Sokov stood alone in the crater, raising his binoculars to look at the German artillery positions in the distance, thinking secretly in his mind that if the Germans really brought in a few more heavy artillery pieces, these simple fortifications on the top of the mountain would be razed to the ground. Flat ground. It seems that in order to hold the position, we cannot engage in passive defense and must take the initiative.
If you want to take the initiative, you obviously cannot launch an attack directly from the high ground. Soldiers who have lost the cover of trench fortifications will be directly exposed to German firepower. They will be killed by artillery fire and machine gun fire during the charge, and suffer huge losses. The companies stationed at the foot of the mountain do not have any combat missions until the third company withdraws from their positions. They can be ordered to attack the German artillery positions.
Thinking of this, Sokov left the crater and walked towards the station down the mountain without looking back. Saviev and Stepan, who were directing the soldiers to reinforce the fortifications and treat the wounded, saw Sokov leaving. After the two looked at each other, Saviev said: "Instructor, do you know why the battalion commander suddenly What about going down the mountain?"
Stepan looked at Sokov's back, shook his head, and said in an uncertain tone: "I think Comrade Battalion Commander may have gone down the mountain to arrange for troops to take over our defense. After all, the enemy's artillery fire was too fierce. If it continues like this After a few rounds like this, there will only be a few people left in our company."
Belkin, who was in charge of the battalion command post at the foot of the mountain, heard the soldiers report that the battalion commander came down from the position on the mountain alone, and quickly walked out of the command post to greet Sokov. Each company had observation posts observing the direction of the top of the mountain, so the company commanders of each company also received the news of the battalion commander's descent from the mountain immediately.
When Sokov returned to his battalion command post, he found Belkin and several company commanders standing at the door waiting for him. He couldn't help but curiously asked: "Why are you all here?"
"Comrade Battalion Commander," Andre replied first: "We saw you coming back from the top of the mountain and guessed that you might have a combat mission to give us, so we all rushed over."
Vasily asked anxiously: "Comrade Battalion Commander, we have just seen the enemy's shelling on the top of the mountain, and we know that the commanders and soldiers of the third company suffered a lot of casualties. I request that our machine gun company be transferred up to strengthen the firepower on the high ground."
"What's the rush? When it's time for you to go up, I will naturally let you go up." After Sokov glared at Vasily dissatisfied, he ordered: "What are you doing standing at the door? If you have anything to say, go in and say it. "
After everyone sat down in the small battalion command post, Sokov looked at the three company commanders and said: "Comrades, company commanders, because the top of the mountain is not large and the fortifications are simple, it is difficult to withstand the German heavy artillery bombardment. . In order to better hold the position, I plan to send a unit to sneak attack the German artillery position during the night."
"Sneak attack?!" When Belkin heard this, he couldn't help but interrupt and asked: "Comrade Battalion Commander, is this possible? If the sneak attack fails, will it have a bad impact on the morale of our army?"
"Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander," Sokov turned to look at Belkin and said with a smile: "We cannot carry out unilateral defense, we must find opportunities to take the initiative to attack. Suvorov once said: Surprise is the only way to win! We want to take the initiative on the battlefield into our own hands so that the enemy cannot attack us according to the predetermined plan. Therefore, I plan to send a small force to sneak attack the German artillery positions and reduce the defense of the third company on the high ground. pressure."
After hearing what Sokov said, Belkin did not raise any objection. Instead, he glanced at the three company commanders and humbly asked Sokov for advice: "Comrade Battalion Commander, which company do you plan to send to carry out this task?" ah?"
"Comrade Battalion Commander," as soon as Belkin finished his words, Vanya volunteered: "Although our company suffered a lot of casualties when seizing the high ground, I still have the confidence to eliminate the enemy's artillery positions. If you are capable, please ask the battalion commander to entrust this glorious task to our company to complete."
Seeing that the other two company commanders were also eager to try, Sokov quickly raised his hand to stop them and said: "In order to prevent the target from being exposed, we can only send a small force to sneak attack. But I thought about it, just It’s not possible to rely on one company, so I plan to draw ten soldiers from each company to form a small team, led by Pavel, the deputy guard platoon leader, to sneak attack the enemy’s position. Do you have any opinions? "
Seeing that Sokov asked all companies to allocate manpower to participate in this operation, who would raise objections? Therefore, the three company commanders shook their heads in unison and said in unison: "No objection!"
"You all go back to your respective units and pick out the soldiers who will participate in the night attack as soon as possible." When the three of them left, Sokov specifically told them: "Remember, the soldiers who participate in the night attack must be selected from the best." A strong general. If I find someone who is perfunctory, I will definitely punish him."
After the company commanders left, Sokov shouted at the door: "Here comes someone!" Following the shout, a soldier came in from the outside. As soon as he entered the door, he immediately straightened his body and stood at the door, waiting for Sokov give an order. Sokov pointed at him with his hand and said: "Comrade soldier, go and call the deputy platoon leader Corporal Pavel immediately!"
After Pavel walked into the command post, he asked with a smile: "Comrade Battalion Commander, are you looking for me?"
"Come here, Comrade Pavel." Seeing Pavel enter the command post, Sokov quickly called him to the wooden table and said to him: "I have an important task for you to complete."
Bavel came to the table and saw a sketch spread out on the table. This was a topographic map drawn by Sokov while waiting for Bavel's arrival. He pointed at the various symbols on it and said to Pavel: "Comrade Corporal, you see, this is the high ground defended by the third company, and three kilometers south of them, there is a temporary artillery position of the German army. I gave it to you The mission is to destroy the enemy’s artillery positions.”
"Comrade Battalion Commander," Pavel waited for Sokov to finish and then asked, "I wonder how many people you plan to give me to complete this task?"
"Since you are performing a sneak attack mission, in order to prevent the target from being exposed, the number of people cannot be too large, so I have only assigned thirty people to you." Sokov emphasized: "These people are all elites drawn from each company. I think they will cooperate with you to complete this mission."
"I have another question, Comrade Battalion Commander." Pavel asked expressionlessly: "How many troops does the enemy have?"
"Before attacking the high ground, they had a company of about two hundred men. When they were repulsed, they lost about fifty or sixty men." In order to ensure the accuracy of the intelligence, Sokov spoke very slowly when introducing the situation to Pavel: "But not long ago, they had a new infantry unit arrive. The total number of troops is about three hundred."
"More than three hundred infantrymen and dozens of artillerymen, that's a lot of people." Pavel murmured while staring at the map. Then he straightened his body and replied: "Comrade battalion commander, please rest assured, although the enemy's strength is ten times ours, I assure you that we will definitely be able to eliminate the German artillery positions."
Sokov stood up, held Pavel's hand, and said: "Comrade Corporal, since you are so confident, I will wait for your good news here. I wish you good luck!"
