Hearing Chuikov's anger on the phone, I was deeply afraid that when he came, Karpov would be deflated because of his bad mood, which would affect the mood of all the officers and soldiers anyway, so I simply comforted him a few words, and then asked Basmanov to take him and his group of officers to rest first.

After they left, I asked Razumeyeva in wonder: "Comrade lieutenant, I'll ask you." In addition to the plain language calls with Captain Sherebryanny and Comrade Savchenko today, have we also been in contact with other troops? ”

Razumeyeva frowned and thought for a moment, then slowly shook her head and replied: "No, Comrade Division Commander." Except for what you said the two units used to talk, there was no wireless call. ”

"What the hell is going on, Comrade Division?" Since he had just answered Chuikov's phone call, he had gone to talk to Karpov and them, and there were too many people in the headquarters, so for the sake of secrecy, they didn't tell Kirillov and the others what was going on, so that they were still confused. After several people looked at each other, the Chief of Staff Akhromeyev asked me this question.

"That's right, the commander just called and asked if we were using wireless communication equipment to make plain phone calls frequently today." After briefly repeating Chuikov's words, I wondered: "After the commander asked about this, he didn't say anything, but said that he was coming to us soon. ”

After listening to my explanation, the three of them suddenly realized, and Kirillov nodded and said, "No wonder you only had a few brief words with Captain Karpov after answering the commander's call. And they sent him away. I thought it was weird at the time. Now I understand. Are you afraid that Comrade Commander will be in a bad mood when he arrives here, and if you fire at Karpov and them, they will not be able to get off the stage. ”

"Division commander, what do you think the commander is here for?" Akhromeyev waited for Kirillov to finish speaking, and he couldn't wait to ask.

I had to smile wryly at Akhromeyev's question, and I had no clue.

Kirillov thought for a moment. Then he cautiously said: "According to my understanding, there may be something wrong with the communications of the group army, otherwise the comrade commander would not have rushed to our division." ”

After listening to the conversation between the few of us, Pantai Laiev, who had just returned from outside, said with a bitter face: "I think what the political commissar said is reasonable; at present, there are many numbers of units under the jurisdiction of the group army, and the intelligence of various units cannot be exchanged with each other, and there are all kinds of communication equipment, and there is no unified communication code among the troops. What is even worse is that the commanders of some units ignore the system of secrecy in communications and often openly shout in plain code regardless of the situation. As a result, the enemy was able to intercept the intelligence of our army with ease. ”

When I heard Bentai Leev say this, I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat. But after subduing Grams, during the period when I was holding the station, I talked to Chuikov and Sedjerikov every day in plain language, and I don't know if I leaked the secrets of our army.

Seeing my unusual expression, Kirillov asked with concern: "Oshanina, what's wrong with you, are you not feeling well?" ”

I waved my hand and expressed the uneasiness in my heart: "Political commissar, hearing what the deputy division commander said, I'm really a little worried. When our division was still part of the 64th Army, it held out for a period of time at a station in the rear of the enemy. At that time, I had an explicit conversation with the headquarters and the division almost every day. ”

"You were later spotted by the enemy?" Kirillov asked nervously.

"Nope." I shook my head and replied, "During the time I stayed, I was not detected by the enemy. And by mistake, he captured Captain Beckman and his troops, who had come to change their guards. ”

After hearing what I said, Pantai Leev smiled and comforted me: "Comrade division commander, you don't have to worry. I think that since you were not detected by the enemy by the time you evacuated, it may be because they were advancing too fast, and the intelligence unit in charge of listening had not caught up in time, so your plain phone call did not have any adverse consequences. ”

When he analyzed this, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Chuikov arrived at the headquarters half an hour later, and with him walked in was Lieutenant Colonel Weinlub and two soldiers. Several of us hurriedly stepped forward to salute him, but he didn't return the salute, just nodded at us, looked around, walked to the table and sat down, and then looked up and asked me: "Oshanina, let me ask you, why do you use plain language calls so often tonight, don't you know that this is expressly forbidden?" ”

"Comrade Commander, allow me to explain to you." I know that Chuikov came with a belly of fire, so even if I am scolded, I must explain the matter to him clearly, so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

"Say it!" He said coldly.

"In the early hours of this morning, I sent men to seize the enemy's position three kilometers north of the Mamayev Gang, and sent people to contact the Karpov battalion, which had the intention of rectifying, so that they could join up with our receiving troops and enter the Mamayev Gang from the area we occupied."

As soon as I said this, I was interrupted by Chuikov raising his hand: "Wait a minute, what are you talking about, you sent people to occupy the forward positions of the German army, and Karpov's Eastern Battalion has already gone anyway?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." I replied affirmatively: "After dark last night, I sent Comrade Savchenko to contact Captain Karpov, and at the same time, I sent the Korichen Company of the Fourth Regiment to attack the enemy's positions along the embankment. ”

"How did it turn out?" Chuikov nervously asked, "Has the position been taken?" ”

"Take it down." I said calmly: "Captain Curry's troops proceeded smoothly in the early stage, and occupied most of the positions without alarming the enemy. Later, I don't know how it was discovered by the enemy, and it also caused an exchange of fire. Seeing that the situation was not good, I hurriedly ordered the Sherebryan battalion to launch an attack in time. After seizing the position, I informed Captain Sherebryanny by intercom that they should consolidate their positions and cover the friendly forces withdrawn from the west. ”

"Captain Karpov their transfer, is it still smooth?" Chuikov asked again.

"Not long after they moved, they were discovered by the Germans. The German pursuers pressed over from both the north and west directions, and soon came into contact with their rearguard. Due to the suddenness of the transfer, not all officers and soldiers knew exactly where they were going, and under the frenzied blows of the enemy, some officers who were greedy for life and fear of death wavered and threw themselves into the Germans with their men. Although Karpov's troops at this time were less than two kilometers away from the positions held by our troops, due to the reduction of one-third of their troops, many people in the troops felt confused about their next move. In this case, Comrade Savchenko had no choice but to call on the radio of Captain Guò Karpov and urgently call us for help. I hurriedly contacted Captain Sherebryanny and asked him to personally lead the troops to meet Captain Karpov. And gave him a death order: as long as the officers and men of Karpov's battalion did not all pass through the defense area of our army, even if only the last man of his troops remained, he could not take a step back. ”

My account made Chuikov more and more nervous, and he instinctively answered: "And then? ”

"They arrived just in time, and in Captain Karpov's own words, a few minutes later his troops might have collapsed completely. Under the cover of the troops of Captain Sherebryanny, the Karpov battalion anyway entered the position and, retreating east along the trenches, going upriver along the embankment, managed to reach the Mamayev Heights. However, due to casualties and the rout, the force was reduced by half, and in the end only more than 200 people remained. ”

"More than 200 people is also very good." Chuikov smiled and said, "As long as Captain Karpov can return to our camp, no matter how many people he brings, it will be a victory." In any case, their important significance is that they have shocked the enemy's military morale, and their political significance is incalculable. What about the casualties of our army? ”

Hearing Chuikov's question, I hurriedly turned my head to Akhromeyev and said: "Chief of Staff, you have the latest statistics there, so you can report them to the comrades of the headquarters." ”

"Yes!" Akhromeyev agreed, then took a step forward and reported loudly to Chuikov: "The second battalion of the 1st regiment under the command of Captain Serebryanny lost 175 men and 112 wounded; The Koricheng Company of the 4th Regiment and the two companies that were later reinforced suffered 103 casualties and 79 wounded. ”

After listening to such casualty figures, Chuikov stood up suddenly, pursed his lips tightly, and after walking back and forth in the command headquarters twice with his hands behind his back, he sighed and said: "Comrade Oshanina, although your casualties are a little larger, you can successfully escape the remnants of the Karpov battalion, and this price is still worth it. ”

Seeing that Chuikov did not pursue the matter of the radio station, and also praised the matter of the Karpov battalion, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and the stone hanging in my heart also fell to the ground.

"Where is Captain Karpov?" Suddenly, Chuikov asked, "I want to meet him." ”

"We arranged for him to rest." Kirillov hurriedly stood up to answer Chuikov's question, "If you want to see him, please wait a moment, I will send someone to call him immediately." I told him that the commander of the group army, General Chuikov, was going to receive him personally, and I think he would be very happy. (To be continued......)