I rolled my eyes at the head of the Kosgaard who was selling the guan, and said impatiently: "Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard, who is it, please say it directly, don't keep going around and hanging people's appetites." ”

Seeing that I was showing signs of anger, Kosgaard did not dare to make any more detours, but asked tentatively: "Your guard battalion commander, Captain Pugachev, I wonder what you think?" ”

"Pugachev?!" Listening to Kosgaard's reminder, I realized that until now, I had not seen my own guard battalion commander show up. I casually asked, "Where are the others?" ”

Shederichol hurriedly replied: "I just received a report from the scouts that signs of German activity had been found on the southwestern defense line of the position, and Captain Pugachev personally led a company to the area where the Germans were discovered. ”

After listening to Sederikov's words, I nodded silently, and then asked Kosga: "Lieutenant Colonel Kosga, if Pugachev is to be the acting commander of the 2nd Regiment, then who will be the commander of the guard battalion?" You know, because the terms of reference of the two armies are different, it is obviously inappropriate for Captain Pugachev to hold two positions at the same time. "When I say this, anyone who is not too stupid can tell that I have acquiesced in the appointment of Captain Pugachev as the head of the 2nd Regiment.

"For the position of the commander of the guard battalion, I also thought of the right person." Cosgaard said confidently.

"Yo ho, it's not easy, Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard." Shedelikov said in amazement: "I didn't expect that you would not only be able to recommend a suitable candidate for the acting commander of the 2nd Regiment, but even a candidate for the battalion commander of the division guard battalion. ”

"Candidate for the commander of the guard battalion, you also have a suitable candidate?" Amazing words for Kosgaard. I was surprised. So I was very curious and asked, "Who is this person?" Do I know each other? ”

"It's the second lieutenant who was shot by my soldiers. His name was ......" At this, Kosgaard's brow furrowed, and he showed a contemplative expression, as if he was remembering the name of Ensign Basmanov.

When I talk about Basmanov, I can't help but think of the car accident caused by the shooting just now, and the feeling that after the crash, my body was churning with qi and blood, and my internal organs seemed to be displaced. Think about it this way. Immediately I felt a faint pain in my chest, I quickly covered my chest with my hands, found a seat and sat down, looked up at Kosgaard, and said unhurriedly: "You are talking about Second Lieutenant Basmanov." ”

"Shootings? Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard, what the hell is going on? Gaidar didn't wait for Kosgaard to answer my question, and he preemptively asked about the shooting.

Kosgaard did not hide it, and took the troops to rest on a hillside when they had just gone to meet us. I happened to see us in German uniforms and on German motorcycles heading towards where they were. Naturally, they mistook us for Germans, so the sentries on duty fired without hesitation. Speaking of which. He said happily: "Fortunately, the sentry's marksmanship was not very good, and the bullet missed and hit the driver of the division commander's car." The driver is the one I just recommended for the commander of the guard battalion. ”

I took off the German helmet from my head and threw it on the table, and while taking off the German uniform on the outside of the uniform, I added: "His name is Basmanov, and he is a platoon commander of the 2nd Regiment. Although I haven't been in contact with him for a long time, I feel that he still has some ability. Since Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard has him as the commander of the guard battalion, I have no opinion. Do you have a different opinion? ”

"Who is this second lieutenant, and is he up to the job?" Sederikov said hesitantly.

"He turned out to be from the 24th Infantry Division, and his troops were surrounded by German troops in Kiev. Since the flag of the 24th Division was lost or captured by the Germans during the breakout, the division was quickly disbanded, all the divisional leaders were sent to court-martial, and the rest of the commanders at all levels, except for a few people, also went to the punishment camp. It was in this situation that Second Lieutenant Basmanov was sent to the correctional battalion. You all know about the situation of the second lieutenant, do you still have different opinions? ”

"Nope." The three replied in unison.

"How's the troop doing now?" I beckoned the three regimental leaders to sit down, and then asked myself what I was interested in.

"I heard that in order to cover everyone's retreat, the division commander personally took on the task of breaking the rear, which deeply moved the commanders and fighters. At present, the morale of the troops is high and they are ready to fight. Sederikov's answer made me curse in my heart: sycophant! But on the surface, I couldn't say anything, so I could only pretend to be serious and nodded.

When Oleg came to the headquarters, Pugachev, who happened to be on a mission, also returned, and the two of them walked into the room together and raised their hands to salute me. I returned the salute, ignored Oleg, just looked at Pugachev and asked: "Comrade Captain, I heard that you went with your troops to the area where the Germans were discovered on a mission?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Pugachev reported to me: "I received a report from the scouts that on the western side of our positions there were signs of German activity, so I rushed to a company of fighters. ”

"When you got there, did you see the Germans?"

Pugachev nodded vigorously and replied: "We found a German patrol squad of fifteen people. After destroying all the enemies, it was revealed that they belonged to the 16th Tank Division. ”

"What, 16th Tank Division?" After hearing this, the expressions on the faces of the others did not change, only the face of the artillery battalion commander Yegonovich, who had just been assigned to our division, changed greatly, and he said with some excitement: "The 16th Tank Division of the German Lieutenant General Hube is subordinate to the 14th Tank Army under Paulus's 6th Army, and it is a unit with extremely strong combat effectiveness. Strange, how could they suddenly appear on the flank of my division? ”

The other commanders present obviously did not know as much about the German commander as Jegonovich, so after hearing this, everyone remained silent. When I saw that Oleg and Pugachev were still standing in front of me, I made a gesture for them to sit down first.

They were followed by Captain Perstian of the tank detachment, Yegonovich, commander of the artillery battalion, and Morozov, commander of the artillery company. I saw that almost all the people who were going to attend the meeting had come, but I didn't see Basmanov. I hurriedly asked Oleg: "Comrade Oleg, what about your subordinate Second Lieutenant Basmanov?" ”

Oleg stood up. He said with a blank face: "Report to the division commander." He's outside. He was wounded in the shoulder. A hygienist from the army group is bandaging his wounds. ”

"Go and call him." I commanded dryly.

Oleg did not dare to ask why, but honestly went outside the command headquarters and called in Second Lieutenant Basmanov.

At this time, Basmanov had already taken off his German uniform, one hand hanging on his chest, as soon as I saw him walk in, I hurriedly met him, walked in front of him and stopped, and asked him with concern: "Comrade second lieutenant." How are your injuries? ”

The second lieutenant hurriedly straightened up and replied: "Report to the division commander, after the hygienist took out the warhead for me, he redressed the wound, and now there is nothing to do." ”

"Very well," said the second lieutenant, pointing to the table with my hand, "Second Lieutenant Basmanov, sit next to Captain Pugachev." ”

I returned to my place, facing the commanders in the room. He coughed heavily and cleared his throat. He continued, "Ladies and gentlemen, I am very happy to see you here. For us, having completed the task of holding off the Germans, the fact that most of the troops of our division were able to successfully retreat to the preset positions assigned to us by our superiors was a remarkable victory. ”

Hearing me say this, the faces of the commanders present all showed joy. I waited for the expressions on everyone's faces to remain for a few minutes, and then continued: "This time, the task of covering the retreat of the main force carried out by our division has been completed very well. Not only did we withstand the attacks of several German divisions in three directions, but we also inflicted heavy losses on the German 29th Motorized Rifle Division, destroying nearly 10,000 enemies, and capturing their division commander, Major General Leeser. ”

After saying these words, I turned my gaze to Oleg, who was sitting on my left, and said in an accentuated tone: "Although our division has achieved great results, it has also exposed some hidden shortcomings. Speaking of this, I gritted my teeth and asked Sederikov, who was sitting next to Oleg: "Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, can you explain to everyone, what am I talking about?" ”

Shedelikov hurriedly stood up, nodded at me, and said to the others: "Comrades commanders here, we could have quietly completed the transfer task without alarming the enemy. Unexpectedly, some people made a difference, openly disobeyed the orders of their superiors, and led the troops to attack the enemy without authorization. Although they wiped out an enemy convoy and captured a large number of vehicles, when they returned, they were violently intercepted by German artillery fire, causing more than 200 soldiers to die in vain. ”

Since I had told Shedelikov, Kosga, and Gaidar about Oleg during the time I was waiting for several commanders to come to the meeting, they knew very well what was going on. But the other low-ranking commanders didn't know about this matter, and they were still talking to each other and whispering about what was going on. Another person who understood the situation was Ensign Basmanov, but on this occasion, everyone directly ignored him, let alone the person who knew about it sitting next to him.

I coughed again, and everyone's attention was focused on me, and I said with a straight face, "Don't talk to each other anymore, I'll tell you about it." Originally, according to the plan of the division headquarters, the order of retreat was the fourth regiment, the third regiment, the second regiment, and the first regiment. When the retreat of the 4th Regiment began, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov and I went to the 4th Regiment's defense area to take over the defense, and at the same time contacted the 3rd and 2nd Regiments to urge them to retreat on time. What the 3rd regiment did not say, when the large forces retreated, also left a company on the position, which was responsible for monitoring the enemy. But the second group, when they contacted them, they couldn't be contacted. Speaking of this, I slammed the table and shouted at Oleg: "Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, you come to tell everyone, what the hell is going on?" ”

Oleg's face was flushed, he stood up slowly, lowered his head and chin against his chest, and whispered: "Our regiment's communication equipment has been lost. ”

"Lost communication equipment?!" I listened to his explanation, snorted softly, and then asked, "I'm here to ask you, the loss of communication equipment was before your regiment's sneak attack. Or on the way back from a sneak attack. I asked the reason for this statement. It's because I saw with my own eyes that an open-top car was blown up and somersaulted. I suspect that the soldiers of the communications squad were in the car at that time.

Sure enough, Oleg muttered: "The communications troops and communication equipment were destroyed by German artillery fire on the way back to the position, and the car they were riding in was directly hit by shells, and all the people in the car were killed." ”

"I ask you, since your regiment's communications equipment has not been lost before the retreat begins. Why can't I be contacted? "I have always been worried about the fact that I can't contact him on the position of the Fourth Regiment, so I continue to ask.

Hearing such a direct question from me, he became more and more ashamed. But seeing that everyone was looking at him with contempt, he had no choice but to answer honestly: "In the daytime battle, our regiment suffered heavy casualties, and thousands of soldiers died on the position. So many of my commanders and fighters died at the hands of the Germans, I am not reconciled, I want to avenge them. So I ignored the opposition of my subordinates and devised a plan to attack the Germans. "Speaking of which. He looked up at me and added with some embarrassment: "Division commander, I was afraid that you would stop me, so I asked the signal corps to turn off the communication equipment and no longer receive any orders from the division headquarters. ”

"Oleg, you bastard!" Gaidar stood up and pointed his finger at Oleg's nose and scolded: "You think you are taking partisans? How can you fight if you want to be so big? Have you thought about what we should do if your actions arouse the suspicion of the Germans, expose the intention of our division to retreat, and the Germans press up from behind? Yes, we won two battles, but you think that with our strength, we can withstand the repeated attacks of several German divisions, you are wrong, you are very wrong! ”

"Alright, Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, don't say any more." I stopped Gaidar from continuing, and directly announced the decision to punish Oleg in front of everyone: "Since Lieutenant Colonel Oleg disobeyed the military order and caused heavy casualties in the regiment, I decided to demote him, remove him from his post as commander of the 2nd Regiment, and demote him to the commander of the 1st Company of the 2nd Regiment." After saying that, I swept my gaze over everyone's faces and asked loudly, "Do you have different opinions?" ”

"Nope!" The commanders present replied in unison, and even Oleg echoed my opinion.

"Since Lieutenant Colonel Oleg was demoted, but the 2nd Regiment could not be without a regimental commander for a day, I decided, Captain Pugachev." When I said this, my eyes were on Pugachev.

Pugachev hurriedly stood up and promised loudly: "Division commander, do you have any instructions?" After saying that, he glanced straight at Oleg, and it seemed that he thought that I would ask him to call the guards in and take Oleg away.

I grinned and said to him, "After I studied with several regiment commanders, it was decided to appoint you as the acting head of the second regiment. ”

"What, I'll be the acting head of the regiment?" My words were clearly unexpected, and he asked rhetorically, in surprise.

"Yes, Captain Pugachev. From now on, you are the acting head of the 2nd regiment. ”

"However, Comrade Division Commander, I am your guard battalion commander, and if I go to be the acting regiment commander, I can no longer hold the post of your guard battalion commander. Please think twice about this appointment. ”

"Don't think about it." I said categorically: "Saying that you are the acting head of the Second Regiment, you are the acting head of the regiment, why are you so verbose." As for the post of guard battalion commander, you don't have to worry about it, I have already found the right person. ”

"You've found the right person, who is it?" Pugachev asked, a little disbelieving.

My eyes looked at Basmanov and I called out to him with a smile: "Second Lieutenant Basmanov." ”

The second lieutenant hurriedly stood up, straightened his body, and asked like Pugachev just now: "Comrade division commander, do you have any instructions?" ”

"From now on, Comrade Basmanov," I said solemnly, "you are my battalion commander of the guards. The rank is no longer second lieutenant, but captain. "Being able to promote my subordinates to the rank of military at will is the most painful thing for me at the moment.

Basmanov was not as surprised as I believed, but after a moment of silence, he said cautiously: "But comrade division commander, I have only commanded a platoon, and I am suddenly promoted to the commander of your guard battalion, I am afraid that I will not be able to do a good job!" ”

"No one is born to be a senior commander, if you don't understand something, you can learn slowly." Seeing that he was still a little hesitant, I said in an accentuated tone, "This is an order given to you by your superiors, and it cannot be discussed or refused." It can only be carried out unconditionally. ”

See that my attitude is so resolute. Basmanov no longer shirked. After saluting me, he replied loudly, "Yes!" Comrade division commander, I resolutely obey your orders. ”

I spread the map out on the table and said, "Next, let's talk about how to strengthen our existing defensive positions." After speaking, seeing that Oleg was also leaning over to look at the map on the table, he said to him coldly: "Comrade Oleg, now the regimental leaders are in a meeting. Your level is not eligible to attend the meeting and you can leave. After that, I stopped looking at him, just lowered my head and looked at the map in front of me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Oleg stunned for a moment, got up and walked to the door of the headquarters, and before going up the steps, he turned and saluted me. I didn't look up, I just waved my hand at his place.

After Oleg left, I pointed to the map with red and blue pencils and said, "The focus of our division's defense will be to the south and west. A clump of Sedjerikov. responsible for the defense of the southern face; And the 3rd Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard was responsible for the task of defending to the west. In these two days of fighting, the 2nd and 4th regiments suffered heavy losses. Until they are replenished with new troops, they will remain behind as a reserve for the whole division. ……”

Without waiting for my words to finish, Razumeyeva, who was sitting in the corner, got up and walked over, raised her hand to salute me, and reported: "Comrade division commander, General Chuikov, deputy commander of the army group, is on the line, and he wants to speak to you." ”

"Hello, Comrade Commander." I picked up the microphone and said politely. In the entire group army, I am probably the only one who calls Chuikov commander, while everyone else calls him his real rank - deputy commander.

"Have all the independent divisions been withdrawn?" Chuikov asked with concern.

"Yes, Comrade Commander. Four infantry regiments, tank detachments, artillery battalions, have already retreated to the designated positions. ”

"Is there any difficulty?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Finally, there was an opportunity to put forward conditions, and I naturally would not let it go, "The Second Regiment suffered heavy casualties in the battle, and there are currently less than 300 people left, and they urgently need to rest and replenish. I don't know when the recruits who were replenished to my division will arrive in the troops? ”

"I have six thousand recruits in my hands now," Chuikov overjoyed as soon as he spoke, I originally only wanted a thousand eight hundred, but I didn't expect him to be six thousand as soon as he opened his mouth. After being happy for less than a minute, I heard Chuikov say, "But they are all from the Gulag concentration camp, and they only arrived today during the day." He did not have any military training and did not have any combat experience. Even if all of them are replenished to your division, they can only make up a number of people in the short term, and they will not be able to form combat effectiveness. ”

I couldn't help but be a little disappointed when I heard this, because the recruits, who didn't know anything, were to be added to the troops, and even if they were to be replenished, they would be of limited use, and if the enemy's shells landed a kilometer away from them and exploded, they would be frightened and flee in all directions.

"Division commander, what did General Chuikov say?" Shederikov and the others came to a place not far from me and asked in a voice so low that only the two of us could hear it.

I hurriedly covered the microphone and said to him: "General Chuikov said that he can replenish our 6,000 men......" Before I finished speaking, I saw the joyful expressions on the faces of the commanders gathered around, and I hurriedly finished speaking: "But they are all newcomers from the Gulag concentration camp, and they have no military training and no combat experience. As soon as I finished speaking, there was a look of disappointment on everyone's faces.

I lowered my head and thought about it, although I am a prisoner without any experience, but if I have a combat backbone and grassroots commanders to train them, I can quickly form combat effectiveness, and Zhukov has already promised to help me ask Meretskov for the second lieutenant training team, so there is nothing to worry about, thinking of this, I let go of the microphone and said to Chuikov: "Comrade commander, I want 6,000 people, I don't know when I can add them to our division." ”

My words startled Chuikov, and he asked in disbelief: "Oshanina, are you sure that you can accept these six thousand?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander," I replied decisively, "the independent division has been greatly reduced in strength during these two days of fighting, and it is necessary to continue to replenish it with a large number of soldiers, otherwise it will be completely destroyed after two more days." (To be continued......)