After dawn, Sokov asked Samoilov to take him to pay homage to Ivanov's appearance and ordered people to bury him in a cemetery outside the city.
Sokov was given the task of burying Ivanov to Samoilov. He also specifically instructed Samoilov: "After burying the deputy commander, remember to make a mark. In this way, when the war is over, his family can successfully find his tomb."
"I understand, comrade of the division commander." After answering, Samoilov was silent for a moment, and then said to Sokov: "Comrade of the division commander, I have a request."
"What request?" Sokov didn't know what Samoilov meant to him at this moment, so he asked curiously: "Let me tell me."
"Comrade Commander, although you have not blamed me for anything, I have a great responsibility for the sacrifice of the deputy commander." Samoilov said with a serious expression: "I request to send me to the combat troops, and I will wash away my shame with the blood of the enemy."
"Okay, Lieutenant Samoilov, you're thinking too much." Sokov felt that the most suitable job for Samoilov was to be responsible for his own security work, but not to fight face to face with the enemy at the forefront, so he rejected the other party's request without hesitation: "Of course no one wants to see the sacrifice of the deputy division commander. But since the matter has happened, you don't have to carry any mental burden, and stay by my side honestly and do a good job in security. Do you understand?"
After Samoilov left, Sokov ordered Selyosha: "Shelyosha, let the soldiers be prepared. I will go west of the city to survey the terrain."
"What, are you going to the west of the city to survey the terrain?" Selyosha said nervously: "Misa, don't you know that there are many enemy scattered soldiers outside? They are now desperate, so they hide in the dark and shoot cold guns at us. For them, killing one person to protect their capital and killing two people will make a profit. In this case, you can't take risks."
"Seryosha, I am the commander of the Guards Division. It is necessary to understand the surrounding environment so that we can know where the troops should be deployed." Sokov knew that Seryosha was worried about his safety, so he explained to him: "If my speculation is correct, in a few weeks, there will be cruel battles nearby. If we do not take precautions in advance, our division may be annihilated."
"What, is our division likely to be annihilated by the enemy?" Hearing Sokov's statement, Selyosha was shocked: "Misha, now the enemy is being suppressed and beaten by our army. In this case, do they still have a chance to turn over?"
"Seryosha, as long as the day of the battle is not over, the outcome of the battle is still unknown." Sokov said to Seryosha: "We as commanders must not take it lightly."
Under the cover of the guard company, Sokov spent most of his day inspecting the terrain of the west and north of the city. He felt that the location Ivanov chose was very correct. There were many hills to the west, which were suitable for building field fortifications to prevent the German army's attack.
As soon as he returned to the Workers' Cultural Palace, he called the correspondents and ordered the call from Mamayevgang. When he heard the familiar voice of Sidolin coming from the receiver, he asked to the microphone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, when can the troops set off?"
"Report to the commander of the division," Cidolin replied, "The superior sent us 120 trucks. Now the 122nd Guards Regiment is loading, and you should be able to set off before dark. You can arrive in Lugansk as early as tomorrow afternoon."
"That's good, that's good." Sokov learned that the troops could set off before dark, so he said to Sidolin: "I only realized after I arrived in Lugansk that there were fifteen warehouses in the city, which stored a large amount of arms and supplies we needed. But the power to defend the warehouse was too weak. If there were any Germans to destroy it, it would be completely ruined."
"Don't worry, comrade of the division commander." Sidolin comforted Sokov: "When the troops of the 122nd Guards arrived, the situation would improve. In any case, a strengthening regiment of more than 4,000 people was enough to maintain order in the city."
Infantry can take trucks to Lugansk in batches, but Colonel Bere’s tank brigade cannot drive along the highway, right? You should know that tanks usually need to be maintained after traveling for dozens of kilometers. If Berere really leads their tank troops to move along the road track, it is estimated that 90% of the tanks will break down on the way before they reach the destination, and the tank brigade will lose its combat effectiveness in a short period of time.
"Where is the tank brigade?" Sokov asked into the microphone, "You can't let them drive along the road tracks, right?"
"The Front Command means to let the tanks of the Tank Brigade take a train to Lugansk," Cidolin said in embarrassment on the phone: "But, comrade, you should know that the defense battle in Stalingrad has just ended and a lot of work has not been fully on track. The personnel sent by the railway department from other places are nervously repairing the railway damaged by the Germans. It will take about a week before the limited opening function will be restored. At that time, we can get the tanks of the Tank Brigade to Lugansk on a flatbed car."
After hearing the data that Sidolin said, Sokov couldn't help but shake his head and smile. According to his idea, at most another week, the Soviet army would begin to retreat under the counterattack of the German army. If he had no tank troops in his hands, it would be very difficult to maintain the fierce offensive of the German army. Even if he barely blocked the enemy's attack, the casualties of the troops would probably not be a small number.
When he heard that there was no movement on Sokov's side, Sidolin thought Sokov had hung up the phone and shouted twice: "Teacher Commander, Comrade Commander, are you still here?"
"I am still here, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sidolin's voice woke Sokov from his contemplation, and he quickly continued: "Chief Chief of Staff, I have an idea to get the tank brigade to Lugansk faster."
"What's the idea?" Sidolin knew that Sokov had always been resourceful, and when he heard him say this, he was immediately excited: "Hurry up, what do you think?"
"If you want to wait for the comrades in the railway department to restore the railway line to Mamayevgang, it may be a week or two not enough." Sokov said to Sidolin: "The war is now critical, and it is unrealistic to wait blindly. Therefore, please say goodbye to Colonel Lei, and you can drive the tank to the station nearest to Mamayevgang, and get on the bus from there to Luhansk."
"Comrade," Sidolin doubted Sokov's statement: "Is this possible?"
"I think it's completely feasible," Sokov continued: "Tank brigade can reach the railway stations that are still in operation in just ten or twenty kilometers from Mamayev hill. Our tanks can board the train at these stations and then arrive at Lugansk as fast as possible."
"Comrade Commander, I have a question." Cidolin asked cautiously: "The current situation is very beneficial to our army, but you said that the enemy may counterattack our army at any time. Will this really happen?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." In order to dispel the underestimation of the enemy in Cidolin's mind, Sokov said seriously: "It's not possible, but certain. According to my analysis, the Germans will launch an attack on Lugansk in the shortest time. If our defensive forces lack technical equipment such as tanks and artillery, we will not be able to stop the enemy's fierce attack."
The victory of the Stalingrad defense battle, the surrender of Paulus and his tens of thousands of soldiers all made the city defenders underestimate the enemy. What Sidolin didn't know was that because of Sokov's sudden emergence, not only was the number of German soldiers captured more than in real history, but the time when the Paulus group was destroyed was also about a week ahead of schedule.
Only Sokov, who came from later generations, knew all this. He even thought that his appearance made the originally brilliant Rodimtev and his 13th Guard Division unknown. The number of captured people under Paulus increased by tens of thousands, and even the destruction of the Sixth Army was advanced. In this way, as long as he worked hard, he might even be able to turn the tide when the Southwest Front was defeated in a counterattack.
"Comrade Chief of Staff, not only the tank brigade needs to find a way to quickly consider Lugansk, but even the infantry must find a way to speed up the marching." Sokov told Sidolin: "If you only rely on automobile transportation, it will take at least half a month to deploy all infantry in Lugansk."
Sidolin knew that Sokov was telling the truth. After the trucks carrying commanders and fighters arrived in Lugansk and put down their troops, it would take a day before they could return to Mamayev's hill and get the second batch of combat troops to board the bus. After a few trips, the time was delayed.
"Comrade Teacher, do you have any good solutions?"
"After the 122nd Regiment set out in a car, he ordered the 124th Regiment to march towards Luhansk on foot."
"What? Let the 124th Regiment march towards Lugansk on foot?" Sidolin was shocked when he heard Sokov's order. He quickly reminded Sokov: "Comrade Commander, in the current bad weather, the troops can only walk twenty or thirty kilometers a day, and it will take at least one month to reach their destination."
Seeing that Sidolin did not realize his intention, Sokov quickly explained to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I did not let the 124th Regiment walk to Luhansk. Instead, I let them stay somewhere waiting for the return car, so that they can take the return car to Luhansk in the shortest time."
"This is a good idea." After Sokov explained, Sidolin also understood what was going on. He nodded quickly and said, "Comrade Commander, I think the 124th and 125th Regiments can do this. In this way, transporting troops cars can save time on the road and transport troops to their destinations in the shortest time."
"Chief of Staff, since you have understood my intentions, then execute the order." Sokov said to the microphone: "Let the regiments leave their bases in batches and march towards Lugansk. Remember to keep the soldiers warm and minimize non-combat attrition caused by the weather."
After Sokov finished his call with Sidolin, he saw that Selyosha had brought the guards' company commander in, so he personally poured a cup of hot tea for the other party and put it in front of him and said with a smile: "Comrade Captain, I believe my guard company commander Captain Selyosha has told you all about the purpose of asking you to come here?"
"Yes, comrade Colonel." The defending company commander nodded and said, "On the way here, Captain Seryosha has told me everything."
"Then tell me, how do you plan to strengthen the security of the warehouse?"
Hearing the topic of Sokov's intention to defend the warehouse in advance, the company commander of the defending army said unhappily: "Comrade Colonel, where we are now is the rear of our army. And on the battlefield, our army's progress is very smooth. It is a bit waste for the superior to leave a company to guard the warehouse here. You know, the enemy is already scared by us now, so how dare they come out to fight us?"
"You can't say that, comrade Captain." Seeing that the company commander of the defending army was not very vigilant, Sokov quickly reminded him: "According to the original departure plan, I should arrive here tomorrow or later. The reason why you can see me now is entirely because the deputy division commander who was sent to fight the front station was killed by the enemy sniper while surveying the terrain. If, according to what you said just now, this is the rear of our army, you can rest assured, then how did my deputy division commander sacrifice it?"
Hearing Sokov say this, the company commander of the defending army immediately realized that his view was too optimistic and actually forgot the tragedy that happened not long ago. He quickly admitted his mistake to Sokov: "Comrade Colonel, I was wrong. I underestimate the enemy too much, I apologize to you."
"Comrade Captain, there is no need to apologize." Sokov waved his hand at the defending company commander and said to him: "Let's discuss how to defend these warehouses in the city so that they will not be destroyed by the German army."
"Comrade Colonel, you should know that we only have one company in the city." The company commander of the defending army said in embarrassment: "Just relying on this little force, we have to defend fifteen warehouses, but the strength is not enough. Fortunately, the Germans were giving up the city and all of them have retreated, otherwise we would not be able to hold these warehouses at all."
"Your staff is insufficient, I can support you some." Sokov said to the company commander of the defending army: "If the staff is still insufficient, you can recruit militias from the residents and let them help defend the warehouse. If I am not wrong, a lot of the food in the warehouse is ready to be distributed to the residents of the city, right?"
"That's right, comrade Colonel, you guessed it right." The company commander of the defending army nodded and said, "There are several warehouses of food that are used to distribute to residents."
Chapter completed!