The sudden light not only startled me and Political Commissar Xia Ping. Even Persjian, who was walking towards us, was startled by the black oppression of the commanders and fighters who suddenly appeared in front of us.

Persjian walked up to me, absentmindedly raised his hand and saluted, looked at the commanders and fighters behind me, and asked curiously: "Comrade division commander, what is going on, who are they?" ”

I did not answer Persjian's question, but pulled Xia Ping, and according to the Russian custom, first introduced the low-ranking people to the high-level: "Comrade Political Commissar, let me introduce you to you, this is the commander of the tank battalion, Captain Persjian. ”

"Tank battalion?!" As soon as my words came out, Xia Ping and Persjian both asked in unison: "Isn't it a tank detachment, when will it be promoted to a tank battalion?" ”

I coughed, cleared my throat, and explained to Xia Ping: "Comrade political commissar at the regimental level, it's like this. Originally, I thought that there were only ten tanks in the division, so I only ordered the formation of one detachment for them, but now that you are coming with so many tank soldiers, the formation of the detachment is obviously not suitable, so I temporarily decided to be promoted to a tank battalion. You have no opinion, right? ”

Xia Ping shook his head and replied to me very dryly: "Comrade division commander, I obey your arrangement. ”

Seeing that Xia Ping had no opinion, I introduced the newly appointed political commissar of the Fourth Regiment to Pelsjian: "Captain Pelsjian, come and get to know him, this is Comrade Xia Ping, the new political commissar of the Fourth Regiment." After that, your tank battalion will be directly under his command. ”

Pei Ljian hurriedly raised his hand to salute Xia Ping, and said respectfully: "Hello, comrade political commissar at the regimental level. Welcome to your arrival. I and my men are at your disposal. ”

After the two of them finished greeting. I pointed to the group of tankmen behind me and triumphantly announced to Persjian: "Comrade Captain, I have good news for you. See these tankmen behind me? They were all brought by Political Commissar Xia Ping and supplemented to your battalion. ”

When Persjian heard the news, he was overjoyed, he grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously, and said in an excited tone: "Comrade division commander, thank you for adding so many commanders and fighters to us at once. I assure you. As long as you give an order, I promise to lead the tank battalion to fight the invading enemy. ”

When he let go of my hand, I turned my head and shouted behind me, "Comrade Wajim, please come here." When Wajim came to my side, I said to Persjian, who was smiling with a smile on his face: "Captain Persjian, let me introduce you to this comrade political instructor again." His name is Wajim, and from today onwards, he will go to your battalion as the deputy commander of the political zhì. ”

My words made Pelce stunned for a moment. But he quickly regained his composure and reached out to Vajim. He said amicably: "Hello, Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander, welcome to work in the tank battalion. ”

"Hello, Comrade Battalion Commander. I hope that we can be good partners in our future work. Although Vajim's words were polite, I could hear a sense of alienation in them.

After Xia Ping and the two greeted each other, he politely asked Persjian: "Comrade Captain, I don't know what models of the ten tanks captured tonight are?" ”

After hearing the question of political commissar Xia Ping, he replied very freely: "Report to Comrade Political Commissar that among the captured tanks, there are four No. 3 tanks and six No. 4 tanks. ”

Hearing the two of them talk about their profession, I suddenly lost any interest, I called Morozov to my side and whispered to him: "Captain Morozov, I will now give you a task." Immediately run and call the commander of the fourth regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, to me, and say that I have something important to say to him. ”

After Morozov left, I walked over to Xia Ping and Persian, who were chatting passionately, intending to continue listening to my heavenly book. Unexpectedly, I heard Xia Ping say very professionally: "...... That's right, Comrade Captain. The Germans originally designed the No. 3 tank to work with the No. 4 tank. No. 3 was armed with a high-speed tank gun, which was mainly used to combat enemy tanks, while No. 4 was armed with a larger-caliber howitzer for anti-infantry operations. This was also a trendy idea for the development of tanks in various countries in the early 30s. ”

When Xia Ping said that there was a pause, Pelsjian interjected in time: "The crew of these two tanks is five: the driver, the communicator, the gunner, the loader, and the commander. We only have eighteen of them, which means that we can barely get four of them into battle before we get new reinforcements. But now with the experienced tankmen you personally brought with you, Comrade Commissar, then we can put all ten tanks into battle. ”

"What model are these No. 3 tanks in?" When Xia Ping asked Pelsjian this, I was standing next to me and suddenly had black lines on my head, I thought that the tank was divided into No. 3 and No. 4, but I didn't expect that the No. 3 tank was actually divided into several models.

Persjian was obviously well aware of these aspects, and he opened his mouth to Xia Ping's question: "The captured No. 3 tanks are all the latest N-type tanks. The turret is armed with a 50 mm low-velocity gun, which has a low muzzle velocity and fires high-explosive ordnance, which is suitable for planned anti-infantry and close support missions, while the vehicle carries 64 rounds of 75 mm shells and 3,450 rounds of machine gun ammunition. As for the secondary machine guns, as in the previous model, two 7.92 mm machine guns were used, as well as one machine gun in the body. ”

Hearing the two men talk more and more professionally, I became a little uneasy, and my eyes could not help but look around, hoping that Gaidar would come over soon, and that after I had introduced him to the new regimental commissar, I could return to my division headquarters.

Just when I was anxious, Xia Ping's voice drifted into my ears again: "...... After the Germans invaded our territory, they found that the 50-mm guns of their No. 3 tanks E and F could not effectively deal with our T-34 and KV-1 heavy tanks, and even if they were equipped with more armor-piercing 60-mm guns, they could only deal with our tanks at close range. For technical reasons. The chassis of the No. 3 tank no longer allowed for a larger gun. So the German military remembered tank No. 4. The No. 4 F2 tank was replaced with a 75 mm gun, so that they finally had a tank that could compete with our T-34. However, in this way, the combat use of their No. 4 tank has also completely changed. ”

Hearing these professional contents continue to pour into my ears, and then seeing the two people who are talking more and more speculatively, I almost have a kind of idea of running away. Just as I was hesitating to find an excuse to slip away, I suddenly heard a rush of footsteps in the distance. Then a dozen commanders and fighters walked out of the darkness to the area illuminated by the tank lights.

The two people who came to the front, one was Morozov, whom I sent out. And the other one is Gaidar, which I have been waiting for. Seeing the appearance of the two, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief, secretly drew a cross on my chest, turned my head and called Xia Ping, and walked towards Gaidar.

"Hello, Comrade Division Commander." Gaidar saluted me, and then asked impatiently: "Do you have any instructions for coming to me so late?" ”

It just so happened that Xia Ping walked to my side at this moment, and I hurriedly pulled his arm, pointed at Gaidar and introduced him: "Comrade political commissar at the regimental level. Let me introduce you to Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, the commander of the 4th Regiment. Then I said to Gaidar. Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar. Come and get acquainted, this is Comrade Xia Ping, a regiment-level political commissar newly sent to our division by his superiors. After my consultation with the commander, it was decided that he would be the political commissar of your regiment. ”

After hearing this, Gaidar first sighed, then leaned close to my ear and whispered: "Comrade division commander, is it appropriate to let this regimental political commissar come to my regiment as a political commissar?" ”

"What's wrong?" I was confused by his words, so I asked in confusion.

"But he's a regimental-level political commissar!" Gaidar made a point of emphasizing the identity of the other party to me before adding: "His rank should be that of a division or brigade, not a small regimental commissar." ”

Listening to Gaidar's concerns, I said lightly: "Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, to work in the Independent Division, it was not only at the request of Political Commissar Xia Ping, but also with the permission of Comrade Commander. The political commissar himself said that as long as he could stay in Stalingrad and not withdraw to the east bank of the Volga River, let alone the regimental political commissar, he would be willing to serve as the deputy commander of the tank battalion. ”

Seeing that my words were all said to this point, Gaidar knew that it was useless to say anything, so he had to reluctantly accept this reality, and he said to Xia Ping with a bitter face: "Comrade Political Commissar, hello! On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the Fourth Regiment, I welcome you to work in the Fourth Regiment. ”

I saw that everything that needed to be done was done, and I was afraid that I would hear the esoteric professional theories that Persjian and Xia Ping talked about again. I was just about to leave, but Gaidar stopped me, and he said to me with concern: "Comrade division commander, it is too dangerous on the high ground, you better transfer the command headquarters to the settlement." ”

"The highlands are dangerous, are the settlements safe?"

"Commander, look over there!" Gaidar pointed in the direction of the cemetery, and at the same time lowered his voice and said to me: "There are anti-aircraft fortifications under that cemetery, and there is no problem accommodating a few thousand people. Recently, in addition to our commanders and fighters, there are also many residents who have fled to the ferry and are waiting to cross the river. ”

I shuddered when I heard that he wanted me to stay in the anti-aircraft fortifications below the cemetery. After looking at the gloomy position, my heart said that I would stay there, and that I would rather stay on the high ground and suffer from German shells. Thinking of this, I did not hesitate to refuse Gaidar's kindness and hurried back to the heights with Morozov.

Returning to the command headquarters, Kirillov, who saw me reappearing, immediately came over and asked with concern: "Comrade Oshanina, how is the situation, looking for Comrade Commander to get to the tank corps?" ”

I nodded vigorously and replied: "The commander not only replenished the 100 tankmen of the 42nd Independent Tank Brigade to our division, but also sent Comrade Xia Ping, the political commissar of the brigade, to our division to assist in the work. ”

Hearing me say this, both Kirillov and Akhromeyev's eyes instinctively looked out of the cave, but there was no one outside the door except for the sentries walking back and forth.

Seeing that there was no one outside the cave, Kirillov asked strangely: "Comrade division commander, where is the political commissar Xia Ping, why haven't I seen anyone outside the cave?" ”

I waved at him, sat down, and said, "Comrade Commissar." You don't have to look for it. Political commissar Xia Ping, he does not work in our division command. ”

"And where did he go?"

"I made him the commissar of the Fourth Regiment. Partnered with Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar. ”

After listening to my words, Kirillov couldn't help frowning, and asked strangely: "I know Comrade Xia Ping, isn't he a regimental-level political commissar, even if he can't hold the post of deputy political commissar in the division, he can't go to the regiment to be a political commissar?" ”

I don't want to dwell on Kirillov on this issue anymore, but just say vaguely: "This was with the permission of Commander Chuikov and Comrade Gurov, Military Commissar." ”

As soon as I said this, Kirillov stopped talking. I then said, "Political Commissar Xia Ping also brought a political instructor. I have already appointed him as the deputy commander of the tank battalion. In order to prevent Kirillov from asking what was going on with the tank battalion again, I quickened my speech and preemptively said it, "Since the number of tank troops replenished this time is quite large, I will directly promote the tank detachment to a tank battalion without consulting with you." ”

When Kirillov heard this, he just nodded and did not speak. And Akhromeyev, who had been silent, suddenly opened his mouth at this time and reported: "Comrade division commander, just now the chief of staff of the group army, General Krylov, called and informed us again. When you say that you have something to do with the command of the army group, you either use a wired telephone. Or use the radio to send the report. ”

When I heard that I could make a direct phone call to the group army headquarters here, I couldn't help but secretly feel that the efficiency of the group army's communications office was quite high.

Kirillov looked at his watch and said to me: "Comrade Oshanina, you are tired all night, and you should also rest well. It's still an hour before dawn, and the Germans won't attack again before dawn, so you should take time to rest. ”

I nodded gratefully at Kirillov's concern, turned my head and saw that Razumeyeva was still in the room, sitting with the newspaper operator Nadya, and beckoned her to come to her.

After she came over, I asked straight to the point: "Now the first, second, and third regiments are equipped with walkie-talkies in addition to wired telephones?" ”

After listening to my words, Razumeyeva asked in confusion: "Comrade division commander, aren't they all equipped with wired telephones, why do you want to equip them with walkie-talkies?" ”

I reached out and tapped my finger on her forehead a few times, and lectured her with a smile: "Have you forgotten how the telephone line between us and the 107.5 heights tonight was blown up by German artillery fire several times?" ”

Only then did Razumeyeva come to her senses and hurriedly agreed: "Understood, comrade division commander, I will arrange manpower to send the extra walkie-talkies in the communication room to the 1st and 3rd regiments." ”

When she turned around and was about to leave, I suddenly remembered that after going out to check the line, I had no news of Vanya, so I stopped her and asked with concern: "Comrade Lieutenant, Vanya, is there any news from Vanya?" "Even though I knew that in that situation, there was little hope of Wonia surviving, I couldn't help but wonder for the answer.

She nodded and replied in a whisper, "Found it?" ”

Seeing that when she answered my question, there was no expression of joy on her face, my heart sank, and I secretly said that Vania was really sacrificed, and hurriedly asked tentatively: "She sacrificed?" ”

As soon as my words came out, she shook her head, and then said to me with some embarrassment: "Comrade division commander, although Sonya did not die, when our soldiers found her, she was already seriously wounded and had her leg blown off. Even if she was discharged from the hospital, she had to rely on crutches to walk. ”

Knowing the exact news of Voya, I sighed helplessly, then waved my hand at Razumeeva and commanded: "It's not too early, Comrade Lieutenant, you go on a mission." ”

Although it was a whim for me to distribute walkie-talkies to the command posts of the three regiments, it soon proved to be a wise decision.

Not long after I slept, I was awakened by the earth-shattering sound of an explosion. I sat down abruptly and saw that neither Kirillov nor Akhromeyev were at the table, but standing at the entrance of the cave looking out at something.

I walked briskly, and when I was still a few steps away from the two of them, I asked them in a loud voice: "Commissar, chief of staff, what happened, where was the shelling?" "Unexpectedly, after exiting, I realized that my voice had been muffled by the sound of a huge explosion. Kirillov and Akhromeyev, who were standing just a few paces ahead of me, did not hear me at all, so much so that they did not even turn around.

I walked up behind them and reached out and patted them on the shoulder. I tapped them on the shoulder from behind, and it was only then that I found out about my arrival. Before I could speak, Akhromeyev knew what I wanted to ask, and hurriedly told me that our position was under enemy air attack.

Air raid! I quickly pushed the two of them away, ran out of the cave quickly, and looked up at the sky. Groups of enemy planes were flying around in the air, not diving down from a high altitude to drop bombs and strafe. In the past, the enemy only bombed and strafed the high ground where the first regiment was stationed, but today, the enemy has not spared even the high ground where we are located.

I was about to count how many enemy planes there were in the sky, when Kirillov and Akhromeyev, who had reacted, rushed out of the hole, grabbed me by the arm from left to right, and pulled me into the hole. Before we could run into the hole, a bomb fell from the sky and exploded about ten meters behind us, and the large and small clods of dirt that were blown up smashed on my back, causing me to gasp in pain.

"Hell! How could enemy planes strike our heights? Walking into the headquarters in the cave, the explosion outside became much quieter, so I asked the two of them loudly at the top of my voice, "How is the position of the 1st and 3rd regiments?" ”

Akhromeyev shook his head and replied: "Comrade division commander, the enemy's air raid has just begun, and we have not yet had time to contact the other two regiments. ”

"Get in touch now!" I yelled at Akhromeyev for the first time.

When Akhromeyev picked up the phone, he shouted loudly: "Hey, hey, three regiments, three regiments, I am the division command, can you hear me?" Hear it, please answer! Hey, hey, three regiments ......"

I walked quickly to Nadya's side and commanded her in a loud voice: "Nadya, immediately contact the group and ask Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov how they are doing there?" ”

When I heard that Akhromeyev and Nadya were calling their respective targets, I was distraught and walked around the headquarters with my hands behind my back, and was about to go outside the cave to check the situation, but I was stopped by Kirillov. He didn't speak, and he couldn't speak in the midst of all the noise, he just shook his head at me, then grabbed my arm and dragged me back into command.

When Kirillov and I re-entered the command headquarters, I saw a happy expression on the face of Akhromeyev, who was on the phone, and at the same time shouted loudly: "Yes, yes, I am the division command, are you the third regiment?" (To be continued......)