While I was worried about my troops, Kolobtin tilted his head to look at the sky, raised his hand to look at his watch, and then waved his hand and said to me with a big grin: "Comrade Oshanina, let's go to the 158th Heights to see, in this kind of battle situation, it is really not easy to regain the lost position from the hands of the enemy." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, he didn't wait for me to make a statement, and had already walked out of the observation post first.

Seeing him leave the observation post, I had to smile helplessly at Oleg, who was standing aside, then shook my head and said, "Let's go, Major Oleg, let's go with Colonel Kolobtin to the high ground ahead." ”

Kolobtin's travels are not like I am alone or with one or two warriors at a time. The chief of staff of the division found out that the division commander was going to inspect the high ground in front, and without saying a word, he followed with a guard platoon.

When I reached the base of the mountain, I stopped and was curious to check out the underground tank depot built by the engineering regiment. The tank hangar was dug down diagonally, at least 30 square meters, and there were many ammunition boxes and oil drums stacked in the corners.

Seeing that I was observing the tank depot, Kolobtin came over and said with a smile: "Comrade Oshanina, what do you feel when you look at our tank depot?" ”

I asked curiously: "Comrade Colonel, do the tank crews usually stay in the underground tank depot and stand by at any time?" ”

Unexpectedly, Kolobtin shook his head and said, "No, this is just where we park our tanks, and the tank crews live in other places." However, their dwellings are connected to the tunnels here, and in the event of a fight, they immediately enter the place through the guò tunnels. "Speaking of which. He turned his head and shouted behind him, "Chief of Staff." ”

The division chief of staff hurriedly ran over. Don't wait for Kolobtin's orders. He walked straight into the tank hangar and pushed it against the wall, and the door panel on the wall was pushed open, revealing a dark passageway.

Kolobtin then said to me: "The exit of the tank hangar is covered with wooden planks and covered with dirt, and if you don't get closer, you won't be able to find it at all." If you want to attack, you just need to knock the outer layer of wood open. ”

After listening to Kolobutin's words. I just figured out how the tank broke through the ground.

After saying this, he couldn't help but raise his hand to look at his watch again, and urged me: "Let's go, Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, it's not too early, after we go to the high ground to check, we will deploy a new defense mission for the troops." ”

As I walked along the open field, I felt firsthand how terrible the battle had been. In the observation post, it was only to see one fighter after another blown away by shells and knocked down by bullets. When I actually get close to their bodies. Only to find that the bodies of the soldiers who fell near the crater were almost all mutilated. Either arms were missing or legs were missing, and only the remains of those fighters who had been knocked down by machine-gun bullets were relatively intact.

As we passed by the bodies of these soldiers, Kolobtin said with emotion: "If our army had had strong artillery fire and an unusually sufficient number of shells, our army's casualties in the attack just now would have been much smaller." ”

I nodded, pointed to the barbed wire fence not far away, and said to Kolobtin, "Yes, Colonel, you are right. If we had used artillery fire to blast this ridge barbed wire while the artillery fire was being prepared, we would have paid less. ”

At this moment, the bodies of those soldiers who were lying on the barbed wire fence and died heroically as a bridge for the follow-up troops had been carefully carried down from the barbed wire by the soldiers who had cleaned the battlefield and carefully placed beside them. The warriors lined up in a neat line, took off their hats and steel helmets on their heads, and bowed their heads in silence to the martyrs.

When Kolobtin and I saw this, we also stopped, followed the example of those warriors, took off our hats and bowed our heads in silence to these martyrs. After a while, Kolobtin put his hat back on and whispered to me, "Let's go, Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, let's go to the high ground." "I took another look at the martyrs who had used their bodies to open the way to victory for the followers, put on a steel helmet, and followed Kolobtin's way up the heights.

It was the marines who occupied the positions on the mountainside, and the four tanks of our army were parked just outside the trenches. The tank crews were sitting on the tanks resting, and when they saw our large group of people coming up the mountain, they quickly stood up and raised their hands to salute us. Kolobjing raised his hand and returned the salute, looked up and asked, "Where is your company commander?" ”

Before the tankmen could speak, fierce gunfire suddenly came from the other side of the hillside. Kolobutin's face changed, and without waiting for the tankmen to answer his questions, he continued to walk upwards without stopping.

As I hurried behind towards the top of the hill, the chief of staff of the division approached me and said in a low and hurried voice: "Commander Oshanina, I have not been in contact with the defenders on the high ground. I guess either they have a problem with their communications equipment, or they are in some kind of trouble. With that, he quickened his pace to catch up with Kolobtin.

The words of the chief of staff of the division could not help but make me worried about the sailors who had retreated into the tunnels on the high ground, for for such a long time since the loss of their positions yesterday and now the regaining of their positions by our troops, even if they could not contact their allies, they had not carried out the necessary harassment and attacks on the enemy troops, and it seemed that their fate was worrying.

We came to the top of the hill, where my special battalion was stationed. I quickened my pace, passed Kolobatin, who was walking in front, and shouted at my men: "Where is Captain Pugachev?" ”

A lieutenant, who may have been the commander of a certain company, hurriedly raised his hand to salute me and reported: "Comrade division commander, the battalion commander just heard gunfire on the west side of the hillside, and took two platoons of soldiers to check it. ”

Hearing the lieutenant's report, I turned to Kolobtin, who was standing beside me, and said, "Comrade Colonel, seeing that there are still enemies that have not been cleared, you stay here, and I will go over and take a look." ”

Kolobtin glared at him and said, "Comrade Oshanina, how can you say that, am I a person who is greedy for life and afraid of death? Since there are still gunshots coming from the west side of the hillside, proving that there are still enemies who have slipped through the net and have not been eliminated, I will go with you to see what happens. ”

I looked at Kolobhutin and the platoon of guards behind him, and even if there were still enemies on the other side of the hill, it would be easier to deal with a few dozen more people. He nodded silently.

We followed the traffic trench at the top of the hill. Came to the mountainside position to the west. Just walked into the trenches. A dense burst of gunfire was heard from the north. Oleg pointed over there and said loudly to me: "Comrade division commander, the sound of gunfire is coming from that side. ”

We walked forty or fifty meters along the trench, turned a corner, and saw Pugachev and a group of fighters huddled in the trench, and in the middle of them there was a dark hole, which seemed to be our tunnel fortification. From time to time, two warriors turned and fired a few shots inside, then quickly retracted and leaned back against the trench. Usually the fighters shoot after that. Bullets would fly out of the hole and hit the trenches outside, sending dirt to the ground.

Fortunately, Pugachev was on our side, and when he saw us coming, he hurriedly ran over with his gun. He raised his hand in front of me and saluted, panting and asked, "Comrade Division Commander, why did you come to me?" ”

"What's going on?" I asked bluntly.

Pugachev turned sideways and pointed behind him and said: "According to the soldiers' report, when they were searching for the remnants of the enemy, they came across two sailors. It is said that when the position was lost yesterday, a unit retreated into the tunnel. Our warriors let them lead the way. Prepare to go over and join up with friendly forces holding the high ground. When they came to the mouth of the cave, the sailors went in with five or six of our soldiers. Unexpectedly, after just a few steps, he was strafed by the enemy's machine guns inside. Two sailors were killed on the spot, three of our fighters were also killed, one was wounded, and the remaining two fighters hurriedly opened fire and withdrew from the tunnel. ”

"Comrade Colonel, it seems that all the troops who retreated into the tunnel have been sacrificed." I turned to Kolobhutin and said, "Do you know what the Marine Corps tunnels look like?" ”

The chief of staff of the division stepped forward and preemptively replied: "Division Commander Oshanina, allow me to report to you. ”

When I first mentioned building a tunnel on the high ground, I originally wanted to use it against the Germans. Unexpectedly, the Germans actually occupied the tunnel, and we went to attack the tunnel. Although it is difficult to fight the tunnel, as long as I find out what the tunnel is like, I will have a way to organize the troops to take this place, so when I heard that the chief of staff of the division knew about the situation in the tunnel, I immediately urged impatiently: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, let's talk about it and listen to it." ”

The chief of staff of the division drew a sketch of the tunnel for me with his finger on the earthen wall of the trench and explained: "Enter from the entrance of the cave and go straight ahead for twenty meters, where the road forks, leading to the ammunition depot on the left, and to the right is where the soldiers rest. It would have been very difficult for us to rush in if the enemy had placed two machine guns directly in front of the hole. ”

I looked at the sketch he had drawn, shook my head, and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, you have thought too much about the problem, and for me, there is no problem in capturing this tunnel. I really didn't expect that the tunnels on this high ground were so poorly built, no wonder they were captured by the Germans so quickly. ”

Kolobtin shrugged his shoulders and said with the same regret: "There is no way, you know, it must take a lot of time to build a good tunnel that can be attacked, retreated, and defended, but the Germans did not leave us much time." ”

I turned around and ordered Pugachev: "Comrade Captain, find the German-speaking fighters and call them inside, tell them that the Germans on the surface positions have been destroyed by us, and tell them to immediately lay down their arms and come out and surrender." ”

As soon as my words came out, not only Pugachev was stunned, but even Kolobhutin was stunned. Seeing that Pugachev was still standing in a daze, I just wanted to urge him to hurry up and carry out the mission, but I didn't expect Kolobtin to persuade me: "Comrade Oshanina, the Germans will not surrender so lightly, let's find another way to destroy them." ”

I smiled at Kolobtin, and said, "Comrade Colonel, I would like to try first, if the Germans are willing to lay down their arms and surrender, so that we can reduce some of our sacrifices." ”

"What if they don't surrender?" Kolobtin asked.

I snorted and said, "If they don't surrender, then we'll destroy them." At this point, I again instructed Pugachev: "Comrade Captain, if the Germans do not surrender, you order the fighters to throw grenades in them and blow them all up." ”

"Comrade division commander, it's okay to throw a grenade into it at the mouth of the tunnel," Pugachev said with some embarrassment: "But how to throw it in the tunnel?" If we don't throw it well, the grenade will hit the rock wall and bounce back, and it will blow up our own people. ”

"Bring me a grenade, and I'll show you how to drop a bomb in the tunnel."

Pugachev was extremely puzzled when he heard me say this. But one of the fighters asked for a grenade and handed it to me. I waved my hand to everyone. Signaling them to all stand on the left with the trench attached. I'll show them how to throw bombs.

Kolobtin and his chief of staff hurriedly gave orders to his subordinates to stand aside and make room for me.

Looking at dozens of pairs of eyes staring at me intently, I not only did not feel nervous, but felt extraordinarily calm. I first lowered my right hand holding the grenade, and when I threw it forward, I stopped it with my left arm, and the grenade flew more than ten meters away in a horizontal state. See my bomb throwing performance. Kolobtin took the lead in shouting, followed by the chief of staff of the division, Major Oleg, and Pugachev.

Kolobtin said with emotion: "Comrade Oshanina, I think this method will work, but it needs to be practiced more. ”

I nodded, and then I specifically told Pugachev: "Captain Pugachev, I heard what Colonel Kolobhutin said." You take advantage of the opportunity of the interpreter shouting to the tunnel, seize the time to organize the soldiers to practice this bomb throwing method well, and you must practice it as well as you can and prepare to go into actual combat. ”

Seeing Pugachev excitedly agree, he was about to turn around and leave. Suddenly I remembered something else, and I stopped him: "Comrade Captain." I see you using flamethrowers when attacking the hilltop positions. Where did this weapon come from? ”

Pugachev looked at me and reminded: "Comrade division commander, have you forgotten that it was captured from an Italian camp. I thought it would be easier for this weapon to hit the enemy's firepower, so I brought two of them. ”

With a flamethrower, it would be easier to hit the tunnel, so I instructed him: "Before attacking, throw grenades into the tunnel, and while the smoke from the explosion obscures the enemy's view, let the Pyro sneak into the tunnel and use the flamethrower to knock out the enemy's machine gun fire." Do you understand? ”

Pugachev answered, turned around and ran back to his fighters.

After a while, the gunfire at the mouth of the tunnel stopped, and then I heard someone shouting loudly in German at the tunnel.

Kolobtin lit a cigarette and said enviously: "Comrade Oshanina, there are really a lot of talented people among your subordinates, and you can still find such a good German among the soldiers." ”

Hearing him say this, I looked to the left and right, and when I saw Oleg and the division chief of staff chatting three or four paces away from us, I lowered my voice and leaned close to his ear and said: "Comrade Colonel, don't you know that almost all of my men are prisoners from the Gulag concentration camp?" I am not at all surprised to find all sorts of talent among them. ”

Kolobtin nodded and said approvingly: "Yes, to say a taboo, in the concentration camp there, it is really not too much to describe it as full of talents. ”

As we were talking, the gunfire suddenly rang out again, and when I saw the trench facing the entrance of the cave being splashed with dirt, I knew that the Germans in the tunnel would not lay down their arms and surrender. Since they didn't want to live, then I would fulfill them, so I made a gesture at Pugachev from a distance, signaling him to attack.

Soon, the sound of enemy machine-gun fire was silenced by the dull sound of grenade explosions, and it was Pugachev who directed the fighters to throw grenades into the tunnel. Two Pyros with flamethrowers on their backs were half-crouched at the entrance of the cave, waiting for the order to attack.

At the end of the first round of bombing, the machine guns in the pit were dumb. But Pugachev did not immediately let the Pyro into the tunnel, but directed the fighters to deliver a second round of bombs into the tunnel.

I could hear Pugachev shout amid the earth-shattering explosion of grenades, and then a Pyro who was already ready to attack rushed into the hole.

No sooner had the Pyro burst into the pit than I heard the enemy's machine gun go out again. However, it seems that only the machine gun went off, and then it stopped abruptly, and it is not known whether the machine gun jammed, or the machine gunner was burned to death by the flamethrower's flames. At this moment, Pugachev stood at the entrance of the cave, raised the submachine gun in his hand, swung it forward, and took the lead in rushing in. Immediately afterwards, the warriors near the entrance of the cave also rushed in.

I was slightly relieved to see the fighters rushing into the tunnel, as long as they rushed into the tunnel, the rest of the battle would be easy to fight. Oleg, seeing that our warriors were so heroic, could not help but itch his hands, and wanted to rush into the pit to have a look, but I unceremoniously refused.

The sound of gunfire and explosions in the tunnel rang out, and seeing that the enemy was unwilling to sit still, he was still stubbornly resisting inside, making a final death struggle.

Another five minutes passed. The gunfire and explosions in the pit stopped. A fighter panted out of it. Run in front of me. He raised his hand and reported to me: "Comrade division commander, something is going on inside, Captain Pugachev asks you to come there." ”

"What?!" Oleg next to me became angry when he heard this, and he was furious at the fighters: "What kind of thing is Pugachev, what qualifications does he have to let the division commander go to a dangerous place?" ”

I raised my hand to stop Oleg from continuing, and kindly asked the fighter: "Comrade fighter, can you tell me what happened in the tunnel." Even Captain Pugachev can't call the shots? ”

The soldier was originally scolded by Oleg as a bit of a wolf, but when he heard me talk to him so kindly, the huge contrast made him stunned for a moment before he replied: "Report to the division commander, when we attacked the pit on the right, we found that it was all wounded......"

"Anyway, they are all wounded by the Germans, just throw a few grenades in and get rid of them, what else do you ask?" When Oleg heard this, he muttered on the side.

Unexpectedly, Kolobtin also echoed Oleg: "The wounded are also fascist bandits, so we can't show mercy to their men." I agree with Major Oleg and get rid of them all with a grenade. ”

The warrior listened. Without waiting for me to speak, he waved his hands desperately and said loudly: "Can't be fried, can't be fried." ”

"What did you say?" Oleg stepped forward and grabbed the soldier by the collar, "You are so bold, you dare to sympathize with the fascist bandits, okay, I will shoot you now?" ”

I hurriedly freed the soldier's collar from Oleg's hand, and said in my heart how these people are doing, when I am excited, I like to pull other people's collars, and I don't know how to change other actions to express my feelings. I straightened the collar for the soldier and continued to ask, "What happened to these wounded?" ”

The soldier took a deep breath and replied to me: "The wounded are not only Germans, but also many of our marines. The hygienist who cared for the wounded said that there was explosives in the cave, and if we dared to attack their wounded, he would detonate them and die with us. ”

"Scare people, huh?" Oleg muttered again.

"Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina," Hearing the warrior say this, Kolobtin hurriedly pulled me aside. I thought he would echo Oleg's opinion again, but he whispered something that surprised me: "I think the German hygienist should be true." As you remember, our tunnel was built in an old arsenal where hundreds of barrels of gunpowder were stored. Later, when the Marines repaired the fortifications, I was afraid that they would not have enough explosives, so I gave them all the gunpowder. ”

When I heard that it was the expired gunpowder, I couldn't help but smile bitterly and asked, "The gunpowder that has been stored for more than a hundred years, can it still be used?" ”

Kolobhutin didn't speak, just nodded vigorously.

I walked back to the soldier and asked, "Does that German hygienist have any requirements?" ”

The soldier nodded, and then the topic continued: "The other side said that as long as a high-ranking commander assured him that he would not attack the wounded Germans, he would lay down his arms and surrender." ”

"How many of the enemy's hygienists are there?" Kolobhutin asked suddenly.

"There seems to be only one." The soldier couldn't help but get a little nervous when he saw that it was a colonel who asked him.

"I thought there were several, but there was only one." Kolobtin said disdainfully: "Find a sniper to kill him, won't it be over?" ”

"Comrade Colonel," the soldier replied, wiping the sweat from his forehead, in a panic, "the German meditarian hid behind a row of powder kegs and could not hit at all." ”

After listening to the words of the fighters, Kolobtin fell silent, and even Oleg, who had been whining, obediently closed his mouth.

"Let's go," I said to the warrior, "take me into the tunnel." With that, I lifted my leg and walked forward.

"Comrade Oshanina, it's too dangerous." Kolobtin grabbed my arm and said sincerely, "It's better to go somebody, I can't watch you have an accident." ”

I smiled at him, gently broke free of his hand, and said to him with a pretended composure: "Comrade Colonel, don't worry, my luck has always been very good, and I believe this time is no exception. You and your platoon of guards stay here in peace and wait for my good news. ”

When I walked into the dark tunnel, my legs began to weaken, and my heart began to curse from Gaidar to Pugachev, who was confronting the German hygienist in the tunnel. You know, I was your division commander, but now you have become an expert negotiator, and when you encounter such an unsolvable thing, let me go out. Although it seems that there is no danger every time, but I am not afraid of 10,000, I am afraid of what if, I can't tell that during the negotiation, a small soldier on the other side was nervous, his fingers cramped, pulled the trigger, and shot a long line of bullets at me, then I would just braid.

Adjusting to the light in the tunnel, I saw Pugachev and a dozen fighters squatting or standing in the tunnel, their guns pointing straight ahead, and the place in front of them should be where the wounded were parked. These large wooden barrels were piled up in the aisle, which should have been filled with gunpowder, and if they were shot, they could cause a series of explosions, or even blow up the tunnel, and no one inside would be spared.

I walked up to Pugachev and said to him calmly: "Comrade Captain, let the soldiers who know German call inside, and say that I promise in my honor that I will never kill any of the wounded Germans, and ask him to lay down his arms and come out and surrender." ”

Pugachev whispered a few words to the warrior next to him, and the fighter then took a few steps forward, came to the barrel, and shouted loudly in German at the inside. Hearing his shout, a hoarse voice inside responded with a few words, as if confirming something. The fighter shouted a few more words, and after receiving another response from the other side, he turned to Pugachev and said: "Comrade Captain, he promised to surrender." ”

When I saw Pugachev instructing the soldiers to move the powder keg away, my heart rose to my throat, and I was afraid that if I was not careful, it would cause an explosion. Fortunately, the barrel was removed, and my vision suddenly widened. As long as there is a wide space, the ground is densely packed with stretchers, these should be the wounded of the German army and our marines.

Seeing the German meditarians approaching with escorts, I instructed Pugachev: "Comrade Captain, arrange for men to carry out the wounded here as much as possible." With that, I walked out of the cave with the German hygienist and the soldiers who escorted him.

When I walked out of the cave, I saw Kolobtin, Oleg and the guards platoon standing outside, they were staring nervously at the entrance of the cave, and they all breathed a sigh of relief when they saw me come out safely.

"It's this damn German hygienist, and you're going to have to risk it yourself." When Oleg saw the German hygienist standing at the entrance of the cave, he immediately became angry, stepped forward and slapped him in the face.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the hygienist lowered his head, Oleg's hand slapped on his steel helmet and knocked the steel helmet he was wearing off, revealing a short silver-white ear-length hair. Oleg couldn't help but be stunned, and then said in surprise: "I can't think of you...... You, actually...... It's actually a woman? ”

I looked at the freckled face in front of me and asked coldly, "Soldier, tell me your name and rank, as well as the unit you are in." ”

The interpreter next to me immediately translated my words into German and repeated them to the hygienist.

The female hygienist stooped down to pick up her steel helmet and put it on her head, and replied unhurriedly: "Karla, corporal, I belong to the 371st Infantry Division. (To be continued......)