Sobaoli's words were tantamount to affirmation of me, and I was extremely excited when I heard it, I didn't expect this taciturn commissar to believe me so much.

I shook his outstretched hand and said, "Comrade Political Commissar, please rest assured that as long as I am still the commander of the 678th Regiment, I will definitely be able to hold our position." I assure you that as long as there is still one person in the position, we will definitely not let the Germans break through our lines. "Since others appreciate me so much, I must express my determination, but I can't say too much, otherwise it will seem empty. After more than a year in the army, I still know how to speak to my superiors and how to grasp the proportions.

Sobaoli nodded with satisfaction, and said to me and Lukin and the others: "Your regiment suffered heavy casualties in today's air raid, and because the commanders suffered all the casualties, the troops are now in a stage of command confusion and low morale. ”

For his mention, not only I nodded, but even Lukin and several of his commanders nodded.

Sobaoli continued: "Although the time is a little short, in order to ensure the safety of the line, the work must be carried out as much as possible. Whether or not our division's defensive position can be defended requires the joint efforts of everyone. ”

I took over his words and said, "Please rest assured that the political commissar will begin to handle this matter when I turn around, and strive to reappoint new commanders in the company in the shortest possible time, improve the command system of the troops, and restore the combat effectiveness of the whole regiment." However, I don't think we can simply stay in position and wait for the enemy to attack. Still, some measures should be taken to achieve the goal of active defense. "I say this with a purpose, to test Sobauli's attitude, to see what kind of person he is.

Hearing this, Sobaoli smiled and said, "Active defense? Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, your statement is quite novel, but let me remind you that the task of your regiment is to hold the existing positions, and you must not come up with any new tricks, and if you make a mistake, you will have to go to a military court. ”

Sobaoli's words completely broke my thoughts. The story has been laid out. Biryukov and Sobaoli's tactical thinking was quite conservative, and according to their intentions, they asked all the commanders and fighters of the 214th Division to hurry up and complete the repair. Then quietly nestled in the position. Sitting in horror waiting for the enemy to bombard with aircraft and artillery.

After returning to the regimental command post. I first sat down facing the entrance, looked up and said to the few commanders standing in the room, "Comrade commanders, what are you still doing in a daze. Hurry up and sit down. As I spoke, I raised my hands, pressed my palms down, and motioned for everyone to sit down.

After everyone was seated, I leaned over and said to Lukin, "Comrade Captain, tell me about the situation in the regiment." ”

Lukin shook his head with a bitter face and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the situation is very bad. Due to the German air raid at the ferry, the casualties of the troops were very heavy, the regiment commander, the political commissar and the commanders of several battalions were all killed, and all the commanders above the company level were left with a few of us. With that, he turned his head to the other commanders at the table. When the commanders saw him looking at him, they nodded vigorously, indicating that he was completely right.

I nodded slightly and said softly, "Comrade Lukin, I know what you said. What I want to know now is, what measures have you taken in response to the current situation in the troops? ”

"After we returned to our positions, we reorganized according to the actual situation of the troops. This matter is in charge of Captain Slavin, the commander of the seventh company, and he will report the specific situation to you. After speaking, he turned his head to Slavin and said, "Captain, report the situation of the reorganization of the troops to Comrade Regimental Commander." ”

Slavin stood up, straightened up, and reported to me loudly: "Report to Comrade Regiment Commander, due to the heavy casualties of the troops, many formations have been lost, so we have reorganized the remaining troops. A total of seven infantry companies were formed, as well as a guard platoon, an engineer platoon, a reconnaissance platoon, a health platoon, and a communications platoon. With the exception of Captain Lukin and you, the rest of us are company commanders from the first to the seventh company. ”

After listening to his report, I nodded with satisfaction, and said in my heart that Lukin had thought it through quite comprehensively, and had prepared a guard platoon, so that the safety of the regimental command post could be guaranteed. I complimented, "Captain Slavin, well done!" Is there anything else that needs to be addressed? ”

Slavin nodded and said with a bitter face: "Comrade Regiment Commander, there is really a problem that needs to be solved urgently. Our division was reorganized from the reserve army, and the fighters were mostly new recruits with a lack of training and combat experience. At this point, he paused deliberately, and when he saw that I was nodding his head to show that he was listening, he continued: "Our weapons and equipment are insufficient, and many of our soldiers do not even have guns, and if we do not issue weapons, the soldiers with bare hands will not be able to stop the fascist bandits armed to the teeth." ”

When I heard that there were many soldiers who didn't have weapons, I couldn't help frowning and asked Lukin in a low voice, "Captain, what the hell is going on?" You've all been in positions for days, why are there still so many fighters who aren't armed? ”

Lukin said in a low voice: "Comrade Regiment Commander, our division has been transferred to this area, and the quartermaster department has said that after we reach the defensive zone, there will be special personnel in logistics to replenish weapons and ammunition for us. As a result, when we arrived here and inquired, the weapons and equipment that had been prepared for us had already been allocated to other infantry divisions. For this matter, the division commander once went to the headquarters of the group army to find General Chuikov, and the commander promised to do everything he could to supplement it for us. ”

After listening to his words, I couldn't help but snort coldly, saying that I would do my best, and with Lao Maozi's efficiency, I might not be able to get the arms rationed to us in half a month. Seeing that the battle is imminent, you can't wait stupidly, you have to figure out your own way. Since I had only just arrived at the 64th Group Army, I didn't know much about it, so I humbly asked Lukin for advice: "Waiting for the Group Army to replenish our weapons and equipment seems to be something we can't count on in the short term." Comrade Captain, do you have any good ideas? ”

Lukin smiled and said: "Comrade Regiment Commander, according to the report of the reconnaissance platoon, five kilometers northwest of our army's position, the enemy has a place to store baggage, where a lot of weapons and ammunition are stored. I had intended to send someone to blow up this batch of munitions overnight, but now I have changed the main purpose, and plan to send troops to sneak up after dark, take this batch of munitions from the enemy, and bring them back to arm our troops. Don't know what you think about this plan? ”

From Captain Lukin's confident gaze, I suddenly realized that the tactical thinking I had instilled in their company commanders had taken root in their minds, and tonight's night attack was the best time to put a knife to the test. I laughed, and I was genuinely glad that Captain Lukin was no longer bound by the common sense he had learned in the military academy and was able to adjust his combat deployment in a timely manner according to the situation, which I was happy to see.

Although I approved of his plan in my heart, I wanted to know more about the details, so I asked with interest: "Captain Lukin, I would like to ask two questions." First, which unit are you going to send to carry out this night raid? Second, after seizing the arms, how can the arms be transported back? ”

Lukin's eyes looked at Slavin who was standing, and said, "I plan to hand over this task to Captain Slavin's Seventh Company, he has many veterans in his company and has rich combat experience, and I believe that he will be able to complete this mission excellently." Comrade Captain, do you have the confidence to complete this mission? ”

With a smile on his face, Slavin said confidently: "Please rest assured that the regimental commander and comrade captain will ensure that the Seventh Company will complete the tasks assigned to us by the superiors." ”

"How did you get the arms back?" Thinking of the mountain of munitions, I couldn't help but ask again.

"There are quite a few soldiers in my company who can drive, and when the time comes, let them transport arms in trucks, and strive to bring back more arms, and the rest of the arms can't be cheapened by the Germans in vain, I will let the soldiers blow them all up." (To be continued......)