After sending off the partisans, I went back to the room that Panfilov had arranged for me to rest.

As soon as I took off my clothes and lay down, there was a knock on the door outside. I was not happy with this untimely man who came to disturb my sleep, so I shouted unhappily outside the door, "Who?" What's the matter? ”

"Comrade Major Oshanina, your call! The front command called! Emergency calls! "It was Bahadou's voice that answered me, and it seemed that there was something urgent, or he would not have bothered me so late.

I quickly got out of bed, put on my clothes, and opened the door. Standing outside the door, Bahadou saw me open the door, immediately stepped back, raised his hand to the boat-shaped cap fastened to his forehead, and reported: "The division headquarters has your urgent telephone number, from the front headquarters, and the division commander asked me to come and ask you to go to the headquarters immediately to answer the phone. I nodded, didn't bother to talk to him, and almost ran into the divisional headquarters.

The microphone he took down from the telephone and put it on the table, and when he saw me enter the door, Panfilov grabbed the microphone and handed it over.

I took the microphone, cleared my throat, and said in a loud voice, "Hello, I'm Oshanina!" Who are you? ”

Immediately I heard the familiar voice of the commander of the Front, General Zhukov: "Major! I'm sorry to disturb your rest, but the Front Command has a new arrangement for your work, which is why I will call you up at this time. ”

"I'm at your disposal! Georgy Konstantinovich. "When I heard that there was a new appointment, I was a little nervous, and I didn't know where I would be sent this time.

"You have to rush to the Fifth Army as soon as possible and report to General Lelyushonka." Zhukov's calm voice continued from the microphone, "The specific work, he will personally arrange it for you." ”

"Understood," I replied briefly, "I'm ready to go at once." ”

"Also, I heard that you once gave a wonderful and passionate speech to the partisans, and it is a pity that you were not present to hear it for yourself." Without waiting for me to speak, he continued: "Go to the new combat post as soon as possible, good luck!" Then he hung up.

As soon as I put down the phone, Panfilov, who was sitting next to me, asked with special concern: "Comrade Zhukov called you so late, is there anything urgent?" ”

"Comrade General asked me to report to the Fifth Army immediately." To be honest, I didn't know anything about the unit with this number, so I asked the current division commander curiously: "Do you know the situation of this unit?" ”

"The Fifth Army was formed temporarily only two days ago, and the commander, Major General Lelyushonka, is the commander of the 1st Guards Rifle Army, and the Command has also transferred troops from the 16th Army, and there are still people you know in it."

"Someone I know?!" I couldn't help but be surprised and asked, "Who is it?" ”

"Colonel Porosushi." He was a little surprised and said: "You stay by Zhukov's side every day, don't you know that the 32nd Far East Red Banner Infantry Division has now been incorporated into the Fifth Army?" ”

I thought about it for a while, and it is true that I did not hear Zhukov mention the question of the belonging of the Porosushy Division, perhaps this arrangement took place during the time when I was on a special mission. Zhukov wouldn't specifically mention this kind of transfer to a minor character like me, so it's normal not to know what to do.

A few hours later, I was in the Fifth Army of General Lelyushka. The headquarters was located in one of the forward observation posts of the defensive line.

Lelyushka, dressed in a black leather jacket, stood there, bending over the long table covered with maps. When he saw me come in, he straightened up and nodded his head in response to my greeting. At the same time, he said with some unhappiness: "I hoped that Comrade General would send me a commander with rich combat experience, but I didn't expect to send me a young and beautiful girl." You know, we're at war, not at ball. ”

I was a little annoyed by his attitude. "Comrade General," I reported coldly and in a businesslike tone, "before I arrived at your command post, I fought not only in Leningrad, but even in the outskirts of Moscow, I fought with the German devils. I think that General Zhukov sent me here because he felt that I was up to the task. ……”

"Well," Leryushenka interrupted me, "my army group has just been formed, and there is not enough troops, and there is a shortage of commanders, especially those with combat experience. Sit down and listen to me. ”

Listening to him, I obediently sat down on the chair next to the long table.

"What role have you held before?" He asked.

"After the outbreak of the war, I served as a squad leader, platoon leader, and company commander in the anti-aircraft artillery unit," I briefly told him about the position I held, "and also commanded a garrison battalion on the Pulkovo heights. ”

"How did you get promoted so quickly?" He asked questioningly, "It's only been a few months since the war broke out, but you're already a major." ”

"When the war first broke out, I was a corporal. I was able to be promoted so quickly, and it was entirely the help of the Germans," I saw him look at me with wide eyes of astonishment, and hastened to add: "I am lucky to have won every battle and eliminated many German devils." That's why I had the opportunity to earn medals and get a quick promotion. ”

"I can't see it, you're really not simple." His attitude towards me began to soften.

"Can I come in? Comrade General! "A familiar voice came from the door of the command post, and when I turned my head, I saw that it was Colonel Porosushi, whom I knew, followed by a colonel in a black tank uniform.

"Come in, I'll be waiting for you." Lelyushzykha said, pointing at me with her finger and introducing the two of them: "This is Major Oshanina, she is a special commissioner sent by the front command to assist us in the battle. ”

I was of a lower rank than the two who came, and I quickly stood up and saluted them. And took the initiative to greet Borosuhi: "Hello, Comrade Division Commander, we meet again." ”

Porosushi was stunned for a moment, but immediately recognized me, grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously, and said, "Welcome to our troops, and we can fight side by side in the future." ”

The tank corpsman colonel next to him said lightly: "I am Colonel Ornenko, commander of the 20th Tank Brigade, welcome to you." Then he reached out and shook me politely.

"Sit down, let's talk about how to fight after dawn." Lelyushzyenka beckoned everyone to sit down again, and then began to make tactical deployments. "In these two days, the Germans have advanced three to six kilometers in Borodino. It will be very difficult for our army's equipment to completely block them, so what can be done at the moment is to delay their advance towards Moscow as much as possible, so that the high command has enough time to accumulate strength and strength for a counterattack. ”

"How did you arrange that? Comrade General. Colonel Porosuhi asked.

"It's better to hold the position with your division's infantry, and when the enemy's attack weakens, Ornenko's tank brigade will be put into a counterattack."

"I don't have many tanks left," Ornenko said bluntly, and his attitude towards the general, at least in my opinion, was very unfriendly. But after a while, he added: "After a series of battles, there are only twenty tanks left in the whole brigade, but it is enough to toss for a while." ”

The meeting was quickly over, and while Ornenko and Lelyushzyuka continued to talk, I turned to Colonel Porosushy beside me and asked curiously: "Colonel, how is that groom Gasan that day?" ”

"He had already died, and he died in battle the day after his wedding. Not only him, but also the fighters of the Azerbaijani company were killed, and they showed tenacity in battle until they fought to the last one. Porosushi answered my question with some emotion.