By the time I put down the phone, Akhromeyev had already finished explaining his mission to Mihayev. With Krylov's permission, I became more and more confident. When I heard Akhromeyev ask me if I had anything to add, I walked up to Mihayev and said to him: "Comrade lieutenant, the distance from here to the German command is not close, and it is not practical to walk. Right in the pit at the foot of the hillside, there is a motorcycle with a sidecar hidden in the tunnel, so you can go there on a motorcycle. ”

"Yes, understood." Mihayev agreed briefly, and then asked carefully: "Commander, do you have any other orders?" ”

I thought for a moment and said, "For the detailed task, I have already told you to the chief of staff. I would like to advise you, after meeting the German commander, to tell him that in order to facilitate their collection of the bodies of the fallen officers and soldiers, the two sides ceased fighting for a day. The most important point is that the officers and soldiers who come to collect the corpses must not carry weapons, but also fly white flags. ”

When he heard that I asked the Germans to fly the white flag, Kirillov became as excited as if he had been beaten with chicken blood, and he echoed in a loud voice: "Yes, yes, comrade division commander is right." Lieutenant Mihayev, when you meet the German commanders, you must not forget to ask them to fly the white flag. ”

"Please rest assured that the political commissar will live up to my mission." Mihayev replied loudly.

After Mihayev left, Akhromeyev gave us a detailed account of the previous night's battle to capture the Avenue of the Soviets, and concluded his remarks by saying: "Judging from last night's fighting, the combined units of the 1st Battalion of the 2nd Regiment and the 3rd Regiment of the 1st Regiment had a very high level of street fighting skills and tactics. Since the enemy had just occupied the Soviet Street, they did not have time to build fortifications and build a strong defense. In this case, Captain Khrushov, who directly commanded the operation. Break the troops into pieces. Act in small groups. The squad is a unit of 10~20 people. At the commander's command, they quickly rushed into the roadside building and fought independently. This style of play was completely unexpected by the enemy, which is why they were crushed by us. ”

After listening to what Akhromeyev said, Kirillov nodded and explained to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you have not been in the independent division for a long time, and it may not be clear. From the beginning of the formation of this unit, Division Commander Oshanina trained the troops according to the pattern of street fighting. As far as I know, this kind of training method of hers also caused controversy at the headquarters of the 64th Army, after all, at that time we and the Germans were fighting face-to-face positional battles, and street battles were of no use at all. If it weren't for the help of Chuikov, who served as deputy commander of the army, this kind of training of Colonel Oshanina would have been stopped by his superiors, and perhaps even the post of division commander of the independent division would have been removed. ”

"Is that so, Comrade Division Commander?" Akhromeyev asked curiously after listening.

I nodded. Say yes with certainty. As our troops retreated along the Don River, I expected that the next battle would take place near Stalingrad. That's why we took precautions to train the troops in street fighting. ”

After hearing this, Akhromeyev said in surprise: "Comrade division commander, you are so bold. A month or two ago, you would have dared to guess that the battle would take place in Stalingrad. If someone from the Home Office knows about it, you're in big trouble. Your speculation is tantamount to saying that it is possible for the enemy to occupy this city named after the Supreme Commander, then, to put it well, this is a ridiculous idea, and to put it badly, it is a manifestation of defeatism. ”

Kirillov interrupted Akhromeyev with a wave of his hand: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, don't talk about this. What happened to the newly repaired fortifications of the 4th Regiment? ”

Hearing his question, Akhromeyev hurriedly replied: "Division commander, political commissar, I just want to report to you. Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar's troops, having entered the heights to the north, strengthened and perfected the fortifications on the basis of the original regiment. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, let's be more detailed." Ever since I had Akhromeyev as the chief of staff, I didn't bother with things like building fortifications, but let him take full responsibility. "How is it reinforced?"

"The fourth regiment built a large number of half-moon-shaped fortifications outside the original two trenches, which increased the intensity of fire while dispersing the forces originally crowded in the trenches."

After hearing this, Kirillov nodded, then raised his head and said to Akhromeyev: "Lieutenant Colonel Sù Gaidar, it is not enough to have perfect fortifications, you must control the troops." If there is another defection incident like the Second Regiment, it will not only be the platoon commander but also the battalion commander who will be held responsible. ”

"When fighting in a large corps, military discipline must be strict!" Although I understand that this is a cliché, I still have to say it when I need to say it. In order to let the commanders under my command take warning, I gritted my teeth and conveyed a joint sitting method no less than Order No. 227 as my own military order: "Chief of Staff, record the order: On the battlefield, if you do not have the permission of your superiors, you will retire in one squad and only kill the squad leader; One platoon retreats together, and only the platoon commander is killed; One retreats together, and only kills the company commander; One battalion retreated together, and only the battalion commander was killed; One regiment retreats together, and only the regiment commander is killed. ”

After I finished speaking, Kirillov and Akhromeyev were stunned. After a long time, Kirillov cautiously said to me: "Comrade Oshanina, is this military law too harsh? ”

I shook my head and interrupted Kirillov, who was trying to persuade me, and at the same time gave my reasons: "Comrade commissar, I know that this law follows the military regulations of the old army, and even has a fascist flavor. But it is very effective in the special period we are facing at the present time of life and death, and I believe that it can inspire our commanders and fighters so that they can not flinch when they charge into battle, and they are not afraid of bloodshed and sacrifice. I believe that future practice can show that this decision is completely correct. ”

Seeing my resolute attitude, Kirillov dismissed his attempts to persuade me, turned around and instructed Akhromeyev: "Chief of Staff, convey the orders of the division commander to the regiments, and at the same time report to the army group headquarters. ”

As soon as Akhromeyev reported the new military law I had issued to the command, Chuikov called me. He hurriedly asked on the phone: "Colonel Oshanina, what happened?" I want to ask. Why did you suddenly give such an inexplicable order to the regiments? ”

"Comrade Commander." I had expected this order to be reported. It is bound to attract the attention of the superiors, so when I heard Chuikov's question at this moment, I replied confidently: "I just don't say it, and you know how bad the current situation has become." In less than a month, the independent division held out at Mamayev Height, and the division was reduced by nearly two-thirds. The next battle will be even more brutal, and in this case, it is inevitable that there will be wavering elements who are greedy for life and afraid of death. If strict military regulations are not formulated, I fear that if there are deserters, it will lead to the collapse of our defenses. ”

After listening to my words, Chuikov was silent for a long time. He didn't speak, and if it weren't for the cacophony of people coming from the headquarters through the receiver, I would have even thought he had hung up.

I looked up at my watch, and Chuikov's silence had passed for several minutes, and I was about to remind him when he had spoken first. He seems to have made up his mind only after a fierce ideological struggle: "Comrade Oshanina. The plan you mentioned to me last time was to replace soldiers with water, and you should study it with the commanders and fighters. See if there is any possibility of implementation. After that, without waiting for me to speak, he hung up the phone.

When I put down the phone, Kirillov immediately came over and asked curiously: "Comrade Oshanina, why is your expression so ugly, what did Comrade Commander say?" ”

Instead of answering him this question, I looked at him and asked: "Comrade Kirillov, you said last time that you were involved in a book called "On the Map of the Motherland," and seeing that he nodded affirmatively, I continued: "Can you tell me more about this book?" ”

Kirillov came as soon as he opened his mouth, crackling and muttering a bunch of them to me: "Our appointments are rising day by day. We are not the same today as we were yesterday, and we will not be the same tomorrow as we are today. We are not the Russians we were before 1917, Russia is not the Russia, and the nature of our country is not the nature of our country. We have changed and grown with those tremendous changes that have completely changed the face of our country. ”

Listening to these inexplicable contents, I hurriedly raised my hand to interrupt him, and asked puzzledly: "Comrade Political Commissar, what are you reading?" The more I listened, the more confused I became. ”

Kirillov stopped talking, looked at me as if he were looking at an alien, and said: "Comrade Oshanina, it seems that you really haven't read the book "On the Map of the Motherland" compiled by me, and you haven't even heard that I read the preface written by Comrade Zhdanov. ”

Akhromeyev suddenly asked with some excitement: "Comrade Political Commissar, you are talking about the Standing Adviser of the Supreme High Command, the member of the Military Committee of the North-Western Direction, the member of the Military Committee of the Leningrad Front, and the member of the Military and Political Propaganda Committee of the General Political Department of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army. Aleksandrovich. Comrade Zhdanov? ”

Kirillov nodded, affirmatively: "Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, of course it is him, otherwise who is still qualified to write a preface to this book, which won the Stalin's prize." ”

I couldn't help frowning slightly after hearing this, I didn't expect this Zhdanov to have so many titles, if Kirillov was allowed to continue, it was estimated that within a few hours, he would be singing a one-man show alone in the command. So I hurriedly stopped him from talking behind him, and instead asked the question I was interested in directly: "Commissar, I'll ask you." When does the Volga enter the dry season and when does the river freeze? ”

Kirillov is also a clever person, and when he heard my question, his eyebrows couldn't help jumping, and he lowered his voice and asked: "Comrade division commander, are you still fighting the idea of the 'replacing soldiers with water' plan?" ”

I nodded, and added, "It was the commander himself who proposed it, and it seems that he also thinks that in the present form, if that plan can be implemented, it will ease the pressure on the north side of the city, and free up some troops to reinforce those tight areas." ”

Kirillov frowned and thought for a while, then said slowly: "The source of the Volga River comes from melting snow, groundwater and rainwater. The climate of the Volga basin varies greatly from north to south. From its source to the mouth of the Kama River, it has a temperate climate characterized by cold, snowy winters and warm, fairly humid summers. From the Kama River to the bottom of Mount Wowa, summers are hot and dry, and winters are cold but snowfall is rare. The further south and east you go, the warmer you are, and the lower the amount of precipitation. The ice period is in November and the thaw period is from mid-March to early April of the following year. Although it is not the dry season, it is not easy to blow up the thick embankment. ”

"Division commander and political commissar, according to my observation, to blow up such a thick embankment and let the river water pour into the plain, not to mention the manpower to be used, even if it is the explosives to blow up the embankment, it will cost at least ten or twenty tons." Speaking of this plan, Akhromeyev was also worried, "We have to transport so many explosives to the river and plant them, so that it is almost impossible not to be discovered by the Germans." ”

"What if we work at night?" Kirillov asked with a fluke mentality.

Akhromeyev shook his head with a wry smile and said with a bitter face: "It's useless, Comrade Political Commissar, I believe that the enemy must have sent scouts to lurk around our positions. We had a large-scale operation that we felt that we could not hide from the eyes of the enemy's scouts. ”

Just as we were frowning, the phone on the desk rang, and Akhromeyev picked up the phone and said loudly: "I am the chief of staff, Major Akhromeyev, where are you?" ”

Gaidar's voice came from the receiver of the phone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please tell the division commander that the enemy's corpse collection unit is coming, what should our regiment do, please give her instructions!" ”

Akhromeyev covered the microphone with his hand, looked up at me, and said: "Division commander, Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar reported that the troops from which the enemy had come to collect the corpses had arrived, and asked you what instructions you had?" ”

"Tell him that the enemy's corpse collection team must be given a limited area of activity, and at most they can only advance to the foot of the mountain. As for those corpses on the hillside, only the aggrieved Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar sent our fighters to carry them down. There is also a point, since Lieutenant Mihayev is here, let him immediately rush back to the division headquarters to resume his life. ”

Having repeated my order to Gaidar, Akhromeyev put down the phone and asked me curiously: "Comrade division commander, do you think that Lieutenant Mihayev has detected the enemy's intelligence?" ”

Almost without hesitation, I shook my head and said, "Does that need to be said?" No matter how stupid the Germans are, they will not allow one of their own enemies to swagger around the defense zone. (To be continued......)

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