"No, we can help them." Berkin said unexpectedly: "Comrade Commander, have you forgotten that the troops stationed in Beigang are the Marine Battalions of the Northern Fleet?"
Belkin's words were like a revelation to Sokov. He smashed his right fist into the palm of his left hand and said, "Yes, why did I forget the sailors on Beigang? Speaking of water rescue, that is their strength. I will call Captain Shamrich and ask him to send someone to the river to rescue the barge."
Sokov grabbed the microphone and connected the battalion command post in Beigang. When he heard Shamrich's voice, he hurriedly said: "Comrade Captain, a fleet of ships that were descending the river was intercepted by German artillery fire halfway, and a barge caught fire. Now the enemy's artillery has stopped, so you can immediately send people to the shore to see if any surviving soldiers were washed down by the river."
Hearing Sokov's order, Shamrich asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, has the barge sunk by German artillery fire?"
"Oh, that's not." Sokov replied, looking at the barge with fire in the distance, "The bow of the barge is burning, but no one is seen on the deck to put out the fire..."
"Comrade Commander," Shamrich heard this and interrupted Sokov's words first, "the entrance to the cabin may have been collapsed by shells or blocked by fire, so the soldiers trapped in the cabin cannot come out to put out the fire."
After Shamrich analyzed the barge situation, Sokov asked humbly: "Comrade Captain, what should we do?"
"Under the current situation, we can't do anything." Shamrich felt very uncomfortable even though he knew that his comrades were in danger but he was powerless. He said to the microphone with a bitter face: "You can only continue to wait and see if the soldiers in the cabin can escape, otherwise even if my people rushed to the river, they wouldn't be able to do anything."
After a moment of pause, Shamrich continued: "But for safety, I will still send people to the river. If I encounter soldiers who fall into the water, I can save them."
"Then let's act, Comrade Captain." Sokov said cautiously: "Good luck to you!"
As soon as he hung up the phone, before Sokov could talk to Berkin, the phone ringing rang again. Sokov thought it was Shamricht's words had not finished speaking, so he grabbed the microphone and asked in his ear, "Do you have anything else?"
"It's me, I'm Choikov!" After a few seconds of silence in the receiver, Choikov's voice came out: "I received a message from the Volga River Fleet. A barge that was housed in the 41st Division of the Guards was unfortunately hit by German artillery fire. It is currently seriously damaged. You must arrange personnel to prepare for rescue as soon as possible."
"I have arranged for the soldiers of the Marine Battalion to go to the riverside." Sokov waited for Cuikov to finish speaking, and quickly replied: "If you see soldiers washed down by the river, they will definitely rescue them."
"We must do our best to rescue." Cui Kefu emphasized on the phone: "Save one more person, and in the battle, you can have more strength."
After putting down the phone this time, Sokov asked Belkin tentatively: "Comrade Belkin, do you know what the structure of the barge is like?"
"According to my observation, the freight barge used to transport the 41st Guards Division." Belkin explained to Sokov: "Often there are several hatches on the deck. Even if the hatches where the soldiers entered the cabin were blown up or blocked by fire, the soldiers could come out from the hatches elsewhere. Now the reason why people can't see on the deck is that those hatches are also blocked by something."
"Is there any solution?" Sokov asked.
"I just looked carefully and there were three barges behind a tugboat." Belkin said thoughtfully: "If the soldiers on the two barges behind could find a way to get on the fired barge, they might be able to rescue the soldiers trapped in the cabin."
"Comrade Political Commissar, your method is good." Sokov was excited and couldn't help calling Belkin again with his old position: "The barge's movement speed is only a few knots, so it is possible for the soldiers on the barge behind to swim the river to the fire barge to put out the fire and rescue the soldiers trapped in the cabin."
"I suggest that you report this rescue plan to the commander immediately, let him contact the sailors on the barge and ask them to send people to the barge to rescue people."
After Sokov called the group army headquarters, he said to the microphone: "I am Colonel Sokov. Please help me find Commander Cuikov. I have something urgent to report to him."
"I am Krelov." The voice of the chief of staff of the army was heard on the phone: "The commander has just left with Comrade Khrushchev. If you have anything to do, please report to me."
"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff." Although Cuikov was not in the headquarters, the same thing was reported to Krelov, through which he could also contact the tugboat and the sailors on the barge. "I guess the soldiers on the barge that caught fire should be trapped in the cabin. I suggest that the soldiers on the two barges swim over and help put out the fire on the ship and rescue the trapped comrades."
"The soldiers on the barge are trapped, which is an obvious problem." Krelov and Sokov finished speaking, and then said: "The reason why the commander and Comrade Khrushchev left the headquarters was to rescue the soldiers on the barge."
"Rescue, how to rescue?" Krelov's words confused Sokov. He asked in confusion: "We are all on the shore, how can we rescue the trapped soldiers?"
"There are two armored boats hidden near the river near the headquarters." Krelov said briefly: "The commander and Khrushchev plan to send thirty soldiers from the guard forces to take these two armored boats to extinguish the fire on the barge."
After finishing the call with Krelov, Sokov immediately raised his telescope and looked at the river where the headquarters was located, trying his best to search for the two armored boats that were about to set sail. Although Krelov did not mention why there were two armored boats hidden by the river, Sokov knew very well that this must be a special ship used by his superiors to transfer members of the Army Command when he was worried that the city would not be able to defend. Now, in order to rescue the soldiers who were unknown to the barge, Cui Kefu actually decisively used these two armored boats. It seems that he is still very concerned about the life and death of the soldiers.
Not long after, Sokov saw two black armored boats sailing out of the river beside the headquarters, going upstream, and heading towards the direction of the fleet. Seeing this, Sokov couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief and whispered in a low voice: "The soldiers on the barge are saved."
Belkin didn't have a telescope in his hand. He didn't know what was going on, so he asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, what happened? Could it be that the soldiers on the two barges behind had swam from the water to the fired barge?"
"No." Sokov waved his hand and lowered his voice to Belkin, saying, "The Army Command dispatched two armored boats to rescue. I believe that the soldiers on the barge will be rescued in no time."
When Belkong heard Sokov talking to him in a low voice, he was still a little puzzled. He thought that he was surrounded by his own people, so he could not say anything loudly, and he insisted on making it so mysterious. After he heard clearly that the headquarters had dispatched two armored boats, he immediately understood Sokov's intention. If the soldiers knew that there were two armored boats hidden near the headquarters, it would inevitably have an adverse impact on the morale of the army.
Although the armored boats that were hard to sail against the current, they only took less than ten minutes to approach the fire barge. After the armored boats got on the barge, the soldiers on the ship jumped over one after another. Their division of labor was very clear, some people put out the fire, while others used the lighting of fire and flashlights to find other hatches on the deck, and immediately rescued the comrades trapped in the cabin in the shortest time.
Before the fire was extinguished at the bow, the guard soldiers who were on the rescue mission found a hatch on the deck. The hatch was not only locked from the outside by the lock, but also heavy cargo was pressed on the cover. No wonder the soldiers in the cabin could not escape. A second lieutenant smashed the iron lock with a butt, lifted the cover of the hatch hard, and shouted loudly into it: "Hey, is there anyone inside?"
As soon as his shout fell, someone immediately agreed: "Which part of you are from?"
"My is from the Guard Battalion of the 62nd Army Command." The soldier replied to the following: "I am ordered to come and save you."
When he learned that it was the Army Command who sent someone to rescue him, an officer who was wet and in uniform dripping water immediately came out of the hatch along the stairs. He grabbed the lieutenant's hand and said excitedly: "Comrade, thank you. If you hadn't come to rescue him in time, I guess our entire battalion would have died in the cabin."
"Comrade Captain," the second lieutenant asked curiously after seeing the other party's military rank, "How is the situation below?"
"Oh no," the captain replied with a bitter face: "The German shells exploded a lot of holes in the hull. Although we tried hard to plug the leak in the cabin, we still couldn't stop the river from pouring in from the hole." Speaking of this, he gestured with his hands on his abdomen, "The water in the cabin has flooded my place. If you hadn't arrived in time, we would have been drowned alive in a few minutes."
After saying this, the captain bent down and shouted into the cabin, "Comrades, it was the Army Command who sent people to rescue us, come out quickly." As the captain shouted, there was a violent sound of water in the cabin, and then a soldier who was like a chicken fell out of the hatch, fishing out of the hatch.
The second lieutenant turned around and shouted to his nearby subordinates: "The barge is about to sink. Everyone quickly searches around to see where other hatches are, and then open them all, so that the comrades trapped in the cabin will withdraw quickly."
Chapter completed!