When he heard the names of Grams and Beckman, Bandeleyev's brows suddenly furrowed, and he decisively interrupted me and asked vigilantly: "Comrade division commander, I don't understand why the names of the two commanders you mentioned are not at all Russian names, but like German names?" And why separate their men from our troops, aren't they in the same camp as us? ”

"Comrade Bandeev," Kirillov promptly explained to his question: "Grammers and Beckman are two German officers who have surrendered to our army. They were joined by nearly a hundred of their subordinates. If they are sent behind enemy lines to carry out reconnaissance and sabotage, the effect will definitely be stronger than that of a detachment composed solely of commanders and fighters of our army. After all, they speak authentic German, and with real documents and a full set of German equipment, the enemy cannot distinguish the real from the fake. The reason why Comrade Comrade Division Commander proposed to transfer manpower from different units to form a joint detachment was also to achieve the goal of better controlling this unit. ”

Kirillov's explanation made Bandeleyev nod his head in understanding, but it did not dispel his knot, he turned his head to look at me, and reminded me worriedly: "Comrade division commander, if you want to use defectors to carry out such an important task, should you report to your superiors?" Otherwise, if something goes wrong, you can get into big trouble. ”

Hearing the concern in Bandeleyev's words, I smiled back and explained the matter to him to ease his inner turmoil: "Colonel Bandeleyev, you don't have to worry about this. This German unit in a separate division. Not only the command of the army group knows. Even the command of the Front Army knows a thing or two. Captain Grams started by joining us. He has made a lot of contributions, not only helping us to seize the 107.5 heights lost by friendly forces, but also carrying out many attacks behind enemy lines. Moreover, Grams himself helped us train a lot of excellent snipers some time ago, and these snipers are hunting down lone German soldiers in various parts of the city at the moment. Based on their past performances, I believe that they will achieve greater results in their next operations. ”

My words calmed down Bantai Leyev, who changed the subject and said sincerely to Kirillov: "Comrade commissar. I've just arrived at the independent division, and I'm not familiar with it yet, so if I do something wrong, please criticize and advise me a lot. ”

Kirillov smiled and said: "Old man, look at what you said, you can't talk about advice, but if you want to know the specific situation of the independent division, you can ask me at any time." ”

Next, Bandeleyev pulled out a roster from his briefcase, on which in addition to the name and age of each commander, military rank. In the back, there is also a detailed record of when they joined the army and what battles they participated in. What are the specialties and other contents?

From this well-informative roster, I can tell that Bandeleyev is a serious and serious commander, and although I don't know how well he can command operations, I still feel that it is the right decision to keep him in the division.

Kirillov and Akhromeyev, plus Bandereev, looked at the roster and studied how to arrange the incoming group of commanders. I listened attentively, and they planned to send the commander and political commissar of the second regiment of the newly organized division to the third regiment as deputy commander and chief of staff; The commander and political commissar of the newly formed Third Regiment were sent to the Fourth Regiment to serve as deputy regimental commander and chief of staff. After the regimental cadres were arranged, the battalion-level cadres were arranged. I got a little bored listening to the unfamiliar names one after another, so I got up and stood up, and walked up and down the room for a while.

The three of them studied for more than half an hour, and finally distributed more than 200 commanders and fighters. Seeing that their work was over, I walked back to the table and asked Kirillov: "Comrade commissar, is there any news from there?" ”

Kirillov understood that I was talking about Captain Karpov, but shook his head and said regretfully: "I have conveyed your intention to the messenger. But from this morning, the Germans launched an attack on the 107.5 heights, which did not stop until the evening, and we were unable to send personnel to contact them. ”

Bantai Laiev, who heard our conversation, looked curious, as if he wanted to ask what was going on, but was interrupted by Kirillov raising his hand, and he said solemnly: "Comrade Bantai Laiev, although you are now the deputy commander of the independent division, because the plan we are implementing is specially authorized by the superiors to control the scope of those who know, so we can't tell you anything for the time being, please forgive me!" ”

Bandeleyev seemed to have long been accustomed to all this kind of secrecy, so when he heard Kirillov say this, he just nodded and didn't say anything.

In the early hours of the morning, the commanders of the newly organized division came to the headquarters one after another to report. Because there were too many people to stay in the headquarters, Bandeleyev and Akhromeyev went outside the cave to directly assign the whereabouts of the commanders. Kirillov, on the other hand, stayed in the cave and called the commanders of the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th regiments, respectively, and asked them to come over in person and take away the commanders assigned to them. And the more than forty commanders sent to the regiment ordered Basmanov to send them over.

It was busy until dawn, and everything was over. As soon as I breathed a sigh of relief and wanted everyone to take a break for a while, Razumeyeva, who was sitting in front of the walkie-talkie, called me and said that Gaidar, the commander of the fourth regiment, wanted to talk to me.

After I put on the headphones, I smiled and said to the microphone: "Hey, Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, I just assigned fifty or sixty commanders to you, you can't ask the division headquarters for anything, right?" ”

Unexpectedly, Gaidar's panicked voice came from the headphones: "Comrade division commander, it's not good, the enemy is shelling our positions." ”

"What's so great about the shelling," I said disapprerovantly, "the Germans want to occupy Mamayev Heights, and they first want to seize the high ground where your regiment is located, so they will not only shell the high grounds, but also send planes to bomb them from time to time, what is there to make a fuss about." ”

"Comrade division commander, something is wrong today." Gaidar said nervously: "The enemy only carried out sporadic artillery shelling of our heights, and no more than ten shells fell from the positions per minute. It was reported by the Observatory. The enemy's troops advanced by truck to a point about three kilometers from the positions of our regiment. And he stopped going. ”

"Keep watching." Hearing him say this, I also became vigilant, but in a hurry, I could not guess that the enemy would hide it, so I could only tell him: "If there is any new situation, report to me in time." ”

When I was talking to Gaidar, they all heard Kirillov in the house, and all three of them, who had stayed up all night, were a little drowsy, and saw me return to their places with a stern face. I guessed that nine times out of ten it was something that happened in front of me, and I suddenly came to my senses.

Kirillov first asked curiously: "Comrade Oshanina, what did the four regiments report?" ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar said that the enemy was shelling their positions."

Hearing me say this, Akhromeyev also said disappreciatively, as I just did: "What's the big deal about the shelling, when the German offensive was fierce some time ago, it wasn't shelling and bombing together. Just for this matter, Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar is also worth making a fuss about calling and reporting to you. ”

"It's not that simple." I waved my hand at Akhromeyev and then expressed my guess: "The enemy carried out only sporadic artillery shelling of the positions of the 4th regiment. And their attacking forces stopped three kilometers from the heights. I'm worried about some conspiracy they have. ”

Kirillov listened and did not speak. Instead, he straightened up, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed the second regiment: "Hey, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg?" I am Commissar Kirillov. The enemy is shelling the positions of the 4th Regiment, and you tell the observation post to keep an eye on the enemy's movements, and if you find anything, report it to me in time. ”

After putting down the phone, Kirillov said to us with a blank face: "The Germans have suffered a lot in front of our high ground, and they have gradually become cunning, and the day before yesterday, when we were not convenient, they suddenly launched a fierce artillery bombardment of the positions of the four regiments, and the commanders and fighters who guided the construction of the fortifications suffered heavy casualties. I agree with the division commander that the reason why today they are only sporadic shelling of the positions of the 4th Regiment must be hiding some ulterior conspiracy. ”

"What kind of conspiracy could it be?" Bandeleyev asked thoughtfully: "Listening to what you said, it is estimated that the commanders and fighters of the fourth regiment have only left a few soldiers to observe, and the rest are hiding in the fortifications, even if they increase the intensity of the artillery bombardment, they may not be able to achieve better results than the previous attacks?" ”

Bandeleyev's question, I didn't know how to answer, so I could only shrug my shoulders, walk back to Razumeyeva's side, and instruct her: "Lieutenant, immediately contact the 4th Regiment to find out what is going on at the front." ”

After quickly connecting the fourth regiment, Razumeyeva handed me the headset and microphone. I asked Gaidar aloud: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how is the situation?" Are the Germans still shelling you sporadically? And their ground forces are not continuing to advance on your positions? ”

"Report to the division commander," Gaidar hastenedly reported, "the enemy is still carrying out sporadic artillery bombardment of our positions, but I have figured out why they are doing so." ”

"Why?" I heard him say this, and I couldn't wait to ask.

"The enemy is at the moment three kilometers from the front of our army, digging trenches and building fortifications. Their sporadic shelling of our heights, perhaps to cover them on the way to construction, would not be interrupted by the initiative of our regiment. ”

When I heard that the Germans were building fortifications at the front of our army, I couldn't help but be stunned, and I thought to myself that what was wrong with the Germans, who actually remembered to build fortifications so close to our army's position, and were not afraid that we would suddenly attack and take this position from their hands. I couldn't figure it out for a while, so I could only say in an official tone: "Continue to observe, and report to me at any time if there are any new changes." ”

When I walked back to the table, I told the three of them about Gaidar's report. When Kirillov heard this, he also felt very strange, and said to himself: "What are the Germans going to do, to build fortifications so close to our position, aren't they afraid that we will take the position by means of a night attack?" As he spoke, he picked up the phone again and called the second group.

As soon as the phone rang, he raised his voice and asked, "Hey, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg?" Has your observation post been updated on the situation? After saying this, he fell silent and listened quietly to the other party's report. Although I could hear Oleg's voice coming from the earpiece, I couldn't hear what he was saying because it was a bit far away.

After listening for a while. He covered the microphone with his hand. Report to me: "Comrade Oshanina. Lieutenant Colonel Oleg's report, similar to Gaidar's, showed that the heights were being subjected to sporadic enemy shelling, and a few kilometers away there was about a company of German soldiers digging trenches. ”

I walked over quickly, took the phone from Kirillov's hand, and asked into the microphone: "Hey, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg." I am the division commander. I ask you now, have the positions of your regiment been shelled by the enemy? ”

Although Oleg did not know the purpose of my question, he answered honestly: "Report to the division commander, the positions of our regiment are calm and have not been shelled by the enemy. ”

"I see." With that, I hung up. Then I raised my head and said sternly to Kirillov: "Commanders, now I will go to the observation post of the 2nd Regiment to see what is happening in front of me. I wonder if any of you would like to go with me? ”

After listening to me. Kirillov looked left and right, then continued: "So be it. It's still the same, the chief of staff stays on duty. Comrade Oshanina, Colonel Bandeleyev and I will accompany you to the mountains to have a look. Speaking of this, he turned his head and ordered Basmanov, who was standing at the door: "Captain, take a squad of soldiers with us and be responsible for protecting the safety of the division commander." Basmanov, who had received his order, answered loudly, turned and opened the door and went out, and went outside to gather his troops.

The three of us, with a squad of guards, bent down and ran along the traffic trench towards the observation post halfway up the mountainside. As soon as we were halfway there, we were met by Oleg, whom I had not informed at all when I had just arrived, but who was able to appear at such a suitable time, apparently by Akhromeyev.

Oleg walked up to me and said with a worried face: "Comrade division commander, it's too dangerous up there, don't you go up?" ”

"Nonsense," I said to him without hesitation, "I haven't been on the battlefield, whether it's dangerous or not, I don't know?" Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and show us the way ahead. ”

Seeing that my attitude was resolute, Oleg had no choice but to agree, and led our group along the trench towards the observation post halfway up the mountainside.

Once in the observation post, I walked quickly to the lookout and raised my binoculars to look into the distance. I saw through the binoculars that about two or three hundred German soldiers in steel helmets were digging bunkers, and it was already very cold in October, but many Germans were wearing only underwear, wielding shovels desperately, and shoveling dirt from the bottom of the pit to the edge of the trench. A little farther away, a dozen covered trucks were parked, and in the open space between the trucks, mortars and several light and heavy machine gun fire points were constructed.

Seeing this scene, I understood in my heart that the German sporadic artillery bombardment of the positions of the Fourth Regiment was intended to suppress the troops of the Fourth Regiment and prevent their progress in building fortifications from being interrupted by their sorties. And these machine-gun firing points and mortars were deliberately deployed just in case our troops narrowly broke out of the blockade of artillery fire.

Seeing this scenario, Bandeleyev cautiously put forward his own proposal: "The enemy is not too far from our positions, and at such a close distance we can wipe them all out with artillery fire." ”

Kirillov sighed and said regretfully: "Comrade Bandeleyev, almost all the shells in our division are exhausted, and they cannot be replenished in a short time, if all the shells are exhausted for the sake of such a few enemy infantry, then when the enemy, under the cover of tanks, attacks again, we will no longer have any heavy firepower." ”

I looked at the German soldiers who were building the fortifications, and scolded the German commander who gave this order countless times. If the Germans really built this defensive line, it would be equivalent to advancing their original offensive starting point by four or five kilometers, so that their offensive intensity would be further strengthened in the following battles. Moreover, because of the establishment of this line of defense, the scope of our division's activities has been greatly reduced, and at least in the future, it will not be possible to carry out a sneak attack along the river.

Bandeleyev looked at it for a while, and once again put forward his own proposal: "Division commander, political commissar, I have an idea, since there are not many Germans building fortifications, we might as well launch a counterattack. The troops who were holding on to the high ground in front of them resolutely launched a charge, rushed forward with lightning speed, and completely wiped out this weak enemy. ”

Speaking from the heart, Bantai Laiev successively proposed two proposals. All have merit. But in this current situation. But it didn't work. I smiled bitterly, pointed to the distance and said to Bandeleyev: "Comrade Colonel, look, there is an open area of up to three kilometers between the positions of our troops and the enemy. If we had launched an attack hastily, it would have taken at least ten minutes to rush through, which would have been enough for the enemy to be ready for battle and call for artillery support. As long as the German long-range artillery fire is used to intercept the fire. Our commanders and fighters will be blown to pieces in the open field without shelter. Even if someone manages to get lucky enough to rush in front of the enemy's position, they will almost lose their combat effectiveness, and it would be good to be able to save themselves, let alone destroy the enemy. ”

"What then?" Bandeleyev was even denied by us for his two mentions, and he couldn't help but be helpless: "We can't just watch the enemy build such a fortification under our noses, right?" In doing so, they shorten the range and pose a greater threat to us. ”

"You have a point, Comrade Deputy Division Commander." I responded politely. In the current situation, though. I was also helpless against this trick of the Germans, who seemed to have long anticipated our division at the Mamayev Heights. There was nothing they could do about building fortifications. I put down my binoculars and said helplessly, "Since the enemy wants to repair the fortifications, let them repair them." We'll go back to the headquarters first, and then we'll figure it out slowly. ”

The three of us returned to the headquarters in despair, and as soon as Akhromeyev saw us entering the door, he could not wait to ask: "How is it, what is the situation outside, is the enemy really building fortifications in front of our positions?" ”

I smiled wryly and said to him, "Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff. The Germans, who had suffered so many losses in front of our heights, were now wiser and knew how to build fortifications so close to our positions. ”

"Can you wipe out all these enemies with artillery fire?" Akhromeyev asked.

I waved my hand and said, "Since the Germans intend to build fortifications in front of our position, no matter what difficulties they encounter, with the rigorous work attitude of the Germans, they will persevere to the end." Even if our artillery fire destroys all of the enemy today, they will send new troops tomorrow to continue repairing the fortifications. There are not many shells left in our division, and they cannot be wasted on these German infantry. ”

"But, Comrade Division." Akhromeyev, apparently aware of the seriousness of the problem, hurriedly said to me: "If we do not destroy them and allow this line of defense to be built, it will be tantamount to putting the enemy in front of our position the starting point of the attack." In this way, once the fight starts, I am worried that the commanders and fighters of the Fourth Regiment will not be able to withstand it. ”

"If you can't stand it, you have to stand it." Akhromeyev's nagging in my ear made me upset, so I slapped the table and stood up, and inexplicably started a fire at him: "As long as there is one person left in the fourth regiment, the high ground must not be lost." Not to mention the four regiments, even if the whole division is exhausted, we must firmly hold the Mamayev post. ”

"Comrade Oshanina, don't get angry." When Kirillov saw that I was suddenly furious, he quickly stood up and persuaded me: "Comrade Chief of Staff said this, also for the sake of the overall situation. However, I just went to see it on the ground, and I think your concerns are very justified. The fact that the Germans dared to build fortifications so close to us proves that they were well prepared. Perhaps they were trying to lure our troops into attack, and then wipe them out in the open with artillery fire. Next, the German soldiers who were building the fortifications could take the truck and rush to the foot of the hill on the high ground. Although they had only one company of troops, almost all of the remaining commanders and fighters on the high ground were recruits who had not undergone military training, and there was no way to hold their positions. Once the northern heights are lost, then the highlands where we are located will also be in jeopardy. ”

I only thought that the German army's fortification repair might be a conspiracy, but not as carefully as Kirillov, and listening to his analysis, I was immediately scared into a cold sweat. The casualties of the Fourth Regiment in the recent battles are not small, although two battalions were replenished last night, but they are all untrained recruits and do not have any combat effectiveness at all. If I had ordered them to attack, Gaidar's character would have sent those battle-hardened veterans to attack, and I would have fallen into the trap of the Germans. Once the charging troops had been wiped out by enemy fire, the German soldiers who were repairing the fortifications could rush to the foot of the hill in trucks and easily take the positions of the four regiments from the recruits.

It is obviously inappropriate to let the enemy be so close to us, but with our strength, once we launch a counterattack at this time, we will fall into the enemy's trap. After thinking about it for a long time, I didn't come up with a proper solution, so I had to say helplessly: "Let's wait and see what happens to this matter for the time being, and when the enemy repairs the fortifications, we will study how to deal with them." ”

I said this casually, but Kirillov thought that I had thought of some good idea, and his eyes lit up, and he asked thoughtfully: "Comrade Oshanina, do you want to wait until after dark to send troops for a night attack?" ”

I didn't say anything about his speculation, just smiled noncommittally. I smiled like this, and even Akhromeyev thought that I was in the chest, and analyzed it wisely: "Political commissar, I also think that the reason why the division commander decided not to take action against the enemy during the day was for night raids at night. You say yes, Comrade Divisional Commander? ”

Instead of answering Akhromeyev's question, I changed the subject and said: "Comrade commanders, I think that now we should think not about how to deal with the enemy in front of the position, but about how to train the recruits who have just been added to the division. Although 2,000 people were replenished at once this time," I turned my head to look at Bantai Leyev and added with a smile, "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, you are familiar with this batch of recruits, so please introduce their situation to the political commissar and chief of staff." ”

Pantai Leev nodded, got up from his seat, and said with a stern expression: "My new division was formed ten days ago, and the soldiers in the division come from cities and collective farms, and their loyalty is beyond reproach. But because of the tight schedule, we simply did not have time to train them militarily, and we did not issue weapons. It was only last night when we were about to cross the river into the city that Comrade Khrushchev, the military commissar of the Front, asked the logistics department to replenish us with some weapons. Since there were not many weapons stored on the docks, the weapons that were replenished to us were very limited, some battalions had one gun for three or four fighters, while others had one gun for ten people. I think Comrade Division Commander is very clear about this. Seeing that I nodded in agreement, he continued, "I think that the lack of weapons and untrained recruits are ineffective, and even if there are many people, they will not be able to stop the Germans who pounce on them." ”

After Pandeleyev sat down, Kirillov added: "Our next priority is to train new recruits as soon as possible." However, in this respect, we have long been fully prepared that the political work cadres led by Comrade Oberstein can be dispersed into the ranks in the shortest possible time to strengthen the training of new recruits. I estimate that perhaps in a week or less, the newly replenished units in the division will be able to form combat effectiveness. (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank the book friend for the cheap cat, the family has treasure and two children's shoes to vote for two votes! Thanks to the book friend Lao Duan is a loli control, kom07174, Langlands correspondence, and a monthly pass support for a kui children's shoes! Thank you for the tips of book friends Luo-Xia, Lao Godfather, and Dushu Children's Shoes!