Chapter 874

Two hours later, bantailiev's troops took over the defense of the wachuk division. Although it was early in the morning of the 25th, I immediately called bantailiev, andryushchenko, gurdyev, the tank brigade commander, Colonel berey, and the artillery commander, Lieutenant Colonel kavilin, to the headquarters for the final pre war mobilization.

"Comrades in command, according to the instructions of our superiors, we will launch a final attack on the German forces in Stalingrad today and completely annihilate them." Although I was very excited by the end of the battle of Stalingrad, I still tried to make my voice as usual before my numerous ministries, as if I was just giving them routine tasks“ As Colonel wachuk's 284th division is removed, the 150th division, which will replace them, will attack in both directions at the same time. In order to reduce our casualties and destroy the German firepower support as soon as possible, I intend to divide the artillery regiment of lieutenant colonel kaverin into three parts and assign them to three infantry divisions respectively. "

After listening to my arrangement, wittkov frowned and said, "Comrade commander, if we split up the artillery regiment, we will not be able to cover the German army. Once the attacking forces encounter the German fortifications, they will pay a huge price. "

I waved my hand and directly refuted his view: "Comrade chief of staff, the kind of artillery coverage you mentioned is used in attacking field fortifications, and it is not appropriate in street warfare. If you think about it, in the past few months, we have to endure the German artillery and bombing every day, but in the end, we tenaciously held the city. Now we have to attack and defend the enemy. If we don't change our tactics, it is estimated that even if we pay a heavy price, we will get very little success. "

"Comrade commander, I don't know how you plan to fight?" Vitkov asked politely.

"Comrades, in order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, we should first persuade the enemy's defenders to surrender before attacking." Instead of answering wittkov's question directly, I said to all the commanders, "if they don't agree, push the artillery of the artillery battalion over and shoot directly at the German fortifications. Do you understand? "

"I understand!" Three infantry division commanders and one artillery regiment leader replied together.

After everyone had finished, Colonel berey, who had never spoken, stood up, raised his voice and asked, "Comrade commander, do you allow me to ask questions?"

When I saw Colonel berey who took the initiative to stand up, I looked at him in surprise and said, "what questions will he ask at such a time?"? Although I was full of doubts, I said to him in a friendly way: "Colonel berey, if you have any questions, just ask them."

"Comrade commander," said berey, repeating the question aloud, "please allow me to ask you a question. What is the mission of the 84th tank brigade in this final attack?"

"Colonel berey," wittkov said with obvious dissatisfaction after hearing berey's question, "didn't you attend the meeting the other two days? If you take part, it should be clear that the task of your tank brigade is to stop at the starting position and support the assault forces with artillery fire. "

"But, comrade chief of staff." Belay looked at wittkov and said in a loud voice, "when the soldiers of our tank brigade can do more, they can not only provide artillery support for the infantry, but also take the infantry charge..."

"Don't get excited, Colonel ray." As for the tank brigade commander who once fought with the independent division, I said very politely: "the reason why I didn't let your tank brigade go out is that the streets to be attacked are too narrow for tanks to be used. In a narrow street, it is difficult for a moving tank to quickly turn around and fight back when it is attacked by the enemy behind or on the side. In addition, the elevation angle of the tank gun is limited, so it can't fire at the top of the building. But the enemy's anti tank hand, actually may hide in the roof to aim at you

After listening to my explanation, don't Leighton understood the reason why I didn't let them directly participate in the attack, and his face turned red with shame. Seeing his embarrassment, vetkov came up to him, raised his hands on his shoulders and pressed them down slightly. At the same time, he said, "Comrade bere, I know you see that other troops have specific offensive tasks, but you only provide some artillery support in the rear, and the effect of this kind of fire support will depend on the participation of artillery, And it's much weaker. In this case, your disappointment is understandable. "

When berey sat down, vetkov returned to his position, picked up a document on the table, glanced at the commanders present, and said, "comrades, commanders! I will now read out the report of the Military Commission of the group army to all the commanders and fighters of the 62nd group army. "

Hearing what he said, several commanders immediately stood up from their seats. Seeing that everyone stood up, I could not continue to sit in my seat, so I had to stand up.

"Comrades, all the commanders and fighters of the 62nd army," wittkov read aloud, "at present, we have turned to the final decisive attack, which will determine the future of our motherland. The Paulus troops surrounded by us will be completely destroyed under the attack of iron fist

The Military Commission believes that all units of the 62nd army will be able to perform their duties to the motherland with honor and success

Fight bravely, comrades! Please remember, Stalingrad's survival and freedom depend on you!

Glory belongs to the brave soldiers in battle!

Let your glorious and victorious fighting flag fly high forever!

Fight, brave soldiers, fight to the death with the enemy, let them hear our name, they will tremble unconsciously... "After reading, wittkov put the letter to all the commanders and fighters on the table.

"Wula Several commanders cheered at the same time.

"Sit down, comrades commander." Wittkov made a posture of asking everyone to sit down. He also sat on the stool. He pointed to the papers on the table and said in a smooth tone: "our attack will start at 9 am, so we must read the order to all the commanders and fighters before the battle, so that every soldier will know the order." With that, he turned to me and said, "Comrade commander, I'm finished."

When witkov finished his speech, I immediately stood up and announced, "comrades commanders, this is the end of today's meeting. You can go back to your own team."

At eight o'clock in the morning, divisions that had already entered the offensive positions began to attack. According to my prior arrangement, they first arranged for the comrades of the anti Communist alliance to shout at the German army opposite. I didn't expect that they were faced with a group of outlaws, not only did they not surrender, but also used mortars to bombard the positions of the preachers, or machine guns to strafe. Seeing that the persuasion was ineffective, the commanders of the divisions immediately ordered the artillery to fire and destroy the German fortifications.

By noon, most of the buildings in the four streets attacked by us had fallen into the hands of our army. Although the divisions are progressing smoothly, I can't concentrate all the time. I always wonder where the friendly troops from the west side should be now?

Whenever I have free time, I will call Krylov. On the surface, I am concerned about the situation of the wachuk division. In fact, I want to know the progress of the troops gathered in the factories and dormitories in the western suburbs.

At the beginning, Krylov was patient enough to introduce the situation to me. When I called more times, he became impatient. When I called for the last time in the evening, he finally lost his temper: "Comrade oshanina, I remind you that what you should pay attention to is not how long the other forces of the group army will meet with the friendly forces, but how long it will take to consider your troops and push them outside the headquarters of Paulus." After he finished, he heard me say nothing. Maybe he felt that his tone was a little heavy and hurt my self-esteem, so he slowed down and said, "OK, o'shanina, I'll tell you the general situation, so don't call me all the time. The six divisions that went out to the factories and dormitories in the western suburbs this morning, including the gorishner division, the Sokolov division, the lyudnikov division, the guriyev division and the rodimzev division, have turned to the north to destroy the enemy groups in the factories and dormitories; The wachuk division, on the other hand, turned to the south, focusing on the heavy army groups that had fled there. Let me tell you another piece of good news. Now there is only one Red October town between our group army and friendly forces. The straight-line distance is only the last 500 meters. "

When I heard that Carreras had told me all the information I wanted to know, I did not pester him. Instead, I repeatedly said, "thank you, thank you, chief of staff! Don't worry, I won't call you any more. "

Although I verbally said that I would not cause any trouble to Krylov, early the next morning, after I handed over the work of the army to Vitkov, I took Yushchenko and a guard platoon and rushed to the headquarters of trekov.

Seeing my sudden appearance at the headquarters of the group army, I first found that my trikov had a stiff face and asked sternly, "Comrade oshanina, how did you come here?"

"Comrade commander," I quickly saluted him with a smile and said with a smile, "it is said that our army of the group army will soon join the friendly army. As the deputy commander of the group army, I naturally have the right to know the good news at the first time."

"O'shanina," gurov, who had just found me, came to me and said with a smile, "I guess you want to go to Red October Town, don't you? I understand that if conditions permit, I can't wait to get there myself. " At this point, he took a look at trekov next to him, and then said to me, "the commander and I, as well as the chief of staff, are going to stay, waiting to contact the head of the front army. Well, on behalf of the leaders of the group army, you can witness this historic moment of great significance. "

"Thank you, comrade military commissar, and Comrade commander!" When I saw that krailov was not in the headquarters, I was deeply relieved. I repeatedly expressed my gratitude to trakov and gurov, then raised my hand to salute them, turned and walked out of the headquarters quickly.

When our car came to the north of a post near Red October, it was stopped by a newly built checkpoint. A little soldier came to my car, raised his hand to salute me, and politely said, "Comrade General! Corporal gilsanov, the commander of the 13th division of the guard infantry, reports to you that our class is carrying out the task of inspection. "

"At ease!" I pushed the door open and got out of the car. I asked kindly, "corporal, do you know where your division commander, general rojmtsev, is?"

"Yes, Comrade General." Gilsanov replied respectfully, "may I be your guide?"

"Comrade corporal, this is very good." I was worried about where I should go to find the teachers after getting off the bus. Now that someone is willing to take the initiative to act as a guide, I can't wait. I said to the corporal friendly, "please show us the way. I have something urgent to see your teachers."

As we followed the corporal and walked up the hillside under the snow, I saw countless craters on both sides of the road. Around the craters, there were still many corpses, both German and our own. We could see how fierce the fighting was.

When we came to a building on the hillside where three walls had been blown down, we saw a group of commanders in white camouflage suits and gray cylindrical leather caps talking around the door. From their backs, I quickly recognized rodymzev standing in the middle. After thanking the corporal who led the way, I walked quickly towards them.

Still far away, I would shout to them: "Hello, comrades commander, how are you!"

Hearing my shouts, the commanders looked back at me and saw me with a look of surprise on their faces. They came to me in a hurry. Rodymzev, who was at the front, asked in surprise, "Comrade oshanina, why are you here?"

As I shook hands with him, I replied, "I'll see the meeting of our group army and friendly forces." Seeing that he wanted to speak, he quickly added: "the commander and the military commissar agreed."

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on me, I asked, "are you ready?"

When rodimzev heard my question, he immediately replied, "report, comrade deputy commander, we have prepared the flag for the division. But the battalion commanders of all battalions want to lead the charge in person. In this case, they can't stop them at all. "

If I were not a commander now, but a division commander, I would also like to lead the charge. After all, this scene of joining forces, which can be recorded in history, is not likely to happen to some people once in their lives, so I timely turned off the topic: "where is the flag of joining forces?"

Rodymzev turned to the back and called out, "Hey, Captain Cushing, bring us the flag we have prepared."

With his shouts, a guard captain in a gray cotton cylinder cap and a white camouflage suit came up. He came up to me and stood still. After he raised his hand to salute, he unfolded the red flag in his hand and saw the words "January 26, 1943 reunion Memorial" written on it.

After reading the words on the red flag, I nodded, and then said to rojimzev, "Comrade General, time is up. Let's go."

At my command, rodimzev called out to his subordinates, "comrades, go back to your positions." With that, he nodded at me and took the lead to walk to the other side of the hillside.

Looking at the back of the commanders leaving, I was going to find a place to watch the grand meeting of the two armies. Then I heard a familiar voice behind me: "Hello, Comrade General!"

I turned to look behind me, and a familiar face came into my eyes. When I saw someone coming, my face showed a smile. When I was about to speak, I found that there was a thick bandage around their neck. I immediately asked with concern, "Sergeant Pavlov, what's the matter? Are you hurt?"

Sergeant Pavlov, standing opposite, touched the bandage on his neck with his hand and said with a embarrassed smile, "Comrade General, it's OK to accidentally let a bullet bite on his neck. The only regret is that he can't turn back. But since it's a charge, there's no need to go back. " At this point, he glanced aside, and then asked me carefully, "it seems that my troops are about to start charging. Will you allow me to go back to my troops?"

"Go, Sergeant Pavlov, be safe."

"Yes Pavlov agreed, saluted me again, turned and ran quickly towards his line.

I looked around and found that the half collapsed house in front of me was suitable for observation, so I took Yushchenko and they went in. Find a place facing Red October Town, raise your telescope and look down.

"Boys," rodymzeff's voice suddenly came from a distance. I quickly turned the lens of the telescope to the direction of the sound. He was waving a pistol in his hand and yelling loudly to the left and right: "forward!"

With his shouts, thousands of people came out of the silent hillside, 40 or 50 of them in a row, carrying weapons and walking down the hillside in a neat line. The red flag flying on the right side of the first row of the line is the special flag for the Division I just saw. The flagman holding the flag of the 13th division of the guards is advancing side by side with rodimzev.

Although the enemy in the town was besieged by iron walls, they saw our army's attack and took action quickly. A minute or two later, some mortar shells landed in the middle of the attack team and exploded. The air wave and shrapnel overturned more than a dozen soldiers, but the gap in the line was soon filled by the soldiers who came up quickly.

When the line in white camouflage clothes came to the foot of the hillside, several more lines of sailors in black uniforms and black cotton caps appeared in my field of vision. They followed up with guns and heads high. All of a sudden, I heard a whistle, and then the sailors took off their cotton caps one after another, took out their brimless caps and put them on their heads. I saw that one of them was a little familiar with his back. When he yelled at the officers and Men nearby, I recognized him as Sergeant horol, a marine of the 92nd infantry brigade“ Commander, look, tanks, our tanks. " Next to Yushchenko suddenly exclaimed excitedly, "just south of town, our tanks are coming." In the sporadic gunfire came the roar of tank motors, the distance appeared in our uniform troops. In addition to these, I also saw our army's unique heavy tanks, with the words "Chelyabinsk collective farm farmer" and "ural metal worker" written on the turret. The troops on the downhill saw the friendly troops coming from the opposite side. Their morale was greatly boosted and their walking speed became faster and faster. Finally, they simply ran towards the town that had already become ruins. The German soldiers hiding behind the ruins, seeing our army rushing up like a tide, fired a few shots in a panic, turned around and ran towards the middle of the town. A German officer in a big cornice hat was very stubborn. Although there were deserters running past him from time to time, he stood still and shot at our soldiers with his pistol. Seeing our soldiers getting closer and closer to him, he grabbed a grenade from the side, pulled the string and threw it out. The grenade fell in our line and exploded, knocking down four or five soldiers. But he didn't pick up the second grenade, and the soldiers swarming in had already turned him into a hornet's nest. As more and more soldiers poured into the town, the desperate German officers and men knew that there would be no result in any further resistance. They threw down their weapons one after another and stood on the side of the road and raised their hands high. But our officers and men didn't care about them at all. They rushed straight to the friendly officers and men. A few minutes later, thousands of officers and men of the two armies hugged each other, and their cheers could be heard even hundreds of meters away. But the heavy tanks passed by the town. The tankers leaned out of the hatch and waved to the infantry comrades. They did not stop. The strong tank column continued to move towards the city“ Comrade commander, "Yushchenko said in a loud voice beside him. His tongue was a little inflexible because of his excitement." I'm not dreaming, am I Has our 62nd army really joined up with the friendly forces? "“ Of course, we joined forces. Don't you see that the soldiers of our group army and the commanders and fighters of our friendly army are embracing in Red October town? It looks like there's something wrong with your eyes Although I said it very easily, I was also affected by the historic reunion scene. When Yushchenko didn't pay attention, I quietly wiped away the tears from my cheeks.