"What should we do, Comrade General." After Sokov waited for the major to finish speaking, he asked Chuikov for instructions: "What should we do next? Continue south to look for troops?"
"Yes, we must continue to go south to look for them." Chuikov looked at Sokov and said seriously: "They have just arrived here from Siberia. They are unfamiliar with the place. Once they are surrounded by the Germans, even the whole country will be destroyed." I don’t know which direction to break through. As their commander, I can’t just sit back and watch them be wiped out by the Germans.”
Although Sokov knew that if he continued to go south, he might encounter the German vanguard at any time. If possible, he could not wait to turn around and return to the Aksay River defense line now. But hearing what Chuikov said now, I felt a warm feeling. He coughed lightly and said seriously: "Comrade General, I am willing to go south with you to find the scattered troops and bring them back to us safely. line of defense."
"Let's go, Comrade Chief of Staff." After Chuikov shook hands with the major and said goodbye, he turned to Sokov and said: "On the battlefield, every minute is precious. We must find them before the German army encircles them."
Although the driver is not familiar with the terrain in this area, he will definitely not get lost if he drives south along the railway line. After driving forward for four or five kilometers, we arrived at the Kotelnikovo station, which was attacked by German air raids and tanks. All the buildings in the station were burning, and rows of carriages still braving the flames were parked on the twisted railway tracks. The remains of dead soldiers in various postures were scattered everywhere inside and outside the station.
Outside the station, there was a destroyed German Panzer III tank. Surrounding the tank were the bodies of at least forty or fifty Soviet soldiers. It can be seen from this that the Soviet soldiers sacrificed a lot to destroy this damn German tank. What a high price it paid.
"Our soldiers performed very bravely. They sacrificed their young lives to defend our great motherland." Chuikov took off his military cap, bowed respectfully to the remains of the soldiers, and then led the He put on his hat and said in an inaudible voice: "The fact that our descendants are living a happy life will remember everything you did today."
The jeep continued to drive forward along the railway track for an unknown period of time. Klimov, who was sitting in the passenger seat, suddenly pointed forward and said with some excitement: "Comrade Commander, look at the smoke in front of you. We must be there." troops."
After Chuikov looked forward for a while, he frowned and said, "Hell, why don't they pay attention to air defense? There is smoke everywhere. German planes can be seen dozens of kilometers away."
When the jeep arrived near Chirekov Station, Sokov finally understood what the smoke he had just seen was about. Around the station and on both sides of the railway tracks, you can see circles formed by groups of soldiers. They threw aside their weapons and luggage and were preparing lunch as if no one was around. The scene seemed particularly chaotic.
"Nonsense, absolutely nonsense." Chuikov got out of the car, looked at the soldiers dining near the station, and said angrily: "Don't they know that if they do this, they will attract German planes? Klimo husband!"
Klimov, who was standing at the front of the car, heard Chuikov calling him and quickly agreed, then asked: "Comrade Commander, what are your instructions?"
"Go find a commander!" Chuikov said to Klimov: "I need to know the situation of the troops here."
Not long after, Klimov brought over an elderly major. The major saw Chuikov standing next to the jeep and hurriedly raised his hand to salute him: "Hello, comrade general, what are your instructions?"
Chuikov asked bluntly: "Comrade Major, where are your division commander, political commissar and division headquarters? Also, where are the other troops of your division?"
"I don't know where the division commander and the others are, Comrade General." After the major answered Chuikov's question succinctly, he pointed to the west and said: "There is a town two kilometers away to the west. Some of them got there first. The troops are stationed there, and if you go there, you might be able to find the regimental commander.”
Chuikov, who learned that there were troops stationed in a nearby town and was eager to find the 208th Division headquarters, rushed over. However, before leaving, he specifically warned the major: "Comrade Major, I just observed that your troops are crowded inside and outside the station, paying no attention to air defense, and have not set up alerts. Once they are attacked by German air attacks or ground troops, A surprise attack and you will be defeated in the shortest possible time.”
A nervous look appeared on the major's face: "Comrade General, what should we do?"
"Immediately withdraw the troops from the vicinity of the station, because this is the key bombing area of the German Air Force." Chuikov pointed to the direction he came from and said to the major: "Go three kilometers northeast, there is a forest, you can hide the troops There, await further orders from superiors.”
"But, Comrade General." After hearing Chuikov's order, the major said helplessly: "I am just a battalion commander, and the only troops I can mobilize are my battalion."
Chuikov had long observed that there was at least one regiment of troops inside and outside the station, but there was not even a regiment-level commander. Seeing that it was unrealistic to transfer all the troops in the station, Chuikov could only retreat. He pointed towards the grassland in the southwest and said again: "Comrade Major, there are two troops over there. There is a highland with an altitude of more than 100 meters. You immediately send strong troops to occupy it and build fortifications on it. In this way, even if the German army appears from the south, you can rely on these two highlands to resist."
"Understood, Comrade General." The major followed the direction Chuikov pointed and saw clearly the two hills in the distance, then nodded and said, "I will lead the troops to occupy the high ground as soon as possible and build fortifications."
After the driver started the car, Klimov turned and asked Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, where should we go next?"
"Go to the town to the west." Chuikov said to Klimov: "See if you can find a higher-level commander there."
It's two kilometers of road and only a few minutes' drive away. Sokov saw that this town near the front line was full of houses that had been blown up by planes, and black craters could be seen everywhere on the streets. In the ruins on both sides of the road, expressionless soldiers were collecting firewood to prepare for living and cooking.
After the jeep stopped, Klimov opened the door and shouted to the two soldiers passing by the car: "Hey, comrade soldiers, where is your commander?"
The soldier glanced at the rank on Klimov's collar, and then replied: "Comrade Lieutenant, I'm not sure. I just came from the station."
After the disappointed Klimov dismissed the two soldiers, he closed the car door and turned back to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, what should we do now?"
"Find a place to settle down first." Chuikov ordered: "We must find a way to get in touch with the army headquarters and inform them of the defense situation on the left wing."
Klimov searched the town for a while and saw a relatively complete bungalow, so he suggested to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, let's set up the headquarters here."
After obtaining Chuikov's consent, Klimov got out of the car and walked into the building. Not long after, he walked out of it, followed by four lieutenants. He reported to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, this is a company command post. I have already agreed with the commander that they will make room for us right now."
Chuikov stepped forward and shook hands with the four officers one by one, and asked tentatively: "Do you know where the division headquarters is?"
"I don't know, Comrade General." Several officers shook their heads and replied: "Since we joined the military ranks, we have lost contact with our superiors. It is not easy to gather our troops. .”
After some conversation, Chuikov figured out that these four officers were not from the same company, but each commanded a company. He thought for a while and said to the four of them: "You can continue to stay here. If anything happens, it will be easier for me to command the troops."
Entering this building, Chuikov discovered that this should be some kind of office in the town. The space inside was not small. Even if it could accommodate forty or fifty people working at the same time, it would be more than enough.
After finding a corner to place the radio, Chuikov ordered Klimov: "Comrade Adjutant, contact the army headquarters immediately and inform them that we are establishing a defense line on the left wing."
"Comrade Commander," Klimov said with some embarrassment after hearing this order: "There may be something wrong with the radio station of the Army Headquarters. We have been unable to contact you for two days. If we can't contact you again, we will what to do?"
"If we can't be contacted again, we will contact the front army headquarters and report the situation of the 208th Division to our superiors." Chuikov said decisively: "At the same time, please tell the officer on duty to the deputy commander, General Shumilov, that we A new line of defense is being established on the left wing of the army group."
While the radio was calling the front army headquarters, there was suddenly a rumble of explosions outside. Sokov listened for a moment and then reported to Chuikov: "Comrade General, the explosion came from the direction of the station. It should be German aircraft bombing the station."
"Hell, how come the German plane arrived so quickly?" Chuikov said angrily: "I don't know if the soldiers in the station have been evacuated, otherwise they will suffer heavy losses in the air raid."
Just when Chuikov was about to go outside to check the bombing situation, a captain stopped Chuikov: "Comrade General, there is a staircase at the back that goes up to the roof, where you can observe."
Sokov followed Chuikov, climbed up the escalator to the roof, raised his telescope and looked into the distance. I saw bombs falling from the sky, falling one after another in the station. There were explosions and flames everywhere. The buildings at the station began to burn, and the flames licked from one building to another. Frightened and desperate soldiers ran around like headless flies, and some curled up on the ground holding their heads and howling desperately.
Seeing this scene, Chuikov flew into a rage and cursed loudly: "...I told them to air defense earlier, but they didn't listen. Have you tasted the consequences now? These damn commanders, because of their stupidity, have killed so many people." What an innocent warrior..."
Sokov accidentally glanced at the plane hovering in the sky and couldn't help being shocked. He quickly shouted: "Comrade General, look, the plane that is bombing the station is not the German's, but our own!"
"What, our own plane?" Chuikov raised his telescope and looked at the plane in the sky, and also shouted: "Yes, it is our plane. What is going on? Why did our plane blow up our own people?" coming?"
"Comrade General," Sokov felt that the top priority was to inform the front army headquarters and ask them to tell the Air Force that the wrong target was bombed. He quickly reminded Chuikov: "We should immediately report this matter to the front army headquarters and ask them to immediately order the air force to stop this wrong bombing."
"That's right, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you are right to remind us." Chuikov nodded, turned around and ran down the stairs: "I want to inform the headquarters immediately that our air force is bombing our own people."
Chuikov rushed into the command post and asked Klimov, who was standing next to the walkie-talkie: "Klimov, have you contacted the front headquarters?"
Chuikov rushed to the radio and shouted to the radio operator: "Send a report to the front army headquarters, saying that at Chirekov station, our military planes are bombing our military columns and troops! Ask them to stop this mistake immediately Action..."
While the radio operator was sending the report, the roar of an airplane suddenly came from the air. Hearing this sound, Sokov secretly yelled something bad and quickly pulled Chuikov and ran outside. At the same time, he shouted loudly: "Air raid siren, hurry up and take cover."
As soon as he finished speaking, there was a violent explosion not far away, and everyone in the room felt the ground beneath their feet tremble slightly. The first person to react was Klimov. He saw Sokov grabbing Chuikov and running out of the house. He also rushed over and grabbed Chuikov's other arm and dragged him out of the house as hard as he could.
It wasn't just Sokov and the others who ran out, several company commanders also staggered out. Although they kept tripping over bricks, stones and debris on the ground, they continued running as soon as they got up. They paid no attention to the shocked soldiers who were still standing in a daze on the street. Although the bombs dropped from the sky were bombs dropped by our own people, they could still kill people. If we didn't run out quickly, why were we still waiting to be bombed? At most, when you pass those soldiers, shout at them, "Run!"
The commanders and fighters who escaped from the town hid in nearby ravines to avoid air attacks. Sokov looked at the planes that were constantly swooping down to drop bombs and strafing, and he felt like he was on the verge of tears. So many commanders and fighters from Siberia came all the way to Stalingrad, and they were captured without even seeing the faces of the Germans. One of their own was killed in a plane bombing. If they knew the truth, they would not know how aggrieved they would be.
After an unknown amount of time, the Soviet aircraft that completed the bombing turned around and returned to the airport. The commanders and fighters hiding in the gully came out one after another and looked at the retreating fleet of aircraft in silence.
"Klimov," Chuikov looked around, and then asked his adjutant: "Where is the operator? Has he escaped?"
"I don't know, Comrade Commander." Klimov replied in a panic: "When the bombing started, I just dragged you outside and didn't notice the radio operator at all."
"Go back to find him quickly." Chuikov ordered the other party: "Without him and the radio station, our contact with our superiors would be completely interrupted."
Just as Klimov was about to return to the burning town to search for the missing operator, he suddenly heard someone shouting loudly: "Germans, the Germans are coming!"
Sokov turned around and saw that the person shouting was a guard next to Chuikov. He quickly looked in the direction of his finger and saw hundreds of German soldiers with weapons coming towards the town. Among their ranks were two armored vehicles.
"What the hell, what the hell, where did they come from?" Seeing the sudden appearance of the German soldiers, Sokov couldn't help cursing in his heart: "As soon as our air force finished bombing the town, the Germans launched In order to attack, the 'air-ground coordination' between them was really good."
"Comrades, company commanders," Chuikov clearly saw the German troops appearing in the distance, and shouted to several panicked company commanders: "Gather your companies immediately, we will stop them outside the town." Then, Chuikov He called another guard and ordered, "Rush to the station immediately, find the major just now, and ask him to bring his troops to support us."
