I was just about to speak, when a crisp gunshot rang out from outside the house, interrupting what I was about to say.

Just when most of the commanders were at a loss, Sedjerikov stood up, rushed to the door of the headquarters with an arrow step, and shouted loudly outside: "Someone! ”

A warrior quickly appeared at the door, raised his hand in salute, and then stood silently in front of him and ran to him, waiting for him to ask a question or give an order.

"Where's the gun?" Sederikov asked loudly.

The fighters at the door, apparently Shederikov's subordinates, heard his question and hurriedly replied: "Report to the regiment commander, the gunfire is coming from the west of the headquarters." Then he also experienced the analysis to Shederikov: "Listening to the gunshots, it should be no more than two hundred meters away from us." It may be that the sentry on duty there spotted the enemy, so he fired the alarm. ”

Hearing that the Germans were within two hundred meters of my headquarters made my heart beat faster, but I still had to keep my composure in front of many of my troops. I picked up the submachine gun leaning against the table and asked Pugachev in a loud voice: "Captain Pugachev, what about the company you just brought on duty?" Call them all up and come with me to see what's going on? ”

"No, Comrade Division Commander." Before I could reach the door, the new guard battalion commander, Captain Basmanov, had already stopped in front of me and persuaded me: "You are the commander of a division, you can't just take risks, or let me take a guard company to see what is going on, right?" ”

Basmanov's words immediately resonated with everyone present, and everyone echoed: "Yes." Teachers. It's too dangerous out there. You can't take any chances. ”

"Division commander, this kind of thing, a few of our regiment commanders here, anyone can go out, but you can't, you are the backbone of our independent division, and you must not take risks lightly."

I know that everyone's dissuasion is out of good intentions. However, in such an extraordinary period, it is still necessary to take the lead in encouraging the morale of the troops, so I waved my hand, declined everyone's kindness, and resolutely said: "Thank you for your kindness, but I have made up my mind, don't persuade me anymore." ”

However, in order to reassure everyone, I decided to bring more people with me: "Captain Pugachev, gather the company just now." And you. Captain Basmanov, "The order from the front was given to Pugachev. The latter order was issued directly to the new guard battalion commander, "Bring the soldiers of your platoon with you." ”

Just as Sedjerikov was about to speak again, the phone in the room rang. It seems that before I came here, they did a decent job of preparation, and even the phones in the command were installed. Sederikov hurriedly walked over and picked up the phone, and said loudly: "Hey, I'm Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, the head of the regiment, where are you?" ”

After listening to what the other party said, Sederikov said: "Wait a minute, don't hang up yet." Then he covered the microphone and turned his head to report to me: "Comrade division commander, the officer on duty reports that a few minutes ago, the sentry on the west side of the hill spotted a troop approaching, and decisively fired a warning shot. ”

"How many troops does the enemy have, and what kind of equipment does he have?" I asked again and again.

Shaking his head, Schedelikov replied: "According to reports, there are probably more than a hundred enemies, and since they did not return fire, it is impossible to confirm whether they were carrying heavy weapons. ”

As soon as the words fell, there was a sudden burst of gunfire outside. Sederikov hurriedly let go of his hand on the microphone and asked the other party loudly: "What's the matter with the gunshot?" ”

In order to keep abreast of the specific battle situation, I approached Sederikov's side and heard the answer coming from the microphone: "Report to the regiment commander, it was our fighters who fired again at the approaching enemy." ”

"Did the enemy return fire?" Shederikov looked at me and asked.

"No, the enemy is approaching our positions by taking advantage of favorable terrain such as depressions."

"How far is it?"

"The distance is less than a hundred meters, it may be that the fire of our troops is too fierce, and the enemy has stopped advancing."

After listening to the report of the officer on duty, I really wondered what kind of play this German was singing, after coming to attack us and being discovered, he neither retreated nor counterattacked, but only used the terrain to try to get close to our position.

Sederikov put down the phone and asked me for instructions: "Comrade division commander, what do you think should be done?" ”

It seems that the only way to find out what is going on is to go to the position where the guns are fired. With my mind in mind, I immediately began to give orders: "Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, you are in charge of the headquarters of the left-behind division, and if there is anything, I will contact you by phone." Kosga, Gaidar, Jegonovich, Morozov, go back to your respective units and get ready for battle. Pugachev, Basmanov, take the troops and follow me to the position. ”

Just now, when Shedericho was still on the phone, Pugachev and Basmanov both went to the door to find one of their subordinates and ordered the other party to gather their troops. By the time my order was given, more than 100 commanders and fighters were ready to go outside the headquarters.

Pugachev had only recently arrived at the position where we were going, so as soon as I called to go, he walked at the front of the whole group and guided us towards the place where the guns were fired.

Fortunately, the place where the shots rang out, not far from the command headquarters, only took two or three minutes to reach the destination. Still far away, I could hear from the sound of gunfire that not only Soviet-made rifles, submachine guns, and machine guns, but also German-made rifles and submachine guns were being fired. I thought the Germans were starting to shoot back, but when I walked into the trenches, I realized that it were the soldiers lying in the trenches, desperately putting their guns outside, and there was no movement outside.

Seeing this scene, I couldn't help frowning slightly, thinking to myself who was the company commander of this company, and how did he train the soldiers? I didn't even see the enemy, and I fired bullets like firecrackers. Don't they know that the ammunition of German-made weapons is captured, and one shot is missing?

Pugachev called the company commander who was guarding the position, and as soon as he saw the lieutenant. I rushed to the attack: "Comrade Lieutenant. How did your fighters do it. Not even the face of the enemy was seen, and everyone was almost running out of bullets from a base. Immediately ordered them to stop firing, and when they could not see the enemy, they waited until the enemy was close before fighting. ”

The lieutenant was reprimanded by me, and hurriedly shouted at his subordinates: "Stop shooting, stop shooting immediately!" Don't hit anymore and stop shooting immediately. ”

Taking advantage of the lieutenant's call to his subordinates, Pugachev and Basmanov and I went to the command post on the position first. I held up my binoculars and looked out through the observation port. In the moonlight, the visibility did not exceed a hundred meters, and only some dark figures could be seen in the distance, in a straggler formation, taking advantage of the terrain outside, cautiously moving towards our position.

The gunfire on the position soon stopped, and the lieutenant came in and reported to me: "Report to the division commander, I have ordered the troops to stop firing. Only a few machine-gun positions were instructed, and if the Germans approached at night, they were to be suppressed with machine-gun fire. ”

I hummed and didn't put down my binoculars. Continue to observe the situation outside. As the firing on our position stopped, the enemy took the opportunity to move forward again and quickly approached about twenty meters. This time. A light machine gun rang out in the position, and the bullets hit the enemy's path with a roar, but they did not panic, just lay down on the spot, and waited for a short time for the machine gunner to change the magazine, and then rushed forward for more than ten meters, and when the machine gun sounded again, they had found a relatively safe place to hide from the machine gun fire.

The more I looked, the more wrong it became, what are these enemies? came to attack our army's position, and when it was suppressed by our firepower, it didn't fire a single shot, and it looked like it was passively beaten. I touched Pugachev, who was standing beside me, and handed him the binoculars, and at the same time said: "Pugachev, come and see, this enemy is really strange, in the face of the suppression of our army's dense firepower, neither retreat nor return fire, but can only use the terrain to approach forward one by one. ”

Pugachev looked at it for a while, and said strangely: "Division commander, I don't think it's the Germans, how can the Germans be so brave in the face of such fierce firepower of our army?" ”

"yes, not at all like the German soldiers I know." In my mind, although the German army is strong in combat, in the face of dense enemy fire, it usually chooses to retreat, and even if it does not retreat, it will shoot back in place. Where is it so unusual that these enemies, like tonight, are holding us back, only advancing cautiously, neither returning fire nor retreating.

"Could it be a friendly unit?" As soon as Pugachev's words came out, he immediately denied his statement: "But it should not be, our right flank is the 70th Guards Division and the 157th Infantry Division, and they have not had time to build fortifications, where will they send troops in our direction." ”

Pugachev was just casually talking, but he guessed that the troops outside the position might really be our allies. I hurriedly called the lieutenant over and asked, "Comrade lieutenant, where is the phone of your company?" ”

I saw the lieutenant pointing his hand at the corner of the wall, and without waiting for him to speak, I immediately ordered him: "Call your regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, and ask him to immediately send someone to deliver the military flag from the headquarters." 100,000 urgent, can't be delayed. ”

When the lieutenant was on the phone to convey my order, Pugachev put down his binoculars and asked curiously: "Comrade division commander, what did you ask Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov to send the military flag over?" ”

"You'll find out later." I didn't bother to explain to him, but ordered Basmanov: "Captain Basmanov, you go out and order the machine guns outside to stop firing." No one is allowed to shoot again until they have my orders. Basmanov did not ask for any reason, but simply agreed, turned around and ran out of the command post.

After the lieutenant had made the call, he came and reported to me: "Comrade division commander, I have already conveyed your order to Regiment Commander Sederikov, and he promised to send someone to deliver the flag immediately. ”

Shederikov's movements were quite sharp, and in less than two minutes he ran into the command post out of breath. Of course, he didn't come alone, and he was followed by a soldier carrying a flag. When he saw my face, he raised his hand to salute, and just as he was about to report to me, he was interrupted by my raised hand, and I crossed him and directly ordered the fighters behind him: "Comrade soldiers, please go to the trenches and set up the glorious banner of our independent division high." ”

The warrior didn't understand why I was commanding, though he said yes. But there was no place for his feet. His eyes were still looking straight at Sederikov's body. Sedjerikov saw his subordinates after receiving my order. actually stood still in place, stomped his feet in anger, and scolded: "You are deaf, didn't you hear the order of the division commander?" Immediately go to the trenches and find a high place to put up our military flag. Seeing that Sedelikov was angry, the soldier carrying the military flag did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly agreed, carried the military flag and ran out.

Wait for the fighters to go out. Sedelikov, who was still breathless, asked curiously: "Comrade division commander, why do you want to erect the military flag of our division?" ”

I pointed outside and said thoughtfully, "I suspect that the so-called enemies outside are not actually Germans, but our friendly troops. ”

"What, allies?" Taken aback, Sederichol ran to the observation port, took the telescope from Pugachev's hand and looked out, and after looking at it for less than half a minute, he suddenly said loudly: "Comrade division commander." You're right, it really looks like our allies. You see, there are a few people who still have the kind of turntable machine guns in our army. ”

"Comrade Sederikov, are you right?"

"Yes, yes."

The brand-new military flag, raised high in the trenches, fluttered in the night breeze.

There was not much time, and the small force that had been approaching our positions in concealment stopped advancing, and a few dark figures stood up and walked slowly towards our positions.

"Let's go, comrade commander, let's go and see which part of them they are." Judging from the other party's appearance, it was indeed our friendly army, and I shouted excitedly, and then took the lead out of the command post and walked down the hill. I was followed by not only Sederikov and Pugachev, but also Captain Basmanov, who was responsible for my safety with dozens of fighters.

Seeing us coming out of the trench to meet them, the commanders and fighters wearing steel helmets on the opposite side quickened their pace. When we were still four or five meters away, we both stopped in unison.

A thin commander and fighter came out of the opposing team, came to us, and said in a crisp voice: "I am Vilore, the political instructor of the mixed regiment of the Vinnitsa Infantry School, may I ask who of you is the supreme commander of the unit." ”

The other party was actually a woman, and she was also a political instructor, which really surprised me, and when I heard her question, I hurriedly stepped forward and replied loudly: "I am Colonel Oshanina, the commander of the independent division." ”

Velore hurriedly raised his hand to salute me and reported: "Hello, Comrade Colonel. ”

After returning the salute, he replied with some displeasure: "Comrade Instructor, why didn't you send someone to contact us in advance, and as a result, we and our own people would fight." But fortunately, there were no casualties, which is a blessing in misfortune. ”

Velore replied with a wry smile: "Comrade Colonel, do you know that we have just come out of the encirclement of the German army, and we have lost our way and come here by mistake. ”

When I heard that they had just broken out of the German encirclement, the resentment in my heart disappeared without a trace, so I stepped forward, took Velol's hand, and said in a friendly voice: "Okay, Comrade Instructor, this is not the place to talk, come back to the headquarters with me first." Then I turned around and instructed the commander of my guard battalion: "Captain Basmanov, you take ten fighters and bring the comrades of the mixed regiment here, find a place to settle down, and let them rest well." They must have been exhausted after running such a long distance. ”

Five minutes later, Velore was already sitting in my division headquarters and told us about her combat experience: "...... The mixed regiment of our Vinnitsa Infantry School, attached to the 15th Guards Infantry Division, was responsible for holding the junction of the 62nd and 64th armies. Three days earlier, the Germans, after heavy air attacks and artillery preparations, had launched an attack on the main positions of the 15th Guards Infantry Division. Due to our lack of sufficient anti-tank weapons, after a day of fighting, the main forces of the Guards Division, with heavy casualties, were forced to retreat from the occupied state farms on the banks of the Volga.

In the evening, the German tank units launched another onslaught on the positions of the 38th Infantry Division of the friendly 64th Army, and soon captured the positions of the division. As a result, we were caught in a German encirclement.

In the face of the superior German army, the commanders and fighters of our mixed regiment did not fear, but fought bravely with the Germans. For three full days, we relied on the ring fortifications that had been built in advance, repelled one attack after another launched by the Germans, and firmly held the positions we occupied.

By this evening, our regiment had completely lost contact with the army group headquarters, and at the same time was faced with the situation of running out of ammunition and food, so in order not to be annihilated by the German troops, the regiment commander decisively made the decision to break through the encirclement. As soon as it gets dark, the mixed group will break through in three directions at the same time. The regimental commander and the commissar each led a battalion and broke through to the north and northeast respectively, while I led two companies and headed straight to the east. Along the way, we destroyed all the fascist bandits we encountered and broke the communication lines of the German army. ”

"Where are you from?" I asked as I pushed the map in front of her.

She turned her head to look at it, then quickly pointed to a place, and said decisively: "This is it, we held out in this area for three days, and then when we ran out of ammunition and food, we were forced to disperse and break through." ”

"Oh my God," Shederikov cried out in surprise, looking at the place of her fingers: "Judging from the map, it is really not easy for you to travel at least twelve kilometers through the enemy's defense zone tonight from the breakthrough to the present. ”

Velore just smiled and didn't speak.

However, I was shocked into a cold sweat, and I said with palpitations: "Instructor Velol, fortunately, when your troops arrived here, they had already run out of ammunition and food, otherwise with the combat effectiveness of your regiment, if you really had to fight with our troops, the casualties on both sides would definitely not be small." ”

Velore stood up and asked with a stern expression: "Comrade Colonel, I would like to ask how you plan to place my company, whether to send us back to construction, or to stay here and fight the Germans?" ”

As early as when I heard that they were the Vinnitsa Infantry School, I had the idea of leaving them all behind, and if they helped train the troops, the combat effectiveness of our division would be rapidly improved in a short period of time. Since she asked this question at this moment, then I also said unceremoniously: "Instructor Velle, I hope you and your company can stay." You must know that our division has just been formed, and almost all the soldiers are recruits who have not undergone any military training and have no combat experience, and due to the fierce fighting, the higher authorities cannot replenish us with enough combat backbones to help our division improve its combat effectiveness. Now that you're here today, it's time to replenish your company to the grassroots units. ”

In the army, Velore was obviously a very obedient person to the orders of her superiors, and she did not raise any objection to my statement, but replied very simply: "Comrade Colonel, I obey your commands. ”

Although I took it upon myself to keep a company of the Vinnitsa Infantry School, I still had to report this matter to my superiors, otherwise the commander of the mixed regiment would find that Vylor and her men were missing, and think that they had become deserters.

I asked Second Lieutenant Razumayeva to contact the army group command, and when I heard Chuikov's voice, I honestly reported to him: "Comrade commander, a small unit has just come to our position protruding from the encirclement of the German army. ”

"Oh, the troops that broke through?" Chuikov asked with interest: "It is really not easy to jump out of the encirclement of the German army. What are their commanders called? ”

I hurriedly covered the microphone and asked Velore in a low voice, "Instructor Velol, what is your real name and patronymic?" ”

"Kravgua. Denisovna. Vellol. Velore also whispered her full name to me.

I nodded and replied to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander, her name is Kravguya. Denisovna. Vylore, a political instructor at the Vinnitsa Infantry School, led a multi-company of fighters to successfully break through the German encirclement and come to the defense zone of our division. I intend to leave both her and her troops in the Separate Division, I wonder if you agree? "When I said this last sentence, I secretly made up my mind that whether Chuikov agreed or not, I would leave this female commander and the troops she led behind. (To be continued......)