When the news of Vasilyev's death by German snipers was confirmed, I leaned weakly against the wall of the traffic trench as if all my strength had been drained. I thought that if Chuikov hadn't informed me to come to the headquarters of the army group for a meeting, then I would have gone with Vasiliev to inspect the 171st Division. In the face of a German attack by tanks and armored vehicles, we did not have the accompanying armored forces and the necessary anti-tank weapons, and only relied on infantry armed with small arms to deal with the enemy's tanks, no matter how many people there were, we still could not escape the fate of being slaughtered by the Germans.

At this time, Chuikov and the others also received the news of Vasilyev's death, and they all came out of the headquarters and walked towards us along the communication trench. Still far away, Chuikov shouted at me, "Hey, Oshanina, do you know? Your commissar, Comrade Vasilyev, was sniped by enemy snipers and died heroically. ”

I nodded at him and replied weakly, "Yes, Comrade Commander, my subordinates have just reported this to me, and I am about to report it to you." ”

"Comrade Vasilyev can't die in vain," Gurov, who walked up to him, said angrily, "We must immediately fight back and let the Germans know that we are not easy to bully." ”

After listening to what Gurov said, I forced a smile, Vasilyev's sacrifice made my heart sad, and I also wanted to avenge him, but how should this revenge be avenged? I can't just order the commanders and fighters of the whole army to launch a surprise attack on the German defense area without giving any distinction to the urgency, right?

Leaning against the wall of the trench in despair, I listened blankly to the conversation between Rokossovsky and Chuikov.

"General Rokossovsky, Comrade Vasilyev cannot die in vain, I think we should retaliate against the Germans with a tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye," Chuikov said. ”

After listening to what Chuikov said, Rokossovsky did not immediately reply to him, but glanced at Sergeant Songjik who was standing next to him, and then asked me solemnly: "Leda, if I am not mistaken, you sent a squad of the special guard company to set off with Commissar Vasilyev, right?" ”

I nodded, and then turned my gaze to Songjik next to me. When the sergeant's gaze met me, he immediately understood that I wanted him to answer this question, so he hurriedly stepped forward and replied respectfully: "Report to Comrade Commander of the Front, there are 12 of us in total, and 10 of them died in battle. ”

"Where's your weapon, Comrade Sergeant." After listening to Songjik, Rokossovsky suddenly turned his face and asked the sergeant in a stern tone: "When you retreated, did you throw all the weapons carried by the sacrificed soldiers to the Germans?" ”

"Comrade General, I beg your pardon!" When Song Jike heard Rokossovsky ask, he immediately became a little flustered, and he defended himself nervously, saying: "At that time, the enemy's firepower was too fierce, and I had to cover the breakthrough of Comrade Political Commissar, so I did not collect the weapons lost on the battlefield by the soldiers who died in the squad. ”

The conversation between Rokossovsky and Songjik shocked me into a cold sweat. You must know that the soldiers of the special guard company are equipped with AK47s that do not belong to this era, and once the German army gets this weapon, it is sent back to the country. With their superior industrial capacity and all the military factories in the whole of Europe under their control, they can be copied on a large scale. In less than two months, this kind of weapon will be able to be installed in the German army, and then it will be a catastrophe for the Soviet army, which is backward in light weapons.

I knew in my heart that the AK47 must not fall into the hands of the Germans, otherwise the Kalashnikov rifle would be able to help them change their minds. Thinking of this, my fear suddenly disappeared without a trace, and before Rokossovsky could speak again, I preemptively said: "Comrade Commander of the Front, please allow me to immediately rush to the place where Commissar Vasilyev died to deal with the aftermath. ”

Rokossovsky did not immediately agree to my request, but asked with concern: "Do you need me to send the air force to cooperate?" Speaking of this, his eyes glanced at Chuikov who was standing opposite, "Or let the artillery fire of the army group cover the German positions in that area?" ”

Air force support and artillery coverage sounded quite tempting, but after thinking for a while, I shook my head and resolutely refused: "Comrade commander of the front army, thank you for your kindness, with just a few tanks of the Germans, there is no need for the air force to dispatch, and with the tank brigade and artillery regiment of our army, we can clean them all up." ”

"Well, since you're so confident, you can go." After listening to my statement, Rokossovsky first nodded, and then specifically told me: "Be sure to pay attention to your own safety." ”

"Yes!" After raising my hand and saluting him, I walked quickly in front of Chuikov and asked respectfully: "Comrade Commander, can you allow me to use the communication room?" ”

"Absolutely." Chuikov understood the purpose of using the communication room, and hurriedly turned his head and instructed the communications director behind him, Colonel Yulin: "Colonel, you take Oshanina to the communication room." ”

I followed Yulin to the communications room and immediately dialed my military headquarters by phone. When I heard the voice of Chief of Staff Vitkov from the other side, I immediately ordered: "Hey, Chief of Staff, I'm Oshanina. I order you to immediately send the sniper detachment of Second Lieutenant Vasily of the 150th Division to the place where the commissar died, and then send a battalion of the 266th Cannon Regiment, which is newly assigned to our army. ”

"Understood, I'll relay your order right away." After Vitkov said this, he cautiously asked me: "Comrade commander, I don't know when you will return to the army headquarters. ”

"I have to rush to the place where the political commissar died immediately to deal with the aftermath, and I can't return to the army headquarters for the time being." For his concern, I apologized and said, "So I can only trouble you to stay in the headquarters." ”

"Comrade commander, the political commissar has died, can you have another accident?"

"Don't worry, Chief of Staff," I said disapprovingly into the microphone, "I'll be safe, the enemy hasn't made a bullet to kill me yet." ”

Ten minutes later, I took Yushchenko and his platoon of guards to the site of the attack on Vasilyev. Here, quite a few of my commanders have gathered, including Colonel Gorokhov, the deputy commander of the 171st Division, who has arrived to reinforce him, in addition to the Bere Colonel of the tank brigade, who has also brought more than 200 infantrymen.

Seeing my presence, Berey and Gorokhov greeted me. Fearing that there were German snipers nearby, neither of them saluted me, but just stood straight in front of me.

I remember Sergeant Songjik telling me that they were the first to go to the tank brigade for help after they got out of danger, so the first to arrive at the scene was Colonel Bere and his tank detachment. I looked at Beray and asked in a low voice, "Comrade Colonel, how is the situation?" ”

When Colonel Bere heard my question, he shook his head and replied with a bitter face: "By the time our tank detachment arrived, the Germans had already retreated. After our inspection, the commissar died honorably because he was shot in the head by an enemy sniper. As for the accompanying guard fighters, 29 people were killed, 11 were wounded, and 2 people managed to escape. ”

"Captain Yushchenko," after listening to Bere's report, I turned my head and instructed Yushchenko behind me: "Take someone to check the weapons of the soldiers of the special company, and see if they are all there?" ”

"Yes!" Yushchenko agreed, and walked towards the open field with Songjik and a dozen or so soldiers.

After Yushchenko and the others left, I asked Berey again: "Colonel, where is the body of the commissar?" ”

Bere snorted in the direction of a pile of rubble in the distance, and said, "There it is!" Seeing that I was about to walk towards that with my leg raised, he hurriedly stopped me, "Comrade commander, I advise you not to go and see it." ”

I was surprised by my Bere's dissuasion, so I stopped and asked, "Why, Comrade Colonel?" ”

Hearing me ask, Colonel Berey began to vomit without saying a reason for a long time. Gorokhov, who was next to him, took a step forward and said to me: "Comrade commander, allow me to report to you. ”

"Please, Comrade Colonel." Although Gorokhov was my subordinate, I had hardly dealt with him before, so I spoke to him politely.

"Comrade Commander, Colonel Bere is also a good intention." As he spoke, Gorokhov glanced at Bere beside him again, and then explained to me: "Since the commissar was shot in the head by a German sniper, the bullet drilled out from the back of the head into the forehead, the whole face was smashed by the bullet, the brain and blood flowed all over the ground, and the white skull of Sensen could be seen in the split head." Two of the fighters I had just sent to collect the bodies couldn't help but vomit. ”

"I understand," although I have long been accustomed to seeing life and death, but when I heard Vasilyev's tragic situation, my heart still couldn't help but be furious, so I hurriedly got off the donkey down the slope and said: "In this case, the matter of collecting and burying the body of the commissar will be left to you." Colonel Bere," I said, turning my attention to Bere, "is there a place nearby where I can observe the enemy's position?" ”

Berey hurriedly nodded, pointed to the building where two of our tanks were parked in the distance, and said: "Comrade commander, in that building you can clearly see the enemy's position. ”

"Let's go, take me to see it." After saying this, I smiled at Gorokhov and said, "Colonel Gorokhov, you can do the same." ”

As a result of the bombing and shelling some time ago, the walls of this six-story house almost completely collapsed, and only a large frame remained. A few of us walked up the broken staircase, as the handrail had long since been blown off, and my heart instinctively tightened as the height increased.

Starting from the first floor, each floor was piled up with masonry and rubble that had been blown down. According to Colonel Bere, the German infantry had just been hiding here and took us by surprise, and the snipers were hiding in this building and successfully sniped the commissar Vasilyev.

When I came to a wall on the ground floor that had not completely collapsed, I could see the dilapidated buildings and the German trenches in front of the buildings in the distance, and even without binoculars, I could clearly see the German soldiers walking back and forth in the trenches.

At this moment, a propeller reconnaissance plane of our army appeared in the air, it flew very low, about only more than 100 meters high, and the voice of the loudspeaker on the plane was heard in the air: "Please pay attention, German soldiers and officers besieged in Stalingrad,......"

Unexpectedly, the low-flying plane was strafed by German machine guns, and the pilot hurriedly pulled the plane up in order to avoid the bullets flying from the ground. However, it seemed to be a step slower, and I saw a puff of black smoke suddenly rise from the rear half of the fuselage, and then the whole plane staggered off into the distance.

"Hell, what the hell!" Seeing that our plane was hit by the Germans, Gorokhov next to him was so angry that he shouted: "Damn the Germans, they even beat the plane that persuaded them to surrender, it seems that they don't want to live anymore." ”

When I saw Colonel Gorokhov in a rage, I remained calm enough, and when he stopped talking, I said lightly: "Comrade Colonel, since you also think that the Germans deserve to die, then you will personally send them to hell!" ”

"Send them to hell?" Gorokhov was confused by my words, he looked at me, then at Bere, and asked with a blank expression: "Comrade commander, I don't understand what you mean, you have confused me?" ”

Colonel Bere, who had dealt with me many times, understood my voice-over and hurriedly said to Gorokhov with a smile: "Colonel Gorokhov, don't you understand? Comrade Commander was planning to destroy the German position in front of him, and he was going to let your troops take on the task of the main attack. ”

"Is that so, Comrade Commander?" Seeing that I nodded in agreement with Bere's statement, Gorokhov immediately excitedly said: "Okay, I'll lead my troops to take back the enemy's position." ”

After saying that, he turned around and was about to leave, and I hurriedly stopped him: "Colonel, don't worry, when our artillery regiment comes, first cover the enemy's positions with artillery fire, and then have Colonel Bere's tank detachment cover your infantry charge, and strive to seize the front position for me in the shortest possible time." ”

Gorokhov looked at the area occupied by the Germans in front, pouted, and said disapprerovitically: "Comrade division commander, the position in front of you has only four or five houses and a few trenches, and there are no more than 100 enemies holding there. ”

"Comrade Colonel," I felt a slight displeasure in my heart when I heard him so contempt for the enemy, and I reminded him with a straight face: "Please note that the life of every soldier is precious, and we, as commanders, have no right to risk their lives. Therefore, before the attack, it is necessary to carry out saturation artillery bombardment on the enemy's positions until they have no power to fight back, and then launch a final charge, so as to achieve the maximum result at the minimum cost. Got it? ”

"Understood!" Gorokhov, who had been reprimanded by me a few words, replied with a blushing face.

"Let's go, I'll go downstairs."

Coming downstairs, the units of the 266th Artillery Regiment and Vasily's sniper detachment had arrived. When the two saw me coming out of the building, they hurriedly stepped forward and reported to me: "Comrade commander, the sniper detachment led by Second Lieutenant Vasily has been ordered to come and wait for your orders!" ”

"Major Kolomin, commander of the artillery battalion of the 266th Artillery Regiment, has been ordered to come and wait for your orders!"

I nodded at the two of them, and first said to Major Kolomin: "Major, spread your artillery battalion on the spot and shell the German positions in front for no less than ten minutes, understand?" ”

"Understood!" Major Kolomin replied loudly.

Then I patted Vasily on the shoulder, pointed to the building I had just come out of, and said to him: "Ensign, you take your sniper detachment into the building. When our infantry attacked, your task was to snipe the German commanders and machine gun shooters, mortar gunners and other important targets. Is the mission clear? ”

"It's clear!" After answering, Vasily turned around and waved his hand at the dozen or so snipers waiting not far away, shouting: "Follow me!" Then he rushed into the building first.

Seeing that Yushchenko came to me, I asked in a low voice: "Captain, how is the situation, are the weapons there?" ”

Yushchenko nodded and whispered to me: "There are a total of 12 assault rifles, 2 of which are on the two surviving fighters, 1 of which was damaged by German shells during the battle, and the remaining 9 rifles, we have all recovered." ”

I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief when I heard that the AK47 lost on the battlefield did not fall into the hands of the Germans, and then said to Yushchenko in a tone of approval: "Captain, well done, when this battle is over, I will personally ask for credit for you." ”R1152