When the car drove into Cumbre del Sol City, my face sank when I saw the scene outside the window. The collapse of the water tower on the side of the road, the houses with their roofs torn off, and the ruins still emitting wisps of black smoke all indicate that the city has been shelled or bombed by the Germans. I sighed in my heart, remembering that when I called the political commissar yesterday, I repeatedly told him to send troops to build fortifications two kilometers north of the city, and to leave the city as far away from the front of the defensive position as possible.

The car stopped at the gate of the division headquarters, I got out of the car listlessly, pulled the coat that had been pressed a little wrinkled, and was walking towards the headquarters with my head down, when I suddenly heard Yushchenko's surprised voice behind me: "Oops, isn't this Comrade Bukov!" Why are you here? ”

Hearing this familiar name, I quickly raised my head, looked around, and saw that the militia battalion commander I knew was standing upright at the door of the headquarters with two soldiers.

Hearing Yushchenko's shouting, Bukov smiled at us and hurried to meet us. Walking up to me, he raised his hand and saluted me, saying: "Report to the division commander, Comrade Division, Major Bukov, commander of the guard battalion of the 8th Guards Division, reports to you that we are on guard duty at the division headquarters and are waiting for your instructions. ”

"Keep on guard!" I was very surprised that he suddenly appeared here and served as the commander of the guard battalion at the division headquarters. Looking at the two small vertical stripes on his collar badge representing the identity of a major, I asked with some curiosity: "Major Bukov, tell me, how did you come to my division to become the commander of the guard battalion?" "You must know that when I left the day before yesterday, the division headquarters was only two companies that were not full, so why did a guard battalion emerge in just one day?

"Report to Comrade Division Commander," Bukov replied respectfully: "After we recaptured Khimki the day before yesterday, the troops of the garrison command took over the defense. Originally, our mission was to assist the regular army in the defense, but in the evening, I suddenly received an order from my superiors, informing me that I had been promoted to major and that I was asked to become a battalion commander in the Guards Division. After I reported to Zhukov at the headquarters of the Front that day that I had recaptured Khimki, I heard him and Stalin report on their work, and the Supreme Commander himself was very satisfied with the military operation to capture Khimki, and personally promoted Buniachenko and Bukov to the ranks, and asked Zhukov to arrange Bukov to be the battalion commander of our division.

Originally, I thought that after Bukov came, the political commissar arranged for him to serve as a battalion commander in a certain regiment, but I didn't expect to leave him at the division headquarters and rebuild a guard battalion. Needless to say, this guard battalion, in addition to the companies of Yushchenko and Ramis, also had the militia that Bukov had previously commanded.

So I inquired about the formation of the guard battalion that I was interested in, and I learned that in addition to the two companies of Yushchenko and Ramis, there were also three militia companies, and the total strength of the battalion was currently 400 people.

Walking into Headquarters, I saw a meeting going on inside. Presiding over the meeting was political commissar Yegorov, who sat in the middle of a long wooden table, with the deputy division commander Chistyakov in his left hand and Serebryakov on his right, as well as three new regiment commanders who had just been promoted. Seeing that I walked in, the meeting was temporarily suspended, and everyone stood up to greet me. I nodded at everyone, then pulled out the bench and sat down opposite Commissar Egorov.

I was not polite, and asked straight to the point: "Comrade Political Commissar, what are you studying at the meeting?" ”

The political commissar probably didn't expect me to ask so directly, so he was stunned for a moment before replying: "We are discussing which unit should be transferred to the newly built fortifications yesterday?" ”

It's been a day, and the newly repaired fortifications haven't even sent troops in, and the fortifications are still useless, and the Germans can easily occupy it as long as they swagger over. Although I was unhappy in my heart, I didn't show it on the surface, and just said coldly: "What is there to discuss, send the first battalion of the 1073 regiment up, and then the second battalion of the 1075 regiment as a reserve, ready for reinforcements at any time." ”

"Comrade division commander," Serebryakov asked with some puzzlement, "my division does not have many troops, and it can all be reduced to the city for defense, and there is no need to build a defensive line so far from the city?" ”

As soon as he had finished speaking, almost all eyes were on me, waiting for me to give an explanation that would be acceptable to all. I glanced around everyone, and then said slowly: "Although the city of Cumbre del Sol is not small, the area of the city is limited after all, and if all the troops stay in the city, then the German army can calmly surround us and consume us with shells and bombs." The reason why I want to push the new line of defense out of the city is because I intend to keep the future enemy far out of the city. In this way, if the enemy wants to attack the city, he must first break through this line of defense outside the city, and when they are entangled with our forward troops, the rest of our troops can make a detour from the flanks and beat them hard from behind. ”

I saw a map of Cumbre del Sol on the table, so I stood up and looked at it, and then pointed to the defense line at the north gate and said to everyone: "You see, on the left and right sides of our army's new defensive line, there is a forest on each side, and we can hide our tank units here, and when the enemy attacks, attack from the flank, cut them in two, and then destroy them one by one." ”

"Comrade division commander, maybe I'm going to disappoint you," Chistyakov stood up with a serious expression and told me in a serious manner: "Early this morning, the Guards Tank Brigade has already received an order to go to Red Village to assist in the defense, and we have no tanks available at all. ”

As soon as his words came out, everyone immediately echoed them. Without tank units and sufficient artillery units, this line of defense on open ground would be fragile and vulnerable.

Seeing that this meeting had a tendency to turn into a revolving meeting, I hurriedly exercised my right as a division commander, stopped everyone from expressing their opinions, and resolutely said to the people present: "You don't have to worry about tank matters, I will seek assistance from the group army, and the first thing to do now is to deploy the first battalion of the 1073rd Regiment to the position." Lieutenant Colonel Chernyugov! I called out the name of the new commander of the 1073rd Regiment and said to him: "You will personally handle the entry of the troops into the position." Go for it now, and remember, move fast. You know, even a few minutes are precious to us in these circumstances. ”

"Yes, I'll move the troops right away." Lieutenant Colonel Chernyugov, having saluted me, ran away from the command.

Watching Cherniugov leave, I sat down again and spoke again: "Comrade Chief of Staff, tell me about the current situation. ”

Serebryakov stood up and reported to me: "Comrade division commander, this is the situation. Around ten o'clock in the morning, the Germans dispatched three bombers to carry out an air raid on the city of Cumbre del Sol, but found no signs of enemy ground troops. ”

I glanced at him and asked, "What are the casualties of our division in this air raid?" ”

He shook his head and said, "The casualties were not large, only more than 200 casualties. ”

More than 200 people, if the whole division is full, this number is really nothing, but in the current situation, it is equivalent to us losing two more companies with combat effectiveness, and the difficulty of defending the city has increased by a few points. Because I knew that for the Soviets, holding the city was the most important thing, and as for the number of casualties of the troops, it was only an insignificant number, so I did not just remain silent.

I didn't speak, and everyone didn't dare to speak casually, and there was silence in the room.

When the phone rang, the commissar sat close, grabbed the microphone, listened to it, and handed it to me. I took the microphone and heard Rokossovsky's familiar voice coming from inside: "Leda, I have good news for you, I only learned when I came back that Chief of Staff Malinin has sent you a tank division after the transfer of the Guards Tank Brigade, and it is estimated that it will arrive soon, and this unit is also under your command." ”

Hearing this good news, the corners of my mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly, and I hurriedly thanked him and expressed my determination: "Thank you, Comrade Commander. Rest assured, we will never let the enemy set foot in the city again. After a pause, he cautiously warmed up: "Comrade commander, I still want to ask, has the part of the German army that broke through our defense line been wiped out?" ”

"The Germans, who broke through the junction of the 5th and 33rd armies, near the village of Akulovo, were blocked by the 32nd Infantry Division. Quite a few enemy tanks were blown up at minefields, and the division was destroying the remaining part of the enemy tanks with artillery fire. It won't be long before they are completely crushed. After Rokossovsky finished speaking, he hung up.

I put down the microphone and just wanted to inform everyone about what Rokossovsky had just said, when I heard someone behind me shouting a report, and I couldn't say anything: "Come in!" ”

Immediately afterward, I heard a familiar voice coming from behind: "Report to the division commander, Comrade Division, the commander of the 389th Tank Division, Colonel Buniachenko, to report to you that the troops have been ordered to come to Cumbre del Sol to assist in the defense and listen to your instructions." ”