I saw that Krylov and Kolpakci had not come down for a long time, and had not remained in the building, but had walked out of the building and into the street.

On both sides of the street, I could see pedestrians walking happily, and I couldn't see any tension or fear on their faces. Perhaps the decision to evacuate the inhabitants of the city was not given by the superiors, giving them the illusion that it was impossible for the enemy to approach the city named after the Supreme Commander himself, so they still maintained their own habits.

There was a fortification made of sandbags and railroad tracks at the crossroads, and I saw no sign of anyone moving in the barricades except for two soldiers standing guard with guns nearby. I also saw several large iron tripods, which were moved to the side of the road, perhaps because the soldiers on duty felt that they were too in the way and were afraid of affecting traffic.

At this time, a jeep and truck drove up and slowly stopped outside the gate of the headquarters. Seeing the fighters jumping down from the truck with their hands on the baffle, I suddenly had an idea, could it be that these fighters are responsible for protecting Kol Parkucci to take up the front line?

Just as I was thinking about it, a voice called out to me came from the gate, and when I turned my head, it was Krylov, the chief of staff of the group army, and he said loudly: "Hey, I said Comrade Oshanina, you didn't greet anyone no matter how you greeted, so you ran outside the door, and I even ran to your division headquarters to find you." ”

I hurriedly ran to his side and explained in a low voice: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I'm sorry, I just went to the duty room to get the weapon I left there, because I don't know when you will come out, so I went outside to breathe." ”

"Alright. Stop it. Let's get in the car. We still have a long way to go. "Kolpakchi at this moment is different from when he was just released, he has changed into a new military uniform, his beard is also shaved, and the whole person looks extraordinarily energetic.

Since there was only one jeep, Kol Pakchi and Krylov pulled the door and sat in the back of the car, while I sat next to the driver. When we were all seated, the driver turned his head sideways. Asked Kolpacchi for instructions: "Comrade commander, where are we going?" ”

Korpakchi's eyes looked at the chief of staff sitting beside him, and Krylov hurriedly instructed the driver: "After leaving the city, drive west, all the way in the direction of the Don River, as for where to stop, I will tell you." ”

The jeep drove along the road towards the outside of the city, and through the rearview mirror, I saw Krylov spread out a map, pointed to the drawings and explained to Kolpakchi: "Comrade commander, according to intelligence. In this area there are our troops, probably three divisions. All of them were newly assigned to the 62nd Army, because the commander and political commissar were trapped in the encirclement, so these were temporarily under the command of the newly appointed head of the Political Department. ”

When I heard the director of the Political Department, I immediately thought of the group of political workers I met by crossing the river, and I couldn't help but turn to the side and ask curiously: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is the director of the Political Department of the Army Group you are talking about Comrade Kirillov from Moscow?" ”

Korpakchi looked at me and asked curiously: "Comrade Oshanina, do you know Comrade Kirillov?" ”

I nodded vigorously and replied, "Yes, Comrade Commander." When I was the commander of the 214th Regiment in the 678th Division, I was given the task of covering the crossing of the Don River by the Political Department of the Army Group led by Comrade Kirillov. That's where I met him. In addition, Kokunov, a first-class instructor under him, is currently serving as the acting political commissar of the 678th regiment. ”

After listening to this, Krylov asked with interest: "Comrade Oshanina, what do you think of these political workers in the Political Department of the Army Group?" After saying that, he stared at me intently, waiting for my reply.

I hesitated for a moment and replied with careful consideration: "I believe that they can play their exemplary and leading role in all aspects of the group army." ”

"Believe it, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Krylov asked unrelentingly.

Just as I was in a dilemma, Kolpacic suddenly gritted his teeth and cursed: "Damn the Germans! "It immediately diverted Krylov's attention and saved me from an embarrassing situation.

"What's going on? Comrade Commander. Krylov asked Kol Pakč puzzled.

Kolpacchi pointed forward and said angrily: "You see, our troops rushing to the front line were again bombed by enemy planes on the road. ”

I looked in the direction of his finger and saw two burning tanks emitting black smoke on the road ahead, and the half-charred corpses of tank soldiers lying next to the tanks. There were also fragments of bombed-out trucks on the avenue, and the mutilated bodies of our soldiers were scattered all around.

"Comrade Commander," Krylov said, gritting his back molars, "we will definitely take revenge." ”

Passing through this area, which had only recently been bombed, everyone's mood became heavy, and no one in the car spoke, and fell into a terrible silence.

It was getting dark. Kolpacic, who was sitting in the back seat, suddenly gave an unbelievable order: "Comrade driver, turn off the lights." As soon as these words came out, not only the driver, but even I was stunned. In this country where vehicles must turn on their headlights when driving on sunny days, is there anything special about turning off the lights when it's dark?

While I was thinking about it, the driver had already turned off the headlights to the letter, but fortunately there was a moon in the sky and he could see the road clearly without affecting our speed. Kolpacchi then said slowly: "When it gets dark, if you go forward with the headlights on, it will be easy to be spotted by the enemy's scouts, and if they invite artillery fire to intercept us, we will be all doomed." ”

After driving a little further, Krylov asked the driver to drive off the roadbed, and with the guidance of the compass, our car headed northwest. I heard Krylov say to Kolpakchi: "Comrade commander, drive down this direction, about fifteen kilometers further, and you will find our troops. ”

At this moment, I suddenly noticed a bright light in the distance, and hurriedly shouted at the driver: "Stop, stop!" The driver didn't know what to do, but he still stepped on the brakes. I didn't care what to say to Kol Parkucci, so I pushed the door open and got out of the car. After running forward for more than ten meters. Then he raised his binoculars and looked at the light.

I saw a group of people on the grassland in the distance, illuminated by a few gas lamps. Trenches are being dug in a hurry. In the light of the light, the shovel flickered and threw dirt from the trench. Because I couldn't see anyone, I couldn't be sure whether the people digging the trenches were my own people or Germans.

"What's going on? Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina. Kol Pakchi walked over and asked.

I hurriedly put down my binoculars and replied to him: "Comrade commander, I found that there were troops digging trenches in the distance, so I asked the driver to stop and come down to check." ”

"You're right!" Kol Parkucci complimented me. The telescope that took me looked in that direction and asked, "Do you see whether it's your own people or your enemies?" ”

I shook my head vigorously and said, "Unfortunately, Comrade Commander, I didn't see anyone digging the trenches, so I can't be sure whether it's my own man or the enemy. ”

Krylov muttered dissatisfiedly: "How can this be, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I see that you have been here for a long time with a telescope, but you have not even seen clearly which part of the people digging the trenches are. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, do not reproach Oshanina." Kol Parkucci helped me out in time. "I saw only shovels digging in the earth, and I couldn't see any people in the trenches."

At this time. One of the fighters ran over and reported to Kolpacic: "Report to Comrade Commander, about two hundred meters to the left of the convoy, we noticed several people approaching. ”

"Who?" Kol Parkch asked, putting down the binoculars.

The warrior shrugged his shoulders and said in an uncertain tone: "It's too far away to see clearly, anyway, it's either the enemy or our own." ”

This answer made Kolpacchi laugh angrily: "On the battlefield, the people we meet are either our own people or enemies. If we don't distinguish between friend and foe first, we may not know how to die by then. Let's go, let's take a look. ”

When I returned to the jeep, I noticed that the soldiers on the truck had all disembarked and set up a cordon around the car. Seeing us coming, a man who looked like a commander ran over. When I got to the front, I saw that it was a second lieutenant, and he reported to Kolpacic: "Comrade commander, there are four people here. Although it was too far away to be clearly seen, it was still vaguely recognizable that one of them was a captive, who was escorted by three other men in this direction. ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina," Kolpacchi gave me the order unceremoniously, "you take five fighters and go to the front." If the captives are of your own, bring them here. If it's an enemy," he said, waving his hand violently, and said viciously, "just kill them all." ”

"Yes!" I agreed, and then said to the commander who had just reported on the work: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, bring four soldiers with me." ”

We crept to the path where the four men had to go and set up an ambush, and I whispered to the second lieutenant: "Comrade second lieutenant, if you find yourself later, contact them, and be careful not to misunderstand as much as possible, and fight between yourself and your own people." If it's an enemy, kill them all. Remember, try not to shoot, because there is a unit nearby, and the enemy is not clear to me, and if the gunfire draws them over, it will be troublesome. ”

Soon, the men came into our sight, and at the front was a German soldier with a submachine gun on his chest and a steel helmet, followed by two German soldiers with submachine guns in their hands, and walked along a ragged man. The captured commander, with his right hand clenched at his left wrist, limped and staggered forward. The German soldier next to him stabbed him with the barrel of his gun from time to time, and whispered a German sentence that I couldn't hear.

Watching them get closer and closer, I gave a sharp order: "Do it." ”

At my command, the commanders and fighters, who had already been ready to attack, jumped up and swooped down on the three German soldiers with their daggers in their hands. The sudden leap of the warrior frightened the three German soldiers into stupe, and before they could come to their senses, the sharp dagger had already slashed through their necks, and then all three of them covered their necks and fell to the ground without saying a word.

Seeing that the commanders and fighters had resolved the battle cleanly, I quickly stood up, walked over to support the crumbling commanders and fighters, and asked with concern: "Comrade, you are okay, are you?" ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, is that you?" Unexpectedly, when the wounded commander and fighter saw me, they actually screamed in surprise.

"Who are you?" I looked at the commander in front of me in the moonlight. Asked at the same time. "How did you know me?" He grinned at me with his bloody, swollen mouth. He replied: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you don't recognize me?" I'm Adjutant General Chuikov, Captain Klimov! ”

"Captain Klimov?! It's you. I exclaimed in surprise and asked, "What the hell is going on?" Where is Comrade Commander? How did you get captured? ”

"It's hard to put into words, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. By the way, can you take me to your superiors? I have important information to report to him. ”

"Someone's coming!" I shouted to the soldier standing next to me, "Help the captain to the car." ”

Captain Klimov, supported by two fighters, came to the jeep. Kol Pakchi saw us helping back a person, and he probably understood eight or nine points. He asked Klimov: "What part are you from?" ”

Klimov broke free from the support of the two fighters, straightened his body with difficulty, raised his hand to salute Korpakchi, and respectfully reported: "Report to General Korpakchi, I am Captain Klimov, the adjutant of Commander Chuikov. ”

"Oh my God, Captain Klimov, it's you!" Korpacic was taken aback when he heard his identity, and hurriedly came up to support him, and asked with concern, "What happened?" Where is Comrade Chuikov? "Finished. Beckoning the two soldiers over, he helped the captain to the pedal of the jeep and sat down.

The captain gasped. He said: "During the day today, I followed Commander Chuikov outside to inspect the troops, and on the way I encountered an air raid by enemy aircraft. After the tires of the jeep in which Comrade Commander was riding were blown up by the machine guns of the enemy plane, two soldiers and I pulled him out of the car, and the jeep was blown up by a bomb dropped by the enemy plane as soon as he had not gone far. We lost all our vehicles and communication equipment, and could only follow the instructions of the compass, and proceeded where we wanted to go. As a result, a few kilometers away from here, they encountered the enemy's search force and a battle broke out. During the battle, most of the guards and staff officers were killed, and I was stunned by the blast of the grenade explosion, and when I woke up, I found myself captured by the enemy. ”

"Do you know where General Chuikov is?" Krylov came over and grabbed Captain Klimov by the collar and asked viciously, as if he were going to swallow him in one gulp.

The captain nodded with difficulty, and replied, "I think I know the truth." During the retreat, the commander told everyone a staging place and said that once they were dispersed, they would go there to rendezvous. ”

Korpakchi took out the map from the car, spread it out in front of Klimov, turned on the flashlight, and couldn't wait to ask: "Where is it, point it out to me." ”

Klimov's finger moved around the map, and just as Korpakchi showed an impatient expression, he decisively pointed somewhere, affirmingly: "It's in this village." ”

After Kolpacki glanced at it, he put the map away, and then ordered: "Last time now, go." Because Klimov's injuries were not severe, Korpakci was afraid that he would be uncomfortable sitting in the jeep, so he asked the fighters to carry him into the bed of the truck.

Guided by the compass, our convoy took almost an hour to reach the outside of a small village, where Kolpakchi asked the driver to stop. Looking at the dark village, Korpakchi said to himself: "Why is it dark everywhere, will Chuikov be here?" ”

I volunteered: "Comrade commander, I'll take a few people to have a look." ”

Kol Pakchi nodded and said, "Okay, anyway, Chuikov knows you, and if he sees that it's you, he will come out to see you even if he hides it." When you enter the village, you should be vigilant and pay attention to your own safety. ”

I took the second lieutenant and four soldiers with me and felt into the village. It was a village that could not have been smaller, with about twenty huts, and a dirt road ran through the middle of the village. I stood in the middle of the road, looking at the wooden house with no light at all, and I had no illusions about whether Chuikov was hiding here.

The second lieutenant came up to me and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what should we do?" ”

I looked around, casually pointed to the wooden house next to me, and said, "There is no way, we can only try our luck, room by room, to see if we can find Commander Chuikov." With that, I took the lead towards the hut.

When I walked to the wooden house, my hand had just touched the wooden door, and suddenly a deep voice came from inside: "Hey, who's outside?" Was it the Soviets or the Germans? ”

When I heard the people in the room speak in Russian, I felt much more at ease, raised my hand to stop the second lieutenant who was about to push the door in, and said to the inside: "We are the troops of the 62nd Army, which part are you?" ”

Hearing my voice, the people inside became excited: "It turns out that it is Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, and I am Sidorin!" Do you remember me? ”

"Sidorin?!" When I heard this name, I was overjoyed, this person was Chuikov's herald, he knew the whereabouts of Chuikov nine times out of ten, and hurriedly asked, "Yes, I am Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, are you the herald Sidorin?" ”

The wooden door opened from the inside, and Sidorin appeared in front of me, and he grabbed my arm and said excitedly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I thought I was going to die, but I didn't expect to see you again, it's really good." ”

Although this herald was an acquaintance, it was obviously not the time to catch up, so I hurriedly asked him: "Comrade Sidorin, do you know where Commander Lu Dao is?" ”

"Here I am, Comrade Oshanina." As soon as Chuikov's voice fell, his figure appeared at the door. (To be continued......)