Red Moscow

Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko, who was appointed as the acting commander of the 233rd Division, hurried to the front with five students selected by him to take over Yesenin's position.

Since the Soviet army had gained air supremacy on the battlefield, even though the jeep was moving at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour, Muzichenko still felt that it was too slow and kept urging the driver to speed up.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Major Lekashari, the chief of staff temporarily appointed by Muzichenko, turned around halfway from the co-pilot's seat, and said to Muzichenko: "The road conditions outside are too bad, and driving at night again. , Fifty kilometers per hour is basically the limit. If you increase the speed, accidents will easily happen."

As soon as his words fell, the jeep jolted violently. Everyone, including the driver, jumped up and hit their heads heavily on the roof of the car. Fortunately, they were wearing helmets, otherwise they might be injured .

Muzichenko stopped urging the driver to speed up, and he knew in his heart that if he speeded up again, there might be a car accident, and it would be a big delay.

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Lekashari put his hands on the back of the seat and asked Muzichenko curiously, "What do you think is the reason why the 233rd Division was unable to break through the German defenses?"

"I have a general understanding of the situation. The attack of the 233rd Division seems to be blocked by the obstacles of the German army. But when they cleared these obstacles, they were killed by the powerful firepower of the German army, and the troops suffered heavy casualties."

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are talking about the failure of the first attack." Lekashari continued to ask: "I would like to know the reasons for the failure of the second and third attacks. It is said that the obstacle area that caused confusion for the division has already Cleaned up by gunfire."

Muzichenko didn't answer. He thought to himself: Sokov's decision to replace the division commander was correct. The 233rd Division's slowness in the battle has seriously affected the progress of the battle. But after he took over the 233rd Division, if he could not quickly open up the situation, I am afraid that Sokov would soon send someone else to take over his position.

Sokov's order to himself was very simple, organize troops to continue attacking the town of Golovanivsik, and make sure to join forces with the troops in the town before dawn and control the entire town.

At that time, in order to prevent Muzichenko from misunderstanding his meaning, Sokov also specially emphasized that it was to control the entire town, not to occupy the town. According to the tradition of the Russian army, planting your own flag on the commanding heights of the town, even if most of the town is still controlled by the enemy, means occupying the city; and controlling the town means every inch of the town, They are all under the control of their own troops.

This battle order sounds simple, but it is difficult to execute. According to the situation I have, one of the division's three regiments has completely lost its combat effectiveness, while the other regiment, which is constantly attacking, has more than half of its casualties. Only one regiment is still fully staffed. If the situation is not good, it may be necessary to put this regiment into battle.

Muzichenko was an experienced, brave and skilled commander, although he was captured by the German army shortly after the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War. But after Klemenchug was rescued, he re-learned at the Frunze Military Academy so that his tactical thinking would not become outdated and outdated because of his two-year life in a prisoner-of-war camp.

Thinking of Colonel Yesenin, who was about to be replaced by him, Muzichenko couldn't help feeling sorry for him. As a commander who was dismissed because he couldn't complete the combat mission, the fate waiting for him would not be too good. This can be seen from the fact that Sokov originally planned to let the other party serve as his deputy, but now he is ready to push him to the end.

But the closer he got to the front line, his compassion gradually weakened, and was slowly replaced by another diametrically opposed feeling: Golovanivsik town had only a total of more than 2,000 defenders, and Yesenin commanded a team of more than 6,000 troops. Human army, and with the cooperation of friendly forces, it still can't take the town of Golovanivsik. Isn't this command level too bad? If this affects the next battle plan of the group army, what awaits him will be dealt with by military law.

The main force of the 233rd Division stayed at the breached German third line of defense, and the headquarters was located in a brick building that was half destroyed in the shelling. There are also four soldiers equipped with submachine guns at the door, responsible for protecting the safety of the division headquarters.

Muzichenko got out of the car and walked towards the headquarters with several of his subordinates.

The sentinel at the door saw several officers walking towards him, and quickly raised his hand to block their way: "Which part do you belong to, and what are you doing here?"

"I'm the new division commander, Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko." After Muzichenko revealed his identity to the other party with a serious expression, he asked bluntly, "Is your division commander, Colonel Yesenin, inside?"

"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." The sentinel straightened his back and replied, "He is having a meeting with several regimental commanders inside."

Muzichenko nodded, and then stepped into the half-collapsed room. I saw Yesenin and several commanders sitting around a wooden table, looking down at the map on the table in front of them, discussing something in a low voice, and didn't notice Muzichenko who walked in.

Muzichenko stood silently for a while, and when no one noticed, he coughed heavily. When everyone looked at him, he walked straight over and asked, "comrades, commanders, what are you discussing?"

After Yesenin saw clearly that it was Muzichenko, he hurriedly stood up. He learned from the corps commander Chumakov that the commander intended to replace the division commander with Muzichenko and demote himself to deputy division commander. He stretched out his hand to Muzychenko and greeted with a forced smile: "Hello, Comrade Master, welcome to our place!"

Unexpectedly, Muzichenko did not shake hands with him, but repeated the question just now: "comrades, commanders, what are you discussing?"

"We are studying how to capture the town of Golovanivsik," Yesenin replied: "According to my plan, meaningless offensive attempts should be stopped, because with our current strength, it is impossible to capture the town. I strongly It is suggested that we should wait until after dawn, after the artillery and air force have shelled and bombed, before we launch an attack on the enemy's position."

"You still want to wait until after dawn before continuing to attack the town of Golovanivsik?"

The more Yesenin emphasized the difficulties he encountered, the more dissatisfied Muzichenko felt with him. Not long ago, he was still thinking that it would be really difficult for him to open his mouth to convey the order to the other party.

But now listening to the speech of this man who has lost confidence in himself and even expressed doubts about whether he can capture the town of Golovanivsik, Muzichenko thinks angrily that even if it is too late to dismiss him now, it will be too late. He should be transferred from the command post, which can also reduce unnecessary casualties of the troops.

Without waiting for Yesenin to finish his sentence, Muzichenko interrupted him unceremoniously and announced: "Colonel Yesenin, I have been ordered to take over the post of commander of the 233rd division."

Yesenin was stunned by the news, he opened his mouth in surprise, and seemed to want to say something, but he couldn't say a word. After a while, he asked in a hoarse voice, "What about me?... What should I do?"

"You should go back to the headquarters immediately, and the headquarters will arrange a new job for you." Muzichenko replied in a blunt tone: "But before you leave, please call the chief of staff of the division."

Before Yesenin could speak, a bald lieutenant colonel standing nearby took a step forward, straightened his body and reported to Muzichenko: "Comrade commander, I am the chief of staff of the division..."

Before the other party could say his name, Muzichenko raised his hand to interrupt the other party, and pointed to Lekashari: "Okay, you immediately hand over your duties to Major Lekashari who came with me .”

"Major Lekashari," Muzichenko said to Lekashari: "From now on, you are the chief of staff of the 233rd Division. It is up to you to decide how to arrange the commanders who came with me. Forget it. I'm done talking, please go ahead."

After finishing speaking, he walked to the table, picked up a telephone and put it to his ear: "I am the new division commander, Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko, please connect me to the Army Command immediately."

The call was quickly connected, and Sokov's voice came out of the receiver quickly: "Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko, have you reached the 233rd Division?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander," Muzichenko replied, "Just a few minutes ago, I took over the post of Colonel Yesenin and I called you specifically to report."

"Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko," Sokov said, "My order to you is very simple. Before dawn, break through the German defenses outside the town and rush into the town to meet with Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov and Victor. The lieutenant colonel will gather and wipe out all the defenders in the town. How are you doing, is there any difficulty?"

"No difficulty." Although Muzichenko felt that the situation in Golovanivsik Town was not optimistic, he still replied bravely: "Comrade Commander, please rest assured that I will definitely clean up the situation before dawn." Take control of the town of Golovanivsik and not let a single enemy escape."

"Lieutenant Colonel Muzichenko," although Sukov knew that Muzichenko knew the situation in the town, he said to him solemnly: "Now Kirillov and Victor are leading troops to fight in the town, attracting A considerable part of the German troops, thus reducing your offensive pressure. You must seize the time to attack. If you delay again and again, causing the troops in the town to be wiped out by the enemy, I don’t think I need to say more about the consequences. ?”

"Yes, Comrade Commander, I understand." Muzychenko knew that Sokov's words were not alarmist, and he was also concerned about the safety of Kirillov who is now in the town, so he asked tentatively: "I don't know what Kirillov said. How's the situation with Lieutenant Colonel Husband?"

"The center of the town, the east of the town and the north of the town are all under the control of Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov." Sokov said: "But due to the limited force, they are temporarily unable to expand the results of the battle. That is to say, to If you want to occupy the entire town, I'm afraid it can only depend on you."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander, I will immediately deploy a new offensive." Muzichenko assured Sokov on the phone, "Try to join forces with Lieutenant Colonel Kirillov's troops in the shortest possible time."

After putting down the phone, Muzichenko saw Yesenin who was still standing there without moving: "Comrade Colonel, why are you still here? Comrade Commander is still waiting for you at the headquarters."

Even though Muzichenko is only a lieutenant colonel now, he has served as the commander of the group army after all, and he has an aura of power without anger in front of Yesenin. After hearing this, the latter nodded and said: "I see, China Comrade school, I'll go right now."

Muzichenko turned to face the commander standing at the table: "Commanders, let's get to know each other again. I am the new acting division commander Muzichenko. Come and introduce yourself."

Soon, the commanders present introduced themselves to Muzichenko, allowing him to meet the three heads of the 699th, 700th and 701st regiments.

Thinking of the army's first failed attack, which was in charge of the 699th regiment, he asked the head of the regiment with a straight face: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, tell me why your attack failed?"

"It's because we didn't understand the enemy's defensive deployment," said the head of the 699th regiment with a blushing face. "The enemy was holding a large number of barbed wire fences in front of their positions. Our soldiers were blocked by these barbed wire fences. But they crowded in In front of the barbed wire, when it was impossible to advance, the enemy fired with intensive firepower, causing heavy casualties to our army."

"What about you, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Muzichenko turned his attention to the head of the 700th regiment again, "After the 699th regiment failed to attack, the superior ordered to use artillery fire to blast a few gaps in the barbed wire area, so that our soldiers can go smoothly. Please tell me why your attack failed too?"

"Comrade commander, the situation is more complicated." The head of the regiment replied with a somewhat flustered expression: "Although the artillery fire blasted a few gaps in the barbed wire area, because there were too many remains of the soldiers of the 699th regiment, our soldiers passed through them." At that time, he had to slow down, and was also killed by the intensive firepower of the German army."

After listening to the two heads of the delegation, Muzichenko had a preliminary understanding of the current situation. He puzzled and asked the former chief of staff of the division who was handing over the work to Lekashari: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, since the breakthrough from one place didn't work, why don't you attack from another place?"

Muzichenko's words stunned the former division chief of staff. After a long time, he finally said: "Comrade commander, the offensive route was designated by the previous division commander. Even if I am the chief of staff, I have no right to change it."

"Why?" Muzichenko asked the question in his heart.

The former division chief of staff opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but when the words reached his lips, he swallowed them again.

Seeing this, Muzichenko quickly said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, just say what you have. Even if you say something wrong, I won't blame you. I just want to know what happened here."

"The reason is very simple." The former chief of staff of the division, who was encouraged by Muzichenko, shrugged and said, "The previous division commander felt that launching continuous attacks at the same location could effectively eliminate the enemy's vital forces and successfully complete the breakthrough mission. .”

"Absurd, it's simply absurd." Muzichenko said angrily: "If you choose a fixed location to attack every time, it's not the same as telling the Germans that I will not attack other areas, and you can completely deploy all your troops. Come here, go to our fixed attack location, come and intercept us?"