Burning Moscow

55 An Uneasy Opponent

Kroshkov put on an armed belt, put on a cotton cap, and said to me: “Comrade lieutenant colonel, the 2836 regiment of the 946 brigade is defending the right-wing position. They have lost a lot of personnel in the early battles. The enemy’s sneak attack may not be able to withstand it. I will immediately take a company to support them, and the second and third companies will be left to you to continue to command.”

“No.” I stopped him decisively, and said angrily: “The situation outside is unclear. We don’t know how many troops and equipment the 2836 Regiment has, and we don’t know at all. Moreover, our battalion is also very downsizing. There are less than 50 people left in each company, and there are fewer reinforcements, which will not make much difference; if you go too much, it will weaken the defensive strength of our position.”

“We can’t die without saving! If the 2836 regiment’s position is lost, our flanks will be exposed to the enemy.” Hearing the increasing intensity of gunfire from outside, Kroshkov was distraught. The shelter department walked back and forth a few times, then stopped and said to me: “Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, should we leave a few soldiers here on guard, and the rest of the troops will go to reinforce the 2836 regiment?”

“No.” I rejected his proposal without hesitation, reminding him: “Our task is to defend this position. What if the enemy takes the opportunity to attack our position when we go for reinforcements? You don’t think it depends on it. The few soldiers we have left can block the enemy and hold the position, right?”

“But if you don’t go, the 2836 regiment’s position will be dangerous.”

“The position of the 2836 regiment is lost, and the troops of the 946 brigade can organize a counterattack to take it back. But if our position is lost, the division will lose even the counterattack troops.”

“We can’t die without saving!”

“I can’t do it if I say no.” Seeing his stubborn opinion, I couldn’t help getting angry, and my tone became unceremonious. I slapped the table abruptly and said, “This is an order. There is no room for negotiation.”

Seeing my attitude so firm, he sat down angrily and said nothing. The two of us just sat silently, one looking to the left and the other to the right.

The phone rang on the desk, and he grabbed the phone and said angrily: “I am Kroshkov, the first-level instructor, where are you?” I vaguely heard the person over the microphone reporting his identity, Kroshkovteng. The ground stood up and said loudly, “Comrade Teacher, hello, haven’t you rested at this late hour?”

Because of the interference of gunfire outside, I couldn’t hear what Panfilov said on the phone, but Kroshkov who answered the phone kept answering: “Yes, yes.”

Although he and I have disputes at work, the purpose is to do our own thing well. As soon as I saw him put down the phone, I immediately asked in a steady tone, “What did the teacher say on the phone?”

Unexpectedly, when I asked, he blushed and said with a little shame: “The commander told us to hold our position and don’t attack casually. He also said that the rest of the 946 brigade has already gone to reinforce the 2836 regiment, and it will be soon. The enemy’s sneak attack can be repelled.” Having said this, he took the initiative to apologize to me and said: “Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are right. Please forgive me for the impulse just now.”

“It’s okay, it’s all disputes that happened for work. Don’t take this to your heart.” I answered him politely, and proactively stretched out my hand to shake hands with him. All conflicts disappeared in this grip.

After Kroshkov and I shook hands, I carried a submachine gun and went out to check out the sentry. I sat alone at the table in a daze. Looking back on what happened in the last few days, I vaguely felt that there was an unsimple character in the German commander opposite.

The tactic of using artillery to bombard the enemy’s position and stepping on the explosive point to charge forward was only seen in the self-defense counterattack in the late 1970s. I only used it once, and the Germans learned this tactic in the next day’s offensive. If it weren’t discovered by the observation post and acted in time, it would be a question of whether it could hold the position.

Last night, I just organized a small team to carry out a sneak attack on the German camp and achieved good results. Unexpectedly, the Germans will touch the 2836 regiment tonight. Although the outcome is still uncertain, based on my understanding of the combat effectiveness of both sides, the Soviet casualties must be large.

Although the German army is currently attacking the 2836 regiment on the right wing, there is always a sense of insecurity in my heart, and I always feel that their goal is not there. Could it be the enemy’s strategy of turning the tiger away from the mountain? Deliberately attacked the position of the 2836 regiment, tempting us to send reinforcements there, and then took advantage of the emptiness of our position and suddenly took our position? If this is the case, then the opponent on the opposite side is terrible. Just don’t know what level of this opponent is, battalion commander, regiment commander, or higher-level commander?

Just as I was thinking about it, there was a clear gunfire outside. After a while, the dense gunfire outside became a whole. I listened carefully. There were both German MP40 shooting, as well as the shooting of Soviet Mosin Nagan rifles, carbines, and Sokolov heavy machine guns.

Is it really the enemy who came to sneak attack? Thinking of this, I grabbed the submachine gun on the table and stood up, opened the curtain and planned to take a look outside.

The phone on the desk rang. I put down the curtain, turned around and jumped to the table and grabbed the phone. Before I could speak, Kroshkov’s anxious voice came from inside: “Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, just now the sentry noticed that a large number of people were moving towards our army position, and they shot and warned. I didn’t expect the other party to immediately shoot us with fierce firepower. , I’m here in the first company to organize fighters to block the enemy. The fighters of the second and third companies are also entering the position.”

“Understood, firmly hold the position, and can’t let the enemy move forward.” After I said, I dropped the phone and took the submachine gun out of the shelter. Because I rushed too fast, I ran into a person standing at the door full of arms, and the huge inertia made me sit on the ground.

“Who is TMD? Walk without eyes.” I scolded furiously.

“I’m sorry, comrade major, I am Bahadu.” The other party quickly revealed his identity to me.

“Are you okay standing in front of the shelter, why?”

“I am under the command of the teacher to protect your safety like I protect my eyes.”

“Stop talking nonsense, give me a hand, I can’t stand up.”

“Yes.” Bahadu agreed, and with the help of the light from the shelter, he grabbed my outstretched hand and pulled me up from the ground.

The sky is too dark. I can’t see anything more than ten meters away. I can only judge their approximate position from the muzzle fired by the Germans. I picked up the submachine gun and pulled the trigger at those positions. For the sake of safety, I changed the place after a few shots so as not to become the enemy’s target. Bahadur is like a follower, wherever I run, he follows; I shoot and he shoots, and when I shoot, he also shoots.

“Boom!” A mortar bomb exploded not far away, and the snow and mud splashed all over me. I shook my head, shook off the dirt from the hat, and then continued to run around in the trench to change a place.

“Comrade Major, pay attention to concealment.” Bahadu shouted anxiously from behind.

“It’s okay, don’t worry, the shells that can kill me have not been produced yet.” I replied nonchalantly to Bahadu while shooting outside the trenches.

“Be careful!” Bahadu slammed me to the ground, and then a shell exploded above the trench, and the collapsed mud covered us with a thick layer.

“Bahadu, are you okay?” I asked the warrior who was pressing on my back cautiously. The shells just exploded at such a close distance, he wouldn’t be injured or sacrificed.

“It’s okay, Comrade Major. I didn’t even hurt any hairs.” Bahadu answered and got up. After he stood up, he stooped to help me up and dusted my body.

“Hehe,” I smiled and said to him, “I’m not wrong, the shells that can kill me have not been produced yet.”

Hearing what I said, he also laughed in agreement.

Before the laughter fell, another shell screamed and fell into the trench, exploding behind Bahadu. I felt a shock all over, and then fell to the ground by a strong explosion. I fell heavily on my back into the trenches. I didn’t feel any pain. I only felt a burst of tiredness. My vision gradually became blurry until I couldn’t see anything Book friends are welcome to visit and read, the latest, fastest and hottest serial works are all at