Although Chuikov stated that he would launch a counter-assault in the area broken through by the German troops as soon as possible, it still took four or five days to mobilize and assemble the troops. On the evening of August 28, Sokov suddenly received a call from Chuikov. The trusted army commander said on the phone: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, come to my headquarters immediately."
Sokov took a guard squad to the 30th Independent Armored Train Battalion station in the northern factory area and found Chuikov's headquarters here.
When Sokov walked into the command room, he saw several commanders in the room, gathered around a table, listening to what Chuikov was saying. Sokov quickly came behind Chuikov, raised his hand in salute and said: "Comrade Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, has been ordered to come. I follow your order, please give instructions!"
Seeing Sokov coming, Chuikov nodded to him, and then he introduced the members of the headquarters: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, let me introduce to you. This is Comrade Gurov, the military commissar of the group army. This is the staff officer." Major General Krylov, Deputy Chief of Staff Colonel Vitkov. Colonel Gorokhov, commander of the 124th Infantry Brigade, and Colonel Bolvinov, commander of the 149th Infantry Brigade."
After the introduction, Chuikov called to Sokov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, come to the map, and I will introduce you to the current situation." After Sokov came to his side, he pointed to the northwest of the factory area. "According to the latest intelligence we have, in the enemy's encirclement, the 54th fortification area belonging to the 4th Tank Army is still fighting tenaciously. Tell me, what should we do now?"
"Now that we know that friendly forces are surrounded by the enemy, we should rescue them." Sokov pointed to the location of the 54th fortification area and said to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, I think we should send out a force , to carry out an assault in the direction of the fortification area. In this way, not only can the besieged troops be rescued, but also the enemy troops who break through the defense line can be attacked head-on, so that the main force of the severed group army can regain contact with the city. "
"Chief of Staff," Chuikov waited for Sokov to finish, then looked up at Krekov and said, "It seems that Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's idea coincides with yours."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, if I give you two infantry brigades." Chuikov turned to Sokov and asked: "Can you defeat the enemy northwest of the factory area and rescue the troops trapped in the 54th fortification area? And reestablish contact with the main force of the isolated army?"
"Comrade Commander," Sokov said confidently in response to Chuikov's question: "With the support of artillery fire and air force, I think such a mission should be completed."
"During the attack, the troops under your command received neither artillery support nor air force cooperation." Chuikov said with a serious expression: "There are only two infantry brigades to attack the German armored divisions. What do you think, have confidence? ?"
"I'm sorry, Comrade Commander." Sokov waited for Chuikov to finish speaking and immediately expressed his opinion: "This is purely to let the soldiers die. I'm sorry, I can't complete such a task."
Unexpectedly, after Chuikov heard this, he said resolutely: "I think you are capable of completing such a task." Then he pointed at the two infantry brigade commanders and said to Sokov, "From now on, I am You are appointed commander of the 'Northern Cluster' to command the 124th and 149th Infantry Brigades to launch a counterattack against the enemy tomorrow morning."
The sudden appointment made Sokov a little dumbfounded. He stared at Chuikov with wide eyes, wondering how long it had been. Chuikov still had the heart to joke with himself, pretending to be the commander of the Northern Cluster. Isn't it a joke to have a lieutenant colonel commanding two colonels?
Seeing Sokov staring at him without speaking, Chuikov guessed what the other party was thinking and said to him: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I am not joking with you. After discussions among the army leaders, it was decided to appoint you to command the 124th and 124th Infantry Regiments. Troops of the 149th Brigade will launch an attack on the area occupied by the Germans tomorrow morning."
Although Chuikov had already said this, Sokov did not dare to accept this task easily. Not to mention that during the attack, there was no cooperation from the artillery and air force. Even if there was, it was still unknown whether the two colonels were willing to obey their orders. Thinking of this, he cast his eyes on the two colonels and brigade commanders standing aside.
Gorokhov misunderstood the purpose of Sokov's glance at him, and quickly stepped forward and reported loudly: "Report to Comrade Commander, the entire 124th Infantry Brigade is fully equipped, and the political workers are mobilizing before the war. , ready to join the battle at any time." The commander he shouted was naturally not Chuikov, but Chuikov.
Seeing that Gorokhov had expressed his stance, Bolvinov quickly stepped forward and reported: "Comrade Commander, the 149th Infantry Brigade has made all combat preparations and is ready to carry out combat missions at any time."
Regarding the attitude of the two brigade commanders, Chuikov nodded with satisfaction, and then said to Sokov: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, look, the two brigade commanders are ready. How can you, the commander, do it?" considerate?"
Sokov's eyes were fixed on the large-scale military map on the table, and he was secretly thinking about how he could use two infantry brigades to defeat the German armored division and motorized infantry division. Even in the area where the attack is carried out, the number of German troops is smaller than theirs, but their equipment can make up for this difference.
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov." Seeing that Sokov kept staring at the map without speaking, Chuikov thought that the other party was timid, so he raised his voice and asked: "Didn't you hear what I said? I ask you, can you Able to defeat the enemy and join forces with the besieged troops?"
"Comrade Commander, I don't think the attack can be carried out during the day tomorrow." Sokov looked at Chuikov and said: "The enemy's artillery, tanks and air force can easily defeat our offensive troops, so we must adjust the time of the attack .”
"Tomorrow's daytime attack is already the deadline." Chuikov waited for Sokov to finish and then reminded him: "The attack date cannot be postponed any longer."
"No, Comrade Commander, you are mistaken. I am not planning to postpone the date of the attack, but I intend to turn the storm attack into a sneak attack." Seeing that Chuikov had misunderstood what he meant, Sokov quickly explained: "A daytime attack will be more effective for our army." It is very disadvantageous because we will have to face German tanks, and their tanks will easily defeat our infantry. But if the battle takes place at night, then the enemy will lose their advantage in tanks and air force , so that our troops can easily get close to the enemy, forcing them to fight in close combat, or even use machine guns, submachine guns, rifles, grenades to fight with the enemy, or even hand-to-hand combat..."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, your plan is good. I agree and I will fight this battle according to your ideas." Chuikov said, reaching out to Sokov, "I wish you success!"
…………
Although Sokov was the commander of the temporarily formed Northern Group, he did not place all his hopes on the two infantry brigades. When heading to the location of the new headquarters, he made a phone call to Andre and transferred his third battalion over. In this way, even if the attack of the two infantry brigades was frustrated and suffered a disastrous defeat, he could still use the commanders and fighters of the third battalion to fight his way out of the enemy's encirclement.
While several troops were being secretly mobilized, Sokov and the other two brigade commanders came to the new headquarters, which was only one kilometer away from where the battle was about to take place. Although it is possible to better observe the situation on the battlefield, once the German army launches a counterattack after being attacked, they can rush outside the headquarters in a very short time.
However, the several commanders staying in the headquarters did not seem to care about their own safety, but sat together to discuss the upcoming attack. Gorokhov first spoke: "Comrade Commander, my brigade has entered the attack position. After the battle starts, they will immediately rush to the 54th fortification area, get in touch with the troops standing there, and help them Withdraw from the enemy's encirclement."
Just when Bolvinov was about to express his position, Sokov raised his hand to stop him: "Colonel Bolvinov, please wait a moment, I have something to say to Colonel Gorokhov. Colonel," Sokov said Cov said this to Gorokhov: "I think it is enough to send one battalion to rescue the troops in the 54th fortification area. The other three battalions and Colonel Bolvinov's 149th Brigade will be sent together. Launch an attack to the southwest, find a way to break through the German defense line there, and re-establish contact with the main force of the isolated group army."
After the mission deployment was completed, the two brigade commanders did not leave immediately. On the contrary, Bolvinov asked with some anxiety: "Comrade Commander, do you think our counterattack will be successful?"
"Sorov once said: Surprise is the only way to win!" Sokov said to him with a smile: "The enemy may have been dazzled by the recent victory, so they became paralyzed. They may never have dreamed that we will be there in the future." In this case, if we launch a surprise attack on them, they will definitely be defeated."
After Sokov said this, seeing that the two brigade commanders still looked hesitant, he coughed heavily and said to them: "Comrade brigade commanders, I don't know if you have discovered a phenomenon. Germany After the people broke through the junction between our army group and the 4th Tank Army, the attack suddenly became slow. Can you tell me, what is the reason for this?"
Hearing Sokov's question, the two brigade commanders frowned and thought for a while, and then Gorokhov replied: "I think the German officers and soldiers must have become exhausted after a long battle, so Only the German commander would slow down the attack to allow the soldiers to take a good rest."
Bolvinov had another idea: "Could it be our guerrillas behind enemy lines that have contained the enemy?"
"The German army is advancing too fast. Even if our army wants to form guerrillas behind them, it will have to wait at least until September." Regarding the analysis of the two brigade commanders, Sokov commented: "As for the German officers and soldiers becoming tired It’s unbearable that the commander slowed down the attack in order to allow them to rest, which is also untrue.”
"Comrade Commander," seeing that the reasons for his guesses were all denied by Sokov, Gorokhov couldn't help but curiously asked: "Then why do you think the enemy slowed down the attack? "
"Supply, if I'm not wrong, the German supply line must be too long and they are temporarily unable to provide enough supplies for the offensive troops in front." Sokov said confidently: "The enemy advancing towards Stalingrad will not be able to provide enough supplies for the attacking troops ahead." It was difficult to resupply, so they had to slow down their attack to wait for supplies from the rear."
"If so, that would be great." Gorokhov heard Sokov say this, and his face immediately showed a look of joy: "If there is a problem with the German army's supplies, then we can achieve greater success. Result."
The attack started at three o'clock in the morning, when people are most tired. After successive victories, the German army had become underestimating the enemy. They felt that the Soviet army wished they had two extra legs now that they saw them, and how could they dare to take the initiative to provoke them. Therefore, except for a few sentry posts, the remaining officers and soldiers were in tents. He was fast asleep.
But when the patrols in the camp exchanged fire with the Soviet troops that rushed in, only a handful of people woke up from their sleep immediately. It wasn't until the sound of gunfire and explosions that the German soldiers were sleeping in the tent were awakened. Without caring about putting on their clothes, they picked up weapons and rushed out of the tent, trying to stop the Soviet troops from rushing into the camp.
However, after rushing out of the tent, I saw fire everywhere and people running around everywhere. Without unified German soldiers, they could only fire their guns in panic, regardless of whether the bullets could hit the target after flying out.
After the first battalion of the 124th Brigade quickly penetrated the German camp, one company was left here to continue to struggle with the chaotic German army. The remaining two companies quickly rushed towards the 54th fortification area.
The Soviet army stationed in the fortification area now only has an under-equipped infantry battalion and a pitifully small machine gun company. The soldiers who were waiting for danger first saw the flames shooting into the sky from the enemy's camp in the distance, and then heard the sound of gunfire and explosions, guessing that the enemy must have been attacked. Because he was confused about the situation, the Soviet battalion commander did not issue an order to attack. Instead, he asked the soldiers to enter the trenches and prepare for battle.
After more than ten minutes, a figure suddenly ran towards the position. An impatient soldier was about to fire, but was stopped by the officer beside him. The officer whispered to them: "Don't shoot, lest you hit one of your own."
The figure running towards the position stopped thirty or forty meters away from the trench. Then I vaguely heard someone shouting: "Hey, comrades in the fortification area, we are from the 124th Infantry Brigade, and we are here to rescue you."
Although the other party spoke in Russian, the Soviet battalion commander was still worried. He called a corporal next to him and ordered: "Comrade corporal, take two people over and have a look. Find out whether it is your own people or Germans. Please come back and report to me immediately."
