Gorazkov, who accepted the task, returned the telescope to Chuikov, and after saluting, walked down the mountain with his commissar. Chuikov and I jumped back into the crater that served as a makeshift command post.

Smelling the faint smell of blood in the smoke of gunpowder blown by the river breeze, I watched the enemy's shells constantly fall in the middle of the troops crossing the river, and from time to time the heroic soldiers and men and boats were blown to pieces, and the fragments of the boats and the severed limbs of the people were lifted high into the air, and then scattered into the surging waters of the Don River. The equipment for crossing the river that was lucky enough to not be hit was also not worry-free, and the unsturdy wooden rafts or door panels also overturned the water column from time to time, and after the soldiers on it fell into the water, except for a few people who grabbed the planks or broken logs and continued to float on the water, the rest were swept away by the raging river. Seeing this scene, my heart couldn't help but tighten.

Just when I was worried about the fate of the 112th Division's river-crossing troops, a loud slogan suddenly sounded from the bottom of the hillside: "Speed up the march, fast!" Fast! Run and go! ”

"Left-Left-Left-Right-Left!" A neat afterlife followed by the sound of footsteps in unison, and the movement of hundreds of pairs of boots on the ground was not small, covering the sound of gunfire in the distance. A large group of heavily armed fighters, led by the commander, ran down the hillside. Although I don't know how effective they are, I know from their uniform pace and slogans that they are all strictly trained.

"Hurry up and see! Comrade Commander. I hurriedly called to Chuikov, pointed to the troops passing under the hillside, and said excitedly: "Look, it's our troops coming up." ”

Chuikov looked at the troops passing down the hillside. A smile of relief appeared on his face. He nodded slightly. He said with satisfaction: "General Gorazkov's troops look pretty good, I hope there will be a battle later, just don't let me down." ”

The troops came to the front of the hillside, and at the command of the commander, the troops stopped, and then turned to the left in unison, and the whole group faced the Don River. A conductor ran out of the line from the far right of the line to the front of the line. Because the distance is not far away. So I don't need a telescope to see that this commander is the deputy commander of the 98th Division, Seryokin. I wanted to hear what he was going to say to his men, so I leaned forward slightly with my hands on the rim of the crater, leaning forward slightly.

I only heard Colonel Seryokin say in a loud voice: "Comrades! Our division received an order to cooperate with friendly forces and destroy all the enemy who had occupied the left bank of the Don River. Saying this, he turned his body slightly and pointed in the direction of the Don River behind him, "Our friendly forces." At this moment, braving the enemy's heavy artillery fire, they are forcibly crossing the wide Don River. Since they were not supported by artillery fire. There were also not enough equipment to cross the river, and there were heavy casualties in the process of crossing the river. We can't afford to watch them be wiped out by the enemy, so we have to help them and attack from behind the enemy immediately, attracting the enemy's attention and relieving the pressure on the attacking troops. Do you have the confidence to accomplish this task? ”

"Yes!" The commanders shouted in unison.

Colonel Seryokin nodded in satisfaction, turned his head and shouted at the queue: "The standard-bearers are out of line." ”

With his shout, a soldier carrying a military flag on the far right of the queue trotted in front of him. Then he solemnly shook off the military flag of the 98th Division and let this glorious flag flutter in the wind.

Seryokin stepped forward, bent down, reverently held the corner of the military flag with both hands, and kissed it affectionately.

There was silence in the whole team, and everyone silently watched the colonel's every move.

Seryokin straightened up, raised his fist, and solemnly swore an oath: "For the glory of the 98th Infantry Division, we swear!" ”

"We take an oath!" The commanders and fighters also raised their fists in his imitation.

"Invincible, invincible!" Seryokin took the lead in taking the oath.

"Invincible, invincible!" The commanders and fighters repeated his oath.

"Swear to drive the German invaders out of the border and let the banner of victory fly forever over the Soviet Union!"

"Forever fluttering!"

After taking the oath, the colonel drew his pistol, raised it high above his head, and shouted again: "All disperse in a straggler formation and march towards the Don!" ”

The ranks at the foot of the hill quickly dispersed, forming a line of seventy or eighty people, each with an offensive formation about five meters apart, and the commanders and fighters strode forward with their heads held high, armed with rifles, submachine guns, and machine guns. And Seryokin and the standard-bearer walked side by side at the far right of the line.

"This Colonel Seryogin is good." Chuikov didn't know when he was standing beside me, and he also leaned down to look at the scene that was happening at the bottom of the hillside, "He did not attack immediately after the troops entered the offensive position, but first used honor to boost the morale of the commanders and fighters before launching the attack." I don't think the enemy can stop them. ”

I raised my hand to look at my watch, turned my head to look behind me, and said to myself: "Didn't General Gorazkov say that the artillery should immediately provide artillery support to the infantry?" Ten minutes have passed since now, why haven't the guns been fired yet? ”

Chuikov smiled and said: "Comrade Oshanina, you are too impatient. It took more than half an hour to unload the artillery from the military column and then build the artillery position. ”

"Half an hour?!" I looked at the stragglers who were advancing towards the enemy's position, and couldn't help but say worriedly: "For such a long time, Seryokin's troops have almost come within the range of the enemy's rifles, and the casualties will not be small by then. ”

The situation was much worse than I thought, and the attacking troops advanced less than five hundred meters before they were discovered by the enemy. In the loose line of attack, a column of smoke suddenly rose up, which was the enemy bombarding with mortars. Our troops advanced under enemy fire, and when the shells exploded, shrapnel flew everywhere, knocking down our commanders and fighters from time to time, but soon those behind picked up their pace to fill the vacant positions.

Although the enemy's artillery fire caused many casualties to our troops, the advance speed of the entire unit showed no signs of stagnation, and in the blink of an eye it had already gone half the way and entered the range of the enemy's heavy machine guns.

The enemy's heavy machine guns opened fire. The commanders and fighters who walked in the front row. In a dense rain of bullets. Shaking and falling down a large piece. Even the flag fell down. However, it was soon re-erected. The commanders and fighters behind did not stop, and continued to make great strides.

At that moment, I heard the sound of artillery being discharged from behind the hillside, followed by countless shells whistling over our heads towards the enemy positions. Columns of black smoke suddenly rose from the enemy's position, along with parts of weapons and human stumps. The machine guns, which were originally firing wildly, suddenly fell silent.

Seeing the might of our artillery, Colonel Seryokin gave the order in a timely manner. The commanders and fighters went from striding forward to trotting charges, quickly rushing to the enemy's defensive positions. Since the position was mainly defending in the direction of the Don River, and the defense on the opposite side was relatively weak, the commanders and fighters quickly rushed into the trenches and engaged the enemy inside in hand-to-hand combat. And the artillery observers, seeing that our troops had already broken through to the position, gave a signal in time for the artillery to carry out extended fire.

I shifted my gaze from the battle-for-war positions of the enemy to the surface of the Don River, and was pleasantly surprised to find several ferries approaching the shore. A large number of wooden rafts followed. On the ferry at the front, a flag was planted. Although it is too far to see clearly, I estimate that eight or nine times out of ten it is the military flag of the 112th Division.

Light and heavy machine guns were set up in front of the ferry, and as they went, they opened heavy fire on the enemy positions on the shore, suppressing the enemy's fire points with fire and covering the troops to cross the river. Although the enemy was flanked by us, it was clear that they would not sit idly by, and the resistance remained stubborn. Even our ships on the Don are being shelled with mortars.

The ferry, which was flying the military flag, was about to approach the shore, but unfortunately it was hit by a cannonball, and the front half of the hull was suddenly surrounded by smoke and fire. Then I saw a few people covered in fire from the side of the boat into the river, trying to extinguish the fire burning on them. It is a pity that these commanders and fighters who jumped into the river became the target of enemy machine-gun fire on the shore, and after several struggles, they sank to the bottom of the river or were washed away.

Fearing that the artillery would accidentally injure his own people, Chuikov ordered our artillery to stop firing. The commander of the 98th Division, Gorazkov, led another unit and hurried to the front in order to fulfill his promise to Chuikov.

As the commanders and fighters of the 98th Division expanded their positions, the enemy's resistance became weaker and weaker. The commanders and fighters who crossed the river were able to successfully reach the left bank, and also rushed into the enemy position, clearing the remnants of the enemy with their friendly forces.

When the gunfire on the shore gradually subsided, Chuikov breathed a sigh of relief and said: "Thank God, at last all the enemy on the left bank was destroyed. Then he instructed the signal corps, who was crouching in the corner of the crater: "Signal corps, immediately contact the commander, General Shumilov, and tell him that after the stubborn fighting of the 98th and 112th Divisions, we have completely annihilated the German troops on the left bank." The battlefield is being counted, and the specific results will be reported after the inventory is completed. ”

Now that the battle is over, Chuikov will definitely go to the battlefield to inspect. However, we didn't have to walk like the commanders and fighters for such a long distance, but took a jeep, so it only took a few minutes to get there.

As soon as Chuikov got out of the car, he saw General Gorazkov and Colonel Seryokin coming to greet us, hurriedly walked a few steps, stepped forward and shook Gorazkov's hand, shook it vigorously, and said: "Well done, General Gorazkov. The commanders and fighters of the 98th Division are all good, and because of your timely attack, you were able to achieve such a great victory in such a short period of time. ”

Then he extended his hand to Seryokin and said with admiration: "Comrade Colonel, your morale-boosting method is effective. Do your best, fight a few more battles like this, and you'll have a chance to get a higher rank. ”

I also went up and shook hands with the two commanders one by one. After shaking hands, I reminded Chuikov: "Comrade commander, should we go to the 112th Division to see." ”

"You're right, Comrade Oshanina." Perhaps because of the victory in the battle, Chuikov was in a particularly good mood at the moment, "Let's go, let's go to the 112th Division to see Colonel Sologub." General Gorazkov and Colonel Seryokin, both of you will come along. ”

We walked along the trenches, past the corpses of our soldiers and enemy soldiers who had not yet had time to clean up. Chuikov walked briskly forward without squinting, while my pace slowed unconsciously, and I saw corpses almost piled up in the trenches. One can imagine how brutal the battle for position just now was.

Chuikov walked and walked. Suddenly, he shouted, "Hey." Isn't that Colonel Mihalisin? ”

A tall middle-aged colonel came to stand in front of us, raised his hand to salute Chuikov, and said politely: "Report to Comrade Commander, Deputy Commander of the 112th Division, Colonel Mihalishin, report to you that the troops are cleaning up the battlefield, please instruct!" ”

Chuikov waved his hand and said, "Please continue." ”

"Yes!" Mihalishin replied loudly, and then ordered his subordinates standing around: "Continue to clean up the battlefield." ”

Chuikov waited for him to finish his assignment. Hurriedly asked: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, where is your division commander, Colonel Sologub?" ”

Mihalishin bowed his head and replied in a low voice: "Report Comrade Commander, the division commander was seriously wounded while crossing the river. ”

"What?" With an incredulous expression on his face, Chuikov yelled at Mikhalisin, "How can it be seriously injured? ”

"While crossing the river, the ferry he was on was hit by enemy shells, and he was hit by more than a dozen shrapnel, and he couldn't save it. We put him in a shelter, not far from here. Comrade Commander. Do you want me to lead the way? ”

"Go, take me there immediately." Chuikov urged.

We soon came to a spacious and damp hideaway. A commander was seen lying on top of several raincoats spread on the ground.

A hygienist who was leaning over to treat him heard someone coming in and asked without looking back, "Is the stretcher coming?" ”

"Comrade Hygienist, how is he?" Chuikov asked, standing behind him.

The hygienist turned his head to look at Chuikov, quickly stood up, raised his hand and saluted, and reported with some nervousness: "Comrade General, I am the hygienist in the division. Please forgive me, I didn't know that you were here. ”

Chuikov waved his hand and asked with concern, "How is Colonel Sologub?" ”

"Comrade General, I can't be sure." The hygienist said incoherently, "He seems to be breathing for a while, and then he is gone...... If he could be operated on now, he should still be saved. ”

"Where's the meddy?" "Comrade Hygienist, if you know where he is, go find him at once, and operate on the colonel here." ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander," Colonel Seryokin walked up to him and took the initiative to say, "there is a military doctor in our division, so I'll go and invite him over." After saying that, seeing that Chuikov nodded in agreement, he turned around and left the hideout.

"Comrade General." Mihalisin came over and explained in a low voice: "In order to boost morale, the division commander personally boarded the ferry to direct the crossing of the river. In order to make it easier to identify, he also had the military flag planted on the bow of the ship. When the soldiers crossing the river saw the military flag, their morale was greatly boosted. When the division commander's ship was about to dock, it was unfortunately hit by an enemy shell. ”

"Is there any salvation? Comrade hygienist. Chuikov asked, looking at the hygienist, as if he still had a hope in his heart that Colonel Sologub was still alive, but only temporarily unconscious.

The hygienist shook his head, bit his lip and said, "Comrade General, he was shot in the chest, and the shrunnel entered his chest, breaking his entire chest. And the part of the right leg below the knee was also blown up by the shell, and he lost too much blood and could not be saved. ”

Ignoring the hygienist, Chuikov crouched down beside Sologub, looked at his face blackened by gunsmoke, and whispered: "Colonel Sologub, we have wiped out all the enemies on the left bank of the Don. You have to resist it, don't die, there are still many combat missions in the future. You must hold on, your division is still waiting for you to command. Do you hear me? ”

Solokub was still lying motionless on the ground, not moving at all.

I sighed, stepped forward, crouched down next to Chuikov, and carefully looked at Sologub lying on the ground. I saw that his right leg was gone below the knee, and the bandage wrapped around him had been stained red with blood. The chest was also messily wrapped in blood-stained bandages.

At this time, Seryokin's voice came from the door: "Comrade commander, the military doctor is here." ”

Chuikov hurriedly stood up and urged one after another: "Come in quickly and help Colonel Sologub with the operation." ”

A military doctor with a small suitcase squatted down beside the colonel, looked at his eyes, reached out and touched his carotid artery, then stood up and shook his head in disappointment, and said to Chuikov: "I'm sorry, comrade general, the colonel has died. ”

Chuikov grabbed the military doctor by the collar and said loudly: "What do you say, you didn't check it properly, just say that he died." If you talk nonsense again, I'll shoot you. ”

"Why am I talking nonsense, Comrade General," said the military doctor angrily. "You see he's no longer breathing, there's no pulse. And now the blood is coming out of the mouth, you see. ”

But Chuikov was no longer willing to look at Colonel Sologub's face. His limbs trembled, and his throat choked. It took a long time for him to finally say: "Colonel Mihalishin, you go find a few soldiers, carry the body of Division Commander Sologub out of the city, find a suitable place, and bury him." and was buried on the bank of the Don where he died. ”

Then he turned his face again and said to me: "Report to Commander Shumilov that the commander of the 112th Division, Colonel Sologub, died honorably in battle, and ask him to arrange a new division commander as soon as possible." (To be continued......)