"The battalion and regiment directly under my control total more than 800 troops." Belkin smiled slightly and replied: "If it is used for offense, this force is obviously not enough. But for defense, then It’s more than enough.”
After listening to Belkin's answer, Sokov looked at Lyudnikov sitting aside and said: "Just now the enemy rushed to a place less than a hundred meters away from the division headquarters. Colonel Lyudnikov A rocket launcher was called for a round of fire here. Although the enemy who rushed over was eliminated, I am afraid that many of our own people were accidentally injured. Now that the troops in front of the division headquarters are empty, you can lead the first battalion to take over the defense of this area. "
After assigning the task to Belkin, out of courtesy, Sokov looked at Lyudnikov and asked: "Comrade Colonel, do you think my arrangement is appropriate?"
"Colonel Sokov," when Sokov was assigning tasks to Belkin, Lyudnikov wanted to interrupt several times, but failed to find a suitable opportunity. At this moment, he heard Sokov asking for his opinion and said quickly. : "I just thought about it and felt that it is really not necessary to convert a battalion of infantry into artillery. You know, the enemy not only has air superiority, but the strength of the artillery is far greater than ours. I am worried about this." This improvised artillery force is no match for the enemy, and I'm afraid it won't be able to hold on for long before it will be wiped out by the enemy's artillery fire."
"Comrade Colonel, you don't have to worry." In order to dispel Lyudnikov's concerns, Sokov said to him: "The weather has been bad recently, and enemy planes have been unable to dispatch at all. In other words, the air superiority controlled by the Germans is now It doesn't exist at all.
As for your mention that the combat effectiveness of our improvised artillery cannot be compared with the enemy's artillery, I admit this. But you may not know that this artillery is now broken into pieces and scattered in different areas. Even if their position is discovered by enemy artillery, it is not easy to destroy them with artillery fire. "
Belkin interjected at the side and said: "Misha, you dispersed the artillery in various areas, how should the commander direct it?" He and Sokov have been partners for so long, so naturally they don't know what Sokov did. The purpose of asking this is to help Sokov speak in disguise so that Lyudnikov can dispel his doubts.
When Sokov heard Belkin ask this question, he immediately understood what the other party meant and laughed: "Comrade Political Commissar, I have asked Major Savage to connect telephone lines to several artillery positions. He can command the artillery through the phone. Attack the target. And each position is assigned its own area. He can let different positions carry out artillery attacks according to the enemy's concentration."
"In this way, the artillery attack will be more efficient." Belkin replied with a smile: "They can also save artillery shells while killing a large number of enemy technical equipment and soldiers."
"..."
…
Lyudnikov heard the answer he wanted to know from the conversation between Sokov and Belkin. He nodded and said: "Colonel Sokov, I once heard the commander say that you have You have rich experience in fighting defensive wars, and also specially introduced to me some of your past successful war cases. To be honest, I heard that you were coming to assist us in our defense, and I felt a little confident. Now through your dialogue, I have a deeper understanding of We will be more confident if we can hold on to the factory.”
Although Sokov's current military rank is the same as Lyudnikov's, and he has made many outstanding military exploits, in any case, his age is one of his shortcomings. If Lyudnikov does not If you trust him, there will be problems with coordination in the next battle. Now that Lyudnikov agrees with his approach, Sokov feels much more at ease.
Sokov turned to Belkin and said: "Comrade Political Commissar, the Germans may launch an attack soon. You should set up defenses as soon as possible. Remember, you must strengthen the fortifications and then use the sewers. Understand. ?"
"Don't worry, Misha." Belkin replied with a smile: "Now the first thing our regiment does after entering the position is to look for the entrance to the sewer so that it can be used as soon as possible."
After Belgin left, Lyudnikov asked Sokov curiously: "Colonel Sokov, I heard you and Commander Belkin talking about sewers. What is going on?"
"That's it, Comrade Colonel." Seeing that Lyudnikov didn't know about using sewers to fight, Sokov couldn't help showing a surprised expression on his face, but he still patiently explained to the other party: "Since the enemy entered Starting from the city, all our combat areas are within the coverage of enemy artillery fire. During the battle, we will inevitably mobilize our troops to the front. If our actions are discovered by the enemy, it is likely to attract a burst of artillery fire. As a result, the reinforcements suffered heavy losses. But if we mobilize our troops through the sewers, then no matter how fierce the enemy's artillery fire is, the losses caused to us will be negligible."
"Colonel Sokov, when did you sum up this experience?" Lyudnikov waited for Sokov to finish and asked in surprise: "Why hasn't it been promoted within the army?"
"I once wrote a detailed report on how to use sewers and organically combine various defensive positions and gave it to the Army Group Headquarters." Sokov said with a wry smile: "I thought it had taken so long. , I’m afraid every division knows how to use the sewers to deal with the enemy, I didn’t expect you didn’t know that.”
"I don't know." Lyudnikov shook his head and said, "Today this is the first time I heard that troops can be mobilized through sewers to reduce casualties during movements."
Sokov didn't know who was responsible for the failure of his proposed plan to be promoted among friendly forces. He could only say with a bitter look on his face: "Comrade Colonel, although it is a bit late now, it is better than nothing. Although I have no right to order you, I still strongly suggest to you that you promote this tactic in the army as soon as possible." , to reduce unnecessary casualties. You know, the sewer is nothing more than a strong defense for us."
In order to reduce the casualties of the troops in the subsequent battle, Lyudnikov immediately called several regiment commanders, repeated Sokov's words to them, and ordered them to use the sewers in the defense area as soon as possible to rebuild the defense line. , to resist the next German attack.
…………
Just when Lyudnikov called the commanders of each regiment, Paulus learned at his headquarters that the 297th Infantry Division's attack on the factory ended in failure.
After he received a call from the division commander, Major General von Dreiber, he specifically asked: "What did you say? Your troops had rushed near the Russian headquarters, but were attacked by Russian rocket launchers. As a result, The whole battalion that rushed up was wiped out? Is this news reliable? You must know that rockets have poor accuracy and large damage areas. If the two armies fire at such a close distance, it is easy to cause accidental damage."
"That's right, Commander, everything I said is true." Von Drebel heard Paulus's question and quickly replied: "The Russians are simply crazy. I saw it through the telescope. The soldiers had already approached the factory building where the Russian command headquarters was located. In just ten seconds or even a few seconds, they would be able to rush in, but they were attacked by Russian rocket launchers. As a result, everyone was destroyed by artillery fire. The army was destroyed."
"These Russians are simply crazy, simply crazy." Paulus was also absolutely incredible. The Soviet army actually dared to fire at its division headquarters when the two armies were so close. This is something only a madman can do. things done. He thought that the officers and soldiers of the 297th Infantry Division were already exhausted after this round of attacks; and seeing with his own eyes that all of his comrades were lost in the Soviet artillery fire, many people must have been frightened out of their courage. If they continue to attack at this moment, I am afraid the effect will be greatly reduced.
Thinking of this, Paulus said into the microphone: "General von Dreiber, your troops have been fighting for such a long time, and the officers and soldiers must be tired. Well, you can withdraw the troops to rest first, and I will let others The troops will take over your attack."
When Von Drebel heard that his troops had been asked to suspend the attack, he felt ecstatic. He quickly replied: "Understood, Your Excellency Commander, I immediately ordered the troops to withdraw to the second line of defense for defense."
As soon as Paulus put down the phone, Schmid came over and asked: "Your Excellency, Commander, by ordering the 297th Infantry Division to stop attacking, isn't it equivalent to giving the Russians a chance to breathe? If they use this time to reinforce the fortifications, , when we launch the attack again, we will pay a greater price."
"Chief of Staff." Paulus looked at Schmid and said seriously: "Although I ordered the 297th Infantry Division to withdraw from the battle, it does not mean that I will stop the attack on the barricade factory. I plan to switch to other units. Replacement of the demoralized 297th Infantry Division."
Knowing that Paulus planned to send other troops to take over the attack of the 297th Infantry Division, Schmid quickly recalled the distribution of troops in his mind, and then asked tentatively: "Your Excellency, Commander, are you planning to let Shi Will Major General Steinmetz's 305th Infantry Division continue the attack on the barricade factory?"
"That's right." Paulus nodded slightly and replied: "Let the 245th Assault Artillery Battalion dispatch assault guns to cooperate with the 305th Infantry Division's attack. We must capture the barricade factory in the shortest possible time."
After receiving the attack order from Schmid, the commander of the 305th Infantry Division, Major General Steinmetz, immediately summoned commanders above the battalion level to his headquarters to study how to seize the barricade factory. Not long after he took over the command of the 305th Infantry Division from Lieutenant General Auburn Lander, he hoped to establish his absolute authority in the division through the battle to seize the barricade factory.
A large group of German officers soon gathered in Steinmetz's headquarters, quietly listening to the new division commander's combat orders. Seeing that everyone had arrived, Steinmetz faced everyone and said: "Gentlemen, I just received a call from Chief of Staff General Schmid. He asked us to immediately organize forces to attack the barricade factory and attack the barricade factory in the shortest possible time. Within time, seize this factory from the Russians."
"Your Excellency, Division Commander." As soon as Steinmetz finished speaking, Colonel Wenzel, the commander of the 578th Infantry Regiment, spoke first and said: "Leave this task to our regiment. I promise you that we will win it before dark. The whole factory.”
The reason why Wenzel is so confident is that the area currently controlled by Lyudnikov's division is only 500 meters wide from north to south and only 400 meters deep from east to west. It is also surrounded by enemies on three sides. As long as they launch simultaneous attacks, the defenders will not be able to stop them at all. Can't live.
Seeing Wenzel take the lead in speaking and seizing the task, Lieutenant Colonel Brandt, the commander of the 577th Infantry Regiment, was dissatisfied. He ignored the other party's military rank being higher than his and got into a fight with him: "Colonel Wenzel, I think we can seize the barricade factory. Let's leave the task to our 577th Regiment. Otherwise, like the last time on the Don River, a regiment's troops were held back by a Russian battalion for three hours, causing the plan to completely annihilate the Russians to fail..."
"What did you say?!" Hearing Brandt's cynicism towards him, Wenzel became anxious. When his troops were forcibly crossing the Don River, his troops were blocked by the Soviet army and arrived at the designated location three hours later than scheduled. location, as a result, the Soviet troops who were supposed to be surrounded escaped a lot. This matter has always been a worry for him. Now when Brandt mentioned it, he was naturally furious: "You only know how to talk about me, but what about you? Who sent a battalion to attack the barricade factory? In the end, after two days of fighting, even one building was destroyed. Not even the factory buildings were taken down?”
Steinmetz had just been the division commander for only a week and was not aware of the personal grudges between the two regiment commanders. At this moment, seeing the two actually quarreling in such an important military meeting, he couldn't help but get furious. He slapped his hands hard on the table and shouted: "That's enough, gentlemen, we are holding a military meeting. If you want to make a noise, it is not too late to make a noise after the meeting is over."
After hearing the division commander's words, although the two were still not convinced by the new division commander, they still did not dare to act opposite Steinmetz in such a formal occasion, so they could only keep their mouths shut.
"Chief of Staff," seeing the two regiment commanders shut their mouths, Steinmetz turned to the division chief of staff and asked, "Which unit do you think should be sent to seize the barricade factory?"
The division chief of staff stood up, looked at Wenzel, then at Brandt, and finally turned his attention back to Steinmetz and said: "Your Excellency, division commander, I think Lieutenant Colonel Brandt's 577th Army should be sent. Regiment to complete this glorious and arduous task."
The quarrel between Wenzel and Brandt left a bad impression on Steinmetz, and he even planned to let the 576th Infantry Regiment perform this task. At this moment, when he heard that the division chief of staff recommended Brandt's 577th Infantry Regiment, he frowned and asked, "Why?"
"Your Excellency, division commander, please look at the map." The division chief of staff came to the wall, pointed to the map hanging on the wall, and said to Steinmetz: "Lieutenant Colonel Brandt's 577th Infantry Regiment is at the barricade factory. To the west of the factory, they can enter the factory area in the shortest time and take over the defense of the 295th Infantry Division. The 576th and 578th Infantry Regiments are a bit far from the factory. If they are transferred all the way there, it may cause unnecessary trouble. confusion."
After listening to the division chief of staff’s reasons, Steinmetz immediately made the final decision: “In this case, the task of attacking the barricade factory will be left to Lieutenant Colonel Brandt’s 577th Infantry Regiment. He faced Brandt and said, "Mr. Lieutenant Colonel, I hope you won't disappoint me."
"Don't worry, Your Excellency, Commander." Seeing that Steinmetz had given him the honor of winning the barricade factory, Brandt couldn't help but be overjoyed. He quickly straightened up and assured Steinmetz: "I will definitely be here. Take the barricade factory before dark."
