Chapter 795: Confidence to win

  Chapter 795 The confidence to win

   "... Ultimately, it is spiritual power that determines the outcome of any battle. To confirm this conclusion, there are ready-made examples..." In the early morning of the next day, a strange sound sounded in the room, waking Sokov up from his sleep. Before he opened his eyes, he asked himself in his heart: "Strange, this seems to be the voice of Commander Chuikov. He is not in the headquarters to direct the battle. What is he doing here?"

   Sokov sat up with his eyes closed, rubbed his eyes, and then carefully looked around the room. He saw Sidolin standing at the table with his back turned to him, bending over something on the table. In a corner a little farther away, several communications soldiers and staff officers were still busy as before, but they did not see Cuikov.

   "Chief of Staff," although he didn't see Chuikov's shadow, his voice still echoed in the room. Sokov couldn't help asking curiously, "Has Comrade Commander come here? Why didn't I see anyone else?"

   "Comrade commander, you are awake." Sidolin, who was looking down, heard Sokov's voice, turned around and greeted him with a smile: "Why don't you sleep a little longer."

   "Chief of Staff, you haven't answered my question yet, where is Comrade Commander?" Sokov repeated his question again.

"Comrade Commander is of course in his headquarters, how could he come to us." When Sidolin said this, he shrugged his shoulders involuntarily, "Our defense zone is not the focus of the enemy's attack. If you want to come out to inspect, you will not choose us."

  Sokov looked around, trying to find the source of the voice: "But, how did I hear the commander's voice?"

"Oh, so you said that Comrade Commander was giving a speech." Sidolin pointed to the top of the door and explained to Sokov: "According to your instructions, we installed the door in the tunnel two days ago. I installed a wired speaker so that I can listen to the news from the outside world at any time.”

  Looking in the direction of Sidolin's finger, Sokov saw a boxy box hanging above the door, from where Chuikov's voice came from. He walked over quickly, looked up at the box, and listened carefully to Chuikov's speech: "... Where is the source of our fighters' determination and tenacity? Answering this question, Hitler's strategists have the right to think that we have Some kind of fortification and some kind of special weapon made it impossible for them to win even though their forces were clearly superior..."

  After listening for a while, Sokov turned his head and asked Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, do you know what Comrade Commander is talking about?"

"The situation is like this," Sidolin left the table, walked up to Sokov, and explained to him: "Due to the unfavorable battle in the direction of the factory area, some problems have arisen in the army. In the final victory, the mind was shaken. After consultation, the commander and the comrades of the military committee decided to give a speech to strengthen the belief of victory in the hearts of the commanders and fighters."

"...our conviction in victory is unshakable, and we have not lost for a single minute our conviction that our cause is just, that we defend a progressive society and a bright life for future generations. The enemy must perish! This is not a slogan , not a speech at a mass rally, but our eternal belief, the motivation for our fighting power and the source of our bravery.”

Sokov patiently listened to Chuikov's speech, went back to the table and sat down again, and said to Sidolin who followed him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, this speech made by the Commander is of great importance to all the troops who stick to Stalingrad. It is a great encouragement to say that they will strengthen their confidence in winning and continue to fight the enemy bravely until they achieve the final victory."

Regarding Sokov's statement, Sidolin agreed: "You are right, Comrade Division Commander, although the enemy continues to attack our army, their offensive strength is not as good as before. That is to say , before long, their offensive will have to stop, and we will launch a large-scale counterattack."

  Sokov silently calculated the time of the big counterattack in his mind, and there are still more than 20 days from now. And a few days before the official counterattack, the supplies to the city from the opposite bank will have to be interrupted for a period of time due to too much ice on the water. If you don't start stockpiling supplies now, your own troops may run out of supplies by then.

Thinking of this, he said to Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the weather is getting colder and colder. Before the Volga River completely freezes, there may be too many ambushes on the river surface and ships will be impassable for a period of time. Therefore, Now we have to find a way to hoard enough supplies to avoid shortages when we get them."

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin said with bitterness on his face after hearing Sokov's plan, "To be honest, if possible, I would try my best to fill up the underground warehouse on Mamayev Gang. But it's not possible. , the supplies given to us by our superiors are all allocated in advance, no matter how many people we send, the supplies they can give us are still only the prescribed amount..."

  While the two were worrying about the possible shortage of supplies, a joyful voice suddenly came from the door: "Commanders, how are you!"

  Sokov looked in the direction of the sound, and found that it was Anisimov, the division political commissar who hadn't seen anyone for a long time. He quickly waved to the other party and said politely: "Hello, Comrade Political Commissar, I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you recently?"

Anisimov hurried over to shake hands with Sokov and Sidolin one by one, and replied with a smile: "Comrade commander, in fact, I often go back to the division headquarters recently, but unfortunately, every time I Come back, you are not here." After finishing speaking, he half turned around, pointed to the black box hanging above the door, and said to Sokov with some complacency, "Comrade commander, have you seen that black box? Last time you proposed Installing loudspeakers in the tunnels will allow the soldiers to listen to the news from outside. I organized my staff yesterday and installed more than 30 such boxes in the tunnels to ensure that all soldiers can hear the news from the outside world.”

Sokov was very satisfied with Anisimov's efficiency. He gave him a thumbs up and said approvingly: "Comrade Comrade, you have done a good job! With this box, our soldiers Not only can you keep abreast of the outside situation at any time, but staying in the tunnel will not be too boring.”

   "By the way, Comrade Commander and Chief of Staff." After hearing Sokov's compliment, Anisimov said a few words politely, and then changed the subject: "I have something to discuss with you."

   "What's the matter?" Sokov asked briefly.

"In more than a week, it will be the Great October Revolution Festival." Anisimov said happily to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I plan to let the soldiers have a hearty meal during the festival." Siberian dumplings'. I would like to ask you to come forward and ask the logistics chief of the group army for some meat. In addition to pork, it is best to ask for some beef."

   "Siberian dumplings?!" Sokov thought to himself, dumplings are dumplings, so why can't there be a distinction between Siberian dumplings and Stalingrad dumplings? And I have only eaten dumplings filled with pork with leeks and cabbage, but I have never eaten dumplings with beef filling. With this kind of curiosity, he asked, "Why do you still need beef?"

Seeing Sokov’s confused look, Anisimov quickly explained to him: “Authentic Siberian dumplings must be filled with at least two kinds of meat—beef and pork. If you can put some mutton or poultry meat, then It's even better."

"It's Comrade Chief of Staff who knows a lot!" Anisimov waited for Sidolin to finish, then nodded approvingly, and then said: "In addition to the mixed filling of beef and pork, authentic Siberian dumplings must be made after wrapping. They are frozen before cooking. Perhaps it is because of the freezing before cooking that makes Siberian dumplings juicy. Also, dumplings are usually boiled in chicken or beef broth and served with sour cream. "

Anisimov's words made Sokov feel like drooling. After wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he asked back: "Comrade political commissar, although there have been occasional snowfalls recently, the temperature It's not low enough, and the wrapped dumplings can't be frozen if they are placed outside?"

"I used to stay in Stalingrad for two years," Anisimov said carelessly. "From November onwards, the weather will be very cold and the whole city will be covered with snow. Then we can Put the wrapped dumplings in the snow outdoors and freeze them, and bring them in and cook them when you want to eat them. But the first problem right now is that we don’t have any beef, and the amount of pork is very limited.”

  Sokov heard Anisimov's voice-over, asking himself to ask the Minister of Logistics for meat. He said without hesitation: "Don't worry, Comrade Political Commissar, I will call General Lobov later, and I will definitely find a way to get enough pork and beef from him."

"Great, this is really great." Seeing that Sokov agreed to his request, Anisimov was overjoyed: "In this way, the commanders and fighters of our division can have a delicious meal on the day of the festival." Siberian dumplings."

   Don't look at Sokov's willingness to agree so readily, but he doesn't really have any confidence in his heart. The supply in the city is so tight that it is difficult for some troops to eat dry bread, let alone meat. At this time, I called Lobov and asked him for beef and pork. Can he promise himself?

   But now that he has made a promise to Anisimov, even if the hope is slim, Sokov still feels lucky. He asked the operator to connect to the Army Logistics Department, and waited anxiously for the other party to pick up the phone.

   Not long after, the call got through. A hoarse voice came from the receiver: "I'm Lobov, where are you?"

   "Hello, General Lobov." Sokov heard that the person who answered the phone was Lobov, and quickly said: "I am Colonel Sokov, the commander of the 41st Guards Division."

   "So it's Colonel Sokov." Lobov asked politely, "May I help you?"

   "Comrade General," Sokov said hesitantly, "In just over a week, it will be the Great October Revolution Day. I think... I think..."

   When the supply of materials was not abundant, Sokov was somewhat embarrassed to ask the logistics minister for beef and pork, which are now luxury goods. He stammered "I think" several times, but he never followed up. Fortunately, Lobov had already received a similar call today. When he heard Sokov's delay in replying, he guessed the intention of the other party, and asked tentatively, "Comrade Colonel, you called me because you wanted to Do you want to make dumplings with beef and pork?"

   "Yes, Comrade General, I still mean it." Seeing that the other party had guessed his intention, Sokov blushed and asked, "I wonder if you can provide us with the supplies we need."

"If someone else asks this question, I will definitely tell him without hesitation: no!" Lobov said with a smile: "But your situation is different. If you hadn't suggested the construction of an underwater pontoon bridge, the supplies of the troops in the city The supply will be ten times worse than it is now. Just for this, even if you don’t ask, I will send someone to send you something.”

   "This is really great, Comrade General." Knowing that Lobov agreed to provide beef and pork to his troops, Sokov was overjoyed: "On behalf of the commanders and fighters of the entire division, thank you."

"I don't want to tell you what the situation in the city is like now." After a short pause, Lobov continued, "So I can only provide you with 500 kilograms of pork and 100 kilograms of beef. Lamb and chicken, I don't have any here."

  Sokov originally thought that if Lobov gave himself too little meat, he could only make less meat-filled dumplings and more mashed potato-filled dumplings to make up for it. Unexpectedly, Lobov was so generous that he gave himself 600 kilograms of meat at once, which was a pleasant surprise.

Before Sokov could express his gratitude again, Lobov went on to say: "In addition to meat, I will provide you with 200 kilograms of dark chocolate and coffee for 300 people. Giving you so many supplies is already The limit of my authority has reached the limit, even if you want more, there is nothing I can do."

   "Enough, Comrade General, you have provided us with enough supplies." Sokov expressed his gratitude to Lobov again: "On behalf of the commanders and fighters of the whole division, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to you and the comrades in the logistics department."

"Okay, don't say these useless words." Lobov interrupted Sokov's words: "As long as you can block the enemy and prevent them from occupying Mamayev Post, ensure that the supplies on the other side can continue to flow from the ferry. Going ashore is better than anything else." When he put down the phone, he thought of another key question, and told Sokov, "Comrade Colonel, how much material I gave you must be kept absolutely secret, and it must not be let Other troops know, otherwise I have the right to take back the supplies allocated to you. Understand?"

  Sokov naturally understands that there are too many monks and too few groceries, and the inventory supplies are not enough to distribute. Once other troops know that General Lobov has given him so many supplies, they will definitely not be reconciled, and they will go to him to ask for things. In order not to embarrass Lobov, he quickly promised: "Comrade General, please rest assured that I will not let more people know about this except for a few commanders who are responsible for receiving supplies."

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  (end of this chapter)