Leaving the headquarters of the army group, I found Basmanov and several other guards fighters, who had been waiting outside, got into a jeep and hurried towards the Mamayev post.

It was already a long way for the jeep to leave the street where the headquarters of the army group was located, but I was still thinking about General Golikov, whom I had just met. If I hadn't overheard Chuikov and Gurov chatting in private, I really wouldn't have compared this polite lieutenant general with the expressionless bald head of the reconnaissance bureau in the movie "The Battle of Moscow". You must know that the actor who played his role was still very different from him himself, so that I didn't recognize him in time.

Thinking of history, Sorge heard the news of the German attack from the German embassy, and his companions risked being discovered by the Japanese radio monitoring vehicle and sent this important information back to Moscow. Unexpectedly, Golikov, who received this information, just briefly browsed it, and put this hard-won information into his briefcase.

However, after the outbreak of the war, he was dismissed for intelligence errors, but as Stalin's favorite general, he was not dismissed from the end, but became a diplomat, leading Soviet military delegations to Britain and the United States to negotiate the supply of military supplies to the Soviet Union. It was not until October of that year that he returned to the army and was appointed commander of the 10th Army by Stalin.

When the great counteroffensive under Moscow began, he led the 10th Army into battle on the left flank of the Western Front. After fierce battles, Guderian's second tank group was repulsed about 400 kilometers and 10 cities were liberated. It played an important role for the Western Front to whitewash the German troops in the Moscow direction. was one of the best three army group commanders during the counteroffensive.

My mind is recalling Golikov's resume. The jeep stopped, and then Basmanov, who was sitting in the passenger seat, turned to me and said: "Comrade division commander, we have arrived!" ”

I looked out the window and saw that the car had arrived at the checkpoint under the Mamayev post, so I nodded, pushed out the door and got out of the car, and walked down the hill to my division headquarters.

Walking into the headquarters, I found that it was already full. As I walked through the door. All the people stood up and saluted me collectively. I raised my hand and returned the salute, and walked through the narrow passage given up by the standing commander to my place. After I sat down in my place, I raised my hand and pressed down at the same time, and said, "Sit down, comrade commander." ”

When everyone was seated, I could see the commander in the presence by the dim light of the kerosene lamp hanging on the roof of the headquarters. Except for the wounded Kosgaard Middle School, the rest of the regimental commanders arrived. In addition, Grams, Beckman, and Grettka also came, and sat by the door. Next to Razumeeva, who was sitting next to the intercom.

After my gaze swept over everyone in the command, I said in a calm tone: "Comrades, since everyone is here, let's take this opportunity to have a meeting. The first thing to say is the attack of the 3rd and 4th regiments on the 107.5 heights. Speaking of this, I turned my eyes to Gaidar, who was not far away, and tilted my chin to him, "Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, you know this matter best, tell everyone about it." ”

Gaidar hurriedly stood up, and without greeting everyone, he spoke directly to the point: "Commanders and comrades, when our regiment and the third regiment passed near the 107.5 heights today, they saw the retreating fighters of the brigade. Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard and I hurriedly sent someone to stop them and ask them what had happened. Perhaps in order to resonate with everyone, Gaidar changed his tone of contempt when he said this, "I didn't expect them to answer us that they were ordered to withdraw into the city." ”

"Hell, the Germans are right in front of our positions, and they're still going to retreat. Didn't this side expose all our flanks to the Germans? Sederikov, who had always had a good relationship with Gaidar, said indignantly.

"Anything more than that is yet to come," said Gaidar, smiling at him, "After consulting with Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard, I felt that the Germans could not be allowed to occupy our heights lightly, so I led my troops to change the route of the march and advance in the direction of Heights 107.5. Unexpectedly, when we first arrived at the foot of the mountain, the high ground had already been occupied by the Germans, and I took the soldiers of the guard company to stop a group of fighters who had finally withdrawn from the mountain, and asked them why they did not fight and left their positions to the enemy. Unexpectedly, the soldiers replied to me that they had fought well in the morning battle, had repelled several German attacks in succession, and that the reason for the retreat now was that they had to withdraw from their positions on the orders of their superiors. ……”

"What about their commanders? Why not organize them to stay on the ground and continue to fight? Captain Pugachev, who asked this, judging from his appearance, Gaidar and Oleg should have just arrived at the headquarters, otherwise it would be impossible not to tell these commanders in advance the ins and outs of the battle.

"I asked, Captain Pugachev." Gaidar looked at him and said helplessly, "The soldiers replied to me that the company commander and instructor had all died in the battle, and that there was no designated person in the company to command them at present, so after receiving the order, they withdrew from their positions without hesitation. In order to regain the position, Kosgaard and I each transferred three companies with strong combat effectiveness and launched seven attacks on the German positions. ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, to the point, I wonder how the position was recaptured?" I was afraid that Gaidar would not finish talking about it, so I hurriedly asked first.

"Report to the division commander, the seven charges launched by our two regiments against the high ground have failed."

"What, failed seven times?" I asked with a frown, my heart said that Gaidar never passed math when he couldn't read, right? Otherwise, no matter how simple the math problem is, it will be wrong, if the seven attacks launched have failed seven times, how will the position be recaptured?

Lieutenant Colonel Oleg stood up from Gaidar's side and said politely to me: "Comrade division commander, allow me to report to you the details of the reconquest of the heights!" ”

Seeing the joy on his face, I knew that he would definitely say what I was interested in, so I nodded at him: "Please say it." Lieutenant Colonel Oleg! ”

"After I accepted the mission of the disguise sneak attack. I've been thinking about how we can avoid being discovered by the Germans, and we're impersonating. Just when I was thinking about it, my head was spinning. When I stumbled upon Captain Grams, I was inspired to think that the Captain was an authentic German, and with his assistance, we would not show any flaws even if we met a real German, so I simply took Grams, Beckman, and Grettka with me when we set off.

Later it turned out. I made the right decision. As soon as our troops reached the northern slopes of the heights, they were spotted by a small detachment of German troops who were on guard, who asked us who we were. Captain Grams went up and replied, 'We are from the 97th Infantry Division, and we have received orders for reinforcements, so we have come here on the high ground.' Hearing that it was their own people, the guard team relaxed their vigilance, and they sent two of us as guides to lead the way, and the remaining five continued to stay on guard.

The guide led Grahms and a company up the hill, and since half of the company was real Germans, I had no fear that the enemy would see through our disguise. Wait until the last connected guò guard post position. I glanced at the commander of the rearguard company, and he moved with several fighters around him. All five Germans were captured and disarmed.

When we reached the top of the hill, the German commander was overjoyed to see the arrival of such a force as ours, and said: 'You have come too soon, the Russians at the bottom of the hill have launched seven charges in a row, and although we have repulsed them, more than half of the troops have been killed, and there are only about fifty men left.' ’

I came up at this time, and when I saw that all the soldiers except the German commander were facing away from us, and it was a good time for us to shoot, I decisively shouted: 'Fight! As soon as the shouting ended, the submachine gun in my hand opened fire on the Germans in front of me. After the gunshots rang out, the German commander bore the brunt of the shots and fell to the ground first. Then the German soldiers who were crouching or lying on their stomachs also became our targets.

At such a close distance, there was almost no need to aim, and the submachine guns, rifles, and pistols in the hands of the commanders and fighters opened fire together, and the fire was so dense that all the enemies were enveloped in the fire net composed of our guns. After a round of shooting, there were no Germans alive in front of us. At this point, Oleg turned his head to look at Grams at the door and said in a friendly manner, "Of course, Captain Grams and his men are an exception. ”

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Gaidar saw that Oleg had stopped, and hurriedly added: "After the failure of the seventh offensive, I was organizing my men and preparing to launch the eighth offensive, when the sudden sound of gunfire on the high ground also stunned us. While we were in a daze, a red flag suddenly rose on the top of the hillside, and a man in a German uniform was desperately waving a red flag.

One of my commanders, Godunov, suddenly called out to me in surprise: 'Comrade regiment commander, look, this is the military flag, the military flag of our independent division. ’

When I heard Godunov shout, it dawned on me that it was our own team that had arrived, and that it must have been your troops disguised as Germans to carry out a sneak attack. So I decisively gave the order for Godunov to lead a company up the hill to join up with the friendly forces, while I stayed down the hill to deal with the aftermath. ”

"Comrade division commander, you are still thoughtful." Oleg wasted no time in patting me on the back and said, "Fortunately, you let us bring the military flag, otherwise, I don't know how much it would have taken to get in touch with Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar and them." As a result, I asked the soldiers to stand on the top of the hill with a military flag and wave it, and Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar immediately understood and sent a company up the hillside. ”

I saw that the commanders who participated in the battle today were all sitting in my headquarters, so I couldn't help but ask this most critical question: "How many troops are there on the high ground, and who is commanding?" ”

"Report to Comrade Division Commander, I leave three companies of troops on the heights, and the commander is Captain Godunov, the commander of the first battalion of the third regiment." Gaidar respectfully reported that he was afraid that I did not know about the commander under him, and specifically explained, "After the completion of the mission of our independent division, he once led his troops with you to break out of the German encirclement. ”

Actually, I have always had a deep impression of Godunov, and if I hadn't met Basmanov, maybe I would have made him my guard battalion commander. But I remember that he was only a lieutenant company commander at the time, and how did he suddenly become a captain battalion commander. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but ask Gaidar: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I remember that Godunov was only a lieutenant company commander, when was he born officer?" ”

Gaidar hurriedly said: "That's the case, Comrade Division Commander. Some time ago, we added a lot of new recruits, and Kosgaard and I both felt that if the regimental commander directly managed the company, there might be no problem in peacetime, but when the battle started, it was estimated that it would be a little too busy, so we added a battalion between the regiment and the company. And Comrade Godunov, because of his bravery in combat and rich combat experience, naturally became the commander of the first battalion of the third regiment. ”

"Very well, that's a good arrangement." After complimenting him, I instructed Gaidar: "Just now at the headquarters of the army group, the commander and the military commissar have strictly ordered the retreating tank corps to return to the heights, and you send someone to inform Captain Godunov that he is ready to hand over the position to friendly troops." ”

"Comrade division commander, the three regiments and one battalion are equipped with walkie-talkies, and I will immediately send them a report and let them prepare for the handover of their positions."

"Since you have a walkie-talkie, you don't have to bother." I turned my head and instructed Razumeyeva, who was sitting there quietly: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, immediately send a report to the 3rd Regiment and 1st Battalion that friendly troops will soon go to them to take over the defense, and let Captain Godunov prepare to hand over the position." Razumeeva nodded, and after flipping through the pamphlet on the table, she began to tick and click.

Gaidar wanted to sit down, but I stopped him, and I said in a steady tone: "Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, you and Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard have made the right decision after learning that the positions of the friendly forces have been lost, and this is worth performing. But......" When I said but, my tone suddenly became stern: "Have you ever thought that the strength of your two regiments, and the strength of the two reinforced regiments, is more than twenty times that of the German defenders on the high ground, and the seven consecutive charges have ended in failure, have you ever thought about what caused it?" ”

Gaidar was speechless when he heard me ask, and after a while, he said: "The terrain is not in our favor, the front of the attack is too narrow, the slopes are too steep, and we cannot invest too many troops at a time, so we can only use the tactic of adding fuel and throwing two companies at a time to attack in turn." ”

"How many casualties did the troops have?"

Gaidar didn't expect that I would ask about the casualty figures in front of everyone in this situation, the corners of his mouth twitched violently, and finally he answered honestly: "There are more than 700 casualties, of which nearly 500 are killed, and more than 100 are seriously injured." ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar," I said in a stern tone when I heard that almost two battalions had been crippled in one attack: "In battle, it is not enough to rely on the bravery and fearlessness of the soldiers, flesh and blood cannot stop bullets, and we must pay attention to a tactic."

Since the front of the attack is too narrow, we should not adopt such a dense offensive formation, not to mention that one of the enemy's shells can kill and injure more than a dozen of us, and even if the fire of submachine guns and rifles is almost impossible to miss. Troops should charge forward in squads, and when one squad charges, the other provides them with fire cover; When the vanguard occupies a vantage point and suppresses the enemy with firepower, the troops behind rush forward. In this way, alternately covering and approaching the enemy's position step by step, it can not only reduce casualties, but also effectively destroy the enemy. ”

"But we don't have heavy firepower to suppress the enemy on the top of the mountain!" Gaidar defended himself with a sad face.

In response to his defense, I retorted dissatisfiedly: "What about mortars?" Didn't Captain Morozov's mortars, which provided fire support to the charging troops, suppressed German fire on the hillsides all the time? (To be continued......)