Chapter 636: Sequelae
Shulka will never forget the complicated look in Major General Batrakov's eyes before he left.
Regret, beg, resent, or whatever.
But in the end Batrakov still didn't speak.
Batrakov seemed to know that there was no room for change in the matter, so he didn't speak at all.
It is true.
Shulka will not compromise and cannot compromise on this issue, he will not give Batrakov another chance, a chance to kill more soldiers and even push Stalingrad to the fire pit.
At the same time, there is no need for Shulka to do this. An NKVD major general who commands indiscriminately and is ungrateful for profit... Shulka can't think of the need to save him, and what he can do to the war is also a negative effect.
What happened to Batrakov Shulka didn't care, because Batrakov was insignificant in Shulka's eyes.
It was later that Shulka learned that Batrakov had changed troops and continued to serve as commander.
He commanded a penal battalion. According to Colonel Akadyevich, "his command style is very suitable for a penal battalion. It is a place where it is necessary to charge the enemy desperately."
Colonel Dimitri took over as commander of the 10th Division of the NKVD.
He may not be a good person, and he may not have much combat experience, but one thing is for sure: he would not dare to disobey orders easily if given ten guts. Do things on your own.
So, the Soviet attack on the German army stopped after a few minutes.
Colonel Dmitry even called Shulka's headquarters and asked: "Comrade Captain, what should we do next?"
This embarrassed Shulka a bit, and made him seem like a powerful figure.
"Comrade Colonel!" Shulka replied: "I suggest that we should turn to the defensive, just like the 129th Division did before!"
"Yes, I think so too!" Colonel Dimitri replied, "I'll arrange it right away!"
To be honest, Shulka doesn't like this feeling. He prefers to get acquainted in battle like Captain Harichev, and then naturally form a team.
But after thinking about it, it seemed impossible.
For ordinary troops, correct judgment on the battlefield is indeed convincing, but for internal affairs troops...they pay more attention to power, so only power can convince them.
Just like this time, if it wasn't because of Adikayevich's relationship, even if it turned out that Shulka was right in the end, that is, the command of Major General Batrakov caused the meaningless loss of several divisions. Even in the end, Stalingrad fell because of this, and Major General Batrakov may not need to bear any responsibility.
But having said that, it doesn’t matter if it’s a white cat or a black cat, as long as it can catch mice, it’s a good cat. As long as it’s good for the war and good for Stalingrad, no matter what method it uses!
Thinking about it this way, Shulka became indifferent.
On the other side, the German army also relaxed because the Soviet army stopped attacking.
The reason why it is "relaxed" is not because the battle tends to ease, but because preparations for war have become meaningless.
Before this, Major General Jonas was happy to see the Soviet army attacking the German defense line wave after wave.
Major General Jonas even had a plan to attack the Soviet army.
"I don't understand!" Major General Jonas was a little confused at first: "The behavior when they blew up the railway bridge is completely different from the current attack!"
"What?" The adjutant didn't understand what Major General Jonas meant.
"When they attacked the railway bridge, they were closely linked. They tricked us several times in a row and then successfully blew up the railway bridge!" Major General Jonas said: "But now, they are directing the troops towards the railway bridge like a fool. We hit each other at gunpoint..."
"Perhaps, these are their punishment camps?" the adjutant guessed.
Major General Jonas shook his head slightly. The charge of the punishment battalion would not have such powerful fire cover nor such good equipment.
But no matter what it was, Major General Jonas still formulated a counterattack plan.
Now is the time when the German army is worried about insufficient supplies and insufficient offensive forces. The Soviet attack can be said to be exactly what it wants.
The reason is that such an attack can allow the German army to kill the Soviet army's vital forces as much as possible with the least cost and the least supply.
Then, after dawn, the German army can cooperate with the main force of the frontal attack to attack the No. Do this before you finish.
However, Major General Jonas' plan was aborted before it could be implemented.
"What's going on?" Major General Jonas asked, "Why did they stop attacking?!"
The adjutant was speechless, and this question could only be asked of the Russians.
After a moment of silence, the adjutant asked: "What should we do now, General?"
Major General Jonas was stunned for a while and asked, "What are the Russians doing?"
"They are organizing defense!" As he spoke, the adjutant handed over a few photos, which were taken by front-line scouts under flares. In the photos, it can be clearly seen that the Russian army is pulling the barbed wire at Brera.
Jonas sighed and ordered: "Prepare to retreat!"
If the Russian army does not attack, the German army indeed has only one option to retreat.
Otherwise, with the troops of a division of the German army and the supply line cut off by the Tsaritsa River, if this division attacks the Russian defense line, it will be counterattacked and wiped out at any time because the supplies are exhausted.
The retreat of the German army started after dawn.
They used artillery to suppress the Soviet positions, and then used fishing boats to transport the German troops back to the south bank in batches.
Colonel Dimitri also called Shulka for this.
"Aren't we going to do something?" Colonel Dimitri asked.
"No, Comrade Colonel!" Shulka replied: "We should let them retreat!"
This is a wise choice. The German army is defeated but not chaotic. In addition, there are air and artillery advantages. Any pursuit of victory will undoubtedly end in heavier casualties, which is not worth the loss for the Soviet army.
It is not easy to do this.
Because this is like a piece of fat to the mouth, but let them break free.
But Shulka knew that this was a temptation, a temptation to drag the Soviet army into the abyss.
"Next..." Captain Harichev said: "The colonel will ask you what to do again!"
Sure enough, a few minutes later Dimitri called Shulka again.
Shuerka and Captain Harichev couldn't help but smile at each other.
This may be the aftermath of the previous Batrakov incident.
(end of this chapter)