Beckman, who had always kept his distance from me, nodded unexpectedly when he heard my words. Perhaps fearing that his former comrades-in-arms would die worthless, he ran from the depths of the factory with Lieutenant Braun and a dozen soldiers, including his own men and the soldiers of the guard company. The former was to persuade the German soldiers who were still resisting, while the latter was to protect their safety.

Looking at Beckman's distant back, Yushchenko, who was beside him, muttered dissatisfiedly: "Comrade division commander, are we too good to these Germans?" Not only did they treat their wounded, but they also sent them to persuade the German officers and soldiers who would soon be wiped out by us, which I thought was a redundant move. ”

"When is this still on your mind?" I glared at Yushchenko with some dejected grumbling, and then said to him in a tone of lesson: "Comrade Captain, I ask you to make it clear that although Captain Beckman was a German officer and soldier in the past, they have now joined us and become our comrades. Have you considered how many casualties we would have avoided if Captain Beckman had told the German officers and men who were still resisting that Field Marshal Manstein, who had come to their rescue, had been repulsed by our troops, had completely shattered the illusions in the hearts of the enemy, and had obediently laid down his arms and surrendered to us? ”

Yushchenko, who was reprimanded by me, did not defend himself, but dispersed the fighters of the guard company who had come out with us, forming a loose circle around me and protecting me as I walked deeper into the factory area.

The area of the "Red October" factory is even larger than I imagined. Walked for almost half an hour. I haven't even approached any of the workshops where the enemy and the enemy are exchanging fire.

"Comrade division commander. Can't go any further. Yushchenko, who was walking beside him, suddenly shouted to me: "We are very close to the area where the fire is exchanged, and if we go any further, it will be dangerous." Either killed by shells or by stray bullets......"

Perhaps in order to add persuasiveness to his persuasion, as soon as his words fell, a cannonball flying from the depths of the factory landed about thirty meters to our right and exploded, and this close bang overwhelmed the other voices. Dirt splattered at the blast site, and shrapnel flew around with a whistling sound. The two warriors walking to my right suddenly screamed in pain in unison, and then fell to the ground at the same time.

"What's wrong, what's wrong?" Seeing the soldiers around me falling, I couldn't help but panic, and asked repeatedly: "Was it shot by the cold guns of the Germans?" ”

Yushchenko quickly rushed to the side of the two fighters, crouched down and asked in a deep voice: "What happened?" ”

"I was hit by shrapnel!" One of the fighters replied bitterly.

"Does it matter?" Yushchenko asked again.

The soldier shook his head and replied: "The shrapnel was blocked by a bullet armor, and the wound was not serious." ”

Hearing the soldier say that the injury was not serious, Yushchenko quickly stood up and returned to me, and said in a hurry: "Comrade division commander. Can't go any further. The body armor we wear may be able to block stray bullets flying in the distance, but they can't stop shells at all. If only the shell had landed a little closer to us. I'm sure a lot of us here have really fallen. ”

After he finished speaking, I noticed that although the warriors around me did not speak, they all turned their eyes to me, silently waiting for me to make a final decision.

The scene just now made me realize in my heart that now is not the time to be a hero, and if I was really killed by a shell, I would be quite wronged. However, since I have entered the factory area, it is not appropriate to go back, so it is better to find a hidden place nearby and observe the progress of the battle in the factory area.

Thinking of this, I tried my best to keep myself calm and said to Yushchenko: "Comrade Captain, since we have entered the factory area, it is impossible to withdraw again, and to retreat at such a time is to run away, and I cannot be an escaped general, so we must stay here no matter what." After expressing my determination, I asked him again: "Comrade Captain, go and see if there is a suitable place nearby, so that we can hide for a while." After dawn, we'll move on. ”

Yushchenko looked left and right for a moment, then pointed to my left and said bluntly: "Comrade division commander, there seems to be a ditch dug by repair trucks, let's go there first to avoid it." As long as you don't get a direct hit by German shells, I believe there is no danger. ”

"Alright, let's get there first." Hearing Yushchenko say that there was a place nearby where I could hide, I also waved my hand cheerfully and said loudly: "Comrade Captain, you lead the way in front." ”

The trench for car repair was more than ten meters long and more than one meter deep, and when we walked over, we found that the ditch was full of German corpses. While I was hesitating whether to change places, Yushchenko began to direct the soldiers to carry the corpses out of the ditch.

Once the bodies had been carried aside, I jumped into the ditch without hesitation, found a spot with a good view, raised my binoculars, and looked in the direction of the workshop where the fire was being exchanged in the distance.

The workshop building in the telescope was burning at the moment, but it was not known whether the burning was caused by artillery fire or the explosion of a grenade. Some of our soldiers hid in the craters in front of the factory and fired at the Germans, while others quickly approached the factory under the cover of the terrain. When he was not far from the factory, he threw a grenade over. When the flames and smoke of the grenade explosion rose up, they rushed forward decisively, jumping into the factory through no one's window to engage in a new battle with the Germans inside.

As I was watching, I suddenly heard the sound of shouting trumpets behind me, and it seemed that a group of people were dragging something heavy forward. I hurriedly put down my binoculars and looked back, and a large group of soldiers were dragging several large-caliber guns in our direction.

When I saw such a large number of people, I knew that it was the artillery battery of the 178th Artillery Regiment that came, because in addition to the artillery, there were also infantry sent by Sederikov to help them tow the artillery, so I ordered Yushchenko: "Comrade Captain. Go and call the commander of the artillery company. ”

Yushchenko agreed. After receiving the order, he turned and ran away quickly.

It didn't take long. Yushchenko answered in front of me with the artillery captain. I had forgotten the name of this company commander, so I could only ask vaguely: "Comrade Captain, where are you going to put your artillery company?" ”

The artillery captain looked left and right for a while, and then replied: "Report to Comrade General, here are from several workshops where the battle is being fought at a distance of one to three kilometers, so I intend to place artillery positions here to provide the necessary artillery support for the attacking friendly forces. ”

"No, I can't. Comrade Captain. As soon as the artillery captain finished speaking, I shook my head like a rattle, "It's too far, at such a distance, with the only few guns you have, you can't suppress the enemy's fire points at all." ”

"Comrade General, then what should I do?" When the artillery captain heard me say this, he immediately became a little flustered, and after a short silence he asked me: "Where should my artillery company be placed?" ”

I slammed my hand forward. Without saying anything, he said: "Comrade Captain, let your artillerymen continue to push the artillery forward." Push to a place only two or three hundred meters from the enemy's fortifications. Then establish artillery positions to provide the necessary artillery support for our attacking troops. ”

"What, push the artillery only two or three hundred meters from the enemy's position, and shoot at close range." Since the other side is a unit that has come to cooperate with our division in battle, I will not hesitate to teach him the tactics I have mastered. "With the caliber of your artillery, no matter how strong the enemy's fortifications are, they will not be able to stop the bombardment of artillery."

"But, Comrade General." Although he heard me say this novel way of fighting, the artillery captain hesitated and said: "It's too close, the shells will hit your own people." ”

"Comrade Captain, you probably don't know yet." Regarding the artillery captain's concerns, I said disapprovingly: "The other day, when the 64th Army captured the streets of the Voroshilov district, the artillery that provided artillery support to the infantry never stopped firing, and suppressed the enemy so that the enemy could not return fire, and our troops were able to break through the enemy's line of defense smoothly. Although it is possible to get injured by mistake, it is worth the price in order to achieve the final victory. ”

When the artillery captain heard me say this, he reluctantly agreed. Then he turned and ran briskly back into the crowd of people dragging the cannon, and I heard him shouting in the distance, "Keep going!" ”

When the artillerymen passed through the ditch and gradually moved away, Yushchenko whispered in my ear: "Comrade division commander, is it appropriate for the artillerymen to set their positions so close to the enemy's fortifications?" You know, even if the enemy doesn't have artillery, their machine guns can pose a direct threat to our artillery positions. ”

"Captain Yushchenko," I said impatiently to Yushchenko, who had been muttering in my ear, "there are quite a few of our troops in front of the fortifications, and they will find a way to solve these problems themselves when they see that the enemy's machine-gun fire points threaten the artillery positions in the rear." After saying this, I instructed him again: "Captain, in order to keep abreast of the progress of the battle, you should send a few men to inform the commander in charge of the battle, and ask them to send me the battle report." ”

After receiving Yushchenko's notification, the battle reports of both the 1st Regiment and the 45th Division were sent to me in a steady stream. From the battle report, I learned that although our troops occupied most of the buildings of several workshops, the German officers and soldiers, who had suffered our great losses in street battles, learned to use the strongest buildings and basements as support points for their stubborn resistance. Our troops were slow to move forward in seizing these points of German firepower, although they paid a considerable price.

The battle lasted until dawn, and after fighting for more than ten hours, our army successively cleared out all the enemies in the model workshop, classification workshop and mechanic workshop, realized the rendezvous with the 39th Guards Division, and completed the encirclement of the German officers and soldiers in the factory area. The remaining officers and men of the enemy fought and retreated, and fled into the office building they had converted into a powerful defensive hub.

After hearing that several attacks organized by Sokolov and Sederikov had been repulsed by the Germans in the building, I insisted on going to the machine shop where the headquarters of the 45th Division was located, despite Yushchenko's opposition. Here, in addition to Sokolov, I met the commander of the 39th Guards Division, General Guriev, and the commander of the 1st Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov.

Seeing my arrival, General Guriev greeted me with a smile, and at the same time took the initiative to stretch out his hand and greeted me warmly: "Hello, Comrade Deputy Commander, it's a pleasure to meet you here!" ”

When I shook hands with Guriev, I said with concern: "Comrade General, it's too dangerous here, you better take your troops to the back to rest first, and we will take care of the rest." ”

Hearing what I said, Guriev, who was smiling, quickly let go of my hand, and at the same time turned his face and said sternly: "Comrade Deputy Commander, how can you say that? You can go to the most dangerous places, so why can't I stay here? When he said that, I immediately felt my cheeks heat up. He may have seen my embarrassed expression, and hurriedly slowed down his tone and said: "The fighters of our Guards Division have been fighting here for two months and are very familiar with the environment of the factory, so I think that the task of the initiative building should be entrusted to our division to complete." ”

"Comrade Colonel, General Guryev said that they are familiar with the plant and want to take on the task of seizing the office building." Instead of answering Guriev's words right away, I turned to Sokolov and asked: "Do you agree with him?" ”

"No, resolutely not." When Sokolov heard me say this, he was also anxious, and hurriedly said to Guriev: "Comrade General, my division has been fighting all night, and although the commanders and fighters are very tired, there is still no problem in seizing this office building occupied by the Germans. At this point, he turned to me and asked, "Comrade Deputy Commander, I ask you to entrust the task of seizing the building to our division. On behalf of the 45th Infantry Division, I would like to express to you that we are confident that we will complete the combat mission you have entrusted us. ”

I beckoned to Sederikov, who was standing behind several people, called him in front of me, and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, is it true that I heard that several attacks organized by you have been repelled by the enemy holding on to the building?" ”

Sederikov nodded vigorously and replied affirmatively: "Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Due to the enemy's strong fortifications and fierce firepower, the three charges we organized in front and rear were all repulsed by the enemy. ”

"What about the artillery, where did the artillery go?" Hearing that the other side was fortified, I looked left and right to find the captain from the 178th Artillery Regiment, and asked strangely: "Isn't there a howitzer company to cooperate with you, why don't you use howitzers to bombard the German fortifications?" (To be continued.)

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