After listening to the analysis of the two, I looked at Bandailayev with approving eyes, and said in my heart that ginger is still old and spicy, this Colonel Bandeleyev should not look old-fashioned in his usual days, but his experience in the army is much richer than that of a junior like Akhromeyev, so I will say that casually, and he will be able to analyze more accurately who the commander of the new front army is.

Thinking of the imminent merger of the two fronts, I couldn't help but start thinking about my future path. After the Battle of Stalingrad, it was unlikely that he would remain in the 62nd Army, and he would be transferred to other fronts, and the most likely to go was the Leningrad Front or General Meretskov's Volkhov Front. If I were to be transferred, the current independent division would definitely not go with me, and I would be alone again. Thinking about the difficulties I might face in my new environment, I felt a sense of loss.

I was thinking about my own thoughts, forgetting that I was still staring intently at Bandeleyev. He was a little embarrassed by my staring, and coughed vigorously, awakening me from my musings. Then he cautiously asked me: "Comrade division commander, there are still more than 30,000 residents who have been rescued from the Yerman and Dzerzhinsky districts, how should we resettle them?" ”

Before my mind could get back on track, Kirillov added: "The deputy division commander is right, this group of refugees is currently short of food and medicine, and we have not enough food in stock. If we don't do enough to settle them, I fear that many people will die of cold and starvation. ”

During the recapture of the Yerman and Dzerzhinsky districts, we rescued up to 40,000 inhabitants from the enemy. When I found out that there were so many inhabitants in the enemy-occupied zone, I immediately reported it to the army group command. Chuikov was not in the headquarters at the time, and it was military commissar Gurov who answered the phone. When he heard the news, he was silent for a long time, and finally said to me in embarrassment: "Due to the influence of the climate, the transportation capacity of the ice transportation line is limited, and only a small number of soldiers can be transported to the city every day. and limited supplies. In this case, it is unrealistic to evacuate all these refugees to the east bank of the Volga, so they can only stay in the defense zone of your division for the time being. ”

When I heard Gurov say this, I was anxious: "Comrade Military Commissar, the food consumed by these more than 30,000 residents every day. It is an unexpected astronomical amount, and with the existing food stocks of our division, it cannot meet the needs of the refugees at all. ”

Hearing my complaints, Gurov also said helplessly: "Comrade Oshanina, you can't feed these tens of thousands of people. We're also powerless. But rest assured, our army group command will do its best to provide the necessary food for the refugees in your defense zone. ”

Although Gurov vowed to provide us with food supplies, after more than ten days, we did not receive the slightest replenishment of food, medicine, guns and ammunition. Seeing that the supplies promised by the army group were delayed, I had to reduce the rations for each resident from the initial 300 grams to 200 grams. At the same time, we also organized a small team to send those old, weak, sick and disabled who could still move around to the east coast in batches to reduce our supply pressure. It took more than ten days to send it like this. Only tens of thousands of people were sent away, and more than 30,000 remained, and at this time, there was a problem with our food supply.

After thinking about it for a while, I put forward my idea to Kirillov: "Comrade commissar, in order to maintain the status of these refugees. We can only cut their food rations again. From now on, adults will receive 150 grams of bread slices per person per day. 75 grams per child. ……”

Before I finished my words, Akhromeyev, who could not hold back, exclaimed: "Comrade division commander. Such a quota is too small, and it will not be long before the population becomes malnourished. Especially children, it is when they grow their bodies, so they ......"

I raised my hand to interrupt his words and said to him with a stern expression: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please remember that our division is also facing a shortage of food now, and if we do not control the distribution of food to the population, our soldiers will soon be so hungry that they will not even be able to pick up their weapons, so how can they fight against the fierce Germans?" ”

Seeing that Akhromeyev was speechless by my words, I was a little unbearable, so I added: "In this way, all the residents who joined the militia or assisted our fighters in fortifying the fortifications will be given an extra 200 grams of rusks each." ”

Hearing me say this, the expression on Akhromeyev's face softened a lot, he nodded, and said: "Okay, I'll call the regimental commanders and relay your orders to them." ”

When Akhromeyev went to call, I whispered to Kirillov: "Comrade Political Commissar, at present the food reserves in the division can only last for two or three days, do you think you can come forward to negotiate with Comrade Military Commissar and ask the army headquarters to provide us with a batch of food to solve our urgent needs?" ”

After listening to what I said, Kirillov nodded very happily, and at the same time said: "In this matter, I will first talk to Comrade Vasilyev, director of the political department of the group army, and with him by his side to help us speak, things will be easier." At this point, he paused, frowned and thought for a moment, and then asked me very sternly: "Comrade Oshanina, I want to ask you something. Now that the Germans have launched an attack on the outside of our encirclement, will our plan to encircle and annihilate Paulus's corps continue as originally envisaged? ”、

Bandeleyev heard the conversation between me and Kirillov, he looked left and right, and also leaned over and asked in a low and mysterious voice: "Yes, comrade division commander, will the Paulus troops in the encirclement be wiped out by us?" In the past, in other battlefields, I also encountered cases in which the enemy was surrounded but could not eat it for a long time, and as a result, the enemy's reinforcements came up, but on the contrary, they completely annihilated our troops. ”

It made me laugh and cry to see that my two deputies were skeptical of our victory in the Battle of Stalingrad. But at such a time, I could not tell them the final outcome of the battle, so I could only say vaguely: "Political commissar and deputy division commander, you are thinking too much, although the enemy is still very tenacious, their living force will be in the next battle." Little by little, we consume it. ”

After Akhromeyev finished the call, he walked back to the table and reported to me: "Comrade division commander, your order has been conveyed, and several regiment commanders are adjusting the food quota for residents. ”

"How is the defense of the Dzerzhinsky district doing?" I was more concerned about how well the regiments were defending than about food quotas. So as soon as Akhromeyev finished his report, I immediately asked: "Can their fortifications withstand the onslaught of the Germans?" ”

Akhromeyev nodded vigorously and said affirmatively: "Comrade division commander, no problem." According to the reports of the 1st and 4th regiments, the buildings they occupied. On the side facing the German defense, all the doors and windows were blocked with masonry, leaving only the firing holes, and the Germans could not enter the building even if they touched it at night. The 2nd Regiment had fewer troops. They were responsible for the garrison of the junction of the Yerman and Dzerzhinsky districts. ”

Hearing that all regiments had done their defensive work, the stone hanging in my heart finally fell to the ground. I then called the commanders of the divisions stationed in the rear of our division, informing them of our armament and reminding them to be vigilant against a possible surprise attack by the Germans.

After daybreak, I took a platoon of guards to the Dzerzhinsky district to inspect the defense of several regiments. Not long after leaving the headquarters, a woman in a headscarf approached me with a child in one hand, also wearing a headscarf. Saw our group. The woman, who couldn't tell her age, suddenly screamed, let go of the two children, and threw herself at me.

Yushchenko, who was in charge of protecting us, saw the women rushing towards me and was afraid that I was in danger. hurriedly shouted and greeted him with two warriors. Although the woman was very tall, she had probably been hungry for too long, and her steps were a little floating when she walked, and she was no match for the three strong men at all. With just one face, she obediently tied her hands and caught her.

saw his mother being caught by two soldiers. The two children in the distance were so frightened that they began to cry. I was confused by what was happening in front of me, and hurriedly ordered Yushchenko to bring the woman up. Two more fighters were called to bring the child over, and I wanted to find out what was going on.

Wait until the women are brought to me. Looking at the old-looking and godless woman in front of me, I didn't think she was like someone who wanted to do anything wrong to me, and after waving her hand to let go of the soldier who had grabbed her, I put on an amiable look and asked, "Comrade woman, do you have anything to do with me?" ”

The woman looked vigilantly to the right and right, and saw that the soldier had let go of her hand, and threw herself at me, grabbed my arm, and said in a weak voice: "Comrade commander, have mercy on me, my children and I have not eaten for several days, and we are dying of hunger, so give me something to eat." ”

There are more than 30,000 refugees in the defense area of my division, and although each regiment distributes food every day, I know in my heart that there must still be some residents who cannot receive the food that they rely on to survive. So when I knew that this woman was blocking my path just to beg for a little food to eat for herself and her children, I didn't mean to blame anyone. Instead, he turned his head and asked the warriors on the left and right, "Which of you has food on you?" ”

A soldier standing to my right hurriedly agreed: "Comrade division commander, I have it here." After saying that, he took off his backpack, opened the mouth of the bag, took out a boxy piece of black bread weighing a pound from it, and handed it to me. I took the bread, thanked the warrior, and then handed it to the woman in front of me.

I thought that when the woman took the bread, she would call her two children to her front and tear a little bit of bread for them to eat. Unexpectedly, after the woman took the bread, she grabbed the bread with one hand, and with the other hand, she kept stuffing the torn pieces into her mouth. Ignoring the two children holding her legs, they kept shouting: "Mom, I'm hungry, I'm Russian!" ”

Seeing this, my nose was sour. I closed my eyes tightly so that my unscrupulous tears would not come out of my eyes. When I opened my eyes again, I turned my head to look at the soldier who had just given me bread, and asked apologetically, "Comrade soldier, do you still have bread there?" ”

The soldier shook his head and said regretfully: "I'm sorry, Comrade Division Commander, no. ”

"I've got it here." As soon as I turned around, a piece of bread was handed to me. I looked over the hand holding the bread, and it turned out that Captain Yushchenko had given his bread. I smiled at him and nodded, picked up the bread in his hand, carefully twisted it into two pieces, and handed it to the two crying children.

When we move back forward. I heard a soldier muttering to mean, "This mother is so selfish, she only cares about her own food when she has food, and she doesn't care about her children at all." ”

"It's just that I'm too selfish to be a mother at all." His voice had just fallen. Immediately there were warriors who echoed him.

"Comrades, I think the woman did the right thing." Hearing the soldiers' comments, I couldn't help but want to share my own opinion: "You only see the superficial phenomenon of her eating for herself and ignoring her two children after getting food, but you don't see that she is also thinking about the children by doing this. ”

"Comrade division commander, why do you say that?" A soldier next to him asked puzzledly, "Obviously, she is taking care of filling her stomach." If you don't care about your children at all, how can you still say that you are thinking about your children? ”

Seeing that the fighters around me looked puzzled, and even Yushchenko's face was full of confusion, I had to explain to them further: "You have all seen that her two children are still very young. If mothers starve to death, who will take care of them in the future, do you think they will have the ability to take care of themselves in the current situation? "When I said this, I thought of Leda's child Alik for no reason, and my heart tingled inexplicably. Seeing that everyone shook their heads and thought that the two children were incapable of taking care of themselves, I continued, "Only when the mother survives." These two children can continue to survive. ”

As soon as we entered the Dzerzhinsky district, we encountered the checkpoint set up by the 2nd Regiment, and the commander on duty was Captain Khrushov, the commander of the 1st Battalion, whom I was familiar with. I took Khrushov's hand. He asked with concern: "Comrade Captain, it's been a long time, how are you doing?" ”

While shaking hands with me, Khrushov said with a wry smile: "Comrade division commander, when I was the battalion commander in the past, there were seven or eight hundred soldiers under my command, but now you can take a look. As he spoke, he pouted to the side, and said unwillingly: "The whole battalion includes me." There were only 25 people left, and I changed from a battalion commander to a platoon commander. ”

I saw him look dejected. I hurriedly comforted him and said: "Comrade Captain, don't worry, although the number of your battalion is a little smaller, after a while, the higher authorities will replenish our division, and I will definitely give priority to replenishing the second regiment." ”

Khrushov was happy again when he heard me say this. When we heard that we were going to have a regiment of defenses, we immediately called a soldier over and asked him to act as a guide for us.

We were led by our guides, carefully along the crater-ridden streets, and along the rubble-strewn streets. Along the way, I carefully observed the buildings on both sides of the street, and found that many of them had doors and windows blocked by bricks and stones on the side of the street. Some of the buildings are connected by traffic trenches, and in order to prevent them from being discovered by the enemy, they are also covered with covers, so you can't really find them if you don't look closely.

When he arrived at the command post of the 1st regiment, the regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, was not there, he went to the defense area of the 4th regiment, leaving only the deputy regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Ilya. Seeing me walk into the command post, Ilya immediately got up from her seat, came over to salute me and report on the current situation of the group.

Although I heard Lieutenant Colonel Ilya speak the truth, I was still not very relieved to see a regiment of defensive positions with my own eyes, so I asked Ilya to take me to the front to see. In order not to reveal the target, apart from me and Ilya Middle School, there were only two fighters led by Captain Yushchenko.

Ilya led me to an attic undestroyed by shells and bombs, and to get a condescending bird's-eye view of the enemy defense zone below. Ilya pointed down and introduced to me: "Comrade division commander, the fortifications where our soldiers are hiding, the enemy in the opposite building is only separated by more than 50 meters. ”

I held up my binoculars and casually asked, "What precautions have you taken?" ”

"Except that all the doors and windows on the side facing the enemy were blocked with masonry, leaving only firing holes. We also planted mines on the outside of the building and formed a small defensive zone with a combat group with one machine gun and two submachine guns and ten rifles. In this way, as soon as the enemy steps on the mines, our combat team hiding in the building can inflict heavy damage on them while they are dazed by the explosion. ”

In my telescope lens, the German soldiers in the building opposite our army walked around the window without hesitation, and some even dared to peek out half of their bodies through the window. Seeing this, I put down my binoculars, turned my head to Ilya and asked dissatisfiedly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you see the enemy in the opposite building?" ”

Out of the corner of his eye, Ilya glanced into the distance, quickly retracted it, nodded at the same time, and said affirmatively: "Yes, Comrade Division Commander, I saw it." These Germans were very arrogant, not only swaggering and not hiding their whereabouts during the changing of the guard, but also often standing at the window and smoking after the changing of the guard, without taking our army seriously at all. ”

My brow furrowed, and I asked dissatisfiedly, "Are you accustomed to this kind of appearance of the enemy?" ”

After hearing this, Ilya nodded and replied seriously: "Yes, comrade division commander, we have long been accustomed to the arrogance of the enemy. (To be continued)

ps: I sincerely thank the book friends for their support from the two votes of the poor flying bear, the arrogant, and the children's shoes! Thank you for the valuable votes of Donghu Daoren, Bad, Xiao Yi xxx, T00030003 children's shoes!