"Comrade Colonel," Sokov said to Merkulov: "Immediately ask the artillery to move the artillery forward. As soon as the enemy's fire points are discovered, destroy them immediately."
Sokov directly assigned the artillery regiment that coordinated operations to the 67th Guards Division. So he only had to give orders to Merkulov.
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Merkulov agreed, then walked to the dedicated phone line and called the artillery regiment, ordering them to immediately move the artillery forward to cover the infantry attack at close range.
Just as the commanders and fighters who broke into the train station hall were retreating in disgrace, a phone in the observation post rang. Division political commissar Sheyko picked up the phone and listened for a moment, then handed the phone to Sokov and said: "Comrade Commander, is this your call?"
"My phone number?" Sokov thought it was a call from Sidorin from Mamayev Heights, so he asked casually: "Is it from the cluster headquarters at Mamayev Heights?"
"No." Sheiko shook his head and said, "It was a call from General Batov, the commander of the 65th Group Army."
"General Bartov's phone number?" Sokov couldn't help but be startled when he heard Bartov's name, wondering why the other party suddenly called him at such a time? After he answered the phone, he immediately said in a respectful tone: "Hello, General Batov, this is Sokov. What instructions do you have?"
"Instructions, what instructions can I have?" Batov said angrily on the phone: "I am the commander of the group army, and you are now the commander of the combat group. We are at the same level. How dare I give you any instructions?" ah."
"General Batov," Sokov heard a hint of anger in Batov's tone, and he didn't know where he had offended him, so he asked cautiously: "You seem a little unhappy, right?" Did I accidentally offend you somewhere? If so, please tell me and I will apologize to you."
"There's no need to apologize." Bartov said angrily: "I just want to find out what kind of ecstasy soup you gave General Rokossovsky to allow him to withdraw so many people from my army group. Troops, go and give them your command?"
"General Batov, I haven't had many interactions with General Rokossovsky, so how could I possibly feed him ecstasy?" Sokov knew at this moment that the other party must have felt that he had given him too many troops. I feel pain in my body, so I would complain to myself. In normal times, I might have chatted with him for a while, but now that I was commanding a battle, how could I waste precious military communication lines? It was out of this consideration that he quickly said into the microphone: "I'm sorry, I'm directing the battle. If you have anything else, let's talk about it after the battle is over, okay?"
"What, you are attacking the enemy?" Batov heard what Sokov said and immediately asked in surprise: "Colonel Sokov, can you tell me what area you are attacking?"
"Central Railway Station." Sokov quickly replied: "Colonel Merkulov's 67th Guards Division is currently attacking the Central Railway Station occupied by the enemy."
"Thank God, you finally started to attack." Bartov's tone suddenly softened a lot: "How is the situation? Have they entered?"
"We just rushed into the ticketing hall, but were attacked by mines and bombs prepared by the enemy. The troops suffered certain casualties. However, I have ordered them to withdraw temporarily and wait until they regroup before attacking the enemy."
From the change in Bartov's tone, Sokov vaguely guessed that the reason for the inexplicable call must be related to the combat group he commanded. After all, one-third of the troops from the 65th Army were deployed, but they have been standing still. It's no wonder that Bartov is not angry.
"Don't worry, General Batov." After understanding the opponent's thoughts, Sokov comforted the opponent and said: "Your divisions will return to their original positions after Paulus is eliminated."
Hearing Sokov guessing what he was thinking, Batov laughed sheepishly, and then said: "Colonel Sokov, you misunderstood. I called you just to ask you about the situation there. How about it, do you need our cooperation?"
"Comrade General," Sokov basically transferred all the troops to the direction of the central area. Now the defense force in the Mamayev Heights area has become extremely weak. If the enemy in the factory area knew about this situation, they might just send out even one regiment to carry out an assault, and they might capture Mamayev Heights. Sokov often worried about this matter. When he heard Bartov say this, it was like trying to sleep. Someone handed him a pillow and quickly said, "I really have something to trouble you."
"What's the matter?" Bartov said generously: "As long as it is within my ability, I will definitely agree to it."
"Comrade General, to tell you the truth, I have basically transferred all my troops to the central area. As a result, the defense of Mamayev Heights has become extremely weak. As long as the enemy launches a regiment-scale attack, there will be There is a possibility of losing it.”
"Colonel Sokov," Batov heard this and chided the other party: "You are so reckless. As a group commander commanding tens of thousands of troops, you would make such a low-level mistake. If you really lose your Once you get to Mamayev Kurgan, just wait until you go to court-martial."
"Yes, yes, Comrade General, you criticize a lot." When Sokov and Batov spoke, he deliberately lowered his body to gain the other's favor. "This is not the first time for me to hold such an important position. , I have no experience. I still need a commander with rich experience like you to give me more guidance."
Sokov's flattery served Batov well. He chuckled and asked: "You guys, when you say this to me, do you want me to send troops to strengthen the defense in the direction of Mamayev Heights?"
"General Batov, what did I just say?" Sokov heard that the other party was willing to send troops, so he struck while the iron was hot and said: "An experienced commander like you can see clearly and know that I want to ask you for help. I I would like to ask, how many troops can you send to take over the defense of Mamayev Heights?"
"I plan to send the 24th Infantry Division over there." Batov said on the phone: "I have transferred so many troops to you, and the troops I have now are tight. If too many troops are sent to you, I am afraid it will It affects our next steps.”
Sokov originally thought that the other party would send him a regiment at most, but he did not expect that it would be a division, and it was also a division with extremely strong combat effectiveness. He quickly turned to the microphone and expressed his gratitude to Batov: "Thank you, Comrade General, I On behalf of all the commanders and fighters in the entire cluster, thank you."
"Okay, okay, go and command the battle." Batov said angrily: "I will immediately arrange for the troops to rush to Mamayev Heights to strengthen your defenses."
After Sokov put down the phone, he leaned close to Ivanov's ear and whispered: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, let me tell you some good news. General Batov agreed to send another division to strengthen Mamayev." This way, we don’t have to worry about our rear being attacked by the enemy.”
"This is really good news." When Ivanov heard the news, his face also showed joy: "I called the chief of staff and asked him to send someone to prepare for the response."
While Ivanov went to call Sidorin, Sokov asked Merkulov who was standing next to him: "Comrade Colonel, how is the situation? Has the artillery gone up, and has the infantry withdrawn?"
"The infantry has all withdrawn from the ticket hall." Merkulov pointed to the distance and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, you see, our artillery has retreated the cannon to a distance of only three hundred meters from the ticket hall. position and established new shooting positions in the ruins. As soon as the enemy's firepower point is exposed, they can immediately destroy the opponent with artillery."
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov looked at the artillery position and then at the location of the ticket hall of the station. He found that if the enemy was really hiding in the ruins, it would still be difficult for the cannon to destroy them. Thinking of this, he quickly asked: "Do you have new rockets in your division?"
"Yes." Merkulov nodded and replied: "Twenty bombs were distributed to our division yesterday, and three launchers were also sent."
Seeing Merkulov's unwillingness, Sokov smiled and asked: "What, Comrade Colonel, aren't you interested in this new type of rocket?"
"Comrade Commander, I think it's of no use."
"It's of no use." After listening to Merkulov's comments, Sokov smiled faintly, and then ordered: "Immediately order the rocket launcher to launch a group of rockets towards the ticket hall."
Although Merkulov was not optimistic about this kind of rocket, since Sokov had given the order, even if he had opinions in his heart, he could only execute it unconditionally. He picked up the phone, called the command post of the regiment at the front, and said to the regiment commander: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, let me tell you that the three rocket launchers in the regiment were ordered by the division commander to launch into the ruins. A set of rockets."
A few minutes later, Sokov saw a few clouds of white smoke rising from the ruins where the Soviet troops were, and then several rockets with long flame tails flying towards the ticket office. The rocket landed in the ruins and exploded. First there were a few dazzling flames, and then there was a loud explosion in the ruins. The rubble on the ground was thrown into the air by the blast of air, and then slammed down like hailstones. Even from far away in the observation post, Sokov seemed to be able to hear the sound of gravel falling to the ground in the distance.
Merkulov was stunned. He didn't expect that a few rockets could make such a big noise. He knew very well that after this explosion, there would be almost no living people in the vast ticket hall.
Merkulov's reaction was beyond Sokov's expectation. He patted the other party's shoulder and said: "Comrade Colonel, the reason why the new rocket can make such a big noise is certainly related to its own power. But more importantly, the enemy has laid a large number of mines and bombs in the ticket hall. Explosives, they were all detonated in the explosion of rockets, which is why there was such a big movement. Call the troops in front immediately and let them prepare to attack."
"Okay, okay." Merkulov said as if he had woken up from his dream: "I will go and give the order right away."
The explosion in the ruins lasted for five or six minutes before gradually stopping. Although the ruins were still shrouded in gunpowder smoke, the commanders and fighters hidden several hundred meters away all left their hiding places amidst the whistles of their respective commanders. They did not charge forward with their guns straightened up, but used the piles of bricks, rubble and craters in the square and roads as cover, and used short leaps to approach the ticket hall.
The enemy hidden in the ticket hall may be what Sokov guessed. They were killed or shocked to death by the detonating mines and bombs, so that when the Soviet commanders and soldiers rushed into the smoke, no gunshots were heard in the hall. But as more and more Soviet commanders and fighters poured into the ruins like a tide, sporadic gunshots finally came from inside. This was the commanders and fighters firing additional shots at the enemies who were not dead yet.
"Comrade Commander," Merkulov breathed a sigh of relief this time when he saw his troops rushing into the ticket hall without any danger, and said to Sokov excitedly: "You have seen it, right? This time the soldiers rushed into the ticket hall, but there was no movement inside. It seems that the defenders are almost dead."
"Comrade Colonel, even if we successfully capture the ticket hall, we cannot take it lightly." Sokov was worried that the other party would underestimate the enemy, so he reminded him specifically: "The enemy may use the platform, warehouses and abandoned carriages for fortifications to continue to resist our attack. Attack. Now, you order the artillery to push all the artillery into the station."
The explosion in the ruins lasted for five or six minutes before gradually stopping. Although the ruins were still shrouded in gunpowder smoke, the commanders and fighters hidden several hundred meters away all left their hiding places amidst the whistles of their respective commanders. They did not charge forward with their guns straightened up, but used the piles of bricks, rubble and craters in the square and roads as cover, and used short leaps to approach the ticket hall.
The enemy hidden in the ticket hall may be what Sokov guessed. They were killed or shocked to death by the detonating mines and bombs, so that when the Soviet commanders and soldiers rushed into the smoke, no gunshots were heard in the hall. But as more and more Soviet commanders and fighters poured into the ruins like a tide, sporadic gunshots finally came from inside. This was the commanders and fighters firing additional shots at the enemies who were not dead yet.
"Comrade Commander," Merkulov breathed a sigh of relief this time when he saw his troops rushing into the ticket hall without any danger, and said to Sokov excitedly: "You have seen it, right? This time the soldiers rushed into the ticket hall, but there was no movement inside. It seems that the defenders are almost dead."
"Comrade Colonel, even if we successfully capture the ticket hall, we cannot take it lightly." Sokov was worried that the other party would underestimate the enemy, so he reminded him specifically: "The enemy may use the platform, warehouses and abandoned carriages for fortifications to continue to resist our attack. Attack. Now, you order the artillery to push all the artillery into the station."
