Red Moscow

  Chapter 475

Both Sokov and Witkov thought that this matter had settled down. Unexpectedly, those internal affairs personnel of the Army Group Special Service Division knew about the brigade headquarters on Mamayev Gang through their own unique intelligence channels. The turmoil that happened. After Captain Shubin, the chief of the special service section, learned of the incident, he immediately came to see Cuikov and asked him for instructions on how to deal with it.

   After listening to Shubin's report, Chuikov frowned and asked, "Comrade Captain, is your news reliable? Why didn't Colonel Witkov mention this matter when he was talking to me?"

   "Comrade Commander," Shubin was not at all affected by Chuikov's higher rank than him, and said expressionlessly: "It is obvious that Colonel Vitkov concealed the truth for those commanders who made mistakes."

  Chuikov didn't have a good impression of these internal staff, so he turned his head and winked at Gurov who was sitting next to him, signaling that he would deal with it. When Gurov led the troops out of the Kharkov area and retreated towards Stalingrad, he once encountered this captain on the road. It was Gurov who stopped the armed warrior.

   "Comrade Captain," Gurov knew what kind of person the other party was, and his tone was somewhat rude when he spoke: "I want to ask, how do you plan to deal with these commanders?"

   "It doesn't matter, Comrade Military Commissioner." Shu Jin said in an official tone: "Based on what they have done, I can send them all to military courts."

   "Sent them all to court-martial, who will command the troops to fight?" Gurov asked coldly, "Captain Shubin, can you command instead of them?"

Gurov's words made Shubin's face show embarrassment. He hesitated for a long time before replying: "Comrade Military Commissar, you should know that the duty of our Ministry of Internal Affairs is to eliminate the enemies hidden in our army." ..."

"In your mind, are these commanders our enemies?" Gurov recalled the row of shocking corpses he saw on the retreat road, and couldn't help the blood rushing to his head: "Are you Going to shoot them all like you did on the outskirts of Kharkov?"

Gurov's words reminded Shubin. He looked carefully at the military commissar in front of him, and suddenly remembered that he had indeed executed a group of cowards who threw away their weapons and fled in Kharkov in public a few months ago. He planned to shoot more, but was stopped by the Military Commissioner of the Southwest Front Army. Unexpectedly, I was transferred to the 62nd Group Army as the chief of the special service section, and met this military commissar again, but he had become a military commissar of the group army at this time.

   "Comrade Military Commissar," Shubin recognized Gurov standing in front of him, and replied boldly, "If I find out the truth, I don't rule out the possibility of shooting them."

"Shut up!" Before Gurov could react, Chuikov became angry: "The war is not good for our army now, and you still have to attack the grassroots commanders. Have you ever thought that if the 73rd Infantry Brigade If these battalion commanders have any troubles, the troops will fall into chaos. The Germans will be the happiest at that time. They can easily seize the high ground that they have been unable to occupy for two months. Maybe they will give you Issue an Iron Cross to commend you for eradicating their troublesome enemies."

   "Comrade Commander, you can't say that." After hearing what Chuikov said, Shubin suddenly panicked: "I am also performing my duties..."

"That's enough, don't say any more." Chuikov interrupted him before he finished speaking: "If you are still a Soviet soldier, then take up arms and take your subordinates to fight the Germans." It's life and death, not some internal strife here. Understand?"

Shubin stood there in a daze for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "Comrade Commander, I understand, I will immediately take Comrade Secret Service to the place where the fighting is fiercest, and join the Germans." A face-to-face contest."

Hearing what Shubin said, although Cuikov was still full of anger, he showed a little smile on his face: "Comrade Captain, you have such an attitude. We are soldiers, and our duty is to defend our motherland and people. Instead, spend your energy on this kind of unnecessary internal friction. Go ahead, I hope to hear about the results you have achieved as soon as possible."

   Krylov, who had been busy on the phone, watched Shubin walk out of the headquarters, and asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, is it appropriate for you to let them go to the battlefield like this?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Chuikov turned to Krylov, and said to him, "keep Secret Service in the headquarters all the time, and they will mess around with nothing to do every day, causing us a lot of unnecessary trouble. If we put If they are sent to the battlefield, these problems can be easily solved."

   "However, if something happens to them." Krylov asked worriedly, "How can we explain to our superiors?"

"This is easy." Chuikov waved his hand and said confidently: "If the superior asks, he will say that the enemy has rushed near the headquarters. In order to repel the enemy, Captain Shubin led his subordinates to rush forward bravely. After a fierce battle, all sacrificed heroically."

   Seeing that Chuikov had already considered all the issues that should be considered, Krylov did not speak anymore. After all, since the beginning of the Stalingrad Defense War, many internal affairs personnel have died on the battlefield. If the higher-ups really wanted to track down Captain Shubin's way out, the reasons Cuikov said would be sufficient.

"Comrade Chief of Staff," although Chuikov didn't like to deal with internal affairs personnel, he felt that what the other party said must be groundless, so he ordered Krylov: "Call Colonel Vitkov immediately and ask who is it?" what happened."

Krylov asked the operator to connect to the Mamayev post. Unexpectedly, after a while, the operator told Krylov tactfully: "Sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, the phone of the 73rd Infantry Brigade is temporarily unavailable." He put down the phone. He picked up the microphone and said to Chuikov helplessly: "Comrade Commander, the phone cannot be connected."

   Although the phone could not be reached, Chuikov couldn’t be troubled by such a trivial matter. He immediately ordered the radio operator: "Send a telegram to the headquarters of the 73rd Infantry Brigade immediately, saying that they will get in touch with the army headquarters immediately."

  Just a few minutes after the telegram was sent, the high frequency telephone on the desk rang. Krylov walked over to pick up the receiver and listened for a while, then covered the receiver with his hand, and said to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, it's Colonel Vitkov on the phone."

  Chuikov pointed at Krylov with his hand, and ordered: "Ask him, what happened to the commanders and fighters of the infantry brigade to surround the brigade headquarters?"

Krylov nodded, let go of the hand covering the microphone, and did not immediately ask Chuikov the question he wanted to know the answer to, but asked curiously: "Colonel Vitkov, I just called you, why can't I get in?" what."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Vitkov replied loudly: "The two hills north and south of Mamayev Hill were attacked by the German army at the same time. Can't call in."

After figuring out the reason why he couldn't get through the phone, Krylov returned to the subject: "Captain Shubin, the section chief of the Group Army's Special Service Section, came to us soon to report, saying that when you took office in the 73rd Infantry Brigade, you were attacked by hundreds of commanders and fighters. Comrade Commander asked me to ask, is there such a thing, and how was it resolved in the end?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, this is a misunderstanding." Witkov heard Krylov asked about the matter, and quickly explained to him: "The commanders and fighters of the infantry brigade learned that their superiors had appointed a new brigade commander, and thought they would Lieutenant Colonel Sokov was dismissed, and everyone did not understand the situation for a while, so a small conflict occurred. Fortunately, Comrade Belkin, the political commissar of the brigade, appeared in time and resolved this problem."

When Krylov heard this, he quickly covered the receiver with his hand, and reported to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Vitkov said that there was indeed such a thing. It was just a misunderstanding. After the brigade political commissar Belgin appeared, he resolved the crisis."

  Chuikov learned that the matter had been settled, so he did not intend to pursue it, so he said to Krylov: "Ask him, how is the current situation in Mamayev Gang?"

   "Comrade Colonel," Krylov asked into the microphone: "What kind of troops did the enemy use to attack you?"

"The enemy dispatched more than a dozen tanks and a battalion of infantry in the direction of Beigang; while here in Nangang, there are only a few assault guns and about two companies of infantry." After a brief introduction to the situation, Vitkov told K Rylov assured: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry, we will definitely be able to repel the enemy's attack."

Hearing this, Chuikov walked quickly to the table and took the microphone from Krylov: "Colonel Vitkov, as far as I know, there are no anti-tank weapons on Mamayev. Letting the enemy's tanks approach the foot of the mountain to cover their infantry attack will inevitably cause heavy casualties to our army. How about it, do you need any help?"

Before Krylov called, Vitkov had planned to use the batch of rockets Yakov brought to bombard the tanks covering the infantry attack, but Yakov objected because the new rockets It would be too wasteful to use bullets like this. Anyway, there is a rocket artillery unit hidden on the river bank, which can be used to bombard the enemy if necessary.

  Witkov heard Chuikov ask what kind of assistance he needed, so he tentatively asked: "Comrade Commander, I know that there is still a rocket artillery unit hidden on the river embankment. I wonder if you can let them provide us with artillery support."

   Regarding this request from Vitkov, Chuikov thought for a while and replied: "I can ask the rocket artillery battalion to conduct a salvo for you, but you must send artillery observers to guide them in the direction of the shooting."

   "Only one salvo?!" Hearing what Chuikov said, Vitkov couldn't help but feel a little disappointed: "Comrade commander, isn't it too little?"

"A lot, Colonel Vitkov." Chuikov reminded the other party: "You are the deputy chief of staff of the army group. You should be very clear about the logistics supply situation. Now we need to transport a shell from the other side of the river to the city. It is more difficult than transporting a box of shells thousands of miles away to the left bank."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Vitkov knew that what Chuikov said was true. The artillery on the right bank of the army now, except for a few mortar teams, is only this rocket artillery battalion hidden on the river embankment. In order to provide artillery support for Mamayev Gang, it is also necessary to provide support for the defenders in the factory area, so he did not intend to cause trouble for Chuikov, so he reluctantly agreed: "I believe that a salvo can also give the German army Caused heavy casualties. I will now immediately notify the artillery observers, and let them guide the artillery battalion in the direction of the bombardment."

Krylov waited for Chuikov to put down the phone, and reminded him deliberately: "Comrade commander, you promised Lieutenant Colonel Sokov a few days ago to let the rocket battalion support the building on Soviet Avenue with artillery fire. As far as I know , there are not many rockets in the rocket artillery battalion, if Mamayev and that building request artillery support at the same time, which direction should we support?"

"Needless to say, my Comrade Chief of Staff." Chuikov said with a wry smile: "Mamayev Hill is the commanding height of the whole city. Once the enemy occupies it, not only will our defense line be cut apart, but the enemy will Artillery positions can be established on it, and artillery fire can be used to bombard our army's defensive positions condescendingly. At that time, it will become extremely difficult to defend the city."

"I have carefully checked the map of the city. The location of the building on Soviet Avenue is also very important. Once the enemy occupies it, they can directly attack our ferry with machine guns and mortars." Krylov said anxiously : "So we also have to find a way to hold there."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, why can't you even settle accounts?" Chuikov looked at Krylov and said, "If the Germans occupy Mamayev Hill, if we want to take back both hills, At least the strength of two regiments must be used; as for that building, even if it is captured by the enemy, we only need a company or even less troops to take it back."

"I understand, Comrade Commander." After Chuikov's analysis, Krylov immediately had a clear standard in his heart, knowing which is more important, and he took the initiative to say to Chuikov: "I will give the rocket launcher a little later." The battalion commander called and told him that if he received requests from both Mamayev Post and the building in the city, priority should be given to the defenders of Mamayev Post.”

   "That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff, that's what it means." Chuikov waited for Krylov to finish speaking, then nodded vigorously: "We must defend Mamayev Post at all costs."

  (end of this chapter)