Since staying in the fortifications of the tunnel, I could not hear the sound of gunfire from the battle site in the distance. Belkin couldn't sit still. He took the initiative to ask Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, it's okay for us to sit here anyway. Why not go to the observation center on the top of the slope to see it? Maybe we can see the scene of our army's defeat."
Although Sokov knew very well that although Mamayevgang was a commanding height, it was not easy to see the battlefield between more than ten kilometers. However, considering that there was nothing to do in the brigade command, even if you couldn't see anything at the observation center above, it would be nice to be able to hear a sound when you could not see anything.
The two of them came to the observation center on the top of the slope, and the soldiers who were performing observation missions inside. When they heard someone coming in, they turned their heads instinctively and looked at them. When the person who looked like the brigade commander and political commissar, they quickly turned around and straightened their bodies to salute.
"How is the situation?" Sokov asked casually: "Can you see the area of ​​war?"
Observation whistle shook his head and replied, "I saw nothing except the black smoke rising from afar."
"You have been here for so long, and you must be tired." Belkin waved at the observation whistle and said kindly: "Go out for a walk and find a place to smoke a cigarette."
The observation whistle saluted and turned around and walked out of the observation room. However, he did not walk far away, but sat next to a bush in Sokov's field of vision.
"Comrade Brigade Commander," he saw that the observation post was located, more than ten meters away from here, and he would not hear his questions from Sokov, so Belkin asked with confidence and boldness: "Do you really think that the attack launched by our army today cannot be successful?"
"Yes," although Sidolin had asked this question a long time ago and Sokov had already answered the other party, but when he heard Belkin ask, Sokov patiently explained: "Yes, I think the counterattack was too hasty. After the troops arrived at a new place, they didn't even understand the terrain, so they launched a hasty attack. In addition, there was a lack of effective cooperation between artillery and tank troops. It would be very difficult to break through the German three-dimensional defense."
The two were talking in the observation center, and a strange scream suddenly came from the air. Sokov hesitated for two seconds and suddenly realized that it was the sound of shells flying in the air. He quickly shouted: "No, shelling, hide quickly."
However, before they could react, the shells had already landed on the hillside and exploded. Amid the earth-shaking explosion, Sokov was shocked to the ground by the huge shock wave. He struggled to get up, pulled Belkin and was about to run into the tunnel. Before leaving the observation center, he looked at the location of the observation post and found that there was only one crater with blue smoke. The soldier had long disappeared.
The two fled along the passage into the tunnel, and Sokov stumbled into the command center, shouting at Cidolin, who was standing there: "Chief of Staff, the enemy has begun to shell us, and order the battalions to do hidden work."
Before Sokov entered the tunnel, Sidolin heard the sound of cannons coming from outside. He was quite puzzled at the time. He guessed where the cannon sound came from and why did he feel that the landing point was very close to here? Before he could come up with something, he saw Sokov rushed into the command center in panic and issued an order to himself. Sidolin did not dare to be negligent, so he quickly picked up the microphone on the table and conveyed Sokov's order to the battalion commanders.
"Comrade Brigade Commander, what's going on?" Belkin looked at Sokov and asked, "How could the Germans suddenly fire at Mamayev's hill?"
Although Sokov fled back to the tunnel with Belkin shortly after the shelling began, in his experience, there were at least three German artillery regiments that bombarded Mamayevgang, and a trace of ominous thought suddenly flashed through his mind: "Is the enemy using the tactic of the firefighting under the pressure to resolve the pressure on the northern troops of the city? As long as they concentrate their efforts to seize Stalingrad, our army's attack in the north will lose its meaning."
Sokov thought of the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion between the north and south slopes, and hurriedly asked Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, have you called the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion?"
"No." Cidolin shook his head and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, the Women's Anti-Air Artillery Battalion is only cooperating with our brigade's operations and is not affiliated with our brigade, so they will not accept our command."
"Even if they are not under our command," Sokov said with a serious expression: "You must also call them to inform them and let them find the right place to hide."
"Don't worry, comrade comrade commander." Regarding Sokov's concern, Cidolin smiled and said, "After the lesson last time, the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion has learned its cleverness. They have dug a lot of anti-aircraft artillery holes near the air defense position. Once they are bombarded by German troops, they will quickly hide."
Sokov didn't know whether the enemy was only shelling Mamayev's hill or the entire city. He felt that it was necessary to report the situation here immediately to Cuikov, so he called the group army headquarters. The person who answered the phone was Krelov. After hearing Sokov's voice, he asked first: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, according to our observation post report, the enemy is bombing Mamayev's hill. How about it, are you losing a lot?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, the losses of such a large-scale shelling are certainly inevitable." Sokov, who was staying in the tunnel, knew nothing about the situation outside at this moment, but since the Chief of Staff of the Group Army asked about this, he always had to give the other party a reply: "Since I have ordered the troops to enter the fortifications of the tunnel, only some posts were arranged on the surface positions. At the beginning of the shelling, I believe they had withdrawn the tunnel. In this way, even if there is any loss, the casualties will not be too great."
"Very good, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you did a good job." Krelov suddenly said after praising Sokov: "The Front Command may retreat to the left bank of the Volga River after the shelling is stopped. I hope you can send troops to ensure the safety of the Front Command during the transfer."
"The Front Command is going to retreat to the other side of the Volga River?" Sokov was very clear about Yelemenko and Khrushchev's placement of the Front Command on the east bank of the Volga River during the most difficult days of the Battle of Stalingrad. But at this moment, Sokov still felt abandoned in his heart when he heard Krelov say this. He said to the microphone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry, we will ensure the safety of the Front Command during the transfer."
After Sokov put down the phone, Cidolin asked anxiously: "What, the Front Command is going to retreat? Where are they going to retreat?"
"Where can you retreat?" Sokov pointed his hand in the direction of the Volga River and said, "Of course, you should retreat to the other side of the Volga River and re-establish a new command there to command the troops in the city."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, it is a cowardly act." As a political worker, Belkin usually feels very calm, but when he heard that the Front Command was about to be transferred to the other side of the Volga River, he couldn't help but get angry: "The troops are fighting against the enemy in the city, while our command is far away on the other side of the Volga River. What would they think if our soldiers knew about this?"
When Sokov heard Belkin say this, he thought to himself: Even if the soldiers complain, they will not have a chance to vent. Because in this fierce battle, the soldiers' survival time was only 24 hours, and the officers were only 72 hours. According to data statistics, Cuikov's 62nd Army had more than 100,000 people at the beginning of the battle, but after the end of the Stalingrad defense battle, there were only more than 200 people left.
"Comrade Political Commissar," in order to prevent Belkin's emotions from shaking the morale of the army, Sokov hurriedly took over his topic and said, "I think it is completely necessary for the Front Command to transfer. If the Front Command continues to stay in the city, it will soon become the target of enemy artillery or bombing. Once there is any problem with the headquarters, the entire Front Command will lose its unified command and become a mess, and will eventually be defeated by the Germans."
As soon as Belkin was relieved, the phone ringing on the table rang. This time the call was called by Khrushchev himself. He asked in the microphone: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I have gained preciousness. The enemy is bombarding your Mamayev hill. Is this true?"
Sokov knew that if the Front Command wanted to leave the city, he had to board the ship at the dock behind Mamayev. In order not to make misjudgment on the other side, he responded respectfully: "Yes, comrades of the military, the enemy is bombarding Mamayev's gang with fierce artillery fire."
"Can the enemy's shells hit the dock?" Khrushchev asked with some concern: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, please tell me the truth no matter what."
Sokov quickly covered the microphone with his hand and asked Cidolin who was standing in front of him: "Captain of Staff and the military committee member have asked all the questions? Can the enemy's artillery fire hit the dock?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander, don't worry. We have an observation post behind Mamayev's hill." Sidolin said, picking up another phone and saying to Sokov: "I'll ask them what's going on at the pier."
While Sidolin was calling, Sokov smiled and said to Khrushchev: "Comrade Military Commissioner, I will ask my Chief of Staff to find out immediately. Please do not hang up the phone, I will give you an answer as soon as possible."
Sidollin and others were surprisingly efficient. In less than two minutes, he ended the call and reported to Sokov with confidence: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the observation post report, there were sporadic water columns on the river surface. It should be that German shells fell into the Volga River."
After getting the exact news, Sokov hurriedly reported to Khrushchev: "Military Commissioner, my observation office reported that a water column would rise from time to time on the Volga River, which should be the shells flying over the Mamayev hill fell into the Volga River."
"I understand, lieutenant colonel." After hearing Sokov's reply, Khrushchev said very politely: "Thank you!"
Sokov did not ask the other party stupidly: "Are you ready to transfer?" Even if Khrushchev didn't say anything, he would be deducted points in his mind. Therefore, he said cautiously: "Comrade Military Commissioner, from all the signs, the Germans are planning to start attacking Mamayev's hill."
"No, no," Khrushchev said in a panic when he heard Sokov say this: "Zukov's troops are in the north of Stalingrad today, carrying out counterattacks on the enemy. Logically speaking, at this time, the enemy should concentrate all their main forces in the north. Why did they suddenly shell the Mamayev hill?"
"Comrade Military Commissioner, according to my estimate, the Germans may be worried that the troops stationed in Mamayev's hill would stab him from behind while they were fighting with the 1st Guards Army." Sokov analyzed to Khrushchev: "Therefore, they launched an attack from both directions at the same time, so that we could only divide our troops to meet the enemy in order to resolve the threat they face."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, what you said is a bit of a way." Khrushchev nodded after he finished speaking, and said, "I will forward all your words to the commander. By the way, once the enemy's shelling stops, remember to notify us immediately. I wish you victory!"
After the German shelling lasted for about forty minutes, it finally stopped. Somehow, after the shelling stopped, the German army did not use ground troops to attack. There was silence in front of the Mamayev's hill, which was emitting thick smoke.
Sokov was not very convinced of the report of the observation post. If the German army did not intend to attack him, why would they have been bombarded for a long time on the high ground? Therefore, he came to the surface position that was bombed out of shape, raised his telescope and looked into the distance, hoping to see the German army ready to go, so that he could ask the artillery company to drag the artillery to the top of the slope, and blasted it hard to avenge the soldiers who died under his command.
However, he looked with a telescope for a long time, but no trace of the German army was found in his sight. He murmured in a low voice: "What do the Germans want to do? Why did they use so many shells to bombard us without sending infantry attacks? Are they planning any conspiracy?"
Just as Sokov was about to return to the tunnel, he saw Asia and several health workers coming out of the entrance of the cave. He quickly grabbed Asia and asked with concern: "Asia, where are you going?"
"The Germans were just bombarding our positions, and there must be many casualties from commanders and fighters." Asia stopped and looked at Sokov and said, "We are coming to rescue the wounded."
After Sokov gave Asia a hug, he said with concern: "You must be more careful and pay attention to your safety!"
Chapter completed!