Red Moscow

  Chapter 428 Competition at the Station (Part 2)

  Remusev looked the sergeant up and down, saw that his head and arms were covered with bandages, and blood was still oozing from them, so he asked with concern: "Comrade sergeant, are you injured?"

The sergeant grinned and tried to force a smile on his face: "Comrade Captain, don't you see that all of us have more or less injuries? Compared with theirs, my injuries are still relatively light." of."

  Hearing what the sergeant said, Lemusev glanced at the other soldiers again, and saw that everyone was wounded. Judging from the expressions on everyone's faces, their injuries could not be faked. Lemusev thought to himself: No matter how stupid the Germans are, they wouldn't send a group of wounded soldiers in to act as internal responses. Once a fight broke out, his subordinates could easily wipe out all the wounded soldiers.

  Lemusev already believed in his heart that these were his own people, so he waved his hands to make his subordinates lower their guns. But just to be on the safe side, he turned to face the sergeant, and continued to question: "Comrade sergeant, you said you belonged to the 42nd Guards Regiment, but as far as I know, the regiment withdrew from this area after failing to attack the station." area. Now that the troops have withdrawn, why are you still here?"

"Comrade Captain, you are right. The main force of the 42nd Guards Regiment has indeed retreated." Seeing Lemusev questioning himself, the sergeant stepped forward and said, "But only the seriously wounded were withdrawn. We After losing contact with the main force, use a single person or a group of two or three people to continue to stand firm in the sentry box of the railway track house, in the basement of the station, behind the platform line, or even under the carriage. fighting to prevent the Germans from completely occupying the entire station."

  Although up to now, it has been confirmed that the soldiers standing in front of him are all their own people, but Lemusev still continued to question: "Why did you suddenly appear here?"

"We heard gunshots and explosions from here in the station building," replied the sergeant, "figuring it must be our men who had launched another attack on the station, and we came at once. Unfortunately we were a step too late, The enemy has been repulsed by you."

"Captain Remusev," just as Remusev was going to find a health worker to re-bandage the wounds of the Guards soldiers, he heard the voice of the second battalion commander: "I suspect that they are spies sent by the Germans. Arrest them and hand them over to the comrades of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for screening." After speaking, he shook his head at the subordinates behind him, signaling them to arrest these soldiers.

"Comrade Major," Lemusev saw that the commander of the second battalion was going to detain the soldiers who had just escaped from the enemy's encirclement, he quickly reached out his hand to stop the sailors of the second battalion, and spoke harshly at the commander of the second battalion said: "Can't you see that they are our own comrades?"

"Lieutenant Lemusev," the second battalion commander said angrily when he saw Lemusev blocking his way, "all Guards soldiers are liars. Think about it carefully, from our After crossing the river and entering Soviet Avenue and Lenin Avenue, did you find any traces of the Guards? A Guards division with tens of thousands of people, just like that, is gone? I suspect that they have surrendered to the Germans and become shameful traitors... "

  The hurtful words of the Second Battalion Commander enraged the Guards soldiers who had just escaped from danger. The sergeant picked up the submachine gun in his hand, aimed at the commander of the second battalion who was talking nonsense, and said sharply: "Shut up, I won't allow you to insult the honor of our guards. Even if we fight to the last man, we will definitely not fight against you." The Germans surrender."

   Seeing the sergeant raised his gun, the rest of the Guards soldiers did not dare to show weakness, and aimed their weapons at the second battalion commander. The sailors beside the second battalion commander also hurriedly raised their guns to aim at the soldiers of the guards. The sailors of the first battalion, because they did not get the order from Remusev, just stood aside and stared at the two sides who were at war.

The words of the commander of the second battalion caused Lemusev to think deeply, and he thought to himself: The commander of the second battalion is right. , There is a guard division of tens of thousands of people under the command of General Rodimtsev, who will fight side by side with him. Then the troops entered the city continuously, but they didn't hear any news from the Guards Division, as if they all disappeared from the world. What is going on with this guard squad that emerged from the station at this moment still needs to be carefully observed.

When Lemusev came back to his senses, he found that the two groups of people in front of and behind him were gun to gun, and they were on the verge of firing. He said sharply, "What are you all doing? How can you point the gun at the gun?" What about your comrades? Hurry up and put down your guns."

  When the Guards soldiers heard what Lemusev said, they all lowered their guns. As for the sailors of the Second Battalion, because they did not get the order from the Second Battalion Commander, they felt that they had not put down their guns, but everyone turned their attention to the Second Battalion Commander, waiting for his order.

  The second battalion commander waved his hand reluctantly after hearing what Lemusev said, and ordered his subordinates: "Put down the guns." After speaking, he turned his head and left. The sailors froze for a moment, then walked away.

"Comrade Sergeant, I have made you feel wronged." Lemusev waited for the second battalion commander to walk away, held the sergeant's hand, and said to him: "I will ask the health worker to treat your injuries, and then eat something , just retreat to the back to rest."

"Thank you, Comrade Captain." The sergeant stood still and said gratefully, "If you hadn't helped us, maybe we would have been arrested as deserters or traitors. If you don't object, we are willing to follow You do it!"

   Remusev hesitated for a moment about what the Sergeant of the Guards said, and then said: "Comrade Sergeant, is this your opinion alone, or is it the opinion of all of you?"

   "Does this still need to be said? Of course it is the opinion of all of us." After the sergeant finished speaking, he turned his head and asked other comrades standing not far away: "You tell me, am I right?"

   "That's right, the sergeant is right, we are willing to follow you and continue to fight against German invaders!"

   "Comrade Captain, accept us!"

   "..."

   As soon as the sergeant's words fell, the other Guards soldiers echoed in one voice.

"Okay, comrades, please be quiet!" Remusev raised his hand and pressed down, and said to the soldiers of the Guards: "Since you are willing to join, on behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the first battalion, I welcome you. But we very much We are leaving here soon, please take the time to rest, eat something, and then we will set off."

   "Comrade Captain," the sergeant couldn't help showing a surprised expression when he heard that the troops were going to be transferred. He asked tentatively, "I want to ask, where will we transfer next?"

Lemusev pointed to the nail factory not far away, and said: "In that building, the first company of our battalion is stationed. I will lead the soldiers of the second and third companies in the past and They meet."

   "What about here?" The sergeant asked in a panic when he learned that the troops were going to move to a nearby building, "Should we give up the station building to the Germans?"

"How could this be? The second battalion is here to take over our battalion's defense." Lemusev shook his head and said, "After the defense is handed over, our battalion has only two options. In the workshop of the nail factory, continue to fight the enemy. In order to seize this station building, many of our good comrades died here. Let us withdraw like this. I think the soldiers will not agree. Therefore, I plan to transfer to the new station. Position, continue to fight."

After the second battalion took over the defense of the station building, the commander of the second battalion immediately ordered someone to lay a telephone line leading to the brigade headquarters, and then triumphantly reported to the brigade commander Tanasolov: "Comrade brigade commander, our battalion The defense line is being built in the station building, ready to smash the enemy's attack at any time."

Tanasorov has always had a good impression of the commander of the second battalion. Hearing what he said, he quickly said approvingly: "Good job, Comrade Major. As long as you can hold the station, the Germans' attempt to divide our army's defense line will fail. .When our counterattack begins, they will be beaten to pieces, and I will definitely ask the superiors for your credit."

  For Russians who value honor, in order to get a medal, they know even if they sacrifice their own lives. At this moment, the commander of the second battalion was overjoyed when he heard Tanasoloff say that he had to take care of his own situation. He knew very well in his heart that as long as he guarded the station building, he would soon have a medal hanging on his chest.

The commander of the second battalion quickly expressed his position to Tanasolov, who valued him highly: "Comrade brigade commander, please rest assured that even if we all die, we will never take a step back. The enemy can only break into the station building by stepping on our dead bodies." .”

   Don’t see that the Second Battalion Commander’s words are all clichés, but Tanasoloff’s ears are very useful: “Okay, Comrade Major, I will wait for your good news.”

   Shortly after the second battalion took over the defense of the first battalion, Klimov and Vlasov returned to the brigade headquarters together. Seeing Klimov's appearance, Tanasorov asked in surprise, "Comrade Captain, why are you here? Do you have any latest instructions to bring to us?"

"Hello, Comrade Colonel!" Klimov raised his hand to salute Tanasov, and then said dryly: "Comrade Commander sent me to the 92nd Infantry Brigade as a liaison officer to understand the situation of your offensive. "

"Comrade Captain, the political commissar and I are both from the army, and the sailors in the brigade don't really listen to our command." After Tanasov called Klimov to sit down, he began to complain to him: "For example, the first battalion Well, I ignored the brigade's order to establish a defensive position, and secretly launched an attack on the station..."

"Comrade Colonel, I want to correct you a little bit." Klimov heard Tanasorov talking about Remusev's 1st Battalion, and quickly raised his hand to interrupt him: "The 1st Battalion launched to the station. The attack was not a private action without asking for instructions, but an order I gave them on behalf of the Army Group Command."

Hearing this, Tanasolov showed an embarrassed expression on his face: "Comrade Captain, even if you can represent the Army Group Command and issue combat orders to the troops below, you should still tell us so that we know what to do. Comrade political commissar, do you think I am right?"

"Captain Klimov," Andreyev, who was sitting on the side, nodded, and then said: "Comrade Brigadier is right, even if you are a representative from the Army Group Command, sending troops to attack the station For important matters, you must communicate with us in advance, so that we know what to do, so that we don’t misunderstand that the First Battalion acted without asking for instructions.”

This time, it was Klimov's turn to rush to embarrassment: "I'm sorry, Colonel Tanasulov. I didn't think carefully. I originally wanted to communicate with you before the troops attacked. But in order to understand the attack in time Regarding the situation of the station building, I stayed there to watch the battle, so much so that I forgot to inform you about the attack of the first battalion."

Seeing that Kerimov took the initiative to admit his mistakes to himself, Tanasorov couldn't say anything more. After all, in the Soviet army, this kind of mutual incompatibility was too common. He could only pretend to be generous and say: "Comrade Captain , Forget it this time, next time there is a similar situation, please be sure to notify us in time."

"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel, there will be no next time." In order to resolve the embarrassment in front of him, Klimov changed the subject in time: "Colonel Tanasulov, I want to ask, after you get here, Any news about the 13th Guards Division?"

"General Rodimtsev's 13th Guards Division?" After seeing Klimov nod, Tanasorov shook his head and said, "No, after our brigade arrived here, we didn't get any information about the Guards. The news of the 13th Division, tens of thousands of troops, seems to have disappeared in an instant."

"It's not that tens of thousands of people disappeared at the same time." Kerimov explained: "The 39th Guards Regiment of the division is now stationed on the right flank of Mamayev Hill, and the regiment has more than 2,000 troops. .And General Rodimtsev stationed in this area with the 34th and 42nd Guards Regiments, as well as the troops directly under the division. But after the enemy rushed into the city, they suddenly lost their whereabouts, as if they disappeared suddenly."

  Tanasolov waited for Klimov to finish, and asked tentatively: "Captain Klimov, do you think they have quietly left the city and crossed the river to the east bank of the Volga?"

"It's impossible. If thousands of troops want to cross the river, how can it be so easy." Klimov shook his head and said, "Aside from other things, even if the ships needed to cross the river are not ordered by the army headquarters, they will Can’t even get it.”

  Andreyev then asked: "Can you contact General Rodimtsev?"

   "I can't get in touch," Klimov still shook his head, "Just like what Colonel Tanasulov said just now, they seem to have disappeared out of thin air."

   "What's going on here?" Everyone in the headquarters was lost in thought.

  (end of this chapter)