After dawn, the energetic commanders and fighters followed the armored vehicles and set out again. After two hours of rapid march, Sokov and the others arrived in the Orlovka area.
However, here, neither the sound of guns and artillery fire between the enemy and ourselves was heard, nor was the 67th Tank Brigade seen breaking through the German defense line. Sokov stood in the compartment of the armored vehicle, raised his telescope and looked around. On the empty grassland, he could see nothing except withered and yellow weeds.
"Comrade Brigadier," Golia asked curiously when he saw this situation, "Why can't you see anyone? Have we come to the wrong place?"
"This is impossible." Sokov said to himself that he came here based on the map and compass. How could he have found the wrong place? "According to the location provided by the army headquarters, Colonel Hidjaev's tank brigade should be nearby."
Although there was no trace of the tank brigade, Sokov was unwilling to wait and wait, so he ordered Golya: "Comrade Captain, immediately send four other armored vehicles to search in the four directions of east, south, west and north. The whereabouts of friendly forces.”
Golya waited for Sokov to finish and said cautiously: "Comrade Brigadier, we just came from the south. We saw no traces of friendly troops along the way. There is no need to send people in this direction, right?"
After Golya's reminder, Sokov immediately realized that he was a little confused. His troops had just come from the south not long ago, and there was indeed no sign of troop activity along the way. I think Hidjaev must have The colonel's tank brigade will not be operating in the south at the moment. He nodded and said, "Okay, then send troops to the east, west, and north to search for the whereabouts of friendly troops."
After the armored vehicle carrying out the search mission left, Sokov immediately ordered the telegraph operator: "Comrade telegraph operator, immediately send a telegram to the group army headquarters, saying that our unit has arrived at the designated location, but Colonel Hidjaev's tank has not been found. Brigade. Now I have sent search troops in different directions to search for the whereabouts of friendly troops."
After receiving the telegram from Sokov, Krylov couldn't help being shocked, and quickly said to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, something unexpected happened. Lieutenant Colonel Sokov called and said that after they arrived at the designated location, there was no Colonel Hidzhyev’s tank brigade discovered.”
"How is this possible?" Hearing what Krylov said, Chuikov asked in an unbelievable tone: "According to the intelligence provided by friendly forces, Colonel Hidjaev's tank brigade should have arrived at the designated location long ago. Comrade Chief of Staff, Did Lieutenant Colonel Sokov and the others find the wrong location?”
"Probably not." In response to Chuikov's question, Krylov hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov is very reassuring. I don't think he will make such a stupid mistake. "
After hearing this, Chuikov said dissatisfiedly: "Then why didn't they find friendly forces?"
"Comrade Commander, I think there may be something wrong with Colonel Hidjaev and the others." Krylov reminded Chuikov: "In my opinion, it is better to contact General Rokossovsky to find out what happened. what's going on."
Half an hour after the telegram to Rokossovsky was sent, he received a reply. After reading the contents of the telegram, Krylov could not help but be shocked: "Comrade Commander, General Rokossovsky called back. , they have lost contact with Colonel Hidjaev’s tank brigade.”
"Hell, they have all lost contact with the tank brigade, so how can Sokov's troops respond?" After Chuikov said this, he immediately ordered Krylov: "Get in touch with Sokov immediately and tell him , said that the tank brigade had lost contact with the Stalingrad Front, and asked him to increase the search scope and be sure to find the tank brigade."
After recording this order, Krylov asked Chuikov hesitantly: "Comrade Commander, do you think something happened to the tank brigade?"
"It is very possible." Chuikov nodded slightly and said: "If Sokov's troops cannot merge with the tank brigade, then our counterattack may end in failure."
Krylov strongly agreed with Chuikov's statement. He asked: "Comrade Commander, if this operation really fails, what are you going to do next?"
"What else can we do? All we can do is fight the enemy in the city. I am determined to make every street and every building in Stalingrad a tomb of the German invaders. I would rather turn Stalingrad into a We must not hand over the city to the enemy despite the ruins and sea of fire." Chuikov waved his fist and said solemnly: "We should do it. As long as there is one of our soldiers in the first house, even if it is just one person, it must be The enemy's unbreakable fortress. Soldiers fighting in basements or on stairwells, as long as they understand the overall mission of the group army, they will fight fearlessly to the last man and independently complete the mission they should complete.
We have no right to expect passive action from our enemies. The enemy will destroy us and capture the city at any cost. Therefore, we cannot limit ourselves to defense, but should seize every favorable opportunity to counterattack, impose our will on the enemy, and use our positive actions to disrupt the enemy's plans. "
Krylov was originally worried that Chuikov's troops would be frustrated due to their delay in getting in touch with Colonel Hidjaev's tank brigade. Seeing him so impassioned now, he felt much more at ease. He nodded and said: "Comrade Commander, you are right. Even if the enemy rushes into the city, our commanders and soldiers will tenaciously persist in fighting and will never let the enemy occupy this city named after the Supreme Commander himself. .”
…………
Sokov received a call back from the headquarters and learned that the tank brigade had lost contact with Rokossovsky's headquarters, but he still placed his last hope on the soldiers who performed the search mission. However, the higher the expectations, the greater the disappointment. An hour later, the armored vehicles that went on the search mission returned one after another. The crews on the vehicles reported to Sokov that no trace of the tank brigade was found within a radius of fifteen kilometers.
Although Sokov had been mentally prepared for a long time, when he heard the reports from the soldiers, he couldn't help but feel disappointed. He secretly thought: Could it be that Colonel Hidjaev's tank brigade has been annihilated by the Germans? It shouldn't be. After all, the tank brigade has 35 tanks plus an infantry company. Even if it encounters a regiment-sized German army, it still has enough strength to continue dealing with the enemy.
Golya learned that there was no trace of his own tank brigade within a radius of more than ten kilometers, and quickly asked Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we can't find any friendly forces that have broken through the enemy's defense line. What should we do next?"
Sokov did not immediately answer Golya's question, but said to the radio operator: "Operator, immediately send a telegram to the headquarters, saying that after our search, no tank brigade was found within a radius of more than ten kilometers. Traces of them. Ask them to send a telegram to our department for the next move."
While the radio operator was sending the report, Sokov said to Golya: "Comrade Captain, we can only stay here until we get new instructions from our superiors."
"Then how long do we have to wait?" Golia asked briefly.
"I don't know." Sokov answered simply: "It depends on how the army headquarters arranges it. It may be a few hours, or it may be a few days. In a word, before our superiors order us to retreat, we only need I can continue to stay here.”
After saying these words, Sokov suddenly remembered that some time ago, the 13th Guards Division, which was originally fighting between the Mamayev Hills and the Tsaritsa River, suddenly disappeared overnight, and even the division The headquarters lost contact with the army headquarters. Unexpectedly, a similar situation would happen again today. The tank brigade that was supposed to join him was now missing. Rodimtsev's troops disappeared because the enemy's shells collapsed the division headquarters, causing Rodimtsev, who was trapped in the basement, to lose contact with his troops and superiors. This time Colonel Hidzhyev lost contact. , I don’t know what the reason is.
Before receiving new orders from his superiors, Sokov decided to stay here and wait for Colonel Hidjaev's tank brigade. However, he did not ask everyone to stand in the open grassland and wait stupidly. Instead, he ordered a nearby Build fortifications on the hillside. In this way, even if they encounter a German surprise attack, they can rely on the cover of the fortifications to sustain them for a while.
After Golya heard the order issued by Sokov, he tried to persuade Sokov to withdraw his order: "Comrade Brigade Commander, you must know that we are wearing German uniforms. Even if there are Germans nearby, they will kill us." Treat them as one of their own. I think there is no need to repair this fortification, right?"
"No, Comrade Captain, the fortifications must be repaired." Seeing Golia's resistance, Sokov said dissatisfied: "What if the enemy sees through our disguise and attacks us? What do you think? How long can our current troops, weapons and equipment sustain the enemy's onslaught?"
"Understood, Comrade Brigadier." Although Golya was dissatisfied with Sokov's order in his heart and felt that he was making a fuss, he did not dare to disobey it on the surface. He could only bite the bullet and said: "I will immediately arrange for men to go to the hillside. Go up and build fortifications.”
When Golya personally took a company to dig trenches on the hillside, Sokov once again sent armored vehicles to search in different directions. Before the armored vehicle set off, Sokov told the commanders and fighters on board: "You must try to expand the scope of the search and try to find Colonel Hidjaev's tank brigade. If you encounter the enemy, do not open fire casually, and you must rush as soon as possible." Report back so we have enough time to prepare our defenses.”
