Although Sokov was familiar with the various performance parameters of the Tiger tank, he still hesitated for a long time when Bely asked, and then said cautiously: "Colonel Bely, I saw it in an intelligence report before.
The Germans are developing a new heavy tank - the Tiger tank, which uses an 88mm caliber tank gun, has 102mm of frontal armor, and 82mm of side and rear armor."
After listening to Sokov's rough statistics, Bely couldn't help but gasped: "Oh my god, our T-34's frontal armor is 60 mm thick, the sides are only 45 mm, and it uses a 76 mm gun.
It's not at the same level as the German tanks."
"That's right, Colonel Bely." Sokov felt that if Bely's tank troops were to carry out the German Tigers, it would be a dead end, so he said euphemistically: "Use medium tanks to deal with the enemy's heavy tanks."
Tanking is an act of suicide. I suggest you withdraw the tank troops to the Red October Factory and let the troops deal with the enemy's tanks."
"If the Germans' new tank really has 102 mm armor as you said, I'm afraid no anti-tank gun can destroy it." Regarding Sokov's suggestion, Bely said hesitantly: "I'm worried that we
After withdrawing, the infantry will not be able to stop the enemy's attack."
"Can you block the enemy's tanks if you stay?" Seeing Bely's hesitation, Sokov said in a serious tone: "We don't know how many of these new tanks the enemy has. If we continue to leave the tanks on the position
, the enemy will shoot them down one by one like a target."
Bely knew in his heart that what Sokov said was true, but he ordered his tank troops to withdraw to the Red October Factory without receiving orders from his superiors. This could be regarded as an act of escaping from the battlefield. If this caused the defense line to
The collapse would put Stalingrad into a more dangerous situation. I am afraid that his superiors will directly shoot him without even giving him a chance to go to a military court.
Hearing that there was no movement in the earphones, Sokov understood in his heart what Bely was hesitating about. He did not persuade him any more, but reminded the other party: "Colonel Bely, if you can't make up your mind, you can report this to Commander Chuikov."
Report and see what his opinion is."
Sokov's suggestion was tantamount to handing over the conflict. As for whether Belly's tank troops should remain on the ground as cannon fodder, or whether to temporarily withdraw to the factory to preserve their strength, it was up to the army leaders to decide.
Bely followed Sokov's advice, reported the situation he was facing to Chuikov, and finally asked for instructions whether to continue fighting or temporarily withdraw to the factory area.
After listening to Bely's report, Chuikov was silent for a moment, and then asked: "Colonel Bely, please tell me truthfully, does the enemy really have a new type of tank on the battlefield?"
"Yes." Although Bely had just reported to Chuikov, when he heard him ask about it at this moment, he repeated what he had just said: "The enemy's new tank is staying eight hundred meters away from our position.
, at such a long distance, the armor-piercing projectiles fired by our tanks cannot penetrate its frontal armor at all, and as long as it fires, it can directly destroy our tanks. One of the seven tanks of the third tank company was destroyed
."
"How many tanks does the enemy have?" Chuikov asked cautiously.
"There are about five such tanks." Belly sighed softly and replied: "If they continue to stay eight hundred meters or even farther away and fire, no matter how many tanks we have, they will not be able to destroy the enemy's tanks.
tank."
"Which regiment is building the defense line in the north?" As soon as Chuikov asked this question, he remembered that Gurdiev had reported to him that in order to prevent the German troops in the north from suddenly moving south, he had sent the 351st regiment to garrison in the north.
He quickly changed his mind and said: "I remembered, it's the 351st Regiment of Gurdiev's Division. You and Gurdiev have a break, and then lead the tank troops back to the Red October Factory."
Krylov, who had just finished answering the phone, couldn't help but become a little anxious when he heard Chuikov giving Belly the order to retreat: "Comrade Commander, how can you let the tank troops retreat? Once they withdraw from the Red October Factory,
Our counterattack is tantamount to failure."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Chuikov looked at Krylov and said with a serious expression: "Do you think our counterattack can continue if I don't let Bely and the others withdraw to the Red October Factory?"
Krylov was immediately questioned by Chuikov. As the chief of staff of the group army, he knew even more about the situation than Chuikov. According to reports from the troops stationed east of Orlovka, the German 100th Jäger Division,
The troops of the 94th Infantry Division and the 24th Armored Division are moving south. Maybe in a few hours, the three infantry divisions that are launching a counterattack will be surrounded by the German army.
Knowing the current situation is one thing, but making determination is another. Krylov knows that if the troops continue to stay at their current position, once they are surrounded by the German army, even if they are not completely wiped out, they may be able to return.
There were not many commanders and fighters left at the starting position. However, considering that this counterattack was a task assigned by superiors, and even the military commissar of the front army, Khrushchev, personally came to sit in on the situation. If you want to terminate the counterattack, you must obtain permission from your superiors.
.
Seeing the troubled expression on Krylov's face, Chuikov knew very well that this counterattack was forced by his superiors. If the superiors didn't nod, no one would have the power to withdraw the troops. Thinking of this, he looked around
He took a look, but did not see the shadow of Khrushchev, so he called a staff officer and asked: "Have you seen Comrade Military Commissar?"
The staff officer thought that Chuikov was asking about the group army's military commissar Gurov, and quickly replied: "Report to the commander, Comrade Military Commissar Gurov went to the Red October Factory half an hour ago."
When Chuikov heard that the staff member was talking about Gurov, he quickly waved his hand and said: "I'm not asking about Gurov, but Comrade Khrushchev. Have you seen him?"
Regarding this question, the staff officer hesitated for a moment, and then answered in an uncertain tone: "Comrade Military Commissar of the Front Army seems to have gone to the Dzerzhinsky Tractor Factory. He said he was going to inspect the defense there."
"The 37th Guards Division is stationed at the Dzerzhinsky Factory," Chuikov told his staff: "You immediately call General Zorudev and ask if Comrade Khrushchev is there. If so, call him.
Please ask Comrade Khrushchev to return immediately. Something unexpected happened here and we need him to come back and make a decision."
When the staff officer went aside to make a phone call, Chuikov turned to Krylov and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please contact Colonel Gurdiev immediately and say that the current situation is very unfavorable to our army. I plan to remove Colonel Bely."
The tank troops withdrew to Red October and ordered his troops to continue to hold their positions and wait for my withdrawal order."
"Comrade Commander," Krylov asked in surprise after hearing Chuikov's order: "Are you really planning to withdraw all the tank troops to the Red October Factory? What should we do if the superiors blame us?"
"I did not withdraw all the troops." Chuikov had obviously expected Krylov to ask this, and he said to himself: "Although the tank troops have withdrawn from the Red October Factory, the infantry is still holding its position.
, which means that our counterattack against the enemy has not completely ended, and our superiors cannot blame us."
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Now that Chuikov had said this, Krylov realized that it was obviously inappropriate for him as chief of staff to contradict him, so he nodded and said: "I will send you to you immediately.
Please convey this message to Colonel Gurdiev."
The large German army rushed towards them from the north. If the counterattack troops were to confront them head-on, the whole army would be destroyed. While Chuikov was considering how to allow the two infantry divisions on the right wing to smoothly withdraw to the Red October Factory, he also
Thinking of the 41st Guards Division that occupied two German positions in succession.
Chuikov asked the communications troops to connect to the headquarters at Mamayev Heights. After contacting Sokov, he asked straight to the point: "Sokov, how is the situation there?"
"The enemy coming from the direction of the concession stand is launching an attack on the position of the 122nd Regiment." Sokov reported: "I have given an order to Lieutenant Colonel Papuchenko to do everything possible to block the enemy's attack.
.”
"What if they can't stop it?" Chuikov asked.
"If we can't stop it, we have no choice but to retreat." Sokov knew the purpose of Chuikov's question and quickly explained to him: "But Comrade Commander, please rest assured that our defense line will not collapse immediately.
The 122nd Regiment cannot stop the enemy's attack. They will find a way to retreat to the 124th Regiment's position, where they will continue to consume the enemy's effective strength. But I am worried..."
After hearing Sokov's words, he stopped abruptly. Chuikov asked impatiently: "What are you worried about? Don't try to trick me here. Please explain it to me quickly."
"I'm worried that the enemy will move south in large numbers. Once they break through the two divisions on the right, the two regiments in front of me will be surrounded." Sokov didn't want his two Guards regiments to be surrounded.
They were wiped out in a meaningless war of attrition, so we tried every means to pull them back. "In order to prevent this situation from happening, Comrade Commander, I ask you to order the counterattack troops to withdraw across the board and return to their original starting points.
Location."
"Colonel Sokov," Chuikov felt in his heart that Sokov was right, but before getting permission from Khrushchev, he did not have the power to let the three divisions return to their original starting positions, so he could only keep a straight face.
Xun Sokov: "What are you talking about? Facing the enemies rushing towards us, we should find ways to block them instead of thinking about how to retreat. Do you understand?"
Seeing that Chuikov was unwilling to withdraw the counterattack troops, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little chilled. At the same time, he was secretly glad in his heart. Fortunately, he saw that today's counterattack was not going well and did not put the 125th regiment into battle, even if the 122nd and 124th regiments were all wiped out.
At this moment, facing Chuikov's stubbornness, he could only bite the bullet and said insincerely: "I understand, Comrade Commander. I will immediately give Lieutenant Colonel Papuchenko and Starr
Lieutenant Colonel Qia called and ordered the two of them to hold on to their position tenaciously and never take a step back even if they fight to the last man."
Chuikov knew that Sokov was speaking out of anger, but he had no choice but to do so. After all, he did not have the power to make the troops retreat. He coughed lightly and said into the microphone: "Colonel Sokov, when the enemy's attack is repelled
After that, you can find a way to remove the wounded."
As soon as they hung up the phone, they saw Khrushchev coming in from outside. He raised his hand to dust off his shoulders, looked at Chuikov who was standing upright and asked: "Comrade Chuikov, are you in a hurry?"
Call me back, is there anything important?"
"Comrade Military Commissar, the situation is very unfavorable for our army. According to reports from the troops stationed east of Orlovka, the enemy's main force has begun to move south in large numbers, trying to flank our counterattack force with the Romanian army." Chuikov looked at Helu.
Xiaofu said cautiously: "I suggest stopping the counterattack immediately and withdrawing the troops to their original starting point."
"Withdraw the troops?" Khrushchev immediately frowned when he heard Chuikov said he wanted to withdraw. He said dissatisfied: "As far as I know, our counterattack went smoothly, didn't it? The right-wing troops are in
After a fierce battle, they successfully occupied the first line of defense held by the Romanian army; and the troops on the left wing performed even more outstandingly. They not only occupied the two lines of defense of the enemy, but also threatened the enemy's holding position.
In this case, I think the offense can continue."
"Comrade Military Commissar, you don't know something. One of the enemy's vanguard units is equipped with new heavy tanks." Seeing that Khrushchev still wanted to continue fighting, Chuikov quickly reported to him the situation reported by Bely: "
The enemy's tanks are parked 800 meters away from our position and can easily destroy our tanks. However, our tanks are at such a long distance, but there is nothing they can do to the enemy. The seven tanks of the third company
The tanks were all destroyed in a face-to-face battle with the enemy's heavy tanks."
"What, seven tanks fought against one, and they were all wiped out?" Khrushchev asked in surprise: "When did the enemy's tanks become so powerful?"
"It is a new type of tank that the enemy has just put into the battlefield. In order to avoid unnecessary losses, I have ordered Colonel Bely to withdraw all the tanks to the Red October Factory." Chuikov said to Khrushchev: "Now on the position,
Only the infantry is left to defend."
"Without tanks, how can the infantry hold their position?" Knowing that Chuikov made his own decisions and withdrew all the tanks, Khrushchev became increasingly dissatisfied: "General Chuikov, how could you hold the position without my order?"
What about making the decision without authorization? If this leads to the failure of this counterattack, you will be sent to a military court. Send all the tank troops back to me immediately."
Seeing that the situation had come to this, Khrushchev had no intention of letting the troops retreat. On the contrary, he wanted the tank troops to return to the battlefield to die. In order to avoid unnecessary losses, Chuikov decided to risk everything. He held his head high and spoke plausibly.
Said: "Comrade Military Commissar, since our tanks are fighting face to face with the enemy, they cannot gain any advantage. It is better to let them withdraw and rely on the favorable terrain for defense. During the defense, find ways to destroy the enemy's new tanks."
This chapter has been completed!