Red Moscow

  Chapter 736 Differences of opinion

  Chuikov thought in his heart that the formation of a new battle group would help to improve the current unfavorable situation in Stalingrad. As long as he proposed it, Sokov, who could get benefits, should readily agree to himself. Who knew that Sokov would reject him so tactfully, so he frowned and asked dissatisfiedly, "Why, tell me your reason?"

  Sokov sensed Chuikov's dissatisfaction, and knew in his heart that if he didn't explain clearly, he might leave a thorn in the opponent's heart. After reorganizing the language in his mind, he said: "Comrade Commander, the enemy has launched countless attacks on Mamayev Kurgan, but in the end they all ended in loss of troops. They realized that in order to capture this so-called city It is not worth investing a lot of troops and technical equipment in the commanding heights. Therefore, they have adjusted their strategy now, using the army of the slave country to continue the attack, while the main force is transferred to the factory area in the north, trying to take down the barricade factory and the Dzerzhinsky factory. As long as they take these two factories, they will be able to go out to the Volga River and go down the river to seize the ferry behind us and completely cut off the connection between the defenders in the city and the outside world. Establishing a battle group at this time will attract the enemy's attention from the north of the city..."

   "Colonel Sokov," Gurov asked coldly after hearing this: "So, are you afraid? Afraid that the enemy will regard your place as the focus of attack?"

"Yes, Comrade Military Commissar, I'm scared." Sokov felt that he had to explain the problem in front of Chuikov and Gurov, otherwise he would really form a battle group in the south of the city, which would make Stalingrad The situation has become even more confusing: "Presumably the two chiefs also know that the battles in the old city south of the city are mainly on a small scale, so although we have a small number of troops deployed here, we can still prevent the enemy from occupying the entire old city." .

  But once a battle group is formed, the enemy may adjust the main direction of attack if they find that our army poses a threat to them in the old city. Once the enemy's main force gathers in the south of the city, I'm afraid our troops can only last for a day or even less. At that time, the enemy can go up the Volga River, copy the back road of Mamayev Gang, occupy the ferry by the river, and cut off the connection between the city and the outside world. If this happens, all the factories in the north of the city will be lost without ammunition and food. "

  After listening to Sokov's analysis, Chuikov didn't speak, but tapped on the table with his fingers leisurely, thinking about whether he should give up the idea of ​​forming a battle group.

   "Comrade Commander..." Seeing that Chuikov remained silent for a long time, Gurov called him softly.

Chuikov raised his hand to stop Gurov, looked up at Sokov and asked, "Colonel Sokov, I know that if a battle group is formed, the pressure on you here will increase. But, apart from that, you Is there any good way to relieve the pressure on the Barricade and Dzerzhinsky factories?"

"If you want to defend the Barricade Factory and the Dzerzhinsky Factory, you cannot carry out passive defense." Although Sukov knew in his heart that, in his own capacity, he had no right to dictate the defense of these two factories, but since Chuikov asked , He could only say carefully: "A proper counterattack must be implemented to disrupt the German offensive steps."

"We have always used this style of play." Chuikov was obviously dissatisfied with Sokov's answer: "The question is, why did your counterattack succeed, but the friendly counterattack failed?" He was deeply afraid that Sokov would hide his secrets , and specifically emphasized, "In order to defeat the Germans' attack on the city, what good way do you have, you can't hide it."

"I think that for a successful counterattack, it must be sudden and concealed." After Sokov expressed his thoughts, he was afraid that Cuikov and the others would not understand, so he made a special explanation: "Our tanks and artillery numbers are not enough. There are many enemies, and there is a lack of air cover. If you prepare artillery fire before the counterattack begins, it is tantamount to telling the enemy that we are about to launch an attack in this area, so hurry up and get ready..."

  Sokov's words immediately aroused laughter in the room. After everyone laughed, Chuikov nodded and said, "Yes, Colonel Sokov, what you said is very reasonable. We are at a disadvantage in the number of artillery and tanks, and we have no air cover. We are preparing to launch a counterattack. The short-term artillery preparation is indeed informing the enemy that we will launch a counterattack here, so that they have enough time to take countermeasures."

After saying this, Chuikov turned his head and looked at Gurov who was sitting beside him, and said with a smile: "Comrade Military Commissar, look, Colonel Sokov has figured out the enemy's psychology. No wonder his troops Win battles often."

"Yes, Comrade Commander, what you said is very reasonable. Colonel Sokov has already grasped the enemy's psychology, so when formulating combat plans, he can be more targeted." After listening to Chuikov's words, Gurov Afterwards, watching Sokov continue to explain his point of view: "Because of this, I think it is very necessary to set up a battle group. Colonel Sokov can command more troops, and he can achieve greater results, thus It greatly weakened the enemy's strength and reduced the pressure on the troops north of the city. It laid a good foundation for the final victory of the Stalingrad Defense War."

  The smile on Sokov's face gradually disappeared. He didn't expect that after spending a long time talking, he managed to persuade Chuikov to change his mind. In the end, Gurov was still stubborn and insisted on bringing up the matter of forming a battle group again. He quickly turned his eyes to Cui Kefu for help, hoping that the other party would stand up and say a few words for him.

Chuikov saw Sokov's gaze, but he didn't express his opinion in a hurry. Instead, he frowned and thought for a while, then turned to Gurov and said, "Comrade Military Commissar, I think the matter of setting up a combat group is still a matter of time." It needs a long-term plan. Even if a consensus is reached within the group army, Colonel Sokov agrees to serve as the commander of the combat group, but it is still unknown whether the superiors can pass this plan and whether they can send us more troops."

"Comrade Commander, I reserve my opinion." Gurov said stubbornly: "I propose to hold a meeting of the members of the Military Committee immediately after returning to the headquarters, so that everyone can discuss the plan for establishing a battle group. "

Chuikov knew that Gurov had a good intention, and if he refuted him in public, he would not be able to step down, so he nodded and said, "Okay, Comrade Military Commissar, should we set up an army in the south of the city and the Mamayev Hill area?" As for the combat group, after returning to the headquarters, we will convene the members of the military committee to discuss."

   "Colonel Sokov," Chuikov asked Sokov again: "Do you have any plans for the next battle?"

   "I plan to rely on the existing fortifications on Mamayev Post to consume the enemy's vital strength and wait for the arrival of a major counteroffensive."

  After listening to Sokov's words, Chuikov grinned and asked, "When do you think we can launch a counterattack?"

  Sokov clearly remembered the specific time of the Soviet counterattack, but he was not stupid enough to take the initiative to report to Cuikov, otherwise Cuikov would find that the time Sokov said coincided with the real counterattack time, and he would not be able to justify himself by then. Therefore, he pretended to think for a long time before he said slowly: "Comrade Commander, last year's big counter-offensive under the city of Moscow was on December 6th. I think our big counter-offensive may start before December."

"Launch a counter-offensive before December?!" Chuikov repeated the time, with a bitter expression on his face: "That is to say, we still have to sustain the enemy's strong attack for two months. I think, the next Times are going to be very difficult.”

  (end of this chapter)