Bunyachenko's order was quickly conveyed and, just as the militia battalion fighters were beginning to assemble towards the junction, a tank sped over from the north side of the settlement. After passing us, he drove forward for more than ten meters and then came to a steady stop. The top of the turret opened with a clatter, and Major Malafeyev leaned out of it, and immediately unfurled a red flag in his hand.

The militia and soldiers who originally gathered here were originally planning to come over to block the attack because they found that some troops were approaching, but who knew that Lu Dao found that it was actually his own troops, and then looked at the military flag inlaid with yellow edges, sickles, hammers and a five-star symbol in the middle, fluttering in the wind on the tank, so both the soldiers and the commanders cheered loudly.

Perhaps it was because of the cheers here and the sight of the military flag fluttering in the wind, the troops who were approaching outside stopped more than thirty meters away. Tanks and armored vehicles were parked on the sides, leaving fully loaded trucks in the middle. As soon as the car came to a stop, the soldiers on the car jumped out of the car one after another and lined up at the commander's command.

While the troops on the opposite side were in formation, two commander-like men walked towards us. Looking back at the faces that were flushed with excitement, I quickly found Bunyachenko and Bukov in the middle, and said to them with a smile: "Chief of Staff, Captain, you see, it seems that the commander on the other side is coming, let's go and say hello to them." ”

The two commanders of the opposing side walked up to us and stopped, stopped in unison, saluted and asked: "Are you comrades from the Khimki militia annihilation battalion?" ”

Hearing the other party's question, Bunyachenko and I didn't speak, but leaned sideways to expose Bukov, who was blocking, and the captain saw that we were all looking at him, so he could only step forward and answer: "Yes, we are from the Khimki militia annihilation battalion, and I am the battalion commander, Captain Bukov." I don't know what part of the road you are? ”

The young officer on the left replied: "We are from the garrison command, I am Major Shemak, this is the instructor of the first rank Ardonin, and we have been ordered to assist you in retaking Khimki." However, judging from the current situation, you have successfully fulfilled the words given to you by your superiors. "Although he was talking to Bukov, his eyes swept to me from time to time.

I saw that there was nothing to do with me here, and I was just about to turn around and leave, when the instructor of Aldonin, who was much shorter than him, next to Major Shemak, suddenly spoke, he looked at me and asked a little hesitantly: "Comrade commander, are you the commander of the 8th Guards Division, General Oshanina?" ”

"Yes!" I looked carefully at the political worker standing in front of me, trying to figure out where I had seen him. But after thinking about it for a long time, I didn't figure out who he was, so I had to say with a little regret: "I'm sorry, Comrade first-level instructor, I don't think I have seen you before!" ”

Hearing my affirmative answer, Major Shemak and Instructor Aldonin both raised their palms to the brim of their steel helmets and saluted me with a standard military salute. Aldonin replied: "Report Comrade General, we have not met before. However, we have seen a special circular from the headquarters of the Supreme Headquarters, saying that in recognition of the bravery and senselessness you have shown in the battle and the great results you have achieved, Comrade Stalin has personally promoted you to the rank of major general. ”

I returned the salute to the two of them and asked with a smile, "Major Shemak, Instructor Aldonin, since Khimki has been recaptured, what is your next mission?" ”

It was Semak who answered my question, and he said loudly: "The order given to us by the garrison command is to hold Khimki at all costs, and the fascist bandits must not be allowed to occupy this place again." He paused, then continued, "Here you are the commander of the highest rank, and we will all obey your command from now on." ”

I waved my hand and said, "No, I have other tasks and I'm going to leave soon." Then he pointed to Bunyachenko next to him and said: "Comrade Major, let me introduce you, this is Lieutenant Colonel Bunyachenko, chief of staff of the 389th Tank Division, after I leave, he will stay to assist you in defending Khimki, you all listen to his command." ”

The two hurriedly saluted Bunyachenko and said that they would obey his command.

I saw that there was nothing to do with me here, and it was getting dark, so I said a word to Bunyachenko and Bukov, and then beckoned Yushchenko and them to go to the front headquarters together.

After more than half an hour of bumpy driving, by the time we arrived at the headquarters, it was already dark.

The headquarters of the Front was located in an abandoned three-story hospital, and the second lieutenant officer on duty at the door, after checking our documents, told me that the commander, General Zhukov, was working in a room on the second floor. I went up the stairs and into the building, and Yushchenko and the others tried to follow, but they were politely stopped by the second lieutenant and taken to another place to rest.

I walked up to the second floor and met a sergeant with papers in his hand and was about to go downstairs. Just as we were staggering by, I grabbed him and asked, "Where is the commander's office?" ”

He casually pointed back and said impatiently, "At the end of the hallway." With that, he ran quickly downstairs.

I walked down the long hallway, the doors on both sides closed, and I couldn't even ask anyone for directions. As I walked, I saw a passage on the left side of the corridor, and I hurried over to it, and when I turned the corner, I saw a table in the hallway, and a sergeant without a hat was sitting there. My sudden appearance startled him, and when he came back to his senses and saw clearly the rank on my collar badge, he quickly stood up and asked politely: "Comrade commander, may I ask you something?" ”

I smiled slightly, pointed to the door not far behind him and asked, "May I ask the office of the commander, General Zhukov, is it here?" ”

He shook his head, raised his hand to the left, and said, "This is the communication room, and the general's comrade's office will go all the way down, and the room at the end of the corridor is." I thanked me and walked on.

After walking a few dozen meters, I saw another table, although the person sitting behind the table was still not wearing a military cap, but I could clearly see the rank of captain on his collar badge, and hurriedly quickened my pace. The other party saw me walking over, quickly stood up, and asked in a low voice, "Is it Commander Oshanina?" ”

"Yes." I quickly agreed.

"Comrade General has been waiting for you," he said, turning to push open the door, and then turned sideways and made a gesture of invitation to me: "He said that if you come, you don't need to report it, you can go directly to see him." Please! ”

When I entered the room, I saw a large wooden table with maps spread out in the middle of the room, as well as a telephone and a gas lamp for lighting, just like the front headquarters. Zhukov, who was not wearing a hat and was wearing a military coat, was talking on the phone behind my back, and he didn't seem to be aware of my arrival.

Without speaking, I closed the door softly and took a few steps forward to stand upright at the wooden table. Looking at his familiar back, I couldn't help but feel excited.

The sound of the phone call came clearly, and I analyzed from the tone of his voice that it must have been Stalin who was talking to him. I only heard him say, "...... Thanks to Rokossovsky's swift counterattack, half an hour earlier the enemy occupying the Red Village had been driven out of the city, and they had also captured the long-range artillery that the Germans were preparing to fire at Moscow. …… The Germans who stormed the XXXX area were also driven out of the city and across the canal. Comrade Stalin, the time has come. I beg you to give an order immediately to subordinate the 1st and 10th Shock Armies to the Western Front in order to carry out a counter-assault on the enemy and to completely repel the enemy from the vicinity of Moscow. ”

Saying this, he turned around and picked up the cup on the table to drink water, only to find that the cup was empty after taking a sip. I looked left and right, caught a glimpse of the teapot resting on a small stove in the corner, and hurriedly went over to pick it up, and walked over to refill it for him. He then found out about my arrival, smiled and nodded at me, and continued to say to Stalin: "The enemy is now exhausted, but if the troops of the Front do not use the 1st Shock Army and the 10th Army, they will not be able to remove the wedge that the enemy has inserted into our lines. At this time, Stalin seemed to say something, he fell silent, took a sip from his cup, and then said in a decisive tone: "If they are not destroyed now, then the enemy will strengthen the troops in the Moscow region with reserves, and by that time the situation will be complicated!" I think it's time for a counter-assault, Comrade Stalin! After saying this, he held the microphone and listened seriously for a while before slowly putting down the phone.

He looked up at me, a smile on his face, and asked, "The settlement near Mount del Sol City was taken back a few hours ago. Why did you come here at this time? ”

Although I knew him very well, I still couldn't save the basic etiquette, so I hurriedly stood up and reported: "Report to Comrade Commander, as soon as the settlement is recaptured, I will rush here." But something happened on the way, and it was delayed. ”

"What's the matter?" He asked with concern. Before I could speak, the phone on his desk rang, and he picked it up casually: "I'm Zhukov." I don't know who made this call, anyway, the more he listened, the more ugly his face became, and he frowned at me from time to time. After that, he said, "I'll find out about this matter first, and you can call later." ”

When he put down the phone, he looked at me and said solemnly, "The call is from the city government, and they are complaining to me." "I was shocked when I heard this, when did I offend the people of the city government? Without waiting for me to explain, he continued: "They have received a report from Comrade Kashevsky, People's Commissar of the Northern District Soviet, that you have arbitrarily revised the operational orders of the District Soviets, which has had a very bad effect. Tell me, what the hell is going on? ”

Oh, it turned out that this was the case, my hanging heart fell to the ground, and I hurriedly told Zhukov the cause and effect of the incident. After saying this, I thought with some trepidation in my heart, even if I was at fault in this matter, but the recapture of Khimki from the Germans was a credit and demerit, and he would not pursue it again.

Instead of dwelling too much on the details, he got straight to the point and asked: "Who is Khimki defending now?" ”

Fortunately, I had ready-made answers to these questions, so I replied: "The troops defending Khimki, except for the militia battalion, the remnants of the 389th Tank Division, and the troops of the garrison headquarters." The commanders were Lieutenant Colonel Buniachenko, Chief of Staff of the 389 Tank Division, Major Shemak of the Garrison Command, 1st Class Instructor Ardonin, and Commander of the Militia Battalion, Senior Lieutenant Bukov. ”