"Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, what the hell is going on?" I just received a report from Gaidar that German tanks had bypassed friendly heights and made the city rush, how could Oleg report that the German armored forces had cut us off from the city and turned us into a lone army behind enemy lines? I asked with luck: "Just a minute ago, Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar reported to me that there were about 40 German tanks, as well as quite a few armored vehicles and motorcycles, rushing towards the city in an attempt to cut off the rear route of the counterattacking force. ”

"What, Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar also reported to you?" Oleg was stunned for a moment, and then said categorically: "Comrade division commander, I think what I and Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar saw should not be the same unit. This armored force consisted of only a dozen tanks, and seven or eight armored vehicles, plus a large number of infantry, who came from the west. In terms of the direction of progress, they were trying to seize the ferry terminal and cut off the city from the other side of the river. ”

I quickly recalled in my mind the positions of the Gaidar and Oleg divisions, and because of the large number of troops of the third and fourth regiments, I arranged them in the three north, east, west and north directions of the settlement; The reason why the Oleg regiment was placed in the south by me was not only because of the small number of troops of the fifth regiment, but also because the buildings here were only 100 meters away from the defenders' positions in the city.

Thinking about it, it gradually became clear to me that Gaidar's scouts had found a bypass to the 107.5 heights. Attack the armored forces of the city from north to south. What Oleg found was a German unit attacking from west to east. The goal of this force was to capture the docks. On the road to the marina. There were barricade fortifications built by the 62nd Army, which could temporarily block the forward assault of the German armored forces. Thinking of this, I decisively gave an order to Oleg: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you have to send troops to attack the German infantry from the flanks and slow down their advance towards the pier. ”

"But we lack the necessary anti-tank weapons," Oleg said, with some embarrassment, "and if we rely only on the fighters rushing up with cluster grenades, the casualties of the troops will be very large." ”

I said to him sternly in an unquestioning tone: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. Let me remind you here that once the German armored forces occupy the dock, then the main artery of Stalingrad will be cut off by the Germans, and the reserves, food, ammunition, and equipment will not be available, so how many days can we support it? Concentrate firepower to destroy the infantry first, separate the infantry from the tanks, and then send people to blow up the tanks, which can reduce the casualties of the troops. Remember, you're not alone, and I'll ask Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar to send someone to support you. The defenders in the city and on the docks will not watch the Germans break through our positions. They will resist desperately, too. ”

After giving Oleg the death order, I ordered Razumeyeva with a stern expression: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, immediately contact the headquarters of the army group, I will report this news to my superiors." ”

After contacting the command of the army group, it was the chief of staff of Krylov who answered the phone, and when he heard my name, he hurriedly asked: "Colonel Oshanina, what happened to you there?" ”

I didn't bother to ask where Chuikov had gone, so I directly told Krylov in detail about the information reported by Gaidar and Oleg. After listening to this, after a short silence, Krylov said thoughtfully: "Comrade Commander only set off to the position of the 10th Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs after receiving information that the German armored units were rushing into the city. What measures did you take against the German units that rushed to the pier? ”

Hearing him ask this, I hurriedly replied: "Report to Comrade Chief of Staff, I have ordered Lieutenant Colonel Oleg of the 5th Regiment to send troops to strike at the German infantry from the flanks and cover the friendly troops at the pier to hold their positions. ”

"Well done, Colonel Oshanina." General Krylov complimented me, and then added: "However, this is not enough, at present there are only the 1077th Air Defense Regiment composed of all female soldiers on the dock, and a battalion of infantry, and if they want to hold back the German armored forces, their strength is not enough, and they need to increase their support." So be it, Comrade Oshanina, you yourself go to the pier and command the troops there for defense. Do you think it's okay? ”

"I obey your orders, Comrade Chief of Staff." Krylov's order was exactly what I wanted, and even if he didn't say it, I wanted to go to the front and take command of the dock troops, and since he had already helped me think about it, I readily agreed.

I then contacted Gaidar and, in addition to ordering him to send troops to attack the flanks of the German panzers storming the city, I also asked him to draw troops from the 3rd Regiment to reinforce Lieutenant Colonel Oleg of the 5th Regiment.

After doing this, I explained to Razumeyeva: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, I will immediately rush to the docks, and you will arrange for a communications soldier to carry a walkie-talkie with me. With that, I lifted the curtain and shouted loudly outside: "Captain Basmanov, come to me." ”

Basmanov probably had guessed that I would go out, so he stayed not far from the headquarters. As soon as my words fell, he appeared in front of me, raised his hand in salute, and asked politely: "Comrade Division, what instructions do you have?" ”

"Bring a company of guards with me, and we'll get to the docks at once."

When I had finished my order, I found that Basmanov was standing still and I could not help but ask strangely: "Comrade Captain, what are you doing standing here instead of assembling the team?" ”

Basmanov said with some embarrassment: "Comrade division commander, I would like to ask, which guard company to take with you?" "There's a reason why he asked, after talking with Grams and Beckman yesterday, I added fifty men to each of their companies, and then reorganized them into the second and third companies of the guard battalion.

Hearing his question, I said almost without thinking: "Needless to say, of course, it is our own company." "Although Gramms and Beckman are on our side, if we take them out in these extraordinary times, it will be a big difference whether they will turn against us. I still don't know the bottom of my heart. So it's better to bring your own troops steadily.

As I hurried along the ridge to the dock to the east. Basmanov inquired curiously behind him: "Comrade division commander, how do we go in the direction of the dock?" ”

"There was an armored unit of the Germans rushing to the docks, and I was ordered to gather the troops on the docks and direct them to repel the German attack."

Perhaps it was the sound of gunfire that was getting closer and closer, which frightened the residents who were waiting to board the ship on the pier, and they fell into extreme confusion. The crowd blocked our way, and my fighters and I had to squeeze our way through the crowd and squeeze our way to the buildings next to the docks. In my experience, the headquarters of the troops are usually located in these buildings.

Due to the large number of people, we squeezed for a long time, but we only moved a few dozen meters forward, and we were still 100 meters away from the building next to the pier. At this moment, with the sound of a whistle, the pressure around us suddenly relaxed, and the pace of moving forward was accelerated. Curious, I looked around and saw that there was a ferry docking, and the residents standing on the shore jumped into the icy water in a panic. rushed towards the ship.

Although I knew that there was going to be a series of chaos around boarding. But at this point, I don't care about so much, I have more important things to do. I grabbed a female soldier who ran in front of me and asked her loudly: "Comrade soldier, where is your regimental commander?" ”

The female soldier who was suddenly caught by me was stunned for a moment, and then pointed to a building not far away with her hand and said to me: "The political commissar of the regiment is staying at the ticket office at the pier, and as for the regiment commander, you can only go to heaven to find it." She was killed in yesterday's bombing. ”

I followed the direction the female soldier pointed out and came outside the building. I told Basmanov to wait outside with the soldiers, and I walked into the building with Vera and the three female soldiers, and after inquiring about the two female soldiers I met on-hand, I made my way to the ticket office at the pier.

As soon as I pushed it away, I saw a middle-aged female soldier without a hat, holding a microphone and shouting hoarsely: "...... The German tanks were coming at us, and we wouldn't be able to hold out much longer without reinforcements. ......" As soon as she looked up and saw me standing at the door, she quickly covered the microphone and asked strangely, "Do you have anything to do?" ”

I glanced at the rank on her collar badge, which was a deputy battalion-level political commissar, and said politely: "Hello, comrade regimental political commissar." I am the commander of the separate division, Colonel Oshanina, and I was ordered to take over the command of the dock troops. That is, in addition to your 1077 anti-aircraft artillery regiment, even a battalion of the 10th Infantry Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will also be under my command. It is up to me to command you to repel the German attack on the docks. ”

The political commissar of the regiment looked me up and down with suspicion, and said with a blank expression: "I'm sorry, Comrade Colonel, I didn't receive the relevant orders. ”

"You can be considered to have received it now, Comrade Political Commissar of the regiment." After speaking, I walked over and took the phone from her hand, put it to my ear, blew on the microphone, and when I heard a voice coming from the headphones, I said decisively and simply: "I am Colonel Oshanina, the commander of the independent division, and I am ordered by the chief of staff of the army group, General Krylov, to take over the command of all the troops at the pier. ”

When the other party heard me say this, he was stunned for a moment, and then said politely: "Hello, Comrade Colonel, I am the divisional political commissar of the 10th Infantry Division of the NKVD and the regimental political commissar Kuznetsov, and I have not received your order to command the dock troops. ”

"You will officially receive it now, comrade regimental political commissar." At the thought that I could actually command the troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, although there was only one battalion, I had a feeling of raising my eyebrows, and then I said to the political commissar of the division in a commanding tone: "Comrade Kuznetsov, the situation is very critical at present, and the German tanks may rush to the dock at any time, so please contact the infantry battalion commander on the dock immediately and tell them that I will take the command, so as not to delay the fighters." ”

Hearing me say so strictly, Kuznetsov did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly replied: "Okay, Comrade Colonel, I will immediately inform the battalion commander who is in charge of guarding the dock and ask him to report to you as much as possible." ”

After putting down the phone, I turned around and asked the regimental commissar: "Comrade regimental commissar, let me ask you, how many anti-aircraft guns do you still have in your regiment?" ”

The political commissar of the regiment replied to me after putting on his military cap properly: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, due to the recent air raids of our regiment by the Luftwaffe, the troops have suffered heavy losses. At the moment only eight anti-aircraft guns remain. and fifteen anti-aircraft machine guns. ”

"Except for anti-aircraft machine guns. The rest of the anti-aircraft guns were immediately transferred to the side of the fortifications at the dock. We now lack anti-tank weapons, so we can only use these anti-aircraft guns as anti-tank guns. ”

Listening to my words, the regimental commissar said with a look of embarrassment: "Comrade division commander, if you transfer all the anti-aircraft guns, then the air defense tasks on the dock cannot be guaranteed. ”

Recalling yesterday's situation when German planes swooped and strafed and bombed the pier with impunity, I was so angry that I said coldly: "Comrade Political Commissar of the regiment, if the German tanks rush to the pier. What was the point of our so-called air defense at that time? ”

Seeing that the regimental commissar was dumbfounded by my words, I turned around and ordered Vera: "Vera, you go out and tell Captain Sù Basmanov that the male soldiers help the female soldiers and push the anti-aircraft guns to the barricades." ”

After Vera turned to leave, I shook my head at the regimental political commissar and said, "Let's go, comrade regimental political commissar, you can accompany me to the garrison camp to take over the command first." ”

As we walked towards the garrison camp, I glanced at the depressed political commissar of the women's regiment beside me. He asked politely: "Comrade Political Commissar of the regiment, I don't know what to call you?" ”

"Li Jiya. Deputy battalion-level political commissar Li Jiya. ”

"How about the fortifications on the docks, will they be able to hold off the tanks of the Germans?" To tell the truth, although I was authorized to take over the command of the dock troops, I still have a blind eye for what the situation is here, so I must seize the time to find out the situation from this regimental political commissar.

"On the road leading to the pier, there are two concrete pillboxes, built of reinforced concrete from a meter back, which German tank shells cannot penetrate. Each pillbox was guarded by a squad of defenders, and I don't know much about the firepower, but it should be able to hold off the Germans. ”

"What if you can't stop it?" I asked politely.

Li Jiya smiled awkwardly and replied, "Comrade division commander, I think it should be able to hold it." I think everyone knows the meaning of this city, named after the Supreme Commander himself, who will not let the enemy move forward even if they sacrifice their lives. ”

"The idea is good, Comrade Political Commissar of the regiment." I said disapprerovingly: "It is not enough to have enthusiasm for battle, our fighters must first have the ability to block the enemy, otherwise it would not be possible for the German tanks to swagger under the city of Stalingrad." ”

My words infuriated Li Jiya, who, despite my rank higher than hers, said angrily: "Comrade Colonel, whoever gives you the right to insult our soldiers, know that we are sacrificing our lives, and we cannot hand over Stalingrad, we are going to use our bodies to keep the enemy out of the city. With that, she walked forward alone and breathlessly.

I was hesitating to apologize to her when a commander in a steel helmet ran up to us, and he ran to Li Jiya's side, pulling her arm as if he was anxiously asking something. Li Jiya forcefully broke her arm out of his hand, pointed angrily in my direction, and then stood on the side of the road with her back to me sulking.

The commander ran up to me and saluted, and reported: "Comrade Colonel, I am the battalion commander of the 10th Infantry Division of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Senior Captain Prokop, and I have just received a call from the political commissar from the division, saying that from now on, you will take over the command of the dock troops, and I have come to report to you and wait for your next instructions!" ”

I waved my hand forward and said, "Let's go, Comrade Captain, let's talk as we go." After saying that, I walked in the direction where the captain came from, and when I passed Li Jiya, I grabbed her hand and forced her to walk forward with me.

On the way, I began to ask Captain Prokop about the situation: "Comrade Captain, how is your defense area now?" ”

Prokop hurriedly replied: "Report to Comrade Colonel, just now the Germans launched an attack on us. However, since their rear was attacked by our troops, the tanks had no choice but to stop their advance and turn around and withdraw as soon as they rushed to the concrete pillboxes on our positions. The fighters who were stuck in the bunker made a decisive attack, blowing up two tanks with anti-tank grenades, and also blowing up the tracks of one tank, and when the tankmen inside escaped, they were all killed by our fighters with machine guns. ”

"Well done, Comrade Captain." After complimenting the captain, I began to understand the battalion's armament: "Do you have any other fortifications besides the two cement pillboxes?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Colonel." Captain Prokop replied clearly: "Behind the two pillboxes we have built trenches and a dozen barricades made of sandbags and logs. In nearby buildings, there are also our warriors hidden inside. Even if the German tanks broke through our defenses, the soldiers who were hiding in the buildings could continue to fight the German infantry. ”

When the captain said this, a smug expression appeared on his face, but the more I listened, the more dissatisfied I became, and I frowned unconsciously, and as soon as the captain finished speaking, I unceremoniously criticized him: "Comrade Captain, your task is to guard the docks, and whether it is the German infantry or the German tanks, you cannot let them enter our docks. ”

When Prokop heard me say this, he couldn't help but open his mouth wide, and only after a long time did he weakly retort: "But, Comrade Colonel, we lack anti-tank weapons, and we can't stop the tanks that are rushing towards us at all?" (To be continued......)

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