Time passed minute by minute, and when the scheduled artillery preparation time was reached, there was no movement outside. Although everyone understood that it was because of the heavy fog, Golikov picked up the phone and called the Front Command to confirm whether the attack was postponed.
Seeing Golikov put down the phone, Ivanov couldn't wait to ask: "How is it, Deputy Commander of the Front Army, is the artillery fire ready before the attack delayed?"
"Yes," Golikov nodded and said, "I have told you just now that if the fog cannot dissipate before the scheduled attack time, the pre-attack artillery preparation time will be postponed until eight o'clock." He raised his hand and looked at his watch, adding, "I hope that by eight o'clock, the fog outside will be blown away by the river wind."
Everyone sat speechlessly around the table, staring at the map on the table in a daze. Sokov suddenly heard Golikov whispering to himself: "Col. Sokov, do you know General Wolsky?"
Hearing this unfamiliar surname, Sokov recalled the general he knew in his heart and found that there was no such person in his memory. He shook his head blankly and asked, "I'm sorry, comrade, deputy commander of the Front Army, I have never heard of this person. If you don't object, can you tell me his identity?"
"He is the commander of the Mechanized 4th Army directly under the Front. According to the combat plan, he will launch a major assault from the south side of the city, along with Colonel Tanahishin's 13th Tank Army."
After listening to Golikov's introduction to the other party's life experience, Sokov became even more puzzled: "Comrade, Deputy Commander of the Front Army, why did you suddenly think of him?"
"At the end of October, when our troops began to assemble on the southern side of the city, he unexpectedly raised objections." Golikov replied with a wry smile: "He felt that instead of deploying the troops on the southern side of the city and carrying out a counterattack that was not very effective against the enemy, it would be better to send the troops directly to the city and strengthen the defense of the city to crush the enemy's conspiracy to seize the city."
Golikov's words aroused Sokov's curiosity. It is necessary to know whether to directly send the troops into the city to strengthen defense or deploy them in other areas as counterattack forces, which has always been very different among the Soviet army. He guessed that Golikov suddenly mentioned this matter to him, probably just an introduction, to introduce a more important topic later: "How did he change his ideas later?"
"Wolsky raised this view at the military meeting of the Front Army, which caused great controversy. The commanders participating in the meeting were divided into two factions, some who supported the support of the city, and some who supported the counterattack reserve outside the city, and the two sides had a dispute." Golikov continued: "When Commander Yelemenko saw that the two sides had a great difference, he reported the matter to the headquarters of the Supreme Command. Comrade Stalin learned about this, he specially summoned Wolsky to Moscow and had an in-depth conversation with him."
Sokov was a little surprised to hear that Wolsky was summoned to Moscow for this. He thought that the commanders in the Soviet army were accustomed to obeying. No matter how dissatisfied with the orders of his superiors, they usually had to be executed unconditionally in the end. After Wolsky put forward his own opinion, he was not only not rejected, but also received the reception from the Supreme Commander himself. "Did he change his point of view after he came back?"
"Yes." Golikov nodded and said in a positive tone: "Although we don't know what the Supreme Commander himself talked to him, after he came back from Moscow, he seemed to have become a different person. He did not sing a counter-attack with us anymore. Instead, he actively prepared for a counter-attack in the army."
Just when Sokov thought the matter was over, he didn't expect Golikov to say unexpectedly: "When General Wolsky went to Moscow, Comrade Khrushchev once proposed whether you would take over the position of commander of the 4th Mechanized Army? He also obtained the consent of Commander Yelyemko. If it weren't for Volsky's adjustment of his views after returning from Moscow, you might be the commander of the mechanized Army at this moment."
Sokov was startled by this amazing news. He never dreamed that Khrushchev would propose to take the position of commander of the army. He couldn't help but stutter, "Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army, are you not kidding? You must know that with my current ability, being a division commander is difficult, so how can you still be competent for the position of commander of the army."
Before Sokov finished speaking, he was interrupted by Golikov: "Okay, Colonel Sokov, our army leader is obvious to all. The Battle of Stalingrad has been going on for several months, and so far, only your troops are the most complete. No matter how the enemy attacks, they will never be able to occupy the Mamayev post. This alone is enough to be recorded in history."
Regarding the evaluation given by Golikov, Sidolin sitting around them nodded slightly and expressed his agreement with Golikov's statement. Sidolin also said, "Comrade Commander, I think it is still an unknown whether we can defend Mamayev's hill without you."
"Even if you can defend Mamayev's hill, you will probably pay a huge price." Ivanov added: "Just just engage in repeated tug-of-war with the enemy every day, there will probably be tens of thousands of commanders and fighters who will die on this hill. It is precisely because you built the fortifications in advance that we can survive the enemy's fierce shelling and bombing. I think all commanders and fighters in the division must have a clear idea of ​​this."
Seeing that his words were resonated with, Golikov's face showed a smile, and he continued: "The reason why I appeared in your command is that in addition to supervising you to counterattack against the enemy, I am also prepared to take over General Wolsky's position when necessary, command the troops of the mechanized 4th Army to break through the enemy's defense and meet with our army who went south."
The speaker is unintentional and the listener is intentional. As soon as Golikov said this, Sokov suddenly remembered who this Wolsky was. A few days later, it was the troops commanded by the heroic commander who successfully captured the Karachi Bridge, met with friendly forces heading south, and surrounded Paulus's 6th Army and 4th Armored Army in Stalingrad and surrounding areas.
Although he had the possibility of being promoted to commander, Sokov was not happy at all. Because the beginning of the counterattack, he had to join a strange army and serve as the highest military chief, which would probably cause dissatisfaction among the commanders and fighters. At that time, the situation would probably be out of control when he was slandered.
It was precisely for this reason that Sokov shook his head and replied firmly: "Comrade, Deputy Commander of the Front Army, I feel that my ability is completely incompetent to such a position."
"Col. Sokov, I understand your difficulties." Golikov understood Sokov's repeated refusal as his modesty, and comforted him, "Don't worry, we have reported this plan to the Supreme Commander himself. Even if we ask you to take over Wolsky's position in the battle, no one will gossip."
"Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army, you misunderstood what I mean." Sokov saw that Golikov misunderstood his intentions, and explained to him: "I said I was not suitable for the position of commander of the army. It was not humility, but because of two reasons."
"Speak!"
"First, my ability is limited and I have never had the experience of commanding military-level units to fight. Even if I want to be the commander, I may need to come back from the Fulongzhi Military Academy." Sokov said to Golikov with his finger: "Second, my command style is different from General Wolsky. If I change the commander at this moment, it may cause chaos in the command system of the troops. It is precisely for this reason that I cannot serve as the commander at this time."
"I had guessed you would say this long ago." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Golikov's face smiled again: "When we defeat the enemy attacking Stalingrad, I will definitely ask about this matter personally and arrange for you to study at the Fulongzhi Military Academy."
Seeing that Golikov did not mention making him the commander of the army, Sokov felt a little at ease. Although promotion was something that everyone hoped for, if the timing was wrong, his promotion might bring him unrestrained disaster.
The hour hand pointed to eight o'clock, and the attack still did not start. Golikov was worried and called Yeliaomenko to verify the matter. After the call, he smiled bitterly and said to everyone: "Comrades Commander, I just talked to Commander Yeliaomenko. He said that due to the weather, our counterattack will be postponed by at least an hour. Please be careful."
Since everyone knew the counterattack plan, they have been calculating in their hearts how long it will be before the counterattack. But just as victory is about to come, unexpected changes have taken place due to changes in the climate.
"Comrades, don't worry." Sokov felt a little depressed after hearing the news that Golikov announced, so he stood up and smiled and said, "Although the counterattack time will be postponed due to the weather, it is only a matter of time before the enemy is completely defeated by us."
"Comrade Commander," Anisimov and Sokov said, tentatively asked: "Do you really think that the great counterattack carried out by our army can completely crush the enemy's attempt to seize the city and achieve the final victory?" As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that there was a deputy commander of the Front Army sitting here. If the other party pursued it, he could send himself to the military court in the name of panic. He quickly said to Golikov, "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I am just an example. In fact, I am full of confidence in our army defeating the enemy."
"Comrade Political Commissar." Sokov looked at Golikov's face before speaking. Seeing that he was not angry about it, he said to Anisimov with a relaxed expression: "I think our army will definitely destroy the enemies in the Stalingrad region."
In order to ease the awkward atmosphere in the room, Sokov pointed his hand at the radio hanging at the door and continued, "Comrade Political Commissar, I asked you to install radio in the tunnel to let the soldiers know the situation outside in a timely manner. But since the last time a bomb landed at the door and almost pulled our division headquarters, the radio seemed to have never sounded. I think, you might as well break through the defense of the Romanian army in the Don River, and give good news to the enemy that it hurts severely, and tell all the commanders and soldiers in the tunnel to achieve a morale boost."
"Comrade Commander, if you don't say it, I have forgotten that there is still radio in the tunnel. I will arrange people to tell all the commanders and soldiers in the tunnel through the radio." Anisimov stood up and asked Golikov, "Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army, are you allowed to work?"
"Go and go." Golikov nodded at Anisimov and said with a smile: "Go and tell the officers and soldiers this good news quickly and make everyone happy."
After Anisimov left, Golikov looked at the radio hanging at the door and asked Sokov with some concern: "Col. Sokov, will the sound of the radio affect your command of the war?"
"No, comrade, deputy commander of the Front Army." Before Sokov answered, Cidolin rushed to answer: "The volume of the radio broadcast at the door has been specially adjusted. Every time it is broadcast, everyone in the room can hear what they say clearly, but it will not affect our command and combat because the volume is too high."
Not long after, a sound came from the radio at the door, which was Anisimov personally reporting the achievements of his friendly troops in the Don River Basin. Golikov listened carefully for a while and found that he could hear clearly what was said on the radio, but at the same time, the volume would not be too loud, which affected Sokov and others to issue orders.
It was almost nine o'clock, just as Golikov was planning to call Yeliumenko and asked if the preparation time for the artillery fire would be delayed, the phone ringing on the table suddenly rang, which scared him. Sidolin, who was sitting opposite, picked up the microphone and listened for a moment, then told Golikov in surprise: "Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army, good news. The observation post at the top of the mountain reported that the fog outside was gradually dissipating. After about ten or twenty minutes, the visibility could be restored to about a hundred meters."
"This is really good news." Everyone smiled when they learned that the fog was dissipating. Golikov picked up the phone with a relaxed expression and called the Front Command to verify the time when the shelling began with Yeliumenko.
At 9:30, the phone ringing on the table rang again. This time the phone was called by Andre, the commander of the first battalion who was standing in the city. He excitedly reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I heard the rumbling sound of cannons from outside. It should be our artillery bombardment before the attack. I think it was our big counterattack that began!"
Chapter completed!