Sokov knew very well that what he did would offend Vitkov. If the other party became his immediate boss in the future, it would be inevitable for him to put on his shoes. But after careful consideration, he felt that if Vitkov remained as brigade commander, his self-made army might be ruined in the hands of the opponent. For your own benefit, letting Witkov leave is the best choice.
After hearing Chuikov's order to resume his duties as brigade commander, he breathed a sigh of relief, and then asked in a tentative tone: "Comrade Commander, do you have anything to tell Colonel Vitkov?"
"Give the microphone to Vitkov," Chuikov ordered on the phone: "I have something to say to him."
The ashen-faced Vitkov took the microphone from Sokov's hand, put it to his ear, and said with a depressed expression: "Comrade Commander, what should I do? Should I go back to the army headquarters?"
I don't know what Chuikov said on the phone. A surprised expression suddenly appeared on Vitkov's face. He quickly turned his head and glanced at Sokov sitting next to him, and asked in surprise: "Comrade Commander, are you really?" Do you intend to let me continue to stay on Mamayev Heights?...Well, since you say so, then I will resolutely obey your orders."
When Vitkov put down the phone, the expression on his face had returned to normal. He faced Sokov and said: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, according to Commander Chuikov's order, I will continue to stay at Mamayev Heights. Until the end of the Battle of Stalingrad.”
When Sokov heard what Vitkov said, his heart sank suddenly. He secretly said that Chuikov had already made me the brigade commander again, but he left a commander with a higher military rank than me here. What does it mean? ? If there are two commanders in an army, the problem will be complicated. If there is disagreement, who should you listen to?
However, Vitkov's next words made Sokov completely reassured: "...from now on, I will serve as deputy brigade commander and assist you in commanding the troops to hold on to Mamayev Heights..."
When he learned that Chuikov asked Vitkov to stay as his deputy, Sokov couldn't help but be startled. He instinctively turned to look at Sidorin and Belkin next to him, and saw expressions of surprise on their faces. Sokov turned his attention back to Vitkov and asked curiously: "Colonel Vitkov, I would like to ask why Comrade Commander made such a decision?"
"I don't know either." Vitkov shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands and said, "Anyway, from now on, I will be your deputy brigade commander, and you have the final say in everything in the brigade."
Although it was unclear why Chuikov asked Vitkov to be his deputy, Sokov had no time to consider these issues. Instead, he looked up at Sidorin and asked: "Chief of Staff, Major Yakov left more than a month ago. It’s been a week, have the new rockets he promised been delivered to us?”
"No."
"How many pieces are left in the original batch?"
In response to Sokov's question, Sidorin thought for a moment and replied: "There are seven left, including five here at Mamayev Kurgan and two at Sergeant Vasily's place."
"Have the scouts we sent from Mamayev Heights discovered the enemy's campsite or headquarters?"
Sidorin had long understood Sokov's leaping thinking. He knew that after he asked about ammunition, he would ask if there was any enemy headquarters nearby so that he could send troops to sneak attacks. He quickly pointed the map on the table at him. He pushed, pointed to the vicinity of Mamayev Hill and said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, according to the scout's report, there is a German regiment command post to the west of Mamayev Hill, about thirty kilometers away from us. distance……"
Before Sidorin could finish speaking, Sokov interrupted him: "Call the commander of the 912th Battalion, Captain Golia, and ask him to come to me immediately to accept the combat mission."
"Combat mission?!" Sidorin heard what Sokov said and asked curiously: "Comrade Brigadier, what combat mission do you plan to assign them?"
"Didn't you say that there is a German regiment-level command post here?" Sokov clicked twice with his finger on the position Sidorin just pointed out, and said: "I called Captain Golia over, so naturally I asked him to Lead people to take down the enemy's regiment command post."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov," Vitkov couldn't help but interjected after hearing this: "I think your plan is a bit too risky. The enemy's regiment-level command posts are usually heavily guarded, and in their defense Depth. If we send too few men, we will not be able to seize the German headquarters; if we send too many, we will be detected when we pass through the enemy's defense lines."
"That's right, Comrade Brigade Commander, Colonel Vitkov is right, we can't risk attacking the German headquarters." As soon as Vitkov finished speaking, Sidorin expressed support for his opinion: "Even if we send If we don’t have enough troops, if the battle cannot be resolved in a short time, the enemies who come after hearing the news may surround our troops for a sneak attack. Therefore, I suggest that you think about it carefully."
"Colonel Vitkov, Chief of Staff," Sokov waited for the two to finish and then asked, "When did I say that I was going to seize the enemy's regiment command post?"
"But, but..." Sidorin heard Sokov's question and replied in a panic: "Didn't you just say that you planned to send Captain Golia's troops to take down the enemy's regiment command post?"
"Yes, I said that, but I didn't say that I would carry out a strong attack?!" After Sokov said this, he saw that Sidorin, Vitkovl and others had blank faces. Looking like this, he introduced to the two of them: "Don't forget, the new rockets we have now. Captain Golia only needs to lead his troops and sneak into a position two or three kilometers away from the German army command post to establish a launcher. Position, use rockets to attack the enemy's command post. In this way, even if the enemy is bombed, they will not be able to figure out what is going on, while Golia's troops can take the opportunity to withdraw to our defense line."
Sidorin's eyes lit up when he heard what Sokov said. He said with some excitement: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are right. Regardless of the size of the new rocket, it is shorter than Katyusha's rocket. But the power is not reduced much. As long as the enemy's command post is hit by two rounds, there probably won't be any survivors."
Sidorin gained confidence in Sokov's proposal and quickly picked up the phone to contact Golya and asked him to come over immediately to report. But Vitkov didn't know enough about the new rockets. He frowned and asked: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, can you accurately hit the target when launched two or three kilometers away from the target?"
"Okay." Sokov nodded and replied in a positive tone: "The accuracy of this new rocket far exceeds the rocket used by Katyusha. I believe it can be launched two or three kilometers away. There should be no problem hitting the target.”
Seeing that Sokov answered so surely, Vitkov did not dwell on this question anymore, but asked another question that he was worried about: "It is thirty kilometers from here to the enemy's regiment command post. Our commanders and fighters must rush there, at least It will take a day, won’t you be exposed?”
Just as Sokov was about to answer, he saw Sidorin put down the phone and asked him quickly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, can those German armored vehicles we captured still be used?"
"No problem, as long as you refuel, you can set off at any time." After Sidorin answered this question, he couldn't help but asked curiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, are you planning to let Goliath and the others disguise themselves as Germans and ride in an armored vehicle? Through the German lines?"
"That's right, that's what I thought." Seeing that Sidorin had guessed his intention, Sokov said with a smile: "The armored vehicle can complete the thirty-kilometer journey in two hours at most, and then add The time to establish the launch site will take up to five hours of round trip, and Captain Golia and the others should still be able to make it back to the tunnel in Beigang for breakfast."
After receiving the call, Golia hurried to the brigade headquarters. As soon as he entered the door, he saluted Vitkov who was standing at the table and reported according to the order: "Comrade Brigade Commander, Captain Golya, commander of the 192nd Battalion, has been ordered to come. Please give instructions!"
After Witkov raised his hand to return the salute, he pouted at Sokov who was sitting next to him and said: "Comrade Captain, the person who called you here is your old brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Let him report it.”
After Vitkov's reminder, Golya saw Sokov sitting next to him, and couldn't help showing an expression of surprise on his face: "Comrade Brigadier, are all your injuries healed?"
"Thank you for your concern. I'm almost recovered." Sokov nodded to Golia and said, "Come to the table, and I will assign you a combat mission." Golia heard Sokov say this and was not satisfied. Dare to neglect, he quickly walked to the table and leaned over to look at the map spread out on the table.
"Comrade Captain," Sokov pointed to the location of the German Army's command post and said to Golia: "This is a regimental command post of the German Army. The purpose of calling you here is to order you to lead People go and destroy it.”
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Golya said with some embarrassment after hearing Sokov's order: "After this period of fighting, my battalion only has more than a hundred people left, and many of them are still alive." They are wounded. I am worried that with this small force, it will be difficult to seize the enemy's regiment command post."
"Comrade Captain, didn't you hear my order clearly?" Sokov looked at Goliath and said seriously: "I ordered you to destroy it, not capture it."
"I don't understand, Comrade Brigade Commander." Golya waited for Sokov to finish and then said with a grimace: "How can we destroy the enemy's command post if we don't capture it first?"
Sokov sneered twice, and then said: "Comrade Captain, we don't just fight with bravery, we must know how to use our brains. To destroy the enemy's headquarters does not mean that we must occupy it. You should know that our new equipment The army’s new rockets can not only attack enemy targets several kilometers away, but can also move the launch position at any time..."
As soon as Sokov mentioned the new rockets, Golya immediately understood Sokov's intention and quickly said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I understand, you are planning to let us use this kind of rockets in the distance." Is it close to destroying the enemy’s command post?”
Sokov gave Goliya a thumbs up, praised him and said, "Yes, Comrade Captain, that's exactly what I meant."
"But Brigadier, is the location of the enemy regiment's command post too far away from us?" Golia gestured on the map with his finger and said, "It's about twenty or thirty kilometers away. If If you walk, it will take at least a day to go back and forth.”
"Comrade Captain, do you still remember the armored vehicle we rode in when we went to Orlovka last time to pick up friendly forces?" Sokov reminded the other party: "The personnel who went to perform the mission rode the armored vehicle through the enemy's Defensive line, after destroying the enemy's regiment command post, return immediately. I have roughly calculated the time. The round trip plus the time for launching rockets will only take five hours at most. You can still make it back to the position for breakfast. Still Any questions?"
Golia hesitated for a moment, and then asked: "Comrade Brigade Commander, how many new rockets do you plan to give us to complete this sneak attack mission?"
Sokov held out four fingers and said, "I can only give you four rockets."
"What, only four?" Golya thought that no matter how stingy Sokov was, he would give him at least a dozen rockets. Unexpectedly, he only gave himself four. He muttered: "Comrade Brigadier, Isn’t it too little?”
"That's quite a lot, Comrade Captain." Sidorin quickly explained to him: "Today, there are only five of this new type of rockets left here in Mamayev Heights. Comrade Brigade Commander, we will give you almost all of our inventory. ”
Hearing what Sidorin said, Golia couldn't say anything else. Instead, after a period of silence, he asked: "Comrade Brigade Commander, when should we set off?"
"You set out at 11 o'clock in the evening. At that time, the German army's vigilance should be relatively low, which will help you pass through the enemy's defense line smoothly. Also, don't have too many people in this operation. There are at most ten people. Do you want to go back? Allocate manpower, and I will arrange for people to prepare armored vehicles and rockets for you." Golia agreed, raised his hand to salute Sokov, turned around and walked out of the headquarters.
As soon as Golya left, Sokov ordered Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, immediately prepare the armored vehicles and rockets that Captain Golya needs." After saying that, he felt that something was missing, and then Added, "By the way, prepare a few more sets of German uniforms to facilitate their smooth passage through the German defense lines."
As soon as Golya left, Sokov ordered Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, immediately prepare the armored vehicles and rockets that Captain Golya needs." After saying that, he felt that something was missing, and then Added, "By the way, prepare a few more sets of German uniforms to facilitate their smooth passage through the German defense lines."
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