Chapter 814

Kirilov pointed to the Volga River in the distance and said to me, "our northern residents in Russia like spring at the end of April, sometimes in May. At that time, white billed crows were flying in the sky and ice floes were floating in the river. Everyone is waiting for warmth and flowers, ready to work in the field. Before 1942, as far as I know, all rivers, in late autumn or early winter, quietly put on a layer of ice, as if to sleep under its cover. Often, the river is still flowing gently at night, but in the morning, when you look again, the river has become a mirror like ice bed.

Autumn on the Volga River is quite another sight. It takes weeks, months to freeze slowly. The temperature dropped to minus 10 degrees, the Volga River was still unfrozen, and the river was steaming. When the temperature dropped to minus 12 degrees, small pieces of ice drifted on the river. At minus 15 degrees, after small pieces of ice, large pieces of ice finally began to appear. And then there's a continuous mass of ice moving. At this time, you can see armored boats and individual bold people, with poles in their hands, jumping from one ice block to another and crossing the Volga River. But only the warriors of the native Volga dare to do so. Even the sailors from the Far East don't dare to ask for help. "

When I heard kirilov say this, I couldn't help but ask curiously, "Comrade political commissar, if the river freezes, will our reinforcements and supplies come in a steady stream soon?"

Kirilov gave a wry smile and said, "Comrade o'shanina, you think too simply. Although the Volga River was frozen, the ships could not be navigable, but it was impossible to transport our army's urgently needed soldiers and supplies through the ice. Because the ice is too thin, not to mention trucks, even sleds can't get through. "

"In that case, the supply from the east bank to the city will not be interrupted because of the freezing of the Volga River, will it?" Kirilov's words made him worried. If it is true, as he said, as long as the Volga River freezes, the supply of the whole army will be completely cut off. Can they withstand the German attack at that time?

Just as he was daydreaming, basmanov came out of the headquarters and told kirilov and me that the chief of staff had something urgent for us.

As soon as I entered the headquarters, I couldn't wait to ask akhromeyev, "what's the matter, chief of staff? Are you in a hurry to call me and the political commissar back? What's the matter?"

Akhromeyev, who was sitting at the table, quickly stood up and replied, "report division, I just received the weekly war report from the headquarters of the group army. I think it is useful for your next command, so I asked major basmanov to invite you in."

I went back to my seat and sat down. Then I raised my chin at akhromeyev and said, "Comrade chief of staff, read the war report I just received."

Akhromeyev nodded, picked up a stack of war reports on the table and began to read: "on October 25, the enemy launched a full-scale re attack on the front of the group army with heavy troops. An infantry division with tanks raided the town of spartanovka, causing a serious situation in the front of the North group army.

The German infantry, with the support of air and tanks, forced the 149th infantry brigade to retreat and successfully occupied the wukeng area south of the gumlak vladimirovka railway and the center of spartanovka town. When the situation was extremely dangerous, the ships of the Volga fleet came to assist the 149th brigade of bolvinov in the North group. They used the guns of the warships to inflict heavy damage on the attacking enemy.

On the same day of October 25, the right wing forces of the 64th army turned to attack in the kupolosnoona area.

The enemy's two attacks on October 26 and 27 failed. Bolvinov's 149th brigade, supported by the Volga fleet warships, drove the aggressors out of the town of spatanovka.

On October 27, major kochmalev, chief of staff of the 149th brigade, was killed when he was directly hit by German shells while commanding the battle in the forward position.

On the other day, ryudnikov and gurdyev's troops in the central military of the group fought for a "barricade" factory. Judging from the intensity of the battle, the new German forces are not good at close combat. Although we have only a small number of soldiers in the factory, the enemy, who has a five fold advantage in strength, has not gained any advantage in front of our small troops.

On 27 October, the left wing of the ludnikov division and a regiment of the gurtyev division were defeated by the enemy. The enemy automatic Gunners took mezinskaya street and tuwenskaya street and began to fire the area near our last ferry. At this time, the troops of smehotvorov and guriyev repulsed the attacks of the 79th German infantry division, which mainly targeted the Red October factory.

***The automatic Gunners infiltrated the sparsely populated battle formation of the above troops. They approached the 39th division headquarters and threw grenades at guriyev's shelter. When commander trakov learned the news, he quickly sent the guard company of group army headquarters to rescue guriyev. The guard company and guriyev's troops cooperated in the attack, repulsed the enemy's automatic Gunners from near the division headquarters, and took advantage of the victory to follow them until they reached the "Red October" factory. At the end of the battle, the guard company sent by the group army did not return to the headquarters, but stayed there and added to the guriyev division to strengthen their strength. "

"So it is." When kirilov heard this, he said thoughtfully, "no wonder commander trakov has the cheek to ask us for a platoon soldier today. He is really going to work as a guard in the headquarters." At this point, he looked up and said to akhromeyev who had stopped, "read on, chief of staff."

"... the enemy continued to carry out raids on the ferry and the" Red October "factory. At about 15 o'clock, our army successfully repulsed the enemy's attack, but before dark, the bandits still successfully occupied mashenaya street.

In the area between the "barricade" factory and the "Red October" factory, the enemy was only about 400 meters away from the Volga River. The enemy's automatic gun fire and artillery fire strafed the gully from the west to the Volga River. Now to move forward along the river bank, you have to crawl. It's very inconvenient for us. Soon, our engineers set up two wooden gratings across the gully, with stones in the middle to intercept bullets. "

After listening to akhromeyev read a thick stack of war reports, kirilov first said: "although the German offensive was very fierce some time ago, and they once had the upper hand, they failed to drive our troops to the Volga River in the end. Now that the enemy's strength has been exhausted, I don't think they will launch any more large-scale attacks. "

"Comrade political commissar, you are too optimistic." As soon as kirilov finished speaking, deputy division commander bantaileiev said: "although the German army did their best not occupy the whole city, and their troops were greatly weakened in the battle. But if, on the basis of this point, we think wishfully that the enemy has no strength to attack, and thus relax our vigilance, we will suffer a great loss. "

"It's not as serious as you said, old man." Kirilov retorted unconvinced: "after the hard fighting in October, our commanders understand that the Hitler bandits can no longer prepare for such a large-scale offensive in the short term. The piles of corpses and destroyed equipment of the enemy proved that it was not easy for attackers to stride over these "obstacles" left by themselves

I didn't express my opinion on the two men's argument, but I agree with bandeleev's analysis in my heart. Although the German army suffered a great loss in the October offensive, we should also see that our army suffered more casualties. If the German army attacks again with the same intensity, whether the 62nd group army can withstand the German attack is a big problem.

Seeing that the argument between kirilov and bandeliev was becoming more and more fierce, I was going to express my own opinion to stop the argument between them. The telephone on the desk rang untimely, just interrupting the argument.

Akhromeyev picked up the phone and listened for a while, then handed it to me. At the same time, he said, "Comrade division, it's commander Gaidar. He said that there is an important intelligence report."

I took the phone and said in a loud voice, "Hello, commander Gaidar? I'm o'shanina. Do you have anything important to report to me? "

"Yes, sir." Gaidar said hastily on the phone: "just now the observation post on the top of the mountain reported that there was a change in the enemy's front position. I went to the observation post on the top of the mountain with political commissar Xia Ping to check. After discovering that the enemy was in their forward position, they laid an artillery position with about two artillery battalions. It seems that they want to fire close to our high ground. "

Before I had time to speak, leiev, who was next to me, reminded me: "Comrade division commander, ask the lieutenant commander if you can go out and try to destroy the German artillery position."

Gaidar obviously heard Bantai leyev's voice and was afraid that I would give him such an order. He immediately reminded me, "Comrade division commander, there are tanks deployed beside the enemy's artillery positions. Our troops are already short of heavy weapons and anti tank weapons. If we attack the enemy's positions rashly, it will be almost like death. "

"Pay close attention to the movements of the enemy." because Gaidar's report was too concise, I couldn't guess the enemy's sudden attempt to set up artillery positions in the forward position. I could only command him to say, "if you have any information, please report it to me at any time."

When I put down the phone, I frowned and thought, why did the enemy suddenly become so active after they stopped attacking us for so many days? Did they get any supplement from somewhere? In order to find out about this, I dialed the headquarters of the group army. After hearing krailov's voice, I immediately asked, "Hello, chief of staff, what's the news of the enemy in the city?"

"Yes, comrade o'shanina, according to the reports of the divisions, the German forces in front of them are undergoing intense mobilization, and it seems that a major offensive is brewing." Krailov said solemnly, "it seems that the enemy is not reconciled to their failure, but also wants to recover their reputation by attacking again."

"Is Comrade commander in?" When krailov finished, I asked tentatively, "I have something important to report to him."

The receiver soon heard the familiar voice of trakov: "I'm trakov, comrade oshanina. Do you have anything to report to me?"

"Comrade commander," I heard that it was trakov's voice. After I organized some words in my mind, I began to report to him, "just now, the four commanders reported to me that the enemy had set up an artillery position behind the forward position on the north side of the highland, perhaps to prevent our army from rushing in. They also sent tanks to cover the artillery position."

"The enemy's attempt is obvious, comrade oshanina." After listening to my general situation, trakov immediately expressed his opinion: "the enemy has not given up the attempt to capture the mamayev post. I expect that they will launch a fierce attack on the mamayev post today. You must make all preparations in advance."

"All right, comrade commander, I will make the troops ready for all battles." After that, I repeated what I had just heard kirilov say to trikov.

After listening, trikov was silent for a long time, and then he said, "Comrade oshanina, you are right. At present, our group army is facing a serious situation of fighting on both sides: fighting with the enemy on the one hand; On the other hand, we are fighting against the natural disasters on the Volga River.

After estimating the possible complex situation, the military committee of the group army submitted a detailed plan to the logistics command in advance, demanding to ensure the needs of the city combat department. The plan calls for: first, the transportation of additional personnel and large quantities of ammunition (without these, the group army will suffer); Second, bring in food and medicine; Third, the winter clothing needed by the army should be brought in. In addition, as early as a few days ago, we had intentionally reduced food to make our commanders and fighters adapt to the severe cold. However, when we realized that the enemy was preparing to attack, we could no longer be short of both men and ammunition. In this situation, without ammunition, it's just like waiting to die.

A lot of ammunition is needed, and the more the better. The soldiers are also well aware of this. They are trying their best to collect and store some bullets, grenades, mines and shells. We all know in our hearts that we would rather suffer from hunger and cold than without ammunition.

I handed over the supervision of the inventory, distribution and storage of ammunition to spasov, Sokolov and Zinoviev. They stay in the city all the time and report the arrival of materials to me in person every day. The distribution plan (to whom and how many reserves) is decided by the Military Commission of the group army.

However, your division is not under the distribution plan. As far as I know, the materials you captured this time are enough to support your fight for half a month to a month, so you'd better leave the materials to the troops that need them most. "

Trikov's words let me feel relieved. It turned out that he only included our division in the list of no distribution of materials, and did not intend to let us adjust some of the materials to support the friendly forces. In this way, I feel much more secure.

As I was trying to find a reason to hang up, trikov suddenly said, "Comrade oshanina, in a few days, the great October Revolution Day will be held. In order to celebrate this grand festival, the group army is going to launch a large-scale counter attack against the enemy on the day before, that is, November 6. You can't be an exception. You should cooperate with the group army's overall action and launch an attack on the enemy face to face. Are you ok? "

Trekov asked me, can I say no? So I could only bite my teeth and promise, "please rest assured, the commander, the independent division will never drag the whole army behind. We will attack the enemy face to face after the counter attack begins."

When I put down the phone, akhromeyev, who heard part of our conversation, quickly asked with concern, "Comrade teacher, what's the matter? Where and on what scale does the commander intend to counter the enemy? "

Before I said anything, kirilov was not satisfied and said, "counterattack, counterattack again. We don't have to look at the current situation. Our troops are limited and we are barely enough to defend. If we use them to attack, we will be a bit stretched

"Comrade political commissar, you can't just say that." I was deeply afraid that kirilov was so excited that he said something he shouldn't have said. He stopped him immediately and expressed his views to a few people: "although we have limited forces now, we can't make any big counterattack, but small-scale counterattack can still be done. This counterattack was specially organized by commander trakov to celebrate the great "October Revolution Day."

As soon as I said that, all the people stopped talking, because this counterattack is associated with celebrating the great festival. If anyone objects, it will seriously affect their future. Therefore, in this case, silence is their best choice.

Bantai leiev first broke away from the topic: "Comrade teacher, I have a hunch." Seeing that everyone's attention was focused on him, he went on to say, "the enemy is setting up an artillery position so far away from our position. Its purpose is not only to bombard our Highlands, but also to bombard our ferries on the Volga River in an attempt to cut off our logistics supply. "

"Comrade Deputy teacher, do you have any good ideas?" After bantailiev finished speaking, akhromeyev looked down at the map for a while, then raised his head and asked, "or in what way should we destroy the enemy's artillery positions to ensure the safety of the highlands and the transport line of the Volga River?"

"Since the enemy has set up an artillery position, we can also set up an artillery position on the south slope of the north." Bantailiev seems to have considered all kinds of possibilities for a long time, so after hearing ahlomeyev's question, he immediately answered with confidence, "during this northward journey, we captured a lot of enemy cannons. Although we lost three cannons in the battle some time ago, the remaining cannons are more than enough to destroy the enemy's artillery positions."

After listening to Bantai leiev's words, kirilov pondered for a moment, turned to me and said, "Comrade division commander, I think the deputy division commander's method is good. He can set up an artillery position at the back of the fourth regiment to destroy the enemy's artillery position with artillery fire." After that, seeing that I had not expressed my position for a long time, he said cautiously, "why don't we call major Morozov over now and ask him what he thinks?" As for kirilov's proposal, I didn't say anything. I just nodded to acquiesce. When akhromeyev saw that I agreed, he immediately picked up the phone on the desk and contacted Morozov, ordering him to rush to the division headquarters immediately, saying that he would assign important combat tasks to him. Morozov came very quickly. Within two minutes after akhromeyev finished the call, he appeared in my headquarters. Perhaps it was because he heard that there was an important combat task to be arranged. As soon as he entered, he could not wait to ask, "Comrade division commander, major Morozov, artillery battalion commander, has come to report to you. I don't know what important task you have to give us?" Kirilov and I looked at each other for a smile, then asked molozov jokingly, "Comrade major, what's the matter? I can't calm down?"“ Of course, comrade political commissar. " Morozov replied shyly, "seeing that other commanders and fighters are decorated and awarded titles, our battalion's commanders and fighters are very anxious. Everyone came to my command post every day and begged me to fight with the division headquarters, but I couldn't persuade them... "Before Morozov finished speaking, kirilov interrupted him with a smile:" Comrade major, it may be you who can't calm down. Has it been a long time since there was a war, and it's hard to see other people confer awards? "“ "It's like this," Morozov said with a embarrassed smile when he saw that his little trick had been recognized. He then said, "although our battalion is not fully organized, there are still several newly captured heavy guns, which can provide necessary firepower cover for our troops in the battle..." before Morozov finished his words, the telephone on the table rang again. Akhromeyev picked up the phone, put it down after listening for a while, raised his head and said to me, "Comrade division commander, Lieutenant Colonel gedar reports that the enemy has started shelling their positions."“ I see After I finished this sentence in a steady tone, I turned around and told Morozov: "Comrade major, I order you to build a heavy artillery position on the south slope of the highland where the fourth regiment is located as soon as possible to suppress the enemy's artillery position. Of course, it is the best way to destroy them. I will give you credit at that time." When he heard that I was going to record merit for them, Morozov was as excited as a chicken. He came to attention with a slap and replied loudly, "please rest assured, sir. I will build this heavy artillery position in two hours. Before dark, I guarantee that this artillery position of the enemy will no longer exist. "