"What? Came the 78th Infantry Division of Colonel Beloborodov? After hearing Malinin's report, Rokossovsky's face showed a look of surprise, others may not know about this unit, but he knew very well, this unit from Siberia, for its outstanding performance in the defense of Moscow, was awarded the title of the 9th Guards Division. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoSince it is a unit that can be awarded the title of Guards Division, then the battle will not disappoint. He then asked, "Where is the colonel?" ”

"The chief of staff said that the division was driving towards us in a car, and it was estimated that it would arrive before dawn." Malinin hurriedly replied: "In order to establish contact with us as soon as possible, the division commander, Colonel Belorodov, took a step ahead and came to us in advance, and it is estimated that it will not be long before he can arrive." ”

"Report to Comrade Commander!" As soon as Malinin's words were finished, a staff officer walked in and reported: "A commander has come from outside, saying that he is the commander of the 78th Infantry Division......"

Before the staff officer could finish speaking, Rokossovsky had already rushed out of the command headquarters and went outside the door to meet Beloborodov. When he walked out of the headquarters, he saw three men standing at the door, and at the front was a burly officer, followed by two soldiers with submachine guns.

Rokossovsky stopped, suppressed the ecstasy in his heart, and deliberately asked in an official tone: "I don't know which unit commander came?" ”

The officer took a step forward and, with the help of the light shining from the room, looked at Rokossovsky, and instead of answering the question, he asked in the same tone: "I wonder who I am having the honor of dealing with?" ”

"I am Lieutenant General Rokossovsky, commander of the 16th Army." After Rokossovsky identified himself, he took the initiative to stretch out his hand to the other party: "You are the commander of the 78th Infantry Division, Colonel Beloborodov. ”

"Hello, Comrade Commander." Hearing that the commander of the army group was standing in front of him, Beloborodov hurriedly raised his hand and saluted, and then reached out to cover the other party's outstretched hand, and replied respectfully: "I am Colonel Beloborodov, commander of the 78th Infantry Division, and I have come to report to you on order." ”

Rokossovsky let go of his hand, took a step back, turned his body to the side, and made way of the passage: "Please come in, Colonel Beloborodov, we have been waiting for you for a long time." ”

Walking into the command headquarters, Rokossovsky introduced Beloborodov to several of the heads of the army group inside, and then got down to business: "Comrade Colonel, when will your troops get here?" ”

Beloborodov, who had just sat down at the table, heard Rokossovsky's question, quickly got up from his seat and answered truthfully: "Comrade commander, my troops got off the train south of Moscow, and then changed into cars and drove here overnight. I guess they'll be here by dawn at the latest. ”

After listening to Beloborodov's report, Rokossovsky nodded and said: "Comrade Colonel, I intend to deploy your division to the north of Volokolamsk, at the junction of the 316th Infantry Division and the Cavalry Corps, is there a problem?" ”

"Nope." Beloborodov shook his head and replied respectfully: "I resolutely obey your orders!" ”

Rokossovsky was very satisfied with Beloborodov's attitude, and he pointed to the map and said: "Colonel, come and see, the defense area of your division is here. Due to the insufficient strength of our army group in the early stage, no fortifications were built in this area. As soon as your division enters, you should build a well-established defensive system. ”

"When will our division be able to move into defensive positions?" Beloborodov, who was standing up straight, respectfully asked Rokossovsky: "Also, after the battle begins, will we be supported by artillery?" ”

"Colonel, you can rest assured about artillery support." Artillery Chief Kazakov preempted Rokossovsky and said: "At the moment, the main artillery forces of the army group are being transferred to the Volokolamsk region. The defensive zone in which your division is located is exactly the area covered by our artillery fire, and our artillery can provide you with the necessary artillery support when enemy tanks and infantry attack your positions. ”

"Great, that's great." Beloborodov was worried that it would be difficult to block the German attack with only his own infantry division, but when he heard that there was an artillery unit as his strong backing, his heart suddenly became much more relieved. Then he said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, our division has just been transferred from Siberia and is very unfamiliar with the terrain near Moscow, see if you can send us a guide." ”

"Comrade Colonel, don't worry about the guide." In fact, even if Loborodov didn't mention it, Rokossovsky would have sent them a guide, and he didn't want this new unit to mistakenly break into the enemy's defense area because he was unfamiliar with the place, so he said cheerfully: "I will ask the chief of staff, Colonel Malinin, to arrange it for you." ”

After Rokossovsky's words were finished, Malinin immediately smiled and said to Beloborodov: "Comrade Colonel, don't worry, when your troops arrive, I will arrange for a guide to lead you into the defense zone." ”

…………

At noon the next day, Rokossovsky felt a little relieved that he could not leave the Belorodov Division, so he drove to the defense area of the 78th Infantry Division with Lobachev.

Guided by the soldiers, Rokossovsky came to the division headquarters, and as soon as he entered the door, he saw Beloborodov and several commanders, gathered around a simple wooden table, looking down at the map spread out on it. He strode forward and asked loudly: "Comrade commanders, what are you studying?" ”

When several commanders heard the sound of someone talking, they all turned their heads to look in the direction from which the voice came, and saw clearly that it was Rokossovsky and Lobachev who came, and several commanders hurriedly stood up straight and saluted the two.

Seeing Rokossovsky walking towards the table, one of the commanders in front of him hurriedly made way for him. Rokossovsky walked to the table, saw clearly that there was a map of fortifications on the table, and said: "Colonel, how are your fortifications repaired?" ”

"As soon as the three regiments entered the position, they began to build fortifications." When Beloborodov said this, a little embarrassed expression appeared on his face: "It's a pity that because the time is too short, it is still very early to finish." ”

"Take me to see it." When Rokossovsky heard Beloborodov say that the fortifications had not yet been completed, he was a little breathless and urged: "I want to see how your fortifications are doing?" ”

"Comrade commander," Hearing that Rokossovsky was going to inspect the fortifications, Beloborodov hurriedly blocked in front of him, persuading: "The front is too dangerous to go." ”

"Since the soldiers are not afraid of danger, as commanders, we must set an example for them." After Rokossovsky said this, he ordered: "Comrade Colonel, bring it to us at the front." ”

The commander standing next to him, seeing the embarrassed look on Beloborodov's face, hurriedly stepped forward and said: "Comrade commander, if you want to inspect the fortifications, you can go to our regiment. ”

Seeing Rokossovsky staring at each other with puzzled eyes, Beloborodov hurriedly explained: "Comrade commander, this is Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, the commander of the 233rd regiment. ”

After listening to Beloborodov's introduction, a smile appeared on Rokossovsky's face, he nodded at Oleg and said: "Since this is the case, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, then you can show us the way in front." ”

Ten minutes later, Rokossovsky and his party came to the regimental command post of Lieutenant Colonel Oleg. As soon as he entered the command post, Oleg took Rokossovsky to the lookout, pointed outside and said: "Comrade commander, you are here, you can see the fighters who are building fortifications. ”

Rokossovsky raised his binoculars and looked out, and sure enough, he saw countless soldiers bending over, desperately swinging their sapper shovels, throwing a spade of dirt into the trench to the side. Although the fighters had only been working for a few hours, the defensive position was already beginning to take shape, with the first and second lines of trenches about three hundred meters apart, connected by seven or eight communication trenches.

Seeing this, Rokossovsky called Beloborodov to his side and taught him the experience of defense: "Comrade Colonel, dig a sufficient number of anti-artillery holes in each trench to hide from enemy shelling and air strikes. Or at the beginning of the enemy's shelling, only a small number of observers were left in the first trench, and the rest of the commanders and fighters were withdrawn to the second trench. After the shelling was over, they were allowed to return to the first line of trenches. Do you understand? ”

Although the tactics mentioned by Rokossovsky were already widely implemented in the troops of the former 16th Army, Beloborodov was stunned for a long time before he asked in confusion: "Comrade commander, if our commanders and fighters cannot return to the first line of trenches in time when the Germans attack, will they not be surrendering their positions to the enemy?" ”

Seeing that Belorodov did not understand his new tactics, Rokossovsky did not get angry, but patiently explained to him: "Comrade Colonel, our men have withdrawn to the second line of defense, but in the first line of defense, there are still quite a few observers. As soon as they detect that the enemy, taking advantage of the gap in the shelling, is attacking our positions, they can raise the battle alarm in time. At this point, our troops who have temporarily withdrawn to the second line of defense will be able to return to the first line of defense through the communication trenches and start a blockade against the enemy. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." After Rokossovsky's explanation, Beloborodov finally understood what was going on, nodded and said, "I understand it all now." ”

At this moment, there was a sudden rumbling sound outside. Rokossovsky hurriedly raised his binoculars and looked outside, only to see a cloud of smoke rising near the first line of defense, and the soldiers, who were still waving their sapper shovels to dig the earth, were lying on the ground at the moment. Then another shell landed between the two lines of defense and exploded.

"It's the enemy firing cold art." Beloborodov looked at the shells that exploded in the clearing, and said to Rokossovsky: "The enemy has found that we are building fortifications, and may not be able to spare forces to attack us for the time being, so they can only use cold artillery to interfere with our work." ”

After the two shells exploded, no new shells fell, and the soldiers lying on the ground got up again, waved the sapper shovels in their hands, and continued to dig the fortifications.

"Comrade Colonel." Rokossovsky pointed ahead and said to Beloborodov: "In front of the position, be sure to lay minefields and draw barbed wire, so that the enemy's infantry cannot easily rush to your position. ”

Beloborodov looked into the distance, frowned slightly, and said: "Comrade commander, I also understand that mines should be laid in front of the position, but I am worried that when laying mines, once they are discovered by the enemy's artillery, they will inevitably cause us heavy casualties if they carry out heavy shelling of us. ”

"If you're worried about being bombarded by the Germans during the day, choose the time at night. I think that even if the Germans find out that you are moving, the effect of the shelling will be greatly reduced at night when visibility is poor. Rokossovsky said with a serious expression: "If there is no mine, if the Germans send a small detachment at night, they can easily touch your position." ”

"I see, Comrade Commander." After listening to Rokossovsky, Beloborodov nodded vigorously, and then said: "We have no choice now, so we can only rely on minelaying to block the German infantry." I think we are laying mines in front of the position, and we should choose a position close to the German position as soon as possible. ”

On the way back to the headquarters after leaving the defense zone of the 78th Infantry Division, Lobachev asked Rokossovsky with some concern: "Comrade commander, do you think that Colonel Beloborodov's troops will be able to hold back the German attack?" ”

"Why, Comrade Military Commissar, don't you have confidence in them?" Rokossovsky asked a rhetorical question, and without waiting for Lobachev's answer, he asked himself and said: "I believe that they will be able to hold this place and turn it into a line of defense that the Germans cannot cross." ”

As soon as Rokossovsky's words were finished, the rumbling of artillery could be heard in the distance, which was no longer a cold artillery shot by the Germans, but an intensive artillery bombardment before the offensive. He listened for a moment, and then he heard the sound of artillery coming from the direction of the 316th Infantry Division, where the Germans had launched a fierce assault on the division's defensive area.

Although Lobachev was a political cadre, having been in the army for such a long time, he also heard that this dense artillery sound was coming from the defense area of the 316th Infantry Division, and made a judgment in the shortest possible time: "Comrade commander, the German army is shelling the defense area of General Panfilov. ”

"That's right," Rokossovsky said, nodding his head, "judging by the intensity of the artillery, the Germans will launch a powerful offensive against the 316th Division." ”

Seeing Rokossovsky's serious face, Lobachev took the initiative to ask: "Comrade commander, shall we go to General Panfilov now?" ”

Unexpectedly, Rokossovsky shook his head and said decisively: "No, we will not go to General Panfilov, we will go back to the headquarters!" After speaking, he patted the driver on the shoulder and ordered, "Return to the headquarters as fast as possible." (To be continued.) )