Burning Moscow

Our jeep shifted its head outside the village and drove towards the Don River ferry.

When the ferry appeared in our field of vision, Shumilov, who had been silent for a long time, finally asked Cuikov a question he was concerned about: "Comrade Cuikov, I have a question to ask you."

Cui Kefu said very politely: "Comrade Commander, if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask. As long as I know, I must know that I can talk about everything."

"When I was at the Front Army Headquarters, I heard that in the fighting a few days ago, all the troops of our group army suddenly withdrew from the battle, and tens of thousands of troops flocked to the Don River ferry. To stop the troops from crossing the river, you sent a cloth. General Lauder went to stop him, and he was killed by the enemy's airstrikes. Is this the case?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Cui Kefu replied in a low tone.

"I want to know, who gave this wrong order?" Shumilov's tone became severe.

Hearing the conversation in the back row, I quickly turned my eyes out of the window, pretending that I didn't hear each other at all, so that no one would ask my opinion later. I didn't want to interfere with the conflict between their high-levels.

Only after hearing Trikov’s silence for a moment, he said with difficulty: “The order is for Colonel Novikov, Chief of Staff of the Group Army, and Comrade Abramov, the military commissar and division-level political commissar, to pass the radio station without my consent. Orders were issued to the 214th Infantry Division, the two Marine Brigades, and the 137th Tank Brigade to retreat to the left bank of the Don River."

"Damn it!" Shumilov slammed a fist at the back of the chair behind me, and said angrily: "Their mistakes are unforgivable. You must report them to your superiors immediately, hold them accountable, and send them to the military. court."

Cui Koff said indifferently: "Comrade Commander, the first thing we must consider now is how to recover the negative consequences of this wrong order, stop the enemy's crazy offensive, and prevent them from approaching Stalingrad."

When Shumilov heard Trikov say this, he unexpectedly did not refute, and the two fell silent.

The car arrived at the ferry and was catching up with a troop to land. The jeep in front was desperately slamming the horn. The commanders quickly walked to both sides of the road and gave way to the dock for our convoy.

Three jeeps drove one after another on the barge docked at the dock. After the car stopped, the barge was towed by the motorboat and drove towards the right bank of the Don River. Cuikov and Shumilov pushed the door and got out of the car, stood beside the car smoking a cigarette, and pointed to the right bank of the Don River.

Seeing that the two leaders got off the car, I was too embarrassed to stay in the car, pushed the door to get out of the car, and walked to the side of the boat. Seeing the turbulent rolling river, I couldn't help feeling full of emotions, thinking that if it wasn't Kokunov and the sailor who rescued me that day, my top ten had drowned in the Don River. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but look up at the sky, fearing that another enemy plane would emerge from the clouds at this time.

The enemy plane did not come, but Cuikov and Shumilov came to me. Shumilov asked with concern: "Comrade Oshanina, this is the first time you have crossed the Don River, right? I think you have been standing here for a long time."

Before I could speak, Cui Kefu rushed to help me answer: "Comrade Commander, just yesterday morning, Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina took her regiment with troops. After completing the task of covering the friendly forces crossing the river, he risked the enemy. The plane's air attack crossed the Don River and built fortifications on the left bank of the river."

"Is that so? Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina."

Hearing Shumilov’s question, I hurriedly straightened my body and replied loudly: "Yes, Comrade Commander. Most of our regiment has crossed the Don River smoothly. The ferry I took was halfway through. After being bombarded and swept by enemy planes, I was unfortunately sunk. Fortunately, I was saved by the sailors of the water so that I could stand in front of you and report to you."

Shumilov stretched out his hand and patted my shoulder twice, and said, "Good job, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." After speaking, he turned around and walked to the jeep.

The car landed ashore and drove quickly to the command headquarters of the group army located in Ilimen-Chirsky. Since there was no interference from enemy aircraft, we arrived at the headquarters in just over half an hour.

Walking into the headquarters, I saw several commanders gathered around a map on the wall, studying something. Cui Kefu strode forward and said loudly to them, "Hello, comrades commanders."

When the commanders heard his voice, they turned their heads and found that the person who had come in was Cui Kefu. They greeted him quickly and saluted him collectively. After a few greetings with them, Cui Koff pointed to Shumilov standing behind him sideways and said: "Comrades, I will introduce you to you. This is the new commander of the group army, General Shumilov."

"The new commander?!" a famous colonel asked in surprise: "Comrade General, are you no longer the commander of our 64th Army?"

Trikov looked at the commander and said lightly: "Colon Novikov, have you forgotten that the commander of our group army is General Golddorf. After he became the commander of the front army, there has been no commander in the group army. Officer, my deputy commander is in command of the troops. Today, the superior sent us a new commander. Everyone will obey his orders in the future. Do you understand?" At the last sentence, he deliberately raised his voice .

"Understood!" the commander in the room replied collectively.

Shumilov’s first day in office, he must say something to everyone. After Cui Koff introduced his identity to everyone, he asked everyone to sit around the wooden table and started his first visit to the 64th Army. meeting.

After seeing everyone sitting down, he stood up, took out a document from his briefcase, and said to everyone with a serious expression: "Comrades commanders, the People’s Commissar of the Soviet Union for National Defense issued a report issued by the Supreme People’s Committee in July 1942. Order No. 227 signed by the commander-in-chief himself. The order is extremely clear and candidly explained the complexity and danger of the current situation. Now, I will read this order to everyone." Then, he began to read it aloud in an accented voice. This famous Order No. 227:

"The enemy, in spite of the heavy losses suffered, put more and more new troops on the battlefield. They are approaching the Soviet Union step by step. They are constantly occupying new areas. They ravaged and destroyed our cities and villages. They were women. , Looting property, killing the people.

Fighting is going on in the Vorone and Don regions, in the south near the gate of the North Caucasus. The German occupying forces are rushing towards Stalingrad and the Volga River, attempting to occupy the Kuban River area and the North Caucasus at all costs, grabbing oil and food resources there.

The enemy has already occupied Voroshilovgrad, Starobiersk, Rossohi, Kupyansk, Valuiki, Novocherkask, Rostov-on-Don area and half of Voro After losing Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic Sea, Donbass, and other areas, our territory has shrunk greatly. As a result, our personnel, food, steel, and factories have also decreased. We have lost the grain-producing areas with a population of more than 70 million people, an annual output of 800 million Dopps of grain, and an annual production capacity of more than 10 million tons of steel.

Now, we have lost the advantage of human resources and the advantage of food reserves. Continuing to retreat means suicide, it means ruining our motherland.

From now on, every inch of land we give up will greatly strengthen the enemy's superiority, greatly weaken our defenses, and weaken our motherland. Therefore, it is necessary to fundamentally put an end to arguments such as ‘we can retreat endlessly’, ‘our country is vast, with a large population, rich products, and inexhaustible food’. These arguments are harmful and wrong. It will weaken our fighting spirit and increase the prestige of the enemy. Because if we do not stop retreating, we will lose food, fuel, steel, raw materials, factories, and railways. This leads to the conclusion: it is time to stop retreating. You can't go back one step!

This should be our current main slogan. We must stubbornly hold on to every position, every inch of Soviet territory, and do our utmost to defend it, until a drop of blood flows as much as possible.

Our motherland is in a difficult period. We should stop retreating, and then retreat and crush the enemy, regardless of the cost. The Germans are not as strong as some panicked people imagined. They have become the end of the war. Withstand the enemy's current and subsequent assaults in the next few months, and we will be able to secure victory.

Can we withstand the enemy's assault and drive them back? were able. Because now the production of our rear factory is advancing by leaps and bounds, our front line is getting more and more planes, tanks, artillery and mortars.

So, what are we missing? What we lack is to establish iron order and discipline in all troops. This is our current fatal weakness. If we want to save the situation and defend the motherland, we must establish extremely strict order and iron discipline in our army...

Panickers and cowards should be shot on the spot. From now on, every commander, Red Army soldier, and political worker should abide by this iron discipline: without the command of the Supreme Command, never take a step back. "

After reading the order, Shumilov turned his head and said to Cuikov, who was sitting next to him: "General Cuikov, you can say a few words." After that, he sat down and took a sip of tea from the orderly.

Cui Kefu stood up, glanced at the people present with a serious expression, and then said: "Comrades commanders,'Never take a step back!' We have mentioned this kind of slogan before. However, there has never been a document so unabashed. To all personnel, not only to all the Red Army commanders, but also to ordinary soldiers, talked about the difficult situation of our country. This order is actually a letter to the people of the Soviet Union. Because the Red Army is the people’s army, it is multi-ethnic, and the entire Soviet Union The soldiers of the people. The party and the Soviet zhengfu frankly told the people about the difficulties of the country. This has to arouse a warm response from the people of the whole country, and it will surely bring positive results. Every soldier and every commander feels it deeply. Responsibility to the motherland and to the people. Indeed, we have nowhere to go.” At this point, Cui Kefu paused and turned his attention to the political worker present. “I repeat it again in the future. During the battle, no one was allowed to give an order to retreat without the permission of comrade commander and me. My words are over."

Next, Shumilov ordered a few more people and asked them to talk about their views on the order. The named commander stood up tremblingly, followed the commander's tone and shouted several times that the troops would never retreat, and then sat down again.

After the meeting, Cuikov spoke to Shumilov in a deliberate tone: "Comrade Commander, based on the analysis of the current situation, the left wing of our army has gradually been surrounded by the enemy from the south. I will immediately go to the southern part of the army of tens of millions. , Quickly ascertain the situation and take necessary measures on the spot."

Shumilov groaned a little, then nodded in agreement. He said, "Okay, Comrade Cuikov, don't worry. You can call me or send a telegram to me if you have anything. You can choose according to the details. Circumstances, to deploy defenses, there is no need to ask the group army headquarters for instructions, you have absolute command on the front line."

After a simple preparation, Cui Kefu took me off. We were accompanied by the adjutant i.a. Klimov, the messenger Levolid Sidorin, the drivers Kayoum Kalymulin and Vadim Sidorokov, and several communication soldiers. We split into three jeeps (one of which contained a radio station) and set off to the south.

On the way, when we passed a village called Shanglubienei, Cuikov asked us to hear the car beside the soldiers standing guard outside the village. After the car was stable, a soldier carrying a gun walked over to our car, stopped in front of the car, bent over and looked into the car, and asked, "Comrades, which part of you are you?" "

I pushed the car door and walked down. Just about to speak, I didn't expect that the soldier had raised his hand to salute me, and smiled and said to me: "Hello, Commander Oshanina, why did you come to the division headquarters? "

"Division headquarters? Is it the division headquarters of the 214th Division of General Bilyukov?" Cuikov's voice came from behind. I turned my head to see that he also pushed the door and got out of the car.

"Yes, Comrade General. The division commander is in his headquarters. Do you need me to take you there?" The sentry is very clever. When he saw a general coming down from the car, he immediately guessed that he was looking for the division commander, so he asked for it. Act as a guide.

When the two of us and the sentry were walking to the headquarters of the village, I took an opportunity and asked the sentry in a low voice: "Comrade soldier, do you know me?"

The sentry nodded and replied: "Yes, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. I once accompanied Comrade Commander to the 678th Regiment, where I saw you."

In the division headquarters, I saw General Bilyukov again. After talking with Cui Kefu, he walked to my side, shook my right shoulder with my left hand while shaking hands with me, and jokingly said: "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, I'll take the 678th The regiment and my son were handed over to you, but now you leave them behind and run to the headquarters of the group army."

I smiled at the kind teacher, and was about to say a few words, Cui Kefu had already impatiently urged by the side: "General Bilyukov, hurry up and report the situation of your division."

Biliukov reduced his smile and said solemnly: "Comrade Commander, the situation is very strange now. The entire section on the left bank of the Don River defended by our division, from Lower Kirskaya to Gorodska. Yazhen is so peaceful that life is suspicious. The enemy did not even try to cross the Don River, nor did they conduct active reconnaissance. The enemy's negative attitude made me feel very strange."

"Yes, Comrade General. Before the storm, it was very calm." Cui Kefu said.

At this moment, there were several explosions outside, and Cui Kefu frowned and asked, "What's the matter? Comrade General. Didn't you say that the defensive area is calm? What's the matter with the shelling, the enemy's The shells hit the vicinity of your headquarters."

Biliukov shrugged and said helplessly: "Comrade Commander, this is the enemy's cold cannon. There are always dozens of shots shot at us every day, but there are usually no casualties."

In order to avoid enemy shelling, we had to stay in the headquarters of General Bilyukov's division. After a little calm, we bid farewell to Bilyukov and headed south.

After getting in the car, the driver turned his head and asked, "Comrade Commander, where are we going."

"Our next stop is the village of Gnielarovsky, where the division headquarters of the 29th Infantry Division is located."

We quickly arrived at the village of Gnielarovsky. When our car was stopped at the entrance of the village, the sentry on duty hurriedly called the duty officer of the division to inform him of the arrival of General Cui Kefu.

In a short while, Colonel Kolobtin, the commander of the 29th Division, took a few staff officers and respectfully guided our group to the division headquarters.

After a brief greeting~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Cui Koff asked Kolobtin: "Comrade Colonel, please report on the deployment of your division."

Kolobtin stood upright in front of Trikov like a schoolboy, and answered earnestly: "Report to Comrade Commander, my 29th Division is located along the Aksai River, from the village of Gorodskaya to Xin'a. On the area of ​​the Ksaiyski village, the front faces south. To the north of our division, along the Don River is the defensive zone of the 214th division. To the south of our division, from Potemkinskaya to Kurmoyars The Kaya area is defended by a cavalry regiment with a group army. Due to insufficient troops, the left flank of our division is not fortified."

Cui Koff walked to the map hung on the wall, looked at it for a while, then pointed to a place and asked Kolobtin: "Comrade Colonel, there seems to be a force in this place, right? Which part is it?"

Kolobtin walked over and took a look, and quickly replied: "Report Comrade Commander, this is the unit of the 118th fortification area. They are deploying and preparing for defense along the line of the Myshkovka River. But this is in the rear. , North of the Aksai River. Since we are not affiliated with each other, I have no right to mobilize their troops."

"You don't have to worry about this, comrade colonel, I will go to their commander tomorrow, and try to get them to deploy a part of the troops to strengthen the left wing of your division." (To be continued.)