The ferocious German offensive lasted two days. As a result of the enemy's powerful artillery fire and frenzied bombardment, following the destruction of the headquarters of the 37th Guards Division of General Joludev, the headquarters of the 84th Tank Brigade of Colonel Bere and the 7th Guards Division of Colonel Lyudnikov were also destroyed one after another.

Having lost their command post, the commanders had no choice but to take refuge in the shelter of the headquarters, but as more and more commanders poured in, the shelter became more and more crowded. In order to accommodate the new commanders, Chuikov had to order several walkie-talkies to be moved to the adjacent shelter to make more space.

Because of these numerous commanders nestled in this shelter, they could only dodge shells and bombardment, and there was no way to command their own troops. Seeing this, Chuikov felt the need to evacuate the surplus personnel and departments to the other side of the river, so he immediately contacted the front command by radio in Guò.

When Chuikov and Yeremenko were on the phone, I was standing not far from him, so I could hear the conversation between them clearly: "Hello,! Chuikov politely called each other by his real name and his patronymic.

"Aha! It turned out to be Comrade Chuikov," Yeremenko responded to Chuikov in an equally enthusiastic voice: "You called me at this time, is there anything wrong?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." "Due to the fierce offensive of the enemy, many of our defensive positions were broken through by the Germans, and the battle was fought several times in the vicinity of the headquarters of the army group. So I beg you, can you allow us to send some of the divisions and personnel belonging to the army group to the east bank of the Volga. Go and set up a reserve command. My premise, of course, is that all the committees of the Military Council remain in the city. The purpose of doing so. Just in case, even if the army group headquarters in the city was wiped out by the Germans, the reserve headquarters could immediately take over the command and continue to command the troops remaining in the city. ”

"No, Comrade Chuikov, I don't agree!" Yeremenko, who had been talking and laughing with Chuikov, suddenly said in a stern tone: "Once the reserve command is established on the east bank, there is a possibility that the morale of the army will be shaken, and then your troops will be driven into the Volga River by the Germans like rabbits." ”

Hear Yeremenko's harsh words. After being silent for a moment, Chuikov made another request: "Comrade commander, the main artillery force of our army group and all the artillery of the front army are on the east bank of the Volga, can I send the artillery commander of the army group alone, Comrade Hogarsky, to cross the river, he can better command the troops on the east bank." ”

Yeremenko also thought about Chuikov's request for a while, and then said with some reluctance: "Well, I agree to let Comrade Khokalsky go to the east bank to command the artillery, but his artillery observers must stay in the city and guide our artillery in the direction of the shelling." ”

"I see. Comrade Commander. After Chuikov said this, he put down the microphone and headphones with a gloomy expression.

He walked up to the crowded commanders. He coughed heavily. As he coughed, the commanders, who were still whispering, suddenly fell silent. Chuikov beckoned to Khogarsky, let him come to him, and said to him in a steady tone: "Comrade Khogarsky, I now give you a difficult task. You immediately cross the river to the east bank, where you command our artillery to shell the German troops in the city. ”

Faced with this good opportunity to leave Stalingrad, Khokalsky was not at all unusual, and he even said to Chuikov with tears in his eyes: "Comrade commander, I will not go...... Where you are, I will be there, and I will die together......"

Hearing that Hokalsky was going to stay and live and die with him, Chuikov's eyes couldn't help but turn red, and in order to hide his inner excitement, he walked quickly to the table, grabbed a stack of telegrams, sniffed, turned around and said loudly to the commanders in the room: "Comrade commander, due to the enemy's frantic attack, the current situation facing our army group is very bad, and then I will read to you the battle report of the past two days."

The battle report for 14 January is as follows:

The army group fought a hard defensive battle with the attacking enemy infantry and tanks in the areas of the 112th Infantry Division, the 37th Guards Division, the 3O8th Infantry Division and the 95th Infantry Division. In other parts of the front, small groups of enemy infantry and tanks were repulsed, and positions were firmly held. Our artillery fired heavily at the attacking enemy infantry and tanks. The enemy carried out the main assault on the Stalingrad Tractor Plant with superior forces, and before dark, the plant was approaching, where fierce fighting was now taking place.

At the same time as the main assault on the Stalingrad Tractor Plant, the enemy, after fierce aviation fire and artillery preparations, under the cover of a large number of aircraft, with the strength of 3 infantry divisions and 2 tank divisions, turned to the offensive on the front line of the Mokraya Mechetka River and the Silicon Products Plant. A German army rushed to the vicinity of the headquarters of the army group, and after encountering stubborn resistance from the guard battalion, they had to withdraw from the battle.

In a continuous and dense assault, enemy aviation bombed and attacked the battle formations of our troops, the entire coastal strip and all the crossings. After nightfall, the bombardment continued. The enemy made about 3,000 sorties in a day.

The war report of 15 January says:

Army groups were engaged in hard defensive battles in the northern and central sectors of the front. The southern sector is countering the attack of small groups of enemy infantry and tanks. The enemy, with fresh forces (3O5th Infantry Division), continued the offensive from the Stalingrad Tractor Plant to the south, in the direction of the "Barricade" factory, and from Spartanovka and Reynolds, in an attempt to advance along the Volga to the rear of the army group.

By 16 o'clock, the troops of Yermolgin, Zolodev and the right flank of the Gurtiev division were divided by enemy tanks and were fighting in a closed circle.

Before the end of the day, the enemy captured most of the Stalingrad Tractor Plant, cut off the defensive front between the 37th Guards Infantry Division and the 95th Infantry Division, and inserted its advance units into the rear of the 3O8th Infantry Division, advancing to the command post of the army group. The guard battalion of the army group command had to again go into battle 3oo meters from the headquarters. ”

Before Chuikov could finish reading, Krylov, with a telegram in his hand, walked in from outside. He walked straight to Chuikov's side and reported to him with a blank face: "I just got the information. The enemy surrounded the tractor plant from all sides. Battles are taking place in the workshops. ”

This unexpected news. So that every commander present was shocked, to know that whether the tractor plant can hold on to it is related to whether we can hold Stalingrad. Still with a calm expression, Chuikov asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is this information reliable?" "There is a reason why he asks this, because of the German shelling and bombardment, and the poor communication of the guides, so the reports from the troops are often contradictory, and it is becoming more and more difficult to find out whether they are true or false.

Krylov nodded. To be sure: "This news has been repeatedly confirmed, and there should be nothing wrong with it." After a pause, he continued: "About 75 percent of the fighters of the Joludev and Gorishny divisions were killed. Despite this, many of the fascist attacks were repulsed and failed to move forward. Today alone, the Germans lost 33 tanks and about 3 battalions of infantry. Although the German offensive did not stop until dark, our army, which was cut off by the waist, continued to struggle. The Northern Cluster (the 124th, 115th, 149th Infantry Brigades and the 1st Yermorgin Division) engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy's superior forces in the encirclement, which was attacked from the north from Latashanakar and west along the valley of the Moklamyametka River, with tractor factories. From time to time, our contact with the troops of the cluster was interrupted due to poor communications. ”

Chuikov sat at the table. Gently tapping the table with the fingers of his left hand, but when his fingers stopped. Suddenly, he asked: "Where are the reserves that can be put into battle at the moment?" ”

When Krylov heard Chuikov's question, he turned his head to look at me before he replied solemnly: "The regiment of the division is hidden north of the 'barricade' factory, and the strength is about 2,000 men, and once they are engaged in battle, they can delay the German attack on the factory." You know, it was the weakest defensive front of our army. ”

"Then what are you hesitating about, immediately contact Lieutenant Colonel Shederikov and order him to lead his troops into battle, and must slow down the enemy's attack on the 'barricade' factory." When Chuikov heard that there was still a new force hidden near the battlefield, he immediately gave an order without thinking.

In these two days of brutal fighting, the first battalion led by Ilya had suffered three-quarters of the casualties, and seeing that the remaining two battalions of the first regiment were about to be filled into this "human flesh millstone", I couldn't help but be anxious, and quickly shouted: "Commander, chief of staff, please wait a moment." ”

Hearing my shout, Chuikov turned his head to look at me and asked, puzzled: "Comrade Oshanina, do you have anything else to say?" Although this regiment is your subordinate, and I promised you not to use them casually, but at the moment our defenses are in jeopardy, and if we don't throw them into battle, once the enemy breaks through our defenses, it will be too late. As he spoke, he was going to continue to give orders to Krylov.

I hurriedly rushed to his side, grabbed his arm, and pleaded: "Comrade commander, you can't just throw a regiment into battle, otherwise they will all be wiped out in half a day." ”

Chuikov waved his hand, shook off my restraints, and said dissatisfiedly: "Comrade Oshanina, I remind you that you have to make it clear that it is the division that commands the group army, not the division commands the group army, so what order I give, it is not your turn to point fingers. ”

Seeing that Chuikov was on fire, I knew that if I kept pleading, it would only add fuel to the fire, and the only way to calm his anger was to come up with a good battle plan and maximize the role of a group, so that Chuikov would not have any objections. So I fell silent, my mind racing, and I thought about what kind of approach I should take to reverse the disadvantage in the current situation.

Seeing that I was slow to speak, Chuikov snorted heavily, ordered Krylov a few more words, and then urged him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, hurry up and contact Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, so that he is ready for battle and ready to fight at any time." ”

Krylov agreed, turned around and was about to leave. It was here that a bold plan popped into my head, and without thinking I called out to Krylov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please wait a moment. ”

"What else do you want to say?" When Chuikov saw that I was interrupted again, he couldn't help but glare at me angrily. I guess if he hadn't known me well, he might have had me dragged out and court-martialed.

"Comrade Commander," I was afraid that he would interrupt me, so I said in a very quick voice, "I now have a bold plan for a night attack, and it may be possible to recover the positions we have lost. ”

"Bold plans?" When Chuikov heard me say this, the expression on his face softened a lot, and he asked curiously, "Tell me, what kind of plan is it?" (To be continued!)

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