After about ten minutes, I received another call from Colonel Chistyakov, who told me that Maltenovo had been recaptured, that the defense had been handed over to the 354th Infantry Division, and that the troops were now being assembled for return to Cumbre del Sol.

As soon as I put down the phone, Captain Yushchenko, who was responsible for protecting me on my way to the headquarters of the Front, came into the command headquarters to inform me that the driver, Grissa, had driven the car to the door and was ready to leave at any time. I once again explained to Leviagin and Egorov about the defense of the troops, and only then did I leave the command with Yushchenko with peace of mind.

The jeep stopped at the entrance of the headquarters, and in front of the car stood two soldiers in military overcoats, who immediately raised their hands and saluted me when they saw me approaching. I raised my hand in return, walked straight to the front of the car, opened the front door, and before stepping into the car, turned my head and said to Yushchenko, who was following behind: "Comrade Captain, you and your men sit in the back." With that, I got into the car, sat in the passenger seat, and said hello to Grissa, who had been staying in the car.

After seeing Yushchenko and the two fighters sitting in the back row, I asked Grissa in an uncertain tone: "Do you know how to go to the front headquarters?" ”

"Zhilu Dao, comrade division commander! I know where the headquarters of the Ludao Front Army is. ”

"Alright, let's go!"

As soon as I finished speaking, Grissa stepped on the accelerator and the jeep sped forward.

The car drove along a makeshift path in the forest, and from time to time I looked at the sky through the window, praying in my heart that I would not encounter German planes on the road.

The car drove forward for five or six minutes, and in the distance I saw a small force approaching the road. When I saw this troop that suddenly appeared, my heart beat faster, and I quickly asked Grissa to park the car on the side of the road. Seeing that the car suddenly stopped, Yushchenko, who was sitting in the back seat, immediately pushed the car door and jumped out, lying on the spot and pointing the gun forward.

As the troops got closer and closer, the faces of the people were clearly recognizable, and I saw clearly that the other party was wearing the uniform of our army, so I pushed the car door and rushed to Yushchenko, who was lying on the snow, and said: "Comrade Captain, this is our own unit, you go over and ask, which part are they?" ”

"Yes," Yushchenko agreed, got up from the ground, slung his submachine gun over his shoulder, and strode towards the other man.

When the opposite team saw Yushchenko running towards them, they all stopped in unison, and an officer stepped out of the group and greeted him. After the two got together, they saluted each other and started talking.

The two of us chatted for a short while, and then they walked over to me together. In this case, I naturally couldn't stay in the car anymore, so I quickly jumped out of the car, straightened my clothes, and stood there waiting for them to come.

The officer walked up to me and saluted, and reported loudly: "Comrade division commander, Captain Lomov, commander of the 3rd Battalion of the 1077th Regiment of the 8th Guards Division, reports to you that the troops have completed the task of capturing the settlements and are currently on their way back to the city of Cumbre del Sol. I'm at your disposal! ”

Instead of returning the salute, I raised my hand and patted the captain on the shoulder, who was a head taller than me, and asked with concern: "What are the casualties of the troops in the battle for the assault on the settlement?" ”

"Report to Comrade Division Commander," Lomov replied loudly, "in the battle for the capture of the settlements, only three fighters of our battalion were killed, a dozen fighters were wounded, more than eighty of the enemy were eliminated and captured. ”

"Well done!" After I praised him, I immediately commanded him: "Go ahead and lead your troops on the road, and get back to the city as soon as possible, for there may be a fierce battle soon, and you must be mentally prepared." ”

"Yes!" Lomov agreed, and then asked tentatively: "Can I leave?" ”

"Go ahead!"

He saluted me again and then turned and ran away to gather his troops in front. I also turned back to Yushchenko and said: "Comrade Captain, get in the car, it's not too early, we have to get to the headquarters as soon as possible." ”

The car drove forward for another ten minutes or so, and the sound of fierce gunfire and grenade explosions came from the woods on the left. I was amazed, how could there be gunshots here? Hurriedly asked Grissa to stop again, turned his head and asked Yushchenko: "Comrade Captain, what is this place?" What's going on with this gunshot? ”

Before Yushchenko could speak, Grissa, the driver next to him, had already answered me first: "Comrade division commander, this is Khimki, also known as Chemical City." There is a settlement near here, and it is possible that our troops have exchanged fire with the infiltrated enemy. ”

"Get out of the car and take a look."

A group of five of us entered the forest, stumbled forward for a few minutes, and came to the edge of the forest. The view suddenly opens up, and there is a residential area in front of the left, most of which are two-story buildings, because they have not received the baptism of war, and the overall preservation is relatively complete. From a distance, I saw two or three armored vehicles parked in front of the buildings on the edge of the settlement, and the clear crosses on the cars made me understand that they were German armored vehicles.

In the forest on the right, a group of fighters with weapons rushed out, judging by their clothing, it should be a militia unit, and they were shouting and rushing towards the settlement.

The machine guns on the German armored vehicles were firing desperately, and the windows of the residential buildings were also tilting towards the charging party to die. More than 50 meters away from the settlement, the charging soldiers fell to the ground as if they had hit a transparent wall.