Not long after the end of the call with Shederikov, Gaidar, who was holding on to the heights to the north, called, and asked cautiously on the phone: "Division commander, the firing points we set up in the area where the tank wreckage was piled up during the day have eliminated a large number of enemies, should I continue to send troops to establish fire points again?" ”

After listening to his suggestion, I dismissed it without thinking: "No, Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, resolutely not." The reason why our firing points during the day were able to inflict heavy casualties on the enemy was that the enemy did not expect that we would set up a firing point in the wreckage of the tank, so we were caught by surprise. The Germans are not fools, they have suffered such a big loss, and before they attack again tomorrow, they will inevitably concentrate artillery fire on the area where the tank wreckage is piled up at the foot of the mountain, and I don't want our soldiers to die in vain. ”

"Comrade division commander," although he heard that his mention was denied, Gaidar was still unwilling to give up, and still tried to convince me: "I think we should still try, after all, our fighters are hiding in the turret of the tank, and as long as they are not directly hit by shells, the shrapnel flying everywhere will not hurt them." ”

"No way!" I knew that if I went on with Gaidar like this, I wouldn't be able to talk about it for another hour, so I bluntly used my identity to suppress him: "Don't you know that the commander's order is not allowed to be discussed?" Don't talk nonsense, without my orders, not a single soldier is allowed to enter the area of the tank wreckage to establish a point of fire. With that, I hung up without saying anything.

When I put down the phone, I saw Akhromeyev walking past the walkie-talkie, still holding a piece of paper in his hand. From afar, he said to me and Kirillov: "Division commander, political commissar. Just received a report from the 5th Regiment. Say that there is a landing of our troops at the pier. After the procession was completed, and marched into the city in groups. ”

"Chief of Staff, do you know the number of the new unit?" Kirillov asked, turning his head.

Akhromeyev nodded and replied: "It is the 193rd Infantry Division of Major General Smehotvorov, and the general's deputy is the regimental commissar Pinch Chaev. Since their task was to take over the defense of the 161st Infantry Regiment in the outer complex of the Red October workers' residential complex, I asked Lieutenant Colonel Oleg to send a part of the militia of the Red October factory to guide them. ”

Hearing that the troops that were about to be replaced were unfamiliar numbers. I couldn't help but arouse my curiosity, so as soon as Akhromeyev stopped, I couldn't wait to ask: "Which division does the 161st Regiment belong to, why haven't I heard of it before?" ”

"Comrade division commander, let me explain it to you in detail. Last week, the 95th Infantry Division, commanded by division commander Colonel Gorishny and battalion commissar Vlashenko, crossed the river into the city and was responsible for the defense of the factory area north of the city. As soon as the division entered the city, it fought stubbornly with the enemy who rushed to the factory area, and after a week of fighting, the division was reduced to Yan zhòng. Under the arrangement of the command of the army group. The remaining combatants of the division were grouped into the 161st Regiment and remained in the city to continue fighting, and the non-combatants of the division and its other two regiments such as staff officers, quartermasters, and logistics. All were ordered to withdraw to the east bank of the Volga for rest. ”

"How's the Red October factory going?" After listening to his introduction, I asked lightly.

Akhromeyev shook his head vigorously and said: "According to the information we have received, the situation at the Red October plant is very bad. After launching several strong attacks, the enemy inflicted heavy losses on the 161st Regiment and more than a dozen militia battalions formed by the militia, occupying most of the factory. At this point, seeing that the expressions on the faces of Kirillov and I became stern, he hurriedly added: "However, in those parts of the factory area that are in the hands of our army, the workers still continue to work overtime to produce all kinds of military supplies under the enemy's artillery fire and the rain of bullets. ”

After listening to this qiē, Kirillov silently lit a cigarette, looked up at me and said: "Comrade Oshanina, I now have a bold idea that I would like to discuss with you. ”

"Say it, Comrade Political Commissar," seeing his expression of wanting to speak and stopping, I hurriedly said encouragingly: "Say whatever comes to mind, and the three of us will study together whether it is feasible." ”

Akhromeyev waited for me to finish, and then he also helped beside him and said: "What the division commander said is right, comrade political commissar, if you have any ideas, just say it and let us all listen." Maybe your ideas will help you in the next battle. ”

After taking two puffs, Kirillov snuffed out the cigarette in his hand, raised his head and said decisively: "Division commander, chief of staff, I think like this: although our division lost a lot of troops in the September battle, most of the battles were fought around the high ground north of the Mamayev Heights, and there were few battles in other parts of our division's station. I would like to draw troops from the 2nd Regiment, and like the 5th Regiment, to carry out guerrilla warfare or sniper warfare in the city, strike at the enemy fiercely, cooperate with the defense of friendly units, and reduce the pressure on their defense. I don't know what you guys think? ”

After listening to Kirillov's suggestion, Akhromeyev thought for a moment and then nodded decisively in agreement: "I agree with the political commissar. If we only care about our own defensive areas, and ignore our friendly forces, and allow them to be routed or destroyed by the enemy, we will soon be surrounded by the enemy, and at that time, our independent division will not escape the tragic fate of total annihilation. ”

From the bottom of my heart, I very much agree with Kirillov's suggestion. You must know that if you want to develop in the army, you must first have a backer, if you don't have a mountain behind you to shelter from the wind and rain, let you take credit for the world, you will still be beaten into the dust with your backhand, and even lose your own life. In addition to the appreciation of superiors, there must also be a group of colleagues who can help them at critical moments, just like to build a skyscraper, you must first lay a solid foundation. At present, I already have Zhukov and Chuikov as my backers, but there are only a handful of colleagues of the same level as me who are willing to help me. If I send troops to help them at their most critical moment, it will certainly increase their goodwill towards me and achieve twice the result with half the effort. But thinking that there were only more than 3,000 people in the whole division, and then rashly disperse the troops. As for whether it is possible to hold the Mamayev post. I became uncertain.

Seeing that I did not speak for a long time. Akhromeyev was a little anxious, and he couldn't help urging me: "Division commander, what do you think of the political commissar's proposal?" Agree or disagree? What a word! ”

Akhromeyev's urging made me make up my final mind: Anyway, in the history I know, the Battle of Stalingrad ended in the defeat of the Soviet army over the German army, and now handing over these division and brigade commanders will only benefit me in the future, and it seems that this risk is still worth taking. Come to think of it. I gritted my teeth and said decisively: "Commissar, I agree with your proposal." Then I turned around and instructed Akhromeyev: "Chief of Staff, immediately call Major Pugachev and ask him to send elite soldiers to form an assault team overnight." As for the commander of the assault team, the commander of the 1st battalion, Captain Khrushov, and his instructor Savchenko were in charge. ”

After determining the troops to be drawn and the commanders of the troops, the three of us spent the next few hours staring at a map of the city of Stalingrad in front of us, repeatedly studying where the commandos should be engaged in guerrilla warfare, forgetting even the night raiders commanded by Oberstein.

I don't know how long it took. Razumeyeva suddenly shouted to me next to me: "Division commander, the commander of the first regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, is on the line." He has important information to report to you. ”

Hearing Razumeyeva mention the name of Sederikov, I didn't come back to my senses for a while, I raised my hand to look, the pointer was already pointing to one o'clock in the morning, and I couldn't help but say to myself: "It's so late, what is the commander looking for me to do?" As soon as I finished speaking, I suddenly remembered the night raid team that had quietly infiltrated behind enemy lines, quickly stood up, rushed over with an arrow, grabbed the headset and microphone in Razumeyeva's hand, and said loudly: "Hey, hey, is it Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov?" I'm Colonel Oshanina, do you have any news of the Night Raid to report to me? ”

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Shederikov's excited voice came from the headset: "The commissar of Oberstan, who commanded at the front, just reported to me that the night raid team he led had quietly infiltrated the enemy's camp after landing. Perhaps the Germans, because of the heavy losses during the daytime attack and the lack of troops for frontal vigilance, transferred the company that had been on guard by the river to the front, leaving only one squad of soldiers.

Having eliminated the soldiers on guard by the river, Commissar Oberstein led the night raiders to touch the enemy's artillery positions. After a hand-to-hand battle, they captured the enemy's artillery positions. And using six heavy howitzers from the positions, a random shelling of a nearby village position was carried out.

In the third round of the shelling, when the nearby defenders discovered the artillery position, they swarmed in an attempt to get more positions out of their hands. Seeing that the enemy was strong, Comrade Oberstein ordered the artillery to carry out two more rounds of shelling, blew up the cannon with a grenade, and retreated as he fought, retreating towards the Volga. ”

When I heard that Oberstan's night raiders had successfully captured the enemy's artillery positions and used the enemy's artillery to bombard the enemy's camp, I couldn't help but applaud in my heart. But since I didn't hear the news of the successful evacuation of Oberstan, I couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Did the night raiders get out of danger?" ”

Shederikov was silent for a moment, and in a heavy tone he reported: "The commissar lost contact with them after reporting that they began to move, and my radio station here is unable to get in touch with them at the moment. ”

"Keep calling, and when you get in touch, call me right away."

I walked back to the table and repeated what Sedjerikov had just reported to Kirillov and Akhromeyev. Akhromeyev was about to speak, the phone on the table rang, he quickly grabbed the microphone and said loudly: "Hey, I'm the division chief of staff Akhromeyev, where are you?" ”

After listening to what the other party said, he said lightly: "Continue to observe, and report to me if there is a new situation." ”

Putting down the phone, he said to me: "Report to the division commander, the call is from Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar of the 4th Regiment, and he said that the observation post on the hillside has found that in the direction of the German camp to the north, there are patches of fire, and even the night sky in the distance is red. ”

I just nodded, because I understood that what the Fourth Regiment had observed was the result of the night raid team. I turned my head to look at Kirillov and said worriedly: "Comrade commissar, do you think the night raid team will be able to get out of danger?" ”

After hearing this, Kirillov smiled bitterly and said somewhat helplessly: "Comrade Oshanina." If you're going to let me tell the truth. I can only regret to tell you. Barring a miracle, the chances of them succeeding in escaping are almost nil. ”

"Why do you say that, Comrade Commissar?" Akhromeyev on the side asked puzzled.

"It's easy!" I said, "Oberstan, when they withdrew from their positions, they had already been bitten by the enemy's large forces, and even if they alternately covered the retreat, most of the commanders and fighters would have died. ”

The worry of the night raid team diluted the joy that the results of the night raid brought us. Especially after knowing that the chance of the night raid team getting out of trouble was not great, everyone's mood was even heavier. In order to be the first to know about the situation of the night raiding team, Akhromeyev almost every ten minutes. Just contact Shederikov.

But Sederikov's answer was the same every time: "I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, I haven't been in contact with the night raid team yet." ”

We spent more than two hours waiting. Just as we were on the verge of despair, the phone on the table rang. Akhromeyev grabbed the microphone and said angrily: "Hey, I'm Akhromeyev, chief of staff of the division, where are you and do you have anything to report?" ”

There was silence in the earpiece, and then the excited voice of Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar came: "Report to the Chief of Staff." It was the night raid team, and it was the night raid team that successfully returned to the defense area of our regiment. ”

"What. Is it a night raider?! When I heard Gaidar say that the night raiders had returned, I snatched the microphone from Akhromeyev's hand and raised my voice and asked: "Hey, Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, are you telling the truth?" Did the night raid led by Comrade Oberstein really come back? ”

"Hello, Comrade Division Commander." A familiar voice suddenly came from the earpiece, and after a moment of hesitation, I realized that the person I was talking to was the same Oberstein we had been obsessed with.

I hurriedly asked: "Comrade Oberstan, hard work!" What about the casualties of the night raiders, and how many people returned? When I asked this, my heart beat faster, and I was afraid that he would sue me and I would be the only one who came back.

Unexpectedly, Oberstein replied in a calm tone: "Report to the division commander, the night raid team has a total of 100 people, and 16 people were killed and wounded in tonight's battle, of which 5 were killed and 11 were wounded. With the exception of the remains of the martyrs, who were not brought back, the remaining 95 people returned safely. ”

His report surprised me, and I asked in amazement: "Comrade Oberstein, didn't you say that you are surrounded by heavy enemy troops?" How could it be, at such a small cost, that managed to highlight the enemy's encirclement and return to the positions of our troops along the way? ”

"That's right, Comrade Division Commander." Oberstein went on to report to me: "We were about to break out of the siege after blowing up the enemy's artillery, when suddenly a barrage of shells came down on the ranks of the besieging enemy, and blew them up to the point of howling and blood. Seeing that the enemy was in chaos, I hurriedly led my troops and rushed out of the gap that had been blown open by shells. ”

"Shelling?!" When I heard his report, I was even more surprised: "Where did the shells come from?" Could it be that our friendly forces on the east bank of the Volga have discovered that you are attacking the enemy's camp and are deliberately supporting you with artillery fire? ”

"Not so, Comrade Division Commander." Oberstein analyzed to me: "I guess these shells are coming from other enemy artillery positions. When they found out that the artillery position on the west side of the village was occupied by us, they tried to destroy us with artillery fire, but the shells accidentally landed on their own heads, which gave us the opportunity to successfully break out of the enemy's encirclement. However, because the walkie-talkie was damaged by sideways shrapnel during the operation, we lost contact with the regiment. ”

"Well done, Comrade Oberstein." After figuring out what had happened tonight, I praised him and said to him with concern: "It's not too early, go back and rest early, and talk about the rest after dawn." ”

Putting down the phone, I breathed a sigh of relief and repeated what Oberstein had said on the phone to the two of them.

After hearing about the escape of Oberstan's night raiding party, Akhromeyev exclaimed that he was lucky, and said: "If it had not been for the enemy's infantry surrounding and Comrade Oberstein ordering the bombardment, perhaps those shells falling from the sky would have fallen on their heads." In that case, it's really unknown how many of them will come back from the night raiding team. ”

After listening to the results of the night raid, Kirillov had a long-lost smile on his face, he raised his hand to look at his watch, and then said to me: "Division commander, chief of staff, while there are still a few hours left in the morning, you should hurry up and rest." ”

Although Kirillov told us to rest, tonight was destined to be an eventful night, and just then, the telephone on the desk rang again. I thought that Shedelikov had gotten the news and had specially reported to me the news of the safe return of the night raiding team, so I said lazily: "It's Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, I know what you have to say......"

Unexpectedly, Chuikov's voice came from the earpiece: "Oshanina, you are mistaken, it's me, Chuikov!" ”

Hearing that it was Chuikov who was calling, I quickly stood up and politely said to the microphone: "Hello, Comrade Commander. You called so late, did you have any assignment to order? ”

Chuikov was not polite either, and asked straight to the point: "Oshanina, did you take any action against the enemy's camp tonight?" ”

The results of the night raids, I had to report to the higher authorities anyway, and since he asked so, I hastened to reply: "Yes, Comrade Commander." Tonight, I sent a night raider to attack the camp of the German 44th Division in front of our division, and achieved a small success. ”

Hearing me say this, Chuikov laughed out loud on the phone: "What a small result, it is obviously a big result, and it is a very big result." Did you know that the night raiders almost killed two German generals? (To be continued......)

PS: Heartfelt thanks to book friends 198512230037 and old godfather children's shoes for their two votes! Thank you for the precious votes of book friends zhaojingchao, Chu Xiangshui, and the dead piggy children's shoes!