After regaining the position, Kroschikov led the soldiers to clean up the battlefield, bury the corpses, rescue the wounded and strengthen the fortifications, and I stayed in the battalion headquarters to supervise the installation of communication lines to the rear by the signal corps.

While I waited for the signal corps to lay the line, I was idle, and by the faint light of the flickering candle in the room, I dismantled the Bobosha submachine gun into parts, meticulously wiped every part spotlessly, and then reassembled it. After wiping the weapons, seeing that the signal soldiers were not yet busy, I took out the round magazines again, withdrew the bullets one by one, looked left and right, and saw that the signal soldiers were busy, and no one noticed me, so I dipped my saliva and wiped them one by one, and then put them back on.

As soon as the magazine was secured, the phone on the desk rang. I looked at the time, and it took almost three hours just to restore communications between the battalion command post and the rear. It seems that it is absolutely necessary to organize them to have a technical competition in order to improve their technical skills.

After communication was restored, the telephone rang incessantly, and almost every call was made to congratulate us on retaking the positions occupied by the enemy.

Major General Panfilov, who was the first to call, said happily on the other end of the phone: "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, you are amazing! It only took half an hour to regain the positions we had lost. I will immediately ask for credit for you. ”

As soon as he hung up the phone, the commander of the army group, Lieutenant General Rokossovsky, received a phone call, who, like the division commander, first congratulated me on the operation to regain positions, and then asked with concern: "Are the casualties of your battalion large?" ”

I looked at the casualty report in front of me and replied: "No, in the counterattack we lost six fighters, wounded fifteen, eliminated one hundred and ninety-seven enemies, and captured two mortars and a large number of submachine guns. ”

Hearing me say this, Rokossovsky was silent for a while, and then said to me in a serious tone: "Comrade Leda, we are no longer outsiders, and I hope you will tell me the truth. How many casualties did your battalion really have? You must know that in order to defeat the enemy, no matter how big the price is, this is also worth it. ”

"Really, Comrade Commander." I knew that it was very unbelievable that there were only such small casualties in such an offensive battle, and I quickly defended myself: "Our battalion really only suffered 21 casualties in this attack. There is absolutely no falsification in this data, if you don't believe it, you can go to the position and count the number of people in person. After counting the number of people, you will know whether what I said is true or false. ”

"Really?" Rokossovsky still asked uneasily.

"Of course it's true, Comrade Commander." I replied in the affirmative, "I know it's unbelievable that there were only such small casualties in a battle like this, but it's true. ”

"Tell me, then, how did you do that?" There was still a hint of distrust in his tone.

"I led my troops to attack when the artillery of the group army was still bombarding the position, and the German devils were suppressed in the trenches and could not observe the situation outside. At the end of the shelling, our troops were only about ten meters away from the position, and with a single charge rushed into the trenches, and the enemy was taken by surprise by us. Coupled with the good equipment of the guard battalion, the powerful firepower made the enemy have no power to fight back. It may be that the combination of these factors will allow us to regain our position with minimal casualties. ”

"Understood, Lieutenant Colonel Leda, well done! Now that the position has been recaptured, let's hold it well, and we must not let the enemy move forward. Good luck! With that, he put down the phone.

The phone rang again.

It was Zhukov himself who called this time, and as soon as the phone rang, he said impatiently: "Lida, what's going on with your phone there, why can't you get through?" ”

"Hello, Comrade General!" I greeted him politely, and then patiently explained to him: "Just now I was on the phone with the commander of the army group, General Rokossovsky. ”

"I heard that you refused to stay at the headquarters of the army group, but you wanted to run into the troops and charge with the soldiers! That's not what you should do, so stay in the headquarters and be a staff officer! ”

"Thank you for your concern, Comrade General, I don't think I am suitable to stay in the headquarters, or it is more to my appetite to work face to face with German devils on the front line." As my rank increases, I will have more and more high-ranking generals in the future. But if you continue to stay in the headquarters for a long time, you will inevitably get involved in a power struggle within the army. The front line is dangerous, but you at least know who your enemies are. In the headquarters, if you stand on the wrong team, you may fall into a situation from which you will never recover, so I, a political novice, will choose to come to the front line again and again.

After listening to my explanation, Zhukov sighed and said: "I just heard Major General Panfilov say that you have led your troops to recapture the lost positions of the 316th Division, which is really amazing!" I congratulate you. Then he added: "What are the casualties of the troops in this attack?" ”

"The casualties are small, Comrade General." Then, I added: "The casualties this time are incredibly small. ”

"Unbelievably small?!" He repeated my words, then asked rhetorically, "How small is it?" ”

"Six soldiers were sacrificed, fifteen were wounded, and one hundred and ninety-seven German devils were destroyed. A large amount of weapons and ammunition was also seized. "I repeated to Zhukov the intelligence that had just been reported to Rokossovsky.

After listening to my report, he asked with some hesitation, "Are you sure that the information you said is accurate?" If I tell someone like this in the next life, the other party will probably ask me: "You didn't open the invincible plug-in, right?" ”

"Absolutely accurate, Georgy Konstantinovich." I replied to him in the affirmative. I guessed that he should ask me why I had achieved such a result. Sure enough, he then asked, "Why are the casualties so small, how did you do this?" ”

Therefore, I repeated to him what I had just reported to the commander of the group army, and added at the end of the sentence: "I think that when fighting a war, as a commander, we should still pay attention to some command skills, and we should not blindly fight and rush, because in that case, the casualties of the troops will be too great." If we have to pay a huge price to regain our position, it will be difficult to hold it without enough troops in the face of the enemy's frantic counterattack. ”

"You have a point." He said approvingly: "Now that the position has been recaptured, let's hold it well." If there is a reserve sent from the base camp, I will replenish it for you. Good luck! Then he hung up the phone.

At this time, the deputy political battalion commander Croshikov came in and reported to me: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the battlefield has been completely cleaned, we have collected and buried the bodies of the enemy, and the remains of our fallen fighters and wounded have all been sent to the rear. The original fortifications on the position have also been reinforced, which can resist a new attack by the enemy. ”

"Let's go, take me to see, Comrade First Class Political Instructor." As I spoke, I stood up, slung my submachine gun on my back, and led the way out of the road.

After walking along the newly dug trenches, I found that the soldiers had only re-excavated the collapsed area and simply reinforced it with logs. So I turned to Kroschikov and said: "Comrade political instructor of the first class, such a fortification is not good, as long as the enemy shells it, our soldiers in the trenches will suffer heavy casualties." ”

"So what should I do? Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. "Croshikov humbly asked for my opinion.

"Bomb craters should be dug in the trenches, the bigger the better. When the enemy is shelling, except for a few observation posts, everyone else can hide inside, so as to avoid many unnecessary casualties. Then I pointed to the open ground in front of the position and said, "Immediately organize the soldiers, go to a place 20 meters in front, and dig dozens of individual bunkers, the deeper the better, to the depth that people cannot climb out after entering." ”

Confused, Kroschikov asked curiously: "What are you doing digging so deep in a single bunker?" And it has to be so deep that no one can climb out? ”

I smiled slightly, and deliberately sold it without saying, "As for what is the use?" When the German devils attack, you will be able to know the way. Also, "when I saw that Krosikov was about to turn around and leave, I told again: "Immediately arrange manpower, immediately dig individual bunkers and bomb craters, and move quickly." ”

"But, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." He was a little embarrassed and said, "The soldiers are tired and need to rest, so it is not appropriate to arrange for them to continue working at this time." ”

"Execute the order! Comrade Instructor of the First Degree. I said in a strong tone: "Now is not the time to rest, you tell the soldiers to sweat more in peacetime, and to shed less blood in wartime." Now dig an extra shovel of soil, and when you fight, you will be able to take one less shell. ”

"But......" Kroschikov tried to defend something, but was immediately interrupted by me, "there is nothing but." I am the supreme commander of the battalion, and I have the final say in everything in the territory under my jurisdiction. Go ahead and execute it! ”

"Yes!" Kroschikov saluted me and turned to arrange for the fighters to carry out the earthwork I had arranged.