At seven o'clock in the morning, before dawn, the 65 artillery pieces of the 60th Army opened fire together. The continuous shelling for half an hour shook the ground and blew up the highlands that had been shrouded in darkness.

When the artillery division's artillery preparations were over, Batov walked to the telephone at the observation post, picked up the microphone and said loudly: "Colonel Holikov, the shelling is over, and now it's up to your division." Let the 1311th Infantry Regiment immediately launch an attack on the German positions. For the sake of victory, for the honor of you Muscovites, forward! ”

If Batov hadn't specifically mentioned the honor of the Muscovites, I wouldn't have paid much attention to the upcoming unit, and hearing him say this, a piece of information about the division suddenly popped up in my head. If I'm not mistaken, this 173rd Infantry Division should have been the later famous 77th Guards Infantry Division, and in the encyclopedia of the Soviet army, the description of this division was adapted from the 21st Division of the Moscow Militia, formed in July 1941. But I knew very well in my heart that in fact, the division originally belonged to the Kiev Special Military District, and at the beginning of the war, the division fell into the encirclement of the German army in Kiev, and was completely wiped out like the main forces of the other Southwestern Fronts, and was later rebuilt on the basis of the 21st division of the Moscow militia. Thinking about the series of exploits that the division had performed throughout the Great Patriotic War, I was filled with anticipation for their upcoming offensive.

I walked up to Rokossovsky, raised the telescope in my hand and looked intently at the hidden positions of our troops ahead. I saw countless black shadows get up from the ground, shouting and rushing forward.

I turned the lens of the telescope to the still blazing heights, only to see that it was silent. I couldn't see any movement. It seems that German soldiers on the position. All were wiped out by our artillery fire.

When our troops were still more than two hundred meters from the high ground, the enemy on the high ground began to shoot condescendingly, and along with the sound of machine guns, there was also the rumbling sound of artillery, it seems that there were German artillery units that survived the shelling just now, but judging by the scale of the explosion, they were all small-caliber artillery.

German machine-gun and artillery fire formed a dense network of fire, opening gaps in the 173rd Division's offensive ranks. In the face of the enemy's now dense firepower. Our commanders and fighters are still rushing forward without hesitation. I saw through the binoculars that the pistol-wielding commander rushed to the front, and from time to time someone was shot and fell to the ground, but many others took their place and continued to rush to the high ground.

In the face of our army's immense attack, the Germans were shooting as best they could, trying to block our army's offensive path with firepower.

Perhaps seeing that the casualties of our army were too great, the commanders of the front line adjusted their tactics in time, except for a small number of troops who continued to rush forward in the rain of bullets. The rest lay on the ground, relying on the terrain and the Germans on the high ground to launch a firefight.

For this tactical adjustment of the front-line commanders. I judged it in my heart without moving, and felt that he had made the right decision, and that in the face of such dense enemy firepower, it would not have been possible to rush forward with the bravery of the commanders and fighters. No matter how brave our commanders and fighters are, can human flesh and blood block bullets and shrapnel flying everywhere?

"Comrade Batov, after breaking through the German lines, what are you going to do next?" Suddenly Rokossovsky's voice sounded next to me, and I turned my head to see that he was leaning sideways and talking to Bartov.

"After the breakthrough, the 1311th Regiment will continue to assault forward, while the 1313th and 1315th Regiments, which follow in time, will make a detour to the two flanks of the German army, striving to completely annihilate all the enemies on the high ground."

As far as Rokossovsky and Batov were talking, there was a new change in the front, and about 300 commanders and fighters approached the high ground and jumped into the deep ravine at the foot of the high ground. After a while, I saw the warriors start to climb the cliff, and for a moment the cliff was full of dense figures.

Seeing that our commanders and fighters were climbing the cliff, the Germans in the mountainside position jumped up from their trenches and came to the cliff, leaned forward and shot down with the guns in their hands. They soon became the target of our commanders and fighters, and those who were shooting at the Germans turned their guns and fired at the German soldiers who had broken away from the fortifications. These soldiers, who tried to stop our troops from climbing the rocks, were often hit by a dense barrage of bullets and fell to the side of the cliff in pieces without firing two shots.

When I saw that the Germans were so beaten by our fire that they were cowering in the trenches that they did not dare to move, and that our commanders and fighters were climbing higher and higher along the cliffs, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and said that in a few minutes at most, our troops would be able to rush to the high ground. Just as I was about to put down my binoculars, I suddenly saw black things flying out of the trenches, and the black things were still sparkling from them.

"No, it's a dynamite pack." I had seen in the previous two months that our commanders and fighters had blown up the Germans at night with explosives packets, so I could recognize at a glance what was flying out of the trenches and falling into the deep ravine at the foot of the high ground.

Dozens of explosive packets landed in a deep ditch and exploded among our commanders and fighters, bursting out with large areas of fire and smoke, shrapnel flew indiscriminately, sand and gravel rose into the air, and human limbs could be clearly seen flying into the sky through binoculars.

When the smoke cleared, with the help of the light of the fire on the high ground, I found that all the commanders and fighters who had climbed the cliff had disappeared. Holding back the grief in my heart, I put down the binoculars in my hand and turned my head to look at Rokossovsky next to me. He seemed to notice my gaze, and after taking his eyes off the lens of the gunner, he stood up straight and said to Batov next to him: "General Batov, there is no bloodless victory in the world, and the attack of the 1311 regiment cannot be stopped. The artillery regiment of the 173rd Division was immediately transferred up, and the enemy on the high ground was suppressed with artillery fire, covering the infantry to attack again. ”

Batov nodded, walked to the telephone, picked up the microphone and said in a deep voice: "I am General Batov, immediately pick me up the 173 artillery regiment of the 979 division." After the phone rang, I heard him instructing the other party again: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." The Germans also had artillery on the heights. There is a great threat to our offensive forces. I order you, transfer Kurishenko's 2nd artillery company up and destroy the enemy's artillery and machine-gun fire points on the heights. ”

Rokossovsky waited for Batov to come over and asked him curiously: "Comrade Batov, who is this Kulishenko?" You seem to know him well. ”

Batov glanced at me, who was standing next to me with the soul of gossip burning, hesitated for a moment, but still truthfully reported to Chuikov: "Comrade Commander of the Front, this Lieutenant Kulishenko was a few days before the outbreak of the war. Only then was he assigned to serve in the 173rd Artillery Regiment of the 979th Infantry Division, which belonged to the Kiev Special Army Banner, with the rank of lieutenant.

After the outbreak of the war, the division took part in the battles within the formation of the 26th Infantry Corps of the 8th Army of the Southwestern Front, which from the very beginning took part in the battles on the first line and fell into the encirclement of the Germans in Kiev. Kurishenko was lucky enough to escape from the encirclement and was reassigned to the rebuilt unit of his original name. ……”

Listening to Batov say this, I knew in my heart that my memory just now was correct, maybe he was afraid to say that the 173rd Division had been completely annihilated, so he would look at me with such complicated eyes before reporting to Rokossovsky.

“…… After Kurishenko arrived in the new unit. still served as the commander of the second company in the 979 Artillery Regiment. The reorganized 173 was quickly engaged in the defense of Moscow, first in the formation of the 33rd Army of the Reserve Front. On October 2 in the area southwest of the city of Kirov in the Kaluga region, the German army was engaged in battle. At the end of October, the division was incorporated into the Western Front under the command of General Zhukov, and on November 21 it was incorporated into the 50th Army, where it fought hard defensive operations in the Belev, Viniov and Kacyla areas. When they withdrew to Moscow, there were only 109 men left in the division, and Kulishenko was one of the lucky ones.

After the offensive replenishment, the division was transferred to the formation of the 49th Army and engaged in the great counteroffensive under Moscow. By January of this year, the division was returned to the formation of the 50 Army. Kurishenko was seriously wounded in the battle on February 14, and the 173rd Division was reorganized by the carriage battlefield because of its heavy losses.

In August, the division was incorporated into our army group, and I saw Kulishenko's name for the first time in the application for the award submitted by the then division commander, Colonel Khokhlov. When I conferred the medal on him, I talked with him a few times, and I felt that he was a good young man, not only with rich combat experience, but also very intelligent, and a seedling of an excellent commander, so I was very impressed by him. His artillery batteryFrom September to the present, Kurishenko's artillery battery has eliminated more than 300 enemy officers and soldiers, destroyed 3 artillery batteries, two arsenals, 8 heavy machine-gun positions, as well as a large amount of enemy supplies. ”

Rokossovsky waited for Batov to finish, nodded, and continued: "In the next battle, let's wait and see if this Lieutenant Kulishenko is really as capable as you say." ”

After listening to Batov's presentation, I became deeply interested in this Lieutenant Kulishenko, whom I had never met. What the independent division lacks most now is the commander of the artillery and tank corps, and if he is really a capable person, I want to dig him into the independent division. Sooner or later, the artillery battalion in the division will be expanded into an artillery regiment, and if he comes, I can at least give him the post of commander of the artillery battalion.

The sky began to light up, and the view outside was much wider. I saw an artillery battery of nine guns, more than 500 meters from the high ground, braving enemy artillery fire, to build a simple artillery position. As soon as all the artillery was in position, a salvo was fired at the heights.

Several pillars of smoke rose from the German position, and before the smoke cleared, another batch of shells fell on the front and rear of the trenches, turning the mountainside positions into smoke, and several fire points that were desperately firing suddenly fell silent. The infantry of the 1311th Regiment, who relied on the terrain to shoot at the Germans, saw that our artillery fire was suppressing the Germans, and they got up from the ground one after another, and rushed forward again with their weapons in hand.

When our commanders and fighters climbed up the cliff again, the Germans tried to repeat their old tricks and use explosives packs to destroy our attack once again. But with only a few explosive packets thrown, the trenches were covered by dense artillery fire. Seeing the flames rising from the trenches and the earth-shattering explosions, I guessed that one or two shells might have hit the German piled up explosives and thus caused a devastating detonation.

Many commanders and fighters who were climbing the cliff were shocked by such a violent explosion and fell off the cliff, but the commanders and fighters behind still climbed up without hesitation. When several fighters climbed to the level, took off the guns on their backs, and rushed towards the enemy's trenches, in order to avoid accidental injury, the artillery company's artillery fire began to extend to the top of the hill.

While the troops of the 1311th Regiment occupied the hillside position and charged the hilltop position, the other two regiments remained in their positions and did not move. I was about to ask what was going on, but I saw dozens of warriors with backpacks on their backs, who had climbed the high ground and stopped their advance, crouching on the side of the cliff and getting busy nervously.

"Comrade Commander of the Front," said Batov's voice in my ears, who was explaining to Rokossovsky what these people were doing, "these are sappers who will blow up the steep cliffs with explosives and open a passage for the troops behind. ”

As soon as he finished speaking, a rumbling explosion sounded in front of him, and large rocks rolled down the hillside. When the smoke cleared, I saw that as the rocks fell, several relatively gentle passages appeared on the original cliffs. Then a red flare rose in the sky, as if to tell the warriors behind sù that the passage had been opened.

As the flare rose, the commanders and fighters who had been hidden in the position got up and rushed forward with their weapons in their hands. Soon they rushed to the foot of the hill, slowed down and went up to the high ground along the road carved out by the sappers.

I saw through the binoculars that the whole position was burning, the weapons and ammunition were burning, the corpses that covered the surface of the position were burning, even the mud and craters were burning. And our commanders and fighters bravely rushed to the top of the mountain in the smoke of gunpowder.

After the commanders and fighters of the 1313th and 1315th regiments ascended the high ground, they quickly made a detour to both sides and wrapped all the German troops holding the high ground with dumplings. The battle ended half an hour later, and we wiped out one battalion and three companies of the Germans, all but a hundred of whom were taken prisoner. The battle to seize the heights succeeded in opening a breakthrough in the heavily defended front of the Germans.

When counting the results, I deliberately checked the results of Lieutenant Kurishenko's artillery battery, and saw that the battle report read: "...... Lieutenant Kurishenko's artillery battery, eliminated one artillery piece, destroyed three heavy machine guns, an observation post, two trenches and a reinforced field command post. "Seeing such an astonishing result, I was even more determined to dig into the corner of Batov's wall, and I intend to find an opportunity to ask him to transfer this competent lieutenant to me. (To be continued......)

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