After Chuikov and Gurov returned to their headquarters, they immediately convened a meeting of the members of the Military Council. When everyone saw the commander convening an emergency meeting, they thought something had happened, so they quickly put down their work and hurried over.
Seeing that everyone had arrived, Chuikov announced the opening of the meeting, and then said to everyone: "Comrades of the Military Committee, today on the way to Mamayev Heights with the comrades of the Military Committee, I had an idea to form a new combat unit. Cluster, fight the enemy in the Mamayev Hills and the old city in the south of the city to reduce the pressure on the factory area in the north of the city. I would like to hear everyone's thoughts on this matter now. Is it necessary to establish this combat cluster? "
After Chuikov finished speaking, the first person to speak was Chief of Staff Krylov. He looked at Chuikov and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, if I guess correctly, once this combat group is established, Colonel Sokov will definitely be the leader." The perfect choice to be the commander, right?”
"Yes, I am indeed prepared to let him serve as the commander of this combat group." After Chuikov gave Krylov an answer, he did not mention Sokov's rejection of him, but directly asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, Do you think it is necessary for us to set up such a combat group?"
"Comrade Commander, your proposal is indeed very tempting. Once the combat group is established, it will inevitably disperse the German offensive forces, so that we can get a breathing space in the factory area to the north." Krylov said After completing the benefits of establishing a combat cluster, he started to talk about the difficulties: "However, we simply do not have the extra troops to establish such a combat cluster."
After waiting for Krylov to finish speaking, Colonel Zalidyuk, Chief of the Operations Department, also expressed his opinion: "Comrade Commander, if we want to establish a combat cluster, the first thing we must consider is whether our superiors will send us additional troops? Even if new troops are deployed, what will happen to their supplies? You know, as the enemy's air force and artillery blockade the Volga River, our supply situation has deteriorated."
"The director of the operations department is right." As soon as Zaldiuk finished speaking, the logistics minister, Major General Lobov, who rarely spoke at military meetings, added: "As he said, our logistics is due to the impact of enemy aircraft and artillery fire. The blockade has become more and more difficult. What if there are a few more divisions or brigades, and what happens to their supplies of weapons, ammunition and various military supplies? They cannot be allowed to fight the enemy with rifles without bullets. Bayonet, right?”
Then, Lieutenant Colonel Wei Yinrubu, director of the armored forces of the group army, also stood up and spoke: "To establish a combat group, armored forces are necessary. Then the question comes again. With our existing transportation capabilities, how many tanks and tanks can we transport in a short period of time? Armored vehicles, transported from the east bank of the Volga River?”
A series of questions raised by several members of the military committee made Gurov, the instigator, on pins and needles. Hearing the difficulties raised by everyone, he had doubts about his persistence. Is it really inappropriate to form a new combat group in the city under the current circumstances to spread the intensity of the German offensive?
Fortunately, the commanders who participated in the meeting all guessed that this plan must have been proposed by the commander or the military committee. Therefore, they did not point the finger at the two people, but talked about the reasons why they did not have the ability to form a new combat group at present, and why they must not not face the difficulties.
Someone whispered: "If we really can't form a combat group, I'm afraid Colonel Sokov who is standing at Mamayev Heights will be disappointed."
When Gurov heard this, he could no longer hold back the anger in his heart. He slammed the table hard, stood up suddenly, and asked sternly: "Who is saying that a combat cluster cannot be established, Colonel Sokov will be disappointed? ? Let me tell you that the first person to oppose this plan was Colonel Sokov. He told me and the commander resolutely that the conditions for establishing a combat group were not yet available at the moment. It was me who was stubborn and insisted on the headquarters Bring this matter to the Military Council meeting for discussion.”
Seeing that Gurov was getting angry, the man who just made the sarcastic remarks quickly wisely shut his mouth to avoid getting into trouble. Chuikov raised his hand and pressed down, and said to Gurov in a kind manner: "Comrade Military Commissar, it is human nature for some people to have such thoughts. Don't be anxious, sit down first, and we will continue to discuss."
After Gurov sat down, the headquarters became extremely quiet, and no one spoke. Krylov became silent when he saw it, and quickly came out to liven up the atmosphere: "Comrade commanders, I think no matter what conclusion we draw on whether to establish a combat cluster, if there is no support from our superiors, it will be in vain. Superiors If we don't send new troops and technical equipment, even if we reluctantly form a combat group, it won't be of any use."
After Krylov smoothed things over, the originally silent commanders expressed their opinions one after another. However, their views are the same as those of the previous people. They all believe that it does not make much sense to form combat clusters to disperse the German offensive intensity.
Chuikov saw that everyone unanimously expressed that the combat cluster should not be established. In order to prevent Gurov from being embarrassed, he quickly stood up and prepared the steps for him: "Comrades, I think the chief of staff just said a lot. This matter does not matter to us in the end." The outcome of the discussion still needs to be decided by the front army headquarters.”
Having said this, he paused for a moment, looked at Krylov and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please sort out everyone's opinions and then report them to the front army headquarters immediately. Seeing Commander Yereomenko and Khrushchev What do you think, comrade husband?"
After Krylov nodded in agreement, he raised his concerns: "Comrade Commander, although the small team of the 41st Guards Division destroyed the enemy's ammunition depot, the enemy who attacked the barricade factory and Dzerzhinsky Factory We have to slow down the pace of the attack. However, with the current transportation capacity of the German army, the forward offensive troops will be fully replenished in less than two days. By then, the defenders deployed in these two factories will have to withstand Enormous pressure."
Chuikov felt that to solve this problem, he could adopt the plan proposed to him by Sokov, so he stood up and announced: "Comrade Wei Yinlubu stays, and the other comrades can go back and rest."
When everyone in the meeting was almost gone, Chuikov said: "I asked Sokov today how to win in a counterattack. He told me to ensure that the counterattack is sudden and concealed..."
Wei Yinlubu, who stayed behind, originally thought that Chuikov would simply order him to organize the tank troops again, carry out counterattacks when the enemy attacked, and use the sacrifice of the tank troops to ensure that the infantry could hold their position. Unexpectedly, he heard Chuikov talking about how to counterattack the enemy. This new tactic quickly attracted him.
After Chuikov finished speaking, Wei Yinrubu asked in surprise: "Comrade Commander, these tactics you mentioned are so novel. I wonder where you heard about them?"
"Colonel Sokov told me." Chuikov looked at Wei Yinlubu and said: "They have used this tactic to repulse the enemy's attacks many times. I hope you can also use this tactic as soon as possible in the defense of the factory area. Promote it in tank troops to achieve greater results with minimal casualties."
