Two hours ago, Schmid immediately returned to his office after receiving Paulus' orders and called the commanders of each division. His first call was Major General Laize, the commander of the 29th Motorized Infantry Division.
Who knew that as soon as Schmid issued the order to turn into defense, Leser got angry. He asked angrily: "Chief of Staff, half of my division's officers and soldiers are fighting with the Russians in the large granary south of Stalingrad. Maybe in half a day or even a few hours, we will be able to completely occupy this area, but you asked me to draw troops to clear out the guerrillas in the rear. Shouldn't these damn Russians be handed over to the SS?"
Hearing that Leser was so disgusted with Paulus' order, Schmid said helplessly: "General Leser, I don't want to hide the current real situation from you. Several small Russian troops went deep into our defense zone and caused considerable casualties to our army. It was the command of the commander who ordered you to suspend the attack and draw troops to clear the Russians in the rear of our army."
"His Excellency Chief of Staff," Laizen couldn't help but ask curiously when he heard Schmid say this: "Can I ask what kind of troops the Russians who sneaked into our rear have that can actually make the Commander decide to stop the attack?"
Schmid replied with a wry smile: "According to reliable information, there are about fifty or sixty Russians who have sneaked into the rear of our army."
"What, only fifty or sixty people?" After hearing what Schmid said, Laize immediately jumped out of the seat, his face full of disbelief: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, only dozens of Russians are worthy of such a big fight. Isn't this a bit too much trouble?"
"General Lezer, don't underestimate these dozens of Germans. They caused huge losses to our army last night." Schmid saw that Lezer was a little uneasy about the order to mobilize troops to clear the rear, so he quickly introduced the losses suffered by the troops last night and the faction of a regiment of the 295th Infantry Division. He finally said: "They can achieve such results because they have a new type of rocket that can launch attacks at a long distance and cause huge casualties to our army, so that our troops cannot find him at all. In order to avoid similar situations, each division must draw troops to search behind their respective defense zones, and find these annoying Russians from their hidden opponents."
After learning that a regiment headquarters was quietly taken off by the Soviet army at night, Laize couldn't help but breathe: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, you just said that they had sneaked into the rear of our army. Do you know where they are?"
"According to the information we obtained, they sneaked into the rear of our army from the defense zones of the 71st, 76th and 295th Infantry Divisions." Schmid explained to Leser patiently: "We are not sure which divisions they have sneaked into besides the defense zones of these three divisions. In order to avoid unnecessary losses from the troops, the commander decided that all troops temporarily stop attacking Stalingrad, transfer to defense on the spot, and draw enough troops to search for the Russians in the rear."
After listening to Schmid's explanation, Laize finally realized the seriousness of the problem and quickly replied: "I understand, Chief of Staff, I will immediately issue troops to the troops to stop the attack, and draw enough personnel to clear the Russians in the rear."
"Remember, Mr. General." Schmid told Laiser: "Even if there is no Russian squad in your defense zone, you can take the opportunity to clear out the guerrillas that are active behind you."
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Two hours later, Schmid came out of Paulus's office and picked up the phone again. The first one to call was still Laiser's phone.
When Laiser heard Schmid's voice, he reported to him with some smugness: "Chief of Staff, according to your order, I have drawn two battalions of troops from the front, and now they are fifteen to twenty kilometers away from the original combat site."
"General Leser," Schmidt immediately became anxious when he heard that Leser's troops had begun to mobilize to the rear: "Immediately order them to stop and return to the original defense zone as soon as possible, and prepare to attack the Russians again?"
"Your Excellency Chief of Staff, what did you say?" Schmid's words surprised Laize: "Didn't you order us to draw troops to the rear to clear out the guerrillas?"
"Yes, General Leser," Schmid replied bitterly: "I did give such an order two hours ago, but now things have changed. You must immediately transfer these troops back to the front line and re-launch the attack on the Russians."
"Chief of Staff, what are you kidding?" Laize was displeased when he heard Schmid say this. He thought to himself that he had finally transferred two battalions from the front and went to the rear to clear out the Soviet squads and guerrillas. Who knew that halfway through the way, Schmid ordered himself to transfer people back, and he was immediately furious: "Do you know how much effort it took for me to withdraw the troops from the front? Now that the troops are halfway through, you ordered me to return to their original combat positions. Isn't this teasing us?"
Schmid knew that such changes in the morning and night would definitely arouse the disgust of the division commanders below, but letting the troops launch a new attack was an order issued by Hitler himself, and no one could violate it. Seeing that Laize was angry, he could only explain with a gritty bullet: "General Laize, ordering the divisions to draw troops to clear the rear, was the decision made by the commander based on the current situation. But letting the troops re-enter the attack was the order issued by the head of state."
Lize originally wanted to blame Schmid for a few more words, but when he heard that the attack on Stalingrad was initiated by the head of state himself, he swallowed the words to his mouth and could only say helplessly: "Okay, Your Excellency Chief of Staff, I immediately let someone notify the troops and let them return to the frontline."
Considering that even if the troops return to the forefront, it will take some time to deploy, he said tactfully: "But after the troops return to the forefront, it may take time to adjust their deployment before they can launch an attack on the areas occupied by the Russians again. I hope you can understand."
"I understand, I understand." Schmidt also knew what kind of trouble would arise if the troops returned to the forefront and had to launch a new attack, so he said with understanding: "As long as you can attack your Russians in front before dark, you will obey the orders of the Head of State."
When Schmid called other division commanders, he was also unanimously complained, but when he said that he would launch a new attack on Stalingrad, the head of state personally issued the order, all the division commanders were silent and could only helplessly recall the troops who were preparing to clear the Soviet army in the rear and return to the front to prepare for the attack.
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At dawn, Soviet commanders and soldiers found that the German army did not launch an attack as usual, and even some areas were withdrawing troops. They thought it was a conspiracy of the German army, and they reported it to their superiors while increasing their vigilance. But not long after, they received a notice from the Army Command that the rear of the German army was attacked and that they might temporarily stop attacking the city and mobilize troops to the rear, so that everyone can continue to closely monitor the enemy's movements.
After learning that the German army stopped attacking and began a small withdrawal, most of the commanders and soldiers felt relieved. Except for a few soldiers who were monitoring the enemy opposite, the rest of the soldiers were resting in bunkers or fortifications.
Sidolin also received the same notice, and he asked Sokov for advice: "Comrade Brigade Commander, since the German army's attention has been attracted by our squad, can we order the soldiers to rest? After two months of fighting, the soldiers are already very tired."
"Yes, comrade comrade comrade commander." Witkov also agreed with Sidolin's statement: "The soldiers were already exhausted after such a long battle. Now they finally caught up with the Germans to stop the attack, so let them have a good rest." After saying this, without waiting for Sokov to respond, he turned to face Sidolin and said, "Chief of Staff, when arranging the soldiers to rest, he must leave enough observation posts to monitor the movements of the enemy opposite."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov saw Sidolin picking up the phone and was about to call several battalion commanders, and quickly stopped him: "I think the Germans stopped the attack, but it was only temporary. Maybe when the attack would be launched again. I know that the soldiers were tired, but if they were allowed to rest now, it would be easy to wake up when they fell asleep. Once the Germans suddenly launched the attack, how should we deal with it?"
"But, comrade comrade commander." Although Sidolin felt that Sokov's statement made some sense, he still said unwillingly when the exhausted soldiers said: "We don't know when the Germans will launch a new attack, maybe a few hours or a few days. Isn't it a pity to let the soldiers give up this hard-earned rest opportunity?"
Sokov stared at Cidolin intently, his mind running at high speed, thinking about how to solve this problem. After a while, he spoke, "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, call the battalion commanders of each battalion and said that the Germans may not attack us in a short time, and asked them to arrange half of the soldiers to rest, and after dark, they will arrange the other half of the soldiers to rest."
Cidolin felt that this arrangement was very reasonable for Sokov. He arranged half of the soldiers to rest. Even if the enemy suddenly launched an attack, there were enough personnel to block the enemy's attack. So he nodded and said, "I understand, comrade brigade commander, I will immediately convey your order to all battalion commanders."
After the order was issued, half of the defenders in Mamayevgang stayed in the tunnel to sleep, while the remaining people were still repairing fortifications on the high ground, preparing to deal with the possible attacks by the German army.
In the evening, the phone ringing on the table suddenly rang, and Sokov, who was dozing at the table, woke up. He was about to reach out to get the microphone, but Cidolin had already picked up the microphone first and put it in his ear and said, "I am Lieutenant Colonel Cidolin, where are you?...What, the enemy launches a new attack?...How many troops are there?...I know, I will report to the brigade commander."
When Sokov heard that the German army had launched another attack, he couldn't wait to ask: "Chief of Staff, has the Germans launched another attack on Mamayevgang?"
When Sidolin heard Sokov's question, he was stunned for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Comrade Brigade Commander, the phone was called by Captain Andre, the third battalion commander. He said that the German army launched another attack on the city area. The area they occupied was bombarded by fierce artillery fire from the German army. Because the artillery fire came too suddenly, many soldiers who were resting had no time to transfer and had been buried in the ruins of the collapsed buildings."
When he learned that there were many soldiers from the Third Battalion, buried in the collapsed ruins under the enemy's shelling, Sokov's mouth twitched violently a few times. He felt sad for the sacrificed soldiers, but he was powerless. After sucking his nose hard, he said to Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, call the observation post at the top of the hill and ask if there is any movement on the German army opposite us?"
Sidolin nodded, picked up the phone and contacted the observation post at the top of the hill. After asking a few questions, he held the microphone and said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I just asked the observation post. He said that the German army opposite was still the same, and the transferred troops did not return to the front line, and there was no sign of attacking at all."
"Chief of Staff," Sokov heard this and quickly ordered Cydolin: "Ask the observation post, except for the German bombardment in the city, how is the factory area on the right wing of Mamayevgang?"
"The Brigade Commander asked," as soon as Sadolin and Sokov finished speaking, he immediately asked to the microphone: "How is the factory area on our right wing? Have you been bombarded by the German army?"
After listening to the report from the observation post, Sidolin put out the microphone and said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I have learned about it. In addition to the calmness of Mamayevgang, the friendly defense areas on both sides of the left and right were attacked by German artillery fire."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, tell me, what's going on?" Cidolin asked curiously: "Why did the Germans only shell the positions on the left and right wings of Mamayevgang, but there was no movement on our front?"
Chapter completed!