Chapter 815

Although Morozov kept his promise to destroy the enemy's newly built artillery position with heavy artillery after dark. Gedar's fourth regiment and the second regiment, which held fast to highland 107.5, successfully repelled the German attack. Although the independent division achieved great success in the battle on November 1, it destroyed an artillery position of the enemy, more than 10 tanks and 700 German soldiers. But such a victory was concealed by the defeat of the group army that day.

When we all feel that the German forces attacking Stalingrad are exhausted and will not launch the same fierce attack as before in a short period of time, it turns out that our judgment is wrong. After a period of pause, the German army resumed its fierce attack on the 62nd group army. With their rapid mobility, they transferred the troops that confronted the Don front army some time ago.

I learned from the war report from the headquarters of the group army that, despite the resistance of our army, the enemy still occupied the south of the "barricade" factory in the evening, and from here they went out to the Volga River. The situation faced by the 62nd army was aggravated by the freezing of the Volga River.

At noon, the Hitler elements entered the reserve. Their infantry and tanks defeated the battle formation of the right wing of the 241st infantry regiment of the gorishner division. They advanced 300 to 400 meters and came out to the Volga River on the front of 500 to 600 meters. The group army was divided for the third time, and the liudnikov Infantry Division was cut off from the main force.

However, in other areas of the front, the group army firmly held its position. Paulus' superiority in military strength was not brought into full play. They did not complete the scheduled plan and failed to drive the 62nd army to the cold Volga River.

After reading the war report, I was also annoyed by another thing. According to lieutenant colonel Gaidar's report, a large number of huge ice sheets appeared on the Volga River, which made the ships of the Volga river fleet unable to move and had to stop transporting urgently needed materials and soldiers to the city.

After much deliberation, I reported the bad news to trekov over the phone. After hearing this, trikov sighed and said, "Comrade oshanina, we have already considered what you said. In order to rush more materials to the city as soon as possible, from three days ago, I ordered the commanders of all units to select the soldiers and commanders who had been fishermen and sailors, let them build their own boats, and then collect grenades and mines from the warehouses of the group army and the front army, and transport them to the city. Of course, this is not without danger. Many small boats loaded with ammunition often sink in the night because they are not parked in the right place or hit on ice.

In addition, it is not uncommon for small boats to be caught between ice blocks and become targets of enemy artillery. To this end, the headquarters of the group army had to set up another rescue team. The rescue team is equipped with poles, ropes and ropes on board. They are on duty on the shore at night. When they find that the ship sends out a distress signal, they immediately go to the rescue.

In this way, within a few days, before the formation of the ice sheet and before the enemy launched a new attack, the ammunition of the group army was guaranteed. We also store a lot of grain in this way, and I have my own secret warehouse, which is managed by lieutenant colonel spassov. There are about 12 tons of chocolate stored in the emergency reserve of the group army. I intend to give half a dollar to each of the commanders and fighters of the group army in difficult times, so that the army can last for a week or two before the Volga River is frozen and the regular supply is not restored. "

After listening to trekov's words, I admire him a little more. As a commander, his consideration is more comprehensive than mine. What I just thought of, he put it into practice a few days ago. Just as I wanted to say a few words of admiration to him, I heard him say, "Comrade oshanina, once the Volga River freezes completely, our connection with the east bank will be completely broken. I remember that you once stayed in Leningrad. You must know something about the famous "lifeline on the ice."

"Yes, comrade commander." I replied briefly, "I used to be a battalion commander on an ice transport line."

When I finished, trikov said solemnly, "Comrade oshanina, I'm going to give you an important task. Do you have confidence to complete it?"

Although I didn't know what task trekov would give me, I answered firmly, "please rest assured, comrade commander. I promise to finish the task." After expressing my determination, I asked carefully, "Comrade commander, I don't know what kind of task you are going to give me?"

"The task is simple, but it's also hard." "When the Volga River is completely frozen, you will send someone to the ice to check the thickness of the ice and confirm when people can walk on the ice safely and boldly," he said

When I heard what trakov said, I immediately realized that he also wanted to open up an ice transportation line on the Volga River. So after I finished the call with him, I immediately called captain Mikhail yev, the commander of the engineering company, and handed over the task of inspecting the ice to his engineering company.

In the next few days, frequent snowfall and Snowstorm Weather began. But the ice on the Volga River is still impassable.

Every morning, the explorers set off from mamayev post in a hurry to go to the crisp and thin ice to check how hard the ice was at night. Their reports are contradictory. Some teams confirmed that the thickness of the ice had increased by one to two millimeters. On the contrary, the ice has become thin. In the middle of the Volga River, the team led by Captain mihayev found a large area of water completely free of ice.

Trikov also attaches great importance to whether the Volga River is completely frozen. Every morning, in the middle of the day and in the evening, he calls to ask how the ice survey is going?

His phone call was very simple, just a sentence: "how is the ice on the Volga?"

Although the person who answers his phone is different every time, the answer is the same: "sorry, comrade commander, the ice is too thin to pass."

"There is still a large area of water in the middle of the river that is not frozen and cannot be bypassed."

Every time he heard such an answer, trakov would sigh helplessly and put down the phone. But at the scheduled time, he would call again to ask about ice.

Trekov was worried. I was just as worried as the others in the division headquarters. After putting down trakov's phone this time, kirilov said, "Comrade oshanina, according to my experience, it takes seven centimeters of ice to bear the weight of people. A sled carrying a ton of goods pulled by a horse. The thickness of the ice should be at least 15 cm, and for a ton and a half truck carrying goods, it should be nearly 20 cm. "

"But when will the ice be so thick?" In the past two days, under the repeated influence of kirilov, I am very familiar with this group of figures. However, if the temperature does not continue to drop, it will be difficult for people to walk on the ice surface of the river, even by sleds and trucks.

Just when we are worried about the kindness of the ice on the river every day, the military committee of the group army decides to carry out counter attack against the enemy, whose task is to drive the enemy away from the front of our defense. In the order given by trakov, the 45th Infantry Division was required to carry out a major assault in the area between the barricade factory and the Red October factory. The guriyev division was ordered to launch an attack in this defensive zone and move forward on the railway line to shewernaya station. The order required all offensive units and units to move forward bravely and rapidly.

When we learned of the order, akhromeyev asked me curiously, "Comrade division commander, why did the commander think yesterday that the group army was in imminent danger, and today he decided to carry out counter attack?"

For akhromeyev's question, I shook my head with a wry smile, because I could not understand trakov's intention. At this time, putting limited troops into the counterattack was tantamount to drinking poison to quench thirst.

When I asked trekov this question, he replied, "Comrade oshanina, this is the law of war, especially the situation we were in at that time. Imagine the situation of the 62nd army, which had been defending for about three months in the narrow area along the Volga River. If the group army does not seize the opportunity to attack the tired enemy and drive it back 200 to 300 meters from the shore, the group army itself may be driven down the river. Could we sit on the banks of Volga and wait for the enemy to recover? Can we tell the enemy that we can only defend? It would be foolish to wait for the enemy to strike first without trying to change the situation, even if it is a little bit, to make it beneficial to me.

The counterattack we launched on November 3, I think, was a major victory. We pushed forward about 100 meters in some areas and occupied the west section of CAYA Avenue and the west part of the orchard in novo sheris; In the "Red October" factory, we recaptured the open hearth workshop, model workshop, profile workshop, classification workshop and finished product warehouse. The most important thing is that we prove to ourselves and to the enemy that we can not only defend, but also attack, and recover what we have lost. The result of this counterattack is that we, not the enemy, carried out the final assault. "

When I stopped my conversation with trakov, I asked akhromeyev with concern, "Comrade chief of staff, is there any news from the engineering company that went to explore the way back?"

Akhromeyev shook his head and said regretfully, "sorry, comrade division commander, we have lost contact with captain mihayev's team now, and we can't get further information."

After listening to akhromeyev's words, bantailiev sighed and said with the same regret: "Sir, I think we are doing useless work. According to my experience, the thickest ice in Volga River will not be earlier than January next year. Before that, even if the river is completely frozen, it will not be able to open up a transport line that can provide us with enough supplement. " Akhromeyev, who has always been fond of contradicting bantaileiev, kept silent abnormally after hearing these words.

Kirilov looked at akhromeyev and asked curiously, "Comrade chief of staff, I think you like to argue with the deputy division chief most. What's the matter today? Why didn't you say a word?"

On hearing kirilov's question, akhromeyev said with a wry smile, "Comrade political commissar, I think the deputy division commander has a point. Although there is a large area of ice on the Volga River, the ice is too thin to walk, let alone sleds and trucks. Therefore, I think that the ice surface after January mentioned by the Deputy teacher is suitable for opening up ice transportation lines, which is completely correct. "

"In January, we can't make it to January without the supply of troops and materials." After they had finished, I also expressed my own opinion: "according to commander trakov's judgment, the ammunition and materials currently stored by the group army can barely last for about two weeks. If, as you say, we can't open ice transportation lines until January, then our troops won't have to be attacked by the enemy, and they will starve to death. "

"What shall we do?" After hearing this, akhromeyev asked, "even if we are in a hurry and God refuses to help us cool down, the ice on the river still can't reach the necessary thickness." As soon as akhromeyev had finished speaking, the three of them had a discussion about you and me. But I was sitting beside, quietly thinking about their own thoughts, did not care what they said. Three people said for a long time, found that I was silent beside, all coincidentally closed their mouths. After a while, kirilov asked cautiously, "Comrade oshanina, do you have any good solutions under the present circumstances?"“ Comrade political commissar, I have an idea. " When the three of them were talking, an idea suddenly appeared in my mind. At this time, when I heard kirilov's question, I had the impulse to say: "have we fallen into a wrong thinking area, always thinking about waiting for the river to freeze, but not thinking about how to remove such a thin ice layer?"“ Remove the ice? " Kirilov asked in a puzzled way, "how can I get rid of it?"“ Comrade political commissar, do you think that's possible? " I tentatively said what I thought: "we invite the sailors of the Volga fleet to send some icebreakers from other fleets. The icebreaker is in front of us, and our fleet of supplies is behind us, so that we can keep the supplies flowing to the city. "“ Is that all right? " Kirilov asked hesitantly“ Comrade political commissar, I think that's a good idea. " After hearing my proposal, Bantai leiev was immediately excited. "Anyway, the ice on the river is not thick. I don't think it's a big problem to transfer the icebreaker used in Antarctica to clear a passage for our transport fleet."“ I agree with the teacher When akhromeyev saw that bantailiev had already said what he should have said, he did not add to the story, but simply echoed it. After hearing my proposal, trekov was startled and said in a hurry, "Comrade oshanina, who made this proposal to you?" I don't know the purpose of his question, so I can only honestly reply, "Comrade report commander, I thought it out myself." In order to dispel his worries, I went on to explain: "according to recent observations, the ice on the river is so thin that it's difficult for people to walk. It's hard to pass heavy equipment. If you want the ice to be as thick as sleds and trucks, it will take at least January. Judging from the current situation of our group army, neither the soldiers nor the materials can sustain for such a long time. That's why I came up with a way to let the icebreaker open the way and resume our water transportation. " After listening to what I said, trikov was silent for a long time before he hesitated and said, "Comrade oshanina, the exploration work on the ice still needs to continue. As for the dispatch of icebreakers, I need to report to the higher authorities. After getting permission, I can consider whether your plan is feasible." Although I felt no heart at Chuikov's promise to this matter, I knew that cucuv had difficulty. Such a case involving friendly forces was not his has the final say. He had to report to the superior, and the negotiation between the superior and the friendly forces. After I put down the phone, kirilov asked with concern, "Comrade division, what's the situation? Did the commander agree? " I shook my head and said disappointedly, "Comrade political commissar, the commander said that he can't decide this matter and needs to ask for instructions from his superior." As we were talking, Mikhail entered the headquarters under the leadership of basmanov. Seeing the appearance of mihayev, I felt a glimmer of hope again. My heart said that maybe he had explored a channel. So when he came to me, I couldn't wait for him to salute, and asked, "Captain Mikhail, what's the situation? Have you brought me any good news?" Mihayev shook his head and replied bitterly: "I'm sorry, sir, I've let you down. After several days of exploration, the current ice on the river is too thin to open up an ice transportation line. " Seeing that captain mihayev's exploration was still fruitless, I sighed with disappointment, then waved to him and said, "well, comrade captain, you've been busy for so many days and you've worked hard. You'd better go back and have a rest early. After dark, you can send two groups of people to try other people's places. Maybe you can find a suitable place. " Mikhail nodded, raised his hand to salute me, then turned and left.