After dawn, the commanders and fighters who had been fully trained followed the armored vehicles and set off again. After two hours of rapid march, Sokov and his team arrived at the Orlovka area.
However, here, there was neither the sound of gunfire between the enemy and us, nor the 67th Tank Brigade that broke through the German defense line. Sokov stood in the carriage of the armored vehicle, raised his telescope and looked around. On the empty grassland, he could see nothing except the withered weeds.
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Goria asked curiously when he saw this situation: "Why can't anyone see it? Have we come to the wrong place?"
"This is impossible." Sokov thought to himself that he had come here based on the map and the compass, so how could he find the wrong place? "According to the location provided by the Army Command, Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade should be nearby."
Although there was no trace of the tank brigade, Sokov was unwilling to wait for the rabbit, so he ordered Goria: "Comrade Captain, immediately let the other four armored vehicles go east, south, west and north to search for the whereabouts of friendly troops."
After Sokov finished speaking, Goriya said carefully: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we have just come from the south and we have not seen any traces of friendly troops along the way. There is no need to send people in this direction, right?"
After Goria reminded me, Sokov immediately realized that he was a little confused. His troops had just come from the south not long ago, and there was no sign of troops moving along the way. I guess Colonel Sidjayev's tank brigade would not move south at this moment. So he nodded and said, "Okay, then send troops to the east, west and north respectively to search for the whereabouts of friendly troops."
After the armored vehicle carrying out the search mission left, Sokov immediately ordered the radio operator: "Comrade of the radio operator, immediately send a telegram to the Group Army Command, saying that our troops had reached the designated location, but did not find Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade. Now I have sent search troops in different directions to search for the whereabouts of friendly troops."
After receiving the telegram from Sokov, Krelov was shocked and quickly said to Cuikov: "Comrade Commander, something happened. Lieutenant Colonel Sokov called and said that after they arrived at the designated location, they did not find Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade."
"How is this possible?" Hearing Krelov say this, Cuikov asked in an incredible tone: "Based on the information provided by friendly forces, Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade should have already arrived at the designated position. Comrade Chief of Staff, have Lieutenant Colonel Sokov and others found the wrong position?"
"Probably not." Krelov hesitated for a moment about Cuikov's doubts, and then replied: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is still very reassuring to do things. I don't think he will make such a low-level mistake."
After hearing this, Cui Kefu said dissatisfiedly: "Then why didn't they find friendly troops?"
"Comrade Commander, I think it might be something wrong with Colonel Shidjayev and others." Krelov reminded Trikov and said, "In my opinion, I'd better contact General Rokosovsky to see what's going on."
Half an hour after sending the telegram to Rokosovsky, he received a call back. After reading the contents of the telegram, Krelov was shocked: "Comrade Commander, General Rokosovsky, called back, they had lost contact with Colonel Sidjayev's tank brigade."
"Hey, they all lost contact with the Tank Brigade. How can Sokov's troops respond?" After saying this, Cuikov immediately ordered Krelov: "Get in touch with Sokov immediately and tell him that the Tank Brigade has lost contact with the Stalingrad Front. Let him increase the search range and be sure to find the Tank Brigade."
After recording this order, Krelov asked Cuikov hesitantly: "Comrade Commander, do you think something unexpected happened to the Tank Brigade?"
"It's very possible." Cuikov nodded slightly and said, "If Sokov's troops cannot meet with the tank brigade, then the counterattack we carried out may end in failure."
Krelov agreed with Cuikov's statement very much, and he asked, "Comrade Commander, what do you plan to do next if this operation really fails?"
"What else can we do? All we can do is to fight street battles with the enemy in the city. I am determined to turn every street and building in Stalingrad into the grave of the German kowt. I would rather turn Stalingrad into a ruin and a sea of ​​fire than to hand the city over to the enemy." Cuikov waved his fist and said with a serious expression: "We should do that the first house, as long as we have our soldiers, even if only one person, will become an unbreakable fortress for the enemy. In the basement, or the soldiers fighting on the stairs platform, as long as they understand the general mission of the army, they will fight fearlessly to the last person and independently complete the mission they should complete.
We have no power to expect the enemy to act passively. The enemy will destroy us at any cost and occupy the city. Therefore, we cannot be limited to defense, but should seize every favorable fighter, fight a counterattack, impose our will on the enemy, and use our active actions to destroy the enemy's plans."
Krelov was originally worried that Sokov's troops would not be able to contact Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade for a long time, and Cuikov would be frustrated by this. Seeing him so passionate, he felt much more at ease. He nodded and said, "Comrade Commander, you are right. Even if the enemy rushes into the city, our commanders and soldiers will insist on fighting tenaciously and will never let the enemy occupy this city named after the Supreme Commander himself."
…………
Sokov received a call from the headquarters and learned that the tank brigade had lost contact with Rokosovsky's headquarters, but he still placed his last hope on the soldiers who performed the search mission. However, the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. An hour later, the armored vehicles that went to perform the search mission returned one after another. The crew members reported to Sokov that no trace of the tank brigade was found within a radius of fifteen kilometers.
Although Sokov had been mentally prepared, he couldn't help feeling disappointed when he heard the soldiers' reports. He thought secretly: Could it be that Colonel Sidjayev's tank brigade had been annihilated by the Germans? It shouldn't be. No matter what, the tank brigade also has 35 tanks and an infantry company. Even if it encounters the German army at the regiment level, it has enough strength to continue to deal with the enemy.
When Goria learned that there was no trace of his own tank brigade within a radius of more than ten kilometers, he hurriedly asked Sokov for instructions: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we cannot find friendly troops that break through the enemy's defense line. What should we do next?"
Sokov did not immediately answer Goriya's question, but said to the radio operator: "The radio operator immediately sent a telegram to the headquarters, saying that after our search, no trace of the tank brigade was found within a radius of more than ten kilometers. Please call our department for the next action."
Taking advantage of the time when the radio operator sent the newspaper, Sokov said to Goria: "Comrade Captain, we can only stay here until we get new instructions from our superiors."
"How long will we have to wait?" Goria asked briefly.
"I don't know." Sokov replied very simply: "It depends on how the Army Command arranged it, maybe a few hours or a few days. In short, we can only stay here before our superiors order us to retreat."
After saying this, Sokov suddenly remembered that some time ago, the 13th Guard Division, which was originally fighting between Mamayevgang and the Charica River, suddenly disappeared overnight, and even the division headquarters lost contact with the Army Command. Unexpectedly, a similar situation occurred today. The tank brigade that was originally going to meet with him is now gone. Rodimtev's troops disappeared because the enemy's shells collapsed the division command, causing Rodimtev, who was trapped in the basement, to lose contact with the troops and superiors. This time, Colonel Shidjayev lost contact. I don't know why.
Before receiving the new order from his superiors, Sokov decided to stay here and wait for Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade, but he did not let everyone stand on the empty grassland and wait foolishly, but ordered people to build fortifications on a nearby hillside. In this way, even if they encounter a German raid, they can support them for a period of time with the cover of fortifications.
After hearing the order issued by Sokov, Goriya tentatively persuaded Sokov to take back his orders: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you must know that we are wearing German uniforms. Even if there are Germans nearby, they will regard us as their own people. I think there is no need to repair this fortification, right?"
"No, Comrade Captain, fortifications must be repaired." Seeing Goriya's look of pushing and hindering, Sokov said dissatisfiedly: "What if the enemy sees out our disguise and launches an attack on us? How long do you think we can support the enemy's fierce attack with our existing troops and weapons?"
"I understand, comrade comrade commander." Although Goriya was dissatisfied with Sokov's order and thought he was a big fuss, he did not dare to disobey it on the surface. He could only say with a tough bullet: "I will arrange for people immediately to go to the hillside to build fortifications."
Chapter completed!