Red Moscow

Sokov knew very well that Kurishenko has the final say on the current 41st Guards Division. Even if Sidolin has good suggestions, it will be useless if the other party does not adopt them. Especially at critical moments, once a decision-making error occurs, it will cause huge losses to the troops and even affect the battle situation.

Based on his own understanding of Sidolin, even if his proposal was rejected by Kurishenko, he would not skip the report. If you want to make the 239 high ground unbreakable, you must convince Kurishenko to let him understand the importance of the high ground.

Thinking of this, Sokov stood up and said, "General Kurishenko, I want to visit Height 239, can you go with me?"

Since Sokov wanted to go to Height 239 for inspection, how could Kurishenko say no, he could only bite the bullet and say: "Comrade Commander, why don't we go to the 122nd and 124th defense areas for inspection first, and then go to the 126 Heights?"

"Let's go to Height 239 first." Sokov said blankly: "As for the defense areas of the other two regiments, let's talk about it after we come down from the high ground."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Seeing Sokov's resolute attitude, Kurishenko could not refute, so he could only bite the bullet and agree: "I will take you to Height 239 right now."

However, before leaving the division headquarters, Kurishenko did not forget his responsibilities, and specifically told Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you arrange the new regiment commanders to take up the post as soon as possible, so that they can get familiar with the troops earlier. It will be very helpful for their next command operations."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Sidolin nodded and said, "I will immediately send the new commanders to their combat posts."

Although Kurishenko accompanied Sokov to leave, he did not tell Sidolin to notify the commander on the high ground. But when they came to the high ground, Lieutenant Colonel Haring, the commander of the 126th regiment who had been notified by Sidolin, was already waiting below the high ground.

Seeing Kurishenko coming with a general with a cane, Duharin guessed that this person should be the new commander Sokov, and hurried forward, saluted the two, and reported according to the regulations: "Comrade Commander, I am Harlem, Commander of the 126th Guards Regiment, I am waiting for your orders, please instruct!"

"Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Duharin!" Sokov returned the gift and said to Duharin with a smile, "I hope our arrival will not cause you any inconvenience."

"Then how can it be, Comrade Commander." Duharin smiled and said with a simple and honest face: "It is our honor that you can visit our regiment."

He glanced at Sokov's feet, and then said: "Comrade Commander, the road up the mountain is not easy, how about I report to you here?"

"No, no, no." Sokov knew that this place would become a battlefield in the near future. If he didn't understand the terrain here, he would never feel at ease, so he rejected Duharin's proposal, and said directly: "Take me to the high ground to see Look."

Seeing that Sokov was so stubborn, Kurishenko winked at Harlem, signaling him to obey Sokov's order and go to the high ground to have a look.

However, after Sokov went up the mountain, he specially introduced Grushiko and Kryzhov to Duharin: "Lieutenant Colonel Duhalin, let me introduce you, these two are Grushiko Lieutenant Colonel and Lieutenant Colonel Kryzhiuf, from now on, they will serve as deputy commander and chief of staff, respectively, in your regiment."

Hearing that it was the new deputy head and chief of staff, Du Harin hurriedly stepped forward to shake hands with the two, and said repeatedly: "Great, this is really great. After my regiment has been replenished, although I have added some grassroots Commander, but there is still no deputy commander and chief of staff. After you come, I will have helpers."

When walking up the rugged and snow-covered path, Sokov deliberately called Duharin to his side and asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Duharin, do you think this road is easy to walk?"

"It's not easy to walk." Du Harin quickly replied: "When it snows, the snow will cover the road; when there are many people walking up and down, the snow on the ground will be trampled, and it will be easy to slip after turning into thin ice. fall……"

Before he finished speaking, Sokov accidentally stepped on a piece of ice, and his body suddenly fell to the side. Fortunately, Grushiko, who was walking aside, supported him in time, so that he didn't fall down in public.

After thanking Grushiko, Sokov said to Haring with a serious expression: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if I'm not mistaken, this is the only way for you to go up the mountain, right? Bring up the ammunition you need under your feet, will the ice accumulation on the road be a delay?"

After hearing this, Du Harin blushed and said hastily, "Comrade Commander, I will immediately send someone to clean up this road to ensure that supplies can be transported smoothly at any time."

Sokov is still very satisfied with Du Harlem's attitude. He nodded, and said to Grushiko and Kryzhiuf: "You two, as the deputy head and chief of staff, will assist Lieutenant Colonel Duharin in his work. Especially on this road, we must ensure Accessible at all times. Understand?"

"Understood." The two lieutenant colonels replied in unison.

When he came to the top of the mountain, Sokov saw several long trenches, and he couldn't help but secretly rejoice. It seems that Kurishenko is not just perfunctory himself, at least in the matter of building the 239 Heights, he is still working hard to fulfill his mission. own responsibility.

Sokov walked forward along the trench, and from time to time he could see commanders and fighters walking in the trench. When the commander saw Sokov and his party, he immediately stood at attention and raised his hands to salute; when the soldiers saw Sokov, they stood at attention and saluted him.

"Lieutenant Colonel Duharin," Sokov asked Duharin who was following him while watching, "How long did you dig trenches on the top of the mountain?"

Du Haring replied without hesitation: "Report to Comrade Commander, the length of the trenches we have completed so far should have exceeded three kilometers."

"It's colder on the high ground than below. Where do the commanders and fighters live?"

"We built shelters in the trenches, and the commanders and fighters usually live in them." Duharin said: "Once the battle alarm is issued, they can quickly enter the trenches from the shelters and prepare for all battles."

Sokov looked forward along the trenches, and found that there was no civil firepower point in the long trench, so he couldn't help frowning slightly: "Why is there no civil firepower point?"

"I haven't had time to build it yet." Although the outdoor temperature was more than twenty degrees below zero at the moment, cold sweat still broke out on Du Harin's forehead. Comrade, I will arrange manpower for construction."

Sokov looked into the distance, and saw nothing but snow, no trees, no hills, nothing but an open field.

Seeing Sokov staring intently into the distance, Kurishenko leaned over and said, "Comrade Commander, you see, the surrounding area of ​​more than ten kilometers is within the control range of the highlands, and only the enemy appears, no matter how far away they are." , our fighters can spot them too."

Sokov walked to the edge of the high ground, looked down at the hillside, and asked with a frown, "Lieutenant Colonel Duharin, why didn't I see the barbed wire and the minefield?"

"Comrade Commander," Duharin seemed a little flustered when he heard Sokov's question, "Our regiment has not received the barbed wire fence of the mines, so we cannot set up obstacles in front of the position."

"I didn't get it." Sokov asked with a straight face, "What's going on?"

"It literally means that when our regiment went to collect the landmines and barbed wire, the logistics department said that there was no share for us."

When Sokov heard this, he was a little strangely angry. In front of such a simple fortification, if there were no minefields and barbed wire fences, the German army could easily rush to the front of the position. If this happens, no matter how tenacious the commanders and fighters are, if they want to repel the enemy's attack, they will probably pay a high price.

He turned around and asked Kurishenko: "General Kurishenko, please explain to me, what is going on? Why did the 126th Guards Regiment not have their share when they went to collect mines and barbed wire?"

"Comrade Commander, please listen to my explanation." Kurishenko hurriedly explained to Sokov: "From all indications, the area defended by the 122nd and 124th Guards Regiments is the focus of the German offensive. Therefore I used all the resources in the division in that direction."

"General Kurishenko, I have already told you that there are many friendly troops in front of you. If the Germans attack you, they will definitely expose their weak flanks. The Germans want to avoid this situation. , I dare not attack your main defense area casually.

On the contrary, judging from the current indications, it is unlikely that the Germans will attack Height 239. But it is precisely because of this that we need to be vigilant, otherwise we may be caught off guard by the Germans.

If you think about it carefully, if the 239 highland falls, the Germans will have a foothold in your defense zone. Regardless of whether they are attacking or defending, they will make our army passive. "

Faced with Sokov's accusation, Kurishenko blushed again and again, and finally he mustered up the courage to ask: "Comrade Commander, do you really think that the Germans will attack Height 239?"

"Yes." Sokov said in a positive tone: "According to my judgment, this is certain. The Germans will not only attack Height 239, but it will even become a cruel tug-of-war battlefield, so you must be prepared prepared to ensure that the position does not fall into German hands."

After saying this, he called Duharin to him and said to him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I will give you two days. No matter what method you use, you must establish minefields and obstacle areas, otherwise I will dismiss you. Understand?"

Knowing that Sokov was going to dismiss him, Duharin was a little flustered: "Okay, Comrade Commander, I will definitely find a way to arrange the minefield and pull up the barbed wire within two days." The reason why he was so fast He replied because he knew in his heart that if he did not perform well, the two lieutenant colonels Sokov brought today could take over his position at any time.

Seeing Haring's promise, Sokov slowed down his tone, pointed to the distance and said to him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, in addition to setting up minefields in front of the position, you can also set up a few mines in the distance. For example, at a position of 500 meters or even 600 meters..."

"What, how many landmines were planted five or six hundred meters away?" Duhalin was confused by Sukov's words, and he asked in puzzlement: "Comrade commander, I don't understand. What's the use of planting a few landmines in a place like this?"

"Vigilance, the role of vigilance." Sokov said to Duharin: "If the German army came to sneak attack on your position, they must not be very vigilant at such a distance from the position, so it is very likely that they will step on your ground. In this way, not only can you find the Germans in advance, but the Germans have to stop temporarily because of this mine, and send engineers to clear the nearby mines before moving forward. This will buy you enough preparation time .”

Seeing that Duharin had made a promise to Sokov, Kurishenko, who was next to him, knew that it would be impossible for him not to make a statement. When the two of them finished talking, he said, "Lieutenant Colonel Duharin, you will send someone to the Go to the warehouse to get the required supplies, and I will greet the logistics staff."

It took Sokov almost an hour to turn the 239 highland around and came to the other side of the highland. Pointing to the hillside below, he said to Du Halin: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if I were you, I would order people to build some caves for hiding soldiers on the hillside in this direction."

"Build a cave for hiding soldiers here?" Du Harin asked again in puzzlement: "Why?"

"Before the Germans attacked, they would shell and bomb our positions." Sokov said: "Now our air force has firmly grasped the air supremacy of the battlefield, and the possibility of enemy planes bombing positions is relatively low. Our army on the ground can only adopt the tactics of violent shelling.

If we put all our forces on the ground, even if there are shelters and anti-gun holes, I am afraid that we will pay a lot of casualties. However, if the troops were transferred to the hidden soldier cave on the reverse slope before the shelling started, and the enemy shelled the position for a long time, the casualties to us would not be too great. "

Although Sokov had implemented this tactic in the 41st Guards Division when he was the division commander, many commanders who knew this tactic were transferred to other units after the troops were downsized and replenished. Those who understand this kind of tactics are often too low-ranking and have no chance to speak out.

Kurishenko, who was standing behind him, couldn't help but nodded secretly when he heard what Sokov said. He felt that the young commander did have something in his stomach. At least he had never heard of the tactics he said. Pass.

How many troops to place on the battlefield has always been a headache for him. If there are too many troops, after the enemy's shelling and bombing is over, it will be a pain in his heart to get the number of casualties; but if the number of troops is too small, it will not be able to stop the enemy's attack at all. But now the solution proposed by Sokov solves this problem very well. Once the enemy's shelling starts, he can first move his troops to the cave on the reverse slope, and then return to the position after the enemy's shelling is over. , ready to block the enemy's attack.

After completing the inspection of the 239th highland, Kurishenko respectfully said to Sokov: "Comrade commander, since the inspection of the highland is over, why don't we go to the defense areas of the 122nd and 124th regiments, and you can see with your own eyes. Is there anything to improve?"