"Bunyachenko?" When I heard this name, I secretly doubted in my heart whether it was the same name and surname, and when I turned my head to look, the person standing there was indeed very familiar, but I was still not sure that things in the world would not be so coincidental, Colonel Malinin actually sent him.

Seeing me sitting on a stool and looking at him in a daze, Buniachenko pulled off the hat on his head, revealing his forehead that was still wrapped in bandages, and then said loudly: "Comrade division commander, you don't know me anymore?" You know, we fought fascist bandits together in Khimki the day before yesterday. ”

There is no need to doubt it anymore, sure enough, it was the chief of staff of the tank division I knew, Buniachenko, I quickly got up to meet him, shook his hand vigorously, and said excitedly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, it is really good to see you here again." ”

"Me too, Comrade Division Commander." Bunyachenko said in a sincere tone: "I didn't expect that so soon, I would have the opportunity to fight side by side with you again, it's my honor!" ”

"Comrade Division Commander, what the hell is going on? It's all confusing me, did you know Commander Buniachenko before? "When Commissar Yegorov shook hands with us, he quietly came behind me, and seeing that I was very familiar with Bunyachenko, he couldn't help but ask curiously.

"Come, Comrade Colonel," seeing that all the people were on their feet, I took Bunyachenko over and introduced him to the commanders of the division. I first pointed to Egorov and said: "This is our political commissar, Comrade Egorov. ”

Buniachenko raised his hand and saluted, saying, "Hello! Comrade Political Commissar. Then he reached out and shook the political commissar.

"Deputy division commander, Colonel Chistyakov."

"Lieutenant Colonel Serebryakov, chief of staff of the division."

……

Whenever I introduced someone, Buniachenko and the other person first saluted each other, followed by a warm handshake.

After introducing all the commanders in the headquarters and re-seating, I pointed to Bunyachenko beside me and explained to the political commissar: "Comrade political commissar, I met Colonel Buniachenko by chance on my way to the headquarters of the front army the day before yesterday. ”

"yes!" Bnyachenko echoed: "At that time, my division had just retreated from the direction of Klin, and was resting and waiting in the Khimki area. Division Commander Oshanina approached us and said that the enemy had occupied Khimki and hoped that we would send troops to cooperate with the local militia to recapture the settlement. In fact, before she came, the comrades of the militia battalion came to us to ask for help, because we could not get in touch with our superiors, so we could only refuse the militia comrades to stay where they were to rest and recuperate. When Commander Oshanina came, she strongly advocated the dispatch of troops. Under her command, the commanders and fighters of our division cooperated with the militia to resolutely counterattack and quickly recaptured Khimki. ”

After listening to Bunyachenko's account, I saw curiosity and approval on the faces of those who were watching me, and even the usual solemn-looking Commissar Yegorov could not help but smile on his face. I turned my head to look at Buniachenko and said with a smile: "Comrade Colonel, you may not know what to do, but the commander of the militia battalion, Captain Bukov, is also with us now. Because of the Battle of Khimki, he was promoted to major and transferred to my division, where he is now my guard battalion commander. ”

Bunyachenko nodded and replied, "I know this, I saw him at the door when I came in just now, and I talked to him a few words. ”

After talking about the old story, I continued: "Let's move on to the defense of the line outside the city. ”

As soon as my words fell, Chief of Staff Serebryakov, who had always been eager to try, took over the conversation and said: "Comrade division commander, I always believe that there is no need to defend this newly built defense line. Yesterday we used a lot of explosives to reluctantly build this half-man-deep circular trench. At the moment there is nothing but trenches, no permanent firing points built of reinforced concrete, no minefields and anti-tank trenches, not even barbed wire. If the enemy launches a fierce attack, our fighters, not to mention the enemy's tanks, will not be able to stop even the infantry. I would still suggest that all the troops be withdrawn to the city, and that a strong defensive line be constructed with the help of the buildings in the city. ……”

"Enough, Comrade Chief of Staff." Yegorov unceremoniously interrupted Serebryakov's words and criticized him with a serious expression: "You are pessimistic defeatism, you must know that the Red Army fighters armed with Stalinist ideas are invincible. ”

I stared at the political commissar with a black line, and said in my heart that I just said such a sentence casually, and you old man don't have to quote it at any time, and then I will have to charge royalties. To avoid continuing to argue pointlessly, I stood up and said, "Okay." We are not going to talk about whether to hold this line of defense, but how to hold it and prevent the enemy from approaching the city. If you have any good ideas, let's talk about them. With that, I sat down again.

Chistyakov looked left and right, half-raised his body, looked at me with his eyes and asked tentatively: "Comrade division commander, can I talk about my opinion?" ”

"Yes, you can say whatever comes to mind."

He stood up and said with some caution: "It is a good starting point to defend against the enemy outside the city. However, our army currently lacks heavy equipment, and if we want to hold this line of defense, the casualties will be very large. In addition to the heavy artillery bombardment of the enemy's positions, which will cause heavy casualties to our infantry, we also have no way to deal with the tanks of the enemy's cover infantry assault. Know the way. Our division did not have any anti-tank weapons, and the fighters could only wait for the tanks to approach, and then rush forward with cluster grenades strapped to their bodies and die with the enemy. ”

I did not refute the question he mentioned, because I knew in my heart that this was an objective problem and a major matter that needed to be solved first. I lowered my head and thought for a while, then turned my head and asked Bunyachenko: "Comrade Colonel, how much technical equipment does your division have now?" ”

"Yesterday, the higher authorities replenished a batch of tanks and anti-tank guns to our division, and at present there are 33 tanks and 16 artillery pieces in the division. I improvised an anti-tank artillery battalion, the commander of which was commanded by Major Malafeyev, whom you know. ”

I nodded, and then said to the commissar: "The troops in the city will maintain the status quo for the time being, as for the front, don't worry, I can find a way to replenish them, the commander of the front, General Zhukov, once promised me that 2 infantry battalions and an artillery regiment would be transferred from the reserve to replenish my division immediately, and I estimate that the troops are already on the way at this time." ”

Everyone was relieved to hear that the front army had replenished our troops. After a while, the political commissar cautiously asked me: "Lida, do you need to call Comrade General again to confirm whether the troops have departed." ”

If it had been before, I would have called Zhukov without hesitation, but after today's conversation with Rokossovsky, I knew that he had a grudge against Zhukov, and I felt that this call really couldn't be made. Although I am familiar with both of them, it is very taboo to cross Rokossovsky and call Zhukov at such a sensitive time. So I rejected the commissar's proposal, and pointed to the map and gave the order to Bunyachenko: "Comrade Colonel, please see, there is a forest on the left and right in front of this newly constructed line of defense in my house, and I mean you quietly lead your troops to hide in the forest, and when the enemy attacks our positions, you decisively strike from behind their flanks and beat them severely. Do you understand? ”

"Understood." Buniachenko immediately stood up and asked me in a respectful tone: "Can I leave?" ”

"Go ahead!" With that, I held out my hand to him, "Good luck!" ”