Red Moscow

At six o'clock in the morning on the 21st, the two tank battalions assigned to the 41st Guards Division began to cross the river through the bridge on the ice.

Hearing the news that the tank battalion had begun to cross the river, Sokov hurriedly called Bely, who had already rushed to the 122nd regiment headquarters, and said a little excitedly: "Colonel Bely, I have good news for you. The tank battalion is crossing the river at the moment. I believe they will be able to reach Mamayev Post in a short time."

"Great, this is really great." Bely, who had just received more than 20 tanks in Workers' New Village, was worried about how few tanks he had. He heard that a new tank battalion was crossing the river. He said yes repeatedly, and added: "I will rush to the river immediately to receive the two tank battalions."

After putting down the phone, Sokov said to Golikov: "Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army, I plan to launch a counterattack against the frontal enemy at nine o'clock. But there is one more thing, I need your help."

The purpose of Golikov's visit to Mamayev Post was to supervise the counterattack of Sokov's troops. At this moment, when Sukov personally stated the time for counterattack, he said generously: "If you have any request, feel free to ask. As long as it is within my ability, I will help you solve it."

"The German army has built solid fortifications in front of our army. If there is no artillery support, tanks and infantry alone will pay a high price."

"You want artillery support, don't you?"

"Yes." Sokov nodded, gave Golikov an affirmative answer, and then said: "I hope that I can command the artillery of the group army deployed on the east bank and use powerful artillery fire to destroy the enemy. defense."

Hearing that Sokov intends to request the command of the artillery of the group army, Golikov felt very embarrassed: "Colonel Sokov, your request is very reasonable, but if you want to get the command of the artillery of the group army, I just say Forget it, General Cuikov needs to nod."

"Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army," Sokov said with a smile, "I can directly raise this matter with Commander Chuikov, but I am worried that he will reject me. I would like to ask for your help, that is, after he rejects me, you Give me a couple of good words."

"No problem." Seeing such a simple question, Golikov nodded and said, "Colonel Sokov, if Chuikov really refuses your request, I will definitely speak well for you."

After dialing the number of the Army Group Command, Sokov reported his home, and then said: "Please ask the commander to answer the phone, I have something important to find him."

Soon, Chuikov's voice came from the receiver: "I am Chuikov. Colonel Sokov, what do you want from me?"

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Sokov reported, "The tank battalion assigned to our division by the superior has already started to cross the river. I have set the counterattack time at 9:00 am."

"Counterattack against the enemy at nine o'clock in the morning?" Cuikov raised his hand and looked at his watch, and then said, "There are less than three hours left. Are you ready for battle?"

"We are still preparing." Sokov replied, "I called you because there is something important and I need your help."

"Say what you have to say," Chuikov said impatiently, "don't keep going around in circles."

"If we want to launch a counterattack against the enemy, it is obviously not enough to rely on the existing troops and technical equipment." Sokov didn't know how Chuikov would react after he made the request, so he said cautiously: "Therefore, I hope to Supported by artillery. If it is possible, can I personally command the artillery unit of the army?"

"Absurd, it's simply ridiculous." As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Chuikov burst into a fit: "Colonel Sokov, do you know what you are talking about? A small division commander wants to command the artillery of the entire army to fight , then do you still want to be the commander of the group army, I will give you my position!"

Hearing that Chuikov got angry, Sokov quickly moved the microphone away from his ear. After Chuikov's seizure was over, he continued cautiously: "Mamayev Hill, where our division is defending, is the commanding height of the whole city. Artillery observers can guide the artillery on the east bank to prepare for the artillery target. I know that the group army is now The Artillery Corps has a limited reserve of shells, so it is presumptuous to make such a request in order to achieve more results with the same shells."

Chuikov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he was silent for a long time, and finally asked: "Colonel Sokov, you are right in saying that the artillery shells of the Army Group Army are indeed not many, and I am afraid that they cannot provide you with enough ammunition. Too long artillery support. If you want to counterattack the enemy, I am afraid you can only rely on your own strength."

"Comrade Commander, we only need one hour, no, fifty minutes of artillery support from the artillery, and we will have enough confidence to break through the enemy's defensive positions."

"Okay." Chuikov thought for a long time, and finally made a difficult decision: "I will ask Major General Khogarsky, the artillery commander of the group army, to contact you. How to implement cooperation, I will let you discuss and deal with it."

Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Golikov asked with a smile: "Colonel Sokov, it seems that Chuikov agrees with your proposal and is going to hand over the artillery to your command. I want to ask, how do you plan to use them?" Woolen cloth?"

"Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army," Sokov heard Golikov's question and immediately introduced to him, pointing to the map: "According to my plan, the shelling should last for fifty minutes. The shelling for the first twenty minutes , should concentrate artillery fire to bombard the first line of the German army, and our counterattack troops left the tunnel during this time and began to gather. When the artillery fire extended to bombard the enemy's second line of defense, the troops began to attack."

After waiting for Sokov to finish speaking, Golikov asked with some surprise: "Why, are you planning to let the troops attack before the artillery preparations are over? Don't you worry that our artillery shells will blow up your own people?"

"I won't accidentally hurt my own people." Sokov shook his head and said, "When the troops were attacking, the artillery fire on the east bank had already extended to the enemy's second line of defense. Between the first and second lines of defense, there was almost a At a distance of a thousand meters, no matter how far the shrapnel flies, it will not accidentally injure the attacking troops."

While Sokov was explaining his thoughts to Golikov, the phone on the desk rang. Picking it up, it turned out that it was Khogalsky, the artillery commander of the Army Group. He said bluntly on the phone: "Colonel Sokov, I am Major General Khogalsky. I am under the command of the commander, and You negotiate the use of artillery in counterattacks."