On the evening of New Year's Day, Sokov suddenly received a call from Chuikov, asking him to rush to the army headquarters immediately, saying that there was something important.
Since Chuikov didn't say anything on the phone, Sokov could only wonder whether Chuikov called him over to celebrate New Year's Day. For Russians, this is equivalent to a grand festival like the Chinese Spring Festival, and maybe it can be
Eat something delicious.
Unexpectedly, when Sokov hurried to the army headquarters, he saw an unexpected person sitting at the table talking and laughing with Chuikov and Krylov. Sokov quickly stepped forward, straightened his body and raised his head.
Salute each other with both hands: "Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front Army!"
The person sitting between Chuikov and Krylov was the new front commander Rokossovsky. Seeing Sokov's arrival, he smiled at him and said: "Colonel Sokov, come here
Yes, we are waiting for you."
Sokov stepped forward to shake hands with Rokossovsky, saluted Chuikov and Krylov, and then sat down in an empty seat at the table.
"Comrades," Rokossovsky waited for Sokov to sit down before continuing: "According to the intelligence we have, Hitler denied Paulus's southwest breakthrough in order to ensure that his plan to seize Caucasus oil would not fail.
The plan is to order the Sixth Army to continue to defend in the existing area. In order to eliminate the surrounded enemies, I plan to launch an offensive campaign called the 'Ring'...
The enemies surrounded by us now control a vast area 60 kilometers long and 40 kilometers wide. If we launch an offensive, they will inevitably retreat to the Volga River and the Stalingrad area, and you may suffer unprecedented difficulties.
Comrade Chuikov, I want to ask you, can the 62nd Army block the enemy's attack?"
"Of course, Comrade Commander of the Front." As soon as Rokossovsky finished speaking, Chuikov said confidently: "Since in October, when the situation was the most severe, Paulus was not able to drive us into the Volga River.
So now, he has no chance of breaking through our army group's defense line and taking a step forward towards the Volga River."
In order to let Rokossovsky understand his confidence, he drew a virtual circle on the top of the map with his hand and added: "For us, the enemy in front of us is no longer a complete group army, but a
A huge prisoner of war camp, but the enemy has not yet laid down their weapons."
"I really didn't expect you to be so confident." After hearing Chuikov's words, Rokossovsky showed a satisfied smile on his face: "This is really great. It seems that we should indeed launch an attack on the enemy."
In order to prevent Chuikov from underestimating the enemy, he also specifically reminded: "But Comrade Chuikov, I need to remind you that it is a bit premature to call them prisoner-of-war camps at this moment. Sometimes injured beasts bite people more ferociously, and the enemy is attacked by our troops."
When they are compressed near the Volga River and Stalingrad, they will definitely put up a crazy resistance, so don't get bitten by this wounded beast."
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, please rest assured." Seeing Chuikov winking at him, Sokov signaled that he also expressed his opinion, then stood up and said: "Although our troops are a little small, it may not be suitable for use in the attack.
It's enough, but it won't be a big problem to block the enemy's attack."
Regarding Sokov's answer, Rokossovsky nodded again with satisfaction, and then said to Chuikov: "Comrade Chuikov, considering your lack of troops, after study by the Front Military Committee and approval of the Supreme Command, we have decided to
You replenish an army for the field fortification area."
"Troops in the field building fortification area?" Chuikov's face showed a look of confusion.
Rokossovsky considered that Chuikov might not understand the organization of this kind of army. After all, shortly after his return, he led his troops to participate in the defense of Stalingrad: "Fortification regional troops are composed of command agencies and some powerful personnel.
It is composed of a small unit with firearms. We assign such a unit to you to replace those units that have withdrawn into the base camp reserve."
After explaining the task, Rokossovsky said a few more words, then raised his hand to look at his watch, and after scanning everyone, he asked: "Do you have anything else to add?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I have a request." Sokov was worried that it might not be easy to contact Rokossovsky again after he left, so he quickly asked: "Can you equip us with some artillery?
"
"Artillery?!" When Rokossovsky heard Sokov's question, he first glanced at Chuikov in confusion. Seeing that Chuikov also looked confused, he guessed that he might not understand the situation, so he asked Sokov directly.
Husband: "Colonel Sokov, can you tell me what I need the artillery for?"
"It is used to attack the city, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov explained to Rokossovsky: "The enemy's battle to attack the city has deeply realized that fighting in the city is not only attacking, but also using the continuous
When defending with frontal trenches, we cannot adopt the tactics of positional warfare in the field. After many painful experiences, the enemy has learned to use the strongest buildings and the basements of residences as support points for its stubborn resistance. We must start from
To seize these strong points from the enemy's hands, artillery must be used on a large scale."
Sokov's words aroused everyone's curiosity. Chuikov asked on behalf of everyone: "Colonel Sokov, tell us how you plan to use artillery to assist the infantry in seizing strong points occupied by the enemy?"
"The buildings in the city that have not been completely destroyed are very strong." Seeing that everyone wanted to know the answer, Sokov explained to them: "If we still follow the previous tactics and attack the fortress before attacking,
Preparing artillery fire on the attack target will not only consume a lot of artillery shells, but also achieve unsatisfactory results. Therefore, I considered pulling the artillery to a few hundred meters away from the enemy's defensive building and conducting direct fire. As long as the bombardment
With a few shots, we can destroy the enemy's fire points and blast holes in the walls of the building large enough for people to pass through. In this way, our assault troops can calmly rush into the building and eliminate the enemies entrenched inside."
"Interesting, interesting." Rokossovsky couldn't help but nod his head after hearing this, and said approvingly: "Colonel Sokov, your tactics are very novel and should be of great use in attacking cities.
effect."
Seeing that the time was almost up, Rokossovsky stood up again and said: "Operation 'Ring' will officially start on January 10th. Before that, you can send people to persuade the surrounded German troops to surrender. If someone can
It would be best to take the initiative to lay down our weapons and surrender to reduce unnecessary casualties of our army."
After hearing Rokossovsky's words about sending someone to persuade the Germans to surrender, Chuikov took the initiative and said: "Commander of the Front Army, I think Colonel Sokov should be responsible for the task of persuading the Germans to surrender. You don't know, he was there with the Germans."
He is much more famous than me, so if he takes the initiative, I believe he will achieve good results."
"Okay, Comrade Chuikov, leave it to Colonel Sokov to persuade the Germans to surrender." Rokossovsky readily agreed to Chuikov's proposal. He said to Sokov: "That's it.
In two days, I will send someone to deliver a letter of surrender, and you will take it with you to persuade Paulus to surrender. If he is willing to take the initiative to lay down his arms and surrender, it will be a good thing; if he refuses to surrender, it does not matter, we will completely kill him.