Red Moscow

  Chapter 630

   "Comrade Brigadier, welcome back!" Before Belkin could answer, Vitkov's voice suddenly sounded at the door of the headquarters. It turned out that he had been standing at the door, and when he saw Sokov and Belkin walking side by side, he took the initiative to say hello.

"Hello, Colonel Witkov." Seeing Witkov standing in front of him alive, Sokov was also very happy in his heart. He quickly stepped forward to hold the opponent's hand and said enthusiastically: "I am not in command. Thank you for your hard work during this time."

"Look at what you said, I am the acting deputy brigade commander of the infantry brigade, and these are what I should do." After shaking hands with Sokov, Vitkov turned to one side and made way for the road: "Don't stand The door is open, come in quickly."

  Although he had only been away from the headquarters for a few days, Sokov still felt as if he had been a world away. After he came to his seat with ease and sat down, he looked at everything in the room to see if there was any change.

"I said, Comrade Brigadier, where did you come from?" Vitkov looked at the wet clothes on Sokov's body, dripping water from time to time, and asked curiously: "From the Red Cross." There shouldn’t be any rivers from the Moon Factory to our place, right?”

Belkin walked to the camp bed in the corner, bent down and picked up a set of his own military uniform, turned over and came to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, it's cold at night, you should put on this clothes first, be careful not to catch a cold gone."

Sokov was not hypocritical. He took the military uniform in Belkin's hand, walked to the corner, took off his soaked military uniform and began to change, and said at the same time, "I didn't come from the Red October factory, but from the Red October Factory." From the east bank of the Volga."

   "What, you came from the other side of the Volga River?" Sokov's words surprised Vitkov and Belgin, and they asked in puzzlement, "When did you run to the other side?"

"It's a long story!" Sokov changed his clothes and led his troops north to Orlovka. Because the reinforcements could not arrive, and the retreat route was cut off by the enemy, he could only choose to break through the siege to the north. He told the two of them about the rendezvous with the friendly army.

  Although Sokov only told the two people the cause and effect of the matter in a straightforward tone, it still made them feel their hearts aroused. Especially when Sokov mentioned that he was shelled by the German army while crossing the river, Belkin asked with concern: "Comrade Brigadier, are you not injured?"

   "No." Sokov shook his head and said lightly, "I was lucky. The enemy's shells didn't hit me. But the water column raised by the shells made us drench."

  Sokov's words caused the two to burst into laughter. After laughing, Witkov asked anxiously: "Comrade Brigadier, how many reinforcements did you bring back from the other side of the river?"

"Originally there was a marine battalion of more than 1,300 people." Sokov frowned slightly, and said, "But I don't know how many casualties will be caused when we cross the river. By the way, Comrade Colonel, we are at Mamayev Gang How many troops are there?"

"Comrade Brigadier, after this period of fighting, we have lost a lot of personnel." As the acting deputy brigade commander, when Sokov was away, the troops standing on Mamayev Post were under his full command. When Sokov asked about the strength of the troops, he smiled wryly and said, "The 192nd Battalion currently standing at Beigang has about 200 people, and many of them are wounded who have not recovered from their injuries..."

"I know the situation of the 192nd Battalion. Captain Goria reported to me when I passed the northern post." Sokov knew very well that he took away the first and fourth battalions, leaving only Mamayev Post After leaving the 2nd Battalion and 192nd Battalion, and the 3rd Battalion fighting in the urban area, he just wanted to know how many soldiers he had in his hand: "How is the situation of the 2nd Battalion and the 3rd Battalion?"

   "There are still more than 300 people in the second battalion, and there are also many wounded among them." Witkov scratched the back of his head and said: "The situation of the third battalion fighting in the urban area is slightly better. They have about a thousand people."

"What, there are more than 1,000 people in the third battalion?" Sokov couldn't help being taken aback after hearing the number that Witkov said. According to his thinking, the third battalion was fighting the enemy continuously in the urban area, and the reduction in personnel must be severe. It is not bad to have a hundred or ten people left, but he did not expect there to be thousands of people. He asked curiously: "Comrade deputy brigade commander, what is going on? The defenders on Mamayev Post are fighting more and more. There are few, but why is the number of troops in the city increasing?"

"It's like this. During the battle, Captain Andrei, the commander of the third battalion, kept taking in the scattered friendly troops. At the same time, he also incorporated some combat-ready residents into his troops." Witkov smiled and said to Soko Fu said: "Even in the building where Sergeant Vasily is located, there are now hundreds of armed personnel. They are like nails, firmly guarding the building, so that the enemy cannot pass in front of them."

   "That's really amazing." Since Witkov just said that the third battalion has incorporated many residents into combat units, there must be many such armed residents in the Vasily Building. He smiled and said to Belgin: "Comrade Commissar, when we have nothing to do in two days, let's go to the Vasily Building and visit the soldiers standing there."

   After chatting for a while, Sokov called Lieutenant Maxim, the commander of the communications company, and told him, "Comrade Second Lieutenant, call the battalion commanders immediately and ask them to come to me as soon as possible."

After waiting for Sokov to finish speaking, Maxim asked tentatively, "Should the Commander of the Third Battalion and the Commander of the Fourth Battalion also be notified?" There was a reason for him to ask this question. The Commander of the Third Battalion was commanding troops to fight against the enemy in the urban area at the moment; And the commander of the fourth battalion was not at Mamayev Gang, but at the Red October factory.

   "Comrade Second Lieutenant," Sokov said to Maxim with a straight face, "didn't you hear my order clearly, all the battalion commanders came to me for a meeting. Do you understand?"

   "Understood!" Maxim quickly agreed, and turned to make a phone call.

  After Maxim left, Sokov suddenly remembered Grisa, who had been out of contact for a while, and asked Witkov cautiously: "Comrade deputy brigade commander, are the fourth company commander and their whereabouts?"

Vitkov, who was originally full of joy, immediately darkened his expression when he heard Sokov's question. He shook his head and said with a bitter face: "No, we have been trying to get in touch with them. Unfortunately, Yes, I can't get in touch. I guess, they may have been wiped out."

  Grisa is Sokov's old subordinate, and Sokov's heart is extremely heavy when he learns that he may sacrifice. Don't look at Griza's men who have dozens of people, but this little force is okay for sneak attacks, and it's not enough to meet a large enemy force. What's more, the new rockets they carry have long been exhausted, and the light weapons they carry alone cannot compete with the enemy's main force.

   Just as Sokov was feeling sad, another familiar voice came from the door: "Is Comrade Brigadier back?! Oh, Comrade Brigadier, you are really back!"

Sokov looked up and saw Chief of Staff Sidolin striding towards him, stood up quickly, gave him a warm hug, and said, "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff! Can you see It's such a joy to see you alive."

"Me too." Sidolin said emotionally: "Comrade Brigadier, during the time you were away from the headquarters, we were all worried about your safety. Now seeing you come back intact that is really good."

After several people sat down around the table, Sidolin immediately reported to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, today during the day, the German army opposite us is making a large-scale mobilization. However, they are not attacking us, but heading north. Movement. Do you know what happened?"

"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff. A few days ago I led troops to break through from Orlovka to the north, successfully captured a German defensive position, and handed it over to General Rokossovsky's troops." Considering that Sidolin was not there just now and did not hear the ins and outs of what he said, Sokov repeated what happened recently, and finally said: "...the German army moved north because they were worried about the defenders in our city. corps, joined forces with the Don Front Army outside the encirclement, and thereby smashed their attack on Stalingrad. So Paulus made a desperate move and removed all the troops that were attacking us head-on.”

   "Comrade Brigadier, something is wrong." As a chief of staff, Sidolin's responsibility is to advise Sukov and give advice. As soon as Sokov finished speaking, he went on to say: "Even if the Germans know that they cannot capture Mamayev Post, but if they want to move their troops to the north, they should at least leave some troops on the opposite side to watch us. How could it be possible Not a single soldier is left, is it rare for them not to worry that we will take the opportunity to launch a counterattack in this area?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Sidolin," Witkov interjected, "couldn't the Germans have thought about the issues you can think about? I think that after Paulus transfers the troops in front of us, he will definitely transfer new troops to continue the offensive. Mamayev Gang, we can’t just take it lightly just because the enemy has withdrawn, that would cause serious problems.”

"You are right, Comrade Deputy Brigadier Commander." Sidolin agreed with Vitkov's statement: "Only when the Germans take down Mamayev Post, can they completely separate our army's defense line. Therefore, they will definitely gather more troops and attack us in the future."

"Our troops standing on Mamayev Post have been severely reduced after a long period of fighting." Now that Sokov has returned to Mamayev Post, no matter where he will be sent by his superiors next, he will first What needs to be done is to adjust the deployment of troops on Mamayev Hill so that the Germans cannot easily capture it: "I have asked Second Lieutenant Maxim to notify the battalion commanders to come to a meeting, and when the time comes, I will add some troops to them and start anew." Adjust your deployment so they can better hold their ground."

   "Replenishment of troops?" Sidolin couldn't help asking when he heard this: "Comrade Brigadier, where should we replenish them?"

"I came back this time with a marine battalion of more than 1,000 people and a guard battalion with relatively strong combat effectiveness." Sokov said blankly: "I plan to disperse these troops among the battalions. To strengthen the defenses of Mamayev Kurgan."

   "Marine Battalion!" Sidolin couldn't help his eyes sparkle when he heard this. As a commander who has been in the army for more than ten years, he knows very well that the combat effectiveness of sailors is far superior to that of the army. He said excitedly: "My God! The combat effectiveness of more than a thousand sailors is not at all No more than an infantry division. With the help of these sailors, I believe that the defense of Mamayev Post will be even more problematic."

Before distributing the sailors to the battalions, Sokov felt that he should first sound the alarm to the commanders of the brigade, "More than a month ago, the 92nd Infantry Brigade who came to the city to participate in the battle was a group of sailors. The army was formed and commanded by the army. However, because the commander was greedy for life and afraid of death, he left the army and fled when he saw the critical situation. As a result, the army did not perform to its due level and was exhausted in the battle. Now that our brigade has added a group of sailors, I hope that similar incidents will not happen to us."

"Don't worry, Comrade Brigadier." Sidolin waited for Sokov to finish speaking, then patted his chest and assured him: "From the commander to the soldiers of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, none of them is greedy for life and afraid of death. As long as we continue If a person is alive, he will stand on the ground like a nail and never retreat a step."

   The words of not taking a single step back made Sokov's heart skip a beat. Although fighting positional warfare is a war of attrition, you should still find a way to minimize casualties. If Witkov hadn't been acting as brigade commander, the number of troops under his command would have been twice as large as it is now. So he first glanced at Vitkov, then looked at Sidolin and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I would like to ask, how are you defending now?"

When Sidolin heard this question, he did not answer immediately. Instead, he glanced at Vitkov first, and then said cautiously: "When the enemy shelled, we left a few observation posts, and the remaining soldiers retreated into the tunnel. Wait for the enemy After the bombardment is over, re-enter the position defense,..."

"Wait a minute, Comrade Chief of Staff." Hearing this, Sokov decisively interrupted Sidolin's words and asked, "You just need to tell me where you will defend after you get out of the tunnel. ?”

"In order to kill more of the active forces of the German army," Sidolin replied with some embarrassment: "We rebuilt the trenches on the frontal slope. When the shelling is over, our soldiers will rush out of the tunnels to repair the collapsed trenches." Trenches, ready to resist the enemy's attack."

"Didn't I ask you to build your position on the top of the hillside before? In this way, even if the enemy bombards the hill, the damage to our fortifications will be limited." Sukov asked with a straight face: "Why do you want to do it yourself?" Advocate, change my defense plan?"

"Comrade Brigadier, don't blame the Chief of Staff." Seeing that Sidolin was silenced by Sokov, Vitkov hurried out to smooth things over: "It was my idea to change the defensive position to a positive slope. If you want to blame, blame me."

  (end of this chapter)