The reason why this ice transport line on Lake Ladoga is called the "road of life" by the military and civilians of Leningrad is that in addition to transporting a large amount of food and daily necessities to Leningrad through here, it can also evacuate the surplus population of the city, such as the elderly, women and children who are unable to work, and reduce the population pressure on the city. By relying on the method of evacuating the population, it was possible to improve the food of the soldiers and civilians who were actively resisting the German fascist invaders.

The opening of the ice transport line was completely unexpected by the Germans. In order to cut off this "road of life" that is related to the life and death of Leningrad, they not only bombarded it with long-range artillery, but also sent planes to bomb it several times a day.

The commanders of the front army responded to these tricks used by the Germans. When the Germans were bombarded with artillery, the heavy artillery units of the Front and the naval guns of the Baltic Fleet suppressed their artillery positions. In terms of air defense, in addition to the placement of a large number of air defense units on both sides of the ice transport line, aircraft were also sent to constantly patrol the skies over Lake Lado.

Every day at dawn, German planes would patronize the ice transport lines. They swooped down from the clouds and carried out dive-bombing and strafing at people and vehicles traveling along the ice transport lines. In particular, trucks loaded with food and necessities became the focus of German aircraft strikes.

Aerial bombs are exploding, and airborne machine guns are strafing. Trucks were constantly hit, caught on fire, or blown to the ground by the blast of the explosion, and even vehicles with food slowly sank into the blasted ice caves. Residents who had been evacuated outside the city desperately left the transport line and fled to the ice piles on both sides of the road to escape the air raids.

In the two days after adjusting the deployment of antiaircraft artillery positions, the three antiaircraft artillery companies under my command have achieved good results. Lieutenant Baku's anti-aircraft artillery company had the best record, shooting down four enemy planes and capturing two parachuted pilots; This was followed by Captain Ali's anti-aircraft artillery company, which shot down two and wounded one; The female soldier company I was in charge of also shot down and damaged one enemy plane.

On the morning of the 27th, I received a telephone call from Major General Shilov, the person in charge of the line, saying that in order to increase the volume of transportation and reduce unnecessary losses, the higher-level leaders have decided that from now on, the ice transportation line will no longer be closed at night and will be operated all day, so that I can strengthen the night air defense work in the area under the jurisdiction of our antiaircraft artillery battalion on the transportation line.

The introduction of this new policy quickly had an immediate effect, and the amount of grain transported almost doubled on the same day. In this way, there is a sense of a bright future, and it is expected that in the near future, the rations of the residents of the city will be increased again.

However, the good times were short-lived, and after only one day, the Germans discovered that the ice transport line was also continuing to transport at night. Therefore, starting on the night of the 28th, night fighters and bombers were dispatched to bomb the ice transport line indiscriminately. Since the air defense forces were not equipped with enough searchlights, they could not detect the enemy aircraft in the night in time, and the lights of the convoy while driving indicated the target for the German aircraft attack.

The first night bombardment of the Germans achieved brilliant results, while the Soviet convoys suffered huge losses in the air raids. Many vehicles were blown up, and some of them panicked into the bombs dropped by enemy planes and sank to the bottom of the icy lake with their precious food.

After learning that the convoy had suffered serious losses, Major General Shirov was furious, and early the next morning, he called me and scolded me, and finally said viciously: "...... If you can't do this anti-aircraft artillery battalion commander, you can say it in advance, I have more people here who can be the commander of this battalion. And you, get ready to go to court-martial! After saying that, he hung up the phone unceremoniously.

Listening to the busy sound coming from the microphone, I couldn't help but smile bitterly, there was only one result of going to a court-martialed during the war, and that was to be shot. After the outbreak of the war, even the commander of the Western Front, General Pavlov, and his chief of staff, who were in high positions, were shot by order of Stalin because of the ineffective operation. I'm just a small major now, and if you want to shoot me, it's as easy as stepping on an ant, and I don't think I need to ask my superiors for instructions, and Major General Shirov probably has that right.

Just thinking about it, I suddenly heard Kirianova ask with concern on the side: "Lida, have you been scolded by Comrade General?" ”

I realized that I was distracted, and the phone and microphone were still in my hand. I put down the microphone and nodded, and said, "Yes, the convoy suffered heavy losses in the air raid last night, and it was inevitable that Comrade General would get angry. At present, we need to consider how to strengthen air defense at night. "Strengthening air defense work at night is easier said than done, and I can't do it alone, but I still have to work together and mobilize everyone to find a way, so I continued: "Kirianova, Orlova, what do you two think?" ”

"Comrade Major," Orlova replied preemptively, "I think it is necessary to report to the higher authorities and give us more air defense units and searchlights, so that we can accurately detect and destroy the incoming enemy planes at night." ”

As soon as she said this, I immediately denied it, and I pointed out sharply: "It is unrealistic to ask our superiors to increase our air defense units, and if there were enough air defense units in Leningrad, it is estimated that they would have been sent to the ice transport line long ago." Regardless of the fact that there are only three antiaircraft artillery battalions and a number of independent antiaircraft machine gun batteries responsible for the air defense tasks of the ice transport line, this should already be all the strength that the front army command can invest. When they heard me say this, they did not speak, but nodded thoughtfully in agreement, and I added: "On the other hand, there is a shortage of electricity in Leningrad, and even important departments such as the headquarters of the Front, government offices, and hospitals cannot guarantee sufficient power supply, let alone other departments. Even if General Shilov had provided us with enough searchlights, if the city could not provide us with enough power, they would be a pile of ornaments, and would not be of any use in a night battle. ”

After listening to my analysis, the two were silent. I stood up, put on my military coat, and said to the two of them: "You two think about it carefully, see if there is any good way, I will go out for a walk." ”

The transport line in our area was east-west, and the anti-aircraft artillery battalion was stationed on the south side of the road, and not far from the north side, a road escort team was stationed, and Kirianova said that their commander was a lieutenant colonel. Braving the fierce cold wind, I stood in the middle of the ice on the side of the road, staring blankly at the endless stream of vehicles and crowds of people passing in front of me, and my mind continued to think about how to strengthen air defense at night. Capturing and shooting down an enemy aircraft flying at high speed in a poor field of view felt like an almost impossible task.

Just when I was at a loss, I accidentally saw a group of soldiers in the distance surrounding a truck with the back half burned to the frame, shouting neat numbers to push the car to the side of the road. I know that the soldiers are cleaning the road of bombed-out cars on the road to ensure the smooth flow of transport lines.

I looked up at the sky, it was gray and there was no shadow of the enemy planes, perhaps they felt that the results of the night sorties were big and the losses were small, so they gave up the plan to attack during the day. I walked over to the busy soldiers, carefully examined the ice along the way, and found that the ice holes that had been blown open in the air raid last night had all been frozen and were open to traffic again.

"Report to Comrade Major, the road escort team is on a mission to clear the road, please instruct!" A young lieutenant appeared in front of me, and perhaps he thought I had come to them for some instructions, so he took the initiative to report to me.

"Go ahead with your mission, Comrade Second Lieutenant."

"Yes, Comrade Major." The second lieutenant said yes dryly, and ran over to direct his men to continue pushing the cart.

Although the back half of the truck was burned, the front part of the truck was still mostly intact, and I felt that if it wasn't for the reimbursement of the rear tires, the car would have been able to continue driving.

I felt a chill, and when I looked down, it turned out that the collar of my military coat was still open, no wonder the second lieutenant just now saw my rank. I put the collar of my coat up, buttoned it up, and it felt much warmer.

I looked up and saw two or three hundred meters to the east, behind a chest-high wall of snow, a twin anti-aircraft machine gun. Looking further to the west, at about the same distance, there was also an anti-aircraft machine gun. I guess they all belong to a separate anti-aircraft machine gun company.

Seeing such a deployment, I couldn't help but think of the tower defense games I had played before, thinking that if the enemy planes flew along the transport line, the anti-aircraft machine guns and anti-aircraft guns deployed by our army along the route would be enough to knock them all down.

As soon as I thought of the game, I suddenly had a flash of inspiration in my mind, and suddenly thought of the famous air defense post of the Volunteer Army during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and suddenly I had a complete night air defense plan.

So I immediately shouted to the ensign who was busy in front of me, "Comrade Ensign, please come here." ”

The second lieutenant trotted up to me with a blank look on his face, and after saluting, he asked hesitantly: "Comrade Major, do you have any instructions?" ”

I pointed to the truck that had been pushed by the soldiers to the side of the road and instructed the second lieutenant: "Comrade second lieutenant, please order the soldiers to push the truck into the middle of the empty snowdrift." ”

"Comrade Major, can I ask what is going on?"

I said with a stern face: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, don't you know that according to the regulations, the subordinates have no right to question the orders of the superiors, but should carry them out unconditionally?" If you find this task incomprehensible, you can report to your superiors and ask him to come to me. I am Major Oshanina, commander of the anti-aircraft artillery battalion stationed on the south side of the road. ”

The second lieutenant reluctantly raised his hand and saluted, and said weakly in agreement, then turned to direct the soldiers who were about to rest, and pushed the cart into the open snow far from the transport line.

Looking at the back of his cart, I didn't forget to say out loud: "Remember, push the cart as far away from the side of the road as possible!" Without waiting for him to reply, I turned and trotted back to my tent.

As soon as the curtain was opened, I saw Kirianova and Orlova still sitting in the distance with sad faces, meditating, and hurriedly announced to them loudly: "You don't have to worry, I have already thought of a way to strengthen the air defense at night." ”

The two of them stayed on the spot, expressions of disbelief. Let's ask the two of them who wasn't searching for dry intestines just now, planning a good plan. And I, who had just left with a sad face not long ago, suddenly ran in from the outside, and told them that I had suddenly told them that there was a straight road, and how could I not make them stunned and suspicious.

I ignored them, picked up the phone on the table, and went straight to the headquarters. As soon as I heard someone on the other side talking, I immediately reported to myself: "Hello, I am Major Oshanina, the commander of the 2nd Anti-aircraft Artillery Battalion, and I have something important to report to General Shilov immediately!" Yes, very urgently! ”