When Bandeleyv heard this, he was so angry that he roared loudly, pointed at the noses of the two German officers, and scolded them, saying that they were lying, that they were deliberately spreading rumors, in an attempt to shake the morale of our troops, and threatened to drag them all out and shoot them.

Although the two Germans could not understand what Bandeleyev was yelling, they were frightened by the hideous expression on his face. Not only the two of them, but even the second lieutenant Gretka, who was working as a translator next to him, was silent and did not dare to continue translating.

Seeing this, I hurriedly stood up and stopped the angry Bantaileyev: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, don't be impatient, what is the truth of the matter, after they have all finished speaking, we will be able to figure it out, and there is no need to be so angry." ”

Although Kirillov frowned tightly when he listened to the narration of the two German officers, at this moment he pulled the corner of Labantileyev's coat very cooperatively, and whispered to him: "Old man, listen to Comrade Oshanina, don't get angry, sit down first and listen to what the Germans have to say." ”

Seeing that Kirilov and I were trying to persuade themselves, Bandeleyev could only hold back his anger and sit down with an angry face. Seeing him sit down again, I kindly said to the frightened Grettka: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, the deputy division commander is just impulsive, now it's okay, you can continue to translate." Let them move on. ”

After hearing what I had said, Second Lieutenant Grettka cautiously turned his gaze to Bandeleyev, ∧ fearing that the other party would suddenly burst out again. Seeing that Greitka did not move, Bantai Laiev turned his gaze to him and slapped the table again in anger. Count the other party in a loud voice: "Ensign." You see what I do. Didn't you hear the words of Comrade Division Commander? Hurry up and translate her words to the Germans, so that they can continue to explain. ”

After Gretka sent my words to the German officers, the two men hesitated for a moment, and the officer on the left mustered up the courage to continue: "After repelling this wave of Soviet attack, two artillery officers with rich combat experience and special courage came to our defense area and served as temporary artillery observation posts. Their main task was to observe Soviet targets that were a threat to our troops from a distance. As soon as a target is identified, the azimuth parameters of the target are calculated, and then there is a radio operator brought by them. Transmit the target parameters to the artillery units behind.

Due to the excellent work of these two artillery officers, it only took five minutes from the time the target was determined to the time the shell fell. The shells flying from our rear will accurately hit the place where the Soviet troops are massing. For those tanks in motion, they will also calculate the trajectory of their movements, directing the shells to the area it is intended to reach. In this way, the Soviet tanks and infantry attacked in turn, and under the resourceful and stubborn resistance of our troops, they were repeatedly attacked by soldiers. Seeing that we had blocked the onslaught of the Soviet troops, the affairs and confidence of the troops began to rise gradually. ……”

The words of the German officer gave me a more emotional understanding of that battle. I thought to myself. If this attack had been left to our independent division, it would not have been possible to capture the streets where the Germans had entrenched. At least not at such a heavy price. Perhaps seeing that I was frowning and pondering, the German officer who was talking stopped and looked at me with a look of trepidation.

I saw the nervous faces of the two officers, and knew that I had to say something so that they could relax, so I gritted my back molars and asked, "Mr. officer, what do you think of our commanders and fighters in battle?" ”

"Does that need to be said? Very brave, very heroic. After listening to Gretka's translation, the officer on the right could not wait to say: "Although the Soviet soldiers were hit by our artillery fire, they still bravely advanced towards our positions. Under the heavy fire of our troops, the infantry who walked in the front quickly fell into the snow, but the remaining crowd in the back continued to advance without fear over the corpses of their comrades and into a dense network of fire from our troops, and then more people fell, and their bodies overlapped on the soldiers killed in the previous attack. ”

When I heard this, I secretly cursed the commanders of the 57th and 64th armies in my heart, didn't you let the commanders and fighters go to the enemy's guns to die? Originally, I wanted to have the two officers taken down, but when I heard that the officer was still talking and continued to talk, and knew that he must have a lot to say, I held back the anger in my heart and continued to listen to him.

"The battle lasted until three o'clock in the afternoon, and seeing the piles of corpses in front of the position, our Soviet troops, who had suffered heavy losses from us in the future, would stop attacking, but they did not expect them to attack again soon. And it was in the place where the blow had just been struck that the troops regrouped and launched another attack. The officer seemed to open up the conversation and said vigorously: "After their attack was crushed, they regrouped their troops and attacked again. In this way, they launched five attacks on us in an hour's time, although each attack was repulsed by us, but the continuous attack also cost us a lot of money, our defense area was eaten away by the Soviet army little by little, the first and second lines of defense were lost successively, and most of our soldiers had to retreat into the buildings on both sides of the block to continue to resist.

At this point in the battle, it seemed that the Soviets would be able to capture an entire block with one more onslaught. But the terrain we were in was very favorable, and the narrow streets made it impossible for the Soviet troops to form any battle formations, and they had to huddle together shoulder to shoulder and charge forward.

And our soldiers, who retreated to the building, set up machine guns and submachine guns in the windows facing the street, and fired fiercely at the swarming Soviet infantry. It would be more appropriate to say that it was not so much a battle as a massacre. The bullets of the Soviet soldiers who rushed to the front fell to the ground, and the soldiers who followed closely behind could not dodge and tripped over the corpses, making the piles of people and corpses piled higher and higher, and the soldiers who were not tripped were strafed by our machine guns and submachine guns, and some of them did not even have room to fall to the ground after being shot, and leaned directly on their companions behind. As a result of the continuous strafing, the lethal bullets penetrated the bodies of the dead soldiers and into the bodies of the soldiers behind them, piercing the hearts of both the dead and the living. ……”

The German officer paused as he said this, and whispered something to Gretka next to him. Then Gretka faithfully translated his words: "Comrade division commander. He wanted to drink some water. ”

"Give him a cup of tea." For this request of the officer. I did not refuse, and made a gesture to Captain Yushchenko, who was standing by the door, and ordered: "Captain, pour this officer a glass of water." ”

Yushchenko immediately carried out my order, went to the wall, picked up a teapot and poured a glass of water, carried it in front of the officer, and handed it to the other party without saying a word. The officer took the teapot and gave me a grateful look. I didn't care if my mouth was hot or not, so I drank it in a big gulp. After handing the teapot back to Yushchenko, the officer continued: "However, under this deadly onslaught of the Soviet troops, many buildings on both sides of the street were also lost, and we had to retreat to the rear.

However, at this time, the battalion commander formed the remaining soldiers into reserve and formed a defensive formation on the other side of the street. As soon as our soldiers ran past them, they went into battle. First, they fired grenades and threw grenades at the rushing Soviet soldiers, and when the grenades and grenades exploded in the front crowd, they fired the submachine guns and machine guns. While taking a firm step along the receiving forward.

The soldiers standing in the front row had either submachine guns or MG34 machine guns, and the Soviet soldiers in the crowd could not return fire at all. No one can stand where our fierce fire has strafed. As soon as it fell, it was a large area, and the vast majority of Soviet soldiers fell to the ground without firing a shot. Under the heavy fire of our troops, the surviving soldiers in the front row began to hug the crowd behind them and retreat step by step. In the face of such heavy casualties, the Soviet soldiers voluntarily chose to retreat, and then it turned into a hasty flight, while we regained all the positions we had just lost in one fell swoop.

Although their attack was once again repulsed by us, they did not discourage the idea of capturing the Voroshilov district. In the hours before dark, they sent new troops to continue the attack. The soldiers continued to trample over the corpses of their comrades, over the thickening piles of corpses left behind by their comrades in the wake of each failed attack, and again and again to launch a desperate attack. Some of these attacks were coordinated by tanks; But most of them were pure infantry charges. However, without exception, they were all repelled by our army. ”

When he finished speaking, I coughed lightly, cleared my throat, and asked: "Mr. officer, let me ask you again, since your troops are fighting so well in the Voroshilov district, why are you transferred to the 'Red October' plant?" ”

The officer I asked looked at me in surprise, and his eyes seemed to say, "Didn't I answer you this question just now?" However, when he heard my question again, he answered honestly: "It is because our troops stood out in the battle on the 16th, so when this place was fiercely attacked by your troops, the superiors thought of us, thinking that after we were transferred, we could create another miracle similar to the Voroshilov district." But I didn't expect ......" At this point, he didn't continue, but lowered his head deeply.

"Alright, Comrade Captain." Kirillov stood up, made a gesture to Yushchenko, who was not far away, and ordered him: "Take these two captives down, don't let them talk nonsense here anymore." ”

After the two German officers were taken away, Akhromeyev, who had not spoken, said thoughtfully: "Division commander, political commissar, I always thought that the attack launched by the 57th and 64th armies was because in the battle, the infantry and the tanks were disconnected, and the infantry had to crawl on the ground or hide in the corner in order to avoid unnecessary sacrifices, while the tank troops went deep alone and rumbled towards the German positions, and were hit hard by the German anti-tank men. But now listening to these two German officers, I feel that there is still a discrepancy with my own imagination. ”

I saw that Bandeleyev opened his mouth, and it seemed that there were signs of disagreement with Akhromeyev, and I hurriedly spoke first: "Comrade Chief of Staff is right, the commanders and fighters of our army have never lacked bravery, what they lack is excellent commanders. The reason why our troops were strewn with corpses in front of the enemy's positions and did not achieve any results was entirely due to a mistake in command. ”

Kirillov sighed, also stood up and looked at me, and asked with a look of embarrassment: "Comrade Oshanina, the confession of the German officer just now should be the truth of the defeat of our army." Do we need to report immediately to the command of the army group? ”

"Yes, Comrade Commissar." Thinking that Chuikov asked me to investigate the truth about the defeat of the friendly forces, and now that it has been revealed, in order to avoid our group army from making similar mistakes in the next battle and causing unnecessary heavy losses, I think it is better to report the results of the investigation in time; "We must report the results of the investigation as much as possible, so that the commanders know the reasons for the defeat of the friendly forces."

When I called the headquarters, it was Vasilyev, the director of the political department, who answered the phone. After I was stunned for a moment, I politely asked: "Hello, Comrade Vasilyev, is the commander here?" ”

"I'm sorry, Comrade Oshanina, not there." Vasilyev regretfully told me: "Not only the commander is not there, but even the military commissar and chief of staff are not there. ”

I used to call the headquarters of the group army, even if Chuikov and Gurov were not in the command headquarters, the chief of staff Krylov was definitely there, but today the three of them actually left the headquarters together, which proves that something big must have happened, so I hurriedly asked: "Do you know where they went?" ”

"Comrade Oshanina, don't you know yet?" Vasilyev was surprised and said: "Something is wrong!" ”

"What's the big deal?" I asked nervously.

"The 4th Panzer Corps, which belongs to the 57th Panzer Army of the German Hort, has broken through several lines of defense of our Front and is approaching the area only 50 versts from the southern encirclement, and the commanders have all been called by the Front Command for an emergency military meeting." After saying this, Vasilyev seemed to remember that I was the one who would not call the headquarters of the army group if I was fine, and that I must have some important information to report when I called Chuikov at this time, and hurriedly asked: "Comrade Oshanina, do you have anything to do with the commander?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Vasilyev, I am deliberately reporting to Commander Chuikov on the results of the investigation on the failure of friendly forces to attack the Voroshilov district." I then gave him a detailed report on the confessions made by the two captives.

After hearing this, Vasilyev hummed, and then said solemnly: "Okay, I understand the specific situation, and as soon as the commander returns, I will report to him immediately." (To be continued......)

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