Red Moscow

Sokov originally planned to wait for Gurdiyev's troops to hand over their defenses before withdrawing to Maly Ivanovka together. Unexpectedly, as soon as Gurdiyev left, Vasilyev unexpectedly said to him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, there is one more thing I forgot to inform you. According to the order of the commander, General Kachanin, the 308th Infantry The division was formally incorporated into the 24th Army of our Don Front Army, that is to say, from now on, you no longer need to command this unit, and you can leave first.”

Crossing the river and demolishing the bridge, unloading the mill and killing the donkey, these two idioms immediately popped up in Sokov's mind after listening to what Vasilyev said. When caught in the enemy's siege, the troops were handed over to their own command; as soon as they were out of danger, the troops were placed under the command of the 24th Army.

Thinking of this, Sokov asked a little unconvinced: "Comrade General, I would like to ask, does General Chuikov know about the assignment of the 308th Division to the 24th Army?"

"About this question," Vasilyev blushed suddenly when he heard Sokov's question, and he explained with some embarrassment: "General Kachanin has already applied to the Front Army, hoping to organize the 308th Division Join the battle order of the group army."

"So, the inclusion of the 308th Division in your army is just the wishful thinking of General Jia Xiaoning, let alone General Chuikov, and even General Rokossovsky doesn't know the inside story." Sokov learned that this was just Jia Xiaoning's wishful thinking. Ning's personal thoughts did not get the permission of his superiors, so he began to argue hard: "Comrade General, General Chuikov entrusted me with the command of the 308th Division. Please forgive me for not handing over the 308th Division until I get his order." force."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, please listen to my explanation." Vasilyev understood Sokov's feelings about this matter very well, and seeing his strong reaction, he quickly explained to him: "In order to seize this position a few days ago, We lost an infantry division. According to the regulations, the number of this unit will be canceled. As a result, there will be one less division in the formation of the group army. It is precisely because of this that Commander Jia Xiaoning will apply to his superiors to The troops of the 308th Division were incorporated into our army group."

Regardless of the fact that Vasiliev's military rank is two ranks higher than Sokov's, Sokov did not feel timid because of this. Order, I cannot hand over the 308th Division to your army group, I will take them and continue retreating northward as planned."

"Commander Kachanin has already submitted an application to the Front Army Command, and it will be a matter of time before it is approved." Although Sokov's attitude was stubborn, Vasiliev was not angry, but said more patiently: "Later After they withdrew from their positions, it is best to stay by the river and not go far, otherwise, after they are officially assigned to our army, even if you arrive at Malikovka, you will have to return here again."

No matter what Vasilyev said, Sokov had an idea in his heart. As long as Chuikov didn't give me an order, I would never hand over the 308th Division to the 24th Army. Even if you bring out Rokossovsky to suppress me, it's useless. I'm doing this to uphold principles.

After Gurdiyev and Bely completed the handover task, they led the troops to withdraw from the position, but they did not see Sokov. Gurdiyev looked at Bely and asked: "Colonel Bely, have you seen Comrade Brigadier?"

"No!" Belei shook his head, and said with a surprised face: "I have been staying with my subordinates, waiting for the friendly army to receive the tank, but I didn't see him."

Gurdiyev looked up across the river and said to himself: "Has he left already?"

"It's impossible." As soon as he finished speaking, Bely retorted: "Comrade Brigadier will never leave us alone."

"If he hadn't left, where would he have gone?"

"By the way, Colonel Gurdiyev." Bely asked Gurdiyev tentatively, "Didn't Comrade Brigadier stay with you all the time before you handed over your defense to friendly forces?"

"Is he still at the headquarters?" Gurdiyev shook his head vigorously as soon as he said this, and said, "That's unlikely, it's been almost an hour, why is he still at the headquarters ?”

"Since we can't see him in other places, we might as well go to the headquarters to have a look." Bely said, "Maybe he's still there right now."

Gurdiyev asked Sverin to lead the troops to gather by the river, and he and Bely walked to the headquarters hand in hand. When they came to the door, the sentinel standing at the door blocked their way and asked politely: "Two colonels, what can I do for you?"

Seeing that the sentinel did not recognize him, Gurdiyev quickly introduced himself and said, "I am Colonel Gurdiyev, the commander of the 308th Division, and this is Colonel Bely. We are here to find Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. .”

After hearing Gurdiyev's self-identification, the sentinel immediately recognized him, and apologized quickly, "I'm sorry, Comrade Colonel, it was too dark, I didn't see you clearly."

Gurdiyev was eager to find Sokov's whereabouts, and he didn't mean to blame the sentinel at all. He asked instead, "Is Lieutenant Colonel Sokov still inside?"

"That's right, it's still inside." The sentry said this, and couldn't help turning his head to look at the entrance blocked by the curtain, and said in a low voice, "I seem to hear the division commander and the lieutenant colonel arguing."

"Arguing?" Gurdiyev asked in a daze after hearing what the sentinel said, "What are they arguing about?"

The sentinel shook his head and said with a wry smile: "Comrade Colonel, look at what you said, what are the teachers and the others arguing about? How dare I, a soldier, eavesdrop. Please come in quickly!"

Both Bely and Gurdiyev knew Sokov's character and would not get angry easily. Since there was a quarrel with Vasilyev inside, something must have happened, so they quickly opened the curtain and walked in.

The two walked into the headquarters and saw Sokov and Vasiliev facing each other at the table, staring silently. Hearing someone coming in, Vasilyev thought it was his subordinates coming down, so he turned his head and saw two colonels, one of whom had seen Colonel Gurdiyev before, stood up quickly, He greeted Gurdiyev politely: "Comrade Colonel, you are here!"

"Comrade General, I'm here." Gurdiyev responded casually, then looked at Sokov who was sitting beside him silently, and asked Vasilyev curiously: "Comrade General, is there something wrong?" something wrong?"

"There was a little misunderstanding." Vasiliev said with a laugh: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is sulking with me."

"Sulking?" Gurdiyev couldn't help laughing when Vasilyev said this: "Comrade Brigadier, how old are you, and you still sulking like a child."

"Colonel Gurdiyev," Sokov felt that it was necessary to clarify this matter to the person involved, so he repeated what Vasiliev had just said to Gurdiyev, and finally emphasized: " Your division was entrusted to me by General Chuikov, and I will never hand over the troops to anyone until I receive new orders."

After figuring out what was going on, the smile on Gurdiyev's face gradually disappeared. He looked at Vasilyev and said in a stern tone: "Comrade General, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is right. Our division was placed under his command by General Chuikov. Before we get new orders from Commander Chuikov, we will only Obey the orders of Lieutenant Colonel Sokov."

"The chiefs of the Front Army and the Army Group have great trust in Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, and have entrusted many troops to him to command." Bely felt that he could not stand by and watch, so he interjected, "Don't look at him as a brigade commander now, But he is actually performing the duties of a military commander. Therefore, he will never hand over any troops to others without an order from our immediate superiors."

Vasilyev looked at the colonel who interrupted with a surprised expression on his face. After Bely finished speaking, he asked curiously, "Comrade Colonel, what should I call him?"

"I am Colonel Bely, commander of the 84th Tank Brigade." Bely replied blankly, "I am also under the order of Commander Chuikov, and lead the troops under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Sokov."

"I didn't expect that." Vasilyev took a step back, looked Bely and Gurdiyev up and down, then looked at Sokov and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov actually has two colonels under his command. "

"Comrade General, you are wrong." Bely waited for Vasilyev to finish speaking, and said lightly: "Under Colonel Sokov, we are not the only two colonels, and the troops under his command are more powerful than yours. There are many troops."

Vasilyev realized that he thought the question too simply. He thought that he had received an order from Kachanin, and he only needed to tell Sokov, and the other party would leave the troops without hesitation, waiting for the addition of the school. General Ning came to accept it in person. At this moment, he felt in a dilemma, not knowing what to do.

Sokov saw that Vasiliev was still silent, so he said first: "Comrade General, I have been waiting with you for so long, but I have not received a telegram from my superiors. Please forgive me, I still say the same thing, and I can't pass the first sentence to you." The 308th Division is handed over to your 24th Army. If you have nothing to do, I will take the troops across the river first."

"Okay." Vasilyev knew that if he did not get the support of Rokossovsky, even if General Kachanin himself went out, he might not be able to keep the 308th Division. Instead of being stalemate, it is better to be a favor, he nodded and said: "Since you have completed the transfer of defense, there is nothing to do here, you can immediately cross the north and rush to Malikovka. "

The three of them left the command post and walked forward along the trench for a certain distance before Sokov stopped. Bely and Gurdiyev thought there was something else going on, so they also stopped in a hurry. Sokov looked at the two and said gratefully: "Comrades colonels, fortunately, you came to rescue me in time, otherwise I don't know how long the stalemate will last today."

Although Gurdiyev was supporting Sokov in the headquarters, at this moment he still had a little confidence and asked: "Comrade brigade commander, do you think the superiors will really assign our division to the 24th Army headquarters? "

"No." Sokov remembered that in the later period of the Battle of Stalingrad, among the several infantry divisions that played a decisive role, there was the 308th Division, which indicated that the superior would never assign this division to other units for command, so he Shaking his head, he said in an affirmative tone: "The troops in the city are lacking now, even if we get to Maly Ivanovka, we may be sent back to the city again, how could it be possible to assign your division to another army group. "

"We have only so little troops left, even if we go back to the city, I'm afraid it won't be of much use." Gurdiyev heard that he might be sent back to the city, and he couldn't help feeling worried: "If the superior doesn't If we replenish our troops, we will have to stay in the city for two or three days at most, and then we will have to withdraw to the rear again to make up for it.”

"Colonel Gurdiyev, don't be so pessimistic." Sokov said to him with a smile: "To return to the city, you must first cross the river to the left bank of the Volga River. Troops, maybe your troops will be replenished there."

"If this is the case, that would be great." After listening to Sokov's explanation, Gurdiyev's frowning brows relaxed: "As long as we have enough soldiers and weapons and ammunition, we will definitely be able to block the attack." enemy attack."

When they came to the river, Sverling, who had just assembled the troops, immediately greeted him and asked Sokov nervously: "Comrade Brigadier, when can we cross the river?"

"Comrade political commissar, order the troops to board the ship immediately." Sukov knew that the ships here are limited, and only more than two hundred people can get through at a time, so he urged Swerin: "We must get all the troops on board in the shortest possible time. cross the river."

Sverling didn't know what happened in the command post, so after hearing Sokov's order, he summoned several officers to follow him to arrange for the troops to board the ship. As soon as Sverin left, Bely approached Sokov and said in a low voice, "Misha, are you worried that General Kachanin will arrive here at any time?"

"Colonel Bely, you guessed right." Sokov nodded, and replied: "Although I can argue my case in front of General Vasilyev, if General Kachanin really appeared in front of me , What right do I have to refuse to execute the orders he issued? Therefore, we are now in a race against time, if we don’t want the 308th Division to become someone else’s troops, we must hurry up and cross the river.”

Gurdiyev, who was watching the soldiers boarding the ship, vaguely heard the conversation between Sokov and Bely, he turned to look at Sokov and said, "Don't worry, Comrade Brigadier Commander, even if General Kachanin comes, It's okay. You can't disobey his orders, but my military rank is higher than yours, so even if I disobey his orders, he won't do anything to me, after all, he is not my direct superior."

After hearing Gurdiyev's statement, Sokov had a smile on his face. He knew in his heart that as long as Gurdiyev could resist the pressure exerted by Kachanin, then in the next few days, the first The 308th Division will still obey its own command.