Facts have proved that Sokov's assessment of the situation was too optimistic. The soldiers sent by the three regiments lay in the snow and froze all night. Except for a German corporal who secretly ran over and surrendered in front of the 122nd regiment's position, the other two regiments gained nothing at all.
At dawn the next day, after Sidorin received the report from Lieutenant Colonel Papuchenko, he smiled bitterly and said to Sokov: "Comrade division commander, more than thirty of our soldiers are in different places, risking frostbite. After lurking all night, only one German soldier came to surrender. Do you think it is necessary to continue tonight?"
"No need." Seeing the anti-Faxi Temple Alliance's slogan and the unsatisfactory results, Sokov thought to himself that he had acted too hastily. He should have waited for the slogan to last a few more days before sending someone to pick up the surrender. German officers and soldiers, maybe more people will come over. Thinking of this, he said to Sidorin: "There is no need to send people to carry out such tasks for the time being."
Political Commissar Anisimov said: "Comrade Division Commander, I think the Germans are very stubborn, and they still hold on to a glimmer of hope that Manstein and Hoth's troops will soon arrive to rescue them, so they We will continue to fight tenaciously.”
"Time will destroy their hopes." Sokov smiled and said to Anisimov: "Today's enemies are indeed very tenacious, but as time goes by, they find that the reinforcements promised to them by their superiors will If they haven't appeared for a long time, they will definitely be shaken in their hearts. In addition, the anti-Faxi Temple alliance led by Ulbricht will continue to shout, which will make many German soldiers change their minds and change from their original resolute resistance to hesitation. , and even came in droves to surrender to us.”
"Comrade Commander," Anisimov asked unconvinced, "how long do you think it will take for the situation you mentioned to be realized?"
"I will definitely give it ten days at most." Sokov thought in his mind that Paulus would surrender at the end of the month, so he said confidently: "When our friendly forces shrink the encirclement and completely cut off the enemy's contact with the outside world, they will change We have to panic, and if we try to persuade them to surrender, there will definitely be many enemies who surrender."
Although Anisimov didn't believe what Sokov said, he couldn't find a reason to refute it for a while, so he could only laugh and shut his mouth wisely.
Sokov said to Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, I estimate that the enemy's attention is now focused on their rear, because our friendly forces are advancing step by step to narrow their encirclement. It may be possible in a short period of time. They won’t take the initiative to attack us.”
"If the enemy doesn't attack, can we take the initiative to attack?" Ivanov interjected and asked.
"Don't be anxious, Comrade Deputy Division Commander." Sokov said to Ivanov: "Our troops are still insufficient. Even if we counterattack and seize some positions, we will not be able to hold them."
Seeing that Sokov was still telling the same old story, Ivanov simply couldn't laugh or cry. He had the heart to refute it, but what Sokov said was true again. He could only smile bitterly, look down at the map in front of him, and pretend to study the troops' next combat action.
Sokov calculated the time in his mind. It was only two weeks before Paulus surrendered. The downsized regiment deployed on the right wing could be mobilized quietly. If the troops of the 64th Army had taken the lead, it would have taken him so long. The layout is equivalent to making wedding clothes for them.
Thinking of this, he said to Sidorin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you remember the reason I said a few days ago for retaining troops in the city?"
"Remember, remember." Sidorin dreamed that the honor of capturing Paulus would fall to his own division, so he naturally remembered what Sokov said. At this moment, when I heard Sokov suddenly mention it, I immediately realized that Sokov might want to use the troops deployed on the right wing, and he quickly asked tentatively: "Comrade division commander, are you planning to secretly transfer all the reduced regiments into the city? "
"Yes, that's how I think about it."
Seeing Sokov confirming the matter, Ivanov also became interested: "Comrade division commander, I would like to ask, you have transferred the one or two thousand commanders and fighters of the downsized regiment to the residential areas in the south of the city and the central area, and plan to deploy them Where is it?"
"We still don't know whether Paulus has moved his headquarters to the central area." Before giving the order to Sidorin, Sokov specifically warned him: "In order to avoid alerting the enemy, the drawdown regiment is being mobilized. We must ensure concealment and not allow the enemy to detect any movement. If Paulus finds out that we have placed such a force under his nose, I think he will definitely choose a new place to establish his headquarters for safety reasons. .”
What Sokov is most worried about now is that his appearance has caused a lot of deviations in history. If Paulus really found out that he had deployed a force in the city to take down his headquarters, he would definitely change his mind and move the headquarters to another location. If Paulus did this, Sokov would have a hard time finding his hiding place. If you don’t even know where the German command headquarters is, how can you capture Paulus?
"Don't worry, Comrade Division Commander, I will never let the enemy notice our intentions." Sidorin continued to ask: "Then where should we place the Belkin Regiment?"
"I think it's better to put it where the Third Battalion is now." Sokov said thoughtfully: "The area controlled by the Third Battalion is relatively large, and even if one or two thousand people are hidden, they probably won't be discovered by the enemy. "
"Okay." Sidorin said excitedly: "I immediately called Commander Belkin. He must have been waiting for this good news." After saying that, he picked up the phone and said into the receiver: "I am Sidorin, pick up the drawdown group for me and find Captain Belkin."
After the call was connected, Sidorin said excitedly as soon as he heard Belkin's voice: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, let me tell you good news. The division commander has just issued a combat order to your regiment, so that you can avoid being attacked by Germany." When no one noticed, he secretly turned in the direction of the third battalion."
"Turn to the position of the third battalion?" Belkin heard this order and asked in surprise: "So, does the division commander plan to attack the enemy in the city?"
In response to Belkin's question, Sidorin did not answer immediately. Instead, he turned to look at Sokov and said to him: "Comrade division commander, I think it is up to you to personally explain the mission to Commander Belkin."
Sokov considered his deployment, which only Sidorin, Ivanov and Anisimov knew. As the leader of the drawdown regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Belkin also needed to know about this, so he walked to Sidorin's side, took the microphone in his hand, and said: "My comrade political commissar, the situation is like this. According to According to my analysis, Paulus's troops will definitely shrink into the city after suffering a heavy blow from our army. And Paulus's headquarters is likely to be located in the residential area in the south of the city, or in the central business district. I will send you The purpose of being deployed there is to prepare to choose the right moment to launch a fierce attack on the enemy's headquarters. Whether you can capture Paulus alive depends on your luck."
Knowing that his troops had a chance to capture Paulus alive, Belkin suddenly had adrenaline secretion. He said excitedly: "Misha, don't worry, as long as Paulus's headquarters is really located in a residential area or somewhere in the central district, position, I guarantee you that the honor of capturing Paulus alive in the end will definitely belong to our division.”
Belkin's words reminded Sokov that up until now, he had been accustomed to treating the three Guards regiments differently from the downsized regiment. Hearing what Belkin said at this moment, he said with some embarrassment: "Yes, yes, the honor of capturing Paulus alive must belong to our 41st Guards Division."
After a pause, he continued: "I think it is necessary to remind you that your regiment cannot be noticed by the enemy during the transfer process; moreover, after entering the new station, do not launch any large-scale attack on the enemy for the time being. , even if your troops have an absolute advantage in local areas."
"Don't worry, Misha." Belkin had been riding with Sokov for a long time and knew his character very well. Now that he heard his repeated warnings, he also realized the seriousness of the problem and quickly expressed his position: "I The commanders and fighters will be asked to pay attention to concealment during the transfer process, so that the enemy will never notice it."
After expressing his attitude, he suddenly remembered another important thing: "Misha, our regiment has moved, who will take over the vacated position? If the enemy finds that there is no one on our position, he will Will notice our move."
"I will immediately ask Comrade Commander for instructions," Sokov said into the microphone: "It would be great if he could send troops to take over your defense. If he really can't find troops to take over your defense, I can only go Please ask Director Peter to send some militiamen to your position."
After Sokov ended his call with Belkin, he immediately asked the communications troops to connect to the army headquarters. Since Chuikov was on the phone with Batov, it was Krylov who answered the call: "I'm Krylov, Colonel Sokov, what can I do for you?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," although the person who answered the phone was not Chuikov, Krylov could still make the decision on some things. Sokov did not beat around the bush and said straightforwardly: "I would like to ask if the group army can send troops to go Take over the defense area of our division’s reduced regiment?”
"What, sending troops to take over the defense area of your division's downsized regiment?" Krylov frowned and asked in confusion: "Why?"
"That's it, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov knew that if he didn't communicate this matter with Chuikov and Krylov, he might not be able to get the troops to take over the defense, so he said euphemistically: "Based on the current situation, I Based on the analysis, I feel that the Germans are likely to transfer their headquarters to the city. Therefore, I plan to transfer Belkin’s reduced regiment into the city to prepare for a surprise blow to the enemy when necessary.”
"Give the enemy a surprise blow." Hearing what Sokov said, Krylov pursed his lips and said disapprovingly: "How many enemies do you think you can kill by then? One thousand, two thousand or five thousand?" Colonel Sokov, I’m not here to pour cold water on you, but if you want to eliminate so many enemies, I’m afraid your reduced regiment will be wiped out.”
"No, Comrade Chief of Staff, you misunderstood me." Sokov quickly defended: "I transferred the drawdown regiment to the south of the city not because I wanted them to destroy many enemies, but because they have more important tasks."
"A more important task, what task?"
Before Sokov could answer, he heard Chuikov's voice coming from the receiver: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what is Sokov calling to say?"
"He plans to transfer Belgin's reduced regiment into the city and request the group army to send him troops to take over the reduced regiment's defense area."
"Give me the phone and I'll ask what's going on." Chuikov took the phone and asked with a frown: "Colonel Sokov, why did you think of transferring the drawdown regiment to the city? Tell me about your reasons."
"Comrade Commander, based on my judgment." Sokov could only repeat his reasons: "After suffering a heavy blow from our army, the enemy will definitely shrink into Stalingrad, and the German headquarters will also They will also retreat into the city. After repeated thinking, Paulus is most likely to set up his headquarters in the residential area in the south of the city or in the central area. I transferred the Belkin regiment into the city with the intention that when the time is right, Launch a surprise attack on his headquarters. Even if Paulus cannot be captured alive, as long as a group of senior German generals are killed, the German army will fall into chaos because of the loss of unified command, and the next battle of our army will become easy."
"Colonel Sokov, you really spoke too lightly." Chuikov sneered and said, "Do you really think that Paulus will be able to find out easily if he moves his headquarters into the city? What's more, it's just you. The judgment is even more unreliable."
From the tone of Chuikov's words, Sokov noticed a hint of ominousness. He asked tentatively: "What do you think, Comrade Commander?"
"Even if Paulus moves his headquarters to the city, who knows, it will definitely be placed in the residential area in the south of the city or in the central district." Chuikov said unhappily: "Wouldn't he put the new headquarters in the factory area? You know, the area here is vast and there is a lot of room for movement. Even if it is attacked by our army, it can be transferred at any time. "
If Sokov didn't know the real history and knew where Paulus was captured, Chuikov's statement might make him shaken. Not only are there many stone buildings in the central area, but there are also many solid stone buildings in the factory area. Paulus can completely locate his headquarters in the factory area.
Precisely because he knew the accurate answer, Sokov said stubbornly: "Comrade Commander, please trust my judgment. With Paulus's character, he will never locate the new headquarters in the factory area. But it can only be in the residential area in the south of the city or in the central area. If we don't send troops into this area as soon as possible, once the troops of the 64th Army arrive from the south, the honor of capturing Paulus alive may conflict with our 62nd Army. Passed by."
