The reason why Sokov forcibly left the convoy was that his first consideration was maneuverability. He knew very well that even if his troops reached Orlovka, they would soon be in a situation where they would run out of ammunition and food in the face of the German siege. , with trucks, more troops can be withdrawn in the shortest time.
Secondly, in the process of breaking through the German defense line, the troops will definitely have a large number of wounded. If they carry these wounded together, it will inevitably slow down the speed. Therefore, these trucks are also responsible for evacuating the wounded.
This time, the female scout Lisa was to be sent to the Army Group Headquarters. Sokov ordered people to carry all the wounded who were sent from the front onto trucks and send them all to the field hospital at the Army Group Headquarters.
Shortly after sending Lisa and the wounded away, Bely reported to Sokov via the radio: "Comrade Brigade Commander, our attack on the third line of defense failed again."
"What, failed again?" According to Sokov's idea, the German third line of defense will definitely be captured before dark. Even the two attacks launched by the infantry battalion and the tank battalion from both sides of the defense line ended with After failing, he asked dissatisfiedly into the microphone: "Comrade Colonel, how could this happen?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Bely reported with a bitter look on his face: "The Germans deployed a lot of anti-tank fighters, causing us to lose five or six tanks in a row. Without the cooperation of the infantry, the tanks would not be able to break through the enemy's defense line. of."
Bely's report cast a shadow on Sokov's heart. He said impatiently: "Comrade Colonel, I will contact Captain Vanya immediately and ask him to send someone to assist you."
After Sokov ended the call with Bely, he contacted Vanya using the walkie-talkie. He asked straight to the point: "Comrade Captain, please immediately send someone to support Colonel Bely and help them break through the German defenses."
Unexpectedly, after listening to Sokov's words, Vanya cried out: "Comrade Brigadier, the situation here is not good. The enemy is counterattacking us, and it is impossible to allocate manpower to support the tank battalion."
"Comrade Captain, it is already dark now. It is difficult for the tank soldiers to find the hidden anti-tank fighters. Without the support from inside, their attack will not be successful." Sokov felt very sad when he saw that Vanya was actually pushing back. Unhappy, his tone inevitably became particularly harsh: "If this delays our departure to Orlovka, can you afford the consequences?"
Faced with Sokov's severe criticism, Vanya did not dare to refute any more. He could only grit his teeth and said bravely: "Okay, Comrade Brigadier, since you said so, I will immediately find a way to allocate manpower to go Support Colonel Bely..."
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," before Vanya could finish speaking, a voice suddenly sounded from Sokov's side: "The task of supporting Colonel Bely should be left to our battalion."
For the guard battalion sent by Chuikov, Sokov originally planned to use it when attacking the German fourth line of defense. But judging from the current situation, both Vanya's first battalion and Bely's tank battalion are at the end of their game. Without the support of fresh troops, even if they capture the third line of defense, it will be a battle that outweighs the gains and losses. A miserable victory.
Thinking of this, Sokov stepped forward and held Tenev's hand, and said earnestly: "Major Tenev, I originally planned to let you camp when we attack the fourth line of defense. But judging from the current situation, if If we cannot capture the German third line of defense quickly, it will be difficult to complete the mission to Orlovka before tomorrow. Therefore, I leave it to you to reinforce Colonel Bely."
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Seeing Sokov explaining the matter to him so solemnly, Tenev's expression became solemn: "Don't worry, I will immediately send a battalion to support the tank troops and strive to Take down the enemy’s third line of defense in the shortest possible time.”
As the first company of the guard battalion entered the battle, Colonel Bely's tank battalion finally broke through the German defense line and successfully joined Vanya's first battalion on the enemy's position.
Sokov rushed to the third line of defense immediately after the battle to learn about the casualties of the troops. When future generations mention the brutality of the Battle of Stalingrad, they will mention a saying circulated among the city defenders: "We captured the kitchen, but the living room is still in the hands of the enemy!"
Later generations believe that this situation lasted throughout the entire defense war. But as a participant, Sokov understood that this situation should only occur after October. The two premature counterattacks launched by the Soviet army in early September and early October, although they consumed part of the German troops and delayed their rush into the city, they also exhausted their precious troops.
Sokov knew very well that if the troops suffered too many casualties during the mission to Orlovka before the execution, then he would not have enough troops to resist the German attack in the following days. Therefore, using tactics rationally in battle and preserving more effective forces is the current top priority.
After meeting Bely and Vanya, Sokov didn't say much nonsense, but asked straight to the point: "Tell me about your current situation."
"There are still fifteen tanks left in the whole battalion, including the spherical tank." Bely reported to Sokov with a frustrated face: "And the ammunition is also somewhat insufficient. I wonder if we can get the factory to replenish some for us. .”
When he learned that there were only fifteen tanks left, Sokov couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat. He didn't expect the tank losses to be so serious. Regarding the shortage of ammunition, he thought for a moment and then proposed a plan to Bely: "Comrade Colonel, please ask the tank soldiers to transfer all the ammunition in the damaged tanks to the intact tanks as soon as possible."
"Most of the destroyed tanks are burning, and the ammunition inside has long been used up." After listening to Sokov's words, Bely said awkwardly: "And those tanks with ammunition still preserved have a very limited amount of ammunition inside. , I’m afraid it won’t be able to meet our needs.”
"In that case, I will immediately contact the factory director Peter and ask him to send someone to send us a batch of ammunition as soon as possible." After Sokov said this, he reached out and patted Belly's shoulder gently: " Comrade Colonel, let the tank crews take time to rest, the battle during the day tomorrow will be even more brutal."
Sokov turned to Vanya and asked: "Comrade Captain, how many troops do you have left in your first battalion now?"
"There are still about three hundred people left in the whole battalion." Vanya, whose face was blackened by gunpowder smoke, immediately replied after hearing Sokov's question: "But we can continue to fight."
"Comrade Captain, you won't need to participate in the next battle." Since more than half of the commanders and fighters of the first battalion have been killed or wounded, Sokov does not want them to continue to participate in the attack, lest he lose all his old strength: "Offensive Leave the task of the fourth line of defense to Major Tenev’s guard battalion.”
Hearing Sokov mention his name, Tenev, who was standing next to him as a human background, quickly stepped forward and said firmly: "Comrade Captain, just rest in peace. Our guard camp will handle the rest of the battle." Come and take charge, we will definitely seize the enemy's position before dawn."
Before Sokov could express his position, Bely interrupted and reminded: "Comrade Brigadier, I want to remind you. The enemies on the fourth line of defense have strong fortifications. If they want to launch a strong attack, I am afraid the casualties will be huge." "
In fact, even if Bely did not remind him, Sokov did not intend to launch a strong attack. In the daytime battle, due to the fear that the German air force and artillery could join the battle at any time, the only strategy was to adopt the tactics of fighting quickly. As for fighting at night, it is another way of fighting. He nodded, expressed his gratitude to Bely, and said to Tenev: "Comrade Major, you lead the troops to quietly lurk in front of the enemy's position, and we will launch an attack before dawn."
Everyone expressed their understanding of Sokov's arrangement. If we attack before dawn, firstly, the enemy's vigilance will be the lowest, and secondly, it will be easier to distinguish between ourselves and the enemy to avoid accidental damage. However, Tenev also asked specifically: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I would like to ask, will artillery preparations be carried out before the attack?"
"No, Comrade Major." Sokov replied without hesitation: "There is no artillery preparation."
When he heard that there was no artillery preparation, Tenev's face became a little ugly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if there is no artillery preparation, we will launch an attack on the enemy's defense line with strong defensive positions. I am worried that the casualties of the troops will not be small."
"Although there is no artillery preparation, Captain Vanya and others will use rockets to attack the enemy's fortifications and eliminate the exposed fire points." Sokov comforted Tenev and said: "After the attack is over, you can take advantage of the enemy's confusion. On this occasion, we immediately charged into their positions and tried to break through the German fourth line of defense in the shortest possible time.”
In order to make Tenev pay attention to what he said, Sokov also emphasized: "Comrade Major, I think it is necessary to remind you. The reason why we can continuously break through the three lines of defense of the German army is not that the German army is vulnerable. It’s also about how strong our combat effectiveness is. It’s because the counterattack launched by our army in the north of the city effectively contained a large number of German troops, making their original defense lines weak.”
Tenev is also a smart man. He did not understand the purpose of Sokov's words to him. He quickly replied: "We will not let you down. We will definitely be able to seize the enemy's position in the shortest possible time." .”
Tenev's statement made Sokov very satisfied. He was deeply afraid that the other party would violate the plan, which would have an adverse impact on his plan. He raised his hand to look at his watch and said to Tenev: "Comrade Major, according to the scout's report, there is a grassland in front of the German army's fourth direction. You and your troops can lurk there. Wait until one o'clock in the morning When the time comes, take your people quietly and lurk there, waiting for the signal to attack."
"Comrade Brigadier, what did you say?" Belei originally thought that his troops had no combat missions, so the next mission assigned by Sokov had nothing to do with him. But when he heard that Sokov planned to let the troops lurk in the grass in front of the German position, he couldn't help but be surprised and bold: "Let hundreds of soldiers from the guard battalion lurk in front of the enemy's position?"
"Yes, Comrade Colonel." Sokov nodded towards Bely and asked, "Is there anything you can't do?"
"Of course it's not right." Belly's breathing suddenly became rapid: "Comrade Brigadier, have you ever thought about it, although the area of the grassland is not small, hundreds of people are lurking there, and you don't want the Germans to I found out how difficult this is.”
Tenev was originally dissatisfied with Sokov's arrangement, but considering that he was Sokov's subordinate, the habit of obedience developed through years of military service prevented him from raising objections to Sokov's orders. objection. But when he saw that Colonel Bely, who had a higher military rank than Sokov, actually pointed out that this lurking mission was a wrong decision, he pretended to be brave and said cautiously: "Yes, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, hundreds of people are lurking in the German army." Isn’t it too risky to move in front of our position? You know, we have never taken similar actions before.”
"Colonel Bely, Major Tenev." Sokov squatted in front of the map, traced the enemy's fortifications and the position in front of him with his hands, and then said: "It's more than two kilometers from us to the enemy's position. Kilometers. How many of our soldiers do you think can reach the enemy alive when they attack German positions with strong fortifications without artillery cover?"
Sokov's words silenced Bely, who opposed the lurking plan. Although he is a tank commander, he is very clear in his heart about the price the troops will pay if they resist the enemy's bullets and rain of bullets from a distance of two kilometers. He couldn't help but start thinking about Sokov's lurking plan to see if he could minimize the casualties on the offensive road.
Seeing that Bely did not speak, Sokov knew that what he said had an effect. He went on to say: "If we let the troops lurk only a hundred meters away from the German position, once we start the attack, I am afraid that the enemy has not returned yet." God, our soldiers rushed into their trenches. Comrade Colonel, if I say this, you must have understood how to choose, right?"
Bely did not answer Sokov immediately, but turned to ask Vanya: "Comrade Captain, how much deviation will your new rocket produce when it is launched two kilometers away?"
Vanya was stunned for a moment when he heard Bely's question. Then he understood what the other party meant and quickly replied: "Comrade Colonel, we have skilled rocket launchers who can control the error within fifty meters. If When attacking enemy positions, I am sure that they will avoid accidentally injuring lurking friendly forces."
After listening to Vanya's answer, Bely nodded, turned to Sokov and said: "In that case, Comrade Brigade Commander, then I agree with your lurking plan. Our army will use the assault at close range to , it is completely possible to successfully rush into their trenches before the enemy recovers, catching them by surprise."
