After Zheliya ordered the troops to stop shooting, he walked out of his command post and looked at the looming figure in the distance. When he was considering who to send to contact him, he suddenly heard a rapid whistle from the opposite side. Hearing this whistle, Zhelia couldn't help but be startled, because this was a communication signal used within the 73rd Infantry Brigade, which is now the downsized regiment. How could the other party know?
While he was wondering, he heard a short figure walking towards the position. As he walked, he shouted in a childish voice: "Don't shoot, you are one of our own!"
"No one is allowed to shoot without my order!" After Zheliya gave the order to the soldiers around him, he asked the person who shouted: "Which department are you in?"
"They are from the 187th Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division." Sidorin quickly replied.
"The 187th Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division?!" Zelia searched the number in his mind and shouted at Little Sidorin: "There has never been such a unit in Stalingrad. Which part do you belong to?"
As Chuikov's messenger, little Sidolin had been to Mamayev Heights many times. He heard the voice of the person speaking in the trench that seemed familiar. After hesitating for a moment, he asked cautiously: "Are you Zheliya?"
Zheliya was stunned when he heard that the other party actually called out his order, and quickly asked: "Who are you, and how do you know my name?"
After confirming that the person speaking in the trench was really Zelia, Little Cidolin couldn't help but be overjoyed. He quickly said loudly: "Zelia, can't you even hear my voice? I am Cisterin, little Cisterin ah!"
"Ah, it's Xiao Xidorin." Zhelia heard that the other party was Xiao Xidorin, and quickly climbed out of the trench with two soldiers and walked towards Xiao Xidorin. At the same time, he asked curiously: "You are not at the group army headquarters. Stay, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"
Xiao Xiduolin replied: "The deputy chief of staff asked me to be a guide for the new troops entering the city..."
"Where is the commander of the friendly forces?" After listening to Xiao Xidorin's story, Zheliya said quickly: "Take me to see him quickly."
A moment later, Sidorin appeared in front of Kisrei with Zelia. After Zheliya saw the opponent's military rank clearly, he quickly straightened up and reported to the opponent: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I am Zheliya, the commander of the fifth company of the second battalion of the 41st Guards Division's downsizing regiment. Regarding the misunderstanding that just occurred, I would like to report to the other party. You apologize."
In the firefight just now, the 187th Regiment suffered more than a dozen casualties, which made Kislay feel angry. Seeing that the culprit was right in front of him, he became furious: "Comrade Lieutenant, what did you do? You actually treat your own people as enemies to attack? Do you know that in the firefight that just ended, we suffered more than a dozen casualties?" Soldier, you are responsible for what happened."
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel!" Zheliya waited for Kisrei to finish and said calmly: "We did not receive notification from our superiors and did not know that friendly troops would arrive after dark, so there was a misunderstanding. It’s inevitable.”
Zheliya's words left Kislay speechless for a while. After a while, he blushed and asked: "Why are you using German weapons? When I heard the gunshots, I really thought this building Already occupied by the Germans.”
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the reason why we use German weapons is because our troops have relied on weapons seized from the enemy to equip themselves since their formation." Zheliya replied: "And the current transportation situation is so difficult. Under such circumstances, we use German weapons so that we can more easily seize weapons and ammunition from the battlefield to replenish ourselves."
Seeing that Zheliya was neither humble nor arrogant to him, Kisrei couldn't say anything else, so he could only change the subject in time: "Comrade Lieutenant, are you the supreme commander here?"
"No, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Zhelia turned his head and glanced at the dark building, and replied: "The deputy battalion commander, Captain Golia, is in the building. I can take you to see him."
A few minutes later, Kist followed Golia to the switchboard room of the building, where he met Golia. When Golia learned that the other party was coming to take over his defense, he did not immediately agree to hand over the defense of the building. Instead, he said politely: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please wait a moment. I want to ask our superiors for instructions on this matter." , after getting permission, I will hand over the defense to you."
To Goliath's proposal, Christ did not object, but nodded, stretched out his hand and made a gesture, instructing Goliath to call his superiors.
"Comrade Krava," Golia walked behind the female operator and said to her: "Get me through the regiment headquarters immediately. I want to report this information to the regiment leader immediately."
After receiving the call from Goliya, Belkin was immediately confused. He said doubtfully: "Captain Goliya, I didn't receive a notice from my superiors that there are troops coming to your place to take over the defense?" In order to do this? Knowing what was going on, he told Goliath, "Don't hang up the phone yet. I'll call the division headquarters to ask."
When Sokov received an inquiry call from Bergin, he thought that Bergin had made a mistake, and asked specifically: "My Comrade Political Commissar, during the day, I heard that Commander Chuikov had sent his only remaining The security company was sent to the Dzerzhinsky Factory to take over the defense of Building 4. Is this the security company?"
"No, Misha." Belkin shook his head and said, "It's the troops that just came from the east bank of the Volga River. Their designation is the 187th Regiment of the 45th Infantry Division. They are led by a deputy commander named Kislay. , he said that he went to Building 4 to take over the defense on the order of Colonel Vitkov, deputy chief of staff of the Army Group."
In order to find out what was going on, Sokov said into the phone: "Political Commissar, don't hang up the phone yet. I'll call the headquarters first to find out what's going on." After saying that, he looked up and asked. Sidorin, standing opposite, said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, has the Army Headquarters mentioned sending troops to take over the defense of Building 4?"
"No!" Sidorin shook his head and replied: "I did not receive such a notice."
Seeing that Sidorin knew nothing about this matter, Sokov picked up another phone and called the army headquarters: "I am Colonel Sokov. Please help me find Commander Chuikov. I have something important." Please report to him."
Soon, a slightly tired voice came from the receiver: "I am Chuikov, Colonel Sokov. Is there anything important you are calling me so late?"
"Comrade Commander, I would like to ask," Sokov asked bluntly: "How come the superiors did not say hello to us when they sent troops to take over the defense of Building 4?"
"Building No. 4? Are you talking about Building No. 4?" After Chuikov received the confirmation, he asked puzzledly: "Haven't all our troops holding Building No. 4 been withdrawn? How could I send troops to take over the defense? ?”
As Kislay's troops had just crossed the Volga River, they were directly sent to the factory by Colonel Vitkov, deputy chief of staff of the group army. The matter had not yet been reported to the superiors, so that not only the grassroots commanders did not know about it, but even Chuikov I don't know anything about this either.
"My subordinates reported to me." After hearing Chuikov's answer, Sokov immediately understood that there must be a problem with communication among all parties. This situation was a very common phenomenon in the Soviet army, and he quickly explained to Chuikov Said: "Not long ago, two battalions of the 45th Infantry Division came to Building 4 to take over the defense of our unit. Since I did not receive relevant notification in advance, I feel it is necessary to call you to verify."
When Chuikov heard this, he quickly covered the microphone with his hand and asked Krylov, who was standing not far away: "Comrade Chief of Staff, according to the original plan, the troops of the 45th Infantry Division should cross the river tonight, right? They have arrived on the west bank. How do you plan to deploy them after that?"
"Colonel Vitkov, deputy chief of staff, stays by the river. He will allocate the troops crossing the river based on the actual situation on the battlefield." Krylov explained to Chuikov: "As for Building No. 4, we are the command building. The militiamen and staff inside were withdrawn and went to the rear to form a new defensive zone."
"I understand." After Chuikov understood what was going on, he released his hand covering the microphone, "Colonel Sokov, I understand that the troops of the 187th Regiment were sent by Colonel Vitkov, because he hadn't had time yet. Report to us, so we know nothing about the defense. So, you have your men hand over the defense to the 187th Regiment, and then withdraw to the original defensive position."
"Yes, Comrade Commander, I will give them an order immediately!" After ending the call with Chuikov, Sokov picked up the microphone on the table and said to Belkin: "Comrade Political Commissar, order those who will stick to Building No. 4. Troops, hand over the defense to the incoming friendly forces, and then withdraw to the archives building."
Half an hour later, Golia and Zhelia, who had completed the handover of defense tasks, led the commanders and fighters of the fifth company to withdraw from Building 4 and the peripheral positions in an orderly manner, and headed towards the archives building in the dark. In order to avoid misunderstandings with his own people along the way, Golia sent a sharp knife squad to be responsible for vigilance and liaison work at the front.
When passing through the defense area of the 109th Guards Regiment, Zhelia slowed down and asked Golia: "Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, our Sixth Company is still stationed here, do you want to order them to retreat together?"
Zhelia's question really stumped Goliya. Although Belkin called and ordered him to lead his troops to withdraw to the archives building, he did not say whether the two companies would withdraw together or only the fifth company. He hesitated for a long time, and finally said with some embarrassment: "I think we should send someone to contact Colonel Omelichenko to see what he means, and then decide whether to withdraw the Sixth Company to the archives building."
Golya sent a messenger to Omelichenko's regiment headquarters, informed him of the news of the unit's defense change, and asked him if he could withdraw the Sixth Company as well. After Omelichenko received the news that Golya was retreating with his troops, he immediately followed Golya's communications troops and caught up with him. As soon as they met, he held Golia's hand tightly and asked curiously: "Comrade Captain, why did you retreat overnight?"
"That's right, Comrade Colonel." Golia quickly replied: "There is a force that has just come from the east coast to take over our defense. We were ordered to return to the Archives Building to strengthen the defense. If possible, I would like to The Sixth Company returned to its original state."
Omelichenko came to see Goliya in person, hoping that the other party would leave the Sixth Company to assist in the defense. After all, there were only more than fifty people left in his regiment, and even with the guard company sent by Chuikov, it would not be enough. Two hundred men were simply unable to withstand the ferocious attack that the Germans might launch. But now he heard that the new troops coming from the east coast were taking over the defense of Building 4. He quickly asked: "Comrade Captain, how many people are there in the new troops?"
"There are two battalions, about a thousand people." Golya heard Omelichenko's voiceover and explained to him: "These troops are used to defend Building 4 and your position. It’s more than enough.”
Omelchenko calculated in his mind that there were more than a thousand new troops, and 500 of them came out to assist him in defense, so there should be no problem in holding on to the position. Then it doesn't make much sense to keep the sixth company of the reduced regiment. Moreover, the archives building is on the left wing of the factory. As long as the shrinking regiment can hold its position, the enemy will not be able to attack the factory from the flank. Thinking of this, he said reasonably: "Comrade Captain, since you want to return to the archives building, I will immediately send someone to notify the sixth company commander and ask him to return to the army immediately and return to the archives building with you."
Golya thought that if he allowed the Sixth Company to return to the army, he would have to argue with Omelichenko for a long time, but the other party agreed to return to the army so readily, which was really beyond his expectation. In order to avoid long nights and nightmares, Golia quickly sent two communications soldiers to follow Omelichenko back to the position and notify the commanders and fighters of the Sixth Company to retreat.
After struggling until the middle of the night, Golya finally returned to the archives building with the fifth and sixth companies, and immediately went to the regiment command post in the basement to report to Belkin.
Seeing Golya walking into the command post, Belkin quickly went up to him and shook hands with him, and said at the same time: "Captain Golya, thank you for your hard work. I have already reported to the division headquarters about your performance in today's battle. The teacher is very satisfied with you."
Hearing Belkin's praise of himself, Golya straightened up quickly and said: "Serve the Soviet Motherland!"
"Comrade Captain, judging from your performance today, you have served very well!" After praising Goliath, Belkin continued: "Let the soldiers stay in the basement to rest and recharge their batteries. Maybe you will have to fight again at dawn."
"Understood, comrade leader!" After Golia finished answering, he asked again: "Do you allow me to leave?"
"Permission, permission!" Belkin nodded vigorously, then lightly slapped Golia twice on the shoulder, and said, "Go back quickly and seize the time to rest!"
After Golia left, the regiment chief of staff, Captain Vanya, breathed a sigh of relief and said with relief: "Comrade regiment leader, once Golia returns with his troops, we will have enough strength and friendly forces will come to take over the defense." Until then, hold on to the archives building."
