. Can he complete such a task?"
Naturally, Yeremenko would not tell Chuikov that his superiors issued such an order solely to test Sokov and see how capable he was, so as to decide whether to entrust him with important tasks. He deliberately said with a straight face: "Chuikov
Comrade, you haven't even tried it, how do you know that Colonel Sokov can't complete such a task? Let me remind you that the three full divisions will reach us in two days, that is to say, I will leave it to you.
We only have two days to think of a solution, so you must hurry up, otherwise it will be too late by the time the troops arrive on the east coast."
Chuikov was here in Yereomenko. Apart from knowing that three full-strength divisions would arrive in two days, Chuikov never got any useful information. He put down the phone with great disappointment and shook his head at Gurov sitting next to him.
Said: "Commander Yeremenko said that this is an order from the superior and there is no room for bargaining."
"Maybe we should call Colonel Sokov here to see if he can do anything." Gurov said slowly: "If the superior didn't think he could come up with a way, why would he name the task in the telegram?
Leave it to him?"
Gurov's words awakened the dreamer, and Chuikov, who was struggling with his problems, suddenly felt enlightened: "Yes, Comrade Military Commissar, if you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have thought of this. I'll call him right now.
Let him come to the headquarters immediately."
Sokov stayed at his headquarters and felt bored as never before, because the enemy not only stopped attacking the Mamayev Heights, but even the attack on the Workers' New Village was ineffective. The charging infantry stopped at 500
A few meters away, guns were fired indiscriminately at the workers' new village that had turned into ruins. The soldiers were unwilling to continue charging forward.
Hearing the news, Ivanov asked Sokov in confusion: "Comrade division commander, what is going on? According to Lieutenant Colonel Papuchenko's report, the enemies attacking Workers' New Village do not look like they are fighting, but
It’s like going through the motions.”
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, there is nothing surprising." Sokov waved his hand at Ivanov and said disapprovingly: "Yesterday, the two battalions that attacked Workers' New Village were completely wiped out by us, and a large amount of weapons and ammunition were also seized.
The enemy is worried that if they attack again, they will make the same mistake again, so as long as the Germans don't keep a close eye on them, the attack they launch is just a formality."
"Then do we need to launch another assault on the enemy?" After listening to Sokov's explanation, Ivanov asked tentatively: "I think the enemy has already lost their fighting spirit after yesterday's disastrous defeat. If we take the initiative to attack again, we will definitely be able to
Achieved great results."
"No, we cannot take the initiative to launch an attack." Unexpectedly, his proposal was rejected by Sokov. Sokov said solemnly: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, if our frontal enemy has always been the army of a slave country, then
There is basically no possibility for the enemy to capture Mamayev Hill, which ensures that the connection between the defenders inside the city and outside the city will not be interrupted.
But if they take the initiative and defeat the Romanian army in front of them, once the Germans see that their henchmen are no match for us, they may personally take action and launch powerful fortifications against our defense area. At that time, the situation at Mamayev Hill will change.
It becomes serious. In order to avoid this situation, we must ensure that the Romanian army continues to stay on the front of our army."
As soon as Sokov explained his intention to Ivanov, the phone rang. After Sidorin answered the phone, he said to Sokov: "Comrade division commander, the call came from the commander. He ordered you to
I rushed to the headquarters immediately and said that I have an extremely important task that I want to entrust you to complete."