For the artillery and bombardment of the German army, whether it is the northern or southern heights, and even the troops on the 107.5 heights have experience. I had heard Kirillov say that the garrison of the Third Regiment had been bombed two days earlier, and almost all the commanders who remained at the garrison had been killed, so as soon as I heard the sound of artillery fire, my heart hung in my throat, and I was worried that the Third Regiment would suffer heavy casualties in the shelling.

What I was worried about, Akhromeyev also thought of it, he picked up the phone on the table, shook the three regiments, and asked loudly: "Lieutenant Colonel Koska, have you hidden all the supplies?" ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff." Kosgaard also replied in a loud voice: "Although our garrison has not been shelled by the Germans, the troops have been concealed. There are also supplies, and the materials are also hidden and properly hidden, so you can rest assured. ”

After Akhromeyev put down the phone, he reported to me: "Comrade division commander, the materials stored in the garrison of the 3rd Regiment have been concealed and should not be hit by German artillery fire. ”

After listening to Akhromeyev's report, I suddenly remembered something, and I couldn't help but ask him: "Chief of Staff, you just mentioned that Captain Dragan who was recuperating in the health battalion, although he participated in the battle to defend the Central Railway Station, but if I am not mistaken, he should have been wounded not long after the 13th Guards Division entered the city, so he is not familiar with the roads of the city, is it appropriate for him to lead the way for the assault troops?" ”

When Kirillov heard me say this, he asked with some hesitation: "Comrade Oshanina, is that the matter of letting Captain Dragan go to the third battalion is left at that?" ”

"Comrade Political Commissar, since this matter has been decided. It can't be changed. "I said that. It's just that I don't think Captain Dragan is familiar with the terrain of the city yet. It is not to change the decision to send him to the third battalion as a commander, "According to the chief of staff, Captain Dragan is an excellent commander with rich combat experience, and what the third battalion currently lacks happens to be a talent like him, so it is only appropriate to let him be the commander." ”

"What position are you going to put him in?" Akhromeyev asked tentatively.

"As for the specific position!" From the moment I heard Akhromeyev mention Dragan, I was going to give him a position to take charge of himself, but when it came to specific duties. I still hesitated, after all, I hadn't met the other party yet, and I didn't know what his level was, so I said hesitantly: "Let's wait for Captain Dragan to come, and we will talk to him, and then I will think that he will be assigned a position." ”

"The division commander is very thoughtful, so let's do it." After Bandereev echoed me, he reminded Akhromeyev: "Chief of Staff, call Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar and Major Yameen of the 107.5th Highland Regiment respectively and ask them how the situation is there?" ”

Akhromeyev nodded. First of all, the phone number of the fourth regiment was called. Only to hear him ask Gaidar in a loud voice: "Hey, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." What's going on there? ”

"Report to Comrade Chief of Staff," I could hear Gaidar's voice coming from the earpiece from afar: "At the beginning of the shelling, except for a few observers, the rest of the commanders and fighters took refuge in shelters or anti-artillery holes. He knew what Akhromeyev was concerned about, so he went on to report that "according to observers, no signs of sorties were found from the enemy in the forward positions of the Germans, and it is estimated that they were simply trying to suppress us with firepower." ”

The situation here in the Fourth Regiment is good, but the situation on the 107.5 heights is much worse. According to Major Yameen's report, the observers who remained on the position were unable to provide accurate information due to German artillery fire, but a large amount of dust appeared in the northwest direction of the heights, and it was estimated that a large German force was moving in the direction of the heights.

When Akhromeyev was on the phone, everyone around him heard Major Yaming's report clearly. Bandereev was the first to speak: "Comrade division commander, our people on the 107.5 heights are almost dead, should we immediately send troops to reinforce them?" ”

"It's useless, Comrade Deputy Division Commander." Without waiting for me to speak, Akhromeyev expressed his opinion: "The 107.5 heights are under such heavy artillery fire from the Germans, and no matter how many troops throw them in, they will ......" Speaking of this, he obviously hesitated for a moment before he continued, "It's all cannon fodder!" ”

"What, cannon fodder?" When Bandereev heard this word, he suddenly became furious, he slapped the table, and then pointed at Akhromeyev's nose and scolded: "What are you talking about, you actually say that our fighters are cannon fodder!" ”

Seeing that in a few seconds, an argument would inevitably break out between the two, and I quickly stood up and stopped them. Then he instructed Akhromeyev: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you call the commander of the artillery battalion, Major Morozov, and ask him if he can cover the Germans under the heights with the newly captured howitzers when the Germans launch an offensive on the 107.5 heights?" As long as our artillery can suppress the enemy's attack, then we can temporarily stop sending reinforcements to the high ground, and we will devote more troops to the night containment battle. ”

Akhromeyev soon made contact with Major Morozov, who had recently been troubled by the lack of enough artillery in the artillery battalion to provide artillery cover for his comrades who were holding on to the heights. Last night he managed to replenish nine cannons, and enough shells, but he was very happy. But when he heard that the artillerymen could not fire at the enemy without my permission, he became extremely depressed. At this moment, when he heard that it was possible to cover the enemy's attacking troops with firepower, Morozov said excitedly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please tell the division commander that I will definitely beat the attacking Germans to pieces." ”

While we were busy, Captain Dragan, who had been summoned by us, walked into the headquarters, accompanied by a soldier. He walked up to me, raised his hand and saluted, and said, "Report to Comrade Division Commander, Captain Dragan has been ordered to report to you and listen to your instructions. ”

"Captain Dragan," Kirillov asked, smiling, looking at the small but alert young man in front of him, "can you tell me your patronymic and your real name?" ”

"Anton. Kuzmich. Dragan. Captain Dragan replied respectfully.

"Hmm. Anton. Comrade Kuzmich. Tell us your story. Kirillov said with interest: "Although the Chief of Staff Comrade Akhromeyev said about your deeds. He doesn't seem to know much, though, so I'd like to hear from you personally. ”

Captain Dragan was hesitant to respond to Kirillov's request, and he turned his gaze to me for help, as if waiting for my order. Seeing this, I nodded and said encouragingly, "Tell me, Comrade Captain." I'd love to hear how you guys defend the train station, too. ”

Dragan saw that I had said the same. No longer postponing, but immediately began to tell: "One day after our division entered the city, on September 15, I received an order from the division commander, General Rodimtsev, to immediately lead my troops to drive the enemy out of the central railway station.

As soon as I arrived outside the church on Pushkin Square with my troops, I met Commander Chuikov passing by. As soon as they met, he asked bluntly: 'Captain, where is your man?' Looking at the dozens of commanders and fighters behind me, he continued, 'Oh. are all here, then take my orders. Immediately go and drive the fascists out of the train station, is it clear? ’

I agreed to his order and immediately led the company in the direction of the station. As soon as they approached the station, the Germans inside opened fire on my troops. Several fighters who were walking in front were unfortunately shot and fell, and the fighters behind hurriedly lay down on the spot or hid in the rubble, and launched a confrontation with the Germans.

The battalion commander, Major Chervyakov, caught up with me. He came up to me with two warriors, wiped his glasses, and reminded me: 'Cut off the enemy and hold them down.' Stick there for a long time, and bring more grenades. ’

I led the company in the darkness to the railway detour at the station, where I built improvised fortifications. At night, we were surrounded by the sound of shooting, explosions. The soldiers of the company fought very hard against the enemy's attack in battle groups, using the fortifications built in some ruined houses.

During the battle, I sensed that the buildings of the station were in the hands of the enemy. So, we crossed the railway embankment from the left. At the intersection, we saw a damaged tank of our army, and there were more than a dozen tankmen nearby. When we had joined them up, we fought the enemy in close combat. First a grenade, and then, our fighters rushed forward. The sudden blow caused the enemy to flee for their lives and shoot indiscriminately in the dark.

In this way, our company occupied the station. By the time the enemy came to his senses and knew that we had only one company, the strong fortifications were already occupied by us. Despite repeated attacks from three sides, the station was still in our hands before dawn......

Morning came imperceptibly. It was a dreary early morning in Stalingrad. Fascist dive planes, taking advantage of the light of dawn, dropped hundreds of bombs on the station. The bombardment was followed by artillery shelling. The station buildings were on fire, the walls collapsed, and the exposed steel bars were twisted, but the soldiers continued to fight......"

Halfway through Dragan's story, the gunfire outside stopped, and the phone on the desk rang. Akhromeyev picked up the microphone, heard that the caller was Major Yaming, the commander on the 107.5 heights, and hurriedly asked loudly: "Hey, Comrade Major, how is your situation there?" ”

"The situation is bad, Comrade Chief of Staff." Yameen also reported loudly: "At present our troops are moving from the southern slope into the positions on the northern slope, and almost all the fortifications that were rushed to repair last night have been destroyed by German artillery fire." Therefore, I had to reluctantly abandon the mountainside position, and could only temporarily deploy my limited forces in the fortifications on the top of the mountain. The enemy's infantry, under the cover of tanks, rushed towards our heights. I begged the division headquarters to send me reinforcements as much as possible, otherwise we would not be able to stop the enemy's attack with our current strength. ”

After hearing his words, Akhromeyev couldn't help frowning, and said dissatisfiedly: "Major, please don't be so alarmed, when the enemy attacks your heights, we will provide you with the necessary artillery support." ”

"Well," Major Yameen heard the dissatisfaction in Akhromeyev's tone, and had to reluctantly say, "I will do my best to hold the position." ”

"All right, Comrade Chief of Staff." When Akhromeyev put down the phone, I decisively ordered him: "Call Major Morozov immediately and ask him to immediately open fire and suppress the rushing enemy with artillery fire." ”

When Akhromeyev called, I said to Dragan: "Comrade Captain, I officially announce to you that from now on you will be the commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment. You'll be leading a force tonight deep into the defense zone of the 13th Guards Division, and together with your former comrades, you'll be able to eliminate as many damned fascist bandits as you can. Do you understand? ”

Dragan was stunned when he heard that he had been appointed battalion commander, and it was not until I asked him aloud for the last sentence that he came to his senses and replied loudly: "Understood! (To be continued......)