I just smiled at Captain Prokop's concern, took two steps forward, came to a chair, dusted off the broken glass on the chair with my sleeve, sat down casually, and asked with a relaxed expression: "Comrade Captain, how is the situation outside now?" ”

Unexpectedly, Prokop said with a sad face: "The situation is very bad, Comrade Colonel." Although it was said that the Germans attacked and we defended, judging from the current situation, we could hold out for half an hour at most. ”

"What? What did you say? Prokop's words startled me so much that I jumped up from my chair, obviously seeing the German tank shells hitting the pillbox, only a layer of wall skin collapsed, and even the slightest hair of the soldiers who stuck to it was missing, how could it be that the defense line was in danger after a while? I was puzzled and asked, "Comrade Captain, what the hell is going on?" Didn't I just see upstairs that the fighters were fighting quite well, and in the blink of an eye, the enemy was about to break through our position. ”

"That's right, Comrade Colonel." Prokop said with a sad face: "A tank shell flew into the pillbox on the left side and killed all the fighters inside. And the fighters in the pillbox on the right side were also driven out of the fortifications by the German pyromans and were all killed by the machine guns on the tanks. ”

I could no longer sit still at the thought that the two strong pillboxes had already been taken out by the Germans, and that the remaining distance of one or two hundred meters would soon be pushed over by the Germans. I nervously asked Basmanov: "Captain, where are you deploying the guard company?" ”

"I put them in the trenches and in nearby buildings." Basmanov answered me quickly.

"Let's go, come out with me." Thinking of the critical situation, I couldn't sit still in the house. Instead of sitting here and waiting for news. It's better to go outside and supervise the battle. It is also possible to keep abreast of changes on the battlefield.

"Comrade Colonel, it's too dangerous outside, so you better stay here." When Captain Prokop saw that I was leaving, he hurriedly stopped me in front of me and kindly persuaded me.

I glared at me and said unceremoniously: "Comrade Captain, didn't you say that the Germans would soon rush here?" I'm going out to command my troops, if you're afraid of death. You can continue to stay here. With that, I lifted my leg and walked out.

Hearing me say this, Captain Prokop had no choice but to follow him, but he must have been secretly scolding me in his heart. As soon as I stepped out of the command post, I stopped, leaned sideways and asked Prokop: "Comrade Captain, where can I observe the situation on the battlefield?" ”

After the corners of Prokop's mouth twitched violently, he still said to me with difficulty: "Come with me, Comrade Colonel." I know a place where the situation on the battlefield can be observed. ”

Prokop led us into a building on the side of the road. Coming to a window where even the window frame had been blown off, the captain stopped. He turned to me and said, "This is it, Comrade Colonel. ”

After thanking him, I instructed Basmanov: "Comrade Captain, you immediately go back to the troops and direct them to destroy the infantry following the tanks." As long as we block the infantry, then even if the tanks rush up, we have a way to kill them all. ”

Basmanov, who had been the commander of my guard battalion for some time, knew that my orders were irrefutable, so he did not hesitate to say yes, turned around and left for the position to command the troops.

Seeing Basmanov leaving, Prokop became a little uneasy, he hesitated for a long time, and then asked me: "Allow me to leave?" Comrade Colonel, I feel that I should go to the trenches and command the troops. ”

"Then what are you still doing here, hurry back to the army!" I waved at him impatiently, trying to make the obtrusive commander disappear from my face immediately.

Not far from the window where I was, there was a women's anti-aircraft gun squad hiding behind the sandbag breastwork, and there were several female soldiers around the anti-aircraft guns, some were carrying shells, some were holding binoculars and watching, and there were two female soldiers standing on the gun mount, one was in charge of shaking the handwheel to adjust the angle of the barrel, and the other was a shooter.

Because it wasn't far away, I could hear what they were shouting, even if there was the sound of gunfire. I saw the female soldier who was in charge of observing with a telescope shouting loudly: "Gun No. 4, directly aimed at the German tank, fire!" ”

With her shout, the anti-aircraft guns opened fire violently, and a shell whizzed towards the approaching German tank, but unfortunately, the shell landed directly in front of the tank and exploded. The body of the tank shook violently, then drove through the smoke from the explosion and continued to drive forward. As the tank moved forward, two shells landed on the left and right sides of the body and exploded, which was obviously the female soldiers in the other gun positions firing.

Seeing that she didn't hit the target, the girl with the binoculars continued to shout loudly: "Keep loading, aim at the German tank directly in front of you, fire!" ”

This time, the girls' luck was apparently good, the shell hit the tank's frontal armor directly, and as a ball of fire rose, the tank body shook again, dragging the smoke forward for some distance, and then stopped.

Seeing a German tank destroyed by their own anti-aircraft guns, the female soldiers cheered in unison, raising their hands and jumping in place while shouting: "Ula! Ulla! Hit, hit! ”

But while they were cheering, a shell exploded not far from the barricade, and the female gunner, who was standing at the barrel of the gun, screamed, covered her head with her hands, and fell straight backwards. "What's wrong, what's wrong with her?" Two female soldiers who were carrying the shells put down the shells in their hands and ran over with a shout. He threw himself over to the female gunner, leaned down to look at it, and then sat down on the ground in fright and began to cry bitterly.

The female soldier with the binoculars was supposed to be their squad leader, because I could see the rank of corporal on her pinch. He heard the cries of his own girls, and ran over nervously, asking as he ran, "Girls, what's wrong?" Seeing that the female soldier who fell to the ground had moved, she was also frightened, but in order to stabilize the morale of the army, she tried to maintain her composure and comforted the crying female soldier in a loud voice: "Don't be afraid, don't cry." Girls. Don't be afraid. Hurry up and get back to your gun position. ”

A female soldier grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground and threw it forward, scolding viciously, "You damn bastards, I can't spare you." After shouting, she jumped up from the ground and ran straight towards the shell box.

The corporal climbed onto the gun carriage and patted the female soldier standing on the gun carriage shaking the handwheel with his hand. Then he turned back and shouted at the rest of the female soldiers: "Don't be stunned, girls, hurry up and help me load the shells, and get ready to continue the fight." In order to dispel the fear and despair of the female soldiers caused by the sacrifice of her comrades, she kept shouting at her subordinates: "Girls, dear, come, come, come quickly, we will teach these damned Germans a good lesson." ”

I looked back at Vera who was standing behind me. Cautiously said to her: "Vera, you were also anti-aircraft artillerymen before. Go help these girls, I think they're all terrified. ”

When Vera heard me say this, she was stunned for a moment, and then asked with concern: "Comrade division commander, if we go to help the anti-aircraft artillery, then who will protect your safety?" When she asked, the other two female soldiers also chimed in: "Yes, Comrade Division Commander, if we all leave, who will guarantee your safety?" ”

I waved my hand to them and said disapprehantly: "Girls, don't worry about my safety, you must know that this is the position of our army, and the Germans will not be able to rush for the time being." Go ahead, if the German tanks rush at us, then we will be in real danger. ”

Seeing that my attitude was resolute, Vera couldn't hold on any longer, took off the submachine gun hanging around her neck, handed it to me, and said with concern: "Comrade division commander, you can take the submachine gun, so that even if the German devils rush over, you can destroy them." After finishing speaking, he took two other female soldiers and ran to the anti-aircraft artillery position.

The German tanks had been destroyed by our troops, and the billowing black smoke from the burning obscured the German tank crew's vision, and in order to bypass the burning tank wreckage on the road and the piles of rubble everywhere, the tanks had to slow down again and again, so that they became the target of our shooting. Anti-aircraft guns increased the rate of fire, and the anti-tank companies hidden in the buildings condescendingly fired at these targets.

Ten minutes later, the tanks of the originally imposing armored forces were all turned into burning ruins, and the tank crews who escaped from the tanks were killed by indiscriminate gunfire around the tanks without running far.

Seeing that the German tanks had been wiped out, Prokop and Basmanov led their troops to launch a counterattack. Although the German tanks were all destroyed by us, the infantry did not retreat lightly, they hid behind the rubble and fired at our charging troops.

As soon as the charging troops rushed past the two pillboxes, they were suppressed by German fire, and they had to hide behind the pillboxes or tank wreckage to avoid German fire.

The wreckage of the tanks on the road, although it became a hiding place for our soldiers to hide from bullets, also blocked the view of the anti-aircraft gunners, and they could not provide the necessary artillery cover for the infantry.

When I saw this in my binoculars, I was about to ask Prokop if he had any curved guns in his battalion such as mortars in order to eliminate the German infantry hiding behind the rubble. At this moment, I faintly heard a "Ula!" in front of me, muffled by the sound of submachine gun fire and machine gun fire. I hurriedly raised my binoculars and looked forward, and saw a bright red military flag fluttering in the wind at the front of our army swarming in the distance. At a glance, I could see that it was the flag of the separate division, and it turned out that Lieutenant Colonel Oleg had sent troops to pounce on the rear of the German troops.

Seeing our reinforcements coming, I jumped out of the window, carried my submachine gun, bent over, and ran quickly along the wall.

After five minutes, the qiē was over. The destroyed tanks of the German army were burning, and next to the corpses of the German soldiers, the soldiers who were lucky not to be killed put down their weapons and stood honestly with their hands raised in the air.

The fighters surrounded the prisoners, and Lieutenant Colonel Oleg came up to me and reported: "Comrade division commander, our regiment has completely annihilated the German units trying to occupy the docks. ”

"Why did your troops come so late?" I remembered that it had been at least an hour since I gave him the order, but he was late, so I asked him angrily, "You must know that if your troops had attacked earlier, the casualties of the women's anti-aircraft artillery regiment would have been much smaller." ”

Hearing my criticism, Oleg said with some embarrassment: "Comrade division commander. In fact, the first time the Germans attacked the dock position. I sent my troops to attack from the flanks. However, the German tank fire was too fierce. One of the companies that attacked fought with the enemy for only a few minutes before the whole army was wiped out. ”

In a few minutes, a company will be reimbursed? I was horrified to think that fortunately the German offensive was directed towards the docks, not the settlements, otherwise Oleg's seven companies would not have been able to hold out for long. But fortunately, now that the German army has been wiped out, thinking of this, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the sweat from my forehead, and instructed Oleg: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, arrange for the soldiers to clean up the battlefield, and move all the useful things to the settlements, maybe they can be used in the future." ”

Next to report to me were Captain Prokop, Captain Basmanov, and Gerasimov, the instructor of the anti-tank company of the 101st regiment. I saw fighters following them, with anti-tank guns on their shoulders. Then he asked Gerasimov with concern: "Comrade instructor, are the casualties of your company large?" ”

Gerasimov glanced back at his men. Turning around, he smiled and said: "Report to Comrade Colonel, there are three people who have been slightly injured, and no one has been killed. In the battle, we destroyed a total of 12 German tanks. ”

"What, 12?" When I heard this result, I could hardly believe that the Germans attacked the dock with only 17 or 8 tanks, and they actually killed 12 of them, which means that two-thirds of the tanks were killed by them, and if they had not been supported, it is estimated that only a few anti-aircraft guns of the anti-aircraft artillery regiment would not have been able to stop the German tanks.

I put my hands on his shoulders, slapped them vigorously, and praised him without hesitation: "Well done, Comrade Instructor." You have made great contributions in the battle to defend the docks, and I will report the results of you and your subordinates to the headquarters of the group army, and I will take credit for you. ”

"For the service of the Soviet Fatherland!" After Gerasimov replied in an official tone, he politely asked: "Comrade division commander, can we leave?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Instructors, we'll have a meeting later. Break a leg! ”

Having sent off Gerasimov and his anti-tank company, I went to the anti-aircraft artillery positions with Prokop and Basmanov. Judging from the information just gathered, the results achieved by the antiaircraft artillery regiment are not great, and I will find out what is going on.

When I approached the barricades, I was startled to see that two sandbag fortifications had been destroyed by shells, and the anti-aircraft guns in these two fortifications had been blown to pieces, and there were craters everywhere on the ground. There was a row of neatly arranged corpses in the bunker, which should be the female gunners of the two guns. The female soldiers, who did not sacrifice, dug a pit in the open space not far away.

As I looked at the female soldiers with puzzled eyes, Prokop leaned close to my ear and whispered, "Comrade Colonel, the female soldiers do not want to bury their comrades in the trenches, so they have to dig another one. ”

I walked over to the black-cheeked, smoke-stained female soldiers. I stood next to a female soldier and asked in a low voice: "Comrade soldier, do you know where your regimental commissar is?" "Because I haven't seen Li Jiya since the end of the battle, I was worried that she had died in the battle just now, so I asked the soldiers in the regiment to inquire.

Unexpectedly, after I finished speaking, the female soldier did not react at all, and continued to bury her head in the pit. Seeing that I was standing awkwardly, Basmanov hurriedly came over and explained to me: "Comrade division commander, please forgive me, these female soldiers were deaf in the battle just now, and they couldn't hear what you were talking about at all? ”

After Basmanov finished speaking, he stepped forward and grabbed the female soldier's shoulder and shook it vigorously, and the female soldier looked up at us blankly. Basmanov gestured to her a few times, pointed to his large-brimmed hat, and asked aloud: "Where is it?" In what place? The female soldier pointed weakly behind her, then lowered her head and continued to dig a hole.

Basmanov dragged me to a barricade not far away, and around the chest-high sandbag fortifications, I saw Lijiya and several other female soldiers. For some reason, several of them took off their military uniforms outside, leaving only the white shirts inside. When Basmanov saw this, he turned his back a little embarrassed.

I walked up to Li Jiya's side, grabbed her, and asked curiously, "Comrade Political Commissar of the regiment, what's going on?" Why did you take off your uniforms? "When I said this, I thought to myself, now that the Germans have been defeated by us, there is no need to disguise themselves as ordinary people to escape, what do you mean by undressing en masse?

Li Jiya looked at me with eyes that had no brilliance at all, smiled bitterly, and then said to herself: "Comrade Colonel, you are right, the enemy is stronger than we thought, if it weren't for the reinforcements you brought, maybe the dock would have been lost." ”

"Comrade Political Commissar of the regiment, I'm asking why you took off your military uniform?" I was afraid that her ears were already deaf, so I leaned close to her ear and asked aloud.

Li Jiya hurriedly removed her ears a little, and then answered my question: "You also saw that in the battle just now, we sacrificed more than 20 young girls, and we can't let them be buried in tattered military uniforms like this, so we took off our more complete uniforms and put them on the sacrificed girls." ”

Hearing Li Jiya say this, I immediately felt ashamed of what I thought just now, I hurriedly reached out to unbutton the military uniform, and wanted to take off the military uniform on my body, but I didn't expect to be grabbed by Li Jiya's hand, she shook her head and said: "No need, Comrade Colonel, I understand your intentions, but the uniforms we prepared for the girls are enough." ”

I was anxious to do something for these sacrificed girls, so I turned around and called out to Basmanov, who was standing on his back: "Comrade Captain, you take twenty soldiers of the guard company to help those women soldiers dig pits, and do your best to bury the sacrificed girls." ”

When Basmanov left, I remembered my guard squad leader, Vera, and continued to walk forward. It didn't take me far before I found Vera, Vonia, and Nakia. Vonia sat on the ground, her back against the breast wall of the sandbag, her hands on her company, her shoulders shaking, Vera and Nakia standing on either side of her.

"Vera, what's wrong, is Vanya hurt?" The three female guards I sent out to play the role of anti-aircraft gunners at the most critical time, and if they were harmed, I would not be happy.

Vera waved her hand at me and said, "It's okay, Comrade Divisional Commander. Vonia was a little faint, and just after the battle, she was frightened when she saw the female soldier lying under the anti-aircraft artillery. But don't worry, she'll be fine, and she'll be fine soon. ”

I nodded, bent down, and gently patted Vonia's shoulder. She raised her head and looked at me, and said a little nervously: "Comrade division commander, I'm fine, I'm either greedy for life and afraid of death, or I'm dizzy when I see blood, don't worry, I'll be fine for a while." ”

I just smiled faintly and said noncommittally: "Let's get up when it's okay, we still have to help Li Jiya's political commissar and them to bury the female soldiers who sacrificed." (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank the book friends Xiaoliang kitchen knife and dgawe children's shoes for their vote.