Red Moscow

Although the guard company successfully captured the building occupied by the Germans, the battle on Liumian Street lasted for another half an hour before it ended. During the battle, a total of 285 enemies were eliminated, 49 were captured alive, and more than a dozen artillery pieces and supporting ammunition were seized.

When Sokov was ordering people to count the results of the battle and was planning to report the results directly to the Army Group Command, Guchakov walked in from the outside and reported to him: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Omelchenko, commander of the 109th Guards Regiment Outside, he wants to see you, let him in?"

"It doesn't matter." Hearing that the commander of the friendly army was outside, how could Sokov shut the other party's door, and quickly ordered Guchakov: "Hurry up and ask Colonel Omelchenko to come in."

Not long after Guchakov went out, he walked in with a middle-aged officer. Seeing the person wearing the colonel's collar badge, Sokov guessed that the person must be Colonel Omelchenko, so he got up and greeted him, and said in a friendly tone: "Is this Colonel Omelchenko? Hello, I am Colonel Sokov, Commander of the Guards Division."

Colonel Omelchenko learned from the soldiers of the Marine Battalion after the battle that it was the commander of the 41st Guards Division who came to rescue him. After being surprised, I felt that I should visit the other party in person to express my gratitude. After finding out the location of the temporary headquarters, he rushed over with two soldiers.

Unexpectedly, after entering the house, he found that the so-called commander of the Guards Division was actually a colonel who was a little too young. He couldn't help asking curiously: "Isn't the 41st Guards Division the commander of Colonel Ivanov? Why didn't he it's here?"

Hearing the other party's question, Sokov replied indifferently: "My deputy division commander is now at Mamayev Hill, where he is commanding the main force to fight the enemy."

Omelchenko is also a smart person. Hearing what Sokov said, he immediately understood that the commander of the division had already been replaced, and quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, Comrade Colonel, I didn't know that the personnel of the Guards Division had been adjusted. .”

"Colonel Omelchenko," Sokov didn't entangle Omelchenko on this issue, and after calling the other party to sit down, he asked with concern: "I would like to take the liberty to ask, your regiment headquarters is here ?"

"No, my headquarters is not here." Omelchenko shook his head and replied: "My battalion commander asked me for help, saying that the enemy's offensive is too strong and their strength is insufficient, it is difficult to hold here, so I left the chief of staff to look after the house, and personally brought the regiment's staff and logistics personnel to support."

Sokov was planning to move immediately after repelling the enemy. Hearing what Omelchenko said, he immediately realized that he might not be able to leave here for the time being. how much is left?"

"More than 130 commanders and fighters I brought," Omelchenko tapped the floor twice with his toes, and said with a wry smile, "Almost all died in the battle to capture this building, and the rest are less than 20 people."

After listening to the data reported by Omelchenko, Sokov's heart sank immediately, and he quickly asked again: "Then how much strength does the battalion that was standing here originally have?"

"Including the wounded," Omelchenko replied, "there are 43 left who can fight."

Sokov thought in his heart that such a large area, with more than 60 of you, can you defend it? It seemed that before Cuikov sent new reinforcements, he had no way to leave here. Thinking of this, he turned to the radio operator sitting in the corner and said, "Send a report to the headquarters of the group army, saying that the defenders on Liumian Street suffered heavy casualties, and I am afraid they will not be able to continue to hold on. Please ask your superiors for permission to temporarily take over the defense here. Until new reinforcements arrive."

Taking advantage of the time when the radio operator sent the report, Sokov said to Omelchenko: "Comrade Colonel, if the superior agrees to my request, then you can withdraw with the troops, and the defense of Liumian Street will be handed over to me." gone."

"Colonel Sokov!" Omelchenko got up and held Sokov's hand, and said excitedly, "I thank you on behalf of the commanders and fighters of the whole regiment for your kindness."

"Colonel Omelchenko, you don't need to be so polite. We are all comrades in arms defending Stalingrad." After Sokov said the polite words with a smile, he suddenly remembered the tactics mentioned by the captives and felt that it was necessary for him to After reminding the other party, he restrained the smile on his face and said, "By the way, Comrade Colonel, I have one more important thing to tell you."

Seeing that Sokov's expression suddenly became serious, Omelchenko guessed that there must be something important, so he said politely: "Colonel Sokov, if you have anything to say, just say it."

"Colonel Omelchenko, here is a confession of a German prisoner, which is related to you, you can take a look." Sokov picked up a confession of a prisoner and handed it to Omelchenko, "I'm sorry for you guys. The battle that came down was very helpful.”

After seeing the prisoner's confession, Omelchenko's face became cloudy and uncertain, and he murmured: "Damn the German, it's so cunning to use this tactic, which caused heavy losses to my subordinates. "

Although Sokov's position is higher than that of the other party, since Omelchenko is not his subordinate, he can't say anything serious. He can only say euphemistically: "Colonel Omelchenko, the combat effectiveness of the staff and logistics personnel , worse than ordinary fighters, if their weapons are no longer in their hands, rushing into battle is tantamount to letting them die. In the future, if this happens, not only should they be provided with weapons that are in their hands, but they should also be given Soldiers are used together so that the advantage of numbers can be brought into play.”

"You make a lot of sense." After hearing what Sokov said, Omelchenko said with shame: "At that time, I only thought about the critical situation here, and didn't think too much about it. Into the battle. It's all my fault, if I had acted calmer and matched my personnel well, the casualties might have been much smaller."

The reply from the headquarters came quickly, and the telegram read: "I agree with your department to take over the defense of Liumian Street temporarily, and you must stick to it until after dark today." Finally, it was signed by Chuikov and Krylov.

Sokov originally thought that after receiving his telegram, Chuikov would let himself hold out for two or three days. If that was the case, he would have to transfer the troops from the gully to strengthen the defense of Liumian Street. However, since it is only to hold out until night, the current strength is more than enough. After reading the telegram, he looked up at Omelchenko and said, "Colonel, the call back from the headquarters has arrived. From now on, the defense of Liumian Street is officially handed over to us, and you can withdraw with your people. "

Omelchenko nodded, got up and shook hands with Sokov, and said sincerely: "Colonel Sokov, I wish you good luck!" After speaking, he raised his hand and saluted a solemn military salute, then turned and left Room.

"Come on!" After Omelchenko left, Sokov called a messenger and told him, "Go and inform Lieutenant Seryosha and Captain Agranov, and let them rush to my place immediately." Come here."

Fortunately, the area of ​​the residential area was not too large. Within five minutes after the messengers went out, the two company commanders who were notified ran in panting. After the two entered the room, they raised their hands to salute Sokov, and then asked, "Master, what instructions do you have?"

"The superior has ordered us to take over the defense of Liumian Street." He called the two people to the table, divided them into their respective defensive areas, and continued: "Although the enemy's attack was crushed by ours, they I will definitely not be reconciled, and will definitely launch a new attack. Therefore, before dark, no matter what method you use, I must firmly defend this place."

"Comrade Commander," Seryosha was too embarrassed to call Sokov by his nickname in front of Agranov, and could only ask solemnly, "What should we do if the enemy dispatches tanks?"

Seryozha's words reminded Agranov. He nodded quickly and echoed: "Comrade Commander, I just checked. The ammunition left by the friendly forces is not much. If the enemy dispatches tanks, we may not be able to find them." Get enough grenades to form cluster grenades for tanks."

"What's wrong with the two of you?" Sokov looked at the two of them and asked strangely: "Cluster grenades are the only way to destroy the enemy's tanks?"

"Then what shall we use?" Seryozha asked.

"Use anti-tank guns, idiot!" Sokov scolded with a smile: "Didn't we seize a dozen 75mm anti-tank guns, put them on the first floor of the building, and shoot at the attacking enemy from the window. The enemy Use it to hit our infantry, you can use this gun not only to hit the enemy's infantry, but also to hit their tanks."

Sokov's words made both of them happy. They all knew something about the performance of this anti-tank gun: the firing rate was 14 rounds per minute, and it could penetrate 116mm armor at a distance of 1,000 meters; even if the enemy Deploying a new type of Tiger tank can also penetrate its frontal armor at a distance of 1,500 meters.

But not long after the two were happy, their faces were clouded again: "Comrade Commander, although there are more than a dozen artillery pieces, we don't have that many artillery pieces to operate them."

Sokov thought to himself: Even if only four people are needed for one anti-tank gun, there will be almost sixty people for more than a dozen guns. Now the two companies add up to only 400 people, where can we find so many gunners?

Thinking of this, he turned his head to look at the radio operator, and told him: "Send a report to the division headquarters, saying that we need artillery here, and ask them to send 50 people to support immediately."

Ivanov looked at the telegram sent by Sokov, and asked Sidolin with a blank face: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what do you think the division commander wants so many artillery for? Is it in the gully where you have to fight the enemy?" A bombardment?"

Sidolin had been dealing with Sokov for a long time. Knowing that there must be a reason for the other party to issue such an order, he immediately picked up the phone, found Lieutenant Porochenko, the artillery company commander, and asked bluntly: "Comrade Lieutenant, How many artillery pieces do you have now?"

Porochenko, who had been idle for a long time, heard Sidolin's question and immediately realized that he had a chance to go to the battlefield, and quickly replied: "Report to Comrade Chief of Staff, I still have more than 70 artillerymen under my command. , but most of them are recruits with little combat experience..."

"Okay, you gather them immediately and rush to Liumian Street, south of the Dzerzhinsky Tractor Plant, as quickly as possible." Sidolin said on the phone: "Comrade Commander is waiting for you there. "

When Porochenko heard that Sidolin asked them to rush to Liumian Street, he wanted to ask the reason, but when he heard that he mentioned the teacher in the last sentence, he immediately understood what was going on, and quickly replied loudly: "Understood." Alright, Comrade Chief of Staff, we will set off in ten minutes and head to Liumian Street as fast as we can."

After confirming that Porochenko and the others had enough numbers, Sidolin immediately ordered the radio operator to call Sokov back, saying that the artillery they needed would arrive at their destination within two hours. After finishing all this, he explained to Ivanov who was still puzzled: "Comrade deputy division commander, according to my understanding of the division commander, after he led the troops to Liumian Street for rescue, seven or eight out of ten were captured. the enemy's artillery, and therefore let us send them artillery."

"That's how it is," Sidolin's explanation made Ivanov suddenly understand: "Although the commander took away a lot of people and their combat effectiveness is quite strong, it is probably very difficult to pick out a few gunners. That's why he chose to ask the division for help."

"I'm very worried." Sidolin glanced at the map on the table and said worriedly: "Six Sides Street is south of the Dzerzhinsky Tractor Factory. Once it falls, the enemy will have an attack on the tractor factory." The starting point. In order to achieve this goal, they will definitely launch fierce fortifications. With the strength of the division commander, can they stop the enemy?"

Ivanov also very much agreed with Sidolin's concerns, he frowned and thought about it, and then asked tentatively: "Why don't we send him more troops from Mamayev Post. "

Sidolin didn't want to send at least one regiment to Liumian Street to support Sokov, where he would give the Germans a hard lesson. But when he thought that Sokov had repeatedly emphasized to him the importance of Mamayev Hill, and that he should try not to use the defenders here under any circumstances, Sidolin couldn't help sighing, looked at Ivanov and said: " Comrade deputy division commander, I am in the same mood as you at the moment. I wish I could immediately send a troop to support the division commander. But no, the division commander once emphasized that Mamayev Hill is our defense point. Without his permission, whoever The troops here are also not allowed to be transferred away easily.”

Ivanov understood that Sidolin was telling the truth. Ever since he came to Mamayev Gang, he had seen the crazy attacks launched by the enemy in order to seize this place. With the current force, whether Mamayev Post can be held for a long time is a problem, not to mention that part of the new force must be transferred, which will weaken the existing defense force.

Therefore, Ivanov could only raise his head and let out a long sigh, and said with a wry smile: "Since we can't mobilize our troops to support the division commander, we can only pray for his good luck to return to Mamaye safely after repelling the enemy's attack." Fugang."