We walked through the ruins of the city, and under the guidance of the commanders and fighters we encountered, we managed to avoid the enemy's fire points and came to the headquarters of the army group without danger.

When we were still fifty or sixty meters away from the headquarters, from a collapsed building on the side of the road, a stern voice suddenly sounded: "What person, stop!" ”

Hearing the sudden sound, I instinctively crouched down and hid behind a pile of masonry rubble. When he turned around, he found that the accompanying fighters and Yushchenko were still standing still. I thought they didn't react, so I shouted at Yushchenko in a low voice: "Hey, Captain, what are you still doing there, why don't you squat down quickly?" ”

Unexpectedly, after listening to my words, Yushchenko not only did not squat, but took a step forward and asked loudly in the direction from which the voice came: "Is it Ensign Volyntsov?" ”

When I heard Yushchenko asking the person who was shouting, I immediately guessed that I might be nervous, so I quickly got up from where I was squatting and looked intently at the ruins of the building. From the gap in the wall that had been blown up, several commanders and fighters wearing steel helmets soon walked out, and when I saw the familiar body armor on their bodies, I understood that these were all members of the guard platoon we had sent to protect the security of the army group headquarters.

A second lieutenant walked quickly in front of Yushchenko, straightened up and reported to him: "Report to Comrade Company Commander, a platoon and squad of the Special Guard Company are on alert duty, please instruct!" ”

Yushchenko nodded, and then briefly instructed him: "Keep on guard!" ”

The second lieutenant turned around and ordered the soldiers who followed him out of the gap: "Go back and continue to be on guard!" After saying that, he walked up to me and came to stand upright. Then he said loudly: "Comrade division commander. Allow me to act as a guide for you. Take you to the headquarters. ”

"Lead the way."

After hearing this order from me, the second lieutenant did not say a word, but turned around and acted as a guide for us in front.

In a few moments, we were outside the underground shelter of the headquarters. Second Lieutenant Volyntsov, who led the way, stopped, pointed to the entrance where two sentries were standing guard and said: "Comrade division commander, after you enter from there, go straight ahead for a while, and you will see a fork in the road. You turn to the left, and the second room on the left is the headquarters of Comrade Commander, and many commanders are meeting in it tonight. ”

I took off the AK47 I was carrying, handed it to Yushchenko, who was following me, and at the same time instructed him: "Comrade Captain, take your men to hide in the vicinity and shoulder the work of the Alert Command." Got it? When I said the last sentence, I deliberately accentuated the tone.

"Understood!" Yushchenko replied loudly: "I will immediately arrange manpower to guard the neighborhood." Definitely not a single German guy will be allowed to approach here. ”

I walked into the headquarters half-buried in the ground and walked down a low, narrow passage. At the same time, he kept raising his hand to salute the commanders and fighters who saluted me in return. The further I went, the more uncomfortable I felt, not only did it feel stuffy, but it also had an indescribable smell that I really didn't want to stay here for a second if I wasn't going to a meeting. And Chuikov and they live in such an environment every day, and I don't know how they persevere.

I followed the instructions of Second Lieutenant Volyntsov and came to the outside of Chuikov's headquarters, and saw that it was full of people in the dark. I didn't bother to check who was inside, so I strode in, and after seeing where Chuikov and Gurov were, I raised my hand and saluted them, and reported loudly: "Report to the commander, comrade military commissar, Oshanina, commander of the Red Banner Independent Division, has come to report to you and listen to your instructions. ”

"It turns out that Comrade Oshanina is here." Gurov, who was closest to me, stood up as he spoke, smiling and holding out his hand to me.

After I shook hands with Gurov, I shook hands with Chuikov, who stood up. Chuikov's hands were wrapped in bandages, and instead of touching my hand directly, he put his palm on my wrist and shook it vigorously a few times to signify a handshake.

I stared at Chuikov's bandaged hand and nervously asked, "Comrade commander, what's wrong with you, were you wounded in battle?" ”

"It's all damn eczema, plus it's so damp here, my hands are infected, so I have to wrap gauze." After speaking, he stared at the strange-shaped bullet armor I was wearing, and asked with a forced smile: "Comrade Oshanina, do you think this so-called bullet armor is really as powerful as the legend?" If we can really block the bullets fired from the opposite side, won't our fighters become invulnerable, in that case, do you still need to be afraid of the aircraft artillery of the fascist bandits? ”

Chuikov's words caused the commanders present to burst into laughter, and the originally silent atmosphere became relaxed. I knew that Chuikov was ridiculing me, so I didn't mind, and after everyone finished laughing, I solemnly asked Chuikov: "Comrade commander, I don't know what the main topic of this meeting you are holding today is?" ”

"What else can be discussed, of course, is to discuss the holiday." Chuikov happily replied: "I plan to do this: First, let the commanders and fighters of the whole army eat a hot Siberian dumpling, so I ordered Lieutenant Colonel Spasov, who is in charge of logistics, to distribute meat to the divisions, to ensure that each soldier has 200 grams of meat, and after the meeting is over, you can send people to Spasov to collect the necessary supplies." As for the second point," said this, his expression suddenly became stern, "since tomorrow is the October Revolution Day, we must do something as a gift for this important festival." On this day last year, in our great capital, Moscow, there was a military parade that surprised the enemy, and the troops participating in the parade left Red Square and went straight to the front line to continue the stubborn battle against the ferocious enemy. ……”

As Chuikov spoke, I looked around curiously and noticed quite a few familiar faces. In addition to the chief of staff and the director of the political department, he was also the commander of the divisions, such as Lyudnikov, Rodimtsev, Guryev, Ruoludev, Gorishny and their deputy division commanders, political commissars, etc. When everyone met my gaze, they all smiled and nodded at me, which was kind of a greeting to me.

When Chuikov finished speaking, the room fell silent. After a while, General Rodimtsev was the first to ask: "Comrade commander, if I am not mistaken, are you planning to launch an offensive tomorrow and celebrate our great holiday with victory?" ”

"Absolutely right, Comrade Rodimtsev." Seeing that Rodimtsev had guessed his intentions, Chuikov nodded with satisfaction, and continued: "We will teach the enemy a hard lesson tomorrow, so that they will not dare to do whatever they want like now." ”

"Comrade Commander, I beg your pardon." After Lyudnikov waited for the demand to finish, he stood up and said: "I want to ask, where and with what kind of troops is the army group headquarters going to be tomorrow, to carry out a meaningful counterattack on the enemy?" ”

"Colonel Lyudnikov," said Chuikov in a tone of regret, "in the present situation we will not be able to replenish anything, so we can only rely on the existing forces to carry out a counterattack against the German troops in front of us, and try to drive them away from our positions." ”

After listening to Chuikov's words, Lyudnikov sat down silently, while Colonel Goryshny, who was sitting next to me, sighed softly.

Gurov's ears were so good that he heard Gorishny's sighs, and he called him by name and asked: "Comrade Colonel, I want to ask you, why are you sighing?" ”

Goryshny got up from his seat, looked at Chuikov first, then at Gurov, and asked cautiously: "Comrade Military Commissar, can I tell the truth?" ”

After Gurov snorted from his nose, he said angrily: "What's the use of telling a lie no matter how beautiful it is, I just want to listen to what you have in your heart." ”

Gorishny was much more emboldened after receiving Gurov's permission, and he said carefully at every word: "I think it is pointless to simply drive the enemy away from our positions. Because our current forces are limited, even if we recover these defensive areas, we will not have enough troops to defend them, and when a new round of German offensive begins, our troops will have to abandon these places because they cannot resist. ”

To Gorishny's words, Guryev first disagreed. As soon as he finished speaking, he immediately stood up and made a-for-tat opinion: "I think that Colonel Gorishny was frightened by the fascist invaders' momentary strength during the recent battles, which is why he made such a ridiculous statement. ”

"General Guriev is right, I agree with him." The commander of the 37th Guards Division, Major General Ruoludev, promptly supported Guryev and pointed the finger at Gorishny and said: "Although we have fewer people, our soldiers are all fearless warriors, and no force can defeat them." ”

For the argument between several division commanders, whether it was Chuikov or Gurov, they did not interrupt them, but silently listened to them expound their views. After the three of them finished speaking, Chuikov turned his head to look at me and asked, "Comrade Oshanina, I want to hear your thoughts, what do you think about tomorrow's counterattack?" ”

"Comrade Commander," I replied cautiously when I heard Chuikov ask me, "I think you are right, we need not only a victory to celebrate the Great October Revolution, but also to use this battle to strengthen the confidence of the commanders and fighters of the whole army to continue fighting, so that they understand that although the Germans have the advantage, in the end, they will definitely be defeated by us." (To be continued......)

PS: Heartfelt thanks to the book friend zhaojingchao and the man with the gun for their two votes of support! Thank you to book friends RexKidd, Foot Bend, Dead Pig, and Yinghe Readers' Children's Shoes for their valuable monthly tickets! Thank you for the reward of the old godfather children's shoes!