I won this battle, but I was lucky enough to win and paid a lot of money. If it weren't for the problems with the German army's logistics supply, it would have been a dream to destroy dozens of enemy tanks and the same number of artillery.
Once the German supply returned to normal and a new attack was discovered again, Sokov did not think that his troops could block the German offensive in such a simple field fortification. Therefore, as soon as he received this telegram from Cuikov, he immediately ordered the troops to retreat without saying a word. Since the Third Battalion and the 149th Brigade were both crippled in the battle, the task of cutting off the rear was handed over to the 124th Brigade of Gorokov.
In the evening, Sokov came to Cuikov's command center and prepared to report to him the whole day of the battle. Unexpectedly, as soon as he met, Cuikov gave him a warm hug, and kept saying: "Good, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you and your subordinates are all good."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov," Chief of Staff Krelov also said with a smile when he stepped forward and shook hands with Sokov: "Due to your active and decisive actions, a gap has been opened in the German encirclement, which has caused more than a dozen divisions and brigades to be built in the besieged troops of the 62nd Army to successfully break out of the German encirclement and return to Stalingrad City."
It was somewhat beyond Sokov's expectations that more than a dozen divisions and brigades could break through successfully. He looked at Krelov and said in surprise: "I really didn't expect that so many troops would break through successfully."
"Although there are more than a dozen divisions and brigades, after a long battle, there are not many people left." Cui Kefu sighed from the side and said, "For example, the 244th Infantry Division, which retreated into the city, originally belonged to the 57th Army. Now there are only 1,500 people left in the division, and the number of infantry personnel is only equivalent to a full infantry battalion."
"Comrade Commander, please allow me to speak out." Sokov judged from Cuikov's tone that although there were many troops who retreated to the city, the number of troops who retreated to the city was definitely far less than Cuikov and his friends expected, so he said bluntly: "It would be far from enough to rely solely on these troops who retreated to the city to defend against Stalingrad..."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I understand what you want to express." Before Sokov finished speaking, Krelov interrupted his words, "But if the enemy cannot enter our city at all, do you still think these troops are fewer?"
"The enemy cannot enter our city?" Krelov's words confused Sokov. Sokov thought to himself: Haven't you seen the enemy already at the city? If it weren't for the counter-assault I carried out today, the enemy's forward must have rushed into Stalingrad. So he asked in confusion: "I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't quite understand what you mean? The enemy is only one step away from the city, but you said that the enemy will not rush into the city. Can we still have the strength to take any counter-attack measures against the enemy?"
"Come to the map." Cuikov walked to the map beside the wall, picked up the explanation stick leaning against the wall, pointed to the northwest of Stalingrad, and said to Sokov: "Our army will use three troops, including the 1st Guards Army, the 24th and 66th Army, in the north of Stalingrad in the near future, to carry out a powerful counterattack against the enemy. The main purpose of its battle is to destroy the corridor to the Volga River established by the German 16th Armored Divisions and the 3rd and 60th Mofan Divisions, and completely eliminate the enemy's threat to Stalingrad."
"The whole three armies are the largest force that our army can gather at present." Krelov said excitedly: "I believe that under the command of General Zhukov, we will definitely achieve a great victory like the Battle of Moscow."
As Sokov, who came from later generations, he was very clear about the final result: because the preparation time given by the Supreme Command was too short, the counterattack troops did not assemble enough troops and lacked the necessary heavy equipment, especially the number of artillery was very limited. Although the commanders and fighters were brave and tenacious in the counterattack, they still failed to break through the corridor established by the German army, and the tragic counterattack ended in failure.
Seeing that Cuikov and Krelov were both overjoyed, Sokov couldn't bear to pour cold water on the two of them, so he changed the topic: "Comrade Commander, I want to ask, what is the next task of the northern cluster?"
After hearing the question raised by Sokov, Trekov looked at Krelov next to him, and then said apologetically: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, given that you have completed the mission well and restored the 62nd Army and the city, the northern cluster has been officially disbanded. As for your arrangements, after our careful research, you will return to Mamayev's hill and continue to serve as the brigade commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade."
Although he was removed from his post in less than 24 hours as commander of the Northern Cluster, Sokov had no complaints at all. He thought to himself: Instead of rushing to command a few unfamiliar troops, it is better to go back to Mamayev's hill, where there are not only troops he is familiar with, but also help him become famous all over the world.
…………
When Sokov returned to the brigade command center in Mamayevgang, Belkin, who was sitting inside, was stunned at first, then stood up to greet him, and asked in surprise: "Comrade Brigade Commander, aren't you now the commander of the Northern Cluster? Why do you have time to come back to us?"
Before Sokov could answer, Cidolin asked tentatively: "Comrade Brigade Commander, is it because the superiors plan to transfer our brigade outside the city to block the enemy?"
"Our troops entered Mamayev's hill and were approved by the Supreme Command. No one could transfer us from here unless the entire brigade was completely destroyed." Sokov said casually: "In addition, I have been removed from the position of commander of the Northern Cluster by General Cuikov."
"What, you were dismissed?" Belkin's voice alarmed several staff officers and communication soldiers sitting in the corner, which attracted them to look at them. Belkin noticed his incompetence. In order not to embarrass Sokov in front of his subordinates, he turned his head to say to those people: "You go out first!" When the staff officers and communication soldiers heard Belkin say this, they immediately stood up and walked out of the command center in a row.
When there were only three people left in the house, Belkin asked anxiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, what happened? OK, how could you suddenly be dismissed?"
Seeing Belkin and Cydolin's nervous expressions, Sokov realized that he had not made it clear, which made both of them misunderstand. He quickly explained to them: "The purpose of forming the Northern Cluster was to restore the connection between the 62nd Army and the Front Army. The 124th and 149th Brigades under my command have now completed the mission successfully. It is normal to be disbanded, so it is natural to be dismissed."
After hearing Sokov's words, Belkin breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I thought you had made some mistakes to be removed from Commander Cui Kov. So that's what it is. It's really a false alarm."
After figuring out that it was an oath, Sidorin felt at ease. Although he had been the chief of staff of the brigade for a long time, his control over the troops was very limited. Just like this time Sokov went to serve as the commander of the Northern Cluster, and he just made a phone call to the third battalion. Captain Andrei, the commander of the third battalion, ran over with the troops, and before leaving, he didn't even say hello to him. He could not imagine that once Sokov was removed from his position as brigade commander or something unexpected happened, who could command the infantry brigade? Fortunately, it was a false alarm, and Sokov was going to return to command the troops again.
Sokov remembered that shortly after the counterattack organized by Zhukov failed, the German army launched a fierce attack on Stalingrad and captured the Mamayev hill on September 15. Fortunately, Rodimtev's 13th Guard Division came to Stalingrad and launched a timely counterattack on Mamayev hill, which recaptured the hill. Since his troops were stationed here and built relatively complete fortifications, it was naturally impossible for the Germans to occupy Mamayev hill again.
Therefore, Sokov announced his first order after returning to the brigade: "Chief of Staff, inform all commanders at the company level and above to come here for a meeting."
However, before the commanders of the meeting arrived, an unexpected person came. Sokov was standing by the table, pointing to the map on the table, introducing the current situation of enemy and us to Sidorin and Belkin, but he heard someone shouting his order loudly: "Misha, where are you?"
Sokov heard it was Asia's voice. As soon as he turned around, a man rushed into his arms and hugged his waist tightly. Asia asked in a crying voice: "Misha, what happened? Why did you get removed from your post? Did you make any mistake?"
Asia's series of problems, Sokov immediately realized that it must be among the staff and communication soldiers who had just been driven out by Belkin. The reason why she came so quickly was that she could treat the soldiers in a nearby tunnel, so that she could rush over as soon as she got the news.
Sokov hugged Asia, gently patted her back with his right hand, and said with a smile: "Little fool, what are you thinking? How could your husband be removed from his post by his superior because of a mistake?"
"But, but..." Asia looked up at Sokov and asked in a crying voice: "Misha, since you have not made any mistakes, why did they remove you from your post?"
"The reason why my superiors wanted to remove me from my position was because the army was disbanded after completing the mission." Sokov smiled and said to Asia: "Think about it, since the troops no longer exist, what else do I want me, a bare commander, to do?"
After listening to Sokov's explanation, Asia still asked half-believingly: "Is it really okay?"
Chapter completed!