Although the bombing was still going on, Klimov saw that the headquarters had collapsed and rushed in from the outside with the guards. As soon as he entered the room, he cried out: "Comrade commander, where are you?"
Hearing kremov's voice, trekov, who was huddled in the narrow space with me, rushed out and yelled, "Captain kremov, I'm here."
Just after two shouts, crimov's excited voice came from outside: "comrades, the commander is here. Two more people, move this floor away. " Soon, someone called the number and began to lift the floor over our heads. With everyone's shouts, the floor was slowly raised, revealing one that could bend through the gap.
Klimov put his head in and said breathlessly, "Comrade commander, the floor is too heavy for us to lift without tools. Do you think you can get out of this crack? "
Trekov bent over, made a gesture with his hand, turned to me and said, "o'shanina, no problem. We can get out of such a big gap."
I was a little far away from the crevice. I was relieved to hear that he could go out. I hastened to urge him: "Comrade commander, go out first. The floor is too heavy. It's been a long time. I'm afraid the captain and they can't hold it
Trekov agreed and crawled out of the crack with his hands, feet and ground. Then I heard him outside shouting, "OK, o'shanina, you should climb out quickly, too."
As soon as I got out, crimov and several soldiers could not support me any more. As soon as I let go, the floor fell back to its original place again, and the dust rose all over the sky. Crimov and others were choked and coughed violently. Seeing that the damaged headquarters couldn't stay any longer, trakov yelled, "everyone go outside." After shouting, I covered my mouth and nose with my hand and rushed out of the headquarters. I didn't dare to neglect him and ran out with him.
After trekov ran to the street, no matter our plane was still hovering over the town, he stood in the middle of the road like a fool, staring at the burning station. I looked up at the plane in the sky, grabbed his arm and pulled it aside. At the same time, I advised, "Comrade commander, it's dangerous here. Let's find a place to hide."
I didn't expect that trekov's leg was rooted. I didn't pull it twice. A series of coughs came from behind. I turned to see that it was Klimov and several of them rushed out. Seeing them, I was like seeing a savior. I yelled at them: "Hello, comrade captain, you guys, come here and take the commander to a safe place."
When they heard me yelling, Klimov and they ran over, put trekov on the rack and dragged him into a complete building nearby. After they carried him through the unit door, I saw the words "air raid shelter goes from here" on the wall, so I went into the building. But I didn't go into the air raid shelter. Instead, I stood in the door and looked at the fighters flying in the air.
The bombing ended in half an hour. After dropping the bomb and firing all the airborne bullets, our plane circled over the station and town several times, then reluctantly flew to the distance to report their brilliant achievements to the higher authorities.
After seeing the plane leave, I went to the air raid shelter to report to trikov that all the planes of our army had flown away.
After leaving the shelter, despite our dissuasion, trakov must go to the station to check the situation after being bombed. We couldn't persuade him, so we had to agree with him and follow him to the station.
Walking into the bombed station, a heat wave came head on. Not only the buildings on both sides of the station are burning, but also the military train cars overturned by bombs are burning. The wounded, who were not rescued, tumbled on the ground, and their screams, groans and calls were heard all the time. The bodies of the soldiers who died miserably in the air raid were lying on each other's pillows. So many officers and men have just arrived at the front line from far away Siberia, and they are killed or injured by their own planes before they see the enemy. This scene is very sad.
Seeing this scene like purgatory on earth, trikov gritted his teeth and said, "Comrade captain, go and find the military commander at the station. I want to ask him why he didn't carry out my order to evacuate the troops from the station so quickly that so many soldiers died in vain. " Crimov silently saluted and left with the two soldiers.
After a while, Klimov came back and reported to trikov, "Comrade commander, I have found the military commander."
"Bring him here." Said trekov, sullenly.
After listening to what trakov said, Klimov answered with some embarrassment, "Comrade commander, he can't come. I suggest you go and see for yourself."
Trekov snorted and said discontentedly, "even if he is injured, I will hold him responsible."
Under the leadership of Klimov, we walked along the road full of craters and soon came to the military office. The military office, like other buildings, is surrounded by fire. Trakov looked around. Except for the soldiers who passed by occasionally, he didn't see the military commander he knew. So he asked Klimov, "Comrade captain, where are the military commanders you mentioned?"
Klimov pointed to the ground and said, "Comrade commander, he is here." I looked down and saw the military commander just now. He was lying on the ground with blood all over his body, motionless. I crouched down and looked at his wound carefully. I found that his carotid artery had been cut off by a piece of shrapnel. It seemed that the man had not been saved for a long time.
I stood up, looked at the chaos around me, sighed, walked up to trekov and said to him, "Comrade commander, it's too dangerous here. Maybe we'll get enemy planes later. Let's get out of here first."
Our party just left the station and got into the car parked outside. Before getting on the bus, Klimov specially ran over to ask for instructions from trakov: "Comrade commander, where are we going next?"
After pondering for a moment, trakov replied, "our motorcade is going along the railway. When we get to the stations and meeting stations along the way, we have to find the headquarters of the 208th division. I don't believe it. In addition to the division headquarters with hundreds of troops directly under it, if you don't say it, it will be gone. "
After receiving a clear order from trakov, Klimov took the whole team to drive eastward along the railway, looking for the lost 208 division headquarters.
Until the evening, we still did not find the division headquarters of the 208 th division. I turned around and asked trekov, who was sitting in the back row, "Comrade commander, it's dark. Shall we find a place to settle down? Otherwise, we may break into the enemy's defensive area. "
Trekov took out the map, spread it on his lap, looked at it with his flashlight for a while, then pointed to a position and said to the driver, "we'll get to biliukovsky's stop after driving about two kilometers. We'll stay there tonight."
The driver nodded and honked the horn twice. As soon as the horn went off, the tail lights of the car in front flashed twice. The driver turned to trikov and reported, "Comrade commander, your order, Captain Klimov. They already know that they will stop at the passing station." Seeing this kind of interesting contact information makes my worry disappear. In this way, I don't worry that after we stop, crimov's car will go a long way.
Our motorcade was stopped near the passing station of bilukovsky. After getting off the bus, Klimov negotiated with the soldiers who were blocking the road, turned around and trotted all the way to us. When he came to the front of the bus, he couldn't even salute, so he excitedly reported, "good news, comrade commander, I found the headquarters of the 208 th Division."
When I heard Klimov say that, I was relieved. It was really a waste of time. We didn't have to rush around like headless flies. Upon hearing that he had finally found the 208 division headquarters, trikov quickly opened the car door and got off the car. He excitedly asked, "Comrade captain, where is the 208 division headquarters?"
"Comrade commander, it's in the meeting station."
"Take me to see it." At the moment, trikov didn't talk about any manners. He didn't even pay attention to Klimov, so he walked quickly to Huirang station.
There were more than ten soldiers standing in front of the car. Seeing a general walking towards them in a hurry, they all stood at attention. A staff sergeant welcomed him and said politely, "Hello, Comrade General. Are you going to see your teacher? "
"Yes, chief. Where is he? I want to see him at once. "
The staff sergeant did not dare to neglect us. He quickly led us to the division headquarters in Huirang station.
At the moment, the division commander, who had already received the news, was standing at the door with a group of people from the headquarters to meet us.
Trikov came up to them without any politeness, and said, "I'm the commander of the 64th army. Which of you is the commander of the 208th division?"
The colonel at the front of the line immediately stepped forward two steps, saluted trakov, and reported: "Comrade commander, commander of the 208 infantry division, Colonel voskoboynikov, report to you and wait for your order." Seeing that trakov nodded slightly, he continued: "please allow me to introduce you to the members of division headquarters. This is the political commissar, chief of staff and director of the Political Department of the division. "
Before he finished his introduction, trakov walked impatiently through the crowd and straight into the headquarters. The division commander saw that trikov had entered the headquarters, and quickly took a group of people with him.
When all the people outside entered the headquarters, trakov looked at voskoboynikov discontentedly and said coldly, "Comrade Colonel, why did your division break away from the army and run hundreds of kilometers away from the army? And this afternoon, when the troops of your division got off at chilekov railway station, they were mistakenly bombed by our plane, causing heavy casualties and sacrificing about one regiment's strength. "
Voskoboynikov's face turned pale when he heard the bad news. His voice trembled and he asked, "Comrade commander, is this all true?"
His whole body trembled at the sight of trekov's affirmative nod. I can see that he was greatly stimulated because of the bad news. After all, so many of his troops died under the bombing of his own planes without any reason. As the military commander of his troops, he didn't feel extremely painful.
"Comrade General," he murmured to trikov after a long time, "I don't know what's going on. I can't explain these unnecessary sacrifices to my subordinates."
"I think the reason for this is that the troops who just arrived didn't get air cover in the unloading area," he sighed. The headquarters of the front army failed to guarantee the smooth implementation of the operation, let alone inform the air force. And our military plane, which was ordered to attack, took the commanders and fighters on the station as Germans, so that there would be this accidental bombing. "
We stayed here for a few hours. After voskoboynikov calmed down, trakov called the political commissar, chief of staff and director of the Political Department of the division and gave an order to the four of them. They immediately contacted the troops scattered from nebekovo to rutovo and abganerovo, That night, he led them across the Aksay River, occupied the defensive positions in the front line from Antonov town to rutov village, and sent strengthened patrols in front of the army's defense line and on the left wing.
In the end, trakov told them, "you should strengthen the reconnaissance and find out the direction and intention of the main German forces in this area. According to the information we have, I estimate that the German army will not entangle with our troops deployed along the railway in the kojernikovo area. They will make a deep detour through the town of plodovitoye and jinguta, and the enemy's tanks may come from the West. In this direction, the kojelnikovo region is facing a "big challenge"
We arranged for the 208 division and drove back to the temporary headquarters overnight. Fortunately, when the moon is bright, we can run on the grassland without driving the car headlights. We don't have to worry about being found by the enemy.
Near an intersection 10 kilometers south of gnerlovsky, the leading car in front stopped, and our car also stopped immediately. Seeing that crimov got out of the car and ran towards us, I quickly opened the car door, jumped down and asked him, "Comrade captain, what's the matter? Why did you stop?"
The captain came up to me and answered in a low voice, "I see cavalry on the grassland ahead."
I looked back at trekov, who was reclining on the back of his chair, and asked in the same low voice, "how many people are there?"
"I saw seven or eight cavalry. I don't know if there are hidden sentries. Comrade commander, what should we do? "
I pointed back and said, "Comrade captain, you take a class of soldiers to take a truck to have a look. Judging from the recent fighting, the Germans have no cavalry. What you see may be our scattered troops. Be careful. Don't get me wrong. "
"Yes The captain promised and ran back. Came to a truck, he jumped on the driver's side of the pedal, body hanging on the door, directing the car forward.
When the truck passed us, he woke up. He pushed the door open and came out to me. He looked at the truck and asked, "o'shanina, what's the matter?"
"Several cavalry were found on the grassland ahead. I asked captain Klimov to bring a class of soldiers to meet them and see what part they were." When I saw trakov standing outside, my heart suddenly became uneasy. Although I thought it was my own people who appeared opposite me, if there was a misunderstanding, a fire broke out and trakov was injured by stray bullets, the process of the battle of Stalingrad would change. So I advised trakov: "Comrade commander, it's too dangerous outside. You'd better go back to the car."
He just waved his hand and said, "I think your analysis is very correct. Our cavalry should be in front of us. I'll wait for Klimov here and see which cavalry is on the opposite side. "
"Stop! Who is it? " In the distance came crimov's cry.
The other side answered, no accident happened.
Soon several cavalry came to us under the guidance of Klimov.
A cavalry Sergeant dismounted and reported to trakov that they were the reconnaissance team of the 255 independent cavalry regiment, which had been withdrawn from the town of upper kurmoyarskaya. From early in the morning, the enemy began to cross the Don River on a large scale there.
After hearing the news, trakov was surprised, and then said to the sergeant, "tell your commander, I, general trakov, commander of the 64th group army, order him to conduct reconnaissance in front of potunginskaya and upper yabulochne, to monitor the enemy's actions. The enemy may enter here from the kojernikovo area. If there is any change in the enemy's situation, let him keep in touch with me through the 29th division headquarters in the village of gnerlovsky. "
After a few cavalry left, we came to the village of gnerlovsky overnight.
When we went into the division headquarters, we found that they were packing up and ready to leave. Trikov went up to division commander klobkin and asked in a loud voice, "Comrade Colonel, what's the matter? Why didn't you report to me that the army is about to start?"
Klobkin looked at trakov and said with a bitter smile, "Comrade commander, I'm sorry. Our division has received an order from the headquarters of the front army, asking us to move eastward from the defensive area to the abganerovo station area."
"What's the matter? Why are you ordered to move? " Trekov asked, puzzled.
"General trakov," klobkin explained patiently, "the head of the front army has learned that the Goth's 4th tank group army is starting from kojelnikovo and rushing to Stalingrad from the south, so he decided to turn the front of the 64th group army to the south to meet the 4th tank group army. In this way, my division should cover the actions of the 64th army from the south. "
When he heard that the order was directly issued by the headquarters of the front army, he could not change it. He could only keep silent about the deployment of the 29th division. However, he held out his hand to klobkin with great grace and said in a friendly way, "good luck to you and your troops, Colonel klobkin!"