On the day the vehicle transporting the wounded left, Sokov received a call from Chuikov himself: "Colonel Sokov, I have an important thing to ask you."
Although Sokov didn't know what it was about, since it was a call from Chuikov himself, it proved that the matter was very important. He quickly asked: "Comrade Commander, please give the order."
"You should already know that my former chief of staff, General Krylov, is going to serve as commander of the 21st Army, right?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander, I already know." Chuikov recalled that in his phone call a few days ago, he mentioned that Krylov was about to pass through his defense area and rush to the headquarters of the 21st Army to take up his post: " In addition to General Krylov serving as Army Commander, I also know that Major General Vasilyev will become his deputy and serve as Military Commissar of the Army.”
"Yes, your intelligence is very accurate." After Chuikov complimented Sokov casually, he continued: "They will pass through your division's defense area at two o'clock in the afternoon. I hope you can send someone to escort them and take them away. safety. How about it? Can it be done?"
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Knowing that Chuikov called him to ask him to send people to protect the safety of Krylov and Vasilyev, Sokov quickly replied loudly: "I will definitely do it. Keep them safe.”
"Colonel Sokov, although the Luhansk area is your division's defense area, you cannot take it lightly." Chuikov reminded Sokov on the phone: "But there must be German troops lurking nearby. You must be more vigilant. Never let the tragedy of Colonel Ivanov happen again."
Ivanov's sacrifice was a huge shame for the 41st Guards Division. Hearing Chuikov mention this matter, Sokov felt the blood vessels on his head pounding. After taking a deep breath, he replied: "I will send the most capable troops to protect Krylov and Vasilyev." Two generals, ensure their personal safety.”
After hanging up the phone, Sokov said to Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, Comrade Commander just said on the phone that General Krylov and General Vasilyev will pass through our division's defense area at two o'clock in the afternoon. Immediately dispatch capable personnel to protect along the way."
"The defense area of the 124th Guards Regiment is closest to the crossing road." Sidorin suggested to Sokov: "I'll call Lieutenant Colonel Starcha and ask him to send two companies to guard the road. Mission, ensure the safety of the two generals."
After supplementing the troops, each regiment has sufficient strength. The two companies have about 500 people, which is equivalent to a battalion of other divisions. Using such troops to serve as security should be able to ensure safety. Sokov nodded and said: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, assign a task to Lieutenant Colonel Starcha and ask him to arrange manpower to perform security tasks."
Sidorin quickly called the regiment command post of the 124th Guards Regiment and said to the person who answered the phone: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Sidorin, Chief of Staff. Let Lieutenant Colonel Starcia speak."
Starcia's voice soon came from the receiver: "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff! I am Lieutenant Colonel Starcia. Do you have any orders?"
"That's it, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Sidorin said bluntly: "At two o'clock in the afternoon, the convoys of General Krylov and General Vasilyev will pass through the transit road controlled by your regiment. You Immediately send two companies to guard there and ensure the safety of the generals. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff." Lieutenant Colonel Starcia replied readily: "I immediately sent two companies to rush over and set up security on the road to ensure that the generals' convoy passed smoothly."
Sokov thought of Chuikov's reminder to him, and quickly walked over to take the microphone, and told Starcha: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, before the convoy arrives, you have to send people to search nearby to prevent enemies from hiding nearby. Remember, the tragedy of the deputy division commander must not be allowed to happen again."
Although Starr is now Sokov's subordinate, he was Ivanov's old subordinate before. Ivanov's sacrifice made him very sad. At this moment, when he heard Sokov mentioning Ivanov's matter, he quickly patted his chest and promised: "Don't worry, comrade division commander, if I can't ensure that the two generals can pass through our regiment's defense area smoothly, you will send me to the military." court."
"Complete the mission well and don't think about military courts." Sokov said into the microphone: "I hope each of you can live to see the day of victory."
…………
Just as Starcha mobilized his troops and prepared to go to the transit highway to perform security missions, the convoy of Krylov and Vasilyev had already approached this area.
Vasilyev, who was sitting next to Krylov, smiled and said: "Comrade Commander, the weather is good today and the road is going smoothly. I estimate that we can reach the headquarters before dark."
"I hope so." Krylov spoke while looking out through the car window: "Although this is close to the Sokov Division's defense area, we still have to be vigilant, because there is something hidden somewhere. The enemy’s stragglers.”
"Comrade Commander, you are too neurotic." Then Vasilyev disagreed with Krylov's caution: "Now the enemy has already fled in panic under the heavy blow of our Voronezh Front Army and Southwest Front Army. How could it be possible to appear here on the other side of the Dnieper River?"
"Comrade Military Commissar, don't be careless." Seeing Vasilyev's nonchalant look, Krylov reminded him specifically: "Colonel Ivanov, deputy commander of the 41st Guards Division, is just a short distance away. Not far away, I was killed by an enemy sniper."
"Comrade Commander, I know very well what you said." Vasilyev said: "At that time, the 41st Guards Division had not yet entered Luhansk, and there was only one company of garrison troops in the city. It was difficult to maintain order in the city. It’s so difficult that we can’t even bother to clear out the enemies outside the city. But now that the 41st Guards Division has moved into the city and is building fortifications nearby, I’m afraid that the enemies hiding nearby will have already fled after hearing the news.”
The two were talking in the car when they suddenly heard a crisp sound coming from outside. Krylov frowned and asked the adjutant sitting in the passenger seat alertly: "What's going on? What's the noise outside?"
"It seems like a whip cracking," the adjutant said thoughtfully as he looked outside. "Maybe someone is driving a carriage nearby."
"Damn it, we didn't see anyone along the way. There would be no carriage anywhere." Krylov realized something was wrong and quickly ordered the adjutant, "Send a signal immediately to stop all the cars."
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the window glass snap, and then a bullet flew in from the window, shattered the window glass, penetrated into the adjutant's forehead, and flew out from the back of the head with blood foam. . Splashes of blood covered Krylov and Vasilyev's faces.
"No, it's a sniper!" Even though Krylov almost always stayed in the headquarters during the entire battle to defend Stalingrad, it doesn't mean that he doesn't understand what a German sniper is like. He pushed open the left door and shouted, "Jump out of the car!" Then he jumped out, rolled twice on the snow-covered road, and hid behind a snowdrift.
Drivers of vehicles in front and behind heard the sudden gunfire and knew they had encountered the enemy, so they also stopped on the side of the road. The commanders and fighters in the carriage immediately jumped out of the carriage, using the carriage or snowdrifts as cover, and fired back at locations where enemy snipers might be hiding. Countless bullets hit the snow on the side of the road, boiling like a boiling pot.
Seeing that their whereabouts were discovered by the Soviet army, the two German soldiers hiding behind the snowdrifts on the roadside stood up, picked up their weapons and shot at the Soviet army. However, as soon as they fired a shot, they were shot to pieces. , fell on his back on the snow, and the blood stained the white snow red.
Although the accompanying security forces used powerful firepower to suppress the area where the German troops were hiding, the enemy sniper did not seem to be hiding there. He was still shooting unhurriedly, and one soldier would be hit with every shot. The bullets fell, some were shot in the head, and some were shot in the abdomen.
Krylov, who was hiding behind a snowdrift, looked nervously at the snow on the opposite side, trying his best to find out where the German snipers were hiding. But unfortunately, he only saw a vast expanse of white snow and could not see at all. Don't reach the enemy's hiding place.
After the German sniper killed more than a dozen Soviet soldiers, he targeted the jeep parked between two trucks. He felt that the vehicle escorted by so many people must be occupied by Soviet soldiers. important tasks. He sensed that there were at least two or three people on the other side of the jeep, but due to the obstruction of the jeep, his bullets could not hit the people on the other side.
In order to achieve better results, he stopped sniping ordinary soldiers and instead pointed his gun at the jeep, quietly waiting for important targets to appear. After waiting for about two or three minutes, the Soviet army's shooting in the snow stopped, and the surrounding area suddenly became quiet. The snipers hiding in the snow did not move, and the Soviet commanders and fighters hiding behind trucks or snowdrifts also stayed still. The two sides fell into a silent stalemate.
A few minutes later, where the hood of the jeep was, a man wearing a helmet slowly poked his head out, trying to see what was going on outside. The German sniper immediately pulled the trigger without hesitation, and the man who had just emerged immediately fell to the ground on his back in the snow.
After the gunshot, everything returned to calm. No one showed up behind the jeep, and the soldiers on guard did not find the specific location of the sniper, so they no longer shot blindly like before.
Time passed by minute by second, and both sides were competing for patience to see who couldn't hold on. The German sniper remembered that he had an incendiary bomb, so he quietly replaced an ordinary bullet with an incendiary bomb, aimed at the fuel tank of the jeep and fired a shot. The incendiary bomb hit the fuel tank, and the entire jeep was instantly blown into a fireball. A moment later, a man covered in fire stumbled out from behind the jeep. Upon seeing this, the German sniper immediately fired a shot at the running Pyro, knocking him down in the snow.
As the burning man fell, the sharp-eyed soldiers finally discovered the hiding place of the German sniper. He pointed with his hand and shouted loudly: "The German sniper is hiding in the snowdrift under that tree." After finishing, he held the Bobosha submachine gun in his hand, aimed in that direction and started shooting violently.
The German sniper who discovered his hiding place did not even have time to move his position before being beaten to pieces by a hail of bullets. Seeing the blood that seeped out quickly in the snow, everyone knew that someone was indeed hiding there. In order to avenge their fallen comrades, some soldiers replaced one drum with a new one and continued to aim and shoot there.
After the gunshot, everything returned to calm. No one showed up behind the jeep, and the soldiers on guard did not find the specific location of the sniper, so they no longer shot blindly like before.
Time passed by minute by second, and both sides were competing for patience to see who couldn't hold on. The German sniper remembered that he had an incendiary bomb, so he quietly replaced an ordinary bullet with an incendiary bomb, aimed at the fuel tank of the jeep and fired a shot. The incendiary bomb hit the fuel tank, and the entire jeep was instantly blown into a fireball. A moment later, a man covered in fire stumbled out from behind the jeep. Upon seeing this, the German sniper immediately fired a shot at the running Pyro, knocking him down in the snow.
As the burning man fell, the sharp-eyed soldiers finally discovered the hiding place of the German sniper. He pointed with his hand and shouted loudly: "The German sniper is hiding in the snowdrift under that tree." After finishing, he held the Bobosha submachine gun in his hand, aimed in that direction and started shooting violently.
The German sniper who discovered his hiding place did not even have time to move his position before being beaten to pieces by a hail of bullets. Seeing the blood that seeped out quickly in the snow, everyone knew that someone was indeed hiding there. In order to avenge their fallen comrades, some soldiers replaced one drum with a new one and continued to aim and shoot there.
After the gunshot, everything returned to calm. No one showed up behind the jeep, and the soldiers on guard did not find the specific location of the sniper, so they no longer shot blindly like before.
Time passed by minute by second, and both sides were competing for patience to see who couldn't hold on. The German sniper remembered that he had an incendiary bomb, so he quietly replaced an ordinary bullet with an incendiary bomb, aimed at the fuel tank of the jeep and fired a shot. The incendiary bomb hit the fuel tank, and the entire jeep was instantly blown into a fireball. A moment later, a man covered in fire stumbled out from behind the jeep. Upon seeing this, the German sniper immediately fired a shot at the running Pyro, knocking him down in the snow.
As the burning man fell, the sharp-eyed soldiers finally discovered the hiding place of the German sniper. He pointed with his hand and shouted loudly: "The German sniper is hiding in the snowdrift under that tree." After finishing, he held the Bobosha submachine gun in his hand, aimed in that direction and started shooting violently.
The German sniper who discovered his hiding place did not even have time to move his position before being beaten to pieces by a hail of bullets. Seeing the blood that seeped out quickly in the snow, everyone knew that someone was indeed hiding there. In order to avenge their fallen comrades, some soldiers replaced one drum with a new one and continued to aim and shoot there.
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