"Comrade Brigade Commander, welcome you back!" Before Belkin could answer, Vitkov's voice suddenly sounded at the gate of the command headquarters. It turned out that he had been standing at the door. At this moment, when Sokov and Belkin walked over shoulder, he took the initiative to greet him.
"Hello, Colonel Witkov." Sokov was also very happy to see Witkov standing in front of him. He hurriedly stepped forward and held the other party's hand and said enthusiastically: "Thank you for your hard work during this time when I was not in the command center."
"Look at what you said, I am the acting deputy brigade commander of the infantry brigade, and these are all things I should do." After shaking hands with Sokov, he turned his body to one side and made a road: "Don't stand at the door, come in quickly."
Although he had only been away from the command center for a few days, Sokov still felt like he was a different life. He came to his seat with ease and sat down, looking at everything in the room to see if there was any change.
"I said, comrade brigade commander, where did you come out?" Witkov looked at Sokov's clothes wet and dripping water from time to time. He couldn't help but ask curiously: "There shouldn't be any river from the Red October Factory to us, right?"
Berkin walked to the marching bed in the corner, bent down and picked up a set of his own military uniform, turned over and came to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, it's cold tonight, so put on this clothes first, be careful not to catch a cold."
Sokov was not pretentious, and took the military uniform from Belkin's hand, walked to the corner of the wall and took off his soaked military uniform and started changing it. At the same time, he said, "I came not from the Red October Factory, but from the east bank of the Volga River."
"What, you came from the other side of the Volga?" Sokov's words surprised both Vitkov and Belkin. They asked in confusion: "When did you run to the other side?"
"This matter is a long story!" Sokov changed his clothes while leading his troops north to Orlovka. Because he could not wait for reinforcements to arrive, his retreat was cut off by the enemy. He could only choose to break north and meet with friendly forces, and told the two people that they had to tell them in detail.
Although Sokov just told the two of them the cause and effect of the matter in a straightforward tone, they still made them feel heart-warming. Especially when Sokov said that he was being bombarded by the German army while crossing the river, Belkin asked with concern: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are not injured, are you?"
"No." Sokov shook his head and said lightly: "I am lucky, and the enemy's shells did not blow me up. But the water column raised by the shells drifted us into chickens."
Sokov's words aroused the laughter of the two. After laughing, Vitkov asked anxiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, how many reinforcements have you brought back from the other side of the river this time?"
"There was originally a marine battalion of more than 1,300 people." Sokov frowned slightly and said, "But I don't know how many casualties will be caused when crossing the river. By the way, comrade Colonel, how many troops do we have in Mamayev Hill?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander, after this period of battle, we have lost troops very much." As the acting deputy brigade commander, when Sokov was away, the troops who were standing on Mamayev's post were under his full command. At this moment, when Sokov asked about the strength of the troops, he smiled bitterly and said, "There are still about 200 people in the 192nd Battalion, which is still in Beigang, and many of them are wounded and unhealed..."
"I know the situation of the 192nd Battalion. When I just passed by Beigang, Captain Goriya reported to me." Sokov knew very well that he took away the first and fourth battalions, and only the second and 192nd battalions were left in Mamayev's Gate, as well as the third battalion fighting in the city. He just wanted to know how many soldiers he had in his hands: "How is the situation of the 2nd and 3rd battalions?"
"There are more than 300 people in the Second Battalion, and there are also many wounded people." Witkov said, scratching the back of his head, "The situation in the third battalion fighting in the city is slightly better, and they have about a thousand people."
"What, the third battalion has more than a thousand people?" Sokov was stunned after hearing the numbers that Vitkov said. According to his idea, the third battalion fought continuously with the enemy in the city. The reduction of personnel must be great. It would be good to have a hundred people left. Unexpectedly, there were thousands of people. He asked curiously: "Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander, what's going on? The defenders on Mamayev's post are fighting less and less, but why are the troops in the city increasing?"
"It's so. During the battle, Captain Andrei, the commander of the third battalion, kept receiving the broken friendly troops, and at the same time, some combat-capable residents were also incorporated into his troops." Witkov smiled and introduced to Sokov: "Even the building where Sergeant Vasily is located, there are now hundreds of armed personnel. They firmly stick to the building like nails, so that the enemy cannot pass through them."
"That's amazing." Since Vitkov just said that the Third Battalion has incorporated many residents into the combat force. I believe that there are many armed residents like this in the Vasily Building. He smiled and said to Belkin: "Comrade Political Commissar, when nothing is done in two days, let's go to the Vasily Building to see and comfort the soldiers who are standing there."
After chatting for a while, Sokov called Lieutenant Maxim, the commander of the communication company, and ordered him: "Comrade Lieutenant, call the battalion commanders of each battalion immediately and ask them to come to me as soon as possible."
After Sokov finished speaking, Maxim asked tentatively: "Does the Third Battalion Commander and the Fourth Battalion Commander also inform?" There was a reason for his question. The Third Battalion Commander was commanding troops to fight the enemy in the city at this moment; and the Fourth Battalion Commander was not in Mamayev's hill, but in the Red October factory.
"Comrade Lieutenant," Sokov said to Maxim with a stern face: "Did you not hear my order clearly? All the battalion commanders came to me for a meeting? Do you understand?"
"I understand!" Maxim quickly agreed, turned around and called.
After Maxim left, Sokov suddenly remembered Grissa who had been missing for a while, and asked Vitkov carefully: "Comrade of Deputy Brigade Commander, do the Fourth Company Commander and others have whereabouts?"
Vitkov, who was originally full of joy, immediately lost his expression when he heard Sokov's problem. He shook his head and said with a bitter face: "No, we have been trying to contact them. But unfortunately, we can't contact them all. I guess they may have been destroyed."
Grissa was Sokov's old subordinate. Sokov was in a very heavy mood when he learned that he might have sacrificed. Although Grissa had dozens of men under him, this little force was okay to do sneak attacks, and it would be too easy to encounter a large enemy force. Moreover, the new rockets they carried had been exhausted, and the light weapons they carried were unable to compete with the enemy's main force alone.
Just as Sokov was sad, another familiar voice came from the door: "Is the brigade commander back?! Oh, brigade commander, you are really back!"
Sokov looked up and saw Chief of Staff Cydollin walking towards him with great strides, quickly stood up, and hugged the other party with a warm hug, saying, "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff! It's so great to see that you are still alive."
"So too." Cidolin said excitedly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we are all worried about your safety during your time when you are not in the command center. It's great to see you come back intact."
After several people sat down around the table, Sidolin immediately reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, during the day today, the German army opposite us are carrying out large-scale mobilizations. But they are not to attack us, but to move northward. Do you know what happened?"
"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff. A few days ago, I led my troops to break north from Orlovka, and successfully seized a defensive position of the German army and handed over to General Rokosovsky's troops." Considering that Sidolin was absent and did not hear the causes and consequences he told, Sokov repeated what had happened recently and finally said: "...The Germans moved north because they were worried that the defenders in our city would join forces with the Don Front outside the encirclement to smash their attack on Stalingrad. Therefore, Paulus took a desperate bet and transferred all the troops that attacked us head-on."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, something is wrong." As a chief of staff, Sidolin's responsibility is to give advice and guidance to Sokov. At this moment, Sokov finished speaking, he continued: "Even if the Germans knew that they could not seize the Mamayev mount, if they wanted to mobilize troops north, at least some troops should be left to monitor us on the opposite side. How could one soldier not be left? They are rare not to worry that we will take the opportunity to launch a counterattack in this area?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Sidolin," said Vitkov. "Will the Germans think that what you can consider? I think Paulus will definitely transfer new troops to continue attacking Mamayev's hill. We cannot take it lightly just because the enemy has withdrawn, as that will miss the big thing."
"You are right, comrade of the deputy brigade commander." Sidolin agreed with Vitkov's statement: "Only when the Germans take down the Mamayev hill, they can completely separate the defense line of our army, so they will definitely gather more troops to launch an attack on us."
"Our troops who are sticking to Mamayev's post have been severely reduced after a long battle." Since Sokov has returned to Mamayev's post, no matter where he will be sent by his superiors next, the first thing he has to do is to adjust the deployment of Mamayev's post so that the Germans cannot easily seize this place: "I have asked Lieutenant Maxim to notify the battalion commanders of each battalion to attend a meeting, and then replenish some troops and re-adjust the deployment so that they can better defend their positions."
"Replenish the troops?" Cidolin couldn't help asking when he heard this, "Comrade Brigade Commander, where should we replenish their troops?"
"I came back this time and brought a marine battalion with more than 1,000 people, as well as a guard battalion with strong combat power." Sokov said expressionlessly: "I plan to disperse these troops to the battalions to strengthen the defensive power of Mamayev."
"Middle Battalion!" When Sidolin heard this, his eyes couldn't help but shine. As a commander who had been in the army for more than ten years, he knew very well that the combat effectiveness of sailors was far better than that of the army. He said excitedly: "My God! The combat effectiveness of more than a thousand sailors is no less than that of an infantry division. With the help of these sailors, I believe that there will be no problem in defending Mamayev's hill."
Before dispersing the sailors to the battalions, Sokov felt that he should first sound the alarm to the commanders of the brigade. "More than a month ago, the 92nd Infantry Brigade, which came to the city to participate in the battle, was a unit composed of sailors and commanded by the army. However, because the commander was afraid of death, he left the troops behind and fled when he saw the situation was critical. As a result, the troops did not perform as they should and were exhausted in the battle. Now our brigade has also added a group of sailors. I hope similar incidents will not happen to us."
"Don't worry, comrade brigade commander." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, he patted his chest and assured him: "No one of our 73rd Infantry Brigade, from commanders to soldiers, is afraid of death. As long as one of us lives, we will stand on the position like a nail and not retreat without a single step."
The saying of not taking a step back made Sokov's heart skip a beat. Although fighting a position war is a war of attrition, we should still find ways to minimize casualties. If it weren't for Vitkov's acting brigade commander, his troops would have one or two times more than they are now. So he looked at Vitkov first, then looked at Cidolin and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, I want to ask, how do you defend now?"
When Cidolin heard this question, he did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Vitkov first, and then said cautiously: "When the enemy shelled, we left a few observation posts, and the remaining soldiers retreated into the tunnel. After the enemy shelling was over, we would re-enter the position defense,..."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov heard this and decisively interrupted the words behind Cidolin and asked, "You just need to tell me where to defend after you leave the tunnel?"
"In order to kill more of the Germans' live forces," Cidolin replied awkwardly: "We rebuilt the trenches on the front slope. Once the shelling is over, our soldiers will rush out of the tunnel to repair the trenches that have been blown up and prepare to fight the enemy's attack."
"Didn't I ask you to build your positions on the top of the hillside before? In this way, even if the enemy shells the hills, the damage to our fortifications will be limited." Sokov asked with a stern face: "Why are you trying to make a good decision and change my defense plan?"
Chapter completed!