As soon as I hung up the phone, the ringtone rang again, I put the earpiece close to my ear and asked impatiently: "I'm the division commander Oshanina, where are you?" ”

After a moment of silence in the earpiece, Oleg's cautious voice came: "Comrade division commander, it's me, Oleg." ”

"What's the matter with you? Hurry up. ”

"Well, I heard gunshots and explosions outside, and I came out of the headquarters to see what was going on. It turned out that to the east of the position of the four regiments, faintly flashed with fire, as if they were exchanging fire with the attacking enemy. Speaking of this, Oleg asked tentatively, "Do you need us to send reinforcements?" ”

"No, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg. Now that the lights are blind, it is difficult to distinguish between friend and foe, and you will not only not help but add to the chaos. Without hesitation, I rejected his offer and said to him in a stern tone: "Your duty is to strengthen the vigilance of your own position, and prevent the enemy from sneaking into your position when he sneaks into the high ground of the Fourth Regiment. ”

After I put down the phone this time, even Akhromeyev couldn't hold his breath and couldn't help but ask me: "Comrade division commander, do you need to send someone to the northern heights for reinforcements?" ”

I rolled my eyes at him and asked dissatisfiedly, "Reinforcements?" Why reinforcements? Gaidar's four regiments now have more than a thousand people, and if they are helpless against even a platoon of the enemy, what is the use of keeping such troops? It's better to simply withdraw it. "Seeing my bad attitude, Kirillov and Pandereev looked at each other, and both obediently closed their mouths, not meeting with me.

It took more than half an hour for Gaidar to call again and report to us. It is said that most of the enemies who attacked by sneak attack were annihilated. Only a few of the fast-legged enemies escaped. I heard that an enemy had fled. I was suddenly angry and shouted at Akhromeyev, who was answering the phone: "Chief of Staff, let Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar come to the headquarters immediately and report to us in person on the situation of tonight's battle." ”

Gaidar, who had come to report to us on the situation of the battle, did not come alone, and as he walked into the headquarters tremblingly, I caught a glimpse of a dejected commander behind him.

Gaidar walked up to us and raised his hand in salute when my gaze crossed his shoulder. He looked at the commander in the steel helmet behind him, and judging by his collar badge, he was a second lieutenant. I didn't bother to return the salute to Gaidar, so I asked him curiously, "Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, who is such a second lieutenant behind you?"

Gaidar did not look back at the second lieutenant behind him, but straightened his back and reported to me: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, his name is Atakuz, he is the platoon commander of the regimental reconnaissance platoon, and he was the one who led people to the enemy's position to reconnoitre. ”

Atakuz, hear the name. I couldn't help but laugh out loud when I heard it become Ah Da's pants. But I realized right away that now was not the time to laugh. Hurriedly restrained his smile and asked with a straight face: "Let's talk about it, Second Lieutenant Atakuz, how are your reconnaissance results tonight?" ”

Atakuz's face flushed, his head lowered, and he replied in a low voice: "I'm sorry, Comrade Division Commander, tonight's reconnaissance operation failed. ”

"Failed?!" This time, without waiting for me to express his opinion, Akhromeyev was already in a hurry, "Atakuz, you have not been a reconnaissance platoon commander for a day or two, you have completed so many reconnaissance missions, why did you fail today?" After criticizing Atakuz, he turned his head and explained to me, "He is also a member of the second lieutenant training team. ”

When I heard that it was a comrade-in-arms from Volkhov who was with Akhromeyev, the expression on my face softened, and in order not to make Atakuz nervous any longer, I said with a pleasant face: "Comrade Ensign, please give us a detailed report on tonight's operation." In this way, I can judge what caused the failure of the reconnaissance mission. ”

Atakuz looked up at me, nodded, and began to speak: "Tonight I received an order from the regimental commander to go to the enemy's newly built defensive positions to carry out reconnaissance missions. Before leaving, I carefully observed the situation outside and found that the enemy's defense of the embankment did not seem to be tight, so I took four fighters and quietly approached the enemy's position along the outside of the embankment, down the river.

When we were still more than 200 meters away from the enemy's position, and still did not find the enemy's patrol or sentry, I felt that the situation was not right, so I ordered everyone to stop. After careful observation and making sure that there were no enemy ambushes nearby, I let the fighters move on. In order to get in safely, two fighters explored the path in front, and I and the other two fighters kept a distance of thirty meters from them, following unhurriedly.

But we didn't go far when there was a loud bang, like a bomb had landed on our side and exploded. Seeing that the two warriors who were exploring the path in front of him fell into the firelight, one soldier fell directly into the river and was washed away by the river; The other soldier fell to the ground, rolling and screaming with his hands over his eyes. ”

Hearing this, Kirillov couldn't help but ask: "Comrade Ensign, where did the shells fly from, did you finally figure it out?" ”

Atakuz shook his head and said with a wry smile: "When I was lying on the ground with the other two fighters, I thought to myself, it seems that they were not hit by a shell, if it was a shell, I didn't hear the scream of the shell flying in the air at all, and the soldier in front should have stepped on a mine." At this moment, flares rose in the sky, and seeing that the situation was not good, I hurriedly rushed forward, carried the wounded who had fallen to the ground, and withdrew to the positions of our troops under the cover of two other fighters. ”

"You stepped on a mine, and you must have alarmed the Germans in the fortifications, maybe they will catch up soon, how did you get out of danger?" After listening to the second lieutenant's account, Bandereev asked curiously.

Atakuz glanced at the rank on the badge of Bandereev, and since he could not understand the position of the other party, he could only address him by his rank: "Comrade Colonel, you are quite right. In a short time, more than a dozen German soldiers appeared on the embankment, shouting and chasing after us. Since I was carrying the wounded on my back, it was impossible to walk too fast, so the other two fighters volunteered to stay behind to block the enemy and cover the transfer of the wounded on my back.

When I returned to the vicinity of the heights, I saw an exchange of fire on the hillside. Fear of accidental injury. So I had to find a crater at the foot of the hill and hide. Only after the battle was over did he re-carry the wounded and return to the position. ”

"Did the other two fighters come back safely?" Akhromeyev asked with concern.

"No, none of them have come back......" Before Atakuz could finish his sentence, tears could not help but flow down his face.

"It's not your fault," my nose was sour when I saw a big man wiping tears in front of him for his comrades, "it's all to blame for the cunning of the enemy that those of us who are commanders underestimate the enemy." I pinched my nose and asked, "How are the wounded doing?" ”

Atakuz hurriedly wiped a handful of tears. He replied loudly: "Report to the division commander, the wounded man was hit by several pieces of shrapnel in the face and chest, and after being sent to the health camp for first aid by the military doctor, he is out of danger of life." ”

After talking about the failure of the Atakuz reconnaissance, I should then ask Gaidar how the defensive battle was fought tonight. I looked at Gaidar with a straight face, and after snorting heavily, I asked coldly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how many Germans did you destroy in tonight's battle?" ”

Gaidar replied with an embarrassed face: "37 people were killed, and 11 escaped." ”

I sneered twice and then asked, "What about the casualties of your regiment?" ”

Gaidar blushed with shame. But when he heard my question, he could only answer honestly: "149 casualties." Among them, 73 people were killed, and one light machine gun was lost. ”

As soon as the number of his casualties came out, everyone was immediately stunned, and our army, on guard, fought a night battle with the Germans, and the casualties were actually two or three times more than the enemy. Angry, Kirillov pointed to Gaidar's nose and asked loudly: "Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, I hope you can give the division headquarters an explanation." We had long expected that the enemy would send a small force to attack at night, so we specially asked you to arrange a sentry and two machine guns on duty, but we didn't expect to be beaten so badly by the enemy. Tell me, what the hell is going on? ”

Gaidar glanced at me, and seeing that I was just staring at him without saying a word, he mustered up the courage to say: "Division commander, political commissar, please allow me to report to you in detail about the battle. ”

I turned my head and looked around, and saw that everyone was standing, so I hurriedly beckoned to them: "What are you doing standing, sit down first, and let Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar explain to us slowly." With that, I took the lead and walked to the table and sat down in my place.

When they saw me sit down, Kirillov, Bandereev, and Akhromeyev also sat down one after another. Gaidar walked over to the opposite me and sat down, and when he saw that I was staring at him, he quickly stood up again, standing opposite me with his back straight.

"Say, Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar," I said unhurriedly, "now we all sit down and listen to how you explain why there is such a disparity in the number of casualties between friend and foe in tonight's battle?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Division Commander." Gaidar hurriedly replied: "The enemy came from the east side of the heights, and since that direction is close to the river, it has never been an area for the enemy to attack, so I only put a machine gun on duty." As soon as the enemy appeared, he was spotted by our machine-gun shooter, who opened fire decisively, knocking down several German soldiers who rushed to the front. The remaining Germans lay on the ground and threw grenades at the machine-gun firing point, and the machine-gun shooter, secondary shooter and ammunition driver were all killed in the explosion.

Then, the patrol that arrived on hearing the news exchanged fire with the German soldiers who had rushed into the trenches. There were two shelters nearby, in which a multi-company of troops was stationed. If they were all veterans of battle, this group of enemies could have been easily eliminated, but the people living inside were all new fighters who had just been replenished, and they had no military training and no combat experience, and when they heard the fierce gunfire and explosions outside, they ran out as if they had blown up a nest.

It was because they were clogged up with the trenches that the reinforcements I sent could not get through at all. The enemy opened wild fire on the disorganized recruits, knocking them down in pieces. Later, when there were not many people standing in the trenches, experienced veterans rushed towards the enemy with their corpses full of pits and valleys. ”

Gaidar's justification made it clear to me the reasons for such a disparity in casualties, and I sighed and asked helplessly: "Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, in addition to the newly replenished recruits, how many casualties did the original veterans suffer?" ”

"There were 25 casualties, of which 13 were killed." Gaidar replied briefly and clearly.

Hearing such casualty figures, my heart was a little balanced, the two battalions newly replenished to the fourth regiment, it is more appropriate to say that they are recruits than civilians in military uniforms, if they do not add to the chaos, maybe this sneak attack of the German army will be completely wiped out by us. Thinking of this, I asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, after the battle, did you take any effective measures to prevent another sneak attack by the enemy?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Gaidar affirmed: "We laid mines in the direction where the enemy touched us. In this case, it is impossible for the enemy to come to our position and harass us like tonight. ”

"Comrade Gaidar," Kirillov told him, standing up, "remember to prepare a detailed map of the distribution of mines, so that in the future, when we don't need it, we can all get out safely, so as not to blow up our own people." ”

After Gaidar explained the heavy casualties in the battle tonight, the atmosphere became harmonious, and Akhromeyev continued to discuss with him how to seize the time to train the recruits and quickly build up their combat effectiveness.

Bandereev whispered to me: "Comrade division commander, judging by the situation of the reconnaissance failure tonight. The second lieutenant and their reconnaissance detachment stepped on a mine, alarming the enemy, and it may not work to approach the enemy's position from the embankment in the future. In my opinion, we should try to come up with a way to try to approach from other directions. ”

Regarding this plan of Bandereev, I said noncommittally: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, we have gone down the river along the riverbank many times in the past to attack the enemy's camps, and the first time we have taken the method of drifting down the river by boat, the effect is not bad. ”

When Pandereev heard this, his eyes lit up, and he immediately followed my words: "Division commander, since we have all taken the method of taking a boat before, when we reconnoiter the enemy, we can also let the scouts go to the back of the enemy's position by boat to conduct reconnaissance." ”

"But what about the scouting?" I asked rhetorically: "They may no longer be able to use their boats on their return, and if they have to go on foot, they will have to venture over the enemy's heavily defended and minefielded embankment." In this way, their lives will be in danger, and if they are killed, then the so-called reconnaissance mission will also fail. (To be continued......)

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