"You, what did you say?" Hearing me say that Colonel Yelin had been sent to Mamayev Heights, Rodimtsev was visibly stunned for a moment, and then asked hesitantly: "Comrade Oshanina, can you repeat what you just said?" If I heard me correctly, I think I heard you say that Colonel Ye Lin was sent to your division's health center? ”

I nodded at him and said affirmatively, "Comrade General, you heard me right. I saw that the enemy was attacking the Soviet Street, so I brought reinforcements with me. As the battle drew to a close, we inadvertently broke into the building where Colonel Yellin's headquarters was located and engaged in a battle with the Germans besieging them. After destroying all the enemies, we found the wounded Colonel Yelin. ”

"He's wounded, is he seriously injured?" Rodimtsev asked nervously.

I understood that Rodimtsev was worried about the injuries of his subordinates, and after coughing lightly, he said solemnly: "Yes, Comrade General, Comrade Yelin is seriously wounded, and I have sent him to the health center in Mamayev Gang. ”

Hearing me say this, a grateful smile appeared on Rodimtsev's face, and the gun he held in his hand was changed to his left hand, and then he stretched out his hand to me and said in a friendly voice: "Colonel Oshanina, on behalf of Comrade Yelin, I thank you!" ”

I gently shook Rodimtsev's hand, let go of it, and said politely: "Comrade General, you're welcome, this is what I should do." ”

Perhaps Rodimtsev, realizing my alienation from him, inserted the pistol into the holster, took two more steps closer to me, and deliberately explained to me: "Colonel Oshanina, you may not know. Comrade Ye Lin is my best subordinate. After the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. He held the position of battalion commander in the 5th Brigade of the Airborne Forces, of which I was the brigade commander. Our paratroopers held the Germans back on the outskirts of Kyiv for a month. When the Germans encircled Kyiv, he and I fought our way out of the siege and returned to Moscow. After I was promoted to commander of the 87th Infantry Division, he was also promoted to regimental commander. ”

Rodimtsev's words made me change my opinion of him, I didn't expect him to be such a loving person, in order to save a subordinate who had been with him from death to life, he actually brought so many people to the rescue. I looked at the large crowd behind him. Surprised, he asked, "Comrade General, you really brought a lot of people?" In addition to your men, there seems to be quite a few militiamen. ”

Rodimtsev turned his head and glanced back, and then said: "Yes, after such a long battle, my troops have been severely reduced, and in order to hold such a long defensive line, I have to try my best to transfer scattered troops and militias in the defense area, and even residents to supplement the lack of troops. For example, among the more than 100 people I brought here. There were more than a dozen improvised residents. ”

Looking at the only more than a hundred people under Rodimtsev, I couldn't help but ask him curiously: "Comrade General." With this alone, do you think you can hold the Soviets? ”

As soon as my words fell, Rodimtsev shook his head and said with a solemn expression: "I can't hold it at all." Not to mention the combat effectiveness of this improvised unit, even if I only put two or three men in each building on both sides of the street, there are still many buildings that are unfortified. ”

I pondered for a moment, and then said to him, "Comrade General, I think you should probably change your way of fighting, so that you can hold this place with a limited number of troops. ”

This time it was Rodimtsev's turn to be curious, and after listening to my words, he asked me with curiosity and humility: "Colonel Oshanina, I heard Comrade Chuikov say two days ago that you have sent quite a few detachments to carry out guerrilla warfare in the city, and you have actually achieved considerable results, and the casualties of the troops are not large. Can you tell me what happened? ”

Since Oleg of the 5th Regiment had to report to me every night on the tactics they had adopted in the guerrilla warfare in the city and the results they had achieved, I was able to answer Rodimtsev's question with ease: "According to our observations, the German troops that stormed the city were fully equipped independent combat detachments, each with three or four tanks and a large group of soldiers, who, by this powerful fire cover, were rampage through the bullet-riddled and rubble-ridden neighborhoods. In the face of such an enemy, our squad was divided into two parts, the riflemen and the machine factory were hidden in the bombed-out buildings, and the passports were ambushed in the rubble, hiding in the craters, and when the German tanks drove by, they came out and destroyed the infantry following with dense fire. And the enemy's tanks were dealt with by anti-tank men hidden in the upper floors of the building. ”

Rodimtsev, perhaps for the first time hearing this style of play, was amazed and said, "It's amazing! Colonel Oshanina, this style of play of yours is fantastic! When the enemy does not find the blocking forces of our troops on the way forward, he usually takes it lightly. When they let their guard down, our troops suddenly appeared out of a place they did not expect and struck them so hard that they could be caught off guard, and at the same time, because the enemy and the enemy were entangled, the enemy's aircraft and artillery were useless, unable to provide fire support to the troops who were hit, and could only watch their troops being eaten by us little by little. ”

I continued: "You have a limited number of troops right now, so you must not use them evenly. In order to hold the main street of the Soviets, it was necessary to concentrate superior forces and hold on to several important support points. ”

"Support point?!" Rodimtsev asked rhetorically with a blank expression: "What is an important support point?" ”

I pointed in the direction he had just come and said, "For example, the building that Sergeant Pavlov is guarding is an important support point for the 42nd Guards Regiment. As long as they don't abandon the building, the enemy will pay a heavy price if they want to storm the city. At this point, I pointed to the entrance to the east and continued, "When I led my troops to attack them, there I was met with stubborn resistance from the enemy in the fortifications on the corner, and we lost at least twenty commanders and fighters. In the ensuing battles, I personally believe that each encounter developed into a desperate battle from house to house, or even into hand-to-hand combat with grenades, automatic rifles and salvos at close range, or with guns and bayonets. Even if the Germans occupied the lower floors of the dilapidated buildings, we could not give up lightly. We're going to stay on top of them. And give them a fatal blow from there. ”

Rodimtsev nodded his head as he listened to me. "I see, I get it." Why your troops can hold out on to the Mamayev Gang for so long when the strength of your two divisions is equal, and at the same time it can still ensure the relative integrity of the formation, may have something to do with your ingenious style of play. Then he pointed to a relatively intact two-story building next to the square and said, "Colonel Oshanina, like the bookstore next to the square, if I have a few people there." They would be able to echo Sergeant Pavlov who was holding on to the building and eliminate more Germans. ”

Seeing that Rodimtsev's comprehension was so strong, I couldn't help but secretly praise in my heart, in the end, it seems that the person who is a general is not in vain, I only said a few words, and he already knows how to reasonably allocate this limited number of troops under his command. Rodimtsev shouted at Sergeant Khorol, a sailor standing next to him: "Comrade Sergeant! ”

Hearing Rodimtsev calling him, Khorol hurriedly and loudly agreed: "Here!" Then he came to Rodimtsev's side and respectfully asked him: "Comrade division commander, do you have any instructions?" ”

Rodimtsev towards the bookstore next to the square. He was instructed: "Sergeant, take ten soldiers to that bookstore." My command to you. That is, when the enemy attacks Sergeant Pavlov's building, you have to hit the enemy from the side so that the enemy cannot attack the building with impunity. ”

After Horol left with a group of fighters, Rodimtsev called another subordinate and began to set up tasks. At this time, I saw a young girl in a headscarf in the line of civilian clothes, and I was curious, so I beckoned to her and motioned for her to come to my side.

The girl looked left and right for a moment, then boldly squeezed out of the crowd and walked towards me. Walking up to me, she put the rifle in her hand over her shoulder and raised her hand to salute me: "Hello, Comrade Colonel, militia fighter Nikina has come on your orders, listen to your orders, please instruct!" ”

I pulled her hand from her forehead and asked kindly, "Girl, why didn't you retreat with the inhabitants of the city, but stayed and became a militiaman?" ”

The girl hurriedly straightened her chest and replied clearly: "Report to Comrade Colonel, I am a worker at a tractor factory, and since the enemy began to approach Stalingrad, according to the orders of the superiors, most of the best specialists, technicians and young workers in all the factories of the city have already gone to the distant Urals with the best factory equipment to continue the production of war materials and military equipment that are urgently needed for the country. Some of the remaining young and middle-aged workers also went to the front. And those who remain in the factory are the very few key personnel who must stay, otherwise the factory will not be able to function. Therefore, in this case, whether it is the construction of fortifications or the factory, the majority of the workers can only be women, students and the elderly. ”

After listening to her, I asked with concern: "Nichna, will you be afraid in the face of those Germans rushing up?" ”

Shaking her head vigorously, Nicchinaa replied firmly: "Don't be afraid, because I am defending my homeland, so I am not afraid at all in the face of these menacing invaders." ”

As we were talking, we suddenly heard someone shouting to Nicina, she turned her head to look at it, and then said to me embarrassedly: "Comrade Colonel, allow me to leave?" You know, my workshop director is calling me, maybe he has set up a new defensive position for us. ”

I took the initiative to extend my hand to him and said in a friendly voice: "Comrade Nikina, take care of yourself. I hope that on the day when the Germans are defeated, I will see you again in this city. ”

"It will be, Comrade Colonel." Nikina smiled and shook my hand, took a step back, and after saluting me again, she turned and strode away.

When Rodimtsev, who had finished arranging the defense, returned to me, I offered to him: "Comrade General, I see that you still have a little less force to defend the Soviet Street, and in a few moments one of my battalions will arrive here, and I will leave a company to assist you in your defense." I don't know what you think? ”

When Rodimtsev heard that I was going to send troops to assist him in defending the street, he quickly grabbed my hand, shook it vigorously and said excitedly: "Colonel Oshanina." Thank you so much! As far as I know. Your troops are battle-hardened. The combat effectiveness is far stronger than that of ordinary troops, and with their assistance, holding this place should not be a big problem. ”

When he let go of my hand, I raised my hand and looked at my watch, and it was only ten minutes before the time for sending out the fighters for help, so I smiled bitterly and said apologetically to Rodimtsev: "Comrade General. Since there are no communication equipment here, I can only send soldiers to run to ask for help. It had only been more than ten minutes since they set out, and it would take at least half an hour for them to report back and bring back reinforcements. ”

After hearing this, Rodimtsev said disapprehantly: "It's in time, it's completely in time." The Germans have just been repulsed by us, and I believe that they are not capable of launching a new attack on us again in such a short time. ”

Seeing that Rodimtsev was becoming more and more friendly to me, I saw the opportunity to apologize to him for the matter of military supplies: "Also. Comrade General, I have no permission for our division. I apologize to you for taking away most of the military supplies in the warehouse without authorization, and I ask for your forgiveness! As I spoke, I raised my hand and saluted him.

Unexpectedly, he waved his hand and said with a big grin: "Comrade Oshanina, I didn't expect you to take this matter to heart, you are not wrong, on the contrary, the person who should admit your mistake is me." As he spoke, he pointed in the direction of the flour mill and said happily, "Fortunately, after your troops occupied the warehouse, they transported the military supplies inside in time, otherwise they would have set fire to all those supplies if they were not cheap to the Germans." ”

The two of us stood in the street and talked for a while, and before we saw the reinforcements arrive, I couldn't help but feel a little anxious. Seeing that I was distracted, Rodimtsev suddenly said to me: "Comrade Oshanina, your troops haven't come here anyway, and it's not safe to stand here, otherwise let's go to the building first, right?" ”

I stared at the east side of the street and said absentmindedly: "You mean to go to the Pavlov building, okay, let's go!" ”

When Rodimtsev heard me say this, he couldn't help but be stunned, and then said with a smile: "Pavlov building, that's a good name, if Sergeant Pavlov can really lead the troops to hold on to the building for two weeks, I will name this building after him." ”

Hearing him say this, the words in my heart suddenly blurted out: "No problem, don't say two weeks, even if it is two months, I believe that Sergeant Pavlov will be able to hold it." ”

"I didn't expect you to have so much confidence in Sergeant Pavlov." Rodimtsev asked with interest: "On what basis do you judge that he will be able to hold on to this building?" ”

I secretly screamed in my heart that it was not good, but I didn't expect that I would be so quick to tell such an important secret, and when I heard his question, I quickly covered it up and said, "That's the case, Comrade General." I had known Pavlov and his father as early as the time of the defense of Moscow, when our army did not have enough troops to organize their rush to Borodino because of the sudden arrival of the enemy, so the militia was drawn from some nearby factories, among which Sergeant Pavlov and his father were among them.

To tell you the truth, I have little hope that this militia, which has not been trained much, will hold off an enemy armed to the teeth. But in reality, they not only blocked the German and French volunteers, but also successfully counterattacked, driving the enemy out of the Borodino area in one fell swoop. It is for this reason that I have confidence that Sergeant Pavlov and his comrades will be able to hold this building next to the square. ”

Rodimtsev led me around the back of the building and into a communication trench that had obviously been newly repaired. As I walked along the trench to the Pavlov building, he smiled and said to me: "Comrade Oshanina, hearing you say this, I am full of confidence in them to hold this building. You see, the trench we are walking on is the one they dug overnight, so that our reinforcements can enter the building at any time through the trench and assist them in their defense. ”

When we came to the front of the building, a soldier with a submachine gun came out of the doorway, and for safety reasons, he did not salute us, but said loudly: "Comrade commander, Sergeant Pavlov is on the third floor." ”

I left Basmanov and the guards who had followed me on the first floor, and I walked myself and Rodimtsev up the broken and dangerous staircase.

When he arrived in the room he had been to the last time, Pavlov was crouching on the ground with two lieutenants, studying a map. When he saw two pairs of feet appear in front of him, he hurriedly looked up. Seeing that it was me and Rodimtsev standing in front of them, the three of them quickly jumped up from the ground and raised their hands in salute in unison.

After returning the salute to the three of them, Rodimtsev looked at Pavlov with his eyes and asked: "Comrade sergeant, tell me, how is the situation?" ”

Pavlov smiled politely at me, and then replied to Rodimtsev: "Report to Comrade General, in the enemy's attack that we have just launched, we have destroyed four enemy tanks and one armored vehicle, and killed nearly fifty German soldiers. Now, while the enemy has not launched a new attack, we are studying how to defend next. ”

"Did you get the results of the study?" Rodimtsev asked.

Pavlov nodded and said: "The three of us agree that we can't just do passive defense in the building, but also need to attack when necessary and inflict heavy losses on the enemy. At this point, he turned his head to look at Lieutenant Afanasyev next to him, and then added: "The lieutenant thinks that we should send men to set up defenses in the bookstore next to the square." In this way, when the enemy attacks our building, the fighters who are stuck in the bookstore can strike hard at the enemy from the flank. And when the enemy turns around and attacks the bookstore, we can beat them hard from behind. ”

When Rodimtsev heard this, he turned his head to look at me with a smile of relief on his face. When he turned his head to look at Pavlov again, he said in a steady tone: "Comrade sergeant, you have thought it through. But you may not know it, but just before we arrived, our troops were stationed in the bookstore. ”

Pavlov listened to what Rodimtsev had said, and an incredible expression appeared on his face, and after a while, he flattered Rodimtsev: "Commander, you are really amazing. We studied for a long time before we figured out where we should place our troops, and you had already sent troops there. ”

Rodimtsev looked at me and said modestly: "Okay, comrade sergeant, don't praise me. In fact, this deployment was also reminded by Colonel Oshanina, and I came up with it. ”

Pavlov turned around, raised his hand to salute me, and said politely: "Thank you, Comrade Colonel. ”

I smiled slightly, and just wanted to say something, when suddenly there was a rush of footsteps outside, and at the same time I heard Basmanov's voice roaring: "Division commander, division commander, where are you?" ”

Hearing Basmanov's shouting, I couldn't help frowning, and raised my voice in displeasure in agreement: "Captain, I'm here." ”

As soon as I finished speaking, Basmanov staggered in. I didn't wait for him to speak, so I preemptively asked, "Captain, you are hurrying over, what's the matter, is it the reinforcements that have arrived?" ”

"There is a company here, which belongs to the second regiment and one battalion." After answering my question, Basmanov hastened to add: "With the team, there was also a communications soldier who said that there was something important in the division and that you need to return immediately, and the motorcycle sent by the commissar Kirillov to pick you up stopped on Soviet Street. ”

Hearing that Kirillov had sent a motorcycle to pick me up, it must have been something important that neither Kirillov nor Akhromeyev could handle, and it seemed that I had to return immediately, so I said apologetically to Rodimtsev: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, you also saw that there was an emergency in the division, and I had to rush back immediately." I'll leave the new company to you to come back, and I'll have the commander who leads the team come to you and accept your next order. ”

Rodimtsev was very reasonable, he waved his hand at me, and said: "Comrade Oshanina, since there is something important in your division, go back quickly." As for the new company, let them wait on the streets of the Soviets, and I will receive them myself later. ”

I nodded, raised my hand and saluted Rodimtsev, then turned around and walked out briskly with Basmanov. (To be continued......)

PS: Heartfelt thanks to book friends * little crab * children's shoes for voting two votes for support! Thanks to the book friend Lao Duan for voting for being a loli control and Fei Fei Fei children's shoes!