This battle was won, but the victory was a fluke and the price paid was high. If it weren't for the German army's logistical supply problems, it would be a fantasy to destroy dozens of enemy tanks and the same number of artillery pieces.
Once the German army's supplies returned to normal and a new offensive was discovered again, Sokov did not think that his troops could block the fierce German offensive in such crude field fortifications. Therefore, as soon as he received this telegram from Chuikov, he said nothing. Without saying anything, he immediately ordered the troops to retreat. Since the third battalion and the 149th Brigade were both disabled in the battle, the remaining tasks were handed over to Gorokhov's 124th Brigade.
In the evening, Sokov came to Chuikov's headquarters, preparing to report to him on the progress of the battle throughout the day. Unexpectedly, Chuikov gave him a warm hug as soon as they met, and at the same time kept saying: "Well done, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you and your subordinates are all well done."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov," Chief of Staff Krylov said with a smile when he stepped forward to shake Sokov's hand: "Thanks to your active and decisive actions, a gap was opened in the German encirclement, allowing the Among the besieged troops of the 62nd Army, there were more than a dozen divisions and brigades that successfully escaped from the German encirclement and successfully returned to Stalingrad."
It was somewhat beyond Sokov's expectation that more than a dozen division- and brigade-organized troops could successfully break through. He looked at Krylov and said in surprise: "I really didn't expect that so many troops successfully broke through."
"Although there are more than a dozen divisions and brigades, after a long battle, there are not many people left in these troops." Chuikov sighed and said: "For example, the infantry troops who retreated into the city The 244th Division, which originally belonged to the 57th Group Army, now has only 1,500 people left in the division, and the number of infantry is at best equivalent to a full infantry battalion."
"Comrade Commander, please allow me to speak frankly." From Chuikov's tone, Sokov judged that although there were many numbers of troops retreating into the city, the number was definitely far less than Chuikov and the others expected, so he said bluntly : "It will not be enough to defend Stalingrad just by relying on these troops who have retreated into the city..."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I understand what you want to express." Before Sokov could finish speaking, Krylov interrupted him, "But if the enemy cannot enter our city at all, you Do you still think these troops are small?”
"The enemy cannot enter our city?" Krylov's words confused Sokov. Sokov secretly thought in his heart: Didn't you see that the enemy has already arrived at the city? If it hadn't been for the counterattack carried out today, the enemy's forwards would have already rushed into Stalingrad. So he asked in confusion: "I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't quite understand what you mean? The enemy is only one step away from the city, but you said that the enemy will not rush into the city. Do we still have the strength to fight against it?" Did the enemy take any countermeasures?"
"Come to the map." Chuikov walked to the map on the wall, picked up the explanation stick leaning against the wall, pointed to the northwest of Stalingrad, and said to Sokov: "Our army will be in Stalingrad in the near future. To the north of Le, three troops, including the 1st Guards Army, the 24th and 66th Army, were mobilized to launch a powerful counterattack against the enemy. The main purpose of the campaign was to destroy the German 16th Armored Division, the 3rd and 66th Armored Divisions The corridor leading to the Volga River established by the 60th Motorized Infantry Division completely eliminated the enemy's threat to Stalingrad."
"There are three armies. This is the largest force our army can currently assemble." Krylov said excitedly: "I believe that under the command of General Zhukov, we will be able to achieve a great victory like the Moscow Defense Battle."
As for the counterattack organized by General Zhukov, Sokov, who came from a later generation, was very clear about the final result: because the preparation time given by the Supreme Command was too short, the counterattack force did not gather enough troops and lacked necessary heavy equipment. , especially the number of artillery pieces is very limited. Although the commanders and fighters performed bravely and tenaciously in the counterattack, they still failed to break through the corridor established by the German army, and the tragic counterattack ended in failure.
Seeing that both Chuikov and Krylov were overjoyed, Sokov couldn't bear to pour cold water on them and changed the topic: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, what is the next task of the Northern Cluster? "
After Chuikov heard the question raised by Sokov, he looked at Krylov next to him, and then said apologetically: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, since you have completed the task outstandingly, resume the 62nd The connection between the army group and the city, so the Northern Group was officially disbanded. As for your arrangements, after our careful study, we will let you return to Mamayev Heights and continue to serve as the brigade commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade."
Although he was dismissed from his post less than 24 hours after serving as commander of the Northern Cluster, Sokov did not complain at all. He thought to himself: Instead of hurriedly commanding several unfamiliar troops, it would be better to go back to Mamayev Heights, where in addition to the troops he was familiar with, it could also help him become famous all over the world.
…………
When Sokov returned to the brigade headquarters on Mamayev Ridge, Berkin who was sitting inside was stunned for a moment, then stood up to greet him and asked in surprise: "Comrade Brigade Commander, are you not serving as the commander of the Northern Group now?" Member? Why do you have time to come back to us? "
Before Sokov could answer, Sidorin asked tentatively: "Comrade Brigadier, is it possible that the superiors plan to move our brigade outside the city to stop the enemy?"
"The stationing of our troops at Mamayev Heights has been approved by the Supreme Command. Unless the entire brigade is exhausted, no one can move us away from here." Sokov said casually: "In addition, I have been relieved of my duties as commander of the Northern Cluster by General Chuikov."
"What, you were fired?" Belkin's voice alerted several staff officers and communications soldiers sitting in the corner, causing them to all look over. Belkin realized that he had lost his composure. In order not to embarrass Sokov in front of his subordinates, he turned to those people and said, "You guys go out first!" When the staff and communications soldiers heard what Belkin said, they immediately stood up. , filed out of the headquarters.
When there were only three people left in the room, Belkin asked anxiously: "Comrade Brigadier, what happened? OK, how come you were suddenly dismissed?"
Seeing the nervous expressions of Belkin and Sidorin, Sokov realized that he had not spoken clearly, and as a result, both of them misunderstood. He quickly explained to them: "The purpose of forming the Northern Cluster was to restore the The connection between the 62nd Army and the Front Army. The 124th and 149th brigades under my command have now successfully completed their tasks. It is normal for them to be disbanded, so it is natural for them to be relieved of their duties."
After hearing Sokov's words, Belkin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I thought you made some mistake to be dismissed by Commander Chuikov. It turned out to be like this. It was really a false alarm."
After finding out that it was an own goal, Sidorin felt relieved. Although he has served as the brigade chief of staff for a long time, his control over the troops is very limited. Just like this time when Sokov went to serve as the commander of the Northern Cluster, he just made a phone call to the third battalion, and the commander of the third battalion, Captain Andrei, ran over with his troops and didn't even say hello to him before leaving. Hit one. He couldn't imagine that once Sokov was dismissed as brigade commander or something unexpected happened, who would be able to command this infantry brigade? Fortunately, it was a false alarm, and Sokov was back to command the troops again.
Sokov remembered that shortly after the counterattack organized by Zhukov failed, the German army launched a fierce attack on Stalingrad and captured Mamayev Heights on September 15. Fortunately, Rodimtsev's 13th Guards Division arrived in Stalingrad and launched a counterattack on Mamayev Hill in time, and was able to retake the hill. Since his troops are stationed here and have built relatively complete defenses, it is naturally impossible for the Germans to occupy Mamayev Heights again.
Therefore, Sokov announced his first order after returning to the brigade headquarters: "Chief of Staff, notify all commanders above the company level to come here for a meeting."
However, before the commanders at the meeting arrived, an unexpected person came. Sokov was standing by the table, pointing to the map on the table, introducing the current situation between ourselves and the enemy to Sidorin and Belkin, but he heard someone shouting his order loudly: "Misha, Misha, are you there?" where?"
Sokov recognized Asiya's voice. As soon as he turned around, someone threw himself into his arms and hugged his waist tightly. Asiya asked with tears in her eyes: "Misha, what happened? Why were you dismissed? Did you make any mistakes?"
Asya's series of questions made Sokov immediately realize that one of the staff officers and communications soldiers who had just been expelled by Belkin must have tipped her off. The reason why she came so quickly was that she was treating the soldiers in a nearby tunnel, so she hurried over as soon as she got the news.
Sokov hugged Asiya, patted her back gently with his right hand, and said with a smile: "Little fool, what are you thinking about? How could your husband be dismissed by his superiors for making mistakes? "
"But, but..." Asiya looked up at Sokov and asked with a tearful tone: "Misha, since you made no mistake, why did they dismiss you from your post?"
"The reason why my superiors want to dismiss me from my post is because that unit was disbanded after completing its mission." Sokov said to Asiya with a smile: "Just think about it, since the unit no longer exists, why do you still want me?" What is this polished commander doing?"
After listening to Sokov's explanation, Asiya still asked dubiously: "Is it really okay?"
"It's really okay." Sokov said with a smile: "If something happens, will my superiors let me come back and continue to be the brigade commander?" Seeing commanders coming in one after another from outside, he hugged Asiya He walked out with his shoulder and said, "Asia, we are going to hold a military meeting soon. If you are okay, go back to the health team first."
