Red Moscow

After Yeremenko took over as the commander of the front army, he did have plans to set up the headquarters on Mamayev Gang. After all, this is the commanding height of Stalingrad. Once the battlefield is close to the edge of the city, he can watch the battles in many areas in the observation post on the hillside.

But when Sukov mentioned the City Department Store, his thoughts were shaken again. Although the view there is not as good as that of Mamayev Hill, the buildings are solid and can stand upright even if they are shelled and bombed by the German army.

Khrushchev obviously also thought of this possibility, and quickly said: "Comrade Commander, I think Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's proposal is good. We can definitely set up the headquarters in the department store. The buildings there are strong. The space inside is wide and can accommodate enough people.”

"Comrade Military Commissar, since you said the same thing, let's go take a look later." Seeing that Khrushchev also said the same thing, Yeremenko felt that he should put the safety of the headquarters first. On the unobstructed Mamayev Hill, maybe a single bomb from the enemy will take away your own headquarters, and without the unified command of the troops, you will definitely fall into chaos: "If the position is right, , we set up our headquarters there."

Seeing that the two had given up the idea of ​​setting up a headquarters on Mamayev Post, Sokov secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then said: "Commander, Comrade Military Commissar, I would like to make a suggestion to you."

"What advice?" asked Yeremenko.

"On the northern slope of Mamayev Hill, there are more than a dozen huge oil tanks. According to my observation, they should be full of fuel." Sokov thought of the documentary he had seen in later generations, Mamayev The oil tank on the post was hit by a German bomb, and the entire northern slope was turned into a sea of ​​flames. The fuel oil also flowed into the Volga River along the hillside, causing the entire river to burn. In order to avoid this situation from happening again, he suggested to the two: "Once the area where the oil tank is located is bombed or shelled by the German army, it will cause huge losses."

Khrushchev waited for Sokov to finish, and asked back: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you can report this situation to the Stalingrad City Defense Committee. You know, these important facilities in the city are all They are in charge. And what we are in charge of is the military, local work, and it is not convenient for me to intervene."

Sokov thought that after he reported this problem to Yeremenko and Khrushchev, they immediately arranged for people to empty the fuel tanks as soon as possible. Unexpectedly, Khrushchev actually said that this matter was out of his control, and asked him to report to the city defense committee. Sokov thought a little bit dumbfoundingly: "If I had reported this to the City Defense Committee and it worked, even the staff who were procrastinating in their work would have ignored me at all."

Khrushchev may have noticed Sokov's strange expression, so he asked with concern: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, have you already reported this to the City Defense Committee?"

"Yes, Comrade Military Commissioner." Sokov nodded and said, "I will first invite Major Ozor, who came here to help us build the fortifications, to convey the problems I found to the person in charge of the City Defense Committee. I agree. Then, I personally went to the city defense committee twice, but the person in charge has always avoided seeing me.”

"I already know about this." Khrushchev came over, patted Sokov on the shoulder twice, and then said to him: "I will personally talk to the person in charge of the City Defense Committee later. Get in touch with someone and ask them to send someone special to deal with it."

After Yeremenko and Khrushchev left in an armored vehicle, Ozor entered Sokov's tent from the outside and reported to him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the artillery bunker you asked me to repair has been completed, six The cannons are all hidden. If you want to use them, you only need four or five people to push the cannons to the top of the hill along a special slope."

"Great, this is really great." Last time when the German fast column rushed to Mamayev Post, Sokov once wanted to use the cannon to intercept the enemy. But because the uphill road was difficult to walk, although soldiers from the third battalion were sent to help, the cannon had not been dragged to the top of the mountain until the end of the battle. After learning the lesson from that time, Sokov realized that if the artillery cannot be quickly dragged to the top of the mountain, then they will be useless in the next battle, so he asked Ozor to repair it on the hillside. A special artillery bunker fortification can not only protect the artillery from being damaged by German shelling or bombing, but also quickly drag it to the top of the hillside and put it into battle in the shortest possible time.

…………

Early the next morning, Sokov, who was sleeping in the tunnel, was woken up by a call from the Fourth Battalion Commander Briski. Hearing that it was Briski's call, he asked impatiently, "Comrade Captain, what happened?"

"Comrade Brigadier," Briski said on the phone, "in front of our high ground, there is an anti-aircraft artillery unit!"

"Anti-aircraft artillery unit?!" Knowing that an anti-aircraft artillery unit appeared in front of the north slope where Briski Battalion was stationed, Sokov first thought: Could it be that the 1077th anti-aircraft artillery regiment moved from the pier to the north slope? ? Thinking of this, he quickly asked: "Have you figured out the number of the anti-aircraft artillery unit?"

"The anti-aircraft artillery unit is full of female soldiers." Briski said on the phone: "I sent someone to ask. They are female workers from the Red October Tractor Factory. Their task is to protect the soldiers above our heads. Those oil tanks were not destroyed by German bombers."

"Nonsense, this is simply nonsense." Sukov couldn't help but feel a little anxious when he heard this: "A group of female anti-aircraft gunners with little combat experience will be of no use to you. When the enemy's bomber dives down, they Can you keep those tanks full of fuel?"

After putting down the phone, Sokov began to get dressed, ready to rush over to have a look. Belkin, who was lying on another camp bed, saw that Sokov was about to go out, so he asked curiously, "Comrade Brigadier, where are you going?"

"Comrade Commissar." Sokov said to Belkin as he put on his boots while sitting on the edge of the bed: "The City Defense Committee sent a group of female anti-aircraft gunners with little combat experience to station next to the north slope, saying that they were going to secure the slope. The safety of the oil tank, isn’t this nonsense? No, I have to go and see.”

"Wait a minute, Comrade Brigadier." Belgin sat up from the camp bed and said to Sokov, "I'll go with you."

The two came to the north slope and met Briski who was waiting here. Sokov first looked around and saw that on the open ground in front of the defensive position on the north slope, there were fifteen anti-aircraft artillery positions surrounded by sandbags, equipped with all 85mm anti-aircraft guns. After seeing the distribution of the anti-aircraft artillery positions, Sokov asked Briski bluntly: "Comrade Captain, where are their commanders?"

"In the tent over there." Briski quickly pointed to a tent tens of meters away, and said, "The commander is a female lieutenant. It seems that she has participated in battles and has some combat experience."

The three of them talked and came to the tent. Worried that the female commander was sleeping or changing clothes inside, Sokov signaled Briski to go up and say hello. Briski came to the door of the tent and called into it: "Comrade commander, are you there? Our brigade commander is here to visit you."

After the first time, there was no movement in the tent. So Briski yelled a second time. As soon as his voice fell, the tent was lifted from the inside, and a thin female officer walked out of the tent. She looked at Belinsky and asked angrily, "Comrade Captain, where is your brigade commander?"

"There!" Briski pointed to the positions of Sokov and Belkin, and said, "Not only our brigade commander is here, but also the political commissar."

Seeing Sokov and Belkin standing aside, the female officer hurriedly adjusted her military appearance, came over to salute the two, and reported: "Comrades two commanders, Lieutenant Ulanova, commander of the artillery battalion, Report to you!"

"I am Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, and this is my political commissar Belgin." Sokov raised his hand and returned the salute: "Our brigade's defense zone is here."

"Comrade Lieutenant," Belkin asked curiously, "I want to ask you, why did you establish an air defense position here?"

"Comrade deputy battalion-level political commissar," Ulanova glanced at Belkin's political rank and replied, "Our battalion was ordered by the city defense committee to drive here overnight to garrison. Our task is to defend the The oil tanks on the top of the hill will not be bombed by the Germans."

"Lieutenant Ulanova," Sokov said coldly after the other party finished speaking: "Do you think that your existing fifteen guns can stop the German bombing? What's more, the anti-aircraft artillery battalion you lead , is a recruit without any combat experience."

Perhaps Ulanova was irritated by Sokov's contemptuous tone. She frowned and said dryly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, our battalion is here to deploy defenses under the order of the City Defense Committee. As long as If an anti-aircraft gun can still fire, we will never let the enemy get close to the oil tanks on the top of the hill."

"It's courageous, but extremely stupid." Sokov continued: "Your position is on the north slope's defense front. If the German army only has the air force to bomb Mamayev Hill, your anti-aircraft artillery fire can still pose a threat to them." A certain threat. But if the enemy dispatches ground troops while bombing, won’t you be the target of German tanks or artillery when you are deployed on this unobstructed open ground?”

Sokov's words made Ulanova silent for a moment, but she quickly said convincingly: "As long as we can prevent the Germans from bombing the oil tanks on the hillside, even if we all sacrificed, it is worth it."

Regarding what Ulanova said, Sokov felt a little dumbfounded: "Lieutenant Ulanova, have you ever thought that if you all died in the fire of the German army, who would pay for the oil on the north slope?" Tanks provide air defense?"

Sokov tried to persuade the other party to move the anti-aircraft artillery position to a safer place, at least in a position where the enemy's tank guns and artillery can't shoot directly, but Ulanova insisted on her own opinion and said that she did not get the support of the city defense. Air defense positions cannot be altered in any way without the permission of the Commission.

Sokov's worries were fulfilled in the evening. A German tank unit appeared two or three kilometers away from the north slope. Knowing the appearance of German tanks, Sokov was worried about the problem of the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion, so he quickly ordered his subordinates to drag the artillery concealed in the bunker to the top of the mountain, trying to destroy the German tanks rushing over.

The women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion was deployed in front of the position on the north slope, and was immediately discovered by the German army. The German tanks quickly drove to a distance of seven or eight hundred meters from them, stopped and began to bombard them with tank guns. For German tank soldiers who are skilled and have rich combat experience, it is not difficult to accurately hit a fixed target several hundred meters away. Under their artillery fire, the artillery positions of the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion were destroyed one after another, and the female soldiers who stayed on the artillery positions were also blown to pieces.

Standing in a trench on the south slope, Sokov raised his binoculars and looked towards the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion. He saw that the artillery emplacements surrounded by sandbags were destroyed one by one by German tank fire, while the girls No return fire was fired. Seeing that the girls were all being beaten at the gun emplacements but did not fight back, Sokov couldn't help jumping anxiously: "These fools, why didn't they fight back!"

He dialed Briski's phone number and asked angrily: "Comrade Captain, you send someone to ask the Women's Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion what they are going to do, why the enemy's tank guns are constantly bombarding, but they are not doing it?" fight back!"

"Don't worry, Comrade Brigadier." Briski quickly replied after hearing Sokov's words, "I'll send someone to find out what happened."

"Comrade Brigadier," Sokov just put down the phone, and a soldier ran over to report: "The artillery battery is already in place. Lieutenant Alitai asked for instructions, whether to fire at the enemy immediately!"

"What are you still hesitating for? Fire immediately and destroy all the enemy's tanks!" Sokov saw the girls in the Women's Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion suffering casualties every minute. Slowly, he kicked him on the waist anxiously: "Hurry up, if you don't fire the cannon, the girls will die."

About two minutes later, next to the tanks lined up, several mud pillars rose into the sky, and Sokov knew that the artillery company had fired. In order to facilitate the command, he called a communication soldier and asked him to immediately lead a telephone line to the artillery position. Although he wanted to keep in touch with Lieutenant Alitai.

The German tanks may never have imagined that while they bombarded the women's anti-aircraft artillery battalion, they themselves would become the target of others' attacks. The artillery battery fired only three rounds and hit two tanks. Seeing that his companion was hit and became a burning torch on the battlefield, the remaining tanks quickly turned around and drove towards the distance, trying to get out of the area bombarded by the Soviet army as soon as possible.