The reason why Sokov forced his convoy to stay was the first consideration of mobility. He knew very well that even if his troops arrived in Orlovka, facing the German siege, they would soon be in a situation where they were out of ammunition and food. With trucks, more troops could be withdrawn in the shortest time.
Secondly, when the troops break through the German defense line, there will definitely be a large number of wounded soldiers. If they carry these wounded people together, they will inevitably slow down. Therefore, these trucks are also responsible for sending the wounded people back.
This time, he was going to send the female scout Lisa to the Army Command, so Sokov ordered people to carry all the wounded people sent from the front into the truck and sent all to the field hospital of the Army Command.
Shortly after sending Lisa and the wounded away, Bere passed the radio station and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, our attack on the third line of defense has failed again."
"What, failed again?" According to Sokov's idea, before dark, he would definitely be able to capture the third line of defense of the German army. Even the two attacks launched by the infantry battalion and the tank battalion from both sides of the defense line ended in failure. He asked at the sender dissatisfiedly: "Comrade Colonel, how could this happen?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Belei reported with a bitter face: "The Germans deployed a lot of anti-tank hands, causing us to lose five or six tanks in a row. Without the cooperation of infantry, the tank would not be able to break through the enemy's defense line."
Bere's report cast a shadow on Sokov's heart. He said impatiently: "Comrade Colonel, I will contact Captain Vanya immediately and ask him to send someone to help you."
After Sokov finished his call with Bere, he contacted Wanya on the phone. He asked straight to the point: "Comrade Captain, please send someone immediately to support Berere and help them break through the German defense."
Unexpectedly, after hearing Sokov's words, Vanya burst into agony: "Comrade Brigade Commander, the situation here is not very good. The enemy is counterattacking us and it is impossible to draw personnel to support the tank battalion."
"Comrade Captain, it's already dark now, and it's hard for tank soldiers to find hidden anti-tank soldiers. If there is no support inside, their attack will not be successful." Sokov was very upset when he saw that Wanya was pushing and resisting, and his tone became particularly harsh: "If this delays us from going to Orlovka, can you afford the consequences?"
Faced with Sokov's severe criticism, Vanya did not dare to refute it anymore, so he could only grit his teeth and said, "Okay, comrade comrade commander, since you said that, I immediately find a way to draw personnel to support Colonel Bere..."
"Ltd Colonel," Before Wanya finished speaking, a voice suddenly sounded beside Sokov: "It is better to leave it to our battalion to complete the task of supporting Colonel Bere."
For the guard battalion sent by Cuikov, Sokov originally planned to use it when attacking the fourth line of defense of the German army. However, judging from the current situation, whether it is the first battalion of Wanya or the tank battalion of Bereth, they are at the end of their strength. Without the support of the new force, even if they win the third line of defense, it will be a miserable victory that is not worth the loss.
Thinking of this, Sokov stepped forward and held Tnev's hand and said earnestly: "Major Tenev, I originally planned to attack the fourth line of defense and let your battalion go. But judging from the current situation, if we cannot quickly occupy the third line of defense of the German army, it will be difficult to complete the mission to Orlovka before tomorrow. Therefore, I will ask you to reinforce Colonel Bere."
"Ltd Colonel Comrade." Seeing Sokov explaining this matter to himself solemnly, Tenev's expression also became solemn: "Don't worry, I will immediately send a battalion to support the tank troops and strive to take down the enemy's third line of defense in the shortest time."
As the first company of the guard battalion entered the battle, Colonel Bere's tank battalion finally broke through the German defense line and successfully met with the first battalion of Vanya on the enemy's position.
After the battle, Sokov immediately rushed to the third line of defense to understand the casualties of the troops. People from later generations, when they mentioned the cruelty of the Battle of Stalingrad, would mention a saying among the city guards: "We occupied the kitchen, but the living room is still in the hands of the enemy!"
Later generations thought that this situation ran through the entire defense war. But as a participant, Sokov realized that this situation should have occurred after October. The two immature counterattacks launched by the Soviet army in early September and early October consumed part of the German army's strength and delayed their time to rush into the city, but also exhausted their precious forces.
Sokov knew very well that if the troops were injured or killed too much during the mission to Orlovka before the execution, he would not have enough troops to fight against the German attack in the following days. Therefore, using tactics reasonably in combat and preserving more living forces is the current top priority.
After meeting Bere and Wanya, Sokov didn't say much nonsense, but asked straight to the point: "Tell me what you are doing now."
"There are fifteen tanks left in the battalion, including the ball tank." Bere reported to Sokov with a frustration: "And there is also some insufficient ammunition, and I don't know if the factory can add some of us."
When Sokov learned that there were only fifteen tanks left, he couldn't help but feel a little shocked. He didn't expect the tank's losses to be so serious. Regarding the lack of ammunition, he thought for a moment, and then proposed a plan to Bere: "Comrade Colonel, please let the tank soldiers transfer all the ammunition that destroyed the tanks to those intact tanks as soon as possible."
"Most of the destroyed tanks are burning, and the ammunition inside has been reimbursed long ago." After hearing Sokov's words, Bere said in embarrassment: "The ammunition inside the tanks that have been preserved are also very limited, and I'm afraid they cannot meet our needs."
"Since that's the case, I will contact Director Peter immediately and ask him to send someone to send us a batch of ammunition." Sokov said this and reached out to pat his hand on Bere's shoulder and gently patted: "Comrade Colonel, let the tank soldiers hurry up and rest, and the battle during the day will be even more cruel tomorrow."
Sokov turned his face to Wanya and asked, "Comrade Captain, how many troops are left in your first battalion now?"
"There are three hundred people left in the camp." Vanya, whose face was darkened by the smoke of gunpowder, immediately replied: "But we can continue to fight."
"Comrade Captain, you don't need to participate in the next battle." Since the officers and soldiers of the first battalion had more than half of their casualties, Sokov did not want them to continue to participate in the attack, so as not to put all his old foundation into it: "The task of attacking the fourth line of defense will be handed over to Major Tenev's guard battalion."
When Tnev heard Sokov mention his name and stood beside him as a human background, he quickly stepped forward and said firmly: "Comrade Captain, you can rest with peace of mind. The remaining battle will be taken by our guard battalion. We will definitely seize the enemy's position before dawn."
Before Sokov could make his statement, Bere interrupted and reminded: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I want to remind you. The enemy on the fourth line of defense has strong fortifications. If you want to carry out a strong attack, you may suffer small casualties."
In fact, even if Bi Lei did not remind him, Sokov did not intend to launch a strong attack. During the daytime battle, he was worried that the German air force and artillery would participate in the battle at any time, so he could only adopt the tactic of quick fighting. As for the night battle, it was another way of fighting. He nodded, expressed his gratitude to Bi Lei, and said to Tenev: "Comrade Major, you quietly touch the enemy's position and lurked in front of the enemy's position. We will launch an attack before dawn."
Everyone expressed their understanding of Sokov's arrangement. Attacking before dawn, one is that the enemy is least vigilant, and the other is that it is easy to distinguish the enemy and us so as not to be injured by accident. However, Tenev also asked specifically: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I want to ask, will the artillery fire be prepared before the attack?"
"No, Major." Sokov replied without hesitation: "No artillery preparation."
When he heard that there was no artillery fire preparation, Tnev's face became a little ugly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if there was no artillery fire preparation, he would attack the enemy's defense line with a strong defensive position. I was worried that the troops would suffer little."
"Although there is no artillery preparation, Captain Vanya and others will use rockets to attack the enemy's fortifications and eliminate the exposed firepower points." Sokov comforted Tenev and said: "After the attack is over, you will immediately rush into their positions while the enemy is in chaos, and strive to break through the fourth line of defense of the German army in the shortest time."
In order to make Tnev pay attention to what he said, Sokov also emphasized: "Comrade Major, I think it is necessary to remind you one thing. The reason why we can break through the three lines of defense of the German army in succession is not that the German army is vulnerable, but that our combat effectiveness is. It is because our counterattack in the north of the city has effectively restrained the German army's large number of troops, making their original lines of defense weak."
Tenev was also a smart man. He didn't understand the purpose of Sokov's words to him. He quickly replied: "We will not disappoint you. We will definitely seize the enemy's position in the shortest time."
Tenev's statement made Sokov feel very satisfied. He was afraid that the other party would disobey his plan and would have an adverse impact on his plan. He raised his hand and looked at the watch and said to Tenev: "Comrade Major, according to the report of the scout, there is a grassland in front of the fourth direction of the German army, where you and your troops can lurk. At one o'clock in the morning, you will bring people quietly into the place to lurk, waiting for the signal of attack."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, what did you say?" Bere thought that his troops had no combat mission, so the tasks Sokov arranged next had nothing to do with him. But when he heard that Sokov planned to let the troops lurk in the grass in front of the German positions, he couldn't help but be surprised and bold: "Let the hundreds of soldiers from the guard battalion lurk in front of the enemy's positions?"
"Yes, comrade Colonel." Sokov nodded at Beliet and asked back, "Is there anything I can't do?"
"Of course it's wrong." Be Lei's breathing suddenly became rapid: "Comrade Brigade Commander, have you ever thought that although the area of ​​the grass is not small, it requires hundreds of people to lurk where it is, and he doesn't want the Germans to discover it. How difficult it is to do it."
Tnev was not very satisfied with Sokov's arrangement, but considering that he was a subordinate of Sokov and his obedience habits developed through his years of military life prevented him from objecting to Sokov's orders. But when he saw Colonel Bere, who had a higher rank than Sokov, pointed out that this lurking mission was a wrong decision, he also pretended to be brave and said carefully: "Yes, comrade Lieutenant Colonel, are hundreds of people lurking in front of the German positions? You know, we have never taken similar actions before."
"Col. Bere, Major Tenev." Sokov squatted in front of the map, gestured with his hands at the enemy's fortifications and where he was in front of him, and then said: "It's more than two kilometers from us to the enemy's position. Do you think our soldiers attacked the German positions with strong fortifications without artillery fire. How many people can rush to the enemy alive?"
Sokov's words silenced Bere, who opposed the lurking plan. Although he was a tank soldier commander, the troops were very clear about what the price would they pay for when the enemy's guns and bullets hit a distance of two kilometers. He couldn't help but start thinking about Sokov's lurking plan to see if it could minimize casualties on the offensive road.
Seeing that Bereh was not speaking, Sokov knew that what he said had worked. He continued: "If we let the troops lurk just one hundred meters away from the German positions, once the attack began, we may not have come back to our senses, our soldiers rushed into their trenches. Comrade Colonel, I say so, you must have understood how to choose?"
Instead of answering Sokov immediately, Bere turned his head and asked Vanya: "Comrade Captain, how much deviation will your new rocket be launched two kilometers away?"
When Wanya heard Bere’s question, he was stunned at first, then understood what the other party meant and quickly replied: “Comrade Colonel, we have skilled rocket launchers, who can control the error within a range of fifty meters. If I attack the enemy’s positions, I am sure that they will avoid accidentally injuring the lurking friendly forces.”
Chapter completed!