Red Moscow

When Golia took the people away, he specifically told the communications soldiers in the command post: "If the political deputy battalion commander of the fourth battalion calls again, you can say that I have taken people to the brigade headquarters, and ask him to take them with him. Come here quickly."

Unexpectedly, before reaching the brigade headquarters, he saw a group of people coming from another fork. Goliath turned his head and saw that the leader was the deputy battalion commander of the fourth battalion. He asked in surprise: "Comrade deputy battalion commander." , You came so fast!" Glancing at the soldiers behind him, he lowered his voice and asked, "Did you bring someone here after receiving a call from my subordinate?"

"What call?" The deputy battalion commander said with some surprise: "After I called you, I called the first battalion and the second battalion. Although they knew about the injury of the brigade commander, they didn't know that their superiors had appointed A new brigade commander was appointed. I felt something was wrong, so I was going to take someone to the brigade headquarters to have a look."

Hearing what the other party said, Golia couldn't help thinking: "Since the first battalion and the second battalion have also received the call, the two battalion commanders must definitely bring people over. By then, nearly a hundred people will gather around the brigade headquarters. It seems that the superiors are still there. Do you dare to dismiss the post of brigade commander?"

If it is in normal times, no commander would dare to gather a group of subordinates to force the superior to change a certain appointment. But the current situation is different. Sokov is the backbone of the defenders of Mamayev Post. If he is really dismissed by his superiors, it will definitely affect the morale of the troops. If people's hearts are scattered, it will be difficult to lead the team.

In order to prevent the superiors from arbitrarily replacing Sokov, not only the deputy battalion commander of the fourth battalion, but Goria each rushed to the brigade headquarters with a team, and they connected to the first battalion commander Vanya and the second battalion commander Vasily on the phone. They also took a squad of soldiers to the brigade headquarters. However, before departure, Vania had an extra thought. He also called the third battalion commander Andrei and told him straightforwardly: "The superior has appointed a new brigade commander. It seems that they plan to remove us. Brigadier. If you are still a member of the infantry brigade, immediately bring your subordinates to the brigade headquarters and seek an explanation from the new brigade commander sent by your superiors."

In fact, after Cuikov appointed Witkov as the acting brigade commander, he called Sidolin. In order to maintain the stability of the troops, Sidolin did not notify the battalion commanders of this new appointment, and even Belkin and Yakov who were guarding outside the operating room did not know about it.

Although there is only a curtain hanging at the door of the operating room, if you want to know the operation situation, you only need to lift the curtain and go in. But both Belkin and Yakov were deeply afraid that breaking in without authorization would affect the military doctor's operation, so they could only stand outside and wait anxiously.

Yakov raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said anxiously, "Comrade Political Commissar, this operation has been going on for an hour and a half, why is it still not finished? Tell me, Misha's life will not be in danger, right?"

"I don't think so, Major Yakov." Belkin was also worried about Sokov's safety, but in the current situation, in order to prevent panic, he still tried his best to control his emotions. He tried his best to speak in a calm tone, "Before Comrade Brigadier entered the operating room, I had a chat with him. Although he was a little weak in speaking, according to my experience, his life should not be in danger."

The two were talking when suddenly a soldier ran over in a hurry. After seeing Belkin, he didn't shout loudly, but approached Belkin's ear and whispered a few words.

Yakov, who was standing aside, saw that Belkin had a terrified expression on his face after listening to what the soldier said, and asked nervously, "Comrade Commissar, what happened?"

"There is an urgent matter in the brigade, and Chief of Staff Sidolin asked me to go back immediately." Belkin waved his hand in a panic, and said, "Major Yakov, please wait here for the brigade commander to come out. After finishing speaking, without waiting for Yakov to speak, he shook his head at the soldier and headed towards the brigade headquarters, and the soldiers standing aside quickly followed.

After walking a certain distance, Belkin turned his head and saw that there was no trace of Yakov here, so he asked the soldiers who reported in a low voice: "What's going on? Why did the battalion commanders bring people to surround the brigade headquarters?" Get up, do they want to rebel?"

"Comrade Political Commissar," the soldier said hastily, "I asked a fellow villager who participated in the siege, and according to him, the battalion commanders heard that their superiors had appointed a new brigade commander to replace our brigade commander, so they decided to take the lead. In a hurry, I took people to the brigade headquarters and asked the new brigade commander for an explanation."

"It's nonsense, it's nonsense." Belkin quickened his pace and said angrily: "It's their authority to arrange whoever is the brigade commander. What are the battalion commanders below? Why should they bring someone here?" Surrounding the brigade headquarters, aren't they afraid of being court-martialed?"

After hearing this, the soldier smiled wryly and said to Belkin: "Comrade political commissar, do you think that if another person is in command of the troops, can we survive to the day of victory?"

The soldier's words made Belkin fall into deep thought. Since the German army approached Stalingrad, the battle has been extremely cruel. Other troops were disabled within a week or two at most. Only our own troops were still like nails in the face of the fierce German offensive Nailed on the Mamayev Hill, without retreating a step. The brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, has contributed a lot to being able to do this. If the brigade commander is changed at this time, the commanders and fighters will definitely have some bad associations in their hearts.

Before Belkin reached the brigade headquarters, he found that the passage ahead was blocked by a group of soldiers. Seeing that the front was blocked, the soldiers who reported the news quickly shouted: "Comrades, please make way, Comrade Political Commissar is here."

Hearing the soldiers' shouts, the soldiers blocking the passage immediately gave way to a narrow passage for Belgin and his men to pass through. Belkin tried his best to squeeze into the headquarters. In the room, besides Sidolin and the five battalion commanders, he saw a strange colonel.

Belkin guessed that the colonel should be the newly appointed brigade commander by his superiors, so he walked straight up to him, raised his hand to salute him, and said respectfully: "Hello, comrade colonel, I am the commander of the infantry brigade. Commissar Belgin. Do you have any instructions for coming here?"

"Hello, Commissar Belkin." The colonel held out his hand to Belkin and said with a smile on his face: "I am Colonel Witkov, the deputy chief of staff of the army group. I came here to take up the post." After saying this, he turned his head to look at the door, and said with some helplessness, "I found that your soldiers are very enthusiastic. I heard that I came to act as the brigade commander, and the door was blocked. It doesn't leak out."

"Chief of Staff," Belkin waited for Vitkov to finish, then turned to Sidolin and asked, "What's going on here? Why are there so many soldiers outside?"

Regarding Belkin's questioning, Sidolin shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said helplessly: "Comrade political commissar, the five battalion commanders learned that their superiors had appointed a new brigade commander, so they each brought their people to Ask me for an explanation, and ask me if my superiors dismissed Lieutenant Colonel Sokov."

"Comrade Commissar." As soon as Sidolin finished speaking, Vanya took a step forward and said to Belkin: "The commanders and fighters of the whole brigade understand very well that the reason why we are still able to hold on to the Mamayev Post , It all depends on the wise leadership of Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Without him, not only would we not be able to hold the position here, but the entire army would have been wiped out. We cannot accept anyone other than him as the commander of the infantry brigade. "

"That's right," Vasily waited for Vanya to finish speaking, and immediately echoed, "We don't accept anyone else as our brigade commander."

Seeing that both Vanya and Vasily had expressed their views, the other three battalion commanders also said in unison: "Only Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is the brigade commander we recognize."

The soldiers standing in the corridor outside the door heard his battalion commander's statement, and shouted at the same time: "Only Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is the brigade commander recognized by all of us!" Their shouts alarmed the surrounding area. The soldiers who didn't know the truth came out of their rest places one after another, and flocked to the brigade headquarters, trying to find out what happened.

At this moment, Vitkov's heart was broken. He didn't expect that he would be resisted by all the commanders and fighters of the infantry brigade before he officially took office. This shows how high Sokov's reputation in the brigade is. He looked at Belgin, and said with some confusion: "Comrade political commissar, do you have any good ideas?"

"Quiet, comrades, please be quiet!" Belkin walked to the door and shouted loudly to the outside: "I just came back from the medical team. Comrade brigade commander is still undergoing surgery. Your noise like this will affect the work of the military doctors." surgical."

Knowing that Sokov was still undergoing surgery, the soldiers shouting outside fell silent one after another. Those soldiers who didn't understand the situation were still carefully asking others what happened, why the brigade commander was in the operating room, and why did the superiors send a new brigade commander?

After the outside was quiet again, Belkin walked back to Sidolin and asked with a straight face: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think you should have received the news that Colonel Witkov will serve as the acting brigade commander?" Seeing Sidolin nodding, he asked again with an emphatic tone, "Then why don't you inform the battalion commanders so that they know what's going on?"

"I'm sorry, Comrade Political Commissar." Seeing what was happening in front of him, Sidolin realized that he had made a huge mistake. He did not inform the battalion commanders of the latest appointment from his superiors in time. Misunderstandings happen. Faced with Belkin's criticism, he could only admit his mistake with a blushing face: "It's all my fault, and I am willing to take all responsibilities."

Belkin ignored him, turned his attention to Vitkov again, and asked politely: "Comrade Colonel, may I ask what is going on with your appointment?"

"That's right, Comrade Belkin." Vitkov realized that the situation was getting out of control. If he didn't explain the matter clearly in front of several battalion commanders, the consequences would be unimaginable. Erkin said truthfully: "After learning that Lieutenant Colonel Sokov was injured, Comrade Commander was very anxious, so he discussed with the chief of staff, General Krylov, and sent a suitable candidate to temporarily replace Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Commander. At first the candidate proposed by General Krylov was Rodimtsev, the commander of the 13th Guards Division, but was rejected by the commander comrade..."

When Belkin heard this, he raised his hand and interrupted Vitkov's following words, grasping one of the important points and asked: "Comrade Colonel, you just said that the superior only asked you to replace Lieutenant Colonel Sokov in command, not to let You formally take over the Infantry Brigade?"

"Yes, I'm only acting as brigade commander temporarily." Witkov nodded and replied affirmatively: "As soon as Lieutenant Colonel Sokov recovers, he will regain command."

After listening to Vitkov's explanation, the commanders present all breathed a sigh of relief. After a long time, it turned out that the appointment of the new brigade commander by the superior was not to replace Sokov, but to temporarily replace him while he was recuperating. He just directs. After Belgin figured out what was going on, he looked at the five battalion commanders standing aside: "Have you figured out what's going on?"

"Yes, I have figured it out." Several battalion commanders replied in unison.

"Now that you've figured it out, what are you still doing here?" Belkin pointed at the door, and said bluntly, "Let your people return to their respective units immediately, and don't block the door. normal work."

After the five battalion commanders learned that they had committed an oolong, they were a little ashamed at first. When they heard Belkin's order, they didn't dare to neglect. They rushed to the door and gave orders to their subordinates, telling them to return immediately. respective troops.

While the battalion commanders were busy outside, Vitkov said gratefully to Belkin: "Comrade political commissar, it's a good thing you're here, otherwise today's affairs don't know how to end!"

"I'm sorry, Comrade Colonel." Belkin said apologetically to Vitkov: "It was our commanders who surrounded you without understanding the situation. For their reckless behavior, I would like to apologize to you on their behalf. Sorry, please don't argue with them."

Sidolin felt that at this time, he should also say a few words: "Comrade Acting Brigadier, since you have figured out that it was a misunderstanding, please don't send these commanders to military courts, because in the next battle , and they are needed to command the battle.”

"Lieutenant Colonel Sidolin." Witkov looked at Sidolin and said generously: "Since you also said that it was a misunderstanding, then there is no need to hold anyone accountable. Look, should you give Let me introduce the situation on Mamayev Post, so that I can understand it."

"Yes, yes, yes." Hearing what Witkov said, Sidolin nodded quickly and said, "Comrade Acting Brigadier Commander, I will give you a detailed report on the current situation of Mamayev Post. "