I stood in the command headquarters, listened to the incessant rumbling of artillery outside, looked at Chuikov and Krylov, who commanded the troops through the radio, and secretly felt that I had to learn a lot to become a commanding commander like them, otherwise, the post of division commander of the independent division would be the end of my career.

The battle for the counter-assault on the tractor plant was successfully completed before dawn, and Shederikov lived up to expectations, and his troops, with the cooperation of Colonel Bere and Lieutenant Colonel Weinrubb, basically wiped out the German troops in the factory area. As soon as the battle was over, Sederikov, in accordance with the orders of the army group, ordered the commanders and fighters to hurry up and build new fortifications.

After dawn, I suddenly heard Chuikov instruct Krylov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I want to go outside to have a look, and you and the political commissar will be in charge of the affairs in the headquarters." ”

When I heard Chuikov say that he was going to go outside to have a look, I muttered to myself, won't you ask me to go with him again? You know, I accompanied him to the observation post yesterday, and if it weren't for some shit luck, he would have been stoned to death by falling stones. When I was secretly praying to Chuikov that I would not ask me to accompany him outside to observe the battle situation, Chuikov's gaze had already swept over, and then he stopped on me, raised his chin at me, and said, "Comrade Oshanina, what are you still standing there for?" Why don't you pack up and come outside with me. ”

Although I was reluctant to accompany Chuikov out to observe, since he announced in public that he would let me accompany him to the observation post, I had no choice but to carry the submachine gun resting on the wall and follow him out.

I walked out of the command. As he walked, he glanced at the smoky city. Found after a day and a night of fighting. The surrounding buildings above the ground were almost destroyed by artillery fire, and only a few denser buildings remained in the direction of the factory area. I followed Chuikov and walked cautiously along the traffic trench. As I walked, I had to keep looking down at my feet so as not to trip over the sudden appearance of masonry or corpses.

When we came to a building with only half a wall left, Chuikov stopped, looked up at it, and then turned to me and said, "Comrade Oshanina." This building is the tallest in the neighborhood, so let's go up and have a look. ”

I did not object to his suggestion, but had to honestly agree: "Okay, Comrade Commander. ”

Since the stairs leading to the upper floor were blown up, we climbed to the second floor with the help of the guards. I glanced at the broken staircase below, and thought to myself that if this place was shelled by the enemy, it would not be easy for us to escape.

Since most of the surrounding buildings have been reduced to masonry and rubble, we have a great view here. All around us are in our sight.

Chuikov and I stood side by side in front of a bombed-out window, holding up our binoculars and looking into the distance. I saw the trenches in the area of the tractor factory at this moment. Many people were busy nervously, and it seemed that they were carrying ammunition, collecting the bodies of their comrades, treating the wounded, etc.

On the open ground outside the door of the tractor factory, the wreckage of a dozen tanks burned black lay horizontally. Judging from the appearance, there are not only the No. 3 and No. 4 tanks of the German army, but also the T-34 tanks of our army, and there are many commanders and fighters of our army who are active near the wreckage of the tanks.

When Chuikov saw this scene, he pointed there and asked me curiously: "Comrade Oshanina, what are those fighters doing around the wreckage of the enemy's tank?" ”

I had just seen through the binoculars what the commanders and fighters were wearing, and I knew that they were all subordinates of Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, so I knew the reason why they were circling around the wreckage of the tank, and when I heard Chuikov's question, I quickly replied: "Comrade commander, this is the case. The commanders and fighters were from our separate division, and they were going to build a point of fire under the wreckage of the tanks, which could kill and injure the German infantry in large numbers. ”

"Build a firing point under the wreckage of a tank?" After listening to my explanation, Chuikov frowned and thought for a moment, then his brow relaxed, and he said with a smile: "Yes, this is a good idea. As long as the enemy's artillery fire does not directly overturn the wreckage of the tank, the survival rate of the fighters hiding below is still quite good. Even if the Germans discovered these firing points, it would take a lot of time to clear them one by one. ”

I saw Sederikov's troops, but I saw no sign of Colonel Berey and Weinrub's tank troops, so I turned my observation to Tramvajnaya Street in front of the tractor factory and the area west of it. After careful inspection, I finally found the tank unit hidden in the ruins.

Colonel Bere's troops were hidden two hundred meters away from the streets, because the tanks were hidden in the ruins of a man high, and they were covered with camouflage nets, which were really not easy to spot without looking closely. I couldn't help but nod my head secretly when I saw the positions so set up by Colonel Bere and Lieutenant Colonel Weinlub, so that because of the mines planted on the road, when they destroyed the enemy's tanks on the road, the German infantry would be blocked by mines, but when the number of enemies gathered reached a certain number, our distant artillery fire could cover them without accidentally damaging our own tanks.

At this moment, the enemy shelling of the city began. Their main target was the tractor factory, which had just been recaptured by our troops, but at the same time, there were constantly whistling shells falling on the explosions not far from us, and the debris set up by the stirred air waves hit the walls with a loud sound. In the beginning, I would instinctively crouch down to avoid the rubble that might fly over and hit people. Later, after I became numb to the explosion, I followed the example of Chuikov and stood motionless in front of the tattered window, looking out at the factory area in the distance.

Before the enemy shelling stopped, I felt the earth tremble slightly, and the German armored forces were approaching. I slowly turned my binoculars to the west, and I saw dozens of German tanks approaching with great intensity, and the dust on the road was crushed by the tracks and raised high into the air. Behind the tank, what appeared to be armored vehicles and trucks full of soldiers. Looking further away, you can still see many soldiers getting off the car and walking, marching along the road towards the tractor factory in a loose offensive formation.

Shells that flew in from outside the city, swept over the German offensive queue and fell very densely on the positions on the tractor factories where our troops were stationed. And the German tanks on the move did not blindly rush forward, but stopped from time to time to fire, or fired at a slow speed. From time to time, clouds of fire and smoke rose from the shelled positions, and blasted logs, parts of various firearms, and severed limbs and arms were constantly thrown into the air by air waves.

"The Germans are so stingy." Although he saw that our army was suffering losses on its positions, Chuikov, who was observing the enemy's situation, still said in a contemptuous tone: "There are obviously two tank divisions, but you see, they actually only dispatched more than 20 tanks. ”

For this statement of Chuikov, I just smiled, there was no interface. But in my heart, I was saying: If it weren't for the decrepit tank unit of Colonel Bere and Lieutenant Colonel Weinlub last night who destroyed hundreds of enemy tanks and armored vehicles, it is estimated that what you see at this time is a torrent of black steel pressing towards the tractor factory, and with our existing rudimentary equipment, we would not be able to stop the enemy's attack at all.

When the German tanks came into range of Colonel Bere's troops, the tanks lying in ambush on the sides opened decisive fire. In a series of explosions, nearly half of the German tanks that were moving rose into thick smoke or simply lay on their stomachs, stopped in place and exploded or burned.

The German tanks, which were suddenly hit, quickly stopped their advance and tried to turn around and find a safe place to hide. However, due to the fact that the road was blocked by many destroyed tanks, there was little room for movement, and the evasive actions carried out by the remnants of the tanks led to a chaos on the battlefield. (To be continued......)