On the morning of October 3, just dawn, the Soviet army was violently bombarded by the German army along the defense lines established by the Red October factory, silicate factory, barricade factory and other places.
Cui Kov, who was staying on the cliff on the bank of the Volga River, heard the rumbling cannons coming from outside and hurried out his command center. He stood outside and listened for a while, then walked back to the command center with a blue face.
After entering the door, regardless of Krelov's hand, he took off his big-brimmed hat from his head and threw it hard on the table, and then said, "Chief of Staff, have you heard the sound of cannons outside? The Germans used at least thousands of artillery pieces and at the same time bombarded our army's defensive positions in the Red October factory, silicate factory, and barricade factory. It seems that they are planning to launch a large-scale attack!"
Krelov was shocked when he heard Cuikov say this, and quickly put down his microphone and said in surprise: "Where did the Germans get so many artillery? If this is true, then our defensive positions are in danger of being broken."
Cuikov walked quickly to the table, leaned over and looked at the map spread on the table, and asked solemnly: "Chief of Staff, what are our defensive forces in this area?"
Although Krelov knew in his heart that Cuikov knew clearly which unit of the defenders in each defense zone was, and asking this question was nothing more than to confirm it again, he quickly replied: "The troops arranged from left to right are the 39th Guard Division of Guriyev, the 308th Gurdiev's 308th Division, the 95th Division of Gorishne, the 193rd Division of Smekhotvorov, the 112th Division of Yermolkin and the 37th Guard Division of Jorujev."
"We have quite a lot of troops." After hearing this, Cui Kefu said casually: "Since we have six divisions in these areas, it should be no problem to defend these factories."
"Comrade Commander," Krelov said with a serious expression: "These divisions are only nominal. In fact, after a series of battles, their troops have been greatly weakened. For example, the remaining troops of the 37th and 39th Divisions of the Guards have only one regiment; and the 308th and 95th Divisions, if it were not for the cover of Sokov's troops yesterday, wouldn't have been too many people to withdraw."
"The situation is very serious, my comrade Chief of Staff." After Cuikov said this, he suddenly remembered an important thing: "By the way, where is Comrade Khrushchev? I don't seem to see him today."
"Before dawn, an armored boat came from the other side and took the military commissioner away." Krelov saw Cuikov's confused look and quickly added: "You were still resting at that time. The military commissioner said you have worked so hard, so I will not wake you up."
Cuikov thought Khrushchev had left secretly because his personal counterattack was not successful, and he had any ideas about himself. After listening to Krelov's explanation, he realized that he was thinking too much. He nodded and said, "It's better to leave. Judging from the enemy's shelling posture, today's battle must be very cruel. Comrade Khrushchev stayed here, and I was not at ease."
Krelov understood Cuikov's concerns. Fierce war was about to break out here. If the leader of the front army stayed in the command center, it would be a disquiet thing. He quickly put this matter behind his mind and asked Cuikov for instructions: "Comrade Commander, can we deploy artillery on the left bank and suppress the German artillery?"
After walking back and forth in the command center with his hands behind his back, Cui Kefu stopped and shook his head and said, "No, the artillery firepower used by the enemy is too strong. If our artillery fires, they may suffer huge losses."
"What should we do?" Krelov said with a embarrassed look: "Are you just watching the enemy unscrupulously bombard our positions?"
"The artillery can't be counted on," Cui Kefu said thoughtfully: "Let's ask the Air Force for help."
Cuikov's words made Krelov's eyes lit up: "Yes, yes, comrade Commander, you are right, how did I forget the Air Force? As long as they are dispatched, they can bomb the German artillery positions. In terms of dealing with enemy artillery, the Air Force has achieved more results than artillery."
After Krelov finished speaking, he immediately grabbed the telegram in front of him. After hearing the sound, he said to the microphone: "Communication Soldier, I am Krelov, immediately pick up the Air Force Command."
"Please wait, Comrade Chief of Staff." The correspondent quickly replied: "I will contact you with General Heliujin!"
The phone soon came out. When Krelov heard Heliujin's voice coming from the receiver, Krelov couldn't wait to say, "Is General Heliujin? I am Krelov."
"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff." Heliujin asked politely when he heard that the person calling him was Krelov, "Is there anything I can serve you?"
"That's right, General Heliojin." Krelov quickly told Heliojin in detail about the enemy's large-scale artillery attack on the defensive positions, and finally said: "If the enemy's artillery continues, it will definitely cause greater wounds to the defenders. I ask you to dispatch bombers to bomb the enemy's artillery positions to reduce the casualties of our army."
According to Krelov's idea, General Heliujin, who had several aviation divisions, immediately agreed to send one or two aviation divisions without hesitation to bomb the enemy's artillery positions without hesitation, thereby reducing the damage of the enemy's artillery to the factory defense positions.
Unexpectedly, after waiting for a long time, Heliujin stopped talking. Krelov was a little anxious. He thought the other party had hung up the phone and quickly shouted loudly at the microphone: "Hey, heliujin, are you still here? Heliujin, are you still here?"
Soon, Hyrujin's impatient voice came from the receiver: "I can hear it, you don't need to be so loud."
Hearing Heliujin's voice, Krelof quickly said with a smile: "General Heliujin, you have not spoken yet. I thought you had hung up the phone. I would like to ask, when will your fighter plane be launched?"
"I'm sorry, General Krelov." Heliojin said coldly: "I can't help!"
"What, can't help?" Heliujin's reply shocked Krelov. He asked in confusion: "General Heliujin, please explain to me what does it mean to help?"
"Chief of staff, give me the phone and I will tell him personally." After receiving the phone from Krelov's hand, Trekov said to the microphone: "Hello, General Heliujin, I am Trekov."
"Hello, General Choi Kov." Hearing that Choi Kov, who was on the same level as him, was calling, Heliujin quickly said friendly: "Do you have any instructions?"
"That's right, General Heliojin." Cui Kefu said with some embarrassment: "In areas where the enemy is being bombarded, we have been building defenses fortifications for a short time, so there are no decent or solid fortifications. Under the bombardment of artillery like the enemy, it will soon collapse and cause huge casualties to the troops. Therefore, I beg you to dispatch the air force to bomb the enemy's artillery."
After hearing Cui Kev's words patiently, Heliojin said apologetically: "General Cui Kev, I have just told General Krelov that although I sympathize with your situation, I can't help you."
"I can't help you?" Cui Kefu's face suddenly turned pale. He suppressed the anger in his heart and asked, "General Heliujin, can you tell me why this is?"
"General Cui Kefu!" Heliujin heard Cui Kefu say this with anger. In order to avoid any bad associations from the other party, he quickly explained: "All our airports are within the strict surveillance range of enemy aircraft. As long as the aircraft takes off, they will be attacked by enemy aircraft or ground artillery fire."
"I heard it all, Comrade Chief of Staff." After putting down the phone, Cuikov looked at Krelov and said, "No matter we deployed on the left bank or General Heliujin's air force, we can provide us with any help. If we want to defend the city, we can only rely on ourselves."
Seeing that no one could count on him now, Krelov immediately understood what Cuikov was thinking, and he took the initiative to say, "I will call the commanders of each division and let them find a way to defend their positions."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." Cuikov called Krelov and said to him: "There are still thousands of troops on the Mamayev hill. I think if necessary, this unit can be used to launch an attack from the enemy's side to restrain the enemy's strength."
Listening to Cuikov's plan to use Sokov's troops again, Krelov's muscles twitched violently a few times, and said awkwardly: "Comrade Commander, don't you think we have used Sokov too much recently?"
Before Cui Kefu could speak, he said to himself: "Defend the Red October Factory, go out to Orlovka to pick up friendly troops, participate in the frontal counterattack of Mamayevgang, and send troops to cover the two divisions on the right wing to withdraw the Red October Factory. It can be said that every time we assigned him the task is a life-and-death death."
"Chief of Staff, I haven't noticed it yet." Cui Kefu smiled wryly and said, "If these tasks were handed over to any unit in the group army, the unit would have lost its establishment and retreated to the rear for replenishment. However, Sokov's troops were still nailed to Mamayev's post like a nail, making it impossible for the enemy to occupy it."
"You said I used them too often, which is a big truth." Cuikov looked at Krelov and said, "But the elite were honed in one hard battle after another. Sokov is a commander who can fight. Under the current circumstances, dispatching his troops will reduce a lot of unnecessary losses."
Just as Trekov and Krelov were discussing Sokov, Sokov was studying the next battle with Ivanov and others in his command. He pointed to the map and said to Ivanov and others: "The enemy's bombardment of Mamayev's hills proves that they will have big moves next, and we must take precautions as soon as possible."
"Comrade Commander, since the defensive position has been moved to the top of the hillside again, the enemy's shelling is fierce, but the damage to the position is not great." After Sidorin and Sokov finished speaking, they asked with a smile: "Do we send the troops to the position as soon as possible?"
"Nothing is nothing, nothing." Sokov heard Cidolin say this and immediately glared at the commander who was much older than himself, saying: "Even if the enemy's shelling damages the mountaintop position less, we cannot let the soldiers enter the position at this time."
Sokov slapped the map with his hand and said loudly: "Mamayevgang is the commanding heights of Stalingrad. Standing here, you can see clearly the movements within a radius of dozens of kilometers. I passed my order that even after the enemy's shelling stopped, the troops should not rush into the position. They only need to leave a few observation posts for surveillance."
"What, just send a few observation posts?" Ivanov, who had not fought a defensive battle at Mamayev's hill, couldn't help but ask in surprise when he heard Sokov say this: "If the enemy suddenly rushed over, how could our troops have time to enter the position?"
"Don't worry, my deputy division commander." Sokov put a hand on Ivanov's shoulder and comforted him, "The enemy is still more than ten kilometers away, and our observation post can find them. When the enemy is still two or three kilometers away from Mamayev's hill, we will send troops into the position, and it is still time."
Although everyone was staying in the tunnel, they could still feel the fierce artillery fire outside, and the dust on the roof fell from time to time, and they were accidentally fascinated by the dust. After Sokov finished speaking, Ivanov carefully recalled it and finally nodded and said, "Comrade Commander, you are right. Although the area of ​​the ammunition on the top of the mountain is not large, the shock wave formed by the enemy's violent artillery will still cause great damage to our soldiers. Then we will wait until the enemy approaches Mamayev's hill before sending the soldiers into the position."
"Comrade Commander, you said that the enemy's shelling was so fierce, why didn't the artillery on the left bank fight back?" Division political commissar Anisimov suddenly interrupted and asked: "Even if you shoot a few random shots, you can suppress some of the enemy's firepower."
"Comrade Political Commissar, you don't understand." As the chief of staff, Cidolin naturally guessed the approximate number of artillery used by the enemy from the information he obtained, and explained: "The enemy's artillery today used at least thousands of artillery pieces. How many artillery pieces do we have on the left bank of the Volga River? I'm afraid that less than one-third of the enemy's enemy, maybe once the artillery is fired, they will be subject to crazy counterattack. Once these artillery soldiers are lost, they may not be able to obtain the support of artillery soldiers in the next battle."
Chapter completed!