Cui Kov thought in his heart that forming a new combat cluster would help improve the current unfavorable situation in Stalingrad. As long as he proposed it, Sokov, who could get benefits, should agree to himself very readily. Who knew that Sokov would reject him so tactfully, so he frowned and asked dissatisfiedly: "Why, tell me your reasons?"
Sokov noticed Cuikov's dissatisfaction and knew in his heart that if he didn't explain it clearly, he might leave a thorn in the other party's heart. After reorganizing the language in his mind, he spoke: "Comrade Commander, the enemy has launched countless attacks on Mamayevgang, but in the end they all ended with losing troops and generals. They realized that it was not worth investing a large amount of troops and technical equipment in order to seize the so-called commanding heights of the city.
. Therefore, they have now adjusted their strategy and continued to attack with the army of the vassal state, while the main forces have been transferred to the factory area in the north, trying to take down the barricade factory and the Derrensky factory. As long as they have taken down these two factories, they can go forward to the Volga River and go down the river to seize the ferry behind us, and completely cut off the connection between the defenders and the outside world in the city. If a battle group is established at this time, it will attract the enemy's attention from the north of the city..."
"Col. Sokov," Gurov asked suddenly when he heard this: "So, are you afraid? Are you afraid that the enemy will regard you as the focus of the attack?"
"Yes, comrade of the military committee, I'm scared." Sokov felt that it was necessary to open up the problem in front of Cuikov and Gurov, otherwise, if we really formed a battle group in the south of the city, the situation in Stalingrad would become more confusing: "I believe the two leaders also knew that the battles in the old city in the south of the city are mainly small-scale, so although we deployed here, we can still prevent the enemy from occupying the entire old city.
However, once a battle group is formed, the enemy discovers that our army poses a threat to them in the old city, it is possible to adjust the main direction of attack. Once the enemy's main forces gather in the south of the city, our troops may only last for one day or even less. At that time, the enemy can go north along the Volga River, traverses from Mamayevgang, occupy the ferry by the river, and cut off the connection between the city and the outside world. If this happens, all factories in the north of the city will be lost when they are out of ammunition and food."
After listening to Sokov's analysis, Cuikov did not speak, but just tapped his fingers on the table slowly, thinking about whether he should give up the idea of ​​forming a battle group.
"Comrade Commander..." Seeing that Cui Kov was not speaking for a long time, Gurov called him softly.
Cuikov raised his hand to stop Gurov, looked up at Sokov and asked, "Col. Sokov, I know that if you set up a battle group, the pressure you are under here will increase. But, other than that, do you have any good ways to reduce the pressure on the Barrier Factory and the Derrensky Factory?"
"If you want to defend the Barrier Factory and the Derrynsky Factory, you cannot carry out negative defenses." Although Sokov knew in his heart that in his own identity, he had no right to point fingers at the defense of these two factories, since Cui Kov asked, he could only say carefully: "A proper counterattack must be carried out to disrupt the German offensive steps."
"We have always used this way of playing." Cuikov was obviously not satisfied with Sokov's answer: "The question is, why did your counterattack succeed, but the counterattack of friendly forces failed?" He was very afraid that Sokov would hide his personal power, and he emphasized specifically, "In order to defeat the German attack on the city, what good methods do you have? You can't hide them."
"I think that to succeed in the counterattack, it must be sudden and concealed." After Sokov expressed his thoughts, he was afraid that Cui Kov and the others would not understand, so he made a special explanation: "Our tanks and cannons are not as numerous as those of the enemy, and there is no air cover. If we implement artillery preparations before the counterattack begins, it is equivalent to telling the enemy that we are about to launch an attack in this area. You should prepare quickly..."
Sokov's words immediately caused a burst of laughter in the room. After everyone laughed, Trekov nodded and said, "That's right, Colonel Sokov, you're saying it very well. We are in the area where we are preparing to launch a counterattack without air cover, and we are indeed notifying the enemy that we will launch a counterattack here so that they can take sufficient time to take counterattacks."
After saying this, Cuikov turned his head and looked at Gurov sitting beside him, and smiled and said, "Military Comrade, look, the enemy's psychology has been touched by Colonel Sokov. No wonder his troops often win battles."
"Yes, Comrade Commander, you make sense. Colonel Sokov has figured out the enemy's psychology, so when formulating a combat plan, he can be more targeted." After listening to Cuikov's words, Gurov looked at Sokov and continued to express his views: "It is precisely because of this that I think it is very necessary to set up a battle group. Colonel Sokov can command more troops and achieve greater results, thereby greatly weakening the enemy's strength and reducing the pressure on the troops in the north of the city. It lays a good foundation for the final victory of the Stalingrad defense battle."
The smile on Sokov's face gradually disappeared. He did not expect that after spending a long time, he finally changed his mind to Cuikov. As a result, Gurov was still stubborn and insisted on bringing up the establishment of a battle group again. He quickly turned his attention to Cuikov, hoping that the other party could stand up and say a few words to him.
Trikov saw Sokov's gaze, but he did not rush to express his opinion. Instead, he frowned and thought for a while, then turned to Gurov and said, "Military Comrade, I think the matter of establishing a combat group needs to be discussed from a long time. Even if the group army reached an agreement, Colonel Sokov also agreed to serve as the commander of the combat cluster, it is still unknown whether the superiors can pass this plan and whether they can send more troops to us."
"Comrade Commander, I keep my opinion." Gurov said stubbornly: "I suggest that after returning to the headquarters, the members of the Military Commission will be held immediately to hold a meeting to let everyone discuss the plan to establish a combat group."
Cuikov knew that Gurov's starting point was good. If he refuted him in public, he would not be able to get out of Taiwan. He nodded and said, "Okay, comrades of the military committee, should a combat cluster be established in the south of the city and Mamayevgang area. After returning to the headquarters, he would convene the members of the military committee to discuss it."
"Col. Sokov," Trekov asked Sokov again: "Do you have any plans for the next battle?"
"I plan to rely on the existing fortifications in Mamayevgang to consume the enemy's vitality and wait for the arrival of a large counterattack."
After hearing Sokov's words, Cuikov grinned and asked back, "When do you think we can launch a counterattack?"
Sokov clearly remembered the specific counterattack time of the Soviet army, but he was not stupid enough to report to Cui Kov. Otherwise, in the future, Cui Kov discovered that the time Sokov said was consistent with the real counterattack time, and he would not be able to make up for it. Therefore, he pretended to think for a long time before he said slowly: "Comrade Commander, the big counterattack under Moscow last year was December 6. I think our big counterattack may be launched before December."
Chapter completed!