Red Moscow

After the reconnaissance team's telegram reached the brigade headquarters, Sokov immediately made a decision to send a squad of fighters to reinforce them and provide them with enough weapons, especially anti-tank weapons, so that they could persist in that building for a longer period of time. long time.

Regarding Sokov's arrangement, Sidolin put forward his own objection: "Comrade Brigadier, we only send one squad for reinforcements. Isn't the number too small? I think we should send a platoon there."

"One squad is enough." Sokov explained to Sidolin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, a squad of our brigade has twenty or thirty people, which is equivalent to a platoon of friendly troops; a platoon has seventy or eighty people, and The number of friendly troops at the company level is about the same. If you want to defend the building occupied by Vasily and the others, it will definitely not work if you have a small number of people. But it will also not work if you have a large number of troops. The artillery bombardment and aircraft bombing will inevitably cause heavy casualties to our army. Therefore, it is more than enough to send them a squad of reinforcements."

Sidolin felt that what Sokov said was very reasonable, so he stopped arguing with him, but continued to ask: "Comrade Brigadier, from which battalion should we transfer troops to reinforce them?"

In the 73rd Infantry Brigade, the strongest fighting force is the guard company, but now the guard company has been dismantled in pieces, so Sukov thought for a moment, and then said decisively: "I think, just from Chris Dorff's reconnaissance company will transfer a squad to reinforce Vasily and the others."

"I would like to ask one more thing," Sidolin asked Sokov, "Who will command the troops in the building after the reinforcements rush over to join Vasily and the others?"

Sidolin's question reminded Sokov that in any case, Vasily is only a sergeant now, and he may not be able to command those with higher ranks than him. So he said sternly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please record my order: From now on, all commanders and fighters in the building, regardless of their rank or position, will obey the command of Sergeant Vasily."

It was the first time for Sidolin to hear of the order given by Sokov, so he asked cautiously: "Comrade Brigadier, are you sure that soldiers with a higher rank than Vasily should follow his command?" ?”

"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff, that's exactly what happened." Sokov nodded and said, "Not to mention sergeants and sergeants, even lieutenants and captains must obey Sergeant Vasily's orders after they enter the building. Command. That's the only way I think they'll be able to hold on to that building and hit the Germans hard."

According to Sokov's idea, he planned to go to the Vasily Building with the reinforcements to understand the defense situation there. Unexpectedly, before he set off, the German army suddenly dispatched a large number of planes to violently bomb Mamayev Gang and the factory area. Seeing this situation, Sokov knew that the German army's massive attack was imminent, so he could only give up the idea of ​​going to the Vasily Building, and obediently stayed in the headquarters to direct the battle.

According to past practice, shortly after the first batch of German bombers flew away, the second batch of bombers would appear immediately. Unexpectedly, after the first batch of German bombers flew away, the second batch of bombers did not appear for a long time. Faced with such a strange situation, Belgin, who had just returned from Beigang, asked Sokov curiously: "Comrade Brigadier, why did the Germans only bomb one wave today? Do you know what happened?"

Sokov was also baffled by the contrasting behavior of the German army. He picked up the phone and connected to the observation post on the top of the hill: "Hello, is it the observation post? I'm Sokov. Is there any movement in your place?"

The observation post that received the call naturally knew what Sokov asked, and quickly replied: "Report to Comrade Brigadier Commander, after the German bomber fleet left, not only did they not see the second wave of planes appear, even the distant The starting position of the German army is also extremely quiet, it seems that they will not attack us in a short time."

Sokov put down the phone, and after telling Belgin and Sidolin about the situation reported by the observation post, a bold guess suddenly popped up in his mind, so he quickly picked up the phone again and dialed the army headquarters . After hearing Krylov's familiar voice from the receiver, Sokov asked straight to the point: "Comrade Chief of Staff, this is Sokov. I want to ask, has the offensive in the northwest started?"

Sokov's question made Krylov stunned. After a moment of silence, he asked back: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, who told you that our army's offensive in the north of the city has started?"

"Not long ago, the enemy bombed Mamayev Gang violently. But what is strange is that after their first wave of bombing ended, the second wave of bombers did not appear for a long time. At the same time, the offensive of the ground forces The starting position is also very quiet, and it doesn't look like an attack at all." After telling Krylov about the situation here, Sokov boldly expressed his conjecture: "Therefore, I think Rocco General Sovsky's troops launched an offensive, forcing the enemy to turn the main forces in their direction."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Krylov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and immediately said angrily: "So far, I have not received any news that the Stalingrad Front has turned to attack. You are still old Hold your Mamayev post honestly, and don't worry about irrelevant things."

Sokov, who was criticized, put down the phone with a wry smile, and said to Belkin and Sidolin: "Comrade Commissar, Comrade Chief of Staff, judging from the current situation, General Rokossovsky's troops have already been withdrawn from the German army. An attack has been launched from the rear, and it won't be long before General Chuikov organizes the troops newly arrived in the city to launch a counterattack against the enemy in the front."

Regarding Sokov's statement, Sidolin was skeptical: "Comrade Brigadier, do you really think that General Rokossovsky's troops have launched an offensive in the enemy's rear?"

"I think so." Sokov nodded and said, "Otherwise, I really can't explain why the German bombing was only carried out once and then ended hastily."

"Comrade Brigadier," Berkin interjected, "since the Germans have stopped bombing at the moment, I think we can send reinforcements to Vasily's squad."

Sokov originally wanted to go to the Vasily Building with the reinforcements, but the situation was unclear at the moment, and he could not easily leave the headquarters. But the sending of reinforcements cannot be delayed. Who knows what the Germans are going to attack the Vasily Building. With the strength of Vasily's men, it is almost impossible to defend the building. So he nodded and said decisively: "Okay, let them go now."

Before the reinforcements set off, Sidolin specially told the squad leader who led the team to follow Vasily's command in all actions after they arrived at the Vasily Building. The squad leader was originally a master, not only was his military rank two ranks higher than Vasily's, but he was also a soldier with rich combat experience. When he heard that he had to take orders from a recruit with a lower rank than himself, he felt somewhat unhappy.

Sidolin noticed the strangeness of the squad leader, so he said to him with a straight face: "Comrade Dashi, the decision to make all the commanders and fighters in the building today obey the command of Sergeant Vasily was made by the brigade commander. If you don't If you are willing to accept, I can keep you and let others command your troops."

When the master learned that Sokov had issued this order, he immediately lost his temper. He was deeply afraid that he would be replaced by Sidolin, so he quickly said sincerely: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't change people. Isn’t it okay for me to obey orders? When our squad arrives at the destination, we will definitely obey Sergeant Vasily’s command.”

"Comrade Dashi, don't look aggrieved." Sidolin turned his head and glanced at Sokov who was sitting at the table looking at the map, and read Dashi in a low voice: "The brigade commander's order also said, don't say It is a sergeant, a sergeant, even a lieutenant or a captain, when they arrive at that building, they must follow the command of Sergeant Vasily."

Shortly after the reinforcements were dispatched, Chuikov's phone call entered the headquarters. When he heard that the person answering the phone was Sidolin, he immediately said in an orderly tone: "Lieutenant Colonel Sidolin, hand over the phone to Sokov immediately. I have important combat tasks and I need to hand them over to him."

Seeing Sidolin handing the microphone to himself, Sokov guessed that there must be something important, he quickly took the microphone, and said to his ear: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am Sokov , do you have any instructions?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I just had a phone call with the Front Army Command. You guessed it right. General Rokossovsky's troops launched a fierce attack on the enemy's defensive position an hour ago." Chuikov said in The phone said: "The enemy's attention was attracted by him, so the bomber group that originally planned to bomb Mamayev Gang and the factory area was transferred to bomb the Stalingrad Front Army to prevent them from joining us."

After learning that his guess was correct, Sokov was not complacent, but asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, when will the counter-attack planned by the Army Group Command be launched?"

"According to the notification from the Front Army Command, two infantry brigades and one infantry division will secretly cross the Volga River and enter the city tonight." Chuikov said emotionally: "After the three troops are assembled, They will be put into battle as the main force of this counterattack."

"Comrade Commander," Sokov did not hear the specific time for the counterattack from Chuikov's words, so he could only bite the bullet and ask: "Can I ask when the troops of our army group will be able to go into battle?" ?”

"The time is still unclear." Cuikov replied with some hesitation: "We don't know the strength and equipment of the three troops that are about to enter the city, so I really have no idea when they will be able to enter the battle." Give you an accurate answer."

If Chuikov did not organize the troops to attack, then leading his own troops through the German defense gap and going north to meet Rokossovsky's troops would be suicide. Sokov knew very well that with the strength of the 192nd Battalion, it would be like hitting a stone with a pebble.

After Chuikov finished speaking, he immediately asked: "Comrade Commander, if you cannot confirm the time for the counter-assault, will your order to our brigade go north to meet the friendly forces be postponed?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, don't worry." Chuikov heard Sokov's off-screen voice, and quickly comforted him, saying, "If the counter-assault organized by the Army Group Headquarters does not start for a day, you can stop for a day." Go north. Do you understand?"

"Understood!" Sokov quickly and loudly replied.

Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Sidolin quickly asked about his concerns: "Comrade Brigadier, did the commander say when we will take action to cooperate with friendly forces to break the encirclement of the German army?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, the Front Army Command will send us reinforcements tonight. Comrade Commander intends to use these cutting-edge troops as the main force of the counter-assault to attack the enemy's defensive positions," Sokov said expressionlessly. : "However, whether these troops can enter the city on time tonight is still unknown, so he does not know when the counter-assault to cooperate with friendly forces will start."

After Sokov finished speaking, seeing Sidolin's disappointed look, he comforted him and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, although the counter-assault organized by the Army Group Command will not start when it is unknown, it will still be carried out. What we have to do now is to get the 192nd Battalion ready for everything, and when the order is given, we can start immediately."

After Sokov’s reminder, Sidolin immediately realized that the 192nd Battalion was about to go into battle and there was still a lot to prepare, so he quickly said to Sokov: “Comrade Brigadier, if you don’t say it, I almost forget it. After repairs, there are currently five German armored vehicles that can be used. If you bring these five armored vehicles when you are in action, they may be useful when passing through the German defense zone."

After Sokov captured the armored vehicles of the German army, he didn't ask people to paint off the cross mark on them. He just planned to let the soldiers in the armored vehicles disguise themselves as the enemy and easily mix in the enemy's midst. At this moment, knowing that there are actually five armored vehicles that can be used, I began to think in my heart whether to order some soldiers to wear German uniforms when the troops were heading north, so that they could pass through the enemy's defense lines smoothly.

Thinking of this, Sokov asked Belkin: "Comrade political commissar, you are managing the military supplies. How many German uniforms are there?"

"German uniform?" Hearing Sokov's question, Belgin was taken aback for a moment, and then showed a surprised expression on his face: "Comrade Brigadier, are you planning to let the soldiers pretend to be Germans again so that they can pass through the army smoothly?" The enemy's defense zone?"