Chapter 492 Confidence
After thinking for a while, Shulka went to the desk and looked at the map, and then said to Mikhailvich and Andrianka who followed: "The enemy's offensive focus may be here, Mamayev Gang! "
In fact, this does not require historical knowledge, only military knowledge can be analyzed.
Major Mikhailvich agreed: "It is the only commanding height in Stalingrad, and occupying it can divide Stalingrad in two!"
Stalingrad is as large as a rectangle, consisting of the new city and the old city.
The old city is in the southern half, where residents are concentrated.
The new urban area is in the northern half, almost all of which are factories and corresponding workers' residences... The workers' residence is called a certain new village. For example, the opposite of the "Red October" metallurgy factory is the "Red October" new village where the workers live.
Mamayev Gang is located between the New City and the Old City, and is close to the Volga River.
It is conceivable that once Mamayev Gang is occupied by the German army, it will not only cut off the connection between the new and old urban areas, but also can hit the "No. 1 Station" and the port about ten kilometers away from it by setting up artillery here.
This will obviously bring a lot of trouble to the defense of Stalingrad.
"We only have one infantry battalion there!" Major Mikhailevich said: "We must reinforce Mamayev Post, and we must not let it fall into the hands of the enemy!"
"Comrade Major!" Andrianka said: "But we have too few troops, and the troops in Stalingrad are fighting on their own with almost no unified command!"
"But what else can we do?" Major Mikhailvich said, "Are we just watching strategically important places fall into the hands of the enemy?"
"I think we should find the command!" Andrianka said: "That is, the 62nd Army Command, find Comrade Golikov, and then establish a unified command to fight the Germans, otherwise we are just a mess... Not only can it not keep Mamayev Post, even if it is kept, it will soon fall into the hands of the German army again and even lead to the collapse of the entire defense line!"
It should be said that both of their arguments are reasonable.
It is imminent to defend Mamayev Post, and the establishment of a unified command in Stalingrad is the basis for long-term operations.
but…
"Do we know where the headquarters of the 62nd Army is?" Shulka asked.
The two couldn't help being taken aback, then Andrianka shook his head and replied: "No, we don't know!"
At this time, Stalingrad is in a state of "the general does not know the soldiers, and the soldiers do not know the general" to some extent. This is mainly determined by the backward communication equipment of the Soviet army, coupled with the communication interference of the German army and the low morale of the commanders. The reaction was negative.
In fact, the main reason for this is that the commander reacted negatively or it can be said that he lost confidence in this battle.
Once a person loses confidence, he will think that everything he does is a waste of time, so he simply does nothing and waits for the order to retreat from his superiors.
For example, as the commander of the 62nd Army, Golikov led an army of more than 100,000 people who were easily defeated by the Germans, so it is easy to have this idea: Stalingrad is hopeless, and the only way to resist the Germans is to retreat. Rely on the river to the east bank of the Volga River.
As for incorporating the scattered troops in the city...what's the point? Hundreds of thousands of people stood in front of the German attack for only a few days. The gathering of this regiment and that regiment is to gather together to let the enemy be wiped out faster.
So it became the current situation.
Otherwise, even if the radio and telegraph cannot be contacted, it is time for the signal soldiers to issue orders to gather troops everywhere.
But now, Shulka and others don't even know the location of the 62nd Army headquarters, and there is no place to report if they want to report.
"Maybe it's a good thing you can't find Command!" Shulka said.
"Good thing?" Mikhailvich looked at Shulka suspiciously.
"If the command is found, what do you think they will do next?"
"Incorporate troops!" Andrianka said: "Then unify the command and fight!"
"And then?" Shulka asked again.
So the two understood what Shulka meant. After the unified command, it was nothing more than transferring troops to the contact line between the enemy and ourselves to build a line of defense, and then defending and charging...The urban street warfare trained by the 82nd Infantry Regiment would not be able to play a role at all.
"I think the important thing is confidence, Comrade Mikhailvich!" Shulka said: "The most fundamental problem in Stalingrad is the loss of confidence in this battle from top to bottom, that is, they don't believe that we can Hold it, and it can even be said that quite a few people are waiting for the order to retreat from their superiors, so there will be various negative reactions!"
"I agree!" Major Mikhailvich replied: "But what can we do? Let alone other people, even I have lost confidence in this battle!"
"It's very simple!" Shulka said: "We should fight a battle and win a battle!"
Shulka guessed right.
The headquarters of the 62nd Army is located in a basement on the banks of the Yelishanka River in the old city.
The reason why the headquarters is located here is because they don't even know the direction of the enemy's attack or where they are attacking, they are afraid that the Germans will suddenly appear in front of them and surround them... If it is located by the river, at least one direction is safe , and at the same time rely on ships to retreat if possible.
The equipment in the basement is very simple. A wooden table covered with a map is illuminated by a kerosene lamp, and there are several chairs beside it, but none of them is occupied.
Army Commander Golikov is reprimanding his subordinates.
"You are the commander of the tank army. You moved the headquarters to the banks of the Volga River without my consent! In other words, my headquarters is still in front of you. Do you know what this means?"
"Sorry, Comrade Golikov! We couldn't get in touch for a while..."
"Bravely face your mistakes!" Golikov interrupted his subordinates: "We all know what it is to move the headquarters to the banks of the Volga River, or you can just because you can't get in touch with the headquarters. Move the headquarters to the east bank of the Volga River?!"
After walking a few steps angrily, Golikov continued: "No, you are not relocating the headquarters, you are fleeing, shameful fleeing, understand? According to Order No. 227 of the People's Commissar of National Defense, your actions should be How would you rate it? Do you want me to follow Order No. 227?"
The army commander's eyes showed horror, and he begged: "No, Comrade Golikov, I hope you will give me another chance!"
"Then move the headquarters back, together with your soldiers!" Golikov said: "From now on, I will resolutely implement my orders, every one!"
"Yes, Comrade Golikov!"
(end of this chapter)
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