After Sokov's intensive deployment, each division entered their respective attack positions.
The night before the offensive began, Sokov summoned all regiment-level commanders in the combat cluster for a meeting at the division headquarters on Mamayev Ridge.
After seeing the notice, all the commanders arrived. Sidorin stood up and said to everyone: "Comrade commanders, please be quiet. We are having a meeting below."
After no one spoke in the room, Sidorin continued: "According to the order from our superiors, our combat group will launch an attack on the central area where the German troops are entrenched. The attacking force is divided into two groups, and the one responsible for attacking on the right is Melku The 67th Guards Division commanded by Colonel Love, and an artillery regiment. Their mission is to attack the central railway station. According to our reconnaissance, those holding the station are the German 297th Infantry commanded by Major General Moritz von Dreiber. division.
The ones responsible for the left attack are the 23rd Infantry Division, the 321st Infantry Division and the 41st Guards Division. With the cooperation of two tank brigades and an artillery regiment, they will capture the heavily defended department store of the German army. "
As soon as Sidorin said this, Colonel Sivakov raised his right hand high. Sidorin pointed at him with his hand and asked slightly dissatisfied: "Colonel Sivakov, I am assigning a task. Do you have any questions?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sivakov stood up from his seat and asked Sidorin; "I would like to ask, the main direction of attack we chose at the beginning was at the Central Railway Station. But now, only Mel Colonel Kulov's Guards Division attacked the station, but the rest of the troops were moved in other directions."
Upon hearing Sivakov's question, Sidorin quickly looked at Sokov for help. Seeing Sokov slightly nodding to himself, indicating that he could say whatever he wanted, he suddenly felt confident: "Colonel Sivakov, according to our recent reconnaissance, the German command headquarters may have been moved to the department store, so we We have made corresponding adjustments in terms of troop deployment. Is there anything wrong with doing this?"
Since Sidorin had already mentioned that the enemy's headquarters might have been transferred and his troops were in the main attack direction, Sivakov naturally didn't say anything more and sat down directly.
"Our attack method is different from the ones everyone is familiar with." Sidorin felt that this attack method was based on the common attack methods of his own army, so he vaccinated the division commanders and regiment commanders: " Before we attack, there will be no artillery preparations, but the infantry will directly attack the area occupied by the enemy."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," it was Colonel Merkulov who rushed to speak this time. He frowned and asked: "If we rashly order the infantry to attack the enemy-occupied areas without artillery preparations, will this cause us harm?" Massive casualties among military officers and soldiers?”
"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel, what you are worried about will not happen." Sokov stood up, raised his right hand and pressed it down, indicating Merkulov to sit down, and said in a calm tone: "Our army is here Before the attack, the tactics of artillery preparation were already familiar to the Germans and they had mastered the corresponding countermeasures. Every time the artillery fired, the cunning Germans withdrew to the second line of defense. When our artillery bombardment ended, the infantry began to charge. At that time, they returned from the second line of defense where they were hiding to repel our attack.
The reason why I didn't prepare for artillery fire was because I didn't want to waste precious artillery shells. Of course, just because our artillery does not prepare artillery fire before attacking, it does not mean that they do not participate in the battle. I think everyone should have noticed that all artillery positions are very close to the front line, and the artillery commander can directly see the target to be attacked.
My purpose in doing this is to put bayonets on the cannons, use close-range shooting, use direct fire to destroy the enemy's fire points, and cover our infantry to launch attacks. "After listening to Sokov's explanation, everyone finally understood his intention, with a look of surprise on their faces.
"Chief of Staff, please continue." Sokov said briefly, sat down again, and handed over the next words to Sidorin.
"To tell you the truth, the terrain of the Central Railway Station we want to capture first is very complex." Sidorin walked to the wall, pointed at the map with an explanation stick and introduced to everyone: "The enemy and we have fought for a long time to capture the station. During the tug-of-war, almost all the buildings in the station were turned into ruins. The enemy's fortifications, so in these ruins, our scouts could not find where there were pure ruins and where there were camouflaged firepower points of the German army."
Having said this, Sidorin pointed at Merkulov with his explanation stick: "Colonel Merkulov, when you attack, you cannot just be fast on the map, but you must attack steadily and destroy every fire point you find. If there are fire points that cannot be eliminated by the infantry, use the radio to contact the artillery deployed in the rear, and use direct fire to destroy those fire points one by one."
"The chief of staff said a lot." Ivanov waited for Sidorin to finish, and then stood up and added: "After the battle starts, of course, the sooner you can capture the enemy's position, the better, but you can't just be fast on the map. As a result, our attacking troops suffered excessive casualties. If we want to occupy a place, we must consolidate it and keep it firmly in our hands. Even if the enemy launches a counterattack, they will never be able to take it again."
After Sidorin assigned all the tasks to each division, he habitually asked: "Do you have any questions?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sivakov raised his hand again: "I would like to ask, why is the main task of my 23rd Infantry Division to hold its position?"
"It's very simple, Comrade Colonel." Sidorin said confidently: "Because none of us can guarantee that the attack we launch will be successful. Once our full-scale attack is frustrated and the enemy launches a counterattack, then we can use What kind of force will be used to stop them?
Therefore, the task of your division is very arduous. As long as you can ensure the safety of the rear of my attacking troops, you are determined to do your job. do you understand? "
"I understand, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sivakov replied in a loud voice: "I understand everything this time."
The meeting ended and the commanders who attended the meeting dispersed one after another. Belkin, who was left behind, asked Sokov curiously: "Misha, why did you announce at the meeting that the enemy's headquarters might have been moved to the department store?"
"My comrade political commissar." Since it was a private occasion, Sokov spoke more casually: "Even if the news spreads that Paulus' headquarters is in the department store at this time, other troops will not be able to come. Joined the war. And I concentrated three infantry divisions, two tank brigades and an artillery regiment to attack the department store. Before our attack fails, I don’t think the superiors will send any troops to replace us."
Belkin was also worried about the attack by other friendly forces. After listening to Sokov's explanation, he suddenly felt more at ease. He nodded repeatedly and said: "Misha, you are still thoughtful. We have all deployed. Even if the superiors know the truth, they will have to use other troops to attack, and they will not be able to keep up with the time."
Before Belkin could say goodbye, Chuikov called and asked: "Colonel Sokov, I heard that you are holding a military meeting. How is it? What do you think?"
"No, Comrade Commander, I don't have any opinions at all." Sokov replied: "Everyone said that they must resolutely obey my orders."
"It's great that everyone is willing to obey your orders." After Chuikov praised him, he emphasized: "Colonel Sokov, the troops you command now are more than what I can use. Therefore. , you must not disappoint me, otherwise your work as the group commander will be over."
…………
At dawn the next day, Merkulov's 67th Guards Division launched an attack.
Since before dawn, many Guardsmen were lurking in the ruins not far from the German positions. As soon as they saw the three red flares rising into the air, they immediately knew that the attack had begun. They came out of their hiding places one after another, holding weapons and bending their waists, and cautiously moved towards the area occupied by the enemy.
It may be that there was no artillery preparation before the attack, which successfully confused the enemy. They never dreamed that the Soviet army would suddenly launch an attack on their position without artillery preparation, and they were caught off guard.
Standing in the observation post, Sokov saw through his telescope that the soldiers jumped into the trenches blocked by the ruins and started close combat with the enemy with bayonets and grenades. Since most of the enemies were completely unprepared, they suddenly heard gunshots and explosions outside. They hesitated for a while before they realized that the Soviet army had launched an attack.
A German battalion commander heard his subordinates report to him that the Soviet army had launched an attack on the train station. He thought the other party was lying about the military situation, so he couldn't help but scolded the other party. Unexpectedly, as soon as he put down the phone, an officer with a bandage on his head hurried in and reported to the battalion commander: "Battal Commander, the Russians have broken into our position and are engaging in hand-to-hand combat with our officers and soldiers. .”
After hearing this, the German battalion commander immediately roared: "Hold on, hold on firmly. I will call the regiment commander and ask him to send troops to reinforce us immediately."
The German battalion commander called the regimental commander and reported to him the fighting outside the station. However, the regiment was being attacked by Soviet troops from several directions, and there was nowhere to mobilize troops for reinforcements. Therefore, the regiment leader could only shout into the microphone in vain: "Hold it, I order you to keep an eye on me. As long as If you resolutely hold your position, you will definitely find a way."
The leader knew very well that this kind of meaningless order would have no use at all even if it was passed down. Therefore, after issuing the order, he immediately ordered the regiment command to be transferred. He wanted to hide in a safe place and continue to direct the battle.
According to Sokov's idea, since the train station was once the focus of contention between the two sides, today's attack is bound to encounter stubborn resistance from the German army. However, less than a quarter of an hour into the battle, the assault troops successfully broke through the German outer positions and rushed into the ruined ticketing and waiting hall. The artillery deployed behind them did not even have a chance to fire.
"Comrade Commander," Merkulov said excitedly when he saw this scene, "I didn't expect that the enemy would be so vulnerable."
When Sokov saw the troops rushing into the station hall so quickly, his first reaction was to think to himself: "Could it be that the defenders holding on to the station were not Germans, but Romanian troops or Italian troops who deceived their teammates?"
At dawn the next day, Merkulov's 67th Guards Division launched an attack.
Because before dawn, many Guardsmen were lurking in the ruins not far from the German positions. As soon as they saw the three red flares rising into the air, they immediately knew that the attack had begun. They came out of their hiding places one after another, holding weapons and bending their waists, and cautiously moved towards the area occupied by the enemy.
It may be that there was no artillery preparation before the attack, which successfully confused the enemy. They never dreamed that the Soviet army would suddenly launch an attack on their position without artillery preparation, and they were caught off guard.
Standing in the observation post, Sokov saw through his telescope that the soldiers jumped into the trenches blocked by the ruins and started close combat with the enemy with bayonets and grenades. Since most of the enemies were completely unprepared, they suddenly heard gunshots and explosions outside. They hesitated for a while before they realized that the Soviet army had launched an attack.
A German battalion commander heard his subordinates report to him that the Soviet army had launched an attack on the train station. He thought the other party was lying about the military situation, so he couldn't help but scolded the other party. Unexpectedly, as soon as he put down the phone, an officer with a bandage on his head hurried in and reported to the battalion commander: "Battal Commander, the Russians have broken into our position and are engaging in hand-to-hand combat with our officers and soldiers. .”
After hearing this, the German battalion commander immediately roared: "Hold on, hold on firmly. I will call the regiment commander and ask him to send troops to reinforce us immediately."
The German battalion commander called the regimental commander and reported to him the fighting outside the station. However, the regiment was being attacked by Soviet troops from several directions, and there was nowhere to mobilize troops for reinforcements. Therefore, the regiment leader could only shout into the microphone in vain: "Hold it, I order you to keep an eye on me. As long as If you resolutely hold your position, you will definitely find a way."
The leader knew very well that this kind of meaningless order would have no use at all even if it was passed down. Therefore, after issuing the order, he immediately ordered the regiment command to be transferred. He wanted to hide in a safe place and continue to direct the battle.
According to Sokov's idea, since the train station was once the focus of contention between the two sides, today's attack is bound to encounter stubborn resistance from the German army. However, less than a quarter of an hour into the battle, the assault troops successfully broke through the German outer positions and rushed into the ruined ticketing and waiting hall. The artillery deployed behind them did not even have a chance to fire.
"Comrade Commander," Merkulov said excitedly when he saw this scene, "I didn't expect that the enemy would be so vulnerable."
When Sokov saw the troops rushing into the station hall so quickly, his first reaction was to think to himself: "Could it be that the defenders holding on to the station were not Germans, but Romanian troops or Italian troops who deceived their teammates?"
