"Who is your superior? Is it Major Yakov?" Sokov remembered that the other party once mentioned that his immediate boss was Yakov, and he quickly said: "Yakov and I are old friends. , if I ask you to stay at Mamayev Heights, I’m sure he will agree.”
Hearing what Sokov said, Varman knew that the other party was not just talking casually, but really wanted to stay in Mamayev Heights. The expression on his face became relaxed: "In that case, then I will do it first. Thank you!"
"By the way, where is Yakov?" Sokov turned to look at Vitkov and said: "Didn't he say that he wanted to rush to Kamishin personally to deal with the seizure of the rockets by the Ministry of Internal Affairs? Why not? How about seeing him come back with you?"
"It's like this. In order to avoid being bombed by German planes, the trains from Moscow always leave after dark, and it will take midnight at the earliest to reach Kamishin." Varman explained to Sokov: "But When he heard that the matter had been resolved, he canceled the trip and just ordered me to continue escorting the rockets to Mamayev Heights."
When he learned that Yakov would not come to Mamayev Heights again, Sokov felt a little disappointed. However, since he had decided to keep Varman, the matter had to be left alone. He ordered Sidorin: " The chief of staff immediately sent a report to Major Yakov, saying that since our brigade lacks commanders with combat experience, he hoped he would agree to Captain Varman staying to strengthen the grassroots command strength of our brigade."
"Understood, I will send a telegram immediately." Sidorin waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and immediately agreed readily. After he glanced at Varman with a smile, he quickly walked towards the telegraph operator, preparing to let the other party give him a message. A message was sent from Moscow, leaving Varman with his troops.
…………
The sixty soldiers of the small team were ordered to assemble at the foot of the Mamayev Hill. They waited in the cold wind for half an hour, but they did not know the purpose of their superiors calling them here. Many people were whispering to each other. .
Someone asked: "Hey, do you know why our superiors called us here?"
"I don't know!" Someone immediately replied: "We have been drinking the northwest wind here for more than half an hour, and we haven't seen any commander come out."
"Hey, are you going behind enemy lines?"
"Yes, according to the plan, we should set off to the enemy's rear as soon as it gets dark, but who knows, we are called here. Are you going to the enemy's rear too?"
"Yes, yes, the battalion commander took us out and formed a small team, saying that we would go behind enemy lines to carry out raids. Unexpectedly, we had already made preparations, but suddenly he informed us that we would not leave for the time being, and he even told us that we would not leave for the time being. Come and gather here.”
"Stop talking," while everyone was talking, they suddenly heard an officer lowering his voice to stop everyone: "A commander has come out, listen to what he has to say to us."
The soldiers looked towards the exit of the tunnel, and sure enough they saw a group of people walking out of it. In front of them were a dozen soldiers with guns and ammunition, followed closely by three officers, a colonel and a lieutenant colonel, and One of them was a captain, and the one walking in the middle was the lieutenant colonel. Someone with sharp eyes immediately recognized Lieutenant Colonel Sokov and couldn't help but exclaimed: "Isn't that Brigadier Sokov? His injury has healed?"
"Yes, it is indeed the brigade commander." The other soldiers quickly recognized Sokov, and they suddenly realized: "No wonder we are asked to disguise ourselves as German soldiers and go to the enemy's rear to wreak havoc. It turns out that it is the brigade commander again. He will return to the command position."
A newly-joined soldier saw the excited expression on everyone's face after seeing the officers coming out clearly. He couldn't help asking the people around him strangely: "Can any of you tell me which one is the brigade commander?" "
The soldier next to him pointed towards the entrance of the tunnel and said, "Here, that's the lieutenant colonel walking in the middle. He is the brigade commander, lieutenant colonel Sokov."
"Is he a good commander?" the soldier asked curiously, "I see you were all very excited when you saw him appear."
"Of course it's awesome!" the person next to him said proudly: "Under his command, we have never lost a battle. We can win the greatest victory at the smallest cost every time. If he hadn't been injured recently. , and after leaving the command post, the casualties of the troops will definitely be reduced by half."
When Sokov came to the front of the team, the entire team had fallen silent, and everyone paid attention to him and moved with his movements. Sokov raised his hand and saluted the soldiers, and then said loudly: "Hello, comrades!"
As soon as he finished speaking, a uniform voice came from the team: "Hello, brigade commander!"
Sokov nodded with satisfaction and continued: "Comrades, according to the original plan, you should set off after dark, but I ordered the departure time to be postponed. Do you know the reason?"
No one in the team spoke. Everyone was staring at Sokov, waiting for him to give an answer they wanted to know.
"Two days ago, Captain Golia of the 192nd Battalion led his team deep into the enemy's rear and used the new rockets prepared for us by our superiors to destroy an enemy regiment headquarters and hundreds of garrison troops." As soon as Sokov said this, He couldn't help but raise his voice: "This is an amazing victory!"
Except for the commander of the brigade headquarters, only the soldiers of the 192nd Battalion knew that Captain Golia led his team to destroy the German Army Headquarters with rockets, and the soldiers of other battalions had no knowledge at all. When I heard Sokov say this, I couldn't help but exclaimed in unison, and began to sigh with emotion below.
Among the detachments of the 192nd Battalion, there were Sergeant Tavlin and Gunner Minishki who had participated in the night attack. When they heard their comrades around talking about the results they had achieved, they couldn't help but proudly said: "That's right, we went on this mission with the battalion commander. I saw with my own eyes that the village where the enemy's regiment headquarters was located was turned into a sea of flames by rocket bombs, and not a single enemy inside was able to escape."
While the soldiers were discussing, Sokov did not speak and deliberately remained silent. After the team became quiet again, he said: "Comrades, I can tell you now that the reason why the brigade headquarters postponed your departure time is Because our superiors are about to send us a batch of new rockets. After each of your squads carries this new type of rocket, they will be able to attack the enemy's barracks, warehouses, headquarters and transportation lines from a distance without worrying about being attacked. to the enemy's siege, thereby greatly improving the survival probability of the small unit behind enemy lines."
When they learned that Sokov postponed the departure time of the troops in order to equip everyone with new rockets, the soldiers present couldn't help shouting: "Ula! Ula!! Ula!!!"
Sokov raised his hand and pressed down, allowing the team to regain silence, and said: "Comrades, although our superiors have replenished us with a large number of rockets this time, considering your limited load-bearing capacity, each small The detachment can only distribute ten rockets..."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," before Sokov could finish his words, Tavlin, who was standing in the first group, shouted loudly: "We have the ability to carry more rockets."
Sokov walked up to Tavlin and saw the brand new medal hanging on his chest. He asked with great interest: "Comrade soldier, if I am not mistaken, you should be following Captain Golia on the execution." Did you accept the mission of sneak attack on the German Army Headquarters?"
"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander." Tavlin pointed to the medal on his chest and said proudly: "This medal was obtained because of the battle that night."
"Comrade Sergeant, what is your name?" Sokov asked.
"My name is Tavlin," Tavlin heard Sokov ask his name, and replied with some excitement: "I am a squad leader of the 192nd Battalion."
"Sergeant Tavlin," Sokov looked at the medium-sized sergeant and called him by his name and rank: "You must know that each rocket weighs 18.8 kilograms, even if only ten are provided to each squad. It takes ten warriors to carry them. Even if I give you some more, you can’t take them away.”
"Comrade Brigadier, please rest assured." Taflin patted his chest and assured: "You may not think that I am tall, but I should have no problem carrying two. And among the soldiers in our squad, there are still people who can carry three. One or four."
As soon as Taflin finished speaking, the soldiers of the 192nd Battalion team echoed: "That's right, Comrade Brigade Commander, each of us can carry two or three, so please give us more." See Chapter 1 The soldiers of the 192nd Battalion made a request to Sokov, hoping to get more rockets. Several other teams did not dare to show weakness and made the same request to Sokov.
Seeing the enthusiasm of the soldiers, Vitkov walked up to Sokov, leaned close to his ear, and whispered: "Since everyone wants more rockets, just agree to them."
"No, Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander." Regarding Vitkov's proposal, Sokov immediately rejected it: "I do not deny that the soldiers have the ability to carry more rockets, but if they carry too many rockets, it will inevitably affect At their marching speed, once they are entangled by the enemy, it will not be easy to escape. Also, if they take away too many rockets, the number left on Mamayev Heights will be greatly reduced, which will be a big blow to us. The defense is also disadvantageous."
After hearing what Sokov said, Vitkov no longer insisted on his opinion, but said sarcastically: "Comrade Brigade Commander, since you are the commander of a brigade, it is up to you to decide how to allocate the troops."
After Vitkov finished expressing his position, Sokov raised his hand and pressed it down hard. When the soldiers were silent, he continued: "Comrades, I understand everyone's mood, and I also hope that you can Bring more rockets to the enemy's rear and turn the enemy's rear upside down." At this point, he paused intentionally for a moment to observe the expressions of the soldiers. When he saw that everyone's eyes were on him, he added Said, "Bringing too many rockets will inevitably affect your marching speed, which may bring danger to you. Also, the number of rockets our superiors have replenished for us is limited. If you take away too many, Then the number of rockets that can be used by the troops holding Mamayev Heights will be reduced..."
Sokov's words made everyone calm down again. They were just thinking about how to bring more rockets to the enemy's rear to cause destruction, but they forgot that their comrades standing on Mamayev Heights also needed these rockets; and More importantly, due to the weight of rockets, if you carry too many, it will definitely affect your marching speed. Once you encounter the enemy, it will be difficult to escape quickly even if you want to.
At this moment, two trucks loaded with rockets drove along the rugged road toward the location where the troops were gathering. Hearing Captain Varman: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the truck is coming!" Sokov turned around and took a look, then faced the soldiers and said: "Comrades, the truck carrying rockets has arrived. I now announce that every day This small team carried fifteen rockets, and after receiving the rockets, they immediately set off towards the enemy's rear."
