How could Sokov escape in front of his men? He fired all the bullets in the magazine in one breath, squatted down, and leaned against the low wall to change the magazine. He shouted loudly to Samoilov: : "Leave me alone, kill this group of enemies first." After changing the magazine, he stood up abruptly, put the assault rifle on the wall, and fired without haste.
Due to the obstruction of the corner, neither the Soviet army nor the German army could see each other. They could only pour bullets desperately towards the corner. Seeing this situation, Sokov couldn't help but secretly worry. If the two sides continued to fight like this, whoever's ammunition would be used up first would be likely to be eliminated by the other side. So he quickly shouted: "Stop shooting!"
After Samoilov heard Rokossovsky's shout, he immediately loudly conveyed his order to every soldier in the guard platoon. After the gunfire stopped completely, he asked Sokov in confusion: "Comrade Brigadier, why do we stop shooting?"
"Second Lieutenant, the building on the corner is between us and the enemy, blocking the sight of both parties." Sokov explained to Samoylov: "Not only can we not see the enemy, but the enemy can't see us either. If we continue to fight like this, we will only waste bullets in vain. Tell the soldiers that no one is allowed to shoot until they see the enemy."
While Sokov was giving orders to Samoilov, he suddenly heard the sound of a tank engine. He listened for a moment and discovered that the sound was not coming from the other side of the corner, but from behind. He couldn't help but broke into a cold sweat: Could it be that the enemy came from behind us?
Sokov quickly turned his head and looked in the direction where the roar of the engine came from. He saw a Soviet T34 tank, leading a group of infantry to rush towards his position along the street.
Seeing the tank appear, Sokov couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the tank drove around the corner, it could use tank guns and machine guns to eliminate the German troops on the other side.
As soon as the tank passed the corner, it was hit by a torrent of German fire. Bullets fired from machine guns, submachine guns, rifles and even pistols jingled on the armor plate, splashing countless sparks. The Soviet tank stopped in place, slowly turned the hemispherical turret, and pointed the barrel at the enemy who was shooting. A few seconds later, with a loud bang, flames more than half a meter long erupted from the barrel, blasting a shooting machine gun to pieces.
Seeing tanks assisting in the battle, Sokov felt much more at ease. When he saw the group of infantrymen following the tanks and charging towards the enemy, he jumped out from behind the broken wall not to be outdone, waved the assault rifle in his hand, and shouted loudly: "Comrades, charge with me. !”
With the help of tanks, the battle lasted only ten minutes and ended. Samoylov hurriedly came to report to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the results of the battle have been calculated. We have eliminated a total of 41 enemies and captured 22 people, including two lieutenant-level officers."
After hearing about the results achieved, Sokov just nodded slightly, and then asked: "What about the casualties of our army?"
"Our platoon has 31 casualties, including 19 killed in action." Sokov's question made Samoylov a little embarrassed. He murmured and replied: "There are currently 40 soldiers left in my platoon."
"Comrade Second Lieutenant, our guard platoon has more than seventy soldiers, so we have a numerical advantage." Sokov looked at Samoilov and asked: "If there are no tanks to assist in the battle, do you think we can destroy this force?" Enemy?"
"No." Samoylov replied simply: "In my opinion, we will definitely continue to be in a stalemate with the enemy here until one side can no longer hold on and launches an attack first."
When the two were finishing talking, a lieutenant wearing a big-brimmed hat ran over. He raised his hand to salute Sokov and asked, "Is this Lieutenant Colonel Sokov?"
"Yes, I am Sokov." Sokov looked at the unfamiliar lieutenant and asked: "Comrade Lieutenant, which department are you in?"
"I am from the security battalion of the group army headquarters." The lieutenant replied: "As soon as Comrade Commander received your warning, we rushed to support you."
"Thank you, Comrade Lieutenant." Sokov stretched out his hand to the Lieutenant and said politely: "You came in time, so we can win this battle so easily."
The captured German officers and soldiers were escorted by several soldiers with their hands raised in the air. Sokov couldn't help but asked curiously: "Comrade Lieutenant, where do you plan to take these prisoners?"
"Go to the army headquarters," the lieutenant replied: "We have specialized personnel who will interrogate them."
Sokov was eager to know where this enemy group came from. Was it a small force or a large force that rushed into the city? So he said to the lieutenant: "Comrade Lieutenant, I will go with you to the army headquarters."
Hearing that Sokov wanted to return to the army headquarters with him, the lieutenant couldn't help but hesitate. But then he thought, if Sokov and his men hadn't stopped the Germans here, the battle might have started near the headquarters. So he nodded and said: "Okay, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, please come with me."
When Sokov followed the lieutenant back to the army headquarters, he happened to meet Klimov coming out of the tunnel. When Klimov saw Sokov leaving and returning, he couldn't help but curiously asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, why are you back again?"
"Comrade Captain," the lieutenant who accompanied Sokov back quickly reported to Klimov: "It was Lieutenant Colonel Sokov who led their men to resist the German troops on the street, and the Germans did not rush to the headquarters. Come here."
Klimov took Sokov into the tunnel and came to Chuikov's headquarters. When Chuikov saw Sokov coming again, there was no surprise on his face. Instead, he asked with concern: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, did you meet the Germans halfway?"
"That's right." Sokov nodded, "We met the Germans on the street. The number of both sides was roughly equal, and the fight was inextricable. If the tanks you sent hadn't appeared in time, we don't know who would end up in this battle. Who wins?"
"Comrade Commander," Krylov, who had just put down the phone, looked up at Chuikov and said: "I have asked all the troops I can contact in the city, and no enemies have been found in their defense areas. It seems that entering the city The only enemies we encountered were this small force and Lieutenant Colonel Sokov."
"Klimov," Chuikov remembered that he asked Klimov to go outside to inquire about the situation, so he asked directly: "Have the enemies been eliminated?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, they have all been eliminated." Klimov quickly replied: "The Germans do not have anti-tank weapons. When they saw our tanks appearing, they knew they could not defeat them, so they obediently raised their hands and surrendered. ”
"Are there any officers among the prisoners?"
"Yes, there are two lieutenant-level officers." Klimov replied: "They have been taken to the interrogation room, and the comrades of the Special Service Section will interrogate them."
"Adjutant," Krylov immediately ordered after hearing Klimov's words: "Go and tell the comrades in the Special Branch that they must find out where this enemy group came from."
After Klimov left, Chuikov immediately asked Sokov to sit down: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you must be eager to know the origin of this enemy. The interrogation will take some time, so please sit down and rest first."
When Sokov sat down, Krylov brought him a cup of hot tea and said with a smile: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if your troops hadn't stopped the small German army in time, maybe the current battle would have been directed It's unfolding outside the headquarters." As he spoke, he accidentally saw blood stains on Sokov's shoulder and asked in surprise, "Lieutenant Colonel, are you injured?"
"No, no," Sokov quickly waved his hands and said, "It was someone else's blood that spilled on me."
After learning that Sokov was fine, both Chuikov and Krylov breathed a sigh of relief. Chuikov also specifically warned Sokov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are now a brigade commander commanding thousands of people, not a small company commander, so you can easily lead the charge. Your position is in the headquarters, do you understand?" "
Sokov was still very afraid of death. If he could not lead the charge, he would never appear on the battlefield. For example, today's battlefield is purely an encounter, and no one can predict it in advance. So after hearing Chuikov's reminder, he quickly replied: "I understand, Comrade Commander."
The interrogation by the Special Service Section lasted for half an hour. A captain from the Ministry of Internal Affairs followed Klimov in. He placed a confession on the table in front of Chuikov and said: "Commander and Chief of Staff, everything is clear. It is a company of the German 76th Infantry Division. They were originally ordered to rush to their station. Unexpectedly, he lost his way and broke into the city by mistake, so he had a firefight with our army."
After hearing the report from the captain of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Chuikov smiled slightly and said to the captain: "Thank you, comrade captain, everything is fine here. You can go back first."
As soon as the captain left, Chuikov said to Krylov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, did you hear it? The Germans got lost and entered the city by mistake. They did not intend to attack our headquarters at all. It seems that It’s you who are worrying too much.”
Krylov laughed dryly and argued: "Comrade Commander, it is always good to be cautious. Now that we have figured out that the Germans took the wrong way and entered the city, we can take measures according to the battle plan. Take action..."
When Sokov heard what the two were talking about about military operations, he quickly stood up and said to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, since you want to discuss important matters, I won't interrupt."
Unexpectedly, Chuikov stopped him: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, don't worry. Since you are here, I just have a task to give you."
When Sokov heard what Chuikov said, he couldn't help but be stunned and asked: "Mission, what mission?"
"According to the orders from our superiors," Chuikov pointed to the map and introduced to Sokov: "In the early morning of the day after tomorrow, we will launch a powerful counterattack against the Germans on the left wing of Mamayev Heights. There are three troops involved in the counterattack. Division, before the offensive campaign begins, they will be lurking in the Mamayev Hills. Look, is there any problem?"
Before answering the question, Sokov first asked: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, will our brigade participate in this attack?" He thought to himself that Zhukov organized the attack launched by three armies in the north of the city. , all ended in failure. Chuikov put together three incomplete divisions to launch a counterattack against the enemy. It was simply an egg hitting a stone. He was mentally prepared. If Chuikov wanted his troops to die, he would have to find a way to avoid it.
Unexpectedly, Chuikov saw what he was thinking and said to him with a smile: "Don't worry, your brigade's mission is to hold on to Mamayev Heights and prevent it from being occupied by the Germans. In this counterattack, your brigade will not Involved."
"Great, this is really great..." Sokov couldn't help but be overjoyed when he heard that he didn't have to participate in such a suicidal counterattack. But when he saw the discord between Chuikov and Krylov, he quickly straightened his face and pretended to be regretful and said: "Commander, Chief of Staff, I mean my troops cannot participate in such an event." It’s such a shame to fight.”
Fortunately, Chuikov did not argue with him, but pointed to the west of Mamayev Hill and asked: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I remember that you have laid minefields in front of the two hills in the north and south, right?"
"Yes, there were minefields before, but they no longer exist." After Sokov finished saying this, seeing Chuikov and Krylov looking confused, he quickly explained to them: "After the first two With the intense bombing that day, there are only a handful of unexploded mines in the minefield. Even if a large force passes through the minefield, there will be no danger."
"No, we can't take risks." Chuikov said resolutely: "After you return to Mamayev Heights, immediately arrange for engineers to open several passages in the minefield. You know, even if the bombing causes the mines in the minefield to explode, But who can guarantee that there are not one or two fish that slipped through the net? If our offensive troops hit mines in our own defense zone, it will have an adverse impact on the morale and morale of our army."
Seeing that Chuikov had made his words clear, Sokov said nothing more. He could only assure the other party: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, as soon as I return to Mamayev Heights, I will immediately order the engineers to open a road in the minefield so that our offensive troops can pass there smoothly."
After Chuikov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he raised his hand, looked at it, and said to him: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, it's getting late. You'd better rush back to Mamayev Heights as soon as possible. Although we just eliminated an enemy force, There is a small German unit entering the city, but it is not clear whether there are still scattered Germans in the city. You have to be more careful on the way back."
