The sudden fire of the Germans blinded the attacking team. The surviving commanders and fighters of the Yevgeny regiment panicked, except for a few who lay on the ground and fired at the Germans, the rest ran back in a hurry.

"Hell, Lieutenant Colonel Evgeny, what's going on with your regiment? As soon as the Germans' guns rang out, they turned around and ran back. Hurry to the front line and stop the fleeing cowards. I heard the angry voice of Colonel Anchufeev beside me, and when I turned my head, I saw that he was behind me with several battalion commanders such as Harpy and Evgeny, also holding binoculars and observing the battlefield.

Evgeny was accused by the division commander, and he should have been very angry in his heart, and scolded directly: "Damn cowards." After scolding, he shouted behind him: "Follow me and stop them all." Then he ran briskly towards the edge of the forest, and no matter how far away he was, whether the retreating commanders and fighters could hear it, he let go of his voice and shouted: "Stop, stop, stand for me!" You cowards. As soon as he ran, a major and two lieutenants followed, who were supposed to be the commanders of his regiment.

When Evgeny and they ran away, Anchufeev turned around, looked me up and down, and said in a cold tone: "I say, Major Oshanina, what did you see here with a telescope for a long time?" ”

I hastened to report: "Report to Comrade Colonel, as far as I have observed, the Germans have built numerous machine-gun positions on the high ground on the right front, and as soon as they open fire, they will inflict massive casualties on our attacking troops. Our offensive will not work if we do not destroy them first. ”

"Elimination? I also know that I want to exterminate the Germans in these highlands, but how? Comrade Major," said Colonel Anchufeev disapprovingly, "I would like to hear what you can do." ”

My eyes looked at the Colonel, and I said only two words: "Night Raid." ”

"What? Night Raid?! As soon as the colonel heard me say this, he almost jumped up, "I said Comrade Major, do you still want this battle to drag on until the evening?" Then he said to me in a tone of lesson, "We must open the breakthrough as quickly as possible and cover the main force of the group army to break through the encirclement." In order to achieve this goal, it is worth the price we pay. ”

"But Comrade Division Commander," I hesitated slightly, and then resolutely put forward my opinion to him, to know that if he played in this way, after the Yevgeny Regiment and the 1128th Regiment were exhausted, it would be our regiment's turn to play, and I didn't want to die in vain, "Under the blockade of the Germans' intensive firepower, if you want to break through the opposite defensive line, you will inevitably pay a heavy price." Even if we break through the enemy's positions at the last time, our troops will be crippled. ”

"My comrade major, I have been in the army for twenty years and have a lot of combat experience, how to fight, I don't need you to teach me." Colonel Anchufeev rebuked me in a bad manner, "I don't know how you became a major and how you deceived Commander Vlasov's trust. I'd like to know you very much, have you personally been involved in battles before? ”

"Comrade division commander, the rank of Major Oshanina, was obtained by her efforts. As for how he could get Commander Vlasov's appreciation,...... "Lieutenant Colonel Harpy, who had been standing next to me without speaking, opened his mouth to relieve me, he nodded at me and said in a low voice: "Show your medal to Comrade Division Commander." Then he said to the colonel, "That's because Oshanina used to be General Vlasov's chief of staff." ”

Some things are better spoken by others than by me. I opened the lid of my briefcase, took out the medal wrapped in cloth, carefully opened it, held it in my hand, and handed it to Anchufeev.

"Order of the Red Banner? One, two, three, there are three, and a medal for bravery. Seeing these four glittering medals, Anchufeev's jaw almost hit the ground, and he was taken aback: "You actually won three Red Banner Medals, what the hell is going on?" ”

"Comrade Colonel, these military medals were awarded by Major Oshanina for his outstanding achievements in the defense of Moscow," I used to tell Harpy about my experience when I was on the ice transport line, but I didn't expect it to come in handy today. "Before the start of the great counteroffensive, Comrade Stalin personally appointed her chief of staff of the 20th Army, assisted Commander Vlasov in his work, and awarded her the rank of major general."

Hearing that Stalin had personally awarded me the military rank, there was a gasp all around. Colonel Anchufeev's face flushed, he opened his mouth, wanted to say something, but could not say it.

"Comrade Colonel, Comrade Colonel!" Evgeny's voice was heard in the distance, rescuing him from his awkward situation.

He stabilized his mood and asked loudly, "What's the matter?" Lieutenant Colonel Evgeny, have those cowards stopped retreating? ”

Evgeny dragged the famous lieutenant in one hand, came to Anchufeev and reported loudly: "Comrade division commander, just now it was the commander of the 1st battalion, Captain Ignatov, who led the retreat. I've brought him here and left it at your disposal. ”

The colonel stared viciously at the captain, covered in blood, with bandages on his head and without a brimmed hat, and shouted: "You have thrown your battalion, you warriors, you damned coward. As he spoke, he reached for the holster at his waist.

Lieutenant Colonel Harpy was quick-eyed, grabbed Anchufeev's hand, and persuaded: "Comrade Colonel, please calm down, let us ask what is going on?" He said to the captain, "What the hell is going on?" Why should you take the lead in retreating? ”

Captain Ignatov looked at us with a blank look and muttered: "Originally, we were about to rush to the enemy's position just now, but we didn't expect the machine guns on the hillside to suddenly open fire, and the enemy's fire was so fierce that we couldn't rush through at all." We don't necessarily hit the Germans when we shoot, but their shots are constantly slaughtering us, how can we fight this battle? The more he spoke, the louder he became, "How can this battle be fought?" How can you still fight? ”

Evgeny stood beside him and said to him in a stern tone: "Comrade Captain, your men are still fighting. Don't you see, are they still fighting? They were still lying in the open field, exchanging fire with the Germans. You go back at once, take your battalion with you, and launch another attack, sure to take the enemy's position. Then he shoved him hard and yelled loudly, "Go back to your camp and run back for me at once, quick!" ”

The captain did not salute anyone, looked at us, slowly took a few steps back, then turned and ran briskly towards the place where the troops had assembled at the edge of the forest.

"Major Oshanina," Colonel Anchufeev was beside me, whispering, "perhaps your proposal for a night attack is correct, but what we need now is time. At present, all I can do is to concentrate all my forces, adopt the tactics of crowds, and rush over in the face of the enemy's bullets. ”