At six o'clock in the morning on the 21st, two tank battalions assigned to the 41st Guards Division began to cross the river through the bridge on the ice.
Upon hearing the news that the tank battalion had begun to cross the river, Sokov quickly called Bely who had rushed to the 122nd Regiment Headquarters. He said with some excitement: "Colonel Bely, let me tell you some good news. The superiors assigned to our division The tank battalion is crossing the river at the moment. I believe it won’t be long before they reach Mamayev Hill.”
"Great, this is really great." Bely, who had just received more than 20 tanks in Workers' New Village, was worried about the few tanks in his hands. He heard that a new tank battalion was crossing the river. He said yes repeatedly and added: "I will rush to the river immediately to receive these two tank battalions."
After Sokov put down the phone, he said to Golikov: "Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army, I plan to launch a counterattack against the frontal enemy at nine o'clock. But there is one more thing I need to ask for your help."
The purpose of Golikov's visit to Mamayev Heights was to supervise Sokov's troops in their counterattack. At this moment, when he heard Sokov himself telling the counterattack time, he said generously: "If you have any requests, just ask them. As long as they are within my capabilities, I will definitely help you solve them."
"The German army has built solid defenses in front of our army. Without artillery support, relying solely on tanks and infantry to attack the fortifications will probably cost a lot."
"You want to get artillery support, right?"
"Yes." Sokov nodded, gave Golikov a positive answer, and then said: "I hope that I can be allowed to command the artillery of the group army deployed on the east coast, and use powerful artillery fire to destroy the enemy's defense."
Hearing that Sokov planned to ask for the command of the artillery of the group army, this made Golikov feel very embarrassed: "Colonel Sokov, your request is very reasonable, but if you want to get the command of the artillery of the group army, I just say No matter what, we still need General Chuikov’s nod.”
"Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army," Sokov said with a smile: "I can raise this matter directly with Commander Chuikov, but I am worried that he will reject me. What I want to ask you for help is that after he rejects me, you Can you say a few nice words for me?"
"No problem." Seeing such a simple question, Golikov nodded and said, "Colonel Sokov, if Chuikov really rejects your request, I will definitely put in a good word for you."
After dialing the number of the army headquarters, Sokov announced his home address and said: "Please let the commander answer the phone. I have important matters to see him."
Soon, Chuikov's voice came from the receiver: "I am Chuikov. Colonel Sokov, what do you want from me?"
"That's it, Comrade Commander." Sokov reported: "The tank battalion assigned to our division by superiors has begun to cross the river at this moment. I have set the time for counterattack at nine in the morning."
"At nine o'clock in the morning, launch a counterattack against the enemy?" Chuikov raised his hand and looked at his watch, and then said: "There are less than three hours left. Are you ready for battle?"
"We are still preparing." Sokov replied: "I am calling you because I have something important and I need your help."
"Just say what you have to say," Chuikov said impatiently, "Don't keep talking in circles."
"We want to carry out a counterattack against the enemy. It is obviously not enough to rely on the existing troops and technical equipment." Sokov did not know how Chuikov would react after he made the request, so he said cautiously: "Therefore, I hope that Get artillery support. If possible, can I personally command the artillery force of the group army?"
"It's ridiculous, it's simply ridiculous." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Chuikov got angry: "Colonel Sokov, do you know what you are talking about? A small division commander actually wants to command the artillery operations of the entire group army. , then do you still want to be the commander of the group army? I will give you my position!"
Hearing Chuikov's anger, Sokov quickly moved the microphone farther away from his ear. After Chuikov finished his attack, he continued cautiously: "The Mamayev Hill that our division is guarding is the commanding heights of the city. Artillery observers can guide the artillery on the east coast to prepare bombardment targets. I know that the group army is now The artillery force has a limited reserve of artillery shells, so it is presumptuous to make such a request in order to achieve more results with the same artillery shells."
After Chuikov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he was silent for a long time, and finally asked: "Colonel Sokov, you are right about one thing. The number of artillery shells stored by the artillery of the group army is indeed not large, and I am afraid that I will not be able to provide you with it." Too long of artillery support. If you want to counterattack the enemy, I'm afraid you can only rely on your own strength."
"Comrade Commander, we only need one hour, no, fifty minutes of artillery support from artillery, and we will be confident enough to break through the enemy's defensive positions."
"Okay." Chuikov thought for a long time and finally made a difficult decision: "I will ask Major General Hogarski, commander of the artillery of the group army, to contact you. It will be up to you to negotiate how to implement cooperation."
Golikov saw Sokov put down the phone and asked with a smile: "Colonel Sokov, it seems that Chuikov agreed to your proposal and is ready to hand over the artillery to your command. I want to ask how you plan to use them." Woolen cloth?"
"Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army," Sokov heard Golikov's question and immediately pointed to the map and said: "According to my plan, the shelling should last for fifty minutes. The shelling in the first twenty minutes , artillery fire should be concentrated to bombard the German front-line positions, and our counterattack troops left the tunnel during this period and began to gather. When the artillery fire extended to bombard the enemy's second line of defense, the troops began to attack."
After Golikov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he asked with some surprise: "Why, are you planning to send troops to attack before the artillery preparations are over? Aren't you worried that our artillery shells will blow up your own people?"
"You will not accidentally injure your own people." Sokov shook his head and said: "When the troops were attacking, the artillery fire from the east bank had already extended to the enemy's second line of defense. There was almost a gap between the first and second lines of defense. At a distance of one thousand meters, no matter how far the shrapnel flies, it will not accidentally injure the attacking troops."
While Sokov was explaining his idea to Golikov, the phone on the table rang. When I picked it up and listened, it turned out to be a call from the Army Artillery Commander Hogarski. He said bluntly on the phone: "Colonel Sokov, I am Major General Hogarski. On the orders of the commander, I am with You negotiate the use of artillery in a counterattack."
