There is no moon in the sky, but the firelight from the burning buildings in the city can illuminate the way forward for a group of people walking through the ruins. Sokov found that as far as he could see, there were ruins everywhere, and no complete building could be seen at all. This was evident from the intensity of the German bombing and shelling of the city.
"Damn it, these damn Germans!" When Yakov saw all this, he couldn't help complaining: "Look what they have done, how have they destroyed such a great city?"
"Who's talking behind?!" A voice suddenly came from the front of the team: "Do you want the Germans to find us?" As soon as the voice fell, there was a rush of footsteps from the front, and a soldier wearing a steel helmet Appearing in front of Sokov and Yakov, he asked in a low voice: "Who was speaking just now?"
With the help of the firelight, Sokov recognized the person who asked the question as the squad leader of the security squad. He quickly apologized on behalf of Yakov: "I'm sorry, Comrade Sergeant. It's my fault. I didn't dare to speak casually. Please forgive me!"
After the sergeant squad leader saw clearly that the speaker was Sokov, he immediately swallowed all the words he was planning to complain about. "Comrade Brigadier, the area ahead is occupied by the enemy. We need to maintain absolute silence when passing through. Please stop talking from now on."
After the soldiers left, Yakov approached Sokov and whispered: "Misha, I'm so sorry just now..."
Sokov quickly made a silent gesture to Yakov and said to him in a low voice: "Don't talk yet. If you have anything to do, we'll talk about it when we get there."
There are ruins everywhere in the city, and the original streets have long been changed. Even a native of Stalingrad will inevitably get lost while walking in such a city at night when visibility is low. Fortunately, the soldiers who led Sokov and his team had walked this winding road countless times, so they were able to successfully lead them through the ruins and arrived near the Vasily Building.
Seeing the four-story building appearing in the distance, Sokov thought he might be almost there. He quickly called a soldier beside him and ordered him: "Comrade soldier, go to the front and ask your squad leader if we are going to the place?"
The soldier agreed and was about to speed up and move forward, but was stopped by Sokov, who had changed his mind: "Forget it, I'll ask in person." After that, he speeded up and walked forward. Yakov quickly followed.
After catching up with the sergeant who was leading the way, Sokov asked in a low voice: "Comrade Sergeant, how long do we have until we reach our destination."
"Comrade Brigadier," the sergeant replied in a low voice, "We are only two to three hundred meters away from the building. We will reach our destination in just a few minutes."
The group of people walked forward for about a hundred meters, when suddenly there was the sound of a gun being pushed in front of them, and then someone asked sharply: "Stop! Password?" The sudden appearance of the command caused everyone to disperse quickly, and They all hid behind the ruins closest to them.
"It's one of our own." The sergeant hiding next to Sokov quickly replied: "I am Sergeant Duronin from the brigade guard company. I have something urgent to see Sergeant Vasily." He was deeply afraid that the person who asked for the password was The Germans were pretending, so they did not say that the brigade commander Sokov was by their side, but only said that they had something to see Vasily.
A moment later, a soldier wearing a steel helmet appeared from behind a broken wall not far ahead. He smiled and said, "It turns out to be Sergeant Duronin. I almost misunderstood."
Sergeant Duronin recognized that the speaker was a soldier he was familiar with, so he whispered to Sokov: "Comrade Brigadier, you are one of our own." After saying that, he stood up and faced the other party. He walked over to where he was and asked, "Why are you the only one on duty tonight?"
"How could it be me alone?" The soldier said, lighting up a flashlight covered with a red cloth, and turned around in the direction of the building. Soon, a red dot also appeared in the direction of the building, and it followed the same pattern and turned in a circle. After doing all this, the soldier turned to Duronin and said: "Comrade Sergeant, take your people and turn left five meters away from me. Mines have been laid in front of me."
When Sokov saw that there was only one soldier on duty outside the building, he was very dissatisfied with Vasily. He felt that his vigilance was not high. There was only one soldier in such an important position. If the enemy came secretly, Whistle, what should I do? But what happened next made him feel that he was worrying too much. Even though there was only one sentry here, there was at least one machine gun in the building, facing where he was standing. If the sentries find something is wrong, they only need to send out a signal, and the machine guns in the building can fire wildly, beating the enemies who sneak attack into pieces. Moreover, the front of the sentry is covered with mines. Although it is only a few meters away, if the enemy wants to sneak attack on him, he may end up stealing the chicken but losing the rice.
Sokov and the others entered a communication trench according to the location pointed by the sentry. Sergeant Duronin whispered to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, we can enter the building directly along this communication trench."
As everyone walked forward along the traffic trench, Sokov unexpectedly discovered that in addition to the sentries, there were at least three other soldiers hiding in the traffic trench. They are all equipped with submachine guns. Even if a large group of enemies rushes forward, they can withstand it for a while with the weapons in their hands.
Before entering the building, Yakov approached Sokov again and said in an approving tone: "Misha, although I have never seen Sergeant Vasily, judging from his defensive arrangements, he will He must be an excellent commander.”
Several soldiers were sitting on the stairs, laughing quietly. They stood up quickly when they saw a group of people walking in from outside the building. After seeing Sokov clearly in the crowd, they all raised their hands to their foreheads, saluted Sokov, and said: "Hello, brigade commander, we held here and did not let the Germans advance a step."
"Well done, comrades, you are all well done." Sokov took two steps forward, stretched out his hand to shake hands with the soldiers one by one, and finally asked the soldier who spoke: "Comrade soldier, do you know Sergeant Vasily?" Where?"
"I'm here, Comrade Brigade Commander." Before the soldier could speak, a deep voice sounded from behind Sokov: "I'm here."
Sokov turned around and saw Vasily walking towards him with a sniper rifle on his back. His originally brand-new military uniform was now covered in dust, with brown spots on it that looked like blood stains. After he came to Sokov, he stood up and saluted and said: "Comrade Brigadier, Sergeant Vasily reports to you that we are holding on to the building, please give us instructions!"
"Sergeant Vasily, you and your men are all good." Sokov held Vasily's cold hand and said with a smile: "I heard that you stood here and destroyed more than a dozen German vehicles. tanks, and killed hundreds of German soldiers. This is really an amazing achievement."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," Vasily replied with some embarrassment after hearing Sokov's praise for himself: "Since we occupied this building, our superiors have sent us a lot of reinforcements, and they have also given us a lot of reinforcements every day. Replenish ammunition and supplies. It is because of this assistance that we can hold this place."
"Comrade Vasily," Sokov saw a large group of people standing around him. There were some things he couldn't say in public, so he coughed lightly, then pretended to be casual and asked, "Can we talk somewhere else?"
After hearing what Sokov said, Vasily realized that there were people standing around him. If there was something important to talk about, it would be a bit inconvenient. He quickly turned his body to one side and said to Sokov: "Brigade Commander Comrade, come and take a look at where I live, not far from here, on the second floor of the unit in the middle."
Sokov originally thought that he had to leave the building first and enter the building from another entrance before he could reach Vasily's resting place. Unexpectedly, Vasily led them directly up the stairs to the second floor. As he walked, he turned back and said to Sokov: "Comrade Brigade Commander, some places on the top of the building were damaged by German shells. You go upstairs." Always be careful.”
Apart from Sokov, Yakov was the only one who followed Vasily upstairs. The two of them followed Vasily, stepping on the broken floorboards and cautiously walking upstairs. After arriving on the second floor, Vasily led the two of them through several holes in the wall that people could pass through, and came to a room lit with candles.
Vasily stopped, turned around and said to Sokov with a smile: "Comrade Brigadier, here we are. This is where I live and is also my temporary command post."
Looking at the candlestick on the fireplace with three burning candles, Sokov reminded Vasily in a panic: "Comrade Vasily, how can you light candles in the room? The enemy will find out like this. .”
"Don't worry, Comrade Brigadier." Vasily replied with a smile: "It is blocked by two layers of thick curtains. The light cannot penetrate and the target will not be exposed. Please take a seat, both you and the major."
As soon as Sokov and Yakov sat down on the chairs brought by Vasily, Vasily came over with two ceramic teapots in one hand and a teapot in the other. He smiled and said to the two of them: "Comrade Brigadier , you must be tired and thirsty after walking such a long way, come on! Have some tea."
Sokov and Yakov each took a tea vat, held it in their hands, and let Vasily pour themselves tea. Sokov said with some emotion: "Sergeant Vasily, you are living a good life here."
Vasily grinned and replied: "Comrade Brigade Commander, because the location of this building is very good, enemy artillery fire and aircraft cannot destroy it, and we can rely on the favorable terrain to block enemies who try to pass in front of the building. Generally speaking, fighting here is better than other places."
Sokov waited for Vasily to pour him tea, took a sip, and then asked: "Sergeant Vasily, I would like to ask, how many defenders are there in the building now?"
"There are still 62 combat soldiers, Comrade Brigade Commander." Vasily replied without hesitation: "In addition to the reinforcements sent to us by the brigade headquarters, we have also taken in some dispersed friendly troops. In addition to the combat soldiers, There are still 17 original residents in the building. They were unwilling to evacuate to the rear, but took the initiative to stay to help us cook and take care of the wounded."
Sokov did not expect that there were nearly 80 people in this building. After waiting for Vasily's report, he asked with some concern: "Sergeant Vasily, there are so many of you crowded in the building, even if the enemy's Artillery and aircraft cannot destroy this building, but the casualties must not be small, right?”
"It's like this, Comrade Brigadier." Vasily explained: "During normal operations, we only use half of our troops as reserves, and the rest are hiding in the basement. In this way, we can avoid The enemy's shelling and bombing caused unnecessary casualties. If we need help, they will come to support us immediately."
"Comrade Sergeant," Yakov couldn't help but curiously asked after hearing this: "I would like to ask, when you need manpower, how do you summon them? Do you send communications soldiers to notify them one by one?"
Hearing Yakov's question, Vasily grinned, and then replied: "Comrade Major, we have a phone here! If we need support from our comrades hiding in the basement, we only need to call them and they can Come out of the basement immediately and enter your respective combat positions in the shortest possible time."
"There are still 62 combat soldiers, Comrade Brigade Commander." Vasily replied without hesitation: "In addition to the reinforcements sent to us by the brigade headquarters, we have also taken in some dispersed friendly troops. In addition to the combat soldiers, There are still 17 original residents in the building. They were unwilling to evacuate to the rear, but took the initiative to stay to help us cook and take care of the wounded."
Sokov did not expect that there were nearly 80 people in this building. After waiting for Vasily's report, he asked with some concern: "Sergeant Vasily, there are so many of you crowded in the building, even if the enemy's Artillery and aircraft cannot destroy this building, but the casualties must not be small, right?”
"It's like this, Comrade Brigadier." Vasily explained: "During normal operations, we only use half of our troops as reserves, and the rest are hiding in the basement. In this way, we can avoid The enemy's shelling and bombing caused unnecessary casualties. If we need help, they will come to support us immediately."
Hearing Yakov's question, Vasily grinned, and then replied: "Comrade Major, we have a phone here! If we need support from our comrades hiding in the basement, we only need to call them and they can Come out of the basement immediately and enter your respective combat positions in the shortest possible time.” (https:)
Please remember the first domain name of this book: . Mobile version reading URL:
