Sokov looked towards the dock and saw that it was crowded with people. There were civilians carrying luggage, soldiers carrying supplies, stretcher bearers carrying the wounded, and health workers following them.
Seeing this situation, Belkin was a little surprised and said: "What the hell, why are there so many civilians on the dock? Aren't there rumors that in order to prevent panic, the residents of the city were not evacuated?"
"Comrade Political Commissar, there are policies above and countermeasures below." Sokov turned to look at Belkin and said: "Although the superiors have stipulated not to evacuate, there are always some well-informed citizens. In order to escape the coming war, they will There are various reasons to leave the city. After all, the City Defense Committee has no reason to refuse citizens to visit relatives and friends in other cities."
When he said this, Sokov secretly thought in his heart: If you can leave, let's leave as many civilians as possible. Otherwise, in the ensuing street fighting, most civilians would either die from the fighting between the two sides, or die miserably due to the shortage of food and medicine. And these dead citizens, even after the war, were nothing more than a series of confidential numbers.
"Comrade Political Commissar, let's go over and take a look." After finishing speaking, Sokov took the lead and walked towards the dock without waiting for Belkin to express his position.
Ferries on the Volga River gave priority to precious cultural relics that were to be moved to the rear, followed by wounded soldiers coming off the front. If there is still room in the end, it will be the turn of the civilians who have been waiting on the dock for who knows how long. Of course, not every civilian can board the ship smoothly. They must present a pass issued by the district Soviet before the sailors on the ship will let them board.
Sokov saw with his own eyes several old men carrying suitcases. After the cordon held by the sailors holding hands gave way, they immediately rushed towards the ferry docked at the pier at a speed that was inconsistent with their age. . However, since they did not have passes, the sailors did not allow them to board the ship at all. In response to their attempts to forcibly board the ship, the sailors beat them to pieces with rifle butts and then threw them from the ship. Before these old people could stand up after being thrown off the boat, countless residents waving passes in their hands stepped over them and rushed to the ferry that could take them out of the city.
The Volga, like all rivers in Russia, has a steep right bank and a flat left bank. Sokov came to the river and saw many engineers digging holes on the cliffs by the river. He squatted down curiously and observed their work carefully.
An engineer platoon leader saw two commanders squatting on the cliff and watched their work seriously, so he thought it was necessary to report to them. Then he climbed up the cliff from a nearby ladder, walked to the two men, raised his hands to salute them, and reported: "Two comrades, the engineer platoon leader Second Lieutenant Shenikov reports to you! Our platoon is correct We were ordered to build air raid shelters on the cliffs beside the Volga River."
"Comrade Second Lieutenant, what are you doing building an air-raid shelter here?" Belkin stood up and asked curiously: "You know, if our soldiers are hidden here, the enemy can easily occupy our position."
"That's right, comrade deputy battalion-level political commissar." The engineer platoon leader glanced at Belgin's rank and replied dryly: "We were ordered to build air-raid shelters here to provide space for those comrades who are transporting supplies at the dock, and Used by civilians waiting to board boats.”
When Sokov heard what the second lieutenant said, he stood up slowly, looked at the engineers who were still busy below and thought: "I didn't expect that the city defense committee had considered this matter very carefully. After the street fighting began, the German army tried to cut off The Soviet army was in contact with the left bank of the Volga River and constantly sent aircraft to bomb the ferry. Without these air defense fortifications, when enemy planes bombed the dock, the soldiers and civilians gathered at the dock would suffer heavy losses."
"Comrade commanders," the engineer platoon leader asked respectfully after reporting to the two men, "Do you allow me to go back and continue working?"
"Of course, this goes without saying." Belkin waved his hand to the engineer platoon leader and said, "Go on to work."
In order not to affect the work of the engineers, the two looked at it for a while, then turned and returned to Mamayev Heights.
When he was still far away from the brigade headquarters, Sokov suddenly saw an armored vehicle and two jeeps next to the tent. In the open space between the car and the tent, a group of commanders stood. Sokov saw Khrushchev in civilian uniform at a glance, and quickly said to Belkin: "Comrade Political Commissar, the Military Commissar of the Front Army is here. Let's go over to see him quickly."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov." Seeing Sokov and Belkin trotting over, Khrushchev asked sternly at Sokov: "Where have you been?"
"Hello, Comrade Military Commissar!" Sokov quickly stood at attention, raised his hand and saluted Khrushchev, and replied: "I went to the 1077th Anti-aircraft Artillery Regiment with Brigade Political Commissar Comrade Belkin."
"What are you doing in the anti-aircraft artillery regiment?" Khrushchev asked with a frown.
"It's like this," Sokov saw that Khrushchev looked unhappy and quickly explained to him: "Today, an enemy reconnaissance plane was conducting a routine reconnaissance flight over Mamayev Heights. Who knew However, the anti-aircraft artillery regiment suddenly opened fire on the enemy's reconnaissance aircraft, exposing the locations of at least five more anti-aircraft positions. I was worried that the enemy might launch an air attack on these exposed anti-aircraft artillery positions, so I made a special trip to the anti-aircraft artillery regiment."
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov," Khrushchev heard what Sokov said and asked with a half-smile: "How did the other party reply to you?"
Sokov replied with a grimace: "He said that whenever he sees an enemy aircraft in the sky, he will order the anti-aircraft artillery to fire!"
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the commander of the anti-aircraft artillery regiment is right." A burly general on crutches limped through the crowd and said at the same time: "As long as there is an anti-aircraft artillery regiment, We absolutely cannot tolerate enemy aircraft hovering over our heads."
Sokov looked at the speaking general and thought to himself: "Who is this general? How dare you interrupt the conversation between me and Khrushchev?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, let me introduce you." Khrushchev pointed at the general, smiled and said to Sokov: "This is the new commander of the front army, General Yereomenko!"
Hearing that the person in front of them was the new commander of the front army, Sokov and Belkin quickly stood at attention, raised their hands in salute, and said in unison: "Hello, comrade commander!"
"Comrade Commander, let me introduce you to you. This young lieutenant colonel is Sokov, commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade stationed at Mamayev Heights. And the person next to him is his political commissar Bel Gold." After introducing Sokov and Belkin, Khrushchev leaned close to Yereomenko's ear and whispered: "He is the son of old Misha."
"Old Misha's son?" Yeremenko heard Khrushchev say this, and his attitude towards Sokov became enthusiastic. He reached out and held Sokov's hand, and said with a smile: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I really didn't expect that you are the son of old Misha. Your father is a great commander and a hero of our Red Army." He He glanced at the medal on Sokov's chest, nodded, and continued, "It seems that you have inherited your father's good genes and will become an excellent commander."
After the simple greetings, Sokov curiously asked Khrushchev: "Comrade Military Commissar, do you plan to move the front headquarters to the city?"
"We have this plan." Khrushchev nodded and said, "Placing the front headquarters in the city will help us better command the troops."
Sokov vaguely remembered that the headquarters of the Stalingrad Front was once located here on Mamayev Hill. Later, because of the critical situation, they withdrew to the left bank and handed it over to Chuikov. He did not want Yereomenko and the others to locate their headquarters here, which would have a negative impact on the subsequent defense.
Therefore, he suggested to the two of them: "Comrade, Comrade Military Commissioner, I think the department store building in the city is very suitable as your new headquarters. If you are interested, you can go and have a look."
