"No, there is no need to contact any troops." Chuikov knew very well that his headquarters was almost surrounded by the German army. Whether he contacted the outside world by phone or radio, he might be eavesdropped by the enemy. If the Germans knew their retreat route and set up an ambush halfway, they and the personnel led by their chief of staff would be in danger of being wiped out. So he shook his head and said resolutely: "We will pass through the streets blocked by the enemy with our own strength."
Regarding Chuikov's breakout plan, Krylov felt that it was too risky. He even thought that when Kiev was besieged, the Southwest Front Army Headquarters broke out and divided its troops into two groups. Who knew that in the end, except for those who were responsible for luring the enemy? Bagramyan led his troops to break out of the encirclement, and the entire army led by the commander and chief of staff was destroyed. Today, I and Chuikov led the members of the headquarters to pass through the streets controlled by the enemy and break out to a safe area. I wonder if the same mistakes will be repeated?
Thinking of this, he carefully reminded Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, I think it is too risky to pass the road blocked by the enemy. Otherwise, we should leave the headquarters by water together with Comrade Military Commissar and others?"
After Chuikov heard Krylov's proposal, he immediately waved his hand and said: "If everyone takes the waterway, the target is too big. Once it is attacked by the Germans on the way, the entire headquarters will be taken away."
"Comrade Commander," Gurov waited for Chuikov to finish and immediately expressed his opinion: "If you and the Chief of Staff both go by land, if something goes wrong, I will have no way to control the army. In my opinion, Or should you take the water route and the Chief of Staff and I take the land route?"
"Yes, that's right." Krylov knew that taking the overland route was a matter of near-death. When he heard that Gurov was willing to take the overland route with him, he nodded vigorously and said in agreement: "Comrade Military Commissar is right, for To ensure that our command post can function normally, Commander, you’d better take the water route.”
"I have already said that the military commissar and the staff will take the water route." Facing the persuasion of Gurov and Krylov, Chuikov said stubbornly: "Time is running out, stop arguing, and prepare to leave immediately."
"Comrade Commander, something bad has happened." While several people were discussing the retreat, Chuikov's adjutant Klimov suddenly rushed in from outside. He said in a panic: "The enemy has discovered that we are on the Tsaritsa River. The entrance and exit are being shot with machine guns."
"What, the enemy is shooting at the entrance and exit on that side of the Tsaritsa River?" Hearing the bad news, everyone's hearts couldn't help but Chuikov grabbed Klimov's lapel and asked in a stern tone: "The enemy How many troops are there?”
"There is about a platoon." Klimov replied in a panic: "They occupied the bridge over the Tsarica River and were shooting at the entrance of the cave with machine guns. Two sentries at the entrance died..."
"Comrade Military Commissar," Chuikov found out that the enemy was on a bridge more than 500 meters away and fired at the hole with a machine gun. Chuikov let go of Klimov and said to Gurov: "The enemy is too far away from us now. Even if you shoot at the hole with a machine gun, the threat to us will be very limited. Time is tight, you immediately take the staff with you to the place where the ship is parked, board the ship, and transfer to the new headquarters via waterway."
Gurov originally wanted to persuade Chuikov to leave the headquarters by water, but seeing that he was so stubborn and that the enemy's machine guns had begun to fire at the entrance and exit of the Tsaritsa River, Gurov did not hesitate anymore and immediately summoned the staff in the headquarters. The personnel, protected by a team of guards, passed through the entrance and exit of the river and went to the nearby small ferry to take a boat.
Although the German troops occupying the bridge fired at the hole, the distance was too far and it was difficult for the machine gun bullets to hit the target. They only hit the soil on the river bank like a boiling pot. After Gurov and others came out of the cave, they immediately bent down and ran towards the small dock. The Germans discovered the people coming out of the cave and immediately turned their guns and fired at them. Unfortunately, several staff officers were hit by bullets and fell down on the river bed, while the rest continued to run forward without stopping.
The river gunboat parked on the small pier discovered that German machine guns were continuing to fire on the bridge in the distance. It quickly used the twin anti-aircraft machine guns at the stern to fight back, suppressing the enemy's firepower and covering the boarding of the headquarters personnel.
When Gurov boarded the ship, a naval lieutenant came over, straightened his body and reported to him: "Comrade Military Commissar, I am the captain, Lieutenant Shuklin, and I have been ordered to send you tens of thousands of ships to the east bank of the Volga River."
"Thank you, Comrade Lieutenant." Gurov stretched out his hand to shake the opponent's hand, then looked at the anti-aircraft machine gun firing at the stern of the ship and asked: "Can your machine gun firepower destroy the enemy on the bridge?"
Shuklin nodded and replied: "I think it should be okay."
"That's great." Gurov pointed to the riverbed in the distance and said to Shuklin: "Several of our staff were hit by enemy machine guns during the transfer. After the enemy on the bridge was eliminated, , our health workers can go and save them.”
Under the crazy shooting of Soviet anti-aircraft machine guns, the two German machine guns on the bridge were quickly eliminated. The health workers who were on standby in the cave immediately bent over and ran out to treat the staff officers who fell on the river bed.
Gurov, who was standing at the bow of the ship, saw the medical staff in the headquarters starting to treat and clean up the ship on the river bed. He finally understood something that was on his mind, and turned to Shuklin and told Shuklin: "Comrade Lieutenant, all our people have boarded the ship, let's set off. "
…………
More than an hour after Gurov and his crew left the ship, Krylov, who was staying in the headquarters, heard the gunshots and explosions outside becoming more and more intensive, and said to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, from outside Judging from the sound of gunfire, the enemy is already very close to our headquarters, so I think we should move as soon as possible."
Chuikov also realized that the current situation was not good for him. If he stayed any longer, the German army might take over the headquarters, so he ordered the remaining personnel in the headquarters to form a small team of twenty people and gradually withdraw from Tsaritsyn. Caves, moving towards a safe area.
The team led by Chuikov was the last to leave the headquarters. There were two female radio operators in the team. In order to ensure their safety, Chuikov not only asked other soldiers to help them pick up the radio, but also asked them to walk in the middle of the entire team to avoid falling behind in the chaos.
It was already midnight, but because the city was burning everywhere, the streets were lit up like daylight. In order to prevent being fired by submachine guns from the buildings on both sides and snipers hidden in the ruins when passing through the streets controlled by the Germans, Chuikov specially sent two soldiers to explore the road in front, while the main force was about fifty meters behind. To avoid being taken over by the Germans.
The situation on the street surprised Chuikov and his men. In addition to the masonry and rubble falling from the collapsed houses, dead bodies in various postures could be seen everywhere. Among these corpses were Soviet soldiers and German officers and soldiers, but most of them were ordinary citizens in the city.
For all commanders and fighters, this is a road to death. The two female operators were so frightened by the corpses on the ground that they bent over and vomited. Chuikov suppressed the discomfort in his stomach and ordered the soldiers following the female operator: "Help them!" Upon hearing Chuikov's order, a soldier immediately stepped forward, picked up the female operator and ran forward.
Adjutant Klimov, who was following Chuikov, asked in a low voice while jogging: "Comrade Commander, where are we going?"
"Don't talk nonsense, keep moving forward." Chuikov replied in a low voice: "You will know when you get to the place." He said this because he was unsure, based on the situation reported by each unit before dark. , most of the fire support points in the city have been occupied by the German army. Now he has no idea where is the safe zone. He can only run in the general direction towards the bank of the Volga River, where he might be able to find himself. force.
"Comrade Commander," seeing that Chuikov did not name the specific location, Klimov said reluctantly, "otherwise, let's move towards Mamayev Heights. In any case, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's men With thousands of people, it will not be easy for the Germans to seize the position from him."
Klimov's words reminded Chuikov, and he thought to himself: If the infantry brigade is still holding Mamayev Heights, that would be the best. After he leads his people there, he can enter through the tunnel from Nangang. North Hill, and then enter the factory area through the Krutoy Deep Ditch. By then, he might arrive at the new headquarters before the military commissars and others.
According to Chuikov's original arrangement, Rodimtsev's troops stood firm in the urban area from the Tsaritsa River to Mamayev Hill to ensure that his command could withdraw to Mamayev in a timely manner when necessary. Post. Unexpectedly, the battle in the city lasted for a day, and the defense area of the 13th Guards Division was beaten to pieces by the enemy. Even Rodimtsev lost contact with the headquarters, let alone the troops under his command. Coupled with the fall of the Central Railway Station, the German army effectively cut off the land connection between the headquarters and Mamayev Heights. If you want to rush to Mamayev Heights, you still have to take some risks.
Although there are risks, it is better than leading people on your own in an area occupied by the enemy. Thinking of this, Chuikov decisively issued an order: "We rush to Mamayev Heights immediately."
"Okay." Hearing that Chuikov was preparing to go to Mamayev Hill, Klimov suddenly became excited. Before Chuikov could give instructions, he turned to the soldiers behind him and said: "Pass it back, we will turn to Mamayev Hill. .”
As the order was conveyed, the morale that had become low due to entering the road of death became high again. Although the fighting in the city was so fierce, there were several telegraph operators in Chuikov's team. Among the telegrams they received, only the infantry brigade standing on Mamayev Hill reported from time to time that the enemy's attack had been repelled. , battle reports on how many enemies were annihilated and how many were captured. Nowadays, there are melees everywhere in the city. No matter where Chuikov takes them, they have no idea. When they learn that the next destination is Mamayev Heights, they immediately see a glimmer of hope, and even their footsteps Become brisk.
Chuikov was also keenly aware of the changes in the team. He curiously asked Klimov beside him: "Adjutant, what is going on? Why do I feel that everyone's mood is different?"
"Needless to say, Comrade Commander." Klimov said with some pride: "Everyone didn't know where our destination was just now. We were just wandering around in the streets controlled by the enemy. It is inevitable to have a psychological burden. . Now that we know we are going to Mamayev Kurgan, everyone feels motivated and their mood is naturally high."
Chuikov asked with great interest: "Oh, as soon as you heard about going to Mamayev Heights, you immediately became excited?"
"Isn't that right?" Klimov said in an affirmative tone: "Comrade Commander, don't forget that there are several radio operators in our squad. How are the fighting conditions of each unit today? They When we received the telegram, we all knew that except for Mamayev Hill, we were beaten back step by step by the Germans in other areas. Now that we know that we are going to Mamayev Hill, it means that everyone will be out of danger soon. , how can you not be happy when you enter a safe zone."
"So that's it." Chuikov really didn't expect that Sokov could actually bring hope to his subordinates in the headquarters. He couldn't help but said with emotion: "If I set up the new headquarters in Mamayev Heights, Are you happy?"
Klimov was about to answer, but with the help of the firelight, he could clearly see the playful smile on Chuikov's face. He quickly swallowed the words that were on his lips and changed the topic in time: "Comrade Commander, what do you mean, Staff Can the commander and the military commissar successfully escape from the German encirclement?"
"Comrade Military Commissar took the water route. The German army's defense in this direction is not tight. There should be no problem for them to break through." Chuikov said carefully: "But it's hard to say about the small team led by the Chief of Staff. Maybe they will be Trapped in a street controlled by the enemy, whether they can successfully break out depends on their luck."
"Stop!" Klimov saw a soldier who was sent to explore the road ahead and ran back in a hurry. He quickly raised his hand to ask the team to stop, and immediately sent over to ask: "What happened? ?”
"Comrade Commander," the soldier reported directly to Chuikov: "There is a German tank parked at the intersection ahead. There is a sandbag fortification next to the tank with a machine gun inside..."
On the road ahead, he also encountered situations where German tanks and fortifications blocked the road, but Chuikov had never seen the soldiers exploring the road so nervous. An ominous premonition immediately surged in his heart: "Comrade soldier, you are Don’t you want to tell me that we can’t go around from other areas at all?”
