Burning Moscow

"What, the high ground has been taken back?!" Cui Kefu was really overjoyed when he heard the news. He took the telegram in my hand and read it over and over several times, still a little bit unable to believe it was true.

Not only are Cuikov, Gurov, and Krylov happy for our division to regain the 107.5 heights, the corner of my eye catches a glimpse of the commander and political commissar of the tank army, and he sighed with relief.

After Cuikov read the telegram, he passed it to Gurov, walked straight to the tank commander and political commissar, and said to them with a serious expression: "General Bondarev, political commissar Formanov. Since Osha Colonel Ning Na’s independent division has helped you regain the position, so you will directly lead your troops back to defend it. If you lose it again, I will personally send you two to a military court for trial."

Hearing Cui Kefu's harsh words, the General Bondarev straightened his body quickly and said in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, I will move the command post back to 107.5 Heights."

Gurov also walked in front of the two and said slowly: "General Bondarev, this time because Colonel Oshanina’s troops regained your lost position in time and decisively, it did not cause much to our defense. The leaders of the group army will not deal with you organizationally for the loss of the army. I hope that after you return this time, you will strengthen the fortifications and be prepared for a tough battle with the Germans."

Upon hearing Gurov say this, Bondarev and Formanov looked at each other in surprise, and the political commissar replied: "Please rest assured, comrades commander, military commissar, and chief of staff. I will express my opinion to you on behalf of the commander. , As long as there is a commander on our ground, we will never let the Germans occupy our high ground again."

Formanov’s political commissar’s answer made Gurov nodded in satisfaction, and then waved at the two of them: “It’s getting late. You go back to the army quickly.”

Bondarev and Formanov raised their hands to salute Trikov and Gurov, and bid them farewell. I accidentally noticed that General Bondarev glanced at me with hatred, then turned and walked out of the group army headquarters with his political commissar.

After Bondarev, who was hostile to me, left. I was planning to also say goodbye to Cui Kefu and rush back to Mamayev Hill immediately. Unexpectedly, a few of them would get busy all at once. Either answering the phone or reading the telegram, I was too busy to deal with it. Seeing this, I couldn't talk about it anymore, so I could only stand by and wait. Of course, I am not standing still, but listening to their calls while studying the map on the table, studying the markers and arrows they drew on the map. I want to learn about the current development of the situation between the enemy and us in Stalingrad.

At this moment, another staff officer came in and reported to Cuikov: "Comrade Commander, General Golikov, deputy commander of the Front Army, is here, and now he is outside the door."

Hearing the report of the staff, Cui Kefu's face showed a surprised expression. He put the phone on hold and greeted Gurov and Krylov who were holding a few telegrams in a whispered discussion: "Military commissar, chief of staff, Comrade the deputy commander of the front army is here, let's go out to meet him."

"You're welcome. Comrade Cui Kefu, I came in by myself." With the voice, the deputy commander of the front army, whom I had a relationship with, walked into the headquarters in strides.

"Hello. Dear Philip Ivanovich, you are welcome to the headquarters of the 62nd Army. I am very glad to see you here." Cui Kefu took the lead to salute the other party and call each other cordially. His real name and father's name, and then the two of them held hands tightly together.

Obviously Golikov and Trikov were acquaintances, and the two began to talk cordially: "Me too, dear Vasily Ivanovich. After you became the commander of the 62nd Army, I have not had time to talk to him. Congratulations."

After Cui Kefu let go of his hand, he asked jokingly: "Why are you free to come to my headquarters today. You are not here to congratulate me?"

"Of course not, I was ordered to the front line to understand the deployment of the troops."

After General Golikov explained his intentions. Gurov shook his hand and greeted him. Golikov took Gurov's hand and asked with concern: "Comrade Kuzma Akimovich, your condition does not matter. I need to make a request to Comrade Stalin to let you go to Moscow to recuperate? "

Gurov shook his head and rejected Golikov’s kindness: "Thank you, comrade deputy commander, my combat position is in Stalingrad. When my comrades and subordinates are fighting **** battles with the Germans, I am Hiding in Moscow, a thousand kilometers away, to recuperate. This is an act of deserting and is absolutely not allowed."

Hearing Gurov said so firmly, Golikov had no choice but to say: "If this is the case, then you should continue to stay on the front line, but I remind you to pay more attention to your body."

Gurov nodded vigorously and replied: "Please rest assured, Comrade Deputy Commander, I will pay attention to my body."

Golikov walked in front of Krylov again, stretched out his hand to hold his hand and said: "Hello, Chief of Staff Krylov, as far as I know, it has been more than half a month before Comrade Trikov took office. , Because the acting commander General Kolpakchi was injured, you have always been commanding the group army and fighting tenaciously with the Germans, frustrating the German army’s attempt to quickly seize Stalingrad. On behalf of the soldiers and civilians of Stalingrad, I would like to send you this message. Thank you!" After speaking, he let go of Krylov's hand, took a step back, and raised his hand in a solemn military salute.

After meeting with the main leaders of the group army, Golikov turned his head inadvertently and found that I was also standing in the headquarters. He couldn't help but asked inexplicably: "Colonel Oshanina, I remember you are The commander of the independent division, if you don't stay in the army to direct operations, why do you run to the headquarters of the group army?"

When he asked, he really stopped me. Can I tell him that the reason why I appeared in the headquarters of the group army was because the commander of the tank army, General Bondarev, gave up the position without authorization and put my division The flanks were exposed in front of the German troops, and did they come to the commander to complain?

Fortunately, Cuikov cleared the siege for me in time. He told Golikov straightforwardly: "Comrade Deputy Commander, this is the case. Major General Bondarev, commander of the tank army, who is sticking to the 107.5th Heights, has not obtained permission from the group army. Go down. They moved their command post from the high ground to the city without authorization, which caused the German forces to quickly occupy the high ground and threaten the flank of the independent division that was holding on to the Mamayev Hill."

"What?" Golikov heard Trikov say. He frowned and said in dissatisfaction: "How can General Bondarev dare to do this. You must know that according to Order No. 227 of the People's Committee for National Defense, no one is allowed to retreat without permission, otherwise it will be issued. The person who ordered will be sent directly to the military court for trial. Comrade Cuikov, how did you deal with General Bondarev? Have the lost positions regained?"

"Shortly after the German army occupied the high ground, it was discovered by Colonel Oshanina's troops. They proactively launched a fierce attack on the enemy occupying our position. After fierce fighting, they have completely wiped out the high ground. The enemy regained our army’s position.” At this point, Cui Kefu shrugged and added, “Since the high ground has been retaken, it will have little impact on the defense zone of our army, so Bangda was not dealt with. Comrade Lev instead ordered him and his political commissar to immediately move the command post back to the high ground."

After listening to Golikov, he was very upset and said to Cuikov: "Comrade Cuikov, you are doing this. It is incorrect. You should immediately arrest General Bondarev and his political commissars and send them to the military court immediately. , And hand over the tank army to someone who can be trusted to take command. This kind of person who is greedy for life and fear of death is not worthy to remain in our ranks to assume important command positions."

Golikov's words immediately made me feel like a confidant, knowing that I also think that the commander and political commissar of the tank army should be sent to a military court. Fortunately, the battle in our area is not fierce, otherwise it will not be so easy to eliminate the Germans after they have gained a foothold on the 107.5 high ground.

Seeing that Golikov wanted to severely punish Bondarev and the others, Gurov also stood up and interceded for the two. He said sincerely: "Comrade Deputy Commander, the current situation is very chaotic. If we put Bondarev and him If the political commissar of the People’s Republic of China is arrested, who should be sent to command the troops? If someone who is not familiar with the troops is sent to take over the command of the tank army, it may cause unnecessary confusion among the commanders. That’s why we did it. There was a decision not to deal with them. But I also specifically emphasized that if similar incidents happen again, they will be directly sent to a military court."

Seeing that both Trikov and Gurov meant to defend General Bondarev, Golikov no longer rapped with them. Instead, he sat down and waved his hands and turned the topic directly to other aspects. He said in a heavy tone: "Comrades commanders, yesterday, on September 3, Comrade Stalin called General Zhukov and said that based on the analysis of the current situation, the German army is likely to rush into Stalingrad. Therefore, the Supreme Commander himself directly gave Comrade Cuikov a death order, demanding an immediate assault on the German forces near Stalingrad in order to ease the tension outside the city."

"Does General Zhukov have any plans?" Cui Kefu asked nervously.

Golikov looked around first, and when I saw his gaze fell on me, in order to avoid suspicion, I took the initiative to ask him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I'd better avoid it."

Unexpectedly, Golikov said generously: "Since Colonel Oshanina is here, please stay and listen. The new counterattack may require the assistance of an independent division." Since he asked me to I stayed and listened, I was not welcome, and sat down beside the Chief of Staff Krylov.

Golikov said: "At present, the German army has tightly surrounded Stalingrad from three directions. In order to reverse this unfavorable situation, after a short period of preparation, General Zhukov decided tomorrow, which is September 5. In the early morning of the day, in the northern area of ​​Stalingrad, the guards of the 1st Army, the 24th Army and the 66th Army counterattacked the Germans."

Upon hearing this news, no matter it was Cuikov, Gurov or Krylov, there was a gratifying smile on their faces. But I still stared at Golikov blankly, because only I knew in my heart that although this counterattack effectively delayed the German attack on the city, it bought precious time for future defense and counterattack operations. But it ended in failure.

Seeing that there was no surprise on my face, Golikov asked curiously: "Colonel Oshanina, what are you thinking, why didn't I have any reaction to this news?"

Of course it is impossible for me to tell him. Said the counterattack this time because the preparation time for the battle was too rushed, and there was not enough force to be assembled. Nor did they have enough necessary heavy equipment, especially the limited number of artillery to cover the infantry's offensive. Therefore, it did not break through the encirclement formed by the German army outside the city at all. But when I heard him ask, I quickly thought of an appropriate reason: "I'm sorry, Comrade Deputy Commander, I am considering what role my independent division will play in this counterattack? I thought for a moment. I’m so absorbed, so please forgive me."

There was a kind smile on Golikov’s face, and he said disapprovingly: "I thought you were thinking about it. I was thinking about it. I will tell you. According to our analysis, he is fighting back. After the battle began, the Germans might pounce on Stalingrad along the Volga River, and the Mamayev Hill guarded by your independent division was a gate. You must do everything possible to block the Germans resolutely, absolutely. They must not be allowed to attack Stalingrad, otherwise our assault troops will be cut off by the enemy. Comrade Colonel, do you understand what I mean?"

I nodded vigorously. It's weird if I don't understand it, if the Germans are allowed to stand firm on Mamayev Hill, even if they don't rush into the city. Just put up dozens of heavy artillery and bombard the city non-stop, then Stalingrad can't hold it either. But I replied very simply: "Please rest assured, Comrade Deputy Commander, my independent division will resolutely keep the Germans out of Mamayev Hill, preventing them from rushing into the city. But I still There is a request."

"What's the request? Let's listen to it. As long as I can do it, I will solve it for you immediately."

"Can we compensate our division for an artillery unit? Whether it is an ordinary artillery company or an anti-tank company, as long as one company is enough. You know, my division has no artillery or tanks. Except for a few anti-tank weapons, Outside the tank grenade, there are only a few hundred Molotov cocktails. If the Germans only come with a few tanks, there is no problem. If the number of tanks increases, we will be helpless with them."

Before Golikov could answer, Trikov asked first: "Didn't I equip you with a heavy howitzer battalion before? Why don't you use it? Is it all consumed in the early defensive battle?"

I shook my head and said helplessly and aggrieved: "That's not the case, Comrade Commander. In the early battles, I protected this artillery battalion like my own eyes. After such a long battle, one of the artillery battalions No gunner of the artillery was lost. But when our division changed defenses, Chief of Staff Ruskin left the artillery battalion for construction, saying that they belonged to the 64th Army."

"It's a nonsense, how can Colonel Ruskin do this." After listening to my explanation, Cui Koff just muttered in a low voice, and said nothing. It is estimated that he is unwilling to do the trivial matter of an artillery battalion and the past. The partner turned his face.

Golikov thought for a while, and then said to me: "Colonel Oshanina, I thought about it for a moment. If you don’t have artillery, you will have a certain difficulty in defending the high ground. Let’s go back to Yeleomian. Commander Section will report this matter and try to allocate two anti-tank artillery companies to strengthen the anti-tank force on the high ground."

Hearing what Golikov said, I was overjoyed, and I quickly stood up and raised my hand to salute him, and said gratefully: "Thank you, Comrade Deputy Commander, with these two artillery companies, I will definitely be able to hold on. High ground."

After I sat down, Cuikov also began to mention the conditions to Golikov: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I also feel that it is necessary to send more new divisions to our group army, because almost all the corps and units of the 62nd Army It has been greatly weakened in recent battles, and some bbs even have only a few hundred fighters left. As early as when fighting in the Great Bend of the Don, the 62nd Army suffered serious losses due to wrong command."

After listening to Golikov, he did not immediately express his opinion. Instead, he took out his pen and paper, put the book on the table, and said calmly: "Comrade Cui Koff, can you provide me with accurate data on the 62nd Army. Is it? That way I can go back to convince Commander Yeleimenko."

Trikov turned his head to look at Krylov and asked hopefully: "General Krylov, you are the chief of staff of the group army. I wonder if you can provide General Golikov with the data he needs?"

Krylov stood up and said confidently: "No problem, the numbers and numbers of all the troops in the group army are all in my mind."

Cui Kefu heard his chief of staff say so. With a relaxed expression on his face, he reached out to Krylov in a gesture of request, and said at the same time: "Please, please. Comrade Chief of Staff."

Krylov nodded, then turned to look at Golikov. Respectfully said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I will now introduce you to our group army. At present, the 62nd Group Army has 10 infantry divisions, 3 infantry brigades, 1 fortification area, and 2 1 tank army, 2 motorized infantry brigades, 1 tank brigade. 3 cannon regiments, 10 anti-tank artillery regiments, 1 mortar regiment, 2 rocket artillery regiments, 1 rocket artillery battalion, 2 antiaircraft artillery regiments, Two engineer battalions. Although there are many designations, due to the heavy losses in the previous stage, only 54,000 people remain in the 62nd Army at this time. Of course, this figure does not include the independent division of Colonel Oshanina. We have There are about nine hundred artillery pieces of various types. 110 tanks. There are actually only 200 to 300 combat personnel in each division and brigade. Some divisions are all equipped with a few artillery and a few machine guns. The situation in the tank brigade is even worse. There are only 6 to 10 tanks left in each brigade."

Golikov listened to Krylov's report. After a long silence, when he finally put away the pen and paper, he finally made up his mind and said: "Well, Comrade Cui Kefu, when I go back, I will report the situation here to General Zhukov and Commander Yeleimenko. Report. At the same time, I will submit a request to the Front Army Military Committee to send several more fully-filled divisions to your 62nd Army to strengthen your defensive zone."

Upon hearing Golikov's statement, both Trikov and Gurov expressed their gratitude to him with excitement. At this time, Golikov asked suddenly: "Chief of Staff Krylov. One thing I am curious about is the data you just put in. Why didn't you count independent divisions?"

The question that Golikov asked is exactly what I want to ask. Is it true that the independent division has been put in a separate book in the minds of the leaders of the group army, and even when counting the number of people, we have been ignored? I looked at Krylov, eagerly waiting for him to give the final answer.

Unexpectedly, Krylov said lightly: "Comrade Deputy Commander, you may not know that the independent division was transferred from the 64th Army to the command of our Army only today. There is no time for statistics. Therefore, in the reported data, Independent division is not included."

After listening to Krylov's explanation, I was so angry and funny. It turned out to be such a simple reason. You said it earlier. It was so mysterious and made me think about it for a long time.

Golikov looked at his watch, looked at Trikov and Gurov, and then stood up and said, "Well, let's stop here today. I will check the defense situation in other defense areas."

Krylov enthusiastically kept him and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, look, you have been here for a long time, and you didn't even entertain you with a cup of tea. Otherwise, you can stay for a cup of tea and eat something before leaving. "

Golikov waved his hand and politely declined Krylov's kindness: "No, Comrade Chief of Staff, I'd better save the tea for later. Now the first thing to consider is how to defeat the Germans outside the city. I wish you good health. !" After speaking, he stretched out his hand and shook hands with Trikov, Gurov, and Krylov in turn. When finally holding my hand, he repeatedly said: "Colonel Oshanina, I trust you very much. I hope that after the artillery company is added to you, you can firmly hold Mamayev Hill."

Faced with his trust, I had no choice but to express my determination again: "Please rest assured, Comrade Deputy Commander, I promise to complete the task you entrusted to me, firmly nailed to the Mamayev Hill like a nail, and absolutely not let Germany One step forward."

After leaving Golikov, Trikov smiled and said to Gurov: "Philip Ivanovich is still the same as before when he was the head of the reconnaissance bureau. He used to collect all kinds of intelligence to analyze for his superiors. Colonel Xianingna’s troops are stationed in Mamayev Hill. We haven’t had time to report. He also knows the details."

Gurov smiled and said: "However, I heard a rumor that when he was the deputy chief of staff and director of the reconnaissance bureau, he did so when he received a report from the Eastern Spy Group about Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union. Unrealistic comments, and then reported to Comrade Stalin, saying that this may be false information of the British walking, and the divorce plan implemented by the United Kingdom and the United States against us. It is his comment that misled the Supreme Commander’s judgment on the Soviet-German war. , Which caused us to be caught off guard by the Germans."

Although the two were talking in low voices, their words still shocked me. It turned out that the alarm information sent by the Sorge group in Tokyo before the war was sent to the hands of General Golikov. His self-righteousness led to the neglect of such an important piece of information, and the Soviet army had no necessary preparations before the German army launched a war. As a result, the German army was defeated thousands of miles after the war.

When Cuikov and Gurov were talking in low voices~www.wuxiaspot.com~ Chief of Staff Krylov kept answering the phone again, and he took a pencil to write and draw on the notebook in front of him. After putting down the microphone, he tore off a page of the notebook and handed it to Cui Kefu. At the same time, he reported: "Comrade Commander, this is a call from Colonel Sarayev, the commander of the internal 10th division under the command of our group army yesterday. He said that the 269th, 272nd, and 282th infantry regiments under the division’s jurisdiction had entered the fortifications. His political commissar, Comrade Kuznetsov, also controlled several fortresses and defense commanders. The 1,500-strong armed guard team led by police, firefighters, and workers from various factories and regions..."

When Krylov reported here, he inadvertently raised his head and saw that I was standing next to him. He couldn't help asking strangely: "Colonel Oshanina, why are you still standing here? Why don't you go back to your troops? "

Hearing what he said, Cuikov and Gurov also noticed my existence. Cuikov said with a stern face, "Comrade Oshanina, there is nothing for you here. Go back to Mamayev Hill."

When I heard his order, such as being amnesty, I quickly raised my hand to salute and ran out of the group army headquarters. (To be continued)

ps: Bow to thank book friends wzzhnag68, few155, not smiling assassin 2, the dead Haechi children's shoes for voting!