The massive amount of supplies found in the underground warehouse made Cui Kov smile, because in this way, he finally solved his urgent needs. He walked out of the warehouse, called out the adjutant Krimov, and told him: "Krimov, immediately inform the commanders of the 138th, 157th and 208th Divisions, and let them send people to collect the supplies."
"Comrade General." When Sokov walked out of it, he happened to hear what Cuikov said, and quickly reminded him: "Where is Colonel Mirnov's 154th Marine Brigade?"
"Don't worry about the land brigade," Cuikov waved his hand at Sokov and said, "They are on the logistics department's supply list. Even if they don't come here to collect supplies, their superiors will transport supplies to them."
When the commanders and soldiers of the Third Battalion arrived, Sokov immediately ordered them to take over the defense of the warehouse. Andre was cautious, worried that when the troops were carrying supplies, Germans emerged from nearby, and specially arranged two machine guns on the top of the hillside.
After Sokov and Andrei had arranged the defense, he asked him in a low voice: "Captain Andrei, are all the six cannons hidden? Don't let friendly troops see it, otherwise they might be pulled away."
"Don't worry, comrade comrade commander." When Andrei saw that Sokov was obsessed with the cannon, he reported to him: "I have sent someone to transfer the cannon to other areas and will never be discovered by friendly forces."
After almost two hours, the three divisions sent people to collect supplies lined up outside the warehouse to collect the ammunition and supplies needed by each unit in turn. The sergeant in charge of the internal affairs unit who was in charge of the warehouse walked to Sokov and asked with a sad face: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I want to ask, what should we do if you empty the warehouse?"
Looking at the sergeant standing in front of him, Sokov thought to himself: Now that the periphery of Stalingrad is so chaotic, maybe the sergeant's superior unit has been moved to another place, so he forgot that there is an important underground warehouse here, and it ends up being cheaper for him.
"Comrade Sergeant," Sokov never did anything about breaking the bridge across the river. Such a large military warehouse, without the approval of the superior, the supplies inside were emptied. If the superior really held accountable, it would not be easy for the sergeant to come forward. In order to avoid the sergeant being signed for his own reasons, he thought for a while and said to the sergeant: "If you don't object, I plan to incorporate you into the guard company of my 73rd Infantry Brigade."
"Infantry Brigade 73rd Infantry Brigade?" The sergeant was stunned when he heard this number. Therefore, when Cui Kov was issuing orders, he did not hear the number mentioned by Sokov. After hesitating for a moment, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, is it also a unit of the southern cluster? Why didn't I hear the number of this unit just now?"
When Sokov heard the sergeant's question, he couldn't help but blush. He realized that he was prying the foot of Cuikov again. Although the two squads of the internal affairs forces were not large, their performance on the battlefield was definitely much stronger than ordinary soldiers. Otherwise, Sokov would not instinctively want to take them under his command when he heard the sergeant ask about where to go next.
"That's right, comrade Sergeant." Sokov felt it necessary to explain to the sergeant and let him understand what was going on: "I am the brigade commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, and the troops are stationed in Mamayev. Now he is temporarily acting as the acting chief of staff of the Southern Cluster. Once there is a suitable person to take over my job, I will return to Mamayev. Do you understand?"
"I understand, comrade Lieutenant Colonel." After the sergeant figured out what was going on, he nodded and said, "I would like to go to Mamayevgang."
"Great, this is great." Seeing that the sergeant agreed to follow him, Sokov was overjoyed and quickly called Andre over and said to him: "Comrade Captain, the sergeant will be the platoon leader of the infantry brigade guard company from now on. When you return to Mamayev's hill, take them all."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov," Seeing that the distribution of ammunition and materials was being carried out in an orderly manner, Cuikov felt that he should go back to the command center, so he called Sokov: "We are going back to the command center now."
After returning to the command center, Cui Kefu asked the staff who stayed behind: "Is there any movement from the enemy on the other side?"
"Col. Lyudnikov reported," the staff officer hurriedly reported to Cuikov: "The German army is preparing the equipment for building bridges, and it seems that they are preparing to build a pontoon bridge on the Aksai River."
"Build a bridge?" When Cui Kov heard this, he immediately ordered his staff: "Check me with the headquarters of the 138th Division, and I want to speak to Lyudnikov."
"Comrade General," Sokov reminded him, considering that there were only two mortar battalions in the southern cluster, "We are the 14th Armored Division in front of us. If we were allowed to cross the river smoothly, our infantry would not be able to withstand their tanks at all."
Although Cuikov appointed Dmitryev as the artillery commander of the Southern Cluster, Sokov met him for only a few times. Now he saw that others were not at the temporary command center, so he asked his staff: "Where is General Dmitryev?"
"I don't know," the staff member shook his head and replied, "General Dmitryev came to the command center yesterday and said that he would go to where to collect artillery and form an artillery unit to resist the attack of German tanks."
The telephone number from the 138th Division headquarters was connected, and Cuikov asked Lyudnikov directly: "Comrade Colonel, I heard that the Germans were preparing to build bridges in the defense zone of your division. How is the situation now?"
"Comrade Commander," Lyudnikov replied immediately after hearing Cuikov's question: "They have now begun the pontoon bridge."
When he learned that the German army had started building bridges, Cui Kefu was a little anxious: "Then what measures have you taken?"
"When the enemy started building bridges, I ordered the machine guns to shoot at the engineers on the other side." Lyudnikov replied: "But the enemy quickly transferred several tanks and lined up by the river. As soon as we saw us shoot, we immediately fired. We had destroyed two or three machine gun fire points in succession, so I could only order to stop shooting for the time being."
When he heard that the German army began to build a floating bridge, and the 138th Division was unable to use any means to prevent the enemy from building a bridge under the enemy's artillery fire, Cui Kefu couldn't help but be anxious. He said to the microphone: "I understand, comrade Colonel, I order you to do everything possible to stop the enemy from crossing the river. I will try my best to provide you with artillery support."
Chapter completed!