Our jeep made a U-turn outside the village and headed for the Don River crossing.

When the ferry appeared in our field of vision, Shumilov, who had been silent for a long time, finally asked Chuikov a question he was concerned about: "Comrade Chuikov, I have a question for you. ”

Chuikov said very politely: "Comrade commander, if there is any problem, you can ask, as long as I know it, I will definitely know everything and say everything." ”

"When I was at the headquarters of the Front, I heard that during the battles of the previous day, all the units of our army group suddenly withdrew from the battle, and tens of thousands of troops poured en masse to the crossing of the Don River. In order to prevent your troops from crossing the river, you sent General Browder to stop it, and as a result, he was killed by enemy air raids. Is there such a thing? ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Chuikov replied in a low tone.

"I wonder, who gave this wrong order?" Shumilov's tone became stern.

I heard the conversation in the back row, and quickly looked out the window, pretending not to hear them at all, lest someone ask my opinion later, and I didn't want to get involved in a conflict between their higher-ups.

After a moment of silence, Chuikov was heard, and then said with difficulty: "The order is that the chief of staff of the army group, Colonel Novikov, and the military commissar and divisional political commissar, Comrade Abramov, without my consent, issued an order to the 214th Infantry Division, two Marine Brigades and the 137th Tank Brigade to retreat to the left bank of the Don River through a radio station. ”

"Hell!" Shumilov punched the back of the chair behind me and said angrily: "Their mistakes are unforgivable, report them to their superiors immediately, hold them accountable, and send them to a military court." ”

Chuikov said lightly: "Comrade commander, what we have to think about now is the first thing we have to consider. The first is how to undo the undesirable consequences of this erroneous order, contain the enemy's frantic offensive, and prevent them from approaching Stalingrad. ”

When Shumilov heard Chuikov say this, he unexpectedly did not refute it, and the two fell silent.

When the car arrived at the ferry, just in time for a troop to land, the jeep in front of it was desperately honking its horn, and the commanders and fighters quickly walked to the sides of the road to make way for our convoy to the pier.

Three jeeps drove up the barge docked at the pier in turn. After the car stopped, the barge was towed by the motorboat. Head to the right bank of the Don. Chuikov and Shumilov pushed the door and got out of the car, stood next to the car, smoked, and pointed at the right bank of the Don.

When I saw the two leaders getting in the car, I was embarrassed to stay in the car, pushed the door and got out of the car. Walk to the boat. Seeing the raging river, I can't help but feel a lot of emotion. I thought it wasn't Kokunov and the sailor who saved me that day. Nine times out of ten, I have drowned in the Don River. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but look up at the sky, afraid that another enemy plane would emerge from the clouds at this time.

The enemy planes did not come, but Chuikov and Shumilov came to my side. Shumilov asked with concern: "Comrade Oshanina, you are crossing the Don for the first time, right?" I see you standing here for a long time. ”

Before I could speak, Chuikov had already rushed to help me answer: "Comrade commander." Just yesterday morning, Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, with one of her regiments, braved the air raid of enemy aircraft after completing the task of covering the crossing of the river by friendly troops. The Don River was crossed, and fortifications were erected on the left bank of the river. ”

"Is that so? Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina. ”

Hearing Shumilov ask this, I quickly straightened up and replied loudly: "Yes, Comrade Commander." Most of the troops of our regiment crossed the Don River along the Lì, and the ferry boat I was on was bombed and strafed by enemy planes halfway through, and unfortunately sank. Fortunately, I was saved by a sailor soldier with good water ability, so I can stand in front of you and report back to you. ”

Shumilov reached out and gently patted me on the shoulder twice and said: "Well done, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." With that, he turned around and walked towards the jeep.

The car went ashore and quickly headed for the headquarters of the army group at Illmen-Chilsky, and since there was no harassment from enemy planes, it took us just over half an hour to reach the headquarters.

Walking into the headquarters, I saw several commanders gathered in front of a map hanging on the wall, studying something. Chuikov strode forward and shouted at them: "Hello, comrades commanders. ”

When the commanders heard his voice, they turned their heads one after another, and found that the person who had come in was Chuikov, and they all hurriedly greeted him and saluted him collectively. After exchanging a few words with them, Chuikov pointed sideways at Shumilov, who was standing behind him, and said: "Comrades, let me introduce to you, this is the new commander of the army group, General Shumilov. ”

"The new commander?!" A colonel asked in surprise: "Comrade General, are you no longer the commander of our 64th Army?" ”

Chuikov glanced at the commander and said lightly: "Colonel Novikov, have you forgotten that the commander of our group army is General Goldov, and since he became the commander of the front army, there has been no commander in the group army, and I, the deputy commander, are commanding the troops. Today, our superiors have sent us a new commander, and everyone will obey his orders in the future, do you understand? At the end of the sentence, he deliberately raised his voice.

"Got it!" The commanders in the room replied collectively.

On his first day on the job, Shumilov was sure to have a few words to say to everyone, and after Chuikov had introduced his identity to everyone, he asked everyone to sit down around the wooden table and began his first meeting with the 64th Army.

After seeing that everyone was seated, he stood up, took out a document from his briefcase, and said to everyone with a stern expression: "Comrade commanders, on July 28, 1942, the People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR issued Order No. 227, signed by the Supreme Commander himself. The order is extremely clear and frank about the complexity and danger of the current situation. Now, let me read it to you. Then he began to read aloud the famous Order No. 227 in a muffled voice:

"The enemy, despite the heavy losses suffered, is throwing more and more new forces into the battlefield, and they are approaching the heart of the Soviet Union step by step, and they are constantly occupying new areas. They ravaged and destroyed our cities and villages, they raped women and plundered their property. Killing people.

Fighting is taking place in the Voronezh and Don regions, at the gates of the South near the North Caucasus. The German occupation forces were rushing towards Stalingrad and towards the Volga in an attempt to occupy the Kuban region and the North Caucasus at any cost, seizing the oil and food resources there.

The enemy has already occupied Voroshilovgrad, Starobelsk, Rosoch, Kupyansk, Valuiki, Novocherkassk, Rostov-on-Don region and half of Voronezh...... After the loss of Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic coast, Donbass and other regions, our territory has shrunk considerably, and as a result, we have fewer people, food, steel, factories. We have lost more than 70 million people, a grain-producing area with an annual output of more than 800 million poods, and an annual production capacity of more than 10 million tons of steel.

Now, we have lost the advantage of human resources, and we have also lost the advantage of food reserves. To continue to retreat would mean suicide, and it would mean the loss of our motherland.

From now on. Every inch of land we give up will greatly strengthen the enemy's superiority, greatly weaken our defenses, weaken our homeland. Therefore, it is necessary to fundamentally put an end to things such as 'we can go back indefinitely' and 'our country is vast and populous. Abundant products, inexhaustible food'. These arguments are harmful and wrong. It will weaken our fighting spirit. Fuel the prestige of the enemy. Because. If we don't stop retreating, we will lose food, fuel, steel, raw materials, factories, railways. From this, it is concluded that it is time to stop retreating. You can't take a step back!

This should be our main slogan at the moment. It was necessary to stubbornly hold every position, to hold every inch of Soviet territory, to defend it with the greatest strength until the last drop of blood was shed.

Our Motherland is going through difficult times. We should stop retreating, then repel and crush the enemy. It doesn't matter what it takes. The Germans were not as strong as some panicked elements imagined, and they had become the last of the crossbows. Withstanding the enemy's assault now and in the months to come, we can be sure of victory.

Will we be able to withstand the enemy's assault and drive them back? Can. Because now the production of our rear factories is growing by leaps and bounds. Our front lines are getting more and more aircraft, tanks, artillery and mortars.

So, what exactly do we lack? What we lack is the establishment of iron order and discipline in all troops. This is our current Achilles' heel. If we want to save the situation and defend the Motherland, it is necessary to establish extremely strict order and iron discipline in our army......

The panicked and cowards should be shot on the spot. From now on, every commander, Red Army soldier, and political worker should abide by this iron discipline: never take a step back without an order from the Supreme Command. ”

After reading the order, Shumilov turned to Chuikov, who was sitting next to him, and said, "General Chuikov, you can say a few words." With that, he sat down and took a sip of the tea brought by the orderly.

Chuikov stood up, glanced at the people present with a stern expression, and then said: "Comrade commanders, 'never take a step back!'" We've mentioned these kinds of slogans before. But never before has Wen Jiàn spoken so unabashedly about the difficult situation of our country to the entire population, not only to all the commanders of the Red Army, but also to ordinary soldiers. This order was actually a letter to the entire Soviet people. Because the Red Army is the people's army, a multi-ethnic soldier of the entire Soviet people. The frankness of the Party and the Soviet Government in telling the people about the country's difficulties cannot but arouse a warm response from the people of the whole country, and it will certainly bring positive results. Every soldier and commander deeply felt their responsibility to the motherland and the people. Indeed, there is no turning back. Speaking of this, Chuikov paused and turned his gaze to the political worker present, "I repeat once again that in future battles, no one will be allowed to give the order to retreat without the permission of me and Comrade Commander. I'm done talking. ”

Next, Shumilov ordered a few more people to talk about their views on the order. The named commander stood up tremblingly, and after shouting several times in the commander's tone, the slogan that the troops should never retreat, sat down again.

After the meeting, Chuikov said to Shumilov in a consultative tone: "Comrade commander, from the analysis of the current situation, the left flank of our army group has gradually been surrounded by the enemy from the south. I went to the southern section of the immediate 10 million army group and quickly ascertained the situation. Take the necessary measures on the spot. ”

Shumilov groaned slightly, then nodded in agreement, and he said: "Okay, Comrade Chuikov, you can go with confidence." If anything, just give me a call or send me a telegram. You can deploy defenses according to the specific situation, without asking the army group headquarters for instructions, and you have absolute command at the front. ”

After a brief preparation, Chuikov set off with me. We were accompanied by adjutant I.A. Klimov, herald Levolid. Sidorin, driver Cayum. Kali Mullin and Vadim. Sidorokov. There are also several communications corps. We set off south in three jeeps, one of which had a radio.

On the way, passing by a village called Upper Rubezhne, Chuikov let us hear the car next to the soldiers standing guard outside the village. After the car was firmly established, a soldier with a gun on his back walked towards our car and stopped in front of it. Bending down to look into the car, he asked, "Comrade commanders." What part of you are in? ”

I pushed the door open and walked down. I was just about to speak, but I didn't expect that the soldier had already raised his hand to salute me, and said to me with a smile: "Hello, Commander Oshanina, why did you come to the division headquarters?" ”

"Division Headquarters? Is it the headquarters of the 214th Division of General Bilyukov? Chuikov's voice came from behind me, and I turned my head to look. It turned out that he also pushed the car door and got out of the car.

"Yes, Comrade General. The division commander is in his headquarters, do you need me to take you there? "The sentry is a very elf, and he saw a general get out of the car. I immediately guessed that I was looking for the teacher, so I took the initiative to ask to be a guide.

As the two of us walked with the sentry to the village headquarters, I took an opportunity and asked the sentry in a low voice: "Comrade soldier, do you know me?" ”

The sentry nodded and replied, "Yes, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." I once accompanied Comrade Division Commander to the 678th Regiment, where I met you. ”

In the division headquarters, I met General Biliukov again. After greeting Chuikov, he walked up to me, shook my hand with his left hand, and gently slapped my right shoulder with his left fist, jokingly: "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, I handed over the 678th Regiment and my son to you, but now you have left them and run to the headquarters of the army group." ”

I smiled at the kind division commander, and was about to say a few words, but Chuikov was already impatiently urging beside me: "General Biryukov, hurry up and report on the situation of your division." ”

Bilyukov restrained the smile on his face and said sternly: "Comrade commander, the current situation is very strange, on the entire left bank of the Don defended by our division, from Nizhny Chilskaya to the town of Gorotskaya, it is so calm that people are suspicious. The enemy did not even try to force a force crossing of the Don and did not carry out active reconnaissance. This negative attitude of the enemy strikes me as strange. ”

"Yes, Comrade General. Before the storm, it was calm. Chuikov said.

At this moment, several explosions were heard outside, and Chuikov frowned and asked, "What's going on?" Comrade General. Didn't you say that the defensive zone was calm? What's going on with this shelling, enemy shells are all in the vicinity of your headquarters. ”

Bilyukov shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly: "Comrade commander, this is the enemy's cold artillery, which always fires dozens of rounds at us every day, but there are usually no casualties. ”

In order to avoid enemy shelling, we had to stay in the division headquarters of General Bilyukov, and after a little calmer, we bid farewell to Bilyukov and headed south.

After getting into the car, the driver turned his head and asked: "Comrade commander, where are we going?" ”

"Our next stop, the village of Gneeralovsky, where the headquarters of the 29th Infantry Division is located."

We quickly arrived in the village of Gnielalovsky. When our car was stopped at the entrance to the village, the sentry on duty hurriedly called the officer on duty at the division headquarters to inform him about the arrival of General Chuikov.

After a while, the commander of the 29th Division, Colonel Kolobtin, led several staff officers and respectfully guided our group to the division headquarters.

After a brief greeting, Chuikov asked Kolobtin: "Comrade Colonel, report on the deployment of your division." ”

Kolobtin stood up straight in front of Chuikov like a schoolboy and replied earnestly: "Report to Comrade Commander, my 29th Division is located along the Aksai River, on the section from the village of Gorotskaya to the village of Novoaksaisky, facing south. To the north of our division, along the Don River was the defensive zone of the 214th Division. To the south of our division, from Potemkinskaya to the area of Upper Kurmoyarskaya, it was defended by separate cavalry regiments with army groups. Due to the lack of troops, the left flank of our division was not fortified. ”

Chuikov walked up to the map hanging on the wall, looked at it for a while, and then pointed to a place and asked Kolobtin: "Comrade Colonel, it seems that there is still a unit in this place, right?" What part is it? ”

Kolobtin walked over and took a look, and hurriedly replied: "Report to Comrade Commander, this is the troops of the 118th fortified area, they are deploying and preparing for defense along the line of the Meshkovka River. But this is in the rear, north of the Aksai River. Since we have no affiliation with each other, I do not have the right to transfer their troops. ”

"Don't worry about this, Comrade Colonel, I'll go to their commander tomorrow and try to get them to transfer a part of their troops to strengthen the left flank of your division." (To be continued......)