Red Moscow

After Sokov taught the street fighting experience to the company commander of the third battalion, he hurried back to Mamayev Post before dawn. As soon as he walked into the headquarters, he couldn't wait to ask Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, is there any news from the Army Group Command?"

Sidolin knew what Sokov was asking, nodded vigorously, and replied: "I called the commander, and he said that around ten o'clock in the evening, the bombed division headquarters was dug up and trapped inside. All the people were rescued. Except for a little listlessness, everyone was not injured."

Although Sokov had long known that both Gurov and Zholudev would be safe and sound, but at this moment when Sidolin confirmed it personally, the heart hanging in his throat was finally put back in his stomach.

"How's the situation in the urban area?" Seeing that Sokov came back so soon, Sidolin worried about what happened, so he asked nervously, "Is there nothing wrong?"

"The lines of defense between us and the enemy in the urban area are intertwined and intertwined. The enemy's planes, tanks and artillery are useless." Sokov took a trip to the urban area and had a general understanding of the situation there. When Sidolin asked, he casually said: "The enemy knows that they cannot capture the urban area in a short period of time, so they can only concentrate their main forces in the direction of the factory area, hoping to achieve greater results."

"Then do you think the superiors will draw troops from us to strengthen the defense of the factory area?" Sidolin obviously heard what Ivanov said, so he asked tentatively: "Wouldn't our defense be weakened by then?" Defense force?"

"If the friendly army is in a critical situation, we can't just leave it to chance, right?" Although Sokov was very reluctant to transfer his troops to his superiors, he could only slap his face in front of outsiders. Filling himself with fat, he pretended to be nonchalant and said: "Helping the friendly army defend the position is equivalent to defending our flanks. This is a very cost-effective deal for us."

Sokov walked to the table, leaned over to look at the map spread out on it, saw some newly added arrows and defense icons, and asked curiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is there any new content added to this map?"

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Sidolin nodded and replied, "According to the latest information provided by the headquarters, I adjusted the existing defense zone and the German attack direction on the map."

In order to let Sokov have a more detailed understanding, Sidolin explained to him: "Comrade commander, from the Red October factory, the silicate factory, the barricade factory to the Dzerzhinsky tractor factory, we have a total of six The troops of the division are defending..."

While listening to Sidolin's explanation, Sokov carefully checked the enemy's situation on the map. After looking at it for a while, his brows could not help but wrinkle. He pointed to a line between the Red October factory and the Barricade factory, and asked Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, what is this place?"

"It's a gully that stretches westward from the Volga River and is full of furnace ash." After answering this question, Sidolin asked, "Comrade commander, is there anything wrong?"

"Chief of Staff, do you know which unit is defending?" Sokov asked noncommittally.

"I don't know." Sidolin shook his head and replied, "After all, that is not our defense zone."

"Immediately find out which troops are defending this gully." Sokov picked up a red and blue pencil and tapped on that position twice, and said with a serious expression: "Once the enemy bypasses the silicate factory, they can follow the Follow the gully between the Red October Factory and the Barricade Factory and go all the way to the bank of the Volga River. At that time, the few divisions we stick to the factory may be surrounded by the enemy."

Sidolin stared at the map for a while, and said in an uncertain tone: "Comrade commander, that is the defense zone of the 308th Division and the 95th Division. I guess it may be one of the two divisions."

"I don't want to hear any estimates," Sokov said impatiently, "I want to know exactly the numbers of the troops standing there and the names of the commanders."

Ivanov, who remained silent all this time, saw the seriousness on Sokov's face, and realized the seriousness of the problem. He tentatively asked, "Comrade commander, do you think the enemy will send troops through this ditch? Straight to the Volga?"

"Comrade Deputy Division Commander," Sokov tapped the position of the gully with a pencil, and said to Ivanov, "The enemy will not only send out scouts to conduct reconnaissance on our defense zone, but also send out reconnaissance planes. If our troops are not in this gully, the enemy will probably find out soon. They will take advantage of the attention of our army, attracted by the battle in the factory area, secretly send troops into the gully, and then rush directly to Volga."

When Sokov briefed Ivanov on the situation, Sidolin also realized the seriousness of the problem, and he quickly picked up the phone to call Chuikov. Prepare to report the problems Sokov discovered to the other party.

Chuikov worked all night in the headquarters, and only took a nap on the table when it was almost dawn. Unexpectedly, just as he closed his eyes, the phone on the table rang. Before the phone rang for the second time, he grabbed the receiver and pressed it to his ear, saying, "I'm Chuikov, where are you?"

"Comrade Commander, I'm Sidolin!" Sidolin asked cautiously, "I didn't disturb your rest, did I?"

Chuikov knew that Sidolin had nothing important to do, and would never call himself at such a time, so he asked bluntly, "Did something happen?"

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Sidolin quickly replied: "When the division commander was looking at the map, he found that between the Red October Factory and the Barricade Factory, there was a road extending westward from the Volga River, full of ashes. The ditch of slag. The location of this ditch seems to be unguarded by our troops..."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sidolin," Chuikov, who was awakened from sleep, said dissatisfiedly after listening to Sidolin's report: "Your responsibility is to stick to the Mamayev Post, and the defense of the rest of the area has nothing to do with you. Just stop meddling."

Krylov, who came in from the outside, happened to see Chuikov hang up the phone angrily, and asked curiously, "Comrade Commander, who is calling?"

"It's Lieutenant Colonel Sidolin," Chuikov said dissatisfiedly. "He said that between the Red October Factory and the Barricade Factory, there seems to be no troops to defend a ditch full of furnace ash..."

"Where is the gully?" Unexpectedly, Krylov became nervous when he heard this. He quickly leaned over to look at the map on the table, and quickly searched for the gully mentioned by Chuikov. After seeing the location clearly, he couldn't help taking a breath: "Comrade commander, once the enemy bypasses our army's defensive position at the silicate factory, they can enter this gully smoothly. If this gully If there are no troops in the defense, the enemy will soon rush to the banks of the Volga River, and the situation will be unimaginable."

"Which division's defense zone is this gully in?" Chuikov asked briefly.

"It should belong to the junction of the 308th Division and the 95th Division." Krylov knew the defensive areas of each division very well. As soon as Chuikov asked the question, he gave the correct answer: "Because of the strength of the troops, Insufficient, there is a gap of about one kilometer between the two divisions."

"So," after listening to Krylov's answer, Chuikov realized the seriousness of the problem: "Neither Gurdiyev nor Gorishny have troops to fill the gap between the two divisions? ?”

"I think so, Comrade Commander." Krylov nodded, and gave Chuikov an affirmative answer: "You know, the two divisions suffered a lot of losses in the counterattack first; They fought tenaciously for a day under the onslaught of the Japanese army, and the casualties must have been serious. I think it is very difficult for them to mobilize troops to fill the gap."

"Then which unit do you think we should use to fill the joint between the two divisions?" Chuikov looked at Krylov and asked tentatively, "Should we use Sokov's unit again?"

In fact, when talking about sending troops to fill the gap, Krylov thought of Sokov. But worried about Chuikov's opposition, he didn't know how to speak, but when Chuikov asked first, he said smoothly: "I think this difficult task can only be completed by Sokov's troops."

"Chief of Staff, call Colonel Sokov." Chuikov thought that he had scolded Sidolin just now, and if he called him for help so soon, he would feel a little embarrassed, so he ordered Krylov: "Let him send At least one battalion of troops rushed to the gully between the two factories to deploy defenses, and the enemy must not be allowed to rush to the banks of the Volga through there."

Krylov immediately conveyed Chuikov's order to Sokov by phone, and also emphasized: "Colonel Sokov, since the enemy may attack our army's defense zone at any time, the troops you sent should be dispatched as soon as possible. bit."

Sokov put down the phone, looked at the people in the headquarters and said with a smile: "It seems that Comrade Commander really thinks highly of us. As long as it is a difficult task, he will give it to us without hesitation."

After saying this, Sokov restrained the smile on his face, looked at the crowd and asked, "Tell me, which troops should we send to support?"

"I think the 122nd Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Papchenko is going to carry out this task." After hesitating for a long time, Ivanov finally said, "After all, their regiment doesn't have any combat missions now."

"No," Sokov shook his head and said, "The 122nd Regiment suffered serious losses in the battle the day before yesterday. We need to give them time to recover. I think it is better to send troops to carry out this task. "

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin asked, looking at Sokov, "Which unit do you decide to send over?"

"How about the marine battalion in Shamrikh?" Sokov said without hesitation: "There are hundreds of people in this battalion, and they are all sailors with rich combat experience. They are responsible for the defense of the gully. It couldn't be more appropriate."

"Then, who will directly command this force?" Ivanov asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, if you trust me, let me command this defensive operation!"

To be honest, Sokov is really worried about Ivanov. Anyway, the opponent has been in the army for more than ten years, and his tactical style has already been finalized. A war of attrition. Thinking of this, Sokov shook his head and said, "I think it's better for me to command this army myself."

"No." Hearing that Sokov planned to go out in person again, Sidolin and Ivanov said in unison: "You are the leader of the first division, how can you take risks casually? Or leave this task to others Commander, let's finish it."

"You don't have to argue with me." Sokov waved his hand to interrupt the words behind the two, and said stubbornly: "The superior asked us to deploy defenses in the gully, but only to prevent the enemy from passing through the gully, and did not require us to form a position with the enemy. Therefore, I plan to personally lead the troops there and deploy the defense of the gully according to the actual situation."

Regarding Sokov's practice of going to the front line at every turn, although Sidolin had some opinions in his heart, he felt that he could not convince the other party, so he did not argue, but asked: "Comrade commander, apart from the Marine Battalion In addition, which troops do you plan to take there?"

"Bring another company of guards." Thinking that the division now has a four-company guard battalion, Sokov simply took another company and followed him to the gully. Since he was leaving the division headquarters, Sidolin and Ivanov could only continue to be responsible for the work in the division: "The chief of staff and the deputy division commander are still the old rules. When I am not in the division headquarters, everything in the division is up to you. The two negotiated a solution."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Sidolin said to Sokov: "When you are not in the division headquarters, the deputy division commander and I will definitely do a good job of defending Mamayev Hill and absolutely prevent the enemy from occupying the hill. .”

After explaining everything that should be explained, Sokov didn't care about taking a break, so he strode out of the headquarters, found Sergei Sha, and asked him to take the guard company, all of which were from the original infantry brigade, with him. Go to the factory area together to perform tasks.

After receiving the notification, Shamrih personally sent to meet Sokov as soon as he completed the assembly of troops, and said to him respectfully: "Report to Comrade Commander, the Marine Battalion has all assembled and is ready to go at any time. I will wait for you." Your order, please instruct!"

Sokov hoped that the troops could arrive at the designated location before the enemy planes dispatched. This would not only reduce unnecessary casualties, but also catch the enemy by surprise in the gully without the enemy being aware of it. As soon as he heard that the troops had assembled, Sokov nodded and said, "Very well, we must rush to the combat area immediately before the enemy's shelling and bombing has started, so as to avoid many unnecessary casualties." Having said that, he waved his hand violently, "Let's go!"

"Yes!" After Shamrih replied loudly, he turned and told the deputy battalion commander, Captain Yakuda: "Comrade deputy battalion commander, lead the troops to set off immediately!"