In fact, it is not necessary for Yershakov to report the situation of the battle. Sokov had already learned about the battle situation of the 125th Guards through the observation post set up on the Beigang Water Tower. When they learned that they not only repelled the enemy's attack, but also restored some of the lost positions, Sokov couldn't help but nodded with satisfaction and said to Ivanov with a smile: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, I really didn't expect that Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov was quite good at commanding the war."
Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Ivanov showed an embarrassing expression on his face: "Comrade Commander, let me tell you that our division and General Guriyev's 39th Guard Division were the first to be defeated by the enemy in the battle to defend the Don River, which led to a huge gap in our defense line. We do not have enough strength to block the gap opened by the enemy and have to be forced to transfer to Stalingrad."
Blocking the enemy in the Don River Basin, preventing them from getting close to Stalingrad, is already a thing of the past for Sokov. He was very curious about why, as the leader, had nothing to do with him? He looked around and saw that Sidolin was assigned a task to Lieutenant Maxim, and then asked in a low voice: "Comrade of the Deputy Division Commander, why did Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov lose the battle and his superiors did not punish him?"
Ivanov replied with a wry smile: "As soon as the battle started, Yershakov was injured and sent to the field hospital in the rear. The troops were commanded by the deputy regiment commander. When the superiors held him accountable, they were originally going to punish Yershakov. Fortunately, I and the political commissar pleaded for him, saying that he withdrew from the battle shortly after the battle started. What happened next had nothing to do with him, which allowed him to avoid the fate of going to the military court, but the rank was demoted from the colonel to the lieutenant colonel."
When Sokov learned that Yershakov had been demoted for joint and several liability, he was more concerned about the fate of the deputy commander and then asked: "How did the superior deal with that deputy commander?"
"What else can be done?!" Division political commissar Anisimov said with a sneer: "The deputy regiment commander collapsed due to unfavorable command of the war, and was executed after going to the military court."
When Sokov learned that the deputy regiment commander had been executed by the military court for poor command, he shuddered. He thought that he was defending Mamayevgang. If one day he lost his position due to insufficient troops or other reasons, would he be the same fate waiting for him?
"Comrade Commander," Sidolin came over with a telegram. Seeing Sokov sitting at the table in a daze, he called him and handed over the telegram in his hand: "The telegram sent by Lieutenant Colonel Yershakov said that their regiment had successfully repelled an enemy's attack and restored some of the lost positions."
Sidolin's voice woke Sokov from his contemplation. He took the telegram and looked at Ivanov casually. He looked up at Sidolin and asked, "Ask Lieutenant Colonel Papchinko, when will his troops be withdrawn from Mamayev?"
Although Papchinko assured Sokov that they would fight to the last man, Sokov, upon learning that the friendly forces on the right wing had begun to retreat, decisively ordered Papchinko to take the opportunity to withdraw his troops from his position and transfer to Mamayev. He believed that there was no need to waste valuable living forces and waste areas that were not conducive to defense.
When Sidorin heard Sokov ask about the situation of the 122nd Regiment, he quickly replied: "The Papchinko Regiment has successfully entered the defense zone of the Starcha Regiment. After a little rest, they will continue to retreat to Mamayev Hill."
"Chief of Staff, immediately inform Lieutenant Colonel Papchinko that when they evacuate the Stalkha Regiment's position, remember to bring the wounded members of the regiment with them." Sokov told Cydolin: "The Stalkha Regiment will also withdraw from the position soon. If there are too many wounded people, it will slow down their retreat."
"Comrade Commander," Cidolin finally asked Sokov after leaving: "When can the Nastarcha regiment withdraw to Mamayev's hill?"
"Let's wait until it's dark." Sokov sighed and said, "I don't know what kind of tasks the Army Command will assign to us. With an army outside, it will be much more convenient to move."
After hearing Sokov's words, Sidolin nodded, turned around and called. Ivanov asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, what other tasks do you think the Army Command will assign us?"
"I don't know." Sokov shook his head, but saw the constant expression on Ivanov's face, and added: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, have you not noticed that your superiors use our division as a battlefield firefighting team? Wherever the situation is critical, let our troops go wherever they can support it."
Hearing Sokov say this, Anisimov couldn't help but laugh: "Comrade Commander, the superiors use our troops as battlefield firefighting teams, which means that in their minds, our combat effectiveness is the strongest. Other troops may want to gain recognition from their superiors, and I'm afraid there will be no chance."
"Comrade Political Commissar," Sokov didn't think that his superiors were optimistic about him. He said to Anisimov with a bitter face: "Our mission is to stick to the Mamayev's post, so that the enemy cannot cut off our north-south defense line; it cannot seize the central ferry and cut off our connection with the outside world. If we consume too much of our troops in other areas, what force will we use to defend here in the future?"
"Comrade, according to your statement." Anisimov said thoughtfully after hearing this: "It is entirely necessary for us to find ways to preserve our strength."
"That's right, it's very necessary." Sokov said with a serious expression in order to make everyone unify their thoughts: "As long as the enemy cannot seize the Mamayev hill, our connection with the outside world will not be interrupted. In this way, we have the opportunity to slowly accumulate strength, wait for the right time to give the enemy a thunder blow, and completely crush their siege of Stalingrad."
As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Ivanov and Anisimov fell silent. Seeing this, Sokov asked in confusion: "What, did I say something wrong?"
"Comrade Commander, I want to hear your truth." Anisimov looked around and saw that the others in the room were a distance from them and should not hear what they were saying, so he asked cautiously: "Can we really defend Stalingrad?"
Sokov smiled faintly at the question raised by Anisimov and then said, "Comrade Political Commissar, I think we can definitely defend Stalingrad. Do you have no confidence?"
"How could that happen!" Anisimov did not expect Sokov to ask this question, and replied in a panic: "I have always had the confidence to guard this city..."
Although Anisimov was constantly explaining, Sokov knew very well that his hope for whether the Soviet army could defend the city was getting smaller and smaller. Sokov coughed gently, cleared his throat, and said to Anisimov: "Comrade Political Commissar, although we may have paid a little too much to defend this city, I always believe that we will never let the enemy occupy this city named after the Supreme Commander himself."
"Aren't you worried..." Anisimov deliberately lowered his voice when he said this: "Will the troops that hold in Stalingrad end up like the tragic fate of those troops that hold on to Kiev?"
"Comrade Political Commissar," seeing that Anisimov had insufficient confidence in sticking to the city, and Ivanov sat aside and remained silent, obviously agreeing with Anisimov's view. In order to dispel the concerns of the two, Sokov said with a kind look: "In the Battle of Kiev, our army lost hundreds of thousands of troops, but that was something that happened under specific historical conditions. At that time, most of our commanders and fighters had no combat experience. Faced with enemies with rich war experience, it was inevitable that they would be defeated. Now that the war has been going on for more than a year, our commanders and fighters have grown up in the war. They not only learned how to fight against enemies armed to the teeth, but also how to defeat them.
Although our current situation seems to be very bad, the enemy is also in difficulty. Although the counterattacks we carried out failed to achieve ideal results, they have successfully disrupted the enemy's attack steps and prevented them from occupying the city. As long as they dragged on for a while, the enemy's combat effectiveness will gradually weaken, and then the time for us to carry out a large counterattack will come."
Sokov's words gave Ivanov and Anisimov enough confidence. They lowered their heads and raised their heads again, and their frowns stretched out. Ivanov even looked at Sokov and said, "Comrade Commander, if you want to send someone to support the Yershakov regiment on the right, please let me lead the team to carry out this mission."
Sokov almost blurted out his words when he opposed it, but considering that Ivanov had just rebuild his confidence, if he poured cold water on him, his enthusiasm would disappear again, he nodded and said, "Well, comrade, if I want to send someone to support the Yershakov regiment, I will definitely hand over this important task to you."
…………
During the retreat, the troops of the Gurdiev Division and the Gorishne Division were bombed by enemy planes. In order to withdraw the troops back to the Red October Factory as soon as possible, both of them issued the same order, allowing the troops to withdraw their starting positions as quickly as possible regardless of casualties.
The enemy in the north saw their bombers bombing the retreating Soviet army indiscriminately and launched a new attack. This time, for the sake of safety, the German army dispatched three Tiger tanks and five No. 3 tanks to try to break through the Yershakov regiment's position in one fell swoop and cut off the retreating Soviet army.
When Yershakov saw the enemy dispatching tanks again, he quickly called the first battalion commander and asked loudly: "Comrade Battalion Commander, I saw the enemy dispatching tanks again, as if there were new types of tanks among them. How about it, can you stop them?"
"Don't worry, comrade commander." The first battalion commander said confidently: "Since we can all eliminate the enemy's tanks just now, we can also eliminate these tanks."
The first battalion commander dropped the phone and left the command post. He bent down and came to the forefront along the trench and found the company commander of the anti-tank company. He asked at the other party: "Comrade Commander, do you have the confidence to destroy the enemy's tank?"
"No problem." Maybe the process of destroying six enemy tanks just now was too easy, so that the commander of the anti-tank company underestimated the enemy, thinking that the enemy's tanks were just like this. As long as there were anti-tank guns on the position, the enemy's tanks would be destroyed as much as they came: "We will definitely destroy all the enemy tanks in front of our position."
Seeing that the anti-tank company commander was so confident, the first battalion commander was relieved. Before returning to his command post, he specifically reminded the other party: "Comrade Commander, remember that after repelling the enemy's attack this time, you cannot lead the troops to attack at will, otherwise it will disrupt the defense deployment of your superiors. Do you understand?"
He took the lead in charge, not only not only not praise, but also criticized. When the anti-tank company commander heard the first battalion commander speak to him in this tone, he felt a sense of dissatisfaction in his heart. But on the surface, he pretended to be very cooperative and said, "Don't worry, after repelling the enemy this time, I will stay on the position honestly and will never attack without authorization."
The enemy tanks quickly rushed to a distance of 300 meters from the position. When the anti-tank company commander saw that the enemy's tank had entered the range, he immediately issued an order to open fire. With his order, the 18 surviving anti-tank guns on the position fired at the same time. In an instant, two tanks No. 3, which was responsible for the cover mission, were destroyed. However, the armor-piercing bombs hitting the Tiger tank armor became jumpers and did not penetrate the target at all.
Seeing this, an anti-tank soldier quickly turned his head and shouted at the company commander: "Comrade Commander, the enemy's heavy tank armor is too thick, and my anti-tank gun cannot penetrate its armor. What should I do?"
"Continue shooting!" Seeing that the Tiger tank was still driving towards him with great momentum, the company commander shouted at the anti-tank hand: "Don't panic, the closer it is to us, the greater the chance of breaking through its front armor!"
Not only the anti-tank hand beside the company commander found that the Tiger tank could not penetrate, but the other anti-tank handmen who fired at the Tiger tank also found the same problem. They wanted to ask the company commander how to deal with such tanks, but when they heard the company commander's orders, they kept firing at the tanks, quickly reloading, and continued to shoot the Tiger tanks approaching with anti-tank guns.
The Tiger tank that rushed in the front became the key target of anti-tank players. In a short 100-meter trip, it suffered at least fifty armor-piercing incendiary bombs caused by anti-tank guns, but none of them penetrated its front armor.
Chapter completed!