Burning Moscow

37 Special Mission

In the early morning of October 14, the German attack on Pologno began.

The rumble of cannons in the distance awakened me from my sleep. I sat up from the bed and looked outside through the window. Although the sky was still dark, the reflection of the fire on the southern horizon dyed the sky red.

There was a soft knock on the door, and Zhukov’s voice rang outside the door: “Lida! Lida! Have you gotten up?”

Is Zhukov ready to go to the front line? I guessed like this, jumped off the bed, hurriedly put on my clothes and promised loudly: “Comrade General, I am already up, and I will go out when I get dressed.”

After putting on the military uniform, I opened the door and walked to the outside room. I saw Zhukov walking around the house awkwardly, rubbing his hands, looking unconscious. what happened? You know, Zhukov is the kind of character who doesn’t change his color and heart beat before the landslide. What can make him so gloomy? My heart was full of curiosity, but I asked if I was wrong. Standing in place for a while, seeing that Zhukov hadn’t noticed my presence, he proactively greeted him: “Comrade General, good morning!”

“Lida!” Zhukov heard my voice, stopped, turned his head to look at me, and asked with concern: “I got up, how did you sleep last night?”

“Very well, Georgi Konstantinovich.” I simply answered his question, knowing that he called me, there must be some important task to arrange, so I asked straightforwardly: “You have What task do you want to assign to me?”

Zhukov hesitated for a moment, and then slowly said: “I have a special task to hand over to you, but I have to ask your opinion in advance to see if you are willing, if not, I will change to someone else.”

“What are you talking about? Comrade General.” Seeing how kind he was to me, I couldn’t help replacing “you” with the honorific name “you” when I answered, “You are a commander, what is your mission? Just arrange it directly, you don’t need to ask for my opinion.” Then carefully asked: “Which combat unit do you plan to send me to take a specific position?”

“Where, where.” Zhukov shook his head and said, “I have no plans to arrange for you to be in the combat unit for the time being. I called you today because I want to ask you for a personal matter.

“Personal matters, please help me?!” Hearing Zhukov’s words, I couldn’t help but frown, racking my brains for a long time, and I didn’t think of anything I could do for Zhukov.

“Yes, Lida.” Zhukov replied with his usual calm and calm expression, and said slowly: “Do you remember when we passed a wooden bridge on the way from Moscow a few days ago, I talked about my own Do your mother and sister still live in a nearby village?”

“Remember, remember very clearly, Comrade General!” I heard him say this, and already vaguely guessed what kind of special task he will give me, so I asked tentatively: “My task, and this Is this matter related?”

“I just received information that the leading German troops have already approached that area. Maybe tomorrow, or even today, they will occupy it. So I want to send you to Strelkovka village to help I transferred my mother and sister from the village and sent them to Moscow.”

“Understood, Comrade General.” I then asked, “Who shall I go with? After taking your mother and sister from the village, where should I send them to Moscow?”

“The driver Sayit will go with you. I have already told him that he is waiting for you outside. After receiving my mother and sister, you only need to send them to the edge of Moscow, which is us. The place where you left the city last time, there will naturally be people coming to pick you up.”

At this moment, the phone on the desk rang, Zhukov walked over and picked up the receiver and said, “I am Zhukov.”

I heard the voice of General Rokosovsky, commander of the 16th Army, in the microphone: “Comrade General, the infantry of the German Devil, under the cover of 15 tanks, launched a violent attack on the position of the Porosuhi Division. Our soldiers acted very bravely. The enemy dropped the burning tanks and the killed soldiers, and retreated sullenly. The position is still firmly in our hands.”

“It’s good, just keep fighting like this. But you can’t be proud. When the enemy retreats, hurry up to strengthen the fortifications and prepare for the next battle.” Zhukov considered for a moment, and then told the other party: “Hold Polokino, monitor the Minsk automobile highway, and must lay landmines along the way. Also, organize a group of engineer maneuvers carrying mines and explosives, let them set off in cars and carriages, and the task is to stop the enemy tanks. Going.” At this point, he paused for a while, smiled bitterly, and said helplessly: “I don’t have a reserve team. Okay, so be it.” He said, he hung up the phone.

Seeing him looking at me again, I hurriedly came to stand at attention and said, “Allow me to prepare?”

“Well,” he nodded and said, “Go.”

Back to the room, I tied the belt on the head of the bed to my waist. Before putting on the military coat, I pulled out the pistol from the holster for inspection and replaced it with a new magazine. Then I put on my overcoat, a bag with a round magazine on my shoulder, and a submachine gun, fully armed, and came back to the outside room.

Zhukov walked in front of me, stretched out his big warm hand, took my hand and shook it vigorously, and said in a grateful tone: “Lida, be careful on the road, I beg you on this matter. Good luck. Lucky!”

As soon as I walked out of the headquarters door, I saw the driver Sayit, who was leaning against the half-open door and smoking. I walked towards him and asked, “Sayit, how are you preparing? Can we set off right away?”

Said threw the cigarette **** in his hand, walked around from the front of the car, opened the door for me, and replied confidently: “You can go anytime, Comrade Major! Please get in the car.”

“Where are the others?” Before I got into the car, I looked around. Except for the driver in front of me and the guard standing guard at the door, I never saw anyone else, so I couldn’t help but ask curiously.

“Others?! Don’t Comrade General just arrange for the two of us to perform this special task?”

After listening to Said’s words, I silently sat in the position of the co-pilot, did not speak, but closed the car door smoothly. It seems that the war is tight now, Zhukov may be powerless and unable to mobilize more manpower, so he gave this special task to us he trusted.

The weather has been bad recently. It is either rain or snow. The muddy road is full of pits and puddles. Both of us were silent in the car. Said drove the car intently, circling ingeniously among puddles, mounds and dry bushes, heading straight to the village of Strelkovka. Drive.

After bumping on the road for more than an hour, he finally reached the village of Strelkovka. As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the village, the car was stopped by a middle-aged man in plain clothes. As soon as the car stopped, Sait and I opened the door and drilled out. Said walked to the middle-aged man and asked him, “Excuse me, do you know where Ustina Artemyena’s house is?”

“Ustinia Artemiena?! I don’t know.” The man replied blankly, and then asked us: “Who are you? What are you doing here? To know that the German devil is away from here Only ten kilometers away, we are organizing the evacuation of people in the village.”

“I was sent by General Zhukov.” I guessed that what Sayyit said just now might be Zhukov’s mother’s name, but it is estimated that no one has called her by this name for many years, so it is normal to say that I don’t know it, so I just asked The middle-aged man made clear our intention.

“Oh, I understand. So you are here to find the relatives of General Zhukov, I will take you there.” Hearing what I said, he suddenly realized that he led the way and introduced himself to us: “I It is Pugachev, the chairman of the village Soviet, who has been organizing the evacuation of the villagers since yesterday.”

“How is the evacuation situation?” I asked as I walked.

“Most people have been evacuated. Zhukov’s sister also left with her two children yesterday. But Comrade General’s mother refused to leave. She said she would wait until her son sent someone to pick her up. Leave. I’m worried about this. If the enemy learns that she is the mother of General Zhukov, he will definitely be shot. Fortunately, you are here, and the rest will be easy.”

After a while, we came to a dilapidated house. Pugachev knocked on the door, and before anyone could answer, he opened the door and walked in. The light in the room was very dark. After I walked in, it took a while to see that an old lady who looked like she was in her seventies was sitting at the table, and Pugachev was standing next to her, pointing I bend over and whisper something to the old lady. I hurried forward to salute the old lady and said loudly: “Grandma, I am coming to pick you up on Comrade Zhukov’s order and send you to Moscow.”

With Pugachev’s support, the old lady stood up slowly, walked up to me, looked at me up and down, and said with satisfaction: “It seems that my son has not forgotten me. Old lady, a beautiful girl was specially sent to pick me up. Okay, I will follow you.”

“Don’t you tidy up the things in the house? Even if you take a few pieces of luggage, you can leave.” Pughachev reminded her next to her.

“No, after arriving in Moscow, is there still a shortage of things I use.” After speaking to Pugachev, she turned to me and said, “Let’s go, girl.” I hurriedly held her. Arm, supporting her to walk out.

helped the old lady to sit in the back row. As soon as I returned to my co-pilot seat, there were sporadic gunshots from the village. I poked my head out of the car window to look for the source of the gunshots. Said had already started the vehicle and said loudly at me: “Comrade Major, it is the gunshots of a German MP40 submachine gun. It seems that they have already entered the village. “Speaking, he quickly turned the car around, then leaned back and opened the rear door, allowing Pugachev to get into the car. Then, as soon as we hit the accelerator, the car we were riding in quickly rushed out of the village.

The car drove a long way, until the village of Strelkovka was no longer visible, and my heartbeat had not returned to normal. I secretly looked back at Pugachev, who was sitting behind, and saw that he was also bloodless, shaking like chaff. Looking at Sayyt again, he was still driving the car with complete concentration, with no expression of fear at all. I looked back at the old lady sitting behind, and I was even more impressed. She fell asleep with her eyes closed at home.

A few hours later, our car approached the outskirts of the city. I saw a checkpoint in front of me from a distance, with a lot of soldiers standing there, and two black cars parked there. Said gradually slowed down and stopped more than 20 meters away from the checkpoint. The soldiers standing at the checkpoint saw our car stopped, and immediately several people walked over here quickly. I quickly got out of the car and greeted them.

After 　　 approached, I realized that the person walking in the front I knew was Colonel Bezikov of the Central Guard Corps. I quickly saluted him and said, “Hello, comrade colonel. I didn’t expect we would meet here.”

He did not return the gift, but reached out and shook my hand and said: “I am here on Comrade Stalin’s order to pick up Comrade Zhukov’s mother and sister. Where are they?”

I pointed to the car behind and said, “General Zhukov’s sister was evacuated yesterday, and I only got his mother. The old lady is in the car.”

After seeing Zhukov’s mother and Pougachev, accompanied by the soldiers, sitting in the black car parked at the checkpoint, Bezikov shook hands with me and said goodbye, “Comrade Oshanina , Your task has been completed. Let us do the rest. You can go back and report to Comrade Zhukov with confidence.” Before turning and leaving, he added another sentence: “I have already transferred from the Kremlin. Working at the garrison headquarters in Moscow. And,” he pointed to his collar: “My rank is no longer a colonel, but a lieutenant colonel.” After shaking hands with me again, he strode towards the checkpoint.

I stood there in a daze. I did not expect that the last time a German bomb fell on the Kremlin, so many people would be punished. The commander of the antiaircraft artillery unit was transferred out of his post because of unfavorable air defense. But the colonel of the Central Guard Corps was also inexplicably demoted, which was too chilling.

“Comrade Major.” Said did not know when he stood by my side and asked me, “What shall we do next?”

“Get in the car and go back to the front headquarters to report to Comrade General.” After I said this, I turned around and walked towards the parked car.