As soon as Sokov returned to the command, he received a call from Khrushchev from the command: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, how is your situation? Did the German army launch a ground attack?"
"No, comrade of the military committee." Sokov carefully observed the possible areas of the German army before returning to the tunnel, but did not find any information. Therefore, he answered affirmatively: "In front of Mamayev's post, there are no signs of German army gathering. It seems that they will not launch an attack in a short period of time."
"I just received a report from Cuikov," Khrushchev said to Sokov after implementing that there were no enemies in the direction of Mamayevgang: "The enemy used dozens of tanks and a regiment of troops to attack the factory area."
"What, did the Germans launch an attack on the factory?" Sokov knew very well how large the factory was. Not to mention a regiment, even if the German army invested ten regiments at a time, they could fully deploy. However, after a large-scale shelling, the German army only dispatched one regiment to ground troops, which was a bit intriguing. He asked tentatively: "Comrade Military Commissioner, is there any conspiracy for the Germans to only invest one regiment in the attack in such a vast area of ​​the factory area?"
"What conspiracy can the Germans have?" Khrushchev said disapprovingly after hearing this: "I think it must be because Zhukov's counterattack in the north has restrained their large number of troops, so that he could not draw enough troops to attack the factory area in the north."
Since Khrushchev has drawn a conclusion, Sokov can't argue with the other party for his own guess, right? Besides, his judgment is not necessarily correct. He was silent for a moment and then asked: "Comrade Military Commissioner, what can I do to serve you?"
"The Front Command is preparing for the transfer," Khrushchev raised his hand and looked at the watch, and said to the microphone: "At the latest half an hour, we will pass through Mamayev's hill and arrive at the ferry to board the ship. I hope you can send a powerful force to be responsible for the alert work from the section from your defense zone to the dock."
"I understand," Sokov immediately said unambiguously: "I will send troops to arrange defenses immediately."
After putting down the phone, Sokov immediately began to issue orders. He said to Cydolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the German army had about a regiment of troops, and under the cover of dozens of tanks, they attacked the factory area. Although it was calm here, we still had to order the battalions to prepare for combat."
When Cidolin heard the news, he showed a shocked expression on his face. He ignored Sokov's words and asked in surprise: "The German offensive force has only one regiment?"
"Yes, there is only one regiment." Sokov nodded and expressed his guess to Cidolin: "I am worried that the German attack on the factory area is just to attract our attention. In fact, their offensive targets are other places."
"Other place?" Cidolin asked curiously: "Where do you think it would be?"
Before answering Cidolin's question, Sokov picked up the phone and said to the microphone: "Let Selyosha come to me." Then he said, "Maybe ours is the target of the German army's attack."
Cidolin said carefully: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the German army has conducted two tentative attacks on us, but they all ended in failure. I think it is unlikely that they will launch another attack."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, the Germans have suffered two losses in a row, and they will definitely not give up. They will sooner or later revenge." Seeing that Sidolin did not pay enough attention to this matter, Sokov thought to himself: In real history, the reason why Mamayev's hill was easily lost was not only the lack of perfect fortifications on the hillside. The more important reason was that the commander who was sticking to this high ground was too numb, and the German army easily seized the commanding heights of Stalingrad. In order to prevent Sidolin from underestimating the enemy, he said in a more stressful tone: "The enemy is very cunning. As commanders, we must not underestimate the enemy, otherwise the consequences will be unimaginable."
As soon as Sokov finished speaking, he heard someone shouting a report at the door. He turned his head and saw that it was Selyosha standing at the door. He quickly waved to the other party and said, "Selyosha, come to me!"
Selyosha came to Sokov and asked straight, "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you have any instructions?"
"Seryosha, this is the case," Sokov said to Seryosha: "In more than twenty minutes, the Front Command will pass through our defense zone and head to the dock to take a boat. You will take the guard company outside to be responsible for the defense, and you must ensure the safety of the Front Command before boarding the ship."
"I understand, comrade comrade comrade," Seryosha said with his head: "Please ensure that the task is completed."
As Selyosha's back disappeared from the door, the expression on Sidolin's face became serious. He looked around and saw that the staff and the communications soldiers were busy, and no one looked at their place. However, for the sake of safety, he lowered his voice and asked: "Comrade Brigade Commander, isn't it equivalent to saying that the situation in Stalingrad is very critical?"
"Yes, this is true." Sokov nodded and said, "Therefore it is completely necessary to move the Front Command to the other side. In the next days, we may have to fight street battles with the Germans."
"How can they do this?" The expression on Cidolin's face suddenly became a little angry: "At this time, the headquarters moved to the other side, have they considered what impact it will have on the morale of the army and morale?"
"Although the transfer of the headquarters has a certain impact on the morale and morale, these are within a bearable range." Sokov knew very well that Stalingrad was in danger. If the Front Command stayed in the city, it would be possible to be taken over by the German army, and the morale of the army would be even greater. Therefore, facing the brink of rampage, Cidolin said: "If the command continues to stay in the city, it will definitely be attacked by the German army. The tragedy of the Battle of Kiev cannot be staged again in Stalingrad, right? Therefore, I think the transfer of the headquarters is a very wise decision."
The Battle of Kiev was a shame for every Soviet commander. In this battle, not only were the supreme commanders of the Southwest Front killed collectively, but hundreds of thousands of commanders and fighters were captured, so that Hitler proudly boasted that this was the largest annihilation battle in human military history.
Hearing Sokov said this, Sidolin immediately understood that under the current situation, the transfer of the Front Command to the East Coast was perhaps the most correct decision. So he nodded and took the initiative to change the topic: "Comrade Brigade Commander, when do you think the German army will launch an attack on Mamayev's hill again?"
"I don't know." Sokov shook his head and said teasingly: "If I knew the time when the German army attacked Mamayev hill, then I would be Paulus' chief of staff."
Just as Sokov's words made Sidolin laugh, the voice of political commissar Berkin came from the door: "What's wrong with Paulus' chief of staff?"
"Comrade Political Commissar, you are back." Sidorin took the initiative to greet Belkin and explained to him: "Comrade Brigade Commander is joking with me. How is your inspection situation? Are there major casualties in the army?"
Belkin returned to the table and sat down, put the big-brimmed hat on his head on the table, sighed and said, "In the summary of the enemy's artillery bombardment, there were casualties in the first and second battalions. Although there were not many casualties, many areas on the surface of the south slope were destroyed by artillery fire, and people needed to organize emergency repairs. As for the north slope, due to the few enemy shells, the fourth battalion who stood there had no casualties."
"Where is the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion?" When he learned that Belkin had just gone out for inspection, Sokov immediately thought of the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion that would only stand there stupidly and be bombed. He asked quickly: "How are their casualties?"
"Because they dug trenches and anti-aircraft holes near the air defense position, there were no casualties in this shelling." Belkin looked at Sokov and said, "But two more anti-aircraft guns were destroyed by the enemy's artillery fire."
When Sokov heard this, he couldn't help but frowned slightly. The women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion had not had a few anti-aircraft artillery left, but now two more were destroyed. This army should consider abolishing the establishment. Thinking of this, he said to Belkin: "Comrade Political Commissar, go and talk to Lieutenant Ulanova of the Women's Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion. Since they suffered so much casualties, the anti-aircraft artillery was almost completely lost. It would be meaningless to continue to stay here. It would be better to let them withdraw back to the factory."
"But if the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion is withdrawn, we will have no air defense force." When Sidolin heard that the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion was going to be removed, he quickly persuaded Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I suggest you think about this matter carefully."
"There's nothing to consider." Sokov said in an unquestionable tone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you should know that the planes move very quickly in the air. To shoot down targets in the air, you must have enough air defense weapons. But now the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion has only two or three anti-aircraft artillery guns left. If you want to shoot down enemy planes, that opportunity is impossible, but it's better to let them withdraw back to the factory area and leave these anti-aircraft artillery to us to attack the enemy's tanks."
"Okay, comrade comrade commander." After hearing Sokov's words, Berkin felt that the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion was now a useless person. Staying here not only did not play any role, but also needed to send troops to protect them. Sokov's proposal was hesitant for a moment. After putting the hat on the table again on his head, he stood up and said, "I'll talk to Lieutenant Ulanova now and hear what she thinks."
As soon as Belkin left, Sokov said to Cydolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think something is right. Why are the enemy's shells mainly concentrated on the south slope, not the north slope? You should know that there are many fuel-filled oil tanks on the north slope. Once the shells hit, they can turn into a sea of ​​fire. Then the enemy did not do this, but concentrated on artillery fire to bombard the south slope. What are their intentions?"
Cidolin thought for a while, then expressed his thoughts: "I think the reason why the enemy did not bombard the North Slope was that he knew there were fuel-filled oil tanks there, and once seized, he could refuel their tanks."
"Yes, this is completely possible," Sokov said to Cidolin. "But then, the question arises again. How did the Germans know that the oil tanks on the north slope are already filled with fuel?"
"Why?" Ciderin blurted out his question.
"I think there must be hidden secrets from Germans near us, so that we can be so clear about the situation here." Sokov said: "We have to send people to the residential areas near Mamayev Hill to search to see if there are any hidden German secret agents."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, are you saying that there are German spies hidden in the residential areas near us?" After hearing Sokov's words, Cidolin couldn't help but ask in surprise: "How is this possible?"
"What's impossible?" Sokov sneered and said: "Since I led two infantry brigades to make a gap in the enemy's encirclement, many Germans must have disguised themselves as soldiers who broke through our army and sneaked into the city. If these spies are not eliminated, we will definitely suffer a great loss when fighting street battles with the Germans in the future."
Cidolin did not express any doubt about Sokov's statement. After all, he was the commander of the combat department of the 64th Army and had heard of the Germans disguised as Soviet troops. As soon as Sokov finished speaking, he immediately stated: "After the guard company completes the alert mission, I will send them to the nearby residential areas to search. In addition to searching the spies sent by the Germans, we also need to find deserters who retreated from the front line..."
When Sidolin was talking to Sokov about his thoughts, the phone ringing on the table. Sokov grabbed the microphone and put it in his ear and said, "I am Sokov, where are you?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander, I am Captain Brisky, the commander of the Fourth Battalion." Captain Brisky said hurriedly on the phone: "Germany, many Germans, and there are many Germans in front of our position. It seems that they are planning to attack us."
"These damn German guys actually played the trick of beating the east and the west with me." Sokov thought to himself. After the shelling was over, the enemy attacked the factory area north of Mamayevgang with great fanfare, just to attract the attention of the city's defenders, and then they could take advantage of their neglect to prevent them from taking advantage of the situation.
Chapter completed!