Povsky and I, along with several guards, led by a division staff officer who acted as a guide, walked along the trenches towards the regimental headquarters of the 223rd Regiment. Although the trenches were dug deep and the commanders had to stand on special steps to shoot outward, I still bent slightly as I walked to avoid accidentally becoming a target for German snipers.

Our group followed behind the divisional staff and made our way through the trenches full of commanders and fighters, bypassing machine-gun fire points and mortar positions that were on high standby. I had only one thing on my mind: Will the organized counterattack force succeed in recovering the occupied position No. 4?

As I was walking, the division staff officer in front of me suddenly stopped, turned back to me and said, "Comrade commander, the command post of the 223rd Regiment is here. ”

As he spoke, he walked down the wooden steps to the entrance of the underground command post, where he opened the curtain blocking the doorway, and then said politely: "Please, Comrade Commander, please come in!" The division commander is inside. ”

In addition to Nekrasov, there were also the commander of the 223 regiment, as well as the political commissar of the regiment, the deputy commander, the chief of staff, and some people I didn't know.

Seeing my arrival, everyone got up from their seats and stood straight up. Nekrasov took a step forward and reported to me in accordance with the regulations: "Comrade commander, the 52nd Guards Rifle Division is working on the battle plan. Division commander, Colonel Nekrasov. ”

I nodded, walked over to the humble wooden table, looked down at the military map on the table, and casually asked, "How is the plan being studied?" In the shortest possible time. Restore the lost position No. 4? ”

Commander of the 223 regiment. A dark, thin, medium-sized lieutenant colonel took a bold step towards me, and said in a hoarse voice: "Comrade commander, the counterattack forces of our regiment have been assembled, and we can fight back as soon as you give the order." ”

I glanced up at him, put my hands on the belt around my waist, and asked in a kind tone: "Comrade Regiment Commander, how do you plan to command the troops to recapture the position?" ”

"First cover position No. 4 with artillery fire. Then charge with infantry. The regimental commander replied decently.

"Comrade commander," Nekrasov said, glancing at the artillery commander standing behind me, and then whispered, "It would be better if the task of suppressing artillery fire could be done by the Guards Rocket Artillery Battalion." However, I don't have the authority to command this force, so I wonder if you can order the rocket artillery battalion to cooperate with our counterattack? ”

"Comrade division commander," said the Povsky urn behind me, "our Guards rocket artillery battalion is deployed in the front-line position, in order to cooperate with the defenders to destroy the armored forces of the German assault, and the number of rockets stored is limited, so there is no need to invest in such a small-scale attack." ”

I waved my hand. Motioned to Povsky to stop talking. Turning his head to look at Nekrasov, he asked: "Comrade Colonel." Where is your regimental observation post? Take me to see what is going on at Position Four. ”

Nekrasov did not dare to slack off, and immediately led me and Povsky to the nearby regimental observation post. I stood in front of the lookout, binoculars in hand, and looked at Position 4 in the distance. I saw that on the southern slope of the position, some German soldiers wearing steel helmets were digging trenches, because the weather was hot, and many soldiers were working shirtless. In front of the trenches, which had not yet been united, were scattered bunkers with machine guns or mortars.

I put down my binoculars, turned around and asked Nekrasov: "Comrade Colonel, I wonder where the commander of the counterattack unit is?" ”

When Nekrasov heard me ask, he hurriedly shouted outside: "Captain, come in!" ”

Following his order, a young lieutenant walked in from outside the door and stood straight in front of us. Nekrasov pointed to him and introduced to me: "Comrade commander, this is the commander of the third battalion, and the fourth heights are his defense area. ”

I smiled, handed the binoculars to Povsky next to me, and asked the captain with a smile: "Comrade Captain, I can't imagine that the company that held on Heights No. 4 turned out to be under your command. ”

When the captain heard my words, his face immediately turned red with shame, and after looking at me timidly, he quickly lowered his head and said in a low voice: "Comrade commander, since position No. 4 has been lost by our battalion, even if the whole battalion is sacrificed, we must take the position back from the enemy's hands. ”

"Comrade Captain, I don't want you to sacrifice, I only want the fourth position." I walked over, put my hands on the captain's shoulders, raised my voice and said, "You have to remember that it is the Germans who should be damned, not you. ”

After saying these words, I turned to Povsky and ordered: "Comrade Artillery Commander, while the enemy's fortifications have not yet been repaired, immediately order the Guards Rocket Artillery Battalion to cover the No. 4 position with firepower, and send these Germans to God." ”

"But, Comrade Commander." With some hesitation, Povsky said: "We have a limited reserve of rockets, and it will take at least a week to get supplies." If they all run out, if tomorrow the Germans launch a general offensive, the rocket artillery battalion will be left with no ammunition. ”

"Don't worry, Colonel Povsky." Understanding that the artillery commander was worried that the excessive use of rocket artillery in order to cover the infantry attack would lead to the depletion of ammunition in the rocket artillery battalion, he comforted him and said: "You see, the southern slope of position No. 4 is such a large territory, and two salvos are enough. Rest assured, the Germans will not attack in a big way until the rocket artillery battalion is replenished with ammunition. ”

"Alright then, Comrade Commander." Povsky said helplessly: "I'll just get the artillery ready." As he spoke, he took the phone in the middle of the observation post.

"Wait, please wait, Colonel Povsky." When his hand touched the telephone, I stopped him just in time. Then, regardless of his surprised eyes, he turned around and ordered the commander of the 223rd Regiment and the commander of the third battalion: "Lieutenant colonel, captain, you see, the starting point of the counterattack force is about two kilometers away from the No. 4 position. If we waited for the artillery to be ready, by the time they passed through the long open field, the Germans, who had been overwhelmed by the artillery fire, had regrouped, and our infantry would have suffered heavy casualties under enemy fire when they charged on the high ground. ”

"Comrade Commander, then how shall we fight?" As soon as I finished speaking, the dark and thin lieutenant colonel immediately asked.

I pointed with my hand at the No. 4 position in the distance and said to the commander of the third battalion: "Comrade Captain, you immediately lead your subordinates to attack the No. 4 position. When he heard me say this, his mouth opened and he seemed to want to say something, but I raised my hand to stop him. I continued: "When you are halfway through the march, the rocket artillery battalion will deliver the first salvo. Don't stop, just keep going, because our artillery is so accurate that we won't injure our own men. When the second salvo is over, you are only a few hundred meters away from Position 4, and with a single charge, you can rush to the position and destroy the German soldiers who have been blown up. Do you understand? ”

"Got it!" The regiment commander and the battalion commander replied in unison.

"Comrade Commander," said Nekrasov in surprise after waiting for me to finish, "according to your style of play, our army will greatly reduce its casualties, and I believe that it will not be long before the three battalions will be able to recover their lost positions." ”

Povsky also understood the reason why I had just stopped him, and took the initiative to say to me: "Comrade commander, it will take about twenty minutes for the infantry to get from here to position No. 4, then I will order the artillery to open fire ten minutes after the infantry departs, okay?" Seeing that I nodded in agreement, I immediately picked up the phone and called the Guards Rocket Artillery Battalion and assigned them an artillery mission.

Not long after the regiment commander and the third battalion commander left, I saw troops gathering at the foot of the hillside. As soon as hundreds of commanders and fighters wearing steel helmets entered the designated position, they formed a dense skirmish line in a standard squatting position, staring at the low hill that was about to be attacked in front of them.

Nekrasov also told me at the side: "Comrade commander, the troops involved in the attack were the 7th and 8th companies of the 3rd battalion, and the 9th company, with a total of 375 people. ”

I nodded and did not speak, according to my observations, the Germans were less than 200 men on position No. 4, and we attacked with twice the number of troops, and the certainty of victory was still very large. I turned my binoculars and looked at the team at the foot of the hill, and saw the commander of the third battalion squatting at the forefront of the entire attacking team.

When all the troops were assembled, he stood up, glanced at where we were, straightened his uniform, raised his pistol and struck back, and strode forward.

The company commanders and platoon commanders in the back also stood up one after another, raised their pistols or assault rifles in their hands, and did the same action as him. The dense stragglers stood up in an uproar, followed by the familiar shout "Ula! Ulla!! Then the whole attacking force followed the captain and marched towards position No. 4.

I was secretly relieved to look at the stragglers that were thinning out on both sides as they were marching, and it seemed that the soldiers of the Guards were quite experienced in combat, and would no longer be stupidly huddled together for the Germans to use as targets. I put down my binoculars, turned my head and asked Nekrasov: "Colonel, is there a tunnel for us on Heights IV?" ”

"No," Nekrasov replied, shaking his head, immediately shaking his head, "we have fortifications on the mountainside and on the top of the mountain, but we have not built a tunnel, otherwise this position would not have been lost so easily." ”

Nekrasov's words made me secretly relieved, it would be good that there were no tunnels, so that our counterattack troops could easily annihilate the Germans in their positions, instead of fighting them in tunnels like digging voles. (To be continued.) )