The tactics used by the Soviet army to attack the enemy's positions were to launch infantry attacks after the artillery fire was completed. If you were lucky, the offensive troops could still receive support from tanks or air force. However, this tactic of directly lurking in front of the German positions and using short-range assault was the first time. If Sokov had the final say, the plan would not be passed.
Sokov has watched many war-themed movies in later generations, including scenes of lurking in front of enemy positions. In order to achieve sudden attacks, lurking troops usually have to stay under the enemy's nose for a day and a night.
Although the lurking time was only a few hours, Sokov was still uneasy. After all, it was the first time that the Soviet army used such a tactic. Whether it could enter the lurking position without the enemy being aware of it is still an unknown. Also, even if it successfully entered the lurking place, once the enemy was noticed in these few hours, the lurking troops would be in danger of being destroyed.
Therefore, after assigning the mission, he chose a higher position and raised his telescope to look at the German positions in the distance. Bere stood beside Sokov, and also imitated his appearance, raised his telescope, and asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, is it really okay to lurk in front of the enemy positions?"
Regarding Bere’s question, Sokov could only smile bitterly and answer: “Col. Berere, this is the fastest way for us to seize the enemy’s position. As for whether it can be successful, we must give it a try.”
After hearing Sokov's words, Belei put down his telescope and said thoughtfully: "This line of defense was built by our army. Since the main defense direction was west, the Germans did not lay minefields in front of our lurking area, did not lead wire mesh, and only a hasty trench dug. If our army can launch a smooth attack from the lurking location, then there should be no big problem to seize the enemy's defense line."
Sokov also put down his telescope, turned his head to Bere and said, "Comrade Colonel, you are right. The key to the success or failure of our attack is whether the guard battalion can successfully enter the lurking site."
"I don't think it's a big problem," Berek became confident after some observation: "We broke through the three front lines of defense and used tank battalions. As long as the Germans did not hear the roar of the tank engines at night, they would think we would not launch an attack."
"Yes, the Germans would definitely think that we would dispatch tank troops before the attack," Sokov replied, "but they never dreamed that our offensive troops would lurk in the grass in front of their positions under the night."
…………
When the departure time was up, Tenev came to the temporary command post and said goodbye to Sokov. He straightened his body and said to Sokov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please rest assured that I will definitely enter the lurking position smoothly."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Major." Seeing that Tenev was about to leave, Bere suddenly called him, then turned around and asked Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I find that we seem to have overlooked an important issue."
"What's the problem?" Although Sokov looked at the plan lurking in front of the enemy's position, he knew in his heart that there must be imperfections in his first use of this tactic. Therefore, when he heard Bi Lei say this, he immediately urged: "Col. Bi Lei, hurry up and listen."
"How do we contact the lurking troops?" Bie Lei pointed out incisively: "I just saw that the grass there was more than half a person deep. After the soldiers entered it, it was difficult for us to see whether they had successfully arrived at the designated location. Also, if an accident happened and they needed our support, how should we notify us?"
Believe said, Sokov realized his negligence. He raised his hand and slapped his forehead hard, and said in annoyance: "Damn it, damn it, why did I forget such an important thing?"
He frowned and thought for a while, walked to Tenev and said to him: "Comrade Major, your lurking position is very close to the enemy's position. If you have any questions to contact, you may not be able to speak directly. Therefore, we must make an appointment for a contact information in advance."
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what are you good at?" Tenev said with a blank expression: "Please instruct!"
Sokov walked to the phone, picked up the sender, and signaled to Tenev: "Comrade Major, please remember the contact information I demonstrated." After seeing Tenev nod, he began to demonstrate: After the troops successfully entered the lurking position, they blew the air into the sender, blowing three times in a row, and the breath was slow and long. If there was any danger and needed support from the rear, they blew it three times in a row, and the breath was short and rapid...
When he heard Sokov's contact information, Bere widened his eyes in surprise and said in admiration: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are so great that you can come up with such a contact information. In this way, we can not only understand the situation of the lurking troops in a timely manner without exposing the target."
Tnev was also impressed by this contact method. He nodded vigorously and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I have remembered it. After the troops successfully enter the lurking position, I will report to you in time."
After the lurking troops set off, Sokov did not go outside to observe, but arranged two observation posts to let them monitor the movements of the German positions. Once they found something was wrong, they would report to him in time. At the same time, he also ordered Vanya to set up a rocket launcher and be ready to fire strike the German positions at any time.
After about half an hour, the radio operator suddenly said to Sokov in surprise: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the guard battalion has successfully entered the lurking position." After that, he turned on the radio's outgoing broadcast so that both Sokov and Bere can clearly hear Tnev's breathing at the sender.
"Comrade Brigade Commander, your contact information is amazing." Hearing three long blows of breath that represented the troops successfully entered the lurking position, Bere said with emotion again: "Major Tenev can report the situation to us in time without being noticed by the enemy."
Sokov was not complacent when he heard Bere’s praise. On the contrary, he said with emotion: “I really didn’t expect that the commanders and soldiers of the guard battalion were so well-trained that they could enter the lurking position without the enemy’s awareness in such a short time.”
Since the troops have entered the lurking position, Sokov felt a little more at ease. Because the troops will launch an offensive before dawn, it can avoid the situation where the troops are too latent for too long, many commanders and fighters are exhausted, and even exposed their targets.
Sokov took out a cigarette box from Bere's pocket, smoked one and held it in his mouth, but did not ignite it immediately, but asked with some concern: "Comrade Colonel, do you think we can keep there after we arrive in Orlovka tomorrow?"
"I guess it's a tough time." Bere once commanded his troops to fight in that area, so he said with confidence: "There is no solid fortifications to defend against. If we want to stick to it, we can only fight with the Germans to see who can't support it first."
"We can't do this kind of losing money." Sokov sneered and continued: "If all the troops are sold out, what force will be used to defend in the future?"
"What?" Bo Lei was stunned for a moment when he heard Sokov say this, and asked carefully: "Comrade Brigade Commander, do you have no confidence in us holding Stalingrad?"
"If all our troops are lost in this counterattack, it will be very difficult to resist the enemy's attack." Sokov felt that it was necessary to sound a wake-up call for Biao Lei, so he said with a serious expression: "We must find ways to save more troops so that we can be more confident in defending the city."
He lit a cigarette, took a sip, and remembered an important thing: "Comrade Colonel, this is how I think about it. If we evacuate Orlovka again, we must blow up the fortifications of these occupied lines of defense..."
"What, are you going to blow up the fortifications in these defense lines?" Bi Lei, confused about Sokov's inexplicable order, asked in confusion: "Comrade Brigade Commander, can I ask, are you the reason for doing this?"
"It's very simple," Sokov said while smoking: "When our troops outside the encirclement attack on the enemy, the enemy can use these fortifications to block their advance. But if we blow up these fortifications when evacuating and facing our attack, it will be difficult for the enemy to build a new defense system in the shortest time, which will be very beneficial for us to annihilate the enemies entering Stalingrad."
"It makes sense, it makes sense." After hearing Sokov's words, Bere couldn't help but nod. Before dark yesterday, he led his troops to attack the third direction of the German army from the west, but was blocked by these fortifications for a long time. Therefore, he agreed with Sokov's idea. He said to Sokov: "Then I will arrange manpower immediately, place explosives in these fortifications, and immediately blast them when we evacuate."
"Comrade Colonel, please make some arrangements now." Anyway, there are still a few hours before the attack, Sokov simply arranged something for Bo Lei to avoid being too bored: "See how much explosives can be used are buried in fortifications. If it is not enough, I will contact Director Peter immediately and ask him to send us some more."
"Okay, leave this to me." Bie Lei said carelessly: "I must have buried explosives in all the fortifications before the attack begins. Forget it if I don't give up the position. Once I give up here, I will blow up these fortifications immediately and will never leave them to the Germans."
After Bere left the command post, Sokov received a telegram from Cuikov, which specifically mentioned the information provided by Lisa, so that he must arrive at Orlovka tomorrow morning, establish a defensive position there, and wait until he meets with friendly forces outside the encirclement.
After reading the telegram, Sokov found that the problem was more serious than he thought. If the German army really used so many troops to attack the Derrensky Tractor Factory, they would not be able to defend the 37th Division of the Guards. Maybe at that time, Cui Kov would make himself a firefighter and lead the troops there to support him.
After he was stunned for a while, he said to the radio operator: "Call back to the Army Command and said that our brigade will definitely arrive at Orlovka tomorrow morning."
While the radio operator was still sending a message, Vanya walked in from outside and straightened his body to report to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, our rocket launcher is ready. When can it be launched?"
"It's still early, Comrade Captain." Sokov walked to Wanya and said to him: "Leave two launchers on duty and let the rest of the comrades go to rest."
"We still have fifteen rockets," Wanya and Sokov finished speaking, asked tentatively: "I want to ask, how many will be fired later?"
"Fight out all, not a single one left." Sokov considered that even if his troops arrived in Orlovka, they might not be able to stay for long. It was inconvenient for the soldiers to run away with such heavy rockets on their backs. It would be better to use up all of them when attacking the fourth line of defense.
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Vanya asked hesitantly about Sokov's order: "If we use up all the rockets when we attack the fourth position, then when we reach Orlovka, we will have no rockets available."
Sokov would not tell Wanya that he had just followed the orders of his superiors to go around Orlovka, and had no intention of sticking to it. But in the face of Wanya's concern, he still pretended to be indifferent and said, "Comrade Captain, what does it matter if the rockets are used up? After we arrive at Orlovka, we can ask Mamayevgang to send us another batch. At that time, are you still worried that there will be no rockets to use?"
Speaking of this, he waved at Vanya and said, "Okay, hurry up and let your soldiers rest. It's not too late to wait until the attack time to let them enter the launch position."
After sending Wanya away, Sokov saw that the radio operator had sent the telegram and said to him: "Runner, send another telegram to Director Peter and ask him to send us five trucks of explosives over, saying that we have urgent needs."
The radio operator heard the conversation between Sokov and Bere, and knew that the explosives were intended to be used to blow up the fortifications. He quickly agreed and began to send a report to Peter's factory building.
After receiving the telegram from Sokov, Peter showed a confused expression on his face. He thought to himself: "Five trucks of explosives, what does this Lieutenant Colonel Sokov need so much explosives?"
Chapter completed!