Red Moscow

"Hurry up and invite Factory Director Peter in!" Cuikov told the staff officer, "We've been waiting for him."

Not a moment after the staff officer went out, Peter, who was wearing a round black mink cap and a long black wool coat, hurried in. He stretched out his hand to Chuikov who was coming up, and said in a friendly tone: "Hello, General Chuikov, we meet again."

"Hello, Director Peter!" Cuikov held the other party's hand and said with a smile, "Welcome to visit us as a guest. Do you want a cup of hot tea?"

"There's no need to drink tea." Peter knew that the battle was pressing now, and if Chuikov had nothing important to do, he wouldn't take the initiative to invite himself to the army headquarters, so he didn't go around in circles, but asked directly: "General Chuikov, You asked me to come here, is there anything important?"

"That's right, Director Peter. We will launch a new counterattack against the enemy soon." Considering that the troops participating in the counterattack will attack from Mamayev Hill and the Red October factory respectively, Chuikov has no plans to attack the enemy. Peter kept it secret: "The starting points of this counter-offensive force will be Mamayev Hill and your Red October factory."

"A counterattack is going to start again?" Peter was a little surprised when he learned that a new counterattack was going to be launched, "But your counterattack just ended two days ago, why are you going to take offensive actions against the enemy so soon?"

"Director Peter, how is the situation in Stalingrad, even if I don't tell you, I think you know it very well." Chuikov explained to the other party: "At present, the enemy's strength is stronger than ours. If we only carry out passive defense, I'm afraid The enemy will break through our remaining lines of defense one after another. Therefore, we can only take uninterrupted offensives to disrupt the enemy's strategic deployment and prevent them from taking the initiative on the battlefield."

Regarding Chuikov's statement, Peter was silent for a while, and then asked: "General Chuikov, can you tell me truthfully, whether our army has the conditions to fight back?"

Peter's question made Cuikov look very embarrassed. In fact, he was unwilling to launch another counterattack with no chance of winning at this time. But since the superior issued such an order, even if he knew it was impossible, he had to find a way to implement it. He was silent for a long time, and then said solemnly: "Peter, I will tell you the truth, if we launch a counterattack in these two days, there is no chance of winning at all, and we will even exhaust our precious vitality."

After hearing Chuikov's reply, Peter asked in puzzlement, "Since we know we have no chance of winning, why did we launch an attack?"

"We can only unconditionally implement the orders issued by our superiors." Chuikov said rather helplessly: "If we don't take the initiative to launch a counterattack, the Germans will take the initiative on the battlefield, and our situation will become even worse. .”

"Then what can I do for you?" Peter heard this, and realized that this counterattack with no chance of winning was imperative, so he asked instinctively: "I need to transfer workers from the factory to cooperate with you." Is your action?"

"No, your workers are used to protect the factory. They don't need to participate in this battle." Cuikov knew very well that the workers' combat effectiveness was not strong. If they were incorporated into the counterattack force and went into battle, their sacrifices would be in vain. So he resolutely rejected Peter's proposal, and said his original intention to call Peter over: "I hope you can provide us with a batch of tanks to increase our chances of a successful counterattack."

Since Peter knew that there was no hope of success in the counterattack, he naturally knew that the newly produced tanks would be handed over to Chuikov. More than forty tanks have to go, I don't know how to report to my superiors, you still want tanks today. No, absolutely not! If you really want tanks, you can go to Sokov Colonel, let him hand over those tanks to you."

After Peter finished speaking, Chuikov pouted at Sokov who was standing aside, and said, "Here, Colonel Sokov is over there. You can ask him, can he still take out the tank?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, is that you?" After Chuikov's reminder, Peter found that Sokov was standing aside, hurried over and asked loudly: "I want to ask you, I gave you the What about those tanks?"

"I'm sorry, Director Peter." The things that should be faced must always be faced, and there is no way to hide. Seeing that Peter found himself, Sokov could only greet him, and replied awkwardly: " Except for ten tanks left in the factory, the tanks you handed over to me are gone."

"What, the rest are gone?" Peter became emotional when he heard Sokov say this. He grabbed Sokov's skirt with both hands, shook it vigorously, and asked loudly: "You put my Where did the tanks go? Also, what about the spherical tank, it is one of the few prototypes in the country, even if only the wreckage falls into the hands of the Germans, you have no idea what the consequences will be. Should have figured it out."

Due to Peter's excessive force, Sokov was a little out of breath. He struggled to free his skirt from Peter's hands, coughed violently, and said out of breath, "Director Peter, don't get excited, let me explain to you slowly. "

"Tell me!" Peter looked at Sokov with wide eyes, and said viciously, "Where did you get my tank? If you don't know, I will never finish with you today."

Before answering Peter's question, Sokov glanced at Chuikov first, and asked him whether he should tell the truth. Seeing that the other party nodded slightly, he said, "Director Peter, you should know that a few days ago I led a group of What about the troops and the tank battalion going north?"

"I know." Peter nodded, and said angrily, "It is said that General Guriyev's 39th Guards Division has encountered a little trouble, and you led your troops to support him."

"Comrade Factory Manager, we are not just supporting the 39th Guards Division." Sokov replied: "Our main task is to go out to the Orlovka area and join forces with friendly forces from outside the encirclement."

Peter is a native of Stalingrad, so he naturally knows what the meeting of the two armies in Orlovka means to the city that is in critical condition today. Hearing this, he didn't care to pursue the whereabouts of the tank, but asked a little nervously: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, have you joined forces with the friendly army?"

"No." Sokov shook his head with a wry smile, and continued: "Although my troops successfully occupied Orlovka, it didn't take long before our retreat was cut off by the enemy. The lone army encircled. And the friendly army who came to join us was also blocked by the enemy, unable to achieve the goal of joining forces. At this time, I can only decisively choose to break out of the encirclement to avoid the end of the entire army's annihilation."

Hearing this, Peter couldn't help interjecting and asked, "So, the tank I handed over to you was lost during the breakout?"

"Most of the tanks in the tank battalion were lost in the process of breaking through the multiple lines of defense of the German army. As for the remaining dozen tanks, due to exhaustion of fuel and ammunition, I handed over these tanks after completing the breakout task. Comrades from the Don Front Army. As for the spherical tank you mentioned, I have sent someone to hide it. Comrade factory manager, don’t worry, only a few tank soldiers know where the tank is hidden, and they will definitely keep it a secret Yes, so you don't have to worry about the prototype falling into enemy hands."

In fact, the reason why Peter was so emotional just now was that he was worried that the ball tank would fall into the hands of the Germans, and he would be unable to eat and walk away. Knowing that the prototype car had been well hidden at this moment, his heart hung in his throat, and he put it back in his stomach again.

Seeing that Peter's mood had stabilized again, Chuikov said with a smile: "Director Peter, you heard everything. Colonel Sokov used the tanks you handed over to him to successfully break through several enemy lines of defense. He went out to the Orlovka area. If it weren't for the exhaustion of ammunition and fuel at the end, I believe he would have achieved greater results."

I heard that the tank battalion under Sokov had achieved great results in the previous battle. Peter, as the person who provided the tank, was naturally proud. As soon as Chuikov finished speaking, he immediately echoed: "No, the German Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks are not the opponents of our T-34. In the case of equal numbers, they can be easily defeated."

"Factory Director Peter," Sokov took the opportunity to make a request to Peter again: "Can you see if you can provide Colonel Sokov with a batch of tanks so that he can rebuild the tank battalion so that it can be used in the next counterattack?" , and give the Germans a hard lesson."

When Chuikov called Sokov a colonel for the first time, Peter didn't pay attention. Now when he heard the other party using the same title repeatedly, he couldn't help asking Chuikov curiously: "General Chuikov, I seem to have heard you call Comrade Sokov Colonel, when did he get promoted to the military rank, why don't I know?"

"Just two days ago." Chuikov replied with a smile on his face: "In recognition of his military exploits, the chief of the front army not only promoted him to the rank of colonel, but also awarded him a Red Banner Medal." After looking at it carefully, the husband reminded, "Colonel Sokov, it is a very honorable thing to be promoted to the military rank and to receive a medal. There is no need to hide it. Remember to add a fourth bar to the collar badge later. , and don’t forget to wear the Order of the Red Banner.”

"Colonel Sokov," Peter said to Sokov blithely, "for your higher rank and Order of the Red Banner, please accept my congratulations."

After shaking hands with Sokov, he turned to Chuikov and said, "General Chuikov, I have made up my mind. I still have about 20 tanks in my hand, and I will give them to you. If you need more tanks , I can contact the director of the Dzerzhinsky factory and transfer a batch of tanks from him."

Chuikov knew that the Dzerzhinsky Factory was currently the largest tank manufacturer in the Soviet Union. If Peter contacted him, he would definitely be able to obtain quite a few tanks. Faced with such a great favor from Peter, Chuikov excitedly grabbed the other's hand, shook it vigorously, and kept saying words of thanks to him.