Burning Moscow

　　 Entering March, as the temperature rises, the ice layer on Lake Ladoga begins to thin.

　　As the ice surface cannot bear too much weight, the ice command center decided to stop using trucks from now on. The task of transporting food and daily necessities to the city will be completed by horse-drawn sledges.

　　 Lieutenant Colonel Habi’s regiment-level formation unit's road protection team, except for leaving one company to maintain order on the ice, the rest of the troops were transferred to the south of Lake Ladoga. At the same time, Lieutenant Ugarde, who was temporarily strengthened to the women's antiaircraft artillery company, and the male fighters from the platoon he brought over were also transferred.

　　 Not long after Hobby’s troops were transferred, General Shilov from the Ice Command sent a driver to send me a transfer order. The order read: "In order to quickly break the siege of Leningrad by the fascist bandits and effectively strengthen the commanding force of the assault troops outside the encirclement, the commander of the Second Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion Lida Musdakova O Major Shanina, went to serve in the 54th Army under the jurisdiction of General Fejuninsky. This order shall take effect from the date of delivery. Commander of the Leningrad Front: Mikhail Semenovich Khotin . March 10, 1942."

　　 After I read the transfer order, General Shilov’s driver said dryly: "Report to Comrade Major, I am ordered to send you to the 54th Army Command of General Orkhov Fejuninsky."

　　 "Okay, Comrade Driver. Please wait outside the tent. I will clean up and set off right away."

　　 After the driver saluted, turned and walked out of the tent. Kirianova, who had been staying next to her, got up and gave me a hug. After the separation, she asked with red eyes: "Lida, is this breaking up again?"

"Yes, Kirianova." I am actually quite helpless with this kind of personnel arrangement. From the time I traveled to the present, I have not had any comforting days, and I have been constantly transferring from one unit to another. The unit feels like it's out of the ordinary. Or in colloquial terms, it's just a brick, and move to wherever you need it.

　　I actually don’t have much luggage to pack. Basically, I just need to put on my army coat, tie my belt on my briefcase, and carry the assault rifle over my shoulder and lift my foot.

　　 I am still a little reluctant to leave this place where I have lived for nearly two months. The thought of separating from these female soldiers makes my nose sour. Before leaving the tent, I couldn't help but hug Kyrianova again, put my hands around her waist, put my head on her shoulders, closed my eyes hard, and suffocated the tears that were about to come out of my eyes.

When the mood stabilized, I let go of Kirianova, tried to pretend to be happy, put my hands on her shoulders, and said, "Dear comrade company commander, don’t be sad. The separation is temporary. We will sooner or later. See you again."

Removed my hand from her shoulder, I turned around and planned to open the curtain. Suddenly she asked from behind: "Lida, don't I need me to summon the female soldiers to see you off? Even Orlova The instructor can be called back."

　　 "No, you all have things to work on. I want to leave alone and don't disturb anyone." After speaking, I opened the curtain and walked out of the tent.

　　 The driver stood straight outside the tent, saw me coming out, turned around and led me to the parking position. I followed him, pretending to be inadvertent, raised my hand and quietly wiped off a tear that had slipped from the corner of my eye.

　　 The driver is like a taciturn person. From the moment he got in the car, he didn't say a word, just looked ahead and drove intently.

　　 After driving for more than an hour, I encountered the first checkpoint. While our cars were waiting in line for inspection, I took a closer look at this checkpoint. The scale does not seem small. There are seven or eight soldiers in short fur coats in the middle of the road. They are checking vehicles and pedestrians from north to south. There are snow-covered guard boxes and machine gun fortifications stacked with sandbags on the side of the road. There are several earthen bunkers. It is estimated that the troops guarding here are at least company-sized.

　　 When it was our turn to check, it was a second lieutenant who came to check the car. Although there were several special passes stuck on the windshield, he carefully checked the certificates of me and the driver before letting him go.

　　 After restarting the car, the driver who cherished his words like gold said: "Comrade Major, it is already here in Cobauna."

　　 "Cobona?" I muttered this strange place name.

　　 "Yes, Comrade Major." The driver explained, "We have now entered the Volkhov Valley from Lake Rado."

　　 I looked out the window, and there was still whiteness everywhere, but it seemed that I had never experienced war here. The snow on the ground was white and flawless, and there was no trace of bombs or shell explosions.

　　 "How far is it from the destination?" I asked the driver while looking at the snow scene outside the window.

　　 "There are still thirty-five kilometers." The driver simply replied, "The headquarters of the 54th Army is located in Plekhanov."

　　 The car continued to drive forward, and the scene outside the window began to gradually change. I was originally attracted by the beauty in the midwinter, but I was suddenly brought back to reality by those things that suddenly appeared in my vision. There were broken tanks with broken tracks and turrets tilted to one side everywhere on the roadside. What burned was just a truck with a dark frame, a cannon that was blown apart, and a corpse in the snow that hadn't had time to clean up.

"Comrade Major," the driver saw me looking out the window, and actively told me: "In order to protect the ice transportation line, the 54th Army and the 4th Army had a brutal tug of war with the fascist bandits here not long ago. After suffering a huge loss, the enemy had to retreat westward."

　　 I was thinking in my heart that the German army suffered huge losses and retreated. The Soviet army's losses may be even greater. Maybe many units have been completely wiped out. Otherwise, there will be no strange phenomenon of being only a few kilometers away from the troops in the city, but still unable to break the encirclement of the Germans.

　　 The road conditions are getting worse and worse. The cars that were driving smoothly are bumped from side to side from time to time, and the speed of the car slows down unknowingly. Fortunately, it was not far from the destination. Although the speed of the car dropped, we still rushed to the destination before dark.

Plekhanovel is a relatively large town, and there are almost no complete buildings in it. Even Fejuninsky’s headquarters ~www.wuxiaspot.com~ is located in a bombed and collapsed halfway. The buildings on the ground floor and basement remain.

　　 After the driver left, I showed my ID and the transfer order to the second lieutenant on duty at the headquarters. The officer checked the documents, and after handing it back to me, he shook hands with me and said with a smile and kindly: "Hello, Major Oshanina, welcome to the 54th Army Command. I received the commander. Comrade comrade’s order, as soon as I see you coming, I will take you to the headquarters to see him."

　　 "Thank you!" I politely thanked the ensign, and then said, "Please take me to the commander."

　　 Fejuninsky’s command, like all the Soviet command I’ve been to, is located in the room at the end of the corridor on the ground floor. As usual, there was a table at the door with a lieutenant on duty. Seeing us past, he nodded to the ensign who led the way, got up and knocked on the door, then opened the door, stood upright at the door, and reported to the people in the room: "Report to Comrade Commander, Major Oshanina Arrived."

　　 "Invite her in."

　　 "Yes." The lieutenant agreed, turned to face me, and made a gesture of request.

　　 After expressing my gratitude to the ensign who led the way, I strode into Fejuninsky's command post. Almost as I walked into the room, the lieutenant on duty gently closed the door.

　　 The room is not big. Feijuninsky is sitting at the wooden table in the middle of the room. There are maps on the table and several black telephones.

　　 I hurriedly stepped forward and saluted and reported: "Report to Comrade Commander of the Army Group, Major Oshanina was ordered to report to you and listen to your instructions."