"Comrade Commander, I have always been in charge of the defense work in the factory area." Vitkov did not become complacent because of this special appointment. On the contrary, he cautiously asked Chuikov: "If my superiors let me go,
Commanding the 73rd Infantry Brigade, of course I can carry out this order unconditionally, but who should be responsible for my original job?"
After Vitkov's reminder, Chuikov immediately realized that his deputy chief of staff, whom he rarely met, was actually responsible for such an important job. He turned his head to Krylov, wanting to hear if the other party had any good ideas.
Ideas.
Although Chuikov did not speak, Krylov still understood what the other party meant. After thinking for a while, he replied: "Comrade Commander, I think we can let Colonel Zalidyuk, the chief of the operations department, take over. He has been doing this for a while.
He is the most suitable candidate to assist the deputy chief of staff in taking charge of this work."
"Okay." After hearing what Krylov said, Chuikov immediately agreed: "Chief of Staff, please call Colonel Zalidyuk over, and we will reassign his tasks."
"Understood, I'll call him right now." Krylov said, picking up the phone on the table.
While Krylov was on the phone, Chuikov said to Vitkov: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, originally I planned to go to Mamayev Heights to visit the injured Sokov, but since you are from the brigade
Acting brigade commander, you will take care of this matter."
Vitkov nodded, indicating that he understood what Chuikov meant. After a pause, he asked again: "Can I leave? I want to get to Mamayev Heights as soon as possible."
Seeing that Vitkov was so eager to rush to the new combat post, Chuikov felt very relieved and quickly shouted outside: "Here comes someone!"
Following the shouting, an officer from the guard camp walked in from outside. He came to Chuikov, straightened his body and asked respectfully: "Comrade Commander, do you have any instructions?"
"That's it, Comrade Second Lieutenant." Chuikov said kindly: "Your brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, was injured in the battle and will no longer be able to command the battle in a short period of time. Therefore, I appointed Colonel Vitkov as the acting brigade commander."
Commander. Your task is to escort him to take office, do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Second Lieutenant Samoilov asked cautiously: "I wonder how many people I need to take with me to escort the colonel to Mamayev Heights?"
The officer who is accepting Chuikov's mission is Second Lieutenant Samoilov, the guard platoon leader under Sokov. Since the last time he was ordered to lead the third platoon to escort Chuikov to the new headquarters, Chuikov has been left at the group army headquarters. Chuikov
The reason why he is sent to escort Vitkov to Mamayev Heights at this moment is simply to play the emotional card so that the commanders and fighters of the infantry brigade can accept the new brigade commander more quickly.
"We may encounter Germans on the road." Chuikov was still very unhappy after returning the soldier who had finally deceived him to Sokov. However, for the sake of Vitkov's safety along the way, he still said cruelly.
: "Let's do this. You take 20 soldiers and escort Colonel Vitkov to Mamayev Heights. Once you get there, you don't have to come back."
Since Samoylov came back from escorting Chuikov last time, he has been directly incorporated into the guard force of the group army and cannot return to Mamayev Heights. Because of this, he has been upset for a long time. At this moment, he heard that he and some of his subordinates,
Being able to return to Mamayev Heights, I immediately felt overjoyed and quickly replied: "Comrade Commander, please rest assured that I will escort Colonel Vitkov safely to his destination."
The journey seemed to go smoothly, and even when passing through some enemy-controlled areas, there was no fighting. Seeing that they were about to reach the secret entrance of Beigan, Samoilov said to Vitkov with great excitement: "Deputy Staff Officer
Commander... No, this is Comrade Acting Brigade Commander now. If we walk a hundred meters further, we will reach the entrance of Beigan where the infantry brigade is stationed. As long as we enter the tunnel, we no longer have to worry about encountering the enemy."
When they were still fifty meters away from the entrance of the tunnel, Samoilov and his party were stopped by several sentries hiding in the crater. After the sergeant leading the team glanced at everyone, he faced Vitkov
Ask politely: "Comrade Colonel, which section are you from? What's the matter here?"
Samoilov quickly approached Vitkov's ear and whispered: "Comrade Colonel, our tunnel is not open to the public, so we are stricter about strangers."
"Comrade Sergeant," after hearing what Samoilov said, Vitkov nodded, and then politely replied to the Sergeant: "I am the new acting brigade commander, and I am going to the brigade headquarters."
p>
"Acting brigade commander?!" The sergeant was a little dumbfounded when he heard Vitkov say this, because the news of Sokov's injury had not yet been conveyed to the battalions, so when he learned that the person in front of him was the acting brigade commander, his first thought was
What came to mind was why his superiors dismissed the brigade commander. Thinking of this, he immediately asked expressionlessly: "I'm sorry, Comrade Colonel, I didn't get the order from my superiors and I can't let you into the tunnel. You know, our tunnel is not
Outsiders are allowed to enter at will."
Samoilov next to him saw that Vitkov had hit a nail, and hurriedly stepped forward to rescue him: "Comrade Sergeant, I am Second Lieutenant Samoilov, the platoon leader of the third platoon of the guard. I was ordered to escort the acting brigade commander to take office.
Yes, please let me go immediately."
"I'm sorry, Comrade Second Lieutenant." The sergeant was not polite to Samoylov because his military rank was higher than his own. Instead, he said in an official tone: "I can't let you enter the tunnel until I get the order."
p>
Before Samoilov joined the infantry brigade, he was a member of the Internal Affairs Corps. No one had ever dared to talk to him with this attitude, so he said angrily: "If you don't let us enter the tunnel, if it delays the business, you
Can you afford the responsibility?"
"Comrade Second Lieutenant," the sergeant said without being humble or condescending, "I am just performing my duties. I cannot let you enter the tunnel without getting orders from my superiors."
Just when Samoilov was about to run away, Vitkov grabbed him, winked at him to signal him not to be so impulsive, and then politely said to the sergeant: "Comrade Sergeant, please
Call your superior, okay?"
Regarding Witkov's request, the sergeant could not refute, so he could only say helplessly: "Okay, you guys wait here, I'll call the battalion commander."
Near the entrance of the tunnel, there was a telephone that could report directly to the battalion headquarters. The sergeant quickly finished the call and returned to Witkov and the others. He said in a polite and distant tone: "Comrade Colonel, please
Please wait here for a moment, our battalion commander will be out soon."
After waiting for a few minutes, Vitkov saw a group of people coming out of the tunnel. At the front was a commander with the rank of captain. Samoilov took the initiative to introduce to Vitkov: "Agent
Comrade Brigadier, the captain here is Captain Briski, commander of the fourth battalion."
"Fourth battalion commander?!" Witkov said in surprise when he heard this: "The infantry brigade actually has four battalions?"
"More than four battalions," Samoylov quickly corrected: "To be precise, it's five battalions. In addition to the first to fourth battalions, there is also the 192nd Battalion, which was downsized from the original 192nd Infantry Division.
."
When Witkov was about to ask more details, Briski had already come to him. After standing upright, he reported to him: "Comrade Colonel, I am Lieutenant Briski, commander of the fourth battalion. Please come here.
Is there anything important?"
Vitkov nodded at the other party, then introduced himself and said: "Hello, Captain Brischi, let me introduce myself. I am Colonel Vitkov, deputy chief of staff of the group army..." Brischi heard this
, couldn't help but glance at the sergeant on duty with the corner of his eye, and thought to himself, didn't his subordinates say that this man claimed to be the acting brigade commander? How come he became the deputy chief of staff of the group army again?
Before Brisky could figure out the problem, Witkov continued: "I just accepted a new appointment an hour ago as the acting brigade commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade."
Hearing what Vitkov said, Briski couldn't help but trembled. He asked in surprise: "Comrade Colonel, may I ask, if your superiors appointed you as acting brigade commander, then the original brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov,
How was it arranged?"
When Vitkov heard this, he showed a surprised expression on his face: "What, Comrade Captain, don't you know?"
Briskey asked in confusion: "What do you know?"
"Don't you know that your brigade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, was injured in the battle and was unable to command the battle in a short period of time?" Vitkov said to Briski: "That's why my superiors appointed me as the acting brigade commander.
."
Vitkov's words shocked Briski: "Impossible, this is impossible. I had a phone call with the brigade commander yesterday and he was fine. How could he be injured? It's fake. What you said is definitely not true.
Yes, the brigade commander stayed at his headquarters, how could he be injured?"
"Comrade Captain, don't get excited." Witkov said slowly after waiting for Briski to finish speaking: "I don't know the specific situation. I only know that after Lieutenant Colonel Sokov returned from his inspection in the city,
On the road, I encountered several lost German soldiers and had a small exchange of fire. Unfortunately, he was injured during the battle. When I set off, he was still undergoing surgery in the operating room."
As soon as Vitkov finished speaking, Samoylov quickly added: "Yes, Captain Brisky, what the acting brigade commander said is true. Our brigade commander was seriously injured and is undergoing surgery in the health team.
At that time, Commander Chuikov temporarily appointed Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff as acting brigade commander."
When Brisky came out, he saw Samoilov standing next to Vitkov. He was quite surprised at the time as to why the brigade commander's guard platoon leader was standing with an unfamiliar commander.
Hearing what Samoylov said, he was immediately confused. He never dreamed that Sokov would be injured at this time, and he was still undergoing surgery in the operating room.
Seeing Briski's confused expression, Vitkov couldn't help but frown slightly. He felt that the captain in front of him seemed a little unsteady. However, he was eager to take up his post at the brigade headquarters and was unwilling to delay here any longer.
, then turned to Briskey with a straight face: "Captain Brischi, I need to get to the brigade headquarters immediately. I wonder if I can enter the tunnel?"
Hearing what Witkov said, Briski immediately woke up. He quickly turned his body to one side and said politely: "Comrade Acting Brigade Commander, please come with me. I will take you to the brigade headquarters."
p>
Brisky led Vitkov and Samoilov towards the tunnel. When passing by the deputy political battalion commander, he made a phone call gesture to the other party, indicating that he would contact the other battalion commanders immediately.
Tell them that the brigade commander was injured. The deputy battalion commander saw the gesture and immediately understood it. He nodded to Briskey and said that he would call as soon as possible.
The deputy battalion commander first called the battalion commander of the 192nd Battalion, Captain Golia, and said in a panic: "Comrade Captain, something happened. The brigade commander is injured."
Some time ago, Golya went north with Sokov to meet the friendly forces. After Sokov was injured in a tank explosion, he personally escorted him back. At this moment, he heard the call from the deputy battalion commander of the fourth battalion and said disapprovingly: "What are you doing?"
Friends? What's the fuss about the brigade commander being injured? You know, after he was injured in Orlovka, I brought him back..."
The deputy battalion commander hurriedly interrupted Golia before he could finish his words: "You are wrong, Comrade Captain. You were talking about being injured last time, but what I want to tell you is that the brigade commander was injured again today.
Now we are still in the operating room, and our superiors have just sent us a new brigade commander."
"What, the brigade commander is injured again?" Golia was shocked by this unexpected news, especially when his superiors sent a new brigade commander, which surprised him even more: "Where is your battalion commander?
”
"I accompanied the newly appointed brigade commander to the brigade headquarters." The deputy battalion commander said hurriedly on the phone: "Okay, comrade captain, I have to call a few other battalion commanders, so I hung up first."<
/p>
After holding the phone with a blind tone in his hand, Goria was stunned for a while, then threw the phone on the table and hurriedly ran out of the battalion command post and ran along the tunnel in the direction of the brigade headquarters. He was eager to do something.
It is clear whether Sokov's injury is serious or not, and whether it is really to the point where he is unable to command the battle.
However, before he ran very far, he stopped again, called an officer under his command, and told him: "Gather a squad of soldiers immediately and follow me to the brigade headquarters."
When the officer heard this strange order, he couldn't help but be startled. He thought to himself: What are you going to do with the troops at the brigade headquarters? Are you preparing to give military remonstrance? He asked in confusion: "What are you going to do at the brigade headquarters?"
"The superiors suddenly sent a new brigade commander. I'm going to see what's going on." Golia said expressionlessly: "If the brigade commander's injury is just an excuse to remove him, then I will bring him to the brigade commander.
Our soldiers can be put to use."
This chapter has been completed!