At the end of the meeting, I repeatedly stressed to several regiment commanders: "Before dark, your task is to distribute weapons to the recruits, and to seize the time to conduct rapid training in shooting, bomb throwing, stabbing and tactical movements. Do you understand? ”

"Got it!" The commanders in the audience replied in unison.

Looking at the commanders with stern expressions, I couldn't help but think about it, and I felt that the task given to me by General Chuikov this time was too heavy. Although I also wanted to lead the independent division, fight a few tough battles with the German army, and make a good appearance in front of the superior leaders, I did not expect to receive the task of covering the retreat of the main force. In the face of the disparity in the strength of the enemy and the enemy, it is everyone who understands that this task is not nine deaths, but ten deaths. At this moment, I felt like I was being treated like an outcast.

But after thinking about it, the reason why Chuikov gave me such an important task may be because I like to be ingenious in the use of soldiers, and if I am asked to lead the troops to take on the task of breaking off, he will feel more down-to-earth in his heart. From what I know of the Germans, they will certainly take it lightly when they find out that our troops are retreating in large numbers, and they will let their guard down when they advance forward. In this way, our division will be able to take advantage of the opportunity to teach those arrogant pursuers a hard lesson.

Thinking of this, I said to everyone: "Comrades, after dawn tomorrow, the enemy will find that our large forces have retreated from their existing defensive positions, and then they will quickly pounce on them. Under normal circumstances, our independent division, which lacks heavy weapons and light weapons, will not be able to stop the enemy's attack even if it is exhausted. But this time the situation was different, the enemy was after a long battle. has become exhausted. After occupying the positions of our troops. Their large forces would stay to rest for the time being, while small units would follow our pursuit and quickly rush towards Stalingrad.

And we can take advantage of their light advance to take them by surprise and even eat some of them. In order to achieve this goal, the Gaidar regiment, having entered the position, had to pay attention to the camouflage of the troops and not allow the enemy to detect us prematurely. At the same time, it is necessary to send more investigators. Know the enemy's movements and know yourself and your opponent. ”

After I finished speaking, the expressions on the faces of the commanders became vivid, and I struck while the iron was hot: "Comrades commanders, after you return to the troops, you must tell the soldiers that we must fight this battle well, because we are not only fighting for the retreat of the main force of the group army, but also for our own survival. Do you understand? ”

This time, all the commanders stood up in unison. In unison, they replied, "Understood!" ”

Shederikov, who has always been close to me, also made a point of saying: "Commanders, comrades, I believe that our independent division will not be wiped out by the Germans. According to what I know about the division commander. As long as everyone prepares and fights according to the battle plan she envisioned, we will definitely achieve the final victory. "Although Sederikov's sycophancy made me a little embarrassed, it also invisibly increased my confidence in victory.

As soon as the meeting ended, the commanders left one after another and hurried back to their respective units to assign combat missions to their subordinates.

I walked back and forth a few times in the command headquarters, thinking back to the combat deployment in my head, and felt that the only deficiency was the communication problem. If this problem is not solved, when the real fight starts, if the communication is not smooth, then my orders will not be able to be conveyed to the front in time, and the intelligence from the front line will not be able to be fed back in time. However, to solve these problems, it is still necessary to ask Chuikov to come forward. I raised my hand and looked at my watch, and when I realized that Chuikov had returned to the headquarters of the army group, I asked Razumeeva to call the headquarters of the army group.

As soon as Chuikov heard my voice, he immediately asked with concern: "Oshanina, what's the matter, is there anything important about finding me in such a hurry?" ”

"Comrade Commander, this is the case." After briefly recounting my combat disposition, I then made a request to him: "Our division is strictly lacking in communication equipment, which is not conducive to my communication with the various units in battle. See if you can ask the 208th Division to leave us some communications equipment and related personnel when it evacuates, at least the telephone line of the division headquarters, because when the battle starts, this will be a command post for me. ”

"No problem," replied Chuikov unequivocally, "I don't need to ask Colonel Vosley Boynikov about this matter, I can call the shots." The communication equipment and related personnel will definitely not be able to be given to you, but in the telephone line in the village, I will let them hand over the complete hand over to your division. Do you think that works? ”

"Great, Comrade Commander, thank you so much!" I was just asking tentatively, but I didn't expect Chuikov to help me solve the problem so easily.

"Oshanina, I want to ask you a word." Chuikov asked with some hesitation: "Do you think your independent division can hold the Germans back for a few days?" ”

Few days? Whether you can block it for a day is a question, and you want to block it for a few days? You think so highly of me. However, these words could only be thought of in my heart, and could not be spoken, and I replied vaguely: "Comrade commander, I can only say that I will do my best, try to hold the enemy back for one or two days, and buy time for the transfer of the main forces. When I said this, I obviously lacked confidence, and I could only say that I would hold it out for a few days, not block it for a few days.

"Very well, as long as your troops can hold the enemy back for two days, then the main forces of the army group can retreat smoothly into the fortified area of Stalingrad and prepare for battle."

Putting down the headset and microphone, I lowered my head and asked Razumeyeva, who was sitting next to me: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, how many people are there in your communications company now?" ”

Razumeeva hurriedly stood up and replied: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, when we came from the headquarters of the army group, there were ten of them. Today, I asked a few other girls to select personnel in the division who know common sense in telecommunications, and they have just reported that about 40 people have been recruited, and several of them are originally employees of the telecommunications bureau, and they can complete the normal work of receiving and receiving telegrams with a simple training. ”

"It's great." It seems that among the new fighters from the Gulag concentration camp, it can really be described as a large number of talents, and a few capable people can be found in any profession. I hurriedly ordered Razumeyeva: "Ensign." You go and pick a few shrewd and capable fighters. Take the time to train. Then send them to the Gaidar regiment. ”

In the evening, while Shederikov and I were having dinner and talking about the training of the troops today, Gaidar, Oleg, Morozov, and Perstian all came to the headquarters and said goodbye to me.

The sight of the four commanders standing in a row in front of me, and the thought that I might not see one of them after daylight to-morrow, made my nose ache.

Gaidar asked on behalf of everyone: "Comrade division commander, can we go?" ”

I reached out and shook his hand and said, "Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar." I hope you get off to a successful start, and I'll be here waiting for your good news. ”

Gaidar squeezed out a smile on his face, and said with a bitter mouth: "Comrade division commander, do you think that by tomorrow evening, the formation of the fourth regiment will still be able to survive?" ”

His words made my heart pound, under normal circumstances, he was telling the truth, in the face of the enemy's superior ground and air firepower and powerful ground forces, it was a sure thing to destroy thousands of troops who lacked weapons training and were inadequate. In order to cheer him up. In particular, I emphasized: "The strength of the enemy is too strong, so you must not fight hard with the enemy." Use your brain. Fight skillfully with the enemy. We must know how to protect ourselves and achieve the greatest results with the least casualties. ”

Hearing what I said, the expressions on the faces of Gaidar and the other three commanders became resolute, and they raised their hands in unison to salute me, and at the same time replied loudly: "Please rest assured, division commander, we promise to complete the task." ”

I turned my head and asked Lazumeyeva: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, have you sent all the signal soldiers I asked you to send to the regiment?" ”

Razumeyeva nodded vigorously and replied: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, in each of the two infantry regiments, I have sent a communications squad, the communications squad leader of the second regiment is Corporal Nadya, and the communications squad leader of the fourth regiment is Corporal Gulyaeva. After entering the designated location, they can contact us at any time by phone or telephone. ”

I nodded in satisfaction, turned my head, and said to Gaidar and them: "Then you can go, good luck!" ”

After the four of them left, I turned to Shederikov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, has the observation post I asked you to prepare for me in the afternoon been repaired?" "Although I stayed in the garrison at the same time as the first regiment, I was never worried about the fighting on the front, so I asked Shedelikov to build an observation post for me two or three kilometers away from the battlefield.

Sederikov nodded vigorously and replied: "It has been repaired, just three kilometers northeast of the line of defense that Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar and they are about to build, the observation post can accommodate five people, and a telephone line has been specially drawn." You stay there and you can observe the enemy and command the troops. At this point, he deliberately paused for a moment, observed my expression, and seeing that I did not raise any objections, he tentatively asked, "Do you need to go and see?" ”

"No need," I waved my hand and said, "The main force of the group army has not yet begun to retreat, if I go now, I will see a chaotic scene, it is not interesting, let's talk about it tomorrow." ”

Seeing that I was not interested in inspecting the observation post, I did not force it, so I hurriedly ate dinner and left.

That night, I stayed up all night, staring at the map all night, pondering in my mind the enemy's possible route of advance, and calculating how to fight to minimize the casualties of our troops.

As soon as it was dawn, Sedelikov came to the command headquarters, and he reported to me: "Comrade division commander, the car is ready, just waiting outside the forest, can we go?" ”

I rolled up the map on the table and stuffed it into the bag and instructed him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I'll take Pugachev, Lazumeeva and my guard squad to the observation post." You and your troops will remain here and wait for further orders from me. ”

Hearing me say that he should stay behind, the expression on Sederikov's face became extremely ugly, and he muttered: "Comrade division commander, the battle may start soon, but you let me stay here and watch the excitement, do you think this is appropriate?" ”

I handed the bag to Pugachev, who came in, turned my head and said to Shederichol with a smile: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, don't worry, you fought some battles. If so many troops were to be placed in the trenches and the enemy's artillery bombarded the planes, the casualties would not be small. Don't worry, when it's time for you to strike, you'll be able to show off your skills. ”

Seeing that I had said everything to this point, Sederikov couldn't force it, so he could only say helplessly: "Yes." I'm staying here. Waiting for your further commands. ”

Jeeps and a truck were parked outside the forest. The jeep was in which I was riding, and the truck was in which the soldiers of the guard squad were carried. When I got into the car, I saw Pugachev walking towards the truck, and it seemed that he wanted to go to the passenger seat of the truck, so I quickly stopped him: "Comrade Captain, come here, take my car and go together." ”

The captain trotted all the way over, and without saying a word, opened the door on the passenger side and got into the car. After he sat down. Turning to look at me, he asked, "Comrade Division Commander, are you leaving?" Seeing that I nodded in agreement, he immediately ordered the driver: "Drive!" ”

The observation post that Shederikov built for me was on a small hillside. Since there were no trees on the slope, only low plants, I was afraid that the vehicle would be spotted by the enemy's reconnaissance planes when it stopped at the bottom of the slope, so I ordered them to return and call the driver to pick us up when necessary.

The observation post is on top of a hillside. It is a semi-buried shelter, due to the fact that the top is covered with shrubs and weeds. It is impossible to detect a reconnaissance plane flying through the air. It can be seen that Shedelikov is very attentive to this observation post, and there is a wooden table in the middle of the room that is one meter square, which is reserved for the radio, telephone and map, and there are several long wooden benches where people can sit and rest.

In addition to Razumeyeva, I was joined by Pugachev and Vera, two other fighters who stayed outside to serve as guards, and a little farther away in a bush were hidden by the other fighters of the guard squad.

While Razumeyeva was setting up the radio, I raised my binoculars and looked into the distance, and saw two long trenches connected by communication trenches in the open ground to the southwest. The trenches were quiet, not a single figure could be seen, and it was not known whether the troops were hidden or had not entered the trenches at all. I turned my camera to the west and looked at the small village that had belonged to the headquarters of the 208th Division, which was also quiet, with no human figures or cooking smoke in sight, as if it had been abandoned.

I put down my binoculars, turned my head and asked Razumeyeva: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, has the radio been set up?" Seeing that she was nodding, I immediately ordered her: "Contact Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar immediately, I want to speak to him." ”

Razumeeva pointed to the telephone on the table and cautiously said to me: "Comrade division commander, that telephone was set up yesterday and can be contacted by Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar. ”

Hearing her say this, I smiled, picked up the microphone, shook the handle on the telephone a few times, and when the call rang, I hurriedly asked: "Hey, is it Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar?" I'm Oshanina. ”

"Hello, Comrade Division Commander, I'm Gaidar, what instructions do you have?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, let me ask you, where are your troops? Why do I see no one in the trenches? ”

"Report to the division commander, didn't you ask me to hide the troops? If you can't see it, it's a testament to how well our warriors are well hidden. If you can't see it, then the enemy won't even think that we have a force waiting for them here. By the way, not only the infantry was hidden, but even Morozov's artillery battery was hidden behind the position, and I don't think you noticed them. ”

Hearing Gaidar say this, I suddenly remembered that Morozov's artillery battery was indeed deployed behind Gaidar's position, and I didn't see it just now. I threw down the phone and walked over to the observation hole to take a closer look at the binoculars again. There was still a dead silence in the trenches, and not even a single figure could be seen. But at the rear of the second line of defense, there were a few haystacks that caught my eye, because they were all spaced at equal distances between them.

I wondered what the manor of the collective farm was doing with a few stacks of hay so far from the village, and so neatly arranged, that I could not help but look at it a few more times. At this glance, you can see the true face of the haystack, and it turns out that the artillery of Morozov's artillery company is hidden in the haystack.

I grinned and turned the camera back to the front of the line. Although the front of our defense was two kilometers, because there was a small river on one side, the German troops had to pass through the two lines of defense built by our troops if they wanted to enter the village where Gaidar was stationed.

I held up my binoculars and looked at them for almost an hour, and not only did I see the shadow of the German mechanized troops, but even the reconnaissance planes in the air. I could not help but doubt my own judgment, did the Germans not find a massive retreat of our troops from their original fortified positions? Otherwise, why didn't they send troops to seize these unprotected areas? ”

Just as I was about to lose patience, dust rose on the horizon in the distance. I hurriedly concentrated my mind and looked through the binoculars, and soon the enemy troops coming from afar came into my sight.

The enemy was about the strength of a battalion, with three parallel tanks in front, five or six armored vehicles in the back, and trucks full of soldiers in the back.

Since I had said in advance that Gaidar would be given independent command of the battle, I did not rush to call him and give orders when I saw the enemy appear, but continued to observe the enemy with a telescope.

Although I had a good patience and didn't call Gaidar, someone couldn't hold his breath and called me first. I picked up the microphone and realized that it was Oleg, the commander of the second regiment, who called him, and he lowered his voice and said excitedly: "Comrade division commander, the enemy's troops are passing through the area not far from the underground tank storehouse, and we need to attack and take them by surprise?" ”

"No, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, no." I hurriedly stopped his impulsive behavior and told him sternly: "The position of your regiment and tank detachment cannot be exposed casually, continue to lurk, and when it is time to attack, I will call you to inform you." With that, I hung up the phone without waiting for him to speak.

I saw through my binoculars that the enemy tanks were getting closer and closer to our trenches, but there was still no movement in the trenches, and even Gaidar did not call me to ask if it was time to open fire to intercept the enemy tanks.

When the enemy tanks were still a hundred meters from the trenches, the haystacks behind the second line of defense were lifted from the inside, revealing the cannons hidden inside. Looking at the busy gunners, I couldn't help but pinch a cold sweat for them, hoping that they would move sooner and fire before the German tanks found them.

Soon, I saw Morozov, wearing a large-brimmed hat, emerge out of nowhere, standing behind a cannon, holding a small red flag in the air, raising his right hand holding a small red flag, looking left and right for a moment, and then swinging down sharply, and then the cannon of the artillery company opened fire one after another.

As soon as the three German tanks that opened the road were still more than ten meters away from our trenches, one or two or three balls of fire rose from their bodies, and after driving forward for some distance, they stopped beside the trenches. The first shot of the artillery battery, although a few shots missed and exploded around the tank, destroyed all the enemy's tanks.

Then a second round of fire followed, turning four of the six armored vehicles that followed closely behind them into burning scrap metal. The remaining two armored vehicles saw that the situation was not good, and turned around and ran. Not long after driving out, one was overturned by the air wave of the shell explosion, rolled on the ground one after another, and finally burned with four wheels in the sky. The fate of the other vehicle was not much better, because it drove so fast that it crashed headlong into an oncoming truck, and after a violent impact, most of the soldiers in the car were thrown off by inertia.

At this time, the soldiers in the first trench of our army stood up one after another, opened fire with machine guns, submachine guns, and rifles in their hands, and concentrated on strafing the soldiers on the trucks behind them and the soldiers who jumped out of the cars and fled backwards. Some soldiers were about to jump out of the car when they were shot dead and hung upside down from the baffle of the carriage with their heads down.

Seeing that the enemy was in confusion, the warriors in the trenches jumped up and rushed towards the enemy with their weapons in hand.

At this moment, the phone on the table rang again, I thought it was Gaidar calling, and I was about to praise him a few words, but when I heard it, it was Oleg calling, and after he heard my voice, he said anxiously: "Comrade division commander, let our regiment and tank detachment attack from the side, as long as the rear road of these Germans is cut off, I guarantee that none of them can escape." ”

Oleg's construction made my heart pound, but when I saw the soldiers of the four regiments chasing the enemy in the distance, I gritted my teeth and said resolutely: "No, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg. I repeat, neither your regiment nor Perstian's tank detachment are allowed to attack without my orders. (To be continued......)