When Shederikov left, Bandeleyev whispered to me: "Comrade division commander, I admit that your plan is feasible, but it is too risky. However, you are my superior, and your orders can only be carried out, not discussed, so I reserve my opinion. ”

I nodded with satisfaction and walked up to his side to comfort him, saying, "Don't worry, comrade deputy division commander, you will get to know me as a person if you get along with me for a long time." While some of my plans may seem risky, when they are executed, they often have unexpected results. ”

Bandeleyev said with a wry smile: "Comrade division commander, I believe this. After I arrived in the independent division, I once knew your resume, and if it weren't for your ability, you would not have gone from an ordinary soldier to a unique female general in our army so quickly. ”

"Comrade Division Commander." While I was about to say a few words, our telegraph operator came running from the next correspondence room, with a telegram in his hand. To tell the truth, when I saw the telegram in the past two days, I was not sure what bad news was there. I stared at the operator's face, and when I saw his excited expression, I wondered if it was good news. Otherwise, the operator would not have been agitated like this.

When the operator ran up to me, I didn't wait for him to speak, but snatched the telegram from his hand and took it to my eyes to look closely. I saw that it was briefly written: "Our division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner." ”

I read this simple sentence several times, but still did not understand it, so I casually handed the telegram to Bantai Leyev. He humbly asked, "Comrade Deputy Division Commander." Look at what this telegram is all about? ”

Bandeleyev took it and only glanced at it. Suddenly he jumped up excitedly, he held the telegram in one hand and patted me on the shoulder with the other, and said in his mouth: "Great, great, this is really good!" ”

I don't understand why he was so excited, isn't it that the independent division was awarded the Order of the Red Banner, what's the big deal, it's worth a special telegram from Commissar Kirillov. Is it worth such a gaffe for Bantai Leev? I moved to the side, avoiding the hand that Bantaileyev had slapped on my shoulder, and cursed in my heart: "You used to be a blacksmith, and you almost broke my shoulder with such great strength." ”

I coughed, and when I saw that Bandeleyev's attention was focused on me again, I asked slowly: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, it's just that the superior awarded us the Order of the Red Banner for the Independent Division, do you need to be so excited?" "But I was secretly thinking in my heart: the superiors were too stingy, and they only gave us a Red Flag Medal. This medal. To whom should I give it to Kirillov and Akhromeyev. Or Bantai Leyev in front of him or several regiment commanders below.

Hearing my question, a surprised expression appeared on Bandeleyev's face, and he asked in surprise: "Comrade division commander, didn't you read this telegram from the political commissar clearly?" ”

I honestly replied, "I can see the content, but I don't." ”

Bantai Laiev waved his hand at the telegraph operator and said in a friendly manner: "Comrade telegrapher, you should go back to the communication room first, and if there is any new telegram, send it immediately." The operator said yes and turned to leave.

Looking at the back of the operator leaving, I secretly congratulated myself that after receiving the last telegram, I decisively sent someone to summon the operator who had remained in the observation position in the morning, otherwise the call from Kirillov would have been at least half an hour late before it could reach us.

I turned to look at Bandaeev and humbly asked him again: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, I don't see anything to be happy about, isn't it just that our superiors awarded us a Red Banner Medal?" You must know that there are a lot of commanders in the division who can receive this honor, just one medal, who do you want me to issue? Didn't the superiors embarrass us by doing this? ”

As soon as I finished speaking, Pandeleyev suddenly burst out laughing, making me laugh in confusion. Seeing my dazed look, Bantai Leyev, who was smiling breathlessly, explained to me: "My comrade division commander, you are mistaken. The Order of the Red Banner awarded by the higher authorities was given to the independent division as a collective, not to an individual. Seeing that I still looked puzzled, he added, "Let's put it this way, after the independent division received this medal, the number also changed. In the future, when the superiors called us by number, it was no longer the 62nd Independent Infantry Division, but the 62nd Independent Infantry Red Banner Division. ”

"Red Banner Independent Division?!" I really didn't expect that after the Independent Division received the Order of the Red Banner awarded by its superiors, it would change its number, so I asked tentatively: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, if we are promoted to the Guards Division, then in front of the number, can we still retain the title of this Red Banner Medal?" ”

"That's nature." Bandeleyev didn't know that he was invisibly doing science popularization for me, "Even if the independent division is promoted to the outer guards division, as long as the superiors do not cancel the Order of the Red Banner awarded to us, our division will always carry this glorious title in front of the number." Now that we have received new medals, we will add all these honors to our number. ”

Although Bantai Laiev tried his best to explain in simple terms, I still heard it in a fog, because the time was pressing, so I didn't ask in detail, so I had to pretend to understand and say: "So that's the case, I understand, thank you, Comrade Deputy Division Commander." ”

Not long after we were happy, the operator came to the command post again and handed me another telegram. It was clear that this telegram could not have been a good thing, but reported that the Mamayev Hill had been shelled by the enemy tonight, and that a small force had taken advantage of the darkness to launch an attack on the northern heights where the 4th Regiment was stationed and the 107.5 heights guarded by the 2nd Regiment. After a fierce battle, the enemy was finally successfully repulsed.

After reading the telegram, Bantai Leev's expression also became stern, and he turned his head to look at me and asked, "Comrade division commander, how can you call the political commissar back?" ”

"Operator, record immediately." After I called out to the operator, I dictated a reply to Kirillov: "Comrade Political Commissar, the Mamayev Post is the glorious place of our Red Banner Independent Division, and it is also our grave. Even if you fight to the last soldier. There must not be a step back. Division Commander Oshanina. On the evening of October 25, 1942. With that, I waved at the operator and motioned for him to call back immediately.

"Is the situation really so severe?" Bandeleyev, apparently frightened by the wording I had just used in the telegram, asked cautiously: "Didn't the commissar say in the telegram that the enemy was attacking our two heights only with small forces?" ”

"Comrade Deputy Division Commander," I deliberately reminded him, without even seeing what he was hiding in the telegram, "Didn't you notice that the political commissar was talking about the northern heights that the Fourth Regiment was holding?" To know in front of this highland. And another German outpost that we captured not so long ago? Since there is no mention of this position in the telegram, it is clear that it has been lost. In order to go north this time, we mobilized half of the troops of the independent division, and the political commissars had to rely on the remaining half of the troops to hold on to such a vast area, and the situation was very bad. ”

As soon as I said this, Bandelayev finally understood why I had just called back in such a wording. He thought for a moment, and then asked for my opinion: "Comrade division commander, what should we do next?" Since the situation at Mamayev Gang is dangerous, why don't we concentrate our troops overnight and return? ”

Bantai Leyev's mention made my heart pound. In an instant, I almost followed his words. A direct order was given to return the troops to Mamayev Heights. But on second thought, in the current situation, we still have to hold on here for a few more days. The first is to see if there is any possibility of joining forces with the telephone number and drawing the enemy's main forces out of Stalingrad; Second, the enemy has already mobilized troops to rush towards us, and if we retreat hastily and the enemy follows and pursues, the troops carrying the baggage will easily be caught up and routed, and the gains will outweigh the losses. So I decisively rejected Bantai Leyev's suggestion: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, no, now is not the time to retreat, we must stay and continue to hold here." ”

"Comrade division commander, do you really think that if we stay here, we will be able to join forces with the Don River side heading south?" Bandeleyev obviously guessed what was on my mind, and said bluntly: "The Germans not only have an advantage in strength and equipment, but also air supremacy, not to mention that we only have two or three thousand people, even if we have two or three divisions, staying here will inevitably lead to the danger of annihilation, so you must make up your mind as soon as possible." ”

"Comrade Deputy Division Commander." I saw that he was reluctant because of the danger he was in, but now I was already riding a tiger, so I could only bite the bullet and say: "Like you, I am worried about the danger facing Mamayev. However, we received an order to go north and join forces on the Don Front, and we must continue to advance northward without the permission of our superiors. And judging by the current situation, the Germans, who have suffered our great losses, will attack our heights after dawn at the latest. If we retreat at this moment, the enemy will be relieved to boldly follow us to catch up, and when the time comes, in the open grassland, do you think that our troops, which have no heavy weapons, will be able to withstand the three-dimensional offensive of the enemy's armored forces and aviation? ”

Bandeleyev shook his head and said in a low voice: "No. ”

"Since we can't, then we must stay here and repel the Germans who may come tomorrow." To reassure him, I looked up at my watch and said, "There is still an hour, and it will be the 26th." We will hold out here until the 30th, and whether or not we join forces with friendly forces, I will lead the troops back to Mamayev Heights. ”

"By the way, since the Germans are pressing from the north, will the Germans in Gorodishhe pounce from the south?" Bandeleyev asked nervously: "You must know that in that camp about ten kilometers south of the city, we are only guarded by a battalion of the fourth regiment, and they have no anti-tank weapons, so they cannot stop the strong attack of the enemy's armored forces. ”

"I can only resign myself to fate." I also understood that the defenses holding our rear camp were a little too weak, but we could not draw troops to reinforce them, so I could only reluctantly say: "Even if they cannot withstand the onslaught of the enemy, I hope that they will buy us more time to prepare, so that in the event of an unfavorable situation, our large forces can break out of the enemy's encirclement." ”

While I waited for dawn, I reassigned all three of the current stations. One is the radio station that we are communicating with the Mamayev Heights, and it must not leave our side; One was the radio of Sergeant Wenger's reconnaissance squad, which I assigned to Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard, who was guarding the supplies; As for the radio station provided by Lieutenant Travkin's reconnaissance detachment, I had them taken to the camp south of the city. In this way, we have established a preliminary communications network, and when we have any information to be transmitted, we no longer need to blindly rely on the communications corps to run away to convey it.

As the sky gradually brightened, Bandeleyev and I came to the lookout again, raised our binoculars and looked into the distance, and I made a special effort to find out where Lieutenant Colonel Sedelikov was hiding. To my regret, I searched for a long time, and I did not find out where Shedelikov's tanks and armored vehicles were located, except for the infantry units hidden above the dirt slope and under the western slope.

When the needle was pointing to eight o'clock, Bantai Laiev, who had not seen the enemy's movement for a long time, could not help but become a little anxious, and he asked in a low voice: "Comrade division commander, do you think this German will come?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Division Commander." I replied in the affirmative: "The Germans will definitely come back." Whether it was yesterday during the day or last night, they suffered such a big loss from us, not only lost the city of Kongjiaoyi, but also lost the materials in the city, and even the vanguard who tried to seize the position of our army was also routed in our ambush circle. Because of this, I firmly believe that the enemy will come back to take revenge. ”

"What kind of forces do you think they will use to retaliate against us?" Bandeleyev asked curiously.

"Didn't Lieutenant Colonel Sederykov say it in his latest report?" After repeating Sederikov's numbers last night, I said: "The enemy has drawn one tank battalion, two artillery battalions, and an infantry regiment, so I think they will at least put all these forces and technical equipment into the attack on us." ”

As soon as I finished speaking, Bandeleyev suddenly pointed to the distance and said excitedly: "Comrade division commander, look, there is dust in the distance, it should be a large army of Germans. (To be continued......)