Red Moscow

  Chapter 422 Sailors commanded by the Army

   After the second lieutenant confirmed Klimov's identity, his attitude immediately became enthusiastic: "It turns out that he is an adjutant from the group army headquarters. Hurry up and get on board, the commanders are all in the cabin."

  Klimov, led by the second lieutenant, came to a cabin. The light inside was very dim, and it took him a while to get used to the light inside. He saw several commanders sitting around a table, and the second lieutenant who brought him over was whispering something to one of the army colonels.

The colonel waited for the second lieutenant to finish his report, got up and walked over, held out his hand to Klimov, and said politely: "Hello, comrade adjutant. I am Colonel Tanasulov, commander of the 92nd Infantry Brigade, and the person next to him is Andreev, my commissar."

"Hello, Comrade Colonel." Since he was in the cabin at the moment, Klimov didn't have to worry about enemy snipers nearby, so he raised his hand to salute Tanasorov and Andreyev: "Hello, Comrade Commissar!"

"And this commander from the Baltic Fleet," Tanasulov waited for Klimov to put his hand down, then pointed to the only political worker in the room wearing a navy uniform, and introduced to Klimov : "He is Comrade Vlasov, Director of the Political Department of the brigade."

   "Hello, Comrade Vlasov." Klimov hurriedly saluted the sailor's political worker again.

   "Comrade Adjutant," Tanasorov waited until Klimov and the people in the headquarters knew each other, and asked, "What do you want to do here?"

   "That's right, Comrade Colonel." Klimov quickly replied: "Comrade Commander is at Mamayev Post at this moment, and he ordered me to ask the commander of the 92nd Infantry Brigade to see him."

  Before Klimov came, several commanders of the brigade headquarters were discussing where the headquarters should be located. At this moment, when Klimov heard that the commander wanted to see him, he temporarily shelved the proposal, and followed Klimov to Mamayev Post to meet Chuikov.

  Chuikov saw that among the three commanders brought in by Klimov, two were army officers and one was a naval officer, he couldn't help showing a surprised expression on his face. Colonel Tanasorov walked up to Chuikov quickly, raised his hand in salute, and at the same time reported loudly: "Comrade General, Colonel Tanasorov, commander of the 92nd Infantry Brigade, reports to you that I am here on orders. Please advise!"

"Colonel Tanasorov, welcome to Stalingrad!" After shaking hands with Tanasorov, Chuikov asked with some puzzlement: "Comrade Colonel, if I'm not mistaken, the 93rd Infantry Brigade should be composed of The Baltic Fleet and the North Sea Fleet are composed of sailors, why is the commander an army officer?"

"That's right, Comrade General." To Chuikov's question, Colonel Tanasulov replied with a smile: "The superiors may be worried that the sailors will not know how to fight when they arrive on the shore, so they appointed us army officers so that they can guide How they should fight the Germans on the shore. But don't worry, except for the brigade headquarters, from the commanders to the soldiers at all levels, all are composed of sailors."

   Sokov, who was standing aside, heard Colonel Tanasorov say that sailors would not fight, and saw the political worker in navy uniform behind him, with a dissatisfied expression on his face. Seeing this situation, he couldn't help worrying secretly. It seemed that there was a certain contradiction between the sailors and the army. Is it really reliable to let such an army cover his left wing?

"Comrade Commander, I am Vlasov, Director of the Political Department of the 92nd Infantry Brigade." The naval political worker standing behind Tanasorov stepped forward and said to Chuikov with a solemn expression: "I disagree with the brigade commander. According to the saying, even if the sailors go ashore, their combat effectiveness will definitely not be inferior to that of the army."

"Comrade Vlasov, I just said that casually." Tanasoloff said with some embarrassment: "I know that the sailors are an amazing force, but apart from the battle that attacked the Winter Palace that year, you It seems that you have never fought on land, so you still need our guidance on how to fight on land."

Cuikov was worried that the two would quarrel, so he hurried out to smooth things over: "Whether sailors can fight on land, it is useless for us to just argue here. It depends on their performance on land. You come to the map, and I will give you an answer." Tell me about the situation."

When Tanasorov and the three of them came to the map, Chuikov pointed to it with a wooden stick and said to them: "...The German army occupied the central railway station and split our defense line into two parts that are not connected to each other. The task of your brigade is to drive out the enemy in this area and restore our army's defense line."

   After Chuikov finished speaking, he put down the wooden stick in his hand, looked at Tanasorov and the others and asked, "How are you doing? Are you confident to restore our army's position?"

"Comrade General," as soon as Chuikov's voice fell, Colonel Tanasulov said, "please rest assured, as long as there is one person in my 92nd Infantry Brigade, we will resolutely carry out your order and send all The Germans were driven from the area."

Regarding Tanasorov's statement, Chuikov nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "Comrade Colonel, I believe what you said, and hope that you can make great achievements in the battle to defend Stalingrad. Klimov "He called his adjutant to the front and ordered, "You take Colonel Tanasorov and the others to the designated location, and help them choose a suitable location as the brigade headquarters, understand?"

   "Understood." Klimov replied loudly.

  Sidorin waited for Colonel Tanasorov and the others to leave, and tentatively asked Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, what do you think your superiors are sending the army to command the sailors? Aren't you afraid that there will be conflicts between them?"

"Perhaps the higher-ups were worried that the sailors didn't know how to fight in the streets, so they were handed over to the army command." Cuikov said helplessly: "If we want to restore our defense line in the city, they are our only hope in front of us." In his words, he didn't mention a word about the Stalingrad Front Army that was about to launch an attack on the periphery of the encirclement. It is estimated that he was not optimistic about this attack at all in his heart.

   After Chuikov finished speaking, he raised his hand and looked at his watch, then walked behind the female radio operator, and told her, "Elena, contact the army headquarters immediately to see if the new headquarters has been built!"

"What, Comrade Commander, are you planning to go to the new headquarters at this time?" Sidolin was taken aback when he heard Chuikov say this: "According to our observation post, the enemy is shelling the factory area. In the past, it was too dangerous."

"As soon as the new headquarters is built, I need to rush there immediately." Chuikov said firmly: "We must readjust the defensive deployment in the city before the friendly forces launch an attack outside the encirclement, and strive to smash the enemy's occupation of Stalinger as soon as possible." Le's attempt."

Fortunately, it didn't take long before Yelena walked up to Chuikov with a telegram and handed him a telegram: "Comrade Commander, this is a call back from the Army Group Command, signed by the Chief of Staff himself. "

Hearing that the telegram was signed by the Chief of Staff himself, Chuikov couldn't help but be overjoyed: "What, Krylov has arrived at the new headquarters safely." Unexpectedly, after he took a few glances at the telegram, the smile on his face gradually disappeared. up.

  Seeing his expression, Sidolin walked over and asked curiously, "Comrade Commander, is something wrong?"

Chuikov raised his head and looked at Sidolin and said: "According to incomplete statistics, when the headquarters of the group army was transferring, the three detachments led by the deputy directors of the artillery, engineering and armored corps encountered the enemy. All heroic sacrifices."

   Knowing that the headquarters lost three heavyweight commanders during the transfer process, everyone present couldn't help but be surprised. Sokov got up and walked in front of Chuikov, and asked cautiously, "Comrade Commander, have the other commanders arrived at the new headquarters safely?"

"There is also military commissar Gurov who has not rushed to the new headquarters, but he should be on the east bank at the moment, and there will be no danger." Cuikov stuffed the telegram in his hand into his pocket, and continued: "Since the new headquarters It has already been established, so I will rush there immediately.”

"Comrade Commander, don't you wait for Klimov?" Sidolin saw that Chuikov insisted on leaving, and quickly reminded him: "He took the 92nd Infantry Brigade to a new combat area, you can wait for him to come back After the report is over, it’s not too late to leave.”

"No need. Lieutenant Colonel Sidolin, if you see him, tell him to go directly to the new headquarters to find me." Cuikov turned to Sokov and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I have to rush back to the command as soon as possible." Ministry, please send someone to accompany me."

Sokov still cared very much about Chuikov's safety, so he quickly called Second Lieutenant Samoilov, the third platoon leader of the guard company, and told him, "Comrade Second Lieutenant, I now order you to **** the commander to the new Command. I entrust his safety to you, and you have to promise me that you will ensure the safety of Comrade Commander just like protecting your own eyes."

"Don't worry, Comrade Brigadier Commander." Second Lieutenant Samoilov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and immediately straightened his body and replied: "As long as there is one person in our platoon alive, the commander will never be harmed in the slightest. "

  Chuikov shook hands with everyone one by one before leaving the headquarters. Finally, he shook Sokov's hand and told him, "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, whether we can hold Mamayev Post is related to whether our army can hold Stalingrad. Everything is up to you."

"Comrade commander, please rest assured." In order to reassure Chuikov, Sokov assured him: "Our entire brigade commanders and fighters will rely on the existing fortifications and fight the enemy tenaciously. Unless our entire brigade is killed , the enemy can occupy Mamayev Kurgan by stepping on our dead bodies."

  (end of this chapter)