Shortly after Vitkov and I returned to the army headquarters, my old partner, the new military commissar, Colonel Kirillov, walked into the room, came to me, raised his hand and saluted, and said excitedly: "Hello, Comrade Oshanina! I'm so happy to be with you again. ”

From his facial expression and voice, I was sure that his affection was very felt, and his excitement also infected me, and after I hurriedly raised my hand to return the salute, I grabbed his hand, shook it vigorously a few times, and said: "Hello, Comrade Political Commissar, I am very happy that we are together again so soon, and it is at this time when the army is about to leave for a new battlefield. ”

As we were talking, Vitkov came to our side, took the initiative to extend his hand to Kirillov, and said in a friendly voice: "Hello, Colonel Kirillov, welcome. I really didn't expect that we would have the opportunity to work in the same command again. Vitkov said this because Kirillov had previously served as the head of the political department of the army group, and he was an old acquaintance.

After the greetings were over, Kirillov, who had already entered the role of military political commissar, said to me: "Comrade Oshanina, our troops will be mobilized the day after tomorrow. ”

"Comrade Political Commissar, your proposal is good, just do what you say." In fact, even if Kirillov doesn't say it, I plan to gather the commanders of the divisions, brigades, and regiments for a meeting to explain to them the situation of friend and foe on the new battlefield, so that they can have a clear idea of what to expect.

Due to the relatively dispersed stationing of troops, after receiving a call from Vitkov. It's been almost an hour. All the division commanders, brigade commanders and regiment commanders were all there.

When everyone is there. As usual, Vitkov spoke first, first introducing the newly appointed military commissar Kirillov to all the commanders, and then explaining why the 150th Division of Pandereev was renamed the "22nd Division of the Guards Red Banner Stalin Siberian Volunteer Infantry".

"Comrade commanders, perhaps everyone wonders why the 150th Infantry Division of Major General Bandereev was reorganized into the 22nd Guards Red Banner Stalin Siberian Volunteer Infantry Division?" Seeing that everyone was nodding, he continued: "The Independent Division, the predecessor of the 150th Division, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner during the siege of Mamayev Heights. Therefore, it was once renamed the 'Red Banner Independent Division'; this time, the division was awarded a 'Medal for the Defense of Stalingrad,' so that 'Stalin' was added to the number; in addition, the reason why the 'Siberian Volunteer Infantry' was added in front of the '22nd Infantry Division' was not only because the commanders and fighters of the division were almost all from Siberia, but more importantly, to distinguish it from the 22nd Guards Infantry Division, which was changed from the 363rd Infantry Division on 17 March last year. ”

To be honest, I actually didn't understand why my superiors would change such a long and awkward name to my independent teacher. I listened very carefully when I heard Vitkov explaining to the commanders. After listening. It dawned on me that this was the case, but fortunately I only won two medals, and if I got a few more, maybe the number would be so long that I couldn't write a single page in one breath.

After introducing the origin of the new name of the Pantai Leev Division, Vitkov went on to say something more important: "...... With the destruction of the German forces besieged at Stalingrad, our friendly units took advantage of the victory and launched a great counteroffensive. At present, Manstein's 'Army Group on the Don River,' which came to relieve Paulus some time ago, is retreating one after another under the powerful blows of our Southwestern Front and the Voronezh Front. In order to destroy Manstein's troops as much as possible and cut off the German units in the Caucasus from the German army in Ukraine, the base camp pulled our army out of the battle sequence of the 62nd Army and strengthened the Southwestern Front of General Vatutin. ……”

What Vitkov said, the division commanders and brigade commanders in the room had heard a few hours earlier at the army group headquarters, and those regiment commanders had heard it for the first time. Hearing that our army had frequent successes on the battlefield, all of them looked excited, and they were eager to lead their troops to the front line immediately.

After Vitkov finished briefing on the situation, I stood up and said to the commanders sitting in front of me: "Comrades, after receiving additional troops and technical equipment from the Front, our army will officially open to Donetsk the day after tomorrow, that is, on February 7. At this point, I paused for a moment, swept my gaze over the commanders present, and when I saw them all sitting upright, staring at me intently, I asked briefly, "Is there a problem?" ”

After I finished my question, the commanders remained silent, and I knew in my heart that at such a moment of repetition, it seemed that no one in the meeting could find anything to say.

Just as I was about to announce the adjournment of the meeting, a loud voice suddenly came from the crowd: "Comrade commander, may I ask a question?" ”

I followed the direction from which the voice came and saw that it was Colonel Bere, the commander of the tank brigade, who stood up, and I couldn't help but be slightly stunned for a moment, and then took my head and said kindly: "Please speak, Comrade Colonel." ”

"Comrade Commander, since our troops are about to be drawn on the 7th of February, I would like to ask you," Colonel Beray asked coldly in a businesslike tone, "I wonder when we should send out the men to the front station?" ”

"Hit the front station?!" The word that popped out of Colonel Bere's mouth confused me, and after I repeated it, I asked in confusion: "What kind of personnel who hit the front station?" I didn't understand what you meant. ”

"Comrade Commander, please wait a minute." Seeing that the situation was not right, Vitkov hurriedly stood up and relieved me: "This matter is still up to me and Comrade Bere. Then he turned sideways and asked Bere: "Comrade Colonel, do you intend to send men to reinout the route of our march and set up supply points in suitable places?" ”

Colonel Bere's attention was immediately drawn to Vitkov, who nodded and said affirmatively: "Quite right, Comrade Chief of Staff." From here to Donetsk, the march was 500 kilometers long, plus it was a bitter winter. If supply points are not set up on the marching route. Supplies and repairs. By the time we get to Donetsk, at least two-thirds of the tanks will be lying on their backs due to breakdowns......"

I sat at the table, quietly listening to the conversation between the two, and was surprised to find that the establishment of the tank brigade was far from being as simple as I imagined, in addition to the tank unit, there were also a series of subsidiary units such as the armored battalion, the armored maintenance company, the motorized infantry battalion, the motorized communications company, the armored reconnaissance platoon, and the quartermaster company responsible for the supply of fuel and ammunition. If it's a short march. There is no big problem with whether there is a supply point or not, but this time we have to travel 500 kilometers in one day to get to Donetsk, and if we do not take corresponding countermeasures, when the tank brigade arrives at the destination, it is estimated that it will really be as Bere said, and the vast majority of tanks will lose their combat effectiveness in a short period of time due to malfunctions.

When the two of them had finished speaking, I stood up again and said, "Colonel Bere, this matter must not be delayed, and the meeting will be adjourned." You immediately have the right people to do it. Once the supply points have been established, ask the commander in charge to return with a map showing the driving directions, stops, and campsites. Remember. At the newly established respite point, be sure to have fuel, hot food, and boiling water ready. ”

After Colonel Beray sat down, Vitkov announced the order of march of the troops to the commanders present: "This time, the whole army will still be divided into three echelons. the first echelon, consisting of the 171st Infantry Division of Colonel Andryushchenko, and the 84th Tank Brigade of Colonel Bere; the second echelon, consisting of the 22nd Guards Division of Major General Bandereev and the Army's direct troops; The third echelon, consisting of the 308th Infantry Division of Major General Gurdiev and the 266th Artillery Regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Kavierin. The departure time of the first echelon is 8 a.m. on February 7, the second echelon is at 10 o'clock, and the third echelon is at 12 o'clock. ……”

Two days later, after a short rest and limited replenishment, our unit officially opened in the direction of Donetsk.

The jeep in which Kirillov and I were traveling, sandwiched in a long convoy of covered trucks, braved a snowstorm and drove slowly in the direction of Donetsk.

I was looking at the snowflakes flying outside the window, and Vitkov, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, turned to me and said worriedly: "Comrade commander, with such a heavy snowfall, our marching speed does not exceed thirty kilometers, and we will not be able to reach our destination before dark." ”

I heard him say this, sighed, and said helplessly: "No way, the snow outside is too big." Fortunately, Commander Chuikov sent us so many trucks, otherwise, our commanders and fighters would have had to advance to their destination on foot in the snowstorm. In that case, we will arrive in Donetsk even later. ”

After the jeep drove in the snow for more than an hour, on both sides of the road, you could see the corpses of German officers and soldiers, charred tanks, deformed cannons, and the wreckage of crashed planes, revealing black and slimy silhouettes from the thick snow.

Seeing this situation, Kirillov couldn't help but say with emotion: "Oshanina, look outside, if all the blood shed here is the enemy's blood, and all the damage is the enemy's technical equipment, how good it would be!" Unfortunately, tens of thousands of our commanders and fighters have also fallen on this land of our own, and they have given their precious lives to regain this land from the hands of the enemy. Under the cover of all this snow, there were also the wreckage of our planes, and there were our destroyed tanks, and there were also artillery pieces that we turned into scrap metal. ”

I waited for him to finish and then immediately continued: "Yes, Comrade Commissar. To defend our great Motherland, both our army and our people paid a huge price. But as long as we can drive the aggressor out of our country, it will be worth it, no matter how big the cost. ”

"Comrade commander," Vitkov, who was sitting in the front row, suddenly shouted, "there is a three-wheeled motorcycle driving up behind, maybe some order from the higher authorities has arrived." He then tapped the driver on the shoulder and motioned for him to pull over to the side of the road and wait for the motorcycle to catch up.

As soon as our car came to a stop on the side of the road, the motorcycle slowed down and came to a stop next to our car. A conductor wearing a large-brimmed hat jumped from the sidecar, walked quickly to our car window, raised his hand and saluted, took out a telenewspaper from his briefcase, and handed it in through the window.

I saw that Kirillov took the telegram and casually asked: "Comrade Political Commissar, what are the new instructions from the superiors?" ”

"Comrade Oshanina, the telegram was sent by the commander of the Southwestern Front, General Vatutin," Kirillov's gaze rested on the telegram, quickly reading it to me: "...... In order to clear out the remnants of the enemy and ensure the safety of the left flank of our front, your troops did not rush to the Donetsk region for the time being, but turned to Dokuchaev and Volnovakha to the south, and the troops began to build a defensive line on the spot and clear the nearby German participating forces. ”

"Chief of Staff, bring me the map." The location of Donetsk, a big city, I only learned about its location on Rokossovsky's map two days ago, and I had never heard of the two cities that Vatutin ordered us to station.

After spreading out the map among the three of us, Vitkov quickly found the two places from the map and pointed to me with his finger: "Comrade commander, these two cities are in the south-west direction of Donetsk. Dokuchaev is about a hundred kilometers from Donetsk, while Volnovakha is even further and has to go seventy or eighty kilometers to the south. ”

After seeing the location of the two cities, I also had a plan in mind. Hurriedly said to Vitkov: "Chief of Staff, record my orders." The first echelon, having reached the Gukovo area, was ordered to turn around and head south to the city of Volnovakha; The destinations of the second and third echelons were adjusted to Dokuchaev. ”

After writing the order, Vitkov tore the written page from his notebook, then pushed the car door open and jumped out. From the front of the car, he went around to the place where the motorcycle was parked, handed the piece of paper in his hand to the commander who sent the telegram, and told the other party a few words. The commander folded the paper, carefully placed it in his briefcase, raised his hand and saluted Vitkov, then turned into the shoulder of the motorcycle and turned in the direction from which he came.

After the jeep restarted, Kirillov said to me with a frown and a stern expression: "Comrade Oshanina, the situation is very bad. The first echelon is about to go to the city of Volnovakha, where it is stationed, which is more than 150 kilometers farther than Donetsk, and at the current pace of marching, they will not be able to arrive until at least tomorrow morning. If the Germans launched a counterattack on the city at this time, the consequences would be unimaginable. ”

To Kirillov's concern, I smiled, patted him on the shoulder and said lightly: "Don't worry, my comrade commissar." The Germans, who were so windy and snowy outside, and lacked sufficient winter equipment, would not have fought in such bad weather. (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank the book friend for the two votes of book thief mouse, Fei Fei Fei, and book friend 130623224829182 children's shoes! Thanks to the book friend zxx479, Lao Duan is a loli control children's shoes voted for the precious monthly ticket! Thank you for the tips of book friends Yinxiao Baixue and L599XL children's shoes!