Sokov knew that the detachment was ready to set off, but now he ordered them not to set off for the time being, but to stay and wait for further orders, fearing what the battalion commanders would think. As soon as he saw Sidorin finish the phone call, he
Somewhat unsure, he asked: "Chief of Staff, the battalion commanders didn't raise any objections to our order, right?"
"Raise objections? What objections will they have?" Sidorin heard Sokov say this, with a confused expression on his face: "Isn't it a matter of course to obey the orders of superiors?"
Sidorin's answer made Sokov realize that he was overthinking. The Soviet army was very hierarchical. Even if the orders given by the superiors were wrong, the subordinates would usually carry them out unconditionally. He just ordered them not to set off for the time being.
It's not like the order is changed overnight, so they probably won't have any bad thoughts because of it.
Sokov grinned, and then changed the topic: "Comrade Political Commissar has been out for a few days, when can he come back?"
In order to boost morale, Belgin and Director of the Political Department Dmitry took political workers to the grassroots units, talked to commanders and soldiers, and helped them build confidence in victory through various propaganda. If it was only in the Mamayev Hills area
Sokov was not worried, but Belkin went to the defense area of the third battalion, where the enemy's and our defense lines were intertwined. Usually, half of the buildings on a street were occupied by the enemy and us, no matter which side's troops passed by.
There is a possibility of being attacked there.
Seeing that Sokov was so concerned about Belgin's whereabouts, Sidorin quickly replied: "Comrade Brigade Commander, I had a phone call with the Third Battalion today. Battalion Commander Andrei told me that the political commissar went to the camp where Sergeant Vasily was holding on.
There won't be any danger in that building, so don't worry."
The Pavlov Building, where Sergeant Pavlov and his troops were originally supposed to hold on, has now become the Vasily Building. Sokov is still unsure whether his men can hold on to this building. He doesn't know.
Because the appearance of this little butterfly will have any impact on the real history.
So he waited for Sidorin to finish speaking, and then asked: "How is the situation in that building? Is it still attacked by the enemy every day?"
"It is definitely inevitable to be attacked by the enemy. After all, that building is located at the entrance of Soviet Street. Enemies who want to enter the street are within their fire coverage." Sidorin replied: "Since the enemy has eaten a few
After the loss of the new rockets, they adjusted their tactics and no longer used infantry to attack with tanks or assault guns. Instead, they bombed and shelled the building, trying to destroy the building before entering Soviet Street from January 9th Square.
"
"What are the casualties of the defenders in the building?" Knowing that the Germans were now using artillery and bombing to deal with the Vasily Building, Sokov couldn't help but worry about the safety of the officers and soldiers in the building: "Also, the building was not bombed.
Collapse?"
"The building was riddled with holes during the enemy's shelling and bombing, but fortunately it did not completely collapse." Sidorin said with a smile: "Although Sergeant Vasily joined the army not long ago, he is very commanding.
Talent, every time the enemy's shelling and bombing began, except for one or two soldiers left to monitor the enemy's movements, the rest retreated to the basement or a newly built shelter nearby, waiting for the shelling and bombing to end.
Return and eliminate the enemies who tried to attack. In more than half a month, they eliminated thousands of enemies, while their own casualties were only more than 20 people."
Vasily's Building was a place Sokov wanted to defend no matter what. Now that he heard that Vasily's men had suffered more than twenty casualties, he quickly asked: "Have they been given additional troops?"
"Comrade Brigadier, don't worry." Sidorin could not guess what Sokov was thinking, and quickly explained to him: "The third battalion commander has always regarded the defense of Vasily Building as the top priority.
, if there was a casualty in the building, he would add one more, so that the number of defenders never decreased. In addition, he also gave priority to supplying all kinds of weapons and ammunition needed in the building. By the way, Comrade Brigade Commander, these batches
After the new rockets arrive, how much do you plan to allocate to Vasily and the others?"
Although Sokov did not yet know the exact number of the upcoming batch of rockets, he still replied without hesitation: "Give them twenty rockets first, and after they are used up, we will give them priority to replenish them."
"
Sidorin quickly wrote down what Sokov said on his notepad, nodded and said: "I understand, give Sergeant Vasily twenty rockets first, and then proceed after they use them up."
Prioritize supplies.”
…………
After Vitkov personally transported the rockets across the river with the ship, he left two reliable subordinates to guide the unloading and transportation. He took the quartermaster from Moscow to the brigade headquarters on Mamayev Ridge to meet with the request.
Cove.
After returning to the headquarters, Vitkov, Sokov, and Sidorin shook hands one by one, pointed to the officers standing beside them, and introduced them to them: "Brigadier Commander, Chief of Staff, let me introduce them to you.
, this is Captain Varman, he was the one who brought the rockets to us from Moscow."
Regarding the details of how the rockets were detained by the Ministry of Internal Affairs personnel in Kamishin, Sokov planned to ask Vitkov privately later, so after greeting Varman, he asked in a very casual tone: "Comrade Captain, I
I would like to ask, how many rockets did you send this time?"
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," although there is Vitkov in the headquarters with a higher rank than Sokov, Captain Varman knows very well that the top commander at Mamayev Heights is the Lieutenant Colonel who asked him,
So he replied respectfully: "The rockets we sent this time, a total of 350, were produced overtime by several arsenals directly under the Ministry of Weapons and Equipment."
350 rockets. After hearing this number, Sokov was so happy that he could not open his mouth from ear to ear. He smiled and said to Varman: "Comrade Captain, I also want to ask a question. If it does not involve confidentiality, I hope
can get an accurate answer.”
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Varman said with a smile on his face: "If I guess correctly, you want to ask, what is the monthly output of our arsenal?"
"That's right." Seeing that Varman had guessed his true thoughts, Sokov nodded vigorously and replied: "I do want to know about the production capacity of the arsenal, because the number of rockets we have determines
Can we defend Mamayev Heights, which is crucial to Stalingrad, with minimal casualties?"
"The arsenal is tapping its potential internally," perhaps the question Sokov asked was somewhat confidential, so Varman did not give him an accurate answer, but simply said: "Starting from October, monthly production will
Thousands of rockets, I think there won’t be much of a problem.”
"Comrade Deputy Brigade Commander," Sokov asked after asking the question he was interested in, then looked at Vitkov and asked: "When will the rockets be delivered?"
Witkov raised his hand to look at his watch and replied: "I think it will take about forty minutes at the earliest before they can be shipped here one after another."
"Chief of Staff, call the battalion commanders immediately and notify the squad to come and get the rockets." After hearing Sokov's order, Sidorin agreed loudly, then picked up the phone and called the battalion commanders.
, ask them to send a small team to collect the rockets.
Looking at Sidorin who was on the phone, Vitkov asked curiously: "Comrade Brigadier, do you plan to let the small teams that go deep behind enemy lines carry a few rockets?"
"Yes, Comrade Deputy Brigadier." Sokov nodded and said affirmatively: "Last time Golya used four rockets for them to kill an enemy regiment and more than 200 garrison troops.
If our small teams operating deep behind enemy lines all carry rockets, they can use rockets to attack the enemy's barracks, warehouses and headquarters from a distance, causing huge losses to the enemy and slowing down the enemy's build-up.
speed."
Regarding Sokov's statement, Vitkov agreed: "Lieutenant Colonel Sokov, you are right. This kind of rocket is easy to carry. If used in large numbers behind the enemy's rear, it can not only cause huge damage to the enemy.
The losses could also completely disrupt the German army's attack on the city." At this point, he couldn't help but sigh, "It's a pity that when I was the brigade commander, I only used this new rocket in defense, even if it's powerful
No matter how big it is, the number of enemies it can destroy is very limited."
After making the call, Sidorin personally poured a cup of hot tea for Captain Varman, and then asked curiously: "Comrade Captain, can you tell us how the batch of rockets you escorted were seized by the Ministry of Internal Affairs?
?"
Sokov originally planned to wait for the right time to learn the details of the seizure of the rocket from Vitkov, but at this moment Sidorin had already asked the question first, and he pricked up his ears to listen to Varman's answer.
Hearing Sidorin's question, Varman couldn't help but smile bitterly, and then said to Sidorin: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, according to the order of the Weapons and Equipment Department, the batch of rockets I escorted was shipped out of Moscow by train.
Afterwards, the truck was unloaded and crossed over the river at Kamysin, and then transported by truck to the left bank of the Volga River..."
"Comrade Captain," Sidorin heard this and interrupted Varman anxiously: "We all know the transportation path of the rockets. You'd better tell us how they were detained."
Varman nodded and continued: "After the rockets were unloaded at the train station in Kamising, I was waiting for the transport fleet arranged by my superiors to help us transport the rockets to the river for loading. Who knew at this time,
But suddenly several officers came, one of whom was Captain Simonenko from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He handed me an order saying that these rockets would no longer be transported to Mamayev Hill, but would instead be handed over to the First Guards Army.
.”
Although the rockets were finally transported to Mamayev Heights as planned after the mediation of Khrushchev and others, Sidorin still asked nervously: "Comrade Captain, did you see what Captain Simonenko gave you?"
How did you respond after the order?"
Varman said solemnly: "The order given to me by my superiors was to send these rockets to Mamayev Heights. At this time, I suddenly received an order from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Before executing it, I must report to
My superior, Major Yakov, asked for instructions. Therefore, I found a phone in the station director’s office that could contact Moscow and reported the situation to Major Yakov. After the major learned about the situation, he said he would immediately report the matter.
Report to the People's Commissar Comrade Ustinov and order me to keep an eye on the rockets and not give them to anyone unless someone from the 73rd Infantry Brigade comes to collect them..."
"Brigadier Commander, Chief of Staff," Vitkov interjected: "When Comrade Khrushchev and I rushed to Kamishin, Lieutenant Colonel Gritsenko, the representative of the First Guards Army, had already arrived at the station with his convoy.
, tried to transport all the rockets away, but were stopped by Captain Varman and his men."
"Captain Varman," after hearing Vitkov's story, Sokov couldn't help but stand in awe of the principled captain in front of him. He stood up holding the table, straightened his body and said: "I represent the 73rd Infantry Brigade.
To all the commanders and fighters, we would like to express our gratitude for everything you have done for us." After saying that, he raised his hand and saluted the other party with a solemn military salute.
Varman did not expect that Sokov would suddenly salute him, so he quickly stood up, waved his hand at Sokov and said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are too polite, I am just doing my duty."
“Captain Varman is really amazing,” Vitkov praised him from the side: “When Comrade Khrushchev and I rushed to Kamishin Station, we heard with our own ears Captain Simonenko of the Ministry of Internal Affairs threatening him, saying that if he
If Lieutenant Colonel Gritsenko did not agree to take away these rockets, he would be shot on the spot. Faced with the threat from the Ministry of Internal Affairs personnel, Comrade Captain still insisted on his principles and refused to make the slightest concession."
Knowing that Captain Varman in front of him still dared to stick to his principles when faced with the threat from the Ministry of Internal Affairs personnel, Sokov couldn't help showing a surprised expression on his face. Considering that the other party offended him for his own troops,
If the staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs let him return to Moscow like this, he would inevitably encounter difficulties from the staff of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the future, so he decided to keep him. After the idea of keeping him came to Sokov's mind, he asked tentatively
: "Comrade Captain, I want to keep you in my army. What do you think?"
Faced with Sokov's sudden request, Varman was stunned for a moment, but then he understood the other party's intention. He knew very well that out of his duties, he had to offend the personnel of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. If he returned to Moscow,
He would definitely face difficulties. Presumably, if he stayed in Stalingrad where the war was fierce, he might still have a chance of survival. However, he did not immediately agree to Sokov's request, but said euphemistically: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if I want
If you want to stay, you must get permission from your superiors."