When I heard Sederikov say this, I really wanted to immediately give Bandeleyev an order to draw a company from the divisional guard battalion and take charge of securing the command post of the regiment. But just as I was about to speak, I shut my mouth again in time, long before the battle began, I had handed over the command of the battle in the city to Bandeleyev, since he had not sent reinforcements to Sedelikov now, there must have been more far-reaching considerations, and I could not interfere with his command casually.

The battle outside the regimental command post did not last long. Although the individual soldiers of the German army are high and have strong combat effectiveness, it also depends on who they compare with, and if they are against our ordinary commanders and fighters, there is no problem for them to beat us one company at a time. But when it comes to the fighters of this well-equipped and combat-ready special guard company under my command, they are no match at all.

In less than ten minutes, Yushchenko re-entered the headquarters with an assault rifle and raised his hand to report to me: "Comrade commander, the invading enemy has been completely annihilated by us. A total of 39 German soldiers were killed, 5 of us were killed and 21 were wounded, of which three of the fallen fighters belonged to a regiment. ”

"Good." After I said this, it occurred to me that since the Germans were storming the positions of the first regiment, they must also be ready to move in the direction of the fourth regiment. I'm going to rush to the defense area of the 4th Regiment immediately and see how well Gaidar is doing with their defensive deployment? Thinking of this, I instructed Yushchenko: "Comrade Captain, you take a squad and follow me to the position of the 4th Regiment, and the rest of the soldiers will stay here and temporarily take charge of the defense of the command post of the 1st Regiment." ”

"Comrade Commander!" Hearing my arrangement, both Sederikov and Yushchenko shouted out in unison. After shouting, the two closed their mouths together and looked at each other. Shedelikov coughed softly. Said to me: "Comrade Commander. Your safety is important, so take all the fighters with you to the Fourth Regiment! As for my security work here, I can draw some people from the staff and logistics to form a guard platoon. "Captain," said Shederikov, who said this, said to me in a low voice, "they are all the 'Imperial Army' sent to you by Comrade Stalin!" ”

When I heard this word, I couldn't help but shudder. At first, Yushchenko and his team traveled thousands of miles from Moscow to Stalingrad. Having become my special guard company, I strictly did not think about why Stalin would send them. Listening to Sederikov say this, I realized in my heart that they were actually "Imperial Guards"! In the past, they were lent to Chuikov to be responsible for the defense of the headquarters of the army group, and it was barely plausible. And now for them to serve as guards at a regimental command post, the rank of Sederikov is too low. Even if I insisted on letting them stay, Sederikov would not dare to use them casually. Since this is the case, I will not be forced to make it difficult, so I can only say regretfully: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, since this is the case. Then you can only trouble you to draw manpower from the logistics and staff personnel to form a temporary guard platoon. It's time to defend your regimental command post. ”

Leaving the command post of the 1st Regiment, I rushed to the defense area of the 4th Regiment along a passage that was still within the control of the New 3rd Regiment under the guidance of Yushchenko. On the way, Yushchenko complained to me in a low voice: "Comrade commander, there are already Germans who have stormed the city, and although the road we are taking is relatively safe, who knows if any Germans will suddenly come out and attack us." In my opinion, let's go back to the military headquarters first, anyway, you can find out the specific situation there. ”

"Comrade Captain," I can't say anything serious to reproach the commander of the guard battalion who protects my own safety, so I can only say euphemistically: "Although in the military headquarters, I can get the information fed back by my subordinates at any time, but after all, I haven't seen it with my own eyes. The reason why I went to the defense area of the 4th Regiment was to find out if there were any loopholes in their defenses, lest the Germans break through their defenses as soon as the pontoon bridge was repaired and a few tanks rushed into the city. ”

When I said this, Yushchenko shut his mouth and silently led the way for me in front, while his eyes were vigilantly fixed on the windows of the buildings on both sides of the road, as if he were afraid that a German would suddenly fire a string of bullets at us.

I tightened my grip on my assault rifle and looked left and right as I walked forward. Looking through the window of the building on the side of the road, you can see the defenders moving inside. Some of the commanders and fighters standing at the window raised their hands to salute us when they saw us passing by.

After walking for about half an hour, I came to the defense area of the fourth regiment. Behind the barricades and firing points here, I saw the figures of the commanders and fighters. Seeing this scene, Yushchenko said in amazement: "Comrade commander, look, the Fourth Regiment has also arranged so many defensive forces in the direction facing the city. ”

I glanced at Yushchenko, nodded, and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar was known for his good defense when he was in the independent division, and it is normal for him to arrange the defense forces in this way. ”

While we were talking, three commanders came out of the barricade in front of us, looked at us, and trotted over. They stopped at a distance of five or six meters from me, and one of the officers raised his hand to salute me and reported: "Comrade commander, Captain Ke Licheng, commander of the 1st Company of the 4th Regiment, reports to you that the 1st Company is on defensive duty, please instruct!" ”

I returned the salute and said lightly, "Please continue, Comrade Captain." Then he took a few steps forward, took the initiative to extend his hand to him, and said in a friendly manner: "Hello, Comrade Captain, I didn't expect us to meet again so soon." ”

He hurriedly shook my hand with both hands and said politely: "Hello, Comrade Army Commander, welcome to our fourth regiment to inspect the defense. Please come with me, and I will take you to the regimental command post. ”

Our group followed Captain Curry Cheng, descended into the roadside traffic trench, and walked along the half-man-deep trench. As I walked, I said with emotion: "Captain, are there many such traffic trenches in your defense area?" ”

Ke Licheng, who was walking in front, turned back to me as he walked and said, "Comrade Army Commander, there are such traffic trenches on every street. The regiment commander said that digging more trenches like this, once the Germans rushed into the city, in addition to allowing us to use them as trenches, we could also block the advance of the German tanks, which was a good thing to kill two birds with one stone. ”

"Are all the commanders and fighters of your regiment digging so many communication trenches?" I thought that the defense area of the Fourth Regiment had almost ten streets, and if they were to dig every street, it would be a lot of work.

"No," replied Corichen, shaking his head, "at least less than half of the trenches were dug by ourselves, and the other half, I don't know if they were dug by the Germans or our own before we left the city." ”

When we came to a stone building, I saw a few sentries standing at the door, and two sandbags stacked up with machine gun fire, and I knew that I had come to the command post of the 4th Regiment. Although it was three or four blocks away from the river, the sound of gunfire and cold explosions could still be heard clearly from the river.

Ke Licheng asked us to wait for a moment, and he climbed out of the traffic trench, and ran quickly to the sentry standing guard, and said a few words to the other party. After listening to his words, the sentry looked at us for a moment, then turned and walked into the command post.

After only a few minutes, Gaidar's familiar figure appeared at the door of the command post, followed by his deputy, the political commissar of the regiment, Xia Ping. Ke Licheng hurriedly stepped forward, saluted the two of them, pointed in the direction where we were, and said something to them. After listening to the captain's report, the two of them turned their eyes together, and as soon as they saw where we were, they immediately greeted us with a smile.

They walked up to us and saluted me together. Then, Gaidar smiled and asked: "Comrade Commander, why did you suddenly come to me?" ”

"How's it going by the river?" Instead of returning the salute, I asked bluntly: "Has the enemy's pontoon bridge been repaired?" ”

"Not yet." After Gaidar said this, he made a gesture of invitation to me, and at the same time said: "Comrade commander, outside is not the place to talk, let's go back to the command post." ”

I didn't object to his suggestion, but nodded silently and motioned for him to lead the way. As I passed by Captain Curry, I extended my hand to him again and politely thanked him: "Thank you, Captain Curry! Thank you for bringing us to the regimental headquarters. ”

"Comrade Commander," I thanked Captain Ke Licheng, who shook my hand vigorously and said, "This is what I should do." ”

As soon as I walked into the command post, the busy scene of Sederikov's place was once again presented to me, but the room inside the Gaidar command post, as soon as the door was closed, the noise was immediately cut off. I sat down at the table, stared at the map on the table, and said to the two of them, "Tell me about the situation, what is the enemy on the other side of the river?" ”

The two of them stood straight in front of me, and hearing my question, Gaidar stepped forward and said to me in a loud voice: "Comrade commander, allow me to report to you!" ”

"Say, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." I looked at the map in front of me marked with red and blue pencils, and said lightly, "I'll listen to the specific situation." ”

"The German infantry, under the cover of artillery fire, launched four attacks on our riverside positions in front of and behind." Gaidar replied clearly and eloquently: "But with the stubborn resistance of the commanders and fighters of our regiment, their attack was repulsed. ”

"How many enemies have you destroyed, and how many of your own casualties have been?" I knew in my heart that the Germans, without the cover of tanks, wanted to rush over the ice, it was simply wishful thinking, not to mention that there was an unobstructed view of the ice, there was not even a single cover, and even the speed of the charge would not be able to be lifted at all because the ice was too slippery. The reason why I ask this is to find out how Gaidar, a defensive regimental commander, behaved in today's battle. (To be continued......)