"There are no clues," Chuikov said helplessly. "Long before the headquarters was transferred, we lost contact with the headquarters of the 13th Guards Division. I sent several communications troops to Rodimtsev's headquarters. Unfortunately, there is no whereabouts, I probably died on the way."
"Comrade Commander, even if we can't get in touch with General Rodimtsev's division headquarters." Sokov continued to ask, "Then, can we always get in touch with the regiment headquarters of the 34th and 39th Guards Regiments?" Soko The husband asked this mainly because he considered that even if Rodimtsev's division headquarters was taken away by the Germans and lost its unified command, his two regiments should continue to fight.
"Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you may not know that because the 13th Guards Division crossed the river in a hurry, they brought very few communication equipment. In addition to the division headquarters and the Yelin regiment each having a radio station, the other two regiments have Combat missions are all communicated through telephones or communications troops." Chuikov replied, "It is precisely because they do not have a radio station that I cannot contact them."
Sokov thought that the reason why Rodimtsev wanted to equip the Yelin Regiment with a radio station was probably because the regiment was deployed in the factory area, which was too far away from the division headquarters. If there was a radio station, it would be easier for both parties to keep in touch. Even if the superiors planned to separate the regiment from the division structure, Rodimtsev would be able to learn the news as soon as possible.
"So, you don't have any clues at all." From Chuikov's tone, Sokov guessed that the other party didn't have any clues at all. He said with some frustration, "So, can we find the 13th Guards Division?" The commanders and fighters can only try their luck."
"Yes, we can only try our luck whether we can find the 13th Guards Division." Chuikov continued, "The reason why I give this task to you is because if there are surviving Guards soldiers who want to evacuate, If so, they will definitely pass by Mamayev Hill where you are. As long as you can find a few such soldiers, it will be very helpful for us to find Rodimtsev and the others."
"Understood, Comrade Commander, I will do my best." Although Sokov knew that the task assigned to him by Chuikov was almost impossible to complete, but since it was a task assigned to him by his superiors, even if he knew that it could not be completed, , we can only bite the bullet and say, "Try to find out the whereabouts of the 13th Guards Division in the shortest possible time."
"The ones who were ordered to find the whereabouts of the 13th Guards Division are not only your brigade, but also Tanasolov's 92nd Infantry Brigade." Chuikov said on the phone. "I hope you can cooperate with each other so that we can find the 13th Guards Division as soon as possible." The whereabouts of the 13th Division are very helpful.”
"Comrades," Sokov put down the phone and said to Sidorin and Belkin who were sitting in front of him, "Our superiors have just given us a difficult task to find the missing 13th Guards Division as soon as possible. "
When Sokov and Chuikov were talking on the phone, Sidorin and Belkin heard some of it. At this moment, the two of them had almost digested the shocking news of the disappearance of the 13th Guards Division, so they felt embarrassed when they heard what Sokov said. He didn't show any surprise. Belkin asked with a normal expression, "Comrade Brigade Commander, does the headquarters have any clues?"
"No clues," Sokov replied bitterly.
"Then it will be difficult." Sidorin spread his hands and said helplessly, "There are no clues, so how are we going to find them? It's not as difficult as finding a needle in a haystack."
Just when the three of them were in trouble, they suddenly heard a timid voice coming from the door, "Can I come in?"
"It turns out to be Asiya," Belkin said with a surprise expression on his face after seeing the person standing at the door clearly. "You are here to see the brigade commander, right? Stop standing at the door and come in quickly."
"Are you in a meeting?" Asiya took two steps toward the room, stopped again, and asked tentatively, "I won't affect your work, right?"
"Look what you said, Asia, how can you affect our work." Sidorin also smiled and said, "We are all our own people, don't be too restrained, come here quickly."
"Asiya," Sokov asked Asiya to sit down, then brought her a cup of hot tea, and then asked, "You came to me, what's the matter?"
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Belkin said before Asiya could answer, "You and Asiya chat first, while the Chief of Staff and I go outside to find a place to smoke a cigarette."
Sokov knew that he was lying when he said he went out to smoke, mainly to give himself and Asya some private space. He quickly waved his hand and said, "Comrade Political Commissar, Asiya and I will only talk a few words. It won't take too long. You don't have to leave." Then he turned to Asiya and asked, "Asiya, what are you doing?" What's matter?"
"Misha, the situation is like this." Asiya answered holding the cup, "Military doctor Pavlov just informed me that he is ready to let me escort a group of seriously injured people to the other side."
"Yes, I know about this." Sokov nodded and said affirmatively, "Pavlov said that if the seriously injured are left in the tunnel, it will be detrimental to their recovery from injuries, and there may even be a large-scale massacre." Death, so I begged Commander Chuikov to help us arrange ships to send all the seriously injured to the east coast for treatment."
"Misha, don't look at me staying in the tunnel all day long." Unexpectedly, after Asiya listened to Sokov's understatement, a look of resentment appeared on her face. "But the wounded I came into contact with If you have a lot of information, you will naturally be well-informed.”
Asiya's words confused Sokov, and he asked puzzledly, "Asiya, what news did you hear?"
"Do you think I don't know what the transportation situation is like on the Volga River now? To transport the hundreds of seriously injured people in the tunnel, at least two or three ferries are needed." Asiya continued, "You are in such a hurry to send away the wounded. , are you worried that Mamayev Heights can’t be defended?”
"Asiya, who did you listen to that said we were going to abandon Mamayev Heights?" After hearing Asiya's words, Sokov immediately asked with a straight face, "Don't you know that I once said However, as long as there is one person alive in our brigade, will we never hand over this place to the enemy?"
Perhaps it was the first time that Sokov spoke to Asiya in such a stern tone that Asiya's eyes turned red. Belkin couldn't stand it, so he quickly came out to smooth things over, "Comrade Brigadier, don't get angry yet. I think there may be some misunderstanding."
"The number of wounded in the health team has increased sharply during this period," Asiya explained with red eyes. "Many people said that if we continue to fight like this, our brigade will be exhausted sooner or later, so it is only a matter of time before we abandon Mamayev Heights. thing."
When Sokov saw his wife, he doubted that he could hold Mamayev Heights, let alone the other commanders and fighters. He felt that in order to stabilize the morale of the army, he must first convince his wife, "Asia, I am not going to hide this from you. The reason why the Army Headquarters agreed to transfer so many wounded people for us is because they arranged a plan for us. It's an arduous task. And transferring the wounded is just a quid pro quo."
"What kind of mission, will it be dangerous?" As soon as Sokov finished speaking, Asiya's question blurted out.
"There is no danger." Regarding whether he should tell Asiya about the disappearance of the 13th Guards Division, Sokov hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to tell her, "The Army Headquarters and the 13th Guards Division have lost contact. , the task assigned to us by our superiors is to find them."
"The 13th Guards Division?!" Asiya repeated the number and murmured, "This number sounds very familiar, as if I have heard it somewhere."
Before Sokov or Belkin could tell her more detailed information, she suddenly exclaimed, "I remembered that yesterday I heard a wounded soldier mention the 13th Guards Division."
"What? Did you hear the wounded mention the 13th Guards Division?" Sokov knew that the wounded in the tunnel health team, in addition to the commanders and fighters of the brigade, sometimes received wounded from other units, and maybe they were lying in the health team ward now. Among the wounded here were those belonging to the 13th Guards Division. He quickly grabbed Asiya's arm and asked nervously, "Did he say which army he came from?"
"That man is a sergeant," Asia said slowly. "He was sent to our health team after being injured two days ago. He seems to be from the 34th Guards Regiment, and should belong to the 13th Guards Division. Yes."
"Yes, that's right, the 34th Guards Regiment is affiliated with the 13th Guards Division." Seeing that the other party was indeed a wounded member of the 13th Guards Division, Sokov quickly asked, "What else did he say? For example, , how was he injured?"
"He said he was from the regimental guard company," Asia recalled the information about the wounded, and her speech became fluent. "The regiment command post was shelled by the Germans, and the building collapsed, killing all the people in the command post. They were all buried in. He was lucky, he was only injured by the flying masonry and rubble, and was rescued by a passing sniper team and sent to us."
The speaker is unintentional and the listener is intentional. When Sokov heard this, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration and suddenly thought of where Rodimtsev might be now. He quickly hugged Asiya, kissed her hard on the forehead, and said excitedly, "Asiya, thank you. You let me know where the person I'm looking for is."
Asiya didn't expect that Sokov would kiss her in public, and she immediately blushed. She murmured, "I don't think I said anything."
"It doesn't matter what you said. The important thing is that I already know where General Rodimtsev and the others are." Sokov held Asiya's hand and said to her, "Asiya, do you want more?" Escort the wounded to the other side of the Volga River and go back early to make preparations. Be sure to pay attention to safety when crossing the river. I hope you can reach your destination safely."
After sending Asya away, Sokov said to Belkin and Sidorin, "Commissar, Chief of Staff, I think I know where General Rodimtsev is?"
"Where is it?" the two asked confusedly.
Sokov pointed to the location of the Expert Building on the map and explained to the two of them, "As far as I know, General Rodimtsev's headquarters is located in this three-story building next to the Expert Building. . If I guessed correctly, the general and his command members should still be in this building at this moment."
"Comrade Brigade Commander, I don't understand." Sidorin asked in confusion. "If General Rodimtsev's headquarters is still in this three-story building, why doesn't he communicate with the headquarters? Where’s the contact?”
"If this building is still intact, the connection between the general and the army headquarters will definitely not be interrupted." At this point, Sokov looked up at the two people. "If the building has been destroyed by enemy shells, What about? The general and his command staff are trapped in the basement. Do you think they can still maintain contact with the outside world? "
"Even if the building is blown down, General Rodimtsev and the others are trapped in the basement." Belkin said with some disbelief, "But they can still keep in touch with the outside world through the radio."
Sidorin was much more experienced than Belkin. Hearing this, he roughly understood what was going on. He quickly explained to Belkin, "Comrade political commissar, the radio station can be set up in the basement, but the antenna must be set up in the basement." Outdoors. If the buildings are destroyed by artillery fire, it means that the antenna is also destroyed by artillery fire. If the radio station does not have an antenna, it is equivalent to a pile of scrap metal."
After Belkin figured out why Rodimtsev had a radio but could not get in touch with the headquarters, he continued to ask, "Even if the headquarters of the 13th Guards Division was buried in the ruins, what about their headquarters?" Where are the troops? They can’t all be buried in the ruins, right?”
"Comrade Political Commissar, you just heard what Asya said. The regiment command post of the 34th Guards Regiment was razed to the ground by German artillery fire." At this point, Sokov deliberately paused for a moment to observe Belkin's actions. When the other party nodded in affirmation, he continued, "Since the regimental command post of the 34th Regiment was destroyed by enemy artillery fire, the 42nd Guards Regiment may also suffer the same fate. Without the unified command of the troops, They will inevitably fall into chaos. Maybe they are fighting in various areas of the city at the moment and are temporarily unable to contact their superiors. Therefore, the army headquarters will mistakenly believe that this unit has disappeared from Stalingrad."
"Comrade Brigadier, what should we do now?" Sidorin looked at Sokov and asked, "Do we need to report this matter to Commander Chuikov immediately?"
"Don't be anxious yet, Comrade Chief of Staff." Seeing that Sidorin was eager to report the matter to the army headquarters, Sokov quickly stopped him, "The situation we mentioned is just our own analysis. Rodimce It is still unknown whether General Husband’s headquarters is still at its original location. Therefore, we cannot report the matter casually until it is confirmed."
"Understood, Comrade Brigadier." After Sidorin understood what Sokov meant, he nodded and said, "I immediately called the third battalion commander and asked him to send a company to search near the expert building to see if Find the whereabouts of General Rodimtsev.”
