Stalin's outburst made Vasilevsky blush, but he did not shirk his responsibilities, but proactively admitted his mistakes: "Comrade Stalin, I arranged the marching route of the infantry brigade. It’s my fault, I didn’t think well.”
"Okay, now is not the time to hold people responsible." Stalin waved his hand to Vasilevsky, and then confirmed to Antonov again: "Comrade Antonov, you just said that Sokov also analyzed You know the movements of the German army, right?"
"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Antonov nodded and replied in a positive tone: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov did say this. Judging from the current situation, his analysis is completely correct. "
After Stalin listened to Antonov's words, he did not speak, but walked back and forth in the room holding his pipe. Vasilevsky glanced sideways at Antonov, took a step forward, and asked tentatively: "Comrade Stalin, do you want to see him?"
"No, not for now." Unexpectedly, Vasilevsky's proposal was immediately opposed by Stalin: "Although he can occasionally guess the Germans' next move, after all, he is only a lieutenant colonel and has not yet qualified to participate in such important decisions.”
Seeing that Stalin rejected his request, Vasilevsky was not discouraged and continued to ask: "Then what should we do with him next? Or should we let him lead the troops to Stalingrad?"
"Comrade Chief of General Staff," Stalin stopped and looked at Vasilevsky and said, "Does this 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 There are troops to reinforce. You should make arrangements for this matter immediately and have them rush to the Bavelets train station as soon as possible, and take a train directly to Stalingrad from there."
Just as Vasilevsky and Antonov were about to leave the office, Stalin suddenly said from behind: "Comrade Vasilevsky, you can give Xiao Misha a call password for the switchboard, and tell him at the same time, if If you have any ideas, you can call me directly."
When Vasilevsky heard what Stalin said, he was overjoyed and quickly replied: "I understand, Comrade Stalin. I will convey your message to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov."
On the way back to the General Staff Headquarters, Antonov said in an envious tone: "Comrade Chief of General Staff, I really didn't expect that Comrade Stalin thought so highly of Lieutenant Colonel Sokov that he even gave him the call password for the switchboard. .”
"Comrade Antonov," Vasilevsky looked at Antonov and said seriously: "Don't you think this is what Lieutenant Colonel Sokov deserves? If he hadn't been too young, His performance on the battlefield is more than enough to serve as a general."
Antonov smiled and nodded, and then asked: "Then when will we notify Lieutenant Colonel Sokov and let him lead the troops to the Bavelets train station?"
Vasilevsky raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said to Antonov sideways: "Comrade Antonov, I would like to trouble you to make a trip to see Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Give him the call code for the Kremlin switchboard.”
Although railway transportation was not within his scope of authority, Antonov also understood that the transportation at Baveletz Railway Station was extremely busy, so he asked with some concern: "Chief of the General Staff, I don't know what happened after going to Baveletz Railway Station?" , when can we arrange the departure of the 73rd Infantry Brigade?"
"Don't worry, Comrade Antonov. The current situation has changed. Stalingrad will be the focus of our next defense. 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 and continued: "I will coordinate with the relevant departments. If everything goes well, they will be able to set off tonight at the latest."
Antonov followed Vasilevsky back to the General Staff Headquarters. After finishing some backlogged matters, he took several of his subordinates to the Yaroslav Railway Station to look for Sokov and his troops.
Belkin, who was standing in the hall chatting with Sokov, saw Antonov leaving and coming back. He couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart, wondering why he came back again. Could it be that he was here to cause trouble for Sokov? Thinking of this, he hurriedly patted Sokov on the arm. After the other party focused his attention on himself, he said in fear: "Comrade Brigadier, look quickly, General Antonov is here again." I'm here. Could it be that I'm here to settle a score with you? What should I do?"
"Settling a score?!" Sokov looked at Belgin's statement with a puzzled expression on his face: "I didn't do anything wrong, why is he trying to settle a score with me?"
"Have you forgotten what you just said to him?" Belkin lowered his voice and said urgently: "You said that the Germans' next offensive target will be Stalingrad, a city named after the Supreme Commander himself. Cities. In other words, it is possible for the enemy to penetrate almost into the heart of Russia. So, at best, this is an absurd idea; at worst, it is a manifestation of defeatism."
Despite Sokov's usual carefree attitude, when he heard what Belkin said, he still felt panicked. At that moment, he even felt like running away, feeling that the further away he could escape, the better. But just think about this kind of thing in your mind. It is impossible to escape and there is no way out. The only thing that can be done is to bite the bullet and go with Belkin to meet Antonov and prepare to bravely face whatever happens next.
Unexpectedly, Antonov was particularly enthusiastic when he saw Sokov. He grabbed Sokov's hand, shook it twice, and said: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, I really didn't expect that we would be reunited so quickly." We met."
"Yes, Comrade General." Sokov didn't understand why Antonov was so enthusiastic about him, and replied a little awkwardly: "We meet again."
After Antonov shook hands with Belkin, he looked around and saw commanders and soldiers sitting on the ground around him. He asked tentatively: "Is there a quieter place nearby? I would like to chat with you two alone."
When Belkin saw Antonov's friendly attitude towards Sokov, the stone hanging in his heart finally fell to the ground. At this moment, I heard that the other party wanted to find a quiet place to chat, so I quickly pointed to the ticket room not far away and said: "Comrade General, there is no one in that room, why don't we go there to talk."
There are nine railway stations in Moscow. Since the war broke out, the ticket offices in the stations have lost their function. Passenger trains transport either troops or civilians who have been evacuated to the rear every day. In this case, who will go to the station to buy tickets? Tickets. If you want to talk about something important in the waiting hall, the empty ticket room is undoubtedly the most suitable place.
Antonov led Sokov and the two of them into the ticket room. The people he brought stood guard at the door to prevent anyone from entering and disturbing their private meeting.
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 Pounced on Stalingrad."
"What, the Germans are rushing towards Stalingrad?" When Belkin heard what Antonov said, he couldn't help being surprised. He instinctively turned his head and glanced at Sokov, and then asked Antonov cautiously: "Comrade General , is everything you said true?"
"Yes, it's all true." Antonov stopped talking in circles with the two of them, but said bluntly: "The defenses in the Stalingrad area are quite empty now, so you must rush to Stalingrad as soon as possible to strengthen it. The defense there. How’s it going, any difficulties?”
"Comrade General, when we can reach Stalingrad depends entirely on the transportation provided by our superiors." Sokov said with some embarrassment: "Suppose that after getting off the bus in Kazan, the transport convoy of the Volga River Fleet is not there. Pier, we don’t need to wait long. If war really breaks out in Stalingrad, this will delay the fighter plane."
"Don't worry, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov." Antonov originally thought that Sokov would raise many difficulties. Who knew that the other party was just worried about problems with the transportation along the way, so he smiled and said to him: "According to the Supreme Commander himself. Order, you rush to the Baveletz train station immediately, and take the military train directly to Stalingrad from there. It only takes a day at most, and you can reach Stalingrad smoothly."
After listening to Antonov's words, Sokov began to curse Vasilevsky in his heart: There is obviously a train that can reach Stalingrad directly, but you just let us go to Kazan first and then take a boat to Stalingrad. , not to mention making a big circle, but also spending several more days on the road.
Although he was full of resentment towards Vasilevsky, Sokov still pretended to be nonchalant and asked: "Comrade General, what should we do after our brigade reaches Stalingrad?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, what do you think about it?" Antonov did not explain what to pay attention to after arriving in Stalingrad. Instead, he humbly asked Sokov for advice: "Where should we strengthen our defense?"
In Sokov's memory, the most brutal part of the battle was Mamayev Heights. Because as long as the German army gains a foothold here, it can 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 and repeatedly competed for control of Mamayev Heights.
Thinking of this, Sokov looked at Antonov and said: "Comrade General, if possible, I would like to place my troops on Mamayev Heights and be responsible for the defense of the area."
