Chapter 484

Gordoff went around the table and sat down in the comfortable armchair behind the desk. Then he leaned back, leaned on the back of the chair, raised his hand and pressed it down. He said with a pleasant face, "Comrade oshanina, stop standing and sit down."

Seeing gordolf speak to me in such a friendly manner, I feel like I'm dreaming. You know, last time trekov and I walked into his office and saw him scold trekov. At the moment, he is not so much a commander of the front army as a kind old man. Since he asked me to sit down again, I'm not polite. I walked in front of the long wooden chair opposite him, turned and sat down, legs together, hands on my knees, straight body, maintain a serious posture.

Gordov looked at me and said, "Comrade oshanina, please go on. According to the report given to me by general trakov, the 229th division gave heavy damage to the enemy when it broke through. What's the matter? Comrade deputy commander and I are eager to know what happened. Can you tell us? "

Since gordolf gave me a chance to sing praises for myself, I would not waste it foolishly. So I said with a smile, "Comrade commander, this is the situation. After repelling the enemy's attack during the day, we quietly began to break through that night. When our troops moved to the defensive position only one or two kilometers away from the river, they were found by the enemy's scouts. They called for artillery support and bombarded our necessary passage with artillery, forming a death line. "

Originally, he was sitting on the other side of the table, leaning back on the back of his chair, half closed his eyes, and casually asked deputy commander glikov, when he heard that we were intercepted by gunfire, he suddenly opened his eyes, leaned forward slightly, and curiously asked, "the enemy has set up a death line on your way with gunfire. How did you get through? Did you break up the troops into parts, disperse them and rush through? " At this point, he shook his head vigorously and immediately denied what he had just said, "if the artillery fire is fierce, even if it is scattered, the casualties of the troops will not be small."

"Comrade deputy commander," I looked at him and said politely, "as soon as I saw the death line formed by the enemy's artillery fire, the division commander, Colonel sarin, tentatively sent out a platoon of soldiers to try to see if they could pass smoothly." At this point, I stopped for a moment, sighed, and continued with regret, "as a result, these soldiers were all sacrificed under the enemy's artillery fire before they reached half the distance."

"How did you get through the blockade later?" Compared with the steady general gordov, the deputy commander glikov was obviously a little impatient.

"When Colonel sarin saw that all the soldiers who tried to attack had died, he immediately turned red. At that time, he wanted to transfer the command of the army to me, and then he rushed forward with the soldiers himself. I stopped him in time. "

"What happens when you stop?" This time it was general gordov.

"Comrade commander," I quickly replied, "after stopping the colonel, I told him that according to my observation, the enemy's artillery position should not be far away from where we are. As long as a small unit is sent to take off the enemy's artillery position, then the death blockade line in front of us will not exist."

"If I guess correctly, the commander of this small unit must be you, comrade oshanina." Asked deputy commander glikov kindly.

I nodded at him and replied with a smile, "Comrade deputy commander, your guess is absolutely correct. I led the soldiers of the water barracks to sneak into the vicinity of the enemy's artillery position. Unexpectedly, I found that the enemy's artillery was not covered by infantry. So I launched a surprise attack, annihilated the enemy's artillery and captured all the artillery. At that time, the commander of the naval battalion suggested that I should immediately lead my troops to transfer after blowing up all the enemy's artillery, go to the river and join the main force of the division, and then cross to the left bank of the Don river. "

"Did the guns blow up?" Glikov asked slowly.

"Certainly, comrade deputy commander." I laughed. "But before the bombing, I found a lot of shells in the enemy's position. I said in my heart, since there are so many shells left, don't waste them and give them back to the Germans. He ordered the battalion commander to transfer the soldiers who had been artillery from the water camp, turned the muzzle, and shelled several enemy camps according to the marks on the captured map. Although it is impossible to count the results, according to my estimation, at least one tank camp and two infantry camps of the enemy were destroyed by artillery fire after the artillery attack. "

"Well done, commander o'shanina." Gordov sat up straight, folded his arms on the table, and said to me with a serious face: "there is no denying that your shelling effect is very obvious. According to general lopagin's report to me, the enemy's attack in the daytime was not covered by tanks at all except for the short-term artillery preparation. Our troops easily defeated the enemy's charge. "

With that, he stood up with his hands on the table and said to me solemnly, "commander oshanina, do you know why you were suddenly recalled from the front to the headquarters of the front army?"

Seeing that the commanders all stood up, I couldn't continue to sit. I quickly stood up, shrugged my shoulders and replied, "Comrade commander, I don't know very well. It seems that I was asked to go back to the headquarters of the front army to report to you."

Gordov chuckled twice and said, "although you are sent to our front army by Comrade Zhukov, you have no specific position in the army. What position can you describe?"

"Then why did you call me back to the headquarters of the front army?"

"I received a call from the Supreme Commander himself this morning, in which he mentioned you. It is said that long before the enemy pounced on the Don River Valley, you pointed out that the enemy's attack target was Stalingrad, where we are. " At this point, he turned to glikov and said, "Comrade deputy commander, from the current situation, the enemy wants to capture our Stalingrad. However, our hundreds of thousands of troops deployed between the Don and Volga rivers are not vegetarian. Even if they sacrifice their own lives, they will not let the enemy move forward. They will certainly smash the enemy's attempt completely. "

When I heard gordov mention Stalin, an idea flashed through my mind subconsciously. Did you recall me to Stalingrad, that is, let me abide by Stalin's early orders and stick to the mamayev post? It's a pity that the second lieutenant training team promised by general meletskov has not been given to me. Otherwise, with these junior commanders who are experienced in many battles and have rich combat experience, plus the troops that have been supplemented to me, I can train an elite division.

I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't hear gordoff yelling at me. It was not until he coughed heavily that I woke up. I straightened up and looked at him nervously and said, "Comrade commander of the front army, Lieutenant Colonel o'shanina is waiting for your instructions."

Gordov restrained his smile and said to me, "according to Comrade Stalin's order, let me transfer a division from the reserve team of the front army to your command. Your task is to lead this army to guard the mamayev post. Of course, the symbolic significance of your presence there is far greater than the practical significance. According to my analysis, it is impossible for the enemy to break through the defense line composed of hundreds of thousands of troops and approach Stalingrad. In this case, mamayev post is a relatively safe place. "

After listening to gordolf's words, my good impression on him has suddenly dropped to negative. I've never seen such a conceited commander before. He is still blindly optimistic that the enemy will never get to Stalingrad. I doubt very much that his commander of the front army is only a flatterer.

I looked at the gray haired commander in front of me and asked calmly, "Comrade commander, may I ask what position I will take?"

Gordov replied, "after consulting with the deputy commander General glikov, I decided to let you be the commander of the 35th division of the guards. The division is now coming to Stalingrad from Siberia by train. If it goes well, the troops will be assembled in a week. "

Jin Wei Shi, actually let me be the teacher of Jin Wei Shi. I can't believe it's true. You know, although they are the same division, both the equipment and combat effectiveness of the close guard division are far better than the ordinary division. I secretly pinched my leg, and the pain made me understand that it was all true. I

Looking at gordov, I asked calmly, "Comrade commander, do you have any information about the division? I want to know my troops first. "

Goredov waved his hand and said, "although I have no information, I can tell you something about the division. At present, because there is no formal division commander, the division is temporarily under the command of the deputy division commander, Colonel dubiyanski. The political commissar is the regimental political commissar, lixiqijin. They are both old commanders with more than 20 years of Party and military experience. When you get to the division, you should make good relations with them, so that you can command the troops well. "

I hastily promised: "yes, comrade commander, I will live up to your expectations."

Just as I was thinking about whether I should say goodbye to him, the door was pushed open without warning, and general nikishev, chief of staff of the front army, burst in with a telegraph. He went to the table and, without paying homage to gordov and glikov, handed the telegram to gordov. At the same time, he said in a low voice, "Comrade commander of the front army, something is wrong."

Gordov took the newspaper, picked up the reading glasses on the desk, put them on, and looked down at the contents of the paper. After a quick scan of his eyes on the paper, he slapped the telegraph paper heavily on the table and said angrily, "fool, what a super fool. Thanks to him being a general for so many years, do you know how to command the troops! Only a few days after he took office, fifty or sixty thousand troops were destroyed by him. " After roaring, he walked back and forth in the room with his hands on his back.

I heard glikov ask nikishev in a low voice, "Comrade chief of staff, what's the matter?"

Nikishev looked at me. Although he knew me, he said in a low voice: "Comrade deputy commander, just received the telegram, the coaska River defense line of the 62nd group army was occupied by the enemy, and several divisions of the defensive position were all destroyed. Because the floating bridge built by Comrade kolpakchi on the river was destroyed by general lopagin, the troops could not break through the river. According to intelligence, in addition to the successful breakthrough of less than 1000 people, the remaining tens of thousands of troops were either killed or captured. "

"Where is lopagin now?" Glikov asked.

Nikishev shook his head and said, "it's not clear. Some people say that he died. Others say that before the enemy broke through our defense line, under the cover of several guards, he crossed the Koska river with simple crossing tools and retreated eastward."

Gordov returned to his desk and sat down. His face was solemn and his eyes swept over the three of us. He just showed the dignity that a commander of the front army should have. Suddenly, he patted the desk and announced in a loud voice: "I decided to remove general lopagin as commander of the 62nd Army immediately, Let general trakov, deputy commander of the 64th army, take his place immediately Does general glikov have anything to add? "

Glikov shook his head and said he had nothing to add.

Gordov nodded and ordered nikishev to say, "Comrade chief of staff, call the 64th army headquarters immediately and ask them to inform trikov and go to the 62nd army headquarters immediately to take over the command of lopagin."

Nikishev agreed. Just as he wanted to turn around and leave, he was stopped by gordov. He pointed to the phone on the desk and said to the chief of staff, "don't leave. Just call general shumilov on my phone and ask him to quickly convey my orders to trikov."

Nikishev picked up the phone, dialed a number and said, "I'm general nikishev, chief of staff of the front army. Please connect me with general shumilov, commander of the 64th army." The phone call to the 64th army soon got through, and he said, "is that general sumilov? I'm nikishev, chief of staff. I now give you the latest command of the commander: let general trakov go to the 62nd army immediately and take over the command of the army from general lopagin. "

General shumilov's deep voice came from the microphone: "Comrade chief of staff, I regret to report to you. Trakov is missing and has lost contact with our army headquarters. "

"What, is trekov missing?" Gordov also heard shumilov's words, snatched the microphone from the chief of staff's hand, and asked aloud, "what do you say, trakov is missing?"

"Yes, comrade commander." Hearing the voice of his immediate superior, shumilov honestly replied, "after we lost contact with trakov, some troops found that his vehicle was destroyed on the grassland, with charred bodies on it. Because the commanders and fighters don't know trakov, I've sent the staff who are familiar with him to identify the body. "

Upon hearing the news that trakov might have died, gordolf growled: "general shumilov, I believe that with trakov's wit, it's not so easy to die. Your people must have made a mistake. I now order you to immediately send someone to the grassland to look for trikov, live to see people, die to see the body.

After putting down the phone, gordov sat down in his chair with a face of dismay. He had no energy any more. He didn't move a point for a long time. After a while, he regained a little spirit, shook his head and said, "general glikov, what do you think of this matter? You know, if trakov dies, we can't find a suitable person to take over the command of the 62nd army for the time being."

Seeing glikov's silence, I quickly cut in and said, "Comrade commander, please allow me to say something."

Gordov looked up at me and said, "what do you want to say?"

"Comrade commander, I don't think general trakov made any sacrifice. Maybe he lost contact with us temporarily because of communication equipment failure. I believe he will be able to contact us soon through communication tools of other troops."

"Are you sure?" Asked gordov suspiciously.

I answered with great certainty: "the last time general trakov and I left the headquarters of the front army, we encountered the situation of communication equipment failure and loss of contact with the army. I think it's a similar situation this time. I can guarantee that general trakov will return to the army safely. " I'm kidding. If trakov had died at this time, the battle of Stalingrad would have been a different ending.

Gordov pulled out two cigarettes from his cigarette box, threw one to glikov and held the other in his mouth. He sat behind his desk, smoking and meditating without saying a word. He did not speak, nor did general glikov. He just smoked. Seeing that the two commanders did not speak, I was even more afraid to express any opinions and could only keep silent.

Seeing that a cigarette was finished, gordolf pressed the cigarette end out in the ashtray. As if he had made great determination, he waved his hand and said, "well, since lieutenant commander o'shanina said so confidently, I believe that trakov has lost contact with us. I will urge general sumilov to increase the scope of his search, Find trakov's whereabouts as soon as possible... General glikov, anything else to add? "

Glikov shook his head again, saying he had nothing to add.

Gordov then turned his eyes to me again. After taking a look at me, he said to nikishev: "Comrade chief of staff, I have officially appointed lieutenant colonel oshanina as the commander of the 35th division of the guards. Take her downstairs to find a room to serve as a temporary division headquarters

Nikishev looked at me and said with some embarrassment, "Comrade commander, do you need to equip commander oshanina with staff at all levels of the division headquarters? You know, the officers and men of the 35th division are still on their way to Stalingrad. " Gordolf waved his hand and said, "no equipment. She's just here for a few days. When the vanguard of the 35th division arrives, she will be able to take office directly. "