Red Moscow

After dark, the first to appear near Nangang were German engineers. They were ordered to open a road in the minefield so that the troops stationed in Nangang could pass.

Sokov stood in the observation post on Beigang, watching the looming German engineers in the minefield with binoculars, and Belkin asked curiously: "Comrade brigade commander, tell me, how did the German engineers work in such a dark night?" Mine clearance, won’t you be killed by landmines?”

"I don't think so. Didn't you see that every engineer carried a flashlight?" Sokov pointed to the light clusters that appeared and disappeared in the minefield, and said to Belkin: "They use the flashlight to light it. After confirming where there was a mine, I immediately extinguished the flashlight. If there were only one or two engineers and they used this method to search for mines, it would not be easy for our sentries on duty to find them. But today the Germans were a little eager for success, and unexpectedly dispatched a lot of landmines. With less than one platoon of engineers clearing minefields, the commotion is a bit big."

"Comrade Brigadier," the Fourth Battalion Commander Briski interrupted, "we have mortars in our position. If we fire at the minefield, at least half of the enemy can be wiped out."

"If we fire now, we will not only scare the enemy away." Regarding Briski's proposal, Sokov shook his head and expressed his opposition: "And the mines in the minefield will be detonated during the shelling. After we beat back the enemy, we still need to spend It is not worth the loss to do so in time to re-lay mines."

It took the German engineers almost an hour to barely open two passages in the minefield. A company that had been waiting on the periphery for a long time, immediately moved quickly along the passage to Nangang. When they came to the foot of Nangang Mountain, they stopped advancing. A German captain raised a flashlight covered with a red cloth and shook it towards the top of the mountain.

After a while, a red bright spot appeared on the top of the mountain, which was also shaking non-stop. Seeing that the contact code was matched, the German captain ordered in a low voice: "Pass it down, and quickly seize the position on the hill!"

"Pass down and quickly seize the position on the hill!"

"Pass down,..."

The captain's order was conveyed to every soldier by word of mouth. Although the information obtained said that the Soviet army had abandoned this position, the German officers and soldiers did not dare to take it lightly. They bent their waists, put the butt of their guns on their stomachs, and approached the upper position cautiously.

When they were still more than ten meters away from the trench, the German captain ordered the troops to stop again. He crouched in a bomb crater, shaking his flashlight in the direction of the trench. After a while, a shaking red flashlight also appeared in the trench, and then a voice asked, "Is it from the 295th Infantry Division?"

The captain stopped shaking the flashlight, but instead asked, "Who are you?"

"I am Corporal Ernst of the Special Operations Group." A voice came from the trench again: "You haven't answered me yet, are you from the 295th Infantry Division?"

The captain stood up and replied in the direction of the trench: "Yes, we belong to the 295th Infantry Division. We were ordered to take over the South Hill position. I am Captain Stephen, the commander of the leading company."

"Mr. Captain, I'm out, tell your men not to shoot."

Hearing Ernst's voice, the captain hurriedly shouted behind him: "It's one of our own, no one is allowed to shoot." After giving all these instructions, he shouted at the trench again: "Come out, Erns! Corporal."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw three figures coming out of the trench. Because the light was too dark, he couldn't see the opponent's face clearly, so he quickly took off the red envelope covered in the flashlight, took a photo of the opponent, and found that the people walking towards him were actually three soldiers in Soviet uniforms. He hastily pointed his pistol at the person coming, and shouted sharply: "Stop, if you don't stop, I will shoot!"

In the silent night, Captain Stephen's voice was particularly loud. The soldiers who had just lowered their guns, heard what the captain said, and hurriedly raised their guns to aim at the three men who came.

"Captain Stephen," the familiar voice came again just now, "I am Corporal Ernst, what's wrong with you? Why are you pointing the gun at me again?"

Stephen recognized that the person talking to him was the voice from the trench just now, but he didn't put down the gun in his hand, and continued to point at the other person and asked, "Why are you wearing Russian uniforms?"

"What's so strange about this, Captain Stephen." Ernst said disapprovingly: "Since we are a special operations team that goes deep into the enemy's rear, what's so great about wearing Russian uniforms in order to conceal our identities?"

Ernst's words dispelled Stephen's doubts. He thought about it carefully, and it seemed that there was nothing wrong. To go deep into the enemy to perform tasks, wearing an enemy's military uniform is a means of concealing one's identity. He hurriedly ordered the soldiers to put down their guns, and then walked forward alone, shook hands with Ernst and the three of them, and said, "Thank you!"

Ernst looked at the shadowy figure in front of him, and asked Stephen: "Mr. Captain, how many of you are here?"

"One company," Stephen thought that Ernst was coming to support him, so he didn't hide it from him: "The battalion headquarters and the other two companies are still behind, and they will come after we occupy the position. Corporal, say Tell me about the situation here."

Ernst nodded and said to Stephen: "Except for the east side of Nangang, there are fortifications on the other three sides. However, the Russians built a line of defense at the foot of the mountain on the east side. It was originally to prevent our army from seizing The wharf was built by copying the back road of Nangang. If they find that our army has occupied Nangang, they may launch a counterattack immediately. Mr. Captain, although I have no right to give you orders, I still suggest that you send people to the mountain immediately to the east of the hill to build fortifications."

Stephen deeply agrees with Ernst's statement. On the one hand, he ordered the communications troops to report to the battalion headquarters that his company had entered the southern position of Mamayev Hill;

And Sokov, who was in the Beigang Observation Post, also saw the German troops boarding the Nangang. When he found that the enemy occupying the position was actually only about 200 people, he was greatly disappointed. He thought to himself: What is going on here? Why is there only one company of troops? Didn't the Germans say they would send out a battalion? Could it be that the Germans discovered their intentions and deliberately sent only one company to test themselves?

Belkin only saw a dark figure boarding the Nangang, so he couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Brigadier, the enemy has taken the bait, can we notify the troops on the Nangang side to prepare to attack?"

"Don't worry, my Comrade Commissar." Regarding Belkin's proposal, Sokov shook his head and said, "At present, there is only one company of enemies on the hill. Let's wait and see if there are any enemies entering the southern hill. surface position."