Less than two hours after Bandeleyev left with his troops, sporadic gunfire suddenly rang out outside the observation post. When I heard the gunshots, my first reaction was that the enemy was coming to attack the high ground. Hurriedly picked up the binoculars and looked at the heights, but found that the south slope of the heights was calm, and the commanders and fighters in the trenches were busy reinforcing the fortifications, without the slightest panic, what was the gunshot?

I walked towards the outside of the observation post, trying to call Mikhailov or Zhukhovetsky over and ask them what was going on outside the gunfire and why they were shooting inexplicably? Unexpectedly, as soon as I walked out of the observation post, before I could call the two of them, I heard a strange roar faintly in the air. After listening for a while, I immediately understood what was coming, and hurriedly ran into the communication room, shouting loudly at the operator inside: "Hey, operator, immediately call Lieutenant Colonel Shedelikov and them, say that the enemy plane is coming, and let them immediately lead the troops to withdraw from the city." ”

When I saw the operator start calling Shedelikov and them, my heart was in my throat, and I was afraid that I would not be able to contact them in a hurry, and I would lead the troops to lose Yan zhòng in the air raid. But fortunately, soon I heard Sederikov's voice: "I am Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, do you have any instructions from the division commander?" ”

Without waiting for the operator to speak, I snatched the microphone from his hand and shouted: "Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, I order you to immediately withdraw all troops from the city. ”

The operator saw that I snatched the microphone in his hand and took the initiative to hand over the headset. I took it and looked around the area, just in time to hear Sederikov's puzzled voice: "Comrade division commander, why do you want to withdraw the troops from the city?" To know. We still have at least half of the supplies left. I didn't have time to carry it. ”

"To hell with the rest of the supplies." I roared angrily, "The enemy planes are coming right away." Evacuate you and Kosgaard's troops to the outside of the city at once, and be careful if they suffer heavy casualties in the air raids. ”

Hearing that the air raid was coming, Sederikov also became decisive: "Understood, comrade division commander, I immediately organized the transfer of troops. Then his voice lowered, and I vaguely heard him mutter, "What a pity." There are still so many supplies left to be moved. ”

After I left the communications room, I found a place in the trench with a good view, and raised my binoculars to look at the city in the distance. First, a few warriors ran out of the city and ran wildly towards the hillside in the distance, and then more people ran out one after another. 、

The troops of the 1st and 3rd regiments had just withdrawn from Kongjiaoyi, and the German bomber group had already flown over the city. I looked through my binoculars in the trenches at the position completely covered in gunsmoke and cursed: "Damn the Germans, is it worth bombing so many planes in such a small city?" ”

Thinking of the first and third regiments that had been transferred in advance, I secretly felt glad in my heart. Fortunately, on a whim, I had Sergeant Wenger deliver the radio of their reconnaissance detachment to Shederikov. Otherwise, the troops would not have been able to evacuate in such a short period of time, and they would inevitably suffer heavy losses under the intensive bombardment of the German army.

Enemy planes surrounded the air and bombed indiscriminately and aimlessly, turning the city we had just captured in the early hours of this morning into a sea of fire. Amid the rising fires and the sound of explosions, the buildings in the city collapsed one by one.

Shedelikov and Kosjia came to my side along the trenches, and after raising their hands in salute, they shouted loudly: "Report to the division commander, the troops of the 1st and 3rd regiments have all withdrawn from the city. ”

"Good, you guys are doing a great job!" After I said this, I was surprised to find that the explosion was so loud that I couldn't hear what I was saying, let alone the two of them, so I beckoned them to the observation post, which was relatively quiet and convenient for our conversation.

When I walked into the observation center, I asked the two men in a loud voice, "Are there any casualties among the troops?" ”

The two shook their heads neatly and replied in unison: "Report to the division commander, because your order was issued in time, the troops were withdrawn in time. Then Kosgaard lamented, "Nearly half of the supplies were blown up by the damn German planes before they could be moved." ”

Although I heard that only half of the supplies had been blown up, I still asked worriedly, "Have you moved out the weapons, ammunition, food, and medicine?" When I heard the two of them reply that they had moved out, I waved my hand and said disapprehantly: "The remaining military uniforms and quilts are of little use to us, so let the Germans blow them up if they love to blow them up." ”

After I finished speaking, the two of them were surprised to find that Bandeleyev was not at the observation post, and Shederikov asked with concern: "Comrade division commander, where has Colonel Bandeleyev gone?" ”

"According to the information provided by friendly scouts, there is a camp of Romanian troops to the east of us, which has a large number of trucks and is guarded by only one company, so Comrade Deputy Division Commander led the troops to attack that camp."

"Comrade division commander, which unit did you send?" Shederikov asked in surprise: "Except for the second battalion of Sherebryanne, which is holding on to the high ground, the first and third battalions are all carrying supplies in the city. As soon as he finished speaking, Kosgaard also said, "Yes, yes, my second battalion has been in the city all the time. ”

Seeing that the two of them didn't guess which unit I was sending, I couldn't help but laugh and said proudly: "You can't think of it, I sent the four regiments and three battalions left in the camp in the south. ”

"Four regiments and three battalions?!" When the two of them heard me say this, they seemed to remember that in this operation, in addition to the troops of the first and third regiments, the fourth regiment also sent a battalion, and this battalion was now stationed in the camp on the hillside about ten kilometers south of us. "After seizing a large number of trucks, will they have enough drivers to drive them back?"

"Don't worry about that." To tell the truth, when I sent Bandeleyev to carry out the mission just now, I didn't think about the driver at all, and although Shedelikov reminded me at this moment, I still pretended to be calm and said: "I believe that Comrade Deputy Division Commander will definitely have a way to get the truck back." ”

I stooped down and looked outside, and when I saw that the enemy planes were still bombing the burning Kongjiaoyi, I ordered the two of them: "You two go back to your respective units first." Let the warriors hide well. And take a break. Perhaps the enemy's ground forces will soon arrive. There will be no time to rest. ”

Shedelikov had been dealing with me for the longest time, and when I said this, he guessed what I might have planned, so he asked tentatively: "Comrade division commander, are you going to go to the high ground ahead?" ”

I nodded, confirmed his guess, and continued, "Yes, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. I also went to the highlands to familiarize myself with the terrain. In this way, I know how to use the terrain to fight the enemy in the next battle. ”

"I'll go with you." Sederikov volunteered: "In any case, it is the commanders and fighters of a regiment who hold the high ground, and I will go to cheer up my subordinates by the way." ”

When I saw that when Shederikov said this, Kosgaard next to him also had an eager expression, knowing that if he agreed to Sederikov's request, then Kosgaard would make the same request, so he waved his hand and directly rejected Sederikov's kindness: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, there is no need. You and Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard should go back to their respective units. As for going to the heights, there were fighters of the guard company. Stay with friendly scouts and you won't have to worry about it. ”

After sending the two away, I went to the outside of the shelter where Travkin was resting, and shouted at the inside: "Hey, Lieutenant Travkin, are you inside?" ”

With my shout, the curtain blocking the door was lifted, and Lieutenant Travkin, who was not wearing a hat, poked his head out of it, and when he saw that it was me who called him, he hurriedly stood upright, and at the same time asked politely: "Comrade General, do you have any instructions?" ”

"Lieutenant, take your operator and radio and follow me to the high ground." I gave him a brief order, adding, "I'll wait for you at the front." ”

By the time Travkin and Nastya had packed up their belongings, Mikhailov and Zhukhovitsky and I had been waiting for them in the trenches for half a day. Nastya, who was carrying the radio on her back, saw Zhukhovitsky standing beside me, her eyes lit up, and she immediately ran quickly in front of him and looked at him with affectionate eyes.

Seeing Nastya's expression, even a fool could tell that the girl was in love with Zhukhovetsky. In front of everyone, Zhukhovitsky looked a little nervous about Nastya's hot gaze. To avoid embarrassment to him, I probably said loudly: "Hey, Corporal Zhukhovetsky, are you still a man?" Seeing a young girl standing in front of you with a bulky radio on her back, shouldn't you do something? Scratching the back of his head, Zhukhovitsky smiled embarrassedly, and then stepped forward and untied the walkie-talkie from Nastya's back and put it on his back.

When I saw that all the people who should have come had arrived, I shook my head and said loudly, "Since everyone is here, let's go." ”

Having come to the high ground and joining up with Sherebryanny, who had arrived at the news, I began to inspect the position under his leadership. The northern and southern slopes of the heights are really two very different scenes, with only a few trenches and a few scattered fire points of civil structures on the southern slope; The northern slope is obviously a fortification built by our army before the evacuation, not only criss-crossing trenches and trenches, but the firing points in the middle of the trenches are reinforced concrete pillboxes, and there are several barbed wire fences and a wide anti-tank trench at the foot of the mountain. According to Sherebryanny, in the middle of the last two barbed wire fences there are also minefields.

Seeing such a well-established fortification, I nodded with satisfaction and said to Serebryanny: "Comrade Captain, the fortifications here are much more complete than our Mamayev Posts. As long as you rely on the existing fortifications to put up stubborn resistance, I believe that the Germans will not be able to attack even if they come to the last regiment. ”

"Comrade division commander, please look!" Serebryanny did not answer me, but pointed to the foot of the mountain and said to me: "The road from the city goes around on the left side of the heights and goes into the distance. There was a dirt slope from our highland road 34, where friendly scouts were besieged, and the road passed under the hillside. ”

I raised my binoculars and looked in the direction of Sherebryanny's finger, and I saw that next to the dirt slope, there was the wreckage of a blackened armored car, and even if I didn't look back to Travkin, I knew that it was one of the three armored vehicles besieging them. Without looking back, I asked Serebryanny: "Comrade Captain, even if the road passes under the dirt slope, what will it be?" ”

"Comrade Division Commander," said Serebrianny carefully after waiting for me to finish, "can I give you a Jianyì?" ”

I put down my binoculars, turned my head to look at him, and said strangely, "If you have any ideas, tell me about them." With that, he raised his binoculars and looked into the distance. Beneath the highlands are patches of grassland, and since no one takes care of them, the wild weeds are at least half a man's height.

Serebryanne, who had received my permission, took a step forward and said with a stern expression: "Comrade division commander, I think so. We cannot defend passively, we should take the initiative in the battle in our hands. ”

I heard this from Serebryan, and guessing that he might have some bold plan, I put down my binoculars and asked him curiously: "Comrade Captain, can you tell me a little more about what we have to do in order to take the initiative on the battlefield into our hands." ”

"In order to create favorable conditions for the organization of the defense, and to prevent the Germans from concentrating their forces on our heights, we have sent two strong forces, concealed on both sides of the road. A force consisting of our captured tanks, armored vehicles, and an infantry company was concealed on the right side of the road; Another company, composed entirely of infantry, was hidden on a dirt slope by the roadside.

When the enemy's attacking forces have entered our ambush circle, the concealed tanks will open fire first, destroying the tanks, armored vehicles, and artillery of the enemy's marching column. Then the machine guns on the armored vehicles opened fire again, eliminating the infantry in the queue. I estimate that in the event of a surprise attack, a large number of infantry will flee in the direction of the dirt slope, and when they approach, our troops lying in ambush on the dirt slope will condescendingly kill and wound the enemy's infantry with fire. ”

"That's a good idea, just follow the plan you said. However, the troops on the high ground cannot be used, and the troops responsible for the ambush should be in charge of other battalions. After saying this, I turned my head to Travkin, who was standing behind me, and said politely: "Comrade lieutenant, please let the operator get in touch with our regiment, I have an important combat mission to assign to them." (To be continued......)