Burning Moscow

General Afanasiev rejected Antonov's request and did not ride in the armored vehicle, but sat on the bridge of the truck like me. He poked his head out of the window of the co-pilot and said, "Major Oshanina, how far is it from here to your division?"

I checked my watch, looked up and said to him: "Comrade General, I will be able to reach my destination in about two hours."

"Then don't fudge, let's go."

"Yes!" I promised, and then ordered Captain Gusev to let the convoy set off. When I turned to leave, I vaguely heard General Afanasyev whispering: "The Germans don't know when they will come, or leave early. This is a place of right and wrong."

The convoy went back faster than when it came, and it took only an hour and a half to get to the outside of the village. When passing by the village entrance, I unexpectedly discovered that fortifications were actually built here. In addition to the machine gun positions stacked with sandbags, there is also a half-deep trench. At least two squads of soldiers are defending here.

I quickly asked the driver to stop. After getting out of the car, I came to the front of the group of soldiers and asked a sergeant: "Comrade sergeant, when was this fortification built? When I left in the morning, there seemed to be a few exceptions. Sentinel, there is nothing left."

Hearing my question, the sergeant straightened his body and replied loudly: "Report to Comrade Commander, this fortification was ordered by the Chief of Staff. He said that this can prevent German sneak attacks."

"Does this kind of fortifications exist only at the entrance of this village, or does it exist in every village?"

"Every village has it, and in the houses close to the fortifications, there are firepower points built. Even if the Germans are attacked, they cannot enter the village in a short time.

After listening to the sergeant's answer, I looked at the trenches and the commanders waiting in the fort, and nodded in satisfaction. In such a short period of time, the fortifications in the village can be improved. It seems that Boroda's ability is quite strong.

I waved and asked the driver to drive away, and walked to the parking place. I saw that General Afanasyev was already waiting for me under the car, and Major Antonov, Captain Gusev, and Captain Burda Captain Chumac stood around him, everyone bowed their heads, as if they had only been criticized by the general.

See me walking past. General Afanasyev said a little displeased: "Major Oshanina, how long do you have to wait? We have all got out of the car for five or six minutes before you rushed over slowly."

I smiled apologetically at him and replied: "I'm sorry, Comrade General, please forgive me. I was checking the newly built fortifications at the entrance of the village just now, so I came late."

General Afanasyev snorted dissatisfiedly and said: "Then don't linger, take me to your division as soon as possible. I am still anxious to talk to Commander Meretskov."

I didn't argue with him. With a smile on his face, he led him to the division headquarters.

As soon as he entered the door, he saw Captain Boroda sitting at the table, looking down at a map lying in front of him. Perceiving someone entering the headquarters, he raised his head and saw General Afanasyev and I entering the door. He was visibly stunned, then stood up abruptly and rushed to meet us.

He gave a solemn military salute to General Afa Nasiyev and said loudly: "Comrade General. Your subordinate Boroda will report to you. Welcome you."

Afanasiev looked at him up and down, and then exclaimed excitedly: "So it was you. Lieutenant Boroda, I didn't expect you to be alive!..." Then the two hugged each other.

Boroda also said emotionally: "Comrade General, I can see you safely out of danger. I'm really so happy."

Seeing the two big men cuddling in front of me, I felt a little awkward, so I coughed, cleared my throat, and said, "General Afanasyev, I will introduce you to this Boro Captain Da, is currently the acting chief of staff of the 378th Division."

"Captain? Chief of Staff?" Afanasiev separated from Boroda, looked at him from head to toe, and said, "It's only been a few months. I didn't expect you to be a captain anymore." Then he turned around and asked me. "Major Oshanina, can you tell me how you and Captain Boroda became the commander and chief of staff of the 378th Infantry Division? I am confused."

I led the general to the table and sat down, picked up the teapot placed on the table, poured a cup of hot tea, and when I handed it to him, I asked, "Comrade General, was Captain Boroda one of your men before?"

General Afanasyev took a sip from his teacup and said, "Yes, Boroda was my guard at first. During the Soviet-Finnish war, he was dismissed from the company and became a platoon leader. He was brave and was awarded a medal. Later, he served as a commander at a post on the border between Sufen and Finland. After the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, he stood by our post under very difficult circumstances, and finally led his troops to protrude from the front of the enemy. It's a heavy encirclement." At this point, the general suddenly threw the teacup on the table. Because it was used too hard, a lot of tea splashed on the table.

Before we could figure out the situation, he pointed his finger on the map and asked Boroda with a serious expression: "Comrade Boroda, I want to ask you, your station is only 20 kilometers away from where we broke through. Why didn’t we send strong troops to support our breakout operations?” Seeing that Boroda wanted to speak, he went on and said, “You know that I have seen your division’s troops today. The combat effectiveness is still not low. Don't use any reason to prevaricate me, I just want to know the real answer."

"Comrade General, this..." Boroda didn't know how to answer this question in a hurry, and opened his mouth, still unable to speak.

I quickly relieved him and said, "Comrade General, I can give you an explanation for this matter."

"Let's talk about it." General Afanasyev said solemnly. Seeing this expression on him, I knew why he always felt awkward from escape to the present. It turned out that he was blaming our division in his heart for failing to relieve the 2nd Assault Army in time.

"It was only yesterday that Captain Boroda and I received an order from General Meretskov to temporarily serve as the division commander and chief of staff of the 378th Division."

"What about the former division commander and chief of staff?"

"I have been escorted to the headquarters of the 59th Army." Boroda feared that I did not understand the situation, and first explained the whereabouts of the two former division-level leaders.

"The 59th Group Army Command," Afanasyev sneered twice when he heard the unit, and said, "Since he was relieved of his position, he should be sent to the Front Army Command to receive punishment. Why did he send it to the Group Army Command? You have to know that there are no good people in this group army. The commanders up and down, from group army commanders to regiment-level commanders, have done nothing serious except for drinking and obsessing with women."

I turned to look at Boroda, who happened to look back at me. Seeing his face full of helplessness, I had to smile bitterly, saying that the reputation of the 59th Army is really big enough, everyone knows that this is a drunkard army, why it is not strong in combat is self-evident.

I spoke to Borodanunnu and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, you know the ins and outs of this matter well, so you should explain it to Comrade General."

Boroda stood up and said respectfully to Afanasyev: "Comrade General, this is what happened. When the 2nd Assault Army launched a breakout, the commander of the Front Army issued an attack to all the troops outside the encirclement. Order, I hope they can cooperate with you inside and outside to break the German encirclement of the assault army.

Unexpectedly, the commander of this division, Colonel Dorofeev, had violated General Meretskov's order and only sent a few small troops to launch small-scale harassment operations in the areas where the Germans were stationed. As soon as he had contact with the enemy, he hurriedly ordered the troops to withdraw from the battle, leaving you to fend for themselves in the encirclement. "

Afanasyev slapped the table hard and roared angrily: "Damn, damn, it's really damn! It's time to shoot this Colonel Dorofeev, because of him, how many more officers and soldiers we have sacrificed." Ah!" Then he asked Boroda angrily: "The commander of the front army only removed him from his post, didn't he say how to deal with him?"

"Said." Faced with this question, Boroda seemed a little unwilling to answer.

"What does General Meretskov plan to do with him?"

"I originally wanted to send him to a military court for trial. I didn't expect that General Kolovnikov, the commander of the 59th Army, would personally call the front army headquarters to intercede and hope that Comrade General will let them go. Comrade General Kolovnikov. After weighing it repeatedly, I finally ordered me to **** Colonel Dorofeev and his Chief of Staff Lieutenant Colonel Samoylov to the headquarters of the 59th Army and hand them over to General Kolovnikov for disposal."

"You two are the commander of the division and the chief of staff. Is it also a direct order from General Meretskov?"

"Yes~www.wuxiaspot.com~Comrade General." Boroda replied: "Because soon, the front army will launch a new campaign. In order to better grasp the troops belonging to the front army and prevent poor command, General Meretskov made a provisional decision to let Major Oshanina and I act as the division's commander and division chief of staff."

"This decision of General Meretskov is very wise. At least from my observation of the troops of this division today, the troops are full of vigor and fighting spirit. I think that under the leadership of the two of you, this team is full of vigor and fighting spirit. The troops will surely achieve brilliant results in the new battle." At this point, he picked up the cup of tea on the table and drank the tea in the cup with his head up. After putting down the cup, he wiped his mouth and stood up and asked Boroda: "Boroda, is there a high-frequency telephone that can directly talk to the front command? I want to call General Meretskov. And tell him that I have escaped safely."

"Yes, yes, this one is." Boroda deserves to be a security guard for General Afanasyev. He immediately got up and grabbed the phone in the corner, then held it in both hands and handed it to Ah. Fanasiyev.

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