Red Moscow

Although the heavy snow prevented the German reconnaissance planes from taking off, and the troops moving towards the station had to slow down, the impact on the guerrillas was not small. Due to the heavy snow, the fully loaded car was soon stuck in the snowdrift, unable to move, only to hear the futile hum of the motor.

After Mihiga learned of this situation, he decisively ordered the captains: "Immediately transfer all the supplies on the car to the sled. In such weather and road conditions, only sled transportation is the fastest."

After listening to Mihiga's instructions, a team leader said with emotion: "Comrade Mihiga, I have long wanted to use sleds to transport supplies, so that the supplies can be directly pulled into the camp without unloading outside the forest. , and then organize the manual handling."

Mihiga glanced at the other party with a complicated expression, and then told everyone: "Time is running out, everyone hurry up. Although it is impossible for us to transport all the supplies in the station, under the current situation, as much as we can transport." How much to transport, after all, these materials will be used by you yourself in the future."

Hearing what Mihiga said, everyone agreed with a loud bang, and then dispersed one after another, calling on their subordinates to move all the supplies on the car to the sled.

"Comrade Mishika," Mishiga had just returned to the station master's room from the outside, Tavlin walked up to him and said with a serious expression: "I just received a telegram from Captain Guchakov. After the enemy found out that they had been fooled, they have already started to return to defense quickly, and it is estimated that they will be able to reach the station before dark."

"We can arrive before dark." Mihiga originally thought that even if it took an entire night to move the supplies in the station, he would not be able to move much. When he was feeling regretful, he suddenly heard Tavlin say that the enemy might be there Arriving before dark, I was suddenly shocked into a cold sweat: "What about the supplies at the station?"

"The materials that are too late to be removed can only be burned or blown up." Taflin sighed and said, "We must not let the Germans take these materials back again."

"Comrade Sergeant," knowing that the guerrilla evacuation station has entered the countdown, Mihiga asked a little unwillingly: "Don't we have the ability to delay the enemy for a few hours? You know, the more supplies we move back to the camp, In the next battle, the chances of surviving will be higher."

"Captain Guchakov has already dispatched several guerrillas to plant landmines on the enemy's road." Tavlin shrugged his shoulders and said rather helplessly: "You should know that the Germans are accompanied by engineers. Even if we fill the roads with mines, it won't stop them for long."

"What about you?" Mihiga then asked, "What are you going to do after you evacuate the station?"

"I don't know." Tavlin shook his head, gave a negative answer, and said in an uncertain tone: "Maybe we will continue to stay behind the enemy lines to attack important targets, and maybe we will withdraw to Mamayev Post."

Knowing that the detachment might return to Mamayev Kurgan, Mishiga felt a sense of loss. From the bottom of his heart, he hoped that the squad could stay, at least in the area where his guerrillas were active, and lead his troops to continue to fight against the Germans. If they really withdrew to Mamayev Hill, the Germans would definitely clean up the surrounding area, and many camps hidden in the forest would definitely be taken away by the enemy. Although they had a lot of subordinates, if they wanted to completely It is still very difficult to preserve.

It was based on this consideration that he tentatively asked Taflin: "Comrade Sergeant, can't you stay?" Seeing the surprised look on the other side's face, he added, "Look, this organization Dozens of guerrillas joined forces to seize the German-occupied Kotluban Station and the 564th Kilometer Station. How smoothly the battle went, I hope we will have the opportunity to continue our cooperation.”

"There will be a chance, Comrade Captain." Tavlin couldn't understand the meaning of Mishiga's words, and quickly said to him: "It's just staying or returning to Mamayev Post, not only me but Guchako Captain husband, we can’t make the decision, everything is decided by the division.” He turned his head and glanced at the wall clock on the wall, and urged, “Comrade captain, we don’t have much time left, you should arrange people as soon as possible.” Put explosives and barrels in the depot so we can turn it into a sea of ​​flames when we evacuate and keep the station out of use by the Germans for a month or two."

Not only the stations where Tavlin and Mishiga were located began to place explosives and oil barrels in various warehouses, but even the Kotluban station where Guchakov was located was doing the same work.

Seeing Vovka's reluctance after hearing his order, Guchakov comforted him and said, "Comrade Vovka, we have no choice but to place explosives in the warehouse. The enemy in the north will soon arrive at the station, and with the fighting power of the guerrillas, they will not be able to stop the enemy for a long time. Instead of letting the enemy take back these materials, it is better to destroy them completely."

"I understand, Comrade Commander." Fufuga nodded, and said with a reluctant expression: "I understand what you said, but I just feel a little bit reluctant. After all, there are a lot of supplies here. If we really move them all Going to the camp can at least keep us going for a year or two without supplies."

"Comrade Vovka, since we can capture it once, it is possible to capture more supplies elsewhere in the future." After Guchakov finished speaking, he raised his hand and looked at the time. The division headquarters sent a telegram, asking for instructions on our next action. And you, hurry up and arrange manpower to place explosives and oil barrels."

…………

After receiving the request telegram from Guchakov, Sokov felt that since the enemy going north had already returned south, if the guerrillas occupying the station did not disengage quickly, they would be easily entangled by the enemy. Don't see that the guerrillas have a large number of people and have all replaced with new equipment, but they have no advantage in front of the experienced German troops. Since this is the case, it is not allowed to evacuate the station early and save more With more vitality, prepare for the next big counterattack.

Thinking of this, he passed the telegram he had just received to Sidolin and Ivanov for circulation, and at the same time expressed his opinion: "Chief of Staff, Deputy Commander, I intend to let Guchakov and the guerrillas evacuate the station as soon as possible. , I wonder what your opinion is?"

Sidolin has no objection to Sokov's idea, but Ivanov has some scruples: "Comrade commander, the two stations we occupy have a large amount of supplies. If you want to give up, you must Don’t you need to ask your superiors for instructions? After getting permission from your superiors, it won’t be too late for us to order Guchakov to evacuate.”

"I don't think there is any need to ask for instructions." Sokov knew very well that there would definitely be different opinions in the Army Group Command on the matter of evacuating the station. Evacuating and causing unnecessary losses is a bit outweighed. It was precisely because of this consideration that Sokov decided to make the decision himself: "In any case, Guchakov is our subordinate, and we should have the final say on how to decide their next move. "

Seeing Sokov's attitude was so resolute, Ivanov stopped insisting on his opinion, but said reasonably: "Okay, Comrade Commander, since you said so, let's do what you want. Chief of Staff , Immediately send a report to Captain Guchakov to make them prepare for evacuation; at the same time, before leaving the station, all supplies that cannot be removed in the future must be destroyed, and they must not be left to the Germans."

After waiting for Ivanov to finish speaking, Sidolin did not take immediate action, but turned his attention to Sokov, hoping to hear if he had any different opinions. After seeing Sokov nodded slightly, expressing agreement with Ivanov, he nodded and said, "Okay, Comrade Deputy Commander, I'll send a report to Captain Guchakov and ask them to do it." Get ready to evacuate and blow up supplies."