Burning Moscow

When he heard the names of Grams and Beckman, Pantai Leyev's brows suddenly frowned. He decisively interrupted me and asked vigilantly: "Comrade Commander, I don't understand why you mentioned The names of these two commanders are not like Russian names at all, but like German names? And why should they separate their subordinates from our troops? Are they not in the same camp as us? Is it?"

"Comrade Banteleev," Kirilov promptly explained his question: "Grams and Beckman are two German officers who surrendered to our army. Join us with them. Yes, there are nearly a hundred subordinates. If they are sent to the enemy’s rear to carry out reconnaissance and destruction, the effect is absolutely stronger than a unit composed solely of our army's commanders. After all, they are speaking the authentic German language, plus real documents. With a full set of German equipment, the enemy cannot distinguish between true and false. The reason why comrades in command of the division proposed to allocate personnel from different units to form a joint unit is also to achieve the purpose of better control of this unit."

Kirilov’s explanation made Bantai Leyev nod his head if he was enlightened, but it did not dispel his knot. He turned to look at me and reminded me not without worry: "Comrade Master, you have to use Should the surrender perform such an important task report to their superiors? Otherwise, if something goes wrong, you may get into big trouble."

Hearing the cares expressed in Bantaiyev’s words, I responded with a kind smile, and then explained the matter to him to soothe his inner anxiety: "Colonel Bantaiyev, you are very pleased about this. Don’t worry. This German unit in the Independent Division knows not only the Group Army Command but also the Front Command. Captain Grams has made a lot of contributions since he joined us. Not only does it help us. I captured the friendly army and lost the 107.5 heights, and carried out many attacks behind enemy lines. Moreover, Grams himself helped us train a lot of excellent snipers some time ago. These snipers are now in various parts of the city. They are hunting and killing them. Single German soldiers. Based on their past performance, I believe they will achieve greater results in the next operations."

My remarks made Pantai Leyev feel at ease. He turned the topic around and said sincerely to Kirilov: "Comrade Political Commissar, I have just arrived at the independent teacher and I am not familiar with everything. If there is anything wrong with me, please criticize and advise."

Kirilov smiled and said: "Old man, look at what you said, I can't advise you. But if you want to know the specific situation of the independent teacher, you can ask me at any time."

Next, Bantai Leyev pulled out a roster from his briefcase. In addition to the name, age, and rank of each commander, it also recorded in detail when they joined the army and participated. What kind of battles have been fought, what are the specialties and other aspects of the content.

From this full-fledged roster, I can tell that Pantai Leyev is a rigorous and serious commander. Although I don't know his ability to command operations, I still feel that he should be kept in the division. It is a correct decision.

Kirilov and Akhromeyev, together with Bantaiyev, faced the roster, studying how to arrange these upcoming commanders. I listened a bit. They plan to send the new regiment heads and political commissars of the second regiment to the third regiment as deputy heads and chiefs of staff; while the heads and political commissars of the new third regiment are sent to the fourth regiment to serve as deputy heads. And the chief of staff. After arranging regiment-level cadres, they then began to arrange battalion-level cadres. Listening to strange names one after another, I felt a little boring, so I got up and stood up, moving around the house to move my body.

The three of them studied for more than half an hour and finally allocated more than two hundred commanders and fighters. See their work come to an end. I walked back to the table and asked Kirilov: "Comrade Political Commissar. Is there any news coming from there?"

Kirilov understood that I was talking about Captain Karpov, but shook his head. Regrettably said: "I have conveyed your meaning to the messenger. But starting this morning, the German army has launched an offensive on the 107.5 heights, and it stopped until the evening, so we were unable to send personnel to contact them."

Hearing the conversation between the two of us, Bantai Leyev looked curious, as if he wanted to ask what was the matter, but was interrupted by Kirilov raising his hand. He said sternly, "Comrade Bantai Lev, although you Now I am the deputy head of the independent division, but because the plan we are implementing is specially authorized by the superiors to control the scope of insiders, we cannot tell you what it is for the time being, please forgive me!"

Bantai Leyev seemed to have been accustomed to all such confidential matters a long time ago, so when Kirilov said this, he just nodded and said nothing.

The commanders of the new division came to the headquarters one after another to report in the early hours of the morning. Because there were too many people to stay in the headquarters, Bantaiyev and Akhromeyev went outside the cave to directly assign the whereabouts of the commanders. Kirilov stayed in the cave and called the commanders of the Second Regiment, the Third Regiment and the Fourth Regiment. The more than forty commanders dispatched to a regiment ordered Basmanov to send them there.

When it's busy till dawn, all the things will come to an end. I just breathed a sigh of relief, just wanting everyone to hurry up and take a break, but Razumeyeva, who was sitting in front of the radio, was calling me, saying that the head of the fourth regiment Gaidar wanted to talk to me.

After putting on the headset, I smiled and said to the microphone: "Hey, Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, I just assigned fifty or sixty commanders to you. Can't you ask for anything from the division?"

Unexpectedly, Gaidar's panicked voice came from the headset: "Comrade Commander, it's not good, the enemy is shelling our position."

"What's so great about shelling," I said disapprovingly: "The Germans want to occupy the Mamayev Hill, first of all they must want to capture the high ground where your regiment is located, so they will not only bombard the high ground, but also send out planes from time to time. What's all the fuss about."

"Comrade commander, today's situation is a bit wrong." Gaidar said nervously: "The enemy only carried out sporadic shelling on our high ground, and no more than ten rounds were dropped from the position per minute. According to the observation report, the enemy's troops were riding. The truck advanced to a place about three kilometers away from the position of our regiment and stopped."

"Keep watching," listen to him. I also became vigilant, but I couldn't guess that the enemy would conceal it in a hurry, so I could only tell him: "What's new. Report to me in time."

When I was talking with Gydar, Kirilov in the room heard them all. The three of us who had stayed up all night were a bit drowsy. Seeing me returning to my place with a serious face, they guessed that Shiyou* was something that had happened before, and they suddenly became energetic.

Kirilov first asked curiously: "Comrade Oshanina, what have the four groups reported?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar said the enemy is shelling their positions."

Hearing what I said, Akhromeyev also said disapprovingly like I did earlier: "What is the significance of shelling. Some time ago when the German offensive was fierce, one day it was not shelling and bombing. Just for this matter, Guy. Lieutenant Colonel Dahl is also worth making a fuss about calling you to report."

"It's not that simple." I waved at Akhromeyev, and then said my guess: "The enemy has only sporadic shelling on the positions of the Fourth Regiment, and their offensive troops are still three miles away from the high ground. It stopped at a kilometer away. I was worried about their conspiracy."

After hearing this, Kirilov stood up straight, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed the second regiment: "Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg? I'm political commissar Kirilov. The enemy is shelling four. The position of the regiment. You let the observation post pay attention to the enemy's movements, and report to me in time if you find anything.

After putting down the phone. Kirilov said to us with a stern face, "The Germans have eaten a lot in front of our high ground, and they have gradually become cunning. The day before yesterday they took advantage of our lack of convenience, suddenly attacked the Si Tuan position. The heavy shelling resulted in heavy casualties for the commanders and fighters who built the fortifications. I agree with the division commander’s judgment that today they only carried out sporadic shelling on the positions of the Fourth Regiment, and there must be some hidden conspiracy."

"What kind of conspiracy would it be?" Bantai Leyev asked thoughtfully: "Listening to what you said, the commanders of the Fourth Regiment probably only left a few soldiers for observation, and the rest are hiding. Enter the fortifications. Even if they increase the density of their shelling, they may not be able to achieve better results than the previous offensive?"

The question of Bantai Leyev. I don't know how to answer, so I can only shrug my shoulders. Walked back to Razumeyeva and told her: "Lieutenant, immediately contact the Fourth Regiment to find out about the frontier situation."

Razumeyeva quickly connected the four groups and handed me the headset and microphone. I asked Gaidar loudly: "Comrade Colonel, how is the situation? Are the Germans still firing you sporadic shelling? Their ground forces did not continue to advance to your position?"

"Reporter Commander," Gaidar reported hurriedly: "The enemy is still carrying out sporadic shelling of our positions, but I have already figured out why they did it."

"Why?" I asked him eagerly after hearing him say that.

"The enemy is now three kilometers away from the front of our army, digging trenches to build fortifications. Their sporadic shelling of our high ground may be to cover them during the construction process and will not be interrupted by our regiment's active attack."

Hearing that the Germans were building fortifications in the front of our army, I couldn’t help being stunned. I wondered what happened to the Germans. I actually thought of building fortifications so close to our army’s position. I was not afraid of our sudden attack. Snatched it from their hands. I couldn't figure it out for a while, so I could only say in an official tone: "Continue to observe and report any new changes to me at any time."

After I walked back to the table, I told the three of them what Gaidar had reported. After hearing this, Kirilov felt very strange, and said to himself: "What the Germans are going to do, are they repairing fortifications so close to our position? Are they not afraid that we will attack them at night? Will the battle be taken down?" As he said, he picked up the phone and called Er Tuan again.

As soon as the phone was connected, he raised his voice and asked, "Hello, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg? Has your observation post reported the latest situation to you?" After saying this, he fell silent and listened quietly. The other party’s report. Although I could hear Oleg's voice in the earpiece, I couldn't hear exactly what he was talking about because it was a little far away.

After listening for a while, he covered the microphone with his hand and reported to me: "Comrade Oshanina, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg’s report. Similar to Gaidar’s report, the plateau is being sporadic shelling from the enemy, and A few kilometers away. There is about a company of German soldiers digging trenches."

I walked quickly and took the phone from Kirilov's hand. He asked into the microphone: "Hey, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg, I am the division commander. I now ask you, has your regiment been shelled by the enemy?"

Although Oleg didn't know the purpose of my question, he honestly replied: "Report to the commander, the position of our regiment is very calm and has not been shelled by the enemy."

"I understand." Finished. I just hung up the phone. Then I raised my head and said seriously to Kirilov and the others: "Commanders, now I'm going to the observation post of the Second Regiment to see what happened before. I don't know which of you would like to be with me. go together?"

After listening to what I said, Kirilov looked to the left and right, and then said: "Let’s do it, it’s the same, the Chief of Staff will stay on duty. Comrade Oshanina, Colonel Bantaiev and I will accompany you. Go to the mountain and have a look." At this point, he turned his head and ordered Basmanov who was standing at the door: "Captain. Take a squad of fighters with us to protect the safety of the division commander." Basman received his order. Nov replied loudly, turned around and opened the door and walked out. Go outside to gather troops.

The three of us led a class of guards, bent down and ran along the traffic trench towards the observation post on the mountainside. As soon as we were halfway, we met Oleg, who came to greet us. I didn’t notify him when I came just now, but he was able to show up at such a suitable time. Obviously, he got Akhromeev. announcement of.

Oleg walked in front of me and said with a worried expression: "Comrade Commander, the above is too dangerous, you should not go up?"

"Naughty." I said without a word to him: "I haven't been on the ground, I'm not in danger. I don't know? Stop talking nonsense, hurry up and show us the way.

Oleg sees me firmly. We had no choice but to agree, and we led our group along the trenches to the observation post on the mountainside.

After entering the observation station, I hurried to the lookout and raised my binoculars to look into the distance. I saw through the binoculars that about two or three hundred German soldiers wearing helmets were digging a bunker. The weather in October was already very cold, but many Germans only wore their underwear and brandished their shovel desperately. The soil shoveled up from the bottom of the pit to the edge of the trench. A little further away, there were a dozen trucks with canopies parked. In the open space between the trucks, mortars and several light and heavy machine guns were constructed.

Seeing this scene, I understood in my heart that the sporadic shelling of the positions of the Fourth Regiment by the Germans was to suppress the troops of the Fourth Regiment and prevent them from interrupting the progress of their fortifications due to their attack. These machine gun firepower points and mortars were specially deployed to prevent accidents when our army was lucky enough to rush out of the artillery blockade.

After seeing this scene, Pantai Leyev cautiously put forward his own suggestions: "The enemy is not too far from our position. At such a close distance, we can destroy them all with artillery fire."

Kirilov sighed and said regretfully: "Comrade Bantaiyev, almost all the artillery shells in our division have been exhausted, and it will not be able to be replenished in a short period of time. If it is for such a few enemy infantry, If all the shells are shot out, then if the enemy launches another attack under the cover of the tank, we will no longer have any heavy firepower."

Looking at the German soldiers who were building the fortifications, I scolded the German commander who gave this order countless times. If the German army really builds this line of defense, it is equivalent to pushing their original offensive starting point forward by four or five kilometers. In this way, their offensive intensity will be further strengthened in the next battle. And because of the establishment of this line of defense, the scope of our division's activities has been greatly reduced. At least the operation of sneak attacks along the river in the future will be impossible.

Pantai Leyev watched for a while, and again put forward his own suggestion: "Commander, political commissar, I have an idea, since there are not many Germans building the fortifications, we might as well launch a counterattack. Let the troops sticking to the high ground in front , Launched a decisive charge, rushed forward with lightning speed, and completely and cleanly wiped out this weak enemy."

In fairness, Bantai Leyev put forward two proposals, both of which have merits, but under the current circumstances, they are unworkable. I gave a wry smile. Pointing to the distance, he said to Pantai Leyev: "Comrade Colonel, you see, there is an open area of ​​three kilometers between our army's position and the enemy. If we rashly launch an offensive, it will take at least ten minutes to charge. In the past, in such a long period of time, the enemy was prepared for all battles and called for the support of artillery. As long as the German long-range artillery fired to stop and shoot, our commanders would be blown to flesh and blood on unobstructed open ground. Flying horizontally. Even if someone can rush to the enemy’s position by chance, they almost lose their combat effectiveness. It’s good to be able to save themselves, let alone destroy the enemy."

"What do you do then?" Bantai Leyev even rejected both of his own proposals, and couldn't help but feel helpless: "We can't just watch the enemy under our noses. Let's fix such a fortification. In this way, they shortened the offensive distance and threatened us even more."

"What you said makes sense, comrade deputy commander." I responded politely. However, under the current circumstances, I am also helpless with this trick of the Germans. The Germans seem to have long since expected that my teacher who guarded the Mamayev Hill would have no way of doing it with them in building fortifications. I put down the binoculars and said helplessly: "Since the enemy wants to repair fortifications, let them do it. Let's go back to the headquarters first, and then slowly think of a solution."

The three of us returned to the headquarters in despair. As soon as Akhromeyev saw us coming in, he couldn't wait to ask: "How is it, how is the situation outside. Has the enemy really built fortifications in front of our army?"

I smiled bitterly and said to him: "Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff. The Germans have suffered so many losses in front of our high ground, and now they have learned to be smart, and they know how to build fortifications so close to our position."

"Can all these enemies be wiped out with artillery fire?" Akhromeyev asked.

I waved my hand and said, "Since the Germans intend to build fortifications in front of our positions, no matter what difficulties they encounter, they will continue to the end with the rigorous work attitude of the Germans. Even if our artillery fires today All these enemies are wiped out, then they will send new troops tomorrow. Continue to repair this fortification. Our division has few artillery shells, so we can't just waste it on these German infantrymen."

"But. Comrade commander." Akhromeyev was clearly aware of the seriousness of the problem and hurriedly said to me: "If they are not eliminated. Letting this line of defense be built, then it is equivalent to letting the enemy set the starting point for the offensive. Arrived in front of our position. So once the fight starts, I am worried that the commanders of the Fourth Regiment will not be able to withstand it."

"If I can't stand it, I have to stand it." Akhromeyev's nagging in my ear made me upset, so I slapped the table and stood up, and inexplicably fired at him: "Four As long as there is one person left in the regiment, the high ground must not be lost. Not to mention the four regiments, even if the entire division is exhausted, we must firmly guard Mamayev Hill."

"Comrade Oshanina, please calm down and don't get angry." Seeing me suddenly furious, Kirilov quickly stood up and persuaded me: "Comrade Chief of Staff said so for the sake of the overall situation. But I just went to the field to take a look. I think your worries are also very reasonable. Since the Germans dared to build fortifications so close to us, it proved that they were well prepared. Maybe they just wanted to lure our troops to attack and then destroy them with artillery fire. On the open ground. Then, those German soldiers who are building fortifications can take a truck and quickly rush to the foot of the high ground. Although they only have a company of troops, almost all of the remaining commanders on the high ground have not received military training. The new recruits of, there is no way to defend the position. Once the northern highlands are lost, then the highlands we are on will also be at risk."

I only thought that the German fortifications might be a conspiracy, but Kirilov did not consider it so carefully. Listening to his analysis, I was suddenly scared into a cold sweat. The four regiments suffered heavy casualties in recent battles. Although two battalions were replenished last night, they were all untrained recruits and had no combat effectiveness at all. If I order them to attack, with Gaidar's character, I will definitely dispatch those veterans who have experienced many battles and fall into the trap of the German army. After the charging troops were wiped out by the enemy's artillery, the German soldiers who repaired the fortifications could rush to the foot of the mountain in trucks, and then easily seize the positions of the fourth regiment from the hands of the recruits.

It is obviously inappropriate to let the enemy be so close to us, but with our strength, once we launch a counterattack at this time, we will be caught in the enemy's trap again. After thinking about it for a long time, I didn't think of a proper way, so I had no choice but to say: "This matter, let's wait and see the changes for the time being. When the enemy has repaired the fortification, we will study how to deal with them."

I just said it casually, but Kirilov thought I had another good idea. His eyes lit up, and he asked thoughtfully: "Comrade Oshanina, do you want to wait until dark? In the future, send troops to carry out night attacks?"

Regarding his guess, I didn't say anything, just smiled non-committal. When I smiled like this, even Akhromeyev thought I was in my mind, and wisely analyzed: "Political commissar, I also think that the reason why the division commander decided not to take action against the enemy during the day was for night attacks at night. Would you say yes? , Comrade Commander?"

I did not answer Akhromeyev’s question, but changed the topic and said: "Comrades, I think we should consider not how to deal with the enemy in front of the position, but how to train and add. Recruits to the division. Although this time I added 2,000 people at once," I turned my head and glanced at Pantai Lev, and added with a smile, "Comrade deputy commander, you are more familiar with this group of recruits. Let’s introduce their situation to the political commissar and chief of staff."

Pantai Leyev nodded ~www.wuxiaspot.com~ and stood up from his seat, and said with a serious expression: "My new division was formed ten days ago. The soldiers in the division are from cities and collective farms. Loyalty is unquestionable. But because of the tight schedule, we didn’t have time to conduct military training for them, and we did not distribute weapons. Until last night when we were about to cross the river into the city, Comrade Khrushchev, the military commissioner of the Front Army We asked the logistics department to replenish us with some weapons. Since there are not many weapons stored on the docks, the weapons supplemented to us are very limited. Some battalions have three or four soldiers with a gun, while some battalions have one gun per ten. Guns. I think that comrade commander is very clear about this.” Seeing me nodding in agreement, I continued to say, “I think recruits who lack weapons and have no training have no combat effectiveness. No matter how many people there are, they won’t be able to fight. They couldn't stop the Germans who swooped up."

After Pantai Leyev sat down, Kirilov added: "Our next priority is to seize the time to train recruits. However, in this regard, we have long been fully prepared for Oberstein. Political cadres led by comrades can be dispersed into the ranks in the shortest possible time to strengthen the training of recruits. I estimate that in a week or less, the newly added troops in the division will be able to form combat effectiveness." (To be continued)

ps: Bow to thank the book friend, the cheap cat, and the two children's shoes at home, who voted for two votes! Thanks to the book friend Lao Duan for the monthly ticket support of a control, Langlands counterpart, and Yikui children's shoes! Thanks to book friends Luo Xia, old godfather, and Dushu children's shoes for their rewards!