After night fell, I guessed that the Germans would not send out night bombers to bomb the high ground, so they wandered out of the command post and planned to take a look at the front position. As soon as the curtain was opened, the two soldiers standing outside saluted me immediately.

The area of ​​Mamayev Hill is not small. If I go out alone, if something happens temporarily, it is really not an easy task for my subordinates to find me on such a large area of ​​the hill. So I ordered a sentry: "Comrade soldier, go and call your battalion commander Captain Basmanov." The soldier agreed and ran away.

Basmanov’s hideout should not be far from my headquarters. After a while, the captain came to me under the leadership of the soldiers. I walked in front of me, raised my hand to salute, and asked cautiously: "Comrade Master, do you have any instructions?"

"I want to walk around, you take two soldiers with me."

"Yes, comrade teacher, I will make arrangements right away, please wait a moment!" Basmanov finished speaking, saluted and turned and left.

Looking at the back of the captain leaving, I silently wondered what kind of warriors he would find to inspect with me. Was it a tall and burly warrior, or a thin but extremely clever warrior?

The answer was quickly revealed. Basmanov called back four fighters, three women and one man. I knew all the women. They were my guard squad leader Vera, and the soldiers Vonia and Nagia in the squad. When I saw Vera, I couldn't help but stunned, and then curiously asked the guard squad leader: "Comrade Vera, didn't Captain Yegonovitch transferred you to his artillery camp? Why didn't you join him? Stay in the 64th Army?"

The little girl replied embarrassedly: "Comrade Commander, I am your guard. I will follow you wherever you go."

"Comrade Captain is great. If you give up, you might be snatched away by other girls." Seeing the little girl's twisting look, I couldn't help but joking with her.

Vera raised her head and looked at me, and replied with a serious expression: "Master, you have saved the lives of me and my sisters. Since the superior has asked us to serve as your guards, then we will take this responsibility seriously. As for other things, wait until the war is over."

After Vera finished speaking. Vonia and Nagia next to her also echoed: "Yes, comrade commander, you are our lifesaver. You rescued us from the gun of the supervising team. From now on, we will Use your own blood and life to ensure your safety."

I saw the serious expressions of the three girls, knowing that they were telling the truth. However, it was not the time to say these words. I quickly changed the subject and said: "It's getting late. Give me a walk to the front position."

When I said to leave, Basmanov handed over a military coat on his arm and said with concern: "Comrade commander. It's cold at night, please put on your military coat."

September in Russia. The temperature difference between morning and night can reach about 20 degrees. During the daytime when you wear a single coat, you may be able to catch a cold at night, so I took the coat in his hand without hesitation. When I was about to wear it, it was habitual. He asked, "Do you all have military coats?"

Basmanov nodded vigorously, and replied, "We are all wearing military coats, you can see if you don’t believe me." I followed the direction of his fingers. Not only he was wearing military coats, but Vera and the others were wearing them. It is also a military coat.

I nodded in satisfaction, then waved and said, "Go."

We first walked along the ridge to the southeast, and soon we came to the side of the hill near the pier. Standing on the hillside, what caught my eyes was the swarthy Volga water exuding the coolness of autumn. Several ferries that crossed the river at night are slowly approaching the pier.

With the arrival of the ships, countless people suddenly emerged from the deserted dock. The first is that the wounded were lifted out of bullet avoidance trenches, craters, and bunkers. The civilians with baggage and suitcases also came out of the hidden place. Before the ship was completely docked, some impatient people jumped into the water from the shore and poured waist-deep water toward the ferry.

Those who approached the ship first did not necessarily get on the ship first. Seeing the civilians wading from the water, the sailors standing on the bow, threatening them with bayonets to prevent them from approaching. For those who are not afraid of death, they must be first. The sailors simply smashed them into the water unceremoniously with their rifle butts.

Seeing this chaotic scene, Vera first asked, "Comrade Commander, if Mamayev Hill is lost, will this pier be unsafe?"

"That's enough, Comrade Vera." Basmanov immediately took the conversation and said: "Don't look at the position where we are standing, the straight-line distance from the dock is no more than 100 meters, as long as the Germans occupy the mountain. After the post, set up a few machine guns here and shoot at the pier, then the entire pier will be shrouded in the range of the machine gun fire."

"We also have a lot of troops on the dock. They can counterattack here. I believe that our brave fighters will surely wipe out all the Germans who occupy the highlands." Vera heard Basmanov say so, no Convincingly retorted.

Basmanov snorted and said disdainfully: "Squad leader Vera, I remind you to be careful. Look at how steep the **** in front of us is, and the **** is at least 50? If our fighter wants to climb up. , You must lower your head and watch your feet slowly climb. In that case, the Germans on the hillside can beat all our fighters one by one like shooting a target."

"You nonsense!" Vera was obviously dissatisfied with Basmanov's statement and wanted to refute it, but I stopped it. I looked at the two of them, and then said: "Okay, stop arguing. Captain Basmanov is right. If the Germans occupy the hills, they only need to establish a few machine gun positions here, with intensive machine gun firepower. Not only can it stop our counterattack, even if there are reinforcements coming by boat, they will be killed in batches in the river when they disembark."

I looked at the chaotic dock below, sighed, and then said to several people: "Let's go. Let's go to Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov. See how well their regiment's fortifications are built."

We turned around and walked north. Not long after I left, I came to the oil storage warehouse that was bombed by German aircraft some time ago. I saw seven or eight cylindrical metal tanks that had been blown to pieces. The tanks were also burnt to darkness by the fire, leading to the storage. The pipelines of the oil tanks were all blasted into scrap copper and rotten iron.

Smelling the choking smell in the warehouse, I frowned and covered my nose. Quicken the pace and walked over. Although the place here is relatively spacious, it is obviously not suitable for building fortifications. Sederikov may have the same idea as me, so this place does not have any fortifications of our army.

As I walked, I suddenly remembered that the female soldiers behind me were all from Stalingrad, so I stopped, turned and asked Vera: "Vera, are you all from Stalingrad?"

Vera nodded vigorously. Although she didn't understand why I asked, she still said with certainty: "Yes. Comrade Teacher, I and Vonia and Nagia are both from Stalingrad."

"I want to ask you. If the Volga is flooded, will Stalingrad be flooded?"

Upon hearing my question, Vera showed a surprised expression on her face. After looking at each other with her two companions, she shook her head and said affirmatively: "Comrade Master, I don’t think it will happen in this situation. .Because as far as I know, the location of the entire city is much higher than the embankment. Even if the embankment bursts, there may be individual streets that will rise, but most of the water will only flow to the distant grasslands. "

I then asked, "If a section of the river embankment breaks in front of Mamayev Hill, where will the river flow?"

Vera thought for a while and replied: "When I was studying, I also asked the geography teacher the same question. He replied to me at that time:'Due to the existence of Mamayev Hill, it will block the river from flowing to the city and turn around. Flowing to the grasslands to the north and west.'"

After listening to Vera's answer, I felt relieved inexplicably. I didn't continue to ask, but waved my head to several people and said, "Let's go, let's go to the battlefield while the moonlight is good tonight."

Along the crater and the bushes that survived, we walked towards the main position. A hundred meters away from the top of the hillside of the main position, I heard the long-awaited sentry shouting: "Stop! Who? The password!"

Hearing the voice of the sentry, I raised my hand to make everyone stop, and replied loudly in the direction where the voice came from: "I am the division commander, Colonel Oshanina, and I am here to find your head Sergeikov. School."

My answer left the other party silent for a moment, and then a person got up from the bushes, trot in front of me with a gun, raised his hand to salute, and said in a panic: "Hello! Comrade Master. I'm sorry, I don't. I know you are here..."

I raised my hand to stop him from continuing, and said self-consciously: "Comrade Sentinel, you are doing the right thing. You should be vigilant to prevent the Germans from touching the back of the high ground. Are you on duty alone, or are you doing something else? Someone?"

The sentry looked back and then replied: "Comrade commander, there is another secret sentry. If you want to find the commander, please allow me to show you the way. There are several minefields. If no one leads the way, you may be in danger."

"Comrade Sentinel, I trouble you to show us the way." The words of the Sentinel gave me a bit of confidence in Sederikov's ability to do things. At the rear of the position, the guards are so tightly guarded, so the front of the position is not enough. Know how tight the defense is.

Under the leadership of the sentry, we passed through the minefield and the area where the secret post was buried without any surprises, and arrived at the command post of Sederikov.

The command post was located in a temporarily dug cave on the southern slope. Seeing our arrival, Sergeikov was particularly surprised. He asked in surprise: "Comrade Commander, why have you come to my position at this time?" "

I walked straight to the table and sat down, and then said, "Let me see how well your fortifications have been repaired here?"

"Report to the commander, most of the fortifications have been completed." Sederikov said, pushing a sketch on the table in front of me, and reporting to me: "This is the defense plan of my regiment on the ground. ."

I moved the oil lamp on the table a bit in front of me, and carefully examined the sketch drawn by Sederikov. From the picture, he dug eight caves for Tibetan soldiers in the south slope, each of which can be equipped with one or two companies. On the mountainside and the top of the mountain, he followed my orders. Two companies were deployed. At the foot of the mountain. I also saw a row of black spots marked by him. I didn’t know what these black dots meant, so I waved to him quickly, asked him to come to me, and asked him: "Comrade Xiejielikov, I want to ask, you painted this row of black What does the point mean?"

Sederikov only glanced at it and quickly replied: "Report to the commander. The black dots represent individual shelters. I have deployed a platoon of troops at the foot of the mountain. Their main task is to blow up those who are approaching the high ground. German tank."

Placing a platoon so far away from the position made me feel uneasy, because I worriedly asked: "Are these bunkers strong? Can they withstand German artillery and aircraft bombing?"

Sergeikov shook his head slowly, seeing my dissatisfaction on his face, and quickly explained: "These bunkers are scattered, and it is not easy for the Germans launched from the front to find them. The German artillery preparations before each attack, and Plane bombing. The selected targets are our positions on the mountainside and on the top of the mountain. Even if these bunkers are found, they will not waste their shells and bombs for a few inconspicuous bunkers."

Listening to Sergeikov's explanation, I didn't say anything. I just told him: "Lieutenant Colonel Sergeikov, after daybreak tomorrow, General Zhukov will organize three armies to attack the German forces in the north of the city. Here it is. Under this circumstance, the Mamayev Hill that we stick to may not be the target of the German army, so you have to urge your subordinates to take advantage of this rare opportunity and seize the time to continue to rush to repair all kinds of fortifications."

"Understood, comrade commander, I will pass on your order so that the soldiers can take advantage of the battle to repair all the fortifications on the ground."

"Very well, Lieutenant Colonel Sergeikov." I was very satisfied with Sergeikov's statement. I praised him and said: "If you have perfect fortifications on your position, then the Germans want to attack you. The position of the country will surely pay a painful price."

At dawn on September 5, Zhukov put the three cutting-edge armies into counterattack operations against the German forces north of the city.

Due to our army’s sudden counterattack, the Germans were caught off guard and their deployment was disrupted. Until noon, neither a German aircraft nor German shelling was seen on the high ground. Not to mention the ground offensive force.

Seeing the calm and calm in front of the position, Pugachev, who was in my command post, said excitedly: "Comrade commander, it seems that our army's counterattack has worked. The Germans are being beaten and fled in embarrassment. Otherwise, what would they do? Maybe not even a plane is sent. I just went outside to take a look. There are more than 20 ferries parked on the pier, and the wounded and the residents of the city are being transported across the river boat by boat."

Although the fighting situation of the counterattack troops was not visible here, and the superiors did not inform the division-level troops of the progress of the battle, but listening to the sound of guns from a distance and the smoke of gunpowder floating in the air, I really understood this. This counterattack was really the same as in history. Due to the hasty preparations and the lack of cooperation from the Air Force, the expected goal was not achieved.

At about two o'clock in the afternoon, the German plane appeared again over the high ground. Just like yesterday, the two planes swept over the high ground and rushed directly to the pier, bombarding the crowds and ships gathered there.

When Pugachev and I watched the tragic scene with binoculars outside the headquarters, Pugachev gritted his teeth and cursed: "Damn Germans, know that the people who bombed our people have the ability to fight us. For a battle, I have to fight you all over the floor looking for teeth." After I have used the term "full floor looking for teeth" several times, the commanders under me copied it in a similar manner.

I put down my binoculars and said coldly to Pugachev, who was emotional next to me, "Comrade Captain, inform your subordinates and let them do air defense, so that the troops will not be bombed by the Germans like yesterday. There was blood flowing in the wild.” When I said this, I also took a look at the location where the female communication team was killed in the ravine.

When Pugachev heard me say this, he dared not neglect, and agreed, and trot away.

As soon as he left, I heard someone calling me behind him. I turned to see that it was Razumeyeva who opened the curtain and leaned out half of her body, calling me. Seeing that I noticed her, she quickly reported: "Comrade Commander, it is the call of Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, the commander of the Fourth Regiment. He said that he has important information to report to you."

After I put on the headphones, I couldn't wait to ask Gaidar: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what happened?"

"Comrade commander, my scouts reported to me that there was a German armored unit that bypassed the 107.5 heights from the west and was rushing towards Stalingrad. From the analysis of the direction in which they were advancing, they were trying to intercept the counterattacks. Road. UU reading www.uukanshu.com"

"Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, are you sure that your scouts are not mistaken? It's not that our tank unit is regarded as German?" You must know that Zhukov's three armies are counterattacking the German army. What about the enemy? Is it possible to deploy an armored unit to go straight to the rear of our army? So my first reaction was that the scout must have made a mistake.

Unexpectedly, Gaidar said affirmatively: "Yes, comrade commander. My scouts have repeatedly confirmed that it is indeed a German tank, and the white cross on the turret can be seen quite clearly."

Hearing Gaidar's words, my heart began to panic, and I hurriedly asked: "How many tanks does the German army have?"

"There are at least forty tanks, and quite a few armored vehicles and motorcycles."

"Continue to observe and report to me at any time if there is any further information."

After finishing the call with Gaidar, I was hesitating whether to report the situation to Trikov. I didn't expect Oleg's call to follow. As soon as he heard my voice, he exclaimed excitedly: "Comrade commander, it's not good. Our contact with the city was severed by the German armored forces." (To be continued...) ()