Sokov knew very well that his actions would offend Vitkov. If the other party became his immediate boss in the future and putting his shoes on him would definitely be inevitable. But after carefully weighing the pros and cons, he felt that letting Vitkov remain in the position of brigade commander, then his own army that started from scratch might be ruined by the other party. For his own interests, letting Vitkov leave is the best choice.
After hearing the order that Cuikov had made him re-appointed as brigade commander, he felt relieved, and then asked in a tentative tone: "Comrade Commander, do you have anything to tell Colonel Witkov?"
"Give the microphone to Vetkov," Trekov ordered on the phone: "I have something to say to him."
Weitkov, who had a gray face, took the microphone from Sokov, put it in his ear, and said with a frustration: "Comrade Commander, what should I do? Should I go back to the Army Command?"
I don't know what Cuikov said on the phone, and a surprised expression suddenly appeared on Vetkov's face. He quickly turned his head to look at Sokov who was sitting next to him, and asked in surprise: "Comrade Commander, are you really going to let me stay in Mamayev's hill?...Okay, since you say that, I will firmly obey your orders."
When Vitkov put down the phone, the expression on his face had returned to normal. He faced Sokov and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, according to Commander Trekov's order, I will continue to stay in Mamayev hill until the end of the Stalingrad defense war."
When Sokov heard what Vitkov said, his heart suddenly sank. He secretly said that Cuikov had asked me to be the brigade commander again, but he left a commander with a higher rank than me here. What does it mean? If there are two commanders in a unit, the problem will be complicated. If there are disagreements, who should I listen to?
However, Vitkov's next words made Sokov completely relieved: "... From now on, I will serve as deputy brigade commander and help you command the troops to maintain Mamayev's post..."
When Sokov learned that Trekov asked Vitkov to stay as his deputy, Sokov was stunned and instinctively turned his head to look at Sidorin and Belkin next to him. Seeing that there were also a look of surprise on their faces. Sokov turned his eyes back to Vitkov and asked curiously: "Col. Vitkov, I want to ask, why did the commander make such a decision?"
"I don't know either." Witkov shrugged, spread his hands, and said, "Anyway, from now on, I will be your deputy brigade commander, and everything in the brigade is up to you."
Although it is not clear why Trekov let Vetkov be his deputy, Sokov did not have time to consider these issues. Instead, he looked up at Sidolin and asked: "Chief of Staff, Major Yakov has been away for more than a week. Has the new rocket he promised to be sent to us?"
"No."
"So how many are left in that batch?"
Regarding Sokov's question, Cidorin thought for a moment and replied: "There are seven left, including five in Mamayevgang and two in Sergeant Vasily."
"Have we found the enemy's camp or command centers when we sent out from Mamayevgang?"
Sidolin had long known Sokov's jumping thinking. After he knew that he had asked about ammunition, he would ask if there was an enemy command nearby so that he could send troops to attack. He quickly pushed the map on the table at him, pointed to the vicinity of Mamayevgang and said: "Comrade Brigade Commander, according to the report of the scout, there is a German regiment command post west of Mamayevgang, which is about thirty kilometers away from us..."
Before Sidolin finished speaking, Sokov interrupted his words: "Call Captain Goria, the commander of the 912th Battalion, and ask him to come to me immediately to accept the combat mission."
"Combat Mission?" Sidolin couldn't help but ask curiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, what combat mission are you going to assign to them?"
"Didn't you say there is a German command post here?" Sokov pointed at the position Cidolin had just pointed at, and said, "I called Captain Goria over, so of course I asked him to take people to take down the enemy's regiment command post."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov," said Vitkov, who could not help but interrupt when he heard this, "I think your plan is a bit too risky. The enemy's regiment-level command posts are usually very cautious and are in the depth of their defense. We send fewer people to capture the German command; if there are too many people, they will be noticed when they pass through the enemy's defense."
"That's right, comrade comrade brigade commander, Colonel Witkov is right. We cannot risk attacking the German command." As soon as Vitkov finished speaking, Cidolin expressed his support for his opinion: "Even if we send enough troops, once we cannot resolve the battle in a short time, the enemy who rushed to hear the news may surround us and attack the troops. Therefore, I suggest you think carefully."
"Col. Witkov, Chief of Staff," Sokov and the others asked, after finishing their speech, "When did I say I was going to seize the enemy's regiment command post?"
"But, but..." Sidolin replied in a panic when he heard Sokov's question, "Didn't you just say that you plan to use Captain Goria's troops to take down the enemy's regiment command post?"
"Yes, I said this, but I didn't say I wanted to carry out a strong attack?" Sokov said this, seeing that Sidolin and Vitkovl and others looked confused, and introduced them to the two: "Don't forget the new rocket we have now. Captain Goria only needs to lead his troops to sneak into two or three kilometers away from the German command post, establish a launch position, and use rockets to attack the enemy's command post. In this way, even if the enemy is bombed, he will not know what is going on, and Goria's troops can take the opportunity to withdraw our defense line."
When Sidolin heard Sokov's words, his eyes lit up. He said excitedly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you are right. Don't look at the size of the new rocket, which is shorter than Katyusha's rocket, but its power is not much reduced. As long as the enemy's command post is hit by two shots, you probably won't be able to find any survivors."
Sidolin became confident about Sokov's proposal and quickly picked up the phone to contact Goria and asked him to come and report it immediately. However, Vitkov did not know enough about the new rocket. He frowned and asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, can he accurately hit the target when launching two or three kilometers away from the target?"
"Yes." Sokov nodded and replied in a positive tone: "The accuracy of this new rocket is far greater than the kind used by Katyusha. I believe that if it is launched two or three kilometers away, it should be no problem to hit the target."
Seeing that Sokov answered so affirmatively, Vitkov did not bother with this question anymore, but asked another question he was worried about: "From here to the enemy's regiment command, our commanders and soldiers will rush over, it will take at least one day, and it will not be exposed, right?"
Sokov was about to answer when he saw Sidolin put down the phone and asked him quickly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, can the German armored vehicles we seized still be used?"
"No problem, as long as you add fuel, you can set off at any time." After answering this question, Cidolin couldn't help but ask curiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, are you planning to let Goria and the others disguise themselves as Germans and ride in armored vehicles across the German defense line?"
"That's right, that's what I think." Sokov saw that Sidolin guessed his intention, and said with a smile: "After a thirty-kilometer journey, the armored vehicles can run for up to two hours. Then, with the time to establish a launch position, it takes up to five hours to go back and forth. Captain Goria and his team should be able to rush back to the tunnel in Beigang for breakfast."
After receiving the call, Goria hurried to the brigade command. As soon as he entered the door, he saluted Vetkov, who was standing by the table, and reported according to the regulations: "Comrade Brigade Commander, Captain Goria, the commander of the 192nd Battalion, was ordered to come, please give me instructions!"
After Vitkov raised his hand and returned the salute to him, he rushed to Sokov, who was sitting next to him, and said, "Comrade Captain, the one who called you here is your old brigade commander Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you should report to him."
After Vitkov reminded him, Goriya saw Sokov sitting beside him, and his face couldn't help but show a surprise expression: "Comrade Brigade Commander, have your injuries healed?"
"Thank you for your concern, you're almost cured." Sokov nodded at Goria and said, "Come to the table, I'll assign combat missions to you." Goria didn't dare to neglect when he heard Sokov say this, so he hurried to the table and leaned over to look at the map spread on the table.
"Comrade Captain," Sokov pointed his finger at the German command post and said to Goria: "This is a regiment-level command post of the German army. The purpose of my call to you here is to order you to take people to destroy it."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," said Goriya with some embarrassment after hearing Sokov's order: "After this period of battle, my battalion has only more than 100 people left, many of which are wounded. I am worried that it will be difficult to seize the enemy's regiment command post with this little force."
"Captain, have you not heard my orders clearly?" Sokov looked at Goria and said with a serious expression: "I am ordering you to destroy it, not to seize it."
"I don't understand, comrade brigade commander." After Sokov finished speaking, Goriya said with a bitter face: "If you don't seize the enemy's command post first, how can you destroy it?"
Sokov sneered twice, then said, "Comrade Captain, we don't just rely on courage to fight. We must know how to use our brains more. To destroy the enemy's command does not mean that we must occupy it. You should know that the new rockets of our newly equipped troops can not only attack enemy targets a few kilometers away, but also transfer their launch positions at any time..."
When he heard Sokov mention the new rocket, Goria immediately realized Sokov's intention and rushed to say, "Comrade Brigade Commander, I understand, are you planning to let us use this rocket to destroy the enemy's command post at a distance?"
Sokov gave Goria a thumbs up and praised him, "That's right, Comrade Captain, that's what I mean."
"But the brigade commander, is the location of the enemy regiment command post too far away from us?" Goria said after gesturing on the map with her finger: "It's about twenty or thirty kilometers away. If you walk, it will take at least one day to go back and forth."
"Comrade Captain, do you remember the last time we went to Orlovka to pick up the armored vehicles we were riding in with friendly troops?" Sokov reminded the other party: "The personnel who went to perform the mission took the armored vehicles to cross the enemy's defense line and destroyed the enemy's regiment command post and returned immediately. I have roughly calculated the time. The time for launching rockets will only take five hours at most. You can still hurry back to the position and have breakfast. Is there any problem?"
Goria hesitated for a moment, then asked: "Comrade Brigade Commander, to complete this sneak attack mission, how many new rockets do you plan to give us?"
Sokov stretched out four fingers and said, "I can only give you four rockets."
"What, only four?" Goriya thought that even if Sokov was stingy, he would have to give him at least a dozen rockets. Unexpectedly, he only gave him four. He muttered: "Comrade Brigade Commander, are there too few?"
"There are quite a few, Comrade Captain." Cidolin quickly explained to him: "Now there are only five new rockets left in Mamayevgang. Comrade Commander has almost given you all our inventory."
After hearing what Cidolin said, Goria was not good to say anything else, but after a silence, he asked, "Comrade Brigade Commander, when should we set off?"
"You set out at 11 o'clock in the evening. At that time, the German army's vigilance should be relatively poor, which will help you pass through the enemy's defense smoothly. There are also not too many people in this operation, at most ten people. If you want to go back and draw personnel, I will arrange for people to prepare both armored vehicles and rockets for you." Goria agreed, raised his hand and saluted Sokov, turned around and walked out of the command center.
As soon as Goriya left, Sokov ordered Cydolin: "Chief of Staff, prepare the armored vehicles and rockets needed by Captain Goriya immediately." After saying that, he felt that something was missing and added, "By the way, prepare a few more sets of German uniforms so that they can smoothly pass through the German defense line."
Chapter completed!