After listening to Chuikov's comments on the German army, I admired him even more. I have heard many commanders, including the heads of the armies and the front, comment on the German troops, but Chuikov is the only one who can say it so thoroughly. It is no wonder that there are more commanders who have attended the Frunze Military Academy in the army and have rich combat experience, but there are only a handful of people who can become world-famous like Chuikov.

When I heard about the Frunze Military Academy, I couldn't help but feel excited, thinking that when the time was right, I should apply to my superiors and ask to study at this higher military academy of the Soviet army. I have heard others say that the duration of study in this school is three years: the first year is to study basic tactical theory and regimental offensive and defensive tactics, the second year is to study division tactics and command, the third year is to study the theory and command of group army campaigns, and two or three months before graduation, they also need to study the front army campaign and other relevant knowledge. However, now that it is a time of war, this time should be greatly reduced, and I may be able to return to the front line in about half a year. At that time, my campaign, tactical, and military technical literacy will be improved, and I will become an excellent commander of the composite army with independent thinking and problem-solving ability in the eyes of my superiors, and I may be entrusted with important tasks.

When I was thinking wildly, I suddenly felt that the room had become quiet, so I hurriedly shook my head to concentrate my mind and looked into the room, only to see the commanders of the various units sitting below, all sitting upright, all staring intently at Chuikov standing in front.

I was a little curious about why everyone suddenly became like this, so I hurriedly gently touched the tank brigade commander next to me with my arm and asked softly: "Comrade brigade commander." What happened? Why is everyone suddenly quiet? ”

The tank brigade commander's eyes were still on Chuikov. Just tilted his head a little. He replied in a low voice: "Comrade Deputy Commander has just received a few telegrams, and after reading them, his face has changed greatly. Everyone speculated that there might be some instructions from the higher-ups, and now they are waiting for the deputy commander to announce it. ”

Chuikov, who was holding a telegram in his hand, swept over everyone in the room with a cold gaze, and said in a loud voice: "Comrade commanders, I have just received a telegram from the headquarters of the Front Army, and I have something important to inform you. Here, I will read it to you. ”

Judging by Chuikov's expression, something unpleasant had happened. In addition, he just said that there was something important to announce, and everyone couldn't help but whisper: What the hell is going on? Our group army has just won a great victory today, and even if the front army headquarters does not commend us, it will not send a telegram to criticize us for what we have done wrong.

Chuikov coughed heavily, and the entire command fell silent. Chuikov picked up the telegram in his hand and read: "According to the latest instructions of the Supreme High Command, from August 13, the former Stalingrad Front will be divided into the South-Eastern Front and the Stalingrad Front, and the two fronts will be under the unified command of General Yeremenko. General Goldov, the former commander of the Front, was reappointed deputy commander of the Stalingrad Front; General Golikov, the former deputy commander of the Front, was reappointed commander of the Southeastern Front. This letter of appointment is effective immediately. After reading the telegram, Chuikov looked at the people in the room and asked, "If you have any opinions, you can tell us!" ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander." As soon as his words fell, a lieutenant colonel raised his hand and asked a question. I deliberately looked at each other and found that I didn't know, maybe it was the division commander's subordinates. After getting Chuikov's permission, he asked loudly, "Now that it is divided into two front armies, who is under the command of our group army?" ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Shumilov said, sitting in his place, "according to the newly divided Eastern Sequence, both ours and the 62nd Army belong to the South-Eastern Front, and at the same time under the command of Generals Yeremenko and Golikov. ”

After listening to this, the lieutenant colonel whispered a few words to the person next to him, and then asked, "Then how is our defense area divided?" ”

Chuikov whispered to Raskin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, it is up to you to answer this question to Comrade Commander." After saying that, he sat down directly.

Ruskin walked up to the map, pointed to it with his baton, and said in a loud voice: "Commanders, comrades, please look at the map. After a month-long fierce fighting, to the west of the Don, there were no more of our troops. At present, the fighting in the Stalingrad direction has moved eastward to the zone between the Volga and Don rivers. According to the information we have, the main forces of the German Paulus's 6th Army and the Gothic 4th Tank Army are pointing the spearhead of the attack at Stalingrad. Now the common task of these two armies of the enemy is to encircle the troops of our Stalingrad Front and the South-Eastern Front, advance to the Volga, in order to seize Stalingrad. ”

The change in hostility was unexpected, and I could tell from their eyes and facial expressions. General Biryukov looked surprised, and his eyes seemed to say: the enemy pounced so quickly? Colonel Sazhin's facial expression remained unchanged, his eyes kept on the map, as if he was thinking about how to deal with the unfavorable situation in front of him. Colonel Lyudnikov closed his eyes, his mouth kept moving, and he seemed to be talking to himself. And Colonel Kuropatenko had a smile on his lips, as if he was happy that he had found an opportunity to promote his division to the Guards Division.

Colonel Raskin continued: "...... The task of our army group at present is to establish positions and fortifications overnight in the area that has been regained today, to establish a defensive system along the Reynok-Spaldanovka-Orlovka, so that the improvised defensive positions of the villages will become an insurmountable obstacle for the enemy. ”

"But Comrade Chief of Staff, the soldiers are very tired after the day's fighting, and if they are allowed to repair the fortifications overnight, I am afraid they will not be able to stand it." A lieutenant colonel who didn't know which unit he was talking about bluntly voiced his concerns.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," said Chuikov, sitting in his place, to him solemnly, "if the enemy launches a frantic counterattack against us tomorrow, do you think that the commanders and fighters without strong fortifications will be able to hold back the enemy's attack?" "Speaking of which. Chuikov couldn't help but stand up. He pointed his finger at Colonel Sazhin. Staring at the lieutenant colonel, he continued: "The combat effectiveness of Colonel Sazhen's 229th Division is one of the best in the group army, and when they entered the battlefield at that time, they were forced to retreat under the attack of the enemy's tank forces because they had no fortifications. Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you think that the equipment and combat effectiveness of your troops are better than that of Colonel Sa's? ”

The lieutenant colonel waved his hand again and again, and replied embarrassedly: "There is a big gap between our troops and Colonel Sazhen's troops. Not comparable. I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I was wrong. As soon as I returned to the unit, I immediately arranged for the soldiers to rush to repair the fortifications. ”

Chuikov didn't talk nonsense with him either, just nodded silently and sat down again.

After explaining the current situation of friend and foe, Raskin walked up to Chuikov and Shumilov, talked to them in a low voice, then stood up straight and said to everyone in a loud voice: "Comrade commander, what problems and difficulties do you still have? You can hurry up and bring it up. If Comrade Commander can solve it for you, he will solve it immediately. ”

Maybe Chuikov just said that the lieutenant colonel was a little heavy. So much so that after Raskin finished speaking, no one dared to answer. I looked left and right, and saw that everyone was sitting upright and not smiling, and I was afraid that I would become a bird. Seeing that no one was talking, I stood up and said in a loud voice: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have a question. ”

Seeing that it was me who stood up, not to mention Ruskin, even Chuikov and Shumilov were taken aback. Colonel Raskin asked curiously, "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, do you have anything to say?" ”

"Hello to the two comrades, the chief of staff, and the commanders here!" I first politely greeted the people present before moving on to my own topic: "In addition to the shortage of ammunition, communications and liaison are still the weak link of our army, and the communications equipment of the various units is pitifully scarce. Just like the two divisions of Colonel Lyudnikov and Colonel Kuropadenko, there are only two radios combined. And the radio of the Lyudnikov division was lost during the march due to air strikes by enemy aircraft, so that for some time they lost contact with the command of the army group.

All German units were equipped with radios, while our troops were still dominated by wired telephones. Telephones often malfunctioned, so officers had to be sent around, and it was very difficult to command troops scattered across the open steppe in this way.

Under increasing pressure from the enemy, our troops were forced to retreat. Often, when orders with the word 'urgent' are sent to the troops, the villages and towns that were required to be held in the orders have already been lost, and sometimes even the troops assigned to carry out the orders have already existed in name only......

One more thing, I think General Chuikov and the commander of the 208th Division, Colonel Vosley Boynikov, are very well aware of the fact that the troops of the division were getting off the column at the Chirekov railway station when they were accidentally bombed by our planes. Because the radios we were carrying were destroyed by bombs and we lost our means of communication with the air force, we could only watch our planes dive and drop bombs at our infantry comrades, but we could do nothing. ”

Hearing me say this, the commander of the 208th Division, Colonel Vosley Boynikov, had red eyes, and actually sobbed regardless of his image, and his pale face and trembling voice said: "Commanders and comrades, Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina is right. Our planes dispatched two nine-plane formations, formed a circular formation, and the commanders and fighters who got off the car at our division began to dive and strafe in turn. How many Red Army fighters were killed or wounded by their own planes as soon as they came to the front and did not see the shadow of the enemy. …… When the soldiers questioned me why I had been attacked by my own planes, I could not explain to my subordinates the reasons for these senseless sacrifices. At this point, he finally couldn't hold back anymore and began to cry.

Chuikov stood up again and said helplessly: "What Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina said is what I have seen with my own eyes, and it is true. Later, after reporting to the Front Army Headquarters, it became known that the reason for the incident in Ludao was that the unloading area that had just arrived was not covered by the air, and the Front Army Headquarters did not ensure the smooth implementation of this operation, let alone notify the air force units, which caused this tragedy. ”

Originally, I thought that at least most of the commanders present knew about this incident, so when I talked about the issue of communication equipment, I mentioned it by the way, but I did not expect that this was the first time everyone heard about it, and suddenly there was an uproar at the scene. Some people even shouted: "Comrade commanders, the blood of our infantry fighting must not be shed in vain, and we must send those damn air units and their commanders to court-martial." ”

"That's right! Blood cannot be shed in vain. Bloody retribution! ……”

In the case of crowd excitement. If someone picks the head. The scene can quickly spiral out of control. Seeing that everyone was noisy and chaotic, I was a little at a loss, and I didn't know whether to let them continue to make trouble, or stop them in time.

At this moment, only a "bang" gunshot was heard, which was particularly crisp in the noise in the house. Everyone fell silent for a moment, and their eyes turned to the location of the gunshot, only to see Chuikov slap a pistol with a still smoking muzzle on the table. Angry and scolded: "Look for yourself, do you still look like a middle-level commander in the army?" I think you're all like shrews scolding the streets. Watching his subordinates die, isn't I, the deputy commander, sad? Even if you go and shoot all those aviation troops now, will those dead fighters come back to life? Seeing that the room was completely silent, he reinserted the pistol into the holster and instructed Raskin next to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, assign them tasks." ”

In the past few days, I have seen Chuikov pull out his gun twice, the first time he pulled out the gun and killed the artillery commander who was greedy for life and was afraid of death, and the second time was when he shot in time to stop the chaos in the headquarters, which shows that he is a very decisive person.

Ruskin walked back to the map. Begin to lay out defense areas for the divisions: "The 214th Division was responsible for building fortifications in the Reynolds sector, and the 229th Division was responsible for building a second line of defense five kilometers behind the division; The 154th Marine Brigade and the 29th Infantry Division in the Spaldanovka area. Relying on seven or eight small villages here, as well as large forests, build defensive positions that can withstand enemy attacks; The 70th Guards Division, the 157th Infantry Division and the 66th Marine Brigade built two lines of defense in the Orlovka area. The 208th Division, as a direct unit of the group army, continued to maintain its original position. The above is the defensive deployment of each division and brigade, and I ask all commanders to start defensive deployment as soon as they return to their units. ”

When Raskin finished speaking, Shumilov stood up, scanned the audience, and then said: "The task has been explained, comrades commanders, you all go back to your respective units to make arrangements." Meeting! ”

With his "dismissal," the commanders present stood up en masse, raised their hands to salute him, and then turned around and walked out of the headquarters one after another, hurriing back to their troops to deploy new defenses.

When the commanders who had come to the meeting were almost gone, Chuikov came to my side, sighed, and criticized me: "Comrade Oshanina, who asked you to tell me about the 208th Division being accidentally bombed by our planes without authorization. You see, today almost didn't end. ”

"I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, but I was wrong." I knew that I had done a little too reckless in this matter today, so I hurriedly bowed my head to Chuikov and admitted my mistake.

Cui Kefu waved his hand and said, "Forget it, just say it, anyway, everyone will know the Tao sooner or later." But you have to remember that you must not make similar mistakes in the future. Next, you are going to accompany me on a special mission. ”

"Comrade General, may I ask what it is?"

"Let's talk about it in the car!" After Chuikov finished speaking, he raised his leg and walked towards the outside of the headquarters.

When we got into the jeep and saw that there were only the driver and the herald Sidorin in the car, Chuikov ordered the driver to drive, and then he said to me: "We have been ordered to dismiss Lopatin this time." ”

"General Lopatin? The commander of the 62nd Army? Hearing this name, I asked in astonishment: "Didn't he have been dismissed from his post a long time ago, and the front command temporarily sent General Kolpakchi to temporarily replace him?" ”

Chuikov smiled bitterly and replied: "Korpakchi took over the command of several cutting-edge divisions under the command of the Political Department of the Group Army. The original troops, nominally, were still under the command of General Lopatin. ”

"A group army now has two commanders, and as a result, the command system of the troops will fall into chaos, and the commanders and fighters will be at a loss as to what to do, and they will not know whose command to listen to." After listening to this, I said worriedly.

"It's very chaotic now." Chuikov said melancholy.

"In order to ensure that the 62nd Army is not defeated by the Germans, I feel that the commander should be removed immediately." As soon as I spoke, I realized that it was all nonsense, and that Chuikov had just said that we were on a mission to remove Lopatin's command.

"According to the information transmitted by the Front, the situation of the 62nd Army is very bad. Except for the part of the army commanded by Kolpakci, which was still fighting stubbornly against the Germans, it turned out that the units of the 62nd Army had basically been defeated. In the process of retreating, the troops were constantly scattered and regrouped, and gathered and dispersed. I guess if we go late, I guess these divisions will be able to cancel the number. ”

"Where is General Lopatin's command at the moment?" I asked, pulling the map from the pouch hanging from the front backrest and spreading it out on my lap.

Chuikov looked at it with a gloomy face for a moment, then pointed to a place and said with certainty: "Right here, the village of Verdach." According to information from the front, General Lopatin's temporary headquarters was located here. (To be continued......)

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