Early the next morning, Chernyakhovsky came to pick me up at the headquarters of the Front and accompanied me to the defense area of the 60th Army to inspect the construction of fortifications.

As we sat in a bumpy jeep and headed for Ligov, the westernmost defense zone of the army, Chernyakhovsky suddenly asked: "Comrade Oshanina, I have a question for you, I don't know whether to say it or not?" ”

Although I didn't know what questions Chernyakhovsky would ask, I thought that he would definitely not ask any tricky questions to embarrass me, so I nodded and said very casually: "Excuse me, General Chernyakhovsky, as long as I can know the answer, I will definitely tell you." ”

With my permission, Chernyakhovsky coughed and continued: "Is that so, General Oshanina, I heard that one of your subordinates shot all the German officers and soldiers who laid down their arms after liberating another prisoner of war camp? ”

"Yes, it does." Hearing him ask this question, I replied very cheerfully: "One of my former subordinates, after liberating a concentration camp near Kiev, discovered that the Germans had slaughtered prisoners of war and civilians, and in a fit of rage, executed all the prisoners. Marshal Zhukov also specifically consulted me on what to do with the commander of the regiment who gave the order. ”

"Although the Germans have committed many crimes on our soil, we should be more tolerant of those enemies who lay down their arms." Chernyakhovsky was obviously not satisfied with my understatement, and persuaded me bitterly: "If we wantonly slaughter those prisoners who surrendered, it will affect the reputation of our army." ”

"General Chernyakhovsky. I don't agree with you. If they fight us on the battlefield. Then regardless of the dead and wounded. I can bear it, after all, this is war. But when they slaughter prisoners of war and unarmed civilians, I will not spare them. In retorting to Chernyakhovsky, I unconsciously quoted the words of the later Russian hard-line leader, "Forgiving them is God's business, and our task is to send them to God." Shoot one if you catch one, and kill one if you catch one. ”

My words made Chernyakhovsky laugh, and he laughed and said: "Comrade Oshanina. This is really new enough, this is the first time I have heard of it. After a pause, he continued, "Maybe you're right, I now understand why you didn't hesitate to demote yourself and kill all the German soldiers who killed Zoya, and we really can't be too kind to such two-legged brutes." Please accept my respect for you! After saying that, he took the initiative to extend his right hand to me.

When I shook hands with him, I first thanked him politely. Then he deliberately talked about a series of achievements he had achieved: "Comrade General, I heard that at the outbreak of war. You are also a division commander. From the day after the outbreak of the war, you led the 28th Tank Division in a hard defensive battle against the enemy's superior forces in the defense zone of the Northwestern Front. Brilliant results were achieved in the battles in the southwestern part of Šiauliai, the Western Dvina, Solitsy and Novgorod. Commander of the German 16th Army, Ernst Brown. In his summary of the campaign, Admiral Busch pointed out that the main reason why the Germans failed to take Leningrad was largely related to the stubborn resistance and continuous entanglement of the Soviet 28th Tank Division. ”

When Chernyakhovsky heard me relaying his achievements, he only smiled faintly and said modestly: "Comrade Oshanina, you are too much of an award, at that time it was not only the troops under my command who were fighting, but also the troops who kept contact with the enemy were fighting tenaciously. Had it not been for the friendly forces that pinned down and dispersed the enemy's forces, allowing the Germans to concentrate their forces on our defensive area, I believe that in less than a day, my troops would have been routed or even completely annihilated. So these achievements were achieved with the support of friendly forces. ”

"It seems like we're almost there," Chernyakhovsky said as we were chatting when Chernyakhovsky suddenly looked out the window of the car and said, "A few hundred meters further on, we are at the forefront." ”

After a while, the jeep stopped. The adjutant who was sitting in the co-pilot got out of the car first, ran to the back and opened the door on the side of Chernyakhovsky. And the driver I was sitting in front of me was not idle, he also got out of the car and opened the door for me.

"One of my infantry divisions is stationed here," Chernyakhovsky told me, looking at his surroundings, "two kilometers further west is the German defense zone, and our troops will build their first fortifications here." No, General Oshanina, you see, our commanders and fighters are building fortifications over there. So saying, he pointed to the east.

I looked in the direction of his finger and saw a long trench under intense construction. Although it is the end of March, it is still a cold winter in this part of Russia. But most of the people who were working in the trenches were wearing only a single coat, and they were not afraid of sub-zero temperatures.

I squinted my eyes for a while, and couldn't help frowning and asked, "General Chernyakhovsky, I see that there are so many ordinary people in the crowd of people working?" You must know that this is too close to the front line, and once the Germans attack, these untrained civilians will become panicked, which will have a great impact on our morale. ”

When Chernyakhovsky heard me say this, he also looked over there, and then said with some tears and laughter: "General Oshanina, you are mistaken, they are not ordinary people, they are all soldiers. Due to the large number of people transferred from the militia units, there were not enough uniforms issued to them for the time being, so they had to wear civilian clothes for the time being. ”

When I heard him say this, I couldn't help but be stunned, but soon laughed a little embarrassedly: "I see, I thought you had transferred all the local residents who were supposed to be building fortifications in the second line of defense to the front line." In order to free myself from the embarrassment as soon as possible, I quickly changed the subject, "Also, don't keep calling me my rank and surname, you can call me Lida, and I will also call you Ivan." This makes it seem less exotic and unfamiliar. Do you think it's okay? ”

Chernyakhovsky is a very cheerful person. Hear me out. Immediately changed his address to me: "Okay, Leda, I'll call you that way from now on." ”

I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when I heard him change his name in time, to be honest, his name was too long and awkward, and it would be much easier to call him Ivan.

As we approached the trenches, a major standing nearby noticed my arrival and hurriedly shouted the order. Let the busy commanders and fighters stop what they are doing. Then he ran briskly in front of me, raised his hand to Chernyakhovsky, and said politely: "Comrade commander, we are digging trenches. ”

"Comrade Major," Chernyakhovsky said to him with a smile, "let's just take a casual look, when will your trenches be completed?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander." The major replied dryly, "We have been ordered to build two defensive lines here. Our battalion's line of defense was on the first line, while the line of the other battalion was about 500 meters to the east. ”

Chernyakhovsky walked forward along the trench and continued to ask: "Between your two directions, is there a communication trench that you have figured out?" ”

When the major heard this, he immediately shook his head. He replied: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander. I was not given the task of building a traffic trench. ”

Chernyakhovsky stopped, turned his head to look at the major, and the expression on his face became serious. He said in a stern tone: "Comrade Major, although the superiors have asked you to build two lines of defense here, they hope that you can make the defense force of this defensive zone stronger when you are defending and fighting. If you don't build trenches, the first line of defense will be isolated if the open area between the two lines is blocked by enemy artillery. Then our troops in this area will be broken by the enemy one by one. ”

Although Chernyakhovsky had already said this, the dead-headed major in front of him still stubbornly said: "However, Comrade Commander, we have no right to change the order of our superiors without receiving the order of our superiors. ”

When I heard the major's stupid answer, I really wanted to rush up and slap him in the mouth, I've never seen such a stupid person. Chernyakhovsky is the commander of the army group, is what he said not as effective as your immediate boss?

Chernyakhovsky smiled at the stubbornness of the major, and then said: "Major, when the trenches are repaired, you will immediately organize people to build a few more communication trenches between the two lines of defense." Seeing the major's helpless expression, he comforted him and said, "You don't have to worry, I will personally tell your division commander about this matter." ”

As soon as Chernyakhovsky's words came out, I sensed a sigh of relief from the major, and then replied loudly: "Yes, Comrade Commander." As soon as the trenches are finished, I will arrange for the traffic trenches to be repaired by hand. ”

After listening to the major's statement, Chernyakhovsky nodded, then crouched down and chatted with the fighters standing in the trench more than half a person deep. He smiled and asked a young soldier standing in front of him: "Comrade soldier, how long have you been in the army?" ”

The little soldier, who looked to be seventeen or eighteen years old, replied a little nervously when he heard Chernyakhovsky's question: "Report to Comrade Commander, I joined the militia in October last year and have just been transferred to a regular army not long ago. ”

"Have you ever fought?" Chernyakhovsky then asked.

The little warrior shook his head and replied, "No, I have not fought. I am a Muscovite, and since I joined the militia, I have been on the patrol in the city. ”

"What would you do if the Germans appeared in front of you?" Chernyakhovsky waited for him to finish and threw another question.

The little warrior thought for a moment and said in a firm tone, "I will shoot them." ”

Hearing his answer, Chernyakhovsky laughed, raised his hand and slapped him twice on the shoulder, complimenting: "Well done, lad. I hope you will kill a few more German devils in the next battle. When the time comes, I will personally come to present you with the medal. With that, he stood up.

And when the little soldier heard Chernyakhovsky say this, he couldn't help but gently touch the middle-aged uncle standing beside him with his elbow, and said ostentatiously: "Did you hear that? Comrade Commander said that he would personally award me a medal in the future. ”

The middle-aged man glanced at him with envy, and then whispered, "Then let's compare well in the battle to see who has killed more enemies and captured more weapons." ”

Chernyakhovsky took a few more steps forward, crouched down again, and asked a young man with glasses: "Comrade soldier, what did you do before joining the army?" ”

The man with glasses straightened up and replied in a loud voice: "Report to Comrade General, I am the administrator of Lenin's library. After the outbreak of the war, I applied to join the army, but the commander of the conscription rejected my application because of my poor eyesight. Last June, when a militia came to our library to recruit people, I signed up for the militia. Not so long ago, the militia battalion where I was was incorporated into your unit. ”

Chernyakhovsky asked the man with glasses with a smile on his face: "Are you still used to life in the army?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander, I like such a barracks life very much." After the man with glasses said this, he suddenly asked worriedly: "Comrade General, I want to ask, can our newly formed army stop the fierce Germans on the opposite side?" You know, they've just defeated our troops, who are several times outnumbered. ”

As soon as this earth-shattering question was asked, the air around him seemed to freeze. I noticed that the major standing behind Chernyakhovsky was glaring viciously at the man in glasses, and the anger in his eyes would have been reduced to ashes if he could have burned to death.

Chernyakhovsky was silent for a long time before he slowly came to the battle, glanced at the man with glasses who was frightened, and then pointed at me with his hand and said loudly: "Comrade soldiers, let me introduce you to a person, her name is Oshanina, and she is the only female general in our army. He looked at me and said in a firm tone, "In the recently concluded Battle of Stalingrad, she commanded a newly formed unit and stubbornly held the commanding heights on the north side of Stalingrad - Mamayev Hills. For months, the fascist bandits tried every means to get through the impregnable 'floodgates' that she and her men had built. Let me ask her to tell you all whether our newly formed unit will be able to hold back the fascist bandits who are about to rush at us. Please, General Oshanina, please give you a few words. (To be continued......)

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