Chapter 602

"What, the Highlands have been taken back?" Trekov was overjoyed at the news. He took the telegram from me and read it over and over again. He still couldn't believe it.

Not only did trekov, gurov and Krylov feel happy that our division had recovered 107.5 Highlands, but I also felt relieved to see the commander and commissar of the tank army from the corner of my eye.

After reading the telegram, trakov handed it to gurov, went straight to the tank commander and commissar, and said to them solemnly: "general bondalev, commissar formanov. Since the independent division of Colonel o'shanina has helped you to take back the position, you will directly lead the troops back to guard it. If you lose it again, I will personally send you two to the military court for trial. "

At the stern words of trakov, general bondalev straightened up and said in a low voice, "Comrade commander, I'm going to move the command post back to highland 107.5."

Gulov also walked up to the two men and said slowly, "general bondalev, the leaders of the group army will not deal with you organizationally this time because the troops of Colonel oshanina have taken back your lost positions in time and decisively, which has not caused too much damage to our defense line. I hope that after you go back this time, you will strengthen your fortifications and be ready to fight a tough battle with the Germans. "

When they heard gurov's words, bondalev and formanov looked at each other in surprise, and the political commissar answered, "please rest assured, commander, military commissar and chief of staff. On behalf of the military commander, I will make a statement to you that as long as there is another commander and fighter in our position, we will never let the Germans occupy our highlands again."

Fulmanov political commissar's reply made gurov nod his head with satisfaction, and then waved to them: "it's late, you go back to the army as soon as possible."

Bondalev and formanov raised their hands to salute trakov and gurov and said goodbye to them. I found out by accident that general bondalev gave me a hostile glance, then turned around and walked out of the group army headquarters with his political commissar.

After the departure of bondalev, who was hostile to me, I was planning to say goodbye to trikov and rush back to mamayev post immediately. I didn't expect that a few of them would be very busy, either answering the phone or reading the telegram. When I saw this situation, I couldn't mention it any more. I had to stand by and wait. Of course, I didn't stand still. I listened to their phone calls and studied the map on the table, the marks and arrows they drew on the map. I wanted to know the current situation of both sides in Stalingrad.

At this moment, another staff officer came in and reported to trikov, "Comrade commander, general Golikov, deputy commander of the front army, is here. Now it's outside."

On hearing the report of the staff officer, trikov's face showed a surprise expression. He put the phone aside and called gurov and krailov, who were discussing in a low voice with several telegrams: "the military commissar, chief of staff and deputy commander of the front army are coming. Let's go out to meet him."

"You're welcome, comrade trakov. I came in myself." With the sound, the deputy commander of the front army, who I once met, strode into the headquarters.

"Hello, dear Philip Ivanovic. Welcome to the headquarters of the 62nd army. It's a pleasure to meet you here." Trikov took the lead to salute each other, and affectionately called each other's real name and father's name, and then the two hands tightly together.

Golikov and trakov were obviously acquaintances, and they began to talk cordially: "me too, dear Vasili Ivanovich. I haven't had time to congratulate you on your assumption of the post of commander of the 62nd army. "

After releasing his hand, trakov jokingly asked, "how can you come to my headquarters today? You don't come to congratulate me, do you?"

"Of course not. I was ordered to come to the front line to learn about the deployment of the troops."

After general Golikov explained his intention, gurov also shook hands with him and said hello to him. Golikov took gulov's hand and asked with concern, "Comrade Kuzma akimovich, your condition is OK. Do you need me to ask Comrade Stalin to let you go to Moscow to recuperate?"

Gurov shook his head and refused Golikov's kindness: "thank you, comrade deputy commander. My combat post is in Stalingrad. When my comrades in arms and subordinates were fighting with the Germans, I went to Moscow 1000 kilometers away to recuperate. This is an act of deserting soldiers and is absolutely not allowed. "

Golikov heard gurov said so firmly, had no choice but to say: "since it is so, then you will continue to stay in the front line, but I remind you to pay more attention to your body."

Gurov nodded his head and replied, "please don't worry, deputy commander. I'll pay attention to my body."

Golikov went up to krailov again, reached for his hand and said, "Hello, chief of staff krailov. As far as I know, in the past half a month or so before Comrade trakov took office, due to the injury of acting commander General kolpakchi, you have been commanding the army and fighting with the Germans tenaciously, It defeated the German attempt to capture Stalingrad quickly. On behalf of the army and the people of Stalingrad, I would like to thank you Then he let go of kreilov's hand, stepped back, and raised it with a solemn salute.

After meeting with several major leaders of the group army, Golikov inadvertently turned around and found that I was standing in the headquarters too. He was stunned, and then asked, "Colonel oshanina, I remember you are the division commander of the independent division. What do you do when you don't stay in the army to command the battle and come to the headquarters of the group army?"

When he asked this question, he really asked me. Can I tell him that the reason why I appeared in the headquarters of the group army was that general bondalev, the commander of the tank army, gave up his position without authorization and exposed the flanks of our division to the German army, and came to the commander to complain?

Fortunately, trikov solved the siege for me in time. He told Golikov straightforwardly: "Comrade deputy commander, it's like this. Major general bondalev, the commander of the tank army who sticks to the 107.5 highland, transferred his command post from the highland to the city without the permission of the group army, which led to the rapid occupation of the highland by the German army, And threatened the flank of the independent division that held the mamayev post. "

"What?" Golikov immediately frowned and said discontentedly, "how dare general bondalev do this? According to the order No. 227 of the people's Commission of national defense, no one is allowed to retreat without permission, otherwise the person who gives the order will be directly sent to the military court for trial. Comrade trakov, what did you do with general bondalev? Are there any lost positions taken back? "

"Shortly after the German army occupied the Highlands, it was discovered by Colonel oshanina's troops that they actively launched a fierce attack on the enemy who occupied our army. After a fierce battle, they had completely annihilated the enemy on the highlands and recaptured our position." At this point, trakov shrugged his shoulders and added, "since the Highlands have been recaptured and have little impact on the defensive zone of our group army, we did not deal with Comrade bondalev. Instead, we ordered him and his political commissar to move the command post back to the Highlands immediately."

Golikov, after hearing this, said to trikov unhappily, "Comrade trikov, it's not right for you to do so. You should immediately arrest general bondalev and his political commissar, take them to the military court, and hand over the tank army to someone else you can trust. This kind of person who is greedy for life and afraid of death is no longer worthy of holding an important command post in our team. "

Golikov's words immediately gave me a sense of confidant. You know, I also feel that the commander and political commissar of the tank army should be sent to the military court. Fortunately, the fighting in our area is not fierce, otherwise it will not be so easy for the Germans to destroy them after they have established their foothold on 107.5.

Seeing that Golikov wanted to severely punish bondalev and his political commissar, gurov also came forward to plead for them. He said sincerely: "Comrade deputy commander, the current situation is very chaotic. If we arrest bondalev and his political commissar, who should be sent to command the army? If someone from an unfamiliar army is sent to take over the command of the tank army, it may cause unnecessary confusion among the commanders and fighters. That's why we made the decision not to deal with them, but I also emphasized that if there is another similar incident, they will be directly sent to the military court. "

Seeing that trakov and gurov both wanted to defend general bondalev, Golikov no longer talked with them, but sat down and waved his hand, and directly turned the topic to other aspects. He said with a heavy tone: "comrades commander, yesterday, September 3, comrade Stalin called general Zhukov, saying that according to the current situation, the German army is likely to rush into Stalingrad, so the Supreme Commander himself directly gave the death order to Comrade trakov, demanding an immediate assault on the German army near Stalingrad, To ease the tension outside the city. "

"Does general Zhukov have any plans?" Trekov asked nervously.

Golikov looked around first. When I saw that his eyes fell on me, in order to avoid suspicion, he took the initiative to ask him, "Comrade deputy commander, I'd better avoid it."

However, Golikov said generously: "since Colonel oshanina is here, please stay and listen. The new counterattack may need the assistance of the independent division." Since he asked me to stay and listen, I was not polite, so I sat down next to chief of staff Krylov.

Golikov said: "at present, the German army has tightly surrounded Stalingrad from three directions. In order to reverse this unfavorable situation, after a short period of preparation, general Zhukov decided to counterattack the German army in the northern area of Stalingrad tomorrow, that is, in the morning of September 5, with the forces of the first group army, the 24th group army and the 66th group army."

On hearing the news, the faces of trakov, gurov and krailov all showed a happy smile. However, I was still staring at Golikov with no expression, because only I knew in my heart that although the counterattack effectively delayed the German army's attack speed on the urban area, and took precious time for the future defense and counterattack war, it ended in failure.

Seeing that there was no surprise on my face, Golikov asked curiously, "Colonel oshanina, what are you thinking? Why did you not react to this news?"

Of course, I can't tell him that this counterattack was not able to break through the encirclement formed by the German army outside the city because the preparation time for the campaign was too hasty, and there was neither enough troops nor necessary heavy equipment. In particular, the number of artillery to cover the infantry attack was very limited. But when I heard him ask this question, I quickly thought of an appropriate reason: "sorry, comrade deputy commander, I'm thinking about what role my independent division will play in this counterattack? I'm too preoccupied for a moment, so please forgive me

Golikov's face showed a kind smile. He said with disapproval, "I thought you were thinking about it. It turned out that you were thinking about it. I will tell you that according to our analysis, after the counterattack begins, the German army may pounce on Stalingrad along the Volga River, and the mamayev post guarded by your independent division is a gate. You should do everything possible to block the Germans firmly, and never allow them to attack Stalingrad, otherwise, our troops carrying out the assault, You'll be cut off by the enemy. Comrade Colonel, do you understand what I mean? "

I nodded my head hard. It's strange that I couldn't understand. If the German had a firm foothold in the mamayev post, even if they didn't rush into the city, they just had to put dozens of heavy guns and bombard the city all the time, so Stalingrad would not be able to defend. However, I replied very simply: "please rest assured, comrade deputy commander, that my independent division will resolutely keep the Germans out of the mamayev post and prevent them from rushing to the city. But I have another request

"What request? Let's hear it. As long as I can do it, I'll solve it for you immediately. "

"Can we have an artillery unit for our division? Whether it's an ordinary artillery company or an anti tank company, just one company will do. You know, my Division has no artillery and no tanks. Except for a few anti tank grenades, there are only a few hundred flasks for anti tank weapons. If the German army only comes with a few tanks, there is no problem. If there are more tanks, we will have nothing to do with them. "

Without waiting for Golikov's reply, trakov asked first, "didn't I equip you with a heavy howitzer battalion before? Why didn't I use it? Was it consumed in the early defensive war?"

I shook my head and said helplessly and wrongly, "it's not like this, comrade commander. In the early fighting, I protected the artillery battalion like my eyes. After such a long battle, there was no loss of a gun or a gunner in the artillery battalion. But when our division changed its guard, chief Ruskin left the artillery battalion behind and said that they belonged to the 64th army. "

"That's ridiculous. How could Colonel Ruskin do that?" After listening to my explanation, trakov just muttered in a low voice, and said nothing more. It is estimated that he is not willing to face his former partner for the sake of an artillery battalion.

Golikov thought for a moment, and then said to me, "Colonel oshanina, I thought for a moment. If you don't have artillery, it will be difficult for you to hold the high ground. Well, I'll go back and report this to commander yelimenko, and try to transfer two anti tank artillery companies for you to strengthen the anti tank forces in the highlands. "

After listening to Golikov's words, I was overjoyed. I quickly stood up, raised my hand, saluted him, and said gratefully, "thank you, comrade deputy commander. With these two artillery companies, I will be able to hold the high ground."

After I sat down, trakov also began to make a request to Golikov: "Comrade deputy commander, I also think it is necessary to send some new and cutting-edge divisions to our group army, because almost all the regiments and units of the 62nd group army have been greatly weakened in recent battles, and some BBS even have only a few hundred soldiers left. As early as the battle in the great bend of the Don river, the 62nd army suffered serious losses because of its wrong command. "

Golikov did not express his opinion immediately after hearing this. Instead, he took out his pen and paper, spread the book on the table and said in a leisurely manner, "Comrade trakov, can you provide me with an accurate data of the 62nd army? So I can go back and convince commander yelomienko. "

Trikov turned to look at krailov and asked hopefully, "general krailov, you are the chief of staff of the group army. I wonder if you can provide general Golikov with the data he needs?"

Krailov stood up and said confidently, "no problem. I have all the numbers and numbers of the army in my head."

With a relaxed look on his face, trekov reached out to krailov, made a gesture of invitation, and said, "please, chief of staff."

Krailov nodded, then turned to Golikov and said respectfully, "Comrade deputy commander, I will now introduce to you the situation of our group army. At present, there are 10 infantry divisions, 3 infantry brigades, 1 barricade area, 2 tank troops, 2 motorized infantry brigades, 1 tank brigade, 3 cannon regiments, 10 anti tank artillery regiments, 1 mortar regiment, 2 rocket artillery regiments, 1 rocket artillery battalion, 2 anti-aircraft artillery regiments and 2 Engineer Battalion in the 62nd group army. Although there are many numbers, due to the heavy losses in the previous stage, there are only 54000 people left in the 62nd army. Of course, this figure does not include the independent division of Colonel oshanina. We have about 900 guns of various types and 110 tanks. In fact, there are only 200 to 300 fighters in each division or brigade. Some divisions are fully equipped with several guns and machine guns. The situation of tank brigades is even worse, with only 6 to 10 tanks left in each brigade. "

Golikov was silent for a long time after listening to krailov's report. When he finally put away his pen and paper, he finally made up his mind and said, "well, comrade trakov, I will report the situation here to general Zhukov and commander yelimenko. At the same time, I will make a request to the Military Commission of the front army to send more fully equipped divisions to your 62nd army to strengthen your defensive zone. " When they heard Golikov's statement, trakov and gurov expressed their gratitude to him excitedly. At this time, Golikov suddenly asked: "chief of staff Krylov, I'm very curious. Why don't you include the independent division in the data you just put in?" Golikov's question is exactly what I want to ask. Has the independent division been put into a different category in the minds of the leaders of the group army, and even ignored us in the statistics? I looked at Krylov, eagerly waiting for his final answer. I didn't expect that krailov said lightly: "Comrade deputy commander, you may not know that the independent division was transferred from the 64th group army to our group army command today, and there is no time to make statistics, so the independent division is not included in the reported data." After listening to krailov's explanation, I was very angry and funny. It turned out that it was such a simple reason. You said it earlier, but it was so mysterious that it made me think for a long time. Golikov looked at his watch, looked at trakov and gurov, then stood up and said, "well, that's all for today. I'll go to other defense areas to check the defense." Krailov warmly asked him to stay and said, "Comrade deputy commander, look, you've been here for a long time, and you haven't even had a cup of tea. Why don't you stay for tea and have something to eat before you leave. " Golikov waved his hand and politely declined Krylov's offer: "no, chief of staff, we'd better save the tea for later. Now the first thing to consider is how to defeat the Germans outside the city. I wish you good health With that, he reached out and shook hands with trekov, gurov and krailov in turn. When he finally took my hand, he repeatedly told me, "Colonel oshanina, I trust you very much. I hope you can firmly guard the mamayev post after adding artillery company to you." In the face of his trust, I had to show my determination again: "please rest assured, comrade deputy commander. I promise to finish the task you gave me and nail it firmly on the mamayev post like a nail. I will never let the German go forward." After seeing off Golikov, trakov said to gurov with a smile: "Philip Ivanovich is still the same as when he was the director of the reconnaissance Bureau before. He is used to collecting all kinds of intelligence to make analysis for his superiors. Even captain oshanina's troops are stationed in mamayev post. Before we have time to report, he knows the details." Gurov laughed and said, "but I heard a rumor that when he was the deputy chief of general staff and director of the reconnaissance Bureau, he received a report from the Oriental spy group that Germany was attacking the Soviet Union and made an untrue comment. Then he reported it to Comrade Stalin, saying that it might be a false information from the British, It's an estrangement between Britain and the United States. It was his remark that misled the Supreme Commander's judgment on the war between the Soviet Union and Germany, causing us to be caught off guard by the German army. " Although they were talking in a low voice, their words still startled me. It turned out that the police information sent by zorg group in Tokyo before the war was sent to this general Golikov. As a result, such an important information was ignored because of his conceit, so that the Soviet army did not have any necessary preparation before the German army launched the war, As a result of the war, they were defeated by the German army for thousands of miles. While trakov and gurov were whispering, chief of staff krailov was answering the phone again and drawing in the book in front of him with a pencil. After he put down the receiver, he tore off a page of paper from the notebook and handed it to trikov. At the same time, he reported: "Comrade commander, this is a call from Colonel salayev, commander of the 10th division under the command of our group army yesterday. He said that the three infantry regiments 269, 272 and 282 under the command of the division had entered the fortification works. And his political commissar, comrade Kuznetsov, is also in charge of several 1500 armed guards, which are composed of police, firefighters and workers from various factories and regions, led by the commanders of several fortresses and defense districts... "When krailov reported here, he inadvertently looked up and saw me standing beside him. He asked strangely," Colonel oshanina, why are you still standing here, Why don't you go back to your troops? " After hearing what he said, trikov and gurov also noticed my existence. Trikov said with a straight face, "Comrade oshanina, there's nothing for you here. Go back to mamayev post." When I heard his order, I immediately raised my hand to salute him and ran out of the group army headquarters.