"No, there is no need to contact any troops." Chuikov knew very well that his headquarters was almost surrounded by the German army. Whether he contacted the outside world through telephone or radio, he might be eavesdropped by the enemy. If the Germans
Knowing his retreat route and setting up an ambush halfway, he and the personnel led by the chief of staff were in danger of being destroyed. Therefore, he shook his head and said resolutely: "We rely on our own strength to defeat the enemy.
Cross the blocked street."
Regarding Chuikov's breakout plan, Krylov felt that it was too risky. He even thought that when Kiev was besieged, the Southwest Front Army Headquarters broke out and divided its troops into two groups. Who knew that in the end, except for those who were responsible for luring the enemy?
Bagramyan led his troops to break out of the encirclement, and the entire army led by the commander and chief of staff was destroyed. Today, he and Chuikov led members of the headquarters to break through the streets controlled by the enemy and break out to a safe area.
, I wonder if we will make the same mistake again?
Thinking of this, he carefully reminded Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, I think it is too risky to pass through the road blocked by the enemy. Otherwise, we should leave the headquarters by water together with Comrade Military Commissar and others?"
After Chuikov heard Krylov's suggestion, he immediately waved his hand and said: "If everyone takes the waterway, the target is too big. Once it is attacked by the Germans on the way, the entire headquarters will be taken away."
"Comrade Commander," Gurov waited for Chuikov to finish and immediately expressed his opinion: "If you and the Chief of Staff both go by land, if something goes wrong, I will have no way to control the army. In my opinion,
Or should you take the water route and the Chief of Staff and I take the land route?"
"Yes, that's right." Krylov knew that taking the overland route was a matter of narrow escape. When he heard that Gurov was willing to take the overland route with him, he nodded vigorously and said in agreement: "Comrade Military Commissar is right, for
To ensure that our command post can operate normally, Commander, you should take the water route."
"I have already said that the military commissar and the staff will take the waterway." Facing the persuasion of Gurov and Krylov, Chuikov said stubbornly: "Time is urgent, stop arguing, and prepare to leave immediately."
"Comrade Commander, something bad has happened." When several people were discussing the retreat, Chuikov's adjutant Klimov suddenly rushed in from outside. He said in a panic: "The enemy has discovered that we are on the Tsaritsa River.
The entrance and exit are being shot with machine guns."
"What, the enemy is shooting at the entrance and exit on that side of the Tsaritsa River?" Hearing the bad news, everyone's hearts couldn't help but Chuikov grabbed Klimov's lapel and asked in a stern tone: "The enemy
How many troops are there?"
"There is about a platoon." Klimov replied in a panic: "They occupied the bridge over the Tsarica River and were shooting at the entrance of the cave with machine guns. Two sentries at the entrance died..."
"Comrade Military Commissar," he found out that the enemy was on a bridge more than 500 meters away and fired at the entrance of the hole with a machine gun. Chuikov let go of Klimov and said to Gurov: "The enemy is too far away from us now.
Even if you use machine guns to shoot at the entrance of the cave, the threat to us will be very limited. Time is tight, you immediately take the staff to the place where the ship is parked, board the ship, and transfer to the new headquarters via waterway."
Gurov originally wanted to persuade Chuikov to leave the headquarters by water, but seeing that he was so stubborn and that the enemy's machine guns had begun to fire at the entrance and exit of the Tsaritsa River, Gurov did not hesitate anymore and immediately summoned the staff in the headquarters.
Under the protection of a team of guards, the personnel passed through the entrance and exit of the river and went to the nearby small ferry to take a boat.
Although the German troops occupying the bridge shot at the entrance of the cave, the distance was too far and it was difficult for the machine gun bullets to hit the target. They only hit the soil on the river bank like a boiling pot. After Gurov and others came out of the hole, they immediately bent over.
They ran towards the small dock. The Germans spotted the people coming out of the hole and immediately turned their guns and fired at them. Unfortunately, several staff officers were hit by bullets and fell headfirst on the river bed. The remaining people kept walking.
He continued to run forward.
The inland river gunboat parked on the small pier discovered that German machine guns were continuing to fire on the bridge in the distance. It quickly used the twin anti-aircraft machine guns at the stern to fight back, suppressing the enemy's firepower and covering the boarding of the headquarters personnel.
When Gurov boarded the ship, a naval lieutenant came over, straightened his body and reported to him: "Comrade Military Commissar, I am the captain, Lieutenant Shuklin, and I have been ordered to send you tens of thousands of ships to the east bank of the Volga River."
"Thank you, Comrade Lieutenant." Gurov stretched out his hand and shook hands with the other party, then looked at the anti-aircraft machine gun firing at the stern of the ship and asked: "Can your machine gun firepower destroy the enemy on the bridge?"
Shuklin nodded and replied: "I think it should be okay."
"That's great." Gurov pointed to the riverbed in the distance and said to Shuklin: "Several of our staff members were hit by the enemy's machine guns during the transfer. After the enemies on the bridge were eliminated,
, our health workers can go and save them.”
Under the crazy shooting of Soviet anti-aircraft machine guns, the two German machine guns on the bridge were quickly eliminated. The health workers who were waiting in the cave immediately bent over and ran out to treat the staff officers who fell on the river bed.
them.
Gurov, who was standing at the bow of the ship, saw the medical staff in the headquarters starting to treat and clean up the ship on the river bed. He finally understood something that was on his mind, and turned to Shuklin and told Shuklin: "Comrade Lieutenant, all our people have boarded the ship, let's set off.
"
…………
More than an hour after Gurov and the others' ship left, Krylov, who was staying in the headquarters, listened to the gunshots outside and the explosions becoming more and more intensive, so he said to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, from outside
Judging from the sound of gunfire, the enemy is already very close to our headquarters, so I think we should move as soon as possible."
Chuikov also realized that the current situation was not good for him. If he stayed here any longer, the German army might take over the headquarters, so he ordered the remaining personnel in the headquarters to form a small team of twenty people and gradually withdraw from Tsaritsyn.
Caves and move towards a safe area.
The team led by Chuikov was the last to leave the headquarters. There were two female operators in the team. In order to ensure their safety, Chuikov not only asked other soldiers to help them pick up the radios, but also asked them to walk in the middle of the entire team.
, so as not to fall behind in the chaos.
It was already midnight, but because the city was burning everywhere, the streets were illuminated like daylight. In order to prevent passing through the streets controlled by the Germans, they were shot by submachine guns from the buildings on both sides, as well as snipers hidden in the ruins.
Chuikov specially sent two soldiers to explore the road ahead, while the main force was about fifty meters behind to avoid being overwhelmed by the Germans.
The situation on the street shocked Chuikov and his men. In addition to the masonry and rubble falling from the collapsed houses, dead bodies in various postures could be seen everywhere. Among these corpses were Soviet soldiers and German officers and soldiers.
, but most of them are ordinary citizens in the city.
For all commanders and fighters, this is a road to death. The two female operators were frightened by the corpses on the ground and bent over and vomited. Chuikov suppressed the discomfort in his stomach and ordered the soldiers who were following the female operators:
"Help them!" After hearing Chuikov's order, soldiers immediately stepped forward, picked up the female radio operator and ran forward.
Adjutant Klimov, who was following Chuikov, asked in a low voice while jogging: "Comrade Commander, where are we going?"
"Don't talk nonsense, keep moving forward." Chuikov lowered his voice and replied: "You will know when you get to the place." He said this because he was unsure, based on the situation reported by each unit before dark.
, most of the fire support points in the city have been occupied by the German army. Now he has no idea where is the safe zone. He can only run in the general direction towards the bank of the Volga River, where he might be able to find himself.
force.
"Comrade Commander," seeing that Chuikov did not name the specific location, Klimov said reluctantly, "otherwise, let's move towards Mamayev Heights. In any case, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's men have
With thousands of people, it will not be easy for the Germans to seize the position from his hands."
Klimov's words reminded Chuikov, and he thought to himself: If the infantry brigade is still holding Mamayev Hill, it would be the best. After he leads his people there, he can enter through the tunnel from Nangang.
Beigan, and then enter the factory area through the Krutoy Deep Trench. By then, you might arrive at the new headquarters before the Military Commissar and the others.
According to Chuikov's original arrangement, Rodimtsev's troops stood firm in the urban area from the Tsaritsa River to Mamayev Hill to ensure that his command could withdraw to Mamayev in a timely manner when necessary.
Post. Unexpectedly, after a day of fighting in the city, the defense area of the 13th Guards Division was beaten to pieces by the enemy. Even Rodimtsev lost contact with the headquarters, let alone the troops under his command.
.Coupled with the fall of the Central Railway Station, the German army effectively cut off the land connection between the headquarters and Mamayev Heights. If you want to rush to Mamayev Heights, you still have to take some risks.
Although there are risks, it is better than leading people to rush into the enemy-occupied area. Thinking of this, Chuikov decisively issued an order: "We rush to Mamayev Heights immediately."
"Okay." Hearing that Chuikov was preparing to go to Mamayev Hill, Klimov suddenly became excited. Without waiting for Chuikov's instructions, he turned to the soldiers behind him and said: "Pass it back, we are turning to Mamayev Hill.
."
As the order was conveyed, the morale that had been low due to entering the road of death became high again. Although the battle in the city was so fierce, there were several telegraph operators in Chuikov's team.
Among the telegrams they received, only the infantry brigade stationed at Mamayev Heights received battle reports from time to time about repelling enemy attacks, how many enemies were annihilated, and how many were captured. Nowadays, melees are going on everywhere in the city, no matter where Chuikov takes them
They had no idea where to go. When they learned that the next destination was Mamayev Heights, they immediately saw a glimmer of hope, and even their steps became brisk.
Chuikov was also keenly aware of the changes in the team. He curiously asked Klimov beside him: "Adjutant, what is going on? Why do I feel that everyone's mood is different?"
"Needless to say, Comrade Commander." Klimov said with some pride: "Everyone didn't know where our destination was just now. We were just wandering around in the streets controlled by the enemy. It is inevitable to have a psychological burden.
. Now that we know we are going to Mamayev Kurgan, everyone feels motivated and their mood is naturally high."
Chuikov asked with interest: "Oh, as soon as you heard about going to Mamayev Heights, you immediately became excited?"
"Isn't that right?" Klimov said in a positive tone: "Comrade Commander, don't forget that there are several radio operators in our squad. What is the fighting situation of each unit today? They
When we received the telegram, it was very clear that except for Mamayev Hill, we were beaten back step by step by the Germans in other areas. Now that we know that we are going to Mamayev Hill, it means that everyone will be out of danger soon.
, how can you not be happy when you enter a safe zone?"
"So that's it." Chuikov really didn't expect that Sokov could actually bring hope to his subordinates in the headquarters. He couldn't help but said with emotion: "If I set up the new headquarters in Mamayev Heights,
Are you happy?"
Klimov was about to answer, but with the help of the firelight, he could clearly see the playful smile on Chuikov's face. He quickly swallowed the words that were on his lips and changed the topic in time: "Comrade Commander, you said Staff
Can the commander and the military commissar successfully escape from the German encirclement?"
"Comrade Military Commissar took the water route. The German army's defense in this direction is not tight. They should have no problem breaking through." Chuikov said carefully: "But it's hard to say about the small team led by the Chief of Staff. Maybe they will be captured.
Trapped in a street controlled by the enemy, whether they can successfully break out depends on their luck."
"Stop!" Klimov saw a soldier who was sent to explore the road ahead and ran back in a hurry. He quickly raised his hand to ask the team to stop, and immediately sent over to ask: "What happened?
?”
"Comrade Commander," the soldier reported directly to Chuikov: "There is a German tank parked at the intersection ahead. There is a sandbag fortification next to the tank with a machine gun inside..."
On the road ahead, he had encountered situations where German tanks and fortifications blocked the road, but Chuikov had never seen the soldiers exploring the road so nervous. An ominous premonition immediately surged in his heart: "Comrade soldier, you are
Don’t you want to tell me that we can’t go around from other areas at all?”
This chapter has been completed!