Chapter 865

January 7th is Orthodox Christmas.

Early in the morning, I called the division leaders and told them to find a way to make more beef, mutton and poultry stuffing, make Siberian Dumplings, and prepare Russian red vegetable soup, Cheese Potato, potato salad, potato stewed beef, so as to improve the food for the commanders and soldiers and make them have a good festival.

Just after calling several teachers, I received a call from trakov unexpectedly. I thought he would say something like happy holidays to me, so when I heard his voice coming out of the receiver, I said, "Hello, comrade commander, I wish you a happy holiday!"

"Festival, what festival?" Trikov was confused by my blessing, but he immediately understood what was going on. He laughed and said, "Oh, you mean Orthodox Christmas?"

"Yes, comrade commander." I hastened to explain to him: "I have just given orders to the division leaders to prepare Siberian Dumplings, Russian red vegetable soup, cheese potatoes and so on, to improve the food for the soldiers, so that they can have a peaceful Christmas."

"Well, that's a good arrangement for you." After praising me, trakov went on to say, "we're going to hold an important military meeting. Come here immediately."

"Yes, I'll be right there."

Putting down the phone, I said apologetically to Vasiliev, the political commissar sitting next to me: "Comrade political commissar, I'm going to go to the group army headquarters for a meeting right now. Originally, I was going to inspect the work of the 171st division at noon, so I can only let you go alone."

"No problem, comrade commander." Vasiliev replied very readily, "let me know about the inspection of the 171 division. As for the reason why you can't go, I'll explain it to Colonel andreushenko

I nodded and yelled out the door, "Captain Yushchenko!"

As I yelled, Yushchenko, who had just been appointed commander of the military and police barracks and was promoted to captain, appeared at the door. He raised his hand to salute me and asked, "Comrade commander, what instructions do you have?"

"Comrade captain," although I can't go to the 171 division for inspection, I can't take Vasiliev's safety lightly. So I told Yushchenko, "the political commissar will go to the 171 division for inspection at noon. In addition to the original guard platoon, you can transfer another class from the special guard company to strengthen the security of the political commissar."

"Comrade commander, don't bother." When Vasiliev heard what I told Yushchenko, he quickly stood up, shook his hands desperately and said, "a platoon of soldiers is enough. There is no need to transfer your special guard company."

"Comrade political commissar, don't refuse." As for Vasiliev's refusal, I firmly said: "on the way from here to the 171 division, no one can guarantee that they will not meet the Germans, so for the sake of safety, I'd better bring more people."

Seeing that I was stubborn, Vasiliev could not say anything more, so he nodded in embarrassment and agreed to my arrangement.

Under the protection of the guard platoon led by Yushchenko, I drove to the group headquarters. As soon as I entered the headquarters and saw trakov and gurov sitting at the table, I planned to raise my hand to salute. However, trakov interrupted me. His eyes looked behind him and said to me, "report to general rokosovsky, comrade oshanina!"

Only then did I find out that behind trakov was a commander in a military coat, with his back to me, looking at the map on the wall. Seeing that my old acquaintance appeared here, I quickly stepped forward and reported in a voice that was a little hoarse with excitement: "Comrade commander of the front army, deputy commander of the 62nd group army and major general oshanina, commander of the 79th infantry army, report to you. I have been ordered to come to the group army headquarters, and now I'm waiting for your instructions!"

On hearing my report, rokosovsky turned around, nodded to me with a smile, then raised his right hand and pressed it down, saying, "Rita, sit down first. We're going to have a meeting."

After I sat down, rokosovsky took two steps forward, went to the table, held the table in his hands and said to us, "comrades, the counterattack code named" winter storm "launched by German Marshal Manstein has been completely smashed by us. The German troops who came to bail out Paulus have been repulsed for 200 kilometers. Next, We can launch a war of annihilation against the German army in Stalingrad. "

"Comrades of the front army command, we have been waiting for this day." Krailov added excitedly when rokosovsky finished.

As for the interlocutor Krylov, rokosovsky looked at him with a smile and continued: "the German forces are exhausted, so we don't have to worry about their counter attack, so we will start the attack code named" battle of the rings ". I'm going to launch the final general attack on the German army in three days, on January 10. " At this point, he turned to look at trakov and said, "dear Vasili Ivanovic, the German army is still occupying an area of 60 kilometers wide and 40 kilometers deep in the front. Once the general attack begins, they will certainly retreat from outside the city into the city to resist. Can your 62nd army resist their fierce attack?"

"Comrade commander of the front army, of course." Trakov said he wanted to stand up, but rokosovsky put his hand on his shoulder and gently pressed it down to signal that he didn't have to stand up. So trakov sat in his seat and said to rokosovsky, "since Paulus' troops didn't drive us into the Volga River in October, now, he can't take a step." At this point, he drew a circle on the map in front of him with his hand, and said contemptuously, "what is in front of us now is not a group army, but a huge prison camp. It's just that we haven't laid down our weapons for the time being."

As soon as trikov's voice fell, it immediately caused a burst of laughter. Rokosovsky also said with a smile: "Comrade trakov, I didn't expect you to be so confident. That's good, but now, "he said solemnly with a straight face," it's too early to call them concentration camps, and the enemy has to fight madly, so you must not underestimate them. "

"I see, comrade commander of the front army." Seeing what rokosovsky said, trikovsky said in a hurry: "I will warn the commanders and fighters of all divisions that even if the enemy in front of them has completely lost their fighting capacity, they should not be taken lightly, and they should not cause unnecessary losses because they despise the enemy."

After hearing this, rokosovsky nodded, and then said, "however, it's no big deal. In our upcoming" battle of the rings ", the German army will be completely annihilated by us." With these words, he turned his eyes to krailov and asked, "general krailov, has your army been supplemented as it should?"

When krailov heard rokosovsky ask him, he immediately stood up and respectfully reported: "during this week, our group army has been supplemented by 29000 soldiers, some of whom are veterans with rich combat experience; At the same time, it has been supplemented by 360 guns, 200 tanks, more than 1000 transport vehicles and other weapons and equipment. "

When rokosovsky heard this, he glanced at me and asked, "how much has major general oshanina's 79th infantry been supplemented? You know, her troops have always been the main combat task of your army. "

"Major general oshanina's 79th infantry is our priority supply." Krailov, as chief of staff, immediately reported a series of data after hearing rokosovsky's question: "they have received a total of 14000 additional troops, including 4000 in the 150th division, 3000 in the 171st division, and 3500 in the 284th and 308 divisions respectively; The 84th brigade of Colonel berey's tanks was supplemented by 68 tanks, all of which were newly manufactured T-34 tanks; In addition, we have put the 266th artillery regiment, which has just been completed, under the command of the 79th infantry army. "

As for Krylov's reply, rokosovsky nodded with satisfaction and said: "the 150th division of the 79th infantry army has a remarkable performance in the whole campaign. After being supplemented and strengthened, I believe they will achieve more brilliant results in the next battle."

"Comrade commander of the front army," gurov stood up and asked after rokosovsky finished saying, "what should we do in these days before the final general attack?"

"What else can I do?" Rokosovsky replied with a smile: "of course, we should continue to let the comrades of the anti Communist alliance carry out anti war propaganda against the German army, hoping to shake their morale."

While rokosovsky was speaking, major gradseff, commander of the group army's guard battalion, came in. He went up to guroff, leaned down to his ear and whispered something.

"Hello, comrade gurov, who is this major?" When rokosovsky saw that someone had sneaked into the headquarters while he was talking, and even whispered with the military commissar of the group army, he asked with some dissatisfaction, "what's the matter with him?"

When gladeshev heard rokosovsky's question, he stood up straight and said nothing behind gurov. Finally, it was gurov who released the siege for him in time: "Comrade commander of the front army, let me introduce to you. This major is Comrade gladeshev, the commander of the guard battalion of our group army. He came in to ask me for instructions and said that it's noon now. Should we have dinner?"

After listening to gurov's explanation, rokosovsky raised his hand and looked at his watch. Then he shrugged his shoulders and said, "I didn't realize it was so late. Now that it's time for dinner, let the major serve our lunch."

Several of us were having lunch when there was a roar of aircraft motors outside the house, accompanied by a noisy sound. At the sound from outside, rokosovsky stopped, listened to it for a moment, pointed up with his hand and said, "you all heard it. This is our reconnaissance plane. It's shouting to the German soldiers with loudspeakers. "

After listening to what rokosovsky said, all the people in the room did not speak. Instead, they concentrated on listening to the voice coming from outside. Although I don't know much German, I can recite some sentences when I listen to the shouts of the anti Communist alliance soldiers and the defectors of gramus to the German army every day. Now out of the loudspeaker on the plane is one of the passages: "please pay attention to the besieged German soldiers and officers in Stalingrad, please pay attention to..."

After everyone listened for a while, rokosovsky said to trakov, "now that the task is clear, you should seize the time to prepare for the battle." Then he waved his head at me. "Rita, come out with me. I have something to say to you."

"Rita, is the commander of the infantry still used to it in front of him?" In a traffic ditch outside the headquarters of the group army, rokosovsky asked kindly, calling my nickname affectionately while smoking.

"Well, I'm used to it. Thank you for your concern. "

"Rita, in fact, I've been asked to come this time." Rokosovsky hesitated for a long time, and finally said his true intention: "general Zhukov, let me ask you if you are willing to go back to work in Moscow after the battle in Stalingrad is over. Of course, you will no longer be in such a dangerous position as a combat force. Instead, you will be placed in an important position. For example, a unit such as the district Soviet should serve as a deputy. "

I recognized the meaning of rokosovsky's words. He and Zhukov wanted me to leave the army and take up a position in a local area. They could not help shivering. In my impression, because the Soviet army had been in a disadvantageous situation, there were relatively few infighting in the army; If I go to a place to hold a post, I will probably count the money for others even if I am sold by others. So almost without hesitation, I replied, "Comrade General, please tell general Zhukov that I thank him for his kindness. I think I'm more suitable to stay in the army."

"Don't you really think about it any more?" My answer seemed to have been expected by rokosovsky. After hearing what I said, he didn't show any surprise on his face. Instead, he continued to try to convince me: "Rita, I personally think it's better for you to work in a place, because it's much safer than in the army after all."

"Comrade commander of the front army," in order to show my determination to stay in the army, I solemnly called rokosovsky's official title, "I like the feeling of staying in the army, so I..."

Before I finished speaking, Yushchenko's series of shouts came from a distance: "Comrade commander, comrade commander, no, something's wrong! Something's wrong! "

I heard Yushchenko's voice and turned to look in the direction of the voice. Yushchenko and another soldier of the guard company helped a sergeant quickly along the traffic ditch. When I saw the one shouldered bullet proof vest worn by the sergeant who was standing in the middle, I could not help but feel a thump in my heart. I secretly said that there was nothing wrong with political commissar Vasiliev, right?

When the three stopped in front of me, I saw that the sergeant's bullet proof clothes were full of dents at the tip of my eyes. My feeling of uncertainty became more and more intense. Yushchenko continued to support the faltering sergeant, and at the same time reported to me: "Comrade commander, this is sergeant songjik who I sent to protect the political commissar of Vasiliev."

I was even more flustered when I heard that it was really related to Vasiliev. I grabbed the sergeant's arm and asked aloud, "Hey, comrade sergeant, tell me quickly, what's the matter?"

"Report to the commander," sergeant songjik told me with a sad face, "political commissar Vasiliev has died!"

"What?! The commissar died? " I held out another hand and grasped songjik's other arm, shaking him with both hands, and asked aloud, "what happened? Why did the political commissar sacrifice?"

"Sergeant sonjik, I'm general rokosovsky, commander of the front army." Rokosovsky, who was standing next to me, was much more calm than I was. After he made his identity known to the sergeant, he asked in a smooth voice, "you tell us exactly what happened?"

It is said that the commander of the front army is standing in front of him. Song Jike, who is supported by two people, stands up straight, raises his hand and gives a solemn salute to rokosovsky. After that, he respectfully tells us the whole story of the incident: "report to the commander of the front army, we are ordered to protect political commissar Vasiliev and his guard platoon at noon, and go to the defense area of the 171 division for inspection.

When I passed an open field full of ruins, I suddenly had a sense of foreboding. I have walked this road several times, because on both sides of the road are only buildings with frames and piles of rubble, which have little fortification value. Therefore, neither our army nor the German army have troops to fortify here.

I carefully observed the surrounding terrain, and found that it was still as usual, quiet, no one could see, but I felt a kind of unspeakable embarrassment. So I stopped the platoon leader of the guard platoon and told him my worries. When we asked the political commissar for instructions, we divided the team into three parts: two soldiers in our class and five soldiers in the guard platoon formed a vanguard team, walking in the front of the whole team; The platoon leader and more than 20 other soldiers are in the middle of protecting the political commissar; And I was at the bottom of the line with the rest of the guard squad.

When we came to the middle of the open field, suddenly a shell with a sharp whistling landed in the middle of the vanguard team‘ After a loud bang, five or six soldiers were blown up.

"Lie down!" Seeing that the soldiers in front of us were knocked down by the shells, I knew that we might have been found by the Germans, so I yelled and fell on the ground first. At this moment, a German tank and two armored vehicles emerged from the building with only frame left and drove slowly towards us. At the same time, more than 100 German officers and soldiers climbed out from behind the rubble, followed the tanks and armored vehicles and charged us. Seeing the sudden emergence of the enemy, I realized that we had been ambushed and the enemy only appeared in two directions. We still had the possibility of breaking through the encirclement, so I immediately ordered the soldiers in the class to come forward and save the political commissar. In the face of the German officers and soldiers who were shouting and rushing, the surviving soldiers around the political commissar were firing. Although they were lying on the ground, they had no terrain to rely on. They were oppressed by the enemy's intensive firepower and couldn't lift their heads at all. Sometimes they fired back, but the bullet hit the armor plate of the enemy's tank or armored car, only splashed a few sparks, There is no threat to the enemy at all. When I rushed to the commissar, most of the soldiers in the guard platoon had died, and I had only two soldiers left. Another soldier and I set up a political commissar on the ground and rushed to the road regardless. Another soldier was fighting and retreating behind us with a weapon. At the same time, he used his bullet proof clothes to block the stray bullets for us. There is a pile of rubble not far in front of us, and behind it is a long traffic ditch. As long as we rush in, the probability of successful escape can be greatly increased. Just when we were a few meters away from the rubble, the political commissar who was standing in the middle suddenly broke away from us and threw himself forward. Then he fell heavily on the ground, and his cornice hat rolled to one side. The soldier and I bent down, grabbed the commissar's arms and dragged him behind the rubble. When he was about to take him off the traffic ditch, he unexpectedly found that the political commissar was out of breath. A bullet went into his back brain and flew out of his front brain, directly taking his life. " When songjike finished, I bit my back teeth and asked, "was the commissar hit by a stray bullet?" Song Jike shook his head and said bitterly: "Comrade commander, it's not a stray bullet. It's a sniper from the German army."“ What measures have you taken? " Although rokosovsky also looked sad, he still kept calm and continued to ask songjik, "report to the superior immediately, or just run to the group army headquarters?"“ Report to the commander of the front army, "Song Jike carefully replied," after the surviving soldier and I put the remains of the political commissar in the traffic ditch, we rushed to the 84th tank brigade nearby and reported the matter to Colonel berey. Now the tank brigade has sent more than a dozen tanks and a company's infantry to the fighting area for reinforcement. When I thought about it, I felt obliged to report it to the commander immediately, so I let the soldier serve as a guide for the tank brigade, and I came here directly. "