Red Moscow

"Comrade Commander, I have always been in charge of the defense of the factory area." Vitkov did not become overwhelmed by this special appointment. On the contrary, he asked Chuikov cautiously: "If the superior asked me to command The 73rd Infantry Brigade, of course I can carry out this order unconditionally, but who should be in charge of my original work?"

After being reminded by Vitkov, Chuikov immediately realized that his deputy chief of staff, whom he rarely met, was actually in charge of such an important job. He turned his head to Krylov, wanting to hear if the other party had any good ideas. idea.

Although Chuikov did not speak, Krylov still understood what the other party meant. After thinking for a while, he replied: "Comrade Commander, I think the Chief of Operations Colonel Zalijuk can be replaced. He has been He is the most suitable person to assist the Deputy Chief of Staff in this task."

"Okay." Hearing what Krylov said, Chuikov immediately agreed: "Chief of Staff, you call Colonel Zalijuk over, and we need to reassign tasks for him."

"Understood, I'll call him right away." Krylov said, picking up the phone on the table.

While Krylov was on the phone, Chuikov said to Vitkov: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, I originally planned to go to Mamayev Hill to visit the injured Sokov, but since you are from the brigade Acting brigade commander, this matter will be done by you."

Witkov nodded, indicating that he understood what Chuikov meant. After a short pause, he asked again: "Can I leave? I want to get to Mamayev Post as soon as possible."

Seeing that Vitkov was so anxious to rush to the new combat position, Chuikov felt very relieved, and quickly shouted outside: "Come here!"

Following the shout, an officer of the guard battalion walked in from outside. He came to Chuikov, straightened his body and asked respectfully, "Comrade commander, do you have any instructions?"

"That's right, Comrade Second Lieutenant." Chuikov said kindly: "Your brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, was injured in the battle and can no longer command the battle for a short time. Therefore, I appointed Colonel Vitkov as the acting brigade commander." Chief. Your task is to escort him to take office, understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Second Lieutenant Samoilov asked cautiously: "I don't know how many people I want to take to escort the colonel to Mamayev Post?"

The officer who was accepting Chuikov's mission was Second Lieutenant Samoilov, the guard platoon leader under Sokov. Since he was ordered to lead the third platoon to escort Chuikov to the new headquarters last time, he had been left at the army headquarters. The reason why Chuikov sent him to escort Vitkov to Mamayev Post at this moment was simply to play the emotional card so that the commanders and fighters of the infantry brigade could accept the new brigade commander more quickly.

"We might meet Germans on the way," Chuikov was still very unhappy when he returned the soldier who had finally tricked him to Sokov, but for the safety of Vitkov along the way, he still said cruelly. : "Well, you take 20 soldiers and escort Colonel Vitkov to Mamayev Post. After you get there, you don't have to come back."

Since Samoilov escorted Chuikov back last time, he was directly incorporated into the guard unit of the group army and could no longer return to Mamayev Post. Because of this, he was annoyed for a long time. At this moment, when I heard that I and some of my subordinates could return to Mamayev Post, I immediately felt overjoyed, and quickly replied: "Comrade Commander, please rest assured, I will definitely escort Colonel Vitkov to the destination safely. "

Along the way, it seemed to be going smoothly, and even through some enemy-controlled areas, there was no fighting. Seeing that he was about to reach the secret entrance of Beigang, Samoilov said to Vitkov with great excitement: "Deputy chief of staff... No, now is Comrade Acting Brigadier Commander. We can reach the entrance of Beigang where the infantry brigade is stationed. As long as we enter the tunnel, we don’t have to worry about encountering the enemy anymore.”

Fifty meters away from the entrance of the tunnel, Samoilov and his party were stopped by several sentries hiding in the bomb crater. The sergeant who led the team glanced over the crowd, then turned to Witkov and asked politely, "Comrade Colonel, what part do you belong to? What's the matter here?"

Samoilov hurriedly approached Vitkov's ear and whispered, "Comrade Colonel, our tunnels are not open to the public, so we strictly check strangers."

"Comrade Sergeant," Witkov nodded upon hearing what Samoilov said, and then politely replied to the sergeant: "I am the new acting brigade commander, and I am going to the brigade headquarters."

"Acting brigade commander?!" The sergeant was a little dumbfounded when he heard what Witkov said, because the news of Sokov's injury had not yet been communicated to the battalions, so he knew that the person in front of him was the acting brigade commander, and his heart first What comes to mind is why the superior dismissed the brigade commander. Thinking of this, he immediately asked expressionlessly: "I'm sorry, Comrade Colonel, I have not received an order from my superiors and cannot let you into the tunnel. You must know that outsiders are not allowed to enter our tunnels casually."

Samoilov, who was next to him, saw that Vitkov had hit a nail, and hurried forward to make a rescue: "Comrade Sergeant, I am Second Lieutenant Samoilov, the platoon leader of the third platoon of guards, and I was ordered to escort the acting brigade commander to take up his post. Yes, please let me go immediately."

"I'm sorry, Comrade Second Lieutenant." The sergeant did not treat Samoilov politely because he had a higher rank than himself. Instead, he said in an official tone, "I can't let you enter the tunnel until I get an order."

Before Samoilov joined the infantry brigade, he used to be in the internal affairs unit. No one dared to talk to him in this way, so he said angrily: "You don't let us enter the tunnel. If you delay the business, you Can you afford it?"

"Comrade Second Lieutenant," said the sergeant, neither humble nor overbearing, "I'm just performing my duties. I can't let you enter the tunnel without the order of my superiors."

Just when Samoilov was about to run away violently, Vitkov grabbed him, winked at him, and signaled not to be so impulsive, and then politely said to the sergeant: "Comrade sergeant, please Give your superiors a call, okay?"

The sergeant could not refute Vitkov's request, so he could only say helplessly: "Okay, you guys wait here first, and I will call the battalion commander."

Near the entrance of the tunnel, there is a telephone that can report directly to the battalion headquarters. The sergeant quickly finished the phone call and returned to Vitkov and the others. He said in a polite and distant tone: "Comrade colonel, please wait here for a while, our battalion commander will come out soon."

After waiting for a few minutes, Witkov saw a group of people coming out of the tunnel, and the one walking in the front was a commander with the rank of captain. Samoilov took the initiative to introduce to Vitkov: "Comrade acting brigade commander, the captain here is Captain Briski, commander of the fourth battalion."

"The commander of the fourth battalion?!" Witkov said in surprise when he heard this, "There are actually four battalions in the infantry brigade?"

"There are more than four battalions," Samoilov quickly corrected, "to be precise, five battalions. In addition to the first to fourth battalions, there is also a 192nd battalion, which was downsized from the original 192nd infantry division. .”

When Witkov was about to ask for more details, Briski had already come to him. After standing upright, he reported to him: "Comrade Colonel, I am Lieutenant Briski, Commander of the Fourth Battalion. Please come here. Is there anything important?"

Witkov nodded at the other party, and then reported to his house and said: "Hello, Captain Briski, let me introduce myself. I am Colonel Witkov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army Group..." Briski heard this , couldn't help but glanced at the sergeant on duty out of the corner of his eye, and thought to himself, didn't his subordinates say that this person claimed to be the acting brigade commander? How did he become the deputy chief of staff of the group army again?

Before Briski could understand the question, Witkov continued: "I just accepted a new appointment an hour ago as the acting brigade commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade."

Hearing what Witkov said, Briski couldn't help being shocked, and he asked in surprise: "Comrade Colonel, I can ask, the superior appointed you as the acting brigade commander, then the original brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, How was it arranged?"

When Vitkov heard this, a surprised expression appeared on his face: "Why, Comrade Captain, don't you know?"

Briski asked in a daze, "Know what?"

"Don't you know that your brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, was injured in the battle and was unable to command the battle for a short time." Witkov said to Briski: "That's why the superior appointed me as the acting brigade commander. .”

Witkov's words startled Briski: "Impossible, it's impossible, I had a phone call with the brigade commander yesterday, and he was fine, how could he be injured? False, what you said is definitely not true Yes, how could the brigade commander be injured while he was in his headquarters?"

"Comrade Captain, don't get excited." Witkov waited for Briski to finish speaking, and said slowly: "I don't know the specific situation. I only know that after Lieutenant Colonel Sokov returned from his inspection in the city, Encountered a few lost German soldiers on the road, and there was a small firefight. He was unfortunately wounded in the battle, and he was still undergoing surgery in the operating room when I set off."

As soon as Vitkov finished speaking, Samoilov quickly added: "Yes, Captain Briski, what the acting brigade commander said is true. Our brigade commander was seriously injured and is undergoing surgery in the medical team That's why Commander Chuikov temporarily appointed Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff as acting brigade commander."

When Briski came out, he saw Samoilov standing next to Vitkov. He was quite surprised at the time, how could the brigade commander's guard platoon leader stand with a strange commander. Hearing what Samoilov said, he was immediately distraught. He never dreamed that Sokov would be injured at such a time, and he is still undergoing surgery in the operating room.

Seeing Briski's chaotic expression, Witkov couldn't help but frowned slightly. He felt that the captain in front of him seemed a little unsteady. However, he was eager to take up his post at the brigade headquarters, and he didn't want to delay here, so he faced Briski with a straight face: "Captain Briski, I need to rush to the brigade headquarters immediately, I wonder if I can enter the tunnel?"

Hearing what Witkov said, Briski immediately woke up. He quickly turned his body to one side and said politely: "Comrade acting brigade commander, please follow me. I will take you to the brigade headquarters."

Briski led Vitkov and Samoilov towards the tunnel. When he passed by the political deputy battalion commander, he made a phone call gesture to him, signaling him to contact the other battalion commanders immediately. Tell them about the brigadier's injury. Seeing the gesture, the deputy battalion commander immediately understood, nodded at Briski, and said that he would call as soon as possible.

The deputy battalion commander first called Captain Golia, the battalion commander of the 192nd Battalion, and said in a panic: "Comrade Captain, something happened, and the brigade commander was injured."

Some time ago, Goria went north with Sokov to meet the friendly forces. After Sokov was wounded by blowing up a tank, he personally escorted him back. At this moment, when I heard the call from the deputy battalion commander of the fourth battalion, I said disapprovingly: "What's wrong with you, friend? What's the fuss about the brigade commander being injured? You know, after he was injured in Orlovka, I took someone to take him away." back..."

The deputy battalion commander interrupted Golia in a hurry before he could finish speaking: "You are mistaken, Comrade Captain. You said you were injured last time, but what I want to tell you is that the brigade commander was injured again today. Yes, it is still being rescued in the operating room, and the superior just sent us a new brigade commander."

"What, the brigade commander is injured again?" Golia was taken aback by the unexpected news, especially when the superior sent a new brigade commander, which made him even more surprised: "Where is your battalion commander? "

"Accompanies the new brigade commander to the brigade headquarters." The deputy battalion commander hurriedly said on the phone: "Okay, Comrade Captain, I still have to call the other battalion commanders, so I hung up first."

After holding the phone with a blind tone, Golia was stunned for a while, then threw the receiver on the table, then hurried out of the battalion command post, and ran along the tunnel towards the brigade headquarters. He was eager to find out whether Sokov's injuries were serious or not, and whether he had really reached the point where he was unable to command the battle.

But he didn't run far, and stopped again, called one of his officers, and told him: "Call a squad of soldiers immediately, and follow me to the brigade headquarters."

When the officer heard this strange order, he couldn't help being taken aback, wondering what he was going to do with the troops to the brigade headquarters, was he going to make a military remonstrance? Puzzled and asked: "What are you doing at the brigade headquarters?"

"Suddenly the superior sent a new brigade commander, and I'm going to see what's going on." Golia said blankly: "If the brigade commander's injury is just an excuse to remove him, then I'll bring it to the brigade commander. All the fighters will be able to come in handy.”