Chapter 900: switch to defense

  Chapter 900 Transfer to defense

  The commanders watching the battle, including Sokov, did not expect that the second attack of the two guard regiments would be so smooth that many of the original plans were useless. When the commanders began to cheer, Sokov frowned.

   He should be happy that the troops attacked smoothly, but he always felt something was wrong. It's like when two equally matched boxers are fighting in the ring, even if your side strikes first and has the upper hand, but the opponent is unlikely to have no power to fight back, they will definitely fight with all their strength. Even if you want to win, you still need to spend a lot of time A lot of effort. But now, as soon as I punched, the opponent actually fell down, which is a bit too abnormal.

   "Comrade commander, what happened?" Sidolin noticed Sukov's abnormality, and quickly asked in a low voice: "I see you seem a little unhappy."

   "Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said solemnly, looking at the smoky battlefield in the distance, "Do you think our breakthrough went too smoothly? Will the Germans have any conspiracy?"

"I don't think so." Sidolin said in an uncertain tone: "I think the enemy has fallen into a state of panic, and it is difficult to organize an effective defense. The failure of the first attack was due to the attack of tanks and infantry. There was a problem with the coordination, so that the Germans had an opportunity. But when we attacked the second time, the infantry and tank coordination did a good job. At least the infantry killed all the anti-tank fighters emerging from the traffic trenches on both sides ..."

  The conversation between Sokov and Sidolin was also heard by Golikov. He put down the binoculars, walked up to Sokov, and said with a smile on his face: "Colonel Sokov, you are worrying too much. I think it should be that the Germans knew that their rear was under attack and were forced to deploy troops to stop me. The army, so that the strength of the troops here has become weak, so that your troops can break through the enemy's defenses so smoothly. Don't worry, I think the commanders and fighters of the Guards can take down the enemy's third line of defense as long as they charge again."

   Sokov did not refute Golikov's confidence. After all, the current war is progressing smoothly, but he jumps out and sings a different tune. Not only will it be disgusting, but it may also affect the morale that has finally recovered, so he can only choose to remain silent. But he was still pondering in his heart: the German army suddenly became so unstoppable, is there any conspiracy hidden?

   Before he could figure out why, Chuikov called. Chuikov asked a little angrily: "Colonel Sokov, how is the progress of your counterattack? Why didn't you report the progress of the battle to us in time?"

   "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, it was my negligence." It may be because the great **** Golikov is sitting here, so Sokov and the others originally neglected to report to their superiors. At this moment, when Chuikov reminded him, Sokov immediately realized his mistake, and quickly admitted his mistake: "I will briefly report to you that the three regiments responsible for counterattack missions have now occupied the second line of defense of the German army. After preparing for a short rest, we will launch an attack on the enemy's third line of defense..."

"Why do you need to rest?!" Cuikov said dissatisfiedly: "You should take advantage of the favorable opportunity when the enemy is disrupted by you, and continue to attack the third line of defense. The speed must be fast, so as not to give the enemy a chance to breathe. Understand. ?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Now that Chuikov gave the order to continue the offensive, Sokov could only give up his plan to let the troops take a rest on the second line of defense before launching an attack on the third line of defense: "I will immediately order the troops Launch an attack on the third line of defense, and strive to seize the enemy's position in the shortest possible time."

   "Colonel Sokov, your attitude is very good." Hearing that Sokov agreed to let the troops attack immediately, Cuikov was very satisfied. After he paused for a moment, he went on to say: "Since you have the cooperation of tanks, then I am going to take back the command of the artillery and let them go to support other directions."

Sokov was shocked, and suddenly thought of the possible conspiracy of the German army. He ignored the call with Cuikov, put the microphone on the table, and ran to the observation port quickly, raised the binoculars to look at the Looking at the German positions in the distance.

   Seeing Sokov's strange behavior, whether it was Golikov, Sidolin and Ivanov, all had surprised expressions on their faces. When Sidolin heard the voice from the microphone on the table, he quickly picked it up and put it to his ear. Chuikov's annoyed voice came from inside: "Colonel Sokov, what are you doing, why don't you talk?"

   "Yes, Comrade Commander, I am Sidolin." Sidolin said hastily: "When the division commander was on the phone with you, he seemed to have remembered something. He is currently observing the battlefield."

  In order to find out why Sokov had such an abnormal behavior, Golikov walked up to him and asked seriously: "Colonel Sokov, tell me, what happened?"

   "Report to Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army!" Sokov heard Golikov asking himself, quickly put down the binoculars, turned to face Golikov and said, "I think I know what the enemy is up to!"

"The enemy's conspiracy?" Hearing Sokov again mentioning the possible conspiracy of the German army, a trace of impatience flashed across Golikov's face, and he tried his best to ask in a calm tone: "Tell me, the enemy What is the conspiracy?"

   "I think the reason why we were able to break through the second line of defense of the German army so smoothly," Sokov explained: "It is because the enemy has shrunk the main force to the third line of defense."

  After hearing Sokov's statement, Golikov said disapprovingly: "Even if the enemy shrinks their forces to the third line of defense, do you think they can stop our attack?"

   "I think they can block it." Unexpectedly, Sokov replied unexpectedly: "Not only can they block our attack, but they can even launch a counterattack, causing huge casualties to our attacking troops."

   "Tell me your reason." Golikov said in a cold voice.

Sokov knew that the other party said these words through gritted teeth, but at this moment, he couldn't care about the other party's opinion. He had to say what was on his mind, otherwise the attacking troops would suffer a big loss: "Front Army Comrade Deputy Commander, when I was talking on the phone with Commander Chuikov just now, he proposed to take back my artillery command. His words reminded me that the artillery deployed by our army on the left bank, except for a few heavy artillery, most The artillery was unable to bombard the enemy's third line of defense. In this way, it became very difficult for us to break through the heavily defended third line of defense of the German army.

  The more important point is that the artillery deployed by the German army behind the third line of defense can intercept our offensive troops and cause us huge casualties. Once our army has to retreat due to heavy casualties, the Germans may take the opportunity to launch a counterattack and regain their lost two lines of defense in one fell swoop. "

  After listening to Sokov's explanation, Golikov's face turned red and white. If Sokov didn't say anything, he wouldn't have considered this situation at all. Listening to Sokov's explanation at this moment, I found that it really seemed to be the same thing. The German army withdrew its main force to the third line of defense. Turn defeat into victory. Thinking of this, Golikov asked Sokov with a serious expression: "Colonel Sokov, do you have any good ideas?"

The other commanders in the interim headquarters heard the conversation between Golikov and Sokov, and they also realized the seriousness of the problem, so they instinctively turned their eyes to Sokov, wanting to hear their own opinions. Sir, what is the best way to solve it.

"Under the current situation, our original combat plan needs to be adjusted, and the troops should be ordered to switch to defense on the spot." Seeing that Golikov had no good ideas, Sokov took the initiative to express his thoughts: "In this way, Mamayev Post and the occupied first and second lines of defense will be connected together. Whether it is defense or future offensive, it will be very beneficial to us."

  After listening to Sokov, Golikov felt lost. Before the counterattack began, he thought that the troops of the Guards Division could advance to the Don River in one go and join forces with the friendly troops heading south. Unexpectedly, after the battle started, Sokov stated his interests to him, explaining that the troops could only advance to the third line of defense of the German army at best. After a fierce ideological struggle, I agreed to his plan. Unexpectedly, not long after, Sokov actually proposed that the troops should turn to the defensive on the second line of defense that had been occupied, in order to resist possible counterattacks launched by the German army.

   After explaining his reasons to Golikov, Sokov saw that Sidolin was still holding the microphone in his hand, so he asked him, "Is Comrade Commander still on the line?"

  Seeing Sidolin nodding, he stepped forward to take the microphone, put it close to his ear and said, "Comrade Commander, I am Sokov, are you still listening?"

"Yes, I'm still listening." Chuikov just heard a few words from Sokov, including the matter of switching from the second line of defense to defense, so he was very angry: "Tell me, why do you want the troops to be in the second line of defense?" The first line of defense is turned into defense?"

"Comrade Commander, please listen to my explanation." When Sokov said this, he deliberately glanced at Golikov, and seeing that the latter was frowning and thinking hard, he continued: "Now my teacher We have already advanced several kilometers, and the left and right wings of the troops have been exposed to the enemy. If we continue to advance, as the battle line stretches, not only will there be problems with supplies, but even the two wings will become weaker .Once the German army discovers our shortcomings and launches an attack from both wings, our division will be encircled by the German army. At that time, let alone destroying the enemy, whether we can save ourselves is a problem.”

   After Sukov finished speaking, Chuikov thought about it carefully, and found that he really couldn't refute the other party. Except for Sokov's troops, the counterattack launched by the rest of the troops in the factory area basically made little progress. In other words, the defense depth of the entire group army ranges from only a few hundred meters to a thousand meters. Only Mamayev Gang has a defense depth of four to five kilometers, and now the defense depth has increased to about ten kilometers, which means that the left bank can drop more troops into the city and deploy them around Mamayev Gang.

Thinking of this, Chuikov replied with some embarrassment: "Colonel Sokov, since your division is in charge of this counterattack against the enemy, it is up to you where to stop and turn to attack on the spot." Decide."

Sokov heard that Chuikov agreed to decide the distance at which the troops should stop attacking according to the situation on the battlefield, and quickly expressed his gratitude to the other party: "Thank you, thank you, Comrade Commander! I assure you, after our division's defense line is stabilized, I will once again organize troops to push deep into the enemy's defenses."

"Colonel Sokov, it is not enough for me to agree with your troops to switch to defense on the second line of defense." Chuikov reminded Sokov in a low voice: "General Golikov, the deputy commander of the front army, is with you. Can I agree with your plan?"

   "Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Sokov looked up at Golikov, and even the other party looked at him. After the two looked at each other, Golikov nodded slightly to express his agreement that the troops would turn to defense on the spot. After receiving the other party's permission, Sokov immediately became more confident. He quickly said into the microphone: "Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army has agreed to our plan."

   Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Golikov came over and said to him: "Colonel Sokov, what do you plan to do if the enemy on the third line of defense takes the initiative to attack after the troops switch to defense?"

   "Repel all their attacks." Sokov replied briefly.

  Golikov was obviously dissatisfied with Sokov's short answer. He shook his head and asked, "Tell me about your specific plan."

As the commander of the Guards Division, Sokov felt quite aggrieved. Seeing that the two German divisions on the opposite side had already become panicked under his own blows, but due to the lack of sufficient artillery and necessary air support , had to temporarily give up the attack on the third line of defense.

  Since Golikov was eager to know how he planned to defend the occupied position, Sokov did not make any concealment: "I plan to let the soldiers strengthen the fortifications so that they can block the powerful German offensive."

   "Be more specific," Golikov said impatiently, "I want to know your detailed plan."

"There is no detailed plan for now, Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army." Sokov replied with a smile: "However, I only plan to leave a small number of troops on the position that can withstand the German attack, and the rest of the troops will take tanks. Detour around the left and right flanks of the German defenses and encircle as many enemies as possible."

  In Golikov's heart, he was originally worried that Sokov would order the troops to switch to defense on the spot, and then nest in the fortifications without moving. Obviously, he didn't want to see such a situation. But at this time, when Sokov said that he wanted to send the main force of the division to detour from the two wings of the German defense line to achieve the goal of encircling him, a smile finally appeared on his face: "If this is the case, Colonel Sokov, then boldly Submit orders. If the higher-ups want to hold you accountable for stopping the counterattack, I will take it."

  (end of this chapter)