I was glad that the enemy's attack had been broken up again, and even the telegraph operator Razumeyeva, who was sitting next to me, patted her chest and said with palpitations: "Comrade division commander, if you keep being so startled, sooner or later you will scare people out of heart disease." ”

I smiled silently, and was about to make fun of her when it occurred to me that if our planes could blow the Germans to the ground, the Germans could also blow up our tank detachments. Moreover, the order I gave to Perstian was to have the tank detachment to block the German mechanized units attacking the artillery positions, and if he saw that the enemy was so bombed by our planes, he might be hot-headed, and he would take the tank detachment to attack the German army. Although the German 29th Motorized Rifle Division was wiped out by us by a regiment and was also under artillery shelling by our troops, it was still easy to destroy a small detachment with only a dozen tanks in their strength. Thinking of this, I was suddenly shocked into a cold sweat, and I couldn't help but exclaim: "Oops, oops! ”

Hearing my scream, Razumeyeva and Pugachev reacted very differently. Razumeyeva looked at me blankly, as if trying to figure out why I had suddenly lost my temper; Pugachev, on the other hand, nervously asked: "Commander, is there something wrong?"

I didn't bother to answer Pugachev's question, and nervously urged Razumeyeva: "Second Lieutenant, immediately call Captain Persyan and ask his tank detachment to immediately stop advancing and quickly return to the place of departure just now." "Although Razumeyeva did not know why I gave such an order, she immediately adjusted the radio frequency and took the microphone. Calling out to Pelsjian.

At this time. The phone on the desk rang again. Pugachev picked it up and listened to it, and immediately handed over the microphone, and said in his mouth: "Report to the division commander, it's a call from the commander of the third regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Koska." ”

When I heard that it was Kosgaard's call, my heart chuckled, and I thought that it couldn't be the enemy in the west, right? Taking the microphone, I nervously asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard, is there anything going on over there?" ”

"Report to the division commander. The enemy in the settlements sent a reconnaissance group in the direction of the positions of our regiment, there was an armored car and three motorcycles, what should we do, should we knock them out or let them go? ”

My mind raced to think that if I fought, the three regiments would be exposed, and the German troops who had been stranded near the settlements might pounce directly. But if we didn't fight, our lurking troops were discovered by German scouts, and the final result would be the same.

I was contradictory, and the anxious Kosgaard couldn't help but urge me: "Comrade division commander. What are we going to do? Please instruct! ”

"Let the warriors pay attention to concealment, maybe they are just here to explore the way. As long as they don't find out, try not to fire. At this point, I hesitated, for fear that Kosgaard would misinterpret what I meant, and that it would be troublesome to see that the enemy scouts were not allowed to open fire even if they were to face our soldiers, so I emphatically said: "Of course, if the enemy discovers us, then you will not hesitate to open fire, and not a single German will let them escape." ”

Putting down the phone, I saw that Razumeyeva was still calling non-stop, and I couldn't help but be a little upset, and shouted at her: "Ensign, how did you do it, it's been so long, haven't you been in contact with Captain Perstian?" ”

Razumeeva's eyes suddenly turned red when I yelled at her, but she still replied respectfully: "I'm sorry, division commander, I haven't contacted yet, I'll continue to contact." After saying that, he opened his voice and shouted.

I raised my binoculars and looked outside for a while, but there were no commanders and fighters of the Fourth Regiment on the battlefield, only the first line of defense, where many people were rushing to repair the trenches that had been blown down by artillery fire. I turned the camera to the fake artillery position behind the second line of defense, and found that it was full of large and small craters, and if the artillery company had not been moved, it would have been covered by this artillery fire, and it would have been the end of the total annihilation.

I picked up the phone and dialed Gaidar and asked in a loud voice: "Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, have all your regiments withdrawn from the fortifications?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." Gaidar replied: "I have two companies in the first line of defense, and they are rushing to repair the fortifications; The second line of defense, with three companies, was on standby, and as soon as the first line of defense was tight, they would immediately enter the position through the guò communication trenches to reinforce the troops at the front. ”

"What about the rest of your regiment?" I silently calculated in my heart, there were only five companies, and there were more than a dozen companies that he had put somewhere, so I had to ask to understand.

"Comrade division commander," Gaidar hesitated for a moment when he heard me ask, and then said cautiously, "I think so, the fortifications at the front are too rudimentary, and instead of putting so many troops in the trenches to be beaten, it is better to leave the reserves, hide them in a safe area, and send them up when the time is right." ”

After listening to Gaidar's answer, I just hummed softly, did not object, but only admonished: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, let the commanders and fighters prepare for battle, the Germans were beaten by us severely, they suffered such a big loss, they will definitely not be reconciled, they will definitely retaliate, let the soldiers be vigilant and ready for battle." ”

After finishing the call with Gaidar, I found that Razumeyeva had not yet contacted Perstin, and I couldn't help but be angry, and her tone became more and more harsh: "What's the matter? Comrade Second Lieutenant, why can't you contact Captain Perstian? ”

Razumeyeva was so anxious that she was about to cry, and her voice changed nervously: "Comrade division commander, I don't know, it stands to reason that Captain Perstin's car radio has been turned on, and it should have been contacted a long time ago." But I don't know how to do it, I called for a long time, and the other party didn't move at all. ”

When I heard her say this, I shuddered in my heart, and wondered if I had really been mistaken by what I had said, that Pelsjian had really rushed towards the enemy's large force with his tank detachment.

Seeing my anxious look, Pugachev, who was next to me, cautiously reminded me: "Comrade division commander, since Captain Perstian cannot be contacted, we can contact Lieutenant Colonel Oleg." Isn't he in a position not far from the tank detachment? ”

A word wakes up the dreamer. Hear Pugachev say that. I slapped my forehead in annoyance, and hurriedly confused myself, why didn't I think to contact Oleg when I couldn't contact the tank detachment? You must know that the tank detachment was originally to cover the artillery position, so it did not retreat in time.

It was quite smooth to call Oleg, and I got in touch immediately. I asked Oleg nervously through the microphone: "Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, how is your situation there?" ”

"Report to the division commander," Oleg said excitedly, "the Germans' troops after heavy shelling by our troops. We have retreated to the south, and I was about to ask you whether our regiment should immediately strike and carry out a counter-assault on the enemy in front of it. ”

Instead of answering his question, I asked the tank detachment bluntly: "I have not been able to contact Captain Persjian here, can I see them from you?" ”

"Comrade division commander, it turns out that you are looking for Captain Perstian." Oleg said with emotion: "He was really a brave tankman, and with a dozen tanks, he rushed towards the broken Germans, and after repulsing the German units that tried to capture our artillery positions." He again led a detachment of tanks and rushed towards the enemy's large forces. ”

Hearing Oleg say this, I secretly scolded Pelsjian in my heart for being brave. With just a dozen tanks of yours, do you want to fight against hundreds of tanks of the German army? What's more, someone else has an anti-tank regiment, which is not a piece of cake for you. Thinking of this, I anxiously ordered him: "Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, you immediately send someone to contact Captain Perstian and ask him to immediately lead the tank detachment to withdraw." With these few tanks, they dare to attack the enemy's large army, isn't that looking for death? ”

"I'll send soldiers to look for him on motorbikes right away, hoping it's still too late." After Oleg finished speaking, he added: "Our fighter plane has returned after dropping all the bombs and hitting the machine gun bullets." Not long after they returned, a German reconnaissance plane flew over our artillery positions and circled a few times before leaving. ”

When I heard that the enemy's reconnaissance planes had been dispatched, I knew in my heart that although the German air force was concentrating its forces on bombing Stalingrad in the past two days, it was not at all ruled out that after receiving the information from the reconnaissance planes, they would draw out a few bombers to blow up our artillery position, which was a threat to them. So I asked Oleg worriedly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how many shells are left of your artillery?" ”

"On average, there are about ten shells per gun. Comrade division commander, I was just about to ask you what to do with these cannons after the shells are fired, and are they returning to our positions? ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, please send someone to Captain Morozov to blow up all the artillery as soon as the shells are finished. At the same time, your regiment immediately retreated to the defense zone of the fourth regiment to prevent a possible new attack by the enemy. ”

"Comrade division commander, it's a bit of a pity that such a good cannon is blown up like this. You see if we let our fighters drag the cannon back. Hearing that he was still thinking about the howitzers of these two artillery battalions at this time, I couldn't help but be a little anxious, and almost scolded, but I still held back, gritted my back molars and said to him: "Comrade Oleg, what is the use of these cannons without shells, even if you drag them all back, they are just a bunch of scrap metal in the way." My order remains the same, as soon as the shells are gone, explode the artillery, and then your whole regiment will withdraw to the positions of the fourth regiment and stand by. ”

"But we don't have enough explosives, and it's going to be difficult to blow them all up." Oleg is still a little reluctant to these cannons, and is still bargaining with me.

"The cannon doesn't need any explosives, you just need to stuff a grenade into the barrel and you can blow the cannon out." I have seen so many movies and television works in later generations, in which the explosives use the method of stuffing a grenade into the barrel, so I also taught this method directly to Oleg.

"But, but ......" The unwilling Oleg seemed to want to say something, but he suddenly screamed: "Hell, what's going on, what's going on?" ”

Hearing his tone, I knew in my heart that something was wrong nine times out of ten, and I hurriedly asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, what happened?" Answer me. ”

Oleg was silent for a while before he replied: "Report to the division commander, it is Perstian's tank detachment that has returned." However, only five of the fourteen tanks returned, one of which was still smoking, apparently wounded by German anti-tank guns. Of these tanks, I did not see Captain Persjian's tank. ”

It was learned that only five of the fourteen tanks that had made a sortie returned. And there are no Perstian's tanks in it. I couldn't help but break out in a cold sweat for him. In this case. If the tanks were destroyed by the Germans, it was unlikely that the crew inside would survive. I was concerned about Persjian's safety, and hurriedly instructed Oleg: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you send someone over to ask, what happened, and where is Captain Persjian?" Except for the infantry who were on guard on the artillery positions, the rest of your regiment immediately retreated to the positions of the four regiments. Move fast, you know? Lieutenant Colonel. I fear that the enemy will soon take advantage of their superiority in firepower and launch a counterattack against us, and your regiment is deployed in an open field without fortifications, which can easily be routed or destroyed by the enemy. ”

Listening to me say so strictly, Oleg didn't dare to continue arguing with me, so he could only honestly agree: "Understand, comrade division commander, I will immediately follow your instructions." ”

I was just about to put down the microphone, but suddenly I remembered something important, and hurriedly gave him a death order: "And." Those gunners in the artillery positions, they are the treasures of our division. You have to protect me, if any of them are missing, I will never spare you. ”

The reason why I reminded him so harshly of this was because in the night raids the artillery would be the protagonists, and when their artillery fire dazed the sleeping Germans, it was time for me to send the infantry to attack. What kind of results can be achieved in the night attack of the guards depends entirely on whether or not these high-level artillery commanders and fighters can be preserved.

My order was carried out to the letter by Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, and in less than ten minutes I saw through my binoculars the infantry retreating with five tanks. Since the underground tank depot had been exposed in the battle just now and could no longer be used, these tanks retreated to the defense area of the fourth regiment with the infantry.

Gaidar may have received a report from the front and knew that so many troops were withdrawing to his own defense area, so he hurriedly called and asked: "Comrade division commander, now the large forces of the Second Regiment are withdrawing to our regiment's defense area, what is going on?" ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar," I did not hide my thoughts from these men of my own, "since Lieutenant Colonel Oleg's troops, after seizing the artillery positions of the Germans, used the captured artillery to carry out a heavy shelling of the area where the Germans were concentrated. The Germans, who were beaten by us, were not willing to suffer such a big loss, and they would definitely retaliate. Reconnaissance planes had already reconnoitred the artillery positions of the 2nd Regiment just now, and I estimated that the German counterattack would soon begin. The 2nd Regiment could not hold back the enemy's mechanized troops in the open field without fortifications, so I ordered them to withdraw to your regiment's defense area for the time being, and then move after the whole regiment had been assembled. ”

"I understand, Comrade Division Commander." Gaidar said in a very flat tone: "However, I still built the 2nd Regiment to leave the defense area of my regiment as much as possible, I am worried that if so many thousands of commanders and fighters are crowded into a small area, once they are bombed or shelled, every bomb or shell of the Germans can kill dozens of us." I set them up to drive to the station of the former Guards Division or the headquarters of the army group, where they were secretly on standby. ”

"Your construction is good, Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar." I agreed with Gaidar's suggestion, and after complimenting him, I agreed with him, "In that case, when Oleg returns, I will let him lead his troops to the area you mentioned." ”

After another half an hour, I saw several trucks full of commanders and fighters speeding towards the position of the Fourth Regiment, followed by seven or eight motorcycles. Seeing this scene, I knew in my heart that Oleg had completed the bombing mission and returned safely. I hurriedly asked Razumeyeva to contact Oleg, and I wanted to ask what the situation was ahead.

When Oleg heard my voice, he hurriedly reported to me: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, the 2nd Regiment has successfully completed its mission and returned safely to the positions of our troops. Waiting for your next command. ”

"Very well," after saying this, I asked again with concern: "Morozov, have they all returned safely?" ”

"Please rest assured, they are all back, and everyone is unscathed."

"Captain Persken has any news?" After asking the artilleryman, I was concerned about the tank captain whose whereabouts were unknown.

"Report to the division commander, the captain was in the battle, his tank was destroyed by the German anti-tank guns, he himself was wounded in the arm, but he has been saved by his fighters. He's with us at the moment. ”

"Send him to Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar to rest. As for your troops, immediately after the assembly is completed, go to the location of the original army headquarters to hide and stand by. If you have any combat missions, I will contact you. ”

As soon as he said this, there was a rumbling sound of cannons. I took the microphone to the observation port and looked out, and I could vaguely see the direction of the smoke rising, which should be the location of our original artillery position. It appeared that the Germans were retaliating against that position, and hovering enemy planes could be seen in the air diving.

Oleg's frightened voice came from the earphones: "Comrade division commander, fortunately, I listened to your order, after we blew up the artillery, we immediately withdrew the troops, otherwise, with the enemy's current intensity of artillery bombardment and bombardment, all the troops we left in the position would be finished." ”

Hearing him say this, I only said lightly: "Let Captain Morozov and Captain Jegonovich come to me, I have a task to give them." (To be continued......)