Before dawn, Chuikov and I received a call from Shumilov. From his voice, I could tell that he was a little panicked, and he asked concentratingly: "Comrade Chuikov, when will you return to the headquarters of the army group?" ”

"Is something wrong?" Chuikov asked cautiously as he looked at the large group of commanders sitting around him.

"It's hard to say on the phone, you will return to the command headquarters with Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina immediately, I have important matters to discuss with you." With that, he hung up.

Chuikov stood up and said to Colonel Vosley Boynikov, who was sitting opposite him: "Comrade Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina and I will return to the command headquarters immediately, and we will leave it to you to complete the task of receiving the team later." ”

The colonel hurriedly stood up, straightened his body and replied loudly: "Please rest assured, Comrade Deputy Commander, I promise to complete the tasks you have assigned." ”

Chuikov nodded in satisfaction, then turned around, shook his head to the side at me, and said, "Let's go, Comrade Oshanina, let's go back to the headquarters." ”

Returning to the headquarters of the army group, I saw Shumilov walking around the room with his hands behind his back, while the two military commissars were sitting at the table and smoking cigarettes, and the whole room was filled with smoke, and the ashtray made of cans on the table was full of cigarette butts.

As soon as he saw Chuikov meet, Shumilov greeted him like a life-saving straw, grabbed Chuikov's arm, and hurriedly said while pulling him to his seat: "Comrade Chuikov, you can come back, something is wrong." The two military commissars also extinguished the cigarettes in their hands and stood up to greet Chuikov.

Chuikov gently broke free from Shumilov's hand and asked: "Comrade commander." Let's talk about it. You're in such a hurry to get me back to command. What the hell is going on? ”

"Come and see, Comrade Chuikov," Shumilov leaned down and pointed to the map and said to Chuikov, "I just received information that an enemy had bypassed our Reynolds line from the south and made a detour back to our junction with the 51st Army. In this five-kilometer-long gap, a company of the 51st Group Army was supposed to defend here, but the company commander of this company saw that the enemy was strong and did not fire a single shot. He fled with his troops. ”

Hearing Shumilov say this, Chuikov was so angry that he slapped the table fiercely, and shouted angrily: "You should call the commander of the 51st Army immediately and arrest and shoot this coward who is greedy for life and afraid of death and escapes!" ”

Serdyuk took over the topic and said: "Just now the command of the 51st Army called, and the company commander has been executed on the spot by the supervision team of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Now we have to think about how to deal with this small force of the enemy that is wedged into the rear of our army. ”

Chuikov took out a cigarette from the cigarette case placed on the table, lit it, took two puffs, extinguished it in the ashtray, and said resolutely: "Comrades, judging from the current situation. The enemy wants to encircle and destroy us at all costs, and from our side. You can't just defend yourself, you can't just think about letting the 51st Army destroy this enemy. We have to take the opportunity to fight back, and you remember what Sorov once said: surprise is the victory. We want to counterattack, we want to seize the initiative, confuse the enemy, we make a surprise attack, how about it? ”

"Surprise?" Shumilov was puzzled and asked: "Comrade Chuikov, what do you mean, how should we fight?" ”

Chuikov pointed out the map and said: "It's very simple, let General Biryukov's 214th Division send a regiment to immediately dispatch under the cover of tanks, and take advantage of the fact that this group of enemies is not firmly established, launch a surprise attack on them, and completely and cleanly destroy them." ”

After listening to Chuikov's plan, Abramov asked tentatively: "Should we inform the 51st Army and let them also send troops to cooperate, if they attack from both sides, the chances of victory are greater." ”

With a wave of his hand, Chuikov directly rejected Abramov's proposal and explained: "If the two armies fight together, although the odds of victory are higher, it will be too delayed. And what we need most now is time, and when the enemy gains a firm foothold at dawn and has planes to help us fight, our attacking forces will suffer heavy losses. Speaking of which, he directly picked up the phone on the table and called General Biryukov.

As for Chuikov's direct command to the division commander without the permission of the commander, not only did the two military commissars have a commonplace expression, but even Shumilov adopted a tacit attitude. It seems that in everyone's minds, they all regard Chuikov as a real commander of the group army.

When Bilyukov's voice came out of the microphone, Chuikov didn't say anything polite to him, and said straight to the point: "General Bilyukov, I have a task to give you." Are you confident that you can finish it? ”

Without hesitation, Bilyukov said: "Comrade Chuikov, please rest assured that no matter how difficult the task is, our 214th Infantry Division will guarantee its completion. ”

"Okay, since you're so confident, it's right to give you this task." Hearing Bilyukov's answer, a smile of relief appeared on Chuikov's face, and he continued, "Comrade Bilyukov, listen, not long ago, a German unit bypassed the line of your division and the 229th Division, made a detour back to our junction with the 51st Army, and occupied a position. Your task is to immediately attack this unstable enemy, under the cover of the tank detachment, and you must destroy them cleanly. ”

"Comrade Chuikov, please rest assured, as long as our 214th Division attacks, we will never let this enemy escape, you just wait to hear our good news." Bilyukov said confidently.

Chuikov smiled and nodded again and again, and said: "Well, General Biliukov, I will wait for the news of your victory." Gather your troops as soon as possible, and I will send my herald Sidorin to you to act as your guide. ”

Shortly after the order was given, the chief of staff, Colonel Raskin, who had expected to return in the afternoon, appeared at the command. As soon as he saw that several of the main leaders of the group army were there, he hurriedly stepped forward to salute and report: "Report to the commander, deputy commander, and comrade military commissar, I have completed the task of collecting the defeated troops, and I will definitely come back to report to you." ”

Shumilov saw that the chief of staff had returned. The emotions are also a little excited. Hurriedly asked, "Comrade Raskin." You went to collect the rout this time, did everything go well? ”

Raskin nodded vigorously and replied with some excitement: "Yes, Comrade Commander, the task was completed very smoothly. Most of our scattered troops, hidden in the valleys or in some smaller villages, learned that we were there to contain small troops, and they came to report to us. This. In total, I have gathered more than 2,000 fighters with combat experience. ”

"More than 2,000 soldiers!" Chuikov said a little absent-mindedly: "It's not bad that you can contain so many people in a short period of time, and these commanders and fighters can form another regiment." ”

Serdyu cradled Ruskin and deliberately asked the question he was interested in: "Are there political workers and grassroots commanders in the troops in the custody?" ”

Raskin shook his head and said regretfully: "I'm sorry, Comrade Military Commissar, there are really no such people you care about. It is important to know that after the troops of these commanders and fighters were routed by the Germans, they all broke out in groups of three or five. I lost contact with my superiors. ”

"That's right, Comrade Raskin. Come here, I have a task for you. When Chuikov saw Raskin and Serdyuk talking, he suddenly remembered the 20,000 recruits who were still in the 208th Division, and hurriedly called Raskin over and ordered: "Comrade Raskin, the Front Headquarters has replenished us with 20,000 recruits, and they are currently in the forest near the headquarters of the 208th Division. In addition to Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina's separate division, you bring the other six regiments, you bring them all back to the garrison of the army group headquarters. ”

"Independent division? What independent division? Ruskin asked in confusion.

"Yes, Comrade Chuikov, what's going on?" Not to mention that Ruskin couldn't figure out the state, even Shumilov asked with a blank face: "When was the independent division formed, why don't I know the way?" ”

Chuikov waved his hand at Shumilov and said: "Comrade commander, I will explain to you later about the matter of the independent division, and the top priority now is to let Comrade Raskin go and bring back the more than 10,000 recruits first. Then he urged Raskin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't be delayed, go to the 208th Division quickly, maybe the division commander Colonel Vosley Boynikov is in a hurry." Also, pull a batch of weapons and ammunition from the reserve warehouses of the group army to the independent division, if they don't have weapons, this battle will not be able to fight. ”

After Raskin left, Chuikov explained to Shumilov: "Of the 20,000 newly replenished soldiers, I took 8,000 from them to form an independent division, with Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina in the post of division commander." ”

Shumilov looked at me and asked Chuikov in a distrustful tone: "Comrade Chuikov, do you think Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina is up to the post?" ”

Shumilov said this, which made me standing next to me look very embarrassed, and I wanted to defend myself, but I was afraid of upsetting the commander, so I had to keep silent for the time being. Fortunately, Chuikov stood up in time to relieve me: "Comrade Shumilov, I very much recognize Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina's command ability, and at the same time I feel that she is the best candidate for this post. ”

Hearing Chuikov say this, Shumilov had no choice but to nod helplessly and said: "Okay, Comrade Chuikov, since you have so much confidence in Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, then I believe in your vision and let her serve as the military commander of this newly formed unit." Also, do you need to send political workers to this unit? ”

Chuikov shook his head and directly rejected Shumilov's proposal: "This is not necessary, I believe that with Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina's ability, she can completely lead this army." ”

While he was talking, a communications staff officer ran in from outside, holding aloft a telegraph and shouting: "Comrade commander, it's a telegram from the commander of the 214th Division, General Biliukov." "I went up and took the telegram from the staff officer, and before I even had time to read it, it was handed over to Chuikov.

Chuikov read the telegram at a glance, handed it to Shumilov, and said excitedly: "General Biryukov is in good shape, his troops have already routed the German units that have detoured to the rear of our army group, and are currently pursuing the remnants of the enemy. ”

After Chuikov said this, seeing that the communications staff officer was still standing at the door and did not move, he hurriedly beckoned him to come over and ordered: "Comrade staff officer, call General Biliukov back: Be sure to completely annihilate this invading enemy, and not let any of them escape." ”

The staff officer finished recording the order. Raising his hand to salute him, he turned and walked towards the telecommunications room.

The division commander Byrykov acted quickly. Call again half an hour later. The report said that the enemy had been completely annihilated, that most of the enemy had been killed in battle, and that the remaining enemy, seeing that they had no way out, was forced to lay down their arms and surrender to our troops.

Colonel Raskin, who was in command with the staff officer who sent the telegram, grinned silently when he learned that our troops had completely annihilated the German units that had returned to the rear, and then stepped forward to report to Chuikov: "Report to Comrade Deputy Commander, I have brought back twelve thousand newly replenished fighters. In order to prevent the exposed targets from being attacked by enemy aircraft, I have dispersed them and hid them in nearby valleys and forests. At the same time, because of the rush of time, it was not possible to provide all the required weapons and ammunition for the troops of the independent division in a short time, but only a part of the weapons and ammunition were replenished first, and the rest will be fully replenished in two to three days. ”

Chuikov nodded with satisfaction and praised: "Well done, Comrade Raskin." Then he came up to me again and said to me: "Comrade Oshanina, it's up to you next." Hurry up and receive your own troops. ”

I stood still and said to him with some embarrassment: "Report to Comrade Deputy Commander." I don't know where to go to find my own troops. ”

Chuikov slapped his head and exclaimed, "Oops! If you don't say it, I'll forget about it. Then he shouted outside: "Sidorin, where is Sidorin?" ”

Hearing Chuikov call his herald, I knew that he wanted little Sidorin to be my guide, and hurriedly reminded him: "I'm sorry, comrade deputy commander, I would like to remind you that Sidorin has given General Biliukov as a guide to fight the Germans who have returned to the rear of our army. ”

Chuikov chuckled and said self-deprecatingly: "Look at my memory, I have forgotten such an important thing. Go, I'll take you to my jeep and let the driver take you. ”

I followed Chuikov outside and saw his jeep parked not far away. Seeing us coming out, the driver hurriedly got out of the car, straightened up and saluted us. Chuikov stepped forward and whispered something to the driver. I saw the driver nodding his head, guessing that Chuikov might be telling him to take me somewhere.

Sure enough, Chuikov turned around and said loudly to me: "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, get in the car." I've told the driver where I'm going, and he'll take you there. "I sincerely thanked Chuikov and got into his jeep.

After the jeep drove for ten minutes, Chuikov's driver pulled me near a forest. Looking out of the car window, I saw a troop in the distance standing in a neat line at the edge of the forest.

The jeep stopped a dozen meters away from the procession, and the driver turned to me and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, when you get to the place, General Chuikov will order me to send you here." ”

Seeing me get out of the car, Captain Sederikov ran over and saluted and shouted loudly: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, Captain Sederikov, the commander of the new regiment, report to you that all the commanders of the independent division have been assembled and are waiting for your instructions!" ”

After returning the salute, he glanced at the team with satisfaction and said, "Very good, everyone take a break!" ”

Sederikov replied: "Yes!" He turned and ran to the team, shouting, "All of them, listen to me, take a break!" ”

I walked to the front of the line and looked at the commanders standing neatly, and I couldn't help but have mixed feelings, these 80 or so commanders are the entire command force of my independent division.

I waved at everyone and said with a smile, "Hello everyone! ”

I didn't expect that all the people were standing in place like stakes, their eyes were level, and no one answered my words, which made me feel a little embarrassed.

I had no choice but to shout at the regimental commanders standing at the very edge of the queue: "Captain Sederikov, Captain Oleg, Captain Koska, Captain Gaidar are out of the ranks!" ”

With my shout, the four of them walked out of the line in unison and stood in a neat line in front of me. The eyes of all four were fixed on me, and they did not say a word, waiting for my further orders.

I walked up to Captain Sederikov, looked at his armed belt and the pistol pinned to his waist, and asked: "Comrade Captain, how many weapons did the chief of staff of the army group give you?" ”

Shederikov replied loudly: "Report to the division commander, Comrade Division Commander, Chief of Staff of the Army Group Colonel Raskin, who issued us 84 pistols, 1000 rifles, as well as 20 light machine guns. However, there were too few bullets, with an average of five rounds per rifle and twenty rounds for machine guns. ”

Hearing that such a weapon had just been distributed, I couldn't help frowning slightly, and said in my heart how could Colonel Ruskin be so stingy, and what could I do with such a few weapons. Although I just said that it will be added the day after tomorrow, I don't dare to believe his words too much, maybe he will forget about it as soon as there are many things tomorrow. No, I'm going to find Chuikov tomorrow and ask him to give us more weapons and ammunition, at least twice as many as we have now.

But in front of these commanders, I still have to maintain the image of the group army headquarters, and I coughed, as if talking to myself and explaining to them: "The group army has replenished 20,000 men this time, and it is impossible to take out so many weapons and send them to everyone at once, so you all have to understand more." Bread, there will be; Milk, there will be; Everything will be there. ”

"Comrade division commander," Captain Sederikov took over the topic and asked, "what should we do next?" ”

"What else can you do, of course, train your soldiers! They are all civilians without any military training, and if they go into battle like this, won't they be sent to their deaths in vain? Do you understand my words? ”

"Got it!" Not only did the four regiment commanders in front of me answer my question in unison, but even the eighty company-level commanders behind them answered me loudly in unison. (To be continued......)