As soon as Sokov returned to his headquarters, he was welcomed by everyone. Belkin held his hand and said excitedly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are back. All the commanders and fighters in the brigade have been thinking of you."
"Comrade Political Commissar," Sokov said excitedly, holding Belkin's hand, "I've been thinking about you too. How about it, the enemy hasn't made any movement?"
"No, Comrade Brigade Commander." The person who answered Sokov's question was Chief of Staff Sidorin. After a period of adjustment, he has completely adapted to the working environment of the 73rd Infantry Brigade. "It's very peaceful near Mamayev Heights. No trace of the enemy has been found, and there has never been any enemy shelling or bombing."
"Is the third battalion back?" Although the third battalion led by Andre left the Aksay River defense line a day ago, Sokov was worried that they would be absorbed by other troops on the way, so he asked specifically.
"Back!" Upon hearing Sokov's question, Belkin replied happily: "When the whole battalion left, there were only more than 800 people. When it came back, there were more than 1,200 people. In addition, there were Six 762mm cannons will give us greater confidence in holding Mamayev Heights."
Just when Sokov was about to call Andre over and ask about the supplementary situation of the Ninth Company, the phone on the table rang. Sidorin picked up the phone and listened for a while, then held the phone and said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the First Battalion reported that German tanks were found northwest of the railway."
"German tanks?!" Sidorin's news surprised Sokov. Even though the German army was approaching Stalingrad step by step, Mamayev Heights was the depth of the Soviet army's defense after all. The enemy could Rushing here meant that they had successfully broken through a series of Soviet defense lines. He quickly asked: "How many tanks does the enemy have?"
Sidorin quickly asked into the microphone: "The brigade commander asked, how many tanks does the enemy have?" After a moment, he frowned, "What, I don't know? What do you do for food? You don't even know the number of enemy tanks." Not sure..."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov interrupted Sidorin and asked seriously: "Who called?"
"It's Captain Vanya, the commander of the first battalion," Sidorin quickly covered the phone and reported to Sokov: "He said that when he was near the checkpoint on the railway, he saw an enemy tank appearing in the distance, and he felt it was necessary to report it to the brigade headquarters. I called you to report it.”
"Give me the phone." Sokov walked over, took the phone and put it to his ear: "Hello, Captain Vanya? I'm Sokov. Tell me the situation there in detail. What happened? What's going on?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander, are you back?" Vanya asked in surprise.
"Just came back. Comrade Captain, now is not the time to reminisce about old times. Please report to me in detail the situation there."
"That's right, Comrade Brigade Commander." Vanya quickly and respectfully replied: "A few minutes ago, the sentry reported to me that he saw dust flying in the distance, and it seemed that a tank unit was heading towards us. Drive over here."
"Can you confirm that these tanks all belong to the enemy?" Sokov said coldly: "Even if they are enemy tanks, you should always find out how many there are and what type they are."
"Comrade Brigadier, I was wrong." Vanya quickly expressed his position to Sokov: "I will send someone immediately to find out."
"I'll give you five minutes." Sokov said in a tone that left no doubt: "After five minutes, tell me the details of the enemy." After that, he hung up the phone without waiting for the other party to speak.
"Comrade Brigadier," Sidorin asked cautiously, "is five minutes too little?"
"That's quite a lot, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov stared at Sidorin and said: "If it is really a German tank unit, five minutes is enough for them to cross the railway line and rush to the vicinity of Mamaev Hill. Ander Where are the six cannons that Lie brought back?"
Sokov's leaping thinking made Sidorin stunned for a moment. He hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Hidden behind Mamayev Hill."
"Chief of Staff, call here immediately the commander of the third battalion, Captain Andrei, and the commander of the artillery company, Lieutenant Porochenko." Sokov said in a commanding tone: "Quickly, I want to assign combat tasks to them."
Five minutes later, Sokov dialed the number of the first battalion headquarters and asked straight to the point: "Captain Vanya, do you understand everything? What kind of troops does the enemy have?"
"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander, we have it all figured out." Vanya replied on the phone: "This may be a fast column of the German army. In addition to one Panzer IV tank, there are five 35t and 38t models. Light tanks, plus an equal number of armored personnel carriers.”
"I understand." After figuring out the enemy's strength, Sokov continued: "Let your soldiers prepare for battle immediately. You must not let the enemy's tanks cross your defense line. Do you understand?"
"But, Comrade Brigadier, our battalion does not have anti-tank weapons." Vanya said awkwardly: "It is very difficult to block the enemy's tanks. Do you think we can bring up the dog company?"
"No, Comrade Captain, this is definitely not possible." Sokov knew very well that good steel is used on the blade. How could the dog company, which was specifically responsible for destroying German tanks, be used to deal with German light tanks? So he said simply: "Since the enemy is all light tanks, you can blow it up with cluster grenades. Don't worry, I won't let you fight alone. You will be supported by artillery fire."
As soon as the phone was put down, Andrei and Porochenko walked into the tent. Sokov faced Porochenko and said: "Comrade Lieutenant, I have obtained six 762mm cannons from other places. From now on, they will be officially equipped to your company."
Porochenko, who had been an infantryman for a long time, was overjoyed when he heard what Sokov said and said quickly: "Great, this is really great. But Comrade Brigadier, where are these cannons now?"
Sokov pointed his finger at Andre: "You have to ask Captain Andre about this, because he led his men to pull back these artillery pieces."
"Lieutenant Porochenko," Andrei smiled at Porochenko and said, "I will take you to receive these artillery pieces later."
"Don't wait any longer, go now." Sokov said to the two men: "A fast German column is coming towards our Mamayev Hill. Lieutenant Porochenko, I order you now , immediately establish an artillery position on the hillside to bombard the German army's fast column. And you, Captain Andre, mobilize some soldiers to help the artillery company push the artillery up the hillside."
Pushing the artillery up the hillside is quite simple in theory, but it is not that easy in actual implementation. After all, the artillery is so heavy, and there is no decent road uphill. Even with the help of the soldiers of the third battalion, it will not be possible to pull all the artillery up the mountain in a short time.
Sokov and Belkin passed through the tunnel and came to the observation post on the hillside. When he raised his binoculars and looked into the distance, he saw an enemy tank parked about 300 meters away from the forward position of the first battalion. It used artillery fire to bombard the firing machine gun fire points, covering the soldiers behind who jumped off the armored vehicle. Quickly seize favorable terrain.
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Belkin looked a little anxious when he saw his troops being crushed by German tanks: "The first battalion does not have anti-tank weapons. They will suffer a great loss in such a battle."
"We are at a disadvantage in terms of equipment, and there will be many such battles to fight in the future." Seeing Belkin's worried look, Sokov comforted him and said, "But don't worry, the enemies are all light tanks. They cannot break through the first battalion's position. As long as they are close to our trenches, Vanya will arrange for soldiers to blow up these tanks with cluster grenades."
What happened next was something that surprised Sokov. From the factory area to the north, an armored train with only one carriage suddenly came. Since this armored train runs back and forth twice a day, Sokov immediately recognized it as armored train No. 74. Its armored carriage adopts a unique three-turret structure. The two large turrets at the front and rear are each equipped with a 1902/30 762 mm gun. The small turret in the middle adopts the turret of the T-26 light tank.
The armored train stopped between the two armies, and the three turrets on the roof fired at the enemy not far away at the same time. The armored train opened fire at such a close distance, and the shells easily tore through the thin armor on the front of the German light tank. After a violent explosion, the turret was blown to the sky.
The artillery on the train continued to fire, and the German tanks were beaten horribly. Each turret flew into the sky amidst the explosion, and was blown open and turned into blazing torches.
Seeing this, Sokov said with emotion: "The German light tanks are simply vulnerable in front of our armored trains. Comrade political commissar, look, the German infantry has begun to retreat. If Vanya was smarter, he would It’s time to command the troops to charge, and maybe we can annihilate this enemy force.”
As soon as Sokov finished speaking, he saw countless soldiers leaping out of the trenches and rushing toward the fleeing German soldiers with weapons in hand. Without the armored train, these German soldiers would have had a chance to escape after the attack failed. But now they are within the firepower range of the armored train. If they run to the left, the shells will fall on the left; if they run to the right, the shells will also fall on the right, forcing them to return to the middle and raise their hands obediently to the first battalion. The commanders and soldiers surrendered.
This battle, due to the participation of Soviet armored trains, lasted only ten minutes and ended. At this time, the soldiers of the artillery company and the third battalion were still pulling the artillery up the hillside.
"Great, Comrade Brigade Commander, this is simply great." After Belkin witnessed the entire battle process with his own eyes, he said with some excitement: "If we can have a few more armored trains like this, then no matter how many come enemies, we smashed their attacks."
"Comrade Political Commissar, you are too optimistic." Seeing that Belkin was getting carried away, Sokov quickly reminded him: "Although the armored train has strong maneuverability and firepower, it can withstand attacks from small-caliber artillery, and it also has certain It has excellent air defense capabilities and can even be used as a tool to carry infantry when necessary to assist friendly forces in rapid maneuvers.
However, its shortcomings are also obvious. For example, it completely relies on a complete railway network. Once the enemy destroys the railway in the direction of the armored train during a battle, it will stop on the rails and become a target for enemy artillery or aircraft attacks. Therefore, for armored trains, intact railway lines are more important than the guns on board. In addition, the operation of trains requires sufficient water and coal, and the reliance on logistics is very serious. "
Regarding Sokov's statement, Belkin thought for a long time, and finally nodded and said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are right. Although the power of the armored train is not small, if the railway line it depends on for survival Once it is damaged, it can only sit there and move, and in the end, it will either be blown up by German artillery fire or aircraft, or it will be captured by the Germans and then turn the guns around to attack us."
Sokov used his binoculars to watch the soldiers in the distance cleaning the battlefield. He couldn't help but said to himself: "Those armored vehicles seem to be still intact. They should be driven back and hidden. Maybe one day It can be put to use.”
Fortunately, there was a phone in the observation post. Sokov picked up the phone on the table and dialed the tank company. The company commander Alitai who answered the phone said loudly: "Lieutenant Alitai, this is me Sokov. Let me tell you something." Good news, the first battalion captured several German armored vehicles in the battle that just ended. You should immediately take people to drive them back, and then find a place to hide."
"There are only armored vehicles, what about the tanks?" Alitai asked with a hint of luck: "Didn't even a single tank be captured?"
"No, Comrade Lieutenant, all the German tanks were destroyed by our armored trains." Sokov urged: "Stop dawdling, hurry up and bring the armored vehicles back."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Alitai asked Sokov specifically before he was about to put down the phone: "After bringing the armored vehicle back, do you need to repaint it, remove the white cross on it, and replace it with our five stars? ?”
"No, everything remains as it is." Sokov suddenly had a new idea in his mind. He felt that when the fighting broke out near Mamayev Heights, these armored vehicles might be of great use, so he specifically told Alita : "Remember, after the armored vehicle comes back, it must be well hidden to avoid being blown up by German planes."
"Don't worry, Comrade Brigade Commander." Although Alitai didn't understand why Sokov asked him to bring the armored vehicles back without making any changes, he still replied respectfully: "Wait until these armored vehicles drive back." When I come back, I will definitely ask someone to take good care of it."
