Red Moscow

Sokov knew that the squad was ready to set off, but now he ordered them not to set off for the time being, and stayed to wait for further orders, worrying what the battalion commanders would think. As soon as he saw Sidolin finish the phone call, he asked with a little confidence: "Chief of Staff, did the battalion commanders raise any objections to our order?"

"Ask an objection? What objection will they have?" Sidolin had a confused expression on his face when he heard Sokov say this: "Isn't it a matter of course to obey the orders of the superiors?"

Sidolin's answer made Sokov realize that he was thinking too much. The Soviet army was strictly hierarchical. Even if the orders issued by the superiors were wrong, the subordinates would usually carry them out unconditionally. He just ordered them not to set off for the time being. It's not a change of order, and they probably won't have any bad thoughts because of it.

Sokov grinned, and then changed the topic: "Comrade Political Commissar has been away for a few days, when will you be back?"

In order to boost morale, Belgin and the director of the political department Dmitry took political workers to the grassroots units, talked to the commanders and fighters, and helped them build confidence in victory through various propaganda. If it was only in the Mamayev Gang area, Sokov would not be worried, but Belkin went to the defense zone of the third battalion, where the defense lines of the enemy and the enemy were intertwined, and usually the buildings on a street were occupied by both the enemy and the enemy. Half of them, no matter which side of the troops pass by, are likely to be attacked.

Seeing that Sokov was so concerned about Belkin's whereabouts, Sidolin quickly replied: "Comrade Brigadier, I spoke with the third battalion today, and the battalion commander Andrei told me that the political commissar went to the place where Sergeant Vasily was standing. There will be no danger in that building, so don't worry."

The Pavlov Building that was supposed to be guarded by Sergeant Pavlov and his troops has now become the Vasily Building. Sokov still has no idea whether his subordinates can hold this building. Because the appearance of this little butterfly will have any impact on the real history.

So he waited for Sidolin to finish, and then asked: "How is the building? Is it still being attacked by the enemy every day?"

"It is inevitable to be attacked by the enemy. After all, the building is located at the entrance of Soviet Street, and the enemies who want to enter the street are within their fire coverage." Sidolin replied: "Since the enemy has eaten a few After the loss of the new rockets, the tactics were adjusted. Instead of using infantry to attack with tanks or assault guns, they bombed and shelled the building, trying to enter Soviet Street from January 9th Square after destroying the building. "

"How about the casualties of the defenders in the building?" Knowing that the Germans are now using shelling and bombing to deal with the Vasily Building, Sokov couldn't help but worry about the safety of the commanders and fighters in the building: "Also, the building was not bombed. Collapse?"

"During the enemy's shelling and bombing, the building was riddled with holes, but fortunately it did not completely collapse." Sidolin said with a smile: "Don't look at Sergeant Vasily who has been in the army for a short time, but he is very commanding." Talent, every time the enemy's shelling and bombing starts, except for one or two soldiers left behind to monitor the enemy's movements, the rest of the people retreat to the basement or the newly built shelter nearby, and wait until the shelling and bombing is over. Return and destroy the enemies who tried to attack. In the past half a month, they have eliminated thousands of enemies, but their own casualties were only more than 20 people."

The Vasily building is a place that Sokov wants to defend no matter what. Now that he heard that Vasily's men had suffered more than 20 casualties, he hurriedly asked, "Did you give them additional troops?"

"Comrade Brigadier, don't worry." Sidolin couldn't guess what Sokov was thinking, and quickly explained to him: "The third battalion commander has always regarded the defense of the Vasily Building as the top priority. If there is a casualty in the building, he will add one more, so that the number of defenders will never decrease. In addition, he will give priority to the supply of various weapons and ammunition needed in the building. By the way, Comrade Brigadier Commander, this batch After the new rockets arrive, how much do you plan to allocate to Vasily and the others?"

Although Sokov didn't know the number of the upcoming batch of rockets at this moment, he still replied without hesitation: "Give them twenty first, and give them priority when they are used up. "

Sidolin quickly wrote down what Sokov said in his notepad, nodded and said: "Understood, first give Sergeant Vasily twenty rockets, and after they run out, proceed Priority supply."

…………

After Vitkov personally transported the rockets across the river with the ship, he left two reliable subordinates to guide the unloading and transportation. Cove.

After returning to the command post, Vitkov shook hands with Sokov and Sidolin one by one, pointed to the officer standing beside him, and introduced to them: "Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff, let me introduce you , this is Captain Varman, who brought the rockets from Moscow to us."

Regarding the detailed process of the rocket being detained by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in Kamysin, Sokov planned to ask Vitkov privately later, so after greeting Wahlman, he asked in a very casual tone: "Comrade Captain, I I would like to ask, how many rockets did you send this time?"

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," although Witkov's military rank was higher than Sokov's in the headquarters, Lieutenant Varman knew very well that the highest commander at Mamayev Post was the Lieutenant Colonel who asked him. So he replied respectfully: "We sent a total of 350 rockets this time, all of which were produced overtime by several arsenals directly under the Weapons and Equipment Department."

350 rockets. After hearing this number, Sokov was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth from ear to ear. He smiled and said to Valman: "Comrade Captain, I would like to ask another question. If it does not involve confidentiality, I hope get an accurate answer."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Wahlman said with a smile on his face, "If I'm not mistaken, you want to ask, what is the monthly output of our arsenal?"

"That's right." Seeing that Wahlman guessed his true thoughts, Sokov nodded vigorously and replied: "I really want to know about the production capacity of the arsenal, because the number of rockets we have determines the Can we hold the Mamayev Post, which is crucial to Stalingrad, with minimal casualties."

"The arsenal is digging its potential internally." Perhaps the question asked by Sokov involved some confidentiality, so Wahlman did not give him an accurate answer, but said in a general way: "Starting from October, the monthly production Thousands of rockets, I don't think it's a big problem."

"Comrade Deputy Brigadier," Sokov asked Vitkov after he finished asking the questions he was interested in, "When will the rockets be delivered?"

Vitkov raised his hand and looked at his watch, and replied, "I think it will take about forty minutes at the earliest before they will be shipped over."

"Chief of Staff, immediately call the battalion commanders and inform the squad to come and get the rockets." Hearing Sukov's order, Sidolin agreed loudly, then picked up the phone and called the battalion commanders , Let them send a small team over to get the rockets.

Looking at Sidolin who was on the phone, Vitkov asked curiously: "Comrade Brigadier, are you planning to let the squads that go deep behind the enemy's rear bring a few rockets?"

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Brigadier Commander." Sokov nodded and said affirmatively, "Last time Goliath used four rockets for them to kill one regiment headquarters and more than 200 garrison troops of the enemy. If we carry rockets with the several teams that go deep into the enemy's rear, they can use rockets to attack the enemy's barracks, warehouses, and headquarters from a distance, causing huge losses to the enemy and slowing down the enemy's build-up. speed."

Regarding Sokov's statement, Witkov agreed: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you are right. This kind of rocket is easy to carry. If it is used in large quantities in the enemy's rear, it will not only cause huge damage to the enemy. It can also completely disrupt the German army's offensive steps against the city." Speaking of this, he couldn't help sighing, "It's a pity that when I was the brigade commander, I only used this new type of rocket in defense. No matter how big it is, the enemies it can destroy are very limited.”

After finishing the call, Sidolin poured a cup of hot tea for Captain Valman himself, and then asked curiously: "Comrade Captain, can you tell us how the batch of rockets you escorted were seized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs?" ?"

Sokov originally planned to wait for the right time to ask Witkov about the details of the seizure of the rockets, but at this moment Sidolin had already asked this question first, so he pricked up his ears to listen to Wahlmann's answer.

Hearing Sidolin's question, Wahlmann couldn't help but smiled bitterly, and then said to Sidolin: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, according to the order of the Weapons and Equipment Department, the batch of rockets that I escorted were transported from Moscow by train." Afterwards, the trucks were unloaded and crossed the river at Kamisin, and then transported by truck to the left bank of the Volga River..."

"Comrade Captain," Sidolin anxiously interrupted Wahlmann's words after hearing this: "We are very clear about the transportation route of the rockets. You should tell us about the process of being detained."

Wahlman nodded, and continued: "After the rockets were unloaded at the train station in Kamisin, I was waiting for the transport convoy arranged by my superiors to help us transport the rockets to the river for loading. Who knew at this time, But suddenly several officers came, one of them was Captain Simonenko of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and he gave me an order saying that the rockets were no longer going to Mamayev Kurgan, but were handed over to the 1st Guards Army .”

Although the rocket was finally transported to Mamayev Gang as planned after the mediation of Khrushchev and others, Sidolin still asked nervously: "Comrade Captain, have you seen the bomb that Captain Simonenko handed over to you?" How did you respond after the order?"

Varman said with a serious expression: "The order given to me by my superiors is to send these rockets to Mamayev Post. At this time, I suddenly received an order from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. My superior, Major Yakov, asked for instructions. Therefore, I found a telephone in the station master's office that could contact Moscow, and reported the situation to Major Yakov. After the major learned about the situation, he said that he would immediately report the matter Report to Comrade Ustinov, Commissar of the People's Commissar, and order me to keep an eye on the rockets, and no one will give them to anyone unless someone from the 73rd Rifle Brigade comes to collect them..."

"Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff," Witkov interjected, "When Comrade Khrushchev and I arrived at Kamysin, Lieutenant Colonel Gritsenko, the representative of the First Guards Army, had already arrived at the station with his convoy. , tried to transport all the rockets away, but was stopped by Captain Varman and his men."

"Captain Varman," after hearing Witkov's narration, Sokov couldn't help admiring the principled captain in front of him. He stood up while leaning on the table, straightened his body and said, "I represent the 73rd Infantry Brigade. All the commanders and fighters, thank you for everything you have done for us." After speaking, he raised his hand and saluted the other party with a solemn military salute.

Varman didn't expect Sokov to salute him suddenly, so he stood up quickly, waved his hand at Sokov and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are too polite, I am just doing my duty."

"Captain Varman is really amazing," Vitkov praised each other from the side: "When Comrade Khrushchev and I rushed to the Kamysin station, we heard with our own ears that Captain Simonenko of the Ministry of Internal Affairs threatened him, saying that if he If you disagree with Lieutenant Colonel Gritsenko taking these rockets away, he will be shot on the spot. Faced with threats from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Comrade Captain still insists on his principles and refuses to make the slightest concession."

Knowing that Captain Varman in front of him still dared to stick to his principles in the face of threats from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Sokov couldn't help showing a surprised expression on his face. Considering that the other party offended the staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for his own troops, if he was allowed to return to Moscow like this, he would inevitably not be made things difficult by the staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, so he decided to keep the other party. After the idea of ​​keeping the other party came to Sokov's mind, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Captain, I want to keep you in my army. I don't know what your opinion is?"

Faced with Sokov's sudden request, Valman was taken aback for a moment, but then he understood the other party's intention. He knew very well in his heart that he had to offend the personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs out of his duties. If he returned to Moscow, he would definitely be made things difficult. Presumably, if he stayed in Stalingrad, where the fighting was fierce, there might be a chance of survival. However, he did not immediately agree to Sokov's request, but said euphemistically: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if I want to stay, I must get permission from my superiors."