Chapter 563 Lynching
Shulka acquiesced in the existence of this lynching of the Fifth Infantry Company.
Shulka thinks this is a good thing.
This aspect can solve Shulka's troubles... How to solve the problem of deserters from the 5th Infantry Company, and shoot them like the Ministry of Internal Affairs treats deserters? That would make the 82nd Infantry Regiment useless for containing deserters.
If you really want to pick words, Shulka promised the treatment of the ordinary troops of the Fifth Infantry Company, so the soldiers of the ordinary troops should be thrown into the "punishment battalion" instead of being shot when deserters are caught.
So Shulka's approach actually has an unresolvable circular contradiction in terms of jurisprudence.
But Sokolov's lynching solved this problem perfectly.
More importantly, Shulka no longer needs to worry about the crisis raised by Andrianka.
That is, the fifth company composed of deserters will one day reach a consensus of "running away" and join together to stab the 82nd Infantry Regiment from the back during the most intense battle, bringing danger to the whole regiment.
This is because the necessary condition for an army to reach a consensus on "fleeing" is that the trend of fleeing prevails...Everyone has the idea of fleeing in their hearts, and then under a certain environment and pressure, several people propose it, and then everyone responds immediately.
But if there is no such "escape" atmosphere, it will be replaced by the death penalty as soon as the deserter is found.
Then the situation will soon be different... No one dares to have the idea of running away, and of course no one dares to mention running away. Even if they have this desire and thought, they will suppress it in their hearts and dare not take action.
Over time, this army will naturally form an atmosphere, style, culture, and even a belief.
This is also one of the reasons why the soldiers of the Hero Army have been changed wave after wave. After many years, there is not a single veteran, but the combat effectiveness can always be maintained at a high level... Every new recruit will inherit the legacy of the army, and not only Being affected by oneself will also affect the next generation of recruits, so it is passed on from batch to batch.
The Fifth Infantry Company obviously formed a unique style: zero tolerance for deserters.
Shulka didn't say anything, he just nodded, said "Keep trying" and left.
Sokolov was worried that this kind of lynching would be ordered to stop, but he relaxed after seeing Shulka's reaction.
"So, Comrade Shulka!" Valery followed behind Shulka and asked: "What should they do?"
"What should I do?" Shulka asked back.
"Fifth Infantry Company!" Valery replied with some embarrassment: "I can't command them!"
This is indeed a troublesome thing.
The side effect of the lynching is that power is concentrated in Sokolov's hands, and Valery, who is the battalion commander, can't do anything to them.
After thinking for a while, Shulka replied: "Don't worry, Valery! You assign them normal combat tasks, and they will work hard to complete them like other troops!"
Shuerka believes that Sokolov is a smart man, and his purpose of doing this is definitely not to centralize power, but to improve the morale and combat effectiveness of the troops in a short time.
Facts have proved that Sokolov's approach is very effective.
The 82nd Infantry Regiment was sent to "Red October New Village" in the early morning of the third day.
The time is set in the early morning because the tactics of the Soviet army are usually to hide and defend during the day and counterattack at night.
The reason for changing defenses in the early morning is to allow the troops to better adapt to the battlefield, and even to prepare, sometimes they will enter the position a few hours in advance to exchange some experience with the original troops.
After entering the position, Major Mikhailevich called the main officers for a short meeting.
"It goes without saying that our task is to defend the new village of 'Red October'!" Major Mikhailvich said, pointing to the map: "Let me give you an overview of the situation... The enemy's strategic goal is still Mamayev Gang. ! But the new village of 'Red October' is crucial to the enemy's complete occupation of Mamayev Kurgan!"
The reason is self-explanatory.
The "Red October" new village is behind the front **** of Mamayev Hill, because of it, the Soviet army can deploy artillery in this area to directly bomb the side of Mamayev Hill and even the front slope.
That is to say, as long as it gets dark, the Soviet army can rely on artillery to easily recapture the front **** of Mamayev Gang.
Therefore, the ownership of the "Red October" new village basically determines the ownership of Mamayev Gang, and the ownership of Mamayev Gang determines the supply line of Stalingrad.
"The Germans throw an infantry regiment here!" said Major Mikhailevich.
The officers couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when they heard this.
There is only one infantry regiment... Although the German army is of good quality and strong combat effectiveness, the 82nd Infantry Regiment has a geographical advantage, and it is not a big problem to block the attack of an infantry regiment.
But what Major Mikhailvich said next made everyone gasp.
"But they invested a large number of planes here for bombing!" Major Mikhailvich said: "Only in the "Red October" Xincun area, there are an average of 500 sorties per day!"
500 sorties, which is much more than the air force attendance rate of the entire Soviet Stalingrad Front and Southeastern Front.
"Are there no tanks and assault guns?" Shulka asked.
"Very few!" Major Mikhailvich replied: "There are also artillery of unknown strength!"
The Soviet army did not have air supremacy, so the understanding of the enemy's artillery was often "unknown strength."
After thinking for a while, Shulka said: "The Germans are likely to adopt broken tactics!"
Major Mikhailevich nodded in agreement.
The so-called "broken tactics" means that the German army did not compete with the Soviet army in charge and street fighting. Instead, they used fighter planes, artillery and infantry to blow up buildings one after another.
This is a very clever tactic, because at least everyone is fighting in ruins, and there is no such advantage as the Soviet army has geography, defense, and familiarity with the terrain.
Of course, this tactic also has its disadvantages, that is, creating a large number of ruins so that tanks, armored vehicles, etc. cannot pass through.
The problem is that the strategic goal of the German army to capture the "Red October" new village is not to pass, but to destroy the Soviet artillery hidden in it so that it cannot provide fire cover for Mamayev Post.
So the Germans could bomb with their hands and feet.
From this aspect, the German army is still very clear in formulating its strategic goals.
Finally, Major Mikhailvich said: "The order from the superior is to let the fifth infantry company garrison the forward building!"
The officers glanced at each other and understood the meaning of the order... The forward building is basically exposed to the enemy's artillery fire and bombing from fighter planes, but it cannot completely defend without sending troops, because in this way the enemy can defend without firing a single shot. Occupy the building.
(end of this chapter)
