"Where did Rodimtsev and his two regiments go?" Such questions were not only asked by Tanasolov, but also by Gurov, who had just arrived at the new headquarters from the other side of the Volga River. Asked, since no one knew the answer, Gurov had to consider the worst case scenario. "Comrade Commander, do you think they will all be killed overnight, or have they surrendered to the Germans?"
"In any case, there are still thousands of people in the 13th Guards Division. How could they all be killed overnight? This is impossible." After rejecting this speculation, Chuikov continued, "As for sneak attacks, , this is even more impossible, how could a unit that fought tenaciously against the Germans lay down their weapons and surrender to the enemy?"
"Comrade Commander, I'm only talking about the two worst possibilities. I don't believe that the 13th Guards Division will all be killed overnight, or surrender." Gurov saw Chuikov's unhappy look. , and quickly explained to him, "As defenders of the city, every defender is precious. Now suddenly a troop has disappeared. What we can do is to find out where they are as soon as possible."
"Comrade Commander," Krylov waited for Gurov to finish and then offered a suggestion. "The 92nd Infantry Brigade is currently stationed there. I think they can be responsible for investigating the whereabouts of the 13th Guards Division. There are thousands of them. It is impossible for a living person to just say that he is gone, there are always some clues to be found."
After listening to Krylov's suggestion, Chuikov nodded and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, what you said makes sense. Send a report to Tanasolov immediately and ask him to search for the whereabouts of the 13th Guards Division in the defense area as soon as possible. , be sure to find out where this troop has gone.”
When Krylov went to arrange for the telegraph operator to send the report, Gurov said to Chuikov, "Comrade Commander, after I went to the east coast this time, I met the commander and the military commissar and talked with them."
Chuikov remembered that Gurov had once been the military commissar of the Southwest Front. If it had not been for the failure of the Battle of Kharkov and when he led his troops to break out, he lost contact with the Supreme Command. Maybe he would now be the military commissar of the front instead of the military commissar of the Southwestern Front. He served as deputy and military commissar at the group army level. Since he could sit down and chat with Yereomenko and Khrushchev, he must know a lot of inside information. He quickly asked, "Comrade Military Commissar, what did they say to you?"
"Comrade Khrushchev said that General Rokossovsky's Stalingrad Front will attack the enemy from the north on September 20." Gurov said, "The purpose of this attack is to break the enemy The siege of Stalingrad..."
"Comrade Military Commissar," Chuikov interrupted the other party before he could finish his words, and said with a bit of laughter, "These contents were mentioned in detail in the telegram sent to me by the Front Army Headquarters. I would like to ask , is there any other content, such as inside information?"
When Gurov heard Chuikov's question, he couldn't help but smile and shake his head, "Comrade Commander, I know what you want to know, but those are just idle chats between General Yeremenko and Comrade Khrushchev. Counting."
Upon hearing this, Chuikov noticed that the other party seemed to have something in his words, and quickly urged, "Comrade Military Commissar, even if it is just a small talk between you, there must be something of interest to me. Just tell me and listen."
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Seeing Chuikov's insistence, Gurov said openly, "I know if I don't tell you something that interests you, you will definitely pester me with questions. Ye Liumian General Co said that Rokossovsky's troops will use armored breakthrough tactics this time to quickly penetrate the German defense line and rush to the Orlovka area to join us."
After Chuikov heard this, he just said "Oh" lightly and said thoughtfully, "The terrain in the Orlovka area is indeed suitable for the deployment of armored forces. But if we can think of this, then the enemy can also think of this." One thing, I'm worried that even if Rokossovsky's tank troops break through the enemy's defense lines, it will be difficult for them to reach their destination to join us."
"Comrade Commander, you are so pessimistic." Seeing Chuikov's indifferent reaction, Gurov said with some displeasure, "I believe that General Rokossovsky and the Supreme Command have taken your concerns into consideration. They should have measures in place."
After assigning the task, Krylov came back, stood in front of Chuikov and asked, "If our superiors order us to send troops to join forces with our comrades on the Stalingrad Front, where should we allocate troops?"
To join forces with Rokossovsky's troops, it is not enough to just send any troops to Orlovka. There are heavy German troops deployed there. If they are not defeated in advance, then joining forces will be a joke. After Chuikov was silent for a long time, he said, "Now we don't even have a battalion of reserves in our hands. Before new troops enter Stalingrad, we have no ability to attack the enemy."
"There should be many scattered troops in the city," Gurov said tentatively. "Can we organize them and form a new army?"
"If these troops are used for defense, it will be more or less adequate. After all, we are engaging in street fighting with the enemy. The role of a small team is no worse than that of a large army." In response to Gurov's suggestion, Krelo The husband explained to him, "But we should also see that these soldiers come from different units. Even if they are put together temporarily, their cooperation with each other is very poor. If they are used for offense, it may be difficult to break through the German defense."
While Chuikov and the others were discussing how to join forces with friendly forces, Tanasolov received a telegram from the headquarters. After reading it, he said to Andreev, "Comrade Political Commissar, look at this telegram. It is from the Army Group." The command just came from the headquarters, isn’t the order they issued overwhelming?”
Andreev took the telegram, quickly read the contents, and said to Tanasolov, "Comrade Brigade Commander, no matter what, a troop of several thousand people disappeared just because they were said to be missing. I don't understand it clearly." Reason, I think the heads of the headquarters will be restless."
"But how can we find it?" Tanasolov said in embarrassment. "It has been two days since our brigade came here. If the 13th Guards Division was just dispersed, they should take the initiative to contact us when they see us appearing. We should get in touch, how could we not hear anything from him until now?"
He looked around. Although Vlasov and Klimov were not in the headquarters at the moment, in order to prevent the walls from having ears, he still lowered his voice and said, "Comrade Political Commissar, tell me, the troops of the 13th Guards Division Will he rebel and surrender to the enemy?"
"Isn't this impossible?" Andreev expressed doubts about Tanasolov's guess. "Not long ago, the Second Battalion Commander sent us a telegram saying that more than a dozen members of the 42nd Guards Regiment were found at the station. soldiers. If Rodimtsev really ordered the troops to surrender, how could there still be soldiers at the station occupied by the enemy?"
"Comrade Political Commissar, do you think this is a conspiracy?" Unexpectedly, as soon as Andreev finished speaking, Tanasolov said shockingly, "Those wounded are just smoke released by the Germans. We were unable to detect the fact that the 13th Guards Division had mutinied and surrendered."
"This is impossible." Andreev said categorically. "You know, although the Germans rushed into Stalingrad, they did not successfully occupy the city, but were forced to engage in street fighting with our army. If If the 13th Guards Division really surrenders, they will definitely publicize it to demoralize our army."
After hearing Andreev's analysis, Tanasolov felt that it still made some sense, so he nodded and said, "Okay, since you said that the troops of the 13th Guards Division are still in the city, then I immediately sent people to search everywhere."
…………
In the past two days, Mamayev Hills became the focus of the German offensive, and the Soviet Union and Germany launched fierce battles here. Although Sokov's troops relied on tunnel fortifications to resist tenaciously, they still paid a huge price.
For the first time, military doctor Pavlov came to Sokov and complained to him, "Comrade Brigadier, there are now more than a thousand wounded in the tunnels, including three to four hundred seriously wounded. You also know that the air in the tunnels Turbidity is not conducive to the recovery of the wounded. If the seriously injured are not sent to the other side as soon as possible, they will die from wound infection."
When he heard the word wound infection, Sokov immediately thought that the US military should not have given the anti-inflammatory holy drug penicillin to the Soviet army. The drugs used to treat the wounded today should be sulfonamides with large side effects and insignificant effects. If the seriously injured were really left in the tunnel, the subsequent mortality rate would probably be very high.
Thinking of this, Sokov picked up the phone on the table and called Chuikov. He said straight to the point, "Comrade Commander, our battalion has three to four hundred seriously injured people who need to be evacuated to the east coast for treatment immediately. I hope you will Can you help us arrange a ship?”
"Arrange a ship?!" After hearing Sokov's request, Chuikov immediately became furious. "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, do you think I can get a ship? You know, all ships are used for evacuation. Citizens go out of the city, or transport weapons, ammunition and other supplies. It is not easy for me to use a boat, let alone you."
"But, Comrade Commander, they really need treatment." Seeing that Chuikov was unwilling to help, Sokov couldn't help but become a little anxious. "They were injured to protect Mamayev Heights and Stalingrad. I can't just watch them die in the tunnel."
"Comrade Commander," Gurov, who was sitting next to Chuikov, heard Sokov's angry voice and whispered to Chuikov, "I think the 73rd Infantry Brigade can be responsible for the search for the 13th Guards Division. After all, their station is not far from the 13th Guards Division, so it is most appropriate for them to investigate the truth."
Chuikov gave Gurov a thumbs up and praised his suggestion as a good one. But if he wanted Sokov to do his best for him, he must promise them some benefits, so he said into the microphone, "Okay, Sokov, you win. I have sent the Minister of Logistics and the Volga River Fleet." Discuss with the commanders and ask them to take your wounded with them when they return to the east coast."
"Great, Comrade Commander, this is great." When Sokov heard that Zhukov agreed with his point of view, he quickly covered the microphone and said to military doctor Pavlov, "Comrade military doctor, the superiors have agreed to make arrangements for us. Ship, send the wounded to the other side for treatment. You go back to the health team first. If anything happens, I will send someone to notify you immediately. "
After Pavlov left, Sokov released his hand covering the microphone and expressed his gratitude to Chuikov, "Comrade Commander, on behalf of all the seriously wounded, I would like to express my gratitude to you." Although under the current medical conditions, even if he is sent to At the field hospital on the east coast, many soldiers will still die, but it is better than staying in the tunnel and all dying.
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov," Chuikov took the opportunity to say, "Don't hang up the phone yet, I still have something to tell you."
When Sokov heard what Chuikov said, he couldn't help but feel a little bit in his heart. He thought to himself, "I knew Chuikov agreed so readily. He must have some intention. It seems that he guessed it right. Maybe there is a flaw in the defense line somewhere." Let yourself, the fire-fighting captain, lead people to turn the tide. Although he was full of slander in his heart, he still said sincerely, "Comrade Commander, if you have any instructions, please tell me directly. I will definitely work hard to complete the tasks you assigned me."
Chuikov couldn't help but feel secretly amused when he heard Sokov's voice actually had a tremble in it. He understood what Sokov was thinking, so he first gave him a reassurance: "Don't worry, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov." , although the current situation is very unfavorable to our army, I will not let you lead the troops to stop the Germans somewhere, but you have other tasks."
Chuikov's words immediately made Sokov feel more at ease. His men had suffered a lot of casualties in the past two days. If he deployed his troops elsewhere, it would weaken the defense force of Mamayev Heights. In this situation, he could not Would like to see.
"That's it, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov." Before Sokov could speak, Chuikov continued, "Rodimtsev's troops have lost contact with the headquarters for two days. The task I give you is Send people to search where they once stationed and find out where they are going, do you understand?"
Rodimtsev's troops are missing? This news was like a bolt from the blue, which made Sokov a little dumbfounded. Thousands of troops were gone without saying anything. This is too outrageous! He hurriedly asked, "Comrade Commander, is the 13th Guards Division really missing?" After receiving a positive answer, he added, "Do you have any clues?"
