Burning Moscow

That night, I was in Cuikov’s headquarters and saw the telegrams between Paulus and Hitler intercepted by our army. Paulus really asked Hitler to surrender via telegram. He wrote in the telegram: "...If you continue to defend, it is meaningless and tragedy is inevitable. In order to save the living, I ask for immediate approval of our surrender. This is to save our nation and people. Paulus."

Hitler’s answer was simple and straightforward: "I will never allow surrender. The group army must hold on to its position until the bombing is exhausted. Hitler."

I put the telegram after reading on the table, and casually asked Trikov sitting next to him: "Comrade Commander, how did Paulus react after receiving Hitler's call back?"

After hearing this, Cui Kefu sneered, picked up another piece of paper from the table, and said in a mocking tone: "This is the order Paulus gave to his officers and soldiers after receiving Hitler's call. I will read it to you. Reading:'... Soldiers, you know how threatened we will be if we stop resisting. Now we only have one way to fight to the last bullet. Fighting, only by fighting non-stop can we delay our last time . We also hope that the coming savior is on its way to here.'"

"What are you walking on the way here?" I asked, confused.

Krylov, who had just walked in from the outside, heard my question, smiled and replied for Trikov: "What else can it be? Of course it is the **** of death! And the death it is about to bring to the Germans!"

Hearing Krylov’s voice, Trikov raised his head and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, have the combat orders of the Front Command come down?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Krylov said, passing the telegram he was holding to Cui Koff. At the same time, the report said: "In order to split the besieged German army, after the offensive began, the army of General Batov and General Kistyakov carried out the main assault from the west; the army of General Zadov and General Galanin was from the north. The army of Generals, Shumilov, and General Tolbushin moved from the south to the offensive at the same time. The task of our army is:'Through active actions, attract more enemies from the east. If the enemy tries to forcefully cross the knot If the icy Volga River breaks through, resolutely block their way.'"

After Gurov, who had not spoken, listened. I also expressed my opinion: "Comrade commanders, the task of our group army is very arduous. Although during this time, we have been using Comrade Oshaninna’s 79th Infantry Army as the main force, constantly eroding the enemy’s position, every day. Dozens of enemy fire support points and civil works were destroyed or fell into our army's hands. However, 6 and 5 engineer battalions out of the 22 German divisions that were surrounded were still in contact with each other as in the past. "

After taking a look at me, Cui Kefu said confidently: "Comrade Military Commissioner, please rest assured. The superior will send us five assault engineer battalions tomorrow. I plan to assign two of them to the 79th Infantry Corps to increase Their ability to break through."

"Assault Engineer Battalion?!" Gurov asked with a confused look: "I've heard for the first time what kind of unit they are, and can they be used in the next street fighting?"

"Comrade Military Commissioner, let me explain it to you." Krylov volunteered to ask Gurov for science popularization: "As the name suggests, it is an assault force formed on the basis of the engineering regiments of various units. Considering their combat missions. Particularity, the age of all members is strictly controlled under 40. The individual equipment is also the strongest in our army, each soldier is equipped with a sand submachine gun and a Finnish knife, and the squad platoon is also equipped with a sniper rifle and an anti-tank Thunder and special Molotov cocktails. All assault engineers receive more rigorous hand-to-hand and bombing training than ordinary infantry. So there is no doubt that their combat effectiveness is strong. By the way," he said here, snarled at me, "every An engineer also wore the same one-shoulder breastplate as Comrade Oshanina."

Cui Kefu looked at the steel body armor that I was wearing, and laughed happily, and then teased me: "Comrade Oshanina. You were also wearing this breastplate when you sent Paulus a letter to surrender today. Don’t you? I don’t know if Paulus saw him. Did his chin hit the ground?"

Although I knew that Cui Kefu was joking, I still waved my hands to argue and said: "Comrade Commander. Before I went to deliver the letter today, I didn't wear this bullet-proof vest at all. I didn't want Paulus to see me and joke that I was greedy for life and fear of death. "Then I took the initiative to change the subject: "Comrade Commander, when will our offensive begin?"

Cui Koff glanced down at the telegram in front of him and replied: "Since it is impossible for Paulus to surrender, then our offensive will begin on January 10. At 8:05, our artillery will Saturation bombardment of the German battle. After the bombardment is over, the air force will send out cover infantry and tanks to launch an assault on the German positions."

Krylov waited for Trikov to finish, and said excitedly to me: "Oshanina, do you know? Our Don Front Army participated in the artillery preparation unit, with 2,000 heavy artillery and more than 3,000 mortars. , And a large number of Guards rocket artillery. The density of artillery has reached an unprecedented 200 per kilometer. No matter how strong the German defense is, it will fall apart under our fierce artillery fire."

After talking about the combat deployment for a while, Cui Kefu issued a dismissal order to me: "Comrade Oshaninna, it's getting late, you should go back to the army to arrange it soon."

When I stood up and wanted to salute Cuikov and leave, I suddenly remembered something Rokosovsky had repeatedly told me when I was at the front army headquarters in the morning, so I put down my half-raised hand. I opened my mouth and wanted to tell Gurov, but I felt a little embarrassed.

Gurov discovered my strangeness and asked curiously: "Oshanina, what's the matter with you? Why are you blushing? Is there something important to tell me?"

"That's it, Comrade Military Commissioner. I have something, a very important thing, and I want to tell you..." Although Gurov and I are acquaintances, I still looked very flustered when I said this. Did not say clearly for a long time.

My abnormal performance. Not only was Gurov noticed, but even Trikov and Krylov also noticed. The two looked at me in surprise, trying to understand what was wrong with me. And Gurov became impatient because of my inexplicable behavior. He asked in a slightly dissatisfied tone: "Oshanina. We are all acquaintances. If you have anything to say, please say boldly. Don't be so hesitating. It makes people sound anxious."

After biting my lip and taking a deep breath, I took out a piece of paper I had prepared from my briefcase and handed it to Gurov. At the same time, he mustered up his courage and said to him: "Comrade Military Commissioner, this is my application for joining the Party! Please accept it!"

Gurov took my application and read the steam lamp on the table aloud: "To the party organization of the 62nd Army Command: I request to join the Soviet party (Bolshevik). When our great motherland fought **** battles. I can no longer put myself outside the party. Lida Musdakova Oshanina."

After Gurov finished reading, he raised his head and asked in astonishment: "Comrade Oshanina, are you not a party member yet?"

I nodded embarrassingly, and replied, "Yes, I'm just a member of the league, and I have never applied for membership in the party."

Cui Kefu walked to my side, raised his hand and patted my shoulder a few times, and asked with concern: "Oshanina. Since you are not a party member, why didn't you submit your application for party membership earlier? right now?"

"Comrade Commander. This is the situation. Every day I think about how to defeat the enemy and drive them out of our country. Until today, when Commander Rokosovsky and I mentioned joining the party, I did not think of myself. I have never submitted an application for membership to a higher-level party organization.” The application for membership was indeed due to Rokosovsky’s reminder. He euphemistically told me that as an excellent commander. He shouldn't stay outside the party for a long time, so he returned to his command post. I bit my head and wrote this short application for joining the party. "No, after I returned to the headquarters, I wrote this application immediately."

After speaking, I stared at Gurov nervously, trying to see how he reacted. After reading my application which was too short to be short, Gurov nodded, folded the application and put it in his jacket pocket. Then he stood up and said to me in an official and amiable tone: "Comrade Oshanina, I accept your application. I will convene all members of the military committee to discuss your application for party membership in these two days. With the results, I will notify you as soon as possible. For now, you should go back to your troops first."

Seeing Gurov accepted my application and promised to discuss it as soon as possible, I was relieved to breathe a sigh of relief, raised my hand to salute the three of them, and then turned and left the group army headquarters.

At 8:05 am on January 10th, thousands of cannons from the Don Front began to shell German positions on the outskirts. I was standing on the roof of my headquarters, looking at the fire and smoke rising in the distance with my binoculars, listening to the rumble of cannons, and feeling the trembling ground under my feet, and I was struggling with the gunfire in my heart. The German soldiers felt sad.

Since the superior's order was to let the 62nd Army to contain the enemy in situ, our Ministry also suspended all offensive operations in the absence of friendly forces to cover the two wings. However, the military offensive was temporarily stopped, but the political offensive was in full swing. Not only did I send Grams, Greteka, Beckman and other German soldiers who had surrendered to us very early, I even sent out the new Captain Dangla who joined us, but in order to prevent the newly surrendered officers and soldiers from falling into battle. , I did not equip them with weapons, but sent a squad of soldiers to accompany them to protect their safety.

At noon, the battle reports came over one after another. As our army's powerful artillery almost completely turned the German position over, the German defense line immediately fell apart in the face of the powerful offensive of tanks and infantry supported by 300 aircraft in the air. Due to the impact of food shortages, the German officers and soldiers on the outskirts of the field could only squat weakly in their fortifications. When our assault troops rushed up, almost all of the remaining soldiers were taken prisoners except those killed and killed. .

In the next few days, the Don Front Army’s attack on the outskirts of Stalingrad continued smoothly, and the troops advanced very quickly. The main force went out to the second defensive zone of the German army on the 12th and exchanged fire with it. .

On the 14th, our army successfully seized the main airport near Pittomnik. According to the captured prisoners' confession, before our army seized the airport. There was chaos at the airport. Knowing that only a few people could escape to heaven, a few German soldiers gave up their positions and rushed from all directions to the last plane still parked on the runway.

Among these people, there are wounded who need to be transferred, but many more are not. Because the plane has a door. Everyone squeezed up, and in the end only the strongest people squeezed up. Even if they knew that they couldn't get in, no one wanted to leave the plane, but no one threw them out. No way, the pilot can only accelerate and let the plane start taxiing.

The scene is really indescribable. Although people kept falling from the cabin door, people continued to brave our army's artillery to escape in order to escape. The pilot taxied the plane, but could not take off because the plane’s wings were full of people. They hugged the wings of the plane tightly and grasped all the places they could grasp, hoping that they could escape from the hellish Stalingrad with the plane.

In order to take off, the pilot had to keep turning left and right, throwing off all the people on his wings, and finally successfully flew into the sky amidst our army's artillery fire. Those German officers and soldiers who remained on the runway of the airport saw our commanders and soldiers rushing into the airport. Without making any resistance at all, they raised their hands and surrendered.

The battle lasted until dawn on the 18th, and the outlying troops had moved out to the Veliko Rossoska, Gonchala, and Voroponovo areas. German troops that have been retreating steadily since the "Battle of the Rings". Relying on the pre-built fortifications here to fight stubbornly. Due to heavy snowfall, the aviation forces could not be dispatched to cooperate with the offensive of the ground forces. The battle went on for a whole day without being able to break through the German defensive positions.

Although my 79th Infantry Corps has been standing by the original line of defense and has not launched any military offensive, the political offensive launched has also been effective. Under Grams' propaganda, many German soldiers gave up the idea of ​​waiting for Mainstein's troops to come to rescue again. He walked out of his position with his hands raised and surrendered to our army.

The Germans surrendered. I immediately sent troops to replace their defense. Within a week, we managed to occupy two blocks without firing a single shot, and before we knew it, we took another step towards Paulus’ command.

In the evening, I received a call from Cui Kefu. As soon as he heard my voice, he directly ordered me without saying: "Oshanina, come to my headquarters immediately."

I could tell from his voice that he was in a good mood. I guessed that even if I went to the command of the group army, it would be good news, so I very readily agreed: "Yes, Comrade Commander, I will go right away."

When I walked to the entrance of the headquarters, I heard Cui Kefu say loudly inside: "...It's really great, I'm finally looking forward to it, and I'm finally meeting my teacher!"

When I heard Cui Kefu say this, I couldn't help but stunned. I said that when we belonged to the Stalingrad Front, we had already met with the Don Front. Which unit did we meet today?

Cui Kefu turned his head and saw me standing at the door. He stopped and waved to me: "Oshanina, since it's here, don't stand at the door and come in quickly."

I walked into the headquarters and asked in a tentative tone: "Comrade Commander, I don't know which friendly army our troops are meeting with?"

When I asked, I actually stopped Cui Kefu. "Meeting with what friendly army?" After he was stunned for a moment, he slapped his forehead suddenly, and said to Gurov and Krylov next to him: "Look at me, patronizing is happy, forgetting Comrade Oshanina is just here, and I still don't know the situation, blame me, blame me!"

After he greeted me to sit down, he solemnly said: "Comrade Oshanina, I called you here today. I have three good news to tell you."

There is good news. This is what I expected, but there are three as many as I didn't expect. So I quickly sat up straight and looked up at Cui Kefu who was standing in front of me, waiting for the good news he was about to tell.

"The first good news," Cuikov said directly, without selling the ball. "At 9:30 this morning, east of the First Workers’ Village, the 123rd Brigade of the Leningrad Front and the Volkhov Front The 1240th Infantry Regiment of the 372nd Division has joined forces."

When I heard the designation of the 372nd Division, I couldn't help but shudder, knowing that when I was near Liuban, I was captured by the German army when I met the traitor Layi who faked the division's search team. Because of my nervousness, my tongue became less flexible: "Comrade Commander, I...can understand that the two armies...have broken through the German encirclement?"

"Since I have joined forces, of course I have broken through the encirclement!" Cui Koff didn't notice my abnormality, and said to himself: "The meeting of the two forces marked the 17-month-long land of Leningrad by the fascist invaders. The blockade was broken."

"Comrade Commander, this is indeed good news." I was afraid that too many words would be lost, so I quickly turned the topic off: "I don't know what the other two good news are?"

"The second good news is related to Comrade Zhukov." Cui Kefu had some friendship with Zhukov, so when he talked about his superiors, he couldn't help but smile: "Just today, Comrade Zhukov was awarded the rank of marshal by the Supreme Command... "

"What?!" I was shocked by the news and jumped up from my seat: "Comrade Commander, you said that General Zhukov was awarded the rank of Marshal today?"

"Yes, Oshanina." Cui Koff nodded and said affirmatively: "From today, when calling him position, he cannot be called General Zhukov, but Marshal Zhukov. In addition, the Chief of Staff of the Red Army Vasilev Admiral Skye was also awarded the rank of general and was awarded the "Suvorov First Class Medal." "

I was not interested in Vasilevsky being promoted to general ~www.wuxiaspot.com~ so I didn't speak, but looked at Cuikov quietly, waiting for him to tell the third good news. Unexpectedly, he turned to look at Gurov sitting next to him, and said with a smile: "Comrade Military Commissioner, I think this third good news is for you to announce to Oshanina the most appropriate." Listen In the end, the good news was actually related to me. I quickly turned to face Gurov and straightened my back, waiting for him to announce the final answer to me.

Gurov stood up with a smile on his face and said relaxedly to me: "Comrade Oshanina, I officially announce to you today that your application for membership in the Party has been approved by all members of the Military Committee of the Group Army. Passed. From now on, you will be an official member of the Communist Party of China (Brazzaville). Here, I congratulate you!"

After shaking hands with Gurov, Cuikov and Krylov also shook hands with me and expressed their sincere congratulations to me. And I was still dreaming. I didn't expect my application to be passed so easily after only a few days. (To be continued)

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