January 7 is Orthodox Christmas. … ≦ Top Novel, x.

Early in the morning, I called the commanders of the divisions and instructed them to find a way to make more stuffed beef and mutton and poultry meat, make Siberian dumplings, and prepare Russian beetroot soup, cheese and potatoes, potato salad, and potato stew, so as to improve the food of the commanders and fighters so that they could have a good holiday with peace of mind.

As soon as he finished calling several division commanders, he unexpectedly received a call from Chuikov. I thought he was going to say something happy to me, so when I heard his voice coming out of the earpiece, I preemptively said, "Hello, Comrade Commander, I wish you a happy holiday!" ”

"Festival, what festival?!" Chuikov was confused by my blessing, but he immediately understood what was going on, and said with a smile: "Oh, you're talking about Orthodox Christmas, right?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." I hastened to explain to him: "I have just given an order to the commanders of each division to prepare Siberian dumplings, Russian beetroot soup, cheese and potatoes, etc., to improve the food of the soldiers and let them spend Christmas with peace of mind. ”

"Well, that's a good fit for you." After complimenting me, Chuikov continued: "We are about to hold an important military meeting, so come here at once." ”

"Yes, I'll get over there right away."

Putting down the phone, I apologized and said to the political commissar Vasilyev, who was sitting next to me: "Comrade political commissar, I am about to rush to the headquarters of the army group for a meeting now, and I was scheduled to go to the inspection work of the 171st Division at noon, so I can only let you go alone. ”

"No problem. Comrade Army Commander. Vasilyev replied very cheerfully: "Something about the inspection of the 171st Division." Leave it to me. As for the reason why you can't go. I will explain it to Colonel Andreuschenko. ”

I nodded and shouted out the door: "Captain Yushchenko!" ”

At my shout, Yushchenko, who had just been appointed commander of the guard battalion and had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant, appeared at the door, raised his hand to salute me, and asked: "Comrade commander, what instructions do you have?" ”

"Comrade Captain," although I could not go to the 171st Division to inspect it, I could not take Vasilyev's safety lightly. So I instructed Yushchenko: "The political commissar will go to the 171st Division at noon to inspect it, and in addition to the original guard platoon, you will transfer another squad from the special guard company to strengthen the defense force of the comrade political commissar." ”

"Comrade commander, don't bother." Vasilyev, hearing my instructions to Yushchenko, quickly stood up, waved his hands desperately and said: "One platoon of fighters is enough, there is no need to transfer your special guard company." ”

"Comrade political commissar, don't shirk it." In response to Vasilyev's refusal, I said resolutely: "From here to the 171st Division." There was no guarantee that the Germans would not be encountered, so it was to be on the safe side. Or bring more people. ”

Seeing that I was stubborn, Vasilyev couldn't say anything more, so he nodded in embarrassment and agreed to my arrangement.

Under the protection of the platoon of guards led by Yushchenko, I drove to the headquarters of the army group. As soon as I walked into the headquarters and saw Chuikov and Gurov sitting at the table, I was about to raise my hand to salute, but I was interrupted by Chuikov, whose eyes looked behind him and said to me: "Report to General Rokossovsky, Comrade Oshanina!" ”

It was only then that I realized that behind Chuikov there was a commander in a military overcoat, who was looking at the map hanging on the wall with his back to me. Seeing my old acquaintance appear here, I hurriedly stepped forward and reported in a voice that was a little hoarse with excitement: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, Deputy Commander of the 62nd Army and Commander of the 79th Infantry Corps, Major General Oshanina, reports to you that I have been ordered to come to the headquarters of the Group Army, and now I am waiting for your instructions!" ”

Hearing my report, Rokossovsky turned around, smiled and nodded at me, then raised his right hand and pressed down, saying, "Leda, sit down first, we have a meeting." ”

After I sat down, Rokossovsky took two steps forward, walked to the table, and said to us with his hands on the table: "Comrades, the counteroffensive launched by German Field Marshal Manstein, codenamed 'Winter Storm', has been completely crushed by us, and the German troops who came to relieve Paulus have been repulsed for two hundred kilometers, and then we can launch a war of annihilation against the German army in the Stalingrad area." ”

"Comrade of the Front Command, we have been waiting for this day for a long time." Krylov waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, and then excitedly added.

To Krylov, who interjected, Rokossovsky looked at him with a smile and continued: "The Germans are exhausted, don't worry about their counter-assault, so next we will start the offensive codenamed 'Battle of the Ring'." I was ready to launch the final general assault on the Germans in three days' time, on January 10. Speaking of this, he turned his head to look at Chuikov and said, "Dear ** Vasily. Ivanovich, the Germans are still occupying an area 60 kilometers wide and 40 kilometers deep, once the general offensive begins, they will inevitably retreat from outside the city into the city to put up a stubborn resistance, can your 62nd Army withstand their onslaught? ”

"Comrade Commander of the Front, of course you can." Chuikov tried to stand up, but Rokossovsky raised his hand and pressed him down lightly, signaling that he didn't have to stand up. So Chuikov sat down in his seat and said to Rokossovsky: "Since Paulus's troops did not drive us into the Volga in October, now he does not want to take a step forward." Saying this, he drew a random circle on the map in front of him with his hand, and said contemptuously: "What is now in front of us is no longer an army group, but a huge prisoner-of-war camp, but it has not laid down its arms for the time being. ”

As soon as Chuikov's words fell, it immediately caused everyone to chuckle. Rokossovsky also said with a smile: "Comrade Chuikov, I didn't expect you to be so confident. That's good, but now," he said, with a slap in his face. "It's too early to call them concentration camps," he said sternly. The enemy will also put up a frantic resistance. Therefore you must not underestimate the enemy. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander of the Front." When Chuikov saw Rokossovsky say this, he hurriedly said: "I will warn the commanders and fighters of all divisions that even if the enemy in front of them has completely lost their combat effectiveness, they must not take it lightly and must not cause unnecessary losses because of underestimating the enemy. ”

Rokossovsky listened and nodded. He continued: "However, this is not a big deal, and in our upcoming 'Battle of the Rings', the Germans will be completely annihilated by us." After saying this, his eyes fell on Krylov, and his mouth asked: "General Krylov, has your army group recently been replenished as it should be?" ”

Hearing Rokossovsky's question, Krylov immediately stood up and respectfully reported: "During the course of a week, our army group was replenished with a total of 29,000 men. Some of them are veterans with a lot of combat experience; At the same time, it was supplemented by 360 cannons, 200 tanks, more than 1,000 transport vehicles and other weapons and equipment. ”

Hearing this, Rokossovsky glanced at me and asked, "So how much did Major General Oshanina's 79th Infantry Corps get replenished?" To know. Her unit has always served as the main combat mission of your army group. ”

"Major General Oshanina's 79th Infantry Corps is our priority for supplies." Krylov, as chief of staff, immediately reported a series of numbers when he heard Rokossovsky's question: "They were replenished with a total of 14,000 men, of which 4,000 were in the 150th Division, 3,000 in the 171st Division, and 3,500 in each of the 284th and 308th Divisions; Colonel Bere's 84th Tank Brigade was replenished with 68 tanks, all T-34 tanks that had just left the factory; In addition, we have placed the newly completed 266th Cannon Regiment under the command of the 79th Infantry Corps. ”

In response to Krylov's answer, Rokossovsky nodded with satisfaction and said: "The 150th Division of the 79th Infantry Corps has been remarkably remarkable in the whole campaign, and after being supplemented and strengthened, I believe that they will achieve more brilliant results in the next battles." ”

"Comrade Commander of the Front," Gurov, after waiting for Rokossovsky to finish, also stood up and asked: "Should we do something in the days before the start of the final general offensive?" ”

"What else can be done?" Rokossovsky replied with a smile: "Of course, it is to continue to let the comrades of the anti-fascist alliance carry out anti-war propaganda against the German army, hoping to shake their military morale." ”

While Rokossovsky was speaking, Major Gladshev, the commander of the guard battalion of the army group, walked in. He walked over to Gurov's side, leaned down and whispered something in Gurov's ear.

"Hey, Comrade Gurov, who is this major?" Rokossovsky saw that someone had quietly walked into the headquarters while he was speaking, and even whispered to the military commissar of the army group, so he asked with some dissatisfaction: "Is there anything wrong with him?" ”

When Gladshev heard Rokossovsky ask, he was so frightened that he quickly straightened up and stood behind Gurov without saying a word. In the end, it was Gurov who relieved him in time: "Comrade Commander of the Front, let me introduce to you, this major is Comrade Gladshev, the commander of the guard battalion of our group army, and he came in to ask me for instructions, saying that it is noon, should we eat?" ”

Rokossovsky listened to Gurov's explanation, raised his hand to look at his watch, then shrugged his shoulders and said: "I didn't expect it to be so late before I knew it, since it's time to eat, let the major bring our lunch." ”

A few of us were having lunch when the roar of an airplane motor was heard outside the house, accompanied by a cacophony of sounds. Hearing a sound coming from outside the house, Rokossovsky stopped, listened sideways for a moment, pointed his hand upwards, and said: "You all heard it." This is a reconnaissance plane that we have sent, shouting to German officers and soldiers over loudspeakers. ”

Hearing Rokossovsky say this, everyone in the room did not speak, but concentrated and listened to the sounds coming from outside. Although I didn't know much German, I could memorize some sentences every day when I listened to the shouts of the soldiers of the anti-fascist alliance and Grams, who had surrendered to the German army. At this moment, one of the passages came out of the loudspeaker on the plane outside: "Please note, German soldiers and officers besieged in Stalingrad,......"

After everyone listened to it for a while. Rokossovsky turned his head to Chuikov and said: "Now that the task is clear. Then hurry up and prepare for battle. "Finished. Shaking his head at me, "Leda, come out for a walk with me, I have something to say to you." ”

"Lida, is this commander of the infantry corps still used to being in front of you?" In a communication trench outside the headquarters of the army group, Rokossovsky asked kindly while smoking a cigarette while affectionately calling my nickname.

"Well, I'm used to it. Thank you, Comrade General, for your concern. ”

"Leda. In fact, I came this time because I was entrusted by someone. Rokossovsky hesitated for a long time, but finally said what he really meant: "General Zhukov asked me to ask you if you would like to return to Moscow to work after the battle in the Stalingrad region is over." Of course, you will no longer be in such a dangerous position as a combat unit, but you will be placed in an important position and hold a position. For example, a unit like the district soviets, to serve as a deputy. ”

I understood what Rokossovsky meant, that he and Zhukov wanted me to leave the army and take up a local position. I couldn't help but shudder. I have the impression that since the Soviet army has always been at a disadvantage. There are relatively few cases of intrigue in the army; If I go to a local position, with my character, even if I am sold by others, I may still help others count the money. So I replied almost without hesitation: "Comrade General, please tell General Zhukov that I thank him for his kindness, and I think I am better suited to stay in the army." ”

"Are you really not thinking about it anymore?" My answer seemed to have been expected by Rokossovsky, and after listening to my words, he did not show the slightest surprise on his face, but continued to try to convince me: "Lida, I personally think that you are still suitable to work in the place, because it is much safer there than in the army. ”

"Comrade Commander of the Front," in order to show my determination to remain in the army, I seriously called Rokossovsky his rank, "I like the feeling of being in the army, so I ......"

Before I could finish my words, a series of shouts suddenly came from Yushchenko in the distance: "Comrade commander, comrade commander, no, something happened!" Something went wrong!! ”

I heard Yushchenko's shout, and quickly turned to look in the direction from which the sound came, and saw Yushchenko and another soldier of the guard company, supporting a sergeant along the traffic trench and walking quickly towards us. Seeing the one-shoulder body armor worn by the sergeant who was in the middle of the two, I couldn't help but chuckle in my heart, secretly saying that something could not have happened to the commissar Vasilyev, right?

When the three of them came to a stop in front of me, my eyes were sharp, and at a glance I saw that the sergeant's body armor was full of dents, and the ominous feeling in my heart became more and more intense. Yushchenko continued to hold the crumbling sergeant while reporting to me: "Comrade Army Commander, this is Sergeant Songjik whom I sent to protect Commissar Vasilyev. ”

When I heard that it was really related to Vasilyev, I became even more flustered. I grabbed the sergeant's arm and asked loudly, "Hey, comrade sergeant, hurry up and tell me, what's wrong?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander," Sergeant Songjik reported to me with a sad face: "Commissar Vasilyev died!" ”

"What?! The commissar sacrificed?! I stretched out another hand and grabbed Song Jike's other arm, shook him vigorously with both hands, and asked loudly: "What happened and why did Comrade Political Commissar die?" ”

"Sergeant Songjik, I am the commander of the Front, Colonel-General Rokossovsky." Rokossovsky, who was standing next to him, was much calmer than me, and after revealing his identity to the sergeant, he asked in a calm tone: "You have been telling us all the way, what happened?" ”

Hearing that it was the commander of the Front Army standing in front of him, Song Jike, who was supported by the two of them, quickly straightened up, raised his hand and gave a solemn military salute to Rokossovsky, and then respectfully told us the ins and outs of the matter: "Report to Comrade Commander of the Front, we were ordered to protect Political Commissar Vasilyev and his guard platoon at noon and inspect the defense area of the 171st Division.

As I passed through an open field full of ruins, I suddenly had a hint of foretaste. I have also walked this road several times, because on both sides of the road are only framed buildings and piles of rubble, which have little fortification value, so neither our army nor the German army has troops to fortify here.

I carefully observed the surrounding terrain, and found that the surroundings were still as usual, quiet, and not a single figure could be seen, but I felt an indescribable awkwardness. So I stopped the platoon commander of the guard platoon and told him my worries. After we consulted the commissar, we divided the team into three parts: two soldiers from my squad and five soldiers from the guard platoon formed a squad of spearheads and walked at the front of the whole team; And the guard platoon commander and more than twenty other fighters, protecting the commissar walked in the middle; And I walked at the back of the line with the rest of the fighters of the guard squad.

Just as we reached the middle of the open field, suddenly a cannonball fell in the middle of the squad with a sharp whistle. After a loud 'boom', five or six fighters were blown to pieces.

'Lie down! When I saw the soldiers in front of me being knocked down by the shells, I knew that we might have been discovered by the Germans, so I yelled and fell to the ground first. At this moment, a German tank and two armored vehicles emerged from the building with only the frame left, and slowly drove towards us, while more than a hundred German officers and soldiers climbed out from behind the rubble, followed the tanks and armored vehicles, and charged at us.

Seeing the sudden appearance of the enemy, I realized that we had fallen into an ambush, and the enemy only appeared in two directions, and we still had the possibility of breaking through, so I immediately ordered the soldiers in the squad to go forward and rescue the commissar.

In the face of the German officers and soldiers who rushed over with shouts, the surviving fighters around the commissar were firing, although they were lying on the ground, but there was no terrain to rely on, they were suppressed by the enemy's dense fire so that they could not raise their heads at all, and occasionally fired back, but the bullets hit the armor plates of the enemy's tanks or armored vehicles and lied, just splashed a few sparks, which did not pose any threat to the enemy at all.

By the time I rushed to the commissar's side, most of the fighters of the guard platoon had died, and I had only two fighters left. Another soldier and I set up the commissar on the ground and rushed towards the way we came, while the other soldier fought and retreated behind us with his weapon, while using his body armor to block the stray bullets that flew for us.

There was a pile of rubble not far in front of us, and behind us was a long traffic trench, and if we rushed in, the chances of getting out of danger were greatly increased. Just when we were still a few meters away from the rubble, the commissar who was in the middle suddenly broke free from us, threw himself forward, and then fell heavily to the ground, and the large-brimmed hat on his head rolled to the side.

The soldier and I bent down and grabbed the commissar's arms and dragged him behind the pile of rubble. When he was about to take him out of the traffic trench, he was surprised to find that the commissar was no longer breathing, and it turned out that a bullet had penetrated into the back of his head and flew out of the front head, directly killing him. ”

After Song Jike finished speaking, I gritted my back molars and asked, "Was the commissar hit by a stray bullet?" ”

Song Jike shook his head and said with a bitter face: "Comrade commander, it was not a stray bullet, it was hit by a German sniper. ”

"Did you do anything about it?" Although Rokossovsky also looked sad, he still maintained his composure and continued to ask Song Jike: "Do you report to your superiors immediately, or do you just run directly to the headquarters of the army group?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander of the Front," Songjik replied cautiously, "after the surviving fighter and I had put the body of the commissar in a trench, we rushed to the nearby garrison of the 84th Tank Brigade and informed Colonel Bere about it. Today, the tank brigade has sent more than a dozen tanks and a company of infantry to the area of engagement for reinforcements. And I thought that this was a big deal, and I felt obliged to report it to the commander immediately, so I asked the soldier to act as a guide for the tank brigade, and I rushed straight here. (To be continued......)

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