Burning Moscow

Shumilov picked up the high-frequency phone on the desk and dialed a number. When a voice came from the receiver, he immediately said, "Is it the duty room of the headquarters of the front army? I am the commander of the 64th Army. General Shumilov, please transfer me Commander Golddorf immediately. I have important things to find him."

Unexpectedly, a cold voice came from the earpiece: "I'm sorry, General Shumilov, Commander Golddorf has gone to inspect the defense in the city. We can't contact him for the time being."

Shumilov was stunned for a moment, and then asked: "Where is General Nikishev, Chief of Staff of the Front Army?"

The other party said impatiently: "I went to inspect with the commander." After speaking, before Shumilov could react, he hung up the phone without hesitation.

Seeing the arrogant answering the phone, Cui Kefu, who was standing next to him, was trembling with anger. He slapped the table fiercely and cursed angrily: "What! The commander of the group army calls, they should all say hang up. Hang up, don't they be sent to a military court for fear of delaying the fighter?"

Shumilov put down the phone, waved to Cuikov and said, "Comrade Cuikov, don't worry about these people. When Commander Golddorf returns, we will report the situation to him. Our top priority is to directly contact the Air Force immediately. Contact and ask them to send fighter jets to seize the air supremacy of the battlefield from the enemy's hands."

After hearing this, Cui Kefu volunteered and said: "I'll make this call. Major General Hryukin and I, the commander of the 8th Army of the Air Force, knew each other before the war. He should be able to help us with this."

After speaking, Cui Kefu also picked up the high-frequency phone on the desk and called the command of the 8th Army of the Air Force.

When it became clear that it was Khryukin himself who answered the call, Cui Kefu smiled and greeted the other party: "Hello. General Khryukin, this is Cui Koff."

Khyukin heard that it was Cuikov who called him. He was stunned for a moment, and then asked politely: "Vasily Ivanovich, hello. I don't know if you called me. What's the matter? "

When Cui Koff heard the other party's question so directly, he stopped walking around with him and asked straightforwardly: "General Hryukin, my army is carrying out a counter-assault against the Germans. Victory is in sight. Who knows that the enemy has called for air support. I. The offensive troops were bombarded by enemy planes and suffered heavy casualties. I ask you to dispatch your fighter planes immediately to take over the air supremacy of the battlefield and cover our army to complete the final battle.

Hearing Trikov’s request, Khyukin said embarrassedly: "Vasily Ivanovich, have you consulted Commander Golddorf for this matter?"

Cui Kefu sighed and replied: "I called the commander of the front army. It is a pity that he is not there. I went to inspect the defense with the chief of staff, General Nikishev, and cannot be contacted temporarily."

"General Cui Koff," Khryukin did not call Cui Koff by his real name and father's name. Instead, he changed his name, and said in business: "Although you and I are friends, there is no order from the commander of the front. My air force can't. Send out casually, otherwise I will be in danger of being sent to a military court."

"General Kryugin, I beg you again..."

While Trikov and Khryukin were entangled, another radio operator walked up to me and reported in a low voice: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the commander of the 157th Division, Colonel Kuropatenko, wants to talk to you."

I nodded, walked to the walkie-talkie, put on the headset and picked up the microphone, and said loudly, "Is it Colonel Kuropardenko? I'm Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, please tell me something!"

"Report to Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Colonel Kuropardenko shouted hoarsely in the headphones, and there was also a deafening explosion. Judging from the size of the sound, it is estimated that the explosion point is not far from his location. The convoy was bombed by seven enemy planes. The troops suffered heavy casualties. They requested air force support and air force support!"

"Colonel Kuropatenko, where is Colonel Lyudnikov?" These two division commanders are usually together, but every time Lyudnikov takes the initiative to contact the headquarters, and now suddenly replaced by the library. Lopatenko, it's really strange, so I have to ask to understand.

"The forces of Colonel Lyudnikov were also bombed. Because the enemy planes bombed too violently, I couldn't contact him. I don't know if the communication equipment was destroyed or sacrificed. Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, what should we do next? To do? Without the support of the air force, our troops would be defeated."

I didn't answer him right away, but turned to look at Cui Kefu, and saw that he and Hryukin were arguing with red faces, and it seemed that the Air Force still refused to dispatch. I wanted to tell Kuropardenko the bad news right away, but when he opened his mouth, he swallowed what he said. If the fighters knew that they were being attacked by an enemy plane, our own air force was in the air. If you stand idly by, the morale you have built up finally will be wiped out, and in that case, your troops will be defeated.

Since I had been hesitating about telling Kuropardenko the truth, I did not reply to him. Seeing that I hadn't spoken, he raised his voice and shouted, "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, are you still there? Hey! Hey! Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina!"

I quickly agreed: "I'm still here, comrade colonel."

"What did Comrade Commander say, will there be an air force to reinforce us?"

Upon hearing Kuropardenko's question, I stopped hesitating, gritted my teeth and stomped my feet, and said categorically: "Comrade Colonel, don't worry, our air force will support you soon. Now I order you, first. First, let the soldiers who disembark pay attention to concealment and minimize unnecessary casualties; second, you should immediately organize the light and heavy machine gunners and anti-tank gunners in the division and focus your firepower on the air."

My order made Kuropardenko hesitate. He tentatively asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, gather all the light and heavy machine guns in the division. Isn’t that the target of the enemy’s planes? It’s easy to do so. Let them be wiped out!"

"I can't take care of that much, Comrade Colonel." I said earnestly. "Instead of passively being bombed, we should actively counterattack so that we can have some livelihoods. As long as we can take down one or two enemy planes, we will lose all light and heavy machine guns. Drop. It's worth it."

"But, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel..." Kuropardenko was unceremoniously interrupted by what else Kuropardenko wanted to say, "Okay, Comrade Colonel. This is my order, carry it out!"

When I walked back to Cui Kefu, he was still arguing with Khryukin, and I deliberately shouted: "Report to Comrade Commander."

"What's the matter?" Cui Kefu yelled at me irritably. After the roar, he realized that he was the wrong person, and he quickly smiled apologetically at me. He lowered his voice and asked again: "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, what's the matter?"

"Comrade Commander," I took a step closer to him, and deliberately said loudly, "Just now Colonel Kuropatenko reported that he and Colonel Lyudnikov's troops were on their way to Reynok. Encountered air strikes by the enemy. At present, the troops have suffered heavy casualties, and at the same time they have lost contact with Colonel Lyudnikov. "The purpose of my increased voice report is to let General Khyukin understand our plight in this way.

Cui Kefu was taken aback by the news, his face turned pale, and he couldn't speak for a long time. Seeing Trikov standing in a daze, Shumilov quickly stood up and walked to his side. He grabbed his shoulders and asked with concern: "Comrade Cui Kefu, are you okay?"

Cui Koff came back to his senses abruptly, and squeezed out a smile at Shumilov: "Comrade Commander, I'm fine." Then, into the microphone, he said sincerely: "General Khryukin, the situation of our army. You probably heard it just now. Please help me for the sake of an old friend!"

When Cui Kefu said this, I immediately remembered a classic line from a red movie: "...for the sake of the party-state, please help me!" I just wanted to laugh. Suddenly thought that this is the line of the villain, but it is not suitable for Cui Kefu's glorious image, so he forced his smile back.

Khyukin was finally moved by Trikov. He resolutely said: "Well, dear Vasily Ivanovich. For you, I will take a risk. As long as I can eliminate the Germans, even if I go to a military court, I I also recognized. I immediately dispatched planes to take over the air dominance of the battlefield. But my planes are running out. I can only send you ten fighter jets at most to drive away the enemy's planes from above the battlefield as much as possible."

"What?! Only ten planes? Comrade Khryukin, you are too stingy. How come you have to send me thirty fighters so that we can firmly control the air superiority over the battlefield."

"Comrade Cui Koff," Khryukin's name to Cui Koff changed again, and he began to complain, "Originally, my group army had more than 100 planes, but after a long battle, there were only losses and no supplements. I only have less than forty planes left in my hand."

"General Hryukin, please think of a way and send more planes." Cui Kefu continued to plead with Hryukin.

"Tell you the truth, General Cuikov." Khryukin was so harassed by Cuikov that he had to tell the truth. "Our injured planes were immediately met by mechanics and medical staff after landing. The bad part is simply repaired and put into use immediately. If the pilot is injured, he will be taken away immediately and replaced by the standby pilots. I personally drove the plane and went down to perform an attack on the enemy's ground forces yesterday. When I returned, I got off the plane, but the shooter sitting at the back remained unresponsive. When I opened the cabin, I found out that he had sacrificed...."

Hearing Khryukin telling him that he was almost in danger, Cui Koff realized that the ten fighters might be the limit to which Major General Khryukin could be sent to me, so he did not insist on his own opinion, but said very politely: " General Hryukin, in this case, I will not force you to send more planes. Please send those ten planes to the battlefield as soon as possible to support our army. If you don’t go, I'm afraid our troops will not be able to support it. Up."

Cui Kefu put down the phone, let out a sigh of relief, and said, "Thank God, Khryukin finally agreed to send an air force to support us. Although there are a few planes, there are only ten, but it is better than nothing!"

The telegraph operator ran over and reported to me: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the 229th Division's Commander Sa Ren wants to talk to you."

I rushed to the walkie-talkie, put on the headset and picked up the transmitter and shouted, "Hey, is it Colonel Saren? I'm Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, please tell me something!"

"Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, the enemy plane bombed the offensive assembly area of ​​our division five minutes ago, causing more than two hundred casualties."

I heard that the 229th Division also suffered casualties in the airstrike, my heart was raised, and I hurriedly asked: "Colonel Sarin. How is the situation now?"

"Not bad." Sa Ren's answer surprised me.

So I asked in a puzzled way: "Didn't you get bombed by the enemy? How can you still be in good condition?"

Saren laughed and said: "When we were bombed by an enemy plane, Second Lieutenant Kruglov organized a dozen anti-tank guns to shoot against the air. He actually shot down an enemy plane and wounded one. The enemy plane was terrified. It turned around and flew away."

"Great, Comrade Colonel. This Kruglov has done a good job. After this battle is over, you can consider giving him some necessary rewards, and even promotion to his rank. If this is the case, it is for the promotion of our army. Morale is very helpful."

"Understood, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Colonel Sarren readily agreed, and then asked: "What is the task of my division next? Should we continue to stay in place? Let the commanders and fighters stay in one place and get bombed, everyone. They all have emotions."

I snorted and unceremoniously debunked him: "It's not that the soldiers have emotions, but you, the division commander, have emotions. The 214th Division is attacking the enemy. Due to the air attack, the army's attack is not going well. Now I order you, Immediately lead the troops into battle, remember to get together with the enemy as soon as possible. One is to drag the enemy to prevent them from fleeing too quickly, because our encirclement circle has not yet been completed; the second is to get together with the enemy, the enemy’s The plane is afraid of accidentally injuring one's own people. They dare not easily drop bombs and shoot. In this way, many unnecessary casualties can be avoided."

"I understand, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Colonel Sarin said enthusiastically: "I will put my troops into battle in batches, and I will definitely not let the enemy escape from under our noses."

When I was on the phone with Colonel Sarzen, both Trikov and Shumilov walked up to me, looked at me with interest, and looked at me a little embarrassed. After I finished the call with Sarin, Shumilov said to Trikov: "Before the battle started, I was very worried about whether Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina would be able to command this counter-assault. However, from the current reports of the troops. Look. She did a pretty good job, almost reaching our original campaign vision."

Cui Kefu also nodded, then continued the topic: "Yes, if it weren't because the air dominance of the battlefield is in the hands of the enemy, I guess our troops would have wiped out the enemy by this time. We won this victory."

At this time, the operator turned his head and called me: "Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina, it is Colonel Lyudnikov."

Hearing Lyudnikov calling me, my heart suddenly became more relaxed. I must know that if a division commander died in the battle, then for me, even if the battle is finally won, it is just a battle. Miserable victory.

Hearing Lyudnikov’s voice, I asked excitedly: "Comrade Colonel, how are you! I lost contact with you just now, and at one time I thought you were in an accident, which made me especially worried."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, when I was bombarded by an enemy plane, I escaped from the jeep in time, and the signalman moved a bit slower. Before getting out of the car, I was smashed by the bombs dropped by the enemy plane and the car. , My only communication equipment was lost in this way, so that I could not get in touch with you.

"Are you not injured?" I asked with concern.

"It's just that my arm was scratched by shrapnel, and the hygienist has bandaged it for me, and it's no problem. I'm at Colonel Kuropardenko at the moment. The light and heavy machine guns and anti-tank guns in the organizer just repelled the enemy plane. We are temporarily safe here. I now ask you for instructions, what are the next tasks for our two divisions?"

"Comrade Colonel, don't you know what the mission is? Of course it is to continue to the Reynock area and encircle the remnants of the German army there with friendly forces."

"But most of our trucks were blown up." Lyudnikov began to complain to me.

I ignored his words, and went straight to the order: "Comrade Colonel, my order is: If the car is not damaged, still drive in; for the rest, immediately throw away the destroyed car and move forward on foot at the speed of a rapid march. !"

"Colon Lyudnikov, this is Trikov, and I completely agree with the order issued by Lieutenant Colonel Oshanina!" Trikov said to me, helping me.

"I totally agree too!" Shumilov added next to him.

Just after giving the order to Lyudnikov, another telegraph operator called me timidly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel Kolobtin, the commander of the 29th Division, wants to talk to you."

Other troops kept in touch with me from time to time, but this Colonel Kolobtin, except when he talked to me during the ambush of the German army, and then broke the contact, I always thought he was in an accident. I didn’t expect him at this time. It suddenly appeared. I asked loudly into the microphone, "Colonel Kolobin, is there anything you want to report to me?"

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel ~www.wuxiaspot.com~Kolobutin's voice seemed very calm," I am honored to report to you that our division has reached the designated position and turned on fire with the German rear guard. In a word, the enemy's retreat has been cut off by our division. "

"It's great, it's great!" Standing behind me, Shumilov exclaimed excitedly: "Comrade Kolobtin, I congratulate you, because your teacher’s timely and decisive action is for the whole The final victory of the battle laid a solid foundation. After the battle is over, I will personally award you the Medal of Honor."

"Comrade Colonel," when Shumilov finished speaking, I asked Kolobtin a question of my own concern: "Did your troops not be attacked by the enemy while they were advancing?"

"I met, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Kolobutin replied bluntly: "Because we have encountered enemy air strikes some time ago, I have some air defense experience. As soon as I see enemy aircraft appear, I immediately ask the commanders We got out of the car to avoid the enemy's air strikes. In the end, apart from some of the cars were blown up, there were almost no casualties.

"Good job, comrade colonel." After I praised him, I continued: "Tell the commanders and fighters that the opportunity for meritorious deeds is here. Whether you can grasp it or not is up to them."