Oops, it was the fifth update accidentally! Where’s the applause, where’s the flowers? Where’s the monthly ticket?
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After hesitating for a moment, Golikov said: "Comrade Shulka, I know that you are an extraordinary talent. You have brought various troops out of danger and won victory time and time again. But, you also saw...
…”
As he spoke, Golikov said to the map: "Stalingrad is generally a rectangle. Although it is 50 kilometers long along the Volga River, its width only ranges from 5 kilometers to 10 kilometers. In other words, if the enemy is
Advancing from west to east, especially seizing the northern factory area of the city, we only need to advance ten kilometers in battle, and then we can cut Stalingrad into pieces that cannot be connected with each other!"
"In addition, our troops and equipment are seriously insufficient!" Krylov took over the topic: "We calculated that there are only a few 80 tanks that can be put into battle in Stalingrad, and the troops we can mobilize are only more than 300,000.
people, and they are still decreasing rapidly!”
"There should be only three hundred thousand enemies!" Shulka said.
The reason why I use "should" is because Shulka should not know this number, and Shulka is indeed not sure.
"Yes!" Krylov replied: "They have two armies with a total strength of more than 300,000, but..."
Having said this, Krylov didn't say anything further. He glanced at Golikov, both of whom had embarrassment on their faces.
Shulka knew what this meant.
Because it was these two German armies with more than 300,000 men who defeated the Soviet Southeast Front Army and now pursued them all the way to Stalingrad.
On the surface, the total strength of the German Army Group B was similar to that of the Soviet Front Army, but the Italian Army and the Hungarian Army actually only defended on the west bank of the Don River and did not join the battle.
In other words, the two German armies can be said to be facing the Stagrad Front Army and the Southeastern Front Army at the same time with more than 300,000 people.
Of course, sometimes on the battlefield, we cannot simply conclude that the Soviet army is far inferior to the German army simply by measuring the number of troops.
The reason for this result is that on the one hand, the German army has taken advantage of the air force and has always had air supremacy, which is enough to amplify the combat effectiveness of the infantry several times... Air supremacy is too important on the battlefield, because when two armies confront each other, the one with air supremacy
One side can easily obtain timely intelligence on the enemy and make targeted responses. In addition, it can bomb the enemy's artillery. This creates an asymmetric situation in which the air force versus artillery, artillery versus infantry, and infantry clean up the battlefield.
On the other hand, it was because the elite troops of the Southeastern Front were surrounded and annihilated first in Kharkov, and the rest were just a mob, which of course could not compete with the German army.
The problem is that the remnants of the Southeastern Front in Stalingrad are still a rabble.
Therefore, this over 300,000 is not the over 300,000.
What Krylov and Golikov meant was that the more than 300,000 Soviet troops in Stalingrad were no match for the more than 300,000 German troops.
"We need to concentrate all the forces in the city!" Shulka said: "The unorganized troops and workers scattered throughout the city..."
"Comrade Shulka!" Golikov interrupted Shulka: "Maybe I shouldn't pour cold water, but organizing them won't change anything. They are not professional soldiers. This has been proven by previous battles!"
Golikov was talking about the defeat suffered by the Southeastern Front when it was stationed south of Stalingrad.
It should be said that there is some truth in this saying. There is a saying that "a soldier is more valuable than his elite," and this is what it means.
This was not very obvious in the era of cold weapons, but in modern warfare without experience and basic military quality, no matter how many soldiers there are, they are just looking for abuse on the battlefield... The two armies came to form a formation, and aircraft and artillery bombarded.
Then the tank pushed forward, and everyone was frightened and ran away.
It doesn't make much difference whether there are such soldiers or not. It also wastes rifles and supplies.
"So we should change our tactics, Comrade Golikov!" Shulka said.
"Change tactics?" Golikov looked at Shulka in confusion: "Can changing tactics change anything?"
"Of course!" Shulka replied: "The 82nd Infantry Regiment to which I belong is also a unit with no combat experience, and many of them are still new recruits!"
"Yes!" Major Mikhailovich confirmed this at the right time, and took the opportunity to promote his unit: "We were formed in Ulyupinsk, and more than two-thirds of the soldiers have never been to the military.
New recruits on the battlefield, all they have is anger towards the enemy!"
Of course Shulka would not say that the 82nd Infantry Regiment had conducted more than two months of training specifically for urban street fighting.
"What changes in tactics?" Golikov asked.
"We can no longer defend certain areas as we did before!" Shulka said: "I mean, we have been trying to build a line of defense to block the enemy. This tactic needs to change!"
"What else can we do?" Krylov asked curiously: "Should we hand over the position to the enemy? We don't have much room to retreat, and the Volga River is behind us!"
At a depth of 5 kilometers to 10 kilometers, as Krylov said, there is almost no room for retreat.
"I know, Comrade Krylov!" Shulka said: "But we can fight for it repeatedly, that is, using a method similar to elastic defense. During the day, when it is not conducive to our army's combat, we use space for time, and then we can fight again at night.
Take back these positions!"
"At night?" Golikov said, "Do you think we should fight at night?"
"Yes, of course!" Shulka said: "The enemy's artillery, tanks and aircraft are basically useless at night. The only enemy that can fight us is infantry, but this is not the case during the day!"
Golikov thought for a while, then nodded silently: "What you said makes sense, Comrade Shulka, in this way... it will form a war of attrition against the enemy's infantry!"
The reason is actually very simple. The problem is that the Soviet army is always accustomed to rushing in and attacking, and Golikov also has the feeling of being beaten by the German army and has no way to deal with it, so he did not think of this.
"Why can't we be like the 82nd Infantry Regiment!" Krylov said: "I mean, if you can defend hospitals and schools, then other troops can also defend them using the same tactics.
position!"
Shulka shook his head and said: "Comrade Krylov, the reason why we were able to defend the hospital and school is because the Germans hope to use the hospital and school as an advance base and transportation supply line for the attack on Mamayev Heights. Otherwise,
They can completely blow the buildings we are stationed into rubble one after another!"