As soon as Alexei put down the phone, he rushed out of the command post and ran along the communication trench towards the place where the tankmen were gathered. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 Several guards standing at the door saw that the regiment commander suddenly rushed out of the command post and ran forward along the trench without saying a word.

Seeing a lieutenant colonel running along the traffic trench with several guards, it immediately attracted the attention of the commanders and fighters in the trench, and they, whether sitting or standing, hurriedly stood in a row against the wall of the trench, straightened their waists, raised their chins high, and waited for the lieutenant colonel comrades to give them orders.

Lieutenant Colonel Alexey came to the tank men who had escaped by chance, swept his gaze over the soldiers whose faces were blackened by gunsmoke, and then asked: "Comrades, which of you saw your division commander, General Ogeltsov?" ”

After hearing Alexey's question, the tank crews immediately looked left and right, communicating with their eyes. Finally, a tank lieutenant said: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, you can also see that all our tanks have been destroyed by the Germans. All the people who escaped from the tank are here, as if none of us have seen where the division commander is. ”

Alexei glanced at the dozens of tanks in front of the trench and asked anxiously: "Can any of you tell me which tank your division commander was riding?" ”

The second lieutenant took a step forward, squinted at the pergola for a while, then pointed to a burning tank in the distance, and said decisively: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please see, this is the tank." ”

Alexey raised his binoculars and looked in the direction of the second lieutenant's finger, only to see that in a relatively open area, a tank was burning, and several sacrificial tankmen were lying around the body. Seeing this scene, his heart couldn't help but sink, and his heart said Could it be that General Ogeltsov has already died?

For the sake of safety, he asked the second lieutenant again: "Comrade second lieutenant, are you sure that it is your division commander's command vehicle, is there no mistake?" ”

"You can't be wrong, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." The second lieutenant said affirmatively: "The tank piloted by the division commander is a T-34, and our whole division has a T-34 tank, so I can't be mistaken." ”

Alexei held up his binoculars again, carefully observing the few tank crews who had fallen around the tank, hoping to see even the slightest sign of life in them. It's a pity that he watched for a long time, and the tank soldiers who fell around the tank still lay there motionless in various postures, obviously sacrificed a long time ago.

Although Alexey had long been mentally prepared for the sacrifice of General Ogeltsov, when he personally confirmed this speculation, he still found it difficult to accept in his heart. When he returned to the command post and was considering how to report the incident to Ragujing, Ragujing's phone call came first.

Ragutin anxiously asked, "How is it, Lieutenant Colonel Alexey, has the situation been clarified?" Did General Ogeltsov get out of danger? ”

Alexei was silent for a moment, and then he spoke: "I'm sorry, comrade division commander, I think I disappointed you, among the tank corps who managed to escape, there was no General Ogeltsov. ”

Ragutin was obviously not satisfied with such a reply. He deliberately reminded Alexey: "Comrade regimental commander, maybe General Ogeltsov is wounded and is still lying on the battlefield, waiting for us to come to the rescue." ”

"Comrade Division Commander." As soon as Aleksey and Lagutin finished speaking, he immediately answered: "After the identification of the fighters of the tank division, we saw that the tank in which General Ogeltsov was riding was burning on the battlefield, and there were several corpses lying around the tank. ”

"Have you sent someone to scout?" Ragujing asked unwillingly.

"Not really, Comrade Division." Aleksey was afraid that Ragutin would ask him to immediately send someone to the battlefield to check what was going on, and he explained: "The area where our tanks were destroyed was still far from our position, and it was within the range of German firepower, so I didn't dare to act rashly." ”

Ragutin thought about it, it was really torture, if he sent personnel to check the life and death of Ogeltsov in broad daylight, it would inevitably cause great losses when passing through the enemy's fire blockade. But he was not willing to give up the search for Ogeltsov easily, so he unwillingly instructed Alexey: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, when it gets dark, you will immediately send someone to the battlefield, and you must find out the whereabouts of the general, and you will see the dead or the corpse." Do you understand? ”

"Understood," Alexei immediately replied loudly.

After he put down the phone, he shouted outside the command post: "Someone! ”

With his shout, a guard immediately walked in, who looked at him respectfully and asked: "Comrade Regiment Commander, do you have any instructions?" ”

Alexei glanced at him, then asked, "Did you accompany the tankmen just now?" ”

The guard nodded and said with certainty: "Yes, Comrade Regiment Commander, I ran after you." ”

Since he had followed him to meet the tank soldiers, he must have known the person he wanted to meet, so he ordered: "Please go to the tank soldiers and call the tank soldier second lieutenant who just spoke to me, I have important matters to discuss with him." ”

The tank lieutenant immediately rushed to the regimental command post without saying a word, after learning that Lieutenant Colonel Alexey had something important to discuss with him. After he entered the door, he raised his hand to salute Alexey, and then asked respectfully: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you have any instructions?" ”

"Comrade Second Lieutenant, I have called you here today because I have an important matter, and I want to order you to go." Alexey said with a smile on his face: "General Ogeltsov's whereabouts are unknown now, and the superiors mean to see people alive and dead to see corpses, I want to ask you, do you have any good suggestions?" ”

"I'm at your disposal!" The tank lieutenant immediately replied: "Not only me, but all of us, will obey your orders." ”

"Well, Comrade Ensign, since you are willing to carry out my orders unconditionally, then I will now give you a difficult task."

"Please, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." The second lieutenant straightened his back and waited for Alexei to give the order.

"When it gets dark, you take a few soldiers and sneak into the area where your tank was destroyed to search for your division commander." When Aleksey conveyed the order, he secretly observed the second lieutenant's expression and was secretly relieved to find that he was very cooperative.

"Thank you, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." As soon as Alexey's task was completed, the tank lieutenant took a step forward, took the initiative to reach out and grab Alexey's hand, shook it vigorously, and said excitedly: "Even if you don't arrange for us, at night, we will spontaneously organize people to search for the general's whereabouts." ”

After nightfall, the tank ensign and five fighters, carrying the latest Popov submachine guns, crawled towards the wreckage of the T-34 tank under the cover of night.

After more than ten minutes of difficult crawling, several people finally came to the side of the wreckage of the T-34 tank. After repeatedly examining the remains around the tank, the second lieutenant was surprised to find that there was no General Ogeltsov among them.

This kind of result, not to mention that the second lieutenant did not believe it, even the soldiers who came with him felt incredible. They struggled to identify the bodies around the wreckage, hoping to find their division commander from within. But in the end, everyone was disappointed, because they had repeatedly examined the corpses, and there was really no one they were looking for.

A sergeant walked up to the second lieutenant and asked in a low voice: "Comrade second lieutenant, what should we do now?" ”

"Continue to scout," the second lieutenant waved impatiently, "whatever the outcome, we must withdraw to our positions before dawn." ”

"Comrade Second Lieutenant, can you make a suggestion?" The sergeant asked cautiously.

"Yes," said the lieutenant in a kind manner, "Say, what do you have a good idea?" ”

"I suggested that we split into two groups and search in different directions, which would be more productive than if everyone was huddled together." After expressing his opinion, the sergeant asked tentatively: "Comrade Ensign, do you think this will work?" ”

"That's a good proposal," the second lieutenant also felt that the six men were all crowded together, and that the efficiency of the work was not necessarily high, and it was easy to expose the target, so he decisively ordered: "Okay, that's it, sergeant, you take two soldiers and search the west and south; I and two other fighters were in charge of the east and north sides. ”

The sergeant agreed, and then planned to leave with his men, but was stopped by the second lieutenant, who advised: "Comrade sergeant, remember, whether you find it or not, we must return to our defensive position as soon as it is dawn." Do you understand? ”

"Understood." There were several voices around that deliberately lowered their voices.

While the Soviet soldiers were nervously searching for Ogeltsov's whereabouts, in a forest five or six kilometers from here, there was a German camp, and in the corner of the camp was a health center. In addition to the hygienists who come in and out, there are also the wounded who are carried in or in.

In front of one of the tents, two soldiers stood guard. Inside the tent, several German commanders gathered around a stretcher, on which lay a burly Soviet serviceman.

A German general looked at the Soviet commander lying on a stretcher and said with interest: "This is a Russian general, and I believe that we will definitely learn more from his mouth." At this point, he looked up at the military doctor standing across the stretcher and admonished, "This man is very important to us, and you must do everything you can to save his life." Do you get it? ”

"Understood!" The military doctor did not dare to slack off, and immediately replied loudly: "I will try my best to save his life and let him confess important information." ”

The highest-ranking German general turned and walked out, and several of his men immediately followed. The general stopped and said to several of his subordinates: "If we can get some important military information from his mouth, then our operation will be considered a success." ”

…………

General Podlas, who was staying in his headquarters, knew that his troops had repelled the German attack, nodded with satisfaction, and then said to his chief of staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, although our troops are relatively weak, we can still be of some use in holding back the enemy. ”

"Comrade Second Lieutenant, can you make a suggestion?" The sergeant asked cautiously.

"Yes," said the lieutenant in a kind manner, "Say, what do you have a good idea?" ”

"I suggested that we split into two groups and search in different directions, which would be more productive than if everyone was huddled together." After expressing his opinion, the sergeant asked tentatively: "Comrade Ensign, do you think this will work?" ”

"That's a good proposal," the second lieutenant also felt that the six men were all crowded together, and that the efficiency of the work was not necessarily high, and it was easy to expose the target, so he decisively ordered: "Okay, that's it, sergeant, you take two soldiers and search the west and south; I and two other fighters were in charge of the east and north sides. ”

The sergeant agreed, and then planned to leave with his men, but was stopped by the second lieutenant, who advised: "Comrade sergeant, remember, whether you find it or not, we must return to our defensive position as soon as it is dawn." Do you understand? ”

"Understood." There were several voices around that deliberately lowered their voices.

While the Soviet soldiers were nervously searching for Ogeltsov's whereabouts, in a forest five or six kilometers from here, there was a German camp, and in the corner of the camp was a health center. In addition to the hygienists who come in and out, there are also the wounded who are carried in or in.

In front of one of the tents, two soldiers stood guard. Inside the tent, several German commanders gathered around a stretcher, on which lay a burly Soviet serviceman.

A German general looked at the Soviet commander lying on a stretcher and said with interest: "This is a Russian general, and I believe that we will definitely learn more from his mouth." At this point, he looked up at the military doctor standing across the stretcher and admonished, "This man is very important to us, and you must do everything you can to save his life." Do you get it? ”

"Understood!" The military doctor did not dare to slack off, and immediately replied loudly: "I will try my best to save his life and let him confess important information." ”

The highest-ranking German general turned and walked out, and several of his men immediately followed. The general stopped and said to several of his subordinates: "If we can get some important military information from his mouth, then our operation will be considered a success." (To be continued.) )