When Sokov walked into the headquarters, he happened to see Chuikov sitting shirtless at the table, and a military doctor was applying medicine to him. Seeing Sokov come in, Krylov, who had just finished answering the phone, greeted with a smile: "Colonel Sokov, you are here!"
"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov straightened up quickly and reported to Krylov in accordance with the order: "Colonel Sokov, commander of the 41st Guards Division, reports to you. I have been ordered to come. Please give instructions! "
"Colonel Sokov, we are all acquaintances, you don't need to be so polite." Chuikov, who was still applying medicine, said without looking back: "Why did you come so late?"
"I just encountered a sneak attack by enemies outside. I helped Major Gladshev eliminate the enemies, so I came late." Sokov saw that Chuikov had been applying medicine and thought he was injured, so he asked with concern : "Comrade Commander, what's wrong with you? Are you injured?"
"It's eczema, Colonel Sokov." Chuikov said with a hint of helplessness: "We stayed in the humid underground for a long time, and over time, we got eczema. Because my symptoms were so severe, I had to ask a military doctor to give me medicine. .”
Sokov glanced at the military doctor who was applying medicine to Chuikov. He was worried that what Chuikov wanted to discuss with him was confidential, and the military doctor was obviously not high enough, so he did not speak rashly, but looked at the military doctor quietly. The process of applying medicine to Chuikov.
After another ten minutes, the military doctor finally finished applying the medicine to Chuikov. While packing up his things, he said to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, I will change your dressing in two days. If possible, you should go outside to bask in the sun." If you stay in such a humid environment every day due to the sun, no matter how good the medicine is, it will not be able to effectively relieve your symptoms."
After sending away the military doctor, Chuikov put on his military uniform, asked Sokov to sit down, and said to him: "Colonel Sokov, I won't tell you what the current situation in the city is, but you should know it very well. "
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Sokov quickly stood up and replied: "It is said that the enemy is storming the barricade factory and the Dzerzhinsky factory. The fighting in those two places is quite fierce."
"I discussed with the chief of staff and prepared to take some action to ease the situation there." After Chuikov invited Sokov to sit down again, he asked: "Colonel Sokov, do you have any good ideas in the future?"
Faced with the situation at the Barricade Factory and the Dzerzhinsky Factory, Sokov really had no good solution. There are not enough artillery, tanks, and aircraft cover. Even if you lead your troops to reinforce, you must be mentally prepared for your troops to be wiped out at any time. Therefore, Sokov shook his head and replied truthfully: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I think there is no other way except to boost the morale of the soldiers and let them continue to fight there."
"Comrade Military Commissar Gurov has been staying in those two factories recently, constantly conducting political propaganda to the troops to strengthen their determination to defend the factories." Krylov sighed and said: "But that's all. It’s still far from enough. What they need is reinforcements and more technical equipment, but it’s difficult for us to provide them with these now.”
When Sokov heard this, he secretly thought: Without reinforcements, if he wants to defend the two factories, he can only continue to carry out political agitation to the soldiers and workers to stimulate their fighting spirit. Otherwise, the Germans risked seizing both factories and, by extension, the entire city.
Chuikov saw that Sokov didn't speak and just listened quietly. He was a little dissatisfied. He called people over from a distance, but in the end he didn't say a word. What was it like? After coughing heavily, he said: "Colonel Sokov, according to our observation, the enemy is now focusing its main offensive forces on the factories in the new city, while in the old city to the south, the offensive forces are Much weaker.”
Sokov agreed very much with Chuikov's statement. Even though the earliest lost area of the city was the old city in the south of the city, there were still scattered Soviet troops and troops composed of local residents there, fighting tenaciously. Fighting with the enemy. However, the offensive launched by the Germans in the old city was indeed not too fierce. Otherwise, it would be impossible for Vasily and his team to hold on to the building known as the "Vasily Building" with their small number of people.
"After research by the Chief of Staff and I, we decided to launch an offensive in the old city. The offensive force will be your 41st Guards Division as the main force." Chuikov pushed the map on the table in front of Sokov and said to him : "Since the enemy and our defense lines in the old city are intertwined and uneven, in order to prevent accidental damage during the battle, the enemy will definitely not be able to use aircraft and artillery. With the combat effectiveness of your division, there should be no problem in driving them out of the old city."
According to Chuikov's idea, Sokov should ask when the attack will start. Unexpectedly, after waiting for a while, he found that Sokov did not speak, but just stared at the map in front of him in a daze. He banged the table several times and said dissatisfiedly: "Colonel Sokov, why don't you speak? Aren't you sure you can drive the enemy out of the old city?"
Hearing Chuikov's anger, Sokov quickly raised his head, looked at him and said: "Comrade Commander, please forgive me, if we just drive the enemy out of the city, my troops can barely do it. But once the enemy starts attacking the old again If we launch an attack in the city, not only the troops holding on to the city will be completely destroyed, but the entire old city will be in danger of being lost."
"Why do you say that, Colonel Sokov?" After listening to Sokov's statement, Krylov asked puzzledly: "Since you can drive the enemy out, why can't you defend the city?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," in response to Krylov's question, Sokov explained to him: "The commander just said that because the defense line in the old city is so intertwined between the enemy and us, the Germans are unable to use aircraft and artillery. , so the battles that take place in these places are mainly based on light weapons. But if we drive out all the enemies, then the Germans can use artillery fire and bombing to destroy the old city unscrupulously, and then the troops in the city will not be complete. If the army is destroyed, a heavy price will be paid."
Sokov's words silenced Chuikov and Krylov. They only wanted to launch an offensive in the old city in the south of the city to divert the attention of the Germans and reduce the pressure on the barricade factory and Dzerzhinsky factory. , but they ignored that once the Soviet army won in the direction of the old city, it would inevitably attract crazy protection from the German army. Under the enemy's intensive bombing and artillery shelling, regardless of whether the troops holding on to the old city would suffer heavy losses, at the same time the buildings there It will also be destroyed.
Although Sokov's words have proved that it is undesirable to launch an offensive in the old city south of the city, Chuikov reluctantly asked: "Colonel Sokov, since you said you would divert the attention of the German army by launching an offensive in the old city south of the city. The plan is not advisable, but do you have any way to ensure that the enemy cannot capture the two factories?"
Sokov lowered his head again, stared at the map on the table, and began to think quickly in his mind. He tried to come up with a way to get the best of both worlds, while mitigating the unfavorable situation of the barricade factory and the Dzerzhinsky factory. It will make your own defense zone become the new focus of the German army's attack.
