Red Moscow

"Comrade Commissar, Chief of Staff," Sokov felt the need to explain to Belkin and Sidolin in order to carry out his order accurately and timely: "At the beginning, I ordered the first battalion to build a front on the South Ridge. The line of defense is based on the fact that the west side of Mamayev Hill is flat and easy to attack and difficult to defend, so in order to hold this place, it is necessary to expand our defensive depth."

"That's right," Sidolin agreed with Sokov's statement: "Whether it is the south hill or the north hill, the slopes in front of the defense are relatively gentle, and the enemy's infantry can easily rush up, so you decide , pushing the front line far away from the hills."

After Sidolin repeated what he said at the beginning, Sokov continued: "But now I find that the open land in front of Mamayev Post is not conducive to defense. Putting a battalion of thousands of people there, only It would cause them to be completely lost under the enemy's continuous shelling. Therefore, after repeated thinking, I decided to shrink my troops and stick to Mamayev Post."

"Should we withdraw them all into the fortification?" Sidolin asked with a wry smile: "Comrade Brigadier, you also know that the ventilation in the tunnel is not ideal. Thousands of people are crowded in one tunnel. It's okay if the time is short. If the time Over time, I worry about suffocation."

"Didn't Major Ozor help us improve the ventilation system?" Sokov remembered the last time he used a surface position to lure the enemy and closed most of the passages in Nangang, causing a large number of wounded to suffer from hypoxia and suffocation symptoms. Major Ozor was invited to help him improve the ventilation system. At least when he stayed at the command post, he didn't experience shortness of breath, so he asked in surprise, "Why is there still suffocation?"

"After Major Ozor helped us improve the ventilation system last time, the ventilation in the tunnel is indeed in a very good state." Sidolin said with some embarrassment: "But the enemy's bombardment caused us to lose ground in the front of the defense. Individual tunnel entrances have collapsed, making some sections poorly ventilated...”

What else Sidolin said next, Sukov didn't hear clearly, he was thinking in his mind that when Vanya's first battalion retreated into the tunnel last time when he carried out the tactic of luring the enemy, while Vasily's second battalion They were arranged by themselves to dig fortifications at the foot of the mountain on the east slope. If two battalions with complete organizational structures were placed in the tunnel, plus the third battalion and the troops directly under the brigade, the tunnel would be full of people.

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov saw that Sidolin was still chattering, he quickly raised his hand to stop him, and began to give orders: "This is how I think about it. After the first battalion gets down from the front of the defense, it will not enter the tunnel. Fortifications, but to arrange them on the reverse slope to build new fortifications?"

"Anti-slope?!" Sidolin couldn't help asking in surprise when he heard the word suddenly popped up by Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, I don't understand what you mean?"

Hearing what Sidolin said, Sokov immediately realized that he had made a mistake again. It seemed that the term fortification of the reverse slope appeared only ten years later. He quickly explained to Sidolin: "The reverse slope refers to the In mountain offensive and defensive warfare, the side of the mountain facing away from the enemy and facing our side."

After Sokov’s explanation, Sidolin immediately understood it: “If the hillside facing the enemy and facing us is called an anti-slope; then, can the hillside facing the enemy and facing away from us be a Positive slope?"

"That's right, that's what it means." Seeing that Sidolin could draw inferences so quickly, Sokov gave him a thumbs up: "I think it's simpler and more direct to call the defensive direction of Mamayev Gang like this. .”

"Comrade Brigadier," after figuring out what happened to the reverse slope, Sidolin asked inexplicably, "Since the reverse slope is facing our army, why did you build the fortification here? Are you worried that the enemy will bypass the hill? Detour to behind us?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you made a mistake." Unexpectedly, Sokov shook his head and replied: "The purpose of building fortifications on the reverse slope is not to deal with the enemy who detours to the rear of our army, but to deal with the occupation of the top of the hill. enemy."

Sokov's words made both Sidolin and Belkin confused. After they looked at each other, Sidolin raised his own question: "Comrade Brigadier, even if we build defenses on the reverse slope Fortifications, but once the enemy occupies the top of the hill, they can attack us condescendingly..."

Sokov took out a pen and paper, and while drawing a diagram on the paper, explained to Sidolin and Belkin: "We ordered the first battalion to build the first trench at a distance of thirty meters from the top of the hill. The soil excavated from the trenches was piled on the side near the top of the mountain, and the entire trench had a shape of high front and low rear.

The reason why we built the first trench in such a close place is so that when the enemy rushes to the top of the hill, our soldiers can drop bombs from the trench to inflict heavy damage on them, and then carry out a countercharge, all in one fell swoop. Retake the hills occupied by the enemy. "

"Such a short distance," Sidolin folded his hands on his chest, staring at the sketch on the table, frowning, "we can throw grenades at the enemy, and they can throw them too. And they rushed from the hill Come down, it's much easier than our feint."

"Chief of Staff, the situation is not what you imagined." Sokov continued: "Since the soil we dug up is piled up close to the top of the mountain, blocking the enemy's sight, the grenades they throw are very difficult. It is difficult to enter our trenches. As for the charge, you also know that the terrain of Mamayev Hill is gentle on the west and steep on the east. It is easy to go up the mountain and difficult to go down. When the enemy is charging down the steep slope, in order to prevent falling Otherwise, the speed will definitely be affected, so they will become the targets of our military commanders."

"It makes sense, it makes sense." Belkin heard Sokov say this, and nodded several times: "It is relatively easier for our soldiers to charge upwards than for the enemy to charge from top to bottom. And this kind of The trenches are high at the front and low at the back, so even if our first trench is occupied by the enemy, we can easily regain it when we counterattack."

Sidolin picked up the sketch, looked at it repeatedly for a long time, and finally nodded and said: "Comrade Brigadier, your reverse slope fortification is indeed very distinctive. After reaching the top of the hill, launch a counterattack in the shortest possible time. With this kind of fortification, we will be more sure of holding Mamayev Hill. I will call Captain Vanya and ask him to send the first battalion The troops have all withdrawn to the reverse slope to build new fortifications."