Burning Moscow

#50-I’m in charge of my site

After regaining the position, Kroshkov led the soldiers to clean the battlefield, bury the corpses, rescue the wounded and strengthen the fortifications. I stayed in the battalion headquarters and supervised the communicators to install the communication lines leading to the rear.

While waiting for the signal soldier to lay the line, I was idle, and by the faint light of the dangling candle in the room, I dismantled the Bobosha submachine gun into parts, and meticulously wiped every part spotlessly. Only then reassembled. After wiping the weapon, I saw that the communicator was not busy yet, and took out the round magazines and ejected the bullets one by one. I looked around and saw that the communicators were busy and no one noticed me. Dip them in saliva and polish them one by one, and then reinstalled the magazine.

As soon as the magazine was installed, the phone on the desk rang. I checked the time, and just restored the communication between the battalion command post and the rear, and it took nearly three hours for the communicator. It seems that it is absolutely necessary to organize them to conduct a technical contest in order to improve their technical level.

After the communication was restored, the ringing of the phone kept ringing. Almost every phone call was to congratulate us on regaining the enemy’s position.

Major General Panfilov, who called first, said happily on the other side of the phone: “Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, you are amazing! It only took half an hour to take back our lost ground. I am. I’ll ask my superiors for your work immediately.”

As soon as his call was hung up, the call from Lieutenant General Rokosovsky, the commander of the group army, followed. Like the commander, he congratulated me on the action of regaining the position, and then asked with concern: “Your battalion’s Are the casualties high?”

I looked at the casualty report in front of me and replied: “It’s not that big. In the counterattack, we sacrificed six soldiers, wounded 15 people, wiped out 197 enemies, and captured two doors. Mortars and a lot of submachine guns.”

Hearing what I said, Rokosovsky was silent for a while, and then said to me in a earnest tone: “Comrade Lida, we are not outsiders anymore. I hope you can tell me the truth. Your camp How many casualties were there in the end? It is worth it to know that no matter how high the price is to defeat the enemy, it is worth it.”

“Really, Comrade Commander.” I knew that in such an offensive, there were only such small casualties, which is very unbelievable. I quickly defended and said: “In this offensive, my battalion really only suffered casualties. Twenty-one people. This data is absolutely not falsified. If you don’t believe it, you can go to the battlefield to count the number of people. After you count the number, you will know whether what I said is true or false.”

“Really?” Rokosovsky still asked uneasyly.

“Of course it is true, Comrade Commander.” I replied in a positive tone: “I know that in such a battle, there are only such small casualties, it is very unbelievable, but it is true.”

“Then tell me, how did you do this?” There was still a hint of distrust in his tone.

“I took advantage of the artillery of the group army to bombard the position. The German devils were suppressed in the trenches, unable to observe the favorable opportunity of the outside situation, and led the troops to attack. At the end of the bombardment, our troops were only ten meters away from the position. The charge rushed into the trenches, and the enemy was caught off guard by us. In addition, the guard battalion was well equipped, and the powerful firepower made the enemy unable to fight back. It may be that these factors add up to minimize casualties. Retake the battlefield.”

“Understood, Lida Lida, good job! Now that the position has been retaken, then defend it well, and definitely not allow the enemy to move forward. Good luck!” After speaking, he put down the phone.

The phone rang again.

It was Zhukov himself who called this time. Once the phone was connected, he said impatiently: “Lida, what’s the matter with your phone? Why can’t I get through?”

“Hello, Comrade General!” I greeted him politely, and then patiently explained to him: “I was talking with the commander of the group army, General Rokosovsky.”

“I heard that you would not stay in the headquarters of the group army, but you want to run into the army to lead the soldiers to charge! This is not what you should do, but stay in the headquarters and be a adviser!”

“Thank you for your concern, Comrade General. I don’t think I’m fit to stay in the headquarters. It’s more to my appetite to face the German devils face to face on the front line.” As my military rank improves, I will be able to do so in the future. There will be more and more senior generals in contact. But if you continue to look forward to it in the headquarters, you will inevitably be involved in power struggles within the army. Although the frontline is extremely dangerous, you at least know who your enemy is. In the headquarters, if you stand on the wrong team, you may fall into a situation where you will never recover. That’s why I, a political novice, will choose to come to the front again and again.

After hearing my explanation, Zhukov sighed and said: “I just heard Major General Panfilov say that you and your troops have regained the lost position of the 316th Division. It’s amazing! I congratulate you.” Then he He also said: “How about the casualties of the troops in this attack?”

“The casualties are small, Comrade General.” Then I added: “This time the casualties are incredibly small.”

“Unbelievably small?!” He repeated my words, and then asked, “How small is it?”

“Six soldiers were sacrificed, 15 were wounded, and 197 German devils were eliminated. A large amount of weapons and ammunition were also seized.” I repeated to Zhukov the information I had just reported to Rokosovsky. .

After listening to my report, he hesitated and asked: “Are you sure that the information you said is accurate?” If I tell others this way in later lives, they will probably ask me: “You didn’t open the invincible plug-in?”

“Exactly accurate, Georgi Konstantinovic.” I answered him very positively. I guess he should ask me why I will achieve such a result. Sure enough, he went on to ask: “How come the casualties are so small, how do you do this?”

So, I repeated what I had just reported to the commander of the group army, and repeated it to him again, and finally added: “I think that as a commander in a war, you still have to pay attention to some commanding skills, and you can’t just fight hard. Rush, in that case, the casualties of the troops will be too great. If we have to pay a huge price to regain our position, facing the enemy’s crazy counterattack, it will be difficult to hold without sufficient troops.”

“You make a lot of sense.” He said in agreement: “Since the position has been retaken, then defend it well. If there is a reserve team from the base camp, I will add it to you. Good luck. !” Then he also hung up.

At this time, Deputy Political Battalion Commander Kroshkov came in and reported to me: “Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the battlefield has been cleaned up. We have collected the enemy’s corpses and buried them. The remains of our sacrificed soldiers and wounded have also been sent to me. In the rear. The original fortifications on the position have also been reinforced to withstand a new round of the enemy’s offensive.”

“Go, take me to see, Comrade Political Instructor I.” As I said, I stood up, put my submachine gun on my back, and led the way out.

After walking along the newly dug trenches, I found that the soldiers had just re-digged the collapsed area, and then simply reinforced it with logs. It was okay to hide bullets in such trenches and encountered shelling. There will still be heavy losses. So I turned around and said to Kroshkov: “Comrade first-level political instructors, such fortifications are not good. As long as the enemy shells, our soldiers in the trenches will suffer heavy casualties.”

“What should I do then? Comrade Lieutenant Colonel.” Kroshkov humbly asked for my opinion The crater should be dug in the trench, the bigger the better. When the enemy shelled, in addition to leaving a few observation posts, everyone else could hide inside, so that many unnecessary casualties could be avoided. “Then I pointed to the open ground in front of the position and said, “Immediately organize soldiers, go to a place 20 meters away, and dig dozens of individual bunkers. The deeper the better, the deeper you can’t get out after you get in. The depth is good. ”

Kroshkov was confused when he heard it, and asked curiously: “Why are you digging so deep in a single-soldier bunker? And it’s so deep that no one can climb out?”

I smiled slightly, and deliberately sold it without saying: “As for what purpose? You will know when the German devils attack. Also,” I saw Kroshkov turn around to leave, and I warned again: “Immediately arrange for manpower to dig out individual bunkers and bulletproof pits immediately, and move quickly.”

“But, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel.” He said embarrassedly: “The soldiers are very tired and need to rest. It is not appropriate to arrange for them to continue working at this time.”

“Implement the order! Comrade Level 1 Instructor.” I said forcefully, “Now is not the time to rest. You tell the soldiers to sweat more and bleed less in wartime. Now dig a shovel of dirt more for war. , You can save a shell of shells.”

“But…” Kroshkov wanted to defend something, but was immediately interrupted by me. “There is nothing but. I am the highest commander of the battalion. In the territory under my jurisdiction, everything is up to me. Go ahead and execute it!”

“Yes!” Kroshkov saluted me and turned around to arrange for the soldiers to carry out the local work I arranged.