After the artillery lieutenant left, Sokov turned to Sidolin and said, "Chief of Staff, informed the battalion commanders, saying that the superiors sent us artillery observers to establish observation points on hills and water towers, and instructed the shooting targets for artillery on the east coast. Let them send people to protect the safety of these artillery observers. If anything unexpected happens, I will only ask."
Sokov issued this order for many reasons. First of all, the terrain of Mamayev hill faces the west side of the German attack direction, which is easy to attack and difficult to defend; while the east side of the other side of the hill is steep, easy to defend and difficult to attack. Once the German army seizes the high ground, the troops will inevitably pay a heavy price to regain their positions.
Secondly, although the infantry brigade has prepared for the future, many tunnel fortifications have been built on the high ground, if there is no support from artillery or air force, if we have to defend Mamayev's hill, we can only rely on human life to fill it in.
Under the current circumstances, the Air Force can no longer rely on the army artillery deployed on the East Coast. Therefore, ensuring the personal safety of these artillery observers is an urgent task.
Sidolin obviously understood this truth. As soon as Sokov finished speaking, he immediately called the battalion commanders of each battalion, informed them of the group army artillery observers entering the position, and ordered them to send their powerful subordinates to protect the safety of these personnel.
After putting down the phone, Sidolin suddenly remembered something and asked Sokov tentatively: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I have an idea, can I put the sniper team of the guard company on the position and assist the troops in defense? With their marksmanship, I believe that more enemies can be eliminated."
"No, no, it's definitely not." Sokov immediately rejected the veto when he heard Sidolin put all the snipers on the position and assist the troops in positional warfare: "How can we treat snipers as ordinary soldiers? If we put them on the position and assist the troops in defense, as long as the enemy's bombardment is a blow, it may lead to them being lost. We cannot do such a loss-making business."
"So, they are only suitable for street fighting in the city." Although his suggestion was rejected by Sokov, Cidolin was not discouraged at all. Instead, he asked the other party for instructions: "When I arrange combat missions in the future, I will arrange them in the city occupied by the enemy or about to be occupied?"
"Yes, snipers can play a limited role in positions, so arrange them all in the city." Sokov reminded Cidolin: "At present, we only have one sniper team, and the number of people is too small. You have to find a way to draw more sharpshooters from the brigade and form a new sniper team."
"Transfer sharpshooters from each battalion to form a new sniper team?" Sidolin originally wanted to put the sniper on the position and participate in position warfare. Unexpectedly, not only did this plan fail, but he also had to draw more personnel to set up a new sniper team: "Comrade Brigade Commander, if we draw sharpshooters to form a new sniper team, will it have an impact on the combat effectiveness of the troops?"
Sokov came from later generations and naturally knew what was going on in the sniper battle in Stalingrad in the following days. Therefore, he did not explain to Cydolin, but said bluntly: "The Chief of Staff, drawing some sharpshooters to form a new sniper team will not only not have a negative impact on the combat effectiveness of our troops, but on the contrary, it will also achieve greater results."
"If the battalions have any opinions on the arrangements of the brigade," Cidolin asked cautiously, "What should we do?"
"What else can we do, my chief of staff?" Sokov asked unhappily: "Is it the brigade command battalion or the battalion command brigade? They have been in the army for a long time. Do they do not understand the commands of their superiors and must obey?"
Hearing Sokov's orders in this unbargaining tone, Cidolin quickly replied: "I understand, comrade brigade commander, when tomorrow dawn, I will ask each battalion to select a group of sharpshooters and report to the brigade headquarters."
…………
Although the German attack on Mamayevgang ended in failure, those who were unwilling to fail carried out fierce shelling on Shangang early the next morning.
Sokov was surprised by the rumbling cannons from outside. He hurriedly left the rest room and went straight to the command center. He asked at Cidolin, who was busy inside, "Where are the artillery observers?"
He had asked casually, but Cidolin immediately replied: "They were all observing in the observation center at the top of the hill."
"Nonsense, it's simply nonsense." Sokov said angrily as soon as Cidolin finished speaking: "The enemy is shelling our positions. At this time, let the artillery observers stay on the top of the hills. Wouldn't they be killed? The Chief of Staff, call them immediately and ask them to retreat."
Sidolin picked up the phone and connected to the observation center at the top of the hill. After saying a few words to the microphone, he put down the microphone and said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the artillery comrade said that the top of the hill where they were located was above the edge, and it was difficult for the enemy's long-range artillery fire to hit them. When the shells were approaching, they landed on the slope west of the hill; when they were farther away, they flew directly over their heads..."
Since artillery observers said they would not be in danger, Sokov did not continue to get involved in this matter, but instead shifted the topic to his own troops: "The first battalion's position is located in front of Nangang, and every time the German army launches artillery, they are the first to bear the brunt. I wonder if Vanya is ready to prevent artillery."
"In yesterday's artillery bombardment, half of their anti-aircraft holes were shattered, and there were many casualties." Cidolin sighed and said, "It was said that they were repairing fortifications overnight. I believe that the commanders and soldiers of the first battalion hid in the anti-aircraft hole again at this moment."
Sokov asked in confusion: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't understand why the anti-aircraft hole built by the first battalion was shattered. Is it geological reasons?"
"I once asked Major Ozor," answered Cidolin, "The anti-aircraft hole we built is too big and has not been reinforced, so it is easy to collapse when the enemy's shelling is hit. The only way is to build a small and narrow anti-aircraft hole, which does not require any material. Our soldiers can dig it in an hour with engineer shovels, and it is greatly improved compared to the previous anti-aircraft holes."
Sidolin's words aroused Sokov's curiosity: "I wonder what this kind of anti-cannon hole looks like?"
Sidolin quickly picked up a piece of paper and sketched it on it: "...This small anti-cannon hole is an arched semicircular door, about one meter high, dozens of centimeters wide, and has a length of varying depth. The small one can only accommodate one person, and the large one can only wait for three or five people. Its functions are mainly used to prevent artillery, hide, store ammunition, etc., providing us with space for survival for the soldiers who are holding our positions."
After hearing Cidolin's introduction, a familiar picture suddenly appeared in his mind. Isn't the anti-cannon hole built by a battalion of soldiers on the position the famous cat ear pierced in later generations?
After the shelling, Sokov immediately called the first battalion commander Vanya and asked directly: "Comrade Captain, how are you doing there? Are you suffering a lot of casualties?"
"We are counting the casualties of the troops." Wanya replied: "But since we built a new anti-aircraft bunker last night, I guess the casualties will not be too large. Comrade Brigade Commander, I have a request."
"Request, what request?" Sokov said to the microphone: "Comrade Captain, just say what request you have."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, you also know that our battalion's position is at the forefront of the entire brigade. Every time the enemy wants to attack, we will launch violent shelling on our battalion's position, causing us a lot of casualties." After obtaining Sokov's permission, Wanya said cautiously: "I want to ask whether the main force of the battalion can be withdrawn into the tunnel of Nangang, and the front-line position only has one company of troops for defense."
Sokov frowned and began to think about Vanya's proposal. The reason why he had to add a line of defense in front of Nangang was to prevent the enemy from rushing to the foot of Mamayev's hill, so he deployed the first battalion there. But judging from the current situation, the decision he made at the beginning was wrong. The terrain there was easy to attack and difficult to defend. Putting so many troops there was equivalent to letting them die.
After some thought, he said to the microphone: "Comrade Captain, you leave a platoon on the position, and the remaining troops will retreat into the tunnel."
"A platoon?" Wanya was stunned when he heard Sokov say this. He was worried that Sokov had said something wrong, so he quickly reminded him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, what you want to say is to leave a company to hold its position, right?"
"It's not a company, it's a platoon." Sokov felt that he should not waste his precious troops in such a difficult area to defend, so he decisively ordered Wanya, "retreat the main force of the first battalion into the tunnel, assist the second battalion and the third battalion to strengthen the defense of Nangang. As for your original fortifications, you can completely give up when necessary."
After confirming that Sokov's order was correct, Vanya quickly replied: "I understand, comrade brigade commander, I will immediately withdraw the main force of the battalion into the tunnel. Only one platoon of troops will be left to hold on to the existing position."
As soon as Sokov put down the phone, Cidolin asked in surprise: "Comrade Brigade Commander, why is this? Why should we give up the frontier position on the frontier front of Nangang?"
Chapter completed!