When I climbed out of the cramped tank body and breathed fresh breath again, I turned around and nodded with a smile at Roschukin, who was leaning out of the turret halfway, and said, "Thank you, Comrade Sergeant. ”

Unexpectedly, after hearing my words, Roschukin actually straightened his waist and replied loudly in accordance with the regulations: "Serve the Soviet Motherland!" ”

I hadn't heard such an answer for a long time, so I was stunned for a moment before I came back to my senses. I raised my hand and patted her on the shoulder, and whispered, "Dear Roschukina, the next battle will be very brutal, you must pay more attention to safety in the battle, understand?" ”

"Understood." Roschukin smiled and nodded, and then asked me seriously: "Comrade commander, are you allowed to return to the front?" "When he said this, he said it very loudly, probably intentionally for his comrades in the tank.

"Good luck!" After I said this, I jumped out of the tank, waved at her, and strode towards the headquarters.

The guards who followed hurriedly followed, and one of them said happily: "Comrade commander, today is really too dangerous, if there is no tank escort, maybe that armored car will kill us all." ”

"What armored car?!" When I turned my head and was about to make a joke with the soldier, I suddenly heard a loud voice in front of me, and then my arm was grabbed tightly by the other party, and then I heard him nervously ask: "Comrade commander, did you encounter the Germans again on the way back?" ”

I looked back and saw Yushchenko's nervous expression at a glance. He smiled and said, "That's right, Comrade Major, we met the Germans on the way back. But I was sitting in a tank and saw with my own eyes that the tankmen had knocked out enemy armored vehicles with a single shot, and had killed several of them with submachine guns. ”

As soon as I finished speaking, I saw Kirillov standing at the door of the command headquarters with a blushing face, and he said something in his heart, who made him angry? Thinking of this, I quickly broke free from Yushchenko's arm. Walking to the door, he asked with concern: "Comrade Military Commissar, why is your face so ugly." Is it uncomfortable? ”

Kirillov snorted, then said to me: "Come in with me!" ”

As soon as I entered the door, Bezikov, who was talking on the phone not far from the door, saw me, and he covered the microphone and whispered to me: "Comrade commander." You're back. ”

"It's back. It's back. I replied as I walked over to the table and greeted Danilov, who was looking at a map. Hello, Comrade Deputy Commander, I'm back. ”

Danilov looked up and saw that it was me, and a surprised expression suddenly appeared on his face, and he asked with some surprise: "Comrade commander, when did you come back, why didn't you make a phone call beforehand." Why don't I send troops to pick you up? Seeing my dazed look, he quickly explained. Small German units appeared nearby, and our patrol was attacked, and more than twenty commanders and fighters were wounded or killed. ”

"What, a small unit of the enemy appeared nearby?" As soon as Danilov finished speaking, I couldn't wait to ask: "What measures have not been taken?" ”

Danilov replied: "The 89th Guards Division, which has already given Colonel Seryugin, has sent a battalion to strengthen the security in the vicinity. At the same time, the number of each patrol has increased from the original ten to twenty, and even if it encounters a small German army, it can drag the enemy as much as possible and wait for reinforcements to arrive. ”

When I heard that a small group of German troops had appeared near the headquarters, my first reaction was that they were either coming to reconnoiter or preparing to attack the headquarters in a sneak attack, so I said cautiously: "Comrade Deputy Commander, it is not enough for us to defend passively, we must find a way to get rid of this group of enemies." ”

"But, Comrade Commander." Danilov had a look of embarrassment on his face: "We don't know where the enemy is, how can we destroy them?" ”

I thought about it, and felt that what Danilov said was still very reasonable, so I said to him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, if we want to deal with this small force of German troops that threaten us, unless we send out the reconnaissance battalion of the army group. ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander is right." Bezikov, who had just finished the phone call, came over and took over and said: "Captain Travkin's ability is obvious to all, and it is only fitting that he is entrusted with the task of clearing out small German troops." ”

"In that case, Comrade Colonel, you can call Captain Travkin and ask him to come here, so that Comrade Commander can personally assign tasks to him." When Danilov gave the order to Bezikov, he unconsciously raised his hand and looked at his watch, "It's eleven o'clock in the evening, let them try to clear this group of enemies before eight o'clock tomorrow morning." ”

As we spoke, Kirillov sat down at the table with a straight face. Seeing that Bezikov had returned from the phone call, he finally spoke: "Comrade commanders, I think we should sit down and have a good meeting to discuss some of the problems that need to be corrected at present. ”

Kirillov's words confused all three of us, and I don't know why he suddenly said that. After everyone sat down around the table, Bezikov was the first to ask: "Comrade Military Commissar, I don't know what problems are at present, and they must be corrected as soon as possible." ”

Kirillov pointed his hand at me and said angrily: "I propose that we should make a rule that Comrade Oshanina, as the commander of the army group, is not allowed to go to the front alone at any time. ”

After listening to this, Danilov asked in confusion: "Comrade Military Commissar, I don't know why such a provision was made?" You must know that the commanders and fighters on the front line see the commander appear in front of them, which is of great help to our morale and morale. ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander, don't you know how serious the current situation is?" Kirillov said with an uncharacteristically grim face: "Although Oshanina is the commander of the army group, don't forget that she is also a woman. Seeing a woman risking her life every day to run to the front, do you still sit in this command center? ”

When Kirillov saw his words, Danilov was speechless. So he struck while the iron was hot and said, "You don't know yet, do you?" She's on her way back tonight. Encounters with German armored vehicles again, if it weren't for the tank escorted by General Tavart Kiradze, it is estimated that she would have been more than lucky. ”

Listen to Kirillov. Danilov and Bezikov asked in unison: "Comrade commander, what the military commissar said, is it true?" ”

When I found that all the attention was on me, I could only nod my head and answer truthfully: "Yes, tonight when I returned from the defense zone of the 51st Guards Division, I encountered a German armored vehicle. But fortunately, the tankmen reacted quickly and destroyed the enemy's armored vehicles in the shortest possible time. ”

Although I said it lightly, the expressions of Danilov and Bezikov became serious. The two of them actually changed their position, unconditionally supported Kirillov's proposal, and decided not to allow me to visit the front line alone until the end of the battle.

When Travkin came to the command. I have succumbed to this "unequal" treaty drawn up by Kirillov. See Travkin coming. As if I had seen a savior, I hurriedly called him over and said in a loud voice, "Captain, you have come just in time, we have an important task for you." ”

Travkin stood straight at the table, looked at me without squinting and said: "Comrade commander, I am at your command!" ”

I didn't have been back at the command for long, and I was constantly receiving criticism from Kirillov. The matter of the small German troops, except to know that they had once sneaked up on our patrols. Except for the losses that have caused us a lot, we don't know anything about the rest. So I could only look at Danilov and say to him helplessly: "Comrade Deputy Commander, it is up to you to assign tasks to the captain." ”

"Comrade Captain, come and see." Danilov pushed the map on the table in the direction where Travkin was, and continued: "The enemy has carried out a sneak attack on our two patrols in this position in the east of the city, causing casualties among more than 20 commanders and fighters. Your task is to search this group of enemies out of their hiding places overnight, and to kill them all by eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Is there a problem? ”

Travkin did not answer immediately, but looked at the map in a daze. Danilov glanced at him dissatisfied, as if he was about to have a seizure, and I hurriedly made a gesture at him, signaling him not to speak for the time being, so as not to interrupt Travkin's train of thought.

After a while, Travkin finally spoke: "Comrade Deputy Commander, although the enemy has attacked our patrol in the east of the city, they will definitely not stay in the direction of the east of the city at this moment, waiting for us to destroy them. ”

"Comrade Captain," Bezikov asked in a polite tone, "where do you think the enemy will be?" ”

Travkin clicked on the map with his hand and said: "I guess there are two possibilities, one is to choose a forest to hide, so that it is not easy to be discovered; The second is to find a village to hide, so that it is not easy for us to detect. ”

After waiting for Travkin to finish speaking, Bezikov asked with interest: "Comrade Captain, in your judgment, where will the enemy hide?" ”

Travkin replied without hesitation: "If I were in command of this small army, I would definitely choose to settle in the village." ”

"Aren't you worried about being discovered by the villagers and reporting to your superiors?" When Danilov heard this, he couldn't help but interject and ask.

Travkin shook his head and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, the Germans are not so stupid, it is possible that they will change into the uniform of our army, so that staying in the village will not arouse the suspicion of the villagers." On the contrary, they can also use their fake identities to extract a lot of useful information from the villagers. ”

I heard Travkin's analysis reasonable, and I believed that he had some confidence in finding out the hiding place of the German troops, so I took the opportunity to ask: "Captain Travkin, do you have any clue?" ”

Hearing my question, Travkin nodded vigorously, pointed to a small village northwest of the city, and said, "According to my judgment, there is a high probability that the Germans are hiding here. ”

"Why?" I was not the only one who was curious about his judgment, but even Kirillov, who was not usually a talkative person, asked in a skeptical tone: "Captain Travkin, why do you think the Germans are hiding here?" ”

"It's simple, Comrade Military Commissar." Travkin glanced at Kirillov, pointed to the map, and analyzed: "The purpose of the small German forces infiltrating us is not to reconnoiter intelligence, sneak attack the headquarters, or disrupt the lines of communication. You see, this village is only about three kilometers from the location of our headquarters, and it is located next to the Belgorod-Kursk road, which makes the terrain very favorable. ”

Some things seem mysterious, but when explained, they seem very simple. After listening to Travkin's analysis, we basically believe that the hiding place of the German army is in the village that Travkin refers to.

When he finished speaking, I then asked, "Comrade Captain, how many people are you going to take with you on this mission?" ”

My words made Travkin think, and he said to himself: "If there are fewer people, it may not be possible to solve this enemy; There are too many people, and they are afraid of exposing the target. ”

"Comrade Colonel, I'll give you an idea." Bezikov saw that Travkin had been pondering and meditating, so he took the initiative to make a suggestion to him: "Since you have set your target in this direction, then simply concentrate all your forces and encircle and suppress this place." In order to avoid being detected by the enemy, the reconnaissance battalion could be divided into several parts and approach the village at once from several directions, so that the Germans could not be caught off guard. ”

For a sneak attack on a village where German troops might be hidden, Kirillov considered it from a different angle than we did. We were thinking about how to wipe out the Germans cleanly, and he was thinking about the safety of the villagers. To this end, he specifically told Travkin: "Comrade Captain, when you are on duty, you should tell all the commanders and fighters participating in the operation not to injure our own people by mistake. Do you understand? ”

After listening to Kirillov's instructions, Travkin hesitated, and then replied: "Understood, Comrade Military Commissar." When I heard him say this, I knew in my heart what a fierce ideological struggle he had to carry out in his heart, and if he wanted to destroy the German detachment without accidentally injuring the villagers, it would inevitably make the commanders and fighters of the reconnaissance battalion pay even greater sacrifices.

I waved at him and said, "Comrade Captain, since the order is clear, let's carry it out." Remember, bring a few walkie-talkies with you to make it easier for troops to communicate with each other. If there is any update, please report to me in time. Go ahead and have good luck with you and your warriors! (To be continued.) )

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