Red Moscow

The explosion first alarmed the sentinel on duty. Just as he stood at the sentry and looked towards the explosion point, he suddenly heard someone behind him asking, "What's going on, where did the explosion come from?"

The sentinel turned his head and saw that it was the company commander who was checking the sentry. He straightened up hurriedly and replied, "Report to Comrade Company Commander, it is the mine that was used for warning in the north that exploded."

Hearing what the sentry said, the company commander hurried to the post and looked into the distance, but because there was no moonlight illumination, all he saw was a vast expanse of whiteness without any moving objects.

"Comrade Company Commander," the sentry approached him and asked in a low voice, "Did a small animal that came out to look for food accidentally step on a landmine we planted?"

"It's impossible." As soon as the sentinel spoke, the company commander vetoed it: "The only animals that can be seen in this area are hares. You know, rabbits are more cunning animals than foxes, how could they guess landmines. No, I will report this situation to the battalion commander immediately."

After receiving the report, the commander of the second battalion guarding the high ground did not dare to neglect, so he called the regiment headquarters and reported the matter to Grusko on duty.

After listening to the report of the second battalion commander, Grushiko remembered that Sokov had mentioned many times that Height 239 might become the focus of the German attack. At this moment, the landmine used for warning in the distance suddenly exploded. The enemy's small army touched it. In order to find out what was going on, he ordered the second battalion commander: "Comrade major, you immediately order the mortar platoon to fire a few shots at the location where the mine exploded, and see if there is any movement."

The commander of the second battalion was a little hesitant about the order issued by Gelushko: "Comrade deputy commander, is it too loud to fire at the explosion site at this moment? Or, should I send a few people over to check?"

"No." Glushike said with a firm attitude: "Since we guessed that the enemy might come for a sneak attack, sending soldiers to check it out at this moment is tantamount to letting them die."

"However, what should I do if we fire rashly and the superior blames me?"

"Comrade Major, I think it is necessary to remind you. I am the deputy commander of the 126th regiment. The battalion commander must obey the orders of the deputy commander, not the other way around. Do you understand?" Glushko continued: "If you really If something goes wrong, if the superior wants to investigate the responsibility, I will take it."

With Grushiko's words, the second battalion commander did not dare to neglect, and quickly ordered the mortar platoon to enter the position, ready to shell the place where the mine exploded. In order to obtain first-hand information, the second battalion commander personally came to the position, raised his binoculars and looked into the distance, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Fire!" With the order of the artillery commander, four 82mm mortars started to fire, and the fired shells made a "whoop" sound through the air, and quickly flew towards the target.

The Second Battalion Commander saw through the binoculars that the shells fell into the snow and exploded, lifting up a large area of ​​snow, and at the same time several dazzling fireballs were thrown up. After the explosion, he ignited the bushes near the explosion point. With the help of the firelight, he observed the nearby snow field and found that it was quiet and there was no movement.

The platoon leader of the mortar platoon commanded the mortar to fire three bursts, then came to the second battalion commander and asked him for instructions: "Comrade battalion commander, shall we continue to shoot?"

Seeing that there was no movement after the shelling, the second battalion commander felt that the new deputy commander must be a little nervous, so he said to the mortar platoon leader: "Stand by and wait for my further orders."

Then the second battalion commander picked up the phone on the side and reported the situation to Grusko: "Comrade deputy commander, we fired three rounds of each cannon in the area where the mine exploded, but we didn't find any movement. No signs of people or animals were seen. The mine explosion just now may have been just an accident."

"Comrade Major, whether it was an accident or not is not up to you." But Grushko said bluntly: "Three rounds per cannon are too few, and each can fire six more rounds."

Although the second battalion commander didn't believe Grushiko's judgment, the other party was his superior, and he really didn't dare to disobey the orders he issued. After putting down the phone, he called the artillery platoon leader to the front, and ordered: "Comrade Lieutenant, aim at the target just now, and fire six more shells per artillery."

The shelling of the 239 Heights not only awakened Lieutenant Colonel Harin, the commander of the 126th regiment, but also awakened Kurishenko in the division headquarters. He sat up from the camp bed, looked at Sidolin who was sitting at the table on the phone, and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, what happened outside, where is the bombardment?"

Sidolin quickly covered the microphone with his hand and reported to Kurishenko: "Comrade commander, the deputy commander of the 126th regiment, Grushiko, reported that a warning landmine planted in the northeast of the highland exploded. He suspects that there must be hidden enemies nearby, and he is ordering mortars to bombard that area to find out if there are enemies lurking."

"It's absurd, it's simply absurd." Kurishenko said unhappily after listening to Sidolin's words: "The Germans are trying to break out from the north of the encirclement. How could they appear here? The new deputy The head of the regiment is also really confused. If there is any movement, he doesn't know how to send someone to check, but he just ordered someone to fire. If the neighboring troops are alarmed, I have to have the cheek to explain to others."

"Comrade Commander." Sidolin had an ominous premonition in his heart from the moment he heard the gunfire. Seeing Kurishenko's impatient look at this moment, he quickly and carefully reminded him: "How about we report this matter to Comrade Commander?"

"I think it's okay." Kurishenko thought gloatingly, and reported the matter to the group army headquarters to see how the new commander dealt with the emergency: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you will report this matter." Bar."

When Sokov was woken up from his dream, he was quite angry. But as soon as he heard that the situation was discovered from the direction of 239 Heights, he immediately regained his energy, and even the anger that was being accumulated disappeared without a trace.

He took the microphone from Smirnov, and when he heard the voice of Sidolin, he asked straight to the point: "Sidorin, what happened?"

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin habitually referred to Sokov's former position: "I received a report from Lieutenant Colonel Glushko, the deputy commander of the 126th regiment, that a landmine exploded northeast of the highland. , which were security mines. He ordered the mortar platoon to shell the area in order to find out what was going on."

From Sidolin's tone of voice, Sokov guessed that the shelling must have had no effect, but in order to find out what was going on, he still asked knowingly, "Did you find anything after the shelling?"

"No, nothing was found." Sidolin replied: "The second battalion stationed on the high ground carefully observed the area under shelling, but there was still no movement. I think something may have happened. question."

"Comrade Sidolin, don't jump to conclusions so easily." Sokov thought for a while, then asked: "How far is the shelling area from the high ground?"

"Wait a moment, Comrade Commander." Sidolin said, "I'll ask Lieutenant Colonel Glushko."

Less than a minute later, Sidolin's voice came from the receiver again: "Comrade commander, I have already asked. They are using 82mm mortars. The muzzle velocity of this artillery is 196 meters per second. The rate of fire can be as high as 20 rounds per minute, and the maximum range is 2,850 meters. Their shelling position is about 900 to 1,200 meters from the high ground."

"Sidorin," Sokov waited for Sidolin to finish, and asked again: "If you were the commander of the German army and wanted to carry out a night attack on our army's position, how far would you hide your troops from the high ground? ?”

"If I want to achieve a surprise effect, I will definitely ambush the assault troops within 500 meters from the high ground." Sidolin said: "In this way, we can rush into the opponent's position in the shortest time." Speaking of this, he Suddenly thought of something, I couldn't help shaking, and then said with a trembling voice, "Comrade Commander, you mean that the enemy is already lurking at a position 500 meters away from the high ground, not where we are shelling?"

"That's right, Sidolin." Sokov bluntly stated his thoughts: "Your bombardment of a target thousands of meters away has no effect at all, because there are no enemies there. You should shorten the distance of the bombardment." , focusing on bombarding the position four to five hundred meters in front of the high ground, and destroying those lurking enemies."

"Okay, Comrade Commander." Sidolin said: "I will immediately inform Lieutenant Colonel Glushko and order his mortar platoon to shorten the shelling distance and focus on bombarding positions four to five hundred meters away from the high ground."

"Just one mortar platoon is not enough." Sokov said: "You immediately order the 89th Guards Artillery Regiment to aim at the position four to five hundred meters in front of the 239 Heights and carry out saturated shelling!"

Unexpectedly, after listening to Sokov's order, Sidolin hesitated: "Comrade commander, will the shelling of the area in front of the high ground be too loud at this moment? If friendly troops are alarmed, they will ask, what should I do?" how to answer?"

"To tell you the truth, let's just say that you found traces of the Germans in front of your position. Because it was too late, you didn't know the enemy's situation, and you were worried that you would suffer losses if you attacked rashly, so you chose to shell." Sokov worried that Sidolin would have Concerns, and specifically emphasized: "Don't worry about fighting, Colonel Sidolin. Anyway, you have enough shells. Even if something goes wrong, I will come out and take due responsibility."

Kurishenko, who was originally opposed to the night bombardment, heard that Sidolin said that Sokov was willing to endorse this matter, so he had no scruples, so he asked Sidolin to call the artillery regiment and focus on bombing the first four highlands. At the position of 500 meters, eliminate the enemies that may be lurking there.

After the shelling started, in order to stabilize his emotions, Sokov walked back and forth in the headquarters with his hands behind his back, wondering whether his arrangements for tonight were correct? And Smirnov didn't speak, just watched Sokov walking back and forth quietly, thinking in his heart, what should he do if it turns out that Sokov's judgment was wrong?

As time passed by, the phone ringing never came to mind. Sokov was a little impatient. He stopped, picked up the phone and connected to the headquarters of the 41st Guards Division, and asked straight to the point: "Sidolin, how is the situation?"

"Comrade Commander," Sidolin said with some hesitation, "We have continued shelling the area four to five hundred meters in front of the 239 Heights for half an hour, but we still haven't noticed any abnormal movements. Could it be...? "

Although Sidolin didn't finish his sentence, Sukov knew very well in his heart that the other party was questioning his own analysis that had gone wrong. After a short pause, he shook his head and molars and said, "The shelling continues, and each cannon is not allowed to stop until it runs out of a base number of ammunition."

The movement on the 239 highland must have alarmed the friendly troops on the left and right wings, and they immediately reported the situation to the front army headquarters.

Soon, the front army headquarters called Sokov's headquarters: "Comrade Sokov, this is Zakharov, please explain to me, what is the reason for your shelling in front of Height 239 in the middle of the night?" What do you mean?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army," Sokov knew that such a large-scale bombardment would definitely alarm the headquarters of the Front Army. My subordinates reported to me that a warning mine exploded in the northeast of Highland 239. I guessed that the enemy was preparing to launch a sneak attack on Highland 239, so I ordered the artillery to shell four or five hundred meters in front of the Highland. Lot is the one most likely to hide troops."

"What was the result?" Zakharov asked in a mocking tone: "Tell me, how many enemies have been eliminated?"

Sokov replied with some embarrassment: "Our shelling lasted for half an hour, but we haven't found anything yet."

"Then when is your shelling going to end?"

"I have issued an order to the 41st Guards Division. Each gun must fire at least one base shell. The shelling is not allowed to stop until a sufficient number of shells have been fired."

"Nonsense, it's nonsense." Hearing this, Zakharov said angrily: "Comrade Sukov, have you ever thought that if the artillery fires all the shells, when the infantry needs artillery support, what should you do?" what to do?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, you can rest assured about this." Sokov said: "The artillery regiment of the 41st Guards Division has enough shells. Even if each shell consumes a base shell, the remaining shells can still support a large battle. scale battle."

"Okay, Comrade Sokov." Zakharov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, sighed softly, and said, "If the shelling you carried out did not achieve any effect. After dawn, you Immediately rushed to the headquarters of the front army and explained the matter to General Konev in person. Do you understand?"

"Understood." Sokov said bitterly: "If the bombardment has no effect, I will go to the Front Army Command in person at dawn, conduct a review with the Comrade Front Army Commander, and accept the due punishment."

Smirnov heard the conversation between Sokov and Zakharov, and as soon as Sokov put down the phone, he asked with concern: "Comrade commander, how about ordering the artillery to stop the shelling?"

Sokov looked at Smirnov and raised his eyebrows: "Comrade Chief of Staff, why stop?"

"Our bombardment has lasted for such a long time, and we still haven't found any abnormality in front of the position." Smirnov said: "If we continue to fight, it's just a waste of shells, it's better to stop this meaningless bombardment. "