Less than an hour after Bunyachenko left, the rumbling sound of artillery could be heard from the north. Hearing the increasingly dense muffled noise, my heart went to my throat, if Bunyachenko's tanks had not entered the designated positions, then the chances of Lieutenant Colonel Cherniugov and their infantry holding their positions were too small.

I was in a hurry, and the commissar who was in the command with me was even more anxious. He urged the busy communications soldiers in the corner: "How about it, haven't you made contact with Lieutenant Colonel Chernyugov or Colonel Bunyachenko yet?" ”

A communications officer looked up and replied: "Comrade Political Commissar, I have already sent someone to check the line, and it is estimated that I will soon be able to contact the head of the Cherniugov regiment." As for Comrade Bunyachenko," he explained with some embarrassment, "it is estimated that contact can only be made with his car radio through walkie-talkies. ”

I walked over and instructed the officer: "If you can't get in touch, send someone to the front line immediately, and be sure to give feedback on the situation at the front in a timely manner......

I was just halfway through my sentence when suddenly a signal soldier next to me shouted in surprise, "Report to Comrade Division Commander, the phone with Cherniugov Regiment Commander has been connected." ”

I grabbed the phone and said into the microphone, "I'm Oshanina, hurry up and report the situation on your side." ”

"Comrade Division Commander," Lieutenant Colonel Cherniugov was almost roaring, but the sound of explosions in the background still made it difficult for me to hear what he was saying, and I asked him to repeat it several times before I could barely understand what was going on. It turned out that he had set up his headquarters in an isolated building on the very edge of the city, only a few hundred meters away from the trenches, and he could clearly see the front line through a telescope. The Germans are carrying out heavy artillery bombardment on our troops, and at this moment the front line is surrounded by gunsmoke and fire, and the casualties are not clear for the time being.

I said that I would keep in touch and keep up to date with the latest situation in the war, and then I terminated contact with him. Putting down the phone, I looked at the commissar and said: "The enemy is shelling the new line of defense of our army, and according to this analysis of the situation, the enemy intends to launch an attack on the city of Cumbre del Sol from the north. ”

At this time, the communications officer in charge of contacting the tank division was shouting to me: "Comrade division commander, I have contacted the division commander of Bunyachenko." ”

I hurriedly walked over and took the microphone and headphones from his hand. As soon as I heard someone talking on the other side, I immediately opened my mouth to identify myself: "I'm Oshanina, Comrade Buniachenko?" ”

"It's me, Comrade Division Commander." Bunyachenko said with a big grin: "Our division has entered the designated position, the troops have all been deployed, and I can see that the enemy is shelling the forward positions of our army. ”

"Division Commander Bonyachenko, now you don't do anything, let the troops pay attention to concealment and not be discovered by the enemy. Only when they begin to attack our frontal line of defense will you attack from the flanks. After speaking, I wanted to hang up directly, but suddenly remembered that I almost forgot a key thing, and hurriedly asked: "How far is your hidden forest from the battlefield?" If the tank doesn't go out, it won't be discovered by the Germans, right? ”

"Comrade division commander, please rest assured that our troops are hidden in the forest to the east, about two kilometers from the battlefield, and the enemy cannot hear the roar of tank motors. Also, the weather is too cold now, and if the fire is turned off, it will take a while to warm up before you can attack, which will delay things. ”

"That's not a problem," I said though I'm a layman about tanks, but it doesn't prevent me from sharing my opinion, "In order to make sure that the troops are not detected when they are hidden, even if the tank motor is turned off, you can let the anti-tank guns fire first when the warm-up is restarted." By the time they've finished firing a base of shells, your tanks are almost warmed up, and it's time to strike out to destroy the remnants. ”

"Comrade Colonel," a strange voice suddenly came from the headset, "the enemy shelling has stopped, and it seems that their offensive is about to begin." ”

"I've learned it, continue to observe." Bunyachenko gave the other side an order, and then said to me again: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, now that the enemy's shelling has stopped, it is estimated that they will attack immediately, please prepare the defending troops for battle." ”

"It's good." After saying that, I stopped communicating with him, and immediately ordered the signal soldier: "Give me the commander of the Chernyugov regiment." As soon as the phone called, I immediately said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how is the situation on your side?" ”

"Report to Comrade Division Commander," Lieutenant Colonel Chernyugov was still yelling loudly, but because there was no interference from the explosion of shells, his voice shook my ears and I quickly moved the microphone away, "As soon as the enemy's shelling is over, I have already contacted the commander on the position, and I am counting the casualties. ”

"Okay, quickly organize the defense, I will send someone to reinforce you as soon as possible."

Putting down the phone, I took the teacup handed over by the commissar, took a sip of water, and then ordered the signal soldier again: "Pick me up the commander of the army group, General Rokossovsky." ”

As soon as the phone rang, I reported to him: "Comrade Commander, the Germans are attacking the city of Cumbre del Sol from the north. At present, the strength of our army is effective, and the strength of the counterattack is insufficient, and I hope that the commander will help urge Comrade Zhukov so that the troops he promised can be replenished to us as soon as possible. ”

"I know it." Rokossovsky replied faintly and hung up.

Maybe it was because my phone calls were too frequent, but after hanging up this time, the signal soldier took the initiative to ask me: "Comrade division commander, whose phone are you going to answer this time?" ”

"Pick me up Major Kuleshov, commander of the second battalion of the 1075th regiment."

"Yes." The communications soldier agreed, and quickly contacted Kulesov on a walkie-talkie.

I picked up the microphone and asked aloud: "Major Kuleshov, where is your unit now?" ”

"Report to Comrade Division Commander, the troops have reached the northern part of the city, and for the sake of safety, I have evacuated all the soldiers to nearby buildings, and when the front needs us, we will transfer the troops up."

"You're doing a good job." After listening to his deployment, I felt that he had considered it very thoroughly, so I praised him: "Let the troops continue to hide and wait for my orders." ”

After the call, the commissar and I went back to the table and sat down and told him about the current situation of friend and foe. Because I think that Buniachenko's surprise team will play an unexpected role, and there is no need to worry about the outcome of the battle. Therefore, after briefly introducing the situation, he began to study the next operational plan with the political commissar.

Half an hour later, the battle was exactly as I expected. The German infantry, under the cover of seventeen tanks, launched an attack on the positions of our troops. Because the fighters of the frontal defense showed tenacity, the battle quickly fell into a stalemate, and at this time, Bunyachenko's troops made a decisive attack from the flank, taking the enemy by surprise. Not only did they turn all the German tanks into scrap metal burned in front of the positions, but they also captured hundreds of prisoners.

However, there were many casualties of our army in this battle, because the fortifications were poor, and almost all the troops that served as defensive tasks were exhausted. So I had to change my plan on the fly, withdraw them for rest and recuperate, and replace them with the 2nd Battalion of Major Kulesov in advance.

Nothing happened overnight.

At ten o'clock in the morning of the next day, the German shelling of our positions began again. This time they learned wisely, and in addition to shelling the defensive positions of the infantry, they did not spare even the forest on the eastern side. Fortunately, after yesterday's sortie, Buniachenko moved all his troops to the forest on the western side, otherwise he would have suffered heavy losses in this shelling.

Ten minutes after the German artillery bombardment, the attack on our positions was renewed, but the strange thing was that only twenty tanks were on the offensive mission, and there were no infantry to follow.

When I heard the news, I was sitting in a chair at the table, tormented by a damn abdominal pain. I gently rubbed my abdomen with one hand to relieve the unbearable pain. In the other hand, he held a towel, which he used from time to time to wipe the cold sweat that broke out on his forehead. While I endured the pain, I thought about this strange German attack, knowing that the tanks alone have no infantry, even if they break through the defense line of our army, what is the point of doing this?

Standing in front of the walkie-talkie in my place was Commissar Yegorov, who first ordered Major Kuleshov to hold his position, and then contacted Bunyachenko. I heard the commissar say into the microphone: "Comrade Colonel, since the enemy has no infantry, when they are in range, you will first order the anti-tank guns to open fire, and then the tanks will attack and quickly crush the enemy's attack." ”

I picked up the hot tea on the table and took a sip of it, and suddenly I had a bad premonition in my heart that something was going to happen, but I couldn't figure it out for a while.

At this time, the political commissar walked up to me, with an excited expression on his face, and said proudly: "Lida, I have good news for you." Just now, Colonel Buniachenko's anti-tank artillery battalion opened fire and destroyed three enemy tanks in one fell swoop, and the remaining tanks turned around and fled when they saw that the situation was not good, and by this time the colonel had already led his troops to catch up. ”

"What? Caught up? I put the teacup on the table, stood up abruptly, walked back and forth to the table with my hands behind my back, and said to myself, "No, no, the enemy is behaving too abnormally today." First on the offensive, there were only tanks without infantry, and now, how long has the battle been going on, and they have fled with the loss of a few tanks? There must be some conspiracy in this. ”

My words were heard by the commissar, who said with some disapproval: "Lida, you are thinking too much. The enemy is overwhelmed by our momentum, which is why he will collapse and flee at the first touch. ”

I ignored the commissar, walked directly to the walkie-talkie, and ordered the signal soldier: "Hurry up and pick up Colonel Buniachenko for me." ”

As soon as the phone was connected, I was not polite, and immediately ordered Bunyachenko: "Comrade Colonel, I order you to stop the pursuit immediately and immediately lead your tank back to the hidden forest." ”

"Comrade Division Commander, what are you doing? Know that the enemy is fleeing, and we can kill them all if we catch up. ”

"Time is pressing, I don't have time to explain to you, immediately lead the troops back! This is my command, execute it immediately. ”

"Five more minutes from me, only five minutes, Comrade Division Commander." His sincere voice came from the headphones: "I can kill all these German tanks in no time." ”

I almost froze when I heard him say this, but from what I know about the Germans, they are definitely not so vulnerable, and there must be some conspiracy waiting for us. Then he said mercilessly: "Comrade Colonel, I once again order you to withdraw your troops at once, and this order cannot be changed. ”

Without waiting for Bunyachenko to speak, suddenly a familiar voice broke into the call channel: "Report to Comrade Colonel, the enemy's tanks are running too fast, and our artillery can't hit them." ”

"Withdraw quickly," I heard from yesterday's soldier speak, and after listening to what he had reported, I was even more sure that the enemy must have a conspiracy waiting for us, so I again gave a strong order: "Comrade Colonel, withdraw the troops at once!" ”

"Yes!" Bunyachenko reluctantly agreed, and gave orders to his subordinates: "All of them, stop moving forward and prepare to turn around and return to the hidden place." ”

"Comrade Colonel, it's not good, a large number of German tanks appeared in front of us." "Report to Comrade Colonel, German tanks were found on the left, and there were about fifteen of them." "Report to Comrade Colonel, German tanks were also found on the right side, numbering more than twenty units." ……

I was relieved to hear that Buniachenko promised to return, but a series of sounds from the earphones suddenly stunned me, but I didn't expect that my hunch was right, I really fell into the trap of the German army. So I shouted into the microphone: "Comrade Buniachenko, withdraw immediately, withdraw quickly, withdraw quickly!" ”