Oleg rushed over and grabbed the phone and said loudly: "Hey, this is the observation post!" Then, he stopped, as if listening to what the other person had to say.

In the night, on the northern slope of the high ground ahead, countless dark red points of light flashed densely, which was the enemy and us were shooting at each other. From the light of the fire rising from time to time at the foot of the mountain and the light and extinguishing of the gunsmoke, you can see that there are black shadows that have been blown up and flying, producing explosive objects, except for the mines of unknown origin, which should be grenades dropped by the commanders and fighters on the position.

Oleg called out respectfully from behind: "Comrade division commander, your phone call is from the chief of staff. ”

I put down my binoculars and walked over to take the microphone, and soon Akhromeyev's voice came out of the earpiece: "Comrade division commander, can you immediately return to the command headquarters?" ”

I heard that his tone was steady, not like what had happened, so I didn't ask what was the matter with the rush to let me go back, but said in a very casual tone: "Okay, I'll do my best to rush back." With that, he hung up the phone.

However, I did not immediately go to the headquarters, but asked Oleg with some hesitation: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, has the Fourth Regiment recently laid mines in front of the position?" ”

Oleg hurriedly shook his head vigorously and replied decisively: "No, comrade division commander, absolutely not." You must know that the enemy's forward position is so close to the position of the 4th Regiment, and if there is any trouble, the enemy will definitely be able to find out at the first time, so that they will not stupidly step into the minefield. ”

"What's going on?" I pointed to the high ground where fierce fighting was taking place in the distance, and said in confusion: "Since you also said that the Fourth Regiment has not laid minefields, then the mines that are exploding in front of their positions. Where did it come from? ”

Oleg turned his head to look at the high ground in the distance. He frowned and thought for a moment. In the end, he shook his head and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, Comrade Division Commander, I really can't think of it." Then he pointed to the phone on the wall and asked me, "Why don't you call Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar and ask what is going on?" ”

I just wanted to nod my head. Suddenly, I remembered that the telephone of the observation post was the same as that of the headquarters, and it was not possible to talk freely with the regiments. If you want to contact the command of the 4th Regiment, you must first call Akhromeyev and ask him to inform Gaidar, who will call. Thinking that it would be so troublesome to make a phone call, I also retreated, so I waved at Oleg and said: "Don't be so troublesome, I'll go back to the headquarters first and find out what the chief of staff is looking for me." ”

With that, I walked out of the observation post. Shouted outside: "Captain Basmanov." ”

With my shout, Basmanov and several other fighters came out of the darkness. He walked quickly to the front and asked in a low voice: "Comrade division commander, are you going back to the headquarters?" ”

"Yes, let's go!" I answer briefly.

Surrounded by Basmanov and the fighters of the guard squad, I returned to the command headquarters in a smooth manner. As soon as I walked in the door, I was surprised to find that the commander of the engineer company, Captain Mihayev, was actually there, and immediately greeted him excitedly: "Comrade Mihayev, have you returned from your mission?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Mihayev quickly turned around, faced me and replied: "I have returned from my mission." ”

As I took off my coat, I asked him: "Comrade Captain, have you and your men cleared a passage in the minefield that the Germans had planted on the embankment?" ”

Seeing that I was taking off my military coat, Razumeyeva quickly stood up and walked to my side, and as soon as the coat was taken off, she immediately took the coat, walked to the wall and hung it, and then walked back to her place and sat down.

As I walked towards the wooden table, Kirillov excitedly answered my question in the place of Mihayev: "Comrade division commander, what Captain Mihayev has done is even better than you think. ”

"What a good law, Comrade Political Commissar." Kirillov's words aroused my curiosity, and as soon as I sat down, I asked impatiently: "Wouldn't he have cleared all the minefields that the enemy had planted on the embankment?" ”

Kirillov turned his head to look at Pandereev and then at Akhromeyev, and when he saw that they were both looking at him with a smile, he shrugged his shoulders and said to me: "I think it would be more appropriate for Captain Mihayev to tell you in person." Speaking of this, he suddenly raised his voice and said to Mihayev, "Comrade Captain, I have not come to report in detail to Comrade Division Commander the results you have achieved tonight. ”

Hearing Kirillov's call, Mihayev hurriedly took a few steps forward, walked in front of me, and began to report to me about their actions: "Comrade division commander, this is the situation. After I took the fighters of the minesweeper squad down to the embankment, because the enemy was constantly firing flares, in order to prevent the target from being exposed, we moved forward little by little against the cliff of the embankment.

Everyone was in a state of high tension, so after walking for about half an hour, they all felt very tired. Just as I was about to beckon everyone to stop and rest, I felt like something was stumbling under my feet. I guessed that I might have encountered a landmine, so I hurriedly rushed behind me and gestured for everyone to stop. Then I listened to the sound of any enemy nearby, and for a long time I could not hear any movement except the sound of rushing water and the sound of gunfire coming from the direction of the city. I slowly bent down to check and found that what was stumbling on my instep was a very thin wire. I hurriedly and carefully retracted my feet and looked along the wire, only to see that less than a meter away, there was a malignant round mine. ”

As soon as I heard that Mihayev's foot had tripped over a landmine, my heart couldn't help but hang in my throat. It wasn't until I heard him say that he had retracted his leg without triggering the mine that he breathed a sigh of relief, patted his chest gently, and listened to him continue.

“…… I crouched down and carefully observed the mine with the help of the raised flares, and saw that on the flat body of the mine, a thundercap more than an inch high was raised, and there was a small iron ring on it, and several wires were tied to the iron ring, and if any one of them was touched, it would cause an earth-shattering explosion.

To be on the safe side. After I pulled out my belongings. Turning to the fighters behind him, he said: 'Comrades. You stand back a little and watch my movements. If I fail, you have to learn from me and demine in a different way next time. ’

When the squad leader of the minesweeping squad heard me say this, he hurriedly walked up to my side and whispered to me: 'Comrade company commander, you are the commander, you can't take such a risk. Let me do it, I have more experience than you. ’

Although I had only been involved in two or three mine clearances, I had some experience in dealing with mines, so I resolutely rejected the squad leader and ordered him: 'Don't you know that the commander's orders are not allowed to be discussed?' Immediately retreat to the back with your people. ’

Seeing that I had made up his mind, the squad leader had to leave a certain distance and lie down not far away and look at me intently.

When I clear mines, the first thing that comes to mind is. This iron ring with a tripping wire must be the place where the fire starts. Your men have to break it. Thinking of this, I gently grasped the thin wire with one hand and cut it with a vice with the other. I heard a creak, and the wire was easily cut by me. I breathed a sigh of relief and cut the remaining wires one by one. In the end, I carefully held the mine, lifted it up gently, and when I saw that there was nothing involved, I picked it up directly.

Seeing that I had picked up the mine, the engineer squad leader quickly got up and took the mine over and dismantled it on the side. After he took the cap apart, I could see by the light of the flare that it contained a spring and a firing pin. ……”

"Alright, Captain Mihayev." Kirillov interrupted him at this moment and urged: "Don't talk so carefully, just tell Comrade Sù Division Commander how you dealt with these mines." ”

"Yes!" Mihayev agreed, and then went straight to the point: "We dug up more than 30 mines on the embankment before and after. We have a hard time dealing with these mines. The sapper squad leader threw all the mines into the river, while another soldier built yì and we brought the mines back. ”

When Mihayev was telling the story, I was still thinking about the mine of unknown origin in front of the position of the Fourth Regiment, and when I heard him talk about how to deal with the mines, my mind suddenly became clear. I stopped him with words and asked: "Comrade Mihayev, the mines in front of the positions of the 4th Regiment could not have been planted by you, right?" ”

Without waiting for Mihayev to answer, Pantai Leev had already given me a thumbs up and praised me repeatedly: "Comrade division commander, you are really amazing, just half of what you heard, you can guess how Captain Mihayev and they dealt with those dug mines." Yes, one of them carried five or six mines on their backs, and took advantage of the darkness to quietly come to the position of the fourth regiment and buried all the mines. ”

"I'll just say, a mine is not a crop, and if no one buries it, it won't grow out of the ground on its own." Speaking of which, I asked Mihayev with concern: "When you planted the mines, you didn't have a misunderstanding with the friendly forces, did you?" ”

"No, no," Mihayev said, waving his hand, "and on our way back, we were met by a patrol of the 4th Regiment. In addition to sending people to the position to report the letter, the captain also assisted us in laying mines together. ”

Hearing this, I stood up and walked up to him, patted him on the shoulder vigorously, and said approvingly: "Well done, Comrade Captain, you have done a great job. At this point, I turned to Kirillov and said, "Commanders, perhaps you don't know that the German troops who attacked the positions of the 4th Regiment tonight were not only exposed in advance by stepping on the mines planted by Captain Mihayev, but were also blown up by the mines that originally belonged to them. ”

"Comrade division commander," Kirillov excitedly said to me, "I think it is appropriate to give credit to Mihayev and the fighters of the minesweeper squad and give them the honor they deserve." ”

I nodded and said approvingly: "Comrade Political Commissar, you have always been in charge of this aspect, so you should fill out the form of merit and find time to hand it over to the group army headquarters." ”

Gaidar's results were reported ten minutes later, and in tonight's battle our troops suffered six casualties, two of whom were killed and one seriously wounded. However, more than 70 Germans who came to attack were annihilated, and a batch of guns and ammunition was also captured. Seeing such a result, Kirillov and the others couldn't help but smile

I got a little inspiration from Mihayev's briefing. I asked Mihayev: "Comrade Captain, is there a problem if you are to be asked to send out the minefields in front of the enemy's forward positions?" ”

Hear me ask. Mihayev said with some embarrassment: "Comrade division commander. The width of the minefield on the front of the enemy reached about a kilometer. I don't think it's possible to exclude them all overnight. ”

"You don't have to dig up all the enemy's mines," I didn't hide what I really thought, but told him the truth: "I just want you to dig up some of the mines and bury them in another place." ”

"Lay the mines in another place?" After repeating my words, Mihayev said with a blank face: "Comrade division commander, I don't think I understand what you mean. ”

Seeing that he looked like an elm pimple that didn't open his mind, I really wanted to kick him twice. But because of the next plan. I also needed him and his men to play the leading role, so I had to patiently introduce him: "Since these mines were made by the Germans against us, when we dig them out, we can also use them against them, so how about giving them a taste of these iron watermelons?" ”

Mihayev understood what I meant, and immediately his eyes lit up, and he said in a loud voice: "Comrade division commander, I understand, I understand." ”

Because his voice was too loud, it alarmed several commanders next to him. After they came together, Bantai Laiev asked curiously: "Comrade Captain." Do you understand something, can you tell us? ”

Mihayev nodded desperately, and then reported to Pandereev: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, it is so, Comrade Division Commander ordered me to raise some mines in front of the enemy's forward positions and bury them in the path that the enemy must pass, so that they can also taste these mines of their own making. ”

Hearing Mihayev's words, Pandereev also became excited, and he could not wait to say to Kirillov: "Comrade commissar, I think this is a good solution, so that the enemy will not be able to figure out where we have moved their mines. ”

"Yes, I also think the teacher's idea is good." Akhromeyev said: "If the enemy still wants to attack us, these mines that have shifted their positions will cause them heavy casualties." Perhaps in this case, they will have to retreat into the newly built forward fortifications and confront our army. ”

Kirillov, who was obviously much calmer than the two commanders, raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said to them: "Hey, I said comrades, commanders, don't get excited, it's not long before dawn." You don't want our sappers to blatantly dig up their mines in broad daylight in front of enemy positions, do you? ”

Hearing Kirillov's criticism, Bantaiyev and Akhromeyev glanced at each other and laughed a little embarrassedly. Pandereev answered: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commissar, but we got too carried away and didn't notice the timing problem. Forget it, let's wait until the evening. Saying this, he turned to Mihayev and said: "Comrade Captain, you have been tired all night, go back and have a good rest now, so that by the evening you will have the energy to carry out new tasks." ”

Mihayev agreed, raised his hand and saluted me in return, then turned and left the headquarters.

After Mihayev left, Akhromeyev hurriedly said to me: "Comrade division commander, let's hurry up and study where to re-bury the mines that have been raised." At this point, he pointed to the map with a red and blue pencil and said to himself, "I think that in these places, landmines should be planted first." ”

While Akhromeyev was speaking, Kirillov looked at his watch somewhat absent-mindedly, and I was worried that something was going on with him, so I asked with concern: "Comrade commissar, do you have anything else?" ”

Kirillov nodded and said, "You three are the military commanders, and it is up to you to discuss where to lay mines." I want to hurry up and fill out the forms for several applications for meritorious service by Mihayev and others. ”

"Okay, then you go get busy." Hearing that Kirillov was going to do his part, I didn't force him to attend our small military meeting.

Akhromeyev and Bandereev shared a lot of their views on where to lay mines, and I felt that what they said was reasonable, so they did not express their opinions casually, but sat quietly by the audience as a listener.

After determining the location of the mine, Akhromeyev hurried to draw a mine-laying map, handed it to me, and said politely: "Comrade division commander, this is my newly drawn map, can you please see if there is anything else that needs to be improved?" ”

After looking at it a few times, I suddenly had a new idea, and immediately said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think that under the embankment, mines should also be laid. ”

"Laying mines under the embankment?" Akhromeyev didn't understand why I suddenly said this, but asked in confusion: "Why?" You know, the enemy may not pass through here, and if we bury mines here, it will be a waste. ”

Pointing to the map, I said to Akhromeyev and Bandereev: "Deputy division commander, chief of staff, please look at the embankment, since we have not passed through here to their camp for a few days, the strict security here has been relaxed. I was going to send a small detachment to sneak into the German positions along the embankment and hit them hard. The purpose of laying mines on the river embankment was to cover the retreat of the detachment and block the enemy. (To be continued......)

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