After daybreak, Mamayev Hills received fierce shelling, and the two hills in the north and south were immediately shrouded in smoke. Just after the bombardment ended, the enemy's bomber formation appeared over the highlands again, bombing indiscriminately those positions on the top of the mountain that had not been destroyed by artillery fire.
Sokov, who was staying at the headquarters, could imagine how violent the enemy's shelling and bombing were based on the slight tremors coming from the ground. This may be the first time Ivanov encountered such a situation. He also asked Sokov worriedly: "Comrade Division Commander, will our headquarters be blown up?"
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, don't worry." Xidorin has spent the longest time in the tunnel and knows the strength of the fortifications best. Seeing that Ivanov was so worried about the headquarters being blown up, he comforted him and said: "Our headquarters is more than ten meters above the ground. Unless the enemy uses ground-penetrating bombs, it will be impossible to destroy our fortifications."
After listening to Sidorin's explanation, Ivanov raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead, and said with relief: "As long as the explosion doesn't collapse, it'll be fine."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov, based on his own experience, felt that the shelling and bombing he suffered today was different from the past, so he asked Sidorin tentatively: "Did you notice anything abnormal?"
"Abnormal place?" Sidorin was stunned for a moment, then understood what Sokov wanted to express, and quickly replied: "Comrade division commander, are you saying that the enemy's shelling and bombing are more crazy than before?"
Sokov nodded and expressed his thoughts: "Recently, the Romanian army responsible for attacking Mamayev Heights has suffered a lot from our army. He saw his lackeys bumping into our army's position. I feel like the Germans, as their masters, have lost their temper, so they are going to take action personally and fight to the death with our army here."
When Ivanov heard what Sokov said, he couldn't help but sneered and said: "The Germans think they can take the positions held by our Guards soldiers by going out in person? I want to wait until the end of today, and wait for the Germans to When you see their corpses piled up in the mountains and valleys, you will understand that the victory they imagined is out of reach.”
Sokov thought about how he had been running around like a fire captain recently, spending very little time at Mamayev Heights. During his absence, both Vitkov and Sidorin seemed a bit conservative. They only knew how to conduct passive defense and engage in positional warfare and war of attrition head-on with the enemy. If he hadn't planned ahead and built tunnel fortifications early to compete with the enemy, the city's commanding heights might have fallen into the hands of the Germans long ago.
Now that he is back, he must make adjustments in tactics and regain the initiative on the local battlefield in his own hands. Thinking of this, he said to Sidorin and Ivanov: "Comrades, there is no invincible fortress in the world. Even if we have complete tunnel defenses in Mamayev Hill, if we only carry out passive defense, then One day, the high ground may be occupied by the enemy. In order to avoid this possibility, from now on, we need to make tactical adjustments from the original passive defense to active defense."
As Sokov's assistant, Sidorin naturally understood what Sokov meant by active defense. Because Ivanov had partnered with Sokov not long ago, his understanding of active defense was skewed. As soon as Sokov finished speaking, he said excitedly: "Comrade division commander, you are right, we can't just stay on the position for passive defense, but we should seize every opportunity to hit the enemy hard. For example, later We can take the initiative, respond to offense with offense, and crush the German offensive."
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, you misunderstood me." After listening to Ivanov's words, Sokov said with some laughter and tears: "When there is no air superiority and no artillery cover, use the tactics of attack against attack. To fight head-on with the Germans is to fight with an egg against a stone. I can't think of it for two days, and I guess there won't be many people left in the garrison at Mamayev Heights."
"The division commander is right." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Sidorin nodded and agreed: "In the past, when we were an infantry brigade, the division commander was injured and his superiors sent someone to take his place. This tactic of using offense to deal with the German attack resulted in the loss of more than 3,000 troops in just two days, resulting in the Mamayev Hills' defense force being greatly weakened."
From the conversation between Sokov and Sidorin, Ivanov realized that the tactics he admired would not work here in Mamayev Heights. Fortunately, he was not discouraged, but asked humbly: "Comrade teacher, can you tell me what you mean by active defense?"
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, in addition to fighting the enemy at Mamayev Heights, we must also eliminate small groups of troops, go deep into the enemy's rear, and attack their communication lines, warehouses, barracks and headquarters." Sokov met. Ivanov was not ashamed to ask and explained to him in detail: "Through this kind of uninterrupted attack, the enemy's offensive deployment will be disrupted, so that they cannot concentrate all their strength to attack Mamayev Heights."
Regarding Sokov's tactics, Ivanov was skeptical: "Comrade division commander, is it appropriate to divide our elite troops into small groups and send them to the enemy's rear to perform guerrilla missions? If it is true, To harass the enemy, I think we can just ask our superiors to contact the guerrillas behind enemy lines and ask them to perform such tasks.”
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, the composition of the guerrillas is relatively complex. They are either small groups that have been broken up, or they are local workers and collective farm members." Sokov patiently explained: "Because most of the guerrillas are not After systematic military training and poor equipment, the combat effectiveness of the guerrillas is unsatisfactory. The small groups of troops we dispatched are all commanders and fighters with rich combat experience. Even if there is only one squad, the results achieved are The results will not be worse than those of a guerrilla group. Think about it, if we have more than ten or twenty such squads operating behind the enemy's rear, how many troops will the enemy send back to clear them up in order to stabilize their rear? In this way, The pressure on our frontal defense is greatly reduced."
After Sokov's explanation, Ivanov felt that this was really the case. He nodded vigorously and said thoughtfully: "Comrade division commander, if this tactic is really effective, then we should form a small unit as soon as possible. Once it gets dark, send them deep into the enemy's rear. Turn the enemy's lair upside down."
