Chapter 805

Khrushchev stood up to say goodbye to us, but he seemed to see something by accident. He just took two steps and stopped. His eyes crossed my shoulder and stayed in a corner behind me. I looked around curiously, trying to find out what was there that would attract his attention.

I looked at the corner carefully and found that there was nothing else except the flag leaning against the wall. Was it the flag that attracted Khrushchev's attention?

Khrushchev passed us and quickly came to the wall. He held the flag in his hand and asked, "Comrade oshanina, is this the flag of your independent division?"

"Yes, comrade military Commissar." Hearing his question, I quickly came to his back and said, "this flag was awarded to our independent division by commander trakov himself."

Khrushchev pulled off the outer flag cover. The general flag spread out and looked at it. Then it slowly rolled up and put on the flag cover again. Then he slowly said, "it's well kept." After leaning against the wall again, the general flag turned around and asked me, "how many soldiers have your division arranged to take charge of the flag?"

"Ah, the soldier in charge of the flag?" I was confused by Khrushchev's words. It was the first time that I heard that there would be special staff to take care of the wrong flag, so I was immediately dumb.

Seeing that I was at a loss, Khrushchev's face showed an expression of discontent, but he patiently said to me, "Comrade oshanina, you have been in the army for a short time and you have been fighting all the time. You can be excused for not knowing something. However, I think it is necessary to make it clear to you that our army has had a strong feeling for the flag since the Czarist era. As a symbol of organizational system and honor, the military flag issued to the regiment level and above is not only strictly regulated in terms of specification, size, style and material, but also equipped with special flagpole, flagpole head and flag cover, which must be kept by a specially assigned person. When the officers and soldiers of the Army take the oath, they should put out the flag. After the oath is completed, each person should kneel down and kiss the flag

I heard what Khrushchev said for the first time, so I kept my head nodding while I kept it in mind. After he finished his speech, I quickly said, "please rest assured that I will set up a class of soldiers as soon as possible to take charge of the custody of the military flag."

After hearing my statement, Khrushchev nodded with satisfaction, raised his hand, looked at his watch and said, "things are done here. It's time for me to go back to the east bank. Good luck to you Then he reached out to me.

When he shook hands with bantaileiev, the latter took the initiative to ask him, "Comrade military commissar, we have captured more than 200 Germans this time. Do you think we can take them to the east bank by the way?" Perhaps for fear of Khrushchev's disagreement, he specially stressed that "the situation in the city is very bad now, and there are no conditions for accepting prisoners. If we don't send them to the east bank, we will have to get rid of them in order not to be rescued by the Germans. "

Khrushchev clearly understood the meaning of this treatment. In the Katyn Forest two years ago, they had dealt with thousands of captured Polish officers in this way. Therefore, Khrushchev was silent after hearing bantailiev's request.

I didn't speak. I just listened to the conversation. At this moment, I suddenly felt someone tugged at my sleeve and turned to see that it was kirilov. He saw that I turned my head and quickly nuzui to the side, motioned for me to look aside. He was standing next to captain busmanov, who ran in from outside at some time. From his expression, it seemed that there was something important to report to us.

Because Khrushchev and bantailiev were talking, I was afraid of affecting them. I only waved to basmanov to come to me. Busmanov came up to me and stood close to my ear, ready to report to me. At this moment, Khrushchev found basmanov. He stopped talking with bantailiev, looked at the captain and asked sternly, "Comrade captain, what are you doing here?"

Basmanov may not have thought that Khrushchev would suddenly speak to himself. For a moment, he was at a loss. He looked at the other side and looked at it again. He opened his mouth a few times, but finally he didn't say anything. He could only keep silent in panic.

Seeing basmanov's delay in answering his question, Khrushchev's face faintly showed anger. He raised his voice and asked again: "Comrade captain, didn't you hear me? Why didn't you answer? I asked you, "what are you doing here and what happened?"

Basmanov took a deep breath, then straightened up, put his hands close to the seams of his trousers, took a step forward, and replied in a loud voice: "report to Comrade military commissar, there is a captured German lieutenant who wants to see the division commander."

His words surprised everyone, including me. Khrushchev stopped in front of basmanov, frowned, looked at him with puzzled eyes, and asked discontentedly, "what kind of German prisoners want to see Comrade oshanina?"

"The German commander captured in the northward operation." In the face of Khrushchev's severe questioning, basmanov replied in panic: "as soon as I left the headquarters just now, some soldiers came to report to me that a captured German officer wanted to see the division commander, so I decided to..."

Khrushchev interrupted and asked, "what do German prisoners do when they see Comrade oshanina?"

Instead of answering immediately, busmanov gave me a sidelong look. When he looked at me like this, I began to wonder which German prisoner wanted to see me. If I can't tell you clearly, I think the good image I just set up in Khrushchev's mind will be greatly reduced.

"Captain, what's the matter with you? Are you dumb?" When Khrushchev saw that basmanov did not speak, he raised his voice and asked angrily, "why don't you answer me?"

"Comrades of the Military Commission." Basmanov was not so nervous at the moment. He reported clearly: "it's a German lieutenant named Braun. After he was captured, he helped my troops successfully enter konaiyi city."

After listening to basmanov say the name of Braun, I guess what's going on. Seeing that basmanov was too restrained in front of Khrushchev, he also asked and answered questions one by one. I don't know how long it will take to go on like this, so he quickly took the initiative to explain this matter: "Comrade military commissar, let me explain it to you. This German lieutenant was captured in the first battle of our army going north. Maybe it was because he talked with the defectors in our army. When we attacked konaiyi city secretly, he helped our troops disguised as German army to enter the city successfully, thus reducing our casualties in the battle of seizing the city. "

After listening to my explanation, Khrushchev nodded and asked basmanov, "did Lieutenant Braun say that he wanted to see Comrade oshanina? What is it for?"

"Yes, comrade military Commissar." The calm busmanov quickly replied: "he said he wanted to stay in our army and asked not to send him to the prison camp."

Basmanov's words made Khrushchev sneer again and again: "if he wants to stay in our army instead of going to the POW camp, he is too whimsical." Then he turned to look at me and asked, "Comrade oshanina, what do you think?"

I have a good impression of this Lieutenant Braun. If he didn't cover basmanov's small troops to sneak into the city on the day of attacking konnyi, it is estimated that we would pay several times the price in the battle of seizing the city. Hearing Khrushchev's question, I pleaded for him and said, "Comrade military commissar, I think we can keep Lieutenant Braun. Maybe it will play an unexpected role in the future."

"Well, since oshanina, you don't think it's a problem for him to stay in your division," Khrushchev said. After thinking about it for a moment, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "then stay."

When we sent Khrushchev away from the headquarters, he walked side by side with me. At the same time, he also told me: "today's award is of course a recognition of your achievements. But it's important to let all the officers and men of the red flag independent division know that their achievements will not be buried. In this case, I can be confident that they will accomplish any task. Besides, as a division commander, you don't have to squat in the bunkers on the front line all the time, because your position should be in the division command post, where you should lead the whole fighting process. But as a commander at a higher level, when he foresees that the war situation is extremely critical, he should not be far away from the front, but should be as close to his soldiers as possible. That's what they did, trakov. Because in this way, even if the situation is more dangerous, the soldiers will not complain about you. On the contrary, they will cover you with their chest and try to complete their tasks. "

When he shook hands with us and said goodbye, he finally told me: "remember, everyone is worried about the fate of mamayev post. If it is occupied, then the enemy will control the whole city and Volga River. So I ask you to hold on to this place

When kirilov shook hands with him to say goodbye, he also reminded him with concern: "Comrade military commissar, don't forget to call your son when you have time to get to know his current situation."

"OK, I'll remember." This is the last sentence Khrushchev said to us before he left. But when he returned to the headquarters of the front army, did he call his son? In later days, he didn't say, and I didn't ask rashly, so as not to arouse the pain of his son's death.

I arranged for basmanov to accompany Khrushchev to the third regiment to take over the German prisoners. Then I went back to the headquarters with kirilov and began to study the current situation of the enemy and ourselves near the mamayev post.

When I saw that all the members of the division were there, I asked kirilov curiously, "Comrade political commissar, how did the German Army take back the frontier we occupied?"

When he heard my question, kirilov gave a wry smile, turned to akhromeyev and said, "Comrade chief of staff, it's up to you to report to the division commander."

"OK," said akhromeyev. He got up from his seat, took out his notebook and put it on the table. After turning a few pages, he began to report to me: "the day before yesterday, that is, during the day of the 25th, the German army suddenly launched an attack on my forward position and 107.5 highland at the same time. As there were no solid fortifications in the front positions of the fourth regiment, there were not many officers and men left who could fight after the enemy's shelling and bombing. In the face of the enemy swarming under the cover of tanks, although our soldiers resisted tenaciously, because they were outnumbered, they all died bravely in the end. "

When akhromeyev reported, I didn't speak, just listened silently. At the same time, I didn't blame commander Gaidar, the fourth leader of the army. When I saw that my front position was in danger, I didn't send troops to reinforce it. I thought to myself: in such a smooth open land, our reinforcements would become the targets of German tanks and artillery. Now that I know that even if I have made a great sacrifice, I may not be able to hold that position. I might as well not send reinforcements. If I were Gaidar, I might have made the same decision.

"What are the casualties of the troops on Highland 107.5?" When akhromeyev's report came to an end, I asked a question of my own concern, "apart from a battalion of the second regiment that sticks to the highland where the division headquarters is located, how many troops are still available on Highland 107.5?"

"Report to division commander, in these two days of fighting, the three battalions holding high 107.5 lost a lot of personnel." Akhromeyev looked down at the data in the book and replied, "there are 179 soldiers left in the first battalion of captain horushov, 95 soldiers left in the second battalion, and 46 soldiers left in the militia battalion of captain trushen."

I calculated in my mind that there were only about 300 people left, which was equivalent to a two-thirds reduction“ Can this force hold the high ground? " I asked uncertainly.

"Major Yaming, the deputy commander, called the division headquarters yesterday evening," kirilov said. "He assured us that even if there was only one person left on the 107.5 highland, he would never leave his position to the Germans. At that time, our troops were limited, and we could not even send troops to reinforce the highlands. But now, comrade division commander, you have returned with your troops going northward, so that our division's defensive strength has been strengthened. I wonder if we can transfer one or two battalions from the third regiment to the 107.5 highland... "

While we were discussing which troop to send to reinforce the highland, the telephone on the desk rang out untimely. Akhromeyev picked up the phone and said in a loud voice, "Hello, this is division headquarters. Where are you?"

I'm going to talk about how to strengthen the 107.5 highland defense after akhromeyev's phone call. Unexpectedly, akhromeyev put his hand over the microphone again and said in a low voice, "Comrade division commander, comrade commander of the group army."

I quickly stood up, took the phone from akhromeyev's hand and said respectfully, "Comrade commander, I'm glad to hear your voice again. How are you?"

"I'm fine," he said with a hearty laugh. "I'm calling you today to congratulate you on your assumption of the post of deputy commander of the group army."

"Thank you, comrade commander." I politely expressed my thanks to him, and then asked for instructions: "I want to ask, from today on, is my command post in mamayev post, or in the headquarters of the group army?" Although Khrushchev told me just now that he could continue to stay in mamayev post to command the troops, I was not sure if he didn't talk to trakov about this matter. So I took this opportunity to ask.

After hearing my question, trakov was silent. After a while, he continued: "oshanina, what's the situation here at the group army headquarters? I think you are very clear about my personal opinion. I suggest you stay at mamayev post, so that you can direct your troops."

With trekov's permission, the stone hanging in my heart fell to the ground. After a deep sigh of relief, I asked, "Comrade commander, what's the situation in Stalingrad now?"

"The German onslaught in the factory area had gradually weakened in the evening of the day before yesterday. According to the report of our scouts, the German army began to transfer part of its forces outside the city. I think it was transferred to the kongniei area where your department is located. " "On the evening of the 25th, after the German attack on us completely stopped, the Military Council once held a meeting to study and judge the situation in the city. Finally, we all agree that Paulus' current military strength is limited and it is impossible to launch a strong offensive like that of October 14-25. In addition to sending troops to encircle and suppress you, it also needs a longer breathing time to supplement the artillery shells, bombs and tanks needed by the troops. This time is about 10 to 20 days. At the same time, however, it is also clear to us that there are about two divisions of the enemy's reserves in the areas of gomrak and voroponov that can be put into combat. We believe that after three to five days of fighting, the two German divisions will be weakened, and Paulus will have to weaken the offensive. At that time, our group army will be able to take advantage of this time to take a rest, redeploy troops and strengthen fortifications. However, the current problem is, if we are short of troops, how can we hold on for three to five days?

You know, although the group army has the 37th guard division, the 308th infantry division and the 193rd infantry division in its hands, in fact, these troops are just some nicknames, with only two or three hundred people in each division. We paid a heavy price to fight against the German attack. "

Although I had known for a long time that the divisions holding fast to the factory area were fighting extremely hard, I didn't expect that the casualties were so heavy. According to trakov, many of the regiments under these divisions were estimated to have only serial numbers left, and all the commanders and fighters were sacrificed. If I were only a teacher of an independent division at the moment, maybe I would stay out of it and keep my defense area. But now I'm the trusted deputy commander of the group army. If I don't show it as soon as possible, it's estimated that the commanders of other divisions will not be satisfied. So after pondering for a moment, I asked with a stiff head: "Comrade commander, do you want me to take any action?"

As for my volunteering, trekov laughed and said happily, "Comrade oshanina, I'm thinking about how to say this. I didn't expect you to say it first." When I heard trekov say that, I really want to take two mouths out of my mouth. I really don't speak through my brain. I can't find pleasure for myself. Just listen to trekov continue to say: "since your troops captured konaii City, the German army rarely carried out night attacks. It seems that they are convinced that the attack at night will not achieve the desired results, but may be attacked by us. As a result, the enemy changed the way they played, took time to rest at night, and prepared to fight during the day. In response to this tactical change of the enemy, the headquarters of the group army is considering whether it is possible to disrupt the enemy's planned offensive preparations by using small teams to attack at night, in coordination with unexpected artillery and air force attacks, so as to make the enemy restless day and night and make night our activity place. " It seems that he does not advocate launching a counterattack in the daytime without any hope of winning. Instead, he intends to attack at night to contain and consume the enemy. After he finished, I immediately replied, "please rest assured, comrade commander. After dark tonight, I will send troops to attack the enemy's camp."