"Political Commissar, Comrade Chief of Staff," in order to implement his orders accurately and promptly, Sokov felt that it was necessary to explain to Belkin and Cydolin: "I ordered the First Battalion to build a defense line on the front of Nangang, considering that the terrain on the west side of Mamayev's side was smooth, easy to attack and difficult to defend. In order to defend here, it was necessary to expand our defense depth."
"That's right," Cidolin agreed with Sokov's statement: "Whether it is Nangang or Beigang, the hillside on the front of the defense is relatively flat, and the enemy's infantry can easily rush up, so you decided to push the front line away from the hill."
After Cidolin repeated what he said, Sokov continued: "But now I find that the open land in front of Mamayev's post is not conducive to defense. Putting a battalion of thousands of people there will only lead to their loss under the enemy's uninterrupted shelling. Therefore, after repeated thinking, I decided to shrink my troops and hold on to Mamayev's post."
"Do you take them all into the fortification?" Cidolin asked with a wry smile: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you also know that the ventilation conditions in the tunnel are not ideal. Thousands of people are crowded in one tunnel. If the time is short, it will be fine. If it takes a long time, I am worried that there will be suffocation."
"Didn't Major Ozor help us improve the ventilation system?" Sokov remembered that last time he used his surface position to lure the enemy and closed most passages in Nangang, causing a large number of wounded people to experience symptoms of hypoxia and suffocation, he specially invited Major Ozor to help him improve the ventilation system. At least when he stayed in the command center, he did not experience any poor breathing. Therefore, he asked in surprise: "Why are there still suffocation?"
"After Major Ozor helped us improve the ventilation system last time, the ventilation in the tunnel was indeed in a very good state." Cidolin said with some embarrassment: "But the enemy's shelling caused the entrances of some tunnels on the front of our defense to collapse, which made the ventilation in some areas worse..."
What else Sidolin said next? Sokov didn't hear it clearly. He was thinking in his mind that when the last time he implemented the tactic of luring the enemy, Vanya's first battalion retreated into the tunnel, while Vasily's second battalion was arranged to dig fortifications at the foot of the mountain in Dongpo. If two basically complete battalions were placed in the tunnel, plus the third battalion and the brigade's direct troops, the tunnel would be crowded.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov saw that Sidolin was still talking nonstop, and quickly raised his hand to stop him and began to issue orders: "This is how I think about it. After the first battalion got off the front of the defensive car, it did not enter the fortifications of the tunnel, but laid them on the back slope to build new fortifications?"
"Reverse slope?!" Sidolin heard the word suddenly appearing from Sokov, and couldn't help but ask in surprise: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I don't understand what you mean?"
After hearing what Cidolin said, Sokov immediately realized that he had said it wrong again. The statement of the fortification of the reverse slope seemed to have only appeared ten years later. He quickly explained to Cidolin: "The reverse slope refers to the hillside facing the enemy and facing us in the mountain offensive and defensive battle."
After Sokov's explanation, Sidolin immediately understood: "If the hillside facing the enemy and facing us is called a back slope; then can the hillside facing the enemy and facing us be a forward slope?"
"That's right, that's what it means." Seeing that Sidolin could learn from it so quickly, Sokov gave him a thumbs up: "I think the defense direction of calling Mamayevgang this way seems simpler and more direct."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," after figuring out what the reverse slope is, Cidolin asked in confusion: "Since the fortifications of the reverse slope are facing our army, why do we need to build fortifications here? Are you worried that the enemy will go around the hills and go back to our back?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you're wrong." Sokov shook his head and replied: "Building fortifications on the reverse slope is not to deal with the enemies who are detouring behind our army, but to deal with the enemies who occupy the top of the hills."
Sokov's words made Sidolin and Belkin confused. After they looked at each other, Sidolin raised his own question: "Comrade Brigade Commander, even if we built fortifications on the back slope, once the enemy occupied the top of the hill, they could attack us from a high point..."
Sokov took out paper and pen, and while drawing a schematic diagram on the paper, he explained to Sidolin and Belkin: "We ordered the first battalion to build the first trench thirty meters away from the top of the hill. The soil dug out of the trench was piled on the side of the top of the hill, and the entire trench was in the shape of high in front and low in the back.
The reason why we built the first trench so close is that when the enemy rushed to the top of the hill, our soldiers could drop bombs from the trenches, give them major damage, and then carry out counter-charges to regain the hills occupied by the enemy in one fell swoop."
"So close," Cidolin crossed his hands in front of his chest, staring at the Science on the table, frowned, "We can throw grenades at the enemy, they can throw them too. And it's much easier for them to rush down from the hills than we do to feint."
"Chief of Staff, the situation is not what you think." Sokov continued: "Because the soil we dug is piled near the top of the mountain, blocking the enemy's sight and making it difficult for the grenades they throw to be thrown into our trenches. As for charge, you also know that the terrain of Mamayev Hill is flat on the west and steep on the east. It is easy to go up the mountain and difficult to go down. When the enemy rushed down from the steep hillside, in order to prevent falling, their speed will definitely be affected, so that they will become the targets for our commanders and fighters to shoot."
"It makes sense, it makes sense." Belkin nodded a few times when he heard Sokov say this: "It is relatively easier for our soldiers to rush upwards than the enemy to rush downwards. Moreover, this kind of trench is high in front and low in the back. Even if our first trench is occupied by the enemy, we can easily retake it when we launch a counterattack."
Chapter completed!