"Nonsense, it's just nonsense!" Hearing the second lieutenant say this, I couldn't help but have a seizure, "Who gave him the right to dare to openly disobey the orders of his superiors at such a time and lead troops to attack the Germans without authorization." Who is it? Who gave him this right? ”

The second lieutenant wiped his sweaty forehead with his sleeve and said nervously: "Comrade division commander, this is the decision of the regiment commander himself. ”

I just replied noncommittally, and then asked lightly: "The head of the regiment is not here, so who is responsible here?" ”

The second lieutenant looked left and right for a moment, and replied: "I think I am in charge, Comrade division commander, and the commanders of the regiment have followed the regiment commander to carry out their tasks." ”

"Ensign, how many people are still in the station?" I then asked.

"There was a platoon I led, and there were more than seventy lightly wounded." Perhaps afraid that I would continue to ask questions, he immediately added: "The seriously wounded in the regiment have already been sent to Stalingrad in the afternoon. ”

"Take your men, as well as those who are lightly wounded, and follow me to the forward position."

"But, comrade division commander," the second lieutenant hesitated a little when he heard my order, and asked tentatively, "if they all go to the trenches, won't there be no secret posts in these places?" ”

"Comrade Second Lieutenant," said me unpleasantly, "if the Germans do make a detour from other places, do you think that with your hundred or so men, you will be able to stop them?" Don't say more, gather your team and get ready to go. ”

Seeing that I was resolute, the second lieutenant did not dare to refute, so he took out a whistle from his collar and blew it vigorously twice. With the whistle, several fighters flashed out of hiding. Run up to him and raise your hands in salute. The second lieutenant instructed them: "Gather all the soldiers and lightly wounded men in the platoon at once." Follow the division commander to the forward position. ”

After the soldiers left. The second lieutenant leaned slightly to the side, made a gesture of invitation, and said flatteringly: "Comrade division commander, let me take you to the trenches." ”

I nodded and walked forward. The second lieutenant also hurried to get up and down one body ahead of me, bending slightly to act as a guide for me in front. Seeing the lieutenant's deferential attitude towards me, I could not help but feel a good impression of him. As I walked, I asked, "Comrade Ensign, what's your name?" ”

Hearing me ask his name, the second lieutenant looked a little nervous, and he replied in a panic: "Basmanov, second lieutenant Alexey. Basmanov. Seeing that I seemed to be asking something, he hurriedly added, "I was originally from the 24th Infantry Division, and the original unit was stationed in the territory of Ukraine, highlighting the German encirclement, because the flag of our division was lost." So it was revoked. Divisional commanders were all court-martialed, and middle and lower divisional commanders. Except for a few who were unharmed, the rest were sent to the punishment camp. ”

Military flag, listening to Second Lieutenant Basmanov talk about the military flag, I suddenly remembered that the flag of the independent division was still in the headquarters of the station, and I don't know if Shedelikov brought out the flag when he was transferred. If the flag is lost, what awaits me is the fate of a court-martial. I slowed down, turned to Razumeyeva, who was following behind me, and said, "Get in touch with Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov immediately." ”

As soon as Sederikov was connected, I couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I would like to ask you, at the time of the transfer, did you bring the flag of the independent division?" ”

"Of course, Comrade Divisional Commander." Sederikov said solemnly: "We would rather lose our lives than protect this flag of the independent division." Division commander, please rest assured, I will definitely protect the military flag as if it were my own life. When he said this, the stone hanging in my heart fell to the ground.

Outside the wooden house of the original army group headquarters, there was a blackened German tank, which was less than twenty meters away from the wooden house, which proves how fierce the battle was at that time, so that the German tanks broke through the defense line of our army and rushed straight to the side of the headquarters of the Oleg regiment. Had it not been for the brave fighters who blew up the German tanks with cluster grenades in time, Oleg and his commanders would have been much more fortunate.

The further you go, the stronger the smell of blood in the air. According to the intelligence reported to me by Oleg, every inch of the frontier here has been infiltrated with blood, including the blood of our soldiers and, of course, the blood of the Germans.

Entering the trenches, both the engineer company of the guard squad that had followed me, the men of Second Lieutenant Basmanov, and the lightly wounded men scattered, each taking up a position, vigilantly watching the distance.

I leaned on the wall of the trench and raised my binoculars to look into the distance, trying to see where Oleg's attacking troops were. Unfortunately, although the moon hung high in the sky, I could only see the outline of the hillside in the distance, and I only felt that it was quiet, and there was no movement at all.

After Basmanov settled his subordinates, he also lay down beside me and asked curiously: "Comrade division commander, is there any movement?" ”

I shook my head slowly and said, "I can't see anything, I don't know where Oleg has sneaked with his troops." "When I said this, I was thinking in my heart that the 2nd Regiment was facing the 371st German Infantry Division, which occupied the 158th and 165th heights, and Oleg had fought with the Germans in the above-mentioned areas.

While he was thinking wildly, Basmanov suddenly pointed ahead and shouted loudly: "Comrade division commander, look, what is that?" ”

I lifted my binoculars and looked in the direction of his finger, and saw two bright spots appear on the plain in the distance, as inconspicuous as the lights of fireflies in the bright moonlight. Then there were two, four, six, eight two points, and soon the highlights were connected.

It was only then that I saw that these bright spots were the lights of the cars, and I didn't know if it was the Germans or Oleg who came to attack. If it were the Germans, the fighters who had already been ready could have taken them by surprise. If it were Oleg, he would have been too bold to dare to march swaggering with his headlights on under the noses of the Germans.

But when you think about it, you don't think it's surprising, after all, it's in their country's traffic laws. When the vehicle is moving. Lights must be turned on around the clock. Whether it's sunny or cloudy, day or night, it's really not easy for the old Maozi to break this habit.

At this time, Basmanov also saw clearly that it was a convoy, and said to me excitedly: "Comrade division commander, before the regiment commander led the team to set off, he said that he was going to attack the German convoy. It seems that they returned from their mission, and they also returned in the captured car. ”

Looking at Basmanov's elated appearance, I couldn't laugh at all, and I always had an ominous premonition in my heart, always feeling that the Germans were not fools, how could they let Oleg and them drive the captured vehicles and swagger back to our positions in such a light way.

I could see through my binoculars the approaching convoy at high speed, two open-top cars in front and two dozen trucks full of fighters in the back. As the convoy got closer and closer, he saw the distant high ground due to the west. Suddenly, there was a burst of flashes of light. After the flash, there was the rumbling of cannonballs. It turned out that the artillery deployed by the Germans on the heights opened fire on Oleg's convoy.

The first shell landed next to a truck in the middle and exploded, and although the huge shock wave did not overturn the car directly, it slammed the high-speed truck to the left and right. Then the rain of shells landed in the middle of the fast-moving convoy and exploded.

A shell hit the open-top car in front of it, and at the same time as a fireball rose, the rear end of the car was raised high, and the whole car took off into the air, flipped a heel in the air from back to front, and then fell heavily to the ground, and then burst into flames and exploded. I witnessed the whole process of the car being shot and exploding, and because I was worried that Oleg was in the car, I watched very carefully, and it turned out that in the end, none of the occupants of the car escaped.

One after another, the shells fell on the convoy and exploded, and although they rarely hit the trucks directly, the shock wave from the explosion of the shells overturned two or three trucks, and the soldiers on the vehicles rolled down one after another. As a result of falling from a vehicle moving at high speed, almost all of these fighters were injured on the spot, few were able to get up immediately, and most of them rolled in pain in place.

Another shell exploded next to a truck, shaking the body several times and burning half of the compartment. Although the highly skilled driver stabilized the vehicle and continued to gallop forward, the fighters in the car were obviously not so lucky, and the carriage that was originally full was now only four or five people left.

Since the distance of two or three hundred meters in front of the position was densely packed with craters, the convoy rushed to this place and had to slow down, which further increased the accuracy of the German artillery.

Several people in the convertible jumped out and waved their arms desperately at the back, as if shouting something. I was too far away to hear what they were shouting, but I immediately saw all the trucks come to a halt, and the soldiers on board jumped out of the cars and rushed towards the position with their weapons in hand.

Some of the slow-moving fighters had just jumped out of the car and had not gone far, when the truck they were riding in was hit by German shells and exploded into a ball of fire, and the flying shrapnel and explosion swept down the fighters who were not far from the truck.

However, fortunately, the German artillery targets were concentrated on the trucks, ignoring the commanders and fighters who jumped out of the cars to escape, and in the end, nearly 150 people rushed into the trenches.

I stood up and walked along the trench, shouting Oleg's name loudly as I went: "Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, where are you?" ”

A soldier who was wounded in the arm and was bandaging heard my shout and hurriedly preemptively said: "Comrade division commander, Regimental Commander Oleg is in front, you can see it if you go a little further." ”

When I passed through the soldiers crowded in the trenches, I saw Oleg sitting on the ground with his back to the wall of the trench with a depressed face. I bent down and grabbed him by the collar and scolded angrily: "Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, look, this is what you did." For your so-called revenge, you have caused so many soldiers to die in vain under the enemy's fire. ”

Oleg looked at me with a blank gaze, then turned his head to look at the wolf bèi commanders around him, and lowered his head in shame.

Now that the military situation was urgent, and it was not yet the time to settle accounts with him, I indignantly loosened his collar, stood up, and commanded Basmanov, who had come with me: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, it is not advisable to stay here for a long time, I order you to immediately lead the troops to transfer." ”

After Basmanov listened to my order, his eyes involuntarily looked at Oleg, who was sitting on the ground. I frowned. said coldly: "Find two people." Carry your regimental commander and retreat. I raised my hand and looked at my watch, adding, "I'll give you five minutes, and after five minutes, the troops must go." Otherwise, when the Germans pounce on us, we won't be able to withdraw even if we want to! ”

Since the task of retreating of the 2nd Regiment was entrusted to Basmanov, I took the guard squad and the engineer company to retreat to the north first. On the road. The more I thought about it, the more angry I became, before the battle began, the total strength of the 2nd Regiment was 2,000 men, but now, there were no more than 300 people who could retreat.

We walked north for about half an hour, and Basmanov caught up with me and reported to me: "Report to the division commander, I have already led the second regiment up. ”

I turned my head to look behind me, although I didn't see where the 2nd Regiment was because the guards squad and the engineer company blocked my view. But I still asked with concern: "How is the situation with Lieutenant Colonel Oleg?" ”

"I've come to my senses." Basmanov said quickly, "I was following your orders. Let two fighters carry him on a stretcher, but he firmly disagreed, and had to walk on his own. As you know, he was my superior, and I had no authority to give orders to him, so I had to go with him. ”

"If he wants to go, let him go." I said angrily, "I gave him a regiment of two thousand men, and he was fine, so he left me with two or three hundred men." The Second Regiment, which was originally quite strong in combat, has completely lost its combat effectiveness after this battle, and it seems that you can only go to the rear to make up for it. ”

"Comrade division commander," Basmanov was a little anxious when he heard me say this, "don't look at the small number of people in our regiment, but the rest are some combat backbones." If we are replenished with new soldiers, it will not be long before we can quickly regain our combat effectiveness. ”

I was about to say something when an unfamiliar voice in front of me suddenly asked in a loud voice, "Stop, what part of you are from?" ”

Hearing this, Basmanov quickly blocked in front of me and replied loudly: "We are from the 2nd Regiment of the Independent Division, which part are you?" ”

"We are from the third regiment and the ninth company, and we are staying on guard duty."

"Comrade division commander is here." Basmanov took the initiative to identify me to the other party.

Soon, a lieutenant came up to me and was startled at the sight of his outfit, he was actually wearing a German steel helmet and wearing a German uniform, and if he had not spoken fluent Russian, I would have shot a long time ago. After raising his hand in salute, he reported to me: "Report to the division commander, Lieutenant Godunov, the commander of the 9th Company of the 3rd Regiment, report to you. Our company was ordered by the regimental commander, Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard, to stay on guard duty against the German troops. ”

Instead of returning the salute, I asked sternly, "Why are you wearing German uniforms?" ”

Godunov looked down at the military uniform on his body, shrugged his shoulders with an embarrassed smile and said: "Comrade division commander, please listen to my explanation." Originally, before receiving your retreat order, the regiment commander had formulated a sneak attack plan, and in order to achieve the effect of confusing the German army, he specially collected more than 300 sets of German uniforms, and planned to let us disguise ourselves as German soldiers to sneak attack the settlements. Although the plan was canceled because of the retreat, I felt that the uniforms would be of little use if they were left, so I did not follow the order of the regiment commander and bury the uniforms on the spot. ”

Godunov's words flashed in my mind, although it was said that this place was only thirty kilometers away from the preset position, no one could guarantee that there would be no detour of the German troops or scouts, and if there was an exchange of fire, the Germans would find that our division had retreated from its original position, and they would immediately catch up. If we use these German uniforms and pretend to be German troops, we can kill them quietly when we encounter scouts or patrols. Even if we encounter a large force, the other side will not suspect us at all if they look at the German uniforms worn by our troops, and there are German-language quacks like Mihayev, so that we can reach the new position smoothly.

Thinking of this, I hurriedly ordered Godunov: "Comrade lieutenant, immediately bring the rest of the military uniform." ”

"The rest of the uniform?" Godunov may not have adapted to my leapfrog thinking, and he was stunned. Fortunately, Basmanov reacted quickly, went over and patted the other party on the back, and explained: "Comrade lieutenant, don't you still understand, the division commander intends to let us disguise ourselves as Germans, so that we can ensure safety on the road." ”

Godunov quickly beckoned the soldiers to bring over the remaining two hundred or so sets of military uniforms, he looked at our numbers, and said with a little embarrassment: "Comrade division commander, there are too many of you, and there are not enough uniforms. ”

I waved my hand and said disapprecitatively: "It's okay, divide the military uniform among the commanders and fighters at the front and back of the team, and the middle ones don't need to wear them." Then he specially pulled Mihayev in front of Godunov and told him: "This is Second Lieutenant Mihayev, the commander of the division's engineer company, his German level is about the same as his mother tongue, you can find him an officer's uniform." ”

After the German uniforms were distributed, everyone wore them as they walked on the march. Although the uniforms were changed, the Soviet-made weapons in their hands were not changed, but fortunately, it was night, and even if they encountered the Germans, they would not notice these details.

After the troops restarted, I was at the front of the whole team. Mihayev, who was walking beside me, wearing a German captain's uniform, asked a little nervously: "Comrade division commander, what if you meet a German on the road?" ”

"You can start by asking which part of them they are. If it is the 371st Division, you say that we are the 94th Division; If it is the 94th Division, you say that we are the 371st Division. The order of the upper peak is being carried out, making a detour to the rear of the Soviet troops, preparing the retreat of the other side. ”

"Commander, can you do that?" Ensign Basmanov, who was following me, asked cautiously.

I turned my head to look at him and said lightly, "Improvise." ”

After walking about five or six kilometers, the lights of motorcycles suddenly appeared on the road ahead, and I hurriedly raised my hand to signal the troops to stop advancing. The motorcycles in front were coming our way, and judging by the number of lights, there were at least five of them. Although the Soviets also have motorcycles, they will not send five or six in the middle of the night, so it is very likely that the Germans will come.

As soon as I told my judgment to Basmanov and Mihayev next to me, the two of them immediately became nervous and hurriedly ordered the fighters behind to prepare for battle.

The motorcycle drove to a stop a little over 20 meters from us, and then a question in German was heard. Mihayev, who was next to me, hurriedly stepped forward and answered loudly to the other side.

After a few words of conversation, Mihayev whispered to me: "Division commander, this is a small detachment of the 94th Division, and they have come to the rear of our army to reconnoitre. When he asked me the number just now, I had already complied with your instructions and told them that we were from the 371st Division and were being ordered to penetrate into the rear of the Soviet army. ”

"Commander, what should we do?" Basmanov asked in a low voice behind me.

"Kill them all, and leave not a single one." I also lowered my voice and replied, "Don't shoot, try to deal with them with a dagger." Basmanov hurriedly whispered my order backwards.

The troops who had stopped continued to walk forward, and when I passed the motorcycle division, I saw that the other side was a three-wheeled motorcycle, three people in each vehicle, exactly fifteen people. Although Mihayev had already told them that we were troops of the 371st Division, they still watched us vigilantly as we passed by the motorcycles, and the machine gun shooters in the sidecar even put their fingers on the trigger and pointed their guns at us, ready to shoot at any moment.

My soldiers and the soldiers in the first few rows had already reached the position of the last motorcycle, and with the peripheral eye of the eye, I caught a glimpse that the enemy had let down his guard a little, so we shouted violently: "Do it." ”

At my shout, the soldiers behind me, who had been ready for a long time, pounced on the German soldiers who were standing or sitting, raised their daggers and stabbed them hard. We were outnumbered and prepared, and the dozen or so Germans were all killed by our fighters before they could react.

When Godunov, who was pressing at the back of the team, got the news and hurried over, all the German soldiers had been killed. Looking at the five motorcycles parked on the side of the road, Godunov said excitedly: "Comrade division commander, since you have these motorcycles, you should stop walking like us, let's take a car, so that we can speed up our march." (To be continued......)

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