The howitzers of the two artillery battalions dropped by the defeated Germans were still lined up in place, and it tickled my heart. These are more than 20 heavy howitzers, if they are placed on our positions, when the Germans attack again, as long as they use heavy artillery to crack and bombard, whether it is the German tanks or infantry, they can be wiped out in the middle of a joke. Without further ado, before the Germans have come to their senses, I will send someone to bring back all these cannons at once.

Thinking of this, I rushed to the telephone and contacted Sederikov on the high ground. As soon as I heard the familiar voice of Sederikov, I couldn't wait to urge him: "Hey, I said Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the German attack was repulsed by us. As they fled, they threw down all the equipment of the two artillery battalions, and I order you to send someone to bring them back to me at once. ”

"What? The enemy threw the cannon down and ran away? "Although Shedelikov is in a higher position than mine, his command post is on the southern slope of the high ground, and his knowledge of the battlefield comes from the reports of his subordinates who are on the front, so he gets information more slowly than me. Now that he heard that the Germans had abandoned their artillery on the position and fled, he was also extremely excited, and immediately expressed his attitude to me excitedly: "Comrade division commander, please rest assured, I will immediately send troops to get these cannons back." ”

As soon as I put down the phone, Kirillov, who was standing at the observation port with a telescope, hurriedly called out to me: "Comrade Oshanina, come and see." ”

I walked up to him for some reason, looked in the direction of his finger, and saw hordes of commanders and fighters leaping out of the trenches. Rush down to the bottom of the mountain. See this scene. I couldn't help but laugh. Then he said to Kirillov: "Comrade commissar, this Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov is really an impatient, as soon as I finished calling him, he sent troops, and he was afraid that if he moved slowly, these trophies would be snatched by friendly troops." ”

Unexpectedly, Kirillov shook his head and said: "Comrade Oshanina, you are wrong. Before you put down the phone. I saw the commanders and fighters come out of their positions and run towards the foot of the mountain. As far as I can tell, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov probably hasn't had time to call his men. ”

"Who's that?" From what I know about the Soviet Army, without orders from above, the commanders and fighters below do not dare to act casually. Since it was not Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov who gave the order, then who could it be?

While I was frowning and meditating, Kirillov said lightly: "Although the regiment commander has not yet had time to give orders, the commissar can." Moreover, according to the report of Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, Comrade Commissar Oberstan, from the beginning of the battle. He has been at the forefront with his commanders and fighters, and maybe he gave the order to attack. ”

Listen to Kirillov. I think it's a real possibility, according to Akhromeyev, Commissar Oberstein is a commander with a lot of combat experience. If in this case, he did not know how to send troops to attack in time, General Meretskov would not have let him serve as an instructor of the second lieutenant training team.

I turned my head and saw that Pugachev was still standing in the observation post, so I instructed him: "Captain Pugachev, all the Germans left on the battlefield are heavy artillery, and it will be very difficult to get all these guns back if there is no truck towing them." I order you to immediately lead two companies and help the commanders and fighters of the first regiment to get the artillery back. Pugachev agreed, turned and left the observation post.

After Pugachev left, Kirillov also put down his binoculars and asked me: "Comrade Oshanina, what should we do next?" ”

I looked outside, and saw that the gunners of the cannon in the hollow were clearing the shells and empty wooden boxes, so I bowed my mouth in that direction and said, "I think we should go and see the anti-tank gun that has done a great job, and talk to the gunners again." ”

"I agree." Kirillov readily agreed, and then he urged me: "Then let's go." ”

As we were about to leave the observation post, the operator Nadya stopped me and said politely: "Report to the division commander, comrade, it's the battalion commander of the artillery battalion, Captain Morozov, who said that he has something important to report to you. ”

I took the headphones and microphone and shouted, "Hey, is it Captain Morozov?" I'm Colonel Oshanina, do you have anything to report to me? ”

"Report to Comrade Division Commander," Morozov's excited voice came from the headset: "Have you seen those two dozen heavy howitzers on the battlefield?" ”

"See, Captain Morozov." I said lightly: "I have ordered the 1st and 2nd regiments to go out and pull the artillery back to our positions. ”

Morozov said with some hesitation: "Comrade division commander, you also know that I am now the commander of the artillery battalion, and the matter of carrying artillery cannot only be done by the infantry, I think our battalion should also send people." ”

"Then you can send someone." After I said this, a bold thought suddenly popped into my head, and I went on to say: "When the howitzer is pulled back, I will hand it over to you." If you can get enough of them, I can promote your artillery battalion to an artillery regiment, and you will be the artillery commander. ”

"What, artillery, artillery, artillery regiment, regimental commander?" My words made Morozov stutter as well.

"Yes, Captain Morozov, as long as you can draw enough men from the division, I can promote your artillery battalion to an artillery regiment." Speaking of this, I looked at the artillery commanders and fighters who were still crowded together on the southern slope, and urged him: "Comrade Captain, if I were you, I would not continue to stay where I was, but would directly take my subordinates to bring back those howitzers on the battlefield." ”

"Okay, I'll go." After Morozov finished speaking, he hung up the communication directly.

The artillery on the hillside in the distance quickly split into two groups, one of the mortars that remained in place to guard the hillside; The other group, led by Morozov, rushed to the top of the hill at a brisk pace, preparing to climb over the top of the slope and go directly to the battlefield.

Kirilov and I left the observation post and walked along the trenches and trenches built by the 2nd Regiment to the anti-tank gun, which had made a meritorious achievement. I saw the gunners who were busy and shouted: "Hello, comrades! ”

Hear me shouting. The gunners stopped what they were doing. Stand straight and salute us.

I walked over to one of the gunners. shouted at him loudly: "Comrade soldier, who of you is in charge here?" ”

The reason why I shouted at him was because I was afraid that he would not be able to hear me because his ears were deaf during the battle just now. Unexpectedly, after listening to my words, he asked again in a loud voice: "Comrade commander, what did you say?" I didn't hear clearly, please say it again. ”

"Who of you is in charge here?" Kirillov was afraid that my voice was not loud enough. He took the initiative to repeat what I had just said.

After hearing this, the gunner nodded, pointed to a sergeant with a dark face next to him, and said loudly: "Comrade commander, this is our artillery commander, Sergeant Tiyakonov. ”

The sergeant, seeing that our eyes were on him, guessed that we had something to say to him, hurriedly walked over, raised his hand to salute me and Kirillov, and reported: "Report to Comrade Commander, Commander of the Second Company of the Anti-Tank Company, Proto. Sergeant Tiyakonov reports to you and is at your orders. ”

Kirillov took a step forward. Put your hands on his shoulders and pat him vigorously. At the same time said loudly: "Good job, good Sergeant Tiyakonov, you guys are really good at fighting." With just one of your guns, you crushed the German tanks, and even killed more than a dozen. ”

"We killed a total of 17 tanks, comrade political commissar at the regimental level." Tiyakonov glanced at the rank on Kirillov's collar badge, and then replied politely: "It's a pity that all the other gun emplacements of our company were completely destroyed by the Germans soon after the battle began, otherwise we would have been able to completely annihilate this tank battalion of the Germans." ”

With a smile on his face, Kirillov solemnly said to Tiyakonov: "You have made great contributions in today's battle, and I will apply for a medal for you and your artillery squad from my superiors." ”

I dare not agree with what Tiyakonov said. If their artillery squad hadn't happened to hide in a place where the Germans couldn't find it, let alone firing cold artillery at the German tank battalion, it is estimated that they would have been blown to pieces by the dense artillery fire of the German army.

"Sergeant Tiyakonov, what were you busy with when we came?" I couldn't help but ask curiously when I saw the neatly stacked wooden boxes next to the cannon and the piles of bullet casings not far away.

"Report to Comrade Colonel," Tiyakonov replied, quickly facing me, "we are collecting ammunition and preparing for the next battle." Are we allowed to keep going? ”

I nodded with satisfaction and hurriedly replied, "Of course, it goes without saying, you can keep going!" ”

Bidding farewell to Tiyakonov and his artillery squad, Kirillov and I again walked towards the high ground where a regiment was stationed. As I approached the high ground, I saw that the northern slope of the high ground was full of craters with scorched and wisps of green smoke, and the trenches on the front had all been blown up, and only the annular tunnels on the east and west sides remained relatively intact.

We climbed the hill and walked forward one foot deep and one foot shallow. Due to the intensive artillery bombardment of the Germans, the land here was completely blown to nothing, and I accidentally tripped over something under my feet, and my hands were covered with sharp shrapnel all over the ground.

Kirillov hurriedly held me up and asked with concern: "Comrade Oshanina, are you okay?" ”

I shook my head, grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, and then let the dirt run down my fingers, and when there were only a few pieces of black shrapnel left, I put my hand in front of Kirillov and said with emotion: "Comrade commissar, look at it, grab a handful of dirt at will, there are several pieces of shrapnel in it, which shows how fierce the enemy's shelling just now." ”

Kirillov picked up a piece of shrapnel from my palm and looked at it, and said with emotion: "Yes, when I was at the observation post just now, I was also thinking in my heart, what kind of troops were holding this position, under the heavy artillery fire, not a single one wavered, not a single deserter, like nails nailed to this high ground, firmly blocking the Germans." ”

I threw away the shrapnel in my hand and raised my binoculars to look at the troops who were carrying the artillery in the distance. Although there were still a lot of trucks behind the cannons, almost all of them were destroyed by Tiyakonov's artillery squad, and few intact trucks could not be found, so only two or three of the captured cannons were dragged from the back of the trucks, and the rest were dragged by our fighters to the high ground.

At this time, a group of people came up from the foot of the mountain, and two German tank men were also escorted in the middle. As they approached, I found out that one of them was the new commissar of the regiment, Oberstein. hurriedly stepped forward. At the same time, it is far away. took the initiative to greet him: "Hey, is it the political commissar of Oberstein?" ”

Oberstein and his men were walking up with two captives on their way up, and when they heard someone shouting for him, they hurriedly looked up. Seeing me and Kirillov standing on the hillside, he hurriedly came out of the crowd, walked quickly in front of us, raised his hand and saluted, and asked with some surprise: "Division commander, political commissar." How did you get to the front line? ”

Hearing him say this, Kirillov deliberately kept a straight face and said in a stern tone: "What, Commissar Oberstan, don't you welcome me and the division commander?" ”

"How can that?!" Oberstein hurriedly didn't hear that Kirillov was joking, and hurriedly explained: "The battle here has just ended, and it is not very safe, you and the division commander are the backbone of the division, so you can't just come to such a dangerous place." ”

"Commissar Oberstein, you are a regimental commissar. You can take the lead and stay in the most dangerous places with your warriors. Fighting the fascist invaders with them, are we not as good as you as the division commander and political commissar? ”

I saw the two captives surrounded by the fighters, and as soon as Kirillov finished speaking, I hurriedly asked Oberstan: "Commissar Oberstan, what is the matter with these two captives?" ”

Oberstein turned around and looked, then turned to me and reported: "When I was leading my troops to clean up the battlefield, when I passed a destroyed tank, the top hatch of the tank was suddenly pushed open, and a German tankman dragged an unconscious German lieutenant out of the tank, and just like that, we took them prisoner." ”

Kirillov summoned two of the battalions of guards who were following us, and then whispered to them: "Take them to the division headquarters and find a few people who know German to interrogate them." ”

After the captives were taken away, the two of us and Oberstein walked to the southern slope, and as we went, I asked Oberstein: "Commissar Oberstan, I would like to ask, where are your troops hiding when the Germans are bombarding the heights?" You know, according to what I just observed, our frontal position is no longer visible, and under the cover of the void, it has become uneven and strange. ”

Pointing to the trenches on the western flank, Oberstein explained to us: "The German artillery fire, though fierce, destroyed only our positions on the northern slope, while the positions on the other three sides suffered little losses. I had the fighters dig a lot of anti-artillery holes in the trenches on the west side, and when the enemy shelled, we hid inside, so the casualties were not large. ”

After listening to what Oberstein said, Kirillov deliberately stopped, carefully inspected the anti-artillery holes in the trenches on the west side, and said with emotion: "Political commissar Oberstein, your method is good, our soldiers are hiding inside, no matter how fierce the German artillery fire is, there is nothing to be done about you." When the shelling stops and they attack, you can also attack from the anti-artillery holes in time and use the terrain to stop the enemy. ”

We chatted for a while, and seeing that Oberstein and the commanders and fighters were very affectionate, I encouraged everyone a few words, and then hurried back to the division headquarters with Kirillov.

At this moment, Akhromeyev was interrogating the captured German tank crews inside, and acting as a translator for him, in addition to the commander of the engineer company, Mihayev, there was also Second Lieutenant Gretka of the 2nd Guards Company.

Two German prisoners sat on stools, and behind them stood two glaring soldiers with submachine guns.

Before we returned to the headquarters, it is estimated that Akhromeyev had already interrogated the names, ranks, positions, and unit numbers of the two men, because I heard Akhromeyev ask: "What is the mission of your battalion?" ”

"Cooperate with the infantry to seize the Mamayev Gang with the aim of capturing the docks at Stalingrad and cutting off the city from the other side of the Volga River."

"When did you move to this combat zone?"

The tank lieutenant looked up at him and replied: "In May of this year, after we routed your troops in the Kharkov direction, my battalion has been fighting in this direction. ”

"Do you think your troops will be able to take Stalingrad?" When I heard Akhromeyev ask, I paid special attention to the expression of Ensign Gretka, and was stunned for a moment when I saw that he was taking notes, and then continued to record the interrogation record in his notebook as if nothing had happened.

"Based on what we have achieved in Kharkiv and in the Don valley, I think this possibility is entirely in existence."

Akhromeyev listened to him and snorted coldly. Said contemptuously: "Mr. Lieutenant." I can sue you very responsibly. Even if you take Mamayev Heights, you will not be able to take Stalingrad. We, the great Soviet Red Army, will bury you completely outside this heroic city. ”

The captured lieutenant glanced up at Ensign Gretka, who was taking notes, and suddenly said to him coldly: "Mr. Ensign, if I am not mistaken, you are wearing the uniform of our Wehrmacht. As a German soldier, he actually served our enemies. Don't you think it's a shame? ”

The lieutenant's words made Ensign Gretka's face blush, and he lowered his head and did not know how to answer. Seeing the embarrassed expression on the face of Second Lieutenant Grettka, I hurriedly stepped forward and said loudly: "Mr. Lieutenant, you are wrong. Second Lieutenant Grettka was a former German soldier, but he has now chosen to be on the same side as us. You say that it is a disgrace to the military that he helped us, but I want to sue you, on the contrary, they are not fighting the Germans. Rather, they were fighting the fascists led by Hitler. What they are doing today awaits the day when Germany will be reborn. It will go down in history as an honor. ”

My words caused the originally depressed Ensign Gretka to raise his head again, and he looked at him with gratitude, as if he wanted to say something to express his feelings. I raised my hand to stop him, and instead instructed Akhromeyev: "Comrade Chief of Staff, these two Germans are nobodies, they know a limited amount of things, there is no need to interrogate them any further, send them to the headquarters of the army group." ”

Akhromeyev nodded at me, stood up and walked up to the two captives, looked at them with blank expressions, and then looked up and ordered the fighters standing behind: "Take them away." With that, he lifted his leg and walked out.

After Akhromeyev left with the prisoners, Second Lieutenant Grettka, who was a little excited, saluted me and Kirillov and asked respectfully: "Division commander, political commissar, do you have any other orders?" ”

"No, Second Lieutenant Gretka, go back and rest."

Kirillov, seeing the back of Gretka leaving, said with some feeling: "Comrade Oshanina, maybe you are right. Judging by the appearance of this former German second lieutenant, he sincerely defected to us. ”

As soon as I sat down and was about to say a few more words to Kirillov, there were suddenly shouts from outside: "Enemy planes, enemy planes!" Air Raid Alert, Air Raid Alert! Hide, hide! ”

Hearing the shouts outside, I jumped up from my seat at once, oh my God, this enemy plane will not come sooner or later, just in time for us to carry the artillery. Since most of the artillery is artificially towed, they are still in the open ground, and as soon as the enemy planes come, won't they become the target of their attacks?

Thinking of this, I couldn't sit still any longer, so I pulled my legs and ran out to see where the commanders and fighters who were carrying the cannons had gone.

I ran into the observation post out of breath, stood in front of the observation port, raised my binoculars, and looked into the distance, only to see that at least two or three hundred commanders and fighters were dragging a dozen or so cannons to the high ground seven or eight hundred meters away from the high ground. There were two enemy planes in the air hovering non-stop, and it looked like they could dive down at any moment.

At such a distance, those commanders and fighters had no means of communication, and before receiving a new order from their superiors, they could only speed up their pace under the noses of enemy planes, trying their best to pull the artillery back to our position.

Kirillov also hurried at this time, and when he also saw this dangerous scene, he said anxiously: "Comrade Oshanina, what can I do about this? If the enemy's planes dive and bomb, these commanders and fighters in the open field will be completely destroyed. ”

He anxiously circled around the room, muttering incessantly, "What should I do?" What should I do? Men should be sent to inform the commanders and fighters so that they can throw away the artillery and return to the high ground quickly. At this point, he stopped and shouted at the guards outside, "Someone! ”

One of the guards walked quickly to the door of the observation post, and Kirillov shouted at him: "Comrade soldier, I order you, run to inform the commanders and fighters who are carrying the cannons, immediately throw away the cannons, and find a place to hide first." ”

The warrior agreed, crossed the trench, and ran briskly towards the high ground opposite. Looking at the back of the warrior galloping, I secretly prayed in my heart: I hope that this warrior can convey Kirillov's order in time, so that we can reduce some unnecessary losses. The cannon is thrown, and we can capture it again; If the warrior dies, he will not be able to come back to life.

Unfortunately, the weather was not favorable, and before the soldier who gave the order could run to the opposite high ground, the German planes had already begun to dive down and shoot bombs at the commanders and fighters carrying the cannons on the ground.

In an instant, the open ground was filled with smoke, and the shell boxes carried by the soldiers were detonated, and shrapnel flew in all directions in the air, causing our soldiers to fall in a pool of blood. (To be continued......)