I was walking back and forth outside the headquarters when I heard my name called. When I turned my head, I saw an ensign wearing a steel helmet and carrying a submachine gun standing in front of me.

Seeing me turn around, he said with a smile on his face, "Hello! Major Oshanina. I didn't expect to see you here. "Between the words, the tone is very respectful.

I stared at the second lieutenant in front of me for a few moments, and immediately remembered that on the day I reported to the headquarters of the 2nd Shock Army, he was the one he took me to meet Vlasov, but I didn't know what his name was. I smiled and said, "It turned out to be you, Comrade Ensign, we met again." ”

"You're here to see Comrade Commander, aren't you?" The second lieutenant asked.

I nodded and replied affirmatively, "Yes, ensign." I was about to go to see the commander, but the soldier at the door stopped me, saying that the commander wanted to see an important guest, and that he would not see anyone for the time being. ”

The second lieutenant was a little surprised and said, "The commander has an important guest, why don't I know about it?" ”

I nodded at the car parked at the door and said, "That's the visitor's car, he's talking to the commander inside." ”

The second lieutenant said, "I really don't know about this, I just went to patrol the village, and I will now ask the sentry at the door." With that, he ran to the two sentinels and whispered to each other.

After a while, he returned to my side and said with some embarrassment: "I heard from the sentry that Comrade Commander is negotiating inside with the representatives sent by the Germans. Speaking of this, he looked left and right, lowered his voice and said, "Comrade Major, this is not the place to talk, let's talk about it in another place." ”

I nodded in agreement, and followed him to a vacant house nearby.

As soon as I entered the room, he beckoned me to sit down at the table in the middle of the room, and then took a wooden basin in the corner and walked out. After not doing much, he came in with half a basin of steaming water, carefully placed it on the table, handed me a towel he had placed on his shoulder, and said, "Comrade Major, wash your face." ”

A broken mirror hung on the wall not far away, and from a distance, I could still see that my face was blackened by the smoke and fire, and the left cheek was still a little bruised. That damn Rai was so ruthless that he almost ruined my appearance.

As soon as the wet towel was covered on my face, I suddenly felt a hot pain, and I couldn't help but take a breath of cold air. The second lieutenant next to him hurriedly asked with concern: "Comrade Major, where did the wound on your face come from?" ”

"I was wounded in a fight with the enemy," I replied without removing the towel from my face.

"You're amazing, you're actually engaged in a white-knuckle battle with an enemy." Listening to his tone, he seemed to admire me so much. Perhaps in his mind, fighting the enemy is another way of saying white-knuckle warfare.

The pain on my face subsided slightly, and I took the time to wipe my entire face and threw the towel back into the tub. I looked at the second lieutenant standing in front of me and asked in a friendly manner, "Comrade Second Lieutenant, I don't know what to call you, I can't always call you Comrade Second Lieutenant." ”

The second lieutenant was a little shy, blushed a little, and then replied: "You can call me Gusip, Comrade Major." ”

"Gusip, you call me Leda, that's what General Vlasov usually calls me."

"Understood, Comrade Major, I'll call you Leda from now on."

"By the way, Gusip, do you know what Commander Vlasov met with the Germans and talked about?" I always had in my mind the German officer who walked into the headquarters.

Gucip put the tub on the table on the floor and sat down across from me. He took a box of cigarettes out of his pocket and handed it over, saying, "Smoke a cigarette, Leda." ”

I waved my hand and said, "I won't." ”

He lit a cigarette, took a hard puff, and said: "A few days ago, after the breakthrough passage that was finally opened was re-closed by the Germans, the army group command issued an order to disperse and break out of the encirclement to the troops who were still trapped in the encirclement. The leadership of the command was also divided into three groups, each with a fire company consisting entirely of submachine gunners for cover. The first group was led by the deputy commander, General Alfiliev, and the head of the reconnaissance department, Colonel Rogov; The second group was led by General Afanasyev, military commissar and chief of communications of the army group, and Colonel Vinogoradov, chief of staff; The third group was commanded by the commander, General Vlasov, and the chief of operations, Colonel Brenin. According to the original plan, our group will rush to the station of the 46th Infantry Division within the specified time and break through with the troops of this division. On the way, it was discovered that none of the staff of the headquarters knew where the command of the 46th Infantry Division was. I had to grope my way forward. As we approached the Polisti River, we were heavily bombarded by enemy artillery and mortars. Some fell, others wanted to get out of enemy fire, so they scattered and fled. ”

"And then you retreated to this village?" I asked tentatively.

"Yes, after we retreated to the village, many small troops that had been scattered also retreated. Now there are about 400 people in the village. If we had regrouped so many people, we would have been able to get back to the Polisti River and jump out of the German encirclement without any problems. But ......" said this, Gucip stopped.

"But what? Gusipp, you go on! He stopped in the middle of the sentence, and I was confused, so I urged him to continue.

He hesitated for a moment before adding: "When Colonel Brenin called a meeting of the village commanders, Vlasov did not participate at all, and he was indifferent to our next move. Although the village was surrounded by simple fortifications and guard posts, I did not think that we would be able to hold off the Germans. ”

"The fortifications are rudimentary," I grumbled, thinking of the so-called fortifications I had seen when I entered the village, "not to mention the German artillery fire, or the stray bullets of the infantry attacking, which were enough to wipe out all the soldiers in our fortifications." ”

"Leda, you don't know. All the troops in the village were exhausted from the constant fighting and lack of food, and some of the soldiers even fainted from hunger while on duty. According to yesterday's reconnaissance, the Germans had already occupied three directions, east, west and south, completely cutting off our access to break through. ”

"What about the north? It's not that there are no Germans over there, so why don't you break through from there? ”

"Colonel Brarenin has sent men to reconnoitre, but to the north is an impassable swamp that cannot be passed. Even if we force our way through, we will pay a heavy price. And what the situation is like on the other side of the swamp, no one knows. Perhaps we have just jumped out of this encirclement of the Germans and found ourselves in another. ”

"That German just now, do you know his intentions?"

Gucip thought for a moment and replied: "I asked the sentry just now, and he said that this morning, General Vlasov sent an officer to the positions of the German troops. Then, when he came back just now, he brought back a German officer. At this, he stood up, pointed to a door next to him, and said, "Lida, there is a bed in that room, you can rest first." I guess the conversation between the commander and the Germans will not end in a while, so you should wait until tomorrow to see him. ”

Hearing Second Lieutenant Gucip say this, I knew that there was no possibility of meeting Vlasov today, so I agreed to his arrangement. Before he was about to leave the room, I asked again: "Gusip, what is the name of this village?" ”

"What does it seem like Pia? By the way, it's called the village of Pyatnitsa. ”