USSR 1941

When Major General Batrakov was devastated by the German attack, Warehouse No. 5 was also very busy.

But the busy content is different. Zogtanov is nervously organizing the retreat of the field hospital, although they still have not received orders like before.

Zogtanov tried to report to the headquarters and get an order to retreat. The problem is that the telephone line to the headquarters has been cut off... The telephone line to the headquarters has been blown up. The only way to ask for instructions is to send someone to command report and receive instructions.

The problem is that every time the correspondents come and go, I am afraid that the Germans will also hit the front.

"You should think more about the lives of the wounded and medical staff, Comrade Zogtanov!" Shulka suggested.

Zogtanov thought for a while, looked around at the wounded and medical staff whose eyes were full of expectation and panic, gritted his teeth and ordered: "Retreat!"

All of a sudden everyone started to move, the lightly wounded were able to walk on their own as much as possible, and the seriously wounded were put on stretchers by the medical soldiers to prepare for evacuation.

Fortunately, the field hospital has been divided into two temporary parking spots before, so the retreat will be much faster at this time, otherwise there is no need to toss in a few hours.

"Your choice is correct!" Shulka comforted the terrified Zogtanov: "If necessary, I can testify for you...I mean, you were forced to We chose to retreat only because of the consideration of the lives of the wounded!"

Because of the restrictions of Order No. 227, many evacuation without orders will be labeled as "runaway", and the field hospital is no exception, because the front-line field hospital is equally important, and it is related to whether the wounded evacuated from the front line can receive timely treatment. question.

Therefore, while this order strengthened the determination of the Soviet army to resist, it also made the army lose a certain degree of flexibility.

"Thank you very much, Comrade Shulka!" Zogtanov moved Shulka's hand and said, "At the same time, I apologize for my previous attitude, you saved us..."

"Now is not the time to talk about this, Comrade Zogtanov!" Shulka replied: "You have not withdrawn safely, and you will thank me when we meet again in the rear!"

Zogtanov nodded, patted Shulka on the shoulder, turned around and went to organize a retreat.

Shulka turned to the cadets behind him and asked, "Are you all ready?"

"Yes,

Comrade Captain! "The students responded loudly.

"Get to the combat station!" Shulka ordered: "Cover the wounded and retreat!"

"Yes!" The trainees responded, each holding a gun and scattered into the building.

This is a five-story steel and concrete structure building. As I said before, it is a granary.

During this period, the granary in the Soviet Union must be the building with the highest security level. The reason is that there was a great famine in the Soviet Union in 1933, and many people starved to death. When building it, various emergencies must be taken into consideration, and even bunkers with several cross-fire points were built around it.

But these bunkers were of course useless at this time, because they would make excellent targets for German aircraft and artillery fire.

Shulka climbed up the third floor of the building along the passage, where the view was wider and it was easier to command the entire building.

The communications soldiers are still laying telephone lines nervously.

This is one of the benefits of fighting defensive warfare in buildings. Telephone lines can be laid in advance for communication with each other... This is very important for the cooperation between snipers and mortars.

He raised his binoculars and looked in the direction of the Tsaritsa River. There was a sea of ​​gunfire and smoke, except for the occasional corpses and broken fortifications that were blown into the air.

This is the characteristic of the Soviet battlefield in summer: the land is muddy and the air is humid, and a large amount of water vapor will be evaporated as soon as the artillery fire explodes. Block the wall of smoke and spread it around.

At this time, the bank of the Tsaritsa River was under heavy shelling by the German army. Except for the "rumbling" artillery sound, it seemed that a thick fog had suddenly enveloped the surrounding area tightly.

"They won't last long!" Vasily said beside him.

Shulka knew what Vasily meant. He was referring to the 42nd Infantry Brigade standing on the river bank.

In fact, Shulka thought it was long overdue for them to retreat.

The river bank is attacked by the enemy on both sides and there is no danger to defend... If the German army rushed across the river, the Tsaritsa River could still be called "dangerous", but at this time the German army was attacking along the river bank, and they still had armored vehicles and light vehicles. Tanks, this is a nightmare for the 42nd Infantry Brigade.

They should evacuate to nearby buildings or basements immediately.

But there is no doubt that the reason they did not do so was still because they had not been ordered.

However, after all, the order cannot resist reason and the desire to survive.

A few minutes later, people escaped from the smoke one after another with hands and feet in the smoke, turning around and shooting randomly while running away.

"Stop them!" Shulka immediately ordered: "Let them be stationed in the second line as a reserve team, and find a way to get supplies!"

"Yes!" The communications soldier responded and passed the order over the phone.

Having them serve as reserves rather than fighting directly with the cadet unit was because Shulka knew the men were scared out of their wits, at least for now.

Under such circumstances, it is obviously unrealistic to ask them to stay and fight immediately. It is better to let them take a breather and see the situation on the second line.

On the other hand, the cadet troops will definitely need supplies in the future...and Batrakov obviously does not know how to provide supplies for the cadet troops.

Therefore, Shulka could only find a way to retain a group of troops from the 10th Division on the second line. Their ability to get supplies meant that the cadet troops had supplies.

It was Vavilovich who performed this task. They were mortar units stationed on the second line because of the range and curved trajectory.

As soon as he gave an order, the mortar platoon took up the submachine gun and ordered the deserters who passed through the building to escape to the rear to stop... The mortar crews of the cadet troops are usually equipped with a Burbosa submachine gun, which has a large ammunition capacity and a short range. The characteristics are very suitable for artillery close self-defense.

"Stay here!" Vavilovic waved his black muzzle at the deserters, and shouted, "Keep fighting is a heroic soldier, otherwise you will know what the consequences will be!"

The deserters certainly knew what the consequences would be.

Taking one step back is a "deserter", who will be sent to a punishment camp... Although there are opportunities to enter a punishment camp, for example, if you perform well and enter the 82nd Infantry Regiment, you will be treated like an ordinary soldier, but no one likes to take this risk.

So the deserters quickly stopped in batches.