In this way I was assigned to the 1127th Regiment and took the post of commander of the third battalion. Despite the strong support of Lieutenant Colonel Harpy and Commissar Pchuko, the division commander Achuffeyev was still skeptical of my ability.

Three battalions were deployed to the west of the regimental headquarters and were stationed in a village. The village is a small village, with only about 20 families, and almost all of the original residents have been evacuated, and most of the people who live here today are refugees who have fled from other places.

The battalion has a total of 260 people, under the jurisdiction of the seventh company, the eighth company, the health team, the communications class, the cooking class, the guard class, etc.

Captain Diaomi, who came with me from the headquarters of the army group, served as the commander of the seventh company, and his troops were stationed in the village.

The commander of the 8th Company, Lieutenant Ugard, is an old acquaintance who served as deputy company commander of the women's anti-aircraft artillery company on the ice transport line, and is now my subordinate again. A kilometre to the west of the village, there was a small hill on which our troops had fortified themselves, and where the Eighth Company was stationed.

Early the morning of the second day after I took over my post, I went to inspect the position of the Eighth Company.

Thanks to Lieutenant Colonel Harpy's care, I was equipped with a guard squad, and the squad leader was a small, chubby old soldier, his name was Yemeryanov, with the rank of sergeant, and if he was in the combat unit, he could at least be a platoon leader, but now I can only be wronged by him to be the guard squad leader.

From the entrance of the village, we can clearly see the position of the Eighth Company, and it looks very close, but if we really want to walk over, it will still take us a quarter of an hour.

As soon as they reached the bottom of the hill, they saw Lieutenant Ugad coming from the hill with several fighters. He trotted in front of me, saluted me, and with uncontrollable joy on his face, he reported in a loud voice: "Comrade Major, the commander of the eighth company, Lieutenant Ugad, reports to you and is at your command. ”

I bowed and extended my hand to him and said, "Comrade Lieutenant, I didn't expect us to meet again here. ”

Ugad shook my hand and said, "Yes, when I left the ice transport line, I thought I would never see you again, but I didn't expect to meet again so soon." After letting go of my hand, he leaned to the side, pointed his hand to the hill, and said, "Comrade Major, please go up to our position and have a look." ”

I followed him and entered the position along the traffic trench.

Pointing to a forest directly to the west, Ugard told me: "Comrade Major, that is the forward position of the German army, eight hundred meters from us. His hand moved in a counterclockwise direction, and he pointed to a huge lake in the southwest direction, and said: "The lake is two hundred meters from our position, and to the southwest of the lake is the defense line of the 131st Regiment of the 12th Infantry Division. ”

I stood in the trenches and raised my binoculars to look at the enemy's forward positions, but unfortunately their positions were in the forest, and I could only see the outline of their battle line and the charred black earth outside the forest.

In accordance with the regulations, our troops in front of the positions in a proper manner pulled barbed wire, dug anti-tank trenches, and laid minefields. At this moment, the soldiers were rushing to repair the fortifications damaged by artillery fire, and there was a sound of shovels and pickaxes digging in the trenches. As I walked along the trenches, I shook hands with the fighters I met and offered my condolences to them.

A second lieutenant trotted up to me, stood up and saluted, and reported with some excitement: "Comrade Major, the platoon commander, Second Lieutenant Miducci, reports to you and awaits your orders. ”

"Oh, it's you! Comrade Second Lieutenant. "Second Lieutenant Miducci, the second lieutenant of the road escort team I met on the day I first arrived at the ice transport line, but unfortunately he was transferred away soon after, and I didn't expect to meet him here. I went up and shook his hand and said, "Comrade Ensign, we have met before, but unfortunately it didn't take long for you to be transferred, and I didn't expect to meet you here today." ”

The second lieutenant held my hand tightly and said with a smile: "Comrade Major, I remember you. After that air raid, it was the soldiers who commanded the convoy to unload the precious food from the car. ”

I looked around and was surprised to see that there didn't seem to be many soldiers on the position, so I asked Miducci curiously: "Why is there only one person on the position, and the rest of the people?" ”

Hearing my question, Ugad hurriedly stepped forward and explained to me: "Comrade Major, you don't know that every time before the German attack, our positions are heavily shelled. If all the troops were placed in the trenches, the soldiers would be sacrificed under artillery fire in vain. By the time the German infantry attacked, there were no more people left on the position. ”

"And how do you position your forces?"

Ugad pointed down the hillside and said, "On the back of the hillside, we have dug two earthen holes, each of which can accommodate a platoon. In normal times, except for one platoon on the position, the other two platoons rested in the hole. ”

"That's a good deployment of troops." I was very satisfied with Ugad's arrangement, and then asked: "What about this platoon on the position, is there any precaution in the event of enemy shelling?" ”

When I asked, I actually stopped Ugad. After a while, he slurred: "During the shelling, the fighters can hide in the trenches to hide from the shelling." Because the two platoons in the earth cave could enter the position through the communication trench at any time, even if this platoon at the front suffered heavy casualties, it would not affect the battle behind. ”

"Comrade Lieutenant, it's not right for you to think so." When I heard him say this, I immediately lectured him with a straight face and a serious tone: "I do not deny the courage and tenacity of our fighters, and the spirit of sacrifice that did not hesitate to sacrifice their lives in order to win victory. But at the same time, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the lives of every Red Army soldier are precious, and that, as commanders, we must cherish them, and that I will never allow unnecessary sacrifices in my troops. ”

Ugad was dumbfounded by my words, and Miducci answered: "Comrade Major, we have done our best. You see," he explained, pointing to the shelters in the trenches that were every seventy or eighty meters, "we erected logs on the trenches to create such simple shelters, not only to shelter the soldiers from the wind and rain, but also to allow them to hide from the enemy's artillery fire during shelling." However, the enemy's artillery fire was fierce, and these shelters were often completely destroyed by a single shell. ”

"The shelter doesn't work, you can consider digging a bomb shelter!" When I saw a bunch of elm pimple heads, I was so angry that my teeth itched.

Ugad, who was next to me, looked at my expression, and knew that I was not satisfied with the fortifications in front of me, so he immediately asked: "Comrade Major, do you have any good ideas?" ”

I pointed to the side of the trench and said to them, "You can dig a hole diagonally down from here, dig five or six meters, turn around and dig in the opposite direction, and form a 'U' ......, no, 'C' type anti-artillery hole with two exits." "Originally, I wanted to dig a "U" shape, but in the middle of speaking, I suddenly remembered that there was no "U" in the Russian alphabet, so I urgently changed my words to "C".

Hearing me say this, both Ugad and Ensign Miducci crouched down and looked at the wall of the trench and began to study. After a while, Ugad asked, "Comrade Major, do you think it is appropriate to hide how many soldiers can be hidden in this cave at one time?" ”

"At least one class." I said, "As soon as the enemy starts to fire a barrage, let the fighters come here and take refuge, leaving only a few observation posts outside." ”

"After the shelling is over, is it too late to strike?"

"Just in time!" I replied decisively, "Equip the fighters who serve as observation posts with whistles and blow them as soon as the artillery fire stops." As soon as the warriors hiding in the cave heard the whistle, they immediately ran out of the cave without any delay. ”

Ugad and Miducci looked at each other, and then asked a crucial question: "Can such an anti-artillery hole withstand enemy shelling?" ”

"Yes!" I still did not hesitate to give an affirmative answer, "I asked you to dig the hole deeper, preferably two or three meters underground, so that the enemy's shells could not collapse." ”

"What if the hole is blown up?" Ugard continued to ask questions.

"Isn't there another exit? Otherwise, I'm going to ask you to dig the anti-artillery hole in a 'C' shape, and then you can come out of there. ”

After listening to my explanation, the two of them immediately became happy, and Ugad immediately ordered Miducci: "Comrade Ensign, let your men start digging artillery holes immediately!" ”

Hearing this, Miducci hesitated a little and said, "But the soldiers are tired after a busy morning, can they dig again tomorrow?" ”

"No way!" Without waiting for Ugad to speak, I said categorically: "No, Comrade Second Lieutenant, you must dig it at once." Seeing his frustrated look, I comforted him and said, "The sooner we dig the anti-artillery holes, the safer the soldiers will be during shelling." Tell your warriors that if you dig an extra shovel now, you will get one less shell in battle. Do you understand? Comrade Second Lieutenant. ”

The look of frustration on Ensign Meducci's face was swept away, and he replied: "All understood, Comrade Major. I'll go and arrange for people right away. After saying that, he saluted and turned to leave.

When the second lieutenant left, I looked at Lieutenant Ugad and said, "Comrade Company Commander, take me to visit the cave on the back of the hill." ”

The cave on the back of the hillside is more than one meter high and about 20 meters deep. Several small platforms were carved into the earthen walls, on which candles were placed for lighting. Then, in the dim candlelight, I saw that there were bedding on the floor, and in the innermost corner, there were still a lot of weapons and ammunition.

Ugad explained to me: "Weapons and ammunition are placed here, which can prevent them from being hit by enemy fire during artillery shelling, causing martyrdom and causing unnecessary casualties among our troops." ”

Seeing all this, I nodded and praised: "Comrade lieutenant, good job." In a few years, I asked Captain Diomi of the Seventh Company to come and have a look, and asked him to strengthen the village fortifications as well. ”

I returned from the inspection of the Eighth Company with the guard squad and returned to the village in a leisurely manner. After walking a short distance, I saw a wooden house in front of me, one chimney was smoking, and the other was steaming, although it was still far away, but I could clearly hear the laughter of the male warriors coming from inside.

I pointed to the wooden house and asked Yemeryanov: "Comrade Tuas, what is that place?" ”

"It's a bathhouse, Comrade Major. It was the field bathhouse of our battalion. The old man replied with a grin.

I nodded and continued on my way.

I hadn't gone far when I saw seven or eight girls in military uniforms sitting on stakes on the side of the road, and judging by their dress, they were the female hygienists of the health team. I don't know why, the girls are all sullen.

Curious, I walked over and asked aloud, "Girls, what's wrong?" Why do you all look sad? ”

Seeing a conductor standing in front of them, several girls stood up in unison and saluted me collectively.

I returned the salute and asked the question again.

A black-haired, big-eyed female soldier with two triangular rank insignia in her collar salute me and said, "Hello! Comrade Commander. We are the health team. ”

"I know that you are from the health team, and I want to know that everyone is sitting on the side of the road sullenly for everything? Can you tell me? Comrade Sergeant. ”

The sergeant blushed a little, and then muttered, "It's because of the bath, Comrade Commander, we want to take a bath." ”

"Bath?!" Confused by her answer, I asked, "What bath?" Comrade Sergeant, you have confused me, can you tell me more details? ”

The sergeant hesitated, looked at the girls, and saw that they were all nodding to tell her the truth, and then continued, "We haven't taken a shower for a long time." Originally, I wanted to come to the field bathhouse to take a bath today, but I was stopped by the soldiers on duty, who said that the bathhouse only accepts male soldiers. If we want to take a bath, we have to wait until the male soldiers have washed and see if there is any water. Speaking of this, the sergeant's eyes turned red, and tears of grievance almost burst out of his eyes.

When I heard that this was the case, I could not help but be furious, and ordered Yemelyanov: "Comrade Dashi, you go to the bathhouse at once and call out all the male soldiers who are bathing for me." ”

Tuas saluted me and ran towards the bathhouse with a few of the guards. Before entering the bathhouse, he called out to a warrior and whispered a few words. When he saw the warrior running away, he led the men into the bathhouse.

After a short period of effort, a group of disheveled male soldiers were driven out of the bathhouse by the Tuas. In the open space in front of the bathhouse, they quickly formed two neat lines at the command of the priest.

The sergeant ran up to me and saluted and reported: "Comrade Major, I have called out all the fighters in the bathhouse. ”

I walked to the front of the team with my hands behind my back, and looked at this group of embarrassed male warriors who didn't know how to pity the fragrance and cherish the jade, and I couldn't help but become angry, I waved my fist and yelled at them: "Shame! Shameful! Shame on you!! ”

The male soldiers looked at each other, wondering why I would be so angry at them. I continued to yell, "...... Have you ever wondered who carried you down at the risk of your life when you were wounded and fell on the battlefield? At this point, I pointed to the group of female hygienists, "It's them, our female hygienists." ”

"When you are lying in the ambulance with blood all over, who cleans the blood and bandages your wounds? It's them, the hygienists; When you lie on the hospital bed and can't move, who feeds you with water, food, feces and urine? It's them, our hygienists. ...... "My scolding is out of control. "Don't you know how to respect women at all? Even their small wish to take a bath was not satisfied, and they sneered and told them to wait until you were done. ……”

As I scolded, the hygienists began to be happy because they had finally met someone who stood up for them. And the men bowed their heads in shame at my scolding.

After scolding, I took a few deep breaths to calm my anger before slowing down and saying, "If these hygienists were your sisters, would you treat them like you do today?" ”

"Comrade commander, we were wrong, and we will not make such mistakes again in the future." Someone started admitting their mistakes to me.

Then the male soldiers in the team also shouted: "Yes, comrade commander, we know that we are wrong." ”

"We'll give up the bathhouse to the female soldiers right away."

"yes, yes, we'll let it go right away."

"Comrade Major, what's wrong?" Captain Diomi ran up to me out of breath and asked.

I pointed to the hygienist and said, "The hygienists wanted to take a bath, but the men bullied them and said that they would wait until they washed first, and if there was any water left after washing, they would let them wash it." I just scolded them. ”

Diomi looked in the direction of my finger, his eyes lit up, and then he turned to the male soldiers and said, "Now follow my orders, the first row of buckets to fetch water, the second row to chop wood, and re-boil water for our female hygienist to bathe." Stand upright, take a break, turn left in the first row, turn right in the second row, and walk in unison. ”

After giving the order, he turned to me and said, "Comrade Major, are you still satisfied with this arrangement?" ”

"Yes, well done." I nodded with satisfaction, walked up to the female sergeant, and said, "Comrade sergeant, in a little while you can take your hygienists to take a bath." ”

The sergeant's face flushed with excitement, and he saluted me again and said gratefully, "Thank you!" Comrade Commander. ”

"Comrade Sergeant," Diomi suddenly asked, who was standing behind me, "what's your name?" ”

"Nina. Nina Baryakova. ”