The battle ended after half an hour, and the invading enemy was not completely annihilated, and more than two dozen soldiers fled in two undestroyed armored transports.

When Basmanov commanded the troops to clean up the battlefield, I returned to the command post and used the walkie-talkie inside to communicate with the three regiments. Fortunately, when the first change of guard was made, I asked Godunov to leave communications equipment for the new troops, otherwise I would not have been able to communicate with the outside world at all.

Hearing my voice, Godunov asked with some surprise: "Comrade division commander, how did you get to the 107.5 heights?" ”

Without bothering to explain the reason to him, I ordered him bluntly: "Comrade Captain, immediately send two battalions of troops to the 107.5 heights to take over the defense. ”

For my order, Godunov did not dare to discount the slightest, and immediately agreed unequivocally: "Yes, I will immediately send troops over to take over the defense." Speaking of this, he lowered his voice and said with concern, "Division Commander, it's not safe on that high ground, why don't you withdraw first?" ”

"Where do you get so much nonsense," I said impatiently, "I tell you that I will stay here and not go anywhere until I see your people reach the high grounds." With that, I cut off contact with him.

When I walked out of the command post, Basmanov happened to be returning from the foot of the hill with a few fighters, and when he saw me standing in the trench, he hurriedly ran a few steps and jumped in.

I glanced at him and asked lightly, "Have the casualties been counted?" ”

Basmanov nodded and replied: "In the battle just now, we destroyed eight German tanks and five armored vehicles, and killed the enemy......"

He was only halfway through his words. I interrupted. "I didn't ask you what kind of results you achieved. Instead, ask about the casualties of our army! "What I am thinking about at the moment is the life and death of the head of the political department, Vlasov, and the captain of the navy, Lemusev.

"Our army lost 197 casualties and 85 wounded." Speaking of this, his voice was low: "Comrade Flasov, director of the political department of the 92nd Brigade, has been wounded and has been sent to the medical center in the factory. Navy Captain Lemussev, sacrificed. ”

Although I had seen Lemussev fall with my own eyes just now, I still had a hint of luck in my heart, and when I learned the true situation of the captain from Basmanov's mouth, I couldn't help but feel loss and sadness in my heart. My eyes looked at the hillside where the corpses lay there. Continue to ask Basmanov: "How many people are left in the sailor battalion?" ”

Basmanov did not answer me immediately, but shouted in the direction of the fighters outside the trench: "Hey, Horol, come to me!" ”

At his shout, one of the sailors ran out of the crowd, jumped cleanly into the trench, and after saluting me, he stood upright, waiting for my instructions. Basmanov introduced me and said: "Comrade division commander, this is Sergeant Khorol. The situation in the sailor battalion, you can ask him about it. ”

I nodded at the young sailor in front of me. He asked, "Sergeant Hollore, how many men are left in your battalion now?" ”

Horrol was a very talkative fellow, and when he heard my question, he quickly replied: "Report to Comrade Colonel, there are 19 people left in our battalion. In addition, there may be a few wounded in the medical clinic down the hillside, but I guess they have lost their combat effectiveness. If they could move, they should have followed the battalion commander to charge the enemy just now. ”

"Comrade Sergeant, may I ask a question? Why do you shout when you charge: Full speed ahead? ”

Holov shrugged his shoulders and said, "How to say this, it should be a tradition in our navy, and it is the same as the army shouting Ula when charging." ”

"What's next?" I then asked.

Khorov's eyes glanced at the hillside, and then he gritted his teeth and said: "As long as we have one person left, we will never leave the heights." You see, almost the whole battalion is lying on the hillside, how can we leave them alone? ”

"Sergeant Holol, you go and rest first, and you can continue to fight with the Germans when you have enough spirits."

Holov agreed, saluted, and turned to leave.

Watching the sailors walk away, Basmanov also said to me with concern: "Comrade division commander, the enemy does not know when he will attack again, it is too dangerous here, you better go back to the division headquarters as soon as possible." ”

I shook my head and said, "No, I can't leave yet, I'm going to wait for Godunov's troops to come." Judging from the current situation, the enemy regards this high ground as the best breakthrough point, so he does not hesitate to mobilize heavy troops to attack. In just two days, the 39th Guards Regiment, the 42nd Infantry Brigade, and the 92nd Brigade lost troops here one after another, paying thousands of casualties. If this battle is to continue like this, we don't know how many more troops will have to be filled. ”

Hearing me say this, Basmanov asked worriedly: "Since this is the case, can this position be held even if the troops of our division are replaced?" ”

I pondered for a moment and replied, "It will cost me a lot, but I firmly believe that I will be able to hold it." Don't forget, the enemy's attack on a group is not weak, but every time it is a feather. Why is that? It's not because our fortifications are well built. Therefore, when the new troops come, they must be urged to repair the fortifications, so that the troops can reduce unnecessary casualties when the enemy attacks. ”

As I was talking, a soldier came running up to me and reported, "Report to the division commander, there is a unit coming up along the southern slope. ”

When Basmanov heard the soldier's report, he instinctively put his hand on the holster, and I hurriedly waved his hand at him and said lightly: "Comrade Captain, don't worry, it should be the fighters of Godunov's regiment who have arrived." Go, and let us go down to meet them. ”

Halfway up the mountain, we met the troops head-on. Godunov, who was walking in the front, saw us coming downhill to meet him, Godunov hurriedly ran two steps, ran in front of me, raised his hand and saluted, and said: "Report to the division commander, the second and third battalions of the third regiment are here, please instruct!" ”

"Let the troops get into position."

Hearing my order, Godunov turned around and shouted behind him: "Second battalion, immediately enter the main position." And rush to repair the bombed-out fortifications. Three battalions. Enter the Cave of Hidden Soldiers. Waiting for my further orders. ”

After the fighters dispersed according to his orders, I walked up to Godunov's side and asked with concern: "Comrade Captain, how are your injuries?" ”

Godunov didn't expect that I was still thinking about his injury at the moment, and said with some feeling: "Thank you for the division commander's concern, my injury doesn't matter, it won't affect the command of the operation." With that, he suddenly pointed down the hillside. He said to me, "Commander, there is a motorcycle with a sidecar at the bottom of the hillside, which I prepared for you. Now that my troops have entered the designated position, you can return to the division headquarters with peace of mind, right? ”

"Yes, division commander, Captain Godunov is right." Basmanov also helped: "Since he has prepared all the motorcycles for you, you better go back to the division headquarters." ”

I know that if I don't leave again, the two of them will be like Tang Seng, in order to return to the division headquarters, and they will never finish reading in my ears. So he didn't insist any longer, and said with a boat: "Okay." I'll go back to the division headquarters. However, Captain Basmanov, you will not be able to accompany me back for the time being, as you are still responsible for handing over positions to Godunov. ”

"Understood, Commander." Basmanov urged me: "Leave the matter here to me, you better go back early, otherwise we will not be sure." ”

The motorbike that Godunov had prepared for me stopped at the foot of the hill where the headquarters was located, five minutes later. When I got out of the car, I said to the motorcyclist: "Comrade soldier, you should first find a place nearby to hide, maybe I will use the car sometime." ”

"Understood!" The motorcyclist said yes, looked around, then pointed to the checkpoint not far away, and said to me: "Comrade division commander, I will park the car there, and if you want to use the car, go there and look for me." ”

"Okay, I got it." With that, I raised my hand and walked up the hill.

When I returned to the headquarters, I saw that there was only Akhromeyev in addition to the communications corps, and it was estimated that Kirillov was still in the command post of the 5th Regiment and did not return.

As I walked towards Akhromeyev, I asked him in a loud voice: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is there anything new?" ”

Akhromeyev stood up and replied respectfully: "The enemy's attack on a group of positions was repulsed. ”

This result had long been expected by me, and a regiment of good fortifications was more than enough to deal with the invading enemy. It's normal to be repulsed, but it's strange that you can't repel. I then asked, "Anything else?" ”

"The chief of staff of the army group, General Krylov, once called, asking you to call him as soon as you return to the command headquarters to report on the situation on the 107.5 heights."

Hearing that Akhromeyev said that General Krylov was looking for me, I quickly picked up the phone on the table and dialed the headquarters of the army group. This time it was good luck that it was Krylov himself who answered the phone. As soon as I heard his voice, I politely said: "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff, I have just returned from the 107.5 heights. ”

"Is the situation clear?" Krylov immediately asked impatiently.

"Got it." I replied calmly,

Krylov said in a trembling voice: "Tell me about the situation. ”

"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff." I put the whole incident in my head, and then reported to him in a coherent way: "At one point, the German troops bypassed the heights, stormed the Soviet Street, and fought with the troops who were holding there. After encountering stubborn resistance from our soldiers, the enemy dropped numerous corpses and burning tanks and retreated in disarray. And the brigade headquarters of the 92nd Brigade should have retreated in a hurry when the enemy rushed into Soviet Street. However, Comrade Flasov, the battalion political commissar of the political department, stayed behind, and when I arrived with my troops, he personally led the troops to repel another enemy attack on the heights. ”

"At present, how many people are left in the 107.5 Brigade on the 92nd height?"

I thought for a moment and replied: "On the high ground, there are 19 sailors left. And in the dormitory area behind the hillside, there are probably two or three hundred people. ”

"Huh?" The number I said scared Krylov aback. However, this is also normal, a brigade of several thousand people, after a day of fighting, there are only two or three hundred people left, and anyone who changes will be surprised. He paused for a moment, then continued to ask, "Do you know where the brigade headquarters has withdrawn?" ”

"I seem to have heard the brigade commander say that the brigade headquarters should be evacuated to some desert island. This would facilitate the continuation of command of the troops. ”

"I see." After Krylov said this. Suddenly, he said to me sternly: "Comrade Oshanina. You immediately go to the headquarters of the army group and report what you know to Commander Chuikov. Be safe on the road. ”

When I put down the phone, Akhromeyev, who had heard my conversation clearly, nervously asked: "Division commander, are you going to the headquarters of the army group now?" ”

I nodded and said in the affirmative: "Chief of Staff, I think you also heard the order of General Krylov and asked me to rush to the headquarters immediately." Report what you know to the commander. ”

"Do you need to bring more people?"

I hurriedly waved my hand to reject his kindness and said, "There are two fighters under the hillside, and a motorcycle with a sidecar, and that's enough, no need to send more people." ”

"Good luck, then!"

At the bottom of the hill, I found the motorcycle parked next to the checkpoint, sat straight into the sidecar, and immediately ordered the motorcyclist: "Go ahead, comrade soldier." ”

"Where to go. Comrade division commander? ”

"Army Group Command!"

Motorcycles, at some point, run faster than cars. Especially on roads full of craters and rubble, motorcycles are more convenient and faster than cars. In less than ten minutes, the motorcycle I was riding on stopped at the door of the headquarters of the army group.

When I walked into the headquarters, I found that not only the military commissar Gurov was not there, but even General Krylov was not there, and only Chuikov was resting on the table alone. I walked across from him and stopped, bent down slightly, and called out to him in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, Comrade Commander." ”

My shouts woke Chuikov, who shook violently, then sat up straight and said weakly: "It's Comrade Oshanina." At this time, you don't stay in your division headquarters, what are you doing here with me? ”

When I heard him say this, I couldn't help but be stunned, didn't Krylov tell Sù Chuikov about the notification that I had been sent to the headquarters to report the situation? However, Krylov was not there at this time, so I could only bite the bullet and say: "Report to Comrade Commander, I came to the headquarters on the order of the Chief of Staff, General Krylov, to report to you on the situation on the 107.5 heights. ”

"107.5 Highlands?!" Hearing the name of the place, Chuikov cheered up and asked me: "I remember ordering you to send troops to recapture the lost positions. How is it now, has the position been recaptured? ”

"But, Comrade Commander. The 107.5 heights were not lost at all, and there was no need to take them back at all? ”

"What do you say, 107.5 heights are not lost?" Chuikov rubbed his hair vigorously and said to himself, "What the hell is going on? Since the positions were not lost, then why did the commander of the 92nd brigade, Tanasov, report to me that the enemy had stormed the Soviet Avenue and occupied the 107.5 heights? ”

"Comrade commander, although the Germans once stormed the streets of the Soviets, under the stubborn resistance of the sailors and soldiers, the enemy finally lost hundreds of corpses and many destroyed tank wreckage, and retreated in disgrace."

"Report!" Before Chuikov could speak, a loud voice suddenly came from the door, and then a lieutenant colonel Weiinlubu strode in. After smiling and nodding at me, he excitedly reported to Chuikov: "Comrade commander, a new unit has arrived. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, a lieutenant colonel officer with a small height and an Asian face walked in from outside the door, came to Chuikov, raised his hand and saluted, and said: "Lieutenant Colonel Vachuk, commander of the 284th Infantry Division, reports to you that the whole division has crossed the Volga River and entered Stalingrad, waiting for your further orders." ”

When Chuikov, who was originally sluggish, heard Vachuk's report, he actually stood up excitedly as if he had been beaten with blood, walked over and shook hands with Vachuk, and at the same time said loudly: "Welcome to you and your troops, Colonel Vachuk." ”

Vachuk, who was shaking hands with him, had an embarrassed expression on his face and carefully reminded him: "Comrade commander, you are wrong, I am only a lieutenant colonel. ”

Chuikov waved his hand and said in an unquestionable tone: "Comrade Vachuk, I said that you are a colonel, you are a colonel, and I will hang the fourth bar on the collar badge later." ”

When I heard that Chuikov had given Vachuk the rank of general so lightly, I was filled with envy, and secretly said that it would be nice if one day I reappeared in front of General Zhukov, he would have been able to restore my rank of general so easily. Because I was thinking about what was wrong, I didn't hear clearly what kind of tasks Chuikov assigned to Vachuk's troops.

When I saw the newly promoted Colonel Vachuk raise his hand to salute Chuikov and was about to turn away, General Krylov hurriedly walked in from outside, and at the same time said angrily: "Comrade commander, everything is clear. The 107.5 heights on the west side of Mamayev Hill were not lost, and it was the brigade commander and political commissar of the 92nd Infantry Brigade who abandoned their troops without authorization and ran to a desert island. According to Comrade Oshanina's report, the sailor battalion under the jurisdiction of the brigade, under the command of Comrade Vlasov, the head of the political department, fought with the enemy. ”

After speaking, he did not wait for Chuikov to express his opinion, and shouted at the door: "Bring them up." With his shout, four heavily armed warriors walked in with two commanders in military overcoats and large-brimmed hats. I fixed my eyes and saw that these two people were the brigade commander and political commissar of the 92nd Brigade that I had seen during the day.

After glaring at the two men fiercely, Chuikov told Vachuk: "When observing the activities of enemy aircraft, we found that the German pilots dropped bombs inaccurately. Only when the ground in the middle is wide, that is, when there is a wide enough distance between the forward positions of the enemy and us, will enemy planes dare to bomb the front line of our army. This brings us to the idea of minimizing the middle ground, to the distance to throwing grenades. That's all I have to say to you, go ahead. ”

Vachuk saluted Chuikov and Krylov, glanced at the two commanders who were guarded by the fighters, and then turned and walked out of the headquarters.

After Krylov waited for Vachuk to leave, he asked Chuikov for instructions: "Comrade commander, what should they do?" ”

Chuikov walked up to the two of them, looked at them for a moment, then snorted heavily, and said bluntly: "We must not tolerate this kind of coward who escapes from the battle. ”

Hearing Chuikov say this, the colonel hurriedly said: "Comrade commander, please listen to our explanation, we retreated to the desert island in order to better command the troops. ”

"Commanding the troops, what a joke." Chuikov sneered and asked: "Your troops are on the 107.5 heights, and there is still a Mamayev post in the middle, how can you command?" ”

"Comrade Commander, what are you going to do with them?" Krylov again asked Chuikov for advice.

"The actions of the commander of the 92nd Infantry Brigade, Tanasolov, and the political commissar Andreyev, who abandoned their troops and fled to a desert island without the permission of their superiors, are unforgivable. I now announce that they will be executed on the spot as an example. ”

Chuikov's decision frightened Krylov, after all, he was an old acquaintance with the two, and thought that he would be sent to a military court at most, but he didn't expect Chuikov to give such a strict order, so he opened his mouth to persuade Chuikov to change his mind: "Comrade commander, I knew ...... before the war"

Chuikov interrupted him without saying anything, and directly gave the final order: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the large corps is fighting, and the military discipline must be strict, you don't need to say it again." Let's do it! (To be continued......)