I happily returned to the headquarters of the army group, and was telling everyone about the battle to retake the village, when Vatutin called, and he hurriedly said: "Comrade Oshanina, do you have mobile troops in your hands now?" ”

I didn't know the purpose of Vatutin's question, so I didn't immediately answer him whether he had it or not, but asked rhetorically: "Comrade General, I don't know what instructions you have?" ”

"According to the information we have intercepted, the German 332nd Infantry Division will move north this evening to reinforce the German troops in the Prokhorovka area." Vatutin said a little anxiously: "Judging from their marching route, they will pass through your defense area. If you have troops at your disposal, throw them into battle immediately. ”

"Comrade General, please report the route of the German troops, so that I can deploy defensive positions." Although there were still a few days to go before the counteroffensive, if I remained unmoved and allowed the German 332nd Division to reach the Prokhorovka area, it would put more pressure on Rotmistrov's troops, so I had to use my reserves in advance to fight a defensive war of attrition that I did not want to fight.

When I marked the route that Vatutin had said on the map, I put down the red and blue pencils in my hand and assured Vatutin: "Comrade General, please rest assured that our troops will not let a single soldier of the German 332nd Division pass through our defense area until General Rotmistrov has repelled the German attack. ”

"Very well, Comrade Oshanina." Vatutin's voice was a little excited: "Then I will hand over the flank of General Rotmistrov to you to be in charge." Good luck! ”

As soon as I put down the phone, Danilov asked: "Comrade commander." Which unit do you plan to use for the interdiction mission? ”

"Transfer the 89th Guards Division, which is in reserve." In order to quickly unify the opinions of all. I went out of my way to add: "Since the outbreak of the battle on the Five. This division had never participated in any battles yet, but served as a reserve for the army group, serving as a guard behind the second line of defense. ”

"But when they are transferred, which force will take over their defense?" Bezikov asked anxiously.

I looked at him strangely, pointed to the map with a pencil and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please note that now the enemy's troops are blocked by us in front of the second line of defense. On the right flank was General Katukov's Third Mechanized Army, and on the right flank was Rotmistrov's Fifth Guards Tank Army. As long as we can hold our positions, there is no need to put reserves in the back. After saying this, I instructed him again, "Call Colonel Seryukin, commander of the 89th Guards Division, and ask him to come to the headquarters immediately, and I will personally assign tasks to him." ”

Half an hour later, Seryukin appeared at the headquarters. Bezikov immediately greeted him: "Colonel, come here." When the latter came to the table with the map spread, Bezkov began to introduce him to the mission: "Colonel, your division now has a new mission. To immediately rush twenty kilometers of the road to reach this location. Take advantage of the local terrain to build fortifications to block the German advances to the northeast. ”

After staring at the map for a while, Xie Liujin asked rhetorically: "I don't know how many cars can be provided for us, you must know that such a long distance, if you rely on walking, it will take at least four hours." By then, we may have not had time to build a defensive position when the enemy rushed in. ”

"Comrade Colonel, in war, every minute counts." I waited for Seryukin to finish, and then said, "I will allocate enough trucks for you to transport the troops." Now, let's look at how to build fortifications. ”

Seryukin pointed to the map and said to me: "Comrade commander, there are quite a few hills here, and I intend to send a regiment to occupy these places and seize the time to build fortifications. I led the other two regiments, which were placed two kilometers in the rear, so that reinforcements could be ready at any time when the front was tight. ”

"Comrade Colonel, you must remember to lay mines in front of the position." In particular, Bezikov reminded him: "If you don't set up a minefield, the Germans will be able to rush in front of you with just one charge, and you will fight very hard." ”

"Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff." Seryukin nodded and said, "I will definitely set up a minefield in front of the position." ”

After Seryokin left, Danilov asked curiously: "I have a question, why did the Germans increase their troops in the Prokhorovka area at this time?" ”

"This is not yet understood, Comrade Deputy Commander." Kirillov said with a smile: "The Germans definitely want to attack the Fifth Guards Tank Army, probably because they feel that their strength is not enough, so they can only transfer troops for reinforcements." ”

In the evening, Seryukin, who was in the blocking position, called me and reported to me the progress of the blockade. He shouted through the microphone: "Comrade commander, after half an hour of artillery preparation, the Germans launched a fierce attack on our defensive positions. ”

"Did you set up minefields before the enemy attacked?" Listening to the faint sound of explosions coming from the earpiece, I couldn't help but ask worriedly: "Did those mines cause the enemy?" ”

Seryukin, after a moment of silence, replied: "Comrade commander, the enemy, before the attack, carried out artillery preparations. After the shelling, there were very few mines in the minefields that did not explode. So after the enemy's infantry attacked, they quickly rushed to the front of our position, but our commanders and fighters bravely repulsed. ”

"Comrade Colonel," I said, raising my voice, "no matter how many attacks the enemy makes, you must repel them." If the first line of defense is depleted, move your reserves up. It's not just how many troops you lose, I'll replenish them when the battle is over. Convey my request to all the commanders and fighters in the division - do not let the enemy pass under any circumstances. The fate of the entire campaign may be in your hands. The whole campaign! Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Seryokin said excitedly: "We would rather expose the bones to the wilderness than take a step back. ”

His words immediately reminded me of when I was still the commander of an anti-aircraft artillery platoon in Leningrad. This is often said in the mouths of higher-level commanders. But not long after saying this. And he died. Remembering this, I said to Seryugin very unhappily: "Comrade Colonel, I remind you to remember that the white bones exposed in the wilderness can only be Germans, not ours, understand?" ”

"Got it!" This time he replied louder.

I put down the phone, thought about it, and decided I should still check it out. After all, this resistance battle, as I just said on the phone, is related to the success or failure of this battle. So I said to Danilov: "Comrade commanders, I'm a little worried, I should still go to the front and have a look. It was only after seeing with my own eyes that our warriors held off the enemy's frenzied attack that my heart was at ease. ”

Danilov, hearing me say this, hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Comrade commander, although I would like to persuade you not to go. But with what I've learned about you lately, as long as you decide on something. No one can influence you unless you change your mind yourself. ”

And Kirillov said understandingly: "Lida." I agree with the deputy commander that if you don't see with your own eyes that our troops are blocking the enemy's attack, your heart will not be steady. Go ahead, stay safe, we'll be waiting for you to come back. ”

Bezkov called Basmanov and asked him to take a company of guards and follow me to the defensive positions of the 89th Guards Division. I knew that if I didn't take this unit with me, they would be unsure, so I didn't refuse their kindness, and set off with the guard company.

By the time I reached the headquarters of the 89th Guards Division, it was just in time for a new German offensive. I didn't say much, and directly asked Seryukin to take me to his observation post to observe the battle on the high ground ahead.

I looked through my binoculars at the smoke of gunpowder everywhere in front of me, and saw the Germans charging up the hillside, completely ignoring the dead and wounded robes rolling down the hill from my side, and still rushing towards the top without fear.

When they were overpowered by the Guards' fire, they threw out pieces of grenades and quickly lunged forward with the help of the smoke from the explosion. They played an extraordinary performance, even when they were running, they raised their guns and fired. The bullets fired at close range were quite accurate, and they either burrowed into the soil in front of the commanders and fighters on the position, or grazed the top of their heads, causing a large number of casualties among our commanders and fighters.

The soldiers of the Guards were also furious by the blood flow, and they were desperately pulling the trigger at the rushing enemy. The rifles were running out of the initial salvo, and they fired as fast as they could. The heavy machine gun swung from side to side with white smoke, and the cartridge belts were fed in, spewing out tongues of fire half a foot long, and the fire whips formed by the bullets swept across. The light machine gun has long since run out of point fire, and as soon as the trigger is pulled to the end, it doesn't take a few quick shots to shoot, dozens of bullets are fired out in an instant, and the round magazines under frequent replacement even begin to be somewhat unsupplied. The barrel of the gun, which had not had time to be replaced, was already a little dark red, and the red-eyed soldier screamed wildly and picked up the machine gun and stood up and fired downward, ignoring the scorched palms that were burned. Often, after a few shots, they were sieveed by oncoming bullets, and before their bodies could fall, someone had already grabbed the machine gun and continued to sweep it up.

The mortars on the top of the hill have been adjusted to the maximum elevation angle, and there is no need to calculate the distance of the ruler, only the fastest speed is needed, and the enemies rushing up are too dense, so many that one shell can overturn several. Under the rapid fire, the screech of the trajectory across the sky became a single one, blowing up everything that could be blown up, and the shrapnel flew across all the protrusions. But there were too many enemies to fight and blow up, so they came out of the thick wall of smoke formed by the explosion and continued to rush.

There were too many enemies, they rushed up in dense numbers, bullets were flying everywhere, and people were constantly falling in the trenches, but they would be filled immediately. The German tanks at the foot of the hill did not dare to open fire on the hillside for fear of accidental injury, so the enemy threw grenades in pieces and smashed them on the edge of the trenches. Falling into the trenches, the soldiers picked up and threw them out, and even exploded directly in their hands, while blowing themselves up, together with a few comrades around them, the soldiers' flesh and blood mixed with the soil in the trenches were also soaked and soft, and then trampled on or re-blown and splashed everywhere.

Seeing this, my heart hung in the air, and I hurriedly put down the binoculars and shouted at Seryukin next to me: "Comrade Colonel, the attack of the German army is too fierce, immediately prepare the reserves and be ready to reinforce them at any time." ”

"Yes!" Seryukin agreed, and then called one of his regimental commanders and ordered him to immediately assemble his troops and prepare to reinforce the first line of defense.

"Tanks! Our tanks! Someone in the observation post suddenly screamed, drawing all of our eyes to it. Seryukin rushed to the lookout with an arrow, raised his telescope and looked into the distance, while at the same time talking to himself: "Our tank, where is it, why didn't I see it?" (To be continued.) )