In the following days, the news that the German army approached Stalingrad made the residents in the city panic. Not only the indigenous people began to pack their luggage and prepare for evacuation. Even the civilians who had just fled to Stalingrad from other places packed up their short luggage and set off on a long journey again when the evacuation in the city began.
But surprisingly, the evacuation order has not been issued for a long time. On the contrary, people heard a notice issued by the Soviet Intelligence Agency on the daily broadcast: a torrent composed of troops, cars, tanks and artillery vehicles are running towards the Volga River day and night, and towards the Don grasslands to block the German army rushing towards Stalingrad.
The notice from the Soviet Intelligence Agency made the residents in panic feel at ease. Some people even thought that the next development would definitely be the same as the Battle of Moscow. Even if the Germans rushed outside the city of Stalingrad, they would definitely be defeated by the Soviet army that had been waiting here for a long time, and they would not have to leave their hometown at all.
The emotions of the residents in the city have stabilized, but for the insiders, the current situation is getting worse and worse. As the military engineer of the City Defense Committee, Ozor naturally knows more inside information than ordinary residents. As he knows more, he agrees with Sokov's judgment: In the city of Stalingrad, a fierce battle with the enemy will sooner or later.
Although his responsibility was only to build a defensive position for the 73rd Infantry Brigade in Mamayev Hill, he still had the opportunity to see the fortifications outside Stalingrad City. He put forward a series of opinions on the site selection and construction of the fortifications, but he was not only not adopted, but also scolded by his superiors. Ozor, who was hit, drove to Sokov's command alone to vent his depression to him.
Seeing Ozor who had not appeared for several days suddenly appearing in his command center, Sokov's first reaction was that something was wrong with the project? For him, the quality of the project was a major matter of life. If the fortifications were not solid and the German shells collapsed, then the commanders and soldiers who were staying inside would be buried alive?
It was precisely because of this consideration that he asked Ozor nervously: "Comrade Major, you suddenly came here today. Is there something wrong with the engineering?"
"Project? What's wrong with the project?" Unexpectedly, Ozor was stunned by Sokov's question, but he quickly understood what the other party meant, and shook his head and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, don't worry, the project I'm responsible for has never had any quality problems. I came here today to talk to you about something else."
Hearing that Ozor had something to talk to him, Sokov quickly asked him to sit down, poured a cup of hot tea in person and placed it in front of him, then sat down opposite him, and said with a smile: "Comrade Major, what do you have to say now."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, before the construction of the Mamayev Fortifications began, you mentioned many times that our army would sooner or later fight with the Germans in the city." Ozor held the teacup, but did not drink it immediately, but asked tentatively: "Are you all saying true?"
"Yes, Major." Sokov nodded in response to Ozor's question and replied with certainty: "I said that. But I did not say it casually, but I carefully analyzed the dynamics of our enemies and us before I came to such a conclusion."
"Now it seems that your analysis is correct." Ozor picked up the teacup, but the tea was scalded, and after taking a sip, he continued: "Our position outside the city cannot stop the enemy at all."
"What?!" Sokov's face was calm when he heard Ozor say this, and instead shocked Belkin, who was sitting beside him: "Comrade Major, what did you say just now? It is said that the fortifications we built outside the city cannot stop the Germans at all? You can't say these words casually."
"I didn't say anything. I suspect that those who choose the site and build fortifications are all a group of unreliable laymen." Ozor said with a look of grief and anger: "Most of our fortifications are set on bare grasslands, and they do not use the surrounding rivers, valleys and other favorable terrain. Such fortifications are extremely unfavorable for defense, but are conducive to the German army to give full play to their advantages in the air and tanks."
Sokov believed in all this Ozor said. He remembered that in Cuikov's memoir, he saw the Soviet marshal complaining about the field fortifications in Stalingrad. The fortifications were not built in rivers and valleys, but on open grasslands. The German reconnaissance aircraft could clearly find the location of the ground fortifications, and then the German bomber group could accurately drop countless bombs into these fortifications of the Soviet army like training to drop bombs.
Seeing that Belkin wanted to question what Ozor said, Sokov stopped him in time and said, "Comrade Political Commissar, Major Ozor said everything is true. The fortifications in the Stalingrad region only started in May. At that time, our army had just launched a counterattack against the German army in Kharkov. Everyone was optimistic that the main force of the enemy in this area would soon be crushed by our army, and the days for the enemy to be driven out of the border by us are just around the corner.
Tell me, in this case, will the City Defense Committee in Stalingrad do their best when receiving the order from the superiors on the construction of fortifications? They only need to build a batch of fortifications outside the city to deal with the construction of the National Defense Committee. As for where to build it and whether it can play a real defensive role, it is not within their consideration."
When Belkin heard Sokov say this, he couldn't help but raise his throat. He quickly asked: "Comrade Brigade Commander, if the fortifications outside the city are really useless, then can the Mamayev hill we are guarding just to block the enemy trying to occupy the city?"
"Can't stop it." Sokov replied straightforwardly: "Not only can we not stop the enemy, but even the friendly troops entering the city one after another can't stop the enemy. The only thing we can do is to try not to let the enemy cross the Mamayev hill and rush to the dock by the Volga River. If they occupy there, the defenders in the city will be destroyed because they are isolated and helpless. Once all the defenders are sacrificed, can the city still be defended?"
Speaking of this, Sokov once again turned his attention to Ozor: "Comrade Major, I believe you already know what the situation in Stalingrad is currently. Whether we can defend the Mamayev post depends entirely on whether our fortifications can be completed before the German army rushes into the city."
Chapter completed!