After the soldiers who reported the news left, the second battalion commander couldn't help but poke his head out from behind the ruins and looked towards the bridge. He saw that there was no movement from several German machine gun fire points. On one of the fire points, he could even see A soldier wearing a helmet lay down next to a general-purpose machine gun with his arms spread out.
Seeing this, the second battalion commander couldn't help but be overjoyed. He thought that even though he was so far away from the highway bridge, he was shaken to pieces by the explosion just a short distance away. The German machine gun firepower point was so close to the explosion point that it might have been shaken by the shock wave. died. Thinking of this, he quickly ordered several soldiers around him: "Pick back all the German machine guns. When the enemy attacks again, we can use their machine guns to teach them a lesson."
The soldiers who received the order agreed, bent down and ran out from behind the ruins where they were hiding. They quickly came to the German firepower point, picked up the machine guns and ammunition next to the German soldiers, and ran back quickly.
A soldier ran back to the second battalion commander with a machine gun and squatted down, asking him for instructions: "Comrade battalion commander, do you think we need to go along the river to find Lieutenant Ivanov?"
To be honest, the second battalion commander also wanted to personally lead people down the river to find Lieutenant Ivanov's whereabouts. But his reason told him that this was not possible. Not to mention whether Ivanov is still alive after the violent explosion just now? Even if he is alive, this area has been occupied by the Germans. If he leads people to search along the river, he may become a target of the German attack. Because he decisively rejected the soldiers' proposal: "No, the Germans have already occupied this area, and they will not give us a chance to search along the river."
"But, comrade battalion commander." Seeing that the battalion commander rejected his proposal, the soldier still felt a little uncomfortable: "Don't we care about Lieutenant Ivanov's life or death?"
When the second battalion commander heard what the soldier said, he was stunned for a moment. Then he realized that when he just sent someone to report the news, the soldier's hearing might not have returned to normal, so it was normal for him not to hear his order. He quickly said to the soldiers: "I have sent people to the regiment headquarters to report the news and ask the friendly forces downstream to help us find the whereabouts of Lieutenant Ivanov."
After listening to the words of the second battalion commander, the soldier realized that he had misunderstood the battalion commander, and defended with some embarrassment: "I'm sorry, comrade battalion commander, I didn't know that you should send someone to the regiment headquarters to report the news and ask friendly forces to find Ivanov." Lieutenant, please forgive me for my recklessness..."
"Okay, no more." Although the Germans have not responded so far, since this area is under their control, they will definitely send troops over soon. The second battalion commander does not want to waste precious time on attacking When the subordinates were explaining, they directly interrupted the other party's words and ordered everyone: "Comrades, before the enemy comes over, let's withdraw to the original defensive position."
After listening to the report of the soldiers sent by the second battalion commander, the commander of the 114th regiment quickly reported to Zholudev and begged him to contact friendly forces and send people to search for the whereabouts of Lieutenant Ivanov by the river.
After Zholudev learned that Ivanov, the hero who blew up the bridge, was missing, he quickly comforted his subordinates: "Don't worry, comrade colonel. I will immediately contact the commander of the 45th Infantry Division and ask them to send men to the river. We will look for Lieutenant Ivanov. Whether he is sacrificed or alive, we will find a way to find him."
After finishing the call with the commander of the 114th Regiment, Ruolujie ordered someone to call the 45th Division headquarters and identified himself. The division commander, Colonel Sokolov, who was directing the operation, learned that it was General Zoludev who called him. He quickly took the phone from the staff officer and said politely: "Hello, Comrade General, I am Sokolov." Husband, do you have any instructions?"
"That's it, Colonel Sokolov, didn't we receive an order from the Army Group Headquarters to blow up the highway bridge over the river outside the factory?" Zholudev said politely into the microphone: "One of my Subordinate, after blowing up the highway bridge to the west of the factory, he disappeared. I would like to ask you for a favor and send someone to search for his whereabouts downstream. Is it possible? "
Regarding Zholudev's request, Sokolov said with some embarrassment: "Comrade General, it's difficult to handle. You said that your subordinate disappeared after blowing up the bridge. I'm worried that he was already in the explosion and was blown up." He was shattered into pieces, and it is almost impossible for my people to find him."
"Colonel Sokolov," Zoludev obviously guessed that the other party might reject him, and quickly added: "I heard from the commander at the scene that Lieutenant Ivanov, who was responsible for bombing the bridge, was pulling the ignition missile. After setting the fire rope, he dived into the water and swam downstream. In other words, he had every hope of surviving."
"Comrade General, since you said so, I will immediately send people to the river to search for him." After Colonel Sokolov expressed his stance, he asked tentatively: "I wonder what his name is?"
"His name is Ivanov, and he is a Lieutenant of the Guards." When Rudolf saw that the other party agreed to help him search, he said solemnly: "Whether you find him or his body, you must Inform me. On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the 37th Guards Division, I would like to express my gratitude to you!"
"You're welcome, Comrade General." Seeing that Ruoludev was so polite to him, Sokolov seemed a little embarrassed: "We are friendly forces, and we should provide you with help."
As soon as he put down the phone, Sokolov asked his chief of staff: "Chief of Staff, which of our troops is stationed by the river?"
The chief of staff did not hear the conversation between the division commander and Zholudev. When he suddenly heard this question, he couldn't help but hesitate for a moment, and then asked: "Comrade division commander, are you talking about the Volga River? Our defense area is a few miles away from the river. Almost a kilometer away, so there are no troops stationed..."
Seeing that the chief of staff had misunderstood what he meant, Sokolov quickly waved his hand and explained to the chief of staff: "I'm not talking about the Volga River, but the river that surrounds the Dzerzhinsky Factory on three sides."
After the chief of staff figured out which river Sokolov was asking about, he lowered his head and glanced at the map in front of him, and then replied: "Comrade division commander, the 187th Regiment is stationed by the river, and not long ago, they blew up the factory. The highway bridge to the north..."
After learning that the 187th Regiment was stationed by the river, Sokolov quickly said to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, call Lieutenant Colonel Kisrei, the deputy commander of the regiment, and order him to lead a company to search along the river. A lieutenant who fell overboard."
"Lieutenant who fell into the water?!" Hearing Sokolov's order, the chief of staff showed a surprised expression on his face. He asked incomprehensively: "Comrade division commander, I don't understand why we need to mobilize all the troops to rescue a man." Where is the lieutenant who fell into the water? You know, the river outside the factory is only about thirty meters wide, and the current is not too fast. Even if the water is deeper, you can still climb ashore by yourself after falling into the water. "
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you didn't hear the call I just had with General Zorudev." Sokolov patiently explained to his Chief of Staff: "One of their Guards lieutenants was blowing up the west side. He disappeared after the highway bridge. If General Rudev called me, he wanted us to send men along the river to look for the lieutenant."
"So that's it." After Sokolov's explanation, the chief of staff finally made it clear what was going on, and quickly replied: "I will call Lieutenant Colonel Kislay and ask him to send someone to find someone who fell into the water." Lieutenant."
In this way, the task of finding Lieutenant Ivanov fell on Kisrei. When he led a company of soldiers along the river and started searching, the company commander who led the team asked curiously: "Comrade deputy commander, what are we doing?"
"I received an order from the division headquarters," Kislay explained to the company commander: "It said that a Guards lieutenant from the friendly forces disappeared after blowing up the highway bridge to the west. According to judgment, he may have been killed by the river. After rushing down, our mission is to find him. Do you understand?"
"Understood." After the company commander understood the mission, he shouted to his three platoon leaders: "Take people and search carefully by the river to see if there is anyone floating on the river. Once you find it, find a way immediately. Get him up."
Dozens of soldiers who received the search mission walked upstream along the river, their eyes scanning the river. Before carrying out this mission, they really didn't notice that there were so many floating objects on the river. From time to time, they could see corpses floating by, but they were basically German corpses.
After searching for almost an hour, the soldiers still found nothing. The company commander said to Kislay with some disappointment: "Comrade deputy commander, do you think this lieutenant would have been blown to pieces when the explosion occurred? If that is the case, we will search here. What a waste of time.”
"According to the report from superiors, the lieutenant swam downstream before the bridge was blown up." Kisrei was also very anxious when he couldn't find the missing lieutenant Ivanov, but he still tried to control himself. Emotion, so as not to affect the morale of his subordinates: "Comrade Captain, it has been a long time since the highway bridge was blown up. Maybe he has been washed ashore. Let your people search carefully. Don't let anyone go." Clues.”
The soldiers continued to search for Ivanov's whereabouts by the river. They not only wanted to see if there was anyone they were looking for among the corpses floating on the river; they also looked at the floating objects that had been washed away on the shore to see if Ivanov Was the husband washed ashore?
However, they searched for another hour and still found nothing. Just when everyone was about to give up, a soldier suddenly came over with a five or six-year-old girl and reported to Kislay: "Comrade deputy commander, we found this little girl by the river. She was walking along the river. Looking for food by the river."
Kislay knelt down in front of the little girl and asked kindly: "Little girl, what is your name?"
"My name is Jeanne." The little girl was probably used to seeing soldiers, so she didn't have any stage fright. She even asked proactively: "Do you have anything to eat with you? I haven't eaten in two days."
"Yes, yes," Kislay took out a pack of rusks from his bag, handed it to the little girl, and asked curiously: "Jeanna, where are your parents?"
While devouring her food, Jeanne replied vaguely: "They got separated. When we were crossing the river and boarding the boat, my parents and I got separated because there were too many people. I don't know where they are now." "
Hearing what Jean said, Keithre's nose couldn't help but feel sore. He raised his hand and touched the scarf on the little girl's head, and asked softly: "How did you survive alone?"
"After I got separated from my parents, I walked upstream along the river and finally came here." Jeanne said: "Here, I met a few little brothers. They said that boxes containing food would occasionally float on the river. Coming down, as long as we find a box, it will be enough for us to eat for several days. But for two days in a row, I didn't find a box that floated down from the upper reaches..."
When Jeanne said this, she seemed to think of something, and asked Kislay curiously: "Comrade Commander, I think you seem to be looking for something by the river. Are you also looking for food?"
Jeanna's words made Kisrei laugh, and he replied with a wry smile: "Jeanna, we are not looking for something to eat, but a person who drifted down from the upper reaches."
"People who floated down from the upper reaches?" Jeanna couldn't help showing a surprised expression on her face when she heard Kislay say this: "What kind of people are you looking for?"
Jislay suddenly thought that Jeanne had been looking for food by the river in this area. Her eyes must have been staring at the river. She might have seen something and couldn't explain it. He quickly grabbed her arm and asked anxiously: "Let her Na, you have been by the river, have you seen anyone floating down from the upper reaches?"
"Before you came, I saw an uncle in a white shirt, lying on a wooden board floating down the river." Jeanne chewed rusk and said disapprovingly: "I don't know if he is what you are looking for. people."
"Where is he?" When he learned that Jeanne had indeed seen a person floating down the river, Kislay couldn't help but be overjoyed, "Hurry up and take us to see him."
Jeanna took them more than a hundred meters forward and came to a small backwater area. Kislay saw a man in a white shirt lying motionless among the garbage on the shore. He seemed to have died. Passed out. He walked over quickly, bent down and helped the other person sit up, stretched out his hand to check his breathing, and found that he was still breathing. He quickly looked up at the soldiers who were following him and asked, "Which of you has alcohol on you?"
The company commander quickly took off the military kettle on his shoulder, opened the lid, handed it to Kislay, and said in a low voice: "This is the vodka distributed by superiors. I haven't drunk it yet."
Kisrei took the kettle, leaned close to the spout and smelled it. The smell coming from it was indeed alcohol, so he asked the company commander to help open the mouth of the man in white and poured a few sips of vodka into his mouth.
Maybe he drank it too quickly. After a while, the unconscious man coughed violently several times and then opened his eyes with difficulty. When he saw clearly that there was a group of soldiers standing around him, he calmed down first, and then asked in a weak voice: "Where am I? Which unit are you from?"
