Red Moscow

No one can answer Alitai's question. You, the lieutenant leading the team, don't know what's going on. How can the soldiers below figure out the situation?

There were dense footsteps nearby, and they were getting closer and closer. Alitai was taken aback when he heard the sound, and wondered if the Germans were coming up again? He hurriedly shouted at the soldiers behind him: "Comrades, take cover and prepare to fight!"

As soon as Alitai's shout fell, he heard someone shouting in the darkness: "Victory belongs to the Soviets, honor belongs to the motherland! Brothers, for the motherland, for Stalingrad, go forward!"

"Ula! Ula!!!" As he shouted, the surroundings quickly sounded like a mountain roar and a tsunami.

"It's our own." Alitai immediately understood that it was not the enemy but the friendly army approaching him. They must have wanted to take advantage of the darkness to launch a counterattack against the enemy. In order to avoid misunderstandings, he shouted at the fighters who had concealed themselves, "Stay where you are, so as not to cause unnecessary misunderstandings."

The troops approaching in a battle formation probably had the strength of a company. The leading commander saw several comrades lying on the ground clearly with the help of the flames burning on the tank. He quickly asked loudly: "Hey, comrades, you Which part is it?"

Seeing that the person who was interrogating was an officer, Ali Tai quickly got up and replied to him, "I used to be the tank company commander of the 73rd Infantry Brigade, and now I am under the command of Colonel Bely's tank brigade."

"It turned out to be Lieutenant Ali Tai." Hearing that Ali Tai had revealed his identity, the officer rushed over, took his hand and shook it vigorously a few times, "I really didn't expect to meet you here."

"Are you...?" Seeing that the other party seemed to know him, Alitai hurriedly looked at the other party carefully, looking a little friendly, but he just couldn't remember where he met him: "Comrade commander, have we met before?"

"What's the matter with you, Comrade Lieutenant?" The officer took off his big-brimmed hat and said to Alitai, "I'm Captain Paulkowski, the commander of the first battalion and first company. Why, you don't know me anymore?"

"Ah, you are Captain Paulkowski." After figuring out the other party's identity, Ali Tai became excited: "So, our brigade also participated in tonight's counterattack?"

"The infantry brigade doesn't exist now." As soon as Paulkowski said this, he noticed that Alitai's face changed, and he quickly explained to him: "Since the merger with the 41st Guards Division, our brigade After the commander became the division commander, the original infantry brigade became a reduced regiment, and the original brigade political commissar, Comrade Belkin, served as the head of the regiment."

Alitai was overjoyed when he learned that the infantry brigade had now been upgraded to a Guards division, and the brigade commander Sokov had also assumed the post of division commander. He originally wanted to ask Paul Koski for more information, but the other party waved his hand at him and said, "Comrade Lieutenant, we still need to eliminate the enemies in the factory area, and we will talk after the battle is over. Goodbye!" After that, the troops chasing him hurriedly went.

"Comrade Lieutenant," the scout asked Aritai after the counterattack troops passed in front of him, "what should we do? Should we go forward with them and destroy the Germans?"

"No!" To the scout's proposal, Ali Tai shook his head and replied, "Our mission has been completed. Next, we will withdraw and report the results to Colonel Bely according to the original plan."

"Yes!" The scout glanced unwillingly at a company of commanders and fighters who were gradually going away, and replied helplessly, "We will return to the brigade headquarters immediately!"

Alitai took the soldiers of the combat team back to the brigade headquarters. However, he did not report to Bely immediately, but stood outside the headquarters, waiting for his subordinates to return.

After waiting for more than half an hour, four combat teams returned one after another, three of which were fully staffed, and one with more than half the casualties. Seeing this situation, although Alitai felt distressed, he still tried his best to control his emotions, and tried to ask the leaders of several other combat teams in a calm tone: "Have you seen the team that is moving towards the west of the city? "

Hearing Alitai's question, everyone shook their heads in unison, expressing that they did not see the missing combat team. After a while, a team leader said cautiously to Alitai: "Comrade Lieutenant, the area in charge of the lost combat team has two tanks, an assault gun, and 70 or 80 infantrymen. I am worried about them. There has been an accident. You should report to the brigade commander as soon as possible."

"Wait a minute, wait a little longer." Alitai didn't see the last combat team appear, and he was still not at ease, he said stubbornly: "I will never leave here until I see the last combat team appear .”

Seeing Alitai being so stubborn, everyone didn't blame him, on the contrary, they were quite moved. Some people even thought that if my team did not show up at the designated place within the stipulated time, Comrade Lieutenant would probably stay here and wait for us.

After waiting for a long time, the last team still did not appear. A team leader said politely to Alitai: "Comrade Lieutenant, you should report to the brigade commander first. We can just stay here and wait."

Just when Ali Tai was unmoved, he suddenly heard someone nearby greeting him: "Comrade Lieutenant, when did you come back?"

Alitai turned his head and saw that he was still a staff officer of the brigade, so he replied casually, "We've been back for more than half an hour."

"Since you've been back for so long, why don't you go in and report to the brigade commander?" After hearing Alitai's answer, the staff officer said displeasedly, "Don't you know that the brigade commander has been waiting for your news?"

"We still have a combat team that hasn't arrived." Alitai didn't argue with the other party, but whispered: "I originally planned to wait for the combat team to arrive before reporting to the brigade commander, but after waiting for a long time, there was still no news nothing."

"Comrade Lieutenant." After listening to Ali Tai's explanation, the staff officer thought for a moment, then pointed at the other party and said, "Follow me in and report to the brigade commander. As for the missing team, I will find a way to ask someone to help him." You seek."

Hearing that the staff officer offered to help him find the lost team, Ali Tai was overjoyed and thanked the other party quickly: "Thank you, thank you, Comrade Staff Officer."

"All right, all right, thank you later." The staff officer waved at Alitai and said, "Let's go to see the brigade commander first, he's already getting a little impatient."

Alitai followed the staff into the headquarters and reported to Bely. Seeing Ali Tai appear, Belei immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and said repeatedly: "Comrade lieutenant, why did you come back so late. There was a lot of gunshots and explosions outside. I thought you were leading several combat teams to join the friendly army." The counterattack went."

"I'm sorry, Comrade Colonel." Alitai lowered his head and replied with some embarrassment: "Actually, we returned to the brigade headquarters more than half an hour ago. It was because we saw that a combat team hadn't returned yet. Then I took the initiative to wait for everyone to arrive before returning to you."

After Bie Lei figured out why Ali Tai was late, he asked tentatively, "Are they back now?"

"No." Alitai shook his head and replied bitterly, "We have waited until now, but we haven't seen them come back."

After listening to Alitai's explanation, Biely's face became serious: "Comrade Lieutenant, according to what you mean, if this team never comes back, you don't plan to show up with me at all, right?"

Alitai didn't dare to answer this question from Biely, but lowered his head. Seeing his reaction, Biely knew that his guess was correct, so he said seriously: "Lieutenant Alitai, although you have successfully completed the task I entrusted to you, I still want to criticize you. Now that you have arrived at the brigade Why don't you report back to me immediately, even if you want to stay outside and wait for your soldiers, you still have to send someone in to tell me, so that I know what I know.

If I hadn't sent a staff officer out to inquire about your whereabouts, would you plan to never show your face to me for the rest of your life? I think you are a typical disorganized and undisciplined person. Have you ever thought that because you have not shown up for a long time, the superiors will misjudge and make wrong decisions. "

"I'm sorry, Comrade Colonel, it was my fault." Hearing what Bely said, Alitai immediately realized that he was wrong, and it was a serious one. He quickly apologized to the other party and said, "I will never make such a mistake again mistake."

"Forget it, let's stop here, let's not make another example." Belei pointed to Alitai and said to him: "Our army's counterattack went so smoothly tonight, it's all because you successfully blew up the enemy's bombs. Tanks and assault guns. After losing the support of these technical equipment, the German infantry didn't even know how to fight, and they were defeated by us."

Alitai listened carefully to the movement outside, and found that the gunshots and explosions sounded farther and farther away from here, which meant that the Soviet counterattack force had successfully advanced again. He stood up straight and tentatively asked Bely: "Comrade Colonel, do you think our troops can successfully eliminate the enemies in the factory area before dawn?"

"According to our reconnaissance, the enemy who broke into the factory area during the day included a dozen tanks and assault guns, plus a battalion of infantry." Our army dispatched two divisions and one regiment to launch a counterattack against the enemy. I think there should be no problem in solving all the enemies in the factory area before dawn."

After Beley finished speaking, he turned to look at the staff officer who had just finished calling, and asked, "Who are you calling?"

"Just now Lieutenant Ali Tai said that they lost contact with a combat team," the staff officer replied, "I called the medical team and the field hospitals of the two divisions to see if they have admitted the wounded of the combat team."

"Any news?"

"Yes!"

"Quickly talk and listen!"

Alitai listened to the conversation between the staff officer and Bely, and his heart hung in his throat. He hoped to hear news about the combat team, but was afraid of hearing accurate news. The combat team hadn't gone down for so long, it was obvious that some accident had happened, and he worried that their entire army had been wiped out.

"Our health workers treated a wounded man." The staff officer did not look at Ali Tai, but looked at Bely and reported: "The military doctor told me that the wounded was injured during the mission of blowing up a tank. I think Lieutenant Ali Tai The commanding troops are carrying out the task of blowing up tanks tonight, and the wounded man is undoubtedly..."

"Wait a minute," Beley couldn't help interrupting the staff officer after hearing this, "You just said it was a wounded person, what about the rest of the combat team?"

"Sacrificed!" The staff officer's expression suddenly became gloomy, "according to the wounded, the enemy infantry surrounded the tank as soon as the tank was blown up. to attract the attention of the enemy."

"So that's the case." Beley nodded, turned his gaze to Alitai, and said thoughtfully, "No wonder they haven't returned to the designated place after waiting for them for so long."

"Comrade Brigadier," Ali Tai waited for Bely to finish speaking, and immediately rushed to say: "Please allow me to take people back to the battlefield, find the remains of these sacrificed soldiers, and bring them all back for a proper burial."

Belei put his hands on Alitai's shoulders, and said earnestly to him: "Comrade Lieutenant, I understand your feelings for these soldiers, if I were in your position, I would like to immediately collect the corpses of my comrades. But it can’t, at least not yet. You haven’t heard that the battle outside is still going on, even if you want to collect the remains of your comrades, you have to wait until the whole battle is over.”

After saying this, Bieley took his hand away from the opponent's shoulder, took a step back, and said, "Comrade Lieutenant, you must be very tired after completing your mission. I am ordering you all to find a place to rest. .Whether it is to visit the injured comrades, or to collect the remains of the sacrificed comrades, we have to wait until dawn."

Alitai heard Belei say this, and just wanted to fight again, but Belei raised his hand to stop him: "Lieutenant Alitai, this is my order, there is no room for bargaining. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Colonel." Alitai raised his hand to salute Bely, and asked respectfully, "Are you allowed to leave?"

"Allowed!" Belei nodded at Ali Tai, and said, "You can rest assured, I will send someone to call you after dawn."

Watching Alitai's back disappearing at the door, Bely said to the chief of staff who had just walked over: "This is a commander who knows how to cherish his subordinates. If he can live until we repel the enemy attacking the city, I will send a message to Soko." Husband made recommendations to promote his position and rank."

The chief of staff grinned and replied: "Comrade Brigadier, after we repel the enemy attacking the city, are you really willing to let him return to Colonel Sokov?"

"Does it need to be said?" Hearing the chief of staff's question, Bely said insincerely: "Although this is a good commander, he was seconded from Sokov anyway. There is an excuse. If you pay it back, it won’t be difficult to borrow it later.”