As soon as the three regiment commanders left, after sending me the map, Sidorin, who had slipped out of the headquarters at some point, re-entered the commander. He took off his steel helmet, held it in his hand, and walked over to me, while at the same time smiling and asking, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, is your meeting over?" ”

I stretched out my hand, touched the top of his short hair lovingly, and asked with a smile, "You little guy, I didn't even see when you ran out just now." ”

"After I handed you the map bag just now, I saw that you and the captain were concentrating on studying the map, and I didn't dare to disturb you, so I went out quietly." Speaking of this, he suddenly exclaimed, startling me, "By the way, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Before I came, General Chuikov told me to contact the independent division as soon as you arrived at the station. ”

"You little guy, why didn't you say it earlier, if you miss a big thing, I won't let you." As he said that, my hand was raised in the air, and he made a gesture of being ready to fight, and he raised his head, closed his eyes, and put on a posture at my disposal. I slapped his hand twice on his face, then turned around and ordered Razumeyeva, who was still standing at the door: "Comrade sergeant, hurry up and install the walkie-talkie, I want to talk to General Chuikov." ”

Hearing that I was going to talk to the deputy commander of the group army, Razumeeva hurriedly called several female signal soldiers outside to come in and cooperate with her in debugging and installing the walkie-talkie.

While the female soldiers were installing the walkie-talkie, I pulled Sidorin to sit down at the table, leaned down and asked him with concern: "Sidorin, how do you plan to arrange for you, Comrade Deputy Commander, do you want to stay in the independent division or go back to the headquarters of the group army?" ”

"General Chuikov said," said Sidorin, looking up at me. "Let me stay with you. Be a herald for you. Don't look at my young age. But send a message to convey an order, and ensure that you can't miss your business. ”

Although I need a lot of people now, I don't want to keep Sidorin here. After the death of his father, Chuikov kept him by his side as a herald, also to take better care of him. But sending him to my division is a bit too much. It's not nice to say, maybe one day, my division will be completely wiped out. The safety of this child cannot be guaranteed at that time, and I think he should go back to the headquarters of the army group, no matter what he says, it is safer than staying in my division.

At this time, Razumeyeva reported to me that the walkie-talkie had been installed and debugged and that it had been contacted by the communications room of the army headquarters. I walked over, took the headset and microphone from the sergeant's hand, and said loudly: "Hey, hello, I'm Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, the commander of the Independent Division. Please help me find General Chuikov. ”

The operator on the opposite side said politely: "Hello, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. General Chuikov is right next to me. Please wait a moment, I ask him to speak to you. After a brief silence, Chuikov's voice came from the headphones: "Hey, is it Oshanina?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander, it's me."

"Why did it take so long to contact me?" At this point, Chuikov paused, perhaps looking at his watch, and then I heard him say, "I've been waiting for you for more than half an hour." ”

I glanced at little Sidorin, who was sitting at the table and staring at me pitifully, and instead of saying what he had almost forgotten to remind me, I took the initiative to admit my mistake to Chuikov: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I just called a meeting of several regiment commanders to study the matter of fighting for a few days. I forgot to contact you for a while, please forgive me. ”

"Alright, let's not talk about that." Chuikov said magnanimously: "Did you discuss what the results of your meeting were? ”

"There are results, Comrade Commander." I replied in a dignified manner: "You already know the tactics of commandos and support detachments proposed by the commander of the first regiment, Captain Sederikov. At the meeting, Comrade Lieutenant taught the use of this tactic to the other three regiment commanders. ”

"This method of warfare sounds very good, but it is difficult to say how effective it will be in battle, and it can only be tested by fighting through guò." I could tell from the tone of Chuikov's voice that he still had some confidence in this new tactic. However, I still deeply sympathize with his suspicions, remembering that in the Battle of Moscow at the end of last year, when a cavalry division of the 16th Army attacked several residential areas, although our artillery fire had razed the settlements to the ground, it still fought a hard tug-of-war with the Germans for several days, and finally managed to capture these strategic points.

"Comrade Commander," in order to prevent him from changing his mind because of vacillation, I took the initiative to report to him: "I asked Senior Captain Sedelikov to preside over the operational meeting, and he gave several regiment commanders a detailed division of labor. For example, the second regiment, which has many veterans, on the basis of the original veterans, with some new recruits, formed several assault teams to undertake the offensive task after three days; Senior Lieutenant Sederikov asked the 4th Regiment to organize a reconnaissance detachment with a construction engineer to accompany the team to carry out detailed reconnaissance missions on the settlements. ……”

When Chuikov heard this, he interrupted me and asked puzzledly: "The reconnaissance team went to reconnoiter the enemy's situation, what did it do with construction engineers?" Do they still want to build fortifications and fight a positional battle with the enemy under the guidance of engineers when they encounter the enemy? ”

When I heard that Chuikov, who was in a high position, did not understand why there should be engineers in the reconnaissance detachment, I admired Sederikov a little more. I looked up and saw that there was no one in the headquarters except me, Razumeyeva and Sidorin, and Captain Sederikov did not know when he had left the headquarters.

In order for Chuikov to understand what was going on, I patiently explained to him: "Comrade commander, please listen to my explanation, this is how it happened. In order to seize a settlement occupied by the enemy, it is necessary to reconnoiter the area, to know the type of buildings in the settlement, the thickness of the slabs and walls, the presence or absence of basements, the location of entrances and exits, the nature of the enemy's fortifications, the location of concealed shooting holes, the location of obstacles and their shapes, and so on. Since the vicinity of the settlements is open field, it is unlikely that our scouts will get close to reconnoitre. In this case, it is necessary to have a construction engineer who is familiar with this qiē, who is an expert in these things. Maybe it's a general look at it. can provide us with the information we need. ”

"Not bad. This Sergeikov Captain is really good, he thinks about the problem very comprehensively and has a big picture. After hearing this, Chuikov couldn't help but praise Captain Sedelikov, "If I had known that he was so capable, I would have left him in the headquarters as a staff officer." ”

"Comrade Commander," I said deliberately jokingly, "or else, I'll let him go to you as a staff officer." You come to the independent division and replace him as the commander of a regiment. "Although it is a joke, only Cheng Dù, who is familiar with me and Cui Kefu, dares to say it without scruples.

After hearing this, Chuikov burst out laughing. After the laughter stopped, he said solemnly: "Comrade Oshanina, I have sent Sidorin to you as a herald, and promise me that you will take good care of him and ensure his safety. ”

If only Chuikov hadn't mentioned Sidorin. Maybe I forgot about it. Since Chuikov mentioned it first, I quickly continued: "I'm sorry. Comrade Commander, I can't stay here with Sidorin, so let him go back to you. ”

"Why?" Chuikov, who was directly rejected by me, asked rhetorically with a little displeasure.

"Comrade Commander, please listen to me," I put down the microphone and said unceremoniously to Sidorin, who was sitting at the table, "Sidorin, you go out first, and then come in when I call you." "Sidorin didn't know why I let him out, but he got up and left anyway. Seeing Sidorin's back disappear from the door, I continued: "Comrade commander, you know better than me that the independent division may be completely wiped out one day, and I can't guarantee the safety of little Sidorin. I still think that he should be sent back to the headquarters, back to you, so that his safety can be guaranteed, so that he can have an explanation for his sacrificial father. ”

My words silenced Chuikov so much that he did not speak for a long time. I knew he was thinking, and I kept silent, quietly waiting for his reply. After a long time, he said with difficulty: "Okay, let him return to the headquarters with the transport convoy." ”

I had just said yes, and before I could say anything more, I heard him whisper again: "Thank you, Oshanina, on behalf of the fallen Lieutenant Colonel Sidorin." Then he coughed and said in a businesslike tone, "Do you have anything else to report to me?" If not, that's the end of today's call. ”

I pondered for a moment, and then said, "Comrade commander, I wonder if the rank of the commander in the division should be properly adjusted. You must know that my four regiment commanders have the highest military rank of captain, and one of them is still a captain. As for the company commanders below, the ranks are even more chaotic, except for a few captains, the rest are either lieutenants or second lieutenants. ”

"The question of military rank, after your division has recovered the settlements, will be discussed. Well, that's all for today, good luck! After that, he directly cut off the call with me.

I walked to the door and shouted at the dark forest, "Where are you, Sidorin?" Sidorin, where are you? ”

With my shout, Sidorin rushed out of the darkness, ran in front of me, and said solemnly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, Private Sidorin has been ordered to come, please instruct!" ”

"Sidorin," I put my hands on his shoulders and said to him in a friendly manner, "I have just discussed with Comrade Commander, it is not safe here, you better go back to the headquarters, go back to General Chuikov!" ”

"Don't drive me away, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, please!" Sidorin hugged me tightly around my waist and pleaded, "I'll do my best with every task you've given me, don't drive me away, okay?" ”

Although I like Sidorin very much, but staying in my independent division with an uncertain future, his life will not be guaranteed, so I gritted my teeth and said: "Sidorin, this is an order, there is no room for discussion, you must carry it out unconditionally!" After saying that, I forcibly pulled away his hands around my waist and shouted loudly into the distance: "Guard squad, where are the soldiers of the guard squad?" ”

As soon as I shouted twice, Vera, the leader of the guard squad, and two male soldiers appeared in front of me, and after she raised her hand to salute me, she did not call me by my nickname but politely addressed my rank: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you have any instructions?" ”

I pointed to Sidorin, who was standing in front of me wiping her tears, and instructed her: "Vera, on the orders of my superiors, I want to send this little soldier back to the army headquarters immediately. I now order you to take him to the convoy and let him return to the headquarters with the convoy. ”

Vera shook her head at the two men, who immediately stepped forward and grabbed Sidorin's shoulders one from the left to the other. I don't want to see Sidorin leave, lest I lose control of my feelings and turn around and go to the headquarters. At this moment, Sidorin shouted heart-rending from behind me: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, don't drive me away, I want to stay by your side!" ”

As he shouted, my heart twitched violently, but I still tried hard to control my feelings, waved my hand at the back, and said dryly, "What are you still standing here doing?" Immediately carry out the order and send him away. With that, I trotted into the headquarters without hesitation. (To be continued......)