Chapter 822

I put down the phone and thought to myself that there is still a week to go before the great counter offensive. If we allow our division's forces to be consumed at the present speed, we will be transferred to the rear for rectification soon. When we reward our merits, our division's honor will be greatly reduced. In order to prevent our troops from being transferred to the rear at a critical moment by our superiors, We must find a way to replenish the troops. Thinking of this, I immediately ordered akhromeyev: "Comrade chief of staff, call the military commanders of the four infantry regiments, artillery battalions and tank battalions, and ask the regiment leaders, deputy regiments leaders, political commissars and commanders of several special arms to come to the division headquarters for a meeting after dark."

As for the order I gave, kirilov was a little puzzled and asked, "Comrade division commander, are you going to launch a counterattack against the enemy when you hold a temporary military meeting at this time? Although this is a good idea, I don't think it's the right time, because the Division has lost more than two-thirds of its troops in recent days. If we attack the enemy with such a small number of troops, we will be unable to defend the mamayev post. "

When I heard kirilov say this, I understood that he had misunderstood me and quickly explained to him, "Comrade political commissar, I'm not calling the commanders of the regiments to have a meeting tonight to fight back. Now you are all very clear about the situation in the division. If we continue to fight like this, the whole division will be wiped out. So I decided to hold this meeting temporarily to let the regiments spare no time to replenish their troops so that we can continue to maintain our strength. "

After dark, the commanders at all levels who received the notice came to the division headquarters one after another. I stood at the table and talked to Bantai leiev. At the same time, I raised my hand to salute the commanders who saluted me. Among these people, I unexpectedly saw a regiment political commissar oberstein who hadn't seen each other for a long time, and peiersjian, the tank battalion commander who had just returned from injury. I quickly ended my conversation with Bantai leiev and walked over to shake hands with them, At the same time, I'm asking about their recent situation.

When all the people came and sat down, I coughed, cleared my throat, and said, "comrades, this evening, to call you here is to inform you of an important matter." At this point, I raised my hand and looked at my watch. Then, in the whispers of the participants, I continued, "first of all, please report your existing troops. First of all, Lieutenant Colonel chejerikov, a group leader, said

Shejerikov, who was named by me, took the lead to stand up and replied loudly: "the current strength of a regiment is 1152, of which two thirds are new recruits who have just been added." Then he sat down again.

Then the second commander of the report, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, said with a sad face: "the current strength of the second regiment is 211, of which 195 are fighters."

"The current strength of the third regiment is 763."

"The current strength of the fourth regiment is 497."

When the leaders of the regiments reported, I recorded the figures they said in my notebook. After a brief calculation, I found that there were only more than 2000 people left in the division, and half of them were recruits. It is estimated that it would be very difficult to succeed in counterattack against the German army with such strength.

As I was busy counting the troops and didn't speak at once, some of the commanders sitting below were impatient and couldn't help asking in a loud voice: "Comrade division commander, is the division headquarters ready to fight back against the German army?"

I looked in the direction of the voice and saw that the questioner was major Yaming, the deputy head of the second regiment. With a smile, I asked, "major Yaming, what do you think? You might as well talk about it in front of everyone."

Yaming stood up and replied respectfully, "Comrade division commander, as far as I know, all units of the group army are engaged in counter offensives of different scales in their own defensive areas. But at mamayev post, I don't think such a counter offensive is appropriate. "

"Why, comrade major?" Yaming's words aroused Bantai leiev's interest. He asked curiously, "tell me your reason."

Encouraged by bantaileiev, Yamin expressed his opinion in public: "although our troops are larger than other divisions of the group army, the terrain of mamayev post is different from that of the city. Once our troops leave the fortification and launch a counterattack against the German army, they will be exposed in open land, The long-range firepower of German tanks and artillery can make us pay a heavy price. "

When Yaming expounded his point of view, all the people kept silent and listened to him quietly. Individual commanders kept recording in small books. After he finished, akhromeyev first expressed his support for his statement: "major Yamin has a very reasonable point. The counterattack carried out by the divisions in the city achieved good results because their defense lines were intertwined with those of the German army. During the battle, the German army could not obtain the support of aircraft and artillery, and could only engage in close combat with our army with the light weapons in hand. But our situation here is very special. Outside the position is the plain with a clear view. If we do not get our air supremacy and artillery support, the counterattack is a kind of suicide. "

After akhromeyev finished speaking, neither I nor kirilov nor bandeleyev expressed different views. The commanders on the scene thought that I had acquiesced in akhromeyev's views, and they all stood up to express their opinions. However, their views are poor. They just put what ahlomeyev and Yamin said in another way.

After everyone calmed down, I coughed again and began to announce my plan to you: "Dear commanders, first of all, I want to make it clear that you are not called here tonight to discuss any counter attack plan, but to make us try to replenish our forces in the near future and prepare for a big battle."

When I said this, I caught a glimpse of the disappointment on the faces of some of the unfamiliar commanders sitting below. I thought they were determined counterattacks. I heard that they would not fight back for the time being, so I felt lost. I hastily added: "although we will not fight back against the German army in the near future, it will disappoint some commanders and fighters. But if we don't counterattack in the near future, it doesn't mean that we won't counterattack in the future. I want you to find a way to replenish your forces in order to prepare for a major counterattack in the future. "

"Comrade division," major vatorak, deputy head of the third regiment, stood up and asked politely, "because of the freezing of the Volga River, our contact with the other side has been completely broken. Where should we recruit soldiers?"

I looked at the major in front of me, and then at the deputy commander of the regiment who was not far away from him. My heart said that you are all new recruits from Colonel Bantai leyev. But why does other commander know how to recruit the scattered soldiers and the residents who have no place to hide to fill the army, while you only know how to wait for the troops from the other side to supplement, No wonder Elijah is a major and you're just a major.

Before I could speak, layev, vartorac's old superior, stood up and said in a reproachful tone, "Comrade major, don't you know what's going on in the city? Even if there are new troops coming from the east coast, priority will be given to those who keep fighting in the city, and it will not be our turn for the time being. "

Vartorac blushed with shame at bantaileiev's words. He bowed his head and admitted his mistake to bantaileiev and said, "I'm sorry, comrade deputy division commander, I'm wrong. However, I am also worried to see that our regiment's officers and men are constantly being withdrawn, but they have not been supplemented. "

"If you are in a hurry, is it useful to be in a hurry?" Bantaileiev continued to teach him: "if we are in a hurry and can make the troops with serious losses be replenished, then we don't have to do anything. We just need a group of people around us to sigh."

"Come on, comrade deputy division commander, stop talking." When kirilov saw that major vatorac had been taught a little too much, he lost no time to come out and fight. He went up to vatorac, patted each other on the shoulder and said, "Comrade major, do you know why the regiment has the most troops?" When vartorac shook his head foolishly and said he didn't know, he continued, "because Lieutenant Colonel Ilya organized the staff to recruit the scattered scattered soldiers, the newly cured wounded and the homeless refugees, and to enrich them into the army, so that the regiment can always maintain sufficient strength. At this point, you should learn from your former colleague, Lieutenant Colonel Elia. Don't always think about letting your superiors supplement your troops. You should also think about more ways. "

"Comrade political commissar, I understand." Vartorac assured kirilov, "as soon as I get back to the army, I'll try to recruit soldiers to supplement the third regiment."

After they had said that, I continued: "since everyone knows the reason why I called you for a meeting, what commanders at all levels should do after returning to the army is to try every means to increase the number of your troops and form combat effectiveness in the shortest time."

As soon as I had finished speaking, Lieutenant Colonel xiejerikov stood up and asked on behalf of all the people, "Sir, I want to know what the shortest time limit is?"

"Today is November 12," I said in a determined tone after reciting the start time of the counterattack again. "I can only give you five days. That is to say, on the 17th, the strength of your regiments should be more than doubled and combat effectiveness should be formed."

Bantai leiev came up to me and reminded me in a low voice, "Comrade division commander, is five days too short? It may be too late to recruit and train soldiers in such a short time."

Before he finished speaking, I raised my hand to interrupt him, and repeated my order in public again: "remember, you only have five days, if the regiments can't finish the task I set by then. In that case, I will think that the military officers in charge of the regiments are not competent enough to hold their present posts. I will let others take your place. Do you understand? "

The following commanders agreed: "I understand!"

"Now that you understand, let's break up."

In the next few days, the regiments were fighting and trying every means to expand their forces. Seeing this situation, kirilov said anxiously: "Comrade division, is this appropriate? Although the number of our division has increased rapidly in the short term, due to the large number of new recruits, the combat effectiveness of the troops has not only not been improved, but also been diluted. "

As for kirilov's worries, I comforted him and said, "political commissar, don't worry. Since the independent division was established, almost all the troops used are recruits without combat effectiveness. After the baptism of fighting, they will form a strong combat effectiveness in the shortest time. This time, I ask the regiments to expand their forces in order to prepare for the future. "

After dealing with me for a long time, kirilov immediately heard something from me. After looking around, he asked in a low and mysterious voice, "Comrade oshanina, did you get any inside information from your superiors? That's why you actively asked the regiments to replenish their forces." At this point, he stopped to think for a moment, and then tentatively asked, "is our comprehensive counterattack going to start?" Although kirilov's voice was very low, because the headquarters was very quiet, bantailiev and akhromeyev, who were not far away from us, also heard it. They immediately gathered around. Akhromeyev asked excitedly, "Comrade division, is this true? Are we going to start a full-scale counterattack against Paulus' forces? "“ There's nothing wrong with it. " Although I know the specific time of the great counterattack better than anyone else, at this moment I can only pretend to be confused: "when to launch the great counterattack is something that even the commander of the front army doesn't know. Do you think I, a small division commander, can understand such top secret information?" Akhromeyev and they all looked disappointed when I said that. Just then, the telephone rang on the desk. Ahlomeyev turned and walked over, grabbed the phone and said in a loud voice, "Hello, I'm major ahlomeyev, chief of staff. Where are you?" Because of the distance, I couldn't hear the voice from the microphone clearly. After listening to two sentences, akhromeyev suddenly raised his voice: "what did you say? I didn't hear you clearly. Say it again?" The other side seemed to repeat what he had just said. Akhromeyev's face showed an expression of surprise. He covered the microphone, turned his head and told me in a loud voice, "Comrade division commander, Lieutenant Colonel shijerikov reported that there is a fleet coming towards us at risk."“ What, fleet? " When I heard akhromeyev say that, I thought I heard wrong. The Volga River is already frozen. How can the fleet come here? In order to find out what happened, I rushed to him, snatched the microphone from his hand, and asked aloud, "Hello, is that xijerikov? I'm o'shanina. Please report to me again There was an excited voice from the receiver: "report, sir, according to my observation post, there is a fleet coming towards us." Although I heard that Sergey rickov had made a definite report to me that a fleet was coming, I still couldn't believe it. I had to verify it again: "Comrade commander, are you sure your observation post is correct? You know, the Volga River froze a few days ago“ Sir, you don't know something. " Hearing my skeptical voice, at this time, shejerikov said: "the temperature has picked up in the past two days, and the ice in some areas has melted. Maybe the sailors on the east bank saw that the ice on the river was thinning, so they took a bold risk“ Comrade commander, for the sake of safety, I order you to go to the observation post on the top of the mountain. When you have a clear picture of the situation, report it to me. Do you understand? "“ Understand Shejerikov agreed briefly and hung up“ That's great. That's great. " Kirilov heard that a fleet was coming towards us. They were excited. Before the intelligence was finally confirmed, they planned to report the good news to trikov. Fortunately, I was calm enough to quickly stop kirilov's risky behavior, and reminded him, "Comrade political commissar, wait a minute, we will report to the headquarters when the new report of Xie jerikov comes."