Chapter 943 Operation Ring (Part 1)

  On the evening of New Year's Day, Sokov suddenly received a call from Chuikov, asking him to rush to the Army Group headquarters immediately, saying that there was something important.

  Since Chuikov didn’t say anything on the phone, Sokov could only wonder whether Chuikov called him over to celebrate New Year’s Day. For the Russians, this is equivalent to a grand festival like the Chinese New Year, and there may be something delicious to eat.

  Unexpectedly, when Sokov rushed to the army headquarters in a hurry, he saw an unexpected person sitting at the table chatting and laughing with Chuikov and Krylov. Sokov hurried forward, straightened his body and raised his hand to salute the other party: "Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front Army!"

  The person sitting between Chuikov and Krylov is the new front commander Rokossovsky. Seeing Sokov coming, he smiled at him and said, "Colonel Sokov, you are here, we are waiting for you."

   After shaking hands with Rokossovsky, Sokov saluted Chuikov and Krylov, and then sat down on an empty seat at the table.

"Comrades," Rokossovsky waited for Sokov to sit down, and then continued: "According to the information we have, Hitler's plan to seize the Caucasus oil did not fail, and Paulus' breakout to the southwest was denied. According to the plan, I ordered the Sixth Army to stay in the existing area and carry out defense. In order to destroy the besieged enemies, I plan to launch an offensive campaign called 'The Ring'. …

  The enemy surrounded by us now controls a vast area 60 kilometers long and 40 kilometers wide. If we launch an offensive, they will inevitably retreat to the Volga and the Stalingrad area, and you may suffer unprecedented difficulties.

  Comrade Chuikov, I want to ask you, can the 62nd Army stop the enemy's attack? "

"Of course, Comrade Commander of the Front." As soon as Rokossovsky had finished speaking, Chuikov said confidently: "Since in October, when the situation was at its worst, Paulus was not able to drive us into the Volga. So now, he will never even think about breaking through our army's defense line and taking a step towards the Volga River."

In order to let Rokossovsky understand his confidence, he drew a virtual circle on the top of the map with his hand and added: "For us, the enemy in front of us is no longer a complete army group, but a A huge prisoner-of-war camp, but the enemy has not put down their weapons for the time being."

"I really didn't expect you to be so confident." After hearing what Chuikov said, Rokossovsky showed a satisfied smile on his face: "This is really great. It seems that we should indeed launch an attack on the enemy." In order to prevent Chuikov from underestimating the enemy, he also specially reminded: "However, Comrade Chuikov, I need to remind you that it is too early to call them prisoner-of-war camps. Sometimes wounded beasts bite more ferociously, and the enemy is killed by our troops." When they are compressed near the Volga and Stalingrad, they will definitely resist frantically, and you will not be bitten by this wounded beast."

"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, please rest assured." Seeing Chuikov winking at him, Sukov stood up and said, "Although our strength is a little less, it may not be enough to use it for offensive purposes." It is enough, but it is not a big problem to block the enemy's attack."

Regarding Sokov's answer, Rokossovsky nodded with satisfaction again, and then said to Chuikov: "Comrade Chuikov, considering your lack of troops, after the study of the Military Committee of the Front Army and the approval of the Supreme Command, it is decided to send You replenish the troops in a field fortified area."

   "Troops in the field to build fortifications?" Chuikov showed a dazed expression on his face.

Rokossovsky considered that Chuikov might not understand the organizational system of this kind of troops. After all, the other party had just returned to China and led his troops to participate in the defense of Stalingrad: "Fortification area troops are composed of command agencies and some powerful troops. Firearms small units, which we have attached to you, to replace those that have been withdrawn to the reserves at the base camp."

  After explaining the task, Rokossovsky said a few more words, then raised his hand and looked at his watch, and after scanning everyone's eyes, he asked, "Do you have anything else to add?"

"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I have a request." Sokov worried that after Rokossovsky left, it would be difficult to contact him in the future, so he hurriedly said, "Can you equip us with some artillery? "

"Artillery?!" Rokossovsky heard Sokov's question, first glanced at Cuikov in wonder, and saw that the other party also looked confused. Guessing that he might not understand the situation, he asked Sokov directly. Husband: "Colonel Sokov, can you tell me what you need the artillery for?"

"Used to attack cities, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov explained to Rokossovsky: "The enemy's battle to attack cities deeply understands that fighting in cities is not only about attacking, but also using continuous When defending the frontal trenches of our country, we cannot adopt the tactics of field warfare. After many painful experiences, the enemy has learned to use the strongest buildings and the basements of houses as his stubborn support points, and we have to start from The capture of these points of support in the hands of the enemy necessitated the use of artillery on a large scale."

  Sokov's words aroused everyone's curiosity. Chuikov asked on behalf of everyone: "Colonel Sokov, tell us, how do you plan to use artillery to assist the infantry in capturing the strong points occupied by the enemy?"

"The buildings in the city that have not been completely destroyed are very strong." Seeing that everyone wanted to know the answer, Sokov explained to them: "If we still follow the previous tactics, before attacking, we will The artillery preparations for the attack target will not only consume a lot of shells, but also the results obtained are not ideal. Therefore, I consider pulling the artillery to a place a few hundred meters away from the enemy's defending building and shooting directly. Just bomb A few shots can destroy the enemy's firepower and blow out the walls of the building enough for people to pass through, so that our assault troops can calmly rush into the building and destroy the enemy entrenched inside."

"Interesting, interesting." Rokossovsky couldn't help nodding when he heard this, and said approvingly: "Colonel Sokov, your tactics are very novel, and they should be able to play a great role in the attack of the city." effect."

Seeing that the time was almost up, Rokossovsky stood up again and said: "Operation 'Ring' will officially start on January 10. Before that, you can send people to persuade the besieged German troops to surrender. If someone can It would be great to take the initiative to put down our weapons and surrender, so as to reduce unnecessary casualties of our army.”

Hearing that Rokossovsky said to send someone to persuade the Germans to surrender, Chuikov offered to propose: "Commander of the Front Army, I think Colonel Sokov should be responsible for the work of persuading the surrender. You don't know, he was with the Germans. He is much more famous than me, and I believe he will achieve good results if he takes the lead."

"Well, Comrade Chuikov, Colonel Sokov will be responsible for persuading the German army to surrender." Regarding Chuikov's proposal, Rokossovsky readily agreed, and he said to Sokov: In two days, I will send someone to send a letter of persuasion, and you will take it with you to persuade Paulus to surrender. If he is willing to put down his arms and surrender, it is a good thing; if he refuses to surrender, it does not matter, we will kill him completely Eliminate."

  (end of this chapter)