From dawn the next day, Lyudnikov was in a state of excitement. He would either raise his hand to look at his watch, or walk to the door and look at the sky to see when it would get dark.
Seeing Lyudnikov so glum, Sokov couldn't help but laugh. After he waited for Lyudnikov to come back from the door, he smiled and said to him: "Comrade Colonel, there are still a few hours until dark. No matter how anxious you are, it will not get dark early."
After Lyudnikov sat down opposite Sokov, he asked in an uncertain tone: "Colonel Sokov, do you really confirm that the agenda of today's meeting is related to the major counterattack?"
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov knew the specific time of the counterattack, and Chuikov held a military meeting at this time. It was obvious that the agenda of the meeting was related to the major counterattack. However, considering that he has changed a lot of history, which will lead to some uncertain factors, he said cautiously: "Whether the agenda of this meeting is related to the counterattack, although I can't be sure. But I can tell you. , this possibility is very high.”
"Maybe your judgment is correct." Lyudnikov actually knew in his heart that although he organized counterattacks against the German army every month, the results achieved were minimal. In the past, before counterattacks, the headquarters only used phone calls to notify the heads of the participating troops and assign them offensive combat tasks. This is the first time that such a meeting with commanders above the regiment level has occurred. He said with some embarrassment: "Actually, I am just nervous, that's why I act so concerned about gains and losses."
…………
After finally staying up until four o'clock in the afternoon, when the sky turned dark, Lyudnikov couldn't wait to hand over the command to the commander of the 544th Regiment, and urged Sokov and the others to set off.
I originally thought that I might encounter enemy stragglers on the road and have some fighting or something like that. Unexpectedly, because the patrol team sent yesterday continued to patrol this area, the scattered German soldiers who fled here were far away, allowing Sokov and the others to arrive at the army headquarters without any danger.
The meeting place was a newly dug hole on the cliff by the river by the engineers, which could accommodate forty or fifty people. Still far away, Sokov and the others were stopped by several heavily armed soldiers. After verifying their identities, those qualified to participate in the meeting were allowed to pass. As for the accompanying Samoilov and the soldiers from the guard platoon, was placed elsewhere.
Sokov walked into the cave and saw a long table on the opposite wall, with three people sitting behind the table. Sitting in the middle is Chuikov, Krylov on his left, and Gurov on his right.
The location of Sokov and others is near the entrance of the cave. As they sat down, Lieutenant Colonel Guzman, the commander of the 650th Regiment, muttered under his breath: "It's really cold sitting here."
Since no one spoke in the cave, Guzman's voice was not loud, but Chuikov, who was sitting behind the long table, could hear it. He looked here and said: "Comrade commander, when everyone arrives, we will close the curtain, and then you won't feel cold."
After waiting for a while, when he saw that people were almost here, Krylov stood up and gestured to the few soldiers standing at the door. When the soldiers saw Krylov's gesture, they immediately lowered the rolled curtain and brought in several charcoal basins from the outside. After doing all this, they disappeared outside the cave.
After closing the curtain and placing the charcoal basin, the temperature in the cave suddenly rose a lot. Chuikov stood up, turned on the several gas lamps in the cave, and glanced at the commanders participating in the meeting one by one. When his eyes stopped, he had a smile on his face and said in a loud voice: "Hello, comrades, commanders! I called you here today because I have important news to announce to you."
After saying these words, Chuikov turned to Krylov, who was already sitting down, nodded, and said: "Chief of Staff, you will tell everyone the next words."
"Hello, comrade commander!" Krylov stood up quickly, put his hands on the edge of the table, leaned forward slightly, and said to the commanders participating in the meeting: "First of all, I want to tell you a huge good news. According to the news, our army is about to launch a comprehensive counterattack against the enemies who attacked Stalingrad. I believe that in this counterattack, the enemies who are fighting us will be buried under the city of Stalingrad..."
When Krylov said these words, the cheering scene he imagined did not appear. The commanders present had been in the city for a long time. Starting from the counterattack in early September, they had already experienced several large and small counterattacks. However, not only did they fail to repulse the enemy's attack, but they also lost troops and generals. In everyone's mind, there was silence until the scale of the counterattack was understood.
"Comrades, the Supreme High Command orders the Southwestern Front, the Don Front and the Stalingrad Front to shift from defense to offense and crush the German attack on Stalingrad." Krylov couldn't help but see everyone's indifferent expressions. With a wry smile, he picked up a small wooden stick, pointed at the map on the wall and said to everyone: "The codename of this counterattack is 'Operation Uranus'. According to the order, Vatutin's Southwest Front Army and Rokossovs The base of the Don Front will launch the first attack on November 19.
The main offensive force commanded by Lieutenant General Vatutin included the 1st Guards Army, the 5th Tank Army and the 21st Army. A total of 18 infantry divisions, 8 tank brigades, 2 motorcycle brigades, 6 cavalry divisions and 1 counterattack force. It is composed of a tank brigade and supported by the 2nd and 17th Air Force armies. Their attack target was the Romanian 3rd Army, which was responsible for defending the flank security of the German 6th Army.
At the same time, the Don Front will carry out two auxiliary assaults. The 65th Army will assault southeastward from the area east of Kletskaya, and the 24th Army will attack from the Kachalinskaya area along the left bank of the Don River towards Ver. Attack southward in the direction of Jiaqi, severing the connection between the German troops in the small bend of the Don River and the German troops in Stalingrad. The 66th Army defends in place in the area north of Stalingrad. Their actions will be supported by the 16th Air Force Group Army..."
Hearing this, the commanders present couldn't help but their eyes lit up. They found that this counterattack was several times larger than previous counterattacks. If only one front army carries out a counterattack, it may be difficult to defeat the enemies attacking the city. But now that there are three fronts, it means that the chance of driving the enemy away from the Stalingrad area has greatly increased.
While Krylov was speaking for a while, Zoludev, the commander of the 37th Guards Division, couldn't help but ask: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have been listening to you for a long time, talking about the Southwest Front and the Don Front. What about our As for the Stalingrad Front, when will they launch a counterattack?"
Regarding Zholudev’s question, Krylov continued: “According to the order, the 51st, 57th, and 64th armies of the Stalingrad Front will switch to counterattack in the south on November 20, breaking through the Romania defense line in the area. The defense line of the 4th Army then quickly moved north towards Karachi to join forces with the South-Western Front heading south, cutting off the Germans’ retreat.”
Everyone did not hear the 62nd Army in the number Krylov mentioned, and they couldn't help but have puzzled expressions on their faces. Colonel Sokolov, commander of the 45th Infantry Division, asked loudly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, why is there no number of our group army in the counterattack sequence of the Stalingrad Front? Does the base camp think that we have been annihilated by the enemy?"
One stone stirred up a thousand ripples, and Colonel Sokolov's words immediately resonated with everyone: "Yes, why is our army group not included in the counterattack force sequence this time? Has the superior forgotten us?"
"We have persisted for such a long time under the enemy's powerful offensive. We finally expected a major counterattack, but nothing happened to us. What is going on? We should let our superiors give us an answer."
"..."
When the cave was as lively as a vegetable market, Lyudnikov tilted his head towards Sokov, leaned close to his ear and asked loudly: "Colonel Sokov, tell me, what is going on, what is the reason for your superiors?" Don’t you want us to participate in the counterattack?”
"It's not that we are not allowed to participate in the counterattack, but that we are allowed to participate in the counterattack in another form." After Sokov waited for Lyudnikov to finish speaking, he also leaned into his ear and said loudly: "I guess the superiors are considering Our group army suffered heavy casualties and was unable to replenish us with enough troops in a short period of time, so it was decided not to allow us to participate in the counterattack, but to stick to the existing positions and prevent the enemy from occupying the city."
"Comrades, be quiet, please be quiet!" Seeing the angry mood among the commanders sitting below, Gurov quickly stood up, raised his hands and pressed down hard: "Let me explain to everyone what is going on. .”
Seeing that it was Military Commissar Gurov speaking, the originally noisy cave became silent again.
"Comrades, I know that everyone must have some emotions in their hearts when they heard that our army group number was not included in the counterattack force sequence by the superiors." Gurov said unhurriedly: "But do you have any questions?" After thinking about it, your troops have lost their offensive capabilities due to a large number of attrition during the long-term battle. Without new recruits, ordering you to participate in the counterattack is tantamount to asking you to die. the behavior of."
When Gurov said this, everyone suddenly became quiet. Everyone thought carefully in their hearts and realized that this was really the case. Nowadays, many divisions basically have empty numbers. Before they are supplemented by soldiers, using such forces to attack is simply a matter of death.
Seeing that calm had returned to the cave, Gurov made a gesture to Krylov, indicating that he should continue speaking. Krylov nodded slightly and continued: "After our major counterattack begins, the enemy will definitely continue to attack the factory area to obtain sufficient defense depth. Therefore, everyone cannot take it lightly just because our counterattack is about to begin. . I am here to remind everyone that if the area in charge of whoever is responsible is occupied by the Germans, then there is no need to send you to a military court, the headquarters will send people to enforce battlefield discipline on you."
After staying in Stalingrad for such a long time, this was the first time that everyone heard Krylov speak in such a stern tone, so everyone's expressions became serious.
Seeing that the atmosphere in the cave had become awkward, Gurov stood up again to smooth things over: "Comrades, although your troops have been severely weakened in the battle. But don't worry, you only need to hold on for a day or two. The main force of the counterattack will be able to rush into the city and join forces with you to jointly attack the enemies in the city. What do you think, are you confident in holding your position?"
"Have confidence!" After Gurov finished speaking, there were sparse responses in the cave.
"What's wrong with you, comrades commanders?" Seeing everyone's weak answers, Krylov asked dissatisfiedly: "Don't you have the confidence to hold your position? If you don't have the confidence, I don't mind changing to a new batch of people with more confidence. Commander of faith, come and take your place.”
Seeing that Krylov was angry, everyone hurriedly agreed: "Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff, we will definitely be able to hold our position."
"Very good!" Krylov nodded with satisfaction at everyone's attitude, and then asked: "Do you have any more questions?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I would like to ask, when can we get supplies?" An infantry brigade commander stood up and said respectfully: "Our current ammunition and supplies can last for up to three days. If we can't get them as soon as possible, As for supplies, I’m afraid I won’t be able to support the day of counterattack.”
Hearing this question from the infantry brigade commander, Krylov showed a troubled expression on his face. He was silent for a moment and then said: "Comrade Brigadier, when you came to the meeting, you should have seen that the river had frozen, and the ships of the Volga River Fleet could not pass at all. And the ice on the river was too thin, even the weight of a person It’s unbearable, let alone the convoys transporting supplies.”
"General Lobov," Chuikov said to the logistics minister sitting not far away: "After the meeting is over, you and the brigade commander will discuss the supply issues. I don't care what method you use, you must ensure that every A force that holds its ground, with enough ammunition and supplies. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Lobov quickly stood up and replied: "I will have a private chat with the brigade commander later."
Next, the commanders of each unit began to ask Krylov many questions. Krylov seemed to have expected that everyone would ask these questions in advance, and gave simple and clear answers one by one.
Lyudnikov took advantage of everyone's questions to Krylov and asked Sokov in a low voice: "Colonel Sokov, the three front armies launched a counterattack against the enemy at the same time. I wonder who will be sent to the base camp to take command? Do you think it will be?" General Zhukov?"
"No." Sokov knew that Zhukov had been transferred to other directions by Stalin before the counterattack began, so he replied: "If the three front armies were all commanded by General Zhukov, when the chief of staff just described the counterattack deployment, He would mention this. However, he never mentioned it at all, so I boldly asserted that General Zhukov will not participate in this counterattack."
Sokov's answer made Lyudnikov feel very dissatisfied: "Why, in my opinion, this counterattack plan may have come from General Zhukov, and he was not allowed to command this battle. , it’s too unreasonable.”
"Comrade Colonel, don't get excited." Seeing that Lyudnikov was so worried about Zhukov's inability to command this counterattack, Sokov said vaguely: "It must be because the base camp did not let General Zhukov command this battle. There are more important tasks for him.”
"Colonel Sokov, please tell me." Unexpectedly, Lyudnikov asked reluctantly: "What other mission is more important than the major counterattack in the direction of Stalingrad?"
