I sat in the regimental headquarters of Sedjerikov for less than five minutes, and before the black tea in front of me had not even cooled, a second lieutenant hurriedly ran in and reported to Sederikov without even saluting: "Comrade regiment commander, a group of German troops is coming in our direction. ”

The second lieutenant's report excited Shederikov, because it was a great opportunity to show me the combat effectiveness of a regiment, and he excitedly asked: "How many enemies are coming?" ”

"There was probably a company," the second lieutenant recalled, "according to the reports of our fighters, there was only one armored vehicle that acted with the enemy's infantry, and no heavy weapons were found. ”

Hearing that the enemy had only one company, and that there were no heavy weapons except for armored vehicles, Sederikov's cheeks turned crimson with excitement, and he turned at me and said: "Comrade division commander, the enemy has only one company, and with the strength of our regiment, we can easily wipe them out." ”

I nodded, and said to him with a flat expression: "Our forces are several times larger than the enemy, and if we can't destroy them all, we can inflict heavy damage on them." Gather all your men and give them orders. ”

After receiving my permission, Sederikov raised his head and instructed the second lieutenant: "Comrade second lieutenant, immediately call the commanders of the 1st and 2nd battalions. ”

The second lieutenant agreed, turned around and ran out of the headquarters. In less than two minutes, the room was packed with more than a dozen commanders of the first and second battalions, all of whom gathered around the table and listened to Sederikov's orders.

A battalion was deployed on the south side of the road, in the ruins of buildings within the city limits; The second battalion, together with the third battalion and nine companies on guard, were deployed in the settlements. When the German troops entered the ambush circle, the sound of gunfire was the sound. The troops lying in ambush on both sides of the road opened fire together. Strive to do so in the shortest possible time. Destroy the sheer majority of enemies. When a red flare is seen rising, all troops must charge without hesitation and annihilate the remaining enemy.

But after all the commanders left, Sedjerikov said to me with a smile: "Comrade division commander, everything is deployed." Do you have any other instructions? ”

Looking at the empty headquarters, I secretly cursed in my heart that the other commanders had left, and it was useless to give instructions now. I snorted and said angrily, "I want to see how you destroy this enemy." ”

My words startled Shederikov. Hurriedly persuaded me: "Division commander, the front is too dangerous, you better stay here and wait for news." ”

I reluctantly said: "If I don't go to the battlefield to see it myself, how can I know what the existing combat strength of a regiment is?" No, no matter what you say, I'm going to fight today. ”

Shedelikov understood my stubbornness, and when he heard me say this, he knew that he could not change my mind, so he could only promise stubbornly: "Okay, Comrade Division Commander." Since you insist on going to watch the battle, then I will accompany you. ”

In order for me to see the whole battlefield clearly. Shederikov led me to the fourth floor of the building at the very front of the road. He pulled me to a hole that had been blown open by a bomb, pointed to it and said, "Commander, you can stay here, not only do you have a wide field of vision, but you are also not easy to be hit by stray bullets from the enemy." ”

I looked left and right, and found that where I was now was on the side of the building, with a window on the left and right, and the guards I had brought with me had taken advantage of the favorable terrain by the window, and had put their weapons on the window and aimed them downstairs.

I looked across the road downstairs and saw that the commanders and fighters of the first battalion were hidden in the rubble and set up their guns. That is, I can see clearly where I am, and if I am marching on the ground, I will not be able to detect it unless I go very close.

Shedelikov squatted next to me and asked flatteringly: "Comrade division commander, you can see this position clearly, right?" ”

I looked ahead and asked without looking back, "When you moved your troops just now, you weren't discovered by the enemy, were you?" ”

"No, the enemy is still far from us, and we will definitely not be able to find it." After answering my question, he continued: "Later the enemy will pass under the house where we are staying, and when they enter our ambush circle, I will give a signal for the light and heavy machine guns lying in ambush on both sides of the road to open decisive fire, first to blind the enemy, and then to destroy them all little by little." ”

After a while, the enemy appeared in my field of vision, and I hurriedly raised my binoculars to look ahead. I saw an armored car slowly moving in front, followed by a large group of German infantry, but they obviously did not notice our ambush, and were approaching us unhurriedly with their guns in hand.

As the enemy approached, I couldn't help but whisper to the guards left and right: "Prepare for battle!" "I knew that even the veteran fighters would be in a state of nervousness before the first shot, so I habitually shouted to cheer on the fighters around me.

The enemy is getting closer and closer, and now even without binoculars, it is clearly visible that behind the armored car there are two German officers with large-brimmed hats. I pointed to the armored car and said to Shederikov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, after the battle begins, we must try by all means to get rid of the enemy's armored vehicle, otherwise it will cause huge casualties to our commanders and fighters. ”

Sederikov nodded and said with certainty: "I have arranged two anti-tank rifles in the building next to me, and as long as the armored vehicles are in range, they will definitely not be allowed to escape." At the same time, I also deployed several snipers to snipe the German commanders in battle, so that the German troops who had lost their command could not organize effective resistance. ”

"Well done, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Seeing that Shederikov thought so comprehensively, I couldn't help but praise him: "Your deployment is very comprehensive, unless a miracle happens, this German army will become meat on our cutting board, and we can only be slaughtered, and there is no possibility of escape." ”

As I was saying this, there was a crisp "pop" of gunshots, and I saw that the bullet hit the German armored car impartially, and a small spark splashed on the body. The gunshot became the signal, followed by the burst of gunfire, and even a few of our machine guns downstairs clattered, and a dense stream of bullets swept towards the enemy ranks.

Several German soldiers who followed the armored car were caught off guard. Knocked down several by a dense barrage of bullets. The one behind quickly lay down on the spot. Raise your weapons and shoot at our commanders.

I looked at the German army column that was still one or two hundred meters away, and asked loudly to the left and right: "Who is it, who is it?" Who opened fire without getting an order? ”

No one answered.

"Who the hell is it?" My voice widened as my eyes swept over the guards to find the man who had shot without permission. But no matter who I looked at, the other person shook his head, indicating that he was not the first to shoot the gun.

Due to the distance from the enemy. Therefore, after fighting for a long time, the intensive firepower of our army had limited damage to the enemy. When Sederikov saw that my guards all said that he did not shoot the gun, he obviously understood that there might be something wrong with his subordinates, so he came over and said to me with a blushing face: "Comrade division commander, it seems that the original plan cannot be carried out. Taking advantage of the fact that the enemy was still resisting and not retreating for the time being, I ordered the first and second battalions to immediately launch a charge, destroying as much as they could, and not allowing the enemy to retreat with such a swagger. ”

"That's it." I saw the German soldier lying on the ground. They were getting up from the ground one after another, alternately covering and beginning to retreat. I could only grit my teeth and agree: "Immediately transfer the anti-tank men here, even if you can't destroy many German soldiers, you will have to kill this armored vehicle of the enemy." ”

Sedjerikov straightened up and ordered the second lieutenant who had been standing behind: "Second lieutenant, immediately fire signal flares, let all the troops immediately charge, and count as many enemies as they can destroy." ”

After listening to his order, the second lieutenant pointed to the armored vehicles that had stopped where they were and were firing wildly at us with machine guns, and said: "Comrade regiment commander, but the enemy's armored vehicles have not been killed, and if we charge at this time, our soldiers will suffer heavy casualties." ”

"The commander's order is not allowed to be discussed," Sederikov, who was holding back his breath, suddenly burst into flames at the second lieutenant: "If you don't fire the flare right away, believe it or not, I'll shoot you." With that, he drew his pistol from his holster and pointed it at the second lieutenant's forehead.

"Enough, Comrade Sedjerikov, stop grinding, hurry up and hit the flare!" I listened to both of them, and I was afraid that Sederikov would really shoot at the second lieutenant on impulse, so I turned around and yelled at him.

After the flares were lifted into the air, the commanders and fighters of the 1st and 2nd Battalions rushed out of their hiding places with shouts, quickly formed a straggler formation, and rushed towards the enemy in front. Although the machine guns on the enemy's armored vehicles were still firing non-stop, knocking down a lot of the commanders and fighters who rushed in front, the ones behind still did not slow down and rushed forward without hesitation.

Seeing thousands of commanders and fighters rushing towards him, the German armored vehicles did not dare to stay any longer, and drove back in reverse. The German soldiers, who were lying on the ground and were on cover duty, saw that the armored vehicles had run away, and after firing a few shots indiscriminately, they also got up and spread their feet and ran backwards.

By the time our commanders and fighters rushed up, except for more than 30 German corpses on the ground, the rest of the German soldiers who were still alive had already run away without a trace. When I watched the commanders and fighters who had finished cleaning the battlefield and walked back with more than 20 captured guns, I felt uncomfortable for a while, and I couldn't help but cover my heart with my hands. Shedelikov, who was standing next to me, hurriedly stepped forward to help me and sat me down on several broken bricks piled together in the room.

When I had almost rested, Sederikov helped me back to the command. At this time, the commanders who participated in the battle were waiting in the house, and when they saw me and Sedelikov returning, they all bowed their heads in shame.

I sat down at the table, looking at the pistols, five submachine guns, and a large pile of rifles leaning against the wall, and felt infinite regret in my heart, that it had been planned well, but who knew that it was because of the early shot that had made our whole plan fall short.

After walking back and forth a few times in front of his subordinates, Shedelikov slammed his hand on the table and asked loudly: "A good plan, just because of a gunshot, turned out to be all in vain." Can any of you sue me, what the hell is going on? What the hell is going on? ”

The commanders present lowered their heads and did not speak.

"Say, whose subordinate fired the gun?" Shedelikov stepped forward, pushed several commanders of the 1st Battalion aside, and then said to the commander of the 2nd Battalion: "I heard the gunfire very clearly, it came from the north side of the road, and it had nothing to do with the 1st battalion lying in ambush on the south side of the road. ”

Under his questioning, someone in the crowd suddenly whispered: "Report to the regiment commander, the soldiers of our company fired the gun." ”

I followed the sound and looked over, and saw that it was Captain Grakov, the commander of the Ninth Company, who had just met, and I was immediately angry, so I rushed in front of Sederikov and asked, "Oh, Captain Grakov, it turned out that your subordinates fired the gun?" I don't know how many enemies the soldier who shot was killed in the battle? ”

"I don't know." Grakov's cheeks flushed, and he replied in a low voice with his head down.

"Do you know that it was because of your soldiers who shot indiscriminately and ruined all of our ambush plans?!" Shedelikov also questioned the company commander with an angry face, and the commanders around him moved to the side, trying to keep a distance from him.

"Know, know!"

Pointing to his nose, Sederichol asked loudly: "Since you know which fighter fired the shot, why didn't you bring him here?" We must deal with this kind of warrior who has broken discipline, otherwise similar things will happen in the future. ”

"He, he, he's coming, can't come!" The captain said in a huff.

"Why can't you come?" Sederikov angrily asked: "Afraid of punishment, quietly left the team as a deserter?" ”

"No, no, not what you think." The captain waved his hands desperately and explained to us: "After seeing the signal to charge, the soldier rushed out of his hiding place and rushed towards the enemy in order to make meritorious deeds, but unfortunately he was hit by the enemy's machine gun bullet and died a heroic death. ”

As soon as Grakov's words came out, the room suddenly fell silent, the dead were the greatest, although because of the recklessness of this warrior, we led to the failure of our ambush plan, but the others were already dead, and it was no longer possible to investigate the responsibility.

I waved my hand and said to Shederikov: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, forget it, there is no need to hold you accountable. As long as you remember this lesson and don't make similar mistakes again. At this point, I stood up, glanced at all the commanders, and then said to them in an affirmative tone: "Although today's ambush battle failed, it also gave me a glimpse of the combat effectiveness of a regiment, not only ambush but also attack, all of which fought in a very orderly manner. Yes, that's all due to those of you who are commanders. ”

Hearing my compliment, the commanders and fighters showed surprised expressions on their faces, and their heads that had been buried low were raised high. (To be continued......)