Arc of Gunfire

July 11, the third day of the counterattack, 1130 hours.

The headquarters of the 63rd Infantry Army is on the way to move forward, and the new headquarters location was chosen in the former mining city of Basque.

It is difficult to say whether the commander's selfish motives were involved in selecting the location of this headquarters.

Lieutenant General Eugene's jeep ran at the front of the entire headquarters column.

The car drove up a hill, and the city suddenly spread out on the distant horizon.

Lieutenant General Eugene shouted: "Stop! Stop right here!"

The driver braked and the jeep stopped, along with the entire command column following the jeep.

Lieutenant General Eugene stood up, stood on the seat of the jeep, raised his binoculars and looked at the city on the horizon.

The guard in the passenger seat asked: "Do you have any relatives staying here?"

"No. We have all evacuated, but some elderly workers in the mine did not want to leave and chose to stay." Lieutenant General Eugene sighed, "The old people all experienced the conflict with Anatolia when they were young. War, the idea of ​​​​the country and the nation is not that strong. They like the doctor sausage in the church store, but it doesn’t matter if they don’t have it.”

Guard: "Don't you know these old people are still alive?"

"We will know soon." Lieutenant General Eugene put down the telescope. "There are signs of activity in the city, and I saw crowds gathering. Don't take it lightly, stay alert! Let's go into the city!"

After speaking, he sat down and patted the backrest of the driver's seat.

The car started immediately and slid down the hillside as fast as if it wanted to catch up with the wind on the grassland.

As he approached the city, Lieutenant General Eugene could clearly see the crowds gathering on both sides of the road holding flowers high.

Guards sent by the troops who entered the city in advance were mixed in with the crowd, and their necks were covered with flowers.

A T34W tank was parked on the side of the road, with several officers standing in front of the tank.

Eugene's jeep drove all the way to the tank and stopped, and several officers came up to meet him. The colonel leading the team took the lead in saluting: "General! The 71st Guards Infantry Regiment has occupied the Basque City, and no Plosin troops have been found. The city hospital has Our hospital has taken over some of the seriously injured people in Proson.”

Eugene nodded: "I understand. The seriously injured should be taken good care of. This is General Rokossov's intention. We will soon select a location for the headquarters. Can you find any more complete buildings?"

Colonel: "We found that the workers' cinema in the mining area is well-preserved. According to the projectionist, a movie was shown a few days ago. It was a movie by Prosen, bragging about their civil and military skills!"

Eugene suddenly showed a sigh of relief: "A workers' cinema? The one next to the church?"

"Huh? Oh, the ruins next to it are the church. The Proscenians bulldozed the church." The colonel said angrily, "These bastards deserve to die!"

Eugene: "They really deserve to die! I want to go to the cinema. Is the road clear?"

"certainly."

Eugene immediately patted the driver's backrest: "You come to the back, I'll drive."

The driver immediately got out of the car, and Eugene stepped directly over the backrest from behind and stepped on the driver's seat. He didn't mind it and just sat down on his big footprints.

While pulling up the handbrake, Eugene thought of something and asked the colonel who greeted him: "Did you organize the crowd on the roadside?"

"No," the colonel said with a wry smile, "I don't know where the news came out, saying that General Rokossov was going to set up a headquarters in the city. It was useless for us to refute the rumor. Everyone firmly believed that General Rokossov would be seen soon. ”

Eugene looked at the crowd and said with a smile: "No wonder. I just said that I am not so well-known."

As he spoke, he stepped on the accelerator lightly, and the car started lightly, passing by the tank.

Crowds on the roadside threw flowers at Eugene's Jeep.

There was also an enthusiastic girl who caught up with the jeep, hugged Eugene's neck and kissed him.

Eugene: "Thank you, thank you! Girl, I can't drive like this!"

He applied a little more accelerator, the car picked up speed, and the girl let him go.

Just as the second girl was about to step forward, Eugene shouted: "I am not Rokosov! Look at the stars clearly! There are five stars on Rokosov's shoulder strap! Five!"

The girl stopped hesitantly and carefully checked the stars on Eugene's shoulder straps.

Eugene took the opportunity to speed up and the jeep weaved through the crowd.

After entering the city, traces of the war appeared. Half of the houses on the roadside are in a state of destruction, and some have been damaged for a long time, with creepers and green moss growing on the walls.

Walking a little further, Eugene suddenly saw a woman crying on the side of the road. A group of old people were holding her shoulders and controlling her. A man who looked like a barber was pushing her hair with a clipper.

Eugene stopped and asked loudly: "What's wrong with this woman?"

One of the old men saluted Eugene: "General, this slut committed adultery with the Prossens! She also betrayed the guerrillas hiding in Peter's house!"

The woman shouted: "What can I do! My child needs to eat!"

Eugene: "You can evacuate with the church, can't you? Women with children will get preferential treatment."

The woman was silent.

Old man: "She thought the Proscenians would win! Damn it, we old men didn't want to leave because we didn't want to take up precious transportation resources! She didn't leave because she wanted to be a Prossen!"

Eugene: "Okay! Even if she is at fault, she should be tried. Leave it to the judges!"

When the woman heard the word "judge", she trembled all over and showed a horrified expression on her face.

Eugene stepped on the accelerator lightly and stopped looking at this fool who stood on the opposite side of the historical trend.

The jeep crossed the street and headed straight for the cinema.

But just before arriving at the cinema, Eugene turned the steering wheel sharply and turned into an alley.

The crowd on the roadside was caught off guard and gathered at the intersection curiously looking into the alley.

Eugene drove all the way to an old three-story building before releasing the accelerator and stepping on the brake.

When the car stopped steadily, he got out of the car solemnly and looked up at the beech in front of the building.

Many branches of the old tree were broken by shrapnel, and the trunk was full of bullet holes. It can be seen how fierce the battle that broke out here before was.

Eugene stood under the tree and stared at the bullet holes, as if he had turned into a stone statue.

The guard asked in confusion: "General, what's wrong?"

"This beech tree has been here since I can remember. There is only this one beech tree in the city, so in autumn, many people come to see its leaves, you know? The leaves of the beech become very beautiful in autumn."

Guard: "I don't know, there are only white birch trees, white birch trees, and white birch trees near my home."

Lieutenant General Eugene muttered: "Then you really should come and see it in autumn."

He took a step forward.

There was a brick wall at the edge of the tree, but now the wall has rotted away, and the soil that was originally surrounded by the wall has disappeared, and a considerable part of the tree's roots are exposed outside.

Lieutenant General Eugene had to step on part of the tree roots to put his hand on the mottled bark.

He gently touched the bullet hole, but found that there was no bullet in it.

"All the bullets have been taken away by me." A childish voice suddenly came from behind the tree.

Eugene tilted his head slightly and looked behind the tree. He found a piece of canvas covering the roots of the tree, and a small face was peeking out from the gap between the canvas and the roots.

Lieutenant General Eugene hesitated and asked, "Katya?"

"How do you know me?"

Eugene pointed to the building next to him: "I am Eugene on the third floor of this staircase. Have you forgotten?"

"Uncle Eugene?" The little girl lifted the canvas and stood up, her eyes wide open, "Oh, it's really Uncle Eugene! I can't remember what you look like."

Eugene: "Of course, you were only five years old when we left, it's not your fault."

Katya blinked and pointed at Eugene's shoulder straps and said, "Are you a high-ranking official?"

"I am a lieutenant general, and my troops are all around here." Eugene replied.

Katya: "Then who is older, General Rokossov or you?"

"Rokossov is the boss of all of us," Eugene quickly changed the subject, "Why didn't you evacuate?"

"My mother wanted to take me away, but she was killed by a plane, and Uncle Pandelayevich took me in. Uncle wanted to send me to the evacuation car, but the station had been bombed, and the last priest who stayed behind was distributing weapons and said that we couldn't leave."

Eugene: "So you stayed?"

"Yes!" Katya smiled, "I'm small, and the Proson people didn't expect me to send a letter to the guerrillas! I also took off these bullets and gave them to the guerrillas. They need the materials on the bullets to make new bullets, otherwise they can't shoot far!"

Eugene's guard immediately said, "Is it chromium and nickel?"

Katya: "I don't know, anyway, they said they need these, iron alone can't shoot far!"

Eugene He reached out and gently stroked Katya's head: "You did a good job. Where is Mr. Panjielai?"

"He was found by the Prosen people last year and hanged. Since then, I have been hiding here. People around me will secretly give me food, and let me send letters to the guerrillas when there is something."

Eugene's mouth twitched slightly, and then he touched Katya's head and said: "General Rokossov has established a school that specifically accepts children like you and provides them with the best education. It is called Zhongsi Academy. I will write you a letter of recommendation. You can take it to Yebao to join this academy!"

"Can I go if I am a girl?"

"Of course."

After a brief hesitation, Eugene asked again: "By the way, do you know the situation of Miss Anastasia who lives next door at No. 41?"

Katya shook her head: "I don't know, there is no such person here."

"Okay." Eugene sighed.

Katya: "Who is she to you?"

"She's mine... um... you may not know, my wife died before the war broke out, Anastasia is a very good friend of mine..."

Katya: "You want to marry her!"

Eugene nodded.

"But it seems that it's not possible now, she probably..."

The lieutenant general raised his head and looked at the old tree that still had no new leaves in the middle of summer, and didn't say anything more.

The summer sun penetrated the bare branches and fell on him.