When the meeting was full of people, I was about to announce the opening of the meeting, when Pandeleyev suddenly asked me: "Comrade division commander, see if we can draw up a map based on the information provided by Sergeant Adir, so that it looks more vivid." ”

I did not object to Bandeleyev's suggestion, but turned to Sederikov and Kosgaard and asked, "Which of you can draw?" ”

Unexpectedly, when these two regiment leaders heard my question, they looked at each other, shook their heads neatly, and replied embarrassedly: "None of us know how to draw!" Hearing such an answer, I immediately thought that they were all directly promoted from the position of company commander, and it was okay to look at the map, but as for drawing, it is estimated that they don't know anything like me.

There were four people in the command, and neither I nor the two regiment commanders could draw, so I could only pin my last hope on Bandeleyev. I smiled at him and said cheekily: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, you see, I and the two regiment commanders don't know how to draw, can I trouble you to do this for you?" ”

Bantai Leev, who probably knew my details, heard my request, and without hesitation, leaned down on the table, and began to draw a map on the paper by the light of the candle. Shederikov and Kosgaard had probably never seen anyone else drawing, so they both came over to watch at the moment.

I walked up to the newspaper operator, bowed my head and asked him, "Comrade newspaper operator, has the political commissar sent a telegram?" ”

The newspaper operator looked up at me, shook his head slowly, and said, "Report to the division commander, it is not yet time to receive the report, and the political commissar will not send the report." ”

At the time of departure. I had an agreement with Kirillov. In order to prevent the exposure of troops deep behind enemy lines. The walkie-talkie we carried only received telegrams and did not send telegrams, and it was received once in the morning and once at 8 o'clock in the evening. I raised my hand and looked at my watch, and there were still two minutes before it was time to receive the newspaper, so I told the newspaper operator: "Comrade newspaper operator, it will be time to receive the newspaper soon, so get ready to receive the newspaper." With that, without waiting for the operator to answer, I walked towards the outside of the headquarters.

I came to the trench outside the headquarters. The sentries standing on both sides of the door hurriedly raised their hands to salute me, and a second lieutenant who was staying nearby also ran up to me quickly and asked respectfully, "Comrade division commander, do you have any instructions?" ”

I waved my hand at him and said softly, "I'm just out to breathe, you go about your business." ”

The lieutenant saluted me and stepped aside.

I stood in the trenches, looking out at the endless steppe in the distance, and thought to myself what the next few days would be. In what direction should the troops move so as not to alarm the Germans. It was also able to approach the Don Front, which was advancing southward, to the greatest extent.

I thought about it for a long time, but I still didn't come up with a clue. I shook my head with a wry smile and turned around again and returned to the division headquarters. As soon as I stepped into the headquarters, the operator stood up and reported to me: "Comrade division commander, I just received a call from the political commissar. ”

I hurriedly took the telegram from the telegraph operator's hand, looked at it nervously, and saw that it read: "At 16:30 this afternoon, after a fierce battle with our army, the enemy occupied the central and southwestern parts of the 'barricade' factory. About two battalions of enemy infantry and 17 tanks approached the northwestern gate of the Red October plant along Krasnopresnyanskaya Street. The 117th Regiment of the Guriev Division engaged the enemy fiercely, but a small group of automatic gunners of Hitler's bandits broke into the factory floor and engaged in battles with the Guards fighters and armed workers who were holding inside. ”

I came to the desk with the telegram, and just as Bandeleev had finished drawing the simple map, he stretched out his waist and asked curiously: "What does the commissar's telegram say?" ”

"Look," I said, handing him the telegram, "the situation in the city is terrible, the most brutal fighting is still going on in the factory area, and our troops have been forced to move in many areas. ”

After reading the telegram quickly, Bandeleyev asked in surprise: "Why didn't the commissar inform us of the information on the Mamayev post?" ”

Kirillov and I had been together for quite some time, and I knew more or less about his character, so I replied lightly to Bandeleyev's question: "Since the commissar did not mention the matter of my division's defense area, then it proves that the Mamayev post is again free of war today." After saying this, I changed the topic again, "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, has the map been drawn?" ”

Bandeleyev nodded, pushed the freshly drawn map on the table in front of me, and I quickly leaned down to look at the freshly baked map. I have to say that a person like Bandeleyev is very capable, and although it is only a sketch map of the area where we are stationed, he can still see at a glance where the hills are, where the steppe is, and the city closest to us.

Seeing that I was staring at the map endlessly, Bandeleyev couldn't help but ask: "Comrade division commander, the Germans have troops stationed in this city, what should we do?" Is it to find a way around them or to find a way to eliminate them? ”

"There can be no more detours, Comrade Deputy Division Commander." I replied decisively: "In order to bypass Gorodishe, we have left a battalion to hold our retreat. If you bypass the city again, you will inevitably have to leave troops on guard. Our forces are already limited, and if we continue to divide our forces like this, by the time we reach an area close to friendly forces, we will not have a few men left around us. In the event of a sudden encounter with the superior German forces, we would not even have the slightest strength to fight back. ”

As soon as I finished speaking, Bandeleyev couldn't wait to ask: "Then you mean to destroy this group of enemies?" ”

"Yes," I said with certainty, "send a reconnaissance detachment tonight to reconnoiter outside the city where the enemy is stationed, and we must try to find out what the enemy is doing in the city and what is being dispositioned." ”

"Whose troops are you sending?" Bandeleyev asked.

As soon as my eyes fell on Sedelikov and Kosga, they volunteered to say: "Comrade division commander, let our reconnaissance detachment of the regiment complete this task, we will definitely not disappoint your trust." ”

"Division commander, let's let the three regiments complete this task. Although Sergeant Adir's reconnaissance mission failed. But the city side is the reconnaissance range of our regiment. We have what it takes to get the job done. ”

"Alright, don't fight anymore." I interrupted the words of the two regiment commanders and said to myself: "I will hand over this reconnaissance mission to the first regiment to complete." Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, in a moment you will call Captain Nikolai over, draw men from his battalion to form a crack detachment, and quietly go to the city at night to find out the distribution of the enemy's forces. ”

After listening to my arrangement. A smug smile appeared on Sederikov's face, and he said confidently: "Yes, comrade division commander, I will call Captain Nikolai over in a moment, and you will personally deploy reconnaissance matters to him." "Although I promoted Nikolai from captain to lieutenant when I put him under the command of a regiment, I habitually called him captain. Shedelikov, a sycophant, heard that I was calling the wrong rank, and did not correct me, and called the other party a captain in my tone.

Didn't wait for me to speak. Suddenly, a sentry shouted outside, "Who?" Stop, password! ”

A voice that sounded familiar to me replied, "Hey." I said, Comrade Sentinel, I'm not from your guard company, how do I know what your password is? ”

Outside, the sound of a sentry pulling the bolt of his gun was heard, and then he shouted sharply, "Password, if you don't answer, I'll shoot." ”

"I am the commander of the 1st Battalion of the 1st Regiment Captain Nikolai, and next to me is my deputy battalion commander, Captain Kstrov. We have important things to report to the division commander. ”

As soon as the people outside identified themselves, I knew who was coming. So I walked quickly to the door, first asked the vigilant sentry at the door to put down his gun, and then shouted at Nikolai and Kostrov, who were not far from the headquarters: "Hey, is it Comrade Nikolai and Kostrov?" Come on. With that, I turned and headed back to headquarters.

As soon as Nikolai and Kostrov walked into the headquarters, Sederikov was the first to ask strangely: "Commander of the first battalion, what are you two doing here?"

I saw Nikolai wink at Kostrov, who hurriedly stepped forward and reported to us in a loud voice: "Report to Comrade Commander, we have just discovered that two enemy armored vehicles have entered that deserted village. ”

"What, the enemy's armored vehicles entered the uninhabited village?" I was supposed to be sitting, and when I heard this shocking news reported by Kostrov, I jumped up from my seat. I stepped forward and grabbed Kostrov's arm and asked loudly: "In addition to these two armored vehicles, have you found any other enemies?" ”

"No," Nikolai and Kostrov shook their heads together, to which Nikolai replied, "We have looked closely, and we have found no enemy other than these two armored vehicles." ”

"Could you be mistaken?" Shedelikov also asked nervously.

Nikolai shook his head again and replied: "Absolutely not, Comrade Regiment Commander, you also know that our position is on a hill with a wide field of vision, and if the enemy wants to approach, we can detect it from a great distance. Apart from the lights of the two armored vehicles, no other lights were found. ”

Upon learning that only two lone armored vehicles had entered the deserted village at the foot of the mountain, Bandeleyev seemed to have some idea, he walked up to me, lowered his voice and asked: "Comrade division commander, what do you think?" ”

My mind raced to think that the two armored vehicles were full of twenty people, and we could easily wipe out this group of enemies. Moreover, it is more than ten kilometers away from the enemy's city, and even if there is the sound of gunfire, the enemy in the distance cannot hear it. The only thing to watch out for is that there may be a radio on the enemy's armored vehicles, which can always make contact with distant troops.

"Comrade division commander, have you thought about it?" Bandeleyev asked again in my ear.

I made up my mind at this moment, so I nodded, and then decisively began to give orders: "Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, you send a battalion of troops, quietly infiltrate the village, and kill all this group of Germans. ”

"Yes!" Without waiting for me to finish, Sederikov replied loudly: "Please rest assured, division commander, I promise to complete the task." ”

"Wait a minute, I haven't finished my words yet, what are you panicking about?" I said in a disgruntled tone when he interrupted me: "The Germans have only twenty men at most, and although they are inferior to you in terms of strength, you should not take it lightly. In battle, it is necessary to find a way to control the armored vehicles as much as possible, first, to reduce the casualties of the troops, and second, to prevent the Germans from using the armored vehicles to escape or use the car radio to give alarms. ”

"Understood." Sederikov honestly agreed, and then asked me for instructions: "So which battalion should I send for this task?" ”

His question really made me cry and laugh, and I really wanted to kick him hard at that time. However, in order to maintain my image in the minds of the commanders and fighters, I pretended to be relaxed and said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, since I have entrusted this task to your regiment, as for which battalion to send to carry out this task, of course, it is up to you, the person who is the commander of the regiment, to decide. (To be continued......)