It snowed heavily during the night, and a biting cold wind howled across the snowy plains.

The Germans were disrupted by our counterattack, which, combined with the sudden bad weather, forced their offensive in the Porodino direction to be temporarily suspended.

There was no fighting in the morning, and I was organizing my troops to hurry up and repair the fortifications in order to cope with a new round of German offensive that might be launched at any time. Hearing this, I immediately followed the soldiers who had come to inform me and walked along the communication trench to the newly built headquarters.

At the entrance there is a sentry, dressed in a short fur coat with a submachine gun on his chest, constantly stamping his feet in place. When he saw me, he stood upright and saluted. The four walls and canopy of the headquarters were covered with wooden planks. Along one side of the wall are several benches, and in the center is a wooden table with a battle map, and two telephones on it. Colonel Porosushi, who was talking with one of them, saw me entering, nodded to me, and then said into the microphone: "Comrade General, Major Oshanina is here. Then he handed me the microphone.

I took the phone and heard Zhukov's familiar voice coming from the microphone: "Is it Lida?" He quickly replied, "It's me, Comrade General." ”

"Well done! Thanks to your timely grasp of the aircraft, a successful counterattack on the enemy disrupted their overall disposition. Today, the German offensive on Moscow in several other directions has weakened, and according to reconnaissance, they are readjusting their forces and preparing to launch a major offensive against Borodino again. ”

"Comrade General, please rest assured that we are ready for battle and ready for battle." As I said this, I took advantage of the faint light of the room to see if the headquarters was solid, first to see how the wall cladding was made, then to study the roof and the pillars supporting it, and to estimate in my mind whether the fastness of the shell would stand up if it exploded in the approaching place. What I just said to Zhukov in my heart was just a cliché, and I knew as well as he did that with the current situation of the Fifth Army, it would not be able to withstand a new round of German attack.

"Lida," Zhukov said to me suddenly in a consultative tone, "you have completed your mission, and in the next step, I want to transfer you back to the front headquarters." As for the new appointments, I'll wait until you get back. You don't have any objections, do you? ”

"I obey the arrangements of the Front Command." I've fought a lot of battles, but I'm still scared of death. Judging from the current situation, staying in Borodino again is clearly the end of nine deaths and one life, and having the opportunity to return to a safe place is something that many people can't ask for, and if I shirk it again, it will seem a bit hypocritical, so I simply agreed.

"Well, hand over the work in your hands to Colonel Porosushy, and you yourself will report back to the front command immediately. Move fast, you know? ”

"Understood! Georgy Konstantinovich. ”

"I wish you a safe journey." After saying this, Zhukov hung up the phone.

In the evening, I arrived outside the headquarters of the Front in a truck carrying ammunition back. Although I had been away for a few days, the soldiers standing guard at the gate knew me and let me in without questioning anything.

In the corridor leading to the war conference room, I unexpectedly saw an old man with the rank of major general standing by the wall, dancing and muttering to himself. As I got closer, I could hear him saying, "...... The enemy's tank clusters have been pushed over and are advancing towards our capital, Moscow. …… All hope was pinned on us, the cadets, that the Germans should be held back for three days, a total of three days. Although our weapons and equipment are poor, in spite of this, we should show the glorious tradition and tenacious fighting spirit of the Red Military Cadets during the Civil War,...... We swear to strive to fulfill our sacred duty, we swear not to allow the enemy to approach Moscow, let us swear an oath to defend Moscow. ……”

As I passed him, I looked him up and down curiously. The military coat on his body seemed to have not been changed for more than ten days, and the boots under his feet were covered with a thick layer of dust. Looking at his face, he felt that his whole person was unusually haggard, his face sockets were deep, his eyes were black, his eyes were dull, and his face was full of stubble.

I looked back at the old general as I walked, and before I knew it, I was in front of the door of the room at the end of the hallway. He was about to open the door and enter, but was stopped by an ensign sitting at the table by the door, who said very unceremoniously: "Comrade soldier, which unit are you from?" If you don't know what kind of place this is, just run in! Be careful that I inform your commander that you will be locked up for a few days. ”

I looked at the ensign in front of me and asked, "Are you new here?" ”

"Am I new here, what's your business?" His attitude was unusually unfriendly, and he even put up a score to me, "According to the regulations, you should salute me." ……”

"I'm sorry, Comrade Major." Before I could get angry at the ensign, a door opened next to me, and a lieutenant without a hat hurriedly came out of it, and when he saw my unhappy face, he quickly apologized to me and said, "I have something to do and left for a while, please ask this new second lieutenant to help me take a look temporarily." He's new here and doesn't know you, so I beg your pardon. Then he whispered to the lieutenant, "This is Major Oshanina, whom I often mention to you." ”

The second lieutenant's face suddenly turned as red as Guan Gong, and he hurriedly stood up to me and said, "I'm sorry, Comrade Major, you are wearing a soldier's overcoat, so I didn't recognize you. I beg your pardon! ”

"It's okay, it's a trifle." I faced the lieutenant, pointed at the old general who was nervous in the hallway, and asked, "Who is this self-talking general?" ”

"Him!" The lieutenant looked at the old general, then leaned into my ear and said, "This is Major General Smirnov, the principal of the Podolysk Infantry School, all the cadets in his school died today, probably because they can't stand this stimulation, so they have become crazy." It's been almost two hours since I've been here, and it's always been like this. ”

It turned out to be him, I remember that ten days ago, when I followed Zhukov to the front line, I went to inspect his defense area. In this way, all the former cadets I had seen at that time had died, and I couldn't help but sigh secretly, and after glancing at the old general sympathetically, I asked the lieutenant in front of me: "Have you reported to the comrade general?" ”

"It's not time yet." The lieutenant said with some hesitation, "Comrade General has been working, I can't go and disturb him." ”

"O brethren!" Major General Smirnov's voice suddenly became louder, "The German devils have captured the village in front, we can't let them turn this place into an advance base for attacking Moscow, we must immediately organize an attack and take the village back." ……”

Seeing this, I was a little unbearable, took off the submachine gun hanging on my body, handed it to the lieutenant in front of me, and prepared to personally report to Zhukov about the situation of the old general. As soon as my hand grasped the doorknob, I heard the major general behind me crying: "It's all over, and the enemy has been pinned down for another day and night." Then came a crisp gunshot.

I hurriedly turned my head and saw the Major General sliding down the wall and sitting on the ground, his head tilted to one side, his eyes wide open, and his pistol falling to the ground. There was a thick smell of gunpowder in the air, and a wisp of blood ran down his right cheek, like a red stream, staining the two gold stars on his collar badge red.

The crowd gathered around me, but I stood there in a daze, wondering if I would have the courage to shoot myself in the head if my troops were gone.

"What's going on? Where to shoot? Zhukov's voice sounded behind him, and the lieutenant, who had been standing beside me, quickly replied: "Comrade General, it was Major General Smirnov, the director of the Podolysk Infantry School, who shot himself. ”

"Suicide?!" Zhukov was furious and lashed out at the lieutenant: "When did he come to the headquarters of the Front, why didn't anyone report to me?" And why would he commit suicide? ”

"I'm sorry, Comrade General." The lieutenant hastened to defend himself: "When he came, you were busy, and I didn't bother you. As for what to commit suicide for? Maybe it's because all his students have been sacrificed, he can't stand this stimulation, and he can't think about it for a while before he chooses to take this step. ”

"Shut up!" Zhukov blushed and roared: "After he comes, if he doesn't report anything to me immediately, if he can see me, maybe he won't go down this dead end." Now, you hand over your work to someone else, and immediately go to the front line to experience for yourself this life-and-death parting between comrades on the battlefield! ”

"Yes!" The lieutenant, who had been trained to tears, agreed, put on his big-brimmed hat, saluted Zhukov, and strode out of the corridor.

"Leda," Zhukov said to me with a wry smile, "you go to the logistics department to find a coffin, collect the body of Comrade Major General Smirnov, and then arrange for someone to send it back to Moscow." ”

"Yes!" I raised my hand in salute, then walked down the corridor through the crowd, glancing at the Major General who was sitting against the wall, and then went to the logistics department of the Front Army to find the quartermaster to arrange his funeral. Starting Point Chinese Network www.Welcome the majority of book friends to come and read, the latest, fastest and hottest serialized works are all original at Starting Point!