Korpakchi walked back and forth in the house a few more times, finally stopped, suddenly turned his head to Gurov and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, in a few hours, the counter-assault attack of our troops will begin. If we do not hold off this German tank force and let them rush to the Kretskaya area, the flanks of the troops involved in the counterattack will be attacked, and then our counterattack may fail. ”

Gurov just thought for a moment, and then nodded and agreed: "Comrade commander, what you said is reasonable, in order to ensure the victory of the counterattack, someone is indeed needed to block the German tank force. Speaking of this, Gurov said to me with a smile: "Comrade Major, you have also heard the counterattack plan that we discussed with several division commanders. In order to ensure the success of this counterattack against the Germans, I ask you, in my capacity as the military commissar of the army group, to be sure to hold off this German tank unit for more than two hours. Major Oshanina, do you have any questions? ”

I thought to myself, it's over, it seems that this time it's a catastrophe, it's all because of my quick mouth, I didn't even know the state, so I jumped out and grabbed this mission with no hope of survival. Since the commander of the group army and the members of the Central Military Commission have reached a consensus at this moment, it is too late for me to regret it, so I hurriedly made a straight report: "Comrade members of the Central Military Commission, I promise to complete the task. ”

Kolpacchi continued: "Major Oshanina, I know that you have too few men, and to let you resist the Germans is to send you to your death, but there is no way, in order to ensure the success of the counterattack, someone must pay the sacrifice." ”

The corners of my mouth twitched when I heard him say this. The heart says that even if someone has to sacrifice. I can't be made to make such a senseless sacrifice. There were only four or five of them. To block the attack of German tanks is simply a fantasy. But since the commander has given the order, I have to do as it is.

Korpakchi called Lieutenant Peter to his side again and asked him where he planned to set up his defenses.

Lieutenant Peter pointed to a point on the map and said: "Comrade commander, on the road to the Kretskaya region there is a hill with high slopes and dense forests, and I intend to place our blocking positions here. ”

Kol Parkucci looked down at the map. Gurov also poked his head out. The two looked at each other for a long time, then raised their heads and looked at each other, Gusev nodded, and said: "Comrade commander, I think their blocking position is well chosen, and it can take the German tank troops by surprise." ”

Korpakchi specifically told me: "Comrade Major, you are not familiar with the terrain, and as to where to set up positions, this is left to Lieutenant Peter. Hearing my response, he commanded Lieutenant Peter: "Comrade Lieutenant. Major Oshanina is your superior, after the battle begins. You must obey her commands. ”

"Comrade commander, please rest assured, I will definitely obey the major's orders."

Korpakich nodded with satisfaction, called Semykov over, and instructed him: "Comrade Captain, you go to the munitions depot and help them prepare the necessary weapons and ammunition." ”

Seeing that Korpakchi had already deployed everything, I hurriedly asked: "Comrade commander, can I leave?" ”

He nodded and said, "Major, you go and prepare." Good luck and hope you all come back alive. ”

I tried to squeeze a smile on my face that was more ugly than crying, and replied: "Please rest assured, Comrade Commander, that as long as there is one person alive, we will do everything we can to stop this tank unit of the German army." With that, I turned around and shook my head at Lieutenant Peter and said, "Comrade Lieutenant, let's go!" ”

Lieutenant Peter led me to the outside of their house and called out all the people in the house who could breathe. As soon as I saw these soldiers standing in front of me, my heart was cold, and with Lieutenant Peter, there were really only four of them.

Lieutenant Peter, not noticing the change in my expression, enthusiastically introduced my subordinates: "Comrade Major, this is Sergeant Grigory. Samoilov, Sergeant Alexander. Belikov, Corporal Ivan. Aleynikov. The lads were brave in the first two days of fighting, and they were all good. ”

I didn't speak, just nodded, indicating that I understood.

Lieutenant Peter shouted at several people: "Brothers, just now General Kolpakchi told me that a tank unit of the German army will pounce on the Kretskaya area after dawn. I was ordered to immediately build fortifications in their path, and to stop them at all costs. ……”

"I say Comrade Lieutenant," interrupted the older Sergeant Belikov, reminding him, "we say it's a company, but in fact there are only four people. With just a few of us, it is simply impossible to hold back the tank forces of the Germans. ”

"If you can't stop it, you have to block it!" Lieutenant Peter said categorically: "This is an order from above, and we must do it to the letter." ”

"However, Comrade Lieutenant......," Belikov was about to defend himself, but was rudely interrupted by Peter, who pointed to me and said, "The commander has sent this major with us to carry out this order." Take a good look, a female commander knew that Lu Dao was an action to send her to death, or she came without hesitation. Are you men inferior to women? ”

The short corporal Aleynikov looked at me and asked in disbelief: "Comrade Major, are you really going with us to stop the tanks of the Germans?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Corporal." I looked at the unusually young face in front of me and replied politely, "The lieutenant is right, I will fight side by side with you." Belikov, who was still about to say something, obediently closed his mouth when he saw me say this.

At this moment a truck staggered towards where we were standing, and Captain Semykov poked his head out of the window of the passenger platform, waved his arms desperately at us, and shouted: "Lieutenant Peter, Lieutenant Peter." ”

Peter, seeing the approaching truck, walked up to me, touched me with his arm, and said, "Comrade Major, it seems that Captain Semykov brought us the equipment." ”

I smiled and said, "Let's go, Lieutenant Peter." Let's go and see what Comrade Lieutenant has prepared for us. ”

After the truck stopped. Semykov jumped out of the car. He ran up to me and saluted, and reported: "Comrade Major, the equipment you need is ready, please receive it." ”

I walked to the side of the truck, reached out and grabbed the side of the car, put one foot on the tire, and with the help of my arm, I stood up. I looked into the carriage. Inside were four bulging backpacks, four long anti-tank guns, five sapper shovels, five raincoats, a submachine gun and two round drums.

I reached out and grabbed the submachine gun, slung it over my shoulder, and jumped out of the car. Walked up to Semykov, nodded at him and said, "Thank you, Comrade Captain." Then he called out to Peter, who was standing aside: "Lieutenant Peter, what are you still doing in a daze." Hurry up and get your people in the car! Peter hurriedly said yes and beckoned the other three to get into the car.

I sat in the cab. The driver of the car asked me inside: "Comrade commander, where are we going?" ”

I turned around and shouted to the back, "Lieutenant Peter, where is our car going, you can tell the driver." ”

Lieutenant Peter poked his head out of the carriage and said to the driver: "Drive into the mountains west of Kretskaya." ”

The driver said yes and drove the truck to the designated place.

Half an hour later, the truck entered the rolling hills from the open plains. Suddenly, someone was slapping the top of the bridge with his hand, and then I heard the familiar voice of Lieutenant Peter: "Hey, Comrade Driver, pull over the side of the road here." The driver nodded silently, applied the brakes, and pulled the car firmly to the side of the road.

I opened the door and stepped out of the truck, just as Peter and the four of them had already gotten out of the car and were lining up on the side of the road. Although Peter only had three subordinates, he still shouted the command in a serious manner: "Stand up, take a break!" Look to the right and report the number! ”

At this time, the driver poked his head out of the window and asked: "Comrade commander, what should I do?" Is it to stay here and wait for you? ”

I waved my hand at him and said, "No, Comrade Driver, it's none of your business here, you better go back to the headquarters." ”

Sending the driver away, I walked up to Peter and asked him, "Comrade Lieutenant, where are we going next?" ”

"Let's go, go up the hill!" As he spoke, he picked up a large backpack on the ground, carried a long anti-tank gun and led the way up the hill. The other three warriors also packed their bags and guns, and followed him up the mountain.

We walked in the mountains and forests for about ten minutes, when he suddenly stopped, turned to me and said, "Comrade Major, here you are." Then he gave orders to his men: "Find a place for each man and dig a bunker." ”

I stood there and watched as the four of them threw their rucksacks aside, bent down with sapper shovels and began digging into the bunker. Curious, I asked Peter, "Comrade Lieutenant, why are you digging a bunker here?" ”

Peter stopped what he was doing, pointed to the bottom of the hill and said, "Comrade Major, look at the terrain around here, except for this hill, there is an open field all around. If we had set up our blocking positions on the open plains, the German tanks would have wiped us out with just a few shells. However, the situation is different if the blocking position is set up on a hill, where the mountains are high and densely forested, and it is not easy for the German tanks to detect us, so that we have a better chance of success. ”

I raised my binoculars and looked at the terrain, and found that it was indeed as he said, except for this hill, surrounded by a flat river, and it was indeed a good choice to set up a position here. I looked east, and saw the flag of our army fluttering on the defensive position two or three kilometers away, and it seemed that there were quite a few troops defending it.

After looking at the terrain, I crouched down and said to Peter, who was digging a bunker, "Comrade Lieutenant, I have an idea. ”

Peter panted while digging into the bunker: "Comrade Major, what do you think, let's hear it." ”

I pointed to the north side of the hill and said, "After dawn, the German tank units will pass through the open field to the north and attack our positions in the east." My assumption is that when the German tanks appear, we should take cover and not shoot for the time being. When they shelled our positions on the march, we opened fire. Using the sound of shells as a cover, it was not easy for German tanks to detect us. ”

Peter stopped what he was doing, stood in the pit with the sapper shovel in both hands and thought for a while, then nodded in agreement: "Comrade Major, your suggestion is good, we will do what you say." ”

Peter and his three men were quick to act. But five minutes. They dug out a bunker more than half a man deep. Peter pointed to the bunker he had dug and said, "Comrade Major. Use this bunker for you, and I'll dig another one. ”

I was about to pretend to excuse myself, but he had already jumped out of the bunker, walked two or three meters to the side, and then bent down and began to dig a second bunker. I could only thank him, jumped into the bunker, picked up a raincoat from the edge of the pit, spread it in the pit, and lay down.

Lying on my raincoat, I closed my eyes hoping to take a break. After all, I haven't slept much in the past few days. Maybe I was too tired, so I lay down and fell asleep for a while.

When I was in a drowsy sleep, I felt someone shaking my shoulder, and a low voice called me urgently: "Comrade Major, Comrade Major, wake up." ”

I was abruptly awakened from my dream, and my heart was beating suddenly, and when I saw that it was Lieutenant Peter who woke me up, I asked with some displeasure: "Comrade Lieutenant, what is the matter?" ”

"Comrade Major. It's German. Their tanks are coming in our direction. ”

Germans, tanks. These two words reminded me that I was sleeping on the battlefield. Suddenly, the remnants of sleepiness were shocked and disappeared. I hurriedly sat up and nervously asked: "Where are the tanks of the Germans?" ”

Peter pointed to the northwest and said, "Comrade Major, look over there, the dust is rising on the plain, it's the German tanks coming towards us. ”

I rolled over, lay in the bunker and raised my binoculars to look in the direction of the dust, and sure enough, there were quite a few German tanks lined up in battle formation, driving violently.

"There are 30 tanks in all," said Belikov, who was the first to count, and said with some excitement: "There are four of us here, and each brother can divide seven tanks, and the remaining two, whoever moves fast, will be the one who fights." I could not hear the slightest fear in his tone, as if what he was going to fight later was not the steel beasts of the Germans, but a few hares in the woods.

German tanks, lined up in battle formation, are getting closer and closer to our hills. Seeing that the enemy's tanks were in front of him on the open ground, the anxious Belikov turned his head and asked Peter: "Comrade company commander, do you shoot?" ”

Peter waved his hand and said, "Wait a minute, when these fascist bandits open fire on our defensive positions, we will shoot again, so that they will not find us hiding in the hills." ”

At the front was a T-3 medium tank flanked by a T-4 tank, followed by a group of T-2 light tanks. The tank crews in black tank uniforms did not notice our position on the hill at all, and the roofs of several tanks were open, and some tank crews stood there with half of their bodies out.

At this time, the leading T-3 tank opened fire on our positions in the distance, and then the rest of the tanks also opened fire one after another. I shouted at Peter next to me, "Lieutenant, the time has come, let's fire!" ”

Peter yelled, "All of them, fire freely!" After saying that, he aimed at the T-3 tank at the head and pulled the trigger, and after a loud gunshot, the tank smoked, and then began to slow down, and after driving for a few more meters, it stopped, and the tankmen inside hurriedly opened the hatch and climbed out.

Then, Belikov, who had made the most noise just now, also fired a shot at a Y-2 tank, and the armor-piercing incendiary bomb with a steel core accurately hit the tank's fuel tank, and the German tank immediately burst into flames.

Seeing that Peter and Belikov had destroyed two German tanks with two shots, Sergeant Samoilov and Corporal Aleynikov next to them were not to be outdone, they aimed at the two T-4 tanks and pulled the trigger, and after firing five or six shots in a row, the two Type 4 tanks also lay on the spot and burned.

Watching the tankmen in black flee from the destroyed tanks, I really wanted to give them a name with the guns in my hand, but unfortunately the submachine guns couldn't hit 300 meters away, and I could only watch them flee back on the way back.

When the 10th tank was destroyed by us, the Germans finally discovered that there was a dangerous enemy hiding on the hill to their right, so they turned their guns and began shelling up the hill.

When the first shell fell and exploded fifty or sixty meters away from us, I hurriedly shouted at Peter: "Comrade lieutenant, let's move quickly, otherwise the German artillery fire will wipe us all out." ”

Lieutenant Peter answered, jumped out of the bunker, picked up the anti-tank gun, carried a large backpack and shouted: "All of them, follow me." When he had finished shouting, he ran to the west side of the hillside. I didn't care about the others, so I ran after him with a submachine gun.

We had barely gone far when several shells landed in the place where we had just been hiding and exploded, and the big tree with a thick bowl mouth was blown off by the waist, and the flying shrapnel hit the trunk of a nearby tree with a loud sound.

After running out of the road for more than 100 meters, we found a place to hide again. Looking at the old position that had been blown into a sea of fire, Belikov wiped the sweat from his forehead with his hand, and said fearfully: "Fortunately, we moved in time, otherwise we would all have been buried in the fire now." ”

Lieutenant Peter crouched down beside me and asked me, "Comrade Major, what shall we do next?" Do you continue to fight or retreat? ”

"Any more ammunition?"

Lieutenant Peter raised the large backpack and replied, "The ammunition is still there." ”

"That's good!" Since there was plenty of ammunition, there was no need for us to retreat, and we could continue fighting, so I instructed them: "Spread out, find a place to hide, and continue to shoot at the German tanks." Remember, after five rounds per person, we move our positions. Do you understand? ”

"Understood!" All of them replied in unison.

For the next few hours, we were like snipers, firing a few shots and then changing places. The German tank troops, because they did not have the cooperation of the infantry, could only bombard the hill with artillery fire in the face of the fire of our anti-tank men.

The cat-and-mouse game didn't end until 5 p.m. The German tanks, having exhausted all their shells, withdrew in disarray, leaving only 17 burning tanks under the hill. (To be continued......)

PS: Thanks to book friends: Xiao Xiangzi, Da Handsome Man, t00030003 voted for it.