Before Ballshaq could call, the German shelling began. Although it was deep underground, the three of them could still feel the ground trembling slightly in the house. Sokov had long been accustomed to the German shelling, so he did not feel nervous at all. On the contrary, he looked up at the roof, thinking in his heart that there would not be any dust that would be shaken down, right?
Ballsak, on the other hand, was bitten by a snake for ten years and was afraid of the rope. He had just retreated from the position that was bombarded by the German army a few hours ago. Therefore, when he heard the German shells exploded above his head, he couldn't help but ask Cousto in a panic: "Comrade Cousto, is it safe here?"
"Don't worry, Major Ballsack." Cousto said disapprovingly: "Our heads are two meters thick reinforced concrete. As long as the Germans do not use decondensation bombs, there will be no danger for us to stay here."
This was the first time Sokov heard the word "cracking bomb". He was stunned at first, but he quickly understood the meaning of the word literally. Regarding Ballshak's worry, he smiled and comforted the other party and said, "Don't worry, Major Ballshak, the Germans would never have dreamed that we would hide in the basement, so we would not use any cracking bomb at all. You can stay here with peace of mind."
Sokov and Cousto's words did not bring much security to Ballshaq. He was still looking at the roof with anxiety, fearing that shells would penetrate the roof and fall in, so that he forgot about calling Director Peter.
…………
As early as when the German army first shelled the north of the factory, Guriev, who was staying in his command, knew it. He wanted to send troops to reinforce, and he was fighting here for a long time. He could only hope that Ballshaq's destroyer battalion could last for a while when facing the attack after the shelling.
However, the German bombardment of the north of the factory was stopped for less than an hour, and the second round of shelling began, which confused Guriev. He stood in front of the window of the command center, looked at the rolling black smoke rising in the direction of the assembly workshop, and asked his chief of staff Lieutenant Colonel Zalijiuk with some confusion: "Comrade Chief of Staff, tell me, why did the Germans carry out a second shelling of the north of the factory in such a short time? What's going on?"
Zalijiuk looked at the area where he was being bombarded and frowned and said, "Comrade Commander, it is logical that the German army had shelled the same area twice in a row in such a short period of time, and there was only one explanation."
"What explanation?" Zalijuk's words aroused Guriev's curiosity: "Let me tell me quickly."
"That is the attack launched by the Germans, which was stubbornly resisted by the defenders. After paying a huge price, they had to return to the starting point of the attack." Zalijiuke had just analyzed the reason and immediately shook his head and denied his statement: "If our guard division was defending in that direction and repelling the German attack, there would be no problem. But the problem is that those who were standing in that area were just the fighter battalion of the Red October Factory and hundreds of armed workers. It would be impossible to say that with their strength, they could repel the German attack in such a short time."
"Teacher Commander, Chief of Staff, you are all wrong." Cherneshov, the political commissar sitting next to him, suddenly spoke: "I think the German army's attack on the north side of the factory was really repelled. In addition to being angry, they could only use the method of secondary artillery bombardment to vent their dissatisfaction."
An incredible expression appeared on Guriev's face: "What, Comrade Political Commissar, do you think the enemy attacking the north side of the factory was repelled by the few remaining destroyer battalions and hundreds of armed workers? You must have made a mistake. How is this possible? You know, our divisions are all old foundations of the airborne army, and even we can't do this, so how did they do it?"
"Comrade Commander, have you forgotten?" Seeing that Guriyev did not believe that the German attack on the north side of the factory was repelled, Cherneshov reminded him: "When you came back from the frontier inspection yesterday, I told you that a unit of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, which was guarding Mamayev's hill, had arrived at the factory. If I was not wrong, Director Peter would definitely deploy them in the assembly workshop north of the factory."
Guriev immediately remembered that Cherneshov had mentioned this to him, but he didn't take it to his heart at all. At this moment, he heard Cherneshov mention this matter and asked curiously: "Comrade Political Commissar, do you know who the commander is the commander of this unit?" Before Cherneshov answered, he said to himself, "The German army usually uses tanks to attack with infantry. To repel the enemy's attack in such a short time, the commander must be an excellent commander."
"Comrade Commander, you may not have thought that the commander who led the team was Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the commander of the Infantry Brigade." When Chernesov said this, he suddenly thought of Sokov's steps staggering slightly when he walked, and frowned and said, "But I look at him, it seems that he is still injured."
"Teacher Commander, Comrade Political Commissar." Zalijiuk interjected while the two were talking, "Instead of guessing here, we might as well call Director Peter to find out what happened in the north of the factory."
"Yes, yes, comrade Chief of Staff, you're right. We should call Director Peter immediately and learn about what happened in the north of the factory." After Guriev said that, he reached out to grab the telephone on the table in front of him. After shaking the handle a few times, he picked up the microphone and put it in his ear, and said, "Click me the factory building and look for Director Peter."
The phone was quickly connected, and when Peter's voice came out of the receiver, Guriyev couldn't wait to say, "Hello, Comrade Director, I am Guriyev."
"Hello, Comrade General." Peter was a little flattered when he heard that it was Guriev calling him, and he asked respectfully: "Is there anything you have?"
"That's right, Comrade Director." Guriev briefly told Peter the situation and finally asked: "Since I can't contact the assembly workshop north of the factory, I can only contact you to find out what's going on there. I hope you can help me..."
Before Guriyev finished speaking, another phone ringing on Peter's desk rang. Peter could only apologize to Guriyev: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, please wait for a while, I'll answer a call." After obtaining the other party's consent, he moved the microphone to his left hand, grabbed the microphone with his right hand, and put it in his ear and said, "I am Peter, where are you?"
"Hello, Comrade Director!" As soon as Peter finished speaking, the voice he wanted to hear the most came from the receiver: "I am the commander of the destroyer battalion, Ball Shaq."
"It's you, Ballshak, I'm about to call you." When he heard that it was Ballshak's call, Peter hurriedly asked: "Before you called, I was talking to General Guriev, the commander of the Guards Division. He told me that the enemy had completed the shelling of the enemy in your direction and carried out a second round of shelling again. I'll ask you, what happened? Will the enemy launch a second shelling at you in such a short time?"
"What else can we do, Comrade Director?" Ballsak originally planned to report to Peter about the reorganization of the fighter battalion, and then mentioned to him the German attack was repelled. Since Peter had asked, he decided to answer this question first: "After the German attack on the assembly workshop was completely shattered by us. During the battle, we defeated five tanks and killed hundreds of German soldiers."
"Great, Major Ballshaq, this is amazing." Peter was overjoyed when he heard that the enemy who attacked the north of the factory was really repelled. "The comrades in the fight against the enemy were all good. Please express your gratitude to them on my behalf and thank them for their contributions to defending the factory."
"Comrade Director, you misunderstood." Ballshaq replied awkwardly when he heard Peter's praise for himself: "It was not my destroyer battalion that defeated the enemy, but Lieutenant Ulanova's female anti-aircraft artillery battalion. My destroyer battalion was almost destroyed before the German attack began."
Even if a shell landed beside Peter and exploded, it would never be as shocked as the information Ballshack told him. He murmured to the microphone: "Bolshack, what did you say? The female anti-aircraft artillery battalion that repelled the enemy was the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion. How did they do this? Also, what did you say that the destroyer battalion has been destroyed, so what happened?"
Ballsak reported the Destroyer Battalion with heavy casualties under the enemy's artillery fire, and had to withdraw from its position and retreat to the factory building of the assembly workshop, as well as the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion deployed on the roof of the factory building. How to use anti-aircraft artillery to destroy German tanks and repel the German attack, and reported to Peter in detail. Finally, he specifically emphasized that these were all the results achieved under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Sokov.
Peter never dreamed that the battle that ended not long ago was so magical that Sokov would actually think of using anti-aircraft cannons deployed on the roof to deal with German tanks. And after causing such heavy losses to the enemy, his side actually had no casualties.
Peter was stunned for a moment and accidentally found that he was holding the microphone in his left hand, not far from his face. In the conversation just now, Guriev on the other end of the microphone should have heard. He put the microphone in his left hand closer to his ear and said, "Comrade General, have you heard our conversation?"
"Yes, Comrade Peter, I heard it all." Guriev said with emotion: "I really didn't expect that this Lieutenant Colonel Sokov could actually think of using anti-aircraft guns to hit the German tanks. Why didn't I think of this? Comrade Director, I understand everything I should know. I won't disturb your call with your subordinates. Goodbye."
After hanging up the phone, Guriev said to Cherneshov and Zalijiuk, "Political Commissar and Chief of Staff, everything has been clear. The reason why the German army carried out a second shelling on the north side of the factory was because the attack they launched was shattered by the anti-aircraft artillery battalion that was stuck on the roof of the assembly workshop and the factory."
"Blasting tanks with anti-aircraft guns?" Zalijuk said in an incredible tone: "Why have I never thought that anti-aircraft guns could be used instead of anti-tank guns?"
"Chief of Staff," Guriev asked at the right time: "How many anti-aircraft guns are there in the division?"
"There is an 85mm anti-aircraft gun company with three anti-aircraft guns." Zalijiuk asked back: "Comrade Commander, do you use them all as anti-tank guns?"
"That's right," Guriev nodded and said, "Since friendly forces can destroy German tanks with anti-aircraft guns, we can also use the same method to deal with German tanks."
"Comrade Commander," Chernesov asked with some concern: "This is the only little air defense force our division has. If anti-aircraft guns are used as anti-tank guns, what should we do if we use them?"
"My political commissar, if the German tanks rushed to us, what's the point of air defense?" Guriev said this and waved his hand to Zalijiuk and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't be too late, go and arrange it quickly. You must know that our soldiers face a large number of German tanks. If we can have more anti-tank guns, it can also reduce the pressure they are under."
When Zalijuk went to call, Guriev sat at the table, pulled out a cigarette from the cigarette box and held it in his mouth, thinking silently in his heart: "I thought that the German attack on the north side of the factory would cause us to be attacked from both sides, but with Lieutenant Colonel Sokov in charge of the assembly workshop, I believe we don't have to worry about being attacked by the enemy in the rear."
"Comrade of the Division," Cherneshov saw that Guriyev had a cigarette in his mouth and had not lit it for a long time, as if he was thinking about something, and felt that he needed to understand the situation, so he asked carefully: "What are you thinking? I think you have been in this position for a long time."
Guriyev took out a match, lit a cigarette, and after taking a sip, he said to Chernesov: "Comrade Political Commissar, I have some impression of this Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. When our division came to Stalingrad, I heard Commander Cuikov mention this person, saying that his troops had been in Mamayev's post for two months, and the German army paid thousands of prices, but still could not occupy it. This shows that he was a commander who was very good at fighting defensive warfare. With him in the assembly workshop, we had no worries."
"Comrade Commander, you are too optimistic." Cherneshov heard Guriyev say this and felt it was necessary to remind him: "Even if Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is good at defending, his troops are limited, with only more than 300 soldiers, plus hundreds of militias with weak combat power, blocking the enemy's attacks one or two times. Once the enemy's attacks are too many, I worry that they will face the danger of the entire army being destroyed in the end."
Chapter completed!