While the three divisions on the west bank of the Wopi River were fighting with the Germans, in the headquarters of the 16th Army, Rokossovsky, Lobachev, Kazakov, and Malinin were gathered around the table where the maps were spread. The four of www.biquge.info them smoked cigarettes, all staring at the place in front of them, and no one spoke.

The first to break the silence was the military commissar Lobachev, who seemed to be talking to himself, as if to say to everyone: "Our troops in Hexi are engaged in a fierce battle with the Germans. However, the four divisions of the 19th Army, which were close at hand, remained stationary, so that the Germans could calmly and unhurriedly draw their forces to meet our assault forces with all their might. If the night battle continues like this......" At this point, he stopped, took a hard puff of his cigarette, and then stopped talking.

"Comrade Commander," Malinin said angrily when he saw that Lobachev did not speak, threw the unfinished cigarette on the ground, and stepped on it with the heel of his boot: "Some time ago, when the three armies that were surrounded by the Germans were relieved, our commanders and fighters fought hard all night, and the 16th and 19th armies moved quickly to break out of the encirclement, while the 20th army was so slow that our operation to break the siege almost failed. I didn't expect that now General Konev ...... again"

"Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, don't say such words that undermine unity." Rokossovsky knew that Konev was about to take over the post of commander of the Front, and if Malinin's whining reached his ears, it would cause unnecessary trouble, so he interrupted Malinin in time, and then changed the subject and asked: "What did they say when you contacted the 19th Army?" ”

Ma Lining replied a little aggrieved: "What else can I say? Their chief of staff said that the troops had never conducted such a large-scale offensive operation at night. If forced into battle, the commander may not be able to effectively control the troops, causing unnecessary confusion. ”

Kazakov looked at Rokossovsky and asked: "Comrade commander, due to the lack of accurate firing parameters, our artillery is unable to provide the necessary artillery support for the assault troops in Hexi. I fear that this will result in a ridiculously high proportion of casualties in the fighting. ”

"There is no way to do this," Rokossovsky said with a serious expression: "We are now fighting alone, and it is very difficult to eat the well-equipped German motorized divisions without any support." ”

"Comrade Commander, I think we should try again." Lobachev looked at them with a calm expression, "We should explain to General Konev the meaning of the night battle, and let his four divisions also participate in this battle, so that we can wipe out the encircled fascist German army." ”

"Well, Comrade Military Commissar, since you say so, then I'll try again." Rokossovsky reluctantly agreed to Lobachev's constant hope of destroying the enemy on the 19th Army, which had been slow to move, so as not to spoil his interest. He called a communications staff officer and ordered: "Immediately give me the command of the 19th Army, I have important matters to discuss with General Konev." ”

After a while, the staff officer reported to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, the call is connected. ”

Rokossovsky walked over, took the microphone from the staff officer's hand and put it to his ear, and said politely: "Hello, General Konev! ”

"Hello, Comrade Rokossovsky." Konev politely said: "I heard that your troops are fighting well, huh?" ”

"Yes, General Konev." In order to convince Konev, Rokossovsky recounted a series of achievements of his troops: "My troops eliminated the German field hospital and a regimental headquarters, and also annihilated two enemy battalions. ”

"Yes, in the current situation, this is a good result." Konev said in a mocking tone: "As long as there are two or three more battles like this, the German troops surrounded by us will cease to exist." ”

"General Konev," Rokossovsky was really angry when he saw that Konev was still joking at this time, but he couldn't get angry at the future boss. He could only try to control his emotions and said: "According to the latest intelligence, the Germans are pulling troops from the west and north, and pressing on our troops who are fighting with them in the south. I ask you to let the troops attack the enemy in order to relieve the pressure on my troops west of the river. ”

"Comrade Rokossovsky, didn't I explain it to you." Konev said in the tone of a lecture from superior to subordinate: "Our troops have no experience in fighting at night, and if we put all four divisions into battle, we will lose control of our troops." Once the troops are in disarray, when it is dawn, there is a possibility that they will be surrounded by the enemy. To tell you the truth, I was so frightened by this. The mere mention of the word 'siege' makes my heart flutter now. ”

After listening to Konev's defense, Rokossovsky finally understood why he was reluctant to let his troops participate in the night battle, because he was caught in the encirclement of the German army some time ago, which made him a rat trap. Knowing that if he continued to talk about it, he would not gain anything, so he could only put down the phone in disappointment.

As soon as he put down the phone, Rokossovsky instructed Malinin: "Chief of Staff, send a telegram to the three divisions in Hexi, saying that there is no friendly support for tonight's battle, and that they will appropriately shrink their forces and hold the three divisions into a regiment to resist the heavy attack of the German army." ”

"Understood," Malinin saw Rokossovsky's sad face and knew that the situation was serious, so he immediately and decisively agreed, and ran to the walkie-talkie to send a report to the troops in Hexi.

Soon after the capture of the heights by Colonel Gryaznov's troops, enemy troops drawn from both the western and northern directions arrived. In order to recapture this high ground, they first shelled the high ground with artillery.

Colonel Gryaznov, who was staying at the command post at the foot of the mountain, looked at the light of the shells that pierced the dark night sky from time to time, and scolded with great disgust: "Damn Germans, they dare to shell us so unscrupulously when they bully us without artillery." If I had the same artillery as yours, I would have to raze your artillery positions to the ground. ”

At this time, the regimental commander, who was holding the heights, walked in, and after raising his hand to salute, he reported to Gliaznov: "Comrade division commander, according to the report of the observation post on the top of the hillside, the lights of the German convoy were found in the distance, it seems that at least one battalion of troops is coming towards us, what should we do?" ”

Gryaznov thought for a moment, and then replied: "For the new reinforcements of the enemy, I will send two more regiments to deal with them." And the task of your regiment is to nail it like a nail into the hillside, and you are not allowed to retreat a single step, can you do it? ”

The regiment commander hesitated for a while, and then replied decisively: "Don't worry, comrade division commander, even if I am the only one left on the position, I will definitely not let the enemy pass through the high ground." ”

"Comrade regiment commander, it is good to have such determination, but it is also necessary to be skilled in fighting a war." Gryaznov said to his men earnestly: "There are still more than a thousand people left in your regiment, so don't put all your forces in the defensive positions in front of you, so that the enemy's artillery fire can kill more than half of your men." ”

When the regiment commander heard Gryaznov say this, he couldn't help but widen his eyes and asked: "Comrade division commander, then what should I do?" ”

Gryaznov thought for a moment, and then said to the regiment commander: "Previously Comrade Commander once told me that when the defensive positions are shelled by the enemy, only a small number of troops need to be placed in the front-line trenches, and most of the commanders and fighters are withdrawn to a safe place. The safest place for you here is on the back side of the hill......"

Before Gryaznov could finish his words, the regimental commander reminded him: "Comrade division commander, the north and south sides of this hillside are covered by German artillery fire, and don't forget what a high price our regiment paid for seizing this position. ”

Hearing the words of the regiment commander, the muscles on Gryaznov's face could not help twitching violently, and he would never forget the scene of those commanders and fighters who were about to rush into the enemy's positions, and their bones were blown to nothing by enemy shells. He hesitated for a moment, then said: "Since both the north and south sides are within the enemy's artillery fire range, then you can try to move your troops to the east or west of the hillside, I don't believe that the enemy's artillery fire can cover the entire hillside in all directions." ”

"I understand, comrade division commander, I'll go back to the unit to adjust the deployment." After the regiment commander finished speaking, he raised his hand and saluted again, turned around and walked out of the headquarters with a submachine gun.

After the regimental commander left, Gryaznov picked up the phone on the table and called the commanders of the other two regiments, asking them to send troops to attack the German troops that were rushing here.

Colonel Gryaznov's troops were engaged in fierce fighting, and the combined forces of Lidyukov and Chernessov also exchanged fire with the Germans again. Before the attack, the enemy first attacked the place where the troops of the two divisions were concentrated, and bombarded them with mortars, causing heavy casualties to the Soviet commanders and fighters, who had no positions to rely on.

At this moment, Lidyukov received a telegram from Malinin, and he immediately called Chernyshov over, handed the telegram to him, and at the same time asked: "Comrade Colonel, the commander told us to shrink our troops, tell me what the hell is going on?" ”

Chernyshov followed the faint light, and after reading the telegram, he said: "Colonel Lidyukov, the intention of the command is obvious, the troops of the 19th Army will definitely not join our attack on the Germans, so that the enemy can calmly draw forces and attack us and the Gryaznov division. I felt that it should be carried out immediately in accordance with the orders of the command, the troops should be concentrated, and then, before dawn, retreat to the defensive positions during the day. ”

Lidyukov thought about Cherneshov's proposal, then nodded and agreed: "Colonel Cherneshov, you are very reasonable, our troops went too deep because they fought particularly well a few hours ago. At this moment, as soon as the main forces of the German army pressed over, we were likely to be surrounded, and it seemed necessary to retreat. ”

Gryaznov thought for a moment, and then said to the regiment commander: "Previously Comrade Commander once told me that when the defensive positions are shelled by the enemy, only a small number of troops need to be placed in the front-line trenches, and most of the commanders and fighters are withdrawn to a safe place. The safest place for you here is on the back side of the hill......"

Before Gryaznov could finish his words, the regimental commander reminded him: "Comrade division commander, the north and south sides of this hillside are covered by German artillery fire, and don't forget what a high price our regiment paid for seizing this position. ”

Hearing the words of the regiment commander, the muscles on Gryaznov's face could not help twitching violently, and he would never forget the scene of those commanders and fighters who were about to rush into the enemy's positions, and their bones were blown to nothing by enemy shells. He hesitated for a moment, then said: "Since both the north and south sides are within the enemy's artillery fire range, then you can try to move your troops to the east or west of the hillside, I don't believe that the enemy's artillery fire can cover the entire hillside in all directions." ”

"I understand, comrade division commander, I'll go back to the unit to adjust the deployment." After the regiment commander finished speaking, he raised his hand and saluted again, turned around and walked out of the headquarters with a submachine gun.

After the regimental commander left, Gryaznov picked up the phone on the table and called the commanders of the other two regiments, asking them to send troops to attack the German troops that were rushing here.

Colonel Gryaznov's troops were engaged in fierce fighting, and the combined forces of Lidyukov and Chernessov also exchanged fire with the Germans again. Before the attack, the enemy first attacked the place where the troops of the two divisions were concentrated, and bombarded them with mortars, causing heavy casualties to the Soviet commanders and fighters, who had no positions to rely on.

At this moment, Lidyukov received a telegram from Malinin, and he immediately called Chernyshov over, handed the telegram to him, and at the same time asked: "Comrade Colonel, the commander told us to shrink our troops, tell me what the hell is going on?" ”

Chernyshov followed the faint light, and after reading the telegram, he said: "Colonel Lidyukov, the intention of the command is obvious, the troops of the 19th Army will definitely not join our attack on the Germans, so that the enemy can calmly draw forces and attack us and the Gryaznov division. I felt that it should be carried out immediately in accordance with the orders of the command, the troops should be concentrated, and then, before dawn, retreat to the defensive positions during the day. ”

Lidyukov thought about Cherneshov's proposal, then nodded and agreed: "Colonel Cherneshov, you are very reasonable, our troops went too deep because they fought particularly well a few hours ago. At this moment, as soon as the main forces of the German army pressed over, we were likely to be surrounded, and it seemed necessary to retreat. (To be continued.) )