Both Sokov and Vitkov thought that the matter had been settled. Unexpectedly, the internal staff of the special service section of the Army Group learned about the brigade headquarters at Mamayev Ridge through their own unique intelligence channels. This incident happened. After Captain Shubin, the chief of the special service section, learned of the incident, he immediately came to see Chuikov and asked him for instructions on how to deal with it.
After listening to Shubin's report, Chuikov frowned and asked: "Comrade Captain, is your information reliable? Why didn't Colonel Vitkov mention this when he talked to me on the phone?"
"Comrade Commander," Shubin was not affected by Chuikov's higher rank than him at all, and said expressionlessly: "It is obvious that Colonel Vitkov concealed the truth for those commanders who made mistakes."
Chuikov didn't have a good impression of these internal affairs personnel, so he turned and winked at Gurov, who was sitting next to him, indicating that he would handle it. When Gurov led his troops to break through the encirclement from the Kharkov area and retreated towards Stalingrad, he once met this captain on the road. Shubin was leading members of the Special Service Section to execute those who had been thrown away on the roadside. The soldier lost his weapon, and it was Gurov who stopped him.
"Comrade Captain," Gurov said in a somewhat rude tone knowing what kind of person the other party was, "I would like to ask, what do you plan to do with these commanders?"
"It goes without saying, Comrade Military Commissar." Shukin said in an official tone: "Just based on what they have done, I can send them all to a military court."
"If they are all sent to a military court, then who will command the troops in the war?" Gurov asked coldly: "Captain Shubin, can you command on their behalf?"
Gurov's words caused an embarrassed expression to appear on Shubin's face. He hesitated for a long time before replying: "Comrade Military Commissar, you should know that the duty of our Ministry of Internal Affairs is to eliminate enemies hidden in our army. …”
"In your mind, are these commanders all our enemies?" Gurov thought of the shocking row of corpses he saw on the retreat road, and couldn't help but blood rushing to his head: "Are you Are you going to shoot them all like you did outside Kharkov?"
Gurov's words reminded Shubin. He looked carefully at the military commissar in front of him and suddenly remembered that a few months ago, he had indeed publicly executed a group of cowards who threw away their weapons and ran away in the Kharkov area. He planned to shoot more people, but was stopped by the Military Commissar of the Southwest Front Army. Unexpectedly, he was transferred to the 62nd Army as the Special Service Section Chief, and met this military commissar again, but by this time he had become the Military Commissar of the Army.
"Comrade Military Commissar," Shubin recognized Gurov standing in front of him and replied bravely: "If I find out that the matter is true, I will not rule out the possibility of shooting them."
"Shut up!" Before Gurov could react, Chuikov began to get angry: "Now that the war is not good for our army, you still want to take advantage of the grassroots commanders. Have you ever thought about what if the 73rd Infantry Brigade If any of these battalion commanders have any shortcomings, the troops will fall into chaos. The happiest person at that time will be the Germans. They can effortlessly seize the high ground that they could not capture for two months. Maybe they will give it to you. Issue an Iron Cross in recognition of your efforts to eradicate a troublesome enemy for them."
"Comrade Commander, you can't say that." After hearing Chuikov's words, Shu Bin suddenly panicked: "I am also fulfilling my duties..."
"That's enough, don't say any more." Chuikov interrupted him before he finished speaking: "If you are still a Soviet soldier, then pick up weapons and lead your men to fight the Germans. Let’s fight to the death instead of engaging in internal strife here. Do you understand?”
Shubin stood there in a daze for a while, then gritted his teeth and said: "Comrade Commander, I understand. I will immediately take the comrades of the Special Service Section to the place where the fighting is fiercest to fight with the Germans." A face-to-face battle.”
Hearing what Shu Bin said, Chuikov was still angry, but a smile appeared on his face: "Comrade Captain, your attitude is more than adequate. We are soldiers, and our duty is to defend our motherland and people. Instead, spend your energy on this unnecessary internal friction. Go ahead, I hope to hear about the results you have achieved soon."
Krylov, who had been busy on the phone, watched Shubin walk out of the headquarters and asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, is it appropriate for you to let them go to the battlefield like this?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Chuikov turned to Krylov and said to him: "Put the Special Service Section in the headquarters all the time. If they have nothing to do every day, they will mess around and cause us a lot of unnecessary trouble. If If they are sent to the battlefield, these problems can be solved easily."
"But if something happens to them," Krylov asked worriedly, "How will we explain it to our superiors?"
"This is easy to handle." Chuikov waved his hand and said confidently: "If your superiors ask, just say that the enemy rushed near the headquarters. In order to repel the enemy, Captain Shubin and his men rushed forward bravely. After a fierce battle, they all died heroically."
Seeing that Chuikov had considered all the issues that should be considered, Krylov said nothing. After all, since the beginning of the Battle of Stalingrad, many internal affairs personnel had died on the battlefield. If the superiors really wanted to track down Captain Shubin's whereabouts, Chuikov's reasons would be enough to deal with it.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Chuikov didn't like to deal with internal affairs personnel, but he felt that what the other party said was certainly not groundless, so he ordered Krylov: "Call Colonel Vitkov immediately and ask him what happened. what happened."
Krylov asked the operator to get through to Mamayev Heights. Unexpectedly, after a while, the operator politely told Krylov: "I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, the phone number of the 73rd Infantry Brigade cannot be connected at the moment." He put down his phone. He picked up the phone and said to Chuikov helplessly: "Comrade Commander, the phone cannot be reached."
Although the phone call could not be reached, Chuikov could not be bothered by such a small matter at all. He immediately ordered the telegraph operator: "Immediately send a telegram to the headquarters of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, saying that they will get in touch with the group army headquarters immediately."
Only a few minutes after the telegram was sent, the high-frequency telephone on the table rang. Krylov walked over, picked up the phone and listened for a moment, then covered the phone with his hand and said to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, this is the call from Colonel Vitkov."
Chuikov pointed at Krylov with his hand and ordered: "Ask him, why are the commanders and fighters of the infantry brigade surrounding the brigade headquarters?"
Krylov nodded, released his hand covering the phone, and did not immediately ask Chuikov the question he wanted to know the answer to. Instead, he asked curiously: "Colonel Vitkov, I just called you, why can't you get in?" ah."
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Vitkov replied loudly: "The two hills to the north and south of Mamayev Hill were attacked by the German army at the same time. Lieutenant Colonel Sidorin and I are commanding the troops by phone, so you can Can’t call in.”
After figuring out the reason why the call couldn't be made, Krylov got back to business: "Captain Shubin, the chief of the special service section of the group army, came to us soon to report that when you took office in the 73rd Infantry Brigade, you were attacked by hundreds of commanders and combatants. The siege. Comrade Commander asked me to ask if there was such a thing and how it was resolved in the end?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, this is a misunderstanding." When Vitkov heard Krylov ask about this, he quickly explained to him: "When the commanders and fighters of the infantry brigade learned that their superiors had appointed a new brigade commander, they thought they were going to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov was dismissed from his post, and everyone did not understand the situation for a while, so a small conflict occurred. Fortunately, Comrade Belkin, the brigade political commissar, appeared in time and solved the problem."
When Krylov heard this, he quickly covered the microphone with his hand and reported to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Vitkov said that this was indeed the case. It was just a misunderstanding. After the brigade political commissar Belkin appeared, This crisis was resolved.”
Chuikov learned that the matter had been resolved, so he was not prepared to pursue it, so he said to Krylov: "Ask him, what is the current situation at Mamayev Heights?"
"Comrade Colonel," Krylov asked into the microphone: "What size of troops did the enemy use to attack you?"
"The enemy dispatched more than a dozen tanks and a battalion of infantry in the direction of Beigang; while here in Nangang, there are only a few assault guns and about two companies of infantry." After briefly introducing the situation, Vitkov told the Kremlin Rylov assured: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry, we will definitely be able to repel the enemy's attack."
When Chuikov heard this, he quickly walked to the table and took the microphone from Krylov's hand: "Colonel Vitkov, as far as I know, there are no anti-tank weapons on Mamayev Heights. If Letting the enemy's tanks approach the foot of the mountain and cover their infantry attack will inevitably cause heavy casualties to our army. How about it, do you need any help?"
Before Krylov called, Vitkov had planned to use the rockets brought by Yakov to bombard the tanks covering the infantry attack, but Yakov objected on the grounds that this new rocket It would be too wasteful if the bullets were used like this. Anyway, there is a rocket launcher unit hidden on the river embankment, which can be used to bombard the enemy if necessary.
When Vitkov heard Chuikov asking what kind of assistance he needed, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I know there is a rocket launcher unit hidden on the river embankment. I wonder if you can let them provide us with artillery support."
In response to Witkov's request, Chuikov thought for a while and replied: "I can let the rocket launcher battalion fire a salvo for you, but you have to send artillery observers to guide them in the direction of the shooting."
"Only one salvo?!" Witkov felt a little disappointed when he heard what Chuikov said: "Comrade Commander, is it too little?"
"Quite a few, Colonel Vitkov." Chuikov reminded the other party: "You are the deputy chief of staff of the group army. You should be very clear about the logistics supply situation. Now it takes a long time to transport a shell from the other side of the river to the city. It’s more difficult than transporting a box of artillery shells from thousands of miles away to the left bank.”
"Okay, Comrade Commander." Vitkov knew that Chuikov was telling the truth. Now, except for a few mortar teams, the artillery of the group army on the right bank only has this rocket launcher battalion hidden on the river embankment. Not only do they In order to provide artillery support for Mamayev Heights, he also needed to provide support to the defenders in the factory area. Therefore, he did not intend to cause Chuikov any more trouble, so he reluctantly agreed: "I believe that a single salvo can also give the Germans Cause heavy casualties. I will immediately notify the artillery observers and ask them to guide the rocket artillery battalion in the direction of the artillery strike."
Krylov waited for Chuikov to put down the phone and deliberately reminded him: "Comrade Commander, a few days ago you promised Lieutenant Colonel Sokov to let the rocket launcher battalion support the building on Soviet Street with artillery fire. As far as I know , The rocket artillery battalion does not have many rockets stored. If Mamayev Heights and that building request artillery support at the same time, which direction should we support?"
"Needless to say, my comrade chief of staff." Chuikov said with a wry smile: "Mamayev Hill is the commanding heights of the city. Once the enemy is allowed to occupy it, not only will our defense line be separated, but the enemy will also Artillery positions can be established on top and bombardment of our army's defensive positions with artillery fire from above will make it extremely difficult to defend the city."
"I have carefully looked at the map of the city. The building on Soviet Street is also very important in its geographical location. Once the enemy captures it, they can use machine guns and mortars to directly attack our ferry." Krylov said anxiously : "So we have to find a way to hold on there as well."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, why can't you even settle accounts?" Chuikov looked at Krylov and said: "If the Germans occupy Mamayev Hill and we want to take back both hills, At least two regiments of troops must be used; and as for that building, even if it is captured by the enemy, we can take it back with only one company or even less troops at best."
"I understand, Comrade Commander." After Chuikov's analysis, Krylov immediately had a clear standard in his heart and knew what was more important. He took the initiative and said to Chuikov: "I will give the rocket launcher to you later." The battalion commander called and told him that if he received requests from Mamayev Heights and the city building at the same time, priority should be given to the defenders of Mamayev Heights."
"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff, that's what I mean." Chuikov waited for Krylov to finish speaking, then nodded vigorously: "We must defend Mamayev Heights at all costs." ()
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