After night fell, I took the pilot Popkov, and I boarded Lieutenant Colonel Weinrub's jeep to head to the headquarters of the group army in the city.

When I was still in the division headquarters, I introduced Popkov and Weinrub to each other. Although the two greeted each other politely, they didn’t say anything to each other, but at the moment, although they were sitting alone in the deputy In the driving position, there was a person sitting in the back row next to me, but the conversation was full of enthusiasm.

The topic of the chat was because Lieutenant Colonel Weinrub, who was sitting next to me, saw the German night plane hovering in the air, and couldn't help but curse in a low voice: "Damn German, I won't stop at night. For a while."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Popkov, who was sitting in the front row, turned to take the conversation, and said to him: "It is a pity that our air force has a limited number of night planes, otherwise the German air force will not be as arrogant as it is now. "

"By the way, Comrade Captain." Wei Yinlubu asked curiously at this time: "May I ask you a question?"

"Please speak, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Popkov said politely.

"From the outbreak of the war to the present, how many enemy planes have you shot down?"

Weinrub's question also aroused my interest, so I looked at Popkov curiously, waiting for his answer.

Popkov grinned and replied: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, since I joined the Air Force, I have completed 117 combat operations, 29 airborne missions, and shot down 11 enemy planes. Of course, this result is similar to mine. Compared with comrades in arms, there is still a certain gap, for example, our ace pilot Captain Pokreshkin, he has shot down 13 so far. Two more than me."

Listen to Popkov mentioned Pokreshkin. Wei Yinlubu actually laughed. Both me and Popkov were stunned. Wei Yinlubu laughed for a long time and burst into tears. Then he stopped the laughter and explained to both of us: "I have heard of this Pokreshkin before. It is said that on the first day of the war, Because of his lack of experience and the tower’s command errors, his fighter plane took off. Fortunately, he took down a bomber of our own. Fortunately, no casualties were caused. In addition to the complex situation on the front line at the time, his mistakes were relieved. . The next day, he took off again to fight and shot down a German plane cleanly. It was considered a crime and meritorious service.” At this point, Weinrub suddenly said in surprise, “Comrade Captain, how did I hear about the German ace pilot? There are dozens or even hundreds of planes shot down? What is going on? Is there such a big difference between our air force and the German air force?"

Popkov lowered his head and thought for a while. Then he replied slowly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, it is understandable that the German pilots have shot down more planes than our pilots, but the difference in the number is obviously abnormal. In contrast, our army The technical level of the pilots is not bad at all, and they are not weak in terms of aircraft combat performance, speed, weaponry, etc. In fact, the achievements of the German ace pilots have been seriously exaggerated.

If our data is lower than that of the Germans, it is only because our air combat missions are different from the Germans. The main task of our fighter planes is to ensure the smooth operation of heavy bombers, assault planes, reconnaissance planes, and airborne planes. Active air combat is a secondary position. At that time, in order to provide air cover for ground forces, convoys, ferry ports, airports, and command posts, our fighter planes could not leave the battle even before the enemy's dominant force, because air operations determine the outcome of the ground battle. The Germans have different missions. They are all ‘free shooters’ who specialize in hunting down our aircraft, especially heavy aircraft. However, while they achieved tactical victory in the air, they suffered a strategic defeat on the ground. This is the essence of our air warfare policy. As for me, what the leaders value is not the number of enemy planes I shot down, but the number of bombers, attack planes, and reconnaissance planes I cover. "

As soon as Popkov finished talking, I couldn't hold back for a long time. He rushed to the front of Lieutenant Colonel Weinrub and asked curiously: "Captain Popkov, I want to know, how do you count your own results? "

Popkov explained clearly to us: "The pilots of both the enemy and ours use manuals to record the results of the air combat, but our pilots don’t pay much attention to this. I don’t remember much. The German pilots remember more and want to praise the results of the battle. This is also the German army. The propaganda and psychological warfare did not match the real situation. Before, I participated in the interrogation of a captured German pilot. He once told us how they falsified their results. For example, one of their squadrons has 12 aircraft. In an air battle, if 3 planes were shot down, then every pilot would record that he shot down 3 planes without any special explanation. In this way, the total number of results they achieved would be 36."

After listening to these words, I questioned the record of the famous German ace pilots in history. Is his true record half of the legendary?

At this moment, the body shook suddenly and then stopped. I was rushed forward by inertia and almost hit the back of the seat in front of me. I quickly supported the back of the seat and asked the driver: "Comrade driver, what happened? Did it break down?"

The driver shook his head and said angrily: "Comrade Commander, it's not that the anchor has broken down. It seems that the wheel is entangled by something. I'll go down and check it." After that, he pushed the door and got out of the car.

Seeing that the driver got out of the car, Wei Yinlubu looked outside and said to me: "Comrade Colonel, let's get off and wait." Before I could answer, he added: "Although this is away from the group army command It is only more than 500 meters away, but it is very unsafe. In addition to frequent bombing by German aircraft, it is also attacked by cold artillery from time to time."

The night in September was too cold. I originally planned to stay in the car and wait for the driver to deal with the fault. Hearing Wein Rube’s words, I opened the door next to me and jumped off. I don’t want to stay in the car. target.

As soon as I turned and closed the car door, I heard Wei Yinlubu jump out of the car heavily and asked the driver loudly, "What happened?"

The driver hurriedly stood up straight and replied: "Report to Comrade Lieutenant Colonel that it is the telephone and telegraph wire that has entangled the wheels."

After listening to Wei Yinlubu, he immediately ordered him: "Handle it quickly. We can't stay here for too long. We must leave as soon as possible."

The driver agreed. He squatted down again to deal with the wires wrapped around the wheels.

Seeing our car stopped, the jeep following immediately stopped, including Basmanov and two guards who jumped out of the car, trotted to me, and asked curiously: "Comrade Commander , What happened?"

As I looked at the streets full of bullet holes and rubble, I answered casually: "The wires on the road have entangled the wheels of the jeep, and the driver is working on it."

I just finished speaking. I heard the anxious voice of the driver coming from ahead: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, can you help me find a bayonet or pliers? This wire is too tightly entangled, I think it can't be cleaned completely without breaking it. Dropped."

After listening to Wei Yinlubu, he quickly turned to look at us and asked, "Which one of you has a bayonet or pliers?"

Seeing my eyes, Basmanov quickly said with a bitter smile: "Comrade Commander, the two soldiers I and I brought are equipped with submachine guns and no bayonets. As for pliers, there are no more."

I looked at the submachine guns hung on the chests of the three of them, and knew he was not talking nonsense. Quickly shouted at Wei Yinlubu: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, we don't have bayonets and pliers here."

Suddenly there was the roar of cannonballs in the air. Almost at the same time, I heard Basmanov yell: "Teacher, be careful!" Then I was thrown to the ground by him, and the other two fighters were unwilling to press them up, almost breaking my ribs. All crushed.

After the shell exploded in the distance, Basmanov and the two fighters who were pressing on me also got up one after another. I got up from the ground with difficulty and mumbled: "The three of you add up. Heavier than a polar bear."

Hearing what I said, Basmanov couldn't help scratching the back of his head and grinning in embarrassment.

I saw Weinrub alone standing in front of the jeep. I didn't see Popkov's shadow. Knowing that he was helping the driver to troubleshoot the problem, I glared at Basmanov and said dissatisfiedly: "You are still standing stupid. What are you doing here, why don't you help the driver comrade handle the wires entangled in the wheels?"

Seeing that I was angry, Basmanov quickly waved to the other two fighters: "Follow me." Then he ran forward quickly.

Lieutenant Colonel Weinrub came over, put the hat in his hand on his head, and said enviously: "Comrade Colonel, your subordinates are really good. When the shells flew over, the three of them rushed without hesitation. On your body. Not to mention that the shell exploded so far away, even if it exploded next to the car, I don't think it will hurt you anymore."

I didn't know how to discuss this matter with him, so I quickly changed the subject: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, has this road been bombarded by the enemy every day?"

Wei Yinlubu nodded and replied with a serious face: "No, the current situation is not good for us. The enemy in several directions is not far from the city, so they can often shell and bomb the city."

Just as we were talking, several shells fell nearby and exploded. Except for one shell that blasted a large hole in the wall of a building on the side of the road, the rest fell on the rubble. , Blast the broken bricks and tiles everywhere.

Although the impact of the shells was far away from me, my heart began to panic. If Weinrub hadn't stood in front of me, I would have come to the front to urge the driver and Basmanov to speed up. , Lest you always stay here in fright.

When the eighth shell fell near us and exploded, and my tense nerves were about to break, the driver's voice suddenly came from the front: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the wires have been untied. You can get on the bus."

Before Weinrub could call me, I rushed to the jeep, opened the door and got in. At the same time, I urged Weinrub seriously: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, get in the car quickly. The commander has been waiting for us for so long. Wait anxiously." At the same time, I secretly prayed that the German shells would not fly over again so that we could reach the headquarters safely.

But things backfired. Our car drove less than a hundred meters, and two more shells fell on the front and rear of the car and exploded. The bricks that had exploded crackled on the roof of the car. At that moment, my heart touched my throat. Although I was wearing a helmet, I was afraid that the stone would break through the roof and smash my head.

Fortunately, after these two shells exploded, there were no more shells flying, and ours drove to the door of the headquarters without any risk. Lieutenant Colonel Weinlubu pushed the door and jumped out of the car. Called a sentry at the door. Instructed him loudly: "Comrade Sentinel. Send this comrade pilot to our containment team. By the way, he was also injured. By the way, call a hygienist to check the wound."

I got out of the car and walked to Popkov’s side, reached out to him, and said friendlyly: "Comrade Captain, it's time to say goodbye. Let's shake hands one last time."

Popkov held my hand tightly and shook it vigorously and said, "Comrade Colonel. Thank you for taking care of me these past two days. I hope we will have the opportunity to fight together in the future."

"There will be this day." As soon as I said this, I heard Weinrub urging me at the door: "Hurry up, Comrade Colonel, the commander waits." I nodded to Popkov and let go of him. With his hand, he walked quickly to the door.

Weinrub took me to Trikov’s headquarters. When we walked in, we saw Gurov immersed in the documents, while Trikov and Krylov were on the phone at each station. See us coming in. Before I raised my hand to salute, Cui Kefu turned into the microphone. One side waved to us and motioned to let us go out first.

After we retired from the headquarters, Weinrub and I stood in the corridor outside, looking at the staff and communications officers at all levels coming and going. I felt that standing here was a bit in the way, and I was about to ask whether Weinrub could find one first. Sit somewhere and wait until the commander and them are free. Unexpectedly, he suggested to me first: "Comrade Colonel, this is the new command of the army, it is your first time to come, or I will show you a tour?"

I hurriedly nodded my head and said, "Okay, okay, of course it's good, please trouble comrade Lieutenant Colonel to show me the way.

When Weinlubu took me to visit the new headquarters, he said to me as he walked: "Comrade Colonel, this tunnel is named'Calijin Caves'. It is a large sheltered tunnel divided into ten rooms, the ceiling and the surrounding The walls are lined with thin wooden boards. After the top cover is ten meters long, it will take at least a ton of bombs to penetrate individual parts of the tunnel. Therefore, it is very safe for the headquarters to be located here."

I followed him and walked out of the command post through an exit. Seeing a few concrete bunker fortifications outside the cave, when he was about to ask him where it was, he pointed to the riverbed with only a small amount of flowing water before and said to me: "This is the riverbed of the Tsaritsa River, and the other exit is us. Pushkin Street that came through when he came. Once the enemy invades the city and rushes into the headquarters, comrades and commanders can escape from this exit smoothly." After introducing all this, he sighed with relief and raised his voice to me. Said: "Okay, Comrade Colonel, time is almost up, we will go to the headquarters to see if the commander is finished."

When I returned to the headquarters this time, apart from Krylov who was still calling the troops below, Cuikov and Gurov were already free. Seeing me walking into the headquarters, they greeted me quickly: "Oshanina Comrades are here, hurry up and sit down. Let's study tomorrow's counterattack."

I walked to Cui Kefu and sat down, glanced at the map on the table, and asked straightforwardly: "Comrade Commander, if tomorrow's counterattack is formulated according to my suggestions, I would like to know when the counterattack will be implemented?"

Cui Kefu habitually raised his hand to look at the watch, and then said to me: "The plan you submitted has been studied by a few of us and felt that it is very suitable for the current situation, so we did not modify it at all and adopted it. Your plan. As for the counter-attack time, we will begin preparations for artillery fire at 3 o'clock tomorrow morning. After half an hour, at 3:30, our troops will start counter-attack. Before the battle begins, I want to hear it. What is your opinion?"

Hearing Cui Kefu said that he adopted my battle plan, I was not at all excited. Originally, this plan was made by Cui Kefu, but it was stolen by me and returned to him. My mind was spinning quickly, thinking about the problems that I might encounter in the counterattack. After thinking for a while, I raised my head and said to Cui Kefu: "Comrade Commander, to ensure the victory of the counterattack tomorrow, there are three aspects that must be considered: first, whether the communication between the headquarters and the participating troops is smooth; second, if not With the assistance of the Air Force, our offensive forces may be defeated by enemy planes. Third, the forces participating in the counterattack are limited, so the results that can be achieved are also very limited. So I boldly propose to you that we should ask the front army. Request for an additional reserve team so that the strength of the counterattack force can be strengthened."

After hearing what I said, Trikov looked at Gurov who was sitting next to him. Haha laughed. Just when I was confused by the laughter of the two. Cui Kefu suppressed the smile on his face and said to me: "Comrade Oshanina. It seems that lesbians consider issues more carefully. But you can rest assured that we have considered these details a long time ago. Before you get here, I will I personally checked the communications and the preparations for the counterattack of the troops. At present, everything is normal. Except for the night planes and cold guns, the enemy has nothing to do. It seems that they are all resting or doing routine offensive operations tomorrow. prepare."

"As for the air force. Comrade Oshanina, you don't have to worry." Gurov also added: "Commander Yeremenko assured us that at dawn, a powerful air force will be sent to cover our combat operations. At the same time, I also told us the good news: The Command is preparing to equip us with the 13th Guards Infantry Division, which will begin to assemble in the Krasnosloboda area on the east bank tomorrow evening."

After Gurov finished speaking, Cui Koff continued: "Although only one division was given to us, it is also very exciting good news for us. In this way, we will have more troops participating in the counterattack."

I heard that General Rodimtsev's guards were approaching. My heartbeat started to speed up. In the history I know, Stalingrad has a period of fate. It is firmly in the hands of the division. Now that the troops holding Mamayev Hill have become a military division that does not exist in the history under my command, then the guards can mobilize enough troops to participate in the counterattack. Maybe this way, Cui Kefu's counterattack will be carried out tomorrow, there is still hope of success. After finally waiting for the two people to sing and sing together, I tentatively said to Cui Kefu: "Comrade Commander, should we send someone to pick up the guards, lest they cross the river and break into the enemy by mistake? The area hit by artillery fire caused unnecessary casualties."

"Colonel Oshanina, you don't need to worry about this." Krylov, who had finished the phone call at some point, walked back to the table, and then I said in a topic: "I just gave Tupiche, director of the Army Corps of Engineers, Colonel Fu called and asked him to lead the staff of the group army to cross the river overnight to the Krasnos Loboda area to meet the approaching guards."

Seeing Cui Kefu, they had already considered everything that should be considered, so I stopped worrying about tomorrow's counterattack and responded to several commanders of the group army.

After Cuikov listened, he raised his head and asked Krylov: "Chief of Staff, how did you think about this matter?"

Krylov stared at the map on the table, tapped the table with his fingers, and pondered for a long time before repliing: "The military division is currently the most complete and powerful unit in the group army. If the elite troops are consumed little by little, I don’t think it is cost-effective. So I suggest that when the superior sends us new troops, so that after the scattered forces of the military divisions are concentrated, the Mamaye can be brought together. Fugang and the pier next to it became a fortress that the Germans could not conquer."

Hearing Krylov held me so high, I had to smile and said: "Please rest assured that the commander, military commissar, and chief of staff, as long as the troops of the military division are gathered, the milk song will become a The enemy does not dare to underestimate the troops. In addition to holding our own positions, we will not constantly counterattack the enemy in front of us, preventing them from drawing out our troops to join the friendly forces attacking our city."

My statement made Gurov smile. He nodded and said with satisfaction: "Well, good, Comrade Oshanina, since you have such a determination, I am relieved. Next, we will continue to discuss tomorrow's Counterattack action."

The shelling before the counterattack started on time at 3 o'clock.

However, due to insufficient artillery shell reserves, the original 30-minute shelling lasted only 15 minutes. Cuikov, who received the report from the artillery commander, decisively issued an order to Krylov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, order the troops to act immediately and launch a fierce attack on the enemy in front of you!"

Krylov nodded, walked to a walkie-talkie by the wall, took the headset and microphone from the operator's hand, and shouted loudly: "Comrades commanders, commander command, in order to defend the great Stalingrad, take action to eliminate the fascist bandits! Go ahead and immediately charge toward the enemy’s position!"

After the offensive order was issued, ~lightnovelpub.net~ more than a dozen units of designations launched a fierce attack on the German troops entrenched outside the city from their respective starting positions.

Starting at 4 o'clock, the battle reports continued to be sent back to the headquarters. The commanders of each unit respectively reported that their units had broken through the German positions in front of them and had penetrated the enemy's defense line for several kilometers. Upon hearing these good news, both Cuikov and Gurov had happy smiles on their faces.

By 6 o'clock, the battle reports from the various troops were a little bit ugly. Almost everyone said that strong fortifications of the German army had been found in the front, and the infantry who lacked heavy weapons and could not receive artillery support were frustrated in several attacks. In order to appease the hearts of the people, Krylov gave them a shot, telling them to hold on for a while, as long as the dawn of the day and the appearance of our air force, we can break through the enemy's position in front of us.

But the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment. After half an hour, a telegram sent by the commander of the front army shattered everyone's hopes. The telegram wrote very briefly: "Because of the lack of fuel and ammunition, the Air Force cannot provide the necessary support for your offensive forces."

ps: I sincerely thank the book friend Nebula Hunter Children's Shoes for the support of the two precious monthly tickets!