Burning Moscow

Chapter 713: Tkachev’s Plight Seeing the situation spiral out of control, I hurried forward to restore order. Standing behind the female signalers, I shouted at them: “Ladies, quiet! Quiet! Please keep quiet.” The girls, who had been shouting nonstop into the microphone at Tkachev, all fell silent and turned to look at me. With a stern expression, I said to Tokareva, “Comrade Second Lieutenant, please remember, you are soldiers, not civilians. General Tkachev called to report to the Front command, not to discuss these trivial matters with you.” Tokareva’s face flushed crimson at my words. She bowed her head and apologized to me awkwardly: “I’m sorry, Comrade Commander. I haven’t disciplined them strictly enough. I’ll be more careful in the future.” With that, she turned and shouted at the female soldiers under her command: “Ladies, what are you all doing gathered here? Return to your posts immediately.” Although the girls were still reluctant to leave without receiving a definite answer from Tkachev, seeing their superior—Tokareva—angry, they had no choice but to slink away and return to their assigned communications equipment. I walked over to the radio, put on the headphones, and spoke politely into the microphone: “Hello, Comrade Commander. It’s a pleasure to hear your voice. How are you?” “Oshanina, I hear you’ve been reinstated to the rank of major general. On behalf of Gurov and Krylov, I’d like to congratulate you.” Tkachev didn’t answer my question; instead, he began by congratulating me on my reinstatement. Half-jokingly, half-seriously, I said, “Thank you, Comrade Commander. But if I can’t return to Stalingrad to continue fighting, I’d find it hard to feel happy even if I were promoted to Marshal.” Tikhov’s tone suddenly turned very serious: “ “Oshanina, do you know that if we hadn’t made the decisive decision yesterday to evacuate the female soldiers, by this afternoon, very few of the women by your side would have survived.” His words startled me, and I thought to myself: Could the enemy have stumbled upon the vicinity of headquarters by some twist of fate? I quickly pressed him: “Commander, what has happened?” “Around noon, the fascist bandits likely pinpointed the location of my command post and began a fierce barrage of artillery fire and bombing on the area where we were stationed,” Tkachev said in a heavy tone. “High-explosive shells reduced the entire area to ruins and destroyed several nearby oil tanks. The burning, fiery liquid gushed out in great quantities, flowing past our shelters toward the Volga River, The command post was engulfed in a sea of fire. Once the burning oil reached the shore, it spread to the barges and the many logs that had been washed ashore by the river. The fiery torrent swept the barges and logs downstream. In an instant, it seemed as though the entire Volga River had suddenly burst into flames, the flames leaping viciously through the turbulent currents with a sense of glee. ” Listening to Trikov’s account, the hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. I thought to myself that if Trikov hadn’t forced us to evacuate yesterday but had waited until today, it was anyone’s guess how many female soldiers would have made it safely to the east bank of the Volga. “Didn’t you evacuate in time?” Nervous, I unconsciously gripped the microphone tightly. Tikhov chuckled twice and continued, “Our communication lines were destroyed, so we could only rely on radio to stay in touch with our subordinate units. But the radio signal was unstable and often cut out at the most critical moments. Seeing our command post surrounded by flames, many of the officers and soldiers inside panicked. Just then, Chief of Staff Nikolai Ivanovich Krylov decisively stepped forward and issued an order. He shouted to the officers and soldiers: ‘No one is to leave! Everyone must continue working in the undamaged shelters! … Restore communication with all units and keep the radio lines open!’ After saying this, he approached me and asked in a low voice, ‘Commander, what do you think? Can we hold out?’ I looked at him and replied, ‘Rest assured, we can hold out! ’ Then, echoing his own words, I expressed my resolve: ‘If necessary, we will wipe our hands clean.’ Seeing how confident I was, he replied briskly, ‘All right, so be it!’ Then he went back to his work.” Hearing this, I could no longer control my emotions. I said to Tkachev with great agitation, “Comrade Commander, since the situation is so dangerous, you should evacuate. Yes, immediately, without hesitation.” My words left Tkachev silent for a moment, but then he continued: “To be frank, when the fire first broke out, I jumped out of the dugout and was blinded by the flames; my vision went blurry, and I was indeed somewhat panicked. But General Krylov issued orders to everyone—including me—in a loud voice, just as one shouts ‘Hurrah!’ during an attack, and that became the force that inspired us to fight. “And so, surrounded by the flames, we held our positions and never ceased directing the troops.” At this point, I heard him let out a wry chuckle. “Although we were trapped by the fire, we couldn’t relocate because we had no backup command post. Since all units, including the engineers, had been committed to the battle, there was no way to construct a new command post for us.” ” “Comrade Commander, Captain Mikhayev, commander of the Independent Division’s engineer company—a highly skilled civil engineer—is fully capable of constructing a fully functional and secure command post for you in a short time. Please allow me to retain command of the Independent Division so that I may issue orders directly to Captain Mikhayev.” “There’s no need for that.” ” Tkachev politely declined my suggestion and continued in a matter-of-fact tone: “Last night, Commander Yelemyenko issued a special order requiring a daily evening report to him. It is now time for that report. Please summon Chief of Staff Zakharov; I need to brief him on today’s battle situation.” “Please wait a moment, Comrade Commander. ” After speaking, I set the headset and microphone down on the desk, walked over to a telephone, cranked the handle on the base a few times, and then picked up the receiver. A female operator’s sweet voice came through the receiver: “Comrade Commander, where would you like to be connected?” I paused for a moment, then instinctively replied, “Please connect me to General Zakharov, Chief of Staff of the Front.” “Please hold!” Soon, Zakharov’s voice came through the receiver: “Hello, this is Zakharov. Who is speaking?” “Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff, this is Oshanina.” After identifying myself, I briefly reported to him that Trikov was waiting to brief him on the day’s combat operations. “All right, I’ll be right there.” As soon as he finished speaking, he hung up the phone. Less than a minute later, I heard hurried footsteps outside the door, and Zakharov appeared in the doorway. He nodded at me and asked straight to the point, “Which line is Trokhov on?” ” I quickly led him to the radio operated by Tokareva, picked up the headset and microphone from the desk, and handed them to him all at once, maintaining a smile as I said, “General Tkachev is waiting to speak with you.” Zakharov thanked me, put on the headset, and held the microphone in one hand, and with the other, pulled a notebook and pencil from his pocket, beginning to take notes on the battle situation as reported by Tkachev. Since I was standing nearby, I could see what he was writing simply by leaning in slightly. It read: “At dawn, the enemy launched a new offensive against our army group’s sector. The Gurdiev Division repelled the enemy’s attack before 1800 hours. However, by the end of the day, German forces had encircled us from both flanks, forcing the division to retreat south of Nizhneuginsky Street, across to the other side of the railway. The left flank was positioned along Vinitsky Street. One of the division’s regimental commanders, Major Marklov, was seriously wounded in the fighting. The Smehotvorov Division spent the entire day battling the enemy for control of the public bathhouse and the cookware factory. Although the public bathhouse changed hands several times during the day’s fighting, it remains in our hands. The division suffered heavy casualties, with each regiment now reduced to only 200–250 officers and soldiers. The Guriev Division repelled all German attacks on the “Red October” factory. The Gorishne, Vachuk, and Rodimtsev Divisions held their positions, repelling several enemy attacks launched on the army’s left flank. Based on the course of these battles, we conclude that the enemy’s intention is to push to the Volga at all costs, capture the major factories, and then advance southward along the Volga from there.” Zakharov had nearly finished taking notes in his notebook when he asked Tikhov, “Comrade Tikhov, is there anything else to report?” “We have ascertained. Since Zakharov had taken off his headset and was holding it in his hand, I could clearly hear Tkachev’s voice: “From the Mokraya Machetka River to Hill 107. 5, along a front of about 5 kilometers, the enemy has concentrated five divisions (including three infantry divisions and two tank divisions), in addition to numerous reinforced units. Furthermore, the Germans have also transferred approximately 40 engineer battalions from other sectors of the Eastern Front and from Germany proper. The German offensive in the Orlov area is not merely aimed at eliminating that salient, but also at diverting our attention so they can launch a main assault on the factories. Faced with this situation, we have decided to deploy the Ruzhev Division to hold the tractor plant. After the regiments of the 37th Division occupied their defensive positions, they immediately engaged the enemy this morning, repelling the enemy infantry and tanks that had already breached the battle formations of the Gurdiev and Yermolkin Divisions. The Army Group needs a respite, even if only for a day, to reorganize its forces, assemble artillery, replenish ammunition, and replenish personnel, so that we can drive the invaders out of the Tractor Plant residential area and the town of Barikad with a local counterattack. The Front Commander demanded that we launch a counterattack early this morning. But the Army is simply unable to do so. We are running out of ammunition here, and transporting it across the Volga has become increasingly difficult due to the Germans’ unceasing artillery fire and bombing, has become increasingly difficult.” After listening to Tikhov’s report, Zakharov said with some impatience: “Comrade Tikhov, the Front has done its utmost to meet all the requests made by your Army Group. Didn’t the 84th Tank Brigade under Colonel Belyaev, which was reinforced last night, already cross the river and enter the city?” In response to his questioning, Tikhov explained: “Comrade Chief of Staff, due to a lack of transport vessels, only light tanks are currently able to cross the river. Once these light tanks reached the right bank, they were immediately incorporated into the combat formations of the Zolotarev and Gurdiev Divisions. They can only be used as firepoints, because I personally believe it would be unwise to use them for a counterattack against the German tanks. Furthermore, during the day today, the enemy flew nearly 2,000 sorties over the city’s industrial district. Since daybreak, all troop movements have ceased. Due to the enemy’s intense bombardment, the wounded soldiers were unable to leave their foxholes and shelters even before nightfall; they could only be transported to the medical battalion by medics once darkness fell.” I found everything Tikhov stated to be credible, but at this moment I could only remain a passive listener; I could not casually share my own views with Zakharov. Fortunately, Zakharov was not an unreasonable man; he nodded and said: “Comrade Tkachev, I have been informed that General Filipp Ivanovich Golikov, the Deputy Commander of the Front who has just returned from Moscow, will cross the Volga River tonight to visit your headquarters and oversee the implementation of the counteroffensive plan.” Upon hearing that the Deputy Commander was coming to the city for an inspection, Trikov said somewhat hesitantly, “Comrade Chief of Staff, could you ask Comrade Deputy Commander to cancel this trip?” “Why?” Trikov’s words took Zakharov completely by surprise. He asked in confusion, “Comrade Deputy Commander’s trip was arranged long ago. Why cancel it?” At this critical moment, Tkachev saw no reason to hide his dire situation from the Chief of Staff: “Communications at our command post are getting worse and worse. Due to enemy bombing and shelling, we’ve been unable to improve the situation.” Clearly, the fascist artillery and mortar crews have pinpointed the exact location of our command post and have been firing directly at it; mortar shells are exploding at the entrance to my bunker from time to time. Casualties among the command post personnel are mounting by the minute. It is obvious that this place is no longer safe; we cannot allow Comrade Deputy Commander to come here and risk his life.” ” Zakharov froze after hearing this. He pondered for a moment, then asked solemnly, “ “I will take responsibility for speaking with the Deputy Commander. My immediate concern is this: since your current location can no longer serve as a command post, I suggest you relocate immediately. Do you have a suitable location that can serve as a new command post?” There was silence in the headset; Tkachev was likely considering his options. After two or three minutes, Tkachev’s voice came through the headset again: “Comrade Chief of Staff, after discussion with Krylov, we have decided to relocate the Army Group headquarters to the command post of the Sarayev Division. That division has now withdrawn to the east bank for reorganization, so we can make use of the command post they left behind. However, this means we’ll need to move about 500 meters along the Volga River toward the Tractor Plant defensive line.” “Then proceed with the relocation as soon as possible, Comrade Tkachev,” Zakharov said amiably into the microphone. “As for the matter of the Deputy Commander, leave that to me.”