Slap in the face! It's definitely a naked slap in the face!

I looked at General Privalov's back and trembled with anger. I really didn't expect that a general would say such selfish and irresponsible words, but you are safe to break out of the encirclement, what about those commanders and fighters who are still in the encirclement? Once the gap is blocked by the German army again, the main force of the group army, which is facing the end of ammunition and food, may be completely annihilated.

When I think of the thousands of elite troops of the group army that were buried in vain because of his blind command, I am even more angry. Thinking of this, I reached for my waist, opened the holster, grasped the cold handle of the pistol, and slowly pulled the gun outward. Although General Plivalov had already walked twenty meters away, with my marksmanship, I could definitely kill him with one shot.

"Comrade Major, so you are here. I've been looking for you everywhere! "Just as I was about to raise my gun, the voice of Akhromeyev was heard not far away, and I followed the sound and saw that he was trotting towards me from the hillside on the right. I smiled wryly, and put the gun back in its holster, saying to myself that if he showed up ten seconds later, I guess General Plivalov would have been my revenant.

As he stood in front of me and saluted, I preemptively asked, "Comrade Lieutenant, did you suffer heavy casualties in the German shelling just now?" "Because it was a temporary position, although the two heights were 100 meters apart, there was no telephone number that could be contacted, so I could not keep up to date with the situation on the other side of the heights.

Shaking his head vigorously, he replied: "There were not many shells that fell on our positions, and only three fighters were slightly wounded because they did not dodge in time. ”

"What are you looking for from me?"

He pointed to the passage between the two hillsides and said, "Comrade Major, look at the terrain here, if you need someone to maintain order, speed up the passage of troops. Otherwise, as long as the Germans carried out non-stop shelling of this area, then our army would have paid significant sacrifices. ”

I felt that what he said made sense, and after a long pause, I asked, "Comrade Lieutenant, how many people are still in your second lieutenant training team?" ”

"There were 84 people, including me."

"84 people, that's not a small number. Comrade Lieutenant, the task of maintaining order in this passage is entrusted to you. The first thing to do now is to take someone to clean up the remains of those soldiers in the passage. Remember, move quickly, and no one knows when the Germans will attack again. ”

Akhromeyev agreed, saluted, and turned to carry out the order I had given.

I looked at the back of General Plivalov in the distance, snorted indignantly, and walked up the hillside. As much as I hate him, there are still many things that need to be done. I don't know how long we need to hold out here in order to ensure the smooth passage of the large army, and how long we can hold on with our strength. But as long as there is one person alive, this defense must not be slackened, otherwise the Germans will fight, and the commanders and fighters who are still in the encirclement will become turtles in the urn.

Seeing me walking up the hill, Ugard hurried to meet me. As soon as he walked up to my side, he anxiously asked, "Comrade Major, why did the division commander leave without saying anything?" ”

Without answering his question right away, I glanced behind him and saw that Sergeant Gerasimenko and a couple of my guards were there, so I ordered a few of them: "Sergeant, you go and call Captain Witorganov of the tank brigade to the command post." "You go and call Second Lieutenant Miducci." "You go to the high ground opposite and bring Captain Kozara over."

After sending away a few of the guards, I said to Ugad, "Lieutenant, follow me to the command post, and when everyone is here, it's not too late to talk about this matter." ”

Back at the command post, I sat on a stool and looked at the map on the table in a daze. Seeing that I was in a bad mood, Ugad dared to ask anything more, and poured me a cup of tea with his uninjured hand, and respectfully placed it in my hand.

After a while, several of the commanders I had gathered came. I beckoned them to sit down, exchanged a few words of greeting, and then repeated to them what General Plivalov had just said at the bottom of the hill.

As soon as I finished speaking, Lieutenant Ugad jumped up and said angrily: "How can the general do this? You must know that the Germans were a few hundred meters away from us, and now just their shells hit here, causing us so many casualties. If they were to occupy the high ground on both sides of the passage again, they would be able to completely block our retreat with just a few machine guns. No, we must not retreat. ”

"Yes, Lieutenant Ugad is right." I stood up with my hands on the edge of the table and said to everyone, "Since we broke the siege, let us also shoulder the responsibility of holding the high ground on both sides of the passage." As long as there is one person left, the highlands must not give up. Let all the cowards who are greedy for life and afraid of death go, and the fewer panicked people will stay, the better. Next I'm not on a defensive mission. ”

Speaking of which, I looked at the several commanders sitting in the room, and then called the name of Tank Captain Witolganov: "Captain Witolganov." ”

"Here!" The captain agreed loudly and stood up.

"How many tanks do you have left in your battalion?"

"Report Comrade Major, there are still twelve more." When he said this, he shrugged his shoulders at the people around him and said, "Originally, I brought twenty tanks, and in the fierce battle to break the siege, eight of them withdrew from the battle. There is not much left, but I think it is enough to teach the Germans who threaten us a hard lesson. ”

I nodded my head at his answer, expressed my satisfaction, and then said, "Comrade Captain, you drive all your tanks to the south side of the hill and hide them. In this way, not only could they avoid the shelling of the Germans, but they could also quickly enter the battle when they were about to attack. ”

Witorganov agreed and sat down.

"Captain Kozara, Lieutenant Ugad." I named two people at once this time.

"Here!" Kozara stood up with Ugard and promised me loudly.

"Your task is to continue to strengthen the existing fortifications. Remember, dig more holes in the artillery, which can effectively reduce the casualties of commanders and fighters in the event of shelling. ”

"Got it!" The two of them also re-seated after answering.

When the two of them were seated, I called the last person's name: "Second Lieutenant Miducci." ”

"Here! Second Lieutenant Miducci is at your disposal. ”

"Comrade Second Lieutenant, you take your mortar platoon and deploy it on the positions of Lieutenant Ugad. When the Germans are attacking, you try to inflict as many casualties as you can on enemy infantry with artillery fire. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Major. I promise to complete the task. ”

After assigning the task, I waved my hand and said, "Now that the task is clear, let's go ahead and carry it out." ”

The four of them stood up, saluted me in unison, turned and walked out of the command post.