Chuikov?! This general with a bandage on his head is actually the Chuikov I have loved for a long time.

I hurriedly stepped forward, forcibly held back the excitement in my heart, and raised my hand to salute: "Comrade Deputy Commander, hello! Major Oshanina reports to you,...... "Speaking of which, I am stuck, and I don't know whether to say "It's a pleasure to meet you" or "Wait for your instructions" after the road. Two sentences, each sentence can be said, but each sentence doesn't seem to be appropriate. Chuikov is at a higher level than me, and saying "It's nice to meet you" seems to put him in the same position, which may upset him. It is even more inappropriate to say, "Wait for your instructions", he is only the deputy commander of the 64th Army, and he has no affiliation with me, and besides, saying this in front of Kolpakchi, the commander of the 62nd Army, will make him unhappy.

Just when I was in a dilemma, Chuikov stood up, stretched out his hand to me, and said politely: "Hello, Major Oshanina. He just shook my hand lightly and let go, turned around and asked Kol Pakchi: "Comrade commander, when did you come to your command to be a female commander, why don't I know what to do?" ”

Although he only said this in a joking tone, Kolpakich replied with a somewhat unnatural appearance: "I came to the headquarters early this morning to report." Speaking of this, he seemed to remember the task assigned to me, and hurriedly looked at me and asked, "Comrade Major, how is the task I assigned to you?" After asking this, he frowned, and his tone suddenly became extremely stern: "Won't you tell me that you and your team haven't set off yet?" ”

"Comrade Commander, your tone is too harsh. That would freak her out. Know the way. Comrade Major is now our hero. "Hear Kol Pakchi's reproach to me. Military Commissar Gurov wasted no time in standing up and speaking for me.

Confused by Gurov's words, Kolpakchi asked, puzzled: "Hero?!" Comrade Military Commissar, what the hell is going on? Chuikov also had a curious expression on his face, staring at Gurov, waiting for him to say the answer he wanted to know.

Gurov looked at me and asked with a smile: "Major Oshanina, will I report to the commander or will you report personally?" ”

Originally, I wanted to behave well in front of Chuikov, but I heard Gurov ask. On the contrary, I was a little embarrassed, so I had to humbly excuse myself and say: "Comrade Military Commissar, you have personally visited the battlefield, and I think it is more appropriate for you to report the results of the battle to Comrade Commander." ”

Gurov looked at Chuikov and Korpaki, shrugged his shoulders, and said with a good-natured mockery: "You see, our heroine is still shy." ”

Kol Pakchi urged him repeatedly: "Comrade Military Commissar, don't sell it, hurry up." ”

Only then did Gurov say unhurriedly: "Comrade Commander. You may not have dreamed of Major Oshanina and the anti-tank squad she leads. What kind of results have been achieved. I was stunned when I saw the destroyed German tanks on the battlefield. 17 ah, a full 17 German tanks. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn't have believed it was true. ”

"What? Destroyed 17 German tanks? When Kolpacic heard this, he did not show the look of surprise I had expected, but asked in a skeptical tone: "Comrade Military Commissar, you said that you personally went to the battlefield to count the results of the battle and verify the number of tanks destroyed by the German army?" ”

"Exactly! Comrade Commander. Gurov replied in the affirmative: "To tell you the truth, when I heard Major Oshanina report to me on the results of the battle, I also expressed my doubts as you did. However, when I went to the hill and counted the number of destroyed German tanks in person, I was sure that the results of the battle were real and credible. At this point, he turned his head to look at me with admiration, and said approvingly: "I think Major Oshanina is an excellent commander who is good at creating miracles. ”

Listening to Gurov's words, Kolpakchi's suspicions were completely dispelled, and he believed that the military commissar of an army group would never deceive him on these matters. He stood up abruptly, and said in a somewhat excited tone: "I will call the commander of the Stalingrad Front, General Gordorf, to report to him the outstanding results of Major Oshanina, and ask for credit for several of them." ”

When Korpakchi was dialing the phone, Chuikov, who had been silent, stood up, walked up to me, looked me up and down, and asked with a smile: "Comrade Major, have you worked under General Zhukov?" The tone of the question was very friendly, and the salutation used honorifics for me, a subordinate.

I nodded and replied, "Yes, General Chuikov." During the defense of Moscow, I used to work on the Western Front. First at the headquarters of General Zhukov's Front, then he served as a liaison officer in the 5th and 16th armies, and later as the commander of the 8th Guards Infantry Division and the chief of staff of the 20th Army. ”

After listening to my resume, the smile on Chuikov's face became even stronger, and he stretched out his hand to me again and said, "Sure enough, it's you!" You are the Lida that Comrade Zhukov often mentions. Mushdakova. Oshanina. Let's get acquainted again, I'm Vasily. Ivanovich. Chuikov. ”

Seeing Chuikov talking to me, a subordinate, in such a friendly manner, Gurov asked with some surprise: "Comrade Chuikov, do you know Major Oshanina?" ”

Chuikov shook his head and said, "I've heard General Zhukov mention it, but I've never seen it." Speaking of this, he went out of his way to explain to me: "I only returned to Moscow from abroad in March of this year, when you were transferred to the Leningrad Front, so we did not have a chance to meet. ”

As he spoke, Kolpakč had already contacted the commander of the Front, Goldov, but the other party apparently did not believe the results of our report, and he was trying to explain: "...... Comrade commander, this result was verified by Comrade Gurov, the military commissar of the group army, who personally went to the battlefield and is true and credible. ...... "Perhaps I heard him mention that Gurov personally went to the battlefield to verify this result, so Goldov no longer doubted it. The list of combatants began to be questioned.

Kol Parkucci glanced back at me. "The battle was commanded by Major Oshanina, who was newly transferred to the army group," the report said. Among those who took part in the battle were Peter of the 33rd Regiment of the 84th Guards Division. Lieutenant Boloto, and ...... else" Speaking of this, he covered the microphone with his hand and asked me loudly: "Major Oshanina, what are the names of the other three fighters?" ”

I hastened to reply: "Sergeant Grigori. Samoilov, Sergeant Alexander. Belikov, Corporal Ivan. Aleynikov. ”

Korpakich listened and repeated the three names. Then he removed the hand covering the microphone and reported the names of the three fighters to General Goldov.

After the phone call, Korpacchi said to the three of us with some excitement: "Comrade Commander said that he will personally report this brilliant result to the Supreme High Command. ”

Chuikov looked at the excited general in front of him, and said half-jokingly: "Comrade General, I am in great need of such an excellent grassroots commander as Major Oshanina, you can hand her over to me!" ”

"I beg your pardon, Comrade Deputy Commander of the 64th Army," Kolpakchi, the commander who was not happy to receive me more than ten hours ago. Politely but firmly rejected Chuikov's proposal: "Major Oshanina was assigned by General Zhukov to our 62nd Army, during the campaign. She will always be my adjutant in the headquarters. ”

Chuikov shrugged his shoulders and said regretfully: "Well, well, Comrade Commander of the Army." Although we are old comrades-in-arms, when it comes to grassroots commanders, we have become rivals who will not stand on each other. ”

I was quite moved by Chuikov's proposal, and I knew that the reason why I agreed to Zhukov to come to Stalingrad was that I wanted to defect to him and follow him in his career, so that I could have the opportunity to get ahead in the future.

Just then, the phone that Kol Pakchi had used just now rang. Gurov urged him repeatedly: "Okay, Comrade Commander, don't quarrel with Comrade Chuikov anymore, maybe it's a call from Comrade Commander of the Front Army, you can go and answer it." ”

Unexpectedly, the call was not from Goldov, but from Zhukov, who was far away in Moscow. As soon as he heard Zhukov's voice, Korpakich hurriedly stood up and politely greeted the other party: "Hello, Comrade Zhukov. Please call so late, do you have any instructions? At this point, he listened and quietly listened to Zhukov's instructions.

After listening for a while, he beckoned to me and motioned for me to come to him. When I walked up to him, he immediately handed me the phone and whispered: "Comrade Zhukov wants to talk to you personally." ”

I took the phone, took a deep breath, and then politely said into the microphone, "Hello, Comrade General." ”

Zhukov's voice came from the microphone: "Lida, just now I received a call from General Gordorff, the commander of the Stalingrad Front, saying that you took four commanders and fighters to lay an ambush on the hill south of Kretskaya and hit an ambush by the German tank unit. After a fierce battle, you destroyed 17 German tanks without a single casualty. I want to ask you to make sure, is this result real and reliable? ”

"Yes, Comrade General." I replied very decisively.

"Understood, I will report this result to the Supreme Commander himself as soon as possible." Speaking of which, Zhukov wanted to hang up. Chuikov rushed over, snatched the phone from my hand, and shouted into the microphone: "Please wait a minute, Georgie. Comrade Konstantinovich. ”

Zhukov was stunned for a moment when he heard Chuikov call his father's name and real name, and then he didn't hang up the phone immediately, but asked curiously: "Comrade Chuikov, what are you doing when you go to the 62nd Army when you are not in your own headquarters?" ”

Chuikov sighed and said: "Alas, I flew to inspect the forward positions today, and as a result, I encountered a German plane, and after a period of maneuvering, the plane was unfortunately shot down. Fortunately, the combat staff officer of the 62nd Army, Captain Semilov, saved me and sent me to the headquarters of their army group to have my wounds bandaged, so I stayed here for the time being. ”

"The plane was shot down by the Germans?! You're not hurt, are you? Zhukov asked with concern on the other end of the phone.

"Thankfully, my pilot managed to maneuver skillfully on landing, and I was only slightly injured. By the way, Comrade General, I'll call you. There's something else to tell you. ”

"Say it. I'm listening. From Zhukov's friendly tone. I could hear that he had a good relationship with Chuikov.

Chuikov began to complain to him: "Comrade General, you also know that my 64th Army was newly formed from the reserves, and most of the commanders and soldiers in the group army participated in the battle for the first time. In order to quickly increase the combat effectiveness of the troops, I hope that you will send me more commanders with a fighting spirit like Major Oshanina. ”

Zhukov was silent for a long time about Chuikov's request before he replied leisurely: "Comrade Chuikov, your commanders and fighters. Although many of them are first-time combatants, they will become more experienced in combat as long as they fight two or three battles. By the way, I would like to hear from you about the Don Line. ”

Chuikov glanced at Kolpakchi, who was standing beside him, and then replied with a serious expression: "Comrade General, the situation in the defense line is not optimistic. According to the doctrines and tutorials of our army, the defenders must first understand the enemy and select the battlefield according to the situation, and deploy the troops in the most advantageous position. The defenders must rely on favorable terrain to build positions, so that the defenders can carry out counter-assaults under favorable conditions, exert firepower and conceal themselves if necessary. Meantime. The terrain should disrupt the movement of the attacker as much as possible and reduce its mobility, and should be able to stop the advance of enemy tanks when there is engineering support. It is the attacker's approach passage without concealment, and the time it is exposed to defensive fire is as long as possible. ……”

Hearing Chuikov say the above words like an endorsement, I secretly guessed in my heart that this must be part of the commander's course at the Frunze Military Academy.

“…… I have observed from the plane today that the defensive line of the 62nd Army did not meet these requirements, and they did not have time to take advantage of the natural barrier of rivers and valleys. In fact, I think that by building a little fortification in these places, it can become an insurmountable obstacle for the enemy. However, the positions of our army were built on the bare grassland, which was not dangerous to defend, and it was very easy to observe from the ground or from the air. There were many gaps between the various defensive positions and troops, especially on the right flank. If these gaps were discovered by the Germans, they would pass through them, encircle our defensive positions, and reach the rear of our defenses.

Due to the excessively long stretch of the line west of the Don River, the defense line of the 62nd division of the 1st echelon of the 4 divisions was 90 kilometers long, and the defense line of the 64 divisions and 1 brigade of the 2 divisions and 1 brigade was also 50 kilometers long. Especially on the right flank of the defensive line, the 192nd Infantry Division pulled the longest. Nearly a quarter or even a third of the strength of the divisions of the 1st echelon was deployed 4 or 50 kilometers away from the main force, with neither artillery cover nor air support, and they would be quickly routed or destroyed in the event of a fierce attack by the Germans. ”

Zhukov was noncommittal, but said lightly: "Next, tell me about the situation of your 64th Army." ”

Chuikov then reported: "After familiarizing myself with the situation and analyzing and comparing the information about the enemy gathered by the units of the 62nd Army, I made the following arrangements for the troops that reached the Don Valley: the 214th and 229th Infantry Divisions, the 154th Marine Brigade and the 121st Tank Brigade occupied the line on the right bank of the Don River from Surovichino to the town of Suvorovskaya, and the left end of the defense was defended by the 29th Infantry Division; The second-echelon 112th Infantry Division was deployed in the area of the Chir River, where the 62nd Army and the 64th Army combined; The 66th Marine Brigade, the 137th Tank Brigade and the cadet regiments assembled as the third echelon in the residential areas of the Meshkova River. ”

When Chuikov reported, Zhukov was obviously looking at the map, and as soon as he finished listening to his report, he immediately opened his mouth and praised: "This deployment of yours is good, you can attack and retreat and defend." If the Germans want to break through your defenses, it will probably take a lot of effort. ”

Chuikov said with a wry smile: "Comrade General, not long after the deployment of my troops, General Gordorf came to the headquarters with a written order from the Supreme Command and assumed the post of commander of my 64th Army. After he took office, he reviewed my orders, and he did not make any major changes to the apparatus of the first echelon, approved and ordered them to be carried out. However, he made major changes to the configuration of the second echelon of the group army. He ordered not to place the 112th Infantry Division at the junction of the 62nd and 64th armies, but to move it to the periphery of the Stalingrad Line, that is, on the smoke of the Meshkov River, from the village of Logovsky to the village of Gromoslavki; The 66th Marine Brigade, the 137th Tank Brigade and the cadet regiments were transferred to the Aksai River site, the left flank of Army Group.

Comrade General, I know that you are looking at the map, and you see, this decision of General Goldov has transferred all the reserves of the army group to the left bank of the Don River, and thus the defensive position of our army group west of the Don River has lost its second echelon and reserves. ”

Zhukov was extremely helpless about Chuikov's complaints, although he was the nominal deputy commander-in-chief, but after all, he belonged to two different front armies, and he could not express his stance casually on some things, otherwise he would be suspected of interfering in the command of friendly forces. He pondered for a moment, and then told Chuikov: "I know that there is no reserve, I will study it with General Goldov as soon as possible, and I will inform you when the results are available." (To be continued......)