"No, we can help them." Belkin unexpectedly said: "Comrade division commander, have you forgotten that the troops currently stationed in Beigang are marine battalions from the Northern Fleet?"
Belkin's words were like enlightenment to Sokov. He smashed his left palm with his right fist and said, "Yeah, why did I forget the sailors on Beigang? Speaking of being on the water Rescue is their strength. I will call Captain Shamrih and ask him to send people to the river to rescue the barge."
Sokov grabbed the microphone and connected to the battalion command post in Beigang. As soon as he heard Shamrih's voice, he hurriedly said: "Comrade Captain, there is a fleet going down the river. It was encountered halfway. When intercepted by German artillery fire, a barge was hit by a bullet and caught fire. Now that the enemy's shelling has stopped, you immediately send people to the shore to wait to see if any surviving soldiers have been washed down by the river."
After hearing Sokov's order, Shamrih asked cautiously: "Comrade division commander, was the barge sunk by German artillery fire?"
"Oh, that's not the case." Sokov looked at the barge still burning in the distance and replied: "The bow of the barge is burning, but no one is seen on the deck coming out to put out the fire..."
"Comrade Division Commander," Shamrih heard this and interrupted Sokov's words first, "it may be that the entrance to the cabin was collapsed by the shell or blocked by fire, so the soldiers trapped in the cabin were unable to come out to put out the fire. .”
After Shamrih analyzed the situation of the barge, Sokov asked humbly: "Comrade Captain, what should we do?"
"Under the current circumstances, we can't do anything." Knowing that his comrades were in danger, but he was powerless, Shamrih felt very uncomfortable. He said to the microphone with a grimace: "We can only Keep waiting to see if the soldiers in the cabin can escape, otherwise even if my people rush to the river, they can't do anything."
After a pause, Shamrih continued: "But to be on the safe side, I will still send people to the river. If we encounter soldiers who have fallen into the water, we can rescue them."
"Then take action, Comrade Captain." Sokov said cautiously: "I wish you good luck!"
Just after hanging up the phone, before Sokov and Belkin could speak, the phone rang again. Sokov thought Shamrih had not finished speaking, so he grabbed the microphone and put it to his ear and asked, "Do you have anything else?"
"It's me, I'm Chuikov!" After a few seconds of silence on the receiver, Chuikov's voice came out: "I received a message from the fleet in the Volga River area, a barge carrying soldiers of the 41st Guards Division. , unfortunately was hit by German artillery fire and is currently seriously damaged. You must arrange manpower to prepare for rescue as soon as possible."
"I have arranged for soldiers from the Marine Corps Battalion to go to the river." Sokov waited for Chuikov to finish speaking and quickly replied: "If they see soldiers washed down by the river, they will definitely rescue them."
"We must go all out to rescue." Chuikov emphasized on the phone: "Rescue one more person, and you will have more strength in the battle."
After putting down the phone this time, Sokov asked Belkin tentatively: "Comrade Belkin, do you know what the structure of the barge is like?"
"According to my observation, the cargo barge used to transport the 41st Guards Division should be a cargo barge." Belkin explained to Sokov: "There are usually several hatches on the deck, even for soldiers to enter the cabin. That hatch was blown up or blocked by fire, and the soldiers could also come out through the hatches in other places. The reason why there are no people on the deck now, I guess is that those hatches are also blocked by something. "
"Is there any solution?" Sokov asked.
"I just took a closer look. There are three barges being towed behind a tugboat." Belkin said thoughtfully: "If the soldiers on the two barges behind could find a way to get on to the burning barge, maybe Can rescue the soldiers trapped in the cabin."
"Comrade Political Commissar, your idea is good." Sokov was excited and couldn't help but call Belkin by his old position: "The barge's moving speed is only a few knots, which can completely make the soldiers on the barge behind move from Swim up the river to put out the fire on the burning barge and rescue the soldiers trapped in the cabin."
"I suggest you immediately report this rescue plan to the commander and ask him to contact the sailors on the barge and ask them to send people to the barge to rescue people."
After dialing the number of the Army Headquarters, Sokov said into the phone: "I am Colonel Sokov. Please help me find Commander Chuikov. I have urgent matters to report to him."
"I'm Krylov." The voice of the army chief of staff came over the phone: "The commander just left with Comrade Khrushchev. If you have anything, you can report to me."
"That's it, Comrade Chief of Staff." Although Chuikov was not at the headquarters, he reported the matter to Krylov, and through him he could also contact the sailors on the tugboat and barge. "I estimate that the soldiers on the burning barge should all be trapped in the cabin. I suggest that the soldiers on the two subsequent barges swim over to help put out the fire on the ship and rescue the trapped comrades. "
"The soldiers on the barge are trapped. This is an obvious problem." Krylov waited for Sokov to finish and then continued: "The reason why the commander and Comrade Khrushchev left the headquarters was to rescue the barge. Regarding the warriors on board.”
"Rescue, how to rescue?" Krylov's words confused Sokov, and he asked puzzledly: "We are all on the shore, how to rescue those trapped soldiers?"
"Two armored boats have been hidden by the river near the headquarters." Krylov said briefly: "The commander and Khrushchev planned to send thirty soldiers from the guard force to take these two armored boats. , went to put out the fire on the barge.”
After ending his call with Krylov, Sokov immediately raised his telescope and looked towards the river where the headquarters was located, trying his best to search for the two armored boats that were about to set sail. Although Krylov did not mention why there were two armored boats hidden by the river, Sokov knew very well that these must be special boats used to transfer members of the army headquarters when the superiors were worried that the city could not be defended. Now, in order to rescue the unknown soldiers on the barge, Chuikov decisively used these two armored boats. It seems that he is still very concerned about the lives and deaths of the soldiers.
Not long after, Sokov saw two black armored boats sailing out of the river next to the headquarters, going upstream and heading towards the direction of the fleet. Seeing this, Sokov couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief and whispered: "The soldiers on the barge are saved."
Belkin didn't have a telescope in his hand. He didn't know what happened, so he asked curiously: "Comrade division commander, what happened? Could it be that the soldiers on the two barges behind had swam from the water to that one?" Is the barge on fire?”
"No." Sokov waved his hand and lowered his voice and said to Belkin: "The Army Headquarters dispatched two armored boats to rescue. I believe it won't take long for the soldiers on the barge to be rescued."
Belgin was a little puzzled when he heard Sokov talking to him in a low voice. He thought he was surrounded by his own people. Why couldn't he say something loudly, but he had to do it in such a mysterious way? After he heard that the headquarters dispatched two armored boats, he immediately understood Sokov's intention. If the soldiers knew that there were two armored boats hidden near the headquarters, it would inevitably have an impact on the morale of the military. negative effect.
Although the armored boat was sailing against the current, it took less than ten minutes to get close to the burning barge. After the armored boat docked with the barge, the soldiers on board jumped over one after another. Their division of labor was very clear. Some people put out the fire, while others used firelight and flashlight lighting to find other hatches on the deck, hoping to rescue their comrades trapped in the cabin in the shortest possible time.
Before extinguishing the fire on the bow, the guard soldiers on the rescue mission found a hatch on the deck. Not only was the hatch locked from the outside, but there was also heavy cargo weighing on the cover. No wonder the soldiers in the cabin were unable to escape. A second lieutenant smashed the iron lock with the butt of his rifle, opened the hatch cover with force, and shouted loudly inside: "Hey, is there anyone else inside?"
As soon as he shouted, someone inside immediately responded: "What part are you in?"
"I'm from the security battalion of the 62nd Army Headquarters." The soldier replied, "I was ordered to come to rescue you."
When he learned that the Army Headquarters had sent someone to rescue him, an officer who was all wet and his uniform was still dripping came out of the hatch along the stairs. He grabbed the second lieutenant's hand and said excitedly: "Comrade , thank you, if you hadn’t come to the rescue in time, I think our entire battalion would have died in the cabin.”
"Comrade Captain," the second lieutenant asked curiously after seeing the other party's rank clearly, "How is the situation down there?"
"It's terrible," the captain replied with a grimace: "The German shells blasted a lot of holes in the hull. Although we tried our best to plug the leaks in the cabin, we still couldn't stop the river water from pouring in through the holes. "At this point, he gestured with his hands on his abdomen, "The water in the cabin has reached my position. If you hadn't arrived in time, we would have been drowned alive in a few minutes."
After the captain said these words, he bent down and shouted into the cabin: "Comrades, the Army Headquarters has sent people to rescue us. Come out quickly." Following the captain's shout, a sound came from the cabin. There was a violent sound of water, and then one by one, soldiers who looked like drowned rats walked out of the hatch.
The second lieutenant turned around and shouted to his subordinates nearby: "The barge is about to sink. Let's look around quickly to see where the other hatches are, and then open them all to let the comrades trapped in the cabin evacuate quickly." .”
The guards and soldiers standing around agreed loudly and continued to look for the hatch that was blocked by the cargo.
