Cuikov took his adjutant Krimov and strode in from outside. Belkin and Goria quickly stood up and raised his hand to salute him.
Seeing Sokov trying to sit up, Cuikov hurriedly stepped forward to stop him: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you still have injuries on your body, don't get up." After letting Sokov lie down again, Cuikov turned his head and asked Asia standing beside him, "Asia, does his injury matter, right?"
Asia shook her head quickly and said, "There is only a slight concussion and some contusions on her body, nothing serious."
"Comrade Commander," Sokov, who was lying on the hospital bed, said apologetically after Asia introduced his injuries to Cuikov: "I have not completed the task you assigned me, and I request punishment." Although the 67th Tank Brigade was completely wiped out by the enemy due to isolation and no assistance after breaking through the German defense line and had no relationship with Sokov, he still took the initiative to ask Cuikov to take responsibility.
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you can't blame you for this." Cuikov waved his hand and said rationally: "It is the enemy's strength that is beyond our imagination. Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade was immediately cut off from the main force after breaking through the defense line, thus becoming an isolated army that does not receive any assistance."
Seeing that the action of going north to meet in failure, Cuikov's mentality changed. He felt that under the current circumstances, tactics should be adjusted in time to defend the city. Therefore, he said to Sokov: "The attack launched by friendly forces from the rear of the enemy did not achieve ideal results, and our cooperation in the attack was also unsuccessful. In the following days, I think it is necessary for us to adjust our playing style so that we can support the city for a longer time."
Seeing that Cui Kov realized that the conditions were not ripe, it was undesirable to launch a counterattack against the enemy, Sokov felt much more at ease, because in this way, Cui Kov would not order himself to perform any unfinished tasks.
"Comrade Commander," Sokov asked in a plain tone, "What should we do next?"
"The mission of your brigade remains unchanged, so continue to stick to Mamayev's post." Cuikov replied: "As long as our troops can be nailed here like a nail, the enemy cannot completely separate the defense lines between the factory and the city center."
"Comrade Political Commissar," Sokov waited for Cui Kov to finish speaking, and immediately turned his attention to Belkin standing aside: "How many troops can we use now?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Berkin hurriedly stepped forward and replied: "There are currently 3,400 people left in the brigade, of which more than 700 are wounded."
Sokov remembers that in real history, the number of casualties of the Soviet army on Mamayev's hill exceeded 50,000, and the German army also paid the price of more than 15,000. Therefore, as soon as they arrived at Mamayev's hill, they seized the time to build tunnels and some surface positions, which greatly reduced the number of casualties of the troops in battle. There are more than 3,000 people on the high ground. If Cui Kov could add some more to himself and persist until the counterattack in mid-November, there should be no problem.
After understanding the current situation of the troops, Sokov tentatively asked Cui Kov: "Comrade Commander, I don't know if I can add some troops to us. You must know that since our brigade entered the position, the number of casualties has exceeded half."
"You are only half of the casualties," unexpectedly, Cui Kefu said coldly after hearing this: "The casualties of other divisions and brigades are generally three-quarters, and some are even only two or three hundred. Even if they need to be supplemented, they need to be given priority."
After hitting a nail in Cuikov, Sokov was not disappointed, but continued: "Comrade Commander, I have an idea. Since so many division and brigade-level units have almost been wiped out, why not let their command bodies go to the rear to reorganize new troops and allocate the remaining soldiers to the existing combat troops?"
Sokov's proposal made Cuikov's eyes widen in surprise. For him, the troops that had almost completely lost their establishment had no need to stay in the city, but should be immediately transferred to the left bank of the Volga River for replenishment. But Sokov's statement gave him a new idea.
Seeing Cuikov's thoughtful look, Sokov quickly struck while it was hot and said: "Comrade Commander, as far as I know, after the German troops were crippled, the commanding organs went to the rear to re-establish the troops, and the surviving soldiers were dispersed and re-entered into other combat troops, so that the combat effectiveness of the troops could not be affected."
"It's interesting," Cui Kefu nodded and said, "After I return to the headquarters, I will discuss with the Chief of Staff. If he doesn't object, I can implement your plan in those division and brigade-level units with only a few hundred people left."
When Sokov saw that Cuikov agreed to his proposal, he couldn't help but feel happy. You should know that the soldiers surviving these troops were veterans with combat experience and were familiar with the situation in the city. Whether they were asked to fight positional battles in Mamayev's hill or street battles in the city or factory areas, they were much better than the newly transferred troops.
After chatting with Sokov for a while, he stood up and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, during this period, the work in the brigade has been handed over to Chief of Staff Cidolin, so you can rest assured to recover from your wounds here."
Since Sokov learned that his injury was not in danger of life, he wanted to go back to the command center to command the battle immediately. At this moment, when he heard Cui Kev ask him to hand over the command power to Sidolin, he waved his hand and said, "No need, Comrade Commander, with my current physical condition, I can be fully qualified for the command of the troops..."
Before Sokov finished speaking, Cuikov interrupted his later words: "Although your injury is not too serious, you can't even sit up now. How can you command the battle? Just listen to me about this. You should first recover from the injury and wait until you can get out of bed and walk around before taking over the command again."
Sokov was unwilling to lie on the hospital bed without doing anything, and quickly said to Cuikov: "Comrade Commander, although I can't move now, I can ask my comrades to carry me to the command center and continue to perform their duties there."
Belkin knew Sokov's character and knew that letting him lie here would definitely make him suffocate. He quickly stood up and said good things to him: "Comrade Commander, I think it's like what the brigade commander said, sending someone to carry him back to the command center and let him lie on the bed to command the troops to fight."
After hearing Belkin say this, Cuikov stared at him for a long time, he finally nodded in agreement with his proposal: "Okay, Comrade Belkin, since you also think it is feasible to let Lieutenant Colonel Sokov lie in the command force, then arrange someone to carry him back to the command center as soon as possible."
In this way, after Cuikov left, Belkin called several soldiers and carried Sokov back to the command center. Sidolin, who was answering the phone, saw Sokov being carried in by the soldiers, couldn't help but ask Belkin in surprise: "Comrade Political Commissar, the brigade commander is still injured. Why did you carry him here?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov, who was lying on the stretcher, couldn't move, but he tried to squeeze a smile on his face and said to Cidolin: "I'm not seriously injured, and I can continue to command the battle."
After the soldiers carried themselves from the stretcher to the camp bed, Sokov looked at Cidolin and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, how is the situation in the Vasily Building?"
"Vasily Building?" When Sidolin heard Sokov's question, he was stunned at first, and then he realized that he was asking the building occupied by Vasily, and quickly replied: "They are still sticking to it in the building."
Sokov was obviously dissatisfied with Sidolin's answer. After repeating his question, he specifically emphasized: "What I want to ask is what kind of threat did Vasily and the others hold in that building pose to the Germans."
Sidolin finally understood what Sokov wanted to ask, and quickly replied: "The building occupied by Vasily and the others turned out to be the family dormitory building of the State Consumer Cooperatives Cooperatives, located next to the square on January 9. Since Vasily and the others moved in, the enemy who tried to enter the Soviet street from here suffered major losses. The soldiers in the building killed nearly 100 invaders, and at least five tanks were blown up..."
"How many troops are there in this building now?" Although Pavlov in history has been holding on to this building for two months, Sokov was not sure whether Vasily and the others could hold on to the building for such a long time with his appearance, so he asked with concern: "Can they defend against the enemy's strong attack?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander, you can feel at ease." Sidolin said confidently when he heard Sokov's question: "Since Sergeant Vasily and others occupied the building, the Germans have launched several attacks and even used artillery to bombard the building, but none of them could drive our soldiers out of the building. There are more than fifty soldiers in the building, including our brigade and other small troops that were disbanded. I believe that with their strength, there should be no problem to defend the building."
Perhaps to reassure Sokov, Sidolin even took out a notebook and read the contents to Sokov: "...Including the machine gun platoon of Lieutenant Afanasiyev, they had seven people with one heavy machine gun; the anti-tank gun team led by Sergeant Sobugaida, there were six soldiers and three anti-tank guns; the mortar team of Lieutenant Chernushenko, they had four people and two 50mm mortars..."
Listening to the series of data reported by Sidolin, Sokov felt more and more at ease. The troops and equipment in the Vasily building are now obviously stronger than the Pavlov building in history. It should not be a big problem to stick to it for two months. However, for the sake of safety, Sokov continued to ask: "How long will we send them ammunition and supplies?"
"Two days," Cidolin put away his notebook and answered truthfully: "Every two days, the Third Battalion will send a platoon of soldiers to deliver the ammunition and supplies they need to the troops who are standing in the building."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," after Sidolin finished speaking, Belkin walked to Sokov's bed and lowered his head to him, "After Vasily and his team occupied the building, they found a group of residents hiding in the basement. According to our plan, these residents should be removed to a safe place, but when we carried out the transfer operation, the residents refused to leave their homes and expressed their willingness to stay and fight with Vasily and the others. Comrade Brigade Commander, tell me, what should we do?"
Although the residents of the city flocked to the ferry, trying to take a boat to the left bank of the Volga River from here to escape the city of blood and fire. But Sokov knew very well that even when he reached the east coast, their lives would still be difficult to guarantee. In addition to bombing and artillery fire that would take their lives, hunger and injuries would also cause many citizens to lose their lives. Therefore, it is not a bad thing for the residents of the Vasily building to choose not to leave. At least for a day in the building, they could get the food to survive, giving them the opportunity to live until the day the enemy was driven away from the city.
Thinking of this, Sokov looked at Belkin and said, "Comrade Political Commissar, since the residents are unwilling to leave, let them stay." Seeing that Belkin seemed to have something to say, he continued to say, "Now the enemy is blocking the surface of the Volga River very tightly. Whether the ship only transports troops and supplies from the east bank to the city, or transfers the wounded and residents in the city outside the city, they are facing the danger of being sunk by enemy planes or being destroyed by cannons."
After hearing Sokov's words, Belkin nodded slightly and said, "Okay, Comrade Brigade Commander, since you agree that they stay in the building, then let the radio operator send a telegram to Vasily later and tell him what you mean."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov considered that his troops had lost a lot of troops, and in the city of the left wing of Mamayevgang, there were many broken troops. If these troops could be incorporated, they could expand their strength, so he asked Cydollin tentatively: "We should have many broken troops on our left wing, right?"
"Yes, comrade comrade commander." Cidolin nodded and replied, "As far as I know, there are at least twenty units of troops on Sun Street, Proletarian Street, Gogol Street and Orlovsky Street. They have long lost their unified command and can only choose their own way of fighting and launching street fighting with the enemy."
Chapter completed!