Half an hour later, in an open space next to the tank brigade headquarters, more than 40 commanders and fighters who were about to participate in the night attack assembled. Alitai stood at the front of the team. His nose felt sore at the thought that many of his comrades might never come back.
But no matter how sad I feel, necessary pre-war mobilization still needs to be done. After his eyes swept over the more than forty soldiers of different heights one by one, he took a deep breath, organized the vocabulary in his mind, and said: "Comrades, we are about to carry out an arduous task." The task is to eliminate the German tanks and assault guns that enter the factory area. Since the operation is very dangerous, most of the comrades may not be able to come back, so I will not force you. If you are unwilling to go, you can choose to stay and I will go again. Re-select other warriors to carry out this mission."
When the officers and soldiers in the queue heard what Alitai said, they all stood motionless and no one moved. Seeing this situation, Alitai nodded secretly and continued: "Since no one quits, I will start to assign tasks. The enemy's tanks and assault guns are parked in six locations. There is only one less and no more. Five or six vehicles, and their ammunition and fuel have been used up, which is equivalent to a pile of scrap metal. Your task is to get close to the enemy's tank or assault gun, throw the incendiary bottles you carry on it, and turn it into a complete There is a pile of scrap iron that is of no use once it is recycled."
After a pause, Altay continued: "Comrades, although the number of enemy tanks and assault guns in each area to be attacked is small, you cannot take it lightly because there are a large number of infantry protecting these technical equipment. , once discovered by the enemy, they will be entangled and even annihilated by them. Therefore, before carrying out the attack, you must consider how to escape. Although the mission is very dangerous, I hope you can have more People come back alive..."
Bely learned that Alitai was outside mobilizing the commanders and fighters who were about to join the war before the war, so he couldn't help but bring his chief of staff out to watch the fun. When he heard what Alitai said to the soldiers, his face immediately became serious. He had Alitai called over and asked in a reproachful tone: "Comrade Lieutenant, the reason why I sent you to lead the team to perform this task is mainly because you are a subordinate of Colonel Sokov and have rich experience in night combat and close combat. experience. I am also prepared to watch you complete the mission assigned to us by our superiors with zero casualties, but what you said to the soldiers will make them feel fear, which is very important for us to carry out the mission. It’s very detrimental.”
"Comrade Colonel, what you said makes sense. If only my subordinates were performing the mission, it might be possible to achieve zero casualties." After Alitai waited for Bely to finish speaking, he replied respectfully: "But now half of the The personnel are all drawn from your security company. Although they are all elite, they lack night fighting experience. It is obviously impossible for them to reach the level of my subordinates."
Aritai's words made Bely take a breath: "Comrade Lieutenant, are you saying that even if there are casualties in tonight's operation, my subordinates will be the main ones?"
"That's right." Alitai replied confidently: "Comrade Colonel, this is not alarmism on my part, but a fact. Therefore, when mobilizing before the war, I deliberately exaggerated the difficulties to increase their vigilance, so that during the night battle , they can better cooperate with my men to complete the mission."
No matter how you listen to the reasons given by Aritai, they seem extremely far-fetched, but Colonel Bely couldn't find anything to refute for a while. He sighed and asked Alitai: "Comrade Lieutenant, have you completed your pre-war mobilization?"
"Yes, Comrade Colonel, the pre-war mobilization has been completed." After hearing Bely's question, Alitai straightened his back and replied: "The combat teams have also been assigned and can set off at any time!"
"Come on, let's go over and take a look!"
Bely came to the neat queue, used the moonlight to carefully examine these ordinary soldiers, and then walked over to shake hands with them one by one. He didn't know how many people would come back after the night's battle, so when he shook hands with the soldiers, he shook hands slowly and hard.
After shaking hands with all the soldiers, Bely returned to the front of the queue. He turned around and nodded to Alitai, who was standing upright, indicating that the troops could set off.
After Alitai raised his hand and saluted Belly with a solemn military salute, he faced the queue and issued a command: "Everyone is here, listen to my command: stand at attention! Turn left and walk together!" Following Alitai's order, forty-one people The commanders and soldiers turned left neatly and soon disappeared into the night under the leadership of Alitai.
When the night attack troops disappeared from sight, the chief of staff couldn't help but curiously asked Bely: "Comrade Brigade Commander, didn't you say that it is entirely possible for this night attack to have zero casualties? Why did Lieutenant Alitai say, you Have you changed your mind again?"
"Chief of Staff, I was too optimistic just now." Bely turned to look at his Chief of Staff and said with a grimace: "Let alone Alitai leading the attack, even if Colonel Sokov personally went out, I don't think it is possible. Destroy the enemies in six locations with zero casualties. After all, no matter how capable he is, he is only a human being and not a god."
Sokov, who was at the Mamayev Ridge Division headquarters at the moment, and Sidorin were discussing Guchakov's upcoming offensive, when he suddenly sneezed twice without warning. Hearing Sokov sneezing, Ivanov, who was silent, said quickly: "I wish you good health!"
"Thank you!" Sokov knew that this was a Russian custom. He would always say this when he heard someone sneezing. He continued the topic: "According to Guchakov's plan, the guerrillas he assembled were supposed to He launched an attack on the enemy during the day. However, his battle plan not only alerted the commander of the front army, but even the supreme commander of the base camp himself was alerted. He even personally ordered Guchakov to postpone the attack for two days... Tell me, why would your superiors do this?"
Regarding Sokov's question, Sidorin pondered for a long time before speaking: "Comrade division commander, I have a strange idea. The base camp ordered Guchakov to postpone the attack time in order to mobilize troops to cooperate with his actions... "
"Come on, Comrade Chief of Staff, your idea is too fanciful." Before Sidorin finished speaking, he was interrupted by Deputy Division Commander Ivanov: "The Supreme Commander himself is busy every day. With so many things going on, how can one have the energy to pay attention to an attack organized by a Guards company commander, and the people involved in the attack are guerrillas operating behind enemy lines. Comrade division commander, do you think I am right?"
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander." Sokov had been thinking about this matter after receiving the order for Guchakov to postpone the attack. Now he finally came to his senses. He pointed at the map and said to his two subordinates He said: "Have you noticed that the friendly forces in the north of the encirclement seem to have been silent for a long time. I think the base camp personally ordered Guchakov to postpone the attack this time, maybe just to give General Rokossovsky Time to mobilize forces.”
"What, to get General Rokossovsky to mobilize troops?" Both Sidorin and Ivanov were stunned by Sokov's analysis. They asked in a skeptical tone: "Comrade Division Commander, You are not mistaken. The guerrillas have always cooperated with the regular army, but I have never heard of mobilizing the regular army to cooperate with the guerrillas. This is simply unbelievable."
"Nothing is impossible." Although both Sidorin and Ivanov thought it was impossible, Sokov still insisted on his opinion: "The location Guchakov and the others want to attack can completely cut off German transportation. The role of arteries. But the troops participating in the war are guerrillas with extremely poor combat effectiveness. If no one cooperates with their actions, I think Guchakov has no chance of winning."
Having said this, he picked up a pencil and drew a thin line on the map, and continued to say to the two of them: "Look, if the First Guards Army in the north moves south, it will definitely cause the Germans to misjudge and think that General Rokossovsky's troops are preparing to launch a large-scale offensive to alleviate the crisis at the Barricade Factory and Dzerzhinsky Factory. In order to prevent our army from moving south, the Germans will definitely deploy troops from all aspects to reinforce . And the troops responsible for guarding the station will also be mobilized. When Guchakov and others launch an attack, they may face a station with weak troops..."
After listening to Sokov's analysis, Sidorin and Ivanov thought about it carefully, and it seemed that this was really the case. If all the garrison troops at the station were evacuated, even if all those participating in the attack were guerrillas, wouldn't it be possible to capture two stations with little defensive power? Sidorin straightened up and said to Sokov: "Comrade division commander, if this is really the case, then Guchakov may become famous in one battle. As long as the German army's transportation artery is cut off, their troops at the front will face With the shortage of ammunition and food, the situation in the factory area will be alleviated by then."
While several people were talking, the phone on the table rang again. Looking at the ringing phone, Sidorin asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, it's so late, who do you think is calling?"
"Don't worry about who called, there must be something important." Sokov said to Sidorin: "Hurry up and answer it."
Sidorin picked up the phone and listened for a moment, then covered the phone with his hand and said to Sokov: "Comrade division commander, this is the call from the commander. He said that Colonel Bely will send troops to attack Terre tonight. The German tanks and assault guns in the Zhinsky factory area. Once these German technical equipment are eliminated, he is ready to take the opportunity to launch a counterattack to eliminate the enemies in the factory area..."
Sokov guessed Chuikov's true plan before Sidorin finished speaking, and quickly interrupted Sidorin's words: "Chief of Staff, which of our troops does the commander plan to dispatch to the Dzerzhinsky Factory?"
Seeing that Sokov had guessed Chuikov's intention, Sidorin quickly released his hand covering the microphone and asked into the microphone: "Comrade Commander, I wonder which troops you plan to send to the Dzerzhinsky Factory?"
"Understood!" After listening to Chuikov's words, Sidorin quickly replied: "We immediately gave an order to Commander Belkin and asked him to lead his troops to the Dzerzhinsky Factory immediately..."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." Seeing Sidorin about to put down the phone, Sokov quickly called out: "Commander, please send a liaison officer to Commander Belkin to prevent them from breaking in rashly. After entering the factory area, he started fighting with his own people."
"Comrade Commander," Sidorin was about to put down the microphone. After listening to Sokov's words, he quickly added: "Division Commander, please send us a liaison officer, so that after the troops enter the factory area, they will not fight with each other. Friendly forces clashed.”
As soon as he ended the call with Chuikov, Sokov grabbed the phone on the table and asked the communications soldier to connect to Belkin's regiment headquarters. As soon as the phone call came through, he immediately said: "My comrade political commissar, I have an urgent task. Gather all your people immediately."
Belkin heard what Sokov said and quickly asked: "What mission?"
"The commander decided to launch a counterattack at the Dzerzhinsky Factory tonight against the enemies who broke into the factory." Sokov replied: "Due to the lack of troops in the factory, he plans to mobilize your regiment to cooperate with the Guards. 37 and the 45th Infantry Division. Comrade Political Commissar, how long will it take you to assemble the troops?"
"Misha!" Belkin waited for Sokov to finish and asked tentatively: "What happened? I haven't heard of a counterattack against the enemy during the day. Why is there a counterattack after dark? You know , if the troops enter an unfamiliar area to fight at night, they may cause misunderstandings with friendly forces."
"Don't worry, comrade political commissar, there will be no misunderstanding. The commander has agreed to send you a liaison officer, who will be responsible for communicating with friendly forces to avoid misunderstandings during the night battle." After Sokov introduced the situation. , explained to Belkin: "The commander originally told me that Colonel Bely would send men tonight to eliminate the German tanks and assault guns in the factory area. After eliminating these technical equipment, the enemy's infantry became It’s not important. If our army launches a counterattack, we might be able to wipe them all out or drive them out of the factory.”
"So that's it." After Belkin figured out what was going on, he replied: "I immediately gave the troops an order to assemble, but it will take forty minutes at the earliest before the troops can complete the assembly."
Sidorin felt particularly uneasy when he heard that Bely was going to send troops to sneak attack the enemy's technical equipment. After Sokov finished issuing the order to Belkin, he took the initiative and said: "Comrade division commander, I think we should send a telegram to Colonel Belkin to learn about his sneak attack plan to determine whether tonight's sneak attack can achieve success." success."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, there is no need to make a call." Sokov still had great confidence in Bely, so he rejected Sidorin's proposal: "I think since the commander has given such an important task to Bely, Colonel, we just believe that he has the ability to complete this mission, so we should have confidence in him."
