Sokov lay on the camp bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep. He always felt that he had forgotten something, but he couldn't remember it for a while. He closed his eyes tightly, silently in his heart, thinking of falling asleep as soon as possible, after all, it was only a few hours before dawn. Maybe the German revenge operation would begin at dawn. Even if he wanted to sleep, he would probably have no time.
Just after counting less than a hundred sheep, Sokov suddenly remembered that when he was in Moscow, he seemed to see a war report saying that Manstein's troops were pushing eastward desperately, trying to join forces with the besieged Paulus troops. He didn't know where they were now. If the commander of the blocking force could send an elite force to attack the enemy's rear, he could restrain Manstein's troops and prevent him from assaulting east with all his strength.
When he thought of sending troops to attack the enemy's rear, Sokov immediately remembered what he had forgotten. From the time he came back to the present, he actually forgot to inquire with Sidolin and the others whether the team led by Guchakov had achieved any results behind the enemy.
Thinking of this, Sokov sat up and didn't even have time to wear his boots, so he walked quickly towards the command center with his boots, hoping to get information about Guchakov as soon as possible.
When Sokov walked to the division command, he found that not only Sidolin and Ivanov were there, but also Lieutenant Colonel Anisimov, the chief of staff of the division. He quickly walked to the three of them and asked at Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, look at my memory, I actually forgot Captain Guchakov who was moving behind the enemy. What kind of results did they achieve after they went deep into the enemy's rear?"
Hearing Sokov's question, the three of them did not speak, but looked at each other. Then Cidolin's face showed a smug look, while Ivanov and Anisimov had a disappointed expression. Then the two sighed, each took out a pack of cigarettes from their bags and threw them on the table. Cidolin grabbed two packs of cigarettes and put them in their pockets without any hesitation.
The actions of the three of them puzzled Sokov: "Who can tell me what's going on?"
"Comrade Commander, I'll tell you." Anisimov said embarrassedly: "The three of us bet, guess when will you think of Captain Guchakov's squad. The Chief of Staff said that you can remember before dawn; and the Deputy Division Commander and I have the opinion that you will not remember that squad at the earliest time after dawn."
"You actually bet with me?" Sokov said with some amusement.
"Comrade in the division commander, please forgive me." Ivanov said with a smile: "Life is too boring to stay in the tunnel all day, so you have to find something to enjoy."
"Okay, I won't pursue the matter you bet with me." Sokov sat down at the table, bent down and put on his boots, and asked, "Who can you tell me what the results did Captain Guchakov achieve after leading his troops deep behind enemy lines?"
"Comrade Commander," said Sidolin seriously: "When Guchakov and his team felt that Gumlak's area, they attacked two German barracks and a storage point from a distance with rockets. Although they could not destroy valuable commands, they found that the enemy's command had disappeared from the area according to the monitoring of the superior telecommunications forces."
When Sokov heard this, he asked tentatively: "Chief of Staff, do you mean that the German command had to be transferred because of the activities of the Guchakov squad in Gumlak?"
"That's exactly that." The team he sent was so scared that Paulus had to transfer the command center. This was a very amazing thing: "Because the rockets carried by Captain Guchakov and others had been exhausted, I had ordered them to retreat a few days ago. The team suffered little losses, only three people were sacrificed and nine people were injured."
When Sokov learned that Guchakov had returned safely, he felt much more at ease. He stared at the map and asked Cidolin: "Chief of Staff, when I was in Moscow, I heard that Manstein sent a large army to advance eastward and tried to come over to meet Paulus's troops. Where are they now moving?"
"Here." Sidolin quickly pointed to a place name on the map and said to Sokov: "According to the news I obtained from the Army Command, yesterday, December 24, Manstein's troops were attacking Morozovka, which was only a few dozen kilometers away from Paulus's troops."
Hearing the place name Morozovka, Sokov frowned and thought for a while, feeling that in real history, Manstein, who rescued Paulus, seemed to have only advanced to this position. In order to prevent being surrounded by the Soviet army, he had to give up the rescue and retreat obediently.
"Comrade of the Division," Sokov was thinking, suddenly heard Anisimov's voice: "Do you think Paulus will escape?"
"Paulus wants to escape from our encirclement?" Sokov was basically sure that Manstein's attack was at the end of his strength. If he continued to advance eastward, let alone rescue Paulus, he might be in danger of being surrounded. To be safe, he could only stop rescue and evacuate the area that might be surrounded. It was precisely because of this history that Sokov pointed to the map on the table and pretended to analyze to the three people: "Look at the enemy and me on the map. Don't look at the only dozens of kilometers between Manstein's rescue troops and Paulus's troops. But for them, these dozens of kilometers are an insurmountable natural barrier."
"But the Germans' attack was very fierce." Cydollin frowned and said, "Although our friendly forces carried out tenacious resistance, they still could not stop the German advancement in the east."
"Look at the map. Due to Manstein's rapid advancement, he has cut into the depth of our defense." Sokov continued: "Once our army on both sides launches an attack, Manstein will have the possibility of being surrounded. As an excellent commander of the German army, he will never make such a mistake. Therefore, I think he may give up the eastward plan at any time and withdraw his troops to his original starting position."
"Comrade of the division commander," the three of them were suspicious of Sokov's statement. Ivanov asked with a frown: "Do you really think Manstein's troops will retreat at this time?"
"This is for sure, comrade of the deputy division commander." Sokov replied in a positive tone: "Since we can surround Paulus' more than 300,000 troops, it is probably not difficult to surround the more than 100,000 people under Manstein's command."
"If Manstein's troops are surrounded, then there will be at least 400,000 enemy prisoners in our encirclement." Cidolin began to calculate with his fingers, about how many troops would be needed to keep these prisoners under control.
Sokov saw Sidolin's worries, so he waved his hand at him and said, "Chief of Staff, don't count how many prisoners of war camps we need to establish to lock up such a large number of prisoners of war. The enemy will not surrender easily. To eliminate these enemies, it will inevitably cost a huge price. Therefore, the battle will never be too short."
"After completing the encirclement of the Paulus Group, General Vatutin's southwestern front no longer participated in the attack, but General Golikov's Voronezh Front worked together to deal with Manstein who came to reinforce." Ivanov pointed to the map and said to Sokov: "The only troops surrounding and annihilate the Paulus Group are the Don Front left of General Rokosovsky and our Stalingrad Front. Manstein's attack forced our army to temporarily stop the encirclement and annihilation of Paulus, and to draw enough troops to deal with enemy reinforcements.
Yesterday, the 51st Army troops, facing the crazy attack of the German army, carried out tenacious resistance, but they were still regrettably repelled."
Although Ivanov did not explain how far the 51st Army troops were repelled, Sokov knew very well that the army troops had retreated at least five to ten kilometers. Although they were defeated, it was not necessarily a bad thing. The front line of Manstein's troops was lengthened and he had to draw enough troops to defend against the newly occupied places. In this way, their offensive power was weakened, and it was obviously unrealistic to continue to advance in the subsequent battle. On the contrary, they were at risk of being surrounded at any time. And commanding the battle in that direction, Zhukov believed that he could make arrangements that scared Manstein.
…………
After dawn, the German army indeed retaliated against the positions of the 41st Guard Division. They dispatched more than 40 bombers to bombard the positions defended by the three Guard regiments.
After receiving a call from Lieutenant Colonel Papchinko, Sokov calmly said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, don't worry. The German army was really crazy at the end. They did not have enough fuel and ammunition to support the crazy attack. You must order the commanders and fighters to resist the enemy firmly."
After Sokov said this, he was afraid that Lieutenant Colonel Papuchinko would turn the battle into a war of attrition that was not worth the cost, so he specifically told him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I would like to remind you that in battle, you must know how to preserve your strength. If the first line of defense cannot be defended, you will immediately withdraw to the second line of defense. After all, there are solid fortifications, and minefields and barbed wire. Even if the Germans want to attack, they will probably have to spend a lot of effort."
As soon as the phone was put down, Lieutenant Colonel Starcha called in. He also told Sokov that his position was bombed by German planes, and according to the observation post, the German army was gathering tanks and infantry, as if ready to launch a fierce attack on the position.
"I understand, comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Sokov said calmly: "This is the last madness of the Germans, so you have to find a way to stand firm and eliminate as much of the enemy's vitality as possible."
While Sokov was cheering up his subordinates, Cuikov called in. He asked nervously: "Col. Sokov, I know that the enemy is bombing the positions of the three guard regiments. Give me a correct word, can you defend the positions?"
The reason why Cuikov asked this was because after the start of the Stalingrad defense battle, he saw more than once the so-called solid positions, which were destroyed like paper before the German army's crazy attack.
"Comrade Commander, please rest assured." Sokov, as soon as Cui Kov finished speaking, assured him: "I have issued an order to the army. If the enemy's offensive is too strong, you can retreat to the second line of defense after consuming a large amount of the enemy's living power and continue to defend."
"What?" Cui Kefu couldn't help frowning when he heard this, "Are you going to let the troops retreat?"
"Yes, comrade Commander." Sokov felt that he should explain to Cui Kov, so that he would not give such an order to the commanders and fighters without authorization, and quickly explained: "I plan to order the troops to carry out tenacious defense on the second line of defense. Moreover, artillery deployed on the left bank can implement intensive artillery interception on the enemies attacking the second line of defense, which will help our army defend its position."
"Well, since you say that, I agree with your plan." Trikov said reasonably: "Based on the information I just obtained, Manstein and Hort's troops were rushing towards Stalingrad desperately, trying to meet with Paulus's troops surrounded here. If you can block the enemy's attack, it would be a great achievement."
"According to the report of the commanders of each regiment, the enemy gathered a large number of troops and technical equipment in front of their positions." Sokov said without changing his face: "But I think our commanders and fighters are completely sure to block the crazy offensive of the Germans."
"Col. Sokov must not be careless." Cuikov said on the phone: "You know, the Germans have much more troops and technical equipment than you."
After Sokov finished his call with Cuikov, he said to the three people in front of him: "As soon as the bombing is over, the Germans will attack our positions. According to reports from the front, the enemy has assembled a large number of tanks and armored vehicles. It seems that they are preparing to launch the final general attack."
"The enemy has so many tanks, can our soldiers stop it?" Cidolin asked tentatively.
"The enemy's tanks are not scary. Our bazooka is a specialized tank and armored vehicle for the enemy." Sokov said this and immediately remembered a person who was forgotten by himself: "Where is Lieutenant Seryosha?"
"It should be in the 124th Guards Regiment." Cidolin said in an uncertain tone: "After all, since they entered the position, they have basically not achieved any results?"
"What, I have been in the position for more than a month, why haven't I seen what achievements they have achieved?"
"Comrade Commander, you can't blame me for this." Cidolin said with some amusement: "The recent attacks launched by the enemy are basically mainly infantry and not many tanks have been invested. Therefore, the troops commanded by Lieutenant Seriosha have no chance to participate in anti-tank operations."
Chapter completed!