Chapter 971: Oil the soles of your feet and prepare to slip

  Chapter 971 Oil the soles of the feet and prepare to slip

   "A German division commander has been captured!"

  This astonishingly good news immediately made everyone in the observation station cheer.

   After the observation post regained calm, Sokov asked Merkulov: "Comrade Colonel, have you figured out who the captured German division commander is?"

"I have already asked." Merkulov replied: "It is General von Drebel, the commander of the 297th Infantry Division. They were discovered by the artillery deployed on the platform during the breakout process, and the artillery immediately retreated. The crowd bombarded the enemy, causing heavy losses to the enemy. Von Drebel was also stunned by the shell and fell into the crater. His subordinates thought he was killed, and did not even bother to check his body. He ran away in a hurry."

   "Comrade Division Commander," Ivanov reminded Sokov: "This good news should be reported to the Army Group Command immediately."

"Yes, you should report to the Army Group Command." Sokov walked to the table where the phone was placed without thinking, and when he was about to pick up the phone, he suddenly thought of a question, retracted his hand, and turned to Ivanov and said : "Comrade deputy division commander, that's not right. We are now a combat group, on the same level as the army headquarters. Shouldn't we report to General Cuikov?"

Seeing Ivanov's bewildered expression, he added: "Think about it, our combat group is basically troops from the 65th Army. If we report to Commander Chuikov, do we need to report to Commander Chuikov? General Batov's report?"

After being reminded by Sokov, Ivanov immediately remembered this matter. Since the superior has deployed so many troops to form a Sokov combat group, it seems that during the defense war a few months ago, he also fought with several infantry soldiers. The divisions cooperate to fight together, and the results obtained are at most notified to them, not reported. It seems that the results obtained today should be reported directly to the front army headquarters.

Sokov ordered the communications troops to connect to the Front Army Command, and said to the person who answered the phone: "Hello, I am Colonel Sokov, the commander of the Sokov Battle Group, and I have important information to report to the comrade commander. "

   "I'm sorry, Comrade Colonel." The communications soldier who answered the phone politely replied: "Comrade Commander is not in the headquarters, and the Chief of Staff can answer the phone."

Sokov did not expect that Rokossovsky was not in the headquarters at the moment, but he had to report the results of the battle just now, so he had to report to Malinin: "Okay, please ask Comrade Chief of Staff to answer the phone. "

   Soon, Malinin's voice came from the receiver: "Hello, Colonel Sokov, I'm Malinin. Do you have anything to return?"

"Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov said respectfully: "The 67th Guards Division to which my group belongs has successfully recovered the Central Railway Station and captured the German 297th Infantry Division Commander von der General Rebel."

   "What, what did you say?" Ma Lining couldn't believe his ears when he heard the unexpected good news: "Didn't you just launch an attack on the station today? You took the station down so quickly?"

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov said proudly: "Due to the bravery and tenacity shown by the commanders and fighters of the 67th Guards Division in the battle, they were able to successfully take this city in such a short period of time." A station occupied by the enemy."

   "Colonel Sokov, I congratulate you." Malinin said enthusiastically: "On behalf of me and Comrade Commander, please convey our gratitude to all the officers and fighters participating in the battle."

   "I will, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sokov was eager to know where Rokossovsky had gone, so he asked tentatively: "Also, I would like to ask, where did the commander of the Front Army go?"

   "It stands to reason that the whereabouts of Comrade Commander should be kept secret." Ma Linin said with a smile: "But you are not an outsider, so I won't keep it secret from you. Comrade Commander returned to Moscow in the morning."

   "Back to Moscow?!" Sokov asked curiously, "What are you doing back in Moscow?"

"Colonel Sokov, haven't you studied the secrecy regulations?" Malinin's expression became serious when he heard Sokov's question: "I told you the whereabouts of the commander, and you have violated discipline. Do I continue to make mistakes?"

  Sokov laughed twice, and explained embarrassingly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I am just curious, so I just ask. If it is not convenient for you to tell me, then forget it."

"By the way, Colonel Sokov." Malinin, who was on the phone, opened the notebook and found that when Sokov reported the battle plan two days ago, the troops who launched an attack on the department store would start the attack on the station. Also launched an attack, I don't know how the battle is going at the moment. "How is the progress of the troops attacking the department store?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, the troops that were originally scheduled to attack the department store are still standing still." After repeated thinking last night, Sokov felt that it was not appropriate to attack in two places at the same time. Once Paulus called in reinforcements, his own There was no reserve team in his hand, so he changed his mind and planned to attack another after taking one: "Since we took down the station today, let them attack the department store tomorrow. "

"Colonel Sokov, what's going on?" Malinin asked sternly, "Why did you change the combat order without asking for instructions? You know, if unnecessary confusion is caused, the responsibility Who can afford it?"

  Malinin's words made Sokov realize that his decision last night, although the starting point was good, was not right. Therefore, on the eve of the offensive, changing the timing of the attack suddenly would disrupt the overall planning of the superior. He did not dare to argue with Ma Linin, but immediately bowed his head and admitted his mistake: "I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, it was my fault. I assure you, in the future We will never make a similar mistake again.”

Hearing Sokov's sincere attitude of admitting his mistakes, Malinin's tone softened: "Colonel Sokov, you are still young, you have not been a commander for a long time, and you have no experience. It is possible to make such a mistake." Yuan. Forget it this time, if it happens again next time, I will definitely not tolerate it."

  Seeing that Ma Linin treated him with a lot of thunder and rain, holding the stick high but putting it down gently, Sokov felt more at ease. He went on to say: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry, we will definitely launch an attack on the department store tomorrow and try to take it there in the shortest possible time."

   "How long do you plan to take to take down the department store?" Ma Linin asked.

  Sokov learned through reconnaissance that the German army not only deployed the 100th Jaeger Division near the department store, but also two armored regiments and several artillery regiments. If the department store is attacked, the enemies will pounce on them from all directions like sharks smelling blood, and I am afraid that I will have to spend part of my troops to plan, thus weakening the strength of the attack.

  Seeing that Sokov had been silent for a long time, Malinin became a little anxious. He raised his voice and asked, "What's the matter, Colonel Sokov, why don't you speak?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I am considering your question." Sokov quickly replied: "According to the information we have, the enemy has deployed heavy troops near the department store, as well as a large number of tanks and artillery. , will definitely face great difficulties. Therefore, I cannot tell you exactly how long it will take for us to win the department store."

   "Give me an approximate time." Ma Linin understood Sokov's difficulties, and said reasonably: "I also know how to answer when the base camp asks."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, if you can help us." Sokov felt that in order to solve the attack on the department store, if he was attacked or harassed from other directions, he could only ask Ma Linin for help: "I think we can In three or four days, take down the department store."

   "I don't know what kind of help you need?" Ma Linin asked.

"If Paulus's headquarters is really in the department store, once we launch an attack, the enemy may rush from all directions and attack the rear of our department." Sokov said into the microphone: "So I beg you, Let the nearby friendly forces, such as the 64th and 57th armies, continue to launch the onslaught on the German army to attract the enemy's troops so that they cannot deploy troops to reinforce while the department store is under attack."

   "If you just let these friendly forces cooperate to fight, it's not a big problem." Ma Lining said thoughtfully: "But I'm worried that their attacks won't help you much."

"It doesn't matter, as long as they keep attacking the enemy, the enemy will inevitably have a large number of troops, and they will be restrained by them in their respective defense zones." Sokov said: "Even if the enemy receives reinforcements from Paulus, I am afraid they will be able to deploy them." There won't be too many troops."

  ...

  While Sokov was on the phone with Malinin, Paulus also got the news that von Drebel had been captured.

Paulus asked Schmidt with a livid face: "Chief of Staff, now our army is retreating steadily under the powerful Russian offensive, but now, a division commander has been captured, which is a great blow to the morale of our army. .”

"Your Excellency, Commander," Schmidt waited for Paulus to finish speaking, and replied with a wry smile, "according to the information I just obtained, it was the 304th Russian Infantry Division that captured the station. The 67th Division is headed by Colonel Merkulov. Although this unit has a strong combat effectiveness, in the past we only needed one regiment to successfully block their attacks."

"Since the previous regiment was able to block their attack." Paulus asked angrily, "Why did they take down General von Drebel's 297th Infantry Division in just over two hours today?" Where is the station? What happened in the middle?"

"Your Excellency, Commander, I understand. Not long ago, the Russians formed a combat group consisting of several infantry divisions, tank brigades and artillery regiments." Schmidt said cautiously: "The commander of this force , is Colonel Sokov, who is giving us headaches."

Hearing Sokov's name, Paulus couldn't help being moved: "I really didn't expect that the Russians would hand over so many troops to the command of a young officer. The superior who made this decision is really amazing. The staff officer Sir, I dare say that if the commander of the Russian troops attacking the station was not Sokov but someone else, the station would never have been lost so quickly."

"Yes, Commander." Schmidt nodded and said, "The tactics used by Sokov are different from the Russian tactics we are familiar with, so they are often beaten and do not know how to deal with them. I am worried that they have captured the station today. , Will they attack the department store tomorrow? You know, they have gathered a large number of troops in the ruins seven or eight hundred meters away from us, and no one knows when they will attack."

   Knowing that Sokov's troops might attack the department store at any time, Paulus couldn't help but feel frightened. He asked Schmidt in a panic: "Chief of Staff, is there any way to deal with him?"

"Your Excellency, please take a look." Schmidt pointed to the map and said to Paulus: "Although there are still many troops around us, they are basically entangled by the Russian army. It was impractical for them to come to our rescue when we were under attack, so we had to use the 100th Jaeger Division, a few armored and artillery regiments we could command, to counter the attack of the Sokov battle group. "

   "Chief of Staff, look, do we need to formulate a breakout plan." Paulus proposed to Schmidt: "When we find that the department store cannot be defended, we can consider retreating to other places."

"Under the current situation, where can we retreat, Your Excellency Commander." Schmidt pointed to the densely packed red arrows near the headquarters of his side, and said to Paulus with a wry smile: "No matter where we retreat , are all likely to be attacked by the Russians, it is better to stay here, maybe you can hold on for a longer time."

   "So, you are not optimistic about our future?" Paulus looked at his chief of staff and asked with a wry smile, "Did we really fail?"

"Yes, Your Excellency, Commander." As the chief of staff, Schmidt is well aware of the current state of the troops. If the supplies are cut off, even if the Soviet army does not attack, they may not be able to last long. Therefore, a bold idea came from It came to his mind: "Why don't you think about Colonel Sokov's opinion again and order the troops to put down their weapons and surrender?"

"No, no." Hearing Schmidt's proposal, Paulus jumped up like a cat whose tail had been stepped on: "I have asked the Fuhrer for instructions, and he has already rejected our surrender request. To fight to the last man."

"Your Excellency, some unnecessary sacrifices are completely avoidable." Schmidt lowered his head and said to Paulus: "Only by surrendering can we save more lives and keep them alive after the war." Go back to your hometown."

  Paulus stared at Schmidt for a long time, finally gritted his molars and said: "No, I will never surrender to the Russians. I will abide by my soldier's oath and fight to the last moment of my life."

  (end of this chapter)