Red Moscow

Not long after dark, Sokov received a call from the observation post, saying that the detachment led by Lieutenant Grisa had arrived at Mamayev Post.

After hearing the news, Sokov was overjoyed, and quickly told the other party: "You tell Lieutenant Grisa immediately and ask him to come to the division headquarters immediately. By the way, Sergeant Yelizaveta, who is in charge of rocket launching, also came together .”

After putting down the phone, Sokov said to Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, our heroes are back, call the commander immediately and tell him the news."

Chuikov had been waiting for a call from Mamayev Post since dark. He wanted to know whether the detachment that had blown up the enemy's ammunition depot and relieved the pressure on the defenses of the Barricade and Dzerzhinsky factories had returned safely. Mamayev Kurgan. After receiving the call from Sidolin, he couldn't help but smile, and quickly said into the microphone: "Lieutenant Colonel Sidolin, Comrade Military Commissioner and I will rush there immediately. Remember to say hello to the sentry posts along the way to avoid unnecessary accidents. misunderstanding."

After putting down the phone, Sidolin said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the commander and military commissar will be here soon. He asked us to say hello to the guard posts along the way to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings."

If it is not during the war, if the commander and military commissar want to come to him, Sokov will definitely take the people from the division headquarters to greet him outside Mamayev Hill, but now he can only call the guard camp Commander Tenev called in and told the other party: "Comrade Major, the Commander and the Military Commissar will be coming to Mamayev Hill soon. You immediately take a platoon to meet him at the exit of the North Hill. Note Stay, we must ensure the safety of Comrade Commander."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Major Tenev, who had been idle since entering Mamayev Post, assured Sokov, patted his chest, "I will definitely live up to your trust."

Ivanov felt somewhat uneasy about Sokov entrusting such an important task to a guard and battalion commander whom he would never meet in person, but in front of everyone, he did not feel comfortable with Sokov. sing a different tune. As soon as Tenev left, he tentatively asked: "Comrade Commander, is this major reliable? Do you think that Lieutenant Seryozha will go with the troops?"

"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, don't worry." Sukov knew Tenev's background well, so he was able to send him to meet Chuikov with such confidence and boldness: "Before Major Tenev joined my army, he used to be the commander of the Army Group. The commander of the security battalion, I can't be more relieved to have him come forward to protect the safety of the commander and the military commissioner."

Ivanov had been the deputy division commander for so long, and it was the first time he heard that Tenev had served as Chuikov's battalion guard commander. While feeling lost in his heart, he was no longer worried about Chuikov's safety.

Chuikov and Gurov left the headquarters with a dozen soldiers and headed towards Mamayev Post. Lieutenant Klimov, the adjutant who was walking in the front, was worried that the two commanders could not see the road clearly, so he specially used a flashlight to illuminate the road under their feet.

But his move was quickly stopped by Chuikov: "Adjutant, you don't need to illuminate us, we can see the road clearly. You used the flashlight to illuminate our feet. On the surface, it seems to let us see the road clearly, but Did you ever think that this would also indicate targets for enemy snipers."

Hearing Chuikov's criticism, Klimov hurriedly extinguished the flashlight in his hand and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I didn't think about it that much."

"Comrade Commander," without waiting for Chuikov to say anything, Gurov helped Klimov smooth things over with a smile: "Captain Klimov also had good intentions, so don't blame him." In order not to recognize Chuikov again After pursuing the matter, he changed the subject in time, "By the way, Comrade Commander, I heard that Colonel Sokov once participated in the preparatory meeting for the Kharkov Battle?"

"Yes, he attended that meeting." Chuikov had heard about it from Khrushchev, and when Gurov asked, he nodded and said, "It is said that he once asked Timoshenko The Marshal pointed out that failure to destroy the enemy on the Barvinkovo ​​salient first would result in the defeat of our campaign."

"He's right." Gurov nodded, and said with a solemn expression: "During the Kharkov offensive, I served as the military commissar of the Southwest Front Army and understood the reasons for the failure of the battle. If we In the initial stage of the war, the enemies in the Barvinkovo ​​salient were wiped out, and perhaps the outcome of the entire campaign would be rewritten."

"It's a pity," Chuikov couldn't help but smiled wryly when he saw Gurov affirming Sokov, and continued: "But his position is too low, even if he foresees the possible actions of the enemy in advance, no one will listen to him." His opinion."

"Comrade Commander, sometimes I really want to open Colonel Sokov's head and see what the structure inside is like." Gurov said with emotion: "Since the Battle of Stalingrad, other troops have He suffered repeated defeats, but the troops under his command and the areas he defended, have been receiving good news. With his ability, he is now only a commander of the guard division, and he is really wronged."

"It's good to be a division commander." Chuikov reminded Gurov: "He is too young. Although he has achieved a lot of results, I heard that his superiors appointed him as the 73rd infantryman a few months ago. When I became brigade commander, many people raised objections."

"I have an idea," Gurov said thoughtfully: "After this period of fighting, not only have we learned about Colonel Sokov's abilities, presumably the superiors have also recognized his abilities. You see, we Whether to make a suggestion to the superiors to give Sukov several divisions or brigades to form a combat group to ease the current severe situation in Stalingrad."

Regarding Gurov's proposal, Cuikov didn't say a word, but just headed forward. I don’t know how long it took, but just when Gurov thought that Chuikov would deny his proposal, he suddenly heard him say: “Comrade Military Commissar, I think you can try your suggestion. If the superior is really willing to give Sokov Replenishment of troops and formation of new battle groups so that we can spread out the German forces and thus relieve the pressure on the factory districts."

"Since you agree, when we return to the headquarters, we will jointly write a report to the front army headquarters..."

Before Gurov finished speaking, he suddenly heard someone shouting in front of him: "Who is it, stop!"

Hearing that the other party was speaking in Russian, Chuikov guessed that he might have encountered an ambush post on Mamayev Post, and quickly told Klimov: "Comrade adjutant, go over and see who is asking questions." Klimov With a promise, he led the two soldiers bent over and ran forward.