Sederikov, who received my phone call, came quickly, and in less than twenty minutes he arrived at the headquarters. When I introduced him and Elijah, he immediately reached out and shook Ilya's hand warmly and struck up a conversation.

Seeing that the two of them were talking as if no one was talking at first sight, Kirillov smiled on his face, and he walked up to me and whispered: "Comrade Oshanina, you see, the two of them are very friendly, like old friends for many years. I think you were absolutely right to send Lieutenant Colonel Ilya to a regiment. ”

Hearing Kirillov say this, I couldn't help but look at the two of them, and when I saw Lieutenant Colonel Ilya's originally tightly knit brow, I don't know when it had been relaxed, so I said with confidence: "I also think that Comrade Ilya can help Shederikov do a good job." Speaking of this, I couldn't help but raise my hand and look at my watch, and then said to myself, "It's so late, and I don't know if Colonel Bandereev and his troops have crossed the river?" ”

"I called the headquarters and asked, have the other two regiments of the new division arrived?" Kirillov saw that I was worried about Pantai Leev, and said that he was going to make a phone call.

I hurriedly stopped him and asked with concern: "Comrade Political Commissar, there is something I want to ask you. Do you know what is the situation at the command now, they transferred? ”

Kirillov had already grabbed the microphone, but when he heard my question, he put the microphone back again, sighed and said: "No, commander, they are still in the original command. ”

"What?!" I am puzzled by Chuikov's decision, the enemy's shells can hit the door of the command with impunity, he does not organize the transfer. What to do while staying put. "Didn't Comrade Commander know that his headquarters had already been discovered by the enemy. Keep staying there. Someone dies every second. ”

"Since the commander insists on not transferring the headquarters, he may have deeper considerations." Kirillov said to me with a stern expression: "The communications room of the headquarters has been temporarily moved to several intact shelters and firing holes outside. According to the reports of our scouts, the operators were sitting in the craters, and in order to maintain radio communication, many of them were hit by German stray bullets, and they died at their posts with microphones in their hands. ”

I was about to say a few words, but it occurred to me that the deputy commander of the Front, General Golikov, had also arrived in the city. If he felt that the army group headquarters was not safe in its current position, he would have taken the initiative to ask Chuikov to transfer, and there was no need for me to meddle in my affairs.

Kirillov walked up to the two of them, who were chatting enthusiastically, and said to them: "Hey, I said Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, it's so late, shouldn't you take your comrade deputy regiment commander and return to your command." Let him get acquainted with the environment in your group? ”

When Kirillov said this, Sederikov suddenly came to his senses. Knowing that this was not the place he had taken for a long time, he quickly nodded again and again like a chicken pecking rice, "Understood, Comrade Political Commissar, I will take the deputy head back to the regiment." ”

After the two of them left, Kirillov and I returned to the table and sat down, and Akhromeyev asked worriedly: "Comrade division commander, is it appropriate to have another deputy division commander in the division?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Oshanina." Kirillov also agreed with Akhromeyev on this issue, "Although I am an old acquaintance of Colonel Bandereev, I cannot guarantee that he will always be on the same page with you in military command in the future. ”

"Political commissar, chief of staff, you two don't have to worry so much." I knew that the two of them were concerned about me, so they patiently explained: "I won't say anything about the situation in the division, and you also know very well that all regiments lack commanders with combat experience, so the combat effectiveness of our division has now reached a bottleneck, and if we want to change this phenomenon, we must constantly replenish fresh blood and send as many experienced commanders as possible to grassroots companies to effectively improve the combat effectiveness of the troops." If more than 200 commanders under Colonel Pandereev joined us, at least the problem of insufficient commanders in the company would have been solved. ”

"But our division is running out of troops, is it necessary to replenish so many commanders?" Akhromeyev once again raised his doubts: "Perhaps in some companies there will be a situation where a dozen commanders command two or three fighters. ”

I understood what Akhromeyev was worried about, and the explanation was more pertinent: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry, don't look at the fact that there are fewer people in the division now, but it won't be long before the higher authorities will replenish us. When I was at the headquarters of the Front Army, I heard the commander and military commissar say that as long as the number of soldiers, weapons and ammunition was replenished, the 62nd Group Army would be given priority. ”

"It would be great if it could be like that." Although Kirillov said this, he still asked worriedly: "Comrade Oshanina, do you really think that we can hold off the attack of the Germans?" Judging from yesterday's situation, the shape shì was really dangerous, and the headquarters of the army group was almost killed by enemy planes and artillery. ”

"Commissar, you don't have to worry about this kind of thing." I confidently said to him: "Although the enemy has the upper hand in the city, their attack is not going well because of the stubborn resistance of our commanders and fighters. Moreover, their strength has been used to the extreme, and their attacks will gradually weaken over time. ”

After listening to my words, a look of doubt flashed on Kirillov's face, and then he asked me tentatively: "Comrade Oshanina, are all you saying true?" The enemy's forces have been used to the fullest, and the strength of their attacks will gradually weaken over time. ”

"Of course it is." Since I said such shocking words, it is necessary to explain clearly to the two men: "The two German armies under the command of Paulus and Hort consume an astronomical amount of weapons, ammunition and all kinds of materials every day, and there is nothing to do in the short term, and once the campaign has been going on for a long time, then they will have a shortage of ammunition and fuel, and the problem of fuel shortage will be exposed." Their logistical supply lines are more than a thousand kilometers long. Supplies from the rear had to be transported. There are only three channels of Guò: rail, road and sea. Let me start with sea freight. The size of Germany's naval fleet was limited, and such a time-consuming and laborious mode of transportation should not be considered. The second is the highway, what is the kilometer of our country, I believe everyone knows it, many sections are nominally a certain highway, but as long as it rains it is a quagmire, and the driving of vehicles is greatly affected. So the volume of road transport will not be too large. The only thing left was rail transport, although there was a direct railway from Germany to the city of Stalingrad, but because the German army had transferred a large number of wagons in the past two years to transport the Jews who had been deprived of their property and freedom to the concentration camps, the troops and supplies they should have been sent to the front had to stay at distant stations, waiting for the railway authorities to draw new wagons before they could board the trains. ”

As with the others, they do not question what I say. They will not ask me about my sources, but only on the basis of the information I have presented. to specify the next battle plan.

Colonel Bandereev did not appear in the command until the early hours of the morning, with a tired face. Seeing his appearance, Kirillov and I both went up to greet him one after another, and I asked with concern: "Comrade Colonel, why did you arrive at this time, is the road smooth?" ”

Pandereev took off his military hat and gently rested it on the table, then shook his head and said: "When I led another regiment to cross the river, the river was red by hot pot, and God seemed to deliberately embarrass us, and the moon peeked out of the clouds. Then suddenly there was a dazzling light above our heads, so bright that we could read the newspaper. At this point, we were discovered by the enemy, who kept firing at us with long-range artillery fire, and the bombs fell into the river and exploded, stirring up one column after another of the skyrocketing water. I was thinking: Alas! It's over, once hit, our ship will sink. You know, the water is deepest here, and we are right in the center of the Volga. ”

"Didn't you make it to the shore?" Kirillov said teasingly: "I see that your military uniform is a little wet, and I guess you haven't even hurt a single hair." ”

Bandereev said with a bitter face: "A ferry boat on our right was hit by enemy shells, and more than 20 commanders and fighters near the bombing point were either blown to pieces or fell into the river. Another ship, while evading enemy fire, accidentally ran into a mine in the river, and after an earth-shattering explosion, the ship sank quickly. Of the more than 300 commanders and fighters on board, only more than 100 people were rescued by nearby ships. ”

My expression was calm when I heard Bandereev say this, but the corners of Kirillov's mouth twitched violently, and he nervously asked: "So, before you even entered the city, you lost two companies of troops. ”

"So to speak," said Bandereev, bitterly, "when the 2nd Regiment crossed the river, although it lost more than 200 men, compared with the 3rd Regiment, their losses were relatively small. When the three regiments crossed the river, two ferries were hit by German artillery fire, and although the sailors carried forward their stubborn fighting spirit and insisted on driving the boats to the shore, only 70 or 80 of the more than 500 people on these two boats survived in the end, which means that one battalion is finished. ”

After Kirillov beckoned Bandelyev to sit down, he asked Akhromeyev to pour him a cup of hot tea, called the other person's real name and patronymic and asked with concern: "Dear Alekse. Ivanovich, did you go to the headquarters of the army group? Do you know the new position that the head of the front army has assigned to you? ”

Pandereev held the cup in his hand, nodded and said: "I have already gone to the headquarters of General Chuikov and officially handed over the troops to the chief of staff, General Krylov. The appointment to the post of deputy commander of the independent division was announced to me by Chuikov himself. Because there was still a lot of follow-up work to be done, I asked the commanders to stay for the time being to assist Krylov in managing the troops, and when it was daybreak, they would come here one after another to report. ”

"Old man, according to our research, those of your subordinates, we will disperse and send them to various regiments. The two regiment commanders will be assigned to the first and fourth regiments respectively to serve as deputy commanders, and the battalion commanders under them will go to each battalion to take up the posts of battalion commander or deputy battalion commander, and the remaining commanders will also go to the company to take up the posts of company commander or deputy company commander. After briefly introducing our arrangement, Kirillov also deliberately asked for the other party's opinion: "I wonder if you are satisfied with such an arrangement?" ”

"That's a good arrangement, I agree." After expressing his attitude, Pandereev looked up at me and asked: "Comrade division commander, I would like to ask, how many people are there in the independent division at present?" ”

I looked at Akhromeyev, who was standing next to me, and said with a smile: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, I think it is most appropriate for the Chief of Staff, Major Akhromeyev, to report to you on this issue. ”

"Report to the deputy division commander," since he was not familiar with Pandereev, Akhromeyev reported to him in accordance with the order: "The independent division originally had more than 3,500 men, and with the addition of this fully formed vanguard regiment tonight, the total number of the division has now reached 5,500 men. ”

"There are more than 5,000 people, which is really a lot?" When Bandereev heard this, he immediately said to me: "Comrade Oshanina, since we have so many troops, I think we are fully capable of carrying out a counter-assault on the German army. ”

If I hadn't stood on the table, I would have fallen to the ground long ago when I heard the advice of Bantai Leyev. Fortunately, Kirillov was very understanding, and hurriedly relieved me of the siege, and took the initiative to say to Pantai Leyev: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, you have just arrived, and you don't know much about the situation on the ground, so let me introduce it to you." ”

Hearing that Kirillov briefed Pantai Reyev on the current situation at the Mamayev Gang and my analysis of the battle situation just now, he promptly added: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, since the battle situation is very unfavorable to our army, we will not consider launching a counterattack for the time being, and our main task at present is to stabilize the front. It is necessary to pay close attention to the movements of the enemy's troops, guard against the enemy's tricks, strengthen the defense and vigilance of our division's positions, and not leave any loopholes for the enemy to exploit. I intend to organize a special forces team, draw Gramms and Beckman's men, and our troops, put on German uniforms, use German standard weapons, harass German transport and supply lines, and weaken the combat effectiveness of the German troops in front of our army. (To be continued......)