It was already eleven o'clock in the evening when the guide sent by the division took Sokov's battalion to the designated location.
It was pitch black everywhere. In order to prevent him from accidentally breaking into the German fire damage range, Sokov stopped the troops and followed the guide himself, using the flashlight of the flashlight to carefully advance towards the position of the 972nd Regiment.
"Are they the troops from the city?" The two were walking forward when a deliberately low voice suddenly came from the darkness.
"Yes, we are coming from the city!" the guide asked in a low voice: "Where is Colonel Sergeyich?"
"The colonel sent me to wait for you here," the other party replied: "Follow me!"
"Wait a minute," Sokov whispered. "My troops are still nearby."
"Don't worry, I will send someone to settle them." After whispering to someone next to him, the other party said to Sokov and the others: "Everything has been arranged, let's go!"
Sokov and the guide followed this man, who was unknown as an officer or a soldier, along a communication trench, one foot deeper and one foot shallower. Finally, they came to the entrance of a relatively hidden semi-underground sheltered door not far away. A sentry stood at the door. With the help of the light coming from the side of the curtain at the door, after seeing the leader clearly, he quickly lifted the curtain and lowered his head. He said loudly: "Go in, the leader is waiting anxiously inside."
"Comrade Commander, come with me." The man led Sokov into the shelter. Entering the shelter, Sokov finally saw clearly that the person leading the way was a lieutenant, and the colonel he had seen during the day was sitting at a wooden table with two other commanders.
Sokov quickly stepped forward and saluted Sergei Ichi: "Comrade Colonel, Captain Sokov, commander of the Istria Battalion, is reporting to you that our battalion has been ordered to provide support and cooperate with you in seizing the enemy's stronghold."
"Cooperate?!" The colonel couldn't help but frowned when he heard the word Sokov used. "So, doesn't it fall under our command?"
"Yes, Comrade Colonel." As the saying goes, enemies are extremely jealous when they meet each other. When he saw the colonel in front of him who had taken away the honor of the Istrian battalion, Sokov's heart was filled with hatred. He wanted to raise his hand and give him The opponent slapped him twice. But at this moment, he still tried hard to control his emotions and said: "We were ordered to come here. We only cooperate with your regiment's attack and are not under your command."
"Comrade Captain," Sergeyitch asked Sokov with squinted eyes: "It looks familiar. Have we met somewhere?"
"Yes, Comrade Colonel, we have met." Sokov nodded and said affirmatively: "I also said a few words to you in the central square in Susinich during the day, next to the statue of Peter the Great. The words."
"Oh, it turns out it's you, Comrade Captain." Hearing Sokov say this, the colonel suddenly became enthusiastic: "Stop standing, sit down quickly."
After Sokov sat down, the colonel said to a major sitting opposite: "Commander of the third battalion, tell the captain...by the way, what's your name? I didn't hear it clearly just now." What he said next was a question. Cove.
"Sokov!" Sokov quickly replied.
After hearing Sokov's name clearly, the colonel continued: "Third Battalion Commander, please introduce the situation to Captain Sokov so that he can be aware of it."
"Captain Sokov," the battalion commander opposite stood up, pointed out a location on the map with his hand, and said to Sokov: "The target we want to capture is here. The German position is built on the hillside. Although the slope is It was gentle, but without tree cover, the enemy's machine gun fire blocked the entire hillside, exposing our offensive troops to the killing range of fire..."
After the major finished speaking, Sokov turned to ask Sergeyich: "Comrade Colonel, didn't you use artillery fire to suppress the firepower of the enemy's position during the attack?"
Hearing Sokov's question, Sergei smiled bitterly and said: "The mortars in our regiment have long been out of shells. Even guns and ammunition are in short supply. Many soldiers only have a dozen rounds left." Bullets.”
Sergeyitch's words made Sokov understand that the reason for the failure of the 972nd Infantry Regiment's attack was not only the German army's occupation of favorable terrain, but more importantly, the lack of ammunition. If they had enough ammunition, they would have captured the German position long ago. Thinking of this, he asked again: "Comrade Colonel, I would like to ask, when do you plan to launch another attack tomorrow?"
"At eight o'clock tomorrow morning, our regiment will launch another attack on the German army." Sergeyich said somewhat gloomily: "The division headquarters ordered us to capture this German stronghold before noon tomorrow. We must seize the time."
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov couldn't help but feel a little soft when he thought about the fact that the 972nd Regiment was short of ammunition. If they launched an attack forcefully, it would be like letting the soldiers die. Considering this, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little soft. So, he took the initiative and said to Sergeyich: "I think tomorrow's attack should be left to our battalion."
"How many people are there in your camp?" Another captain, who had never spoken, asked coldly.
"Our battalion is a reinforced battalion," Sokov said slowly, looking at the other party: "The whole battalion has three infantry companies, one machine gun company, and a number of directly affiliated troops. The total strength of the whole battalion is 700 people."
Hearing the numbers Sokov said, Sergeyich couldn't help but said in surprise: "There are so many people. How is your weapons and equipment?"
"Because our battalion captured a lot of weapons, the commanders and fighters of the entire battalion are basically equipped with German-made weapons. Half of the soldiers use submachine guns. In addition to the twenty machine guns in the machine gun company, every squad in the infantry company has There is a G34 general purpose machine gun."
Hearing this, Sergeyitch had an envious look on his face: "The remaining commanders and fighters of our regiment are not as many as yours in a battalion, let alone the weapons and ammunition. By the way, what time do you plan to launch the attack tomorrow? ah?"
"Comrade Colonel, I plan to launch the attack after dawn!" After Sokov said this, he noticed that Sergeyitch frowned. He immediately understood that the daybreak in winter is late, at least nine o'clock. The genius can fully shine, but the opponent thinks it is too late to attack. Therefore, he specifically explained: "I have to wait until dawn and see the nearby terrain clearly before I can formulate a corresponding attack plan."
Although Sokov had made his words very clear, Sergeyitch still had a disappointed expression on his face. He thought for a moment and said to Sokov: "Captain Sokov, let me see it this way. To be on the safe side, our regiment will launch an attack on the enemy's position as scheduled. If our attack does not go well, you can launch another attack." It’s not too late to attack.”
