Both Sokov and Vitkov thought that the matter had subsided. Unexpectedly, the internal staff of the Group Army's Special Service Section still learned about the storm that occurred at the brigade command center in Mamayevgang through their own unique intelligence channels. Captain Shubin, the Chief of the Special Service Section, immediately came to see Cui Kov and asked him for solutions.
After listening to Shubin's report, Cui Kefu frowned and asked, "Comrade Captain, is your news reliable? Why didn't Colonel Witkov mention this when he was talking to me?"
"Comrade Commander," Shubin said without any influence from Cui Kov's rank above him, "It is obvious that Colonel Witkov concealed the truth for those commanders who made mistakes."
Cuikov had no good feelings for these internal affairs staff, so he turned his head and turned his head to Gurov who was sitting next to him and signaled that he would deal with it. Gurov led his troops to break through the encirclement from the Kharkov area and retreated towards Stalingrad. He had met this captain on the road. Shubin was taking members of the Special Service Department to execute the soldiers who had lost their weapons on the roadside, and it was Gurov who stopped him.
"Captain," Grov knew what kind of person the other party was, and his tone was somewhat rude when he spoke: "I want to ask, what are you going to deal with these commanders?"
"It's all right, comrades of the military committee." Shu Jin said in an official voice: "Based on what they did, I can send them all to the military court."
"When they were sent to the military court, who would command the troops to fight?" Gurov asked coldly: "Captain Shubin, can you command them on their behalf?"
Gurov's words made Shubin's face show an embarrassing expression. He hesitated for a long time before answering: "Comrade Military Commissioner, you should know that the responsibility of our Ministry of Internal Affairs is to eliminate the enemies hidden in our army..."
"In your mind, are these commanders our enemies?" Gurov remembered the row of shocking corpses he saw on the retreat road, and blood surged upwards: "Are you planning to shoot them all like you did on the periphery of Kharkov?"
Gurov's words reminded Shu Bin. He looked at the military commissioner in front of him carefully, and suddenly remembered that a few months ago, he did execute a group of cowards who had lost their weapons and fled in public in the Kharkov area. He originally planned to shoot more, but was stopped by the military commissioner of the Southwest Front Army. Unexpectedly, he was transferred to the 62nd Army as the chief of the special service section of the army and met the military commissioner again, but he had become a military commissioner of the army at this time.
"Comrade Military Commissioner," Shubin recognized Gurov standing in front of him and replied with a thorn in his mouth, "If I find out that the matter is true, I cannot rule out the possibility of shooting them."
"Shut up!" Before Grov could react, Cuikov began to get angry: "Now the war is not good for our army, you have to take the idea of ​​grassroots commanders. Have you ever thought that if these battalion commanders of the 73rd Infantry Brigade had any problems, the troops would fall into chaos. The happiest person at that time was the Germans, who could seize the high ground that they could not occupy for two months without any effort. Maybe they would also give you an Iron Cross medal to commend you for eradicating the enemies that they had caused their headaches."
"Comrade Commander, you can't say that." Shu Bin was suddenly panicked after hearing Cui Kefu's words: "I am also performing my duties..."
"Enough, don't say anything more." Before Cuikov could finish his words, he interrupted his later words: "If you were still a Soviet soldier, then take your weapons and take your troops to fight to the death with the Germans instead of having internal conflicts here. Do you understand?"
Shu Bin stood there for a while and then bit her teeth and said, "Comrade Commander, I understand. I will immediately take the comrades from the Special Service Department to the most intense battle and have a face-to-face battle with the Germans."
When Cui Kefu heard Shu Bin say this, he was still angry, but he showed a little smile on his face: "Comrade Captain, you have more attitude. We are soldiers, and our responsibility is to defend our motherland and people, and to consume our energy on this unnecessary internal friction. Go, I hope to hear the results you have achieved as soon as possible."
Krelov, who had been busy making phone calls, watched Shubin walk out of the command center and asked carefully: "Comrade Commander, is this appropriate for you to let them go to the battlefield?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Cuikov turned to Krelov and said to him: "Put the Secret Service Department in the headquarters. They do nothing every day and will mess around, causing us a lot of unnecessary trouble. If they are sent to the battlefield, these problems can be solved."
"But if something happens to them," Krelov asked worriedly: "How do we explain to our superiors?"
"This is easy to deal with." Cui Kefu waved his hand and said confidently: "If the superior asks, it means that the enemy rushed to the near headquarters. In order to defeat the enemy, Captain Shubin bravely rushed up with his subordinates. After a fierce battle, all of them died heroically."
Seeing that Cui Kov had taken all the issues that should be considered, Krelov did not speak anymore. After all, since the beginning of the Stalingrad defense battle, many internal staff have died on the battlefield. If the superiors really wanted to track down Captain Shubin's bottom lane, the reasons that Cui Kov mentioned were enough to deal with.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," although Cuikov did not like to deal with the internal affairs, he felt that what the other party said must be groundless, so he ordered Krelov: "Call Vitkov immediately and ask what was going on."
Krelov asked the operator to connect to Mamayev. Unexpectedly, after a moment, the operator tactfully told Krelov: "I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, the phone number of the 73rd Infantry Brigade cannot be connected for the time being." He put down the microphone and said to Cuikov with a helpless look on his face: "Comrade Commander, the phone number cannot be connected."
Although the phone could not be reached, such a trivial matter was not difficult at all. He immediately ordered the radio operator: "Immediately send a telegram to the command of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, saying that they would immediately contact the Group Army Command."
Just a few minutes after the telegram was sent, the high-frequency telephone on the table rang. Krelov walked over and picked up the microphone and listened for a moment. Then he covered the microphone with his hands and said to Cuikov: "Comrade Commander, it was Colonel Witkov's call."
Cuikov pointed at Krelov with his hand and ordered: "Ask him, what's going on with the commanders and fighters of the infantry brigade surrounding the brigade command?"
Krelov nodded, let go of his hand covering the microphone, and did not immediately ask Cuikov the question that he wanted to know the answer, but asked curiously: "Col. Vitkov, I just called you, why can't I call you?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," replied Vetkov loudly, "The two north and south hills of Mamayev hills were attacked by the German army at the same time. Lieutenant Colonel Sidolin and I were commanding the troops by phone, so you can't call in."
After understanding the reason why the phone could not be reached, Krelov got back to the topic: "Captain Shubin, the chief of the Special Service Section of the Group Army, came to us soon to report, saying that when you took office at the 73rd Infantry Brigade, you were surrounded by hundreds of commanders and fighters. Comrade Commander asked me to ask if this matter was there, and how it was finally solved?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, this is a misunderstanding." When Witkov heard Krelov ask about this, he quickly explained to him: "The commanders and fighters of the infantry brigade learned that their superiors had appointed a new brigade commander and thought they would remove Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. They didn't understand the situation for a while, and a small conflict occurred. Fortunately, the brigade political commissar Comrade Beerkin appeared in time to solve this problem."
Krelov heard this and quickly covered the microphone with his hands and reported to Cuikov: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Witkov said that this is indeed the case. But it was just a misunderstanding. After the brigade political commissar Beerkin appeared, the crisis was resolved."
When Cuikov learned that the matter had been resolved, he was not ready to pursue it, so he said to Krelov: "Ask him, what is the current situation in Mamayevgang?"
"Comrade Colonel," Krelov asked to the microphone: "What size troops did the enemy use to attack you?"
"The enemy dispatched more than a dozen tanks and a battalion of infantry in the direction of Beigang; and in Nangang, there were only a few assault guns and about two companies of infantry." After briefly introducing the situation, Vetkov assured Krelov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't worry, we can definitely repel the enemy's attack."
When Cuikov heard this, he walked quickly to the table and took the microphone from Krelov's hand: "Col. Vitkov, as far as I know, there are no anti-tank weapons in Mamayev. If the enemy's tanks approach the foot of the mountain and cover their infantry attacks, it will inevitably cause serious casualties to our army. How about it, do you need any help?"
Before Krelov called, Vitkov planned to use the rockets brought by Yakov to bombard the tanks that covered the infantry's attack, but Yakov opposed it, because if this new rocket was used in this way, it would be too wasteful. Anyway, there was a rocket launcher hidden on the river bank, which could allow them to bombard the enemy if necessary.
When Vitkov heard Cuikov ask him what kind of assistance he needed, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, I know there is a rocket launcher hidden on the river bank. I wonder if you can let them provide us with artillery fire support."
Regarding Vitkov's request, Cuikov thought for a while and replied: "I can let the rocket artillery battalion perform a volley for you, but you must send artillery observers to guide them in the direction of the shooting."
"Only one volley?" Weitkov couldn't help feeling a little disappointed when he heard Cuikov say this: "Comrade Commander, are there too few?"
"There are quite a lot, Colonel Witkov." Cui Kev reminded the other party: "You are the deputy chief of staff of the army. You should be very clear about the situation of logistics supply. Now it is more difficult to transport a shell from the other side of the river to the city than to transport a box of shells from thousands of miles away to the left bank."
"Okay, comrade Commander." Weitkov knew that what Cuikov said was the truth. Now the artillery of the group army on the right bank, except for a few mortar teams, is the only rocket artillery battalion hidden on the river bank. They not only need to provide artillery support to Mamayev's hill, but also to provide support to the defenders in the factory area. Therefore, he did not intend to cause trouble to Cuikov, so he reluctantly agreed: "I believe that a volley can also cause major casualties to the German army. I will now notify the artillery observers immediately and let them guide the direction of the artillery battalion."
After Krelov waited for Trikov to put down the phone, he deliberately reminded him: "Comrade Commander, you promised Lieutenant Colonel Sokov a few days ago that you asked the rocket launcher battalion to use artillery fire to support the building on Soviet Street. As far as I know, there are not many rockets in the rocket launcher battalion. If Mamayev hill and that building requested artillery fire support at the same time, which direction should we support?"
"Is this a matter of my chief of staff?" Cui Kev said with a wry smile: "Mamayevgang is the commanding heights of the whole city. Once the enemy is allowed to occupy it, not only will our defense be cut apart, but the enemy can also establish artillery positions on it and use artillery fire to bombard our army's defensive positions. At that time, it will become extremely difficult to defend the city."
"I have carefully looked at the city map. The building on Soviet Street is also very important. Once the enemy has occupied it, they can directly attack our ferry with machine guns and mortars." Krelov said anxiously: "So we must find a way to defend it."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, why can't you even settle the accounts?" Cuikov looked at Krelov and said, "If the Germans occupied the Mamayev hills, if we want to take back both hills, we must use at least two regiments of troops; and even if that building is captured by the enemy, we only need a company or even less troops to retake it."
"I understand, comrade Commander." After Cuikov's analysis, Krelov immediately had a clear standard in his heart. He knew which one was more important. He took the initiative to say to Cuikov: "I will call the battalion commander of the rocket launcher battalion later and told him that if he receives requests from Mamayevgang and the city building at the same time, he should give priority to the garrisons of Mamayevgang."
Chapter completed!