After Sokov learned some information that he was eager to know from Sergeant Doppler, he ordered Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, send someone to send them to the army headquarters and leave them to the commander for disposal.
"
"Mr. Colonel," Doppler panicked after hearing the soldier's translation. He stepped forward and grabbed Sokov's hand, and said excitedly: "Leave us here. We can do whatever we want. Qian
Don't shoot us." When he said this, Doppler was filled with regret. He did not expect that Sokov would fall out as soon as he said he would, and after learning the information he wanted to know from him, he was ready to shoot him.
When Sokov heard Doppler's plea, he immediately realized that the other party had misunderstood, and explained to him with a smile: "Sergeant, who told you that we were going to shoot you? I just asked people to send you to the army commander.
Department, there will be dedicated personnel there to arrange your next food, clothing, housing and transportation." Hearing that he was not going to be shot, Doppler breathed a sigh of relief and obediently followed the soldiers out of the division headquarters.
As soon as Doppler left, Sidorin asked Sokov: "Comrade division commander, it seems that your method is really effective. Comrade Ulbricht shouted at the enemy's position for so long that his throat was filled with
No matter how dumb you are, only a dozen German soldiers came to surrender. But you used the method of providing food to the German officers and soldiers, and in less than a day, seven or eight came over."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are wrong." As soon as Sidorin finished speaking, Ivanov corrected him and said: "In the defense area of the Belkin Regiment alone, seven or eight German soldiers surrendered. And in other areas
The defense areas of the three Guards regiments have also gained." He raised a piece of paper in his hand and said to Sokov with a smile, "Comrade division commander, good news. When you were interrogating the prisoners just now, I gave the other three
I called the Guards Regiment and they also had good news."
"Oh, there is also good news coming from the other three regiments?" Sokov's eyes suddenly lit up when Ivanov said this: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, please hurry up and read it."
"In the 122nd regiment's defense area, six German soldiers surrendered, including one sergeant and one sergeant; in the 124th regiment's defense area, nine soldiers surrendered, with no non-commissioned officers and officers; in the 125th regiment's defense area, three people surrendered, including one second lieutenant
officer."
After Sokov waited for Ivanov to finish reading, he smiled and nodded, and said: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, it seems that the gains from the three Guards Regiments are not small. Eighteen officers and soldiers actually surrendered. Please ask.
Tell the three regiment commanders to immediately arrange manpower to send these prisoners to the group army headquarters."
"Comrade Commander," Ivanov said to Sokov with a smile after calling his three old subordinates: "When you just proposed this plan, from the bottom of my heart, I was quite resistant. Although we
There was no food shortage, but I felt very uncomfortable having to provide precious food to the Germans who were fighting us.
But I never dreamed that just a few pieces of bread and a bowl of beetroot soup could make so many enemies give up resistance and surrender to our army. This is simply incredible."
Hearing the flattery of the other party, Sokov thought silently in his heart: "Suppose you see a certain red army in the east using this tactic to break down the enemy's resistance and make thousands of soldiers run away from the opposite position.
When you come here to surrender, your spectacle lenses will probably be shattered on the floor."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov suddenly remembered that Chuikov had given him a three-day deadline, and quickly ordered Sidorin: "You call the commander now and report the results we have achieved to comrade Commander, and ask him to also
Happy, happy."
As expected, Chuikov couldn't help but be overjoyed when he heard that more than 20 German officers and soldiers had surrendered tonight and had been escorted to the headquarters. He asked Sidorin to hand over the microphone to Sokov
Finally, he said with admiration: "Sokov's idea is really good. It actually made the enemy surrender so easily. The effect is no worse than Ulbricht's shouting."
"Comrade Commander, through the interrogation of the prisoners, I have learned a very important piece of information."
"what news?"
"When the enemy broke through in November, in order to facilitate movement, the German commander ordered the soldiers to burn the military coats they were wearing." Sokov reported: "In other words, most of the German officers and soldiers who are besieged by us now have no
Winter equipment. And due to lack of supplies, many officers and soldiers are starving. In such cold weather, even if we don't take the initiative to attack them, a large number of soldiers will freeze to death and starve to death every day."
"What, a large number of German soldiers freeze to death or starve to death every day?" Regarding Sokov's statement, Chuikov expressed doubts: "I think there must be officers and soldiers who freeze to death or starve to death, but it is definitely not as bad as you said.
serious."
Hearing Chuikov say this in a skeptical tone, Sokov could not argue with him. After all, many of the things he knew were obtained from the history books of later generations. The information Chuikov could obtain was limited and could not be completely
If you believe what you say, it makes sense.
However, Sokov did not dwell on this matter, but changed the subject in time: "Comrade Commander, I think that providing food to the German troops on the opposite position is the best way to undermine their morale. I strongly recommend it.
, immediately promote this tactic throughout the entire army."
"You make sense." The recent battle in the factory area in the north of the city went poorly. Although the commanders and fighters of the counterattack troops showed bravery and tenacity in the battle, they paid a huge price in time in the face of the stubborn resistance of the German army.
But the distance advanced every day can still only be calculated in meters. Now that he saw that the method introduced by the 41st Guards Division was so effective, Chuikov couldn't wait to promote it within all divisions. "I immediately asked the staff
The commander gave orders to each division and asked them to implement the same tactics to deal with the enemy."
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Sokov said with emotion: "As long as we can save the life of one more commander and combatant, it will be completely worth it even if we waste a little more food."
Krylov originally had some doubts about the results achieved by Sokov. After hearing the order issued by Chuikov, he solemnly retorted: "Comrade Commander, even if this method can be used in the Guards,
The effectiveness achieved within the defense zone of the 41st Division does not mean that other units of the group army can achieve any results using this tactic."
But with the arrival of more than 20 prisoners, his attitude changed 180 degrees: "Comrade Commander, I have thought about it. Colonel Sokov's method is really good. I have never
Unexpectedly, there would be so many German soldiers taking the initiative to come to our position and surrender."
"Comrade Ulbricht and his companions also shouted for a while in our defense area." Chuikov asked Krylov: "I wonder how many enemies he persuaded to surrender?"
"Not many, only about fifty people." Krylov said with emotion: "On average, there are only two or three soldiers who surrender every day, and the results of Sokov's division are ten times that of his."
"I think the propaganda to the Germans should continue," Chuikov said thoughtfully: "Let Comrade Ulbricht and the others continue to tell the enemies who don't know the truth about the situation of the German army, and we will help them
With the food provided, I believe that in the coming days, more and more enemies will come over and surrender to our army."
While the two were talking, the phone on the table rang. Krylov picked up the phone and listened for a moment, then straightened up and said to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, this is the call from the Commander of the Front Army."
Hearing that the call was from Rokossovsky, Chuikov quickly took the phone and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front Army. I am Chuikov. What instructions do you have?"
"I just received a report from General Batov." Rokossovsky said on the other end of the phone: "The 23rd Infantry Division under his command is now less than 20 kilometers away from Mamayev Heights.
You must notify Colonel Sokov as soon as possible and let him prepare for the rendezvous."
"Ah, the troops of the 23rd Infantry Division are coming over to join us?" Chuikov became excited when he heard this. He had been mentioning "joining forces" since the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad, but it was always
The slogans were shouted loudly, but in the end there was no follow-up. One tank brigade even broke through the German defenses and tried to join forces with the 62nd Army. However, this tank brigade was intercepted on the way to Orlovka.
The superior German army was annihilated. If the "joint forces" were mentioned again, the previous tragedy should not happen again: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, please rest assured. I will immediately notify Sokov and let his troops prepare to join forces with friendly forces."
Prepare."
"By the way, has Sokov done anything recently?" When Rokossovsky put down the phone, he suddenly thought that Sokov was not a person who was content with the status quo, so he asked curiously: "I think he
I’m sure I won’t be able to stay idle, and I might come up with some tricks.”
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, you guessed it right, he has really come up with some new tricks in the past two days." Chuikov quickly told Sokov that he had provided food to the Germans and successfully induced more than 20 Germans to surrender.
He reported to Rokossovsky and finally said: "I think his tactics are very limited, and he is planning to promote them throughout the entire army."
After listening to Chuikov's report, Rokossovsky also felt that Sokov's approach was strange. Although he did not agree with Sokov's approach, he was still very moved by the effect achieved. After hanging up the phone
At that time, he immediately ordered someone to invite Ma Lining over, intending to seek his opinion on this matter and whether it should be promoted throughout the entire front army.
Sokov couldn't help but be overjoyed when he received a call from Chuikov and learned that the 23rd Infantry Division, which is part of the 65th Group Army, is less than 20 kilometers away from Mamayev Heights and is likely to join forces with him in the near future.
He quickly assured Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, please rest assured. I will immediately issue orders to each regiment to prepare for the rendezvous."
"Colonel Sokov," Chuikov recalled that Chuikov once reported to him that Paulus' headquarters might be established in the department store in the central district. If he acted slowly, his superiors might assign the task of seizing the department store to him.
The 64th Group Army invaded Stalingrad from the south, so he solemnly reminded Sokov: "Remember, we must seize the time to join forces so that you can deploy troops into the city this morning to attack the department store. Do you understand?"
"
"Understood, Comrade Commander." How could Sokov easily give up this kind of opportunity that could be recorded in history to others? He quickly assured Chuikov: "I will try to meet Chuikov in a day or two with the people who came from the west.
The 23rd Infantry Division will join forces, and then allocate the main force to attack the enemy's key parts. I will never let you down."
"Very good, Colonel Sokov." After hearing Sokov's statement, Chuikov nodded with satisfaction and said, "I'm waiting for your good news."
"Comrades, I have good news for you." As soon as Sokov put down the phone, he said to Sidorin, Ivanov and others who were standing next to him: "The 23rd Infantry Division, which came to join us,
We are now less than twenty kilometers away. If nothing unexpected happens, the rendezvous can be completed within a day or two."
"Great, this is really great." Hearing this, Ivanov stepped forward to hold Sokov's hand, shook it vigorously, and said excitedly: "Comrade division commander, thank you for giving such a good
The news tells us.”
Although Sidorin was also very excited, as the chief of staff, he had to consider the issue more comprehensively: "I would like to ask, which regiment's defense area will the troops of the 23rd Infantry Division arrive first?"
"Judging from their offensive route, it is definitely not the defense area of the Belkin Regiment." Sokov said without hesitation: "Therefore, our meeting point can only be near the defense area of the three Guards Regiments."
"Comrade division commander," after roughly confirming the location of the rendezvous, Ivanov straightened his body and asked Sokov for orders: "Please let me command the rendezvous troops. I promise to complete the mission."
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, how can I let you go alone at such an important historical moment?" Sokov smiled at Ivanov and waved his hand, then pointed at Sidorin: "The chief of staff stayed at the division headquarters.
, then I, the deputy division commander, and the political commissar each went to a Guards regiment and led the troops to meet the direction of the friendly forces. As for who commanded the troops to join forces with the friendly forces first, it all depends on everyone's luck. How about it, you have
Different opinions?”
Sidorin could not participate in the meeting, so he naturally would not express his position. Ivanov and Anisimov responded resoundingly: "There is no difference of opinion, we resolutely obey the orders of the division commander."
"Since there are no different opinions, then I will assign each of them to the Guards regiment." Sokov continued: "I will go to the 122nd regiment, the deputy division commander will go to the 124th regiment, and the political commissar will go to the 125th regiment."
After allocating the regiments that everyone should go to, Sokov added: "But don't rush to the regiment now. When friendly troops appear two or three kilometers away from our defense zone, you won't rush over.
Late."
"Okay, okay." Both Ivanov and Anisimov knew that this was a matter of luck, and they both nodded hurriedly and agreed: "Just do as the division commander said, and wait until the friendly forces arrive nearby.
