Red Moscow

Bantelaiev originally thought that Sokov belonged to the Don Front Army, so he only planned to give him two or three hundred recruits symbolically. After all, so many troops suffered huge losses and were in urgent need of reinforcements. If it weren't for Malinin He said hello to himself, and it is estimated that even the two or three hundred people did not have his share.

Knowing that Sokov's troops were sticking to Mamayev Post, he couldn't help being stunned. He stared at Sokov for a long time before turning his head and asking Orel: "Comrade General, do you mean that we have broken through the encirclement of the Germans and joined forces with the defenders in the city?"

Orel naturally understood the reason for Pantai Layev's question. He waved his hand and said, "No, we haven't been able to break through the encirclement of the Germans and join forces with the friendly forces in the city." He quickly glanced at Sol Kefu continued, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov led a remnant of his troops and broke out from the direction of Orlovka."

Knowing that the internal and external attacks had never broken through the enemy's siege, Pantai Layev showed a disappointed expression on his face: "So, the counterattack launched by the friendly army in the city failed?"

"Comrade Colonel, although our counterattack failed this time, it does not mean that the next counterattack will not be successful." Sokov felt that at this time, he should come out and say a few words, "Sooner or later we will defeat the attack on Stalingrad." enemy."

"Colonel Bantaileyev," Orel knew very well in his heart that Malinin asked himself to accompany Sokov here because he was worried that Bantaileyev might embarrass Sokov on the issue of recruiting troops. At this moment, seeing that the other party was pushing back and forth, he urged: "I still have urgent matters to rush back to the headquarters, please hurry up and call the battalion commanders of the new barracks."

Bantelaiev said with a look of embarrassment: "General Orel, I only have more than 4,700 people in my hand. If I add 4,000 people to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov at once, then other troops will come to ask for people. what do I do?"

Orel thought about it carefully, and it was really the case. Bantelaiev was responsible for replenishing the troops. He only had so many troops in his hand. The commander of the army came here to replenish the soldiers, what should he do? Thinking of this, he asked reasonably: "Comrade Colonel, how many people do you think you can give Lieutenant Colonel Sokov?"

Bantai Layev turned his head to look at Sokov. After a long thought, he raised a finger and said, "A thousand people."

"No, it's too little." Orel vetoed the number put forward by Pantai Layev without hesitation: "The battle in the city is so fierce that it may take less than a day for a thousand people to enter, and all of them will be killed." All gone. At least three thousand, I think."

Hearing what Orel said, the muscles on Bantelayev's face twitched violently a few times, then he stretched out another finger and said with difficulty: "Two thousand people, no more."

"Three thousand." Orel insisted: "This is the minimum limit, there can be no less."

Seeing that Orel's attitude was so tough, Bantelayev quit. He stood up, took off the belt around his waist, and threw it on the table. The holster, which was on the belt, hit the table with a loud crash, which startled Orel. He stared at the belt and holster on the table, and asked angrily: "Comrade Colonel, what do you mean, don't you want to do it?"

"That's right, General Orel, you're right, I won't do this kind of offending thing, and let whoever wants to do it!" Pantai Layev said with his head held high: "I It is better to be a battalion commander and lead the soldiers to charge at the front than to work hard here."

Bantailaiev wanted to pick someone up, but it was a bit beyond Orel's expectations. If he really quit, he really couldn't find a suitable candidate to take over his job in a hurry. So Orel could only turn his head to look at Sokov and asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, what do you think?"

Sokov heard from Malinin last night that there was a sailor unit from the Northern Fleet under Bantelaiev. Since it is no longer possible to get more than 3,000 recruits from here, Sokov intends to bring all the sailors here. He believes that the combat effectiveness of more than 1,000 sailors can definitely beat the other 3,000 army recruits.

He coughed lightly and asked tentatively, "Comrade Colonel, I would like to ask, do you have a sailor unit from the Northern Fleet under your command?"

Seeing that Pantailayev was still angry, Orel went up to him, put his hands on his shoulders, put him on the seat, and said to him: "Comrade Colonel, please Lieutenant Colonel Cove asked you something."

"Yes," Bantelaiev nodded, and said, "There is a marine battalion of 1,300 people, the battalion commander is Lieutenant Shamrikh, the political deputy battalion commander Shapovalenko, the deputy battalion commander Yakov Navy captain."

"Comrade Colonel," after confirming that there was indeed a Marine Corps in Pantai Layev's hands, Sokov decided to take them into his command, and said in a negotiating tone: "See if you can Give me this battalion of marines, and I won't want another soldier?"

"Well," Bantelaiev said with some embarrassment to Sokov's request, "Among the newly recruited soldiers, this unit has the strongest combat effectiveness. If it is given to you, other units will come." Yes, I'm not very good at talking."

"Comrade Colonel, the combat effectiveness of the Marine Battalion is strong because they are a whole." In order to convince the other party, Sokov emphasized: "If you assign them to other troops to command, they will face the possibility of being split up. , then the combat effectiveness of the troops will be severely weakened."

"Colonel," said Orel, seeing that Sokov had voluntarily made a concession, and did not ask for 3,000 or 4,000 people. As long as the Marine Battalion commanded by Captain Shamrikh felt that his choice was very correct, Then he chimed in and said: "Since Lieutenant Colonel Sukov only needs one marine battalion, in this way, you have more than 3,000 soldiers left in your hands. If the commanders of other troops come to you, you don't have to worry about having no soldiers to supplement them." worry."

Bantelaiev looked at Orel and then at Sokov, tapped his fingers on the table quickly, thinking in his mind whether he should hand over this army to Sokov. After thinking about it for a while, his fingers stopped, looked up at Sokov and said, "Okay, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I will ask Captain Shamrich to come here. If he has no objections, you can This force can be taken away."

Shamrih received a call from Pantai Layev, and immediately rushed to the office with his two deputy battalion commanders. After the three of them saluted, Pantai Layev introduced Orel who was sitting on the side to them, and then said: "Captain Shamrikh, I called you here to tell you that the 73rd Infantry Brigade Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, the brigade commander, wants you to join his unit. I want to hear your opinion or something."

Since Pantai Layev did not introduce Sokov to the three at all, Shamrikh had no idea who Sokov was. He looked at Pantai Layev and asked: "Comrade Colonel, I don't know where I can meet this Lieutenant Colonel Sokov."

"Here," Bantelaiev pouted at Sokov who was standing beside him, and said, "He is Lieutenant Colonel Sokov."

"What, he is Lieutenant Colonel Sokov?" When Shamrikh entered the door, he saw Sokov standing behind Orel, but seeing that he was too young, he thought it was Orel's adjutant or something I didn't pay much attention to it, and now I heard that the other party was actually a brigade commander, and I couldn't help being surprised: "You are so young."

Sokov smiled awkwardly when he heard Shamrih say this, and said, "Yes, I am Sokov. Captain Shamrih, nice to meet you." go.

Shamrih first raised his hand to salute Sokov, then stretched out his hands, held Sokov's hand, and said politely and distantly: "Hello, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel."

"Captain Shamrikh," Orel, who was sitting next to him, saw that Shamrikh didn't seem interested in Sokov, so he decided to help Sokov, and said to Shamrikh, "So Lieutenant Colonel Koff was only a corporal when the war broke out, but because of his outstanding ability and countless feats in battle, he was promoted by his superiors. Since there are no outsiders here, I might as well tell you, the commander of the front army General Rokossovsky had expressed to him many times that he hoped that he could stay in the Don Front Army and even be promoted to a general, but he refused without hesitation and still wanted to return to the city to fight with his soldiers. Fight alongside."

Orel's words shocked Shamrikh a lot. At first, he thought that Sokov could become a lieutenant colonel at such a young age. It must be because of nepotism, but after hearing what Orel said, he realized Sokov is able to have everything he has today, entirely due to his own hard work. Especially when I heard that in order to return to the city and fight side by side with his soldiers, Sokov would rather give up his easy-to-get general rank.

Shamrikh's attitude towards Sokov had changed unconsciously, and he no longer resisted being Sokov's subordinate. On the contrary, at this moment, he can't wait to hope that Pantai Layev can transfer his troops to Sokov's command, so that he can follow the new commander into the city.

"Lieutenant Shamrih." Seeing that Shamrih remained silent for a long time, Pantai Layev asked, "What do you think, should you stay or follow Lieutenant Colonel Sokov into the city? "

"Comrade Colonel," Shamrikh made up his mind to follow Sokov to the city. Therefore, he answered Pantai Layev resolutely: "I am willing to follow Lieutenant Colonel Sokov to the city to fight the German devils."

Hearing that Shamrih expressed his willingness to follow him into the city, Sokov felt ecstasy in his heart. Orel stood up and said to Bantelayev: "Comrade Colonel, since Captain Shamrikh has made a decision, you should prepare a barge for them as soon as possible so that they can get to the city as soon as possible."

Although it took time to prepare the barge and gather the troops, Orel saw that the purpose of his trip had been achieved, and considering that there were still many things waiting for him in the headquarters, he bid farewell to Sokov. He held Sokov's hand, shook it vigorously twice, and said with a solemn expression: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you should pay more attention to safety. I hope to see you alive and kicking on the day of victory. "

"Don't worry, Comrade General." Sokov was quite moved by Orel's concern: "I will definitely try my best to live, not only to see the enemy attacking Stalingrad defeated, but also to see us The bright red flag is flying over Berlin."

After breaking up with Orel, Sokov and Bely took the first battalion and the guard battalion to the ferry, waiting for the arrival of the marine battalion. While waiting, Bely said to Sokov: "Misha, after the Marine Battalion arrives at Mamayev Kurgan, how do you plan to place them?"

Sokov's original idea was to let the Marine Battalion stick to the northern post. Their strength is relatively sufficient, and they can provide timely rescue in case of danger in the southern post or the Red October Factory in the north. But after thinking about it, although this army has relatively strong combat effectiveness, they are not familiar with the environment in the city, nor do they understand their own combat style, and they may be exhausted in a few days. Therefore, he planned to wait until he returned to Mamayev Post, and then discuss with the deputies of the brigade headquarters how to deploy this force.

Hearing that Bely asked about this first, Sokov explained his thoughts, and then asked, "Colonel Bely, do you have any good suggestions?"

"This is how I think about it," Belyi saw that Sukov asked him humbly for advice, and he didn't hide his secrets, but said proactively: "Don't you have four battalions under your command? You can send the commanders and fighters of the Marine Battalion to two hundred people." Form a group and organize them into four battalions. The remaining people will be directly under the brigade. This arrangement can ensure the combat effectiveness of the troops, and you will also have an extra mobile force in your hands that can be flexibly controlled."

"Colonel Bely, what you said is too reasonable." Sokov thought for a moment about Bely's suggestion, and then decisively agreed. Arranging according to the way Bely said, first, there is no need to adjust the defense zone of the troops, and second, it also increases the combat effectiveness of the existing troops. It is indeed a good way to kill two birds with one stone: "After we return to Mamayev Post, we will follow this way of allocating forces."

Vanya saw that the conversation between Sokov and Bely was almost over, so he walked over, pointed to a barge parked on the pier, and asked curiously: "Comrade Brigadier, we will take this barge and go directly into the city." ?"

"That's impossible." Sokov waved his hand and said, "Although taking a boat from here and going down the river to Mamayev Post is the shortest route, the middle part of the river is in the area blocked by German artillery fire. Going down directly will definitely cause heavy casualties, so we must first cross the river to the other side."