Katukov stopped, looked at me regretfully and asked, "Division Commander Oshanina, do you have anything else?" ”

I looked at Leviakin, Chistyakov, Sherebryakov, Lieutenant Colonel Mlagintsev and Commissar Slavkin, who were still present, hesitated for a moment, but asked the question I was most worried about: "General Katukov, do you have a car radio installed on your tank?" ”

"Yes," I was relieved when I heard his answer, as long as there was a radio station, it would be very convenient for communication and command troops. Unexpectedly, his next words were like a basin of ice water poured over my head: "But because of poor contact, it has long been useless." ”

"What? What the?? I was surprised and asked, "The car radio doesn't work, so how do you command the troops?" ”

Hearing my question, he showed a strange expression on his face, and asked puzzledly: "Of course, I rely on the soldiers to command with the flag, otherwise how else can I command?" ”

"How's that going to work?" When I heard him say something lightly, I couldn't help but cry out in a hurry: "Command the tank battle with the flag, but this battle is at night!" Do you think the warriors can see your signal through the flag in the dark? Even during the daytime, when a large-scale tank unit is attacking, the battlefield is covered with all kinds of artillery and thick smoke is everywhere, where can you see what kind of message is being transmitted? Tanks have very high mobility, very large combat speed, large range of movement, and the distance between the front and rear of the troops is very long. If there is a car radio, it will be convenient for your command, organically coordinate the entire armored forces, and multiply the combat effectiveness. ……”

As I was talking about this, I suddenly noticed that everyone present was staring at me strangely, and I immediately realized that I had said something that I should not have said, and hurriedly changed my words: "Since the car radio does not work, there is no way." In tonight's battle, your tank unit will be the main force of the attack, and the success or failure depends on whether the tank brigade can quickly break through the enemy's defensive line, so you will have to worry about command. ”

Katukov stepped forward, shook my hand, shook it vigorously, and said excitedly: "Division Commander Oshanina, you said it so well, why did I never think about using a car radio to command troops before?" You can rest assured, as soon as I go back, I will urge the mechanics to repair the radio so that the troops can communicate through the radio before they enter the battle. After letting go of my hand, he saluted and turned away.

I looked at Lieutenant Colonel Mlagintsev and Slavkin who were standing next to me, and suddenly remembered that I had patronized and assigned tasks, and had not yet arranged for people to be guides for the mixed cadet group, so it was no wonder that the regiment commander and political commissar had stayed here and not left. So he hurriedly squeezed out a smile and said apologetically to the two: "Lieutenant Colonel Mlakintsev, Slavkin Political Commissar, I'm sorry, I was negligent just now and forgot to arrange people to act as guides for you." Please don't worry, I'll do it right away. ”

Then he turned his head to look at Leviagin and said: "Comrade General, the assembly point is in the defense area of your regiment. You see, did you personally bring the lieutenant colonel and the commissar over, or did I arrange for someone else to lead the way? ”

"I'll go!" Leviagin agreed unusually cheerfully, and then made a gesture of invitation to the two of them, and said: "Lieutenant Colonel Mlagintsev and Commissar Slavkin, please come with me, and I will personally take you to Captain Lomov's defense area." ”

Only the two regimental commanders Chistyakov and Serebryakov were left in the room. I was a little embarrassed to Chistyakov and said, "Comrade Colonel, can I ask you something?" ”

Chistyakov looked at me strangely and said puzzledly: "Comrade division commander, if you have any tasks, you can give orders directly, needless to say, please or not." ”

Hearing him say this, I felt even more embarrassed, and explained: "It's not a combat mission, but I want you to trouble me to find a pair of cotton pants." As he spoke, I deliberately lifted the hem of my military coat to show him, "Look, my coat was newly changed that day when I saw Comrade Stalin, and I was wearing a uniform skirt inside." It's such a cold weather, I can't stand wearing a skirt. Do you understand? ”

Figuring out what was going on, Chistyakov and Serebryakov looked at each other, a kind smile appeared on their faces, and then replied: "No problem, I'll do it!" Then he walked out of the headquarters at a brisk pace.

Seeing Chistyakov leave, I made a gesture of invitation to Serebryakov, who was still standing upright: "Comrade regiment commander, please sit down, let's talk." ”

"Yes!" He said yes, and sat down honestly, looking a little uneasy because he didn't know what I was going to talk to him about.

"I have a bad attitude towards you in the morning, please forgive me." When I called him in the morning at the battalion headquarters in Shedurin, I was a little agitated and took advantage of the present calm moment to apologize to him.

He stood up and said at a loss: "Comrade division commander, you were right to criticize at that time. I had too little faith in my warriors, and I greatly underestimated their fighting enthusiasm and the extraordinary combat power they inspired. Fighters, armed with Stalin's ideas, as you said then, are invincible to any enemy! After a pause, he asked tentatively, "Can I participate in the battle at night?" Seeing that I was noncommittal, I hurriedly expressed my determination and said: "I want to personally lead these fighters armed with Stalin's ideas to teach those invincible Germans a hard lesson!" ……”

"Alright, alright!" I interrupted his increasingly numb words and said, "This attack will be under my own command, and you should stay in the 1075th Regiment to command your troops." Hold your ground well, and don't let the Germans slip in and end up in our rear. There's nothing going on here, you can go back. ”

"Yes!" He saluted helplessly and turned to leave.

The room was almost gone, and only a communications staff officer on duty in the corner remained. I said to him: "I'll rest for a while, and when Commander Chistyakov returns, don't let him disturb me yet." Wait until after eight o'clock in the evening, and then let him wake me up. ”

With that, I walked to the place in the corner where the camp bed was placed, opened the curtain and lay down.