When the Soviet army wanted to attack the enemy's position, the tactics used were to launch an infantry attack after the artillery preparations were completed. With luck, the attacking force will also be supported by tanks or air force. But this was the first time that the troops were directly lurking in front of the German positions and using short-distance assault tactics. If Sokov hadn't had the final say here, the plan probably wouldn't have been passed yet.
Sokov has seen many war-themed movies in later generations, and they all include scenes of lurking in front of enemy positions. In order to achieve a surprise attack, latent troops usually have to stay under the enemy's nose for a day and a night.
Although the lurking time this time was only a few hours, Sokov's heart was still uneasy. After all, this was the first time the Soviet army used such tactics. Whether he could enter the lurking position without the enemy noticing was still a question. What’s unknown? Also, even if you successfully enter the lurking location, if the enemy detects it within a few hours, the lurking unit will be in danger of being completely destroyed.
Therefore, after arranging the task, he chose a higher position, raised his telescope and looked at the German positions in the distance. Bely stood next to Sokov and imitated his example, raising his telescope and asking at the same time: "Comrade Brigadier, is it really okay to lurk in front of the enemy's position?"
Regarding Bely's question, Sokov could only reply with a wry smile: "Colonel Bely, this is the fastest way for us to seize the enemy's position. As for whether it can succeed, we have to give it a try."
After listening to Sokov, Bely put down his telescope and said thoughtfully: "This line of defense was built by our army. Since the main defense direction is to the west, the Germans are in front of our lurking area." There are no minefields laid, no barbed wire fences, only a hastily dug trench. If our army can successfully launch an attack from the hiding place, then there should not be much problem in seizing the enemy's defense line."
Sokov also put down the telescope, turned to Bely and said: "Comrade Colonel, you are right. The key to the success or failure of our attack lies in whether the guard battalion can successfully enter the hiding place."
"I don't think the problem is big." After some observation, Belly became confident: "We broke through the three front lines of defense and used tank battalions. As long as the Germans did not hear the roar of tank engines at night, You will think that we will not attack."
"Yes, the Germans will definitely think that we will send out tank troops before attacking." Sokov replied: "But they never dreamed that our attacking troops would take advantage of the darkness and enter the grassland in front of their position. Lurking.”
…………
When it was time to set off, Tenev came to the temporary command post and said goodbye to Sokov. He straightened his body and said to Sokov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please rest assured that I will ensure that the troops enter the lurking position smoothly."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Major." Seeing Tenev preparing to leave, Bely suddenly stopped him, then turned and asked Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I find that we seem to have overlooked an important issue."
"What's the problem?" Although the plan of lurking in front of the enemy's position was proposed by Sokov, he knew in his heart that there must be imperfections in this tactic for the first time. So when I heard what Bely said, I immediately urged: "Colonel Bely, hurry up and tell me."
"How do we communicate with the latent troops?" Bely pointedly pointed out: "I just saw that the grass there is more than half a person deep. After the soldiers enter it, it is difficult for us to see clearly whether they have successfully reached the designated location. .Also, if an accident occurs and they need our support, how will they notify us?"
Bely's words made Sokov realize his negligence. He raised his hand and slapped his forehead hard, and said angrily: "Damn, damn, how could I forget such an important thing."
He frowned and thought for a while, then walked up to Tenev and said to him: "Comrade Major, your lurking position is very close to the enemy's position. If you need to contact us for anything, you may not be able to call directly, so we have to Arrange a method of contact in advance.”
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you have any good ideas?" Tenev said expressionlessly: "Please give instructions!"
Sokov walked to the walkie-talkie, picked up the microphone, and signaled to Tenev: "Comrade Major, please remember the several contact methods I demonstrated." After seeing Tenev nodding, he Start the demonstration: after the troops successfully enter the lurking position, they blow into the microphone three times in a row, with slow and long breaths; if there is any danger and need rear support, they blow three times in a row with short but rapid breaths...
Hearing the contact information Sokov described, Bely opened his eyes in surprise and said in an admiring tone: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are so awesome that you can actually come up with such a contact method. In this way, We can understand the situation of the latent troops in a timely manner without exposing the target."
Tenev was also impressed by this method of contact. He nodded vigorously and said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I have already remembered it. I will report to you in time after the troops successfully enter the lurking position. "
After the latent troops set off, Sokov did not go outside to observe. He only arranged two observation posts to monitor the movements of the German positions. As soon as you notice something is wrong, report it to yourself immediately. At the same time, he also ordered Vanya to set up rocket launchers and be ready to carry out fire strikes on German positions at any time.
About half an hour later, the operator suddenly said to Sokov in surprise: "Comrade Brigadier, the guard battalion has successfully entered the hiding position." After saying that, he turned on the external broadcast of the radio, so that Sokov and others Both Ray and Ray could clearly hear Tenev blowing into the microphone.
"Comrade Brigade Commander, your method of contact is really great." Hearing the three long blows indicating that the troops had successfully entered the hiding position, Bely said with emotion again: "Major Tenev can promptly Report the situation to us without being detected by the enemy."
When Sokov heard Bely's praise, he did not feel complacent about it. On the contrary, he said with emotion: "I really didn't expect that the commanders and fighters of the guard battalion were so well-trained that they could defeat the enemy without any trace in such a short period of time." Without being noticed, smoothly enter the lurking position.”
Now that the troops have entered a lurking position, Sokov feels a little more at ease. Because the troops will launch the offensive before dawn, it can avoid the situation where many commanders and soldiers are exhausted or even expose their targets due to the long lurking time.
Sokov took out the cigarette case from Bely's jacket pocket, smoked one and put it in his mouth. However, he did not light it immediately. Instead, he asked with some concern: "Comrade Colonel, do you think we will arrive in Orlovka tomorrow?" After that, can you hold it there?”
"I guess it's quite difficult." Bely once commanded the troops to fight in that area, so he said with confidence: "There are no solid fortifications that can be used for defense. If we want to hold on there, we can only fight with Germany." People work hard to see who can't support it first."
"We can't do this kind of loss-making business." Sokov sneered, and then said: "If all the troops are used up, what force will be used for defense in the future?"
"What?" Hearing what Sokov said, Bely couldn't help but hesitated for a moment, and asked cautiously: "Comrade Brigadier, don't you have any confidence in us to defend Stalingrad?"
"If all our troops are lost in this counterattack, it will be very difficult to resist the enemy's attack." Sokov felt that he needed to sound the alarm to Bely, so he said with a serious expression : "We have to find ways to preserve more troops so that we can be more confident in defending the city."
He lit the cigarette, took a puff, and then remembered an important thing: "Comrade Colonel, this is what I think about it. If we evacuate Orlovka again, we must remove the fortifications of these lines of defense we occupied." Blow up..."
"What, you plan to blow up the fortifications in these defense lines?" Regarding Sokov's inexplicable order, the confused Bely asked: "Comrade Brigadier, can I ask the reason for you to do this? ?"
"It's very simple," Sokov said while smoking: "When our troops outside the encirclement attack the enemy, the enemy can use these fortifications to block their progress. But if we blow up these fortifications when we evacuate, "Facing our army's attack, it will be difficult for the enemy to build a new defense system in the shortest possible time. This will be very beneficial to us in annihilating the enemies who break into Stalingrad."
"It makes sense, it makes sense." After listening to Sokov's words, Bely couldn't help but nodded repeatedly. Yesterday before dark, he led his troops to attack the German army's third direction from the west, but was blocked by these fortification chiefs. Time blocks, so he very much agrees with Sokov's idea. He said to Sokov: "Then I will immediately arrange manpower to place explosives in these fortifications, and when we evacuate, we will blast them immediately."
"Comrade Colonel, you go make arrangements now." Anyway, there were still a few hours before the attack, so Sokov simply arranged something for Bely to do, lest he get too bored: "Let's see how many usable explosives are planted. In the fortification. If it is not enough, I will immediately contact the factory director Peter and ask him to send us some more."
"Okay, leave this to me." Bely said carelessly: "I will make sure to plant explosives in all the fortifications before the attack begins. Just don't give up the position. Once I give up here, I will blow it up immediately." These fortifications will never be left to the Germans.”
After Bely left the command post, Sokov received a telegram from Chuikov, which specifically mentioned the information provided by Lisa, asking him to rush to Orlovka tomorrow morning, establish a defensive position there, and wait until Join forces with friendly forces on the outside of the encirclement.
After reading the telegram, Sokov found that the problem was more serious than he thought. If the German army really used so many troops to launch an attack on the Dzerzhinsky Tractor Factory, it would be impossible to defend it even with the strength of the 37th Guards Division. Maybe when the time comes, Chuikov will let himself be a firefighter again and lead his troops there to provide support.
After holding Chuikov's telegram for a while, he said to the operator: "Call back to the army headquarters and say that our brigade will definitely be able to reach Orlovka tomorrow morning."
While the radio operator was still sending the message, Vanya came in from outside, straightened his body and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, our rocket launcher is ready. When can it be launched?"
"It's still early, Comrade Captain." Sokov walked up to Vanya and said to him: "Leave two launchers on duty and let the rest of the comrades rest."
"We still have fifteen rockets," Vanya asked tentatively after Sokov finished speaking: "I want to ask, how many will be launched later?"
"Fight them all out, not a single one is left." Sokov considered that even if his troops reached Orlovka, they might not be able to stay for long. The soldiers would not be able to run away carrying such heavy rockets. Convenient, it is better to use them all when attacking the fourth line of defense.
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Vanya asked hesitantly in response to Sokov's order: "If we use up all the rockets when we attack the fourth position, then when we reach Orlo When we reach Fka, we will have no rockets to use.”
Sokov would not tell Vanya that he was just following the orders of his superiors to go around Orlovka and had no intention of sticking to it. But in the face of Vanya's worries, he still pretended not to care and said: "Comrade Captain, what does it matter if we run out of rockets? After we arrive at Orlovka, we can let Mamaye Fu Gang will send us another batch. By then, are you still worried that there will be no rockets to use?"
Having said this, he waved to Vanya and said, "Okay, let your soldiers rest quickly. It won't be too late to let them enter the launch position when it's time to attack."
After sending Vanya away, Sokov saw that the operator had finished sending the telegram, and said to him: "Operator, send another telegram to Director Peter and ask him to send us five trucks of explosives and say that we have Urgently needed.”
The operator heard the conversation between Sokov and Bely and knew that these explosives were going to blow up those fortifications. He quickly agreed and started sending the report to Peter's factory building again.
After receiving the telegram from Sokov, Peter had a confused expression on his face. He thought to himself: "Five trucks of explosives. What does Lieutenant Colonel Sokov do with so much explosives?"
Although he could have used so many explosives in his hands, for the sake of caution, he still picked up the phone and prepared to report the matter to Chuikov and ask whether this batch of explosives should be provided to Sokov's troops. ()
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