Russia at war 1941-1945

Tula-Moscow railway at Revyakino and occupied three villages... I was also told

that, later in the day, the Hitlerites had cut in several places the Tula-Moscow

highway, some ten miles north of Tula. "What shall we do now?" said Zhavoronkov (the local Party chief). "A strange question," I said, trying to sound cheerful. "We'll just go on defending Tula as before, and go on killing Fascists."

Not for a moment did the roar of guns stop in and around Tula. I called up the

command post of the 258th rifle division in the village of Popovkino, and asked for its commander, Colonel Siyazov. "Mikhail Alexandrovich," I had to bellow into the field telephone, "take immediate steps to clear the Germans off the Moscow

highway!" Siyazov could hardly hear me. I had to spell out every word. Then I could faintly hear him say: "Comrade General, your order will be carried out. I am ordering the 999th regiment to attack."

I asked Siyazov to inform me hourly. Not for a moment did I doubt that they would succeed. Then the phone rang from H.Q., and General Zhukov asked for me. I felt it would be an unpleasant conversation. And so it was. "Well, Comrade Boldin,"

Zhukov said, "this is the third time you've managed to get yourself encircled. Isn't it rather too much? I already told you to move your army headquarters and command

post to Laptevo. But you were pig-headed, wouldn't carry out my order..."

"Comrade Commander," I said, "if I and my army staff had left, Guderian would already be here. The position would be much worse than it is now."

For a couple of minutes there was a loud crackle in the receiver, and finally I could hear Zhukov again. "What steps are you taking?" he said. I reported that the 999th rifle regiment of the 258th division had gone into action to clear the Moscow

highway and that, moreover, an attack was being mounted against the Germans at

Kashira. "What help do you need?" said Zhukov. "May I ask you to move the tanks of Getman's division southwards along the Moscow highway to meet the 999th

rifles?" "Very well, I shall," said Zhukov. "But you, too, do your stuff."

Siyazov went on phoning hour by hour. The 999th regiment had been fighting for

seventeen hours when another phone call came. An overjoyed excited Siyazov

reported: "Comrade Commander, Vedenin (the Regiment's commander) has just

phoned to say that his men and the German tanks have joined up. Traffic may be

resumed along the Tula-Moscow highway."

[Boldin, op. cit., pp. 184-5.]