After Lieutenant Colonel Sidorin served as the chief of staff of the infantry brigade, Sokov had another way to understand the battlefield situation. The new chief of staff can contact the 64th Group Army headquarters through the brigade headquarters radio station to obtain the latest battle reports in a timely manner.
On the fourth day after Sidorin took office, Sokov and Belkin were discussing in the tent when to move all the troops into the tunnels, but they saw Sidorin hurried in with a telegram in his hand. . He said to Sokov with a serious expression: "Comrade Brigadier, something happened."
"What happened?" As the German army got closer and closer to Stalingrad, Sokov was also highly nervous at the moment, fearing that he would wake up one morning and find that the German army had appeared in front of him. Therefore, as soon as he heard Sidorin say something was wrong, he thought whether the German army had approached Mamayev Heights. "Have the Germans already appeared near Mamayev Heights?"
"That's not true," Sidorin hesitated, handed the telegram to Sokov, and said, "This is a telegram from General Shumilov, deputy commander of the 64th Group Army. General Chuikov was ordered Group South was formed to prevent the German army from moving closer to Stalingrad, but since last night, he has lost contact with the army headquarters.”
"What, General Chuikov lost contact with the army headquarters?" After hearing this shocking news, Sokov remained calm, while Belkin jumped up from his seat. He looked at Sokov, He said cautiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, can you tell me that nothing unexpected will happen to General Chuikov?"
Sokov did not answer Belkin's question. Instead, he removed the debris covering the map, looked at Sidorin and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, where did General Chuikov disappear?"
Sidorin walked to the table, leaned over and looked at the map for a while, pointed to a location and said to Sokov: "Right here, Comrade Brigade Commander. General Chuikov is north of the Aksay River, losing ground to the Army Headquarters. connect."
Sokov gestured with his hand, "It's no more than fifty kilometers from our place to the Aksay River." After saying that, he stood up, straightened his uniform, and said resolutely: "We will send troops immediately to find General Chuikov. "
"Comrade Brigade Commander," after hearing what Sokov said, Berkin quickly reminded him: "General Chuikov is the headquarters of the 64th Army Group. Our brigade is under the control of the 62nd Army Group. He acted without permission from his superiors. Isn’t it inappropriate to take action?”
When Sidorin learned that Sokov planned to send troops to search for Chuikov's whereabouts, he couldn't help but feel happy, but when he heard what Belgin said, his smile froze on his face. Yes, the political commissar is right. Now that the infantry brigade belongs to the 62nd Army, it is indeed inappropriate to set out to search and rescue friendly commanders without receiving orders from superiors.
"Comrade Comrade Political Commissar," Sokov said to Belkin carelessly: "Our brigade is a member of the Stalingrad Front. General Chuikov is the senior leader of the Front. He had an accident. We are the subordinates of the army. , how could you just ignore him? This matter has been decided like this. I will immediately lead a battalion to search and rescue him. If my superiors want to blame me, I will bear all the responsibilities."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, and me." Sokov's words made Sidorin feel passionate. He added emotionally: "If the superiors want to blame, I am willing to bear the responsibility with you."
"Well, since you have all decided to send troops to search and rescue General Chuikov, I will no longer object." Belkin stood up and said to the two of them helplessly: "In any case, this is the decision of our brigade military committee. If our superiors want to hold us accountable, we will shoulder the responsibility together."
After the three reached an agreement, Sidorin then asked Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, which battalion do you plan to lead to the Aksay River?"
"Captain Andrei's third battalion." Sokov replied without hesitation: "The commanders and fighters of this battalion had fought against the German 297th Infantry Division in Kursk and had certain combat experience. I led They rushed to the Aksay River, and even if they encountered German troops, they would still be able to fight."
The distance of fifty kilometers can be said to be close or neither close nor close. If all the commanders and soldiers go by car, they can reach their destination in two hours at most; but if not, they will have to walk for a day anyway, and by the time they get there, the day lilies will probably be cold. In view of this, Sokov specifically told Belkin: "Comrade political commissar, call Major Ozor immediately to see how many trucks he can dispatch. We must find a way to transport the Fourth Battalion as soon as possible."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," when Belkin picked up the phone on the table and called Andrei, the commander of the third battalion, Sidorin reminded Sokov: "The third battalion is currently stationed on the northern slope of Mamayev Hill. , after they leave, will Captain Briski's fourth battalion be allowed to take over their defense?"
"Okay." Regarding Sidorin's proposal, Sokov readily nodded in agreement: "Anyway, it will take some time for Major Ozor to mobilize the trucks, so we will use this time to let the third and fourth battalions change defenses. "
The Third Battalion experienced a massive attrition during the battle to defend Kursk. Now there are only more than 800 people left in the entire battalion. After confirming the number of people to be transported, Ozor used his connections to obtain forty trucks, loaded them with all the commanders and fighters of the third battalion and their equipment, and headed for the Aksay River area.
Sokov was worried that he would be attacked by German air raids along the way. Before setting off, he specifically told the company and platoon leaders to arrange an observation post for each vehicle. Once an enemy plane was discovered, he would immediately use the whistle to warn, so that the convoy could proceed in a timely manner. Evade to avoid enemy air attacks.
However, the situation did not seem to be as bad as Sokov imagined. Apart from seeing a small group of troops retreating sparsely and refugees supporting the elderly and children along the way, there was basically no danger encountered.
When he arrived near the Aksay River, Sokov saw that the road ahead was crowded with retreating troops and ordered the driver to stop. He got out of the car, stood on the roadside and asked the soldiers passing by loudly: "Comrades, which section are you from and where are you going?"
A sergeant heard Sokov's shout, stopped and said expressionlessly: "Comrade commander, we are from the 138th Infantry Division, and there are some from the 157th Infantry Division over there. We are also We don’t know where to go, so we just keep walking along this road, maybe Stalingrad is our destination.”
After the sergeant finished speaking, he was about to move on, but was held back by Sokov. Sokov asked excitedly: "You are from the 138th Infantry Division. Where is the division commander, Colonel Lyudnikov?"
Hearing Sokov's question, the sergeant's eyes lit up and he asked curiously: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you know our division commander?"
"Yes, I have known Comrade Colonel for a long time." Sokov naturally would not tell the other party. He had only heard of Lyudnikov's name, but had never met him in person. In order to obtain accurate information, he could only pretend that he was familiar with Lyudnikov: "Comrade Sergeant, do you know where he is?"
The sergeant turned and pointed to the back: "Half an hour ago, I saw him with Colonel Kuropatenko, the commander of the 157th Infantry Division. I think he will be here soon." After the sergeant finished speaking, he straightened up. The body asked Sokov, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you allow me to leave?"
"Permission, permission!" Sokov nodded several times and said to the sergeant: "I wish you a safe journey and can reach Stalingrad as soon as possible."
After the sergeant left, Sokov turned to Andre and several company commanders who came from behind and said: "Let the soldiers get off the car and walk. There are so many troops retreating on the road ahead. Our vehicles There’s no way to drive through it.”
After the soldiers of the infantry brigade got off the bus, they lined up in neat formation and walked forward along the road. The soldiers retreating from the south saw such a majestic and high-spirited army and hurriedly made way for them. The troops moved forward for about a kilometer, when several commanders surrounded by soldiers suddenly appeared in front. Sokov's sharp eyes saw clearly that there were several school officers and a major general inside.
"Stop the troops!" Seeing a commander with a higher military rank than himself appeared in front of him, Sokov quickly raised his hand to ask his subordinates to stop. Then he ran forward all the way, raised his hand to salute the general, and said politely: "Comrade General, , Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, reports to you that our brigade is moving towards the Aksay River, please give instructions!"
"Hello, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." The general raised his hand in return and said, "I am Major General Dmitriev, deputy commander of the artillery of the 51st Group Army." He pointed to the two colonels beside him, "They are Colonel Lyudnikov, commander of the 138th Infantry Division, and Colonel Kuropatenko of the 157th Infantry Division." After Sokov and other generals finished their introductions, they raised their hands and saluted the two division commanders.
Dmitriev waited for Sokov to salute the other two division commanders and then asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, where are your troops going?"
"Report to Comrade General." Sokov only knew that Chuikov was missing in this area, but he did not know the specific location. He was worried that it would be difficult to find Chuikov with his own strength, so he truthfully reported to Dmitriev. : "We received news that General Chuikov was missing near here, so I brought my troops here to search for his whereabouts."
"What, General Chuikov is missing?" Dmitriev was startled by the news. He quickly asked: "When did it happen?"
"Yesterday," Sokov replied briefly, "I suddenly lost contact with him since yesterday."
"This is troublesome." Dmitriev frowned and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you have also seen the surrounding environment. There are grasslands everywhere. Maybe the car he was riding in got lost on the grasslands and accidentally He broke into the enemy's defense zone."
"Comrade General, this is impossible." After Dmitriev finished speaking, before Sokov could speak, Lyudnikov said first: "How could General Chuikov fall into the hands of the enemy. "
"This is entirely possible, Comrade Colonel." Dmitriev sighed and said: "In the past two months, many of our commanders have disappeared on the grassland. In the end, it was found that they were either sacrificed or killed by the Germans. People were captured. I think General Chuikov was lost here, and maybe it was the same fate."
"No, this is absolutely impossible." Sokov waited for Dmitriev to finish speaking, and then said firmly: "It is absolutely impossible for General Chuikov to die or fall into the hands of the enemy. I think He lost contact with the army headquarters, possibly because something unexpected happened."
"Then what are you going to do, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel?" Dmitriev looked at Sokov and asked, "Are you going to lead the troops to search for his whereabouts in this area?"
"Yes, Comrade General." Sokov nodded and replied: "Even if there is only one thousandth chance, I will find the whereabouts of General Chuikov."
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, although the hope of finding General Chuikov is slim, I also hope to help you." Dmitriev said, turning to Lyudnikov and Kuropatenko: "You two Comrade division commander, why not ask your soldiers to help us search for the whereabouts of General Chuikov nearby."
"Comrade General," Sokov always felt in his heart that nothing would happen to Chuikov. It was just that he was temporarily unable to contact the army headquarters for some special reasons, so he euphemistically said to Dmitriev: "Look for Regarding General Chuikov's matter, my troops are competent enough. On the contrary, I feel that there are not enough fortifications along the Aksay River to resist the German attack. Comrade General, I suggest that you organize your troops and build fortifications along the river to prevent Fight against German forces that may appear in this area."
Before Dmitriev could make any decision, they heard someone in the distance ask loudly: "Which section are you in? Where is your commander?"
"Chuikov, it's Chuikov." When he heard this voice, Sokov couldn't help but his eyes lit up, and he said to himself: "I don't know where he came from."
A jeep passed through the retreating soldiers and came to a stop near Sokov and Dmitriev. Chuikov opened the door and got out of the car and walked towards them. After several steps, he shouted to Dmitriev: "Isn't this General Dmitriev of the 51st Army? I didn't expect to meet you here."
After Chuikov and Dmitriev saluted each other, they embraced each other warmly. Then, he shook hands with Radnik and Kuropatenko one by one. Finally he came to Sokov, looked him up and down, then looked at the long queue behind him, and asked curiously: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, why are you here?"
