When it was dawn, I lay in the trenches and raised my binoculars to look at the villages to the northwest. The morning fog was thick, and outside the red, green, and yellow country huts, there was not a single figure to be seen, and no movement could be heard, and it was as quiet as a Russian rural landscape painting.

"Comrade division commander, have you seen anything?" Suddenly the voice of Bandereev sounded in my ears, and I quickly put down my binoculars and turned my head to look to the side, only to see Pandereev walking along the trench with two guards and soldiers. The warriors standing in the trenches, as the colonel passed in front of them, hurriedly straightened up and raised their hands to salute him.

I shook my head and said to Pantaireev, who had just come over: "I didn't see anything, I didn't see anyone, I didn't hear anything, it seemed that there was not a single person in the whole village. ”

Bandereev also raised his binoculars and looked at the village, and continued: "The village has not experienced any fighting, and it seems that the collective farm members of the village were evacuated before the enemy came. ”

"And our troops have not fought here either," I nodded, adding, "Otherwise, this village would not have seen a trace of the war." ”

"What's next, send someone to scout?" As he spoke, Bandereev beckoned Basmanov, who was standing nearby, to come over and instruct him: "Comrade Captain, immediately go and prepare a reconnaissance detachment and go to the village in front to reconnoiter and find out what is going on there." ”

"Understood, I'll arrange for manpower." Basmanov agreed, turned around and was about to leave.

I hurriedly stopped Basmanov: "Captain, wait a minute. "Because at this moment I think of the experience that Yeremenko taught me last time. There is one. Those who demanded a commander must be familiar with the terrain near the position. Someone else reported it to me. It was still not as good as what I saw with my own eyes, so I made up my mind at this moment to take someone to the village to see what was going on.

Seeing that I had stopped Basmanov, Pantai Laiev smiled and politely asked: "Comrade division commander, do you have anything else to add?" ”

I shook my head and said to Basmanov: "Captain, you take a platoon and follow me to the village." ”

Bandereev heard me say that he was going to reconnoiter himself. I was immediately frightened, and hurriedly stopped me and said, "Comrade division commander, no, this is resolutely not good." You're the head of a division, you can't just take risks, or I'll take someone with you. ”

"Comrade Deputy Division Commander," I smiled gratefully at him for his concern, and continued: "Have you forgotten what Commander Yeremenko said last time in our headquarters?" He said last night the commander. Where you should go, you should go in person, and understand the situation in a timely manner. In this way, we can better formulate a targeted battle plan. I took people to the village to reconnoiter on the spot, so that I could figure out the nearby terrain, so that when I closed my eyes, I had a vivid picture of the battlefield in front of me, and even if I left the map, I could command the troops to fight. In this way, in a life-and-death and rapidly changing combat situation, we can grasp the initiative on the battlefield one step faster than the enemy, ensuring that our chances of victory are higher. ”

Hearing me say this, Bandeleyev knew that it was useless to persuade him any longer, so he had to reluctantly say: "Since this is the case, I reserve my opinion. Then he said with concern: "But Comrade division commander, you still have to pay more attention to your own safety, one platoon is too little, or you can bring all the guards who came with us?" ”

"No, no." Although there were thirty or forty people in a platoon, the target was not big, and if he really brought the guard company as he said, the movement of more than 100 people would be too big. In order not to sway his kindness, I said euphemistically: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, the village is not far from here, and even if something happens, the troops on the hill can come to our aid in time. If hundreds of people were to walk towards the village, they might have exposed their targets. After saying that, I saw that Basmanov was still standing in a daze, so I urged him: "Captain, what are you still doing in a daze, take a platoon and let me go." ”

"Yes!" When Basmanov heard me shout, he came to his senses, and after agreeing, he turned around and ran in the direction of the division headquarters, ready to call the troops to go to the village with me to reconnoitre.

After Basmanov left, I saw two soldiers of the guard company standing nearby, Mikhailov and Zhukhovetsky, whom I knew, so I shook my head at them and said: "Comrade soldiers, come with me, Captain Basmanov will catch up with the other fighters in a moment." ”

"Comrade division commander," seeing that the three of us were about to climb out of the trench and go to the village first, Pandereev was a little panicked again, he stopped me again, and persuaded me bitterly: "Comrade division commander, there are only three of you, it is too dangerous, it is better to wait for Captain Basmanov to bring people before going out." ”

I patted the submachine gun on my shoulder with my hand and replied with a smile: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, don't worry, as long as this submachine gun is there, even if we encounter a small group of enemy troops, we are fully capable of protecting ourselves." With that, without waiting for him to speak, I took the lead in climbing out of the trench and striding towards the village to the northwest of the hill.

After Mikhailov and Zhukhovetsky climbed out of the trench, they walked on either side of me with their guns in hand, keeping a vigilant eye on the surroundings as they went, in order to prevent the unexpected from happening.

On the road from the hill to the village, I couldn't make out any sound except the footsteps of the three of us, and there was not a single figure in sight, and the silence around me was eerily quiet.

As we walked into the village from the south of the village, we walked along the street, but we still couldn't hear a single movement, we couldn't see a single figure, the whole village was as silent as a tomb, and only the rustling of the footsteps of the three of us could be heard.

Perhaps some villagers were so panicked when they evacuated that they didn't even close the doors. At the door of the wooden house on the side of the street, there are bags, pillows and children's small boots. One can imagine how the people of the village were forced to leave their homes in a hurry by the fascist invaders.

When I first entered the village, I was lucky enough to meet one or two villagers in the village who were unable to leave their homeland, and inquired about the situation in the neighborhood. But after walking half the village, I was completely disappointed. Pushed open the doors of five or six houses in a row. Walked in and took a look. Not even a figure.

I was planning to go to the north of the village and if I couldn't see anyone, I turned around and went back to the headquarters on the hill. At this moment, I heard neat footsteps behind me, and quickly stopped and looked back. As a result, Basmanov with dozens of fighters was trotting towards us.

It turned out that it was not the villagers, and the hope that had just risen in my heart burst like a soap bubble in the sun. Having waited for Basmanov to come to me, I ordered him: "Comrade Captain. Ask the warriors to go to the village houses and check to see if they can find people, or what food or something. ”

"Yes." Basmanov agreed, and then called out several squad leaders in the guard platoon, and asked them to take their men to search nearby.

Looking at the scattered soldiers, although I did not have any hope in my heart to find someone, I also hoped that the soldiers would find some food from the village, so that we could stay behind enemy lines for a longer time.

Since the village was not large, the fighters who went to search soon returned and reported to me. There was not a single person in the village. Although no one found the villagers, most of them had some gains. Some fighters carried a few breads that were hard as stones and moldy, some had a jar of half-drunk honey in their hands, and some carried half a bag of flour.

Seeing the things they had brought back, Basmanov pointed to the warrior holding the moldy bread and shouted: "Hell, the bread is moldy and hard as a stone, can you eat it?" Hurry up and throw it away. The warrior who was reprimanded by him could only honestly throw aside the bread that he could not eat at all.

Basmanov again walked up to the warrior who was carrying half a bag of flour and ordered him: "Put the flour down." After the soldier put down the powder bag, Basmanov suddenly raised his hand and slapped the soldier's steel helmet fiercely, and then scolded viciously: "You stupid, what are we going to do with flour now?" You can't prepare two ovens to bake bread for you, right? ”

Finally he walked up to the warrior who took the honey, nodded, and said approvingly, "It's still you kid who is clever enough to take back the honey that's left over from others." When I go back later, I will make honey water and give it to the division commander and deputy division commander to drink. ”

When he returned to me, I said to him: "Comrade Captain, since there is no one in this village, let us go back." ”

"Comrade division commander, since the houses in the village are vacant, it is better for our troops to live in the village, which is much better than the trenches on the hills." Basmanov tentatively said to me.

Without hesitation, I waved my hand and vetoed his suggestion: "Captain, this village is surrounded by open fields, and once the enemy rushes over, there is a good chance that we will be surrounded. Even if we break through the enemy's encirclement and retreat to our positions on the hills, there will be a large number of casualties along the way. And if we are stationed on a hill, the situation is very different, not only is the field of vision wide, but even if the enemy comes to attack, we can rely on the position to defend. At this point, I looked left and right and said to him, "Are you all together?" If we have all of them, we will go back to the mountains. ”

Basmanov also looked left and right, and then replied: "Mikhailov and Zhukhovitsky are not there. ”

Hearing him say this, I looked into the group in front of me, but no, Mikhailov and Zhukhovetsky, who had entered the village with me, had run somewhere. I was deeply afraid that something would happen to them and most of them after they dispersed, so I hurriedly ordered Basmanov: "Captain, immediately organize men to find them." ”

"Comrade division commander, we are here." Without waiting for Basmanov to allocate men, the voices of Mikhailov and Zhukhovetsky were heard in the distance, and I turned to follow the voice, and saw that they were walking towards us with a large pile of glass jars in their arms. As he walked, he said, "Hey, I said guys, don't stand stupidly, come over and help, we can't hold so many things." Basmanov turned his consultative gaze to me, waited for my order, and when he saw that I nodded in agreement, he immediately waved his hand and asked five or six fighters to come and help Mikhailov and Zhukhovetsky carry their things.

When the group returned to me, I saw that they were holding all kinds of canned homemade vegetables, including pickled cucumbers, pickled mushrooms, pickled tomatoes, and even a bottle of vodka in the hands of some fighters. Seeing this scene, I couldn't help but ask Mikhailov and Zhukhovetsky curiously: "Hey, I said comrade soldiers, where did you get these things?" ”

Mikhailov shook his head in the direction he came. said: "Report to the division commander." We are on the north side of the village. A supply and marketing cooperative, all these things were taken from it. There were also sweets and enemas but unfortunately they were all broken, so we only brought these homemade glass cans and a few bottles of wine back. ”

I stared at the soldiers' hands and asked, "Have you finished moving everything in the supply and marketing cooperative?" ”

"No," Zhukhovetsky replied; "There were at least fifty or sixty cans, and a lot of vodka, but the two of us couldn't take them, so we only came back with just a few things."

Thinking of this, food is thrown here. We can only rot and spoil in vain, or else we can solve our problem of food shortage, so I instructed Basmanov: "Captain, you should bring twenty men over at once, and bring back everything that can be eaten and drunk in the supply and marketing cooperative." ”

When I finished speaking, Basmanov cautiously asked, "Will you get all the vodka back?" ”

"Needless to say, my comrade captain." I pushed Basmanov's shoulder from behind, and at the same time said impatiently: "Vodka can not only give the soldiers on duty at night a drink to keep out the cold, but also use it to clean the wounds of the wounded in the future." Remember, if you see a small cart or something. Just use it to put things on and pull them back. ”

Basmanov with a group of fighters, led by Mikhailov. Walk briskly to the north of the village. I said to Zhukhovetsky and the other fighters standing in front of me: "Put all these cans in your backpacks, so that they can be easily carried." As I watched them fill their knapsacks with cans and vodka, I added, "When we get back to the headquarters, we will gather all these things and distribute them to the regiments." We stayed behind enemy lines for a long time this time, and it was not enough to let the soldiers nibble on dry bread, but to let them all eat some vegetables to replenish their nutrition. Do you understand? ”

"Got it!" The fighters replied neatly.

When we returned to our positions with a full load, Bandereev, Sederikov, Kosga, who were waiting in the trenches, were stunned. Pantailyev asked in surprise: "I say, comrade division commander, where did you get these things?" ”

I shook my head in the direction of the village and said proudly, "These things are all from the supply and marketing cooperatives in the village. Sedjerikov, Kosga, both of you will bring someone to the division headquarters to get something later. ”

Without waiting for the two of them to answer me, Pantai Leev frowned and preemptively said: "Division commander, you have brought someone to move all the things of the village supply and marketing cooperative, is this appropriate?" It's not going to be disciplined, is it? ”

"Nothing out of place." I waved my hand and said to myself: "We have to stay behind enemy lines for several days, and we can't let the soldiers eat dry bread with cold water every day, but we still need to let them eat some vegetables to supplement their nutrition, so that they can have enough body to complete the next combat mission." ”

Originally, I thought that Bantai Leev would retort to me like a positive character in a certain movie: "If the soldiers don't eat vegetables and supplement their nutrition, they can't complete their combat missions and win battles?" Unexpectedly, he actually nodded and echoed me: "Comrade division commander, you are right. Well, we'll divide the cans and vodka evenly among the regiments later. I tried my best to squeeze a smile on my face and gave an order to Shederikov and Kosga: "Two regiment commanders, find a few soldiers to help move these things to the division headquarters, and then we can distribute them." ”

When Sederikov and Kosga, who had been waiting for a long time, heard my order, they hurriedly waved to the soldiers beside them and asked them to help the soldiers of the division guard company carry their things.

In the division headquarters.

Looking at the soldiers of the first and third regiments who happily distributed canned food and vodka, Bantai Laiev said with emotion: "Comrade division commander, I have convinced you, and it is really a good idea to bring back the food from the empty village supply and marketing cooperatives...... I never thought of such a simple and practical way to replenish the supply of the troops. Speaking of this, he paused for a moment, and then added: "Comrade division commander, I think that there should be such an abandoned village nearby, and when the Germans occupied this area, they searched the village, and when they found that it was empty, they did not destroy the village, so many useful resources for us were left behind." I immediately sent scouts to reconnoiter the neighborhood, and as soon as I found such a village, I immediately sent people to bring back all the useful things in the village. ”

Seeing that Bandereev was in high spirits, I couldn't bear to spoil him, so I followed his meaning and said: "Well, since that's the case. Comrade Deputy Division Commander, it is up to you to arrange the selection of scouts, and at the same time form a temporary transport team, and as soon as such a village is discovered, send them to bring back all the useful things in the village. ”

While Pantai Laiev was out to arrange work, I walked up to the newspaper operator, bowed my head and asked him: "Comrade newspaper operator, is there any news from the city?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." The telegraph operator with headphones handed me a telegram as he spoke.

I took the telegram to my eyes, and saw that it was briefly written: "Early this morning, the first round of the enemy's attack on the factory area was repulsed by our troops, and the enemy suffered heavy losses. But the enemy, not willing to be defeated, after a short break, threw himself into the second echelon and reserves. At the moment, the battle is raging. (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank the book friend Concubine Hong Feifei for the two votes of support! Thank you for the valuable monthly ticket voted by tonnyted children's shoes!