After the reconnaissance team's telegram reached the brigade headquarters, Sokov immediately made a decision to send a squad of soldiers to reinforce and provide them with enough weapons, especially anti-tank weapons, so that they could persist in that building for longer.
Regarding Sokov's arrangement, Cidolin raised his own objection: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we only send one squad to reinforce. Is the number of people too small? I think it's better to send one to line up."
"One squad is enough." Sokov explained to Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, one squad in our brigade has twenty or thirty people, which is equivalent to a platoon of a friendly army; one squad has seventy or eighty people, which is similar to the company-level establishment of a friendly army. If you want to defend the building occupied by Vasily and others, it will definitely not work if there are fewer people. But if there are too many people, it will not work. Once the enemy finds that there are too many troops in the building, they will definitely bombard it with cannons and bomb it with planes, which will inevitably cause serious casualties to our army. Therefore, it is more than enough to send a squad of reinforcements to them."
Sidolin felt that what Sokov said was very reasonable, so he did not argue with him anymore, but continued to ask: "Comrade Brigade Commander, which battalion should we draw troops from to reinforce them?"
In the 73rd Infantry Brigade, the most powerful combat power is the Guard Company, but now the Guard Company has been dismantled. Sokov thought for a moment and then said decisively: "I think, just draw a squad from Christoph's reconnaissance company to reinforce Vasili and the others."
"I would like to ask another question," Sidolin looked at Sokov and asked, "When the reinforcements rushed over and met with Vasily and the others, who will command the troops in the building?"
Cidolin's question reminded Sokov. No matter what, Vasily is just a sergeant now, and he may not be able to command those who have higher ranks than him. Therefore, he said in a stern manner: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please record my order: From now on, all the commanders and fighters in the building, regardless of their rank and position, will obey Sergeant Vasily's command."
It was the first time for Cidolin to hear the order issued by Sokov, so he asked cautiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, are you sure that soldiers with higher rank than Vasily should obey his command?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, that's exactly what it is." Sokov nodded and said, "Not to mention the sergeant and sergeant, even if the lieutenant, the captain leads his troops into the building, he must obey Sergeant Vasily's command. As long as this is the case, I think they can hold on to the building and attack the Germans hard."
According to Sokov's idea, he was going to the Vasily Building with the reinforcements to learn about the defense situation there. Unexpectedly, before he could set off, the German army suddenly dispatched a large number of planes to carry out fierce bombings on the Mamayev hill and the factory area. Seeing this situation, Sokov knew that the German army's large-scale attack was imminent, so he had to give up the idea of ​​going to the Vasily Building and stayed in the command center to command the battle.
According to previous practice, the second batch of bombers would appear soon after the first batch of German bombers flew away. Unexpectedly, after the first batch of German bombers flew away, the second batch of bombers was not seen. Faced with such a strange situation, Belkin, who had just returned from Beigang, asked Sokov curiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, why did the Germans have only one bombing today? Do you know what's going on?"
Sokov was also puzzled by the German army's contrasting behavior. He picked up the phone and connected to the observation room at the top of the hill: "Hey, is the observation room? I am Sokov, is there any movement there?"
When I received the phone call, I knew what Sokov asked, and quickly replied: "Report to the brigade commander, after the German bomber group left, not only did I not see the second plane, but even the German starting position in the distance was particularly quiet. It seems that they will not attack us in a short period of time."
Sokov put down the phone, took the observation post and told Belkin and Sidolin about the situation. Suddenly, a bold guess came to his mind, and he quickly picked up the phone again and called the group army headquarters. After hearing Krelov's familiar voice from the receiver, Sokov asked straight to the point: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I am Sokov. I want to ask, has the northwest attack begun?"
Sokov's question stunned Krelov. After a moment of silence, he asked back: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, who told you that our army's attack in the north direction of the city has begun?"
"The enemy bombed Mamayev not long ago. But strangely, after their first bombing, the second bomber did not appear for a long time. At the same time, the attacking starting position of the ground troops also seemed particularly quiet, not like an attack at all." After Sokov talked about the situation here to Krelov, he boldly expressed his guess: "So, I think it was General Rokosovsky's troops who launched the attack, forcing the enemy to turn their main forces in the direction they were."
"Ltd Colonel," Krelov said immediately after he finished speaking, and said unhappy: "So far, I have not received any news that the Stalingrad Front has entered the offensive. You should keep your Mamayev post honestly and don't worry about some irrelevant things."
Sokov, who was criticized, put down the phone with a wry smile and said to Belkin and Cidolin: "Political Commissar, Comrade Chief of Staff, from the current situation, General Rokosovsky's troops have launched an attack from the German side and rear. In a short time, General Chokov will organize the newly arrived troops to launch a counterattack against the enemy in front."
Cidolin was skeptical about Sokov's statement: "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you really think that General Rokosovsky's troops have launched an attack on the rear of the enemy?"
"That's what I think." Sokov nodded and said, "Otherwise I can't explain why the German bombing was carried out only one round and it ended in a hurry."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Belkin interrupted, "Since the Germans stopped bombing at this moment, I think the squad that reinforces Vasily can be sent out."
Sokov originally wanted to go to the Vasily Building with the reinforcements, but the situation was unclear at the moment, so he could not leave the command center easily. However, the matter of sending the reinforcements could not be delayed. Who knew what the Germans attacked the Vasily Building. With the little force under Vasily, it was harder to defend the building than to climb to the sky. So he nodded and said decisively: "Okay, let them set out now."
Before the reinforcements set off, Sidorin specifically instructed the squad leader who led the team to obey Vasily's command after they arrived at the Vasily Building. The squad leader was originally a squad leader, not only two levels higher than Vasily, but also a soldier with rich combat experience. When he heard that he had to obey a new recruit with a lower rank than himself, he felt a little unhappy.
Sidolin noticed the strangeness of the squad leader and said to him with a stern face: "Comrade Dashi, let all the commanders and soldiers in the building today obey the decision of Sergeant Vasily's command, which was made by Comrade Brigade Commander. If you don't want to accept it, I can leave you and let others command your troops."
When the master learned that this order was issued by Sokov, he immediately lost his temper. He was afraid that he would be replaced by Cidolin, so he quickly said sincerely: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please stop changing people. Can't I obey the order? When our class arrives at the destination, he will definitely obey Sergeant Vasily's command."
"Comrade Tu, don't look aggrieved." Sidolin turned his head and looked at Sokov, who was sitting at the table and looking at the map, and read the Tu's voice in a low voice, "The commander of the brigade also said, "Not to mention sergeant or sergeant, even if the lieutenant and captain arrived in that building, he would obey Sergeant Vasily's command."
Shortly after the reinforcements were sent, Cuikov's phone call entered the command center. When he heard that the person who answered the phone was Cidolin, he immediately said in an orderly tone: "Lieutenant Colonel Cidolin, hand over the phone to Sokov immediately. I have important combat tasks and I have to hand them over to him to complete."
Seeing Sidolin handing the microphone to him, Sokov guessed that something important must be happening. He quickly took the microphone and put it in his ear and said, "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am Sokov. Do you have any instructions?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I just called the Front Command. You guessed that General Rokosovsky's troops launched a fierce attack on the enemy's defensive positions an hour ago." Cuikov said on the phone: "The enemy's attention was attracted by him, so the bomber group originally planned to bomb Mamayev's hill and the factory area were all transferred to bomb the Stalingrad Front to prevent them from merging with us."
After Sokov learned that his guess was completely correct, he did not feel complacent, but asked carefully: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, at what time will the counter-assault planned by the Army Command be launched?"
"According to the notice from the Front Command, there will be two infantry brigades and an infantry division tonight, who will secretly cross the Volga River and enter the city." Cui Kefu said excitedly: "After completing the assembly, these three troops will be put into battle as the main force of this counterattack."
"Comrade Commander," Sokov did not hear the specific time of the counter-assault from Cuikov's words, so he could only ask, "Can I ask, when will our army troops be put into battle?"
"It's still unclear at this time." Cui Kefu replied hesitantly: "We are not sure about the strength and equipment of the three troops that are about to enter the city, so I really can't give you an accurate answer when they can be put into battle."
If Cuikov does not organize an attack on the troops, then leading his troops through the German defensive gap and heading north to meet Rokosovsky's troops would be a suicide. Sokov knew very well that with the strength of the 192nd Battalion, he would simply hit a stone with an egg.
After Cui Kefu finished speaking, he immediately asked: "Comrade Commander, if you cannot confirm the time for the counter-assault, will your order to go north to welcome friendly forces also be postponed?"
"Ltd Colonel Sokov, don't worry." Cuikov heard Sokov's voice outside the painting and quickly comforted him, "If the counter-assault organized by the Army Command has not been carried out for one day, you can not go north for one day. Do you understand?"
"I understand!" Sokov answered loudly.
Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Cidolin quickly asked about his concern: "Comrade Brigade Commander, did the commander say when will we take action and cooperate with friendly forces to break the German encirclement?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, the Front Command will send us reinforcements tonight. Comrade Commander intends to use these new forces as the main force of counter-assault to launch an attack on the enemy's defensive positions." Sokov said expressionlessly: "But whether these troops can enter the city on time tonight is still unknown, so he does not know when the counter-assault will start in cooperation with friendly forces."
After Sokov finished speaking, he saw Sidolin's disappointed look, and comforted him, "Comrade Chief of Staff, although the counter-assault organized by the Army Command will start, it will still be carried out. What we need to do now is to make the 192nd Battalion prepare everything, and we can set off immediately after the order is issued."
After Sokov reminded him, Sidolin immediately thought that the 192nd Battalion would be put into battle and there were still many things to prepare. He quickly said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I almost forgot what you don't say. After maintenance, there are currently five German armored vehicles that can be used. You can bring these five armored vehicles when you are in action, and maybe they can be used when you pass through the German defense zone."
After Sokov seized these German armored vehicles, he was reluctant to paint the cross sign on it, and he planned to let the soldiers riding in armored vehicles disguised as enemies and easily mingle in the middle of the enemy. At this moment, he learned that there were actually five armored vehicles that could be used, so he began to think about whether to order some soldiers to wear German uniforms when the troops headed north so that they could pass through the enemy's defense line smoothly.
Thinking of this, Sokov asked Belkin: "Comrade Political Commissar, you are managing military supplies. I wonder how many German uniforms there are in it?"
Chapter completed!