I was furious when I saw that the tent where the women's communications squad was located had turned into a crater, and while feeling the sweetness in my throat, I snorted and spurted out a mouthful of blood...... Then I only felt that the world was spinning, and my body fell backwards as soon as I went soft. Fortunately, Pugachev, who was standing next to him, was held up in time and did not fall to the ground.

Razumeyeva also came over and grabbed my arm, wiped the tears from her face, and asked with concern: "Commander, are you okay?" ”

I was filled with righteous indignation when I saw the German planes bombing and strafing the civilians gathered on the docks, and then the bombing of Mamayev Hill blew up more than a dozen female signal soldiers in the prime of cardamom. But after vomiting blood, I felt a lot more relaxed, and I smiled gratefully at Razumeyeva's concern for her, and said softly: "Second Lieutenant Razumeyeva, I'm fine, thank you for your concern." ”

After saying this, I caught a glimpse of the large bomb craters in the ravine, and my mood that had just improved became heavy again, and I ordered Pugachev in a low voice: "Comrade Captain, you can take a few soldiers and go and collect the remains of the female soldiers." When Pugachev said yes and was ready to leave, I told him in the back, "If possible, find them a few coffins at the end." ”

After Pugachev left, I turned around and asked Razumeyeva: "How many people are left in the divisional communications company?" ”

Razumeyeva thought for a moment and replied: "There are still a few communication squads in the 3rd and 4th regiments, and there are about thirty people. The soldiers of the communications squad who originally came with me from the 64th Army are now only three people, including me. The rest were newly added later. ”

My eyes were on the warriors who were busy treating the wounded and collecting the dead on the hillside. Said lightly: "Second Lieutenant Razumeyeva." Try to do your best to supplement the communication link. In the coming days, the battle we face here will be very brutal, and we will not be able to win the battle if communication is not guaranteed. ”

As I was talking, I suddenly saw a group of people approaching from the east side of the hillside in the distance, with soldiers in military uniforms in front of them, followed by ordinary people carrying suitcases and carrying bags. Razumeyeva apparently saw this as well, and she said in surprise: "What's going on. Why are there so many ordinary people? ”

I shook my head and said, "Let's go, Second Lieutenant Razumeyeva, let's go over and see what is going on." ”

Twenty or thirty paces ahead, I could see two soldiers with submachine guns in front of me, a German officer in a flight suit, and a dozen soldiers following arm in arm, blocking the civilians rushing forward. Seeing me standing in front, one of the soldiers beside the captive reached out and pushed him hard from behind, urging: "Don't be sluggish, hurry up." ”

After walking in front of me. The fighters on the left, having raised their hands and saluted, reported to me: "Comrade division commander. That's him. It was his plane that had just bombed civilians on the docks. As soon as he saw that his plane was shot down by our air defense forces, the battalion commander, Captain Khrushov, ordered us to catch the parachuted pilot. ”

After he finished speaking, he saw that the captured German pilot was still arrogant, and angrily slapped the other party on the back of the head, and shouted: "What are you still standing here, don't you salute Comrade Colonel quickly." ”

The German pilot, after glancing at me with contempt, put his hands behind his back, raised his head, and said in an unruly manner: "Why? You know, I am a German officer, and I will not salute the commander of the Russian ** team. ”

Hearing that he was speaking Russian, I couldn't help but take a step forward and ask him curiously: "Mr. officer, do you speak Russian?" Without waiting for him to answer, I raised my voice and asked him in a loud voice, "Why are you doing this?" Why bomb the docks and massacre those unarmed civilians? ”

The pilot looked down at me a few times and said disapprerovingly: "If you had handed over Stalingrad earlier, we would not have bombed the city, and accidental injuries to civilians would have been completely avoided." Judging by the current situation, you will not be able to hold Stalingrad, and sooner or later we will occupy it. ”

I had no interest in discussing with the German pilot whether Stalingrad could hold or not, so I looked at the civilians who were trying to break through the soldiers' cordon, and asked coldly: "What is your name?" ”

"Jensen, Luftwaffe Lieutenant Rudy. Jensen. ”

"Comrade Division Commander, what should we do with him?" Razumeeva, glaring at Lieutenant Jensen, asked in a low voice.

Razumeeva's question reminds me of the fact that the bombing of German planes killed and injured countless civilians who gathered at the pier, and the ferry port that escaped became a living hell, as well as the dozen or so female soldiers who were bombed to the ground. The thought of this made me angry, so I raised my hand and asked the warrior with whom I had spoken to come over.

Just as I was about to order him to shoot the German pilot on the spot, a nervous shout suddenly came from behind me: "Your Excellency the division commander, please wait a minute, please wait a minute." ”

I turned my head to see Grams, Beckman, and Gretka, and Mihayev and a group of warriors hurrying up the southern slope. They were all wearing German uniforms, and I really don't know how they managed to get through the friendly lines. If I hadn't seen the soldier at the front of the line, holding the flag of the Independent Division aloft, I would have mistaken them for Germans.

Beckman walked between me and Lieutenant Tucson and said straight to the point: "Your Excellency, this pilot has been captured, so please give him the treatment that an officer deserves." ”

Although Beckman spoke Russian very well, Lieutenant Tucson, who had sharp ears, heard that he was not a Soviet, and could not help but ask in surprise: "Mr. Captain, are you German?" ”

Beckman turned to look at the Air Force lieutenant, nodded, and said affirmatively: "Yes, Mr. Lieutenant, several of us officers of the 1O3 Infantry Regiment. At this, he seemed to feel that something was wrong, and hurriedly changed his German to talk to the lieutenant of the Air Force.

After a moment's conversation, Beckman turned to face me. He said in a sincere tone: "Your Excellency, Senior Commander." I talked to this Air Force lieutenant. All he did was on orders, and if he didn't throw bombs at the docks, he would have been court-martialed when he returned. ”

An old lady with a child in her arms broke through the temporary cordon set up by the soldiers, staggered up to me, and shouted hysterically: "Comrade Colonel, look, they did it, they are not human. It's a brute. You can call the shots for us! As she spoke, she handed the child in front of us. It was a beautiful little girl, but there was no sign of life in her little face blackened by gunpowder.

"Teacher, you see, the little girl has already ......" Razumayeva didn't finish her words, she blocked her mouth with her fist, so as not to control her feelings and cry out loud.

I looked at Beckman, who was pleading for Lieutenant Tucson, and said word for word: "Mr. Captain, I would like to ask you if this old man is holding your child in his arms." What kind of decision will you make? ”

With that, I turned around and walked in the direction of the command without looking back. The warriors clearly understood what I meant. They let go of the cordon formed by arm-in-arm, and let the humiliated civilians scream and pounce on the captives who had lost the ability to resist, and in the "bang" sound of being punched and kicked, mixed with the hoarse shouts of the Air Force Lieutenant Tucson: "Don't give me to them, Your Excellency Colonel, please!" Please don't hand me over to them, Your Excellency, I beg you! ……”

I ignored the captive's cries for help and walked on my own. As I lifted the curtain of the headquarters, the screams of the captives in the distance came to an abrupt end.

I was followed into the command, in addition to Mihayev, three former German officers. After politely beckoning them to sit down, I asked Mihayev with a stern face: "Second Lieutenant Mihayev, let me ask you, why are you still wearing German uniforms, aren't you worried about misunderstanding and engaging in firefights with our troops when you pass through friendly lines?" ”

Mihayev hurriedly got up from the stone bench, straightened up and said to me: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, the situation is like this. When you led the 1st and 2nd Regiments, as well as the 3rd and 4th Regiments of Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard and Gaidar, there were already small groups of German troops on the road leading here. For the sake of safety, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg and Commissar Vellor decided to let us continue to wear German uniforms and rush to the new defense area. Before passing through the friendly defense area, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg first sent someone to inform the friendly troops that our unit had returned from a mission behind enemy lines, so many people were wearing German uniforms, hoping that they would not be nervous and avoid conflict. ”

"Do you know where the third and fourth regiments have gone? Where did Lieutenant Colonel Oleg and Commissar Vellor go first? "At present, except for the first and second regiments, I don't know where the third and fourth regiments are, so as soon as he finished speaking, he asked one after another.

Unexpectedly, after listening to my words, Mihayev actually shook his head and said: "I don't know where the three regiments and the four regiments are, because we didn't see them at all on the way here." Lieutenant Colonel Oleg and Commissar Vylor are placing troops at the bottom of the hillside, and I'm afraid you'll be in a hurry, so let's come up and inform you first. ”

"Do you have any communications equipment in your regiment?" With the bombardment of the Germans just now, it can be said that all the communication equipment on the position has been destroyed, so I can only rush to the hospital in a hurry, hoping that they will have surplus communication equipment there, so that I can restore the communication with the headquarters of the group army and the first regiment.

Mihayev thought for a moment, nodded and replied: "Comrade division commander, I think there should be." ”

To his answer, I said dissatisfiedly: "Yes is yes, no is no, what should be?" ”

After listening to this, Mihayev replied with a wry smile: "Comrade division commander, have you forgotten that I do not belong to the Fifth Regiment, but the commander of the division's engineer company, so I don't know much about the situation of the Fifth Regiment." ”

His words reminded me that this was indeed the case, no wonder Oleg and Vylor would let him report to me first, it turned out that Mihayev belonged to the division directly under the unit. I looked at the other three Germans in the command, and the next task was given to them, which was obviously not suitable, so I instructed Mihayev: "Comrade second lieutenant, you go to Oleg and Velore at once, and let them report to my headquarters at once, and if there is communication equipment, bring them with them, I need to get in touch with the other regiments at once." ”

"Yes!" After Mihayev said yes crisply. Turned and ran out of the command.

When only I and three other German officers were left in the command. I sat down at the table again. His eyes looked at Beckman, and seeing that he was still dejected, he said coldly: "Captain Beckman, are you still feeling lost about that Air Force lieutenant?" ”

Beckman glanced up at me, didn't say anything but smiled wryly, no doubt assuming that my guess was correct. Seeing that he did not refute, I continued: "Captain Beckman, when German planes bombed the docks and the Mamayev post. You haven't arrived yet. If you had seen the Luftwaffe's crimes against civilians, you would not have interceded for that pilot. ”

"But, Your Excellency, Colonel." Unconvinced, Beckman said, "That pilot has been captured by you. You could have sent him to a prisoner of war camp instead of giving up control of the captured pilot and having him killed by the out-of-control civilians. ”

Beckman's whining was simply ignored by me. I have no regrets about the decision to hand over the pilot to the civilian population, and even if there were no civilians who had arrived from the docks, I would have not hesitated to order the pilot to be shot to avenge the death of our commanders and fighters.

Mihayev soon took Oleg and Vylor with him. And my guard battalion commander Basmanov came to the command headquarters together. With so many people pouring in, the small headquarters seemed crowded. I happened to see Pugachev open the curtain from outside, and I hurriedly ordered him: "Captain Pugachev, you take Grams, Beckman and them to rest first." "Although these Germans have already thrown themselves on us, I don't want them to know what is going on, so I try to get rid of them.

After Pugachev and Captain Grams left, without waiting for Oleg to speak, Basmanov had already rushed to say: "Comrade division commander, I have an opinion about you. ”

"There is an opinion, what opinion? Tell me about it! ”

Basmanov pouted and said, "I am the commander of your guard battalion, but I can't remember this now, and I don't like to take the guard with you anywhere." If that's the case, what's the point of me as a battalion commander, it's better to let me go to an ordinary company to be a company commander. ”

Hearing Basmanov's complaints, I smiled embarrassedly, and quickly apologized to him, saying: "Captain Basmanov, it was my fault in the past, and I always ignored you, the commander of the guard battalion. You can rest assured, from today onwards, wherever I go, I will take the fighters of the guard battalion with me. In that case, you won't have any more opinions, will you? ”

Seeing that I had said all this, Basmanov said no more, but only had a smug smile on his face.

At this time, Oleg got the opportunity to speak, and he hurriedly asked: "Comrade division commander, on the way we came, we saw from a distance that the German planes were bombing the Mamayev post, and did our troops suffer big casualties?" ”

I was feeling better, but because of his words, I became heavy. With a calm face, I said sternly: "Since the enemy's planes had flown over the land twice in a row to bomb the docks on the Volga River before bombing us, when the enemy planes appeared for the third time, everyone, including me, relaxed their vigilance, and as a result, suffered heavy losses in the enemy's sudden air raids. ”

Velore looked at my face and asked tentatively: "Comrade division commander, are the casualties of the other four regiments large?" ”

"Although I have not received a specific report of casualties, judging from the situation just after the bombardment, the casualties of the first and second regiments have reached about one-third." Speaking of this, I suddenly thought of Vellol's question, asking about four regiments instead of two, so I frowned and asked strangely: "Commissar Velore, didn't you see the third and fourth regiments of Kosgaard and Gaidar on the way here?" ”

Oleg and Velor shook their heads together, indicating that they had not seen the two regiments on the road.

When I learned that the whereabouts of the two whole regiments were unknown, I couldn't help but panic a little, and I hurriedly asked Oleg: "Lieutenant colonel, do you still have communication equipment in your regiment?" ”

Hearing my question, Oleg nodded and replied, "Yes, when we came, we brought the walkie-talkie." At the door we met Second Lieutenant Razumeyeva, who was setting up an antenna for communication with our regiment's communications troops, and I estimated that she would come in a few minutes. ”

As soon as Oleg's words ended, Razumeyeva walked in from outside, and behind her was a male communications soldier carrying a walkie-talkie. Didn't wait for my orders. She asked the male soldier to put the walkie-talkie on the stone table at the door. After a simple commissioning. She turned her head and asked me, "Comrade Division Commander." Which group would you like to contact first? ”

"A regiment, a regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Sedjerikov." I don't have the energy to pay attention to the three regiments and the four regiments that have temporarily lost contact, and what I want to know now is the casualties of one regiment on the main position in the air raid just now.

Fortunately, a group of walkie-talkies were not damaged in the air raid, and Razumeyeva quickly got in touch with the other party. Hearing the second lieutenant say that Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov was on the line, I walked over quickly. He took the headset and microphone in her hand and shouted loudly: "Hey, hey, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, can you hear me?" I'm Colonel Oshanina. ”

"Comrade division commander, I heard you very clearly." I heard Sederikov's voice clearly in the headphones.

I hurriedly asked, "What about the casualties of your regiment?" ”

"Report to the division commander," said Sederikov in a somewhat heavy tone: "due to the fact that at the time of the air raid, the absolute majority of the fighters were digging fortifications, and they were taken by surprise and suffered heavy casualties. After our simple statistics. The casualties were around 700 people, of whom 400 died on the spot. More than 100 people were seriously injured, and even if they were cured, they would be left with permanent disabilities. ”

Although I had a general understanding of the casualties of the 1st and 2nd regiments, when I heard the report with my own ears, my heart still sank, and on the first day of entering the heights, more than 1,000 people were killed and wounded before even the shadow of the Germans could be seen. It is no wonder that so many divisions and brigades in history were lost in less than two days on the high ground, and it turned out that they were all sacrificed under the heavy artillery fire of the German army and the indiscriminate bombardment of aircraft.

"Comrade Division Commander, Comrade Division Commander, are you still there?" Because I was so engrossed in my thoughts, I didn't speak for a long time, so that Sederikov on the other side misunderstood that I was offline, and he shouted loudly one after another before he came back to my senses.

"I'm still here, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov." I said lightly, "How are the fortifications of your regiment repaired?" ”

"The trenches on the mountainside and the top of the hill had already been dug up, but they were bombed by German planes, and most of the area was blown up and had to be repaired before it could be used. On the south side of the hill we have dug several caves, each of which can hold one or two platoons of troops. ”

"This is not enough, Comrade Sedjerikov, the fortifications of your regiment are far from enough." When I heard that only one or two companies of troops could be placed in the dug holes, I said with great dissatisfaction: "Think about how many men you have in your regiment, and if the surplus forces cannot be hidden, will you put them on the hillside and let the German planes bomb them?" So you have to build a cave where you can hold at least two or three companies before dawn tomorrow. ”

"Understood, Comrade Division Commander." Sedelikov replied very dryly, "I immediately arranged for a special person to carry out the excavation of the cave." ”

As soon as I finished the call with Sederikov, I immediately ordered Razumeyeva: "Comrade second lieutenant, immediately contact the 3rd and 4th regiments of Koska, Gaidar and see where they are now and why they have not arrived at Mamayev Gang for a long time. "Perhaps it was because I suffered a heavy loss in the German air raid today, and the third and fourth regiments were slow to reach the designated position, so my tone of voice was particularly harsh.

Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar was quickly contacted, and when I heard her say that she had already made contact, I said to myself: "Thank goodness I managed to get in touch with them, otherwise I would have thought they had crossed the river to the other side of the Volga." With the headphones as I put on, I pointed to the microphone and asked, "Hey, Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, I'm Colonel Oshanina." Sue sù me, where are your 4th regiments, and the 3rd regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard? ”

Fierce gunfire came from the headphones, and Gaidar shouted hoarsely: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, I and the 3rd Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard are on the 1o7.5 heights on the west side of Mamayev Gang, and we are organizing troops to counterattack the German troops who have just occupied the heights. ”

"What?" Gaidar's words took me aback, and I angrily scolded: "Nonsense, it's nonsense. Your task is to rush to the Mamayev Gang to deploy, what are you doing now running to the 1o7.5 heights? ”

"Comrade Division Commander," Gaidar, who was scolded by me, tried to defend me with a wireless microphone: "If the Germans occupy the 1o7.5 heights, they will not only be able to rush into Stalingrad in a long way, but at the same time, if their troops make a detour to the east, they will cut off the connection between our division and the main forces of the army group in the city." ”

"Who ordered you to attack the 1o7.5 heights?" Although he had a point, I said dissatisfiedly: "You know, it's a friendly zone, and with them there to hold the Germans in a resolute way, do you and Kosgaard need to meddle in their affairs?" ”

"No, Comrade Division Commander. It was because the defenders who held on to this high ground retreated that the Germans seized this high ground. When the scouts I sent showed the situation and came back to report it to me, Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard and I, after studying it, decided to turn around and go straight to the 1o7.5 heights, to destroy the Germans who occupied the heights, and to secure the flanks of the Mamayev post. ”

"What do you say, the original defenders on the high ground have retreated?" I couldn't believe my ears.

"Yes, comrade division commander, the defenders retreated without a fight." (To be continued......)

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