Although I succeeded in recovering position No. 4, I did not immediately go back to the headquarters of the army group, but followed Nekrasov to the headquarters of the 52nd Guards Division, and at the same time I asked him to call the three commanders of the division to the division headquarters to discuss the gains and losses of this battle.

When all the participants had arrived, I gestured to Nekrasov and said, "Comrade Colonel, since the commanders have arrived, let's have a meeting." ”

Nekrasov nodded, stood up, propped his hands on the edge of the table, and began to tell the commanders present about the loss of position No. 4 today. After a brief account of the recapture of the position, he looked around and said to his men: "What do you think about this battle, you can tell me!" ”

After finishing speaking, he waited for a while, and when he saw that no one answered, he looked at the commander of the 223rd Regiment and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, this battle took place in the defense area of your regiment, so you can talk about it first." ”

The regimental commander who was named stood up and looked at me with some restraint, and when he saw me looking at him quietly, he couldn't help but become more and more flustered, so much so that he could only say two sentences over and over again: "The commanders and fighters of our regiment who participated in the battle today have shown great courage and have not retreated in the face of the fierce enemy......

When he spoke for the fifth time, Nekrasov couldn't take it anymore, raised his hand to stop him, and pointed to another regiment commander and said: "Tell me what you think." ”

After the regiment commander stood up, he looked at me nervously as well, and then calmly said: "Comrade commander, I think the commanders and fighters of the 223rd Regiment who participated in the counterattack have all behaved very bravely in today's battle. All the commanders and fighters of our 225th Regiment must learn from them......"

I hear these empty contents. Hurriedly raised his hand to stop him, and said impatiently: "Okay, Comrade Regiment Commander, you don't need to say it anymore, I know what you want to say." "Finished. I shifted my gaze to the other remaining regiment commander, and at the same time asked curiously, "Comrade regiment commander, are you the commander of the 221st regiment or the 227th regiment?" ”

Hearing my question, the tall and thin regiment commander hurriedly straightened up and replied loudly: "Report to Comrade Commander, I am Lieutenant Colonel Yershov, commander of the 221st Regiment. Without waiting for me to speak, he continued, "I think we're in this meeting today." It is not only necessary to discuss how our troops regained position No. 4, but also to analyze the reasons for the loss of positions and avoid similar incidents in other sectors. ”

Yershov's words made me feel refreshed. I looked at him in amazement and urged, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, tell me what you think. ”、

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Yershov agreed, and then began to analyze to me the reasons for the loss of position four: "Although on position four. The 223rd Regiment was defended by a company of troops, but the fortifications were not built in accordance with the unified deployment of the army group headquarters. For example, there are no tunnels on the position. Once subjected to intensive artillery shelling or bombardment by the enemy, the troops hidden in the trenches will suffer many unnecessary casualties. Secondly, in front of the positions, no barbed wire was pulled up and minefields were not set up, so that the Germans could walk as if they were walking. Swaggered to the bottom of the position. Last but not least, at night, we usually send sentries in shifts, and at least two machine-gun fire points in the trenches are manned 24 hours a day. But what about the 223 regiment? Not only is the machine gun fire point unmanned, but even the sentries who serve as guards usually have only two people. Once the sentry is killed by the enemy, the enemy's sneak attack will be successful. ”

After listening to what Yershov said, I turned my head and asked the commander of the 223rd regiment: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, is what this regiment commander Yershov said true?" ”

"Comrade Commander," the regiment commander hurriedly got up from his seat, like a schoolboy who had done something wrong, bowed his head and admitted his mistake: "Since we take into account that the soldiers are already very tired in the process of building fortifications during the day, in order to give them a better rest, our regiment has arranged very few Russian sentries at night. ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," after listening to the regimental commander's self-justification, my mood became irritable. I slapped the table hard, pointed to his nose and said loudly: "Have you ever thought that if the troops below had not carried out your wrong order, this No. 4 position would not have been lost at all, and we would not have sacrificed more than a hundred commanders and fighters with rich combat experience in vain to regain the lost position?" ”

"I was wrong, Comrade Commander." The commander of the 223rd Regiment was so red that he was reprimanded by me, and after he secretly glanced at me, he immediately assured me: "When I go back, I can order the third battalion to build a complete defense system on the position." ”

When I criticized the regimental commander, Nekrasov immediately interceded for his subordinates. In a flattering tone, he said, "Comrade Commander, you are discouraged. Now that we all know how the positions of the 223rd Regiment were lost, everyone will definitely learn from the pain and improve the existing defense system to avoid similar things from happening again. ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." When the regimental commander saw that his immediate superiors were speaking for him, he also plucked up the courage to say to me: "We will learn the serious lesson of this time and improve our defense system." Don't worry, as soon as I get back later, I will order the third battalion to dig the tunnel overnight, and strive to complete it within a week. ”

"And the minefield in front of the position." I waited for him to finish his speech, and then added coldly.

"Yes, yes, yes!" The lieutenant colonel replied in a panic: "The minefield will also be laid in the near future, and the Germans will definitely not be allowed to touch our positions silently." ”

After everyone was seated, I looked around for a while, and then asked, "Today's battle, I guess you have just heard the introduction of Division Commander Nekrasov, even if you didn't see it with your own eyes, but you must know it in your heart." I ask you now, what else do you think about today's battle? ”

The regimental commanders under Nekrasov looked at the chief of staff of the division, and when they saw that the other party was ignoring him, they turned their attention to Nekrasov for help. Seeing the embarrassment on the faces of his troops, Nekrasov had no choice but to stand up again and plead with me: "Comrade commander, since everyone is silent, it is estimated that today's attack will be a successful one. It is not a problem to beat away the Germans on the hillside. ”

After Nekrasov finished speaking, Povsky, who had remained silent, opened his mouth: "Comrade Nekrasov, can I say a few words?" Seeing that the other party nodded blankly, he stood up and said, "In today's battle, I saw the whole process in the regimental observation post with Comrade Commander. First of all. What I want to say is that the commanders and fighters of the 223rd Regiment were all good, and in the face of the enemy's bullets, none of them flinched, but bravely rushed forward. ”

I was surprised by Povsky's words, and I wondered how he had become a lobbyist for Nekrasov. However, I soon realized that I had misjudged and only listened to Povsky continue: "In fact, the German defenders on the positions were very limited after being covered by our rocket artillery. But the remnants of the German army still cost our brave Guards soldiers heavy casualties. ”

"Comrade Artillery Commander." I don't know why Povsky suddenly made a tirade, and hurriedly stopped him and said: What exactly do you want to say? ”

"Infantry and artillery coordination!" The term popped into Povsky's mouth, and he continued: "When our counterattack force reached the center of the open field, the rocket artillery battalion fired two salvos, inflicting heavy casualties on the Germans in the position. Originally, according to the plan drawn up before the battle, when the troops reached the foot of the mountain, the rocket artillery would definitely not be designed again for fear of accidentally injuring their own people. And this time. The only thing that can be used is mortars. ”

At this, he sighed deeply. Then he added: "But all I saw was brave warriors bravely rushing up the hillside in the face of bullets fired by the enemy and flying fragments of grenades. Many commanders and fighters fell in pools of blood, with their blood and even their lives. composing their boundless loyalty to the motherland and their incomparable hatred for the fascist invaders......"

When Povsky said this, I was very surprised, I did not expect that the artillery commander sent to me by my superiors would be so eloquent. If he is allowed to serve as a political commissar in any division, it is estimated that he will be able to develop better.

I didn't interrupt him, but patiently listened as he elaborated his point. And all the commanders, including Nekrasov, nodded their heads when they heard his high-minded arguments.

When Povsky and I left the headquarters of the 52nd Guards Division and returned to the car of the headquarters of the army group, I could not help but ask Povsky: "Comrade Artillery Commander, I would like to ask you, what did you do before the outbreak of the war?" ”

After listening to my words, Povsky shrugged his shoulders and replied with a smile: "Comrade commander, what else can I do, of course, as an instructor." ”

"I don't know what major you teach?" When I heard that he used to be a teacher, I couldn't help but feel a lot of emotion, but I didn't expect that an ordinary teacher would be easily qualified for the post of artillery commander. I even wondered if he had been a teacher in a school in Moscow or Leningrad. As I was thinking about it, I couldn't help but ask, "What school did you teach at before?" ”

"Not the kind of university you think." Povsky, probably guessing my mind, went out of his way to explain to me: "I used to work as a lecturer at the Tula Artillery Academy. When the war broke out, due to the lack of enough artillery commanders in the troops, I was transferred from school to an artillery regiment as a deputy, and fought with the Germans in many places with which regiment. Not so long ago, I was officially appointed commander of the artillery of the 6th Guards Army. ”

After listening to his self-report, I nodded again and again, and said: "Yes, Colonel Povsky, I think that with your ability, you are fully qualified for the post of artillery commander. After saying this, I thought about it for a moment and asked him again: "If the Germans launch a blitzkrieg against our defense area, how are you going to use the artillery within the range of the army group?" ”

Without hesitation, Povsky replied: "I plan to send someone to survey the terrain and mark out the various sections of the defense zone one by one." Once the enemy storms our defensive zone, all we need to do is fire at the designated area to inflict heavy damage on them. ”

In response to this statement of Povsky, I said noncommittally: "Comrade Colonel, since you have thought it through, I will leave to you full responsibility for the work of artillery. No problem, right? ”

"No problem." Povsky agreed very simply. Then he stretched out his hand to me and said gratefully: "Comrade Commander, thank you for your trust in me, I will certainly live up to your expectations of me." ”

As soon as he walked into the headquarters, Danilov greeted him and asked with concern: "Comrade commander, how is the situation at position No. 4?" ”

Danilov's words confused me, and I thought to myself, did just now Povsky forget to call him, and turned to the fact that I asked him to send a telegram? But on second thought, it wasn't possible, because I was there when Povsky called.

Bezikov noticed my strangeness and hurriedly explained to me: "Comrade commander, as soon as we received a call from Colonel Povsky, we sent a telegram to the command of the Front as quickly as possible, informing them of the news of the recapture of position No. 4. He glanced at Danilov, who was a little anxious, and explained to me with a smile, "Comrade Deputy Commander is worried that you are afraid that your superiors will blame you, so before regaining the position, let us send this telegram of victory." ”

Bezzikov's explanation made me understand why Danilov was so abnormal. So I smiled and said to Danilov: "Comrade Deputy Commander, what are you worried about? Are you worried that I will lie about the results of the battle and deceive my superiors? ”

Although I said this in a mocking tone, Danilov waved his hand in a panic and justified himself: "In the past, a battle like this for the reconquest took at least four or five hours, at most two or three days, or even longer. And it only took you a little more than an hour to regain your position, which is a bit too incredible. ”

I smiled at Danilov's question, and then said to him in a straight voice: "Comrade Deputy Commander, if you have been working with me for a long time, you will find that in the troops under my command, there will be some situations that are different from other troops, and you have to adapt slowly, and you can't make a fuss like you are now." ”

Danilov may not have understood my words at all, but he still nodded and said as if he didn't understand: "Understood, comrade commander, I will try to cooperate with you in all the work of the group army." (To be continued.) )