Burning Moscow

Chapter 56

Kroshkov put on his belt, put on his cotton cap and said to me, "Comrade commander, the 2836 regiment of the 946 brigade is defending the right-wing position. They lost a lot of personnel in the early fighting. Now they are suddenly attacked by the enemy. They may not be able to withstand it. I'll take the first company to support them immediately, and the second and third companies will stay in your command. "

"No way." I stopped him decisively and said: "the situation outside is not clear now. We don't know how many troops and what kind of equipment the enemy of the 2836 regiment has. Moreover, our battalion has been greatly downsized. There are less than 50 people left in each company, and the number of reinforcements is less, which makes no difference; Going too much will weaken the defensive strength of our positions. "

"We can't wait to save! If the position of 2836 regiment is lost, our flanks will be exposed to the enemy. " When he heard more and more gunfire coming from the outside, kroshkov was very anxious. He walked back and forth in the shelter, then stopped and said to me, "Comrade commander, why don't we leave some soldiers on guard here, and the rest of the troops go to reinforce the 2836 regiment?"

"No way." Without thinking, I rejected his proposal and reminded him, "our task is to hold this position. If the enemy stealthily attacks our position when they go to reinforce, what should we do? You don't think that with the soldiers we left behind, we can stop the enemy and hold the position, do you

"But if we don't, the position of 2836 regiment will be in danger."

"The position of the 2836 regiment has been lost, and the 946 brigade can organize a counterattack to take it back. But if we lose our position, the division headquarters will not even have the troops to fight back. "

"We can't wait to save the dead!"

"If I say no, I can't." Seeing his obstinacy, I couldn't help getting angry. My tone became impolite. I slapped the table and said, "this is an order. There's no room for negotiation."

Seeing that I was so determined, he sat down angrily and said nothing. The two of us sat in silence, one looking to the left and the other to the right.

When the telephone rang on the desk, he grabbed the phone and said, "I'm kroshkov, the first-class instructor. Where are you?" I vaguely heard the person on the other side of the microphone report his identity, and croxikov stood up and said in a loud voice: "Hello, sir, you haven't had a rest so late?"

Because of the interference of gunfire outside, I couldn't hear what Panfilov said on the phone, while kroshkov kept answering: "yes, yes."

Although I have a dispute with him in our work, we all want to do our duty well. As soon as I saw him put down the phone, I immediately asked in a smooth tone, "what did the teacher say on the phone?"

I didn't expect that when I asked, he blushed and said with shame: "the division commander told us to hold our position well and not to attack casually. He also said that the rest of the 946 brigade had gone to reinforce the 2836 regiment and would soon be able to beat back the enemy's sneak attack." At this point, he apologized to me and said, "Comrade commander, you are right. Please forgive my impulse just now."

"It doesn't matter. It's all about work. Don't take it to heart." I answered him politely and took the initiative to shake hands with him, in which all the conflicts disappeared.

After shaking hands with me, kroshkov and I went out on sentry duty with a submachine gun on our back, and I sat alone at the table in a daze. Looking back on what happened in recent days, I can vaguely feel that there is a character in the German commander opposite.

It was only in the self-defense counterattack in the late 1970s that the tactics of charging forward while artillery bombarded the enemy's positions and stepping on the bombing points appeared. I only used it once, and the German army learned this kind of tactics in the attack the next day. If it was not discovered by the observation post and acted in time, whether it could hold the position was also a question.

Last night, I just organized a small team to carry out a sneak attack on the German camp, and achieved good results. I didn't expect that the German army would touch the position of 2836 regiment tonight. Although the victory or defeat has not yet been decided, according to my understanding of the combat effectiveness of both sides, the casualties of the Soviet army must not be small.

Although the German army is attacking the 2836 regiment of the right wing, I always feel that their goal is not there. Is it the enemy's plan to divert the tiger from the mountain? Deliberately sneak attack the position of 2836 regiment, lure us to send reinforcements there, and then take advantage of our empty position and suddenly attack our position? If this is the case, then the opponent on the other side is too terrible. It's just that I don't know what level the opponent is, the battalion commander, the regimental commander or the commander at a higher level?

Just as I was thinking, there was a clear gunshot outside. In a short time, the dense gunshot outside became one. I listened carefully. There were not only German mp40 shooting, but also Soviet moshinagan rifles, carbines and Sokolov heavy machine guns.

Is it really the enemy's attack? Thinking of this, I grabbed the submachine gun on the table, stood up, opened the curtain and planned to go outside to have a look.