Basmanov walked up to me, looked at the back of Lieutenant Colonel Koskaard's departure, and said to me worriedly: "Comrade division commander, if we march all the way north like this, we will not break into the ambush circle of the German army, right?" ”

Regarding the concern of the guard battalion commander, I waved my hand impatiently and said: "This is impossible, according to the reports fed back by the scouts, except for the 295th Infantry Division near the city of Gorodishe, the main forces of the German army have all gone north, and there are currently seven infantry divisions and one tank division blocking the front of the Don Front. In our area, there are only a handful of client state troops, and even if they encounter us, we can easily defeat them. When I said this, seeing that Basmanov was still at a loss, I could only explain to him further: "The camps of these client state troops are far apart from each other, forming a no-man's land with a width of three to five kilometers, and we just jumped out of these gaps, went around the rear of the German army, and looked for an opportunity to hit him and provide some help for the frontal offensive of the Don Front." ”

"Are the troops of the client states all in their camps and not sending out patrols?" After listening to my words, Basmanov muttered unconvinced.

Although he only said it casually, the speaker had no intention of listening, and I actually listened to it, and immediately ordered him: "Comrade Captain, your concern is somewhat reasonable, and we cannot afford to be on guard against such a patrol of the enemy. You immediately send someone to the front to inform Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard, and in addition to the troops who are going to reconnoiter the terrain, send two more squads to the vicinity of the enemy camp to act as a guard. Once you find out that the enemy is moving. Send someone back immediately to report back to me. ”

Basmanov agreed. Then I heard him whisper to the fighters next to him: "Hey, Mikhailov, you immediately rush to the front of the line, go to Lieutenant Colonel Koska, and convey to him the latest order of the division commander: in addition to the reconnaissance units sent, send two more small units to the vicinity of the enemy camps on the left and right sides of the marching route, and keep a close watch on the enemy in the camps. As soon as they had any changes, they immediately sent someone back to report to the division commander. ”

When I first heard Basmanov call the name of the soldier, it sounded familiar to me, and when I heard his voice again, I immediately remembered that this soldier named Mikhailov had talked to me about the various crimes committed by the prisoners of the Gulag two days before. At this moment, when he heard Basmanov's order, he immediately answered loudly, and then ran forward quickly with his weapon in his hand.

Not long after Mikhailov left, the more I thought about it, the more unsteady I became. So he said to Basmanov: "Comrade Captain, I am still not very relieved about this matter. Let's just go straight to Kosgaard. With that, I quickened my pace and walked forward.

By the time I found Kosgaard, Mikhailov had already conveyed my orders, and Kosgaard was calling a captain to him and ordering him: "Captain, send a platoon to each of the enemy camps on the left and right sides of the route, hide near and monitor the movements of the enemy troops in the camp, and if you notice any unusual movement from them, send someone back to report to me at once." ”

The captain agreed, ran to the side and shouted, "The guard company is out of line." With his shout, the warriors all around us broke away from the marching column and marched in front of him. Then I heard him shout: "Platoon leader, take your platoon to the left side of the marching route, set up a guard near the enemy's camp, and monitor the enemy's every move; Second platoon commander, you give me to guard near the enemy camp on the right; Three platoon commanders, you take three platoons to stay, responsible for protecting the safety of the regiment commander. Let's go! With his command, the neat phalanx immediately split into three parts, moving in three directions at the same time.

After the reconnaissance detachment and the alert unit were sent out in turn, we continued to move forward. It's been a long time since I've walked this far, and tonight I've walked more than ten or twenty kilometers at once, and I really can't stand it. Seeing that my pace was getting slower and slower, Kosgaard asked empathetically, "Comrade Commander, are you tired?" Why don't we sit down and rest for a while? ”

I waved my hand and continued gritting my teeth as I walked forward. After walking some distance, I turned to Kosgaard and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how far have we come?" ”

Kosgaard looked up at his watch, then replied, "It's about five kilometers." After a pause, he asked with some concern: "Comrade division commander, what should we do if there is an enemy's defensive position on the hill?" ”

His words made my heart uneasy, yes, I have only ascertained, according to the report of the reconnaissance detachment, that there are no enemy troops in the hilly area where we will be concealed during the day, and if the enemy suddenly increases the garrison, will our tired division not go to its own death. I hesitated for a moment, then said, "In this case, let's go two kilometers further, stop and rest, and wait for Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov and them to meet." Until your reconnaissance team brings back accurate information, we will stand still for the time being. ”

"Okay, that's it." Kosgaard readily agreed.

I don't know if it was the speed of the march of Shederikov's regiment, or if they didn't rest at all from the moment they got off the bus, anyway, we just stopped to rest not far before Pantai Leyev and Sederikov came to me together.

I was just about to ask them how they came so quickly, but Bantai Laiev had already preemptively asked: "Comrade division commander, this is still some distance from our hidden place, why did it stop?" ”

"I have sent a reconnaissance detachment to the front to conduct reconnaissance, and when we are sure that there is no enemy in the place where we are about to hide, we will continue to advance." I was afraid of what Pandereev would think, so I put the whole problem out at once, "If we rush through it so recklessly, even if there is no enemy line in the hilly area, even if there are only one or two patrol detachments, then our efforts tonight will be in vain." ”

Pandereev nodded: "What you said is very reasonable, just do it, let's stop for a while and wait for the scouts to come back." Then he turned around and ordered Sederikov next to him, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, let the fighters of your regiment stop and rest in place." ”

Several of our divisional and regimental leaders sat together and discussed their next move. Shedelikov was the first to say: "Comrade division commander, we have now penetrated deep into the rear of the enemy. The ammunition and food that were carried were very limited. So even if you have to fight. We must also fight quickly, otherwise we will definitely fall into the encirclement of the enemy, and what awaits us is the fate of total annihilation. ”

"The commander of the regiment is right," Bandereev echoed, "and the food and ammunition we are carrying at present will only last about seven days. In other words, if we are not able to join forces with our allies on the fifth day, we should make up our minds decisively. Make a U-turn and return to Mamayev Heights. ”

When I heard Bandereev say that the troops only carried ammunition and food for seven days, I then thought about the "worship offensive" in the later generations, because the number of individual soldiers was limited, each battle could only last for a week, so it was also called the "worship offensive", but I did not expect that the action we were about to take was only seven days. After Pantai Leev finished speaking, I immediately asked Kosga: "Third Commander, what is your opinion?" ”

"I agree with the deputy division commander and the commander of the first regiment," Kosgaard also agreed. "We were alone from the rear, so we couldn't get the job done if we found out. We should make up our minds as early as possible to return to our defensive area and avoid engaging with superior enemy forces in this area. ”

I glanced at Kosgaard seriously, and immediately said: "Now that you understand the situation we are in, although we are facing many difficulties, I still hope that we can create as many favorable fighters as possible, annihilate one enemy, attract the attention of the enemy in the north, reduce the resistance of the Don Front, and put on the posture that the two armies are about to join forces, so that the enemy will have the illusion that their rear is under a serious threat, forcing them to draw troops from the city, to strengthen the defenses of the area between the two rivers. ”

As soon as I finished speaking, Bantai Leyev hurriedly and cautiously reminded: "Comrade division commander, is it a bit too risky for you to do this?" Once the enemy is drawn to us, and the allies are unable to help us effectively, then we are in real danger of being encircled. ”

"Deputy division commander, the risk of us doing this is indeed very high, and it is possible that not only did we not play a role in containment, but we exposed our strength in front of the enemy. The enemy only needs to send an infantry regiment reinforced with a tank battalion, which, combined with the cooperation of the air force, can easily and completely crush us. After expressing my concerns, I had to bite the bullet and say, "Although our situation is very bad, since we have come to this point, we must rise to the occasion and find ways to complete the tasks assigned to us by our superiors." ”

As soon as my words fell, Basmanov came over and reported: "Comrade division commander, the fighters who went to reconnoiter have returned. ”

Hearing him say this, I quickly got up from the ground and commanded in a loud voice: "Comrade Captain, quick, quickly invite the scouts here." ”

After a while, a soldier wearing a steel helmet and a raincoat followed us to us, and after he raised his hand and saluted, Kosgaard preemptively asked: "Sergeant Adir, have you figured out the situation?" ”

"Figured it out, Comrade Regiment Commander." Scout Sergeant Adil replied respectfully: "I rushed to the hill with my comrades from the squad, searched it repeatedly, and found two trenches on the hill......"

"Two trenches?!" Surprised, Bandereev asked: "Do you see the defenders of the enemy?" ”

Sergeant Adil shook his head and replied: "Report to Comrade Colonel, there is no one on the hill at all, the trenches should have been dug by our troops, many places have collapsed, and they are still covered with weeds, and they cannot be found at all if you don't go in." "When I heard this, I thought to myself, since the trenches were already covered with weeds, it would be better to have the troops hidden there. I only heard the sergeant continue: "I stood on the hill and looked northwest, a kilometer or two away in the distance, there seemed to be a village, but I didn't see any lights, I believe there were no Germans in it. ”

"Comrade Sergeant, why don't you send someone to check it out?" "You should have placed at least two guard posts in the village, so that if the enemy approaches the hills from the northwest, you can alert us in advance and give us enough time to react," Kosgaard said to the sergeant in a reproachful tone. ”

"All right, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, stop criticizing the sergeant." Seeing that Kosgaard was about to continue, I hurriedly raised my hand to stop him, and defended Sergeant Adir, saying, "Perhaps the sergeant did his best to come back and report to us what he had discovered, so he didn't think about it for a while, and didn't send someone to the village to reconnoitre. ”

"That's right, Comrade Division Commander." Sergeant Adil said gratefully: "I had finished my reconnaissance on the hill and saw that there was no light in the distant village, so I hurried back with my team. ”

Now that the enemy situation in front of us has been clarified, there is no need for us to continue to stay on this unobstructed prairie, so I then ordered: "Okay, since the situation ahead has been clarified, let's set off immediately." Let the troops rush to the hilly area as much as possible, and use the two trenches to conceal themselves. Sederikov and Kosgaard agreed, turned and ran to their respective troops, shouting to their men to prepare for departure.

After another half an hour of marching, we finally arrived at the place where we camped. The fortifications on this hill were not as rudimentary as Sergeant Adil had suggested, and in addition to two trenches, there were many shelters, and even a few command posts. Sederikov and Kosga, respectively, set up their own command posts in the trenches where their units were located. The largest division headquarters that I and Bandereev chose was located right in the middle of the two regimental command posts, and in the absence of telephone contact, it was also convenient for us to command the troops.

After entering the trenches, both the 1st and 3rd regiments were busy reinforcing the fortifications and releasing guard posts in all directions in case they were taken by surprise by the enemy. Standing at the door of the headquarters, Pandereev looked at the busy commanders and fighters in the distance, and asked me without looking back: "Comrade division commander, what are your plans?" ”

"Let the troops rest first, and then send a reconnaissance unit to reconnoiter the vicinity, especially the village in the northwest, which is the first target we want to reconnoitre." In order to avoid him asking me why I didn't send someone to reconnoiter now, I first explained: "It is too dark and there is no moon tonight, and if we send out a reconnaissance unit rashly, it is easy to get lost in the dark. (To be continued......)