Natasha continued: "Speaking of which, the commander told me that one day our Red Army units will be fully mechanized. What does this mean? That is, in the future battles, we do not need to march on foot at all. That will be the era of the full spread of tanks and armored personnel carriers, and our combat effectiveness will also be unprecedented. ”

"Son, what a luxury!" Igor shook his head.

"What, you don't believe it?"

"I believe it! Since this is what the commander said, of course I believe it. Perhaps some of our units have already begun to be formed according to such standards, and if most of our troops were like this, we are afraid that this war will end in our victory in a few months. ”

"yes!" Drochenko looked up at the sky slightly and muttered, "I really don't know if it will be realized soon." Once it happens, the enemy will be quickly defeated by us! I wish the war was over soon, I really don't want to fight anymore. ”

"Well, we can only fantasize about it." Female soldier Talakova said regretfully: "To really end this war, we need all of us to do our best." We cannot rely on some unrealistic illusions, victory can only be won by us. You see, our entry into the battlefield is a small step for the victory of the anti-fascist war for the country and even the whole world, and of course it is also an important step. ”

"Hey, hey! Your words are really atmospheric. ”

The little face of the female soldier Talakova flushed slightly, after all, she was also a fourteen-year-old girl, and she was also a little shy to repeat the propaganda of these adults.

But these words are indeed the truth, and they are the reason for the little soldiers to fight.

Natasha was happy in her heart and continued to think, "We should believe the words of the commander." I remember the commander telling me that there were three years left at most, and by this month of 1945, we would finally win a great victory in this war, which had little hope in sight. ”

"Three more years?! Oops, it's a long time. Drochenko scratched his head vigorously, "I will be seventeen years old in three years, and I will have to continue my studies, will I not be able to graduate from school until I am twenty years old?" Or maybe I'll die in a battle. ”

Suddenly, she was slapped on the head.

"Oops. What are you doing?! ”

"Fool, what kind of unlucky thing are you talking about?!"

Because she was her friend, Talakova went straight to shut up the unlucky bird.

Natasha looked at the people sitting in the carriage again, maybe they were not afraid of death, maybe they didn't have much idea about sudden death.

The girls chatted and chatted, and they did not talk about death again, but assumed that 1945, three years later, was the year of victory, and talked freely about the days after victory. Although they are young girls, they still think of their future marriage, because in four years, it will be the legal age of marriage.

In the Soviet Union, the age of marriage for both men and women was eighteen, that is, the standard of adulthood was the standard of the age of marriage.

Having forgotten about the headache, Drochenko muttered: "In September 1945, I will be eighteen years old." Maybe then I will be able to continue my education, and even find a boy I like, and then I will marry him. We have died a lot in this war, and I will have to have a lot of children when the time comes, and it is my responsibility. ”

"Hehe, it depends on your future husband's ability!" Tarakova's joke drew laughter from many.

Drochenko was not angry, she jerked up to her instructor: "Comrade Speroskina, on the day of victory, will you marry our Kharkov battalion commander?" ”

Natasha was stunned, what should I say? I did have a crush on that young man, but isn't it too extravagant to talk about life after victory now?

She responded with some hesitation: "First of all, we must live until Victory Day!" When that day comes, I think I will! I know that guy really likes me, and we're old comrades. But before I could get married, I had to finish my last school year. I'm still a ninth-grader! ”

These little soldiers, in fact, are students in grades 7 to 9, and the war has forced these children who should be in the ivory tower to become fighters to defend their country.

However, thanks to the Soviet Union's emphasis on military affairs, these children all joined the "Lenin Young Pioneers" with a certain military color when they were in school, and until now, the young soldiers in the youth battalion basically wear a red scarf around their necks. Whether voluntarily or not, as long as they are drafted, they must report to the youth camp, and now is the time to fulfill the oath made in the face of the red flag!

The jokes and discussions made the nervous march a little interesting, and everyone was obviously going to go to the battlefield, and the nervousness before the battle was relieved.

It's just that what doesn't get relaxed is everyone's feet and muscles all over the body.

Natasha has been patient, she is a real Hero of the Soviet Union, and her pride as a hero tends to keep her from getting in the carriage. Even though most of her weight had been thrown onto the car, the long march had severely weakened her physical strength.

The troops continued to march until four o'clock in the afternoon, and when the time came, Balzen ordered the whole army to set up camp!

The fighters, who had been highly nervous for hours, were like deflated balls after hearing the news. They did not set up camp at the first time, but sat down first to rest.

Some people took off their shoes, untied their leggings, and even took off their coats to scratch the itch.

Some warriors had blisters on the soles of their feet, and after the soles of their feet were exposed, they tried to cut through them with the tip of a dagger. Such a warrior is not small, and Balzen has witnessed all this, which is a strange thing that has never happened before.

"It's terrible! How can there be so many people with worn feet?! ”

"Why do you think?" Evgeny leaned over, "We have never carried so much equipment in the past, and under your wise orders we have marched from morning to now. Before everyone was tired and paralyzed, the soles of the feet protested first! Besides, look at the shirtless ones! ”

Evgeny casually raised his hand and pointed at a warrior who took off his coat because it was too hot. Because these warriors were all white, they were all flushed in the heat, but the reddest were on their shoulders, where there were two very serious blood marks.

Balzen was taken aback: "I know, this must be a backpack straps, this has existed in the past but it will not be so serious." ”

"That's right! Probably every fighter is like this! Evgeny shook his head: "Fortunately, everyone stopped and rested!" If we really reach the goal in one day, maybe we will work hard, like the marathon of the warriors who died of exhaustion, and we will pay a serious price after reaching the goal. The price is not that some people will die of exhaustion, but that many soldiers lose their combat effectiveness due to overwork. It's actually no different from exhaustion! ”

Evgeny's words were very pertinent, and Balzen took off his steel helmet and military cap, and the top of his own head was wet.

"It seems that my rush for quick success is indeed wrong. If the soldiers are sick by my orders, they will not be able to act according to the predetermined plan. For this, I will definitely go to a court-martial, and if I don't know, I will be sentenced to death! ”

"If only you knew!" Evgeny patted this comrade-in-arms on the shoulder, "That's why the commander asked me to give you advice." ”

"Thank you so much."

"It doesn't matter. Now let's see where Kravsky has gone, he should have come to our regimental headquarters! ”

So, where did Kraftsky go? He did not report to the regimental headquarters immediately after the troops stopped, and after a brief search, the camp was brought by the soldiers on a stretcher.

"Ahh What's going on with you? Is it exhaustion? Balzen was astonished, and he noticed that the tent looked haggard and worried.

"Hell, I actually got my foot down! There are few soldiers in the whole army, but I, the battalion commander, have been recruited! And it's very bad, my injuries are quite serious! ”

"Very serious?!" Evgeny lifted the blanket over him and saw that his right ankle was already swollen. "Kravsky, I don't think you can participate in this battle anymore."

"What? Although I am wounded, it does not prevent me from commanding the troops! Besides, I'm going to the front line soon, so I'm going back with such regrets? ”

"Do you have any other choice? What you need now is not ordinary treatment, and the military doctors who accompany the army can't cure you. Besides, I think you'll soon have a fever due to inflammation and your unit commander will have to be replaced by someone else! As for you, you'd better return now! ”

"Damn it!" Kravsky gritted his teeth and quickly hammered down the wooden pole of the stretcher. What else could he do? It is only possible to retreat.

As a result, he, the deputy regiment commander, ceased to be the commander of the dispatched troops, and the command was returned to the full-post battalion commander Voroshitin. This Vorohitin was the battalion commander of the large army led by Yang Mingzhi, who had led his troops to welcome the victorious return in early May.