When I heard that there were still troops that had not been withdrawn, I was so angry that I grabbed Yevtifeev by the collar and asked angrily: "What do you say, say it again, and our troops have not withdrawn?" ”

Yevtifeev was so strangled by his collar that he couldn't speak, and could only nod desperately in affirmation.

Seeing that his commander was embarrassed by me, Second Lieutenant Strelkov hurriedly stepped forward, gently grabbed my hand, and persuaded: "Comrade Colonel, please let go of Comrade Instructor and let him report to you slowly." ”

I pushed Yevtifeev hard, glared at him fiercely, took a deep breath, and said angrily: "Say, where are the troops that have not been withdrawn, and how many are there?" ”

Yevtifeev covered his throat with his hand, coughed violently a few times, pointed to the hillside they had just rushed down and said: "At the back of the hill is the Basarji Concession Station, which contains one of our communication relay stations. Now there are two reconnaissance squads and one women's communications squad in the relay station. ”

"Then what are you hesitating about, bring someone to rescue them immediately!" After yelling at Yevtifeev, I turned around and called Godunov's name, and was about to order him to immediately take people to rescue the reconnaissance and communications squads that had not yet evacuated.

Before I could speak, Lieutenant Godunov had already lost his voice and shouted: "Look, the Germans are attacking again. ”

I hurriedly followed the direction of his finger, and even without binoculars, I could clearly see a large group of German infantry, under the cover of a dozen tanks, rushing towards the high ground just now.

I looked at the German units that were advancing towards the heights. My heart sank suddenly. It turned out that he wanted Godunov to take people to the Huirang station by truck. Go and get the warriors inside. Now it seems that this is an impossible task. In a comparable number of people, our infantry was no match for the Germans at all, and besides, they had a dozen tanks, and to confront them with only two of Perstian's tanks would undoubtedly be to hit a stone with an egg.

Seeing this, Yevtifeev sat down on the ground and said silently while wiping his tears: "It's over." After that, with the little strength of the willing, it will not be able to stop the enemy's attack of this scale. ”

Seeing his crying and crying nest, I couldn't help but get angry namelessly, walked over and kicked his buttocks, and scolded viciously: "Yevtifeev, you stand up for me." Don't cry like a woman, hurry up and find a way to contact the fighters who will make the station ready for battle. ”

Second Lieutenant Strelkov, who had been unkind to me just now, smiled apologetically at me. Grabbing Yevtifeev's arm, he tried to lift him off the ground. I didn't expect to just pull Yevtifeev up. As soon as he let go, he sat down again. The other two colleagues could not stand this cowardly appearance of Yevtifeev, and they stepped forward to help the second lieutenant set up his political instructor.

Seeing that Yevtifeev could not be counted on, I frowned and asked Strelkov: "Comrade Ensign, do you know how to contact the people who remained at the Huirang station?" ”

The second lieutenant nodded and replied, "Comrade Colonel, I know the contact code of the communication relay station, do you have a walkie-talkie here?" If I do, I can get in touch with the comrades in the station directly. ”

Hearing him say this, I hurriedly instructed Basmanov: "Captain Basmanov, go and call Second Lieutenant Razumeyeva here immediately, and remember to ask her to bring the walkie-talkie with you." ”

Basmanov's movements were sharp, and it didn't take long for him to run up from the bottom of the hill with Razumeyeva out of breath. In fact, Razumeyeva had been standing outside the jeep waiting for my orders, and at this moment, when she saw the commander of the guard battalion running briskly down the hillside, she immediately understood that something must be looking for her, so she hurriedly put on her heavy walkie-talkie and trotted towards Basmanov, so that she could reach the top of the hill so quickly.

Strelkov took the headset and microphone handed to him by Razumeyeva, squatted aside and began to call the relay station loudly: "Tulip, tulip, I'm Lilac, please come back when you hear it!" Tulips, tulips ......"

As the second lieutenant called out to his comrades, I saw that the German tanks had driven up the unguarded high ground, and the infantry had flooded over the empty trenches and rushed to the other side of the high ground.

I sighed, put down my binoculars, and asked the second lieutenant a few words, but seeing that he was desperately calling the relay station, I beckoned to the sergeant who was holding Yevtifeev and motioned for him to come to me.

After raising his hand in front of me, the sergeant asked politely, "Comrade Colonel, what instructions do you have?" ”

I pointed in the direction of the high ground and asked with a sense of luck: "Comrade Tuas, if the soldiers who remained at the relay station were ordered to retreat now, from which direction would they be able to withdraw safely?" ”

Tuas turned his head to look at the high ground, shook his head slowly, and said, "Comrade Colonel, the Germans surrounded our relay station two days ago, but it was only because of our stubborn resistance on the high ground that they could not approach the relay station. ”

"How far is the relay station from the high ground, and what kind of fortifications are in it?"

After sighing again, Tuas replied, "After crossing that high ground, less than a kilometer to the north, is our relay station, and since it is all used in the original houses of the Huirang station, the so-called fortifications are just piled up with some sandbags at the door. ”

The last disillusionment in my heart was completely shattered, and it was impossible for a relay station surrounded by the Germans and without strong fortifications to hold off the infantry with tank cover with two squads of soldiers and a women's communications squad.

The German tanks followed the infantry and disappeared on the other side of the heights, and then the rumbling of artillery came from behind the heights, and it seemed that the Germans were bombarding the fortifications of the relay station with tank guns.

At this moment, Strelkov finally contacted the female communications soldier at the relay station. I heard him excitedly shouting: "I'm Second Lieutenant Strelkov, the platoon commander of the second platoon of the communications company, who are you?" ”

Hearing that I had been in touch with the girls at the relay station, I hurriedly walked to the side of the walkie-talkie and squatted down. He took the headset from the second lieutenant's hand and put it on. Shouted at the microphone, "Hey." Can you hear ME? I was the commander of the separate division of the 64th Army, Colonel Oshanina. ”

"Hello, Comrade Colonel," the crisp voice of a young female soldier came from the headphones, "I'm Nadya, a communications soldier. Corporal Klimenko, the squad leader of the communications squad. ”

"How's it going for you there?" When I asked, I could already hear the sound of gunfire coming from my headphones.

"The situation is very bad, Comrade Colonel. The German tanks were closing in on our relay station, firing as they went. It was followed by a large number of infantry. Nadya nervously reported to me.

"The scouts of those two squads are responsible for protecting the communications squad and communication equipment." Second Lieutenant Strelkov reminded me in a whisper from the side.

"Corporal Nadya, aren't there still two squads of scouts in the relay station, where are they now?"

"They all went into the fortifications to stop the Germans." Nadya replied loudly: "But I don't think they will support it for long, the Germans are at least ten times more than us." ”

"Can you break through now?" I asked with difficulty.

After a moment of silence, Nadya replied very dryly: "Comrade Colonel, I don't think it is possible to break through, the relay station is surrounded by Germans. As soon as we left the house or the fortifications, we would be shot and killed. Her voice just fell. There was a violent explosion in the headphones, followed by a dense burst of gunfire.

"Corporal Nadya. What happened? Nadya, Corporal Nadya...... "After hearing the explosions and gunshots, Nadya suddenly stopped talking, which made me nervous and hurriedly shouted desperately at the microphone.

It was about two or three minutes before I was relieved to hear Nadya's voice come back out of my headphones. I asked pleasantly, "Comrade Corporal, what happened, I just heard a shell exploding near you." ”

"Yes, a shell from a German tank fell next to the house and exploded, blowing a gap in the wall on one side. Two German soldiers tried to rush in through the gap, but were repelled by the women in the communications squad. ”

"Are there any casualties?" I asked with concern.

Nadya was silent for a moment, then replied in a deep voice, "Two were sacrificed, and one was wounded. However, the Germans did not curry favor either, and one soldier was killed on the spot, and the other who escaped was also wounded in the leg. ”

A communications squad confronted two German soldiers, but they still paid the price of two dead and one wounded, while the German soldiers were only one dead and one wounded. I just don't know how effective the fighters of those two reconnaissance squads are and how long they can hold the Germans back.

While I was silently calculating the ratio of casualties to the enemy, Yevtifeev, who had recovered his normal life, came up to me and pleaded with me: "Comrade Colonel, I beg you to immediately send troops to the rescue of the fighters at the relay station. ”

I glanced up at him, didn't speak, but continued to ask Nadya: "Corporal Nadya, where are the soldiers of the reconnaissance squad?" Are they still fighting with the attacking Germans? In fact, I didn't need her to answer, and from the increasingly dense gunfire coming from the headphones, I knew that our fighters were fighting stubbornly with the Germans.

"They are fighting, and they are very valiant." Nadya just said dryly, and then her feelings became excited, "Under the fierce attack of the enemy, they suffered heavy casualties. Two of the wounded did not hesitate to pull their grenades as the enemy rushed to their side, and they perished along with the rushing enemy. ……”

I took off my headphones and held them in my hand so that the few people around me could hear Nadya's voice: "...... A tank rushed at us, it crashed into our sandbag fortifications, and it was rushing towards us. Ah, who is that? It seems to be the squad leader of the reconnaissance squad, who is holding a bundle of grenades and is rushing towards the tank...... "As soon as she said this, there was another loud bang in the headphones.

Long after the sound ended, Nadya choked up and said, "The squad leader rushed forward and died with the German tanks." ”

"How many Scouts are left?" The German offensive was progressing so fast, although I expected it, but I still fantasized that the scouts would be able to resist a little longer, so that the women of the communications squad would have a chance to escape, and I asked tentatively: "Nadya, I ask you to make sure again, do you have any hope of breaking through?" "Actually, my original intention was to make the communications women surrender to the Germans and save their lives first. However, I saw that there were several political workers around me. I had to swallow back this big rebellious sentence.

Nadya replied with a wry smile, "Comrade Colonel." There is no hope. We are completely surrounded by the Germans here. "After a short pause. She continued: "All the women of our communications squad will stay in this place, and when the Germans arrive, we will finish all the bullets and keep the last bullet for ourselves." ”

Nadya's words silenced me. At this moment, the scream of another female soldier suddenly came from the earphones: "Sisters, the Germans are rushing over, shoot quickly!" Then there was a dense burst of gunfire.

Strelkov threw himself in front of me. Kneeling on one knee, he begged me bitterly: "Comrade Colonel, I beg you, send troops to attack, I can't watch my comrades die like this." ”

"Yes, Comrade Colonel, you can't hesitate any longer, send troops to attack!"

"Fight, comrade division commander, we cannot watch our sisters die at the hands of the Germans."

First Yevtifeev, Kovalev and others. Then Vylore, Godunov, Basmanov and others asked me to send troops to rescue the relay station besieged by the Germans.

When everyone is in turmoil. Nadya's voice didn't come from the headphones anymore. Without saying a word, I stared at the billowing smoke rising from behind the high ground, wondering whether Nadya was fighting or dying, ignoring the voices around me asking for battle.

After a long time, Nadya's voice came from the headphones again. However, she was obviously wounded, and her speech was intermittent: "Report to Comrade Colonel, I have heard everything you said. There were no more people of my own in the relay station, whether it was the scouts or the female soldiers of the communications class, they all died, and I was the only one. German shells also exploded around the house...... To my right were several tanks with white crosses on their feet, followed by large groups of infantry...... I was seriously wounded, with two pieces of shrapnel in my abdomen, and I couldn't evacuate. I'm going to be killed sooner or later, anyway, so don't risk even saving us...... A tank stopped outside my house, and two people came out of the tank...... After chatting with a few foot soldiers who had come with them, they came over to me. …… I'm so scared, I'm so nervous that my heart is about to stop beating, and I see what is going to happen......"

As she spoke, several crisp pistol shots rang out from her headphones, followed by the sound of German submachine guns. "Farewell, my dear comrades......" The call was interrupted after a crisp gunshot.

Strelkov knelt on the ground, his face raised high, his hands tugging at his hair, howling like a wounded beast. The other three commanders of the communications company also had sad faces.

With difficulty, I got up from the ground, gently wiped the tears from the corners of my eyes, and beckoned to several of my men: "Vylol, Basmanov, Godunov." ”

The three of them heard my call and hurriedly came to me. Without waiting for me to speak, Godunov preemptively said: "Comrade division commander, let me lead the Ninth Company to attack, I will definitely teach these damned fascist bandits a good lesson." ”

"Division commander, I'll take the guard battalion with me." Not to be outdone, Basmanov said.

Instead of answering them immediately, I looked at the commander of the communications company who was in pain, and then instructed Basmanov: "Comrade Captain, you and Instructor Vellol, take the men to escort these escaped communications company commanders back to our station. Godunov and I stayed to break off,"

"What? Comrade division commander, aren't we going to teach those damned Germans a lesson? Basmanov didn't expect me to suddenly give such an inexplicable order, and couldn't help but shout loudly.

Hearing what Basmanov was shouting, the deputy instructor of the reconnaissance platoon walked up to me and said unwillingly: "Comrade Colonel, my subordinates have died here, I can't just leave like this, I want to stay and avenge them." ”

"Comrade Deputy Instructor," I said to him sternly, with a straight face, "our order is to rescue you from breaking through, and now that this mission has been completed, then we should return to the camp immediately." Seeing that he was still trying to defend something, I quickly raised my hand to stop him, and then said: "If the German planes come, we may not be able to withdraw even if we want to." Let's do it! "My last words were addressed both to the deputy instructor and to Basmanov.

Seeing the fighters of the guard battalion supporting the commanders of several communications companies to leave, Godunov, who was standing beside me, said unconvinced: "Comrade division commander, I don't understand why you gave such an order. It's clear that the enemy is in front of us, why don't we fight, as long as we rush forward, we can throw the enemy into chaos. ……”

I snorted and said coldly: "What's the use of the Germans even if they fall into chaos?" When they come to their senses, then the company you lead will be easily eaten by them. In this way, not only did we not rescue the besieged communications squad, but we also added another company to the German army's victory. ”

Seeing that Godunov was speechless, I urged him: "Comrade lieutenant, don't be stunned here, go and gather the troops." When Basmanov and the others were safely evacuated, we followed suit. ”

Although Godunov looked unwilling, seeing my stern expression, he had no choice but to agree, and obediently went to collect the troops scattered in the individual bunkers on the hillside.

However, after the Germans occupied the relay station, they ceased their operations, allowing our small broken force to withdraw smoothly to the new defense area of the independent division.

As soon as I returned to the headquarters, a call from Chuikov came. His anxious voice came from the headphones: "Oshanina, is the rescue mission complete?" ”

After a moment of silence, I replied: "Report to Comrade Commander, only half done." ”

"If it's done, it's done, if it's not done, it's not done, what does it mean that it's only half done?" Chuikov asked me disapprovingly in his headphones.

"Comrade Commander, the situation is like this. When we arrived at our destination, we found that the Germans were attacking the heights held by the Signal Company. I ordered my troops to strike decisively, beat the Germans hard from behind, repelled their attack, and covered the troops holding the high ground to join us. ”

"Isn't that a good job, after all, the communications company was rescued." Puzzled, Chuikov asked, "Then why do you say that the task is only half completed?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." I said bitterly: "Originally, I thought that rescuing this small army would be considered a complete mission. But when I was about to transfer with them, Yevtifeev, the political instructor of the communications company, told me that there were two more squads of scouts and one squad of female communications soldiers at the relay station behind the heights. ”

Chuikov was taken aback by this, and nervously asked, "Ah! Have the rest of the people been rescued? ”

"Nope. When I learned the news, the Germans launched a new offensive on the heights. As you know, my troops were poorly trained to go head-to-head with the well-armed and well-trained Germans, not their opponents, and besides, the Germans had a dozen tanks, and we had only two tanks with insufficient fuel and ammunition, so we could only watch the enemy pounce on the relay station behind the high ground. ”

"And then?" Chuikov's tone became solemn.

"Although our troops holding the relay station were inferior in terms of equipment and numbers, they fought stubbornly against the Germans. In particular, Corporal Nadya, the leader of the women's communications squad, said to me with a resolute attitude after being surrounded by the Germans: 'All the women of our communications squad will stay in this place, and when the Germans arrive, we will finish all the bullets and keep the last bullet for ourselves.' She didn't just say that, she did it. I heard in my headphones a couple of Germans walking towards her, and she opened decisive fire on the enemy, and while she was seriously wounded, she committed suicide by drinking bullets in order to be mistaken prisoner. ”

After listening to my words, Chuikov fell silent, and after a long time, he said slowly: "Corporal Nadya is our hero, although she does not belong to our 64th Army, but we still have to report her heroic deeds. You immediately sort out the information and report it to me, and I will report to the front army headquarters, so that more commanders and fighters can learn from her heroic and tenacious spirit of preferring to die. ”

"Understand, Comrade Commander, I will do this immediately." (To be continued......)