Red Moscow

  Chapter 458 Yakov is here

"However, Comrade Commander, I think you should be very clear about the current situation of the troops." Krylov waited for Chuikov to finish speaking, and said with a bitter face: "Where else can we draw troops to strengthen the barricades?" What about the defense of the factory and the Dzerzhinsky factory?"

"Colonel Batrakov's 42nd Infantry Brigade, as soon as it entered Stalingrad, started a tug-of-war with the Germans in the Voroshilov area. Later, they had to retreat because of heavy casualties. Now they should be in the The family quarters of the barricade factory." Chuikov looked at Krylov and asked, "How many troops are left in the brigade?"

"According to the statistics of the previous two days, there are 630 people left in the whole brigade, of which there are less than 200 infantrymen." Krylov opened his notepad and glanced at it, then looked up at Chuikov and continued: "But these two They have been fighting all day, and it is estimated that there are fewer people left."

   "Can they be contacted?" When Chuikov asked this, he was still thinking about it. If telegrams and phone calls failed to get in touch with the 42nd Brigade, he could only send communications troops to deliver orders.

   Fortunately, what he was worried about did not happen. Krylov replied: "We usually communicate with the other party through telegrams. If you have any orders, I can ask the operator to send them a report."

"Send a telegram to Colonel Batrakov first, and ask him how many troops he has left." Cuikov feared that after the combat order was issued, the brigade would have been wiped out in the battle, and a major event would be missed: "After figuring out their current strength, it's not too late for me to assign tasks to them."

After Krylov learned about Chuikov's intentions, he immediately went to the radio operator and dictated the content of the telegram: "Send a telegram to Colonel Batrakov, commander of the 42nd Infantry Brigade, and ask them to report the remaining strength of the troops as soon as possible. We have important combat missions to deploy."

  Five minutes after the telegram was sent, I received a call back from Colonel Batrakov. After reading the contents of the telegram, Krylov walked back to Chuikov and said to him: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Batrakov said that they still have more than 500 people left, including about 100 infantrymen. "

   "Why is there only this amount of troops?" After hearing Krylov's report, Chuikov couldn't help frowning: "Except for a hundred infantrymen, the rest are all logistics personnel of the organization, and they have no combat effectiveness at all..."

"Comrade Commander, I feel that if this unit is allowed to fight alone, it may not be of much use." Krylov waited for Chuikov to finish speaking, and quickly added: "But if they are allowed to command the destroyer battalion, they may be able to improve their combat effectiveness." militia fighting power."

"Increase the combat effectiveness of the militia?" Cuikov was stunned for a moment at what Krylov said, and then he understood what the other party meant: "That's right, that's right, Comrade Chief of Staff, you're right. If the brigade's The commanders are all enriched to the destroyer battalion, and letting them command the militia to fight can indeed improve the combat effectiveness."

  Seeing that Chuikov agreed to his proposal, Krylov asked while the iron was hot: "Do you need to recruit Colonel Batrakov to the headquarters?"

   "Yes." Chuikov nodded and said, "Let him come to the headquarters as soon as possible, and I will personally assign combat tasks to him."

  After solving the defense problem of the barricade factory, Chuikov asked Krylov again: "Chief of Staff, are there any regular troops near the Dzerzhinsky factory?"

"As far as I know, there are two regular troops." Krylov replied: "One is a company of the 35th Guards Division. After they were dispersed, they regrouped. The company commander is a second lieutenant; The other is the 244th Infantry Division, the division commander is Colonel Afasiyev, and the political commissar is Zarikov."

   "The 244th Infantry Division?" After repeating the designation, Chuikov asked in a daze, "Should there be no such unit in the organizational system of our army?"

   "Yes, Comrade Commander, you remember correctly." Krylov waited for Chuikov to finish speaking, and immediately nodded his head and said, "This infantry division really does not belong to the organizational system of our army."

   "Damn it, it doesn't belong to the organizational system of our group army. Why did it appear in the factory area?" When Chuikov asked this, he was still thinking to himself: Could it be that this division came from the three group armies commanded by Zhukov?

"The division belongs to the 57th Army. It was originally ordered to withdraw to the east bank of the Volga River, but before they crossed the river, they received an order from their superiors to keep them in the city and fight. In this way, they broke away from the 57th Army. The establishment of the factory remained in the factory area.”

   "How many people are there in the division now?" Cuikov learned that there was such a team in his defense zone, and his heart beat faster, and he asked quickly, "Can we continue to fight?"

   "There are still 1,500 people left in the division, among which there is a full-staffed infantry battalion among combat soldiers."

   "Call Colonel Afasiev over here too." Chuikov raised his voice and said, "Without their help, the Dzerzhinsky factory cannot be defended by just relying on some militia destroyer battalions."

After Krylov finished sending telegrams to the two colonels, Chuikov continued to say to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think it is necessary to remind you that as long as Mamayev Hill is still in the hands of our army, the enemy will It is impossible to completely separate the troops of our army in the urban area and the factory area. In this way, they will have to fight on two fronts at the same time, so that our army will not be besieged by superior forces. Therefore, not only can we not To draw troops from Sokov, on the contrary, we must find a way to replenish his troops so that he has enough troops to firmly hold Mamayev Post."

  Hearing what Chuikov said, Krylov replied with a wry smile: "Comrade Commander, you just said that we don't have any reserves at all, so how can we replenish him?"

"In the urban area, there are at least a dozen units of our army active." Cuikov said: "But after a long period of fighting, there are not many remaining troops in these units, so they cannot pose a big threat to the German army." However, if these troops are handed over to Sokov to command, I believe he will be able to reintegrate these troops and make them a force with super combat effectiveness."

"Okay," Krylov didn't disagree with Chuikov on this matter, because he understood that if the stragglers in the direction of the city were really handed over to Sokov's troops, it might make the situation in that direction worse. It was more beneficial to him, so he replied very readily: "I will send a telegram to the commanders of those troops, asking them to obey Sokov's command."

But as soon as the words were out of his mouth, Krylov realized that he had made a mistake, and he quickly asked Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, didn't you just hand over the command of the troops near Mamayev Post to the Guards No. General Rodimtsev, the commander of the 13th Division? It has only been a few days since you handed over command to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, will this cause confusion among the troops?"

"I don't think so." Chuikov stared at the map in front of him and said: "Rodimtsev and his 42nd Guards Regiment are now on the right flank of Mamayev Hill, and cannot command the troops in the city at all. Therefore, I think it may be more appropriate for Sokov to command the troops in the city."

While Chuikov and Krylov were waiting for the two colonels, Lieutenant Colonel Sokolov, the director of the logistics department who stayed at the ferry, called. He reported to Krylov on the phone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, just now There was a ferry boat docked, and a load of weapons and ammunition was unloaded from the boat..."

"Lieutenant Colonel Sokolov," Krylov interrupted him without waiting for the other party to finish speaking: "You are in charge of the army's ordnance supply. Since there are new weapons and ammunition coming from across the river, you can directly Just send someone to take over, why bother to call me to report?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Lieutenant Colonel Sokolov replied with some embarrassment: "When I sent someone to take over the munitions, the major who led the other party stopped me and said that the munitions were for the 73rd Infantry Brigade. "

"What, ammunition for the 73rd Infantry Brigade?" Krylov heard Lieutenant Colonel Sokolov's words, and couldn't help saying angrily, "Where is the officer leading the team? You give him the phone number." , I want to ask what is going on!"

   Soon a strange voice came from the receiver: "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff, I am the officer escorting the ammunition, what instructions do you have?"

"Major, let me ask you." Krylov said fiercely into the microphone: "Who did you order to send the ammunition directly to the 73rd Infantry Brigade? Don't you know that they belong to our 62nd Brigade? Is it commanded by the group army?"

"I know, General Krylov." The major who answered the phone obviously knew Krylov's identity, so he replied without humility: "I am ordering this batch of munitions directly to the infantry No. No one can stop the 73rd brigade."

Chuikov, who was standing next to Krylov, immediately stretched out his hand when he heard this, and said with a solemn expression: "Comrade Chief of Staff, give me the phone number, I would like to know which superior actually wants to pass our army group, Send the ammunition directly to one of the troops below."

  Krylov heard what Chuikov said, and didn't dare to neglect, and quickly handed him the microphone. Chuikov took the microphone and put it close to his ear, and said in a stern tone: "I am Chuikov, Commander of the 62nd Army, Major, please tell me your name."

"My name is Yakov Dzhugashvili, and I am from the Weapons and Equipment Department of Moscow." The officer's voice came from the receiver: "It was ordered by Comrade Ustinov, the People's Commissar, to send the ammunition directly to the infantry No. Lieutenant Colonel Sokov of the 73rd Brigade."

   "What, what did you say?" Chuikov was taken aback when he heard the name announced by the other party, and asked hastily and cautiously: "You said you are Yakov Dzhugashvili?"

"Yes, I am Yakov Dzhugashvili." Yakov on the other end of the phone said calmly: "General Chuikov, since you already know my identity, can I continue to carry out my mission?" ?”

"Of course, of course." After Chuikov figured out the other party's identity, his attitude became respectful: "Yakov, please hand over the phone to Comrade Sokolov, and I will personally explain this matter to him. "

When Sokolov's voice came out of the receiver, Chuikov immediately said to him: "Lieutenant Colonel, listen, this major beside you is ordered by his superiors to give the infantry on the Mamayev Post the first The 73rd Brigade is delivering the ammunition. You must not stop them, and at the same time, send people to assist them in transporting the ammunition to Mamayev Post. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Seeing that Chuikov told him so, and he still didn't understand the identity of the major beside him, Sokolov quickly replied, "I will immediately send someone to **** them to Mamayev Post." .”

After Sokolov put down the phone, he immediately helped Yakov find two trucks, loaded them with dozens of wooden boxes piled up on the pier, and dispatched a squad of troops to **** Yakov and the others. Came to the Mamayev Gang smoothly.

  The first battalion stationed on the anti-slope of Nangang saw two trucks coming towards their defense area, and quickly sent people to inquire. When they learned that they were sending ammunition to themselves, they guided them to the entrance at the foot of the hill.

When the soldiers of the first battalion were helping to remove the wooden box from the truck, Yakov walked up to a second lieutenant and asked him: "Comrade second lieutenant, I want to see your brigade commander, can you Send someone to be my guide?"

When the second lieutenant heard Yakov's question, he quickly replied: "Comrade major, please wait a moment, I will arrange for someone to take you to see the brigade commander immediately." After speaking, he called a soldier and asked him to take Yakov with him. The husband went to meet Sokov in the tunnel.

  Yakov followed the soldier and walked into the tunnel of Mamayev Gang. As soon as he entered the tunnel, he couldn't help frowning. As he walked, he asked the soldiers leading the way: "Comrade soldiers, the air in the tunnel is so turbid, can you bear it?"

The soldier turned his head to look at Yakov, and said with a smile as he walked: "Comrade commander, at the beginning, everyone couldn't bear it, and they couldn't stay inside for long, so they wanted to go outside to get angry secretly. But when the battle started, seeing the enemy The artillery fire and bombing are so fierce, the only way to stay here is the safest, and everyone feels that it doesn't matter. If there is nothing to do now, everyone will not leave the tunnel easily."

After wandering around in the tunnel for a long time, the soldier brought Yakov to a room with a sentry standing outside the door. He said to Yakov: "Comrade commander, please wait here for a while. I will go and talk to the guard at the door." Sentinel says hello."

  After hearing what the leading soldier had finished speaking, the sentinel walked up to Yakov, first raised his hand in salute, and then said dryly, "Comrade commander, please show your ID."

  Yakov knew that this was a necessary procedure, so he didn't say anything. He took out his ID card from his coat pocket and handed it to the sentry in front of him. After opening the ID and looking at it for a while, the sentry said politely to Yakov: "Comrade Major, please wait here for a while, I will go in and report to the Chief of Staff." After speaking, he turned around holding the ID and walked into the room.

   After a while, the sentry walked out of the room, returned the ID to Yakov, and said with a smile: "Comrade Major, please come in. The brigade commander, political commissar and chief of staff are all waiting for you inside."

  (end of this chapter)