Chapter 718

Half an hour later, 1500 soldiers who had received the tools began to dig trenches along the Volga River. Although they have not received any military training, they are very handy in doing things like digging holes.

Looking at the trenches gradually formed in the hands of the soldiers, I couldn't help nodding with satisfaction, and said to razumeyeva standing beside me: "Comrade lieutenant, it seems that these new soldiers are good at digging. Even if they pull over the old soldiers who often dig trenches, they can't match them."

Without waiting for razumeyeva to speak, Elia had already said in advance: "Comrade General, you may not know that most of them are collective farms from Kazakhstan. They are good at doing farm work, and they often volunteer to participate in various water conservancy projects. A job like digging is just a piece of cake for them. "

When Elijah was talking, I vaguely saw a dozen commanders coming towards us. I patted Elijah on the shoulder, pointed to the people coming from afar, and asked him curiously, "Comrade commander, look at someone coming towards us. Look, is it someone you know?"

Elia turned to see, immediately excited, he excitedly said to me: "it's the teacher." I'm going to leave with my legs raised.

Teacher, what teacher? I grabbed him who was about to leave and asked curiously, "Comrade commander, which division is it?"

"What kind of teacher can I be? I'm the teacher of our new division. Now that he has appeared, the other two regiments must have arrived, so that we don't worry about the shortage of builders. "

When the people who wanted to help arrived, I was overjoyed. I immediately called razumeyeva, followed Elia, and quickly welcomed the group of commanders and fighters.

When the two groups of us were four or five meters apart, we stopped at the same time. Then a little old man of medium height with a large abdomen like a pregnant woman came out of the crowd, raised his hand to salute me, and reported: "Comrade General, the new division commander, Colonel Bantai leiev, has reported to you that all the divisions have arrived at the designated positions, waiting for your orders, Please indicate the next task. "

After giving him a salute, I said to him, "Captain bantailev, it's a good time for you to come. You see, "I said, pointing to the soldiers who were digging trenches in the distance," the headquarters of the front army ordered us to build two trenches on the Volga River, because we didn't know when the enemy would rush across the river, so we had to finish the construction before dark. I'm worried about the shortage of manpower. I didn't expect you to come. "

The colonel said to me with a smile, "Comrade General, I just went to see Comrade Khrushchev, the military Commissar. He told me all the current situation. Please don't worry. I'll arrange the staff immediately to help the soldiers of the first regiment repair their fortifications. " With that, he turned to the back and said, "Comrade chief of staff, come to me."

A major followed his cry and came running quickly, standing straight in front of us. The Colonel began to command him: "immediately transfer both regiments, one regiment is in charge of a trench, speed up the construction speed, and make sure to finish it before dark."

The major agreed, turned and ran back to the crowd, called two soldiers, and strode along the way.

After the major left, Bantai leiev suddenly asked Elijah curiously, "Hello, comrade commander, where is your political commissar?"

I understand that the political commissar he asked was major Yamin from the Ministry of interior. He quickly helped Elijah and said, "Comrade Colonel, because the riverside works are easy to be flooded, the superior asked us to cut down wood and lay it in the trench to prevent water. And major Yaming, with a battalion of troops, went to the north forest to cut wood. "

"Oh, so it is." When bandeleev said this, I obviously found that he was secretly relieved. It seems that he was also dissatisfied with the interior major who was the acting political commissar, but he did not dare to show it in public.

In the past, I hated political workers and staff of the Ministry of internal affairs most. But as time goes on, I found that today's political workers basically have the basic military command ability, and there are few cases of blind command like those in the early days of the war. The people in the Ministry of internal affairs are different. They always feel superior and always rely on their special identity to do whatever they want. As a result, they get angry and resentful. They don't know if they will be shot in the battlefield.

With the addition of a new force, the speed of digging the trenches suddenly increased a lot. Originally, I saw many officers and men standing in the waist deep trench, shoveling soil out. Before long, no one could be seen from a distance, only the occasional flash of the shovel, shovel after shovel of soil out. In order to check whether the excavated trench was up to standard, I walked towards the newly excavated trench, and bantaileiev followed.

We stood on the mound by the trench, looking at the busy soldiers below. Because the soil was newly dug out, it was very wet and soft. As soon as I stood up, I felt my feet sink a little bit. I quickly stepped back and stood on the hard ground.

"Comrade oshanina," banteliev asked hesitantly, "do you think the Germans will cross the Volga?"

"No, comrade colonel." Almost without thinking, I said to him, "although the Germans have an advantage in the city, they can't destroy our troops and drive us out of the city. We can not only block the enemy, but also wipe them out completely and cleanly. "

My answer was obviously unexpected. He hesitated for a moment and then asked curiously, "I didn't expect you to be so confident, even when our army is at a disadvantage, you are still confident."

I didn't answer him. I just laughed casually and then turned the topic aside: "how many commanders have combat experience in your division?"

Bantai leiev thought for a moment and replied, "there are 227 officers, all of whom are commanders of regiments and battalions." At this point, he specially explained to me, "because when our troops enter the city, they will be split up immediately and incorporated into divisions or brigades with heavy losses, so the whole division has only three levels of division, regiment and battalion."

"Where will you commanders go when the soldiers are added to the units?" Thinking of the more than 200 commanders with rich combat experience, I suddenly had the idea of digging a corner, so I asked, "do you want to join these troops like the soldiers, or do you want to draw out alone and return to the starting point to recruit and train new troops?"

Bantaileiev's face showed a bitter smile. After a long time, he pointed to the ferryboat on the Volga River, which was heading for the other bank. He was unwilling to say: "in fact, we are similar to the sailors who transport materials. They transport materials, but we transport soldiers. If there is no accident, after sending these soldiers into the city, we have to go back to the starting point and continue to recruit soldiers from the city and the farm. "

"Comrade Colonel, do you have any idea of staying in the combat forces?" It is said that the task of these commanders will end after the recruits are sent to the city. My idea of wooing them becomes more and more intense. I tentatively asked: "my troops are newly formed, and they lack enough backbone and experienced commanders. I wonder if you and your subordinates can consider joining me?"

After listening to what I said, bandeleev did not immediately express his position, but asked noncommittally, "Comrade oshanina, I don't know where your troops are stationed?"

"Mamayev post." I said lightly.

"Mamayev post?" Bantai leiev's voice suddenly raised several tones, so that some busy soldiers nearby were also shocked by him. They stopped their work and stood up straight to look at us.

"Whatever you look at, you'll be busy." After yelling at the distracted soldiers, I looked at bantaileiev and said in a straight voice, "yes, comrade Colonel, my independent division has been stationed at mamayev post since the beginning of September. Although my Division has been greatly reduced from more than 10000 at the beginning to more than 2000, we are firmly in front of the Germans like a gate, so that they can not move forward at all. "

My boasting excited Bantai leiev. He held out his hands, shook my hands and said excitedly, "general oshanina, I didn't expect that it was your troops who were holding the mamayev post. It's a great honor to work with you. "

I was confused by Bantai leiev's attitude. After I let go of his hand, I asked curiously, "Comrade Colonel, what's the matter? I'm confused because you don't speak clearly." After that, I stared at him, trying to hear what he would say.

Bantailiev looked to the left and right for a moment, and then said to me in a low voice: "Sir, there are many people here, and we have to change to a quiet place." With that, he took me to the side for more than ten or twenty meters, and thought we were almost in the same position, so he stopped.

I also looked around. Although we are in the sight of the soldiers around us, the nearest soldiers are about ten meters away. As long as we don't speak loudly, they can't hear us at all.

Bantaileiev said to me in a low voice, "Comrade General, maybe you don't know. As soon as the Germans crossed the Don River and got close to Stalingrad, the general staff had a war game. According to the deduction, the key point of the enemy's attack is the mamayev post. It is possible that the enemy will seize the mamayev post from our army within the first week after approaching Stalingrad. In the following battles, in order to recapture and maintain this highland, our army will invest at least five to eight divisions a month. It's going to be a flesh and blood mill

Bantai leiev's words made me shiver. I said that the war game deduction is too magical, and it actually deduces all the events in the real history. However, due to my appearance and the inexplicable emergence of the independent division, there has been a small deviation in history. Mamayevgang, which has become the focus of contention between the Soviet Union and Germany, is still in our hands at the moment.

Of course, these are all my personal secrets. I must not let outsiders know. Although I was shocked in my heart, I still acted as if nothing had happened and said, "Comrade Colonel, it seems that this war game deduction is not very accurate. You see how long the fighting has been going on, but the mamayev post is still in our hands. "

Bantaileiev nodded, and then said to me solemnly, "general oshanina, the probability of mistakes in wargame deduction is very small, otherwise the general staff will not adopt this method. The reason why the mamayev post is still under the control of our army has a lot to do with your division commander. I've decided that, with the permission of the superior, I will lead these commanders under my command to join your independent division. I hope you can agree. "

As soon as bantaileiev's words came out, I was very excited. I quickly took his hand, shook it vigorously, and said, "Comrade Colonel, this is really wonderful. On behalf of all the officers and men of the independent division, I welcome you and your subordinates to join us. "

By two o'clock in the afternoon, the earthwork of the two two kilometer long trenches had been completed, and the rest was to put the wood transported back by major Yaming and lay it neatly at the bottom of the trench to prevent water.

Bantai leiev and I were squatting by the trench, watching the soldiers lay logs when suddenly a cry came from the distance. Hearing that the other party seemed to be calling my name, I quickly stood up and looked in the direction of the voice. I saw that it was not someone else, but Yakubov, whom I knew well.

Seeing the captain's appearance, I speculated that Khrushchev might have given me some new orders. After speaking to bantailiev, I quickly went to Yakubov.

Still far away, I asked him curiously, "Captain Yakubov, what can I do for you?"

"Command, the latest command." Yakubov, who was running out of breath, said to me breathlessly, "the military commissar ordered the new division to stop building fortifications immediately and seize the time to have a rest. In the evening, get the necessary weapons on the dock, board the ship and enter Stalingrad. "

I was overjoyed by this unexpected order. I immediately asked, "Comrade captain, do you still have an explanation from the military commissar?"

"Yes." Yakubov's breathing calmed down a little, and then delivered Khrushchev's order: "he said that the first regiment of the new division was incorporated into your independent division, while the other two regiments, led by the division commander, Colonel bantailev, went to the headquarters of the 62nd army and handed over to trikov."

At this time, Bantai leiev came to me and asked curiously, "general oshanina, what's the matter? You look very happy. "

"Yes, yes, comrade colonel." I was especially excited to think that I could return to mamayev post again, and still return with a new supplementary army. "Just received the order from the superior, let's stop building fortifications. In the evening, after picking up weapons on the dock, take a ferry into Stalingrad. "

"Great, that's great." Bantaileiev was also happy to hear that his army would no longer be an engineer. He then asked, "how are the troops in the division distributed by the superior?"

"The first regiment was assigned to my independent division, and the recruits of the other two regiments were led by you to the 62nd army headquarters and handed over to commander trekov."

Bantai leiev was happy for a moment, and then he asked me in embarrassment, "when do you want to ask the superior for instructions about me and my independent division?"

"Don't worry, comrade colonel." I comforted him and said, "first, you will lead your troops to the headquarters of the group army. After the handover, you will bring your subordinates to my independent division to report. After crossing the river, I will personally report this matter to general yelomienko and military commissar Comrade Khrushchev. "

In the evening, two thousand officers and men of the pioneer group and I crowded into eight ferries on the wharf and crossed the river with me. Apart from razumeyeva, several other female soldiers also went with us.

As the ship sailed towards the West Bank, I looked at the weapons in the hands of the soldiers in the cabin and said to the commander Elia with regret: "Comrade commander, I didn't expect that the front army was so poor that I couldn't even guarantee a rifle. You see, at present, every three people have a gun. If we fight like this, we will suffer greatly. "

As political commissar Yaming was not on the same boat with us, Elia spoke more casually. He said gratefully, "Comrade General, this is very good." Then he came close to me in a low voice and said, "in fact, on the battlefield, because of the lack of weapons, new recruits are not given weapons at all. At most, a grenade or anti tank mine is given to one person, so that they can attack the enemy. As a result, in the end, the enemy did not wipe out a few, and almost all of our people died. "

After the ship came to shore, I took this army with incomplete weapons and advanced along the open area behind the mamayev post to the headquarters of the division.

As soon as he reached the foot of the mountain, he met a patrol led by Captain horushov himself. He was overjoyed to see me and the new supplementary troops. He immediately sent someone to report the good news to the political commissar.

After I introduced him to Elijah, I began to distribute the troops: "commander Elijah, we must now disperse and replenish the troops into the regiments. Your first battalion goes to the second regiment of the independent division; The second and third battalions go to the fourth regiment in the North highland; Captain horushov will send the remaining four battalions to the third regiment. "

As soon as I had allocated the places for the battalions of the vanguard regiment, horushov immediately ordered his men to act as guides for the battalions and take them to their new places.