Red Moscow

"What, Misha's wife?" Hearing Belkin say this, Yakov's jaw almost hit the ground: "Misha is married?" Seeing Belkin nodding vigorously to express his affirmation, he added One sentence, "When did you get married?"

"Comrade Major," Assia learned that Yakov knew about Sokov's injury, she quickly grabbed him again, and asked anxiously, "Tell me quickly, how did Misha get injured?"

"I'm sorry, Comrade Assia." Yakov looked at Assia in front of him, and said guiltily, "Misha was injured to save me..." He explained the situation at that time to Assia. After briefly recounting it, he said with apology, "Misha and I grew up together, and I have always regarded him as my brother. Seeing him injured makes me feel very sad..." Asiya eagerly Knowing the condition of Sokov's injury, before Yakov could finish speaking, he opened the curtain and rushed in.

Military doctor Pavlov, who was operating on Sokov, frowned when he noticed someone broke in. Just about to open his mouth to blame the other party, who knows that when he looked up, he saw that it was Asiya who came in, so he swallowed what he wanted to say, and changed his words: "Asiya, you came at a good time, help me call Let's do it."

"Comrade military doctor," Assia asked anxiously, "Where is Misha injured?"

Seeing Assia's eager expression, Pavlov suddenly remembered that Assia was the brigade commander's wife, and it was only natural for him to be so concerned about Sokov's injury. He quickly replied, "The injury is in the abdomen."

Assia glanced at the cut wound, and continued to ask, "What was the injury?"

"Pistol bullets."

"It's not life-threatening, is it?" Assia asked in a crying voice.

"Assia, don't you believe in my medical skills? If I say it's fine, I'm sure it's fine." After Pavlov finished speaking, he said to Assia with an order: "Hurry up and help me." One, I want to take out the bullet as soon as possible."

The conversation in the operating room was also heard by Belkin and Yakov standing outside the door. Yakov, who was worried about Sokov's good or bad at first, turned his head and asked Belkin in a low voice after hearing this sentence: "Comrade political commissar, the military doctor who performed the operation said that Misha is fine, and he will be fine." ?"

"Major Yakov." Knowing that Sokov was shot because he saved Yakov, Belkin felt somewhat displeased with Yakov in his heart, but considering his special status, he still politely said He replied: "I can trust the skills of the military doctor Pavlov. He said it's fine. I believe the brigade commander should be fine."

After saying this, Belkin raised his hand and looked at his watch, then walked to the nearby room where the telephone was placed, picked up the phone on the table and called Sidolin who was left in the headquarters. After hearing Belkin's voice, Sidolin immediately asked, "Comrade Commissar, how is the brigade commander's injury?"

"According to Major Yakov, he was shot in the stomach with a pistol." Belkin said into the microphone: "Comrade Brigadier is currently undergoing surgery in the operating room. Report from Army Group Command."

"Is this appropriate?" After hearing Belkin's order, Sidolin said with some embarrassment: "The last time the brigade commander was injured and fell into a coma, Comrade Commander was very upset, saying that as the commander of the brigade, he had no right to take I risked my own life. Just a few days later, he was injured again, and I really don’t know how to explain to Comrade Commander.”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Belkin said with some displeasure seeing that Sidolin was unwilling to report the matter, "judging from the current situation, the brigade commander will be unable to command the troops for a long time. Even if we don't Report, the group army command can also use its own news channel to learn the news that the brigade commander was injured again, then you and I may be in trouble."

"Okay, Comrade Commissar." Now that Belgin had already said this, Sidolin also realized that if he concealed the news of Sokov's injury from his superiors, he might really be blamed by Chuikov in the future, so he reluctantly said Said: "Since you think this should be reported, I will immediately call the commander."

When Krylov received the call from Sidorin, he thought that there was something wrong with the defense line of Mamayev Gang, and he asked anxiously: "Lieutenant Colonel Sidorin, is the defense line of Mamayev Gang out of order?" question?"

"No, Comrade Chief of Staff." Sidolin replied on the phone: "The Germans launched an attack on us, but they were all successfully crushed."

Knowing that the defense line of Mamayev Post was safe and sound, Krylov suddenly felt more at ease in his heart, and he asked tentatively, "Then why did you call here...?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the brigade commander, accompanied Major Yakov to the city last night." Sidolin said with difficulty into the microphone: "On their way back, they encountered the German army. Unfortunately, Comrade Brigadier was shot and wounded in order to cover Major Yakov..."

"What, Sokov is injured?" Krylov was taken aback by the unexpected news: "When did this happen? Is his injury serious?"

Before Sidolin could answer, Chuikov, who was bent over to discuss with Gurov how to improve the morale of the troops, heard the news that Sukov was injured. He straightened up and asked Krylov in surprise: "Why, Sokov is injured again? What the hell is going on, how did he get injured?"

Sidolin's report was not over yet, Krylov didn't know exactly what happened, he shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands, indicating that he didn't know the specific situation. But seeing Chuikov reaching out to him, he quickly handed over the microphone in his hand.

"Is it Lieutenant Colonel Sidolin? I'm Chuikov." Cuikov put the receiver close to his ear and asked, "Tell me, how did Lieutenant Colonel Sokov get injured?"

Sidolin didn't expect that before he finished reporting the situation to Krylov, the person who answered the phone was replaced by Chuikov. After a moment of panic, he quickly stabilized his emotions and replied clearly: " Report to Comrade Commander, after dark last night, Comrade Brigadier Commander and Lieutenant Colonel Yakov went to Soviet Street to inspect a building that was recovered by our army."

"I know that building. It was captured by the sniper Sergeant Vasily. Due to the special location of the building, Sokov also dispatched a lot of manpower and equipment to strengthen the defense there." Cuikov took the lead After talking about the situation in that building, he continued to ask: "Tell me, how did he get injured?"

"Comrade Brigadier inspected the power of the new rockets with his own eyes this morning, and returned to Mamayev Hill with Major Yakov." Sidolin said: "They are only a few hundred meters away from Mamayev Hill. , encountered several lost German soldiers and fought. The enemy was quickly wiped out, but Sokov was unfortunately shot and wounded in order to cover Major Yakov."

After Chuikov figured out why Sokov was injured, he frowned and asked, "Is his injury serious?"

"It is still undergoing surgery." Sidolin did not directly answer the severity of the injury, but said euphemistically: "As far as I know, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov will no longer be able to command troops for a long time."

Chuikov knew very well in his heart that the reason why Mamayev Gang could stand under the onslaught of the German army was entirely because of Sokov's solid pre-war preparations, and various countermeasures were also very effective during the battle. If the commanders of other troops were injured, Chuikov would definitely appoint a deputy to take over his position without hesitation, but at this moment he did not do so immediately, but fell into deep thought. He knew very well in his heart that with Sidolin's ability At best, he can only be a chief of staff, but cannot become a military chief on his own.

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin heard the sudden silence in the headset and thought Chuikov had hung up the phone, so he quickly said into the microphone: "Are you still there?"

"Yes, Comrade Sidolin, I'm still here." Chuikov considered that Mamayev Kurgan is an important area. As long as Sokov is still alive, he is unwilling to easily give up the command of this area. to others. Thinking of this, he said into the microphone: "I will rush to Mamayev Hill as soon as possible and talk to Sokov. Before I arrive, you will be in charge of the defense of the Mamayev Hill area temporarily. .”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Sidolin quickly agreed.

After Chuikov put down the phone, he said to Gurov with a dazed face: "Comrade Military Commissar, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov was on his way back from the city to Mamayev Hill, and there was an exchange of fire with several lost enemies. During the battle , he was unfortunately shot and injured, and is currently undergoing surgery. Judging from all signs, he will definitely not be able to command the troops in a short period of time. It is absolutely necessary for me to go to Mamayev Post and appoint a suitable person to replace him command."

"Comrade Commander, whether we can hold Mamayev Post is related to our army's ability to hold Stalingrad." Gurov, who once served as the military commissar of the Southwest Front Army, has a good understanding of the battlefield situation. He said embarrassingly Said: "We don't have any more suitable commander than Sokov in our hands now."

"Comrade Commander," Krylov looked at the two and asked cautiously, "What do you think of sending General Rodimtsev to take over Sokov's command?"

"General Rodimtsev, commander of the 13th Guards Division?!" As soon as Gurov heard Krylov mention Rodimtsev's name, he thought that there was only one Colonel Yelin left in the division. The 42nd Guards Regiment continued to fight, while the other two regiments and the troops directly under the division had been defeated by the Germans, so they hesitated and said, "Is he up to the job?"

In normal times, it would only be a matter of one sentence for a major general to take over the command of a lieutenant colonel, but at this moment, Cuikov seemed very hesitant. After Rodimtsev entered the city, he had ordered him to be in charge of commanding all the troops near Mamayev Post, but judging from the actual situation, the other party was obviously not qualified for such a position. At this critical moment, is it a wise choice for him to take over Sokov's 73rd Infantry Brigade?

Seeing Chuikov's delay in making a statement, Krylov couldn't help but feel a little anxious. He coughed twice, and when he caught Chuikov's attention, he asked cautiously, "Comrade Commander, let General Rodimtsev go Do you agree to take over Sokov's troops?"

Chuikov waited for Krylov to finish speaking, stared at him for a while, then shook his head and said: "No, Comrade Chief of Staff, I think that even if General Rodimtsev is allowed to take over Sokov's troops, he will It may not be possible to hold the Mamayev post. I think, let's think about whether there are other candidates."

"Other candidates?!" After hearing Chuikov's statement, Krylov couldn't help but frowned, and thought to himself: Nowadays, there is a shortage of commanders everywhere, where can I find you a commander who has the ability to be independent? ? When he was in a dilemma, he suddenly saw Colonel Witkov, the deputy chief of staff of the army group, walking in from the outside, his eyes lit up.

Krylov waved to Vitkov, beckoning him to come to him, and then suggested to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, if you have no objection, I propose that Colonel Vitkov temporarily act as the head of the 73rd Rifle Brigade. Brigadier duty."

"Let me act as the commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade?" The sudden appointment confused the deputy chief of staff who had just walked in. His eyes swept back and forth between Chuikov and Krylov. He asked with comprehension: "Commander, Comrade Chief of Staff, why did you suddenly let me serve as the acting brigade commander of the infantry brigade? What happened? Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, where did he go?"

After Chuikov looked Witkov up and down, he recalled his resume silently in his heart, and felt that his deputy chief of staff, although he was engaged in staff work most of the time, had never commanded troops alone, but He is very cautious, and if he is asked to represent Sokov, he may be a suitable candidate.

Although he had already listed Vitkov as the best candidate in his heart, he did not immediately announce the appointment, but said to Witkov: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, the situation is like this. Lieutenant Colonel Sokov returned from an inspection in the city. On the way, he encountered the enemy and was wounded in the battle. Judging from his injuries, he may not be able to command the troops for a while, so we plan to send a suitable person to take over his command and temporarily act as the infantry brigade brigadier."

After listening to Chuikov's narration, Vitkov quickly waved his hands and said: "Comrade commander, you must know that I have been engaged in staff work since the outbreak of the war, and I have never commanded troops alone. I feel that I am afraid I am not competent. For this position, you should find a more suitable candidate to replace Lieutenant Colonel Sokov."

If Vitkov had agreed to act as the brigade commander without hesitation, Chuikov might still have hesitated, but at this moment he heard that the other party was shirking the position, but he made up his mind instead. He said in an unquestionable tone: "Deputy chief of staff Comrade, this is my order, there is no room for bargaining, it can only be executed unconditionally, understand?"