Red Moscow

"What's the terrain like there?" Sokov asked, "Can the tank be deployed?"

"No." Sidolin shook his head and replied, "There are ruins and bomb craters everywhere. Even if we use tanks in this area, I am afraid that the speed will not be able to increase, and they will become the enemy of German anti-tank fighters." target."

Knowing that the precious tanks would become the target of the German anti-tank fighters, Sokov immediately changed his mind: "Since this is the case, then you should inform General Makarenko that the mission of their division will be changed from attack to feint to reach the Containing the role of German troops."

"This is not very good." Sidolin reminded Sokov: "The several divisions involved in the attack knew very well that Paulus's headquarters was in the department store, and they all wanted to rush in and seize Paulus himself. At this time, if you ask the 321st Infantry Division to stop attacking, I am worried that everyone will have emotional problems."

"Among the three divisions that attacked the department store, the 321st Infantry Division did not have the cooperation of tanks." Sokov said with a wry smile: "If you want to break through the German defenses, it is obviously not enough to rely on pure infantry. If they continue to attack , I am afraid that the troops will pay a huge price."

"As long as Paulus can be caught, I think no matter how much you pay, it will be worth it."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov knew very well that shortly after the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, the Soviet army launched another attack on Manstein's troops. Beat all over the floor looking for teeth. Golikov, the commander of the Voronezh Front, was even dismissed because of this defeat. Therefore, he felt it necessary to remind Sidolin: "In addition to Paulus, who was besieged by us, there were also Manstein and Hoth. According to my estimates, after destroying Paulus's troops, we The targets for the next phase of the battle are Manstein and Holt. If our vital forces are consumed too much in the final battle, then in the new offensive campaign, we can only sit on the sidelines and watch the excitement."

After listening to Sokov's words, Sidolin was silent for a long time, and finally said: "Comrade commander, you are right. After destroying Paulus' troops, with the current strength of our division, it is entirely possible to It may be assigned to a certain group army command to participate in the attack on Manstein. If there are too few troops, it will be very disadvantageous."

After Sidolin finished speaking, he immediately picked up the phone, called Makarenko, and ordered his troops to change from a storm to a feint. Upon receiving such an order, Makarenko immediately panicked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, other units are attacking and approaching the department store step by step, but you let our division change into a feint attack. Tell me, what is going on? what's going on?"

"This is the commander's order." Sidolin didn't want to explain too much to him, so he said bluntly: "Execute."

Although Makarov's military rank is higher than that of Sokov, he really didn't dare to disobey the order issued by Sokov, so he could only bite the bullet and agree: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, I will notify you immediately Troops, change from attack to feint."

Sokov still felt in his heart that the first troops to rush into the department store should be his 41st Guards Division, so he connected to Ivanov's headquarters and asked with a smile: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, How is your progress?"

"It's not going well, Comrade Commander." Ivanov sighed and said, "The Germans hid their anti-tank guns in the ruins, with only one barrel exposed. We couldn't see them, but they could see us. As long as When our tanks came within range, they immediately opened fire. After destroying the tanks that opened the way in front, they switched to high-explosive shells and bombarded the infantry behind, which caused us a lot of damage."

Knowing that the German army hid the artillery in the ruins, Sokov couldn't help cursing a few foul words, and then asked: "Comrade deputy division commander, what measures have you taken?"

"No." Ivanov shook his head and replied, "Without the cover of tanks, our infantry cannot approach at all."

"Use artillery fire to bombard the ruins where the enemy's anti-tank guns are hidden, and then send a combat team equipped with rockets to quietly approach the enemy's defensive zone." Sokov thought that his combat troops were equipped with a lot of rocket launchers. The artillery or firepower hidden in the ruins is very effective, so I said to Ivanov: "Destroy the enemy's artillery or firepower with the bazooka. Understand?"

"Comrade Commander," Ivanov said hesitantly, "we will make bazooka fighters, and there are not many left now. If we lose them in battle, I'm worried..."

"There is nothing to worry about." Sokov didn't wait for Ivanov to finish, and interrupted him, "The use of the bazooka is very simple, and it can be used with simple training." He said casually After saying this, he immediately realized that Ivanov might be misled, and quickly added, "Of course, only the rocket launchers produced by our country can be used in this way. The bazooka rocket launchers provided by the US allies must not come close use, that would make our warriors the target of the enemy."

"Comrade commander, I don't understand. Aren't the rocket launchers produced in our country and the American bazooka used to deal with enemy tanks or firepower points?" Sidolin waited for Sokov to put down the phone and asked in puzzlement: "Why is it that only our bazooka can shoot close to the enemy's position, but the bazooka can't?"

"Our bazooka is relatively light, and a soldier can carry it around. The bazooka is very inconvenient. They are usually divided into several parts and reassembled when they are used."

Sidolin listened to Sokov's far-fetched explanation, and even called Colonel Sivakov to ask him to use the bazooka equipped with them appropriately to destroy the enemy's firepower points at close range.

The battle continued into the evening, and the vanguard of the 41st Guards Division was only more than 300 meters away from the department store. The German troops deployed on the roof used machine guns and artillery fire to suppress the attack of the Guards soldiers.

Seeing this situation, Ivanov called Sokov to complain: "Comrade commander, the artillery deployed by the enemy on the roof poses a huge threat to our offensive troops. As long as our troops enter the open area in front of the department store , would be shelled and machine-gunned. In just a few minutes, our casualties approached two hundred."

"Temporarily suspend the attack, Comrade Deputy Division Commander." Sokov said into the microphone: "Let the troops find a place to regroup. Wait until it is dark and the enemy's artillery and machine guns above the department store cannot see the target clearly, and then launch a new attack." It’s not too late for an attack.”

Not only was the progress of the 41st Guards Division not going well, but the progress of Sivakov's troops was also not going well. Although they were covered by tanks and artillery, they still didn't take advantage of the close combat with the enemy in the ruins.

When Sokov heard the news, he was not in a hurry, but decisively issued an order to stop the attack, and prepared to let the commanders and fighters rest overnight, and continue fighting until the next morning.

Sidolin was opposed to Sokov's decision. He said anxiously: "Comrade Commander, our troops have finally achieved some results in some areas. If they stop attacking at this time, then all of them All sacrifices made will be in vain."

"Continuing the fight will not work." Sokov said: "After a day of fighting, the commanders and fighters are all red-eyed. If they are not allowed to calm down, I am afraid that the commanders of the divisions will become irritable. If they are desperate Order the troops to attack, I am afraid our army will suffer huge casualties."

After dark, the division commanders came to Mamayev Gang to report to Sokov on the attack of the day.

"Masters and comrades," Sokov said when he saw that everyone was here, "You all performed very well in today's offensive and achieved great results."

Hearing what Sokov said, Sivakov muttered dissatisfiedly: "After fighting for a day, the troops advanced one or two hundred meters forward. Can this be considered a victory?"

"If you are fighting in the wild, it is indeed not worth mentioning to advance one or two hundred meters." Seeing that everyone looked a little frustrated, Sokov encouraged them and said, "But urban combat is another matter." In the past few months, although the German army has attacked us again and again, their daily attack distance can only be calculated in meters. And they have to pay a huge price for every meter they advance .”

When everyone heard Sokov say this, they couldn't help raising their heads, and cast their eyes on him in unison.

Seeing that everyone's attention was drawn to him, Sokov continued: "Although in today's offensive, we did not achieve the intended effect. However, after a day of fighting, the Germans were seriously exhausted. Ammunition. I believe that when the offensive resumes tomorrow, the resistance of the German army will be greatly weakened."

Sokov's words reminded everyone that Paulus's troops were surrounded by hundreds of thousands of troops, and their supplies were almost cut off. Without supplies, how many days can it be supported by relying on the original stock of the German army? Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help straightening their backs, and listened carefully to what Sokov was going to say next.

"In today's battle, Colonel Ivanov's 41st Guards Division was the furthest advanced." Sokov said: "But when they tried to get close to the department store, they were encountered by the artillery deployed in the building. The bombardment paid a great sacrifice. What we are going to discuss today is how to deal with the artillery deployed by the enemy in the building."

The artillery deployed by the German army in the building was known to several division commanders who participated in the battle. Now hearing Sokov raise this difficult problem, everyone can't help but fall into deep thought.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Sidolin became a little anxious, and hurriedly urged: "Comrades, I believe that in the next battle, you may face the artillery deployed by the German army in the building. If there is no effective way To deal with it, I am afraid that the casualties of our troops will not be small."

"We can use the artillery to shoot at the enemy's artillery." Makarenko said: "It is absolutely possible to destroy the artillery deployed by the German army in the building by virtue of the superiority of numbers."

"This method won't work." As soon as his words fell, Ivanov objected: "There are so many windows in the building, and the enemy's artillery can be moved at any time when it is attacked. I am afraid that the effect can be limited. "

"Then tell me, what should we do?" The day was not going well, and Makarenko's heart was already full of fire, but at this moment he heard Ivanov contradicting himself, and suddenly exploded: "Don't we just Can we wait until the German army consumes all the shells before continuing to attack the department store?"

The dispute between the two divided the commanders participating in the meeting into two factions. There were those who supported Makarenko and those who supported Ivanov. The two sides argued endlessly, and the whole headquarters was buzzing.

"Enough, stop arguing." Seeing his subordinates arguing as if no one was there, Sokov was so angry that he slapped the table several times, but his voice was covered by the quarrel. Seeing that the situation was not good, Sidolin quickly stood up, raised his hand and pressed down vigorously, motioning for everyone to be quiet.

"Commanders, what's the matter with you? Why are you arguing? Have you all forgotten your identities?" Sidolin said blankly, "Since our goal is to eliminate the Even if there is a difference in tactics, there is no need to make a big fuss, right? You can sit down and discuss it calmly."

The two groups of people who had just competed with each other, blushing, sat obediently in their seats and did not dare to say anything after hearing what Sidolin said.

Sokov stood up, glanced at everyone one by one, and said, "Commanders, we can't just fight with passion, we have to use our brains. Think about what to do to reduce the casualties of the troops." Otherwise, even if you barely take down the enemy's position, once the enemy counterattacks, you will not be able to hold it at all."

"Comrade Commander," Merkulov asked Sokov, "what can you do?"

"There is a way, but it depends on whether it can achieve the desired effect." Sokov said to everyone: "Before tomorrow's offensive starts, we can let the comrades of the Anti-Fasi Temple Alliance led by Comrade Ulbricht arrive Shout out to the enemy in front of the position. Shout out for at least half an hour, and attack again if it doesn’t work.”

For the plan proposed by Sokov, everyone has no meaning. Although every time he shouts at the enemy's position, the effect is not great, but it is better than nothing. Anyway, before the attack tomorrow, there is still a lot of work to be done, so it is better to take advantage of the time when the alliance members shout, and make more detailed preparations before the attack.

Everyone quickly reached a consensus that before tomorrow's offensive started, political workers would shout at the enemy's positions in an attempt to break down their defenses.

Just when Sokov felt that the purpose of the meeting had been achieved and was about to announce the adjournment of the meeting, the communication company commander Maxim suddenly came over in a hurry, took out a telegram, and said to Sidolin: "Report to the Chief of Staff, just received A call from headquarters."

Sidolin took the telegram, only glanced at it, and couldn't help but turn pale with shock. Seeing his expression, Sokov quickly asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, what happened?"

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin looked up at Sokov and said, "The Front Command intercepted the German telegram. Half an hour ago, Hitler promoted Paulus to Field Marshal of the German Army."

"What, the promotion of Paulus to field marshal?" This news shocked everyone.

After a while, Makarenko frowned and said: "The Germans have never had a marshal captured. Hitler sent a telegram to Paulus at this time, which means that he will fight to the death. In the next battle, it may not be possible." It's easy to fight." Makarenko's words immediately resonated with everyone, and they had a negative impact on the ensuing battle.