The Germans reacted faster than I thought. Less than two hours after our troops occupied the city of Smilla, 36 German bombers flew over the city and began to bomb indiscriminately.

Countless bombs and incendiary bombs fell from the sky and exploded in the city of Smilla. When the enemy planes were bombing, a strong wind was blowing, and for a time the fire took advantage of the wind to help the fire, and the fire dragons devoured houses and streets, and hundreds of buildings collapsed in the bombing. Smoke and flames obscured the sky, and the whole of Smilla turned into a sea of fire.

When all this happened, our army and I were still two or three kilometers away from the city. When I saw this through the binoculars, in order to avoid further losses, I ordered my troops to halt their advance and hide in a nearby wood. At the same time, Razumeyeva, who was temporarily seconded, was ordered to use the walkie-talkie to call the defenders of the city.

In a makeshift tent, Razumeyeva, wearing headphones, kept shouting at the radio of the 22nd Guards Division over the microphone. I stood behind her, anxiously awaiting a hearing from Bandereev. But I didn't hear anything except Razumeyeva's voice.

Seeing that I couldn't get in touch with the city, the air in the tent froze, and not only I was depressed, but even Kirillov and Vitkov had serious expressions, and we all felt a huge pressure.

Kirillov walked up to me and asked in a low voice, "Lida, we can't get in touch with the city, what should we do?" ”

Instead of answering his question right away, I beckoned to Vitkov and motioned for him to come to my side. Wait for him to come. I opened my mouth and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, in the current situation, the three of us will study and study. An emergency plan was drawn up and an order was sent to the city. ”

"Comrade Commander, I agree with you." Without hesitation, Vitkov replied: "If we delay in getting in touch with the troops in the city, then they will fall into disarray because of the loss of unified command." ”

Vitkov's remarks are very reasonable. There are now three separate infantry divisions in the city, as well as artillery regiments and tank brigades. But I didn't appoint a commander to command the troops in a unified manner. Although Romanov has the title of deputy army commander, because he has not been in our army for a long time, the commanders and fighters are not familiar with him. Whether or not he can follow his orders is still a question. And another suitable candidate is the commander of the 22nd Guards Division, Bandereev, in addition to his division. The other two divisions also knew him in a significant number of commanders. Leaving him in charge of unified command could be much more effective than the Romanovs.

In order not to interfere with Razumeyeva's call, the three of us went to a corner of the tent, stood and began to discuss. I opened my mouth first: "Political commissar, chief of staff, I think so. In order not to let the three divisions in the city fight separately, I decided to assign them a commander first, who would be responsible for unified command. Do you have any comments? ”

When Kirillov and Vitkov heard this, they shook their heads neatly. Then Vitkov asked: "Comrade Commander." Who do you think would be a good fit for this role? After asking this question, he did not wait for me to answer. He continued, "Although General Romanov is the deputy commander of the army, there are not many commanders who know him, and the commanders and fighters below may not buy the orders he has issued." Otherwise, let's appoint General Bandereev, after all, he has been here since the formation of the 79th Infantry Corps, and he is familiar with many commanders of various divisions, and everyone should carry out the orders he gives unconditionally. ”

Hearing that Vitkov's opinion coincided with mine, I nodded with satisfaction, and then said: "After having a unified command, the next thing to do is to do two things: first, if no enemy ground troops are found near the city, then it is necessary to make a gap for enemy planes to leave, and evacuate the main forces as soon as possible, so as not to stay in the city to be bombed; Second, in this round of bombing, the casualties of the residents of the city must be quite small, and as soon as the bombing stops, the remaining troops in the city should actively take action to rescue and rescue the wounded at the same time. ”

As soon as I finished speaking, Kirillov continued: "Yes, listening to the sound of bomb explosions coming from the direction of the city, and looking at the smoke and fire above the city, I seem to hear the dying wounded in **, women and children crying and crying for help in misery. As a result of the German bombardment, the shadow of disaster and death loomed over every family in the city of Smilla. ”

While Kirillov was expressing his feelings, Vitkov had already finished writing the order to be given to the troops. He walked to the tent door, shouted outside, and then took a step back, waiting for someone outside to walk in. Coming in from outside was Pugachev, who, having come in, stood in front of Vitkov with his back straight, waiting for his order.

Vitkov handed him the written order, and at the same time said: "Major, this is an order to appoint General Pandereev as the temporary commander-in-chief of the city of Smilla, you should copy this order in several copies, send a few more messengers, and send a few more messengers to the city to convey the order." ”

"Understood," Pugachev replied simply, and then asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you have any other orders to convey?" ”

Vitkov looked at me and said, "Comrade Commander will personally explain this matter to you." ”

When I saw Pugachev standing still, I walked up to him and said to him: "Major, tell General Pandereev that after the end of the German air raids, as long as no large-scale German ground forces are found around the city, then the main forces should be evacuated outside the city as soon as possible to avoid unnecessary losses in the bombing." In addition, after the air raids, the troops in the city, the entire population of the city, should be mobilized to lead them to extinguish the fire, protect the factory and its valuable equipment from destruction, rescue valuable materials from the fire, evacuate children and the wounded from the city and find suitable places to hide. ”

"To ensure that the order is delivered, you need to send at least ten communications troops to the city. Tell every messenger of my orders. As long as one person can see Bandereev, he will be able to convey my orders. After I finished speaking, I waved my hand at Pugachev: "Time is pressing. Hurry up and carry out the order. ”

"The roof leak happened to rain overnight, and the boat was late and encountered a head wind", and there is no contact with Smilla City. Another operator in the tent handed over an urgent telegram to Vitkov. After reading it, Vitkov was immediately shocked. Seeing this expression on his face, I couldn't help but chuckle in my heart, but I still forced myself to calm down and asked, "Chief of Staff, what's the matter?" ”

"It's a telegram from Major Godunov." While handing me the telegram, Vitkov reported: "They were attacked by German troops from the area of Novoukrainka. In addition to tanks and artillery, the enemy sent planes to bombard their fortifications. The village of Zofia is already being bombed. It was razed to the ground. "His tone lowered as he said this," the major added. Comrade Katerina, deputy member of the village Soviet, died heroically in an air raid to rescue the wounded. ”

I read the telegram at a glance and saw that it was in perfect agreement with Vitkov's account. The telegram was crumpled and thrown on the ground. "Damn the Germans, I guess they've been ready to attack for a long time." The reason why they didn't do it for a long time was because Ike was still in our hands, so they didn't dare to act rashly. Now that Ike's body is replaced, he can do it with impunity. ”

"Do you need to send Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar's 4th Regiment to reinforce Major Godunov?" Vitkov asked cautiously as he glanced down at the ball of paper I threw on the ground.

I thought about it. Although he shook his head and said: "The fourth regiment is also a lightly armed regiment, and there are no heavy weapons. Let them immediately strengthen the fortifications, go to reinforce Godunov, and let them die. So so, order the troops remaining in Alexandria, and Gaidar's four regiments, to immediately abandon the city and quickly move towards the Smilla area. ”

"Comrade Commander," Vitkov's face changed dramatically at the hearing of my order, and he nervously reminded me: "In this way, Major Godunov and they will be abandoned." ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," I said to Vitkov, staring intently at him, "in the present situation, there must be troops to hold back the attacking enemy and cover the arrival of the other two regiments to join us. What follows will be a series of vicious battles, and only by pooling all our forces will we be able to form a powerful fist and strike hard at the enemy's weak points. ”

"Lida, since you intend to let Major Godunov's troops stay behind to fight the blockade, I think you should speak to Major Godunov personally," Kirillov walked up to me after hearing what I said to Vitkov, and said meaningfully, "Let them understand the current predicament facing our army and the significance of this blockade." ”

"Comrade Commissar is right," said Kirillov, and as soon as Kirillov finished speaking, Vitkov immediately agreed: "If we do not explain to Major Godunov the significance of this blockade, as soon as his men find out that the defenders of the city are retreating, it will cause panic and shake the morale of the army." ”

I thought it made sense for what both of them had said, and after nodding, I walked up behind Razumeyeva and gently patted her on the shoulder. Razumeyeva stopped calling, turned her head to see that it was me, quickly stood up, and asked in a hoarse voice that had already been shouted: "Comrade commander, what instructions do you have?" ”

"Lieutenant, good work." As soon as I had said this, I ordered her: "Call Godunov immediately and say that I have something to talk to him about." ”

"Comrade Commander," Vitkov said again, as he walked up to my side, "how long should we let Major Godunov's troops hold out in the fortifications outside the village of Zofia?" ”

"Hold on until dark," in my heart, Godunov's troops were not weak in combat, and I didn't want such a force to be wiped out by the Germans like this, so I still set a deadline for them: "As soon as it gets dark, Major Godunov can lead his troops out of battle." ”

"How many men are left with Major Godunov, and will they be able to hold out until dark?" Kirillov asked worriedly.

Kirillov's words really woke up the dreamer, and I only thought of the strong fortifications outside the village of Zofia, but I forgot that Godunov's men had limited orders. Thinking of this, I slapped myself on the forehead and said to Vitkov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, in the retreat telegram sent to Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, add one more sentence to leave a company to strengthen the positions of our troops outside the village of Zophia. ”

"Yes!" Vitkov agreed, and went to another telegraph operator to deliver the report.

After contacting Major Godunov, in order not to divulge the secrets, I did not say the name of the place and his name, but asked directly: "Hey, Major, how many people are there under your command?" ”

"Report to the Commander, I have 173 fighters and 46 women comrades under my command. In addition to the artillery company, there are still two anti-tank guns left, and 20 commanders and fighters. When Godunov heard me ask this, he immediately understood my intentions, and when he reported, he also deliberately concealed the number and location of the troops, and after reporting to me the number of troops he had, he asked: "Do you have any instructions?" ”

"That's right, Major." I did not hide the crisis we are currently experiencing, and I told him the truth: "All the troops will be moved to where we are now. In other words, you will soon be a lone army, and then you will have to resolutely resist the enemy and buy precious time for the transfer of large forces. ”

"Rest assured, commander," said Godunov, who began to express his determination to me, before I could finish explaining the significance of this blockade: "I assure you that as long as we have a position, and as long as there is still one man, we will never let the enemy pass through our lines." ”

"Very well, Comrade Major." I was very satisfied with Godunov's statement, and in order to reassure him, I went out of my way to add: "I asked Gaidar to draw a company and add it to you." All you have to do is hold out until dark today, and then you can immediately withdraw from your positions and move to where we are. When the time comes, I will send troops to meet you. ”

Before ending the call with Godunov, I removed the microphone from my mouth and asked Vitkov, who had just finished sending the telegram: "Comrade Chief of Staff, have you made it clear on the telegram that the Fourth Regiment has left a company to strengthen Major Godunov?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Vitkov replied affirmatively: "I sent a telegram on your order, and I have ordered Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar to leave a combat-ready unit and go to the village of Zofia to reinforce Major Godunov them. ”

"Do you hear that? Comrade Major. After getting the confirmatory news, I said into the microphone, "Reinforcements for your troops will arrive soon." Good luck! (To be continued......)

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