When the German convoy turned around and moved into the distance, I led the men towards the wounded who had gathered in the clearing. Although I have been on the battlefield for a long time, I have seen thousands of wounded, and I have been wounded several times, but when I see these wounded who have just escaped from the clutches of the German army, I still feel a deep sadness in my heart.

There were more than a dozen stretchers on the ground, and on them lay the seriously wounded who could not move. Even the wounded who were standing did not get much better. From the bandages wrapped around their bodies, it can be seen that their injuries are not light, many of them are still missing arms and legs, those who are missing an arm are fine, and the warriors who are missing a leg cannot even stand alone. I saw our group walking towards them, but with the support of the people around us, with the help of crutches, we stood in a neat line. Each of the wounded, straightening their backs, stood straight in the queue, standing there without saying a word, and no one snorted at the pain of the wound.

All eyes on our side were drawn to these strong and unyielding wounded. Seeing that a wounded man standing in the front row who was missing a leg was staggering, Yushchenko, who was walking beside me, quickened his pace, intending to go over to help him, but I raised my hand to stop him. When I saw Yushchenko looking at me with puzzled eyes, I said softly: "Captain, don't go and help for the time being. They are all brave soldiers, heroes of our homeland. Let them complete the last assembly before returning to us. ”

My voice was not loud, but it was heard by the warriors around me. In addition to Yushchenko, there were people who wanted to come forward to help, but after hearing my words. They also stopped and stood in place. Look at the wounded on the other side with admiration. Wait for them to finish the final collection.

"Comrade commander," a heart-rending cry suddenly came from the queue of wounded on the opposite side: "We are all traitors to the motherland, why did you exchange us back?" We are all so miserable, do you still plan to send us to the bitter cold land of Siberia to fend for ourselves? ”

With this abrupt shout, the phalanx of wounded soldiers, which had been standing neatly, suddenly became chaotic, except for a few wounded who were still standing motionless. The rest of the people were huddled together, shouting loudly about their unknown fate.

"Quiet, everyone!" I shouted at the group, trying to calm everyone down, but my voice was quickly drowned out by the shouts of the wounded, and no one heard me shouting anything.

"Bang Bang!" At that moment, several crisp gunshots rang in my ears. I turned my head and saw that it was Captain Yushchenko who had fired the shot, probably seeing that I was unable to contain the wounded soldiers. That's why I shot at the sky.

As the shots rang out, the wounded soldiers all shut their mouths in unison. Nervously looking over to the location of the gunshot.

Seeing that the situation was temporarily under control, I took two more steps forward and said loudly to the wounded in front of me: "Comrades, who told you that I would send you to a labor camp in Siberia?" After saying that, I paused for a moment, and when I saw that no one spoke, I continued, "You are not traitors, on the contrary, you are still heroes of the motherland." You fought tenaciously against the fascist invaders on the battlefield, were honorably wounded for the sake of the motherland and the people, and some of you were even disabled for life, but even if you were in prison, you did not give in to the enemy and continued to fight. Let me ask, is there such a traitor in the world? I, the commander of the 79th Infantry Corps, Major General Oshanina, solemnly assure you that as long as you are in the 79th Army, there will never be a single person who discriminates against you, on the contrary, our commanders and fighters will treat you as their own brothers, and strive to make your recovery as soon as possible, so that you can have the opportunity to take up arms again and go to the fascist invaders to pay off your blood debt. ”

With these words, the wounded man, who had already lowered his head, raised his head again, and even raised his chin high. Seeing this, I took a step back, and then shouted at the commanders standing to my right and left: "Listen to my command, all of them, salute!" With that, I took the lead and raised my hand to my forehead.

With my order, dozens of soldiers around me also raised their hands in unison and saluted the wounded on the opposite side who had not yielded to the enemy.

The wounded on the opposite side, as long as their arms could still move, raised their hands to salute us, and even the wounded lying on stretchers struggled to stand up and saluted us with difficulty. This scene made my blood boil at the same time, and tears couldn't stop sliding down my cheeks. I thought it was a shame to shed tears in front of my own commanders and fighters, but when I tried to wipe away the tears, I found that everyone was just as tearful as I was.

A commander with his right arm hanging from his chest watched everyone finish saluting, walked out of the queue alone, saluted me with his left hand a corps commander, and then reported loudly: "Comrade General, Captain Nasonov of the Guards reports to you, I am leading two hundred wounded who have escaped the clutches of the fascist invaders, report to you, listen to your orders, please instruct!" ”

I glanced at the new epaulettes on the captain's shoulders, nodded, and said loudly: "Major General Oshanina, commander of the 79th Infantry Corps, lead your own special guard platoon to protect you back to our army's defense area. After speaking, I paused, and then said to the wounded: "Heroes of the motherland, welcome home!" ”

As soon as the words fell, someone in the queue of the wounded finally couldn't help it and began to cry. Although it is a bit faceless for men to cry in public, I understand them very well in my heart, after all, after being injured, people are psychologically fragile, and just out of the tiger's mouth, it is inevitable to cry with joy.

I didn't think much of it, just waved my hand sideways and ordered the commanders and fighters standing on my left and right: "Go up and help!" "As my order was given, the commanders and fighters, who had long been unable to hold back, rushed forward to help carry the stretchers and support the wounded who had difficulty walking. When I saw that there seemed to be more of us than the wounded, I realized that the commanders and fighters who had been waiting in the trenches had quietly come behind us at some point, and as soon as they heard my order, they rushed to help.

As we walked back, Yushchenko whispered in my ear: "Comrade commander, there are quite a few wounded who will not be able to continue to serve as soldiers even if they are healed, so how should we arrange for them?" ”

When I heard his question, I sighed and said helplessly: "Let's send them all to the health camp for treatment first, and as for those who are too seriously injured or can no longer return to the team, they will be placed in the homes of residents." That way, even if our troops are gone, they will have a place to stay. ”

"Yes, I'll do it right away!" After Yushchenko finished speaking, he called two fighters and ran away. (To be continued......)