I thought that the battle had just ended, and our troops would have to rest for two days in Stalingrad, but I did not expect that early the next morning, General Krylov called me and conveyed to me the latest order of Chuikov. He said on the phone: "Comrade Oshanina, the units of the 64th Army, which took over the defense and capture of your army, will arrive at four o'clock this afternoon. The commander ordered you, before that, to assemble the main forces of the army, and as soon as the defense was handed over, immediately move to the vicinity of the Akhtuba River. ”

"But, Comrade Chief of Staff." When I heard that the troops were about to start this afternoon, I couldn't help but complain to Krylov: "After months of fighting, the commanders and fighters have become exhausted, and now they need to rest. Although I knew that Krylov's order could not be changed, I tentatively asked, "Can we let the commanders and fighters rest in the city for two days before heading to the Akhtuba River?" ”

To my complaint, Chief of Staff Krylov replied: "Comrade Oshanina, you should know that the aggressors on our territory have not yet been completely driven out, and although we have achieved a great victory in Stalingrad, fierce battles are still going on on the battlefields around us. Gathering troops in the Akhtuba River area will not only facilitate rest and replenishment, but also allow for the deployment of powerful troops to new battlefields according to changes in the war situation. ”

Hearing Krylov say this, I understood that it would be superfluous for me to say anything more, so I hurriedly expressed my resolute obedience to the order, and at the same time asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't know when the headquarters of the army group will be transferred?" ”

"At present, we are packing up and assembling the troops directly under us, and it is estimated that we will be able to transfer at noon." Krylov hung up the phone as soon as he finished speaking.

Before I could put down the phone, Vitkov, who was standing next to me, asked impatiently: "Comrade Commander." Why did General Krylov want our army to open immediately. Don't even give a day or two of recuperation? ”

I shrugged my shoulders. I slowly put the microphone on the base of the telephone, repeated what Krylov had told me on the phone, and finally instructed him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, call the division commanders and brigade commanders in the army and ask them to rush here immediately for a meeting. ”

It was not much effort, and several division commanders and brigade commanders who received a call from Vitkov came to the army headquarters one after another. As soon as I gave them the order to be removed, there was no one like me. Objections were raised as to why the troops were no longer resting in Stalingrad for two days, so that the arguments I had prepared in advance did not serve any purpose.

Since the receiving force of the 64th Army would arrive at four o'clock in the afternoon, I also set the time for the troops to start at four o'clock. Vachuk's 284th Division, Colonel Bere's Tank Brigade and the 266th Artillery Regiment formed the first echelon, followed by Gurdiev's 308th Division and Andreushchenko's 171st Division, and finally the Pandereev Division and Army Headquarters, which had completed the defense.

But the plan could not catch up with the changes, and when the first and second echelons were drawn one after another, I raised my hand and looked at my watch, and it was already five o'clock in the afternoon, and the task of handing over the defense of the Pantai Leev Division was almost complete. I was going to call Pantai Leev personally and ask him if the defense transfer there had been completed. As soon as I picked up the phone, I saw him walk in.

I hurriedly put down the phone. Asked: "Colonel Bandereev, how's it going, have the defenses and prisoners been handed over to friendly forces?" ”

Unexpectedly, Bandereev sat down opposite me and said angrily: "What defense and prisoners will be handed over, and to whom?" The friendly troops said they had come at four o'clock, but so far they had not seen a single figure. ”

"No," Vitkov asked strangely when he saw Bandereev enter the command, poured a cup of tea first, and when he came over and put it in front of him, "Maybe the troops who came to pick up the defense got lost, and you didn't send someone to look for it nearby?" ”

Pantai Laiev picked up the teapot placed in front of him, raised his head and drank it all, then slammed the teapot on the table, and said angrily: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I waited until half past four in the division headquarters, and I did not wait for the arrival of friendly troops. At first, I thought that as you said, the troops who came to pick up the defense were not familiar with the road and got lost, and I sent several small detachments to meet them. Who knew that one of the squads would come back and report that the friendly forces had not yet assembled. ”

"What, not assembled yet?" When Vitkov heard what Pantai Leev said, he immediately jumped up from his seat, instinctively raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said in surprise: "Even if they assemble at this time, it will take an hour at the earliest." When the 150th Division finishes handing over the defense, if it starts again, it will be at least seven o'clock. ”

"Since friendly forces haven't come to take over the defense, we certainly can't just leave without regard for it." I looked at the darkening sky outside, and quickly made a decision, I looked up and asked Vitkov: "Chief of Staff, have all the troops directly under the army been assembled?" ”

"Report to the corps, commander," Vitkov straightened up and reported to me, "to go at any time." At the end, he also asked, "What do you mean, the army headquarters did not wait for the 150th Division, but set off alone?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." I know too well about Lao Maozi's procrastination character, since the 64th Army's receiving troops have not been assembled so far, it is unlikely that they will come to take over the defense today, and I don't want to continue to waste time here, so I know that the troops directly under the army are ready to set off, and decisively announced: "Don't wait, we'll set off immediately." You, Colonel Bandereev, will remain with your division until you have handed over the defense to your allies, and then rush to the Akhtuba River to join up with the main forces of the army. ”

When Vitkov and I arrived near the Akhtuba River with the army, we met Captain Klimov, the adjutant sent by Chuikov to meet us, and learned that the troops that had arrived earlier were scattered and stationed in six villages along the river, and that the village where our army headquarters was located was only a kilometer or two away from Chuikov's headquarters.

In the early morning of 5 February, the third day after I was stationed at the new station, Chuikov called me and my division commanders and brigade commanders to a meeting at the headquarters of the group army, saying that there was something important to announce.

I took Vitkov, Bandereev, Vachuk, Bere, and my subordinates by car to the village where the headquarters of the army group was located. As soon as I got out of the car, my eyes were drawn to the uniforms of the soldiers and officers standing outside the headquarters. Look at the epaulettes on their shoulders. I know that these commanders and fighters must have come from the Front Command. Because in our army group there is no one who has yet worn the epaulettes of this new rank.

After they got out of the car, they all stared at the epaulettes of those commanders and fighters in a daze, and for a long time Vitkov said in surprise: "Comrade commander, you see, they seem to be wearing the legendary new military ranks. ”

"It's not like, it is." I said and patted Vitkov on the shoulder. He shook his head at him and said, "Okay, my comrade chief of staff, don't stand here studying the new rank, it won't be long before we can change it." ”

A group of us walked up the steps to the semi-underground headquarters made of logs, and under the guidance of an officer on duty, we made our way to the room where the meeting was about to take place.

There was only a dark crowd in the room at the moment, and I stood in the doorway for a moment, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the light before going inside. I quickly discovered the rank of the commander in the room who was wearing the uniform. There are collar badges like I wear, and epaulettes like those commanders and fighters outside the door.

I looked over to the table directly across from me. I found that in addition to the other leaders of the army group that I expected, there were Rokossovsky and Malinin sitting at the long table, and next to Malinin was a general wearing a new rank and looking like a face, and the political commissar of the 39th Guards Division, Chernyshov.

Vitkov and I found our seats, on a row of benches facing Rokossovsky's place. When Rokossovsky saw me, he smiled at me and nodded. I quickly stood up and nodded and smiled at him.

Seeing that the meeting was almost over, Krylov stood up from the table with a smile on his face and said in a sonorous tenor: "Hello, comrades commanders! Now the military conference has officially begun. First of all, I would like to inform the commanders present here of the report of the battle that has just been counted: in the decisive battle of Stalingrad that has just ended, a total of 91,000 German officers and soldiers were captured by us. During the battle to annihilate the encircled enemy, the troops of the Don Front captured 5,762 enemy artillery pieces, more than 3,000 mortars, 12,000 machine guns, 156987 rifles, more than 10,000 submachine guns, 744 aircraft, 1,666 tanks, 261 armored vehicles, 80,438 automobiles, more than 10,000 motorcycles, 240 tractors, 571 tractors, 3 armored trains, 58 locomotives, 1,403 wagons, and 696 radio stations. There are 933 telephones, 337 warehouses of various types, 13,787 carts and a large number of other military supplies. Among the prisoners were 24 generals, headed by Field Marshal Paulus.

…… The victory was achieved under extremely difficult and difficult conditions, and only the Soviet people and their Red Army under the leadership of Lenin's party could achieve such a victory. ”

After Krylov finished reading the battle report, he picked up a copy of the text from the table and began to read it. This was a promotion order issued by the High Command, and as I had guessed in advance, Lyudnikov, Gurdiev, Vachuk, Bandereev and others who had achieved remarkable results were promoted to major generals.

Then a number of units were announced, and two units of our department were on the list. One was Vachuk's 284th Infantry Division, which was reorganized into the 79th Guards Infantry Division; The other is my starting unit, the original Red Banner Independent Division, the current 150th Infantry Division, which was reorganized into the 22nd Guards Red Banner Stalin Siberian Volunteer Infantry Division.

When Krylov picked up a copy of the document again, he shouted outside, and then Captain Klimov appeared at the door. Krylov commanded him in a loud voice: "Comrade Captain, go and bring those things." Captain Klimov excitedly agreed and turned to leave.

Seeing everyone's blank looks, Krylov hurriedly explained to us: "According to the order of the Supreme High Command, I think that every commander and fighter who participated in the defense of Stalingrad will be awarded the 'Medal for the Defense of Stalingrad'. ”

After a while, Captain Klimov walked in with five or six fighters holding a bunch of boxes. Gurov stood up with a smile on his face and personally handed each commander the boxes containing the new medals that had just been established.

I opened the box and carefully took out the medal that was placed inside and admired it. This medal is bronze and gold-plated. The obverse depicts four warriors with weapons. It also reads "Rewarded for defending Stalingrad." I turned the medal over. It was found that the words "For our Soviet Fatherland" were also written on the back.

Just as most of the commanders were admiring the medals in their hands, I was surprised to see Malinin leaning close to Rokossovsky's ear and saying a few words, and standing up casually. As soon as I saw him get up, I guessed that he must have something more important to announce. Sure enough, he walked to the front of the table, faced us, and lowered his head to read aloud the text he was holding in his hand: "...... The Supreme High Command, taking into account the need to disseminate the combat experience of the Battle of Stalingrad, decided to disperse some units with combat experience that had previously belonged to the 62nd Army into the various armies. Therefore. Only three divisions, the 39th Guards Division under the command of General Guryev, the 74th Guards Division under the command of General Sokolov, and the 79th Guards Division under the command of General Vachuk, were incorporated into the 8th Guards Army. The newly replenished divisions all took part in the offensive campaign at Stalingrad and have excellent combat traditions and rich offensive experience.

Gurov, a member of the Military Committee of the Group Army, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, transferred from the Group Army, and reappointed as a member of the Military Committee of the Southern Front, and the post of Military Commissar of the Group Army was taken over by Colonel Chernyshov, the former political commissar of the 39th Guards Division; Chief of Staff Krylov was transferred to the post of commander of the 21st Army, and the post was taken over by Major General Vladimirov. ”

After reading out the order, Malinin introduced us to the newly appointed military commissar and chief of staff of the group army. It turned out that the major general sitting next to Chernyshov was the newly appointed chief of staff. He also served as the commander of the 88th Guards Division.

"Comrade Commander," Vitkov next to me touched me gently. He asked in a low voice: "The commander left the Vachuk division in the army group, but what about the remaining troops in our army?" Will it be assigned to other units? ”

I was thinking about why my superiors gave Pantai Leyev such a long and awkward name, and when I heard Vitkov's question, I said absentmindedly: "Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff, the superiors will make overall arrangements." ”

"Comrade Commander of the Front," as soon as I finished speaking, I suddenly remembered Vitkov's sonorous tenor: "Allow me to ask questions?" ”

The sudden appearance of this voice immediately attracted everyone's attention, and everyone looked up curiously at Vitkov, who was standing beside me.

"Comrade Commander of the Front," Vitkov ignored everyone's curious gazes, but asked directly: "From the order just announced by General Malinin, General Vachuk's 79th Guards Army, to which our army belongs, was left behind in the 8th Guards Army, which had just been reorganized from the 62nd Army, but what about our 79th Infantry Army?" Why didn't it say how to arrange us? ”

When I heard Vitkov ask, I was afraid of upsetting Rokossovsky, so I quickly stared nervously ahead to see how he would react. Directly Rokossovsky raised his head, glanced at Vitkov in bewilderment, and then turned his gaze to Chuikov next to him.

"Colonel Vitkov," Chuikov said with obvious dissatisfaction, "although you are the chief of staff of the 79th Infantry Corps, it is up to the command of our army group and the command of the front to decide how to arrange the departure or stay of the troops. ”

"However, Comrade Commander,......" Vitkov was unconvinced, trying to justify something, but was interrupted by Rokossovsky, who stood up. He looked at Vitkov and said slowly: "Comrade Colonel, I can tell you now about the departure or stay of the 79th Infantry Corps. After the study of the Supreme High Command, it was decided to transfer the 79th Infantry Corps of Major General Oshanina to the 6th Army under the Southwestern Front of General Vatutin. In two days, your army will be ready to report to the new unit. ”

Hearing such an arrangement, I couldn't help but be stunned. I thought that even if my 79th Infantry Corps could not stay in the battle sequence of the 8th Guards Army, it could be transferred to other fronts as reserves, but I did not expect to be transferred to the Southwestern Front under the command of General Vatutin.

Seeing that all the commanders were confused, Malinin continued in place of Rokossovsky: "Comrades commanders, in January of this year, our army smoothly carried out the battles of Ostrogozhsk-Rososh and Voronezh-Kastornoye, as a result of which a gap of up to 400 kilometers appeared in the defense of the German army in the Kursk and Kharkov directions.

The Supreme High Command decided to take advantage of the good opportunity in which our troops had just won the Battle of Stalingrad and inflicted heavy losses on Manstein's troops, to continue a new offensive against the enemy. The Red Army, which was fighting on the southern flank of our territory at the moment, was divided into two main assault directions: one was the Southwestern Front under the command of General Vatutin, which launched an offensive from the lower reaches of the Donets River and pounced all the way to the Dnieper, trying to recapture the Donbass industrial zone from the enemy and cut off the German forces in the Caucasus and the German army in Ukraine. On the other side was the Voronezh Front, commanded by General Golikov, which was fronted by the German 2nd Army and nearly 15 infantry divisions and tankmen of the 'Lanz' battle group, but most of them had suffered heavy losses in the rescue of Paulus.

In this case, we have the conditions to launch the Kharkov campaign again. In order to strengthen the strength of the Southwestern Front, the units drawn from the 8th Guards Army will be assigned to the Southwestern Front. (To be continued......)

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