After Chuikov ended the call with Zholudev, he did not call Sokov immediately. Instead, he said to Krylov, who was holding a microphone in one hand and was very busy: "Chief of Staff, can you spare a few minutes?" ? I want to chat with you.? ｗｗｗｗ?.?”
Krylov knew that what Chuikov said must be something important, so he quickly said a few words into the phone, then put down the phone, walked up to Chuikov and asked: "Comrade Commander, what's the matter?"
"The Germans rushed into the Dzerzhinsky Factory and occupied the position of the 109th Guards Regiment." Chuikov said with a serious expression: "General Zho Rudev felt that he might not be able to support it anymore, so he called me specifically for help."
Krylov knew very well that the defenders of the Dzerzhinsky Factory were short of troops. Even if the position was lost, he had already been mentally prepared. But at this moment, when Chuikov mentioned Ruo Ludev's request for help, he couldn't help but frowned: "Comrade Commander, we don't have any reserves at hand, how can we support him?"
"If General Rudev proposes, let us come forward and ask Sokov to send troops to support them."
"Comrade Commander, this may not work." As soon as Chuikov finished speaking, Krylov shook his head like a rattle: "The defense area of the 41st Guards Division is so large, where can there be extra troops? Support the Dzerzhinsky factory?”
"There is no way. The current situation is very unfavorable to our army. If we don't send reinforcements, the factory may be lost." After a brief thought, Chuikov said in an uncertain tone: "I'll call Sokov Make a phone call and ask him how many troops he can mobilize to support Ruolujev and the others."
After the call was connected, as soon as Chuikov heard Sokov's voice, he said straight to the point: "Colonel Sokov, just now General Rudev called me and said that they have reached the most difficult time there and asked me to let you send The troops went to support them. Do you know about this?"
"I know, Comrade Commander." Sokov had long known that Chuikov would call him, and he had already thought about how to answer: "I asked him to call you."
After learning from Sokov’s mouth that what Zoludev said was true, Chuikov asked tentatively: “Colonel Sokov, I would like to ask how many troops you can send to reinforce the Dzerzhinsky factory. ?”
"Comrade Commander, the defense area of our division is too large. I am afraid that we will not be able to deploy too many troops to reinforce General Zholudev for the time being." Sokov replied briefly: "I plan to deploy troops from the troops stationed in the Archives Building. Two companies are sent for reinforcements.”
Chuikov couldn't help but feel a little disappointed when he learned that only two companies were going to reinforce. He thought to himself, if even one of Rudev's regiments can't stop the enemy's attack, what effect will you have if you send two companies? However, he knew that Sokov's situation was not much better than his own, and he probably didn't have any mobile reserves on hand. So he casually replied: "Well, you can send troops there as soon as possible."
Krylov saw Chuikov put down the phone and immediately asked impatiently: "Comrade Commander, what did Colonel Sokov say? How many troops can he send for reinforcements?"
"He can only dispatch two companies, and they are drawn from the troops guarding the archives building." Chuikov sighed and said to Krylov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, doesn't the headquarters also have a guard company? Why don't we just send them out?" They also sent reinforcements to the factory. In today's situation, one more person means more strength."
Hearing that Chuikov planned to transfer troops from the Guard Headquarters, Krylov couldn't help being shocked: "Comrade Commander, this is our only remaining organic guard unit. If they are transferred away, the security of the headquarters will be at risk." There are no guarantees.”
"If the Dzerzhinsky factory is occupied by the German army, our headquarters will become their next target of attack." Chuikov looked at Krylov and said helplessly: "At that time, it will be up to this company to block the enemy's attack." Attack ferociously?"
Seeing that Chuikov had made up his mind, Krylov could not say anything more. He could only nodded and prepared to call the guard battalion commander Major Gladshev and ask him to personally lead his people to the Dzerzhinsky factory for reinforcements.
Seeing Krylov's frustrated look, Chuikov said to him again: "Chief of Staff, you can send a telegram to the front army headquarters to answer our current predicament to Commander Yereomenko and tell our soldiers We are already facing depletion, and if we don’t send reinforcements into the city, we may not be able to defend the city.”
Sending reinforcements to Dzerzhinsky and requesting reinforcements from the front headquarters were equally important events for Krylov. He first called the guard battalion commander, Major Gladshev, and ordered him to immediately lead the only established guard company to rush to the Dzerzhinsky factory for reinforcements. Then he ordered the radio operator to send a report to the front army headquarters, reporting the situation in the city and making a request for help.
After receiving Krylov's telegram, Yereomenko fell into deep thought. After a long time, he spoke to Khrushchev sitting opposite and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, the situation in Stalingrad is very dangerous now. If we don't send reinforcements as soon as possible, the factory area in the north of the city is in danger of being lost. "
"But the base camp asked us to temporarily stop dispatching troops to the city, and prepare to complete the assembly of soldiers and technical equipment on the east bank before crossing the river to launch a counterattack." Khrushchev said with concern: "If we send reinforcements to the city at this time , will you be blamed by the base camp?"
"We can't take care of so much anymore." Yeremenko said solemnly: "If we continue to stand still, once the Dzerzhinsky factory is implemented, it will mean that the largest tank production base in the country will completely fall into the hands of the enemy. , we will lose most of our tank production capabilities. I think this is what the base camp does not want to see."
Khrushchev was a man who knew how to adapt. When he heard what Yeremenko said, he immediately realized the seriousness of the problem and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, which troops do you plan to send into the city?"
"How about Colonel Sokolov's 45th Infantry Division?" Although Yeremenko is the commander, he still seeks Khrushchev's opinion when making some major decisions: "This division is currently fully loaded. After entering the city, you can immediately take charge of the defense of important areas."
"When are you going to let them cross the river?" After Khrushchev asked this, he paused for a moment and added, "Cross the river by boat or cross the river on an underwater pontoon?"
"It's too slow to cross the river by boat. I think it's better to cross the river from the underwater pontoon." Yeremenko replied simply: "I looked carefully. After they reached the other side through the pontoon, they were not far away from the Dzerzhinsky Factory. If you reach four or five kilometers, you can reach the designated location in an hour. If you take a ferry to cross the river, not only will the distance be longer, but a lot of time will be wasted just getting on and off the boat."
"Now that you have considered the problem, give the order." Khrushchev said: "It will take a lot of time to get from where they are stationed to the river. Let them set off early and arrive early. destination."
When the head of the front army began to mobilize troops, Captain Golia, the new deputy commander of the second battalion, left the archives building with the fifth and sixth companies and headed towards the Dzerzhinsky factory where the fighting was fierce.
After ten minutes of forced march, they reunited with the remnants of the 109th Regiment. The regiment leader, Colonel Omelichenko, personally came out to greet Golya. After seeing the reinforcements clearly, he asked Golya in surprise: "Comrade Captain, are you a regiment?"
"No, Comrade Colonel." Seeing that it was a colonel who led people out to greet him, Golia felt a little flattered. He quickly replied: "These are just two companies."
"What, just two companies?" Omelichenko's jaw almost dropped to the ground after hearing Goliya's words, "Oh my God, your two companies have more troops than our entire regiment."
Golya did not discuss the issue of troop strength with Omelichenko, but took the initiative to ask: "Comrade Colonel, where do you plan to deploy us?"
"Comrade Captain!" With six to seven hundred reinforcements, Omelichenko immediately felt more confident. He said to Goliya: "Come with me, and I will take you to survey the terrain. "
Golya first called the two company commanders and gave them a few instructions before following Omelichenko through ruins one after another towards the place where the battle was most intense.
"Comrade Colonel," their whereabouts may have been discovered by the enemy. Several artillery shells landed and exploded not far from them. Omelichenko was worried about the danger, so he took Golia and hid in a room. In a hut that was completely destroyed. Golya listened to the artillery shells whistling overhead and asked Omelichenko loudly: "I want to ask, do you have any anti-tank weapons?"
"No, there is nothing." Omelichenko shook his head and said angrily: "Our regiment's anti-tank guns, mortars and anti-tank rifles were all damaged in the battle. We must blow up the enemy. Tanks can only be charged by soldiers using anti-tank grenades or cluster grenades."
When Golia heard this, his heart suddenly went cold. Without heavy weapons and long-range anti-tank weapons, the only way to kill the enemy's tanks was to rely on the soldiers to risk their lives. If you are lucky, it will be one-on-one; if you are not lucky, it may take more than a dozen lives to blow up an enemy tank.
Omelichenko did not notice anything strange about Golya. After getting back on the road, he pointed at the position occupied by the Germans in the distance and said to Golya: "Comrade Captain, have you seen that position? Our mission is to take the position back from the Germans."
