In the evening, we stayed at the headquarters of the commander of the 29th Division, Colonel Kolobtin, for the night.

After dawn, we said goodbye to Kolobhutin and headed to the village of Verkhnibrogune and Kotelnikovo. We were accompanied by two infantry squads brought by the headquarters of the 29th Division. They were in two trucks and followed our three jeeps.

Due to the sunny weather, the visibility on the grassland is very good, and you can see seven or eight kilometers away from sitting in the car.

As we approached the village of Verniy Yablochny from the north, the jeep that was driving the road ahead suddenly stopped, and then the adjutant, Captain Klimov, ran over, waving as he ran, signaling us to stop. After the driver, Kali Mullin, stopped the car, I pushed the door open and poked my head out and asked, "Comrade Captain, is there anything wrong?" ”

"Comrade Colonel of the report, a large number of troops have been found on the south side of the steppe, which are moving in our direction?"

"Do you see which part it is? It couldn't be that the enemy's reconnaissance planes discovered us, and the Germans sent ground forces to intercept us, right? ”

Klimov shook his head and replied: "It's too far away to see clearly, but I don't think it's German, because the whole unit is not in battle formation, and it is very slow." ”

I turned my head to look at Chuikov, who was recuperating in the back with his eyes closed, and wanted to ask him what to do next, but he had already opened his eyes, pushed the car door and got out of the car, and said, "Let's go, let's go to the front and have a look." ”

We crossed the car in front of us and came to an open field, only to see people and horses rushing towards us in the distance. I held up my binoculars and looked into the distance, and judging by what they were wearing and equipping, I could confirm that they were my own people. But judging by their staggering steps and scattered formations. It's definitely not a new force that has just been transferred. Instead, it was more like a defeated army.

Chuikov and I stood in front of the car and observed the situation. Klimov had already called two squads of fighters over and set up a cordon around us.

After about ten minutes, the troops from the grassland gradually approached us, and the fast-walking commanders and fighters were only about ten paces away from us. Chuikov hurriedly got off the binoculars, rushed forward with an arrow, raised his right hand high, and waved it down violently, shouting loudly: "Stop! Listen to my commands. Stop me! ”

Seeing that the commander had already rushed forward, Captain Klimov was not willing to slack off, and also led a group of people to rush into the ranks, shouting loudly: "Stop!" Stop! "I'm the only one left, still standing there in a daze.

With their shouts, the troops that had been moving slowly slowly stopped, and the commanders and fighters with haggard faces and ragged clothes looked at the group of people who stopped their advance with numb expressions, and no one spoke, only heard the shouts of Chuikov and his subordinates resounding one after another in the ranks.

When Chuikov and Klimov returned to the front of the group, their voices were hoarse. Chuikov stood at the front of the line with an angry face. In a hoarse voice, he shouted, "What part are you from?" Where are your commanders? ”

There was a commotion in the ranks, followed by a few people pushing aside the commanders and fighters who were in the way. Walked out of the crowded line. In front of them were two colonels, followed by seven or eight officers of the rank of captain. When they came to Chuikov, a colonel of medium stature and a full beard looked him up and down, although his military rank was lower than that of Chuikov, he obviously did not take Chuikov, a general who suddenly appeared, in his eyes, and actually asked very unceremoniously in an unruly tone: "Comrade General, who are you?" ”

Chuikov spread his legs, put his hands behind his back, stared at the colonel with his head held high, and said with a straight look: "Comrade Colonel, I am Chuikov, commander of the 64th Army, and I am ordered to inspect the defense of the left flank of our group army. Again, which part of you are in? ”

Hearing Chuikov's identity, the colonel did not dare to continue to be arrogant, and quickly changed his face, and after saluting Chuikov, he said in a low voice: "Report to Comrade General, I am Colonel Lyudnikov, commander of the 138th Infantry Division. Then he turned sideways and pointed to the tall and thin colonel standing next to him and said, "This is Colonel Kuropatenko, commander of the 157th Infantry Division." We are all part of the 51st Army, which is subordinate to Major General Kolomyets. ”

Colonel Kuropadenko also hurriedly stepped forward to salute Chuikov, and then hurriedly said: "Comrade General, why are you here, hurry up and withdraw, if we wait for the enemy to come up, we won't be able to withdraw if we want to." ”

Chuikov glanced at the panicked colonel with dissatisfaction, and then asked Lyudnikov: "Comrade Colonel, I would like to ask, where did you come from?" ”

The two colonels glanced at each other, and finally it was Lyudnikov who answered the question raised by Chuikov: "Report to Comrade General, we are coming from the south, our two divisions are not full in the first place, and as soon as they entered the area of Zimryanskaya and Lemontnaya, they were fiercely attacked by the enemy, and the troops lost a heavy army. Having lost contact with the army group, we decided to retreat north, in the direction of Stalingrad. ”

After hearing this, Chuikov didn't say a word, turned around and walked to the jeep, grabbed the door and stood on the pedals, looked at the team in front of him for a while, jumped down again, walked in front of the two colonels again, and asked coldly: "Colonel Lyudnikov, Colonel Kuropatenko, I see that in your team, in addition to infantry, there are also a lot of artillery, which part of them are?" ”

Lyudnikov and Kuropadenko looked behind them in unison, and before they could speak, several more people squeezed out of the line that had stopped in place, and one of them, a disgraced major general, came straight to Chuikov, raised his hand to salute him, and said politely: "Hello, Comrade Chuikov." Major General Dmitriev, Deputy Commander of the Artillery of the 51st Army, reports to you that I have broken through the enemy's encirclement with two Guards Mortar Regiments and are following the 138th and 157th Infantry Divisions to Stalingrad and are waiting for your orders. ”

"Hello, Comrade Dmitriev, it's a pleasure to see you here." Chuikov took the initiative to come forward and cordially shake hands with the deputy commander of the artillery of the group army, and asked with concern: "My group army needs an artillery commander. Would you be interested in staying in this role? ”

I heard Chuikov say that. I can't help but want to laugh. After the death of General Browder, the commander of the artillery of the group army under his command, he had been looking for someone to take over the post, and at this time, a suitable candidate finally appeared, and he naturally did not want to let him go lightly.

Chuikov and Dmitriev exchanged a few pleasantries, then called Lyudnikov and Kuropatenko, and the four of them came to the jeep together. Chuikov took the map from the adjutant's hand, spread it out on the hood, and asked Lyudnikov and Kuropadenko: "Comrade two division commanders. Please point me the enemy's position. ”

Unexpectedly, when Lyudnikov and Kuropadenko heard Chuikov say this, their expressions became unnatural, they both blamed each other, and neither of them would answer Chuikov's questions. Seeing that the two of them were slow to speak, Chuikov couldn't help but slap the hood angrily, and the loud noise frightened the two division elders to honestly lower their heads.

Chuikov glared at the two of them and said angrily: "As division commanders, you two dare to lead the troops to withdraw from the position without even knowing the enemy's situation. Do you know the consequences of doing so? If the enemy follows you and encircles the rest of our troops. You'll be court-martialed. ”

, Chuikov knew that they were frightened by the enemy. But seeing the two division commanders trembling with fright, he was also a little unbearable, so he sighed and said, "But the matter is not irreparable, are you willing to accept my command?" ”

Lyudnikov and Kuropatenko looked at each other again, then nodded vigorously and replied in unison: "Comrade commander, we resolutely obey your command. ”

Pointing to the map, Chuikov said to the two division commanders: "You two immediately lead the troops to retreat across the Aksai River, take positions there, and organize defenses. ”

Lyudnikov and Kuropatenko stared at the map for a while, and Kuropadenko frowned and asked: "Comrade commander, our two divisions suffered heavy casualties, and at the same time there was a shortage of ammunition. If the enemy crosses the Aksai River, it will be difficult for our troops to hold back the enemy's attack. After listening to this, Lyudnikov also nodded, indicating that he agreed with him.

The concern of these two division commanders seemed to have been expected by Chuikov for a long time, and he pointed to the defense area just demarcated and said to them: "In the rear of your defensive position, the 154th Marine Brigade of Colonel Smirnov is deployed, and he, as the second echelon, is ready to provide support to you at any time. My interim command will be located in the town of Verkhniy Kumskaya. The chief of staff will be ......" At this point, he turned and pointed to me, who was standing next to him, and continued, "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina will take the position. ”

Lyudnikov and Kuropadenko, including Dmitriev, looked at me with suspicion. I could see their concern in their eyes, and they simply didn't believe that a female conductor like me could do the job.

Seeing their concern, Chuikov raised his hand to stop Dmitriev, who wanted to speak, and defended me: "Comrade Oshanina is a commander with rich combat experience, and she fought side by side with famous generals such as Zhukov and Rokossovsky as early as the defense of Moscow. Alright, two division commanders, immediately arrange for your troops to set off to the position I have assigned you. ”

When Lyudnikov and Kuropatenko set out with their respective troops, Chuikov called General Dmitriev into our jeep and drove to the location of the provisional headquarters. As for the two guards mortar regiments, led by the adjutant Captain Klimov, they went on foot to the town of Verkhniy Kumskaya.

When we arrived in Verkhniy Kumskaya and found that the townspeople had already moved, Chuikov found a one-story brick and concrete building to serve as our temporary headquarters.

As soon as Chuikov entered the headquarters, he spread out the map on the table in the room and discussed with General Dmitriev where to deploy the mortar regiment. The communications corps, who followed us, quietly set up the antenna as quickly as possible and began to call the headquarters of the 64th Army where Shumilov was located by telephone.

After a few minutes, Chuikov saw that the signal corps had not yet contacted the group army headquarters, so he couldn't help frowning and asked the signal corps: "What's the matter?" Hasn't the army group command been contacted yet? ”

The signal soldier took off the headset on his head, wiped a handful of sweat, and replied: "Comrade commander." Perhaps the command of the army group was attacked by the enemy. In the process of being transferred. It didn't turn on, so I couldn't contact it for the time being. ”

When Chuikov heard what the signal soldier said, he did not let him continue to call, but ordered: "Signal soldier, since the group army headquarters cannot be contacted, then contact the front army headquarters." ”

The contact with the Front Army was very smooth, and the contact was made at once, and the other party who spoke was Nikishev, the chief of staff of the Front. He couldn't wait to ask, "Is Chuikov here?" Let him talk to me. ”

Chuikov took the microphone from the hand of the communications soldier and said in a friendly voice: "Hello, General Nikishev. Do you have any instructions for me? ”

"General Chuikov, I have good news for you. The 208th Infantry Division, which has just arrived from Siberia, will get off at the Chirekov and Kotelnikovo stations, and after our study this division will be assigned to the 64th Army, so go and take command of this unit. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't know where the division command of this division is?"

Nikishev was silent for a moment before he replied: "Comrade Chuikov, we have now lost contact with the division headquarters of the 208th Division. You have to do it yourself. All right. That's all for good luck! With that, the conversation was terminated.

After Chuikov handed the microphone back to the communications corps, he said to Dmitriev and me with some helplessness: "The front army said that we had added an elite division that had just been transferred from Siberia, but the other side did not know where the division headquarters was, and even the front army did not know it, so we could only find it ourselves." ”

I hurriedly came to Chuikov and asked, "Comrade commander, what should we do now?" Do you want to set off to find them now? ”

Chuikov waved his hand and said: "Today we have only accepted two infantry divisions and two mortar regiments, and the most important task now is to settle these troops." As for the 208th Division, it's not too late to look for it tomorrow. ”

As soon as it was dawn the next day, Chuikov gave another order to the three commanders, Lyudnikov, Kuropatenko, and Smirnov: immediately build fortifications along the Aksai River on their occupied areas and organize defense.

After this qiē, he took us to the southwest, as we had done yesterday, by car through Guò Gnieralovsky and Upper Jablochne.

In the vicinity of the Gremyachaya station, we again encountered people and vehicles retreating north along the railway. Since the adjutants Klimov and Dmitriev remained in the temporary command, such a trivial matter as inquiring about news became a matter of course. Seeing so many people passing by our car, I asked the driver to stop on the side of the road, push the door and get out of the car.

I stopped several of the passing commanders and soldiers in succession and asked them where the commander was, but none of them could say why. I struggled to find a dejected major in the crowd, and I excitedly grabbed him by the shoulders and excitedly asked, "Comrade Major, are you the commander of the 208th Infantry Division?" ”

He glanced at me, didn't even salute, just nodded and said, "Yes, is there anything wrong with you?" ”

I didn't care about his attitude, and asked, "Where is your division now?" ”

Unexpectedly, he sat on the ground and said with a sad face, "I don't know." ”

Seeing his virtue, I was so angry that I kicked him hard and asked in a loud voice, "What? Don't you know, aren't you from the 208th Division? What about your troops? Where are the division commanders and regiment commanders? ”

Unexpectedly, he covered his face and cried, crying and saying, "It's over, it's all over." The train transporting our division, just as it got off the train at the Kotelnikovo station, suddenly came under attack by German planes and tanks, and the troops suffered heavy losses. The surviving Zài troops were retreating along the railway. Where the division commander and regiment commander are, no one knows. ”

When I returned to Chuikov's side, I told him the bad news. He was silent for a long time, and then called me: "Get in the car." When I got into the car, I instructed the driver: "When you get to Nebekovo, you will let me stop and have a look, maybe there we can meet the troops we are looking for." ”

Our car soon drove to the vicinity of the Nebekovo Concession Station, and I saw from a distance that troops were digging trenches, and quickly turned back to Chuikov and said: "Comrade commander, there is a detachment of troops digging trenches in front, let me ask which part they are?" ”

With Chuikov's permission, I got out of the car and trotted over to the commanders. Our arrival had already attracted the attention of those commanders and fighters, and when they saw them running towards us, a captain immediately greeted me and asked in a loud voice: "Comrade commander." What part are you? ”

I walked up to the captain. Said to him: "Comrade Captain. I am from the 64th Army, and I accompanied the commander of the Army, General Chuikov, to look for the 208th Division, do you know where to find this unit? ”

The lieutenant replied: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, we are from the 208th Division, because the troops were attacked by enemy air raids and tanks, and suffered great losses. I spread out the battalion into a skirmish, facing south, and began to build bunkers. to prepare for battle. ”

"Do you know where the division headquarters or regimental headquarters are? Comrade Captain. Chuikov didn't know when he came behind me and asked the captain straight to the point.

The lieutenant shook his head and said, "Comrade General, I don't know where the division headquarters or regimental headquarters are. However, I learned from those who had retreated from the south that German tanks had appeared in Kotelnikovo, so I decided to take up defensive positions to resist the enemy's attack. ”

"Well done, Comrade Captain." Chuikov praised his approach and ordered him to intercept the defeated soldiers and strengthen the defenses of the Huirang Station.

After getting back on the train, Chuikov said to the driver: "Go to the Chirekov station." I estimate that there you may be able to find the division headquarters or regimental headquarters of the 208th Division. ”

When approaching the station. We saw several military trains parked here. Quite a few troops are getting off here.

Seeing this scene, Chuikov said excitedly: "Look, Comrade Oshanina, I estimate that this is the unit of the 208th Division. Let's go, let's take a look. ”

We walked into the station, pulled a few commanders and fighters at random and asked, and sure enough, it was the troops of the 208th Division. Although the news of the destruction of the four military trains in Kotelnikovo had not yet reached the area, the railway embankment and around the trains were crowded with people, heavy luggage was scattered everywhere, and there was a lot of smoke and chaos.

Chuikov and I squeezed hard to the station office and found the station's military transport commander, who was a major battalion commander. Chuikov gave him a brief account of the situation in the south, and ordered him to send stronger troops to the two heights near the village of Nekovo to act as guards, while the rest of the troops were quickly moved away from the station and awaited further instructions.

After giving these orders, Chuikov took us by car to the dairy farm, located two kilometers west of the Chirekov railway station, where he was going to set up a temporary command headquarters.

After arriving at the dairy farm, Adjutant Klimov had just arrived here and was directing the communications corps to set up a radio station and prepare to contact the Front Command. Chuikov ordered Klimov: "Adjutant, as soon as the radio is set up, immediately call the command of the Front, the call code is 'Akustik'." ”

It was noon, and the sky was clear. In the town of the dairy farm, in addition to us, there were troops of the 208th Division, and Chuikov took the trouble to ask these commanders and fighters about the whereabouts of the division headquarters, but in the end they found nothing.

Ten minutes later, Klimov came to report to Chuikov that he had been in contact with the command of the Front. As Chuikov and I walked towards the temporary headquarters, the roar of the motor of the plane was heard in the sky, and when I looked up, three groups of 9-plane planes appeared in the sky, flying straight towards us from the north. In terms of appearance, these planes are our own.

Chuikov and I had just walked into the headquarters when suddenly there was an explosion outside. I hurriedly rushed to the window and looked out and saw that the planes were bombing the Chirekov railway station and the military vehicles parked there. Cars and station buildings caught fire. Fierce tongues of fire quickly stretched from one building to another.

I turned my head and shouted at Chuikov: "Comrade commander, it is our planes that are bombing the station, it is our planes that are bombing the station. ”

Chuikov ran to the window and looked at it twice, then rushed back to the radio station and ordered the operator to send a report in clear code: "At the Chirekov station, our planes are bombing their own military columns!" ...... "When the operator signaled the alarm, I noticed another nine-plane formation coming from the north and began to drop bombs on the town, and then, in a circular formation, they began to dive and strafe in turn.

As I stared out at the scene in a daze, Chuikov suddenly pounced and pinned me to the ground, and a bomb exploded outside our house. The brick-concrete house could not withstand the shock wave of the explosion, and the roof collapsed first, but fortunately Chuikov and I were leaning against the wall, and the beams were leaning against the wall and did not fall, forming a safe area, and Chuikov and I were safe and sound. The operator was not so lucky, he was killed on the spot, our radio station was also smashed, and we lost our means of communication. (To be continued......)