Red Moscow

  Chapter 578 Lurking

The reason why Sokov forcibly left the convoy was to consider mobility first. He knew very well that even if his troops reached Orlovka, facing the siege of the German army, they would soon fall into a situation where they would run out of ammunition and food. , With trucks, more troops can be withdrawn in the shortest possible time.

  Secondly, in the process of breaking through the German defense line, there will definitely be a large number of wounded. If these wounded are brought together to act together, it will inevitably slow down. Therefore, these trucks also undertake the task of evacuating the wounded.

   This time, the female scout Lisa was going to be sent to the army headquarters, so Sokov ordered people to load all the wounded from the front onto the truck, and sent them all to the field hospital of the army headquarters.

   Shortly after sending Lisa and the wounded away, Bely passed the radio and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, our attack on the third line of defense has failed again."

"What, failed again?" According to Sokov's thinking, before dark, the third line of defense of the German army would definitely be taken down. It ended in failure, and he asked dissatisfiedly into the microphone: "Comrade Colonel, how could this happen?"

"Comrade Brigadier," Bely reported bitterly, "the Germans deployed a lot of anti-tank fighters, causing us to lose five or six tanks in a row. Without the cooperation of the infantry, the tanks would not be able to break through the enemy's line of defense at all." of."

  Bely's report cast a shadow over Sokov's heart. He said impatiently: "Comrade Colonel, I will immediately contact Captain Vanya and ask him to send someone to assist you."

  After finishing the call with Bely, Sokov contacted Vanya on the radio. He asked straight to the point: "Comrade Captain, you should immediately send someone to support Colonel Bely and help them break through the German defense."

  Unexpectedly, after listening to Sokov, Vanya cried out bitterly: "Comrade Brigadier, the situation here is not very good. The enemy is launching a counterattack against us, and it is impossible to deploy manpower to support the tank battalion."

"Comrade Captain, it's getting dark now, and it's very difficult for the tank soldiers to find the hidden anti-tank fighters. If there is no support from inside, their attack will not be successful." Seeing that Vanya was pushing back and forth, Sukov felt very sad. Unhappy, the tone inevitably became extremely severe: "If it delays our departure to Orlovka, can you bear the consequences?"

Faced with Sokov's harsh criticism, Vanya dared not refute any more, and could only grit his teeth and say bravely: "Okay, Comrade Brigadier Commander, since you said so, I will immediately find a way to recruit people to go Support Colonel Bely..."

   "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," before Vanya could finish speaking, a voice suddenly sounded beside Sokov: "Let's leave the task of supporting Colonel Bely to our battalion."

   For the guard battalion sent by Chuikov, Sokov originally planned to use it when attacking the fourth line of defense of the German army. But judging from the current situation, whether it is Vanya's first battalion or Bely's tank battalion, they are all at the end of their battle. If there is no support from the new army, even if they win the third line of defense, it will not be worth the loss. Miserable.

Thinking of this, Sokov stepped forward to hold Tenev's hand, and said earnestly: "Major Tenev, when I planned to attack the fourth line of defense, I would let you battalion. But judging from the current situation, if If we cannot quickly occupy the third line of defense of the German army, it will be difficult to complete the task of going out to Orlovka before tomorrow. Therefore, I will entrust you with the task of reinforcing Colonel Bely."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Seeing Sokov explaining the matter to himself so solemnly, Tenev's expression also became solemn: "Don't worry, I will immediately send a battalion to support the tank unit, and strive to be able to Take down the enemy's third line of defense in the shortest possible time."

  As the guard battalion went into battle, Colonel Bely's tank battalion finally broke through the German defense line and successfully joined forces with Vanya's first battalion on the enemy's position.

  After the battle, Sokov immediately rushed to the third line of defense to learn about the casualties of the troops. When people of later generations mentioned the cruelty of the Battle of Stalingrad, they would mention a saying circulated among the city guards: "We have occupied the kitchen, but the living room is still in the hands of the enemy!"

   Later generations thought that such a situation ran through the whole process of the defense war. However, as a participant, Sokov realized that this situation should not have occurred until after October. The two premature counterattacks launched by the Soviet army in early September and early October consumed part of the German troops and delayed their rush into the city, but they also exhausted their precious troops.

  Sokov knew very well in his heart that if the troops suffered too many casualties during the mission to Orlovka before the execution, then he would not have enough troops to resist the German attack in the following days. Therefore, it is the current top priority to use tactics reasonably in battle and preserve more vitality.

  After seeing Bely and Vanya, Sokov didn't say much nonsense, but asked straight to the point: "Tell me about your current situation."

"There are still 15 tanks left in the battalion, including the ball tank." Bely reported to Sokov with a dejected look on his face: "And the ammunition is also a little short, and I don't know if the factory can supply us with some." .”

   Knowing that there were only 15 tanks left, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart. He didn't expect the loss of tanks to be so serious. Regarding the lack of ammunition, he thought for a moment, and then proposed a plan to Bely: "Comrade Colonel, you should ask the tank soldiers to transfer all the ammunition from the damaged tanks to the intact tanks as soon as possible."

"Most of the destroyed tanks are burning, and the ammunition in them has been reimbursed long ago." After listening to Sukov's words, Bely said embarrassingly: "The tanks with ammunition still have a very limited amount of ammunition in them." , I am afraid it cannot meet our needs."

"Since this is the case, I will immediately contact the factory manager Peter and ask him to send someone to send us a batch of ammunition." Sokov said here, reaching out and patted Bely on the shoulder: " Comrade Colonel, let the tank soldiers take time to rest, the battle tomorrow will be even more brutal during the day."

  Sokov turned his face to Vanya and asked, "Comrade Captain, how many troops are left in your first battalion?"

   "There are about three hundred people left in the battalion." Vanya, whose face was blackened by gunpowder smoke, immediately replied after hearing Sokov's question, "But we can continue to fight."

"Comrade Captain, you don't need to participate in the next battle." Now that more than half of the commanders and fighters of the first battalion have been killed or injured, Sokov doesn't want them to continue to participate in the attack, lest they wipe out their old foundation: "Attack Let the task of the fourth line of defense be entrusted to Major Tenev's guard battalion."

Hearing Sokov mention his name, Tenev, who was standing next to him as a background of human flesh, stepped forward quickly and said in a firm tone: "Comrade Captain, you can rest in peace. The rest of the battle will be left to our guard battalion." Take charge, we will definitely seize the enemy's position before dawn."

Before Sokov could express his opinion, Bely interjected to remind him: "Comrade Brigadier, I want to remind you. The enemy on the fourth line of defense has solid fortifications. If there is a strong attack, I am afraid that the casualties will be serious. "

  In fact, even if Bere didn't remind him, Sokov didn't plan to launch a strong attack. In daytime battles, due to the fear that the German air force and artillery would join the battle at any time, they could only adopt the tactics of fighting fast. As for the battle at night, it was another way of fighting. He nodded, expressed his thanks to Bely, and said to Tenev: "Comrade Major, you lead the troops quietly to the enemy's position and lie in wait. We will launch an attack before dawn."

   Everyone expressed their understanding of Sokov's arrangement. To attack before dawn, first, the enemy's vigilance is the least, and second, it is easy to distinguish the enemy from ourselves, so as to avoid accidental injury. But Tenev also specifically asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I would like to ask, will there be artillery preparations before the attack?"

   "No, Comrade Major." Sokov replied without hesitation: "There is no artillery preparation."

  Hearing that there was no artillery preparation, Tenev's face became a little ugly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if there is no artillery preparation, we will attack the enemy's defense line with a solid defensive position. I am worried that the casualties of the troops will not be small."

"Although there is no artillery preparation, Captain Vanya and the others will use rockets to attack the enemy's fortifications and destroy those exposed firepower points." Sokov comforted Tenev and said: "After the attack is over, you can take advantage of the enemy's chaos At this time, immediately launch a charge to their positions, and strive to break through the fourth line of defense of the German army in the shortest possible time."

In order to make Tenev pay attention to what he said, Sokov also emphasized: "Comrade Major, I think it is necessary to remind you. The reason why we were able to break through the three lines of defense of the German army in a row was not because the German army was vulnerable. It is also how strong our combat effectiveness is. It is due to the counterattack launched by our army in the north of the city, which effectively contained a large number of German troops and made their original defense lines weak."

Tenev is also a smart man. He didn't understand the purpose of Sokov's words to himself, so he quickly replied: "We will not let you down, we will definitely be able to capture the enemy's position in the shortest possible time. .”

  Tnev's statement made Sokov very satisfied. He was deeply afraid that the other party would violate his plan, which would have an adverse impact on his plan. He raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said to Tenev: "Comrade Major, according to the report of the scouts, there is a meadow in front of the fourth direction of the German army, where you and your troops can lurk. Wait until one o'clock in the morning." When it is time to attack, you will lead people to sneak in there and wait for the signal to attack."

   "Comrade Brigadier, what did you say?" Bely thought that his troops had no combat missions, so the missions that Sokov assigned next had nothing to do with him. But when he heard that Sokov planned to let the troops lurk in the grass in front of the German positions, he couldn't help being surprised and bold: "Let hundreds of soldiers from the guard battalion lurk in front of the enemy's positions?"

   "Yes, Comrade Colonel." Sokov nodded at Bely, and asked back: "Is there anything missing?"

"Of course it's not right." Bely's breathing suddenly became rapid: "Comrade Brigadier, have you ever thought that although the area of ​​the grassland is not small, there are hundreds of people lurking there, and you don't want the Germans to hide there?" Find out how difficult it is.”

Tenev was originally dissatisfied with Sokov's arrangement, but considering that he was Sokov's subordinate, the habit of obedience he had developed in military life for many years prevented him from submitting to Sokov's orders. objection. But at this moment, seeing Colonel Bely, whose military rank is higher than that of Sokov, actually pointed out that this lurking mission was a wrong decision, he also pretended to be courageous, and said cautiously: "That's right, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, hundreds of people are lurking in the German army." Is it too risky in front of our position? You know, we have never taken a similar action before."

"Colonel Bely, Major Tenev." Sokov squatted in front of the map, gestured with the enemy's fortifications and the position in front of himself, and then said: "From our place to the enemy's position, more than two Kilometers. Do you think our fighters attacked German positions with strong fortifications without artillery cover, how many of them could rush to the enemy alive?"

  Sokov's words silenced Bely, who opposed the hidden plan. Although he is a tank commander, he is very clear about the price the troops will pay for fighting the enemy's hail of bullets to a distance of two kilometers. He couldn't help thinking about Sokov's latent plan, to see if he could minimize the casualties on the way of attack.

Seeing that Bely did not speak, Sokov knew that what he said had worked, and he continued: "If we let the troops lurk only a hundred meters away from the German positions, once we start attacking, the enemy may not have returned yet." God, our soldiers rushed into their trenches. Comrade Colonel, I say this, you must have understood how to choose?"

  Bely did not answer Sokov immediately, but turned to Vanya and asked, "Comrade Captain, how much deviation will your new rocket launch from two kilometers away?"

Vanya was taken aback when he heard Bely's question, and then he understood what the other party meant, and quickly replied, "Comrade Colonel, we have skilled rocket launchers, and they can control the error within 50 meters. If When attacking the enemy's position, I am sure that they will avoid accidentally hitting the lurking friendly army."

After listening to Vanya's answer, Bely nodded, then turned to Sokov and said, "Since this is the case, Comrade Brigadier Commander, then I agree with your lurking plan. The assault carried out by our army at close range , It is entirely possible to successfully rush into their trenches before the enemy recovers, and catch them by surprise."

  (end of this chapter)