I ordered the fighters of the guard company to make cameo messengers and deliver telegram orders one after another to General Guryev. It wasn't until the afternoon that this forwarded telegram stopped, and just when I thought it would be over, Chuikov actually called me directly.

Hearing my voice, he couldn't wait to say, "Oshanina, I don't want to hide it from you, we are in a bad situation right now. The commander of the Volga flotilla, Rear Admiral Rogaschev, told me that although they had used all the forces at their disposal, they risked the destruction of their ships and the loss of life to bring supplies from the east coast. However, due to the incessant shelling and bombardment of the enemy, we have lost five of the six cargo ships that we carry out transportation on the Volga, and only one is left to use. As a result, the plan to transport the artillery regiment belonging to the 39th Guards Division, which was originally scheduled to be delivered at noon today, could only be postponed indefinitely. ”

"Comrade Commander," I heard from Chuikov that the artillery regiment of the 39th Guards Division could not arrive at the designated position on time, and immediately understood that he must want me to transfer the artillery battalion to the Guards Division, so I immediately asked him for instructions: "I understand what you mean, please ask what instructions you have, I will carry them out immediately!" ”

"Now that you understand what I'm trying to say, then I'm not going to go around in circles." Chuikov listened to my promise very cheerfully, and no longer hesitated, but said bluntly: "I need you to send an artillery battalion to increase the necessary artillery support for the independent division on the offensive mission." ”

"Please rest assured, Comrade Commander, I promise to complete the task."

"Good." After Chuikov said this, he was about to hang up the phone, but I stopped him in time. He asked curiously, "Oshanina." Is there anything else you want to say to me? ”

"That's right. Comrade Commander. "It's been almost a day since they lost contact with Major Pugachev. In the absence of further information from them, my heart was still unsure, so I quickly took the opportunity of talking to Chuikov to inquire about their whereabouts, so I mustered up the courage to ask Chuikov: "Comrade commander, this is the case. Yesterday, after completing the liberation operation at the headquarters, I did not have two companies of infantry and two tanks. Did you go to the battle to reclaim the elementary school? I want to ask, how are they doing now? ”

Chuikov was silent for a moment, then replied: "As far as I know, after seizing the school, the two tanks had to be blown up because they ran out of fuel and ammunition in order not to leave them to the Germans. As for the infantry, they suffered almost half of the casualties in the battle to capture the school building. The rest of the men are now holding on to the building, covering the artillery observers to constantly provide the artillery of our army with firing parameters. That's right. The regimental commander under you, Major Pugachev, and Major Perstian of the tank battalion, are still alive. The troops are being directed to continue the fighting. ”

Relieved to learn that Pugachev and Perstian were safe and sound, I thanked Chuikov on the phone: "Thank you, thank you, Comrade Commander. Thank you for suing me for such good news. Rest assured, I will personally lead the artillery units to help the commanders and fighters of the Guards Division and repel the German troops who rushed into the city. ”

"Very well, since you are so confident, then I wish you good luck!"

Putting down the phone, I summoned Morozov to the command, told him about the task of assisting the Guards Division in the storm, and finally asked him: "Major, do you find any difficulties?" ”

Morozov thought for a moment, nodded casually, and replied: "Division, if you say that it is difficult, there must be something." The current situation in the artillery battalion, as you are well aware, is that at the moment there is only one mortar company that is not fully staffed, an anti-tank artillery battery, and a heavy howitzer detachment outside the battalion. If it is only to hold the Mamayev post, all the artillery can be put into battle. But if you go to the city to participate in the storming, I don't think it's convenient for the heavy artillery to move, so it's better to just bring a mortar company. ”

"Okay, which troops to send, it's up to you!" I promptly expressed my support for what Morozov said. After thinking about it for a while, I asked tentatively: "Comrade Major, do you think you can bring the Flying Thunder Cannon with you?" ”

Morozov listened to my last sentence and hurriedly shook his head like a rattle: "No, no, comrade division commander, this must not work." ”

His words made me wonder, although the flying thunder cannon is a little bit accurate, but it is very lethal, it is an invincible weapon for attacking the city, why not use it?

Seeing the doubts on my face, he quickly explained to me: "Comrade division commander, this is the case. Although the lethality of the flying thunder cannon is great, the flight distance is not far, only more than 200 meters, which is exactly within the range of the enemy's machine guns. Before we could set up the canister, enemy machine-gun fire could wipe out all of our fighters. Therefore, I strongly advise you that you still need to be cautious about the use of flying thunder cannons, and it is best to use them at night, so that the target is not easy to be exposed. ”

"Understood." I was upset at the thought of not being able to use such a big killer as the Flying Thunder Cannon, and I waved my hand at Morozov: "Okay, Major Morozov, go and gather your troops, wait for me at the foot of the mountain, and I will go down soon." ”

Morozov agreed, saluted us, and turned away.

As soon as Morozov left, Akhromeyev said worriedly: "Division commander, you are the commander of the first division, how can you do such a risky thing." In case you have any three strengths and two weaknesses, the independent division will be messed up. ”

Hearing his words of concern, my heart couldn't help but warm, I smiled at him and Kirillov, who was standing next to him with a blank face, and said to the two: "Political commissar and chief of staff, you have also heard, sending troops to fight with the Guards Division, this is an order given to me by Commander Chuikov personally, I can't go if I don't go." Speaking of this, I walked up to Kirillov, who ignored me, raised my hand to put my arm around his shoulder, and said with a hippie smile: "Comrade Political Commissar, you are also the main leader of the division, and in my absence, you and the chief of staff will be responsible for the work of the division." ”

Unexpectedly, Kirillov, who has always been very accommodating to me, said with an angry face: "Comrade Oshanina, as your political commissar, it is necessary for me to remind you that you are the commander of the first division, not the company commander or the battalion commander. You always have to keep in mind. Your position is in the division headquarters. Instead of charging into battle like ordinary grassroots commanders. For such a mission to assist friendly forces, I think it is appropriate to send Major Morozov there, and you don't need to go out yourself. ”

Kirillov's words made me speechless. While I was hesitating how to convince him, Razumeyeva hurried over, stood between the two of us, and reported loudly: "Report to the division commander, the commissar, the command of the army group is in an emergency." With that, he handed me the telegram. At the same time, it was added: "It's a telegram to you, and you don't have to forward it to the Guards Division." ”

I took the telegram and looked at it only a few times, and was immediately shocked, shoved it into Kirillov's hand, strode to the table, and leaned over to examine the map that was spread out on the table.

Akhromeyev didn't know what was going on, and hurriedly asked: "Comrade division commander, what happened?" ”

I patted the map on the table with my hand and said angrily: "The enemy's assault forces have just captured the central railway station, and the troops of the army group and the downtown area of Stalingrad have been cut in two. At present, the main forces of the army group are isolated in the area north of the Tsaritsa River.

At the same time, Paulus, with the strength of two infantry divisions and 150 tanks, launched a surprise attack on the town of Red October, north of Mamayev Hills. This assault was counter-assaulted by the 95th and 284th Infantry Divisions and the 137th Tank Brigade. We also promptly put the 193rd Infantry Division under the command of General Smehotvorov. The front line from the western outskirts of the town of Red October in the Vishnevaya Valley was drawn into battle to strengthen forces in this direction. ”

Kirillov, who had just walked to the table, put down the telegram and said with a stern face: "With the transfer of the 193rd Infantry Division, there are no more regular troops of our army near the factory area, except for the militia units. It's not that I look down on our militia, but their level of equipment and training is not as good as that of the enemy who is attacking the factory area, so the 39th Guards Division must destroy the German troops entrenched near the Chonggou in the shortest possible time, rush into the factory area, and join up with the militia units that are holding there. ”

Seeing Kirillov say this, I knew that I might not be opposed by him in leading my troops, so I struck while the iron was hot and said: "Since this is the case, then I will immediately lead the mortar company and the main force of the Guards Division to converge and quickly rush to the area of Chonggou, destroy the German troops occupying there, and join the militia units in the factory area." ”

Kirillov shook my hand without saying a word, shook it vigorously, and said for a long time: "Comrade division commander, pay attention to safety, Major Akhromeyev and I are waiting for you to return safely!" ”

"Don't worry, I'll be back, the bullets that killed me haven't been produced yet." I said confidently, and in order to reassure the two of them, I added a point: "Later, I will ask Basmanov to bring a platoon with me, so that you can not worry about my safety." ”

"One platoon is not enough!" The two actually said in unison: "Why don't you bring all the guards with you!" ”

"I don't need it, I don't need it." I waved my hand again and again to deny the two of them, "With the combat effectiveness of the guard company, one platoon is more than enough, and the rest should be left on the high ground and be responsible for the guard work of the division headquarters." After saying that, before the two of them could say anything more against it, I hurriedly left the headquarters with Basmanov, who had been waiting by my side.

At the foot of the mountain, Morozov and his mortar company were already waiting in the fortifications at the foot of the mountain. Seeing me walking down the traffic trench, Morozov hurriedly shouted the order, gathered all the fighters in his hand, and formed a neat phalanx in front of me.

Looking at the energetic artillery soldiers, I nodded with satisfaction, and then asked Morozov: "Comrade Major, how many guns does the mortar company have, and is there enough ammunition?" ”

Morozov replied loudly: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, there are still 12 mortars left in the whole company, and each gun has two ammunition bases, and there are no problems in providing artillery fire support for our attacking troops." ”

I was very satisfied with Morozov's answer, and then turned around and ordered Basmanov: "Comrade Captain, you take the fighters of the guard platoon and help Major Morozov's gunners carry the ammunition. Remember, if we carry two more boxes of shells now, we can lose a few fewer fighters when the fight starts later. ”

"Commander," Basmanov asked tentatively, when he saw that I had turned to leave after I had given him an order, "where are you going?" ”

I pointed to the motorcycle parked on the side of the road and had been on the task of delivering the message today, and said, "Where else can I go?" I took that motorcycle to Soviet Street. Go to General Guriev. Inform them of the news that we are providing them with artillery support. With that, I waved at Basmanov, walked straight to the motorcycle, got into the sidecar, and then ordered the motorcyclist to hurry to the Soviet Street.

On the way, when I saw a neat line approaching us, I habitually looked up at the sky, fearing that several enemy planes would emerge in the sky at this time. Indiscriminate bombardment of marching troops. But fortunately, there was nothing in the gray sky, and I felt more grounded in my heart.

As I passed by the troops, I asked the motorcyclist to stop on the side of the road, and then called a passing company commander-like commander and asked him in a loud voice: "Hey, comrade lieutenant, do you know where your division commander, General Guriev, is?" ”

The lieutenant turned and pointed to the Soviet Avenue in the distance and replied loudly: "Comrade Colonel, our division commander is in the third building on the right after entering the street. ”

After thanking the lieutenant, I let the motorcyclist move on. At this time, the cold wind blew the choking smell of gunpowder smoke and blood on the high ground. It made me realize how brutal the battle that the Guards Division had fought a few hours ago was.

I met Guriev on the second floor of the building that the lieutenant had spoken of. I hurriedly raised my hand to salute him and reported: "Comrade General, the command understands that our division sent artillery to assist your troops in carrying out a counterattack in the area of the hedge ditch. ”

"What?" Guriev, who was wondering about my sudden appearance, was taken aback when he heard what I said, and he asked in surprise: "Let the artillery of the separate division provide us with artillery cover, I heard you right?" ”

I nodded hurriedly and said affirmatively: "Yes, Comrade General. I have received an order from Commander Chuikov to lead a mortar battery to join your troops and provide you with the artillery support necessary for the attack. ”

"But according to the plan to cross the river, our artillery regiment will arrive in half an hour at most, so why should your artillery battalion come to support us?" Confused, Guriev continued to ask.

"That's right, Comrade General." Due to poor communications, Guriev did not know until now that almost all the ships on the Volga were sunk, and I could only explain to him: "According to the report of the command, due to the incessant shelling and bombardment of the enemy, five of the six cargo ships engaged in transportation on the Volga have been lost, and only one is left to use. As a result, the plan to transport the artillery regiment belonging to the 39th Guards Division, which was originally scheduled to be delivered at noon today, could only be postponed indefinitely. ”

After hearing the bad news, Guriev had a desperate expression on his face, and he muttered in his mouth: "It's over, it's over, there is no cover of artillery fire, and when the enemy entrenched in the area of Chonggou is eliminated, my Guards Division will be almost completely wiped out." ”

Seeing that he was so depressed, I hurriedly comforted him: "Comrade General, please don't worry. Although your artillery regiment cannot cross the river for the time being, my artillery should still be able to provide your troops with the artillery support they need during the attack. ”

When Guriev heard me say this, his eyes lit up, and he rushed over and grabbed my arm, shook it vigorously, and asked excitedly: "Great, this is really good." Colonel Oshanina, how many cannons does the artillery under you have? ”

I endured the pain in my arm, gasped and gritted my teeth, and replied, "Although there is only one mortar company, we have twelve mortars. The fighters have participated in many battles and have a wealth of combat experience. By the way, Comrade General, there is one more thing that I did not have time to tell you, the enemy has just reoccupied the Central Railway Station, the troops of the army group and the central area of Stalingrad have been cut in two, and the main forces of the army group are now separated in the area north of the Tsaritsa River. Since Paulus was also attacking in other areas, the army group headquarters had already evacuated the regular troops in the vicinity of the factory area in order to hold off the enemy, that is, only the poorly equipped and poorly trained militia remained, and if your troops could not destroy the German troops entrenched in the gully area in time and rush to the factory area, the fall of the factory would be inevitable. ”

Hearing my voice in pain, Guriev realized his gaffe, quickly let go of the hand that grabbed my arm, apologized to me, and then said: "Comrade Colonel, where is your mortar company?" ”

Rubbing my aching arm with my hand, I replied, "My mortar company has rushed to the gully area, and as soon as your troops attack, they will be able to provide artillery support in time." ”

He listened to me. Immediately waved at his men. At the same time, he said loudly: "Comrades. The situation was urgent, and we set off immediately. So saying, he called me, and surrounded by a group of staff officers and guards under him, he left the humble command post and walked downstairs.

As soon as he reached the top of the stairs, he suddenly stopped and shouted: "Chernyshevsky!" ”

"Here!" With his shouting, a political worker squeezed in from the middle of the retinue behind.

Guriev pointed to the political worker and introduced me: "Colonel Oshanina. This is Chernyshevsky, the chief of the political department of our division. After speaking, he turned his head to look at his subordinates, who were a head taller than him, and ordered, "Comrade Director of the Political Affairs Department, I will hand over the 107.5 heights to you and the 112th Regiment." You assure me that you will resolutely hold your position at any cost, and that you will never allow the enemy to advance a single step. Any coward who abandons his position and retreats without your permission will be shot on the spot! ”

Chernyshevsky snapped and replied loudly: "Yes!" ”

Guriev didn't know where to get a jeep. He put the division chief of staff in the co-pilot's seat and sat in the back seat with me. In this way, the two of us can hurry up and study how to destroy the enemy in the gully on the way to the gully.

Halfway down the road, we suddenly saw a commander in a big-brimmed hat running towards us, waving his arms as he ran, and shouting something loudly. Seeing this scene, Guriev hurriedly ordered the driver to speed up and rush over to find out what was going on.

The jeep stopped a few steps away from the commander. Without waiting for the car to stop, Guriev jumped out of the car and walked over. I quickly opened the other side of the car and got out of the car and walked over.

I saw the commander's collar badge on the cockle, which was bent over and his hands on his lap, and he was gasping for breath, which was the rank of major, and I couldn't help but sigh in my heart, could something be wrong, otherwise how could a colonel-level officer be so out of shape?

After waiting for his subordinates to catch their breath for a while, Guriev asked: "Tell me, Comrade Major, what happened to you in such a hurry?" ”

The major hurriedly straightened up, took a deep breath, and reported: "Comrade division commander, according to reconnaissance and friendly reports, a large number of enemy infantry and tanks are massing in the Vishnevaya Valley, in the area of the cemetery in the town of Red October, and in the Dolgi and Krudo gullies. At the same time, the 14th Tank Division and the 94th Infantry Division and units, which had already been replenished, were coming from the southern outskirts of the city. The intentions of the enemy were clear, they were preparing a new attack on the tractor plant and the 'barricade' plant. ”

Guriev put his hand behind him and said without looking back: "Map." ”

His chief of staff ran past me, took out a boxy map from his briefcase, opened it, and handed it to him. Guriev pointed to the map and asked the chief of staff: "Where are we?" ”

The chief of staff leaned his head over to take a look, then quickly pointed to a position and said with certainty: "Comrade division commander, we are here now, only about a kilometer away from the Dolji Chonggou, and this is the nearest road to the factory area. ”

"Chief of Staff, immediately order the 114th Regiment to stop advancing, enter the nearest attack position, and prepare to launch an attack on the Dorji Chonggou." Knowing the location of his troops, Guriev decisively gave the order: "The 113th Regiment continued to advance in the direction of the Krudo ditch, and after destroying the enemy in the ditch, built fortifications on the spot and actively prepared for battle. ”

When the chief of staff went to give the order, Guriev turned his head to me and said apologetically: "Colonel Oshanina, maybe your artillery has already rushed to the Krudo Gully, but at present, the focus of our attack is on the Dolji Gully in front, so I have to trouble you to transfer your troops over." ”

"No problem, I'll do it right away." With that, I turned and walked towards the motorcycle that was following the jeep. Walking up to the motorcyclist, I said to him: "Comrade warrior, I order you to immediately rush to the vicinity of the Krudo ditch and inform Major Morozov and Captain Basmanov that they immediately transfer the mortar company to the Krudo ditch. If they ask why, you tell him that our offensive focus is here. Go ahead! ”

The motorcyclist raised his hand in a salute, slammed the accelerator, and drove away quickly.

The 1st battalion of the 113th Guards Regiment was at the vanguard of this offensive. More than 400 commanders and fighters of the battalion formed a scattered formation, bending over with their weapons in hand. Towards the gully full of slag on both sides, it made rapid progress.

When there are still seventy or eighty meters from the slag pile five or six meters high. The German machine guns placed on top of the slag heap opened fire. The warriors who rushed to the front fell in large swath. The one behind hurriedly lay down, lying on the ground crackling and firing back, and the dense bullets hit the slag on the top of the slope flying.

It was easy to take out the outermost two firing points, and when the fighters rushed into the gully, the German firing points arranged on the slag heaps on both sides opened fire again. Under the blow of the enemy's dense crossfire, our heroic commanders and fighters fell in pieces, but continued to rush forward regardless of it.

Standing on the high ground behind me observing the battle situation with a telescope, I could not help but say to Guriev with concern: "Comrade General. The enemy's fire on both sides of the gully was so heavy that it would cost our fighters a lot if we were to continue charging like this. ”

Although Guriev also gritted his teeth, he still said without hesitation: "Colonel Oshanina, how can we fight without dying, if we can't quickly seize the gully, as soon as the enemy's large army comes up, we will be in danger of being completely annihilated." Once our division was wiped out by the Germans, do you think the militia in the factory area would have to be brave enough to hold off the onslaught of the Germans, armed to the teeth? ”

Watch as the warriors fall one after the other under enemy fire. I became more and more unbearable, so I said euphemistically: "Comrade General." My artillery unit should be there soon. When they arrived, and suppressed the enemy's fire points with artillery fire, I would let your troops attack, I thought that this would quickly destroy the enemy and merge the militia forces in the Guò ditch and the factory area. ”

Guriev was not a stubborn man either, and after hearing me say this, he groaned a little and gave the order to the chief of staff, who was standing next to him, to stop the offensive. In this way, less than half of the commanders and fighters of the battalion who participated in the attack were withdrawn, and most of them were wounded by different Cheng dù.

Ten minutes later, Morozov came to the position where Guriev and I were with a mortar battery, and I quickly ordered him to arrange the artillery positions, and then said to Guryev: "Comrade General, my artillery will soon be in position, and your troops can attack again. ”

Guriev nodded, and then gave an order to the chief of staff: "Chief of staff, since the artillery has arrived, you immediately go to the commander of the 113th regiment and ask him to attack immediately." Remember, in this attack, you must send someone to carry the flag of the Guards Division and rush to the front. ”

Not long after the departure of the Chief of Staff, the Guards Division launched a second offensive.

Amid the incessant sound of gunfire and shouts of killing, more than 1,000 commanders and fighters of the 39th Guards Division braved the enemy's bullets and rushed to the enemy's position. Although the commanders and fighters who rushed to the front were shot and fell down from time to time, the commanders and fighters who followed closely behind not only did not stop the pace of the charge, but also accelerated the speed of the charge without flinching. The military flag, which was held high by the soldiers of the Guards, although it fell from time to time in the rain of bullets and the smoke of artillery fire, was soon re-raised by the soldiers who rushed up from behind, and the bright red battle flag always fluttered at the front of the queue.

The enemy, who had long been at the end of the crossbow, showed signs of loosening in the face of such a desperate fighting style of the commanders and fighters of the Guards Division. Moroctanists, after setting up a dozen mortars, opened fire decisively with a little aiming. Dense shells flew to the positions of the German troops, exploding in the enemy's battle ranks. Stumps, severed arms, and parts of weapons rose into the air with the smoke of gunfire.

After a few rounds of firing, the terrified German soldiers lost their morale, threw down their weapons and fled, which meant that the ditch was recaptured by the commanders of the Guards Division.

Seeing the fleeing enemy troops and the imposing Guards soldiers, Guriev couldn't help but take off his military hat on his head, raise it high above his head, and cheer as if no one was around: "Good looks, good guards soldiers!" (To be continued......)

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