Although I told Chuikov that the troops would leave in an hour. But by the time Major Oleg and the others finished cleaning up the battlefield, burying the bodies of the martyrs, and handing over the wounded to the sanitary battalion of the 29th Division, more than two hours had passed.

Together with Oleg, who had arrived in a hurry, I said goodbye to Chuikov, Raskin and Kolobtin, left the 29th Division and went to the assembly point of the special battalion.

Still far away, I saw trucks transporting the soldiers, lined up on the side of the road. And the fighters who were going to return with me to the garrison of the independent division were lined up next to the trucks at the behest of their respective commanders. Looking at the original large army of 500 people, now there are less than 200 people left, my heart can't help but feel sour.

Captain Pugachev, who saw me and Oleg coming, and was watching the troops, hurriedly ran to meet us and reported to us that the whole battalion was ready to go at any time.

I glanced at Pugachev, who was looking at me intently, with a look on his face waiting for my order. I asked, "Comrade Captain, have you written down the names of the martyrs who lay on the barbed wire fence and died heroically to open the way for the army?" ”

"Wrote it down." Pugachev said, taking out a piece of paper from his briefcase and handing it to me, while also introducing: "The leader is lying on the barbed wire. Sergeant Gerasimenko, followed by Private Alexander. Krasilov, Nikolai. Tikhonov, Leontsia. Cheremnov, along with an unknown fighter, followed and lay down and opened the way for our attacking troops. ”

I glanced at the four names written on the paper and a big question mark. He frowned slightly and asked, "Why is there still a warrior's name not written?" ”

"That's right. Comrade division commander. Pugachev hurriedly argued: "Because of the remains of another fighter." It has been blown up, and although we have asked many people to identify it, no one has been able to identify the martyrs. ”

"Are all the bodies buried?" I then asked.

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." This time it was Major Oleg who answered, and he said with a stern expression: "We buried these five fighters alone in a pit and made a mark. I think that when the war is over, an obelisk monument should be erected in the place where they died. In honor of the exploits of these five warriors. ”

I folded the paper in my hand, put it in my briefcase, nodded and said, "Comrade Major, you are right. After the end of the war, we will erect all kinds of monuments in all the places where we fought to commemorate the martyrs who died heroically during the Great Patriotic War in defense of our great Motherland and the great leader Comrade Stalin. Although he said this in front of his own subordinates. But I still habitually slapped the Supreme Commander-in-Chief himself on the back.

"Comrade division commander, the matter of the monument. You can wait until after the war. Pugachev said to me with a hippie smile: "Isn't it time for us to go?" The warriors are tired today, and when they return to the settlement, let them sleep well, so that they can recover quickly. ”

I shook my head and said: "Comrade Captain, we are not going back to the settlement, and after waiting for the car, the troops went directly to the station of the Guards Division, where they were waiting for Sederikov and Gaidar. ”

"Not going back to the settlement?" Pugachev repeated in bewilderment.

"Yes, by order of the superiors, the settlements must be abandoned." Due to the rush of time, I didn't even have time to tell Oleg about it, let alone Pugachev, who was always on the battlefield. In order for them to understand the reasons for the evacuation of the settlements, I also went out of my way to explain to them that "according to the information provided by the command of the army group, the Germans are storming the Reynok area, and the German troops in the Orlovka area are also showing signs of movement, and it is quite possible that they will launch an attack on the settlements in the short term." General Chuikov had just given the order for my division to withdraw from the settlements, and Major Sederikov, whom I had already informed, had asked him to withdraw his troops to the defense area of the Guards Division, and to return to the garrison of our division after joining us. ”

"But, comrade division commander, why is this?" Pugachev asked, somewhat incomprehensible: "You must know that we have paid a lot of money to seize this settlement from the enemy. But now, after only holding out for two or three days, they have to give up lightly, and the blood shed by so many sacrificed soldiers is in vain? ”

"Alright, Comrade Captain." I did not want to dwell too much with him on this issue, so I lectured him in a stern tone: "You must know that our settlements have only a few hundred soldiers, and we lack heavy weapons and strong permanent fortifications, and we will not be able to support them if the enemy bombards them with aircraft and artillery." Perhaps before the enemy could attack, we would be wiped out by enemy bombs and shells. This is an order from the superiors, and it is not allowed to be discussed, so follow it. ”

"Yes, understood." Before turning to leave, Pugachev hesitated, but still asked the question on his mind, "Do we have a chance to return to the settlement?" ”

"I don't know," I replied with a gloomy face, but I knew in my heart that Pugachev was asking a question that every commander and fighter who received this order would think. Just as I knew that the Battle of Stalingrad was a great battle in which millions of troops were invested on both sides, and that its tragedy was beyond everyone's imagination, I could only remain silent and not be a prophet and speak out in advance of these upcoming events. Seeing that Pugachev was standing in front of me and did not want to leave, I unceremoniously urged him: "Captain, hurry up and get your troops on the bus, it's time for us to go." ”

Seeing my displeasure, Pugachev hurriedly gave a military salute and ran to the commanders and fighters who had finished the formation, shouting in a loud voice: "All aboard the car!" ”

The jeep I was in was at the front of the entire convoy. At the beginning, no one in the car spoke, and after driving silently for a while, Oleg, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, turned around and asked a little hesitantly: "Comrade division commander, what should the troops do next after they withdraw to the station?" ”

"By order of General Chuikov, after the troops who went out on a mission returned to the station. The main task. It is to teach the new fighters who remain in the garrison the combat experience. Help them train so that the combat effectiveness of the entire army can be rapidly improved. Speaking of which, I deliberately asked rhetorically: "Why, Comrade Oleg, is the task clear?" ”

"It's not clear," Major Oleg said unexpectedly, "the absolute majority of the fighters of our division, without any military training. If there is no backbone of fighters to replenish the troops, it is simply impossible to increase combat effectiveness in a short period of time. Look, can you ask Comrade General to let other troops support some of our fighting backbones. ”

When I heard him say this, I was still quite moved, but after thinking about it again, I could only sigh and say, "This idea is good, but General Chuikov will definitely not agree to it." Now the casualties of all the units of the army group have been greatly reduced, and the remaining ones are the backbone of the battle. For the commanders of the troops, it is a baby bump. They are reluctant to give it to others. You must know that as long as there are many combat backbones in the troops, combat effectiveness can be quickly formed after replenishing new recruits. ”

At this moment, a dense burst of gunfire suddenly came from ahead.

The driver hurriedly slapped the steering wheel and parked the car firmly on the side of the road. When the car stopped, the driver turned around and asked me for instructions: "Comrade division commander, maybe the Germans in front of me are captured with our army, it's too dangerous, should we turn around?" ”

I looked at the outside environment and thought to myself, this is also the rear of our army, how can there be an enemy popping up? Listening to the sound of gunfire in front of him, it seemed that the scale of the battle was not large, so he replied to the driver: "No, you just stop here and wait for us." Then he patted Oleg on the shoulder and said loudly: "Major, let's go down and see what is going on?" ”

Oleg and I pushed the car door open and got out of the car from both sides to see what was going on. Unexpectedly, on the right side of the road was a dirt slope with a long forest, which completely blocked our view, and we couldn't see what was happening on the other side of the hillside.

At this time, the convoy behind also stopped, and Pugachev trotted over with a dozen fighters, and he asked in a loud voice: "Comrade division commander, what happened?" What's going on with the gunfire ahead? ”

I shook my head and replied, "I don't know." However, judging by the density of the gunfire, the scale of the battle should not be large. ”

At this time, Oleg, who had observed the surrounding terrain, suddenly spoke: "Comrade division commander, let's go to the hillside and have a look, and we can clearly see the situation of the battle from there. Then he instructed Pugachev: "Comrade Captain, you immediately unfold your troops and prepare them for battle." ”

I looked up at the vegetated hillside, nodded, and said, "Comrade Major, bring a few soldiers with me to go up and have a look." With that, I took the lead and walked up the hillside.

At the top of the hillside, there are many trees, but the view is very open, so you can observe the enemy situation and not easily be detected by the enemy on the battlefield from afar. I found a tree stump and stood on it, holding up my binoculars and looking at the spot where the guns were fired.

About a kilometer to the northeast, there was a garbage dump where wrecked tanks and armored vehicles were parked everywhere, both our and Germans. Some vehicles look fairly intact on the outside, while others are dismantled into a mess of parts. A T-34 tank without tracks, parked in the pile of scrap metal, was shelling into the distance. One after another, shells landed around the tank and exploded, blasting the broken parts and parts in all directions. A little further south, on the outskirts of the dump, there are more than a dozen single bunkers, in which people are hiding and shooting with rifles and light machine guns. These people did not wear steel helmets, nor did they wear the uniforms of our army, they all wore uniform blue cloth clothes.

Looking further southwest, there were three German armored vehicles and a dozen three-wheeled motorcycles, as well as dozens of German infantry. Perhaps for fear of being hit by our tank fire, armored vehicles and motorcycles were separated from each other at a great distance, and with the machine guns on their vehicles, they kept firing at the garbage dump and covered the infantry to leap forward. Not far from armored vehicles and motorcycles, there was also a German mortar position, firing shells, but not at the outlying bunkers, but at tanks firing in the middle of the dump.

When I saw this, I heard footsteps behind me, and when I turned my head, it turned out that Major Oleg had caught up with a few fighters. When he came to me, I jumped off the stump and handed the telescope into his hands. Said to him: "The Germans are not numerous. There were probably only a few dozen people. But there are armored vehicles and mortars. The number of defenders was small, in addition to a dozen people, there was also a tank. But what I don't understand is why the Germans attacked a garbage dump? ”

Major Oleg stood on the stump, raised his binoculars and looked at it only a few times, then bowed his head and said to me: "Comrade division commander, since I am not mistaken, what you are talking about is the garbage dump. It should be our temporary armor repair base, don't you see that those who are fighting are wearing overalls? ”

"Is it overalls?" When I heard Oleg say this, I couldn't help blushing, and quickly changed the topic and asked, "Major, do you think they can block the enemy's attack?" ”

Shaking his head almost without thinking, Oleg replied: "According to my observations, the combat effectiveness of these workers is too weak to hold back the German attack at all. You see, the tank guns shot for so long. Except for one or two shells that hit the enemy infantry attacking ranks, the rest of the shells did not know where to go. And also. The workers' machine guns were firing non-stop, but I didn't see any Germans knocked down by them. ”

"It seems that we should help them, or they will be wiped out by the Germans." I said to myself, and after saying that, I pulled one of the fighters and instructed him: "Comrade warriors, you immediately go down the hillside and tell Captain Sù Pugachev to find more people to help Lieutenant Morozov pull the cannon up the hillside." ”

As soon as I had finished giving the order, before the warriors could leave, I heard the sound of a trumpet being shouted from below. I took a few steps out, leaned down to look down the slope, and saw Lieutenant Morozov directing a group of fighters with artillery on their way to the top of the slope.

In just a few minutes, two cannons were pulled to the top of the hill by the fighters. Morozov walked up to me, wiped a handful of sweat and asked loudly: "Comrade division commander, the artillery battery is in position, please indicate the target for firing." ”

"Well done, Morozov." After a loud compliment on him, I pulled him to the stump, asked him to stand up, and asked Oleg to hand him the binoculars, and then pointed to him in the distance and said: "There are three German armored vehicles, a dozen motorcycles, and a mortar position over there, which is covering dozens of infantry to launch an attack on our armored repair station." We can't afford to watch our repair depot get knocked out by the enemy, so we have to help them out. Now I order you, when Pugachev's infantry launches an attack on the enemy's flank, you will kill all the armored vehicles, motorcycles, mortars of the Germans with artillery fire, understand? ”

"Understood, I promise to complete the mission." Morozov jumped off the stump, returned the telescope to me, and commanded his subordinates to pull the cannon to find a suitable position and set up the artillery position.

After this period of running-in, several subordinates around me have a good understanding of my combat style. No, before I could give the order, Pugachev had already arrived at the top of the mountain with a company of fighters. After telling the soldiers to stand by in place, he walked up to me and asked me for instructions: "Comrade division commander, the troops have been assembled and are ready to enter the battle at any time, and they are waiting for your orders. ”

"Captain, come and see." Although it is about a kilometer away from the battlefield, it has a condescending view and a wide field of vision, and you can see the situation on the battlefield even without a telescope. Pointing to the German units approaching the repair station, I said to Pugachev: "Comrade Captain, your task is to lead the troops from the flank of the Germans and teach them a good lesson. Rest assured, the enemy's armored vehicles and mortars, Lieutenant Morozov and his gunners will pack theirs. ”

"Understood." Pugachev agreed, drew his pistol, raised it above his head, and shouted at his men: "Brothers, come with me!" With that, he took the lead and walked down the hill. Behind him, hundreds of warriors with weapons in their hands followed him silently.

After the troops reached the foot of the hill and walked out of the woods, Pugachev waved his pistol and led the charge forward. Not to be outdone, more than a hundred warriors also ran quickly after him.

I raised my hand and looked at my watch, secretly calculating their speed, estimating that in three or four minutes they would be able to rush in front of the Germans and take them by surprise.

Not even half the distance was reached, and the Germans spotted them. First the machine guns on the armored vehicles and motorcycles turned around, then the mortars turned around, and the German gunners quickly adjusted their angles and prepared to fire at them.

The enemy's machine-gun fire caused more than a dozen soldiers in the charging troops to be shot and fall to the ground. Without waiting for their machine-gun fire to inflict more damage on us, Morozov's cannon opened fire.

Morozov brought experienced gunners this time, hitting stationary targets more than a thousand meters away, and his hit rate was very high. In the first round of fire, a shell hit the enemy's armored vehicle in front, and when the smoke cleared, I saw that the armored vehicle had been completely destroyed. Another shell exploded next to a motorcycle, and the blast overturned the motorcycle directly, and the machine gunner, who rolled out of the sidecar, rolled on the ground a few times, and then lay motionless on the ground, apparently killed by the flying shrapnel.

Pugachev's troops, having been stopped by enemy fire, immediately changed their battle formation and attacked in squads. One squad lay down and fired to suppress the enemy's fire, while the other squad bent down and rushed forward; After occupying a favorable position, he lay down and fired, covering the advance of another squad. After adopting this tactic of alternate cover, although it was also killed by enemy artillery and machine gun fire, the casualties were not too few.

After the second and third rounds of gunners' fire, all the German armored vehicles were destroyed, and even the motorcycles were destroyed. Next, they adjusted their guns and opened fire on the enemy's mortar positions. I don't know which cannon fired the shells, which directly hit the ammunition box of the enemy's artillery position, and the detonating shells exploded one after another, blowing up the German artillery on the position, and several machine gunners on motorcycles nearby were also affected by the flying shrapnel and planted out of the sidecar one after another.

Pugachev's troops took advantage of this opportunity and rushed to the place where the enemy had parked their motorcycles, and after a hand-to-hand engagement, killed or captured the Germans who were on the motorcycles. Then, with the exception of a few soldiers who were guarding the prisoners, the rest turned around and charged at the German infantry, who were in a dilemma.

Seeing their armored vehicles, motorcycles, and mortar positions destroyed one by one by artillery fire, and seeing a group of soldiers rushing like tigers from the mountains, the German infantry thought that they had encountered a large force of our army, and their morale suddenly fell to the extreme. After a few stubborn soldiers were shot and killed, the remaining two dozen soldiers were frightened and obediently raised their hands and surrendered to the soldiers who rushed over.

"Great, we won!" When Oleg saw the scene of the remaining German soldiers raising their hands in surrender, he couldn't help but cry out excitedly, and then he urged me: "Comrade division commander, since the battle is over, let's go over and have a look now, and talk to the workers of the armored repair station by the way." As he spoke, he raised his leg and wanted to follow Pugachev's offensive line.

I hurriedly stopped him and said unhurriedly: "Major, wait a minute, you are going in the opposite direction, our jeep is parked here." It's too far away, so let's take a car. ”

After listening to my words, Oleg scratched the back of his head and smiled embarrassedly, and obediently followed me down the hill. And Morozov, after completing his mission, also beckoned the fighters to help them get the cannon down the hill.

When my car came to the repair station, Pugachev was chatting with two men in overalls. When he saw me coming, he hurriedly took the two of them to greet him. After the meeting, he first raised his hand and saluted, and reported: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, the special battalion has successfully completed the task you assigned to us and completely annihilated the enemy's motorized detachment. ”

"Well done, Captain Pugachev." I glanced at the person in overalls next to me, one was a middle-aged man, who looked like a leader, and the young man next to him should be his secretary or something. Then I turned to Pugachev and asked: "Comrade Captain, who are these two ......?" ”

The middle-aged man nodded and smiled at me, and took the initiative to introduce himself: "Hello, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. I am Shalovyev, the chief of the armored repair station of the front battlefield. This is Martnovic, a technical assistant in the pits. After speaking, he took the initiative to reach out and shake my hand. (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank the book friends Jackson_cai for voting two votes in support, and thank the book friends @@@@@@@@ and Ding Ding 1970 for voting for it.