"We hope that the friendly forces outside the city can launch an attack soon," Sidorin said with emotion. "Otherwise, if we continue to fight like this, our brigade will be exhausted before long."
Sidorin's words made Sokov's heart skip a beat. He quickly asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, have the troops suffered heavy casualties recently?"
Sidorin sighed and said helplessly, "Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander, after these days of fighting, our brigade has suffered more than 3,000 casualties, of which more than 1,200 people were killed."
There were more than 3,000 casualties. When Sokov heard this number, he couldn't help but tremble in his heart. He finally managed to save such a small fortune, but in the end, more than half of the casualties were lost within a few days. And he was still relying on tunnel fortifications. If he had The fortifications built were all on open ground, and the troops would probably have been wiped out long ago. Thinking of this, Sokov finally understood why in real history, after Rodimtsev's 13th Guards Division entered Stalingrad, all opportunities were eliminated in less than three days. This shows the cruelty of the battle. A spot.
Seeing Sokov's silence, Sidorin quickly explained to him, "Comrade Brigade Commander, although we have strong tunnel fortifications, in order to repel the German attack, every time the enemy's shelling stops, our commanders and soldiers must Entering the surface position from the tunnel and engaging in a fierce positional battle with the enemy, casualties are inevitable."
Sokov is feeling quite depressed now, because there is still a difference between fighting on the Mamayev Hills and Shangganling. Shangganling allows the enemy to occupy surface positions, and then use the night to sneak attack the enemy and consume their vitality. But if he did this at Mamayev Heights, Chuikov might have dismissed him that day. Once the enemy occupied the surface position of Mamayev Heights, they would immediately rush to cross the Volga River and cut off the Soviet army's connection with the other side. Therefore, he could only use tactics regardless of casualties to prevent the enemy from occupying Mamayev Heights.
"Comrade Brigadier, I think we can reduce the casualties of the troops by strengthening the surface fortifications." Belgin interjected, "Every time after the enemy's artillery preparations are completed, our soldiers come out of the tunnels and seize the time to repair the trenches." Destroyed fortifications. Sometimes the enemy would come up just halfway through repairs, so our soldiers had to fight the attacking enemies in the dilapidated fortifications, thus increasing casualties."
"It's not that easy to reinforce fortifications. I don't know where the city defense committee has moved. Now I can't contact Major Ozor. I don't know whether he is dead or alive." Sokov sighed and said, "But Even if he is found, there is nothing he can do. The Germans cannot let us build fortifications arrogantly. Their artillery fire will destroy the fortifications being built."
"Is there really no other way?" Belkin said regretfully, "If we maintain the status quo, we will have to consider what we will do once our troops are exhausted."
Sokov knew very well that when the war in Stalingrad was tense, more than one person had thought about his own unit, but it was because they learned that they could station here was personally arranged by the base camp, so they were not allowed to do so. I didn’t choose silence. Although others cannot draw their own troops, it is probably impossible to replenish troops.
They could only look at Sidorin and Belkin and ask, "Do you have any good ideas?" Since Sokov couldn't think of any good ideas, Sidorin and Belkin were naturally even more helpless. The question he raised , undoubtedly asking about blindness. Seeing that the two of them couldn't come up with any good solutions, Sokov could only continue to think of a solution on his own. He was holding a cup of hot tea and slowly drank it sip after sip. He was imagining various fortifications he knew in his mind, but none of them seemed suitable for use in this situation.
Just when Sokov was helpless, he suddenly heard two staff officers not far away discussing something, so he tilted his head slightly to one side and listened carefully. I heard a staff officer say in a low voice, "Why not build the fortifications on the ridgeline on the top of the hill? Not only can we have a clear view of the enemy's movements, but we can also give full play to our army's firepower advantage from a high position and give the enemy a major blow." of killing.”
"Do you think the brigade commander has not considered the plan you are thinking of?" Another staff officer retorted, "If this plan was feasible, he would have adopted it long ago."
A word awakened the dreamer, and their chat opened up a new idea for Sokov. He remembered that in a certain anti-Japanese drama he had watched, the Japanese pirates who were besieged by the Eighth Route Army built a ring in the center of the mountain top platform. The fortifications prevented the attacking troops from seeing the enemy's location, rendering all kinds of direct fire ineffective. As long as the soldiers rush up the steep slope, they will be knocked down by the enemy's bullets as soon as they emerge.
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff and Political Commissar, I have thought of how to build new fortifications." Regardless of the surprised expressions on their faces, Sokov picked up a pen and paper and began to draw a schematic diagram for them. "Look, in our Nangang At the top, there is a broad mountaintop platform, and the observation posts set up by artillery observers here are rarely concentrated by enemy artillery fire. We can completely establish new defensive positions here."
After Sidorin waited for Sokov to finish drawing the schematic diagram, he stared at the small circular position on the top of the mountain platform, frowned and asked, "Comrade Brigadier, I don't understand why the circular fortification you designed is four feet away from the edge of the hillside. Fifty meters? In this way, the soldiers staying in the fortifications can’t see the enemies down the hillside at all.”
"Yes, they can't see the enemy. But the enemy can't see them either." Regarding Sidorin's statement, Sokov affirmed. He went on to say, "As soon as the Germans show up, they will be Our troops who were well prepared were defeated. And even if they wanted to throw grenades, it would be difficult to accurately throw them into our positions from such a long distance."
"If the attacking German army prepares mortars, it will still pose a threat to our fortifications..."
"Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, there is no need to say any more. Do you have a better plan?" Before Sidorin could finish speaking, Belgin interrupted him and said, "Don't see the enemy's daily artillery fire." So ferocious, but there are only a few shells that hit the top of the mountain. Building a circular defense fortifications on the top platform of the hill can not only reduce the chance of the fortifications being directly destroyed by artillery fire, but also allow soldiers to quickly enter the position through the exits at the top. The enemy blocks."
Seeing that Belkin was also very optimistic about this kind of ring fortification, Sidorin nodded and said, "Okay, Comrade Brigade Commander, then follow the method you said and build a new ring defense on the platform on the top of the hill. fortifications.”
After discussing the matter of building fortifications on the top of the hill, the three of them shifted the topic to logistical supplies. Although they had accumulated a lot of ammunition and supplies in the early stage, after the consumption during this period, Sidorin was worried about the troops' future in the near future. , you will face a shortage of ammunition.
Sokov pinched his chin and said thoughtfully, "Our brigade is almost entirely equipped with German equipment. It is almost impossible to rely on logistics to supply us. Therefore, we must organize soldiers and take advantage of the night." Go to the piles of enemy corpses to collect weapons and ammunition that can still be used to ensure that we have enough ammunition to continue fighting."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, although the 34mm general machine guns and 40mm submachine guns we are equipped with are powerful, the consumption of ammunition is also a big problem." Sidorin waited for Sokov to finish and asked tentatively, "Look, Can we try to change the equipment of the troops and companies to the standard equipment of our army?"
"It's useless to change it to our army's standard equipment. Comrade Chief of Staff, don't you know how bad the current logistics supply situation is?" Sokov rejected Sidorin's suggestion without hesitation. "Not to mention the soldiers. After they change their equipment, there is still a process of adaptation, which will inevitably affect their combat effectiveness. Therefore, I decided to maintain the status quo."
After listening to Sokov's words, Sidorin was about to say a few more words when he saw Seryosha walking in from the door. He knew that Seryozha never went to the Three Treasures Hall for anything, and never entered the headquarters easily if he had nothing to do, so he quickly asked, "Seryozha, what's the matter?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Seryosha replied, looking at Sidorin, "a messenger came from the army headquarters and has important orders to convey to the brigade commander."
Upon learning that Chuikov had sent a messenger from the headquarters, Sokov quickly ordered, "Seryozha, invite him in!"
Seryosha walked to the door and said to the door, "Please come in, comrade messenger, our brigade commander is waiting for you."
A short soldier walked in from the door. Sokov couldn't help but wonder why the messenger sent by Chuikov was actually a child. Belkin's attention was also attracted by this little messenger. None of them noticed that Sidorin, who had always been steady, was so excited that his hands were trembling.
Before Sokov could ask what the other party's purpose was, he heard a voice behind him that changed its tone due to excitement, "Son, did I read that right? Is it really you?!"
The little messenger couldn't help but be startled when he heard the sudden sound. He squinted his eyes and looked behind Sokov. When he saw Sidorin's face clearly, he exclaimed and rushed towards Sidorin. , said loudly, "Father, it's me, it's me, I am little Cidolin." Then, the father and son hugged each other tightly.
Only now did Sokov and Belkin realize that the little messenger sent by Chuikov was actually the son of Lieutenant Colonel Sidorin. After the two looked at each other, they wisely remained silent so as not to disturb the father and son's battlefield meeting.
Although Sidorin was overjoyed to see his son whom he had not seen for a long time, he did not forget his responsibilities. After hugging him for a while, he gently pushed his son away, looked at him and asked, "Son, did Commander Chuikov send you here?"
"Yes." Sidorin's words reminded little Sidorin of his purpose here, and he quickly replied, "Comrade Commander asked me to come here to convey the order."
When Sokov saw the father and son talking seriously, he took a step forward and asked Little Sidorin, "What is the order, Comrade Commander?"
Little Sidorin quickly glanced at Sokov's collar badge and saw clearly that the man, like his father, had the rank of lieutenant colonel. He quickly straightened his body and replied, "Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. I am serving as commander. Order, please go to the headquarters."
"Hell, if you want the brigade commander to go to the headquarters, just make a phone call." When Sidorin heard his son say this, he couldn't help but murmured in a low voice, "Why bother sending someone to make a special trip."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, don't you still understand the commander's painstaking efforts?" Belkin approached Sidorin and whispered, "The reason why he asked Little Sidorin to deliver the order was just to let you father and son meet. So that you don’t have to worry about each other.”
The authorities are blind to the onlookers. When Sidorin heard what Belkin said, he immediately understood Chuikov's painstaking efforts and couldn't help but feel grateful to Chuikov.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov also guessed Chuikov's intention. If he wanted to recruit him to the headquarters, he could do it over the phone. But this time, he specially asked Xiao Xidorin to make a trip. The purpose was to let the pair Father and son meet so that Lieutenant Colonel Sidorin won't worry about his son. Considering that Chuikov didn't seem to be in a hurry to call himself to the headquarters, he didn't rush to set off. Instead, he said to Sidorin, "You and Little Sidorin haven't seen each other for a long time. Let's go to the next room and have a good chat." Come on." He raised his hand and looked at his watch, "I'll give you half an hour."
"Thank you, thank you, Comrade Brigadier." Sidorin was so moved by Sokov's kindness that his eyes were red. After thanking Sokov, he took his son to the next room to reminisce. .
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Belkin asked curiously after Sidorin and his son left, "tell me, what do you think, Comrade Commander, and how did you arrange for the father and son to meet at this time?"
Sokov looked at Belkin and said with a serious expression, "Comrade Political Commissar, I think the reason why the commander sent little Sidolin here to meet his father was because he was worried that the next battle would be too embarrassing. One of them might not live to see the moment of victory, so this meeting was arranged.”
"Yes, yes, judging from the fighting in the past two days, the Germans launched attacks in various areas like crazy, trying to capture Stalingrad in one fell swoop." Belkin said, "How many people can we have? It’s really unknown whether he can survive until the day he wins the battle.”
Thinking that Sokov might encounter danger on the way to the headquarters this time, Belkin carefully advised Sokov, "Comrade Brigadier, there is still time anyway, why don't you go say goodbye to Asiya?"
"No, no." Sokov immediately rejected Belkin's kindness. "I just went to the headquarters to receive orders. I won't encounter any danger, so I don't need to see Asiya. If I really Going to see her might create a bad association with her and affect her normal work."
