The major took a step back, took off the military hat on his head, opened his hands, and said helplessly: "Comrade General, please take a closer look, can you recognize who I am?" ”

I stepped off the pedal and stood across from him, carefully examining the middle-aged officer, the more familiar I looked, but I couldn't remember seeing him anywhere.

Seeing that I had not recognized myself for a long time, the major sighed, put the general's hat back on his head, and said leisurely: "Comrade General, have you forgotten the red Blesno subway station, and that strange train?" ”

The subway station, the train, these two words together, my mind suddenly popped up with an almost forgotten name, I pointed at each other with my finger, excitedly said: "I remember, you are Bukov, Captain Bukov, the commander of the militia annihilation battalion." As I reached out to shake his hand, I caught a glimpse of the rank of major on his epaulettes and couldn't help but say, "I didn't expect you to be a major now." ”

"Comrade General," said Major Bukov, who shook hands with me, as he shook hands, "when I first met you, you were still a lieutenant colonel, but now you are a general. ”

Seeing that Bukov and I were talking and laughing, the commanders and fighters around the truck scattered in all directions, each returning to their own guard positions, so as not to interfere with my chat with Bukov. Because they could also see that I and their commander were old acquaintances.

When the commanders and fighters around me were almost gone, and only the two of us and Captain Yushchenko were left, I asked Bukov curiously: "Major, are you still commanding the destroyer battalion?" ”

"No, Comrade General." Bukov truthfully reported to me: "My unit was in when our army launched a major counteroffensive against the Germans under the city of Moscow. It was incorporated into the 16th Army. Participated in a lot of battles. February 1942. I returned to Moscow due to my injuries. After being discharged from the hospital, he was transferred to the Moscow Garrison Command, and not long ago, he was promoted to the rank of major. ”

I looked left and right, and then asked in a low voice, "Why do you have so many people on duty here, and what about these tanks?" ”

When Bukov heard my question, he said with some emotion: "General Oshanina, don't you know yet. We will have a 'May Day military parade' tomorrow, and these new tanks are all technical equipment to be consulted. ”

Parade?! Bukov's words puzzled me, as far as I know, during the entire Great Patriotic War, the Soviet Union seemed to hold a military parade only once when the German troops were approaching the city, and then it was not until after the surrender of Germany in 1945 that the parade was held again, and now I am puzzled by what kind of "May Day parade" is to be held inexplicably.

However, I did not ask Bukov why the parade was being held, because he must have known the inside story at his level. But this way. I vaguely guessed that the reason why Zhukov was in a hurry to send me back to Moscow was probably related to this military parade.

I looked at the commanders and fighters standing around the tank, and asked Bukov curiously: "Comrade Major, what happened just now, if you show up a little later, maybe we will fight." ”

Hearing me say this, Bukov smiled embarrassedly and explained to me a little embarrassed: "General Oshanina, you don't know, we have received an order to keep this batch of technical equipment closely, and no one is allowed to approach it without the permission of the superiors. If a person is found trying to approach the new equipment, regardless of their rank, they can be killed directly. ”

Bukov's words scared me into a cold sweat, it turned out that those fighters pointed their guns at us just now, not a bluff, but it was entirely possible to pull the trigger and open fire on us. If we really fight, we are under the siege of so many people, and the possibility of annihilation is too great, even if a person in charge like Bukov is severely punished afterwards, it will not mean anything to the four of us.

"Comrade Major," Captain Yushchenko, who was next to him, pointed to the pedestrians on both sides of the street, and asked unwillingly, "since you are not under martial law on this street, what will you do with ordinary citizens who pass by these technical equipment?" ”

In response to Yushchenko's question, Bukov said solemnly: "Captain, didn't you see that each tank was guarded by two fighters? One person was responsible for the guard in the center of the street to stop vehicles trying to park next to the tank queue; Another soldier was on the curb, urging the passers-by to speed up their pace and get out of the place as soon as possible. Then he said to Yushchenko in a reproachful tone, "Comrade Captain, do you know how risky your actions have just been, if any of the commanders and fighters are nervous and the weapons in their hands go off, then something will happen." ”

If it weren't for my whim to see the new tanks parked on the side of the road, Yushchenko would not have clashed with the commanders and fighters standing guard. Seeing his embarrassed expression on his face at this moment, I hurriedly took the initiative to apologize to Bukov: "Major, this matter is all my responsibility. If I hadn't ordered to stop and look at the new tanks on the side of the road, my guard battalion commander wouldn't have clashed with your men. ”

"Comrade General, this is not the case." Hearing me say this, Bukov hurriedly waved his hands: "It's not your fault in this matter, it's all my subordinates who are too reckless." After saying that, he turned to the two soldiers standing nearby on duty and ordered, "You two come here and apologize to General Oshanina and her guard battalion commander." ”

Following Bukov's order, the two fighters who were the first to point their guns at Yushchenko came over with their heads hung down and reluctantly whispered an apology to Yushchenko: "I'm sorry, comrade commander, we were wrong, please forgive us." ”

Yushchenko still had an angry expression on his face when he watched the two of them come over, but as soon as the two apologized to him, he was a little embarrassed, he scratched the back of his head, and said with a smile: "It's me who should say I'm sorry, comrades soldiers, you did the right thing." After saying that, he walked over, raised his hand and patted the two on the shoulder amicably, so as to resolve the conflict between the two sides not long ago.

In order to find out why Zhukov was in a hurry to send me back to Moscow, I did not dare to delay too long here, and I briefly chatted with Buko. Then he got back into the car and rushed to Zhukov's headquarters.

When our truck drove to the door. Stopped by a sentry standing at the door. Yushchenko poked his head out of the window. He said to one of the officers who came by: "In the car is General Oshanina, and she has an urgent matter to go immediately to Comrade Marshal." ”

After listening to his words, the officer glanced into the car, raised his hand and saluted me, then turned and shouted at the sentry standing at the door: "Clear!" With his command, the railing, which had been across the gate, was lifted high by the sentry to make way for the entrance.

The truck pulls up to the parking lot and stops. I found that there were a lot of cars parked outside, in addition to seven or eight black cars, there were also more than a dozen three-wheeled motorcycles, and many of them were obviously guards on guard duty, chatting in a circle. When they saw our car stop, they all cast curious glances at us.

When I got out of the car, the commanders and fighters who were sitting or leaning on the motorcycles quickly straightened up and raised their hands to salute me. After returning the salute, I quickly walked through them and into the headquarters building.

When I entered the conference room where Zhukov held a meeting. Immediately frightened by the large number of senior commanders sitting around the conference table. In the crowd, I saw Vasilevsky, Rokossovsky, Terekin, Vatutin, Khrushchev, Konev. And Sokolovsky who called me.

Seeing me enter the door, Zhukov, who was speaking, stopped, stretched out his hand and pointed to the position opposite him and said, "Leda, you are back." Sit down first. ”

As soon as I sat down, Zhukov continued: "Everyone remembers the military parade on November 7, 1941. At that time, in order to ensure the conduct of the military parade, we carried out a large-scale counterattack on the area occupied by the German army in early November, and stabilized the battle line at a distance from the city. At the same time, a large number of anti-aircraft guns and aircraft were mobilized from various places to ensure the safety of the skies over Moscow. ”

Almost all the commanders present witnessed the military parade, and when they heard Zhukov mention the military parade, their faces showed joyful expressions. You must know that the troops participating in the review at that time included units temporarily transferred from the front, as well as the Dzerzhinsky Division, which was subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, which had the most powerful combat effectiveness, and troops of the Far Eastern Military District, which had just been transferred from Siberia.

“…… In addition to our regular army, there is a special unit. Zhukov gushed: "They don't even have uniform uniforms, they are of different ages, and even the weapons in their hands are shabby antiques, they are the militia units of Moscow." Although they were poorly equipped and did not undergo rigorous military training, their performance on the battlefield was good, no worse than our regular army.

…… Check out the heavy equipment, ranging from new tanks that have just rolled off the armory to antique cannons used during the Crimean War in Mara. ……

Although many of the commanders and fighters who participated in the parade were dusty and sloppy in clothing, the scene of the parade was relatively chaotic, and the queue of the foot phalanx was not neat. "As a participant in the parade, I felt the same way about what Zhukov said, so when he said this, I instinctively nodded in agreement." It is this military parade that has been called "unsightly" by some people with ulterior motives, but it is undoubtedly a model of bravery and the five people, and the inspiring effect it has brought to the military and the people of the whole country cannot be underestimated. This parade was a morale-boosting exercise, so that our high-spirited commanders and fighters were able to repel the German attack and drive them far away from Moscow. ”

As soon as Zhukov finished speaking, Vasilevsky, who was sitting on his right hand, went on to speak: "Comrades, this military parade was proposed by Comrade Stalin, and he did it to celebrate our great victory at Stalingrad and to help the military and people of the whole country build up confidence in defeating the fascist aggressors. ”

Speaking of this, Vasilevsky's face showed a smug expression: "The troops participating in this parade are a mixed regiment sent by various armies, military academies, the National Defense Committee, the Navy, the Air Force, and the Moscow garrison, each of which is composed of 1,000 soldiers, and there are also 20 commanders of the mixed regiment, including the regiment commander, deputy regiment commander, regimental chief of staff, battalion commander, company commander, and so on.

As for the heavy weapons and equipment that you have consulted, you must have seen the long queue of tanks covered with camouflage nets parked on Gorky Avenue on the way here, right? ”

Hearing him ask, almost all the commanders replied in unison: "Yes, we saw it." ”

"As a representative of the base camp," Vasilevsky said with a smile on his face, "I am honored to announce to you that you will see a state-of-the-art tank at tomorrow's parade." This tank is the nemesis of all German tanks, and as long as they have air supremacy on the battlefield, then our armored forces will crush all German resistance on the ground and drive them out of our territory. ”

After Vasilevsky's words were spoken, the commanders began to whisper one after another. I couldn't make out what they were saying, but from the look of joy on their faces, I knew there must be some exciting news. And Zhukov, who was sitting across from me, did not open his mouth to stop everyone, but looked at the scene in front of him with a smile.

After a while, seeing that everyone was talking about it, Zhukov knocked on the table, and after everyone was quiet, Zhukov said: "Since the preparation time for this parade is very short, it will definitely be too late to temporarily transfer troops from the Central Front and the Voronezh Front." Therefore, the base camp temporarily decided to let those reserve troops that were about to be replenished to the two fronts mentioned above participate in the review on their behalf. Comrade Rokossovsky, Comrade Vatutin! When Zhukov spoke later, he suddenly called the names of the commanders of the two Great Fronts.

Rokossovsky and Vatutin, veterans of more than 20 years of military experience, heard Zhukov call him, immediately jumped up from his seat, stood in the distance with his waist straight, and waited for Zhukov to say the rest of the story.

Seeing such a standard military posture of the two, Zhukov smiled and nodded, and then asked, "You don't have any opinion on this arrangement of the base camp, right?" ”

"Nope!" The two agreed in unison, and sat down again.

When I heard Zhukov's arrangement, I finally understood why such a large-scale military parade was held, and why Malinin, as the chief of staff of the Central Front, did not know. It turned out that the reference units of the Central Front and the Voronezh Front were not drawn from the front at all, but the troops that were ready to be replenished to them were to take part in tomorrow's parade instead of them.

Seeing that the two of them had no opinion, Zhukov turned his head sideways and whispered a few words to Vasilevsky, then turned his head and said to everyone: "There are less than twenty hours left before tomorrow's preparatory ceremony, and everyone should immediately go to their own troops to see if there are any problems that need to be solved, so as not to make mistakes during tomorrow's parade." Do you understand? ”

All the commanders, except Zhukov and Vasilevsky, stood up in unison and shouted: "Understood! (To be continued.) )