Lemusev looked the sergeant up and down and saw that his head and arms were wrapped in bandages with blood oozing from them, so he asked with concern, "Comrade Sergeant, are you injured?"
The sergeant grinned and tried his best to put on a smile on his face, "Comrade Captain, haven't you seen that all of us are more or less injured? My injuries are relatively minor compared to theirs." .”
Hearing what the sergeant said, Lemusev glanced at the other soldiers and saw that everyone was injured. Judging from the expressions on everyone's faces, the injuries on their bodies were not fake. Lemusev secretly thought that no matter how stupid the Germans were, they would not send a group of wounded soldiers to sneak in as internal responses. Once a fight breaks out, his subordinates can easily eliminate all the wounded soldiers.
Lemusev already believed in his heart that these were his own people, so he waved his men to lower their guns. However, just to be on the safe side, he turned to face the sergeant and continued to cross-examine, "Comrade Sergeant, you said you were from the 42nd Guards Regiment, but as far as I know, the regiment evacuated this area after failing to attack the station. .Now that the troops have withdrawn, why are you still here?"
"Comrade Captain, you are right, the main force of the 42nd Guards Regiment has indeed retreated." Seeing Lemusev doubting himself, the sergeant quickly stepped forward and said, "But only the seriously wounded were withdrawn. We and After the main force loses contact, they will choose a single person or a group of two or three people to continue to hold on and fight in the guard box of the railway plank house, in the basement of the station, behind the platform line, or even under the carriage. This prevented the Germans from completely occupying the entire station."
Although by now, he was certain that the soldiers standing in front of him were all his own, Lemusev still continued to ask, "Why did you suddenly appear here?"
"We heard gunshots and explosions coming from the station building," the sergeant replied. "We guessed that our people must have launched another attack on the station, so we rushed over immediately. Unfortunately, we were still a step too late. The enemy I have been repulsed by you."
"Captain Lemusev," just as Lemusev was about to find a health worker to re-bandage the wounds of the Guards soldiers, he heard the voice of the second battalion commander, "I suspect that they are spies sent by the Germans. They should be treated immediately." Capture them and hand them over to comrades from the Ministry of Internal Affairs for screening." After that, he shook his head at his subordinates behind him and motioned for them to capture all these soldiers.
"Comrade Major," Lemusev saw that the second battalion commander was indiscriminately detaining these soldiers who had just escaped from the enemy's siege. He quickly stretched out his hand to stop the sailors of the second battalion and spoke sternly to the second battalion commander. Said "Can't you see that they are our own comrades?"
"Captain Lemusev," the second battalion commander said angrily when he saw Lemusev blocking his way, "any Guards soldier is a liar. Think about it carefully. How can we cross the river?" After entering Soviet Avenue and Lenin Street, did you find any traces of the Guards? A Guards Division with tens of thousands of people just disappeared like this? I suspect that they have surrendered to the Germans and become shameful traitors... "
The hurtful words of the second battalion commander angered the Guards soldiers who had just escaped. The sergeant picked up the submachine gun in his hand, aimed it at the second battalion commander who was making nonsense, and said sternly, "Shut up, I will not allow you to insult the honor of our Guards. Even if we fight to the last man, we will never surrender to Germany." People surrender.”
Seeing the sergeant holding a gun, the other Guards soldiers did not dare to show weakness and pointed their weapons at the second battalion commander. The sailors beside the second battalion commander also hurriedly raised their guns and aimed at the Guards soldiers. The sailors of the first battalion, since they did not receive Lemusev's order, just stood aside and stared at the tense situation.
The words of the second battalion commander caused Lemusev to think deeply. He thought to himself that what the second battalion commander said made sense. Before crossing the river, the brigade commander told us that between the Tsaritsa River and Mamayev Hill, A Guards Division of tens of thousands commanded by General Rodimtsev will fight alongside him. Then troops entered the city continuously, but no news was heard from the Guards Division, as if they had disappeared from the world. What exactly is going on with this squad of Guardsmen emerging from the station at this moment still needs to be carefully observed.
When Lemusev came back to his senses, he found that the two groups of people in front and behind him were actually pointing guns at each other. They were about to explode. He quickly said sharply, "What are you doing? How can you point the guns at yourself?" Where are your comrades? Put them down quickly, put down your guns."
When the Guards soldiers heard what Lemusev said, they lowered their guns. The sailors of the second battalion, because they had not received the order from the second battalion commander, still felt that their guns had not been lowered, but everyone turned their attention to the second battalion commander, waiting for his order.
After hearing what Lemusev said, the second battalion commander reluctantly waved his hand and ordered his men to "put down all their guns." After that, he turned and left. The sailors stood there stunned for a moment and then walked away.
"Comrade Sergeant, you have been wronged." Lemusev waited for the second battalion commander to go away, then held the sergeant's hand and said to him, "I will ask the health worker to treat your injuries, and then eat something. Just retreat to the back and rest.”
"Comrade Captain, thank you." The sergeant stood still and said gratefully, "If you hadn't helped us, we might have been arrested as deserters or traitors. If you don't object, we are willing to follow you. Dry!"
Regarding the statement of the Guards Sergeant, Lemusev hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Comrade Sergeant, is this your opinion alone, or the opinion of all of you?"
"Does this need to be said? Of course it is the opinion of all of us." After the sergeant finished speaking, he turned to ask other comrades standing not far away, "Do you think I am right?"
"Yes, the sergeant is right, we are willing to follow you and continue to fight against the German invaders!"
"Comrade Captain, accept us!"
"..."
As soon as the sergeant finished speaking, the other Guards soldiers all echoed.
"Okay, comrades, please be quiet!" Lemusev raised his hand and pressed down, saying to the Guards soldiers, "Since you are willing to join, I welcome you on behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the first battalion. But we will soon We are about to leave here, please take the time to rest and eat something, and then we will set off."
"Comrade Captain," the sergeant couldn't help but have a look of astonishment on his face when he heard that the troops were about to move. He asked tentatively, "I want to ask, where will we move to next?"
Lemusev pointed to the nail factory not far away and said, "In that building, the first company of our battalion is stationed. Later I will lead the soldiers of the second and third companies to go over and fight with them." Convergence.”
"What about here?" When the sergeant learned that the troops were to be moved to a nearby building, he asked in a panic, "Should we just give the station building to the Germans?"
"How could this happen? The second battalion is here to take over the defense of our battalion." Lemusev shook his head and said, "After handing over the defense, our battalion has only two options. One is to withdraw to rest and recuperate, and the other is to move to nail making." In the factory building, we continue to fight the enemy. In order to capture this station building, many of our good comrades died here. If we just withdraw like this, I guess the soldiers will not agree. Therefore, I plan to move to a new location , keep fighting.”
After the second battalion took over the defense of the station building, the commander of the second battalion immediately ordered someone to lay a telephone line to the brigade headquarters, and then proudly reported to the brigade commander Tanasolov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, our battalion is A defensive line was built in the station building, ready to crush the enemy's attack."
Tanasolov has always had a good impression of the second battalion commander. When he heard what he said, he quickly said approvingly, "Well done, Comrade Major. As long as you can hold the station, the Germans' attempt to divide our defense line will collapse." When our counterattack begins, they will be beaten to a pulp, and I will definitely ask your superiors for credit."
For Russians who value honor, they know that in order to get a medal, they will sacrifice their own lives. At this moment, the commander of the second battalion couldn't help but be overjoyed when he heard Tanasolov say that he was worried about his situation. He knew in his heart that as long as he defended the station building, he would soon have a medal hanging on his chest.
The second battalion commander quickly expressed his stance to Tanasolov, who valued him highly, and said, "Comrade Brigadier, please rest assured that even if we are all sacrificed, we will never take a step back. The enemy can only break into the station building by stepping on our bodies." "
Don't see that what the second battalion commander said was all cliches, but Tanasolov felt particularly useful in his ears. "Okay, Comrade Major, I will wait for your good news."
Shortly after the 2nd Battalion took over the defense of the 1st Battalion, Klimov returned to the brigade headquarters with Vlasov. When Tanasolov saw Klimov's appearance, he was a little surprised and asked, "Comrade Captain, why are you here? Do you have any latest instructions to bring us?"
"Hello, Comrade Colonel!" Klimov raised his hand to salute Tanasolov and said dryly, "Comrade Commander sent me to the 92nd Infantry Brigade to serve as a liaison officer to understand the status of your attack."
"Comrade Captain, the political commissar and I are both from the army, and the sailors in the brigade don't quite obey our orders." After Tanasolov asked Klimov to sit down, he began to complain to him, "For example, let's take the first battalion. , ignoring the brigade headquarters’ order to establish a defensive position, they secretly launched an attack on the station..."
"Comrade Colonel, I want to correct you." Klimov heard Tanasolov talking about Lemusev's first battalion and quickly raised his hand to interrupt what he was saying. "The first battalion launched an attack on the station. , not an unsolicited private action, but an order given to them by me on behalf of the Army Headquarters."
When Tanasolov heard this, he had an embarrassed expression on his face, "Comrade Captain, even if you can represent the army headquarters and issue combat orders to the troops below, you should also tell us so that we know what to do. Political Commissar Comrade, do you think I am right?"
"Captain Klimov," Andreev, who was sitting aside, nodded, and then said, "Comrade Brigadier is right, even if you are a representative from the group army headquarters, it is such a big thing to send troops to attack the station. , you must always communicate with us in advance so that we know what is going on so that we don’t misunderstand that the First Battalion is acting without permission."
This time, it was Klimov's turn to arrive and was embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Colonel Tanasolov. I didn't think well. I originally wanted to communicate with you before the troops attacked. But in order to understand the attack station in time, As for the situation in the building, I stayed there to watch the battle, so much so that I forgot to inform you about the first battalion’s attack.”
Seeing that Klimov took the initiative to admit his mistake, Tanasolov could not say anything else. After all, in the Soviet army, this kind of mutual incompatibility was too common. He could only pretend to be generous and said, "Comrade Captain, Forget it this time, if a similar situation occurs next time, please be sure to notify us in time."
"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel, there won't be another time." In order to resolve the embarrassment at hand, Klimov changed the subject in time, "Colonel Tanasolov, I want to ask, after you get here, have you Any news about the 13th Guards Division?”
"General Rodimtsev's 13th Guards Division?" After seeing Klimov nodding, Tanasolov shook his head and said, "No, after our brigade arrived here, we did not get any information about the 13th Guards Division. The news about the 13th Division, tens of thousands of troops, seemed to disappear in an instant.”
"It's not like tens of thousands of people disappeared at the same time." Klimov explained, "The 39th Guards Regiment of the division is now stationed on the right wing of Mamayev Hill. The regiment has more than 2,000 troops. General Rodimtsev was stationed in this area with the 34th and 42nd Guards Regiments, as well as the troops directly under the division. However, after the enemy rushed into the city, they suddenly lost their whereabouts, as if they suddenly disappeared."
Tanasolov waited for Klimov to finish and asked tentatively, "Captain Klimov, do you think they have quietly left the city and crossed to the east bank of the Volga River?"
"This is impossible. How can it be so easy for thousands of troops to cross the river." Klimov shook his head and said, "If nothing else, even if there are ships needed to cross the river, without an order from the Army Group Headquarters, they will not be able to cross the river." It’s impossible to do that.”
Andreev then asked, "Can you contact General Rodimtsev?"
"Can't be contacted," Klimov still shook his head, "Just like what Colonel Tanasolov just said, they seemed to have disappeared out of thin air."
"What on earth is going on?" Everyone in the headquarters was lost in thought.
