Red Moscow

  Chapter 412 Position (Part 1)

After the second lieutenant of the artillery left, Sokov turned to Sidolin and said, "Chief of staff, inform the battalion commanders that the superiors have sent us artillery observers to set up observation points on hills and water towers to provide a clear view of the east bank. The artillerymen instruct the target to shoot. Let them send their men to protect the safety of these artillery observers. If anything goes wrong, I only ask them."

  There are many reasons why Sokov issued this order. First of all, the terrain of Mamayev Hill, facing the west of the German attack direction, is flat and easy to attack and difficult to defend; while on the other side of the hill to the east, the terrain is steep and easy to defend and difficult to attack. Once the German army captured the high ground, the troops would inevitably pay a heavy price if they wanted to regain their positions.

  Secondly, despite the precautionary measures of the infantry brigade, many tunnel fortifications have been built on the high ground, but if there is no support from artillery or air force, if you want to defend Mamayev Post, you can only rely on human life to fill it in.

  Under the current circumstances, the Air Force has no hope, so it can only rely on the artillery of the group army deployed on the east coast. Therefore, ensuring the personal safety of these artillery observers is an urgent matter.

Sidolin obviously also understood this truth. As soon as Sokov finished speaking, he immediately called the battalion commanders respectively, notified them of the entry of the army artillery observers into the position, and ordered them Send capable subordinates to protect the safety of these personnel.

After putting down the phone, Sidolin suddenly remembered something, and tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, I have an idea, is it possible to put the sniper team of the guard company on the position to assist the troops in defense?" ? With their marksmanship, I believe they will be able to destroy more enemies."

"No, absolutely not." Hearing that Sidolin said that he planned to put snipers on the ground to assist the troops in positional warfare, Sokov immediately vetoed it: "How can we use snipers as ordinary soldiers? ? If we put them on the ground to assist the troops in defense, as long as the enemy bombards them, they may lose them all. We cannot do such a loss-making business."

"So, they are only suitable for street fighting in the city." Although his suggestion was rejected by Sokov, Sidolin was not discouraged at all, but asked the other party for instructions: "Then when I assign combat missions in the future, Just place them in urban areas that are occupied or about to be occupied by the enemy?"

"That's right, snipers can only play a limited role on the ground, so let's arrange them all in urban areas." Sokov reminded Sidolin: "At present we only have one sniper team, and the number is too small. You have to find a way Draw some more sharpshooters from the brigade to form a new sniper team."

"Drop sharpshooters from each battalion to form a new sniper team?" Sidolin originally wanted to put snipers in the position and participate in the positional warfare. Form a new sniper team: "Comrade Brigadier, if we recruit sharpshooters to form a new sniper team, will it affect the combat effectiveness of the troops?"

Sokov came from later generations, so he naturally knew what was going on in the sniper battle in Stalingrad in the following days, so he didn't explain it to Sidolin, but said bluntly: "Chief of Staff, dispatch some sharpshooters , The formation of a new sniper team will not only not have a negative impact on the combat effectiveness of our troops, but on the contrary, it can achieve greater results."

   "If the battalions have objections to the arrangement of the brigade headquarters," Sidolin asked cautiously, "then what should we do?"

"What else can we do, my Comrade Chief of Staff?" Sokov asked in displeasure: "Is it the brigade commanding the battalion, or the battalion commanding the brigade? They have been in the army for a long time, don't they understand the superiors? Do you have to obey the order?"

Hearing Sokov's non-negotiating tone of order, Sidolin quickly replied: "Understood, Comrade Brigadier, at dawn tomorrow, I will ask each battalion to select a group of sharpshooters and come to the brigade headquarters." report."

  ...

  Although the German attack on Mamayev Hill ended in failure, those who were unwilling to fail launched a violent shelling on the hill early in the morning of the next day.

  Sokov was pleasantly surprised by the rumbling gunfire from outside. He hurriedly left the rest room, went straight to the headquarters, and asked Sidolin, who was busy inside, "Where is the artillery observer?"

  He was just asking a casual question, but Sidolin immediately replied: "They are all observing in the observation post on the top of the hill."

"It's nonsense, it's nonsense." Sokov waited for Sidolin to finish speaking, and said angrily: "The enemy is bombarding our position. At this time, let the artillery observers stay on the top of the hill, don't they let them die? Chief of Staff, call them immediately and tell them to withdraw."

Sidolin picked up the phone and connected to the observation post on the top of the hill. After speaking a few words into the receiver, he put it down and said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, the comrades of the artillery said that they are The top of the hill is right on the ridgeline, and it is difficult for the enemy's long-range artillery to hit them. When the shell hits close, it lands on the **** to the west of the hill; if it hits far, it flies directly over their heads. It's..."

Since the artillery observers said that they would not be in any danger, Sokov did not continue to entangle in this matter, but shifted the topic to his own troops: "The position of the first battalion is located in front of Nangang. They are the first to bear the brunt of the shelling, I don't know if Vanya is prepared to defend against the shelling."

"During yesterday's shelling, half of their anti-bunker holes were collapsed, and the casualties were not small." Sidolin sighed and said, "Last night, it is said that they were rushing to repair the fortifications overnight. Presumably the commanders and fighters of the first battalion are hiding in the into the bomb hole."

  Sokov asked puzzledly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't understand why the artillery hole built by the first battalion collapsed. Could it be a geological reason?"

"I once consulted Major Ozor," Sidolin replied, "It is because the artillery holes we built are too large and have not been reinforced, so they are easy to collapse in the enemy's shelling. The only way is to build That kind of small and narrow anti-blasting hole does not require any materials, and our soldiers can dig it with an engineer shovel in an hour, and the anti-blasting ability of the anti-blasting hole is greatly improved compared with the previous ones."

  Sidorin's words aroused Sokov's curiosity: "I don't know what kind of bomb defense hole it is?"

Sidolin hurriedly picked up a piece of paper and drew a sketch on it: "...this kind of small blast hole is an arched semicircular door, about one meter high, tens of centimeters wide, and varying in depth and length. The small ones can only accommodate one person, and the big ones can only accommodate three or five people. Its functions are mainly used to defend against artillery, hide, store ammunition, etc., and provide living space for our soldiers who stand firm."

  After listening to Sidolin’s introduction, Sokov suddenly had a familiar picture in his mind. Isn’t the artillery hole built by the soldiers of the first battalion in the position the famous cat’s ear hole in later generations?

  After the shelling ended, Sokov immediately called Vanya, the commander of the first battalion, and asked bluntly: "Comrade Captain, how is the situation there, are there many casualties?"

   "We are counting the casualties of the troops." Vanya replied, "But since we built a new type of anti-gun bunker last night, I don't think the casualties will be too large. Comrade Brigadier Commander, I have a request."

   "Request, what request?" Sokov said into the microphone: "Comrade Captain, if you have any request, just say it."

"Comrade Brigadier, as you know, our battalion's position is located at the forefront of the entire brigade. Every time the enemy wants to attack, they will bombard our battalion's position violently, causing us a lot of casualties." Wan Ni After getting Sokov's permission, Ya said cautiously: "I would like to ask if it is possible to withdraw the main force of the battalion into the tunnel at Nangang, and leave only one company's troops for defense at the forward position."

   Regarding Vanya's proposal, Sokov frowned and began to think. At that time, the reason why he wanted to add a line of defense on the front of Nangang was just to prevent the enemy from rushing to the foot of Mamayev Hill, so he deployed the first battalion there. But judging from the current situation, the decision I made at the beginning was wrong. The terrain there is easy to attack and difficult to defend. Putting so many troops there is tantamount to letting them die.

  After thinking for a while, he said into the microphone: "Comrade Captain, you leave a platoon in the position, and the rest of the troops will retreat into the tunnel."

   "A platoon?!" Vanya was stunned when he heard Sokov say that. He was worried that Sokov was wrong, so he quickly reminded him: "Comrade Brigadier, what you want to say is to leave a company to stand firm?"

"It's not a company, it's a platoon." Sukov felt that he shouldn't waste his precious troops on such a hard-to-hold area, so he decisively ordered Vanya, "Withdraw all the main force of the first battalion into the tunnel." , assist the second battalion and the third battalion to strengthen the defense of Nangang. As for your original fortifications, you can completely abandon them when necessary."

   After confirming that the order given by Sokov was correct, Vanya quickly replied: "Understood, Comrade Brigadier Commander, I will immediately withdraw the main force of the battalion into the tunnel. Only one platoon of troops will remain and stick to the existing position."

  As soon as Sokov put down the phone, Sidolin asked in surprise: "Comrade Brigadier, why is this? Why did we abandon the forward position in front of Nangang?"

Not only did Sidolin not understand why Sokov issued such an order, but even Belkin, who has always been silent in the military, found it unacceptable: "Comrade Brigadier, how can we easily move our defensive positions to the ground?" What about handing it over to the enemy? I hope you can take back this wrong order."

  (end of this chapter)