Four days later, in addition to the division field hospital, 16,000 people from three Guards regiments, tank brigades and division-affiliated troops were all stationed in Lugansk and deployed defenses on the periphery of the city.
In order to strengthen the command of the troops, Sokov suggested to Chuikov that he appoint Colonel Bely, commander of the tank brigade, to serve concurrently. The position of deputy commander of the 41st Guards Division. Sokov's application was quickly approved without any hindrance.
After the appointment of Colonel Bely as deputy division commander was officially issued, Sokov left the daily work to Sidorin, while he and Bely rode in armored vehicles to inspect the defenses inside and outside the city.
Seeing Sokov's attitude of being critical of the fortifications as if facing a formidable enemy, on the way back, Bely asked privately: "Misha, now the Paulus Group has been defeated by us. And Manstein The troops under my command are also retreating steadily under the attack of our army. I really don’t understand why you have to build these fortifications? You know, after several months of fighting, our troops have now become They are very tired, so we should use this gap in the battle to let them rest for a while."
Hearing Bely say this, Sokov smiled bitterly and asked: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, do you really think we can relax our vigilance and rest here with peace of mind?"
"Isn't it?" Bely reminded Sokov: "Misha, according to the battle reports we have received, the troops of the Southwest Front are currently launching an attack on Zaporozhye, where Manstein's headquarters is located, and successfully We broke through the enemy's outer positions and rushed into the city."
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, even if the friendly forces can capture Zaporizhia, what does it mean?" Sokov retorted: "I have also read the battle reports during this period. It is recorded that our attacking troops defeated the German army. Several regiments or battalions, but very few of the enemy actually destroyed.
Even though the overall number of our army is greater than that of the enemy, the enemy attacked by our army continues to abandon some insignificant areas to achieve the purpose of gathering troops. And what about the situation of our army? As the front advances, the offensive troops are getting farther and farther away from the later supply base; and every time a city is recaptured, enough troops must be left for defense. In this way, we have fewer and fewer troops for attack. The offensive intensity is also getting weaker and weaker. It won't be long before the local comparison of the enemy's and our own forces will change. If the side with fewer troops attacks the side with stronger troops, who will win the final victory? Isn't the answer clear? "
Sokov's words made Bely fall into deep thought. Frankly speaking, he felt that if the German army, which was attacked by the Voronezh Front Army and the Southwest Front Army at the same time, wanted to avoid being wiped out, the only way was to abandon the existing position and quickly retreat to the other side of the Dnieper River. If you continue to stay and hold on, you may be surrounded by our army like Paulus's troops. However, after listening to Sokov's analysis, his thoughts changed slightly.
After a long time, he turned to look at Sokov and asked: "Misha, when do you think the situation will change?"
"I don't think I can wait a few more days." Although Sokov knew the next historical trend, he was just a small division commander now. He spoke softly and could not change anything at all. He could only sigh softly, with a look on his face. He said helplessly: "Once our army successfully captures Zaporozhye, the German counterattack will begin."
Regarding Sokov's statement, Bely asked puzzledly: "I don't understand why the enemy chose the time to counterattack after the fall of Zaporozhye?"
"It's very simple. Our army has successively recovered Kursk, Belgorod and Kharkov. The commanders and soldiers have developed a feeling of underestimating the enemy. They feel that the Germans' combat effectiveness has declined and it is not a problem to defeat them. ." Sokov said with a wry smile: "After our army captures Zaporozhye, where Manstein's headquarters is located, this feeling of underestimating the enemy will reach a peak, and the enemy will cleverly seize this opportunity to attack us. The army launched a comprehensive counterattack."
The armored vehicle stopped at the entrance of the division. The sentry on duty at the entrance saw the two division commanders returning and quickly raised his hands to salute them.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," after entering the division headquarters, Sokov saw Sidorin and Anisimov sitting at the table, looking down at the map on the table, and asked casually: "What orders do the superiors have?" Pass it on?"
"Half an hour ago, there was a call from the Army Headquarters." Sidorin reported: "The call was from Commander Chuikov. He said that General Krylov was about to be transferred and would pass by in two days. Here, we hope we can send someone to protect his safety.”
"What, General Krylov is going to be transferred?" Sokov asked in surprise: "Chief of Staff, then who will take his place?"
"It's Major General Vladimirov." Sidorin replied: "The new chief of staff of the army will officially take office tomorrow."
When he learned that Krylov was going to be transferred, Bely couldn't help but asked curiously: "Do you know which army General Krylov will be transferred to?"
"It is said that he was transferred to the 21st Group Army to serve as commander. At the same time, Major General Vasilyev, director of the political department of the group army, was also transferred to the 21st Group Army as a military commissar."
"Misha, it seems that our efforts in Stalingrad in the past few months are still appreciated by our superiors." Bely said happily: "Look, it's less than half a month since the battle ended. Krei Love and Vasilyev were promoted..."
As soon as Bely said this, Anisimov interrupted and said: "Our division participated in the entire battle. I wonder how our superiors are going to reward us?"
"It goes without saying," Sidorin said with a smile: "If there are no accidents, the division commander and deputy division commander will be promoted to generals soon. The remaining commanders at all levels will also be promoted to the first rank. "
After everyone chatted for a while, Bely remembered what Sokov had not finished saying on the road, and then asked: "Misha, if the German army wants to launch a counterattack, in which direction do you think they will move first?"
"I feel that if the enemy wants to launch a counterattack, the first one to be attacked will definitely be General Vatutin's Southwest Front. The specific time will be shortly after our army captured Zaporizhia."
"Why?"
"If I were Manstein," Sokov pointed to the map on the table and analyzed it to several of his colleagues: "I will ignore the Voronezh Front occupying the Kharkov line for the time being, but concentrate on eating it. The rash advance of the Southwest Front. After achieving this campaign goal, they will then turn around to defeat the troops in the direction of Kharkov and retake Kharkov."
"Comrade Division Commander, I don't agree with your opinion." As a chief of staff, Sidorin is naturally familiar with the situation on both sides of the enemy and us. He questioned Sokov's statement: "If I If the army really captures Zaporozhye, then the German defense line will be separated by us. If they launch a counterattack rashly, won't they expose their weak flanks to our army? Moreover, the German army now lacks ammunition. and fuel, their reserves could not support a moderately sized campaign.”
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you can't say that." Sokov retorted with a smile: "What determines victory or defeat on the battlefield is never the number of people and technical equipment, but the tactics of which unit is used properly. Although Manstein He is our enemy, but if he encounters General Vatutin’s troops, I think he has a greater chance of winning.”
"Comrade Division Commander, I still stick to my point of view." Sidorin continued: "The enemy's ammunition and fuel reserves do not support them in conducting a medium-sized battle."
"Yes, the enemy does lack ammunition and fuel now." Sokov said: "But doesn't our army lack ammunition and fuel? You know, the Southwest Front's supply line is now more than a thousand kilometers long, and the roads along the way, The bridges have been greatly damaged, making it very slow for logistics troops to transport supplies and in very small quantities. Once the war breaks out, the more technical equipment these troops maintain in contact with the Germans have, the more they will become a burden."
"I think Misha is right." When Sokov mentioned the technical equipment owned by the army, Bely stood up and agreed: "The more tanks and armored vehicles the army has, the more fuel and ammunition it needs. The more we have. Judging from the current supply situation of our army, it is impossible to provide the fuel and ammunition needed by the troops in a timely manner. Once the fuel and ammunition are exhausted, these tanks of our army will become a pile of scrap metal. It was not destroyed by enemy tanks or captured."
"Comrades, I think you should still remember that we captured a new enemy tank a few months ago, right?"
After Sokov's reminder, everyone immediately remembered the sacrifices the commanders and soldiers had made in order to capture this tank. As the commander of the tank brigade, Bely was immediately shocked and moved: "Misha, you mean that the enemy may use this kind of tank to deal with our army's tank troops when they counterattack?"
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, you are right." Sokov nodded and said affirmatively: "In the next battle, the German army will definitely dispatch this new type of tank to deal with our army's tank troops. The enemy's new type The tank is equipped with an 88mm tank gun, and the thickness of the frontal armor reaches 102mm. The 76mm gun used by our army's T-34 cannot penetrate the enemy's frontal armor even at a distance of 400 meters. And the enemy's Tanks can easily destroy our army's tanks at a distance of one thousand meters."
"Misha, if the German army uses a large number of such tanks, it will be a devastating disaster for our tank troops." Bely heard what Sokov said and became anxious: "We should immediately put this Report the situation and ask your superiors to notify friendly forces so that they can prepare response measures."
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, even if we report this matter, what effect will it have?" Sokov laughed contemptuously and continued: "Don't forget, I led the security company in the west and west of the city a few days ago. During the enemy's fierce battle, the company commander of the city's garrison company actually ran away with his men. Afterwards, I reported the matter to the front army headquarters and asked them to notify the friendly forces to deal with the company commander who escaped from the battle, but the matter has not yet happened. There is no follow-up, so it is probably settled.”
When everyone learned that the company commander who led the troops to escape was not dealt with, they felt a little depressed.
Seeing that everyone was silent, Sokov continued: "Also, why did the German army come to attack Lugansk a few days ago? I guess the enemy knew that our army's munitions warehouse was here, and came specifically to carry out sabotage. The purpose is to prevent the troops of the Southwest Front from getting any supplies so that they can severely damage our troops in a shorter period of time."
"Comrade division commander, what should we do?" After several months of getting along, Sidorin trusted Sokov very much. He asked anxiously: "We know that friendly forces are in danger, but we can't help them. In my heart It’s really uncomfortable. But what should we do here, just stay here and watch our friendly forces being defeated by the enemy?”
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are wrong. We are here not doing nothing." Sokov reminded Sidorin: "The task of our division is to defend Lugansk. When the friendly forces are defeated by the Germans, We must rely on the simple fortifications outside the city to block the swarming enemies and prevent them from rushing towards Stalingrad."
"Misha." After a long silence, Bely proposed to Sokov: "You should report your judgment to the group army and front army headquarters. As for how the superiors treat it, that is their business. At least we have to have a clear conscience."
It is not that Sokov has not considered sending an early warning to the friendly forces through Rokossovsky, but the current situation on the battlefield clearly favors the Soviet army. If he rashly proposes it, he may be labeled as "disturbing the morale of the military." There was a chance that he would be fucked to the end, so he kept hesitating.
After listening to Bely's words at this moment, Sokov immediately realized that he was too concerned about personal gains and losses, and ignored the safety of hundreds of thousands of Soviet commanders and fighters. After understanding this truth, Sokov said to Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, the Germans will not leave us too long. In the past few days, you must urge each regiment to speed up the construction progress of the fortifications and make arrangements for them." Preparations for a strong fight will prevent the enemy from approaching the city in a short period of time."
"Understood, Comrade Division Commander." Sidorin told Sokov: "I will definitely urge each regiment to speed up the construction of fortifications to ensure that a complete defense system is formed before the enemy launches an attack."
After Sidorin finished expressing his position, he suddenly remembered the matter of reporting to his superiors, and asked tentatively: "Comrade division commander, who do you think is more appropriate to report to his superiors?"
"In my name, I will send a report to the group army and front army headquarters and report my judgment." Sokov said solemnly: "If the superiors want to pursue any responsibility, I will bear it alone."
"Misha, look what you said." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Bely continued: "We are a whole, and naturally we have to make progress together in this matter. I think it is better for the two of us. People jointly reported it.”
"No, no," Anisimov also stood up and said: "Since Comrade Deputy Division Commander said that we are a whole, then this matter should be reported in the name of the Division Military Committee. What do you think, Comrade Chief of Staff?"
"I agree with the political commissar's opinion." Sidorin agreed: "This matter should be reported in the name of the division military committee. If the superiors want to hold the responsibility accountable, we will bear it together."
