When Peter heard that the person who called him was Zalijiuke, he asked first before the other party explained the reason: "Lieutenant Colonel Zalijiuke, I saw smoke in the direction of the residential area. Is the situation there very dangerous?"
"Comrade Director," Zalijiuk did not give a positive answer in the face of Peter's question, but replied in a very official tone: "Our soldiers are fighting tenaciously with the invaders in the residential area..."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Peter couldn't wait to finish Zalijuk's words, "As the director of the Red October Tractor Factory, I have the right to understand the real situation of the war in the residential area."
After Peter reminded me, Zalijiuk realized that the person who was talking to him was the director of the factory that his troops wanted to defend. There was indeed no need to hide anything from him. He organized a word in his mind and said with a serious expression: "Comrade Director, the situation on the battlefield is very unfavorable to our army. According to the information we obtained, in order to seize the factory, the Germans added another infantry division. The area controlled by our division in the residential area was constantly shrinking under the oppression of the German army."
Although Peter was mentally prepared for the deterioration of the situation in the residential area, he couldn't help but breathe after listening to Zalijiuk's introduction: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, is the situation really so critical?"
"Yes, Comrade Director, the situation is very critical." Zalijiuke said tactfully: "In the next two or three days, our situation will be very difficult, but we can still withstand the enemy's attack. But..."
Zalijuk said this and suddenly stopped talking, which made Peter anxious: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, but what, please say it quickly!"
"No matter what, the ones who stick to the residential area and the main entrance of the factory are regular soldiers. The soldiers have rich combat experience and know how to deal with the enemy." Zalijiuk said with some embarrassment: "But those who stick to the factory are militia. You also know that they are all temporarily armed, lack the necessary military training, and have no combat experience. Although some officers and combat backbones have been sent to you, it is not realistic to improve their combat effectiveness in a short period of time. Therefore, we are now worried that the enemy will break through from other parts of the factory, and the factory will be in danger of losing it."
Peter was also a smart man. He heard the implicit voice of Zalijiuk and asked tentatively: "Lieutenant Colonel Zalijiuk, if I didn't understand it wrong, you think the enemy would break into the factory from other locations, such as the north of the factory where the assembly workshop is located. Am I right?"
"Yes, Comrade Director, you are right. The German army opened a breakthrough in the north of the factory. Although they cannot develop in depth for the time being, they will continue to invest troops here until they completely occupy the assembly workshop." Zalijiuk said worriedly: "The division commander General Guriyev has gone to the assembly workshop and is preparing to talk to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov who led the troops there to see how many days they can hold there. Because once the Germans occupy the assembly workshop, our division will face the danger of being attacked from both sides."
If it was an emergency in other places, Peter might be panicked. But when Zalijiuk named the location, it was actually the assembly workshop, his mood suddenly became relaxed: "Lieutenant Colonel Zalijiuk, you are too worried. You should know that the commander of the assembly workshop led the troops to stick to the assembly workshop, but Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, who is good at fighting defensive wars, before you call me, I just received a report from the workshop director Cousto, saying that they had successfully repelled two German attacks, but there were not much casualties."
Since Zalijiuk cannot directly contact the assembly workshop, they can only judge the battle north of the factory based on the smoke rising. The thicker the smoke, the more intense the battle there, and vice versa. As for the results of the defenders, it is unknown.
Zalijiuk said "Oh" unexpectedly, then asked back: "Comrade Director, have they really repelled the German attacks twice in a row?"
"These results were reported to me by the workshop director Comrade Cousto, and I believe he would not lie to me in such matters." Peter said: "If they can continue to maintain this state, I think there should be no problem with sticking to it for four or five days. Once reinforcements on the other side of the river arrive, they will be able to carry out counter-assault on the enemy."
Regarding the counterattack mentioned by Peter, Zalijiuk felt that it was too early. With the existing forces of the Guards Division, it was already thankful that he could defend the Red October Tractor Factory, so he dared not expect to launch a counterattack. Considering that Guriyev had set out, in order to avoid misunderstandings, he quickly added: "Comrade Director, please inform Comrade Kusto about the division commander's trip to the assembly workshop, so as not to have misunderstandings."
But before Peter could call Cousto, the jeep that Guriev was riding had arrived outside the factory building of the assembly workshop. He sat in the car, looking at the burning German tanks in the distance and the corpses everywhere in front of the factory, his eyebrows couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and then said to himself: "Hell, how could this happen? How could they destroy so many enemies in such a short time?"
Sokov received the report from the soldiers below. After learning that a general had come, he immediately trotted out to greet him. Although he had never seen Guriyev, he recognized a major general from the two Venus stars on the opponent's diamond-shaped collar seal. At this time, the general who would appear in the factory was probably Major General Guriyev. He quickly stood up and reported to the opponent: "Hello, Comrade General, I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the commander of the infantry brigade, and we are performing combat duties. Please give me instructions!"
"You are Lieutenant Colonel Sokov," Guriyev nodded at Sokov, and then stretched out his hand: "I will introduce myself. Major General Guriyev, the commander of the Guards Division, came here to find you."
"Look for me?" Sokov heard Guriyev say this and thought to himself: "I am not familiar with you, so you come to me specifically. What will happen?" Although he was uneasy in his heart, he still pretended to be calm on the surface: "Comrade General, is there anything you have to do with me?"
"This is not a place to speak." Guriev looked around and said, "Let's talk in another place."
Sokov was about to take Guriyev to the command center in the basement when he suddenly heard Guriyev say, "Lt. Colonel, call the rest of the commanders over, I have important things to tell you."
Sokov called a soldier and told him to inform Brisky, Ballshaq and Cousto, saying that there were important matters to be discussed and that they could arrive in the basement as soon as possible.
A few minutes later, Brisky, who received the notice, rushed to the basement first. When he saw Sokov and Guriyev sitting in the room, he was about to say something, Guriyev pointed at the empty seat next to him and said, "Comrade Captain, sit down first and wait until everyone comes."
After sitting down in the empty seat, Brisky cast an inquiring look at Sokov, trying to figure out what Guriyev called him too. Unexpectedly, when Sokov saw his eyes, he shook his head and smiled bitterly, saying that he didn't know anything.
Ballshak and Cousto walked into the room together, and when they saw Guriyev sitting in the room, they all had a look of surprise on their faces. Ballshak stepped forward, reached out to Guriyev, and asked curiously: "Comrade General, why are you here?"
"Comrades," Guriev reached out and shook hands with Ballshak, and then said to everyone: "I called you all here today because the situation on the battlefield is developing in a direction that is not conducive to our army."
Guriyev's words surprised everyone. Ballshaq asked first: "Comrade General, can you tell us what happened?"
"Yes, I will tell you the answer now." Guriev nodded and continued, "Before I came here, I received a news that in order to seize the Red October Tractor Factory, an infantry division was transferred from another place to participate in the attack. If they only attacked the frontal direction of the residential areas and the factory, my troops would still be able to block them. But if they attacked from the rest of the areas, it would be very unfavorable for us. Once the Germans who rushed into the factory had firmly stood up, our division would be in a situation of being attacked from both sides."
When Sokov heard this, he immediately understood the purpose of Guriyev's arrival. The other party was worried that he could not defend the place at all, which led to the Guards' division being surrounded by the German army. After Guriyev finished speaking, he coughed gently and said without changing his face: "Comrade General, I understand what you are worried about. You are worried that we can't stop the enemy's attack at all, so you came here to understand the situation of the defenders. I was eager to know how many days we can hold on with such a fierce attack by the German army to adjust your existing defense deployment."
When Guriev heard Sokov say this, his face showed a shocked expression. He never dreamed that Sokov could see his mind so clearly. Fortunately, he quickly returned to normal and nodded and said, "Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, since you have guessed my purpose, I want to ask you, how many days can your troops stay here?"
"Comrade General, you are too underestimating us." Brisky was particularly dissatisfied when he heard Guriev say this, so he ignored his military rank much lower than Guriev and said with striking remarks: "Not to mention a few days, with our existing military strength, I think it's not a big problem."
"Captain Brisky, why are you so rude? Haven't you seen me talking to General Guriyev?" Sokov pretended to scold Brisky and said to Guriyev with a smile: "Comrade General, I know what you are worried about. I can tell you very responsibly that as long as there is a soldier from the infantry brigade alive, they will never let the Germans break into the assembly workshop."
Guriev couldn't help but sneer and asked in a sarcastic tone: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, as far as I know, you don't even have anti-tank guns. In the next battle, how do you plan to deal with the German army that is coming like a tide?"
"If you are worried about this, Comrade General, please rest assured." Although Sokov heard from the tone of Guriyev's speech that the other party seemed to not trust him, he said without discouragement: "No matter how many tanks the Germans come, we have the confidence to destroy them."
Seeing Sokov so arrogant, Guriev was about to mock him again when the phone rang on the table. Kusto, who had a blue face, picked up the microphone and asked in his ear: "I am Kusto, where are you?" I wondered what the other end of the phone said, the expression on his face immediately became richer. He raised his head and looked at Sokov and said excitedly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, tank, our tank is here!"
"Tank, what tank?" Guriev asked in confusion when he heard Cousto say this: "Is it a tank coming from across the Volga River?"
"Of course not, Comrade General." Cousto said proudly: "If you are interested, you can go out and take a look. After you look, you will understand what's going on."
The group left the basement and came outside the factory. Sure enough, they saw more than a dozen tanks divided into two groups, heading towards the factory. When Guriev first saw the tank, he was startled and instinctively reached his hand to his waist, preparing to pull out his pistol and shoot at the tank. But when he saw Sokov and the others were calm, he realized that it was not the German tanks that were driven by, but the T-34 that the Soviet army was common.
"Comrade Kusto," Sokov said loudly at Kusto: "You send a motorcycle over and guide the tanks around the factory so that you can create an illusion for the Germans that our reinforcements have arrived."
After Cousto left, Guriev asked in confusion: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, can you explain to me where these tanks emerged from? It is daytime now, in order to avoid German shelling and bombing, the other side will never risk transporting so many tanks across the river."
"You guessed it right, Comrade General." Sokov nodded and said, "These tanks are indeed not from the other side, but new tanks recently produced in the factory."
"What, the new tanks produced in the factory?" Guriev asked with wide eyes: "These tanks not only have no shells, but also no machine gun bullets. How do you plan to let them destroy the enemy?"
Chapter completed!