"This is really great, Comrade Commander." Hearing Cuikov say this, Sokov understands that the results of Grissa and the others must be true. "Thank you for helping us verify the results of the team."
"Who are the ones participating in this operation?" Cui Kefu asked on the phone: "Tell me their names and I want to award them a medal!"
"Lieutenant Grissa, who commanded the squad, was the company commander of the 4th Company of the Second Battalion of the Downsized Regiment." Sokov kept the name of every soldier who participated in the operation in mind. When he heard Cuikov ask, he immediately replied without hesitation: "In addition, there is Sergeant Yelizavita, who is the rocket launcher. The rocket that destroyed the enemy ammunition depot this time should have been fired by him; there is also Corporal Aino..."
When Sokov heard Sokov tell the names of each member of the team, as well as their troops and specialties, Ivanov, who was standing beside him, was stunned. When Sokov put down the microphone, he quickly gave a thumbs up and said with approval: "Comrade Commander, you are so amazing. There are twenty people in the team, but you didn't expect that you could call their names."
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, you don't know. The division commander has a very good memory. He almost remembers anyone he has seen." Sidolin showed off to Ivanov with some smugness: "When we were still infantry brigades, the division commander could call out the names of half of the commanders and fighters in the brigade."
"What, can you call out the names of half of the commanders and fighters." Ivanov widened his eyes and said in surprise: "That's two or three thousand people. Comrade Commander, your memory is so strong."
Sokov knew that he had a good memory, but he didn't want to waste time with Ivanov on this matter. He continued to talk about the topic just now: "Comrade of the Deputy Division, the commander has called and said that the friendly troops who were staying in the barricade factory saw the fire in Gorodice Town and the explosions from that direction, proving that Lieutenant Grissa and others have completed the task successfully. How about it, do you still need to send someone to verify the results?"
"No, no, no." Ivanov heard Sokov's question, and hurriedly said with a smile: "Since the commander and the others know the results of the battle, there is no need to verify it again."
Seeing that Ivanov no longer held Grissa's results, Sokov directly ordered Cydolin: "Chief of Staff, call Lieutenant Grissa immediately and ask them to return to Mamayev's post as soon as possible, and said that the headquarters will award each of them the results they have achieved."
While Sidolin was urging the radio operator to send a message, Sokov asked Ivanov: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, how many mobile forces do we have now?"
"No more, comrade Commander." Ivanov heard Sokov's question, thinking that he was going to lead the troops to support somewhere, and quickly replied without hesitation: "We have no mobile force in our hands."
"Is it really gone?" Don't see Sokov's recent inquiries about the specific work of the division, but it's not surprising that he didn't understand the situation in the division at all. He saw that Ivanov was perfunctory, so he deliberately pretended to be regretful and said, "It's really a pity that there is no mobile force at all."
Ivanov heard that Sokov had something in his words and couldn't help asking curiously: "Comrade Commander, what are you doing with mobile troops?"
"It's nothing, I'll just ask." Sokov said without changing his face: "The enemy's ammunition depot in Gorodice town was blown up. It took the Germans at least two to three days to replenish the bombed ammunition. Before their ammunition becomes sufficient again, we have a rare opportunity."
"Opportunity, what opportunity?" Ivanov asked curiously.
"Forget it, let's not talk about it." Sokov deliberately teased Ivanov: "Since we don't have mobile troops in our hands, no matter how many opportunities we have in front of us, we can only give up."
"Comrade Commander," Sokov's words aroused Ivanov's great curiosity. He asked with a shameless attitude: "Tell me, what opportunities do we have now? If possible, even if I sell the goods, I can still raise a battalion of mobile troops for you."
"That's right, comrade of the deputy division commander." Seeing that Ivanov was willing to provide him with a battalion of troops, Sokov continued to say: "Based on the information we have, it turns out that the German combat cluster that attacked the workers' new village has moved northward. The territory they have vacant was replaced by the Romanian First Division. I want to take this opportunity to take a local counterattack and teach the enemy a lesson."
Ivanov stared at the map for a while, frowned and said, "Comrade Commander, your idea is good. But if we do not get support from planes, tanks and cannons when we attack, it may be difficult to break through the enemy's defense."
"I have no choice for the Air Force and Artillery for the time being." Sokov smiled faintly and said, "But I can find a few tanks to assist our attack."
"Comrade Commander," after Sidorin arranged for the radio operator to send a report, he happened to hear what Sokov said when he came back, and asked quickly: "Where are you going to launch a counterattack to the enemy?"
"Yes, comrade in which area are you going to launch a counterattack?" Sokov's concern did not appear. On the contrary, whether it was Sidolin or Ivanov, they agreed to take the initiative to attack the enemy.
"It's right here in the workers' new village." Sokov pointed to the north of Mamayev's hill on the map and said to the two: "I plan to launch a limited attack on the enemy in this area."
After seeing the position of Sokov, Cidolin couldn't help but shake his head and said, "Comrade Commander, according to our reconnaissance, the enemy has a tank battalion here. Without the same number of tanks, the frontal attack we launched will be difficult to succeed."
"Chief of Staff, don't worry." Seeing that Sidolin was obviously insecure about the attack he had envisioned, Sokov said to him: "There are always more solutions than problems. Since we have discovered the problem, we will find a way to solve it. Help me pick up Lieutenant Colonel Papchinko's command post, and I have something to ask him."
The phone was quickly connected, and when he heard Papchinko's voice, Sokov asked straight to the point: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how is the situation where the enemy is?"
"It's OK," replied Papuchinko: "The enemy launched several consecutive attacks during the day, and they were all repelled by our army. Because our defensive positions are connected by sewers. Once we find that a certain place cannot be defended, we will immediately move from the sewer to another place, and when the time is right, we will take back the lost positions."
"Ltd. Col. Papchinko, you did a good job!" Sokov asked directly after praising the other party, "Is Lieutenant Agafeng there?"
After a while of silence in the microphone, Papuchinko's voice came out again: "Yes, comrade instructor, he is by my side. Are you going to talk to him?"
"Yes, comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I have something to ask him, please give him the microphone."
When Agafon learned that Sokov was looking for him, he quickly said respectfully: "Hello, comrade Colonel, I am Lieutenant Agafon. What instructions do you have?"
"Comrade Lieutenant, I want to ask you, how many tanks do you have in your hands now?" Sokov thought that the Red October Factory would provide him with several more repaired tanks, so he asked Agafon: "I mean the number of tanks that can be put into combat?"
Agafeng was silent for about five or six seconds, and then replied without hesitation: "Comrade Colonel, I have thirteen tanks in my hand now, half of which are old tanks that have been restored back to the factory. I wonder if so many tanks are enough?"
"Enough is enough." Sokov thought it would be great to have seven or eight vehicles, but he didn't expect there were thirteen vehicles. He couldn't help but be overjoyed. But he tried hard to control his emotions and tried his best to say to Agafong in a steady tone: "Lt. Agafong, immediately fill all the tanks with fuel and shells, and you will soon have a big battle."
"What big battle?" Agafon asked curiously: "Are you preparing to launch a large-scale counterattack against the Germans?"
"Comrade Lieutenant, I'm afraid there will be a while to wait for a large counterattack." Sokov reminded Agafon on the phone: "Let's teach the Germans a lesson on a small scale first and leave a deep impression on them."
"What is the specific combat mission?" Agafon continued.
"I will send a combat staff to you tomorrow to convey the specific combat mission." Sokov emphasized to Agafong on the phone: "Your current mission is to fill the tank with fuel and ammunition. I don't want your tank team to continue fighting due to lack of ammunition and fuel."
"Comrade Colonel, please rest assured." After Agafon finished speaking, he assured him: "I will arrange for people to add fuel and ammunition to the tanks immediately. I promise you that in tomorrow's battle, our tanks will never drag the friendly forces down."
After Sidorin and Sokov put down the phone, he felt that he should fulfill the responsibilities of a chief of staff. He said, "Comrade Commander, the enemy has deployed a tank battalion in the direction of the workers' new village, and now he has transferred to the Romanian First Division. If we only dispatch thirteen tanks and one battalion of infantry, we may be in danger of the destruction of the entire army."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you make a lot of sense. Judging from the current situation, the enemy's troops and technical equipment are stronger than our army." Sokov said confidently: "Although we are at a disadvantage, it does not mean that we cannot win. On the battlefield, as long as we seize the fighter plane, there is a possibility of victory."
"What did you think, Comrade Commander?" Cidolin asked curiously.
Seeing that there were only Sidolin, Ivanov and division political commissar Anisimov, Sokov expressed his thoughts with confidence: "Every evening, after the enemy stops attacking, he will withdraw all the troops and technical equipment that are in charge of the attack to a starting position far away from the city. We can choose the favorable opportunity for the enemy to retreat, decisively attack them, and catch them off guard."
"On the eve of the enemy's withdrawal from their starting position, launch a sudden attack on them?" Ivanov was skeptical of Sokov's plan: "Comrade Commander, can it really work?"
"Comrade Commander, does our troops need artillery support to the enemy's positions before attacking?" Sidorin reminded Sokov: "Our artillery can destroy at least part of the German fortifications and relieve pressure on our offense."
"Our attack does not require artillery preparation." Sokov shook his head and said: "Before the attack, shelling or bombing the enemy's defensive positions can indeed destroy some fortifications, but at the same time, it also tells the enemy the direction of our attack so that the enemy can prepare to face us in advance."
Seeing the two of them looking confused, Sokov continued: "We can catch the enemy off guard without implementing artillery preparations before the attack. As long as they fall into chaos, our counterattack will be successful."
Since Sokov has set the tone, the next work is simple. Everyone just needs to find out the incomplete parts of the plan and make improvements. After more than an hour of discussion and supplementation, a fresh counterattack plan was released.
After seeing the counterattack plan, Sidolin looked up at Sokov and asked, "Comrade Commander, do you need to report this counterattack plan to the headquarters?"
"Yes." Sokov nodded and replied, "But for the sake of confidentiality, don't write down the specific attack time. You just need to tell the commander and the chief of staff that we are planning a counterattack. If possible, I hope they can provide us with the necessary support."
"I think this is probably unrealistic." Ivanov couldn't help but shake his head when he heard Sokov say this, "Now the headquarters' troops are seriously insufficient, and I'm afraid there is no strength to strengthen our counterattack force."
"Even if the headquarters cannot strengthen the troops for us, we can find a way to solve this problem by ourselves." Sokov said this, his eyes were staring at Cidolin: "Chief of Staff, if you call Commander Belkin later, it means that there will be combat missions tomorrow, so that they will all prepare in advance."
"Comrade Commander, I thought you had forgotten the reduction regiment." Sidolin's face showed a surprise expression: "Today, Commander Belkin called me and asked me when I would assign combat missions to them. I was worried about how to mention this matter to you, but you actually planned to send them to carry out an important counterattack mission."
Sokov sighed softly and said, "No matter what, the shrinking team is my old foundation. How could I let them keep on the bench? As long as there are important combat tasks, I will definitely hand them over." He waved at Cidolin, "Come to call Commander Belkin, I guess he is sitting and lying on his ants on a hot pan at this moment."
Chapter completed!