The German bombers focused on the city of Kongjian to the south of the heights, and they did not pay any attention to the heights in which we were located. Sherebryanny and I stood in the trenches at the top of the hill, quietly looking at the city in the distance, which was shrouded in smoke.

Seeing that the enemy planes were reluctant to leave, Serebryanny could not help but become a little anxious, and he pointed to the group of planes hovering over the city and said indignantly: "Comrade division commander, if we had an antiaircraft artillery battalion or even an antiaircraft artillery company, the enemy would not dare to bomb our city so unscrupulously. ”

I looked at the burning air and said disapplausively: "Comrade Captain, you should first count how many planes the enemy has, even if there are not thirty, there are always more than twenty, right?" To stop the bombing of a city by so many enemy aircraft, is one anti-aircraft artillery battalion enough? Seeing that Sherebryanny shook his head, I continued, "Although this is a small city, if we want to protect the city from enemy bombardment, it is not enough to have an anti-aircraft artillery battalion. Is it worth it to station a valuable anti-aircraft artillery battalion in such a strategically devoid city and let them lose it in vain under the frantic bombardment of enemy aircraft, given that our air defense forces are insufficient? ”

After I finished speaking, I pointed to the hills on the east and west sides and asked Sherebryane: "Captain, how many troops have been sent to guard the high ground on both sides?" ”

When Serebryan heard my question, he quickly replied clearly: "On the hills on both sides, a platoon of troops was sent to each side. In the main position in front, I put a company. In order to further understand the deployment of troops on the high ground, he deliberately emphasized, "The remaining troops. I'm all in reserve. It was placed on the southern slope of the highlands. The reason why the reserves are placed here. It was to reduce casualties during the preparation phase of German artillery fire. ”

"Comrade Captain, you are very thoughtful." I was pleased with his arrangement, so I complimented him and said, "Leave enough reserves in the battle so that we can deal with the Germans for a longer time." "As soon as I said this, I saw that the enemy planes in the air had stopped bombing the city and began to return one after another, so I stopped and looked up at the enemy planes that flew over our heads.

Sherebryanny looked at the returning enemy planes and said happily: "Thank God. The damn plane is finally gone. Then he warmly invited me: "Comrade division commander, please come and sit in the command post of our battalion, and eat something by the way, I think you should be hungry by now." ”

Serebryanny didn't say anything, I didn't feel hungry yet, and as soon as he said to eat, my stomach began to growl. At such a time, I would definitely not be polite with my subordinates, so I readily agreed and said jokingly, "Okay." Comrade Captain, I will taste the food of your battalion today. Let's see if it's better than our division's. If so, I'll eat at your place every day. ”

My words caused a burst of laughter from the surrounding commanders and fighters. Serebryanny turned his body to the side and stretched out his hand to make a gesture of invitation: "Comrade division commander, please, go this way." With that, he walked ahead and led the way for me.

We walked some distance along the trench and came to the battalion command post in Sherebryanny. It was a semi-buried reinforced concrete building, and as I walked down the stairs into the bunker, I took a closer look at the structure with the help of two gas lamps hanging on the wall. After reading it, I couldn't help but secretly cry out in my heart that it was a fluke, fortunately we attacked from the southern slope where there were no fortifications, and if we attacked from the north, the troops would suffer heavy casualties, not to mention whether we could seize the high ground, it was still unknown.

There was a long wooden table on the wall of the command post, and a gas lamp was placed on the table, which illuminated the perimeter of the wooden table. After beckoning me to sit down at the table, Sherebryanny immediately ordered the soldiers who came in with us: "Hey, I said, what are you still doing standing here, why don't you go and help the division commander get something to eat." ”

The warrior agreed, turned and ran out. When the fighters left, Serebryanny explained to me with some embarrassment: "Comrade division commander, he used to be a soldier in the company, and he was just transferred to me as a service soldier, and he still doesn't understand many things, so please forgive me." ”

I didn't care about such a trivial matter, thinking that when I inspected the position just now, I had just looked at it in a casual way, and I didn't go into the shelter where the soldiers were staying to see it, and I didn't know if their bunkers were also so strong, so I asked with concern: "Captain Serebryanny, are there many such reinforced concrete fortifications on the position?" ”

Sherebryanny nodded and said affirmatively: "Report to the division commander, this should be a defense fortification, and all the shelters on the position are such reinforced concrete buildings, generally about one meter thick, which can completely resist the bombardment of German heavy artillery and aircraft." ”

Before we could finish our sentence, the warriors who had gone to fetch things had already hurried in from outside. He came to the table and placed the things he was holding in his arms on the table. I looked down and saw that in addition to two oval loaves of bread, there were several boxy things wrapped in paper, as well as a few cans.

I couldn't help but be amazed when I saw these things, two days ago Basmanov led the soldiers of the guard company to search the abandoned village for a long time, but I couldn't find such a rich food, so I asked in amazement: "Comrade Captain, where did you get these things?" ”

I didn't expect me to ask such a question, but it stunned Serebryanne. It was the soldier next to him who smiled and explained to him: "Report to Comrade Division Commander, these are all captured from the Germans. Some of them were seized in the shelter of the heights, and the regimental commanders told us to go to the city and get some back. ”

"Thank you, comrade warrior. There's nothing to do here, so you can get out first. When the warrior had finished speaking, he waved him away, and then he took a can from the table and stabbed it with a knife into the recess.

I saw the pile of food on the table and muttered, "Captain, this is a bit too much, we shouldn't be able to eat so much." ”

While prying the can with a knife, Sherebryanny said to me: "Comrade division commander, don't look at the fact that there is so much food on the table, in fact, it is just a day's ration for an ordinary soldier of the German army. With that, he stopped what he was doing. Shoved two boxy paper packets in front of me. Give me further instructions. "This paper bag contains biscuits and bread, in addition to canned meat and vegetables, coffee, tea, sugar and salt."

I opened a paper bag and saw that it was indeed a biscuit, and I couldn't help but say with emotion: "Comrade Captain, it seems that you have a very good understanding of the rations of the German army." While it's okay now, tell me more about it. ”

"As far as I know: the number of food supplies for German soldiers was divided into three levels: Class I, combat territory; Level II, Occupation Zone; Level III, Native Garrison. Among them, the number of Class I foods is the largest, and the following gradually decreases. I'll give you a brief description of the food in the areas where the Germans fought. "Their daily quota was: 750 grams of rye bread, 250 grams of biscuits, 45 grams of butter (margarine) or edible fat, 120 grams of sausages (occasionally smoked fish), 200 grams of jam or margarine, 750 grams of boiled potatoes or vegetables, and 120 grams of meat." 45 grams of vegetable or animal fat, 15 grams of seasonings. 8 grams of coffee beans (sometimes substituted with black tea), 1 bag of chocolate or candy, 7 rolls of cigarette paper, 2 rolls of tobacco. ”

"Comrade Captain," as soon as he finished speaking, I quickly asked what I had not understood: "What do you mean by cigarette paper and tobacco?" ”

"Cigarette paper and tobacco, used by German soldiers to roll cigarettes." Serebryanny replied briefly.

After listening to his explanation, it dawned on me that although I had seen soldiers roll their own cigarettes before, they only used paper torn from notebooks or leaflets, so I didn't think about it at all. When I saw the abundance of food in front of me, I said with a bitter face: "The Germans have much better food than us, and everyone else can eat meat every day." And I, the teacher commander, haven't seen what meat looks like for more than a month. ”

After Sherebryanny had opened all the cans, we discussed the defense on the high ground while eating. Before we had finished eating, Corporal Zhukhovetsky ran in from the outside with light steps, ran in front of me, snapped to the ground, and then said to me with an excited face: "Report to the division commander, comrade deputy division commander is back." ”

"The deputy division commander is back?!" Hearing the news of Bandereev's return, I hurriedly pushed the unfinished food in front of me to the side, stood up abruptly, and nervously asked Zhukhovetsky: "Comrade Corporal, where is the deputy division commander?" ”

"Comrade division commander, I'm here." Without waiting for Corporal Zhukhovitsky to answer, a loud voice from Pandereev came from the entrance, "I have completed the task you gave me, and now I have come to report to you." ”

I stepped forward, stretched out my hands, clasped hands with Pantai Leev, and said with some excitement: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, hard work, hard work. After saying that, I let go of my right hand and made a gesture of invitation to the room: "You must be hungry after a busy day's work, come, eat something with us." With that, he took him by the hand and walked towards the table.

Bandereev may have gone to command the war, and he didn't bother to eat, and when he saw that there was so much food on the table, he didn't be polite to us, so he sat down and ate away. While he was eating, Sherebryanny briefly briefed him on the fact that these were only the basic rations of two German soldiers.

After listening to what Sherebryanny said, Bandereev also said sourly: "I didn't expect that the damned Germans are not only better equipped than us, but also better than our commanders and fighters in terms of food." I haven't seen meat since I became an independent teacher, and I sometimes even think that I have become an ascetic. ”

After Bantai Leev finished complaining, I asked solemnly: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, can you report to me on your battle today?" ”

Bantai Leev had just scooped a piece of meat out of the can with a spoon and was about to look into his mouth when he heard me ask, so he quickly put the spoon back in the canning box, looked up at me and replied: "Okay, Comrade Division Commander, I will report to you." After I arrived at the temporary camp of our army with tanks and armored units, I contacted the commander of the third battalion of the fourth regiment and asked him to leave two platoons of fighters behind, and all the rest of the troops went with me to carry out combat missions.

Since the infantry did not move at the same speed as tanks and armored vehicles, I ordered the infantry battalion commander to lead the infantry to set off first, and to stand by in concealment one kilometer away from the enemy's camp, waiting for our tanks to rush into the enemy's camp. The infantry attacked again.

When the infantry departed. I told the fighters who drove tanks and armored vehicles to hurry up and rest. So that you can be in good spirits in the next battle. After an hour's rest, I estimated that the infantry was almost close to the enemy's camp, so I ordered the tanks and armored vehicles to set off.

As our armored units approached the Romanian camp, the sentry, who heard the movement, simply looked over to our side for a moment, and then a man came lazily. When the sentry approached, the tank in front of it not only did not slow down, but rushed over with a throttle, crushing the sentry under the track. Then he quickly rushed towards the camp.

The Romanian troops did not expect that the German tanks and armored vehicles that appeared outside the camp would rush in so carelessly, and they were at a loss for a moment, and most of the soldiers outside the camp tent stood in place in a daze. It was only when machine guns on our tanks and armored vehicles began firing that the Romanians understood that they were under enemy attack. At this time, if you want to fight back, it is obviously too late. Especially when we saw the hordes of our infantry pouring in from outside the camp, the short and futile resistance ceased. ”

A battalion fights a company of Romanians, and there are tanks and armored vehicles to help the battle, and the victory or defeat is already predestined. I am concerned about this battle, how many trucks were captured from the enemy's camp. Can you bring the supplies that were rescued from the city back to the Mamayev Heights, so I cautiously asked: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, how many trucks have you captured in the camp?" ”

Pandereev sighed and said regretfully: "I interrogated the company commander of the Romanian army, and according to his confession, there were originally 60 trucks in the camp, but yesterday Gorodishe's German troops temporarily transferred a number of trucks from them. As a result, we only seized 25 trucks. ”

25 trucks, I couldn't help but frown slightly when I heard this number, just relying on these trucks, even if we let our commanders and fighters walk home, we can't pull all the supplies back at once.

Seeing that my brows were tightened, Pantai Leev also said with a bitter face: "Comrade division commander, what should I do with so many supplies in the city?" I also know that these 25 trucks will have to be transported at least four or five times. The convoy had to pass through the German defense zone in order to reach the Mamayev post, and it was impossible to go undetected by the enemy unless they were blind and deaf. ”

"Deputy division commander, we don't have so many supplies." I saw that Bandereev did not seem to know much about the loss of supplies in the city in the air raids, and went out of his way to explain to him: "Soon after you left with your troops, the enemy bombed our city. Fortunately, the anti-aircraft posts set up in the army gave us time to evacuate the commanders and fighters who were carrying supplies in the city, but most of the supplies were destroyed by the German bombardment. ”

Just as Bandereev was rejoicing that the troops had withdrawn from the city in time, the familiar voice of Sederikov came from the door: "Comrade division commander is not there?" ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, here I am." Hearing Sederikov's familiar voice, I immediately understood that he was coming to report to me with troops, and hurriedly beckoned him, "Come in." ”

After coming over and saluting me and Pantai Leyev, who was sitting at the table, he respectfully reported: "Comrade division commander, I have brought two companies of the third battalion here, and I would like to ask you to assign combat missions. ”

I glanced behind him and saw that there was no one else but him, so I asked strangely, "Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, didn't I ask both you and Lieutenant Colonel Kosjia to send a troop?" Why didn't you see Kosgaard, where did he go? ”

"That's right, Comrade Division Commander." Seeing that I had a premonition of anger, Shedelikov hurriedly explained: "At present, there is chaos outside the city, and the supplies and prisoners must be guarded. So I consulted with Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard, and he stayed there, while I took two companies of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Regiment and one company of the 2nd Battalion of the 3rd Regiment to the high ground to accept the task you had given me. ”

"Comrade division commander," since Bandereev had not yet returned for a long time, and I had not yet had time to tell him about the plan to ambush the German troops, he heard what Sedelikov said, and asked with some surprise: "Are you going to attack the enemy troops somewhere?" ”

I nodded, reached out and took the captured map of the German army from Sherebryane's hand, put aside the food in front of Bandereev, spread the map on the table, pointed to where we were, and said: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander." According to our observations. In the direction of due north of the highlands. It's a vast prairie, perhaps because it's inaccessible, and the weeds on the prairie grow tall. So I intend to ambush two armies in the steppe against the German forces that are about to attack us. ”

"How do you plan to deploy these two forces?" Bandereev asked curiously.

"Comrade Deputy Division Commander, come and see." I pointed to the map and said, "The road that came out of the city of Kongjianyi, after bypassing the high ground where we were from the west, stretched into the distance through the grassland in front of us. Attack our enemies according to our judgment. Will definitely follow this road. So I planned to ambush one unit on each side of the road, on the east and west sides of the road, to attack the German troops in the vicinity. Camouflaged tanks, armored vehicles and two companies of infantry, hidden in the steppe on the east side of the road, their task was to take the lead in firing the German marching columns as they passed in front of them, destroying the tanks, armored vehicles and artillery in the enemy columns, and then our infantry, under the cover of armored vehicles, launched an attack on the enemy on the road. When the enemy is beaten by a surprise attack, he will surely rush forward along the road. At this time, our troops who were lying in ambush on the dirt slope on the west side of the road opened fire to intercept them, which would definitely make the enemy even more confused. Under the front and rear of our two armies. The enemy will definitely be crushed by us. That's all I have planned, Comrade Deputy Division Commander, do you see anything that needs to be added? ”

Bantai Leev lowered his head and stared at the map in front of him for a long time, then slowly shook his head and said: "Comrade division commander, you have considered it comprehensively, and I have no disagreement. If there is any regret, it is that we cannot deploy artillery positions on the high ground, otherwise this invading enemy may be completely annihilated by us. ”

Seeing that my plan had been approved by Pandereev, I called Sederikov to me, repeated what I had just said, and specifically advised: "I mean to hide the two companies of the regiment you brought with you in the bushes together with the tanks and armored vehicles; And the dirt slope near the high ground will be defended by the commanders and fighters of the 3rd Regiment and the 2nd Battalion. ”

"Comrade division commander," I said that the task of setting up an ambush on the dirt slope was entrusted to the 3rd Regiment, and Bandereev reminded me with some concern: "Is it appropriate to give such a task to the 3rd Regiment?" ”

Those who were worried, in addition to Bandereev, but also Shederikov and Serebryane, all looked at me nervously to see if I would change my initial decision because of Bandereev's words.

Since my order has been issued, if the order is changed overnight, it will have a certain impact on my authority, so I said with a resolute attitude: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, please rest assured, I believe that the soldiers of the Third Regiment have not performed well in the two successive battles, and they have long held back their strength and want to show it well, and this is a rare opportunity for them." After saying this, I found that everyone was still looking at me with stern expressions and did not speak, so I could only patiently explain to them, "Don't worry, the position of the third regiment is very close to the high ground, even if the German army breaks through from them, our troops who hold on to the high ground can easily defeat this German army that has lost its formation. ”

Seeing that I was stubborn, neither Bandelyev nor Shedelikov had to accept their fate. After saluting me, Shedelikov turned around and left the command post to assign tasks to the commanders and fighters participating in the battle.

In the evening, Shederikov sent someone to report to me and Bandereev that all the troops were in place and ready for battle.

Hearing Sederikov's report, Bandelyev could not sit still at the command post in Sherebryanny and said to me vigorously: "Comrade division commander, is it appropriate to let Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov's troops hide in the grass next to the road?" Won't it be detected by enemy scouts? ”

I was also unsure about Bandereev's worries, but I still pretended to be calm and said: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sedelikov is a commander who has experienced a hundred battles, and I believe that there will be no mistakes in carrying out this combat mission by him. ”

"But......" Although my words have been made clear, Pantai Leev is still restless like an ant on a hot pan. After walking around the room a few times, as soon as I opened my mouth to say a word, I intercepted the words: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, there is nothing to worry about. If you're not at ease, we might as well go to the position and have a look. Maybe after reading it, your heart will be at ease. ”

Bandereev probably wanted to go outside to have a look, but I didn't speak, he was embarrassed to say, and when he heard me say this, he nodded again and again, and kept saying: "Since this is the case, then let's go to the position and have a look." If I hadn't seen with my own eyes that Shederikov's troops were well concealed, I would never have been at ease in my heart. ”

The two of us, led by Sherebryanne, went to a nearby observation post. I stood side by side with Pandereev in front of the lookout and held up our binoculars to look into the distance.

But my camera pulled back and forth several times, and I couldn't see where Shedelikov's troops were hiding at all, except for the vast steppe. I put down my binoculars, touched Bantai Leev with my elbow, and asked him in a low voice: "Hey, comrade deputy division commander, did you see Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov them?" ”

Pantai Leev also put down his binoculars, shook his head blankly, and replied: "No, my camera has searched back and forth several times, but I have never seen our hidden troops. Speaking of this, he suddenly asked: "Comrade division commander, did you say that they haven't entered the hidden position at all?" ”

Hearing what Bentai Leev said, I hurriedly waved my hand and denied his conjecture: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, this is absolutely impossible. I don't think Lieutenant Colonel Sedjerikov had the audacity to not take the troops into a hidden position. It must have been because they were so well hidden, so we didn't find them. With that, I held up my binoculars again and looked into the distance.

This time, I learned the lesson I had just learned and didn't search aimlessly. Instead, I started with the small dirt slope and searched little by little to the east. I did this, and sure enough, it worked very quickly. About two kilometers east of the small slope, the grass is particularly dense in a few places. When I looked closely, I saw that there were actually several weed-covered tanks and armored vehicles, and if I hadn't been paying extra attention, I might have missed them again.

Finding the hiding place of Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, I quickly raised my hand and patted Bantai Leev on the shoulder, pointed to the position I had just discovered and said to him: "Comrade Deputy Division Commander, look in that direction. In those protruding haystacks, our tanks and armored vehicles were hidden. ”

Pantai Leev moved the telescope in the direction I was pointing, and after repeated observations, he exclaimed in surprise: "Great, great, amazing!" Then he put down his binoculars and said to me excitedly: "Comrade division commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov they are so well hidden, let alone the Germans, even if we don't look closely, we can't find them at all." In this case, if the Germans do not come, they will definitely be caught off guard by us. Division commander, do you think the Germans are back? When he said the last sentence, he was obviously a little lacking in confidence.

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Division Commander." I replied in a firm tone: "The Germans will definitely come." Either tonight or tomorrow morning, they will be back. (To be continued......)