After Belkin received Sokov's order to counterattack, he picked up the phone and wanted to call Lyudnikov and tell him about the counterattack. After all, the defenses of the two armies overlapped. If he did not say hello, he would not be able to operate at night. It's not good if there is a misunderstanding.
But when he picked up the phone and heard the voice from the communications unit coming from the receiver, he changed his mind and felt that it would be more appropriate to go there in person if he couldn't explain clearly on the phone.
When he arrived at the 138th Division headquarters, Belkin found that in addition to Lyudnikov, division political commissar Titov was also there. The two were sitting at the table, staring at the map on the table and discussing something in a low voice. .
Belkin stopped, raised his hands to his ears, and said politely: "Hello, two comrades, commanders."
"It turns out to be Commander Belkin." Hearing Belkin's voice, Lyudnikov turned towards the door. After seeing clearly that it was Belkin who was coming, he immediately got up and greeted him, even though he was still far away. , and stretched out his hand towards Belgin: "Why are you free today and come to my place?"
After Belkin shook hands with Lyudnikov, he shook hands with Titov who extended his hand, and then said to Lyudnikov: "Comrade Colonel, I just received a call from the division commander. He ordered us to Launch a counterattack against the enemy tonight, seize as many positions as possible from the enemy, and establish new fire support points."
"Commander Belkin," when he heard what Belkin said, Lyudnikov did not speak, but just sat there thoughtfully thinking about the problem. After Titov glanced at him, he said to Belkin: "To tell you the truth, we have also received an order from our superiors to attack tonight and wait for an opportunity to seize part of the enemy's position and secure the enemy." Pinned down in the factory area, they cannot retreat smoothly."
Knowing that Lyudnikov had received a similar order, Belkin did not explain his arrangements, but asked: "Comrade Colonel, I would like to ask, how do you plan to act?"
"Commander Belkin," Lyudnikov pursed his lips and said, "When I received this order from my superiors, my first reaction was that they had made a mistake. Think about the enemy's offensive against us during the day. It was so violent that we almost lost the only position in the barricade factory. But just a few hours later, we were actually ordered to launch a counterattack. If we can achieve results, there is no problem; but if the counterattack does not go smoothly , the enemy took the opportunity to pounce on our position, can we still hold this last position?"
Faced with Lyudnikov's doubts, Belkin said tactfully: "Comrade Colonel, I don't think our superiors gave us such an order for no reason, but the current situation has moved in our favor." development of the military.”
"The situation is developing in a direction that is beneficial to our army?" Lyudnikov said with a sneer: "Although a bridge has been built across the Volga River, our superiors have not provided us with additional soldiers and technical equipment, and our military strength is already facing depletion. What if If the Germans launch another attack, whether we can hold on is a question, let alone a counterattack."
"Captain Belkin," Titov continued: "Before you came, we were discussing the order from our superiors. We felt that even if we want to counterattack, we need to wait until dawn and understand the movements of the enemy on the opposite side."
Hearing Titov say this, Belkin shouted at him: "Don't you know that our army has launched a fierce attack from the German army's flank and rear, and many of the enemy's defense lines have been breached." But about As for the results achieved by the counterattack troops on the south side of the city, Belkin was in a very difficult position because he did not ask Sokov for instructions and did not know whether he could disclose them to Lyudnikov and the others.
Lyudnikov and Titov were considering how to delay the counterattack, so they did not see the embarrassment on Belkin's face. Since there were some things he couldn't say, Belgin knew that there was little point in staying any longer, so he stood up and said to the two of them: "Two comrades, our regiment will carry out attacks on the positions occupied by the enemy at the appropriate time tonight. Counterattack. Since the defense areas of our two armies overlap, please say hello to the troops below to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."
Seeing that Belkin planned to go it alone, Lyudnikov readily agreed: "No problem, Commander Belkin, I will call the commanders below immediately and inform them of this matter to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings. "
Holding back his anger, Belkin returned to his command post, called the three battalion commanders to his command post, and assigned them tasks.
"Captain Vasily, commander of the first battalion, your battalion's mission is to attack the enemy on the southwest side of the defense zone."
"Captain Briskey, commander of the second battalion, your battalion's mission is to attack the enemy due west."
"Captain Shamrich of the Marine Corps Battalion, your battalion's mission is to attack the enemies in the northwest."
After neatly laying out the tasks, Belkin looked at the three battalion commanders and asked, "Do you have any questions?"
"Comrade Commander," as soon as he finished speaking, Vasily raised his hand and asked puzzledly: "I would like to ask why the three battalions have to take action in three directions at the same time. Can't they all be concentrated in one direction? ?"
"Concentrating all the troops in one direction can indeed form a military advantage in the situation." Belgin waited for Vasily to finish speaking, then explained slowly: "But once the attack is frustrated, all the troops will be defeated." We will be trapped at a point unable to move forward. Once the German troops turn around from both wings, our troops will be in danger of being encircled."
"Comrade Commander, aren't there comrades from the 138th Division?" Vasily heard that Belkin did not mention Lyudnikov's troops at all, so he reminded him: "They can completely cover our flanks. ah."
Belkin waved his hand at him and said, "Did I forget to tell you that Colonel Lyudnikov's troops will not participate in tonight's counterattack?"
"Ah?!" Belkin's words made the three battalion commanders stunned, and then asked in unison: "Why?"
In front of several subordinates, Belkin could not say anything about the rights and wrongs of other troops, so he could only say vaguely: "Colonel Lyudnikov may have his own considerations, but since we can't command them, there is no need to Never mind, you just need to do our job well. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" the three battalion commanders replied in unison.
"I am emphasizing two points," Belkin emphasized again before letting the three battalion commanders leave: "Since the situation is developing in a direction that is beneficial to our army, how capable are you in tonight's night attack? , show me how much you can do. As long as you can seize the position and destroy the enemy, there is no need to worry about the casualties of the troops."
"Comrade Commander," some time ago, the first battalion was supplemented by soldiers, but the second battalion was not. Therefore, Captain Brisky always had a thorn in his heart. When he heard what Belkin said, he said sourly. : "If our battalion is exhausted and cannot be replenished, can we cancel the establishment?"
"It's not that serious, Captain Briski!" Belin did not hear the bitterness in Briski's words, and comforted him: "Don't worry, the division commander promised me that no matter how many soldiers we lost in the battle, he would Supplementary for us.”
Briski and Vasily, who were born in the infantry brigade, had expressions of surprise on their faces when they heard what Belkin said. They knew Sokov's character, and as long as they said it, they would definitely count. Since the division commander has said that he will replenish his troops, it is absolutely true. Then in tonight's battle, there is no need to consider the casualties of the troops.
"One more thing," Belkin continued: "In order to avoid unnecessary casualties, sneak attack tactics should still be adopted in the early stage of a night counterattack. Unless the enemy discovers our actions, do not easily change from a sneak attack to a strong attack." Captain Mlih, do you understand?"
The reason why Belkin wanted to remind Shamrich alone was because he knew very well that this Marine Corps battalion, composed entirely of sailors, was famous for being good at fighting tough battles. If they were not warned in advance, they might be shouting slogans and rushing towards the enemy's position under a hail of enemy bullets. Even if they manage to win by then, it will still be a miserable victory.
Belkin's guess was correct. After receiving the combat order, Shamrih was indeed thinking that after fighting a defensive battle for so long, he finally had an opportunity to counterattack. As soon as the counterattack began, he led the entire battalion of commanders and fighters, shouting "full speed forward" lipstick, and charged towards the enemy's position, overwhelming the enemy with momentum.
However, when Belgin specifically called out his name and emphasized the need to use sneak attack tactics to approach the enemy's position, Shamrih hesitated for a while and then replied: "Understood, Comrade Commander, we will use sneak attack tactics." The tactic of sneaking up on enemy positions and then attacking unexpectedly.”
Seeing that Shamrih understood his intention, Belkin nodded, raised his hand to look at his watch, and said to the three of them: "It's getting late, you all go back to your respective troops to prepare. Our counterattack will be in Starting at two o'clock in the morning, that's when the enemy is most tired, and we will definitely be able to catch them off guard."
Shamrih returned to his battalion command post, and several commanders waiting here came up to him and asked curiously: "Comrade Battalion Commander, what combat mission has the regiment commander assigned us?"
"The regiment leader said that we will launch a counterattack against the enemies in the barricade factory tonight. Our battalion is responsible for the northwest direction of the factory area." Shamrih said: "The time for the operation is two o'clock in the morning."
"Comrade Battalion Commander, let our company take the lead." As soon as Shamrih finished speaking, Captain Aglanov, the commander of the second company, said impatiently: "I assure you, we will rush in as soon as possible. Enemy position."
Unexpectedly, after he finished speaking, he saw Shamrih wave his hand towards him, and then heard the other party say: "Comrade Captain, you are wrong. Our counterattack this time will use sneak attack tactics. When the enemy discovers Before, it couldn’t easily turn into a strong attack.”
Deputy Battalion Commander Yakuda asked cautiously: "Comrade Battalion Commander, I would like to ask why the superiors suddenly issued such an order? You know, they are still launching fierce attacks on us during the day, but at night, they ask us to launch attacks on them." Counterattack. We have never encountered such a style of play in the Workers’ New Village for so long.”
"Judging from the leader's expression, he seems to be very confident in tonight's counterattack." After Shamrih said these two sentences, before anyone could ask again, he said first: "But what is the specific reason? Didn't tell me."
"Comrade Battalion Commander," Deputy Political Battalion Commander Shapovarenko said, "As far as I know, Commander Belkin was the political commissar of the division commander before he took up the post of regimental commander. The relationship between the two is very close. He may It was because I got some gossip from the division commander that I was so confident in this night counterattack."
Shapovalenko's words reminded Shamrih. He nodded and said: "Comrade Political Deputy Battalion Commander, you are right. I remember that the regiment commander once told us after assigning the task, The current situation on the battlefield is developing in a direction that is beneficial to our army."
Agranov asked in confusion: "But judging from the enemy's offensive during the day, it doesn't look like a defeat. How can the situation develop in a direction that is beneficial to our army?"
"Comrade Captain, you only see what's in front of you, you should look further ahead." Shapovarenko continued: "You and I both know that on the outskirts of Stalingrad, there are three front troops attacking the enemy. Counterattack, maybe the fighting in those directions has made progress. That's why the regiment commander said that the situation is developing in a direction that is beneficial to our army."
"But Comrade Political Deputy Battalion Commander." Aglanov said unconvinced: "If our army has really made great progress on the periphery, why is the enemy's offensive still so fierce during the day? You know, light Our company repelled seven German attacks."
"Okay, stop talking." Shamrih interrupted Aglanov's next words, "For the night attack in the early morning, your second company will be the vanguard. Go back and prepare first."
Not only Shamrich was confused about Belkin's order, but also Vasily and Brisky were confused. After the two left the headquarters, Vasily asked Brisky in a low voice: "Comrade Captain, tell me, why did the division commander order us to launch a counterattack against the enemy tonight? You know, now is not a good time to counterattack."
Brisky Battalion also fought several hard battles with the enemy during the day. He naturally agreed with Vasily's statement: "Captain Vasily, you are right. I also feel that the division commander's combat order came too suddenly."
Not only Shamrich was confused about Belkin's order, but also Vasily and Brisky were confused. After the two left the headquarters, Vasily asked Brisky in a low voice: "Comrade Captain, tell me, why did the division commander order us to launch a counterattack against the enemy tonight? You know, now is not a good time to counterattack."
Brisky Battalion also fought several hard battles with the enemy during the day. He naturally agreed with Vasily's statement: "Captain Vasily, you are right. I also feel that the division commander's combat order came too suddenly."
