Red Moscow

  Chapter 302 Mamayev Gang (Part 1)

When Stalin had such an attack, Vasilevsky blushed, but he did not shirk his responsibility, but took the initiative to admit his mistake: "Comrade Stalin, I arranged the marching route of the infantry brigade. It was my fault that I didn't think carefully."

"Okay, now is not the time to pursue responsibility." Stalin waved his hand at Vasilevsky, and then confirmed to Antonov again: "Comrade Antonov, you just said that Sokov also analyzed The movement of the German army, right?"

"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Antonov nodded and replied in an affirmative tone: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov did say that, and judging from the current situation, his analysis is completely correct. "

   After listening to Antonov, Stalin did not speak, but walked back and forth in the room holding his pipe. After looking sideways at Antonov, Vasilevsky took a step forward and asked tentatively, "Comrade Stalin, do you want to see him?"

"No, I won't see you for a while." Unexpectedly, Vasilevsky's proposal was immediately opposed by Stalin: "Although he can occasionally guess the next move of the Germans, he is only a lieutenant colonel after all. qualified to participate in such important decisions."

  Seeing that Stalin rejected his request, Vasilevsky was not discouraged, and continued to ask: "Then how to arrange for him next, or let him lead the troops to Stalingrad?"

"Comrade Chief of the General Staff," Stalin stopped, looked at Vasilevsky and said, "does it need to be said? Now it has been confirmed that the German army is about to rush to Stalingrad, and our defense there is weak, we need to There are troops to strengthen. You arrange this matter immediately, let them rush to the Paveletsky railway station as soon as possible, and from there take a train directly to Stalingrad."

Just when Vasilevsky and Antonov were about to leave the office, Stalin suddenly said from behind: "Comrade Vasilevsky, you can give Misha a switchboard password and tell him at the same time that if you If you have any other ideas, you can call me directly."

  Vasilevsky was overjoyed when he heard what Stalin said, and quickly replied: "Understood, Comrade Stalin. I will convey your thoughts to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov."

On their way back to the General Staff, Antonov said in an envious tone: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, I really didn't expect that Comrade Stalin valued Lieutenant Colonel Sokov so much that he actually gave him the switchboard password." .”

"Comrade Antonov," Vasilevsky said, looking at Antonov with a serious expression, "don't you think this is what Lieutenant Colonel Sokov deserved? If he wasn't too young, Based on his performance on the battlefield, he is more than enough to be a general."

  Antonov nodded with a smile, and then asked: "Then when will we notify Lieutenant Colonel Sokov and let him lead the troops to Pavelets Railway Station?"

Vasilevsky looked at his watch, and said to Antonov with a sideways face: "Comrade Antonov, I have to trouble you to make a trip to see Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Give him the passcode to the Kremlin switchboard."

Although railway transportation is not within his purview, Antonov also understands that the transportation at Paveletsky Railway Station is extremely busy, so he asked with some concern: "Chief of the General Staff, do you know what to do after going to Paveletsky Railway Station?" , when can the 73rd Infantry Brigade be arranged to depart?"

"Don't worry, Comrade Antonov. The current situation has changed. Stalingrad will be our next defense focus. Therefore, some trains transporting building materials will be suspended, and priority will be given to transporting troops to Stalingrad." Vasilev Ski was silent for a moment, then continued: "I will coordinate with the relevant departments. If everything goes well, they will be able to leave tonight at the latest."

  Antonov followed Vasilevsky back to the General Staff Headquarters. After dealing with some backlogs, he took a few subordinates to the Yaroslav Railway Station to look for Sokov and his troops.

  Belkin, who was standing and chatting with Sokov in the hall, saw Antonov go back and forth, and couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart. He wondered why he came back again. Could it be that he came to trouble Sokov? Thinking of this, he hurriedly patted Sokov on the arm, and when the other party focused on himself, he said in fear: "Comrade Brigadier, look quickly, General Antonov is here again!" It's gone. Could it be that I came to you to settle accounts, what should I do?"

   "Settling accounts?!" Sokov was puzzled by Belkin's statement: "I didn't do anything wrong, so why did he ask me to settle the score?"

"Did you forget what you just said to him?" Belkin lowered his voice and said hastily: "You said that the next German attack target will be Stalingrad, which is named after the Supreme Commander himself. Cities. That is to say, it is possible for the enemy to penetrate almost to the heart of Russia, which, at best, is absurd; at worst, defeatism."

   Although Sokov is usually careless, when he heard Belkin say this, he still panicked. At that moment, he even had the feeling of running away, and felt that the farther he could escape, the better. But this kind of thing, just think about it in your heart, it is impossible to escape, and there is no way out. The only thing they can do is to bite the bullet and join Belkin to meet Antonov and prepare to bravely face everything that happens next.

Unexpectedly, when Antonov saw Sokov, he was extremely enthusiastic. He grabbed Sokov's hand and shook it vigorously twice, and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I really didn't expect that we would come back so soon." We met."

   "Yes, Comrade General." Sokov didn't understand why Antonov was so enthusiastic about him, and replied a little embarrassedly: "We meet again."

   After shaking hands with Belkin, Antonov looked around and saw commanders and fighters sitting on the ground all around him, so he tentatively asked, "Is there a quieter place nearby? I want to chat with you two alone."

  Belkin saw Antonov's friendly attitude towards Sokov, and the stone hanging in his heart fell to the ground. At this moment, when he heard that the other party wanted to find a quiet place to chat, he quickly pointed to the ticket booth not far away, and said, "Comrade General, there is no one in that room, so let's go there and talk."

There are nine railway stations in Moscow. Since the outbreak of the war, the ticket offices in the stations have been useless. Passenger trains transport either the army or civilians who have been evacuated to the rear. Under such circumstances, who would go to the station to buy tickets? Tickets. If you want to discuss important matters in the waiting hall, the empty ticket booth is undoubtedly the most suitable place.

  Antonov led Sokov and the two of them into the ticket office, and the people he brought stood guard at the door so that no one would go in and disturb their private conversation.

After closing the door, Antonov apologized to Sokov: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I apologize to you for what I just said. Facts have proved that your analysis is completely correct. The main force of the German army is to Stalingrad."

"What, the Germans are rushing towards Stalingrad?" Belkin couldn't help being taken aback when he heard Antonov say this, and instinctively turned his head to glance at Sokov, and asked Antonov cautiously: "Comrade General , is everything you said true?"

"Yes, it's all true." Antonov didn't go around in circles with the two of them anymore, but said bluntly: "The defense in the Stalingrad area is quite empty now, so you must rush to Stalingrad as soon as possible to strengthen it." The defense there. How is it, any difficulties?"

"Comrade General, when we can reach Stalingrad depends entirely on the means of transportation provided by our superiors." Sukov said with some embarrassment: "If after getting off the bus in Kazan, the transport convoy of the Volga Fleet is not there. The pier, we don’t need to wait for a long time. If war really breaks out in Stalingrad, it will delay the war opportunity.”

"Don't worry, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov." Antonov thought that Sokov would raise a lot of difficulties, but the other party was only worried about problems with the means of transportation along the way, so he smiled and said to him: "According to the Supreme Commander himself Order, you immediately go to Paveletsky Railway Station, and from there take the military column that goes directly to Stalingrad. It will only take one day at most, and you will be able to reach Stalingrad smoothly."

After listening to Antonov's words, Sokov began to scold Vasilevsky in his heart: There is a direct train to Stalingrad, but you let us go to Kazan first, and then take a boat to Stalingrad Not to mention going around in a big circle, it will take a few more days on the road.

  Although he was full of resentment towards Vasilevsky in his heart, Sokov still pretended to be nonchalant and asked: "Comrade General, what should our brigade do after arriving in Stalingrad?"

   "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, what do you think?" Antonov did not explain the precautions after arriving in Stalingrad, but asked Sokov humbly: "Where should we strengthen the defense?"

  In Sokov's memory, the place where the battle was most brutal was the Mamayev Hill. Because as long as the German army has a firm foothold here, it can then seize the port and cut off the connection between the Soviet army and the east bank of the Volga River. Therefore, both the Soviet Union and Germany invested a large amount of troops in the battle, repeatedly competing for the control of Mamayev Gang.

  Thinking of this, Sokov looked at Antonov and said: "Comrade General, if possible, I would like to put my troops on Mamayev Hill to be responsible for the defense of the area."

  (end of this chapter)