Red Moscow

  Chapter 452

   Chuikov strode in from the outside with his adjutant Klimov. Belgin and Goria hurriedly stood up straight and raised their hands to salute him.

Seeing Sokov trying to sit up, Chuikov hurriedly stepped forward to stop him: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you are still injured, so don't get up." After letting Sokov lie down again, Chuikov turned his head and asked where he was standing. Asiya on the side, "Asiya, is his injury okay?"

  Asiya shook her head quickly and said, "It's just a slight concussion and some bruises on the body, nothing serious."

"Comrade Commander," Sokov, who was lying on the hospital bed, said apologetically after Asya finished introducing her injury to Chuikov, "I have not completed the task you entrusted to me, and I request punishment." The 67th Brigade was wiped out by the enemy due to isolation and helplessness after breaking through the German defense line. It had nothing to do with Sokov, but he still took the initiative to ask Cuikov to take responsibility.

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I can't blame you for this incident." Chuikov waved his hand and said reasonably, "It is the enemy's strength beyond our imagination. After Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade broke through the line of defense, it immediately Immediately cut off from the main force, thus becoming a lone army without any assistance."

   Seeing that the move to the north to join forces ended in failure, Cuikov's mentality changed. He felt that under the current situation, tactics should be adjusted in time to defend the city. Therefore, he said to Sokov: "The attack launched by the friendly forces from the enemy's rear did not achieve the desired results, and our coordinated attack also failed. In the following days, I think we need to adjust our style of play. That way you can stay in town for a longer period of time.”

Seeing that Chuikov realized that it is not advisable to launch a counterattack against the enemy before the conditions are ripe, Sokov felt a lot more at ease, because in this way, Chuikov would not order himself to go to the Perform what can't be done.

   "Comrade Commander," Sokov tried to ask in a flat tone: "What should we do next?"

"The task of your brigade remains the same, and you will continue to stick to the Mamayev Post." Chuikov replied: "As long as our troops can be nailed here like a nail, the enemy will not be able to completely destroy the defense lines of the factory area and the city center." Separate."

   "Comrade Commissar," Sokov waited for Chuikov to finish speaking, and immediately turned his attention to Belkin who was standing aside: "How many troops can we use now?"

   "Comrade Brigadier," hearing Sokov's question, Belgin quickly stepped forward and replied, "There are currently 3,400 people left in the brigade, and more than 700 of them are wounded."

  Sokov remembers that in real history, the Soviet army suffered more than 50,000 casualties on Mamayev Post, and the German army also paid a price of more than 15,000 people. Therefore, as soon as they came to Mamayev Gang, they took the time to build tunnels and some surface positions, so that the casualties of the troops in the battle were greatly reduced. There are still more than 3,000 people on the high ground. If Cui Kefu can add some more to himself and persist in the counterattack until mid-November, there should be no problem.

  After learning about the current situation of the troops, Sokov tentatively asked Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, I wonder if you can add some troops to us. You must know that since our brigade entered the position until now, the number of casualties has exceeded half."

"You are only more than half of the casualties." Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Cui Kefu said coldly: "The casualties of the other divisions are generally three-quarters, and some even have only two or three hundred people left. Even if you want to add, They also need to be replenished first.”

After hitting a snag at Chuikov, Sokov was not disappointed, but continued: "Comrade Commander, I have an idea, since so many division and brigade units have been wiped out, why not let their command The authorities go to the rear to reorganize new troops, and assign the remaining fighters to the existing combat troops?"

Sokov's proposal made Chuikov's eyes widen in surprise. For him, those troops that have almost completely lost their organizational structure have no need to stay in the city, but should be immediately transferred to the left bank of the Volga River to carry out Make up. But Sokov's statement gave him a new idea.

Seeing Chuikov's pensive look, Sokov hurriedly said: "Comrade commander, as far as I know, after the German troops were disabled, the command organization went to the rear to reorganize the troops and survived." Soldiers who have been disbanded will be dispersed and reorganized into other combat units, so as to ensure that the combat effectiveness of the troops will not be affected.”

"It's interesting," Chuikov nodded and said, "After I return to the headquarters, I will discuss it with the chief of staff. If he doesn't object, I can implement you in those divisions and brigades with only a few hundred people left. plan."

  Seeing that Chuikov agreed to his proposal, Sokov couldn't help but smile. You must know that the surviving fighters in these units are all veterans with combat experience and are familiar with the situation in the city. They are much stronger than the newly transferred troops.

   After chatting with Sokov for a while, Chuikov stood up and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, during this time, the work in the brigade will be handed over to Chief of Staff Sidolin, and you can rest here to recuperate."

  Since he learned that his injury was not life-threatening, Sokov wanted to go back to the headquarters to direct the battle immediately. At this moment, when Chuikov asked him to hand over the command to Sidolin, he quickly waved his hands and said, "No need, Comrade Commander, with my current physical condition, I am fully capable of commanding the troops..."

Before Sokov could finish speaking, Chuikov interrupted him: "Although your injury is not too serious, but you can't even sit up now, how can you command the battle? Just listen to me. You should rest in peace and recuperate first, and then take over the command again when you can get out of bed and walk around."

  Sokov was unwilling to lie on the hospital bed idly, and hurriedly said to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, although I can't move now, I can let my comrades carry me to the headquarters and continue to perform my duties there."

Belgin understood Sokov's character, and knew that if he lay here and did nothing, he would definitely be suffocated, so he quickly stood up and said good things to him: "Comrade commander, I think it's just what the brigade commander said. Yes, send someone to carry him back to the command post, let him lie on the bed and command the troops to fight."

After hearing what Belkin said, Chuikov stared at him for a long time, and finally nodded in agreement with his proposal: "Okay, Comrade Belkin, since you also feel that Lieutenant Colonel Sokov should lie in command of the troops If it is feasible, then arrange for people to carry him back to the headquarters as soon as possible."

   Just like that, after Chuikov left, Belkin called several soldiers over and carried Sokov back to the headquarters. Sidolin, who was answering the phone, saw Sokov being carried in by the soldiers, and couldn't help asking Belkin in surprise: "Comrade Commissar, the brigade commander is still injured, why did you bring him here?"

   "Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov, who was lying on the stretcher unable to move, still managed to squeeze a smile on his face and said to Sidolin, "I'm fine, and I can continue to command the battle."

  After the soldiers lifted themselves from the stretcher to the camp bed, Sokov looked at Sidolin and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, how is the situation in the Vasily Building?"

"Vassily Building?!" Sidolin was taken aback when he heard Sukov's question, and then realized that he was asking about the building occupied by Vasily's troops, and quickly replied, "They are still in the building." hold on."

Sokov was obviously dissatisfied with Sidolin's answer, and after repeating his question, he specifically emphasized: "What I want to ask is that Vasily and the others are sticking to that building, which poses a threat to the Germans. what kind of threat."

Sidolin finally understood what Sokov wanted to ask, and quickly replied: "The building occupied by Vasily and the others turned out to be the family dormitory building of the State Consumer Cooperative Association, which is located next to the January 9th Square. Since Vasily and the others After moving in, the enemy who tried to enter Soviet Street from here suffered heavy losses. The fighters in the building killed nearly a hundred invaders, and at least five tanks were blown up..."

"How many troops are there in this building?" Although the historical Pavlov stayed in this building for two months, Sokov didn't know whether Vasily and the others were in the building with his appearance. They can also hold on for such a long time, so they asked worriedly: "Facing the enemy's strong attack, can they hold on?"

"Comrade Brigadier, you can rest assured about this." Sidolin heard Sukov's question and said confidently: "Since Sergeant Vasily and the others occupied the building, the Germans have launched several attacks, even They also used artillery to bombard the building, but they failed to drive our soldiers out of the building. There are still more than fifty soldiers in the building, both from our brigade and other small units of our army that have been dispersed. I believe With their strength, there should be no problem in defending the building."

Perhaps to reassure Sokov, Sidolin even took out a notebook and read the contents to Sokov: "...including Lieutenant Afanasyev's machine gun platoon, seven of them took a A heavy machine gun; the anti-tank gun team led by Sergeant Sobugajda, with six soldiers and three anti-tank guns; the mortar team of Lieutenant Chernushenko, they had four men and two 50mm guns Mortars..."

Listening to the series of data reported by Sidolin, Sokov felt more and more at ease. The current strength and equipment in the Vasily Building are obviously stronger than the Pavlov Building in history. It should not be much of a problem to stick to it for two months. question. But just to be on the safe side, Sokov continued to ask: "How often do we send them ammunition and supplies?"

"Two days," Sidolin put away his notebook and replied truthfully, "every two days, the third battalion will send out a platoon of soldiers to deliver the ammunition and supplies they need to the troops staying in the building." .”

"Comrade Brigadier," after Sidolin finished speaking, Belkin walked to Sokov's bed and said to him with his head down: "After Vasily and the others occupied the building, they discovered a batch of weapons hidden in the basement. Residents. According to our plan, these residents should be evacuated to a safe place, but when we carried out the transfer operation, the residents refused to leave their homes, and expressed their desire to stay and fight with Vasily and the others. Comrade Brigadier Commander , Tell me, how should we deal with it?"

  Although the residents in the city flocked to the ferry, trying to take a boat from here to the left bank of the Volga River to escape the city of blood and fire. But Sokov is very clear that even if they reach the east bank, their safety is still difficult to guarantee. In addition to the bombing and artillery fire that will take their lives, hunger and injuries will also cause many citizens to lose their lives. Therefore, it is not a bad thing for the residents in the Vasily building to choose not to leave. At least Vasily and the others stay in the building for a day, and they can get the food they need to survive, giving them a chance to live until the enemy is driven out of the city. that day.

Thinking of this, Sokov looked at Belkin and said, "Comrade Commissar, since the residents are unwilling to leave, let them stay." Seeing that Belkin seemed to have something to say, he continued. Said, "Now the enemy has tightly blocked the surface of the Volga River. No matter whether the ships are transporting troops and supplies from the east bank to the city, or transferring the wounded and residents of the city to the outside of the city, they all face the risk of being bombed and sunk by enemy planes." or the danger of a cannon strike."

After listening to Sokov's words, Belkin nodded slightly and said: "Okay, Comrade Brigadier, since you also agree that they stay in the building, then let the radio operator send a power call to Vasily later. Report, tell him what you mean."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said, considering that his troops had been greatly reduced, and there were many scattered troops in the urban area on the left flank of Mamayev Post. If these troops could be incorporated, they would be able to expand their own strength, so he tentatively asked Sidolin: "Our left wing, there should be a lot of troops that have been dispersed?"

"Yes, Comrade Brigadier," replied Sidolin, nodding his head: "As far as I know, there are at least twenty Troops with multiple numbers. They have long lost a unified command, and can only choose to fight on their own and start street fighting with the enemy."

  For troops with more than twenty numbers, Sokov couldn't help raising his eyebrows after hearing the data that Sidolin said, and thought to himself: If these stragglers can be recruited, then they will greatly expand their own strength. In addition, in the factory area, those troops who were about to be withdrawn by Chuikov to the east bank for reinforcements could not only stick to Mamayev Post, but even defend part of the city.

  (end of this chapter)