Chapter 598

I thought that when trekov saw me, even if he didn't show great enthusiasm, at least his face should be overjoyed. Unexpectedly, when he saw me, he just raised his hand and said with no expression: "Comrade o'shanina is coming, sit down!"

I didn't expect that trekov's attitude towards me would be so indifferent. I was stunned. After a moment's hesitation, I sat beside gurov again.

Trikov stood beside general Krylov for a moment. Seeing that he had been busy communicating with the troops by telephone, he sighed, went to the stone bench at the table, sat down, faced us, and said to gurov in a deep tone: "Comrade military commissar, I have an unfortunate news for you: half an hour ago, General gorazkov, commander of the 35th division of the guards, died in the battle

"What, general gorazkov died." When I heard the news, I jumped up from my stool.

Gurov seemed to be used to this kind of news. He looked up at me strangely, and then asked trekov slowly, "Comrade commander, what's the matter?"

Trikov stopped for a moment, then leaned slightly over gurov and began to say, "with the help of the 51st infantry, the 14th German tank army launched a fierce attack on the position of the 100th infantry regiment north of the mamayev post. As the regiment's defense areas were all open and without danger, coupled with the lack of sufficient anti tank weapons, the defense line was soon broken through by the German army. At this time, general gorazkov arrived with the 101st regiment of reinforcements. After a tough fight, he drove the enemy out of our position.

But the Germans, unwilling to lose, launched another attack half an hour later. They first used heavy artillery to bombard the positions of the 100th regiment, causing heavy casualties to our troops without solid defensive positions. When the German tanks again covered the troops of a regiment approaching our army, after a short period of resistance, our army was forced to withdraw from the position in front of the strong German offensive. After gorazkov and the division instructor's machine gun company were cut off, the cover troops retreated to the mamayev post. Unfortunately, they were shot and killed. It was lieutenant ibaluri, the company commander of the machine gun company, who risked taking back the division commander's body with several soldiers. "

When trakov finished speaking, gurov sighed and asked slowly, "did the machine gun company rescue general gorazkov back to the position and let the military doctor examine him? Is there any hope of life? "

Trekov shook his head solemnly and replied, "it's cold this morning. General gorazkov started with his troops in a long military coat. Just now, in the position of the 102nd regiment at mamayev post, I saw not only the body of general gorazkov, but also his military coat. You know what? There are 160 bullet holes in that military coat. "

"My God," gurov said uncontrollably, "with so many bullets, general gorazkov's body has not been destroyed?"

Trekov nodded and said bitterly, "yes, the whole person was almost destroyed by bullets. All the soldiers of the machine gun company were not afraid of life and death before they took back the body of their division."

"Comrade commander, how many people are left in the 35th division of the guards?" Chief of staff Krylov, who had temporarily stopped answering the phone, stood up and asked cautiously.

Trikov turned to look at him and replied with a bitter smile: "at present, the total strength of the 100th, 101st and 102nd regiments of the guards is no more than 1500, of which only 600 are infantry."

Hearing the data reported by trakov, the headquarters was silent. Krailov couldn't help but shut up in surprise. After a long time, he was surprised and asked, "what, there are only 1500 people. You know, there are tens of thousands of people in the 35th division of the guards. It's only a few days before the team is almost finished?"

Instead of answering his question, trakov turned to look at me and asked, "Comrade oshanina, how many people are in your army?"

I had already sat down again. Seeing that trekov asked me, I immediately stood up and answered, "report to commander, since the main force of the division is still changing guard with the 70th division of the guards, I only brought the first and second regiments to come here first. There are 4000 people in the two regiments."

"Where are the two regiments?" Trekov asked.

I quickly replied: "the first regiment is under the hillside where the headquarters of the group army is located, while the second regiment is marching on foot here."

"The German army is still shelling the position of the 102nd regiment of the guards on the mamayev post. When the shelling stops, your troops will seize the time to exchange defense with the commander of the 35th division of the guards."

After hearing trekov's order, I agreed and then asked, "Comrade commander, general gorazkov has died. Who is the commander of the 35th division of the guards now?"

"I've asked the deputy division commander, Colonel dubiyanski, to take over the post of division commander. When changing the guard, you can go directly to him."

General krailov stood by, and when trakov had finished his command, he waved to me and said, "Colonel oshanina, come to me, and I'll give you a brief introduction to the current situation."

Although I have stood on the post of mamayev, I still have a dark eye on the current situation. When I just heard the order of trakov, I was still thinking about who to ask. I didn't expect that krailov had considered this problem first.

When I got to Krylov's side, he pointed to the map and said to me, "Colonel oshanina, come and see. Our current position is mamayev post. Mamayev's name comes from Badu Khan of the Mongolian army, where his troops camped when they moved westward to Europe. Standing on the high ground, you can overlook the whole city of Stalingrad and the Volga River. If anyone controls this area, he can control a large area, including the transportation line of Volga River, which is the lifeblood of Stalingrad. So the order given to you by the headquarters of the group army is to keep here at all costs. "

After pondering for a moment, I asked curiously, "Comrade chief of staff, I want to know where the position of the 102nd regiment of the guards is at mamayev post."

After listening to my question, krailov pointed to the map again and said, "this is the position of the 102nd regiment of the guards. They are on the main position of the mamayev post. To the east of the position is the Volga River, and to the south is the city. The headquarters of the group army is located in the southwest of the main position. Two kilometers west of us is the 107.5 highland defended by tank troops. I suggest that you put only one regiment in the main position, and the rest of the troops should be deployed in this hill and the city behind, so as to prevent the German army from attacking our city directly from the side of the highland when it repeatedly attacks the highlands. "

Then he stood up straight and said to trakov, "that's all I have to say. Vasili Ivanovich, do you have anything else to add?"

Instead of speaking, trakov looked at military Commissioner gurov with inquiring eyes. Seeing that he nodded his head in agreement, he said, "I have nothing to add. Colonel oshanina, you can go back to your troops."

After listening to trekov, I stood still. I was thinking that if the headquarters of the group army continued to stay on this hillside, my division headquarters would have to be set up on the mamayev post. In that case, under the double attack of German shells and bombs, perhaps in two days, my division headquarters and I would be destroyed by the powerful fire of the German army.

Seeing me standing still, gurov asked slowly, "Comrade oshanina, do you have anything else to say?"

I nodded to the comrades of the military commissar and said with certainty, "yes, comrades of the military Commissar. In my opinion, for the sake of safety, the headquarters of the group army should not stay here any longer, but should quickly move to the cities where you can better command the operations of the whole group army. "

"What do you say, Colonel o'shanina?" He said sternly, "I want you to find out one thing. Is it the group army commander or the division commanding the group army. Where the group army headquarters is located, you can't count it, but I has the final say.

When I was about to defend myself, krailov helped me out in time. He said to trikov, "Comrade commander, there is something I haven't had time to inform you. The headquarters of the front army called and said that they had moved to the East Bank of the Volga River. For the sake of safety, commander yelimenko ordered us to withdraw the headquarters of the group army into the city immediately. "

"It's easy to withdraw into the city," he asked without looking back. "But where do we have to put our headquarters to command the troops as easily as we do now?"

"Our new headquarters will be set up in the original headquarters of the front army."

After listening to krailov's words, trakovsky no longer insisted, but politely asked gurov's opinion: "your opinion, comrade military commissar?"

Gurov still said slowly: "I have no opinion, resolutely obey the orders of the superior."

Today's series of performances of gurov make me feel that he is extremely abnormal. When I worked with him in the past, he didn't have such a slow character. Why didn't I see him for a month? This question in my heart, until three months after the end of the campaign, when the military commissar gurov suddenly passed away, I knew that he had suffered from a serious heart disease at the moment, because the damned war had affected his health and greatly shortened his life.

The change of defense was carried out in an hour. Due to the long journey, the second regiment led by Pugachev has not yet arrived at mamayev post. I just need to lead the first regiment to receive the defense.

The new commander of the 35th division, Colonel dubiyanski, is a tall, unsmiling commander, which may have something to do with the political workers he has served for many years. After seeing our troops enter the position, he just gave a brief introduction to the situation on the position, and then withdrew with his disabled and defeated general.

After the withdrawal of Colonel dubiyanski and his troops, shejerikov, who had observed the surrounding terrain, said to me, "Comrade division commander, I think the defensive front of this position is too narrow. If we put all our troops here, once we are bombarded and bombed by the German army, we will suffer unnecessary losses."

"What do you think?" I have always been good at listening to the opinions of my subordinates. When I heard something from Sergey rickov, I asked directly.

"In my opinion, while strengthening the front fortifications and digging more air defense and artillery holes, we should also excavate the hideout on the back of the highland. Two companies were set up in the positions on the mountainside and on the top of the hillside, and the rest of the troops were hidden in the cave as reserves. When the forces in the positions are tight, the reserve forces will be transferred to support them. "

After listening to the proposal, I nodded my head without hesitation and said with approval, "commander shijerikov, you are right. Now that you have an idea, you should act immediately. The Germans won't give us too much time to reinforce the fortifications, so whether you are reinforcing the fortifications or digging the hideouts, you must race against the clock. "

Xiejerikov left after saluting, and then appeared in front of me was lieutenant razumeyeva, the commander of communication company. She came up to me and reported to me, "Comrade division commander, communication company has arrived. Where are you going to put them?"

I looked around, and it was obvious that the communication company could not be placed in the front of the defensive position, so I waved my hand and said, "I see a gully between the two hillsides, so I'll put the communication company there for the time being."

"In addition, the 35th division of Jinwei also left a women's communication class. They are still in the valley at the moment." When razumeyeva saw that I was turning to leave, she quickly stopped me and added: "I think the guard division suffered heavy casualties anyway. After withdrawing, she must go to the rear to rest, and our number of signalmen is not enough. Otherwise, let's leave this communication class?"

"Well, let's leave them. These female soldiers should be proficient, which will be of great help to us." When I heard her suggestion, I almost agreed without thinking. Let alone a communication class, it is a communication company. If I can stay, I will not hesitate to stay.

Although I have made my words very clear, razumeyeva still said with some misgivings: "if you want to keep them, it is estimated that you need to negotiate with their superiors."

"Comrade lieutenant, come with me. Let's go to see the female signalmen first, and then talk to their superiors."

Razumeyeva and I did not walk along the hillside full of shrubs and low plants into the gully. We saw a group of female soldiers who obviously did not belong to our division, moving things from the green tents of the two armies. Seeing this scene, razumeyeva couldn't help but feel a little worried and urged me to say: "Sir, look, they are moving equipment out, probably ready to withdraw. Let's go faster. If they remove all the equipment and we install and debug it again, it will take a lot of time. "

I nodded and stepped up. At the same time, I waved my arms to the young girls from a distance and cried out: "soldiers, wait a minute. Soldier comrades, please wait a moment When razumeyeva heard my voice, she followed me.

Our shouts were heard by the girls in the communication class. They stopped their work and stood beside the communication equipment moved out of the tent, staring at us running towards them.

I ran to them and gasped and asked, "girls, who is in charge here?"

A female corporal came up to me, saluted me and reported, "report to the colonel, I'm corporal stucallova, the monitor of the communication class. Do you have any instructions?"

"Corporal stucallova, I now officially announce to you that from now on, your communication class will be assigned to the commander of my independent division's communication company," I continued panting with my hands crossed Then I raised a hand to the next razumeyeva pointed, said: "this is your new company commander, Lieutenant razumeyeva."

I thought stucallova would immediately agree with me when I said that, but she shook her head and said, "I'm sorry, comrade colonel. We can't accept your order until we have received the written order from the division commander of the 35th division

"Ah?! Don't take my orders When I heard the corporal say that, I almost rushed to her and grabbed her by the collar and beat her hard. But I quickly restrained my impulse. Corporal stukarova's reply was correct. She would not easily accept the orders of a new Commander without receiving orders from her superiors.

Razumeyeva said the other side very firmly. She couldn't help getting anxious. She came close to my ear and asked in a quiet voice, "Comrade teacher, what should we do now?"

I'm still in a bit of a dilemma when I hear about this issue of razumeyeva. If I go to find Colonel dubiyanski alone, he will definitely not agree to put the communication class under my command; If we call razumeyeva together, what should we do if we don't watch the communication class here and they withdraw on their own? Now that everyone's gone, it's no use even if I have a written order from dobyansky in my hand.

When I was in a dilemma, I suddenly saw several female soldiers coming down the hillside in the direction of the headquarters of the group army. At a glance, I saw that they were from the communication company of the division. I quickly touched razumeyeva with my arm and said to her, "Lieutenant, look quickly. Those female soldiers are from your communication company."

Razumeyeva turned her head and then yelled at the female soldiers on the hillside: "private Taya, private Liuba, private Lena, private kraftya, private Shura, come to me quickly."

Several female soldiers who were called by her ran all the way down the hillside, came to us and stood still. Their eyes were moving back and forth on me and razumeyeva. It was obvious that they were ambivalent and didn't know who to report to. I raised my chin to razumeyeva and said, "report to your company commander."

After listening to me, several female soldiers saluted razumeyeva and asked for instructions: "company commander, we are waiting for your orders. What instructions do you have?" Razumeyeva didn't look back at me, so she directly told her girls: "girls, I give you a difficult task. We are going to set up our communication station here in the valley. These are the soldiers from the communication class of the 35th division of Jinwei. You are now debugging the equipment with them. No one is allowed to leave the tent until my teacher and I come back. Do you understand? " After her words, several female soldiers of the communication company replied loudly, "I see!" Razumeyeva glared at them and said, "now that I understand, what are you doing here? We should help them to move these communication equipment back to the tent and start the installation and debugging of the equipment. " When I saw the female signalmen under razumeyeva moving the equipment back into the tent, I went to corporal stucallova and said to her with a kind face: "corporal comrade, I'll go to Colonel dubiyanski to get a written order. Please go back to the tent first and help my men debug the equipment. You know, the main force of our division will soon enter the mamayev post. First of all, we must ensure smooth communication. " Corporal stucallova nodded helplessly when I said this, and then said to her subordinates, "girls, go back to the tent, and install the removed equipment." Razumeyeva and I quickly walked to the position of the headquarters of the group army. On the way, razumeyeva was a little worried and said, "Comrade division commander, do you think Colonel dubiyanski will agree to give this communication class to our command?" In fact, I don't have enough confidence in this matter, but in front of my subordinates, I still said, "don't worry, comrade lieutenant. If Colonel dubyansky doesn't agree, I'll go to the commander. As long as the commander comes forward, this communication class will certainly be under our command. " When I went to the headquarters of the group army, I didn't see the Sentinels just now. On the contrary, I saw some familiar faces. Razumeyeva looked around and said curiously, "is it the troops of the second regiment coming up?" It's said that the second regiment is stationed here. My heart can't help but thump. I can't say that if the headquarters of the group army is transferred, I have to go to the city to find trekov. Thinking of this, I went to the door of the shelter I had been to, lifted the curtain and went in. There were several people sitting in the room. When they saw me and razumeyeva coming in, they all stood up to salute us. With the help of the dim light of the candle, I could see that inside was the acting commander of the second regiment, Pugachev, and several of his company commanders. I sat down on the bench beside the table and asked in a steady voice, "Comrade Pugachev, are all your troops here?" Pugachev stood straight in front of me and answered in a loud voice, "yes, sir, the second regiment has all arrived, waiting for your instructions!"“ Come with me, comrade Pugachev. " I went to the gate of the headquarters, lifted the curtain, pointed to the distance and said to him, "do you see the hillside over there?" Seeing Pugachev nodding his head vigorously, I continued: "the defense area of the first regiment is on that hillside. You immediately spread out the second regiment on this hillside and build fortifications and Tibetan soldier caves on the top of the hillside. In addition to placing one or two companies in the positions, the main forces of the remaining two regiments went to hide in the cave for standby. "