After finishing the call with Zhukov, Sokov thought silently: "We must find a capable commander to command the troops behind the enemy, otherwise it will be difficult to pose any threat to the enemy."
Seeing Sokov remained silent and seemed to be considering some important issues, Sidolin asked carefully: "Comrade Brigade Commander, is there any important thing that General Zhukov has to ask you?"
Sokov looked down and saw a pack of cigarettes on the table. He picked up and pulled out one from it and held it in his mouth. After igniting it, CIA said slowly: "Comrade General affirmed the faction of our sending a squad deep into the enemy's backbone. However, he also proposed that the squad could achieve limited results. It is best to concentrate it. In addition to posing a greater threat to the enemy, he could even use the rockets in their hands to attack the area where the German heavy troops gathered to alleviate the pressure on our frontal defense."
When he learned that Zhukov advocated the merger of the squads behind the enemy, Sidolin seemed a little impatient. He stood up and said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I will ask the radio operator to send a report to several squads, ask them to gather at the designated location, and merge into a large force to move in the rear of the enemy."
"Chief of Staff, don't worry, you sit down first, and it's not too late to send a report to the squad after we discuss the details." After Sidorin sat down again, he continued: "It's a small matter to merge the squad, just send a few telegrams. What we are going to discuss now is the issue of who will command it once the troops behind enemy lines have completed the merger."
"The squad of the first battalion is commanded by Lieutenant Fisher." Hearing Sokov say something he was worried about, Cidolin said disapprovingly: "Since he is the commander with the highest rank, he will directly hand over the troops to him for command. Will it be over soon?"
"No, I don't think I can hand over the troops to his command." Before Sokov could speak, Vitkov had already taken the lead in raising an objection: "Although he is the commander with the highest rank, it is still a question whether this unit consisting of soldiers from several battalions can command well."
"The deputy brigade commander is right," Sokov agreed to see that Vitkov's thoughts coincide with himself, "Except for the first battalion of soldiers, the soldiers of several other squads are not familiar with him, and I also think it is not appropriate for him to command this unit. We need to reconsider the new candidate."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," as soon as Sokov finished speaking, Vitkov said to him with a smile: "Since you also think that someone else needs to be sent to command this army, why don't you let me go? "
Vitkov's words shocked Sokov. Just kidding, although you are the deputy brigade commander, your rank is the highest in the entire brigade, and you are the deputy chief of staff of the army. How can you carry out such a task that may be sacrificed at any time? After Sokov finished drafting, he said to Vitkov: "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, don't joke. How can you take risks with such a dangerous task? If something happens to you, how can I explain to the commander?"
The troops that went deep into the enemy's rear had only sixty people, and there was no reason to let a colonel serve as commander. Therefore, after Sidolin finished speaking, he also expressed his own opinions: "Comrade Colonel, the brigade commander is right. You can't take risks behind enemy lines, so let other commanders go."
"Do you have the right candidate?" After Vitkov's eyes swept across Sokov and Sidolin, he said carelessly: "If you can't find a suitable candidate, then I'll do it."
Hearing that Vitkov had already said this, Sokov knew very well that if he could not choose a candidate for Suer and others, then Vitkov could justify asking to command the troops behind enemy lines. In any case, his rank and prestige were higher than Fisher. If he commanded the troops, the soldiers would willingly obey his orders. If he wanted to stop him from taking risks, he could only select a reliable commander as soon as possible.
Sokov passed the commanders at the company level and above in his mind. He felt that there were two people who were more suitable candidates, so he looked up and asked Cidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have two candidates. Please help me check where they are now."
Cidolin nodded and then asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I wonder which two commanders are they?"
"Lieutenant Grissa, Lieutenant Guchakov, Commander of the 4th Company." After Sokov said his ideal candidate, he urged Cydolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately understand where they are now."
While Sidolin was calling, Sokov introduced the situation of the two candidates to Vetkov: "When I was still a platoon leader in Shimki town, I knew Lieutenant Grissa. He was a commander with a strong fighting spirit, and when fighting, he knew how to seize the fighter planes and eliminate more enemies at the lowest cost; and Lieutenant Guchakov was rescued from the prisoner camp. He had a deep hatred for the invaders. In order to clear the humiliation he experienced, he performed very bravely in all battles."
After hearing Sokov's comments on the two candidates, Vetkov nodded slightly and said rationally: "Okay, comrade brigade commander, since you already have the right candidate, then let them command the troops behind the enemy."
Seeing that Vitkov no longer stubbornly asked to go to the enemy's back to command the troops, Sokov's heart finally returned to his stomach. He happened to see Sidolin put down the phone and asked quickly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, are they all high? Where are they now?" When asked, Sokov felt a little unconfident. He was afraid that the candidate he was optimistic about was already injured or even sacrificed in the battle, and then he needed to select a new candidate.
The first thing Sidolin introduced was the situation of the ninth company commander Guchakov: "The ninth company commander Guchakov, now with the third battalion commander Andre, in the area of ​​the expert building, may not be able to come back in a short period of time."
Sokov was somewhat disappointed when he learned that the ninth company commander could not go to the enemy's backbone, but fortunately there was still a candidate, and he continued to ask: "Where is Lieutenant Grissa? Where is he now?"
"Lt. Grissa is now in Mamayev's hill, and the troops he commands have been fighting against the enemy." Sidolin asked Sokov tentatively: "Do you need to call him here?"
"Let Grissa hand over the command to his deputy and arrive at the command center as soon as possible." After Sokov issued the order, he suddenly remembered that he had transferred a company commander from the forefront, and at least he needed to say hello to the other party's superior, and added: "Remember to notify the second battalion commander Captain Vasily for this."
During the period when Grissa arrived, Sokov asked Vitkov and Cidolin again: "The merger of the team will be completed soon, and there are also candidates for commanders. Next, we should discuss their activity areas. You can talk about any ideas you have."
"I think the troops should turn north and harass the German troops attacking the factory area." Witkov first expressed his opinion: "The factory area we usually talk about is actually the Yerman area, Derzhinsky area, Red October factory area, barricade factory area, and tractor factory area. Although there are several divisions of the attacking German army, if they want to attack so many areas at the same time, their forces will inevitably become dispersed. If we send a small team to attack their rear, it will inevitably cause them to fall into chaos, thus forcing them to weaken and even stop attacking the factory area."
"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, I have a different view." Cydolin opposed Vitkov's seemingly safe choice: "Everyone knows that most of the cities in the south of the city have been occupied by the enemy. In order to prevent accidental injuries, the German army will no longer use tanks and cannons on a large scale when attacking the remaining blocks and buildings. We can allow the troops behind the enemy to move south to eliminate these enemies without artillery and tank cover."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are wrong. The results we have achieved are definitely not as good as the factory area in the north of the city." Witkov emphasized: "I still recommend using the troops in the north of the city. As long as they can restrain the enemy's vitality, then the troops that are stuck in the factory area can take a breath, and even launch a counterattack that can achieve results when necessary."
"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander,..."
“…”
Faced with the dispute between the two, Sokov did not interrupt. He repeatedly weighed the pros and cons of the benefits and losses of the two directions to the north and south. Because he was too devoted, he did not notice when the argument between the two stopped.
When he found that both of them were staring at him intently, he quickly grinned and asked awkwardly: "I wonder if the two final opinions have reached a unified end, whether to let the troops behind the enemy go north or south?"
"You are the commander of the first brigade," Vitkov did not make any decisions because his military rank was higher than Sokov, but said in a respectful tone: "You have the final say in which direction the troops should move."
Seeing that the two finally kicked the ball to him again, Sokov couldn't help but smile bitterly. He coughed softly, cleared his throat and said, "I agree with the deputy brigade commander. The troops behind the enemy should be allowed to move in the northwest direction so that they cannot concentrate their efforts to attack the factory area."
Sokov said this and saw Sidolin opening his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, he quickly raised his hand to stop him and continued to say: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't interrupt first, listen to me. Since all the factories in the factory area are still producing, the tanks and cannons they produce can not only be used for city defense, but also transported to various fronts through the Volga River to support our friendly forces to attack the enemy severely. Therefore, we must do everything we can to prevent the enemy from occupying our factory area."
Sidolin originally wanted to continue to stick to his opinion, but when he heard Sokov say that the products produced by the factories in the factory area could not only support the defenders in the city, but also support friendly troops on other fronts, he obediently closed his mouth and agreed to Sokov's arrangements for the troops to move north of the city.
Not long after, Grissa arrived at the command center.
After Sokov waited for Grissa to report to him, he nodded to him and said bluntly: "Lieutenant Grissa, there is an important task to hand over to you to call you here today."
When Grissa received the notice, he guessed that Sokov called him, and he must have had some important tasks. Therefore, when he heard Sokov say this, the expression on his face did not change at all: "Comrade Brigade Commander, please give orders."
"Comrade Lieutenant, come to the table." Sokov called Grissa to the table, pointed to the map spread out on it, and said to him: "According to the orders of our superiors, we will merge the small teams behind the enemy and hand them over to a commander with strong capabilities to carry out a raid in the rear of the enemy, and attack the enemy hard, so that they cannot concentrate all their strength and launch a full-scale attack on the factory area. Come and see, this is the assembly point of the troops. When it darkens, you will take two soldiers there to receive the troops."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Grissa did not feel ecstatic after hearing Sokov's arrangements, but asked calmly: "I want to ask, where should we move in and how to launch a raid against the enemy?"
Faced with a series of questions raised by Grissa, Sokov replied calmly: "Comrade Lieutenant, logically, I should not specify the area for you to be active, because we do not know much about the situation behind the enemy. If we rashly designate the area, we may send you into the enemy's encirclement. But this time the situation is different. The enemy is launching a fierce attack on the factory area. In order to restrain their living forces, I hope you can lead your troops to move in the north, that is, to attack the enemy's rear of the factory area. Use the rockets carried by the troops to attack them hard, consume their living forces, and prevent them from concentrating their superior forces and seizing our factory area."
After Sokov finished speaking, Grissa nodded first, and then asked: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the mission has been clear. I would like to ask, how long should we stay behind the enemy?"
Chapter completed!