As soon as Sokov returned to his headquarters, he was welcomed by everyone. Belkin held his hand and said excitedly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are back. All the commanders and fighters in the brigade have been thinking of you."
.”
"Comrade Political Commissar," Sokov said excitedly, holding Belkin's hand, "I've been thinking about you too. How about it, the enemy hasn't moved, right?"
"No, Comrade Brigade Commander." The person who answered Sokov's question was Chief of Staff Sidorin. After a period of time, he has fully adapted to the working environment of the 73rd Infantry Brigade. "It's very peaceful near Mamayev Hill.
, we have neither found any trace of the enemy, nor have we ever been shelled or bombed by the enemy."
"Is the third battalion back?" Although the third battalion led by Andre had left the Aksay River defense line a day ago, Sokov was worried that they would be absorbed by other troops on the way, so he asked specifically.
"Back!" Hearing Sokov's question, Belkin replied happily: "When the whole battalion left, there were only more than 800 people. When it came back, there were more than 1,200 people. In addition, there were more than 1,200 people.
Six 76.2mm cannons will give us greater confidence in holding Mamayev Heights."
Just when Sokov was about to call Andrei over and ask about the supplementary situation of the Ninth Company, the phone on the table rang. Sidorin picked up the phone and listened for a while, then held the phone and said to Sokov
: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the First Battalion reported that German tanks were found northwest of the railway."
"German tanks?!" Sidorin's news surprised Sokov. Even though the German army was approaching Stalingrad step by step, Mamayev Heights was the depth of the Soviet army's defense after all. The enemy could
Rushing here meant that they had successfully broken through a series of Soviet defense lines. He quickly asked: "How many tanks does the enemy have?"
Sidorin quickly asked into the microphone: "The brigade commander asked, how many tanks does the enemy have?" After a moment, he frowned, "What, I don't know? What do you do for food, even the number of enemy tanks?"
Not sure..."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov interrupted Sidorin and asked seriously: "Who called?"
"It's Captain Vanya, the commander of the first battalion," Sidorin quickly covered the microphone and reported to Sokov: "He said that when he was near the checkpoint on the railway, he saw an enemy tank appearing in the distance, and he felt it was necessary to report it to the brigade headquarters.
Reported it and called."
"Give me the phone." Sokov walked over, took the phone and put it to his ear: "Hello, Captain Vanya? I'm Sokov. Tell me the situation there in detail. What happened?
What's going on?"
"Comrade Brigadier, are you back?" Vanya asked in surprise.
"I just came back. Comrade Captain, now is not the time to reminisce about old times. Please report to me in detail the situation there."
"That's right, Comrade Brigade Commander." Vanya quickly and respectfully replied: "A few minutes ago, the sentry reported to me that he saw dust flying in the distance, and it seemed that a tank unit was heading towards us.
Drive over here."
"Can you confirm that these tanks all belong to the enemy?" Sokov said coldly: "Even if they are enemy tanks, you should figure out how many there are and what type they are."
"Comrade Brigadier, I was wrong." Vanya quickly expressed his position to Sokov: "I will send someone immediately to find out."
"I'll give you five minutes." Sokov said in a tone that left no doubt: "After five minutes, tell me the details of the enemy." After saying that, he hung up the phone without waiting for the other party to speak.
"Comrade Brigadier," Sidorin asked cautiously, "is five minutes too little?"
"That's quite a lot, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov stared at Sidorin and said: "If it is really a German tank unit, five minutes is enough for them to cross the railway line and rush to the vicinity of Mamaev Hill. Andre
Where are the six cannons that Lie brought back?"
Sokov's leaping thinking made Sidorin stunned for a moment. He hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Hidden behind Mamayev Hill."
"Chief of Staff, call here immediately the commander of the third battalion, Captain Andrei, and the commander of the artillery company, Lieutenant Porochenko." Sokov said in a commanding tone: "Quickly, I want to assign combat tasks to them."
Five minutes later, Sokov dialed the number of the first battalion headquarters and asked straight to the point: "Captain Vanya, have you figured everything out? What kind of strength does the enemy have?"
"Yes, Comrade Brigade Commander, we have figured it all out." Vanya replied on the phone: "This may be a fast column of the German army. In addition to one Panzer IV tank, there are five 35t and 38t models.
Light tanks, plus an equal number of armored personnel carriers."
"I understand." After figuring out the enemy's strength, Sokov continued: "Let your soldiers prepare for battle immediately. You must not let the enemy's tanks cross your defense line. Do you understand?"
"But, Comrade Brigadier, our battalion does not have anti-tank weapons." Vanya said awkwardly: "It is very difficult to block the enemy's tanks. Do you think we can bring up the dog company?"
"No, Comrade Captain, this is definitely not possible." Sokov knew very well that good steel is used on the blade. How could a dog company specially responsible for destroying German tanks be used to deal with German light tanks? So he said simply
: "Since the enemy is all light tanks, you can blow it up with cluster grenades. Don't worry, I won't let you fight alone. You will be supported by artillery fire."
As soon as the phone was put down, Andrei and Porochenko walked into the tent. Sokov faced Porochenko and said: "Comrade Lieutenant, I got six 76.2 mm cannons from other places.
From now on, it will be officially equipped for your company."
Porochenko, who had been an infantryman for a long time, was overjoyed when he heard what Sokov said and said quickly: "Great, this is really great. But Comrade Brigadier, where are these cannons now?"
Sokov pointed his finger at Andre: "You have to ask Captain Andre about this, because he led his men to pull back these artillery pieces."
"Lieutenant Porochenko," Andrei smiled at Porochenko and said, "I will take you to receive these artillery pieces later."
"Don't wait for a while, go now." Sokov said to the two men: "A fast German column is coming towards our Mamayev Hill. Lieutenant Porochenko, I order you now
, immediately establish an artillery position on the hillside to bombard the German rapid column. And you, Captain Andre, will dispatch some soldiers to help the artillery company push the artillery up the hillside."
Pushing the artillery up the hillside is quite simple in theory, but it is not that easy in practice. After all, the artillery is so heavy, and there is no decent road uphill. Even with the help of the soldiers from the third battalion, it is difficult to push the artillery up the hillside.
Pulling all the artillery up the mountain cannot be done in a short time.
Sokov and Belkin passed through the tunnel and arrived at the observation post on the hillside. When he raised his telescope and looked into the distance, he saw the enemy tank parked about three hundred meters away from the forward position of the first battalion, firing with artillery fire.
Bombard those machine gun fire points that are firing, jump off the armored vehicles behind the cover, and quickly seize favorable terrain.
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Belgin looked a little anxious when he saw his troops being crushed by German tanks: "The first battalion does not have anti-tank weapons. They will suffer a great loss in such a battle."
"We are at a disadvantage in terms of equipment, and there will be many such battles to fight in the future." Seeing Belkin's worried look, Sokov comforted him and said, "But don't worry, the enemies are all light tanks.
They cannot break through the first battalion's position. As long as they are close to our trenches, Vanya will arrange for soldiers to blow up these tanks with cluster grenades."
What happened next was a scene that surprised Sokov. From the factory area in the north, an armored train with only one carriage suddenly came. Since this armored train made two trips back and forth every day, Sokov was also
I recognized it as armored train No. 74. Its armored carriage adopts a unique three-turret structure. The two large turrets at the front and rear are each equipped with an M1902/30 76.2 mm gun. The small turret in the middle adopts the T-26 light tank.
turret.
The armored train came to a stop between the two armies. The three turrets on the roof fired at the enemy not far away at the same time. The armored train opened fire at such a close distance, and the shells easily tore through the thin front of the German light tank.
Armor, after a violent explosion, the turret was blown to the ground.
The artillery on the train continued to fire, and the German tanks were beaten horribly. Each turret flew into the sky amidst the explosion, and was blown open and turned into blazing torches.
Seeing this, Sokov said with emotion: "The German light tanks are simply vulnerable in front of our armored trains. Comrade political commissar, look, the German infantry has begun to retreat. If Vanya is smarter,
It’s time to command the troops to charge, and maybe we can annihilate this enemy force.”
As soon as Sokov finished speaking, he saw countless soldiers jumping out of the trenches and rushing toward the fleeing German soldiers with weapons in hand. Without the armored trains, these German soldiers would have had a chance to escape after the attack failed.
.But now they are within the firepower range of the armored train. If they run to the left, the shells will fall on the left; if they run to the right, the shells will also fall on the right, forcing them to return to the middle and raise their hands obediently to the 1st Battalion.
The commanders and fighters surrendered.
This battle, due to the participation of Soviet armored trains, only lasted for more than ten minutes. At this time, the artillery company and the soldiers of the third battalion were still pulling the artillery up the hillside.
"Great, Comrade Brigade Commander, this is simply great." After Belkin witnessed the entire battle process with his own eyes, he said with some excitement: "If we can have a few more armored trains like this, then no matter how many come
enemies, we smashed their attacks."
"Comrade Political Commissar, you are too optimistic." Seeing that Belkin was getting carried away, Sokov quickly reminded him: "Although the armored train has strong maneuverability and powerful firepower, it can withstand attacks from small-caliber artillery, and it also has certain
It has excellent air defense capabilities and can even be used as a tool to carry infantry when necessary to assist friendly forces in rapid maneuvers.
However, its shortcomings are also obvious. For example, it completely relies on a complete railway network. Once the enemy destroys the railway in the direction of the armored train during a battle, it will stop on the rails and become an enemy artillery or aircraft attack.
target. Therefore, for armored trains, intact railway lines are more important than the guns on the train. In addition, the operation of the train requires enough water and coal, and the reliance on logistics is very serious.
.”
Regarding Sokov's statement, Belkin thought for a long time, and finally nodded and said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are right. Although the power of the armored train is not small, if the railway line it depends on for survival
Once it is damaged, it can only sit there and move. In the end, it will either be blown up by German artillery fire or aircraft, or it will be captured by the Germans and then turn their guns around to attack us."
Sokov used his binoculars to watch the soldiers in the distance cleaning the battlefield. He couldn't help but said to himself: "Those armored vehicles seem to be still intact. They should be driven back and hidden. Maybe one day
It can be put to use.”
Fortunately, there was a phone in the observation post. Sokov picked up the phone on the table and dialed the tank company. The company commander Alitai who answered the phone said loudly: "Lieutenant Alitai, this is me Sokov. Let me tell you something."
Good news, the First Battalion captured several German armored vehicles in the battle that just ended. You should immediately take people to drive them back, and then find a place to hide."
"There are only armored vehicles, what about the tanks?" Alitai asked with a hint of luck: "Not a single tank was captured?"
"No, Comrade Lieutenant, all the German tanks were destroyed by our armored trains." Sokov urged: "Stop delaying, hurry up and bring the armored vehicles back."
"Comrade Brigadier," Alitai asked Sokov specifically before he was about to put down the phone: "After bringing the armored vehicle back, do you need to repaint it, remove the white cross on it, and replace it with our five stars?
?”
"No, everything remains as it is." Sokov suddenly had a new idea in his mind. He felt that when the fighting broke out near Mamayev Hill, these armored vehicles might be of great use, so he specifically told Alitai
: "Remember, after the armored vehicle comes back, it must be well hidden to avoid being blown up by German planes."
"Don't worry, Comrade Brigade Commander." Although Alitai didn't understand why Sokov asked him to bring the armored vehicles back without making any changes, he still replied respectfully: "Wait until these armored vehicles drive back."
When I come back, I will definitely ask someone to take good care of it."
This chapter has been completed!