"Comrade Commander, let me introduce you." Anisimov pointed to one of the middle-aged men with beards and said: "This is Comrade Rezakov, the editor-in-chief of "Izvestia"; the one next to him It’s reporter Avdonin.” After a moment of pause, he introduced Sokov to the two journalists, “This is our division commander, Colonel Sokov.”
"Hello, Editor-in-Chief Rezakov! Hello, Comrade Avdonin!" Sokov extended his hand to shake hands with the two journalists and said in a friendly tone: "On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the Guards Division, I welcome you. s arrival!"
While Rezakov and the others were shaking hands with Sidorin and Ivanov, Anisimov leaned close to Sokov's ear and whispered: "Comrade division commander, according to reliable information, it turns out that the base camp is preparing to send A reporter from "Red Star" came to interview you, but before departure, he was replaced by the editor-in-chief and reporter of "Izvestia". It seems that your superiors attach great importance to you!"
Compared with Anisimov's face, which was filled with joy, Sokov acted very calmly. He couldn't figure out which newspaper, "Red Star" or "Izvestia", was more famous. He thought there were only two journalists, and when he was about to order someone to prepare tea for them, a young girl wearing military uniform and a camera slung around her neck suddenly burst in from outside.
Seeing the girl's appearance, Anisimov showed a smile on his face. He said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, this is the photojournalist Kopalova. She risked her life today to go to the front line." I took a lot of photos.”
It is a great thing for a young female photojournalist to appear here. Sokov quickly extended his hand to the other person, smiled and said: "Hello, Comrade Kopalova, nice to meet you. !”
Unexpectedly, when Kopalova heard Sokov say this, the smile on her face froze. After a while, she reached out and took Sokov's hand, and said dryly: "You Well, Comrade Colonel, nice to meet you!"
"Please, Comrade Kopalova." Anisimov stretched out his hand to make a gesture of invitation to Kopalova, and said with a smile: "You must be tired and thirsty after walking outside for several hours. Hurry up." Please sit down and have a cup of hot tea." After that, he took the lead and walked towards the square table where many people were sitting.
As Sokov and Kopalova walked side by side toward the table, they suddenly heard the female photographer next to them whisper: "Misha, I hate you!"
Hearing these words that were almost whispered, Sokov was dumbfounded: He seemed to have never met this female photojournalist, why did she say this? Also, why did she call herself Misha? Did she know her before?
With doubts, Sokov came to the table and sat down, smiled at Rezakov, and said: "When I just talked to Comrade Commander, he also mentioned you and said that you should have done it three hours ago. Arrive at the division headquarters. Seeing that you haven't shown up for a long time and are still worried about what happened, we have arranged troops to prepare to search for your whereabouts."
After saying this, Sokov remembered that he should report to Chuikov that he was safe and at the same time cancel the search mission for Seryosha. He turned to Sidorin and said: "Chief of Staff, now that Comrade Rezakov and others have arrived at the division headquarters safely, the search mission for Seryosha Company can be cancelled. In addition, call the commander again. Make a phone call and inform him of the good news about the arrival of the journalist comrades."
"Colonel Sokov," Rezakov asked when Sidorin stood up to make a phone call: "After arriving at Mamayev Hill, we followed Commissar Anisimov around. That’s why it took so long. I have a question to ask you, can you give me an answer?”
Sokov looked at the expressionless Rezakov, thinking that the other person's expression didn't look like he was asking a question, but more like he was interrogating himself. He tried hard to keep a smile on his face, nodded and said, "Comrade Rezakov, if you have any questions, just ask."
"Although it was my first time to come to Stalingrad, I knew very well that Mamayev Hill was the commanding heights of the city. Once the enemy occupied it, they could bombard any corner of the city with artillery fire and blockade the Volga River. Transport lines." Rezakov asked coldly: "Am I right, Comrade Colonel?"
"You are right. Once Mamayev Heights is occupied by the enemy, in addition to setting up artillery on the top of the mountain, bombarding every corner of the city and blocking the Volga River route, they can even use this place as the starting point for their attack to capture us. The ferry behind us cuts off the city's connection with the outside world." Regarding the question raised by Rezakov, Sokov gave a positive answer: "Therefore, we are doing everything we can to defend Mamayev Heights."
"Really?!" Hearing Sokov's answer, Rezakov sneered and said, "But it doesn't look like it to me. As far as I can see today, on the hillside facing the enemy's direction, except for bomb craters and Outside the corpse, there is no defensive position at all. I want to ask you, comrade colonel, is this how you defend Mamayev Heights?"
Although Rezakov did not slap the table and glare when he spoke, his words still made Ivanov and others look embarrassed. But Sokov just smiled faintly and said without condescension: "Comrade Rezakov, the German troops attacking the city have powerful artillery and air force. Any defenses we build on the frontal positions will be destroyed by their shelling and bombing. Destroy. As a commander, I have no right to let my soldiers stay in the fortifications here and wait to die."
"Comrade Colonel, you are wrong." Rezakov said reluctantly: "In order to defend the great Soviet motherland, no matter how high the price is, it is worth it. I think every soldier who holds on to Stalingrad, Everyone should understand this.”
"You are right, Comrade Ryzakov." Sokov tried his best to say in a calm tone: "I believe that in order to defend the motherland and defend Stalingrad, the soldiers are willing to sacrifice their youth, blood, and even precious stones. Lives. But as commanders, we should not make the soldiers pay unnecessary costs..."
Seeing that the two of them were at war with each other and that there was a possibility of a quarrel at any time, Anisimov quickly came out to smooth things over: "Comrade, Comrade Rezakov, don't get excited, and speak slowly if you have anything to say."
Ivanov may not understand Rezakov's attitude, so he came out to rescue Sokov: "Comrade Rezakov, in order to defend Mamayev Heights, we have paid the price of tens of thousands of casualties among commanders and soldiers. If Had it not been for the division commander's proper use of tactics, I think the number of casualties would have been at least several times higher."
Rezakov did not expect that the casualties of the defenders of Mamayev Heights would be so heavy. He couldn't help but let out an "ah" in surprise, and then said hesitantly: "I'm sorry, I didn't know the casualties of the troops would be so heavy."
Seeing that Rezakov was no longer aggressive, Sokov said calmly: "Our defensive positions on the top of the hillside and on the reverse slope are all in the blind spot of the German artillery fire. In this way, even if the enemy's artillery fire continues, It is so violent that it can cause very few casualties to us. And our defenders standing on the top of the mountain can wait for the enemy to rush up and give them a head-on blow, beating them to pieces."
In order to let the other party understand his defensive intentions in more detail, Sokov even took out a pen and paper and explained it to them in detail while drawing pictures. Sokov knew very well in his heart that Rezakov and the others would report the entire interview process to his superiors in detail when they returned. He could use them to let his superiors better understand how he held on to Mamayev Heights. .
Under Sokov's explanation, Rezakov showed a surprised expression on his face. He never dreamed that defensive warfare could be fought in such a way, which completely subverted his previous understanding. After realizing that he had wrongly blamed Sokov, he secretly regretted it in his heart and felt that he should not treat the other party with such an attitude.
After Sokov introduced the situation, he saw Sidorin walking in from the outside and couldn't help but curiously asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, where have you been?"
"It's like this. When I called Lieutenant Seryosha, he had already set off with his men." Sidorin reported to Sokov: "I just sent people to chase him back."
As soon as Sidorin finished speaking, Seryosha appeared at the door. He explained to Sokov with some embarrassment: "Sorry, Comrade Division Commander, I was worried about the safety of the political commissar, so as soon as I received the order, I did not wait for the troops to assemble. After that, we set off with Samoilov’s third platoon.”
"Seryosa?!" Before Sokov could speak, a surprised voice suddenly came from behind him: "My God, Seryosha, is it really you?! You are still alive!!"
Seryosha heard someone calling his name and looked behind Sokov in surprise. When he saw the person calling him clearly, an expression of disbelief appeared on his face. Without thinking, he pulled Sokov aside and walked towards the person who called him: "Oh my God, I read that right! Kopalova, why are you here?"
Seryosha came to Kopalova and asked with surprise: "Kopalova, why are you here?"
"You forgot, I am a photojournalist." Kopalova smiled sweetly at him and said, "It is normal to appear on the battlefield."
Seryosha originally wanted to say something, but when he accidentally saw Sokov standing next to him, he suddenly became a little flustered and quickly said to Kopalova: "Kopalova, I'm sorry, I have something to do, another day I’ll talk to you when I have time.” After saying that, she hurried outside without even shaking Kopalova’s outstretched hand.
From the conversation between Seryosha and Kopalova, Sokov heard that the two knew each other, and that their relationship was very unusual. Seeing Seryozha walking out of the division headquarters, he quickly chased after him to find out what happened.
"Seryozha!" After Sokov walked out of the division headquarters, he saw Seryosha's back not far away, and quickly stopped him, "Wait a moment, I have something to ask you."
Seryosha stopped, turned around and asked, "Misha, what's the matter?"
"Seryozha, it seems to me that you know Kopalova." Sokov asked tentatively: "What, have you ever dealt with her before?"
"What's wrong with you, Misha, there are no outsiders here, why are you pretending to be confused." After hearing this, Seryosha showed an unhappy expression on his face: "Even if you have registered your marriage with Asya now, But no matter what, Kopalova was your girlfriend before, you can’t pretend you don’t know her.”
"What, Kopalova is my girlfriend?" Sokov was so shocked by Seryosha's words that he stared at him in a daze for a while, then asked with difficulty: "Seryosa Sha, is this all true?”
Seryosha raised his hand and touched Sokov's forehead and said, "Misha, did you really lose your memory in that shelling and don't even recognize your girlfriend?"
Regarding Seryosha's question, Sokov replied awkwardly: "It seems that I was so seriously injured in that shelling that I can't remember anything." After that, he waved to Seryosha and said, He said, "Okay, you have nothing to do here. You can go back to the company as soon as possible."
