When it was getting dark, more than 200 female soldiers from various units of the army boarded a ferry docked on the dock in turn. After the crowd got on, the ferry turned around and headed up the river and sailed towards the distant east bank.

I never expected that there were so many female soldiers in the 62nd Army. I thought that there would be a cap on the 100 people. I didn't expect that when the assembly was held, more than 500 people suddenly appeared. Some of the divisions or brigades who were notified late would have to arrive later. The commander of the Volga Fleet was like me, and I didn't expect that there would be so many female soldiers, so I only prepared a ferry for us. In this way, the female soldiers staying on the dock had to cross the river in two groups.

I stood alone by the railing, staring at the city drowned by the fireworks by the Volga River, and couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion. But after receiving the orders from my superiors, one after another crossed the river without hesitation, and immediately entered the battle after entering the city. However, we, the former city defenders, had to leave this city that we had fought with pain because of the orders from our superiors.

"Comrade Commander, what are you thinking?" Lieutenant Razumeeva, who boarded the ferry with me, walked to me for some reason and asked in a low voice: "Will there be a chance to come back after we leave?"

Regarding her question, I could only answer with a wry smile: "Comrade Razumeeva, I don't think I can answer your question either. Didn't you see that although I am in charge of the division commander of the teacher, after receiving the order from my superiors, don't you have to evacuate this heroic city like you?"

Razumeeva, who had been in the command center for more than a month, had the opportunity to see the full picture of Stalingrad in the battle only on the ferry. She said in great pain: "Oh my God, the whole city is buried by fire and smoke. Here, it seems that stones are burning, and in some places the fire is rushing straight into the sky. Are our commanders and soldiers and citizens fighting in such a sea of ​​fire? What are they breathing inside? What are they defending there? Are they ruined walls or piles of stones?"

"Comrade Colonel," said Tokareva's voice from behind me. When she saw me turning her head and looking at her, she asked timidly: "Can I talk to you a few words?"

Although I was very depressed, I was still very friendly to this female communications lieutenant who had just met. I said kindly: "Of course, Lieutenant Tokareva."

"College, the city's troops are now seriously insufficient, but the commander has drawn so many people to leave at once. You must know that it is not only the communications soldiers, but also the anti-aircraft gunners, snipers, scouts, machine gunners, health workers, and even tank soldiers. So many communications soldiers have left their jobs, you must know that this is a very critical position. If you can't find a suitable person to replace us, the communications of the troops will fall into chaos."

To be honest, I really didn't know how to answer when I heard Tokareva's question. I could only comfort her and said, "Comrade Lieutenant, don't worry, before we left just now, the commander said that he just asked us to go to the east coast to rest temporarily? Maybe in a few days, when the situation in the city improves, he will recruit us again."

After hearing what I said, Tokareva, who looked frustrated, became excited. She asked excitedly: "Is it true, comrade Colonel? Are we really going back to the city soon and fighting side by side with the commander and the others?"

I couldn't bear to sweep her interest, and said perfunctorily: "That's right, Comrade Lieutenant. You just said that your location is a very critical position, and it is difficult for newcomers to replace you. It won't take long before the commander will find that if you are missing, the communications within the group army will fall into chaos, so I think it will be a matter of time before he will recruit you back."

Seeing Tokareva return to her companions happily, Razumeeva, who was standing next to her, asked again with low concern: "Comrade Teacher, are you saying true? Can we really repeat our positions soon?"

I shook my head and said helplessly: "I think it is very difficult to return to this city. Maybe we have to wait until our army launches a large counterattack."

Razumeeva said aloud, and then said in surprise: "It's time to wait for so long. What should I do if the communications in the division are done? You must know that the male communication soldiers who temporarily took over our jobs have not been exposed to communication equipment for a long time. I am really afraid that they will make any mistakes."

What she was worried about was exactly what I had been thinking about in my heart, but now we were out of reach. Even if something happened, I could only sigh. Since the discussion about the affairs in the teacher now had no meaning, I changed the topic in time and asked her: "By the way, have you seen the people from the teacher's health camp?"

She nodded and replied seriously: "Just on the dock, I met Comrade Shimakova of the health camp. By the way, I also saw your former guard squad leader Vera, who was with another female soldier. However, because they were full when boarding the boat, they were still on the dock and were ready to wait until the ferry returned before they could cross the river."

Before the ship reached the shore, I always worried that the ferry would be bombarded by the enemy or bombarded by planes. However, perhaps because it was dark and the high ground of Mamayev Hill blocked the German artillery observers, so that before our ship docked, the things I was worried about never happened.

I saw that there were hundreds of people standing on the docks on the shore, but it was very quiet. Apart from the sound of gunfires across the river, I could not hear anyone talking. At this moment, the boat slowly leaned on the pier, and the sailors on the boat jumped up and started to tie the cables. Then I heard a voice shouting: "Comrades in female soldiers, please line up, don't panic, and get off the boat in sequence." Perhaps because I was afraid that someone would not hear clearly, the man repeated it loudly twice.

I entered the middle of the female soldiers' team, and after getting off the boat, I walked along the trestle. While walking, I was thinking: Where should I take these female soldiers to later? Just as I was thinking, I suddenly heard someone shouting my name loudly in front of me: "Col. Colonel Oshaninna. Where are you?"

"I'm here!" I quickly agreed loudly.

The man heard my voice and hurriedly ran towards me along the female soldiers' queue. When the man ran towards me, I carefully observed the man and saw him wearing a steel helmet, a short cotton military uniform, a common military raincoat, and a sand submachine gun hanging across his chest.

When he ran closer and looked around, I used to say first: "I am Oshanina, I don't know what's wrong with you calling me?"

The man stood at attention in front of me. Without saluting, he reported: "Hello, Comrade Colonel., I came to the dock to wait for you on the order of General Zakharov, the chief of staff. At the same time, I also received an order to bring you and your subordinates to the camp that had been arranged long ago for rest."

While speaking, the female soldiers had passed by us, and the troops waiting on the shore lined up in neat rows and walked onto the pier to start boarding. I was afraid that our stay here would affect the troops boarding the boat. I quickly said to Yakubow: "Captain, let's talk in another place. Here we will stop the soldiers from boarding the boat."

After reaching a more open place, Yakubow said to me again: "Comrade Colonel, General Zaharov ordered me to take you to the headquarters immediately, saying that there is something important to discuss with you."

I pointed to the female soldiers lined up next to me and said in embarrassment: "If I leave, what should these female soldiers do?"

After taking a look over there, Yakubow said casually: "Comrade Colonel, please rest assured, I will send someone to receive them." After that, he shouted to the distance: "Len Liao Enka, come to me!"

As he shouted, a second lieutenant dressed in the same manner as him ran to him and asked him for instructions: "Comrade Commander, what instructions do you have?"

Yakubow pointed to me and said, "I will accompany the colonel to the Chief of Staff, and you will stay and receive the female soldiers and send them to the camp prepared for them."

"Yes, I will execute it immediately." Lieutenant Liao Enka agreed, turning around and leaving, but I stopped him in time. He stopped him, turned his head and looked at me strangely, trying to figure out why I called him.

I quickly explained to him: "Comrade Lieutenant, there are more than 500 female soldiers we have evacuated, and only half of them are here. The remaining people are still on the dock opposite. They can only cross the river after the ferry that sent us back."

The lieutenant replied very readily: "I understand, comrade Colonel. I will take these female soldiers to their resting place first, and then come back here to pick up the female soldiers from Xinduhe. I think this arrangement is completely timely."

"Well, you have thoughtful thoughts. Thank you, Comrade Lieutenant. By the way, there are two officers among the female soldiers: Lieutenant Razumeeva and Lieutenant Tokareva. You can ask them to help you with the female soldiers." I smiled politely at Lieutenant Liaoenka, and then said to Yakubov: "Okay, Captain Yakubov, let's go!"

A few minutes later, I met General Zakharov in an underground bunker. As soon as he saw me, he walked up and gave me a big hug without waiting for me to salute or speak. After the hug was over, he took a step back and looked me up and down, and said, "Comrade Oshaninna, you have lost weight. You have not seen each other for more than a month, and you have lost so much." Speaking of this, he suddenly thought that there was a guard company commander who accompanied me next to him, and hurriedly said to him, "Okay, comrade Captain, since Colonel Oshaninna has arrived at the headquarters, there is nothing you have to do here, go back to the company."

As soon as Yakubow left, Zaharov couldn't wait to pull me along the long corridor and walk into the depths of the bunker, saying to me as he walked: "Comrade Oshenina, the commander and the military commissioner want to see you and learn about the situation on the front line."

Since there seemed to be no big battle breaking out when I left, I saw Zaharov's anxious look on his face. I guess something big happened, so I asked tentatively: "Is there something wrong in the city?"

"A hour ago, we suddenly lost contact with Cuikov and the others." Zaharov said anxiously: "We tried every means and could not contact him. The commander and the military commissioner were both anxious."

The contact with Stalingrad was interrupted an hour ago. We were on the ferry at that time. Was there something unexpected happening during this time?

Soon we arrived at the innermost room, where two people sat, one in military uniform without a hat, and the other in casual clothes. I quickly recognized that the commander of the front army was General Yellemko, the commander of the front army. I had seen him when he first arrived in Stalingrad. When he saw my arrival, his face was filled with smiles, and he grabbed a cane leaning against the wall. He stood up and reached out to me, and said loudly: "Col. Oshenina, welcome to my command."

I quickly stood attentively and saluted, then stretched out my hands, held his extended big hand tightly, and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I'm glad to see you again."

While we were shaking hands, the bald man in casual clothes next to us also stood up. He smiled and stretched out his hand to me: "Col. Oshanina, I'm glad to know you."

Although no one has introduced me to who the leader was. But I have guessed that he was Khrushchev, the military committee member of the Front Army. He quickly held his hand with both hands, shook it hard, and said flatteringly: "Hello, comrade Military Commissioner, I have admired you for a long time, but unfortunately I have never had the chance to see you. Today I finally got what I wish."

After a greeting, Yelemenko and Khrushchev both sat back to their respective positions. Next, Yelemenko asked me with a serious expression: "Comrade Oshenina, how is the situation in Mamayevgang recently?"

"Report to the commander and military committee member, the enemy suffered heavy losses due to repeated setbacks in front of Mamayev's post. They have recently reduced artillery and bombardment on the high ground, and even the ground attack has almost stagnated." Although I don't know the purpose of his question, I still answered honestly, "Although the enemy's offensive strength on the defensive areas of our division has weakened, they have transferred their troops to other directions and strengthened the attack on our defense line in that direction."

"A hour ago, we suddenly lost contact with Cuikov's command center. After using all the contact methods, we could not contact them." Yelemenko tried his best not to show his inner anxiety and asked me: "Do you think something might have happened?"

I tried hard to recall the deployment situation near the Army Command. Although the security command did not have much force, it was still more than enough to block the German attack. But why did I suddenly lose contact? What happened?

"Have you not something special happened before you come back?" Khrushchev continued, and reminded me specifically, "For example, have you found a small German army near the headquarters that might endanger their safety?"

"No," I replied with certainty: "When I left, although there were fighting everywhere in the city, the enemy was still far from their command. It was impossible to break through the layers of defense of our army and rush towards the command."

"Why are you so sure that something will happen to Cui Kefu?" Yeliaomko asked.

"Yes, Comrade Commander." I replied with certainty: "When I summoned the female soldiers to the dock, it was calm in the area of ​​Mamayevgang to the headquarters, and no sign of the Germans were found." When I said this, I suddenly remembered that the female communication soldiers who played the leading role in the headquarters followed me to the east coast. The reason why Yelemenko lost contact with Cuikov was related to the new communication soldiers who temporarily replaced them. Thinking of this, I quickly reported to the two, "By the way, I remembered that all the female communication soldiers in the Group Army Command had retreated to the east coast. Perhaps it was because the male communication soldiers who temporarily took over their work were not familiar with the communication equipment that caused the interruption of communication."

"Is that true?" After Yelemenko asked me this sentence, he turned his head and looked at Zaharov next to me before I could answer, "What do you think, Comrade Chief of Staff?"

"I think..." Zaharov was hesitating to think about how to answer Yelemenko's question, a communications officer hurriedly walked in. He held a telegraph in his hand and shouted a "report", and began to report to Yelemenko: "Comrade Commander, contacted the 62nd Army Command. According to General Krelov's report, since the newly transferred communications soldiers were not familiar with the communication equipment, they could not recover after the phone malfunctioned." Because of his excitement, his voice became hoarse.

Yelemenko reached out to take the phone, looked at it for a few times, handed it to Khrushchev, and then smiled and said to me, "Comrade Oshenina, it seems that your judgment is correct." After pausing for a moment, he hesitated to me, "Also, General Rokosovsky, the commander of the Don Front Army, sent me telegrams and phone calls, wanting to transfer you to his Front Army. I want to ask you, how did you think about it?"

"Comrade Commander, the answer is very clear." I replied with a standard emphasis: "Although I was once a subordinate of General Rokosovsky during the Battle of Moscow and had a good personal relationship with him, I am now a member of the Stalingrad Front, so no matter what the situation is, I will choose to stay here until the end of this battle."

"Comrade Oshenina," After listening to my answer, Yelemenko and Khrushchev looked at each other, with a knowing smile on their faces. Then Khrushchev nodded at me and said with satisfaction: "What I want to say is that you are a good person, comrade colonel, no, you should be a major general."

"Major General?" Khrushchev's sudden words confused me. I asked in surprise: "Military Comrade, what's going on? I've confused me."

Khrushchev stood up with a smile and said to Yelemenko: "This Ellenburg, when he went to Stalingrad for an interview last time, I asked him to hint to her that Comrade Oshenina wanted to restore the military rank, but he didn't expect that Comrade Ellenburg would not do this at all." Then he turned his head and looked at me. After staring at me for a while, he restrained the smile on his face and announced to me solemnly: "Comrade Oshenina, because of the courage and heroism you showed in the battle to defend Mamayevgang, and the great achievements you have achieved. After the Supreme Commander himself and the discussion of the Supreme Commander, he decided to restore your rank of Major General from now on."

The moment I heard Khrushchev's announcement of promotion, I couldn't believe my ears. I thought I could not have heard it wrong, but why did I restore my rank of major general without any movement in advance. Although my mind was blank, I still saw Yelemenko bent down and lifted a small suitcase from the ground and put it on the table.

Khrushchev reached out and opened the box, took out a military uniform from it, and handed it to me. Although I saw clearly that it was a uniform belonging to a general, I was at a loss and silent. I don’t know what I should say when I took this military uniform.

"Why don't you speak?" Yeliaumko, who was sitting in the seat, asked sternly, "You have been in the army for a day or two. Don't you know what you should say after you get the promotion?"

Yeliaumko's words woke me up, and I quickly said loudly: "Serve the Soviet motherland!"

"That's right." Yelemenko looked me from head to toe, smiled kindly, and said with satisfaction: "What do you think about restoring your rank of Major General?"

I was very happy to be able to regain the rank of major general and let me see the bright future again. When I heard Yeliaumenko's question, I quickly replied: "I am very happy."

"I just feel happy, have no other thoughts?" Khrushchev also asked friendly.

"I want to go back to my own troops," since Khrushchev asked me to express my opinion, I would definitely not waste such an opportunity. I quickly put forward my own ideas and assured them sincerely, "I will never let you down your trust in me in the next cruel battle."

"I'll talk about this matter later." Yeliaumko said vaguely.

When I heard this, my heart skipped a beat and thought, "No, are you really planning to leave me in the logistics agency to work?" (To be continued, please search for Astronomy, novels are better, updated and faster!

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Chapter completed!