German planes swooped down from the sky in turn, like goshawks fighting rabbits, and began to strangle the positions of our division's anti-aircraft machine gun batteries. Our army had only nine anti-aircraft machine guns, and there were eight planes in the sky, and this was simply a one-sided massacre. I watched as bombs exploded in the middle of the anti-aircraft machine gun position, blowing the machine guns to pieces; The bullets fired from the on-board machine gun knocked our anti-aircraft machine gunners to the ground.

Seeing the arrogant enemy planes in the air, and then at the iron-faced political commissar Kirillov beside me, I grabbed the phone and wanted to call Sederikov's regimental command post. As soon as I heard his voice, I shouted at the top of my voice: "Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, do you see the situation outside?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Shederikov said in a steady voice: "I saw that enemy planes were bombing our anti-aircraft machine gun positions, and under the enemy's bombing and strafing, I saw that the air defense units could not withstand it, and they had to help them, otherwise they would be completely wiped out in a few minutes." ”

"Tell me what you think, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." I asked hurriedly, thinking to myself that if he offered to have dozens or hundreds of fighters lie down on the hillside and shoot at the planes, I would firmly deny him. At such a bombing density of the German army, as long as two bombs were dropped, a company of soldiers would be fully reimbursed.

Unexpectedly, Shedelikov actually thought the same as me, and he was deeply afraid that I would oppose it, so he said quickly: "Comrade division commander, I plan to draw two light machine guns from each company of the whole regiment and one heavy machine gun from each battalion, and one commander will be in charge of commanding. Organize troops to shoot into the air. Relieve pressure on anti-aircraft machine gun batteries. ”

"Good. Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, let's start right away! "I gave the order to Shedelikov into the microphone.

Putting down the phone, I walked back to the observation port and looked out at the opposite hillside, only to see that the entire position of the anti-aircraft machine gun company had been shrouded in gunsmoke, and my heart couldn't help but sink. I anxiously asked Kirillov: "Comrade commissar, how is the situation?" ”

Kirillov's brow furrowed into a pimple and he did not speak.

That's when it happened. The crisp sound of machine-gun fire sounded again in the smoke of gunfire, and at the same time, an enemy plane that had just dived down suddenly lost control, and the fuselage rolled and fell into the distance. Kirillov waved his arms and gritted his teeth and scolded: "Damn Germans, let you also taste our power." ”

Although one of the enemy planes was shot down by us, the enemy planes behind continued to dive down without hesitation, and continued to drop bombs at our air defense positions without stopping.

The praying mantis catches the cicada and the yellow finch is behind. The machine-gun positions improvised by Shederikov when enemy aircraft were diving towards anti-aircraft machine-gun positions. Lost no time in firing. They struck so hard in the rear of the enemy planes that the two enemy planes that had just lowered the high ground were directly hit, and a dark red flame erupted from the fuselage, and then dragged a long smoke ribbon and planted it towards the Volga River, and then two white umbrella flowers bloomed in the air, and it seemed that the pilot had jumped in time.

I grabbed the phone again, shook the command of the 2nd Regiment, and ordered Pugachev bluntly: "Commander of the 2nd Regiment, do you see those two paratroopers who parachuted?" ”

"See, Comrade Division Commander." Pugachev had been with me for a long time, and he knew how to figure out my thoughts, and before I could say what was going on, he had already preemptively said: "I will immediately send someone to arrest the pilots, and I must not let them escape back." ”

Although I knew he couldn't see my expression, I nodded in satisfaction and said, "Remember, if the German pilots resist stubbornly, you must decisively kill them, and you must not be polite to these fascists." ”

"Understood, comrade division commander, I will immediately go and deploy."

Suddenly, three planes were shot down by our troops in succession, and the rest of the enemy planes panicked, raised their noses one after another, and pulled them up into the air, not caring to continue bombing our positions. And the surviving anti-aircraft machine guns in the air defense positions took the opportunity to open fire, shooting down another enemy plane that was lagging behind.

After the remaining four enemy planes climbed to a high place, for fear of being hit by our anti-aircraft fire again, they not only widened the distance, but also stopped continuing to dive; after circling our high ground twice more, they no longer paid attention to the air defense positions and high ground that were shrouded in smoke, and turned around and flew north.

After the enemy plane left, Kirillov turned his head with a straight face and said to me with a blank face: "Comrade division commander, let's go to the anti-aircraft machine gun company and have a look." ”

I didn't speak, just nodded silently.

When the two of us walked down the hill, neither of us spoke, and we all witnessed the German air raid just now, and the air defense positions became the key targets of the enemy planes. Under the wanton and indiscriminate bombing of enemy planes, it is believed that their casualties will not be small.

When we reached the anti-aircraft position, we saw that there were bomb craters everywhere, and even the grass on the hillside was burning, and the commanders and fighters sent by Shederikov to help were trying to extinguish the burning fires. Of the nine anti-aircraft machine guns of the anti-aircraft machine gun company, only two were left at the moment, and not only were the soldiers in the company killed and wounded, but even the company commander of the anti-aircraft machine gun company, Captain Talhan, was seriously wounded and was lying on the tarpaulin spread on the ground by the soldiers.

When Kirillov saw the air defense positions with heavy casualties, he said with emotion: "Comrade division commander, the battle just now was really cruel, look at it, how big are our casualties?" I think we should find a way to replenish the anti-aircraft machine gun company as much as possible. ”

I just nodded noncommittally and didn't speak. But in my heart, I said that this is only the beginning, and when the German artillery and aircraft are in battle, you will know what kind of battle is cruel.

When Kirillov saw that I had not answered, he turned around and tried to say something to me, opened his mouth, and before he could speak, he stared straight behind me, with a look of surprise on his face.

Seeing his expression, I turned my head to look behind me curiously. At this glance, I immediately understood why he had such an expression, because at this moment, when the commander of the guard battalion saw that the air raid on the high ground by enemy planes was over, he took the second and third companies of the guard to the air defense position, ready to rescue the wounded and deal with the aftermath.

Basmanov did so. There was nothing wrong with that. But the problem is that these two guard companies came. Half of them were wearing German uniforms, especially the commanders behind Basmanov, Captain Grams, Captain Beckman, and Second Lieutenant Gretka, but they were all real German commanders.

Kirillov pointed to the troops who were coming this way, and asked angrily: "Comrade division commander, where did those Germans come from, and why did they walk with our fighters?" ”

I turned my head and said to Kirillov with a smile: "Comrade commissar, don't be nervous. It's all their own people. You have been here for too short a time before I have time to tell you that this is a German army that has surrendered to our army. I incorporated them into my guard battalion after replenishing the personnel. ”

"What? Comrade division commander, you actually incorporated the Germans into the battle sequence of our army? Did you report this to the army group command? Kirillov asked angrily, still frowning.

Kirillov's words made me feel a little unjustified, and it was indeed my own initiative to incorporate the German officers and soldiers who had defected into my unit, and I did not report it to my superiors. Associated with Kirillov's identity. I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat, this is a big or small thing. If someone with ulterior motives knows about it and makes a fuss about it, I guess I'll be in big trouble.

"Why don't you say that?" Kirillov addressed me with honorific titles, but not as a sign of respect, but as a form of alienation.

In response to Kirillov's questioning, I had no choice but to say: "Comrade commissar, this matter is a bit complicated, and I will explain it to you slowly when I have time later." ”

"No, Comrade Oshanina." Kirillov said in a stern tone: "I would like to hear your explanation now. ”

I secretly complained in my heart, didn't I have bad luck, okay, I asked Chuikov for some political commissar. If I hadn't spoken, maybe he wouldn't have sent Kirillov to my division as commissar. Now it's a good thing, the political commissar is here, and as soon as he runs in, he grabs my handle and wants to cut me.

I took a deep breath and steadied my feelings, anyway, my superiors would know about my reorganization of German officers and soldiers, otherwise I would simply explain it to Kirillov first, and then think about how to report to Chuikov. So I said slowly: "Comrade Political Commissar, these German officers and soldiers were captured by me and the Fifth Regiment while holding the station. After our education, they were willing to break away from Hitler's fascist camp and stand on our side to fight side by side. ”

"Fighting side by side?!" After hearing this, Kirillov snorted coldly and said disdainfully: "Will the Germans be credited?" You know, it was because of their brazen tearing up of the Soviet-German non-aggression pact and the undeclared war that we were caught off guard by them. Do you keep them by your side, aren't you afraid that they will also give you a defection? ”

Kirillov's words shocked me into a cold sweat, and I have to say that this possibility is always existing. But now that I have absorbed the German troops, even if there are really unexpected changes in the future, I must speak well for them at this moment, otherwise it will be difficult for Gramms and them to chill their hearts, and it will not be easy to recruit the German army in the future. So I gritted my teeth and said decisively: "Comrade Commissar, Captain Grams, after they surrendered to our army, they fought side by side with us. I believe in them. ”

When I was talking to Kirillov, Basmanov and the others also approached us, and several of the German commanders of the German army, Grahms, were standing not far from me, and several of us could hear our conversation clearly.

When Kirillov heard this, he snorted heavily, and then walked away.

Watching Kirillov's departure, Basmanov walked up to me and quietly asked: "Comrade division commander, what's the matter, why is the new commissar angry?" ”

I tried to squeeze a smile on my face, pretending to be casual and said to Basmanov: "It's okay, I had a little dispute with the commissar, and now it's all right. Take the fighters of the guard company to help rescue the fighters of the anti-aircraft machine gun company, and after bandaging the wounded, send the seriously wounded to the rear as much as possible. ”

As soon as Basmanov agreed, he was about to order his men to carry out the order, and I stopped him again and told him: "Remember, the soldiers who send the seriously wounded into the city must be our own soldiers, so as not to have a misunderstanding with the defenders." "My fears were justified, and if the defenders had seen a group of German soldiers carrying the wounded towards the city, they would probably have fired silently from a distance.

After I have finished commanding. They nodded at Grams. I'm going to go to the headquarters. Who knew that Gramms walked in front of me. After stopping, he raised his hand and gave me a solemn military salute, and then said in broken Russian: "Thank you!" After speaking, he shook his head at the fighters behind him and followed Basmanov towards the air defense position.

When I returned to the division headquarters, as soon as I lifted the curtain, I saw Kirillov sitting at the table sulking and seeing me come in. He snorted heavily, then tilted his head to the side with an expression of disdain for you.

I smiled slightly, walked over to him and sat down, looked at him with my eyes, and said in a calm tone: "Comrade Political Commissar, I know you are still angry, but you want to listen to my explanation." ”

Kirillov said without looking back: "If you have something to say, say it." Anyway, I don't think it's right for you to take in the Germans casually. The best destination for these German prisoners was the prisoner of war camp in Siberia, where they should be left to fend for themselves. ”

"Comrade Commissar." I tried to keep my voice flat and said: "Do you think our troops in Stalingrad are right? ”

Kirillov listened to my question and looked down for a moment. Turning to me, he said: "In the early battles, our troops lost a lot. To be honest, the current force may be enough to defend the city, but if you want to fight back, it will be far from enough. ”

Seeing that he did not shy away from the fact that our army's strength was weakened, I felt a lot more relieved in my heart, at least he could see the shape in front of him clearly. So I said to him earnestly: "Comrade Political Commissar, on the current battlefield, there is a big gap between the forces of the enemy and us, and it is obviously unrealistic to achieve parity in a short period of time, so we must find ways to weaken the enemy. ”

"Weaken the enemy? How is it weakened? My words aroused Kirillov's curiosity.

"Uniting a qiē can unite the strength." These words are very ordinary words in the Celestial Empire, but here, I feel particularly difficult when I say it, "We need to use not only military means, but also political means to divide and disintegrate the enemy and pull more people to our side." Even if you can't pull them in, you have to find a way to keep them neutral. In this way, the enemy is invisibly weakened, and our power is strengthened. ”

Kirillov's brow furrowed again when he heard my words, and then fell into deep thought.

I was afraid of disturbing his thinking, so I didn't speak, but watched him silently, waiting for him to understand.

After a long time, Kirillov raised his head and said in a skeptical tone: "Comrade Oshanina, I can only ask you about the integration of German officers and soldiers. But when are you going to report this to your superiors? If the Ministry of Internal Affairs finds out, not only will you be in trouble, but even the commanders and military commissars of the group armies will be troubled. To put it mildly, this is an assertion; To put it mildly, this is a collaborator. If the people of the Ministry of Internal Affairs put the charge of collaborating with the enemy on your head, what kind of ending will you have, I won't say, you can think of it, right? ”

Kirillov's words startled me, I didn't expect such strict consequences, and when I saw that I had adopted Grams, I was indeed a little underwhelmed, and I should at least give Chuikov a breath. But it's not too late, and I can completely excuse myself from saying that it's because there are too many things about the change of guard in the troops, and I forgot to report this matter to my superiors for a while.

However, in the current situation, I still slapped my swollen face and became fat, and pretended to be calm and said to Kirillov: "I understand, Comrade Commissar, thank you for the reminder. I'll report to Commander Chuikov. After saying that, I turned my head and instructed Razumeyeva: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, immediately contact the army group headquarters and say that I have something important to report to the commander. ”

As soon as Razumeyeva agreed, she began to call the headquarters of the army group. After a while, she handed over the headset and microphone, and said at the same time: "Comrade division commander, comrade military commissar of the group army is online, he wants to talk to you." ”

When I heard that it was Gurov who was going to talk to me, I became nervous. Although I have been dealing with Gurov for a long time, after all, I am not as familiar with Chuikov as well, and I really can't predict what the consequences will be if I report this matter.

Since I had been thinking about how to explain this to Gurov and forgot to speak, Gurov on the other side heard that there was nothing in the headphones, so he raised his voice and called me: "Hey, hey, Colonel Oshanina." Can you hear ME? ”

His voice brought me back to my senses immediately. I quickly replied, "I can hear you." Comrade Military Commissar. Then I asked, somewhat flusteredly, "Is Comrade Commander here?" ”

"Commander Chuikov went to the central station to inspect the fortifications, and he said that it might become a key area for the German offensive and that the defense must be strengthened." After Gurov said this, he then asked with concern: "I heard the staff officer's report that enemy planes carried out air strikes on your high grounds, how about it, did the troops suffer heavy casualties?" ”

"Report to Comrade Military Commissar, the Germans made a sortie of ten planes in front and behind. Air strikes were inflicted on our Mamayev posts. Under the blows of the heroic anti-aircraft machine gun battery, the Germans fled in disgrace after losing six aircraft. ”

"Great, Comrade Oshanina." After listening to my report, Gurov said happily: "I congratulate you, you have actually shot down so many enemy planes at one time, and I want to take credit for the commanders and fighters of the antiaircraft machine gun company." You can give me their names as much as you can, so that I can fill out the application form for them to make meritorious contributions. By the way, I have one more thing to tell you, yesterday I joined you to block the anti-tank company of the 101st Regiment of the German armored forces, Gerasimov Zhengzhì. The commander of the Front personally inquired about his meritorious service and decided to award him the title of 'Hero of the Soviet Union'. ”

"Hero of the Soviet Union"! Hear that Gerasimov received this honor. My heart couldn't help but beat faster, Gerasimov and his anti-tank company were awarded the title "Hero of the Soviet Union" after destroying eleven German tanks, so didn't I have a chance to receive the same honor?

"Hey, hey, Colonel Oshanina, why don't you speak again?" The sound of Gurov came from the headphones, bringing me back and forth from thinking about what was wrong and what was wrong.

My face flushed, and I hurriedly disguised my words: "Comrade Military Commissar, I was happy that Instructor Gerasimov received the honor of 'Hero of the Soviet Union', so I thought about it for a while. I beg your pardon! ”

"Nothing, Comrade Oshanina. In fact, it is not only he who has received the honor, you have also received the same reward for successfully defending the docks. ”

Gurov's words made me almost unable to breathe for a moment, my body shook a little, and if it wasn't for Razumeyeva's timely support of me, I really don't know if I would have fallen. She also asked me with concern: "Comrade division commander, are you okay?" ”

I waved my hand at Razumeyeva and nervously asked Gurov: "Comrade Military Commissar, can you repeat what you just said?" ”

Gurov laughed twice and said amicably: "Comrade Oshanina, I want to congratulate you. When Commander Yeremenko reported the heroic deeds of Instructor Gerasimov to General Zhukov and Comrade Stalin, he was instructed to award the honorable title of 'Hero of the Soviet Union' to both of you. Comrade Oshanina, I am here to express my heartfelt congratulations to you. ”

"Thank you, Comrade Military Commissar." After I finished this sentence a little incoherently, I suddenly remembered that the purpose of my contact with the headquarters was to report on the unauthorized incorporation of German troops, so I coughed, and after my situation was a little more stable, I said cautiously: "I have one more thing I want to report to you and Commander Chuikov. ”

"Comrade Commander is not there, and I don't know exactly when he will return. If there's anything, just tell me straight. I'll tell him when he comes back. ”

"That's right, Comrade Military Commissar, I, I," although I wanted to confess to Gurov, when it came time to say it, I was still nervous, and I said in a slumping voice: "There is something that I have always wanted to report to the headquarters of the group army, but because the war is too busy, I have not had time to say it. ”

"Tell me anything, Colonel Oshanina." Gurov may have heard the abnormality in my tone, and for fear that I would be nervous, he encouraged me kindly.

"When I and my troops were holding the station behind enemy lines, we captured a number of German officers and soldiers......"

Before I could finish my words, Gurov suddenly interjected and said, "But I haven't heard Commander Chuikov mention the prisoners?" Did you find it inconvenient to carry your captives when you jumped out from behind enemy lines, so you executed them all on the spot? If that is the case, I can responsibly tell you that you are doing the right thing, and that if we let these captives escape during the breakout, we will have to spend our efforts to destroy them later. ”

"Not so, Comrade Military Commissar." Hearing Gurov's analysis, I hurriedly retorted: "I didn't kill any of these captives. ”

"And where are they now?" Hearing me say this, Gurov asked vigilantly.

I turned my head to look at Kirillov, who was sitting at the table, and saw him looking at me with a worried expression, as if he was also worried about my future. I turned around, took another deep breath, and plucked up the courage to say, "I didn't kill any of these captives, but I adapted them and put them into my guard battalion. ”

"What are you talking about, Colonel Oshanina." Gurov's voice suddenly became stern, "You repeat what you just said, what did you do to them?" ”

At this moment, on the contrary, I calmed down, and I said in a steady tone: "Report to Comrade Military Commissar, I neither killed nor released these captured German officers and soldiers, but after education, I incorporated them into my guard battalion. ”

After listening to my words, Gurov fell silent.

I was most afraid of the sudden silence of my superiors when they were talking to me, so that usually nothing good would happen, so I nervously shouted into the microphone: "Hey, hey, Comrade Military Commissar, are you still there?" ”

After shouting several times, Gurov's lazy voice came from the headphones: "Colonel Oshanina, I'm still here." After saying that, he paused for a moment and continued: "I will report this matter to my superiors." But in this case, I think the honor you have received may be canceled. ”

What, the honor of "Hero of the Soviet Union", which was about to be awarded to me, was going to be canceled, and at this moment, I had all my thoughts about hitting the wall. Transferred from the 64th Army to the 62nd Army, it was not once or twice that I met with Chuikov, so why didn't I tell him about it earlier? It's good now, the honor that was about to come is gone.

Before the call was interrupted, Gurov gave me another unexpected awakening: "By the way, Colonel Oshanina, there is one more thing I almost forgot." I have just been informed that the second lieutenant training team from the Volkhov Front will arrive at the headquarters of the army group tonight, and I will send this unit to you as much as possible to replenish your ranks of grassroots commanders. Well, that's all I have to say, good luck! With that, he ended the call.

Seeing that I took off my headphones and put down the microphone, Kirillov, who was sitting at the table, came over and asked with concern: "Comrade Oshanina, how is the situation?" What did Comrade Military Commissar say? ”

I let out a long sigh and said reluctantly: "The military commissar had told me that in yesterday's battle to defend the docks, I and Instructor Gerasimov had been awarded the title of 'Hero of the Soviet Union' for our outstanding performance, but now that he knew about my unauthorized reorganization of German officers and soldiers, he temporarily decided to cancel the honor I had received. ”

Hearing that my glorious title of "Hero of the Soviet Union" turned into a boiled duck flew away, and not only Kirillov, but even Razumeyeva felt that it was not worth it. Kirillov said regretfully: "What a pity, Comrade Oshanina, this honor is not something that everyone is entitled to, and it is a pity that you lost it like this." (To be continued......)