Red Moscow

Seeing that Burke rejected his request without hesitation, Sokov was not discouraged. He rolled his eyes and thought of other ways in his mind. He chuckled: "Colonel Burke, actually I have always admired Mann." Marshal Stein, I want to know more about him. Since you are his adjutant, you must know him very well. I wonder if you would like to sit down and have a drink with me while telling me something about the marshal listen."

"What, you admire our Marshal Manstein?" Burke heard Sokov say this, and the first thought in his heart was that he had auditory hallucinations, but seeing the expressions of astonishment on the faces of the surrounding Russian officers and soldiers, Only then did he realize that he had heard correctly. Sokov did indeed say that. He tentatively asked, "May I ask, why do you worship him?"

"He is a great military genius." In order to dispel the other party's doubts, Sokov said cheekily: "Sevastopol is an invincible fortress in the eyes of our Supreme Command. Many German generals This is proved by their failure. However, with the appearance of Marshal Manstein, this view was completely overturned. Under his command, your army easily captured the title of "Never The fallen fortress made him the true conqueror of Sevastopol."

Hearing Sokov's generous words of praise to Manstein, Burke couldn't help showing a smug smile on his face. Sukov praised Manstein so much, he was also honored as Manstein's adjutant. So when Sokov invited him to sit down and drink again, he didn't refuse, but sat at the table very readily.

Seeing that the opponent had fallen for his trick, Sokov couldn't help showing a smile on his face. He picked up the silver jug, poured half a glass of vodka into the glass in front of the other party, and said with a smile on his face: "Colonel Burke, please try our best vodka."

Burke picked up the wine glass, took a sip, closed his eyes and felt for a moment, then opened his eyes and said, "It really is a good wine."

"Colonel Burke, let's chat while drinking." Sokov picked up the glass, touched the other party lightly, and then asked: "Do you think that if the commander of the Sixth Army is not Paulus, But Marshal Manstein, so what kind of situation would it be?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Burke put down the wine glass in his hand, picked up a biscuit on the plate on the table, took two bites, and said: "If Marshal Manstein is to command the Sixth Army, then They will definitely not be annihilated by you. But judging from the Marshal's grasp of the battlefield situation, he can completely jump out with the troops before your encirclement is closed.

Take a step back, even if you accidentally fall into your encirclement. When General Huot and other troops launch a rescue operation, they will also take active actions to successfully break through your encirclement. "

The Soviet commanders and fighters standing aside were filled with anger when they heard Burke's arrogant statement. If it wasn't for seeing Sokov drinking with the other party calmly, someone would have slapped him long ago.

But what everyone didn't expect was that after Colonel Burke finished speaking, Sokov shook his head and said: "Colonel Burke, you are wrong. If in the Battle of Stalingrad, the commander of the Sixth Army troops It was Marshal Manstein, our army simply couldn’t defend Stalingrad, let alone encircle and wipe out the Sixth Army.”

Sokov's words were shocking. Not to mention that Burke was stunned on the spot, even the commanders and fighters next to him were all stunned. They never dreamed that Sokov would make such dangerous remarks . If another person said such things, there was only one fate waiting for him, and that was to be sent to a military court.

But Sokov's words aroused Burke's great curiosity. He asked with great interest: "General Sokov, why do you think that if Field Marshal Manstein commands the Sixth Army, we may have the possibility of capturing Stalingrad?"

"Colonel Burke, don't think that I deliberately said good things about Marshal Manstein just to curry favor with you. Let me analyze it for you slowly." Sukov saw that he had successfully attracted Burke's attention. He continued to say: "If Marshal Manstein was in command of the operation, after your army crossed the Don River, you would definitely not deploy General Hoth's Fourth Armored Army to attack the damn Caucasus, but concentrate all The troops rushed towards Stalingrad. You must know that at that time, almost all the troops of our army were in the Don River Basin, fully resisting your attack.

Don't look at me commanding a troop stationed on Mamayev Gang, but in a campaign-level battle involving millions of people, the thousands of people I commanded, no matter how strong the fortifications are, can't stop your thunderous attack. hit. "

Burke agreed with Sokov's words very much. After the Sixth Army was wiped out, there was a saying in Manstein's headquarters that if the marshal himself commanded the battle, the final victor might not be the Soviet army. And Stalingrad, which was turned into ruins, must have also fallen into the hands of the German army.

Seeing that Burke agreed with his statement, Sokov went on to say: "Paulus' tactics are actually not wrong. He plans to occupy the commanding height of Mamayev Hill to separate the old and new urban areas of Stalingrad. , Separating our army's defense line in the city. But what he didn't expect was that Mamayev Post, which I was standing on, was impossible for him to conquer.

If Marshal Manstein is replaced, he will definitely adjust his tactics in time and shift the focus of attack from Mamayev Post to other directions. For example, isn't frontal feint and detour on both wings your usual tactics? As long as the detoured troops on both sides can break through our defenses and reach the banks of the Volga River, they can go north or south along the river, join forces behind Mamayev Hill, control the city's central ferry, and cut off the city from the outside world. connect. If this is really achieved, then the defenders in the city will soon be annihilated by you because they have run out of ammunition and food..."

Burke was so attracted by Sokov's ingenious remarks that when the team of prisoners of war arrived at the exchange place, he was not interested in asking, but handed it over to Second Lieutenant Kahn. When Burke was not aware of it, Sokov made a gesture to the commander of the 564th regiment on the side, signaling him to send someone to help the wounded return to the position quickly.

Hundreds of people rushed out of the position, startling Burke. He asked Sokov vigilantly, "General Sokov, what are you doing?"

Seeing that Burke was frightened, Sokov quickly comforted him and said, "Mr. Colonel, don't worry, I saw that the wounded were unable to move, so I ordered the troops on the ground to come out to meet them. Don't worry, I'm here , your safety is absolutely guaranteed."

The soldiers walked into the line of prisoners of war, took over the stretchers of the seriously wounded from the hands of the lightly wounded, and hurried towards their trenches. As for the lightly wounded, because the burden was reduced, their marching speed naturally accelerated. In less than a quarter of an hour, all the released wounded entered the Soviet defense zone.

Seeing that the rescued wounded had successfully returned to the defense zone with the help of the soldiers, Sokov couldn't help but secretly heaved a sigh of relief, and hurriedly said a few perfunctory words before sending Burke and his men away.

Seeing the backs of Burke and others gradually going away, Sokov shouted at the guard platoon standing around him: "What are you standing here for? Why don't you run quickly? Do you want to be shot by the Germans?" ?”

Samoilov made a gesture to the two soldiers next to him, stepped forward to support Sokov, and then shouted loudly: "Quick retreat, quick retreat, retreat to the trench."

Hearing Samoilov's order, all the soldiers ran wildly. They just wanted to run back to the position quickly to avoid the enemy's shelling. As for the tables and benches with food and drinks, no one cared about them at all.

As soon as a group of people ran back to the trench, there was the scream of shells piercing the air. Then, a series of shells fell on the exchange place not long ago. The table and stool where Sokov used to sit and chat with the German colonel were blown to pieces in an instant.

Sokov, who entered the position, guessed that the enemy's next bombardment location must be the trench where his group was located, and hurriedly shouted: "Retreat to the second line of defense immediately, and withdraw quickly!"

Fortunately, Sokov's order was issued in time. When he and the soldiers of the guard platoon retreated into the second line of defense along the communication trench, German artillery shells fell like raindrops, covering the entire frontline position immediately. Sokov and the others soon The trenches where we stayed before were suddenly shrouded in flames and gunpowder smoke.

"It's so dangerous." Seeing that the front position was covered by enemy artillery fire, Samoilov said with lingering fear: "Comrade commander, if you hadn't ordered us to withdraw to the second line of defense in time, you would have continued to stay on the second line of defense." In the trenches, it is estimated that the losses have been heavy at this moment."