Red Moscow

After dawn, the commanders and fighters who had recharged their spirits followed the armored vehicles and started on the road again. After two hours of rapid march, Sokov and the others came to the Orlovka area.

However, here, neither the sound of gunfire between the enemy nor us was heard, nor was the 67th tank brigade breaking through the German defense line. Sokov stood in the compartment of the armored vehicle and raised his binoculars to look around. On the open grassland, he could see nothing but yellow weeds.

"Comrade Brigadier," Goria asked curiously upon seeing this situation, "Why can't anyone see it? Did we come to the wrong place?"

"It's impossible." Sokov said to himself that he came here according to the map and compass, how could he find the wrong place? "According to the location provided by the Army Group Command, Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade should be nearby."

Although there was no trace of the tank brigade, Sokov was unwilling to sit on the sidelines, so he ordered Goria: "Comrade Captain, let the other four armored vehicles go east, south, west, and north to search The whereabouts of the allies."

Goria waited for Sokov to finish, and said cautiously: "Comrade Brigadier, we just came from the south, and we didn't see any traces of friendly troops along the way, so there is no need to send people in this direction, right?"

After being reminded by Goria, Sokov immediately realized that he was a bit confused. His army had just arrived from the south not long ago, and there was indeed no sign of any army activity along the way. Presumably Hidjayev The colonel's tank brigade will not be operating south at this moment. He nodded and said, "Okay, then send troops to the east, west, and north respectively to search for the whereabouts of the friendly troops."

After the armored vehicles performing the search mission left, Sokov immediately ordered the operator: "Comrade operator, immediately send a telegram to the Army Group Command, saying that our department has arrived at the designated location, but Colonel Shidjayev's tank was not found. Brigade. Now I have sent search troops in different directions to search for the whereabouts of friendly troops."

After receiving the telegram from Sokov, Krylov couldn't help being taken aback, and quickly said to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, there was a little accident. Lieutenant Colonel Sokov called and said that after they arrived at the designated location, there was no accident. Spotted Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade."

"How is this possible?" Hearing what Krylov said, Chuikov asked in an unbelievable tone: "According to the information provided by the friendly forces, Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade should have already arrived at the designated location. Comrade Chief of Staff, Did Lieutenant Colonel Sokov find the wrong position?"

"Probably not." Regarding Chuikov's question, Krylov hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is very reassuring, I don't think he will make such a low-level mistake. "

After hearing this, Cuikov said dissatisfiedly: "Then why didn't they find any friendly troops?"

"Comrade Commander, I think there may be something wrong with Colonel Shidjayev and the others." Krylov reminded Chuikov: "In my opinion, it is better to contact General Rokossovsky to find out what happened. what's going on."

Half an hour after the telegram to Rokossovsky was sent, he received a reply. After reading the contents of the telegram, Krylov couldn't help but turn pale with shock: "Comrade Commander, General Rokossovsky calls back , they have lost contact with Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade."

"Damn, they have lost contact with the tank brigade, so how can Sokov's troops respond?" After Chuikov finished speaking, he immediately ordered Krylov: "Get in touch with Sokov immediately and tell him , Said that the tank brigade had lost contact with the Stalingrad Front, and asked him to increase the search area and must find the tank brigade."

After recording the order, Krylov asked Chuikov with some hesitation: "Comrade Commander, do you think something happened to the tank brigade?"

"It's very possible." Chuikov nodded slightly, and said, "If Sokov's troops cannot merge with the tank brigade, then our counterattack may end in failure."

Krylov agreed with Chuikov's statement very much, and he asked, "Comrade Commander, if this operation really fails, what do you plan to do next?"

"What else can we do? All we can do is to fight the enemy in the city. I am determined to make every street and every building in Stalingrad a grave of the German Kou, and I would rather make Stalingrad a The ruins and the sea of ​​fire must never hand over the city to the enemy." Chuikov waved his fist and said with a solemn expression: "We should do it. The first house, as long as there are our soldiers in it, even if it is only one person, must become a city. An impenetrable fortress for the enemy. Soldiers fighting in the basement or on the landing, as long as they understand the general mission of the army group, they will fight fearlessly to the last man and independently complete the mission that they should complete.

We have no right to expect the enemy to act passively. The enemy will destroy us and occupy the city at any cost. Therefore, we should not be limited to defense, but should seize every favorable opportunity, counterattack, impose our will on the enemy, and use our active actions to disrupt the enemy's plan. "

Krylov was worried that Sokov's troops would not be able to get in touch with Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade for a long time, and Chuikov would be frustrated because of this. Seeing him so impassioned now, he felt more at ease. He nodded and said, "Comrade Commander, you are right. Even if the enemy storms into the city, our commanders and fighters will fight tenaciously and will never let the enemy occupy the city named after the Supreme Commander himself." .”

…………

Sokov received a call back from the headquarters and learned that the tank brigade had lost contact with Rokossovsky's headquarters, but he still pinned his last hopes on the soldiers who performed the search mission. However, the higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment. An hour later, the armored vehicles that went to perform the search mission all returned one after another. The crew members of the vehicles reported to Sokov that there was no trace of the tank brigade within a radius of 15 kilometers.

Although Sokov had been mentally prepared for a long time, when he really heard the reports from the soldiers, he couldn't help but feel lost in his heart. He secretly thought: Could it be that the tank brigade of Colonel Shidjayev has been wiped out by the Germans? No, no matter what, the tank brigade also has 35 tanks plus an infantry company. Even if it encounters a regiment-level German army, it still has enough strength to continue to deal with the enemy.

Golia learned that there was no trace of his own tank brigade within a radius of more than ten kilometers, so he quickly asked Sokov: "Comrade brigade commander, we can't find any friendly troops that broke through the enemy's defense line. What should we do next?"

Sokov did not answer Gorya's question immediately, but said to the radio operator: "Communication operator, immediately send a telegram to the headquarters, saying that after our search, no tank brigade was found within a radius of more than ten kilometers." trace. Ask them to telegraph our ministry's next move."

Taking advantage of the time when the operator sent the report, Sokov said to Golia: "Comrade Captain, we can only stay here until we get new instructions from our superiors."

"Then how long do we have to wait?" Goria asked briefly.

"I don't know." Sokov replied very simply: "It depends on how the group army headquarters arranges. It may be a few hours, or it may be a few days. In a word, before the superior orders us to retreat, we only can stay here.”

After saying these words, Sokov suddenly remembered that some time ago, the 13th Guards Division, which was originally fighting between Mamayev Gang and the Tsaritsa River, suddenly disappeared overnight. All of them lost contact with the Army Command. Unexpectedly, a similar situation would occur again today. The tank brigade that was supposed to join him was nowhere to be seen. Rodimtsev's troops disappeared because the enemy's shells blew up the division headquarters, and Rodimtsev, who was trapped in the basement, lost contact with the troops and his superiors. This time, Colonel Shidjayev lost contact , I do not know what is the reason.

Before getting a new order from his superiors, Sokov decided to stay here and wait for Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade, but he didn't let everyone stand on the open grassland and wait, but ordered people to wait in a nearby Fortifications were built on the hillside. In this way, even if there is a surprise attack by the German army, they can rely on the cover of the fortifications to support for a longer period of time.

After hearing the order from Sokov, Golia tried to persuade Sokov to take it back: "Comrade Brigadier, you must know that we are all wearing German uniforms. Treat them as their own. I don’t think there’s any need to repair this fortification, do you?”

"No, Comrade Captain, the fortifications must be repaired." Seeing Golia's pushy look, Sokov said dissatisfiedly: "What if the enemy sees through our disguise and attacks us? How long can our current forces and weapons and equipment sustain under the enemy's onslaught?"

"Understood, Comrade Brigadier." Although Goria was dissatisfied with Sokov's order in his heart and felt that he was making a fuss, on the surface he did not dare to violate it, so he could only bite the bullet and said: "I will immediately arrange people to go to the hillside Go up and build the fortifications."

When Golia personally took a company to the hillside to dig trenches, Sokov again sent armored vehicles to search in different directions. Before the armored vehicle set off, Sokov told the commanders and fighters on the vehicle: "You should try to expand the scope of the search and try to find Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade. If you encounter the enemy, don't open fire casually, and you must hurry up. Report back so we have enough time to prepare our defenses."