Two days later, Sokov took a group of forty officers of all levels selected by himself, as well as Seryosha's guard company, to form a convoy of five jeeps and eight trucks, heading towards the location of the Steppe Front.
direction forward.
Before departure, Sokov summoned all the accompanying commanders and fighters and said to them: "Comrades, from now on, we are no longer a member of the Sixth Army. We are about to go to a new unit and accept new operations.
Task.
Where we are now is more than 1,600 kilometers away from our destination. Even by car, I'm afraid it will take three or four days. Although most areas along the way are under the control of our army,
No one can guarantee whether they will encounter a small group of enemy troops along the way. Therefore, the security company responsible for the security work must be vigilant at all times to avoid being attacked by the enemy."
After Sokov finished speaking, he ordered the commanders and combatants to board the vehicle. While the commanders and combatants were getting on the vehicle, he called Seryosha aside and said to him: "Seryosa, I think you also heard what I just said.
As I said, the journey to the grassland front this time will not be peaceful, and the safety of everyone depends on your company."
"Don't worry, Misha." Seryosha said carelessly: "The entire route is controlled by our army. Even if there is a small German army, as long as we hold on for a while, the surrounding reinforcements will come to support us."
After receiving Seryosha's guarantee, Sokov felt much more at ease. Back in the car, he said to Belkin, who had been sitting in the car for a long time: "My comrade political commissar went to the new army this time.
The two of us can work together again."
Hearing what Sokov said, Belkin grinned and replied: "Misha, I think I am still suitable to be a military officer to command the troops in combat. As for the political cadres, let Konev
The general will assign you another one."
After the convoy set off, Belkin suddenly asked: "Misha, I'm very curious, why would you think of joining other troops?"
Sokov stared at Belkin, his mind spinning at high speed. He was thinking about what kind of reasons he should give to answer Belkin's question. After thinking for a while, he said: "Comrade Belkin, you should know,
The tactics I use on the battlefield are different from other commanders."
Belkin nodded, and then said encouragingly: "Go on."
"The reason why my original infantry brigade was able to persist on Mamayev Heights for such a long time was entirely because it mastered the tactics I used." Sokov said: "But since the merger with the 41st Guards Division,
, many of my tactics are difficult to implement on the battlefield."
"Misha, you are right." Belkin nodded in agreement after hearing this: "Because the troops are busy fighting every day and have no time to train, let alone implement your tactics into every company.
.”
"I served as the commander of the Sixth Army not long ago, but the only troops that can obey my command are the 41st, 67th, 71st and 75th Guards Divisions." Sokov continued: "The commanders of these divisions
They have fought side by side with me and know the effect of my tactics on the battlefield. However, the new troops have some disobedience to my orders. In addition, they have been here for a long time, and there is still a lack of adjustment between them.
, Therefore, the number of troops belonging to the group army has increased, but the combat effectiveness has not been significantly improved.
The reason why I asked to go to General Konev's Steppe Front is because that army has just been formed and it will take a long time to train before it can be put into battle." Sokov said: "Now the Red Army Village - Donets
The fighting on the front line has basically stopped. Our presence or absence will not have much impact on the situation between the enemy and ourselves.
On the contrary, if I arrive in a new unit now and teach my tactics to the new commanders and fighters who have joined the army, they will be able to subtly learn my tactics during normal training and use them naturally in battle."
After Sokov's explanation, Belkin finally understood the reason why Sokov took the initiative to go to the Steppe Front Army. He nodded and said: "Misha, you have considered it very comprehensively. If you want to implement your tactics into the troops,
It is best to start with recruit training. Our previous troops were veterans who had participated in many battles, and they were still accustomed to using the old tactics. But we have to fight every day and have no time to train them.
, so that even if they become your subordinates, they may not be able to improve their combat effectiveness."
For safety reasons, Sokov spent the first night camping and ordered the convoy to stop in a small town where friendly troops were stationed. As long as troops were stationed here, the possibility of being attacked by the Germans was relatively small.
Seryosha kept Sokov's instructions in mind and knew that there was a company of friendly troops stationed in the town, but for safety reasons, he still set up double posts around the camp, and at the same time there were two patrol teams of eight people stationed in the camp.
Patrol all around.
A night of silence.
When Sokov got up the next day and learned that the night was safe, he couldn't help but feel relieved. You must know that the forty commanders who accompanied him to take office this time all had rich combat and command experience.
, if something goes wrong on the road and one or two people are injured or killed, Sokov's heart will bleed.
Before the troops set off again, Sokov stopped Seryosha and said to him: "Seryosa, the area in front was still a German-occupied area half a month ago. You send a vehicle in front to explore the road. If
If there is any situation, we can report it to the rear immediately."
"Okay," Seryozha quickly agreed: "I will send a truck to open the road ahead. Even if they encounter a small group of enemies, they can completely handle it."
The convoy set off, and the truck sent by Seryosha to open the road was driving two kilometers ahead of the entire convoy.
After driving less than five kilometers, the second lieutenant, who was sitting in the passenger seat, saw a fallen tree on the road ahead, blocking the road. He quickly ordered the driver to stop, opened the door casually, and stood on the pedal.
He shouted to the soldiers in the carriage: "Machine gun, be on alert, there may be enemies nearby."
The machine gunner sitting in the carriage heard the second lieutenant's shout and quickly agreed and set up the machine gun on the top of the driver's platform. Unexpectedly, as soon as he set up the machine gun, a bullet flew out from the forest on the roadside.
His right temple went in, and blood foam flew out from his left temple. After the machine gunner's body paused for a few seconds, he slid into the carriage.
"Enemy attack, enemy attack!" Seeing their comrades killed by a bullet, the soldiers in the carriage immediately understood that German snipers were hiding in the forest on the roadside. They quickly took their weapons and headed towards
The direction in which the bullets are likely to come is a random burst of fire.
But just as their gunfire stopped, another bullet flew out of the forest and hit the second lieutenant who was standing on the pedal. The second lieutenant held his chest, shook his body a few times, and then rolled off the car to the ground with a thud.
Seeing that the second lieutenant had been shot and fell, the soldiers in the carriage did not care to check whether he was alive or dead. They all let go of the fender, jumped out of the carriage, and rushed into the forest in groups with weapons in hand, looking for people hiding inside to shoot cold shots.
of enemies.
The convoy following behind stopped immediately when they heard the sudden sound of gunfire in front of them. Sokov listened for a moment, then ordered someone to call Seryosha and asked: "Seryosa, what happened ahead?
matter?"
Seryozha quickly reported: "It seems that the enemy is approaching."
"Comrade Captain," Belkin said to Seryosha, "I listened carefully and found that it was basically our troops who were shooting, but the enemy did not seem to be firing back. According to my estimation, the ones who attacked our troops were probably the enemy's
Sniper."
"What, a sniper?" Seryosha was suddenly startled into a cold sweat when he heard what Berkin said. He clearly remembered that two months ago, Colonel Ivanov, deputy commander of the 41st Guards Division
, who unfortunately died in an encounter with a German sniper. Now Sokov and a group of outstanding commanders of the Guards Division are here. If a sniper comes over and kills one or two of them, the problem will be huge.
It's serious.
Thinking of this, Seryosha quickly ordered two platoons of troops to set up cordons on both sides of the road, while he led two guard squads to reinforce the vanguard troops that were attacked.
The commander who stayed here to take command was Lieutenant Samoilov. Based on his rich experience, he clearly knew that if the cordon was just placed on the edge of the road, the German snipers hiding in the forest could still attack calmly.
purpose. So he ordered a group of five people to advance deeper into the forest, at least to a distance of 150 meters from the road. This forced the German snipers to retreat deeper into the forest.
, as long as the distance is far, the sniper effect will be greatly reduced.
Those who attacked the convoy were two German snipers. One of them sniped and killed the machine gunner and second lieutenant on the front car in order to attract the attention of the Soviet army so that he could cover the other comrade and snipe the important target on the vehicle behind.
But what the German snipers did not expect was that a Soviet lieutenant actually ordered the soldiers on guard, in groups of five, to search deeper into the forest. In order to prevent traces from being discovered, the German snipers could only retreat step by step.
Going deep into the forest. He found a suitable position, checked the distance between himself and the road, and found that it was more than 400 meters. And there were many trees in the middle to block it. Even if he saw the target, he would shoot and hit the target.
The probability of reaching the destination is ridiculously low.
After weighing the stakes, he felt that there was no need to sacrifice his own life for a sniper operation with almost zero success rate. Therefore, he came out of his hiding place and ran deeper into the forest with his gun in hand.
Seryosha led two squads of soldiers to join the soldiers in the front car and carefully searched the forest. Because the snow in the forest had not completely melted, the German snipers could be clearly seen.
The footprints left behind. Seryosha was deeply afraid that the sniper left behind would become a hidden danger in the future, so he personally led more than 20 soldiers and chased into the forest.
The sniper who was being pursued saw that he could not escape, so he took cover on the spot and relied on his superb shooting calculations to kill the Soviet soldiers who were chasing him. With the sound of gunshots, the soldiers around Seryosha continued to fall.
Fortunately, Seryoshaji has his own destiny, and not a single bullet fired by the sniper hit him.
Seryosha found the sniper hiding behind a tree only thirty meters away from him. He immediately took the assault rifle and fired at him. The first bullet hit him two or three meters away from the sniper.
In this place, the sniper didn't even blink an eyelid, and continued to target the soldiers chasing him and shoot.
According to the sniper's understanding, it was impossible for the opponent's gun to fire continuously. He could easily move his position after hitting a target. But he never dreamed that what Seryosha was holding in his hand was the weapon he had never used.
An assault rifle I have never seen before has a shooting speed similar to that of a submachine gun, but its shooting accuracy is comparable to that of a rifle.
By the time the sniper realized that his judgment was wrong, Seryosha had already fired more than a dozen bullets in a row, two of which hit the sniper's face without any bias. The sniper's head looked like it was cooked.
It burst like a watermelon.
After killing the sniper, Seryosha did not come out of the hiding place immediately. He was worried that there would be Germans hiding in other places. After lying on the ground for a while, he made sure that there was no movement, then he held the gun and carefully
He walked to the dead sniper and searched for him.
In order to kill this sniper, the Soviet army paid the price of eleven men, which made Seryosha very sad. You must know that the soldiers of the guard company had been with him through life and death. They did not sacrifice themselves on the battlefield, but ended up falling.
Captured by German snipers.
Sokov's convoy quickly caught up from behind. Seeing the corpses lined up on the roadside, Sokov felt very sad. He quickly ordered Samoilov: "Comrade Lieutenant, take a
Ban, buried the remains of these soldiers. Remember, we must keep records so that we can find their burial places after the war is over."
The convoy continued to set off, and Sokov felt particularly heavy when he thought of the sacrificed soldiers. He said to Belkin who was sitting next to him: "Comrade Political Commissar, we used snipers to kill thousands of people during the battle to defend Stalingrad.
German soldiers. Now the Germans have become smarter and actually use the same tactics to deal with us."
After what happened today, Belkin became worried about Sokov's safety. He said cautiously: "Misha, when we camp tonight, will you ask the garrison if there are any armored vehicles?"
"Armored vehicle?" Sokov asked in confusion: "What do you need an armored vehicle for?"
"For your safety, I think you should ride in an armored vehicle." Belkin said seriously: "If something happens to you, it will be a huge irreparable loss for our army."
Hearing what Belkin said, Sokov couldn't help but laugh: "My comrade political commissar, you are exaggerating. I am just a small major general. How can I still play a role in influencing the situation of the war?"
"Misha, you are so humble." Belkin said: "I used to be your partner. I know your abilities better than anyone else. You alone can block several divisions. Your
It exists, and it is indeed possible to change the situation on the battlefield."
