Chapter 933 Damn Sokov

   Not only ordinary German officers and soldiers did not expect to be attacked on Christmas Eve, but neither did Paulus. After receiving the report from the troops below, he couldn't help but froze.

After a long time, he looked at Schmidt and asked: "Chief of Staff, why did the Russians launch an attack on Christmas Eve? Don't they know that even during the war, there should be a truce on Christmas Eve and Christmas? After all, this It is the greatest festival."

"Your Excellency," Schmidt said cautiously after Paulus had finished speaking, "Christmas for the Russians is on January 7, two weeks later than ours. And the Bolsheviks canceled it many years ago. Therefore, it is entirely possible that they launched an attack on our army on Christmas Eve."

"Damn it, hate it." Hearing Schmidt say this, Paulus scolded Schmidt twice, "Damn it", and then ordered the other party to say: "Chief of Staff, immediately find out which part of the Russians attacked our army's positions. Wait. Concentrate air and artillery at daybreak and retaliate against their positions."

Hearing Paulus' order, the muscles on Schmidt's face twitched violently twice, and he said cautiously: "Your Excellency, there is no need to investigate. The area where the fighting took place is on the Mamayev Range." Nearby, the Russians attacking our positions must have been Sokov's 41st Guards Division."

"Damn Sokov again." Paulus slammed his fist on the table angrily, and said angrily, "According to our information, didn't he go to Moscow? His troops were on the defensive some time ago. How could you take the action of sneak attack on Christmas Eve?"

   "Your Excellency, I have a bad premonition." Schmidt said cautiously: "Maybe Sokov has returned to Stalingrad."

   "What, he returned to Stalingrad?" Paulus's pupils constricted violently: "Chief of Staff, where did you get the information from?"

"I didn't get any information." Schmidt replied: "I judged it based on the abnormal behavior of the Russians. Just think about it. They held their positions for almost a month. Take the initiative to attack us even once. But tonight, they attacked us unexpectedly, and I think there is something wrong with it."

Schmidt's words made Paulus realize the danger. He quickly picked up the phone, called the head of the intelligence department, and said straight to the point: "General, according to all indications, the damned Sokov has returned to Ma Mayev Gang. You immediately dispatch capable personnel to find out whether Sokov has returned before dawn."

   "Your Excellency, Commander." Hearing Paulus' order, the head of the intelligence department couldn't help but said in embarrassment: "Under the current circumstances, it is difficult for our scouts to approach the Russian positions..."

   "I don't want to hear your sophistry." Paulus ordered involuntarily, "I must get definite news before dawn, otherwise you will lose your epaulettes."

   Facing Paulus' threat, the head of the intelligence department could only bite the bullet and reply: "Yes, Commander, I must find out before dawn whether Sokov has returned to Mamayev Post."

After the head of the intelligence department put down the phone, he said to his adjutant: "Damn it, Your Excellency Commander asked me to find out whether the Russian Colonel Sokov has returned to Mamayev Post before dawn. This is really an impossible task." Task."

   "Your Excellency, General," the adjutant said thoughtfully after hearing this, "Actually, there are many ways to find out whether Sokov has returned to Mamayev Post."

  Hearing what his adjutant said, the general's eyes lit up immediately, seeing a glimmer of hope, he hurriedly urged: "Hurry up and tell me, is there any good way?"

"We can send people to sneak into the vicinity of Mamayev Hill and find a way to tap their phone calls." The adjutant said confidently: "Through the phone, our scouts should be able to know whether Sokov has returned to Mamayev Hill. "

The intelligence department of the German army sent scouts to the Mamayev Hill area to find out that Sokov returned to Mamayev Hill. Call to find out what they have achieved. Since he did not know that the German army had launched reconnaissance against him, he did not deliberately hide his identity during the call.

   Two hours before dawn, the head of the German intelligence service appeared in Paulus's office. After saluting Paulus, he said proudly, "Your Excellency, I have already obtained the information you want."

   "The information I want?" Paulus, who was in a state of desperation, heard his subordinates say this, but didn't react for a while: "What information?"

   "Your Excellency, according to my scout report," the general said, "the Russian colonel has returned to Mamayev Post."

  "Russian colonel?" Paulus was shocked: "Are you talking about Sokov?"

   "That's right, it's him." The general nodded vigorously, and said in a positive tone: "He has returned to Mamayev Post."

   "General," Schmidt asked on behalf of Paulus, "I would like to ask, how did you confirm that Sokov has returned to Mamayev Post?"

"Your Excellency Chief of Staff," the general replied respectfully to Schmidt's question, "the scouts I sent tapped the Russian communication lines. , they all called the person who answered the phone 'teacher', so it was concluded that Sokov had returned to Mamayev Post."

  Although Schmidt has confirmed in his heart that Sokov has returned to Mamayev Gang. But he still had a little luck in his heart: "Just relying on a title can't explain anything. The Russians can also call their deputy division commander a 'division commander'. Your Excellency, your report is too credible. .”

"Your Excellency Chief of Staff," the general of the intelligence department said with displeasure in the face of Schmidt's questioning, "my scouts have tapped Russians' calls many times, and they only called Sokov when they called him." The job title of 'teacher' will be used, and the other is the deputy commander. I will never make a mistake about this."

Seeing that the general of the intelligence department was so sure, Schmidt felt that the matter was settled, so he turned to Paulus and said, "Your Excellency, it seems that Sokov has really returned to Mamayev Post. I'm afraid the battle will be difficult to fight."

   "It's not easy to fight, but we have to fight." Paulus gritted his molars and said, "If we don't suppress Sokov's arrogance, I'm afraid it will have an impact on our army's morale and morale."

   "So what should we do?" Schmidt asked.

"After dawn, dispatch the air force to carry out an air strike on Sokov's position." Paulus pointed at Schmid and said through gritted teeth: "But before that, we must concentrate our superior forces and put the Russians in a safe place." Take back all the positions occupied by Ye Ye."

Hearing what Paulus said, the intelligence general was taken aback for a moment, and then said cautiously: "However, Commander, the Russians have all retreated to their own positions after finishing their attack on our army. None left. In a word, those positions are still in the hands of our army."

"Damn it, what the **** is Sokov trying to do?" Paulus said angrily, "Their troops took the initiative to attack many positions of our army. Obviously they can reoccupy these positions, but they None, what the **** is going on?"

  As Paulus's chief of staff, Schmidt's mind is quite easy to use. After thinking for a while, he understood the general reason, and said to Paulus quickly: "Your Excellency, I think I may understand what's going on."

   "What's going on?" Paulus urged: "Chief of Staff, since you know the reason, tell me quickly."

"I think that after Sokov's troops launched a sneak attack on our army, they quickly retreated to their original positions, which may be related to their limited strength." Schmidt said cautiously: "Their strength is limited. If the defense is carried out, the overall defense force will be weakened. Once it is attacked by our army, the positions that have just been occupied will be recaptured by our army. As for Sokov, obviously he does not want to see this happen, Therefore, we decisively ordered the troops to withdraw to their original positions after completing the sneak attack."

  If Sokov were here at the moment and heard what Schmidt said, he would definitely applaud him, because the situation he analyzed was roughly the same as the actual situation.

After listening to Schmidt's analysis, Paulus also nodded in agreement: "Chief of Staff, you are right. The reason why Sokov did not dare to let his troops occupy those positions was because he was worried that the division of troops for defense would make the The force becomes weak, so there is a danger of being broken by us one by one."

   "After dawn, do you still need to dispatch the air force to bomb the defense area of ​​the 41st Guards Division of the Russian Army?"

"That's for sure, Chief of Staff." Sokov's night attack successfully angered Paulus. He decided to wait until dawn to retaliate, and the air attack on the 41st Guards Division's defense area was just his plan. first step. In the ensuing battle, he will also concentrate superior artillery fire, plow through the defense zone of Sokov's troops several times, and then send out infantry to seize these positions.

"Your Excellency Commander," Schmidt said to Paulus, pointing to the map, "before the Russians control these positions, it is very conducive to the assault of tank troops. I suggest that both the 16th and 24th Panzer Divisions be put into battle. With the current level of equipment of the Russians, it is basically impossible to block the assault of our army's tanks. I think our army is fully capable of restoring the front to the state it was in early November."

  Returning to the state in early November means that the defense zone of the 41st Guards Division has only one place on Mamayev Gang. Such a situation is obviously what Paulus would like to see. He nodded and said to Schmidt: "If we can return to the state in early November, we can also have an explanation for Berlin."

  The intelligence general knew very well in his heart that if the defense line was pushed back to Mamayev Post, then the Soviet army's ferry could be threatened at any time. As long as the ice on the river melts in the beginning of spring, the direction of the ferry can be blocked with artillery fire as in the previous months, preventing the Russians from transporting supplies into the city calmly, or transporting the wounded and residents to the opposite bank.

"The fuel and ammunition needed for our tanks are currently facing a shortage." Paulus still has a general understanding of the basic situation of the troops today: "If the attack cannot be effective, then in the next few days, these will be exhausted." Tanks depend on fuel and ammunition, so they can only be parked on the battlefield for display. If they are spotted by Russian aircraft, they may become bombing targets."

   "Don't worry, Your Excellency Commander." Schmidt was full of confidence when he thought that the troops attacking the Sokov defense area would consist of two armored divisions and one infantry division. Although he admitted that Sokov is a very powerful person, but no matter how powerful you are, as long as you have limited troops, you can pose more threats. He said confidently: "With so many troops, I believe Sokov will be defeated."

"It's getting late." Paulus looked at his watch and said to Schmidt: "Immediately call the three division commanders involved in the attack and get their troops ready for combat. To launch an attack on the Russian position, it is necessary to push the front line back to Mamayev Post in the shortest possible time.”

"Your Excellency, Commander," Schmidt said with a smile on his face, "our soldiers will definitely be able to complete your mission and defeat all the Russians, including Sokov. As long as Sokov's troops are defeated, We will be able to occupy the Mamayev post and smoothly advance to the banks of the Volga, reversing our current unfavorable situation."

"Also," Paulus told Schmidt: "You send a telegram to Commander Weicks, telling him that the fuel and shells of our tanks are basically exhausted, and ask him to inform Berlin and send them as soon as possible." We will supplement."

"Your Excellency, will it be effective to say this?" Schmidt asked cautiously: "You must know that in order to supply our nearly 300,000 troops, Marshal Goering has tried his best to send all the transport planes he can send. It was sent out. Although the transport opportunity was attacked by Russian warplanes from time to time, and the price was not small, the supply to us has never been interrupted."

"The supplies that Goering gave us are not enough, far from enough." Paulus said with a face like earth: "With the weapons and ammunition in our hands, it is impossible to sustain a large-scale battle. If we want to restore the troops If we don’t have combat effectiveness, we must give us more supplies.”

"Chief of Staff, maybe you are right." After Paulus said this, he was silent for a long time before continuing: "We really need to get more supplies in order to survive the siege of the Russians better." long time."

  (end of this chapter)