During the time he waited for the tank troops, Rokossovsky was not idle, and he asked the staff officers to integrate the units that had just been contained into Kirillov's division after a simple screening. After all this, several old Soviet tanks appeared in Rokossovsky's field of vision.

The BT-7 tank in the lead stopped a dozen meters away from Rokossovsky, and then the hatch above the turret was lifted, and a commander in tank uniform emerged from it. He jumped out of the tank, walked quickly in front of Rokossovsky, raised his hand and saluted, and reported: "Hello, Comrade Commander. The commander of the 101st Tank Division, Colonel Mikhailov, reports to you that our division was ordered to join your operational group. ”

"Great, that's great." Hearing that a tank division had joined his combat group, Rokossovsky couldn't help but be overjoyed, he looked at the dozen or twenty tanks neatly parked on the side of the road, and asked with some excitement: "Comrade Colonel, where are the other tanks of your division?" ”

Unexpectedly, when Mikhailov heard this question, an embarrassed expression appeared on his face, and after coughing lightly, he said with some embarrassment: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, the tanks of our division are here." ”

"What, all the tanks are here?" Mikhailov's words startled Rokossovsky, because he knew that the Soviet army had a regular tank division with thousands of combat vehicles. The Ninth Mechanized Corps, which he previously commanded, was a unit in the process of being formed, but each division also had more than a hundred tanks and armored vehicles. And the 101st Tank Division in front of him actually had only a dozen tanks, which really surprised him. He pointed to the tanks on the side of the road and asked Mikhailov tentatively: "Colonel, if we heard me correctly, you mean that all the tanks of your division are here?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander," Mikhailov nodded, affirmingly, "a total of eight old tanks, and seven new heavy tanks, a dozen armored vehicles, and twenty trucks transporting fuel and shells. ”

"Comrade commander," Tarasov said to Rokossovsky with a sad face, looking at the dozen tanks, "such a few tanks, maybe too few!" ”

Tarasov said this, which made Mikhailov a little embarrassed, although they had the number of tank divisions, but the number of tanks was barely equivalent to a company of that old tank division. Fortunately, Rokossovsky saw the shame on Mikhailov's face, and hurriedly came out to play a round: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, don't say any more." At such a time, not to mention that Colonel Mikhailov has a dozen tanks, even if there is only one, it is a great support for us now. ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky took the initiative to relieve himself, Mikhailov looked at him gratefully, and then asked: "Comrade commander, I am waiting for your orders, please assign tasks!" ”

"Colonel, you and your men should rest here now." When Rokossovsky said this, he looked up at the sky, and then added: "Let the fighters go to the nearby woods to cut some branches and camouflage the tanks so that they are not discovered by the German planes." ”

Mikhailov did not know why Rokossovsky would let himself rest, and asked people to camouflage the tank, and hurriedly said: "Comrade commander, we are not tired, there is no need to rest, you better assign us tasks first." ”

"The task of your tank division is to charge the fixed batteries behind the infantry's defensive line to provide them with the necessary artillery support." When Rokossovsky said this, he shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands and said: "But I also took in an infantry unit an hour ago, and they haven't had time to build fortifications yet, so you can only wait here first, and when they repair the fortifications, your division will drive over." ”

Seeing that there was nothing to do here for the time being, Tarasov took the initiative to propose to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, anyway, there is nothing to do here for the time being, so we might as well go to the defensive positions of the 38th Division and have a look." ”

Rokossovsky raised his hand and looked at his watch, and saw that an hour had passed since the Kirillov division had established the defensive line, and the prototype of the fortifications should have appeared, so he nodded and said: "Okay, Comrade Chief of Staff, let's go to the forward positions and have a look." ”

As the car drove along the road, although Rokossovsky was closing his eyes and recuperating, his mind was repeatedly calculating the troops under his command, only two divisions, and one of them was a tank division with a false appearance.

After a while, the car pulled to a stop on the side of a hill, where the 38th Infantry Division, led by Kirillov, was building fortifications. Although the car stopped, Rokossovsky was still sitting in his seat because he was thinking about something.

Tarasov waited for a while, and seeing that Rokossovsky was still sitting there motionless, he quickly raised his hand and shook him, and at the same time shouted softly: "Comrade commander, comrade commander......"

After shouting for four or five years in a row, Rokossovsky woke up from his contemplation, shook his head, looked at Tarasov with a blank expression and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what is the matter?" ”

"Comrade commander, we have arrived at the defense zone of the Kirillov division." Tarasov cautiously reminded him: "Why don't you go down and have a look?" ”

"Yes, yes, we are here to inspect the construction of the fortifications of the Kirillov Division." Rokossovsky said as he pushed open the door and jumped down first. After waiting for Tarasov to get out of the car, he shook his head and said: "Let's go, Comrade Chief of Staff, let's go find Colonel Kirillov." ”

Although only a little more than an hour had passed since the departure of the 38th Division, in front of them, a trench half a meter deep and hundreds of meters long was taking shape under the shovels of the soldiers. And Colonel Kirillov, whom they were looking for, was standing on a mound of dirt, shouting something to the commanders and fighters who were bending over to repair the fortifications.

As they got closer, Rokossovsky heard Kirillov say loudly: "...... Comrades, the line of defense must not be handed over. Comrade Stalin once said: let us not panic, not fear a shameless enemy, and maintain our confidence in victory. In the war with the Japanese a few years ago, in the battle with the Finnish White Bandits, many of you have made great achievements. Now that we're here, we're going to fight the Takko armed to the teeth......"

Hearing Kirillov's speech, Tarasov couldn't help but smile and said to Rokossovsky: "Comrade commander, listen to what Colonel Kirillov said, it sounds very exciting, I can't imagine that he can still be a political commissar." ”

After Rokossovsky waited for Tarasov to finish speaking, he nodded slightly, and secretly said in his heart that although the superiors had equipped themselves with a staff team this time, it was a pity that they did not have political workers, and if they really couldn't find any suitable candidates, they could really suggest to the superiors that Kirillov should be the military commissar for him, responsible for the political and ideological work of the entire combat cluster.

After Kirillov finished mobilizing his subordinates, he also found Rokossovsky and Tarasov standing not far away, hurriedly ran down from the mound, came to the two of them, and asked with a smile: "Comrade commander, why are you here?" My troops are building fortifications, which are expected to be completed before dark. ”

Rokossovsky looked at the trench being dug and then said to Kirillov: "Comrade Colonel, build more shelters and anti-artillery holes in the fortifications to minimize the casualties of the troops in the event of German bombardment and shelling. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Hearing Rokossovsky say this, the expression on Kirillov's face suddenly became serious, and he continued: "In the previous two days of fighting, many of our commanders and fighters died honorably in the humble fortifications because of the bombardment and artillery bombardment of the Germans. ”

As soon as Kirillov finished speaking, Tarasov asked with concern: "Comrade Colonel, do you have any difficulties that you need us to help you solve?" ”

Hearing Tarasov's question, Kirillov quickly nodded and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, I was just thinking about waiting for the fortifications to be repaired before I went to look for you, but I didn't expect you to bring it up first." Due to the repeated battles of our division, in addition to the heavy casualties, the consumption of ammunition is also very large, first of all, the headquarters needs to be able to replenish weapons and ammunition for us; Second, at present, the troops do not have heavy firepower, and it is also difficult to fight the German tanks. ”

Tarasov waited for Kirillov to finish speaking, turned his head and glanced at Rokossovsky, with a helpless expression on his face, and secretly said in his heart that he really shouldn't talk too much, and as a result, he caused so many things. He thought for a moment and replied: "Comrade Colonel, the higher authorities have just equipped us with a tank division, and although the number of tanks is a little smaller, it is still possible to place these tanks behind your positions as fixed batteries to provide you with the necessary artillery support. ”

"Great, that's great." When Kirillov heard that there were tanks providing them with artillery support, he immediately said with a smile on his face: "As long as there is tank support, then even if the Germans use more tanks to cover the infantry charge, they will not want to pass in front of our position." ”

"As for weapons and ammunition, I can't replenish them for you at the moment." When Tarasov saw Kirillov hear this, he showed a surprised expression on his face, and explained with some confidence: "Because our combat group is newly formed, there are many things, and I will report the weapons and ammunition you need to the front army headquarters and let them replenish us as soon as possible." ”

Kirillov had a disappointed expression on his face, and after he waited for Tarasov to finish, he nodded, and said somewhat helplessly: "In addition to weapons and ammunition, we also need mines and barbed wire." If the front of the position had not been pulled up with wires and minefields, the enemy could have easily rushed in front of us. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel." Rokossovsky stood up and quoted the classic line of "Lenin in October": "There will be bread, there will be cow milk, there will be weapons and ammunition, everything will be there." ”

Hearing these classic lines, Kirillov and Tarasov were stunned for a moment, and then burst out laughing, and the frustration just now suddenly disappeared.

When the laughter stopped, Rokossovsky restrained the smile on his face and asked Kirillov with a serious expression: "Comrade Colonel, how many lines of defense do you plan to build here?" ”

Kirillov turned his head to look at his troops, then turned back to Rokossovsky and said: "Comrade commander, according to the order, three lines of defense should be built here, and minefields and obstacles should be laid in front of the positions. However, our division has limited strength, and can only temporarily build two lines of defense. The defensive line was spaced five hundred meters apart and was connected by three communication trenches in between. As soon as the first line of defense could not hold the Germans, our commanders and fighters could withdraw along the communication trenches to the second line of defense. ”

"Comrade Colonel, don't you know the old saying: it is better to leave the bones in the wilderness than to retreat half a step?" When Tarasov heard Kirillov say that the troops could not withstand the first line of defense and could withdraw to the second line of defense, he couldn't help but start criticizing him with a straight face: "Your thinking is very dangerous. I advise you not to build any trenches between the two lines of defense at all, and when the commanders and fighters see that there is no way back, they will bravely fight the enemy to the last minute of their lives. ”

Rokossovsky knew that what Tarasov said was the one that Soviet commanders, especially political workers, liked to say to commanders and fighters. However, in the current situation, it would be absolutely wrong not to build a communication trench between the two lines of defense. Even if you don't want the soldiers of the first line of defense to withdraw, when the troops in front are almost depleted, send reinforcements up from the rear, you can't let them brave the enemy's bullets and run a few hundred meters on the open ground, right? After waiting for the reinforcements of the second line of defense, after running into the first line of defense, it is estimated that the casualties will definitely not be small.

Thinking of this, he raised his hand to stop Tarasov, and then said in a kind tone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, there is still a communication trench between the two lines of defense. Otherwise, how can we send reinforcements and supplies from the rear when the first line of defense is almost depleted in terms of strength and ammunition? ”

After speaking, he turned to Kirillov and said: "Comrade Colonel, you have experience in fighting defensive battles, and it is up to you to decide how to repair this fortification, and we will never interfere." ”

Seeing that Rokossovsky was so reasonable, Kirillov's face once again smiled, and he patted his chest and promised: "Comrade commander, you will leave the matter of the fortifications to me." I assure you that as long as there is one commander of our 38th Infantry Division alive, we will never let the enemy rush past our positions. (To be continued.) )