Red Moscow

"Guerrillas?!" Paulus almost yelled after hearing Schmid's words: "With that group of rabble, it is a dream to take the Kotlubus station. Even if the station's troops are transferred Most of them, but the remaining company can also wipe out all the guerrillas attacking the station."

When Paulus said that, none of the people present thought he was exaggerating. To them, the Russian guerrillas were nothing more than doing some damage in their own rear and sneaking up on the soldiers who were alone. To attack the station would be to seek death.

"That's right, Your Excellency Commander." Seeing that Paulus was angry, Schmid quickly explained with a blushing face, "That's how the telegram from the commander of the 113th Infantry Division was reported."

"Chief of Staff, there must be something wrong." Paulus pointed at Schmid and said to him in a stern tone: "Go and call the division commander yourself to find out what's going on. At the same time, tell him that if you report this kind of alarmist report to us casually, be careful that I will send him to a military court."

Before Schmid called to verify the situation of the lost battle at the station, the communications staff officer who had just sent a telegram appeared in the house again. As soon as Schmid saw his face, he immediately asked with a livid face, "What bad news did you bring me this time?"

The staff officer had never seen Schmid speak to him in such a tone before, so he replied in a panic: "Your Excellency, the commander of the 113th Infantry Division sent another telegram. It said that the 564th kilometer station was also blocked. The Russians took over."

Even if a cannonball landed in the room and exploded at this moment, the shock it brought to the generals present could not compare to the news that the staff said. The news of the loss of the Kotlu bus station has not been confirmed, and there is another news of the loss of the 564th kilometer station. What is going on here, when did the Russian guerrillas become so powerful?

The atmosphere in the room became awkward and silent again. Everyone did not expect that they would focus on how to deal with the main force of the Soviet army attacking from the north, but the guerrillas unexpectedly stabbed them in the back. Moreover, this knife was stabbed so hard that it directly cut off the main transport artery.

It was Schlemmer who broke the silence first. He said thoughtfully: "Your Excellency, I have a bold idea. The Russians launched a surprise attack on our army in the Kacharinskaya area. In order to isolate our troops located in the small bend of the Don River, but to attract the attention of our troops, a feint was deliberately launched."

"General Schlemmer!" As soon as Schlemmer had finished speaking, Schmid asked suspiciously: "You mean that the Russians, in order to allow the partisans to capture our two stations, the right wing in Kazakhstan?" The Charinskaya area launched a feint attack to contain the main force of our army? Is my understanding correct?"

Schlemmer nodded slightly: "That's right! That's how I thought about it. In order to ensure that the guerrillas could capture the station and cut off our main transportation artery, the Russians deliberately launched a feint attack on the north side of our defense zone."

"It's ridiculous, it's simply ridiculous." It was Kurzbach, the commander of the 51st Infantry Corps, who jumped out to refute Schlemmer this time. I have never heard that in order to seize the two railway stations, the regular army was dispatched on a large scale to cooperate with the guerrilla operations. This is probably the biggest joke I have heard today."

Kurzbach's words aroused the echo of several other army commanders. They also felt that what Schlemmer said was too absurd. He had worked in the army for decades, and he had never heard of regular troops cooperating with guerrillas. Not to mention that there are no such things now, even in the military history of various countries, there is no such example.

For the ridicule of the crowd, Schlemmer did not refute, but turned his attention to Paulus, wanting to hear what he thinks of his speculation. Paulus sat on the seat, staring at the table in front of him, as if there was something nice on it. Seeing that he didn't respond for a long time, Schmid quickly called him twice in a low voice.

Hearing Schmid calling himself, Paulus raised his head, looked at his chief of staff blankly, and asked, "What's the matter?"

"Your Excellency," Schmid said anxiously seeing Paulus's absent-minded look, "everyone is still waiting for your opinion on the fall of the station."

Paulus stood up slowly, holding the edge of the table with both hands, leaned forward slightly, and said to his subordinates: "You are right, it sounds really unrealistic to have the regular army cooperate with the guerrillas. But when I was contemplating just now, I suddenly thought of a possibility..."

From Paulus's words, Schlemmer heard that the other party seemed to agree with his speculation, so he quickly interrupted and asked, "What's possible, Your Excellency Commander?"

"I won't say what the Russians' tactics are, but everyone should know." Paulus said slowly, "The Russians' offensive tactics are rigid, and their attacks are always within the expected territory of our army. It was done at a precise time period, so when we repelled a Russian attack in a certain area, we knew that the Russians would not make another attack in that area for the next few hours. It allows us to shift the focus of our next defense to another direction.

The reason why our army was able to advance to the city of Stalingrad so smoothly was that our officers had mastered the tactics of the Russians and adopted effective countermeasures. But here, we encountered a headache attack, so that our original effective tactics, can not play a role..."

When Schmid heard this, he immediately realized who Paulus was talking about, and asked tentatively: "Your Excellency, are you talking about the Russian colonel Sokov who stood on Mamayev Post?"

"That's right, I'm talking about him." Paulus continued after scanning every general present with his eyes, "Many of your troops have fought against this Russian colonel. , but what is the final result? Every time you attack, in addition to losing troops and constantly depleting our army's vital strength, you will never be able to occupy Mamayev Post."

Seeing that Paulus did not talk about the two lost railway stations, but inexplicably talked about a Russian colonel as far away as Mamayev, Kurzbach reminded him: "Your Excellency, we are discussing What did you say about the Russian partisans taking over the two stations, the Russian colonel?"

"General Kurzbach, don't you understand what I mean?" Paulus looked at Kurzbach who was full of doubts, and replied with a wry smile: "If there is no Russian colonel surnamed Sokov, There will never be such absurd things as regular troops cooperating with guerrillas. But now, I think General Schlemmer is right. We were fooled. The attack launched by the Russians in the north was just a feint. The real purpose is to cover the guerrillas hiding in the forest and occupy the train station where we hoard a lot of supplies."

Kurzbach retorted unconvinced: "But your Excellency, this colonel surnamed Sokov is far away on Mamayev Hill. I don't understand what connection he has with this guerrilla seizure of the station. ?”

As Paulus's chief of staff, Schmid is naturally a smart man. He heard what the other party wanted to express from Paulus's words, and quickly explained to Kurzbach: "Kurzbach General, haven't you understood what the commander meant? He said that among the commanders directing the guerrilla operation this time, there must be Colonel Sokov's subordinates. It is even possible that Sokov is still the one who planned the attack. Made it myself."

Kurzbach raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, and replied with some embarrassment: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, since the two stations have been lost, should we immediately send troops to take them back? You know, there are still some If a large number of winter coats are burned by the Russians, the officers and soldiers of our army may be reduced due to cold rather than fighting.”

Sokov, who was far away on the Mamayev Hill, never dreamed that Kurzbach's inadvertent words made Paulus make a right or wrong decision. Paulus looked at Kurzbach and said: "General Kurzbach, you are right. There are a lot of military materials needed by our army in the station. I wanted to send the air force to bomb and destroy the Russians occupying the station. However, doing so may destroy the supplies in the station. Therefore, I have decided to change the direction of march of your 389th and 295th Infantry Divisions and immediately go to recapture these two stations. "

"Understood, Your Excellency Commander." Knowing that his troops no longer need to attack the flanks of the regular Soviet army, but to deal with the guerrillas who have little combat effectiveness, Kurzbach's confidence immediately gained a bit, and he quickly got up and asked Paulus said: "I immediately contacted Major General Maglus, the commander of the 389th Infantry Division, and Dr. Kofes, the commander of the 295th Infantry Division, and asked them to immediately change the direction of the march and retake the station occupied by the guerrillas."

Major General Magluth's 389th Infantry Division had just finished boarding the vehicle when he received a call from Kurzbach. He had thought that the commander would ask him if he had the confidence to break through the Russian flank, and he had already organized the vocabulary in his mind. Unexpectedly, after the other party asked about his identity, he said bluntly: "General Magrus, the mission of your division has to be adjusted, and you will no longer attack the Russian flank."

"What, stop attacking the Russian flank?" Magrus was taken aback by Kurzbach's words. He thought that the other party would order him to lead his troops back to the factory area and continue to attack the defenders. Regardless of the defenders in the factory, they had already suffered heavy losses under the attack of his own troops, but his own troops suffered a lot of casualties. He was afraid that if he continued to fight, even if he barely occupied the entire factory, it would be a miserable victory. There is no one left. So he asked cautiously: "Then where do you want us to attack?"

"The Russians have occupied the 564th kilometer station and the Kotlu bus station," Kurzbach said on the phone: "The next task for your division is to take the train to the 564th kilometer station immediately, and take the shortest Come, take the station from the damn guerrillas."

"What, Your Excellency Commander, what did you say?" Magrus' jaw almost fell to the ground when he heard the task given by Kurzbach: "You said that the Russian guerrillas occupied the 564th kilometer station, but I didn't Did you hear me wrong?"

"You heard me right, General Magrus." Kurzbach said, "It's just a group of damn guerrillas. They took advantage of the tense situation in the north and the opportunity of the station defenders being emptied, and suddenly launched an attack on the station. That led to the loss of the station that was originally well-defended. How about it, do you have the confidence to take back the station from the Russians?"

Magrus was worried that it was the regular Soviet army that would occupy the station, and that a fierce battle would be inevitable. But when he heard clearly that it was only a group of guerrillas who occupied the station, he immediately despised the defenders who lost the station in his heart, and even thought: If I let my troops guard the station, even if only one company is deployed, no matter how many The Russians don't even think about attacking. He quickly said into the microphone: "Your Excellency, Commander, please rest assured that my troops will rush to the 564th kilometer station as soon as possible to regain the lost station. But I still have one thing to worry about."

"What are you worried about?" Kurzbach asked puzzled.

"I'm worried that after eliminating these damn guerrillas, the Russians will make a fuss about it again." Magrus said cautiously: "The guerrillas wear casual clothes, and the Russians may slander us, saying that we are massacre civilians."

"So that's what you're worried about." After Kurzbach figured out what his subordinates were worried about, he said lightly, "Don't worry, General Magrus, when the station is recaptured, we will send Reporter, make a detailed report on your recovery of the station. Even if the Russian propaganda department wants to discredit you, I am afraid they will have no chance.”

Hearing that Kurzbach had made a promise to himself, Magrus felt a lot more at ease. He assured the other party: "Your Excellency, Commander, we are only less than 30 kilometers away from the station at the 564th kilometer. It will only take half an hour by train to arrive at the destination. Then it will take another five minutes. can take the station back from the hands of the Russian partisans."

Kurzbach was very pleased to see his subordinates so confident. He nodded and said, "General Magrus, I'll give you two hours. After two hours, I hope to hear that you have successfully recaptured the station. Understand?"

"Understood, Your Excellency, Commander." Magrus said with full confidence, "If you can't take down the station, you can send me to a court-martial."