Chapter 721

When I heard the names of gramus and Beckman, bantaileiev suddenly frowned. He interrupted me decisively and asked alertly, "Sir, I don't understand why the names of the two commanders you mentioned are not Russian names at all, but German names? And why should we separate their subordinates from our troops? Are they not in the same camp as us? "

"Comrade bantailiev," kirilov explained to him in time about this question: "gramus and Beckman are two German officers who surrendered to our army. With them, we have nearly 100 subordinates. If they are dispatched to the enemy's rear for reconnaissance and sabotage, the effect will be absolutely stronger than that of a unit composed solely of our commanders and fighters. After all, they speak the authentic German language, plus real documents and a full set of German equipment, so the enemy can't tell the true from the false. The reason why comrades of the division commander have proposed to deploy personnel from different units to form a joint unit is also for the purpose of better controlling this unit. "

Kirilov's explanation made Bantai leiev nod his head, but it didn't dispel his mind. He turned to look at me and reminded me with worry: "Sir, if you want to use the defectors to carry out such an important task, should you report to the higher authorities? Otherwise, if something goes wrong, you will get into big trouble. "

When I heard the concern expressed in bantailiev's words, I responded with a kind smile, and then explained the matter to him to ease his uneasiness: "Colonel bantailiev, you don't have to worry about that. This German unit in the independent division is not only known by the headquarters of the group army, but also by the headquarters of the front army. Since joining us, Captain Grimes has made a lot of contributions. He not only helped us to capture the lost 107.5 heights of friendly forces, but also carried out many attacks behind the enemy lines. In addition, gramus himself helped us train a lot of excellent snipers some time ago. These snipers are now in various parts of the city, wantonly hunting and killing isolated German soldiers. According to their past performance, I believe they will achieve greater results in the next action. "

What I said reassured bantaileiev. He turned the topic and said to kirilov sincerely: "Comrade political commissar, I've just arrived at the independent division and I'm not familiar with everything. If I do something wrong, please give me more criticism and advice."

Kirilov said with a smile: "old man, you can't talk about advice, but if you want to know the specific situation of the independent division, you can ask me at any time."

Next, bandeleev took out a roster from his briefcase. In addition to the name, age and rank of each commander, it also recorded in detail when they joined the army, what battles they participated in and what special skills they had.

From this detailed roster, I can judge that bantaileiev is a strict and serious commander. Although I don't know his ability to command operations, I still think it's a correct decision to keep him in the division.

Kirilov and akhromeyev, working in Canada, and leiev face the roster to study how to arrange for the upcoming commanders. I listened attentively. They planned to send the head and political commissar of the second regiment of the new division to the third regiment as the deputy head and chief of staff; The head and political commissar of the new third regiment were sent to the fourth regiment to serve as deputy head and chief of staff. After the league level cadres were arranged, they began to arrange battalion level cadres. I listen to a strange name, feel a little boring, so I got up and stood up, walking back and forth in the room for a physical activity.

After studying for more than half an hour, the three of them finally allocated more than 200 officers and men. Seeing that their work had come to an end, I went back to the table and asked kirilov, "Comrade political commissar, is there any news over there?"

Kirilov understood that I was talking about captain Karpov, but shook his head and said with regret, "I have conveyed your message to the messenger. But from this morning, the German army launched an attack on Highland 107.5, which did not stop until the evening. As a result, we were unable to send personnel to contact them. "

Bantailiev, who heard our conversation, looked curious and seemed to want to ask what it was, but he was interrupted by kirilov. He said solemnly, "Comrade bantailiev, although you are now the deputy division commander of the independent division, because the plan we are implementing is specially authorized by the higher authorities, so we need to control the scope of the insiders, So I can't tell you what it is for the time being. Please forgive me! "

Bantaileiev seems to have been used to all these confidential things for a long time, so when kirilov said that, he just nodded and didn't say anything.

The commander of the new division came to the headquarters one after another in the early hours of the morning to report. Because there were too many people to stay in the headquarters, bantailiev and akhromeyev went outside the cave to directly assign the whereabouts of the commanders. Kirilov, on the other hand, stayed in the cave and called the heads of the second, third and fourth regiments respectively, asking them to come in person and take away the commanders assigned to them. More than 40 commanders sent to a regiment ordered basmanov to send them there.

Busy until dawn, all things are over. As soon as I was relieved, I just wanted everyone to take a break. But razumeyeva, who was sitting in front of the telephone, was calling me, saying that Gaidar, the fourth group leader, wanted to talk to me.

After I put on the earphone, I said to the transmitter with a smile, "Hey, commander Gaidar, I just assigned 50 or 60 commanders to you. Can't I ask the division for anything more?"

I didn't expect that Gaidar's confused voice came out of the earphone: "Comrade division, no, the enemy is shelling our position."

"What's so great about shelling?" I said with disapproval. "If the Germans want to occupy mamayev post, they first want to capture the Highlands where your regiment is located. So they not only shelled the Highlands, but also sent planes to bomb from time to time. What's so surprising."

"There is something wrong with today's situation, sir." Gaidar nervously said: "the enemy only carried out sporadic shelling on our Highlands, dropping no more than ten rounds per minute. According to the observation report, the enemy troops stopped when they arrived about three kilometers away from our regiment's position by truck. "

"Continue to observe," he said, and I became alert. But in a hurry, I could not guess that the enemy would hide anything. I could only tell him, "if there is any new situation, report it to me in time."

When I talked with Gaidar, kirilov in the room heard it. The three people who had stayed up all night were a little sleepy. Seeing me return to my position seriously, they guessed that there was something wrong in the front of me, and they suddenly felt refreshed.

Kirilov first asked curiously, "Comrade oshanina, what did the fourth regiment report?"

"Colonel gedar said the enemy was shelling their positions."

Listen to me, akhromeyev, just like I just said, "what's so great about shelling? When the German offensive was fierce some time ago, it wasn't shelling and bombing together. It's just for this reason that lieutenant colonel Gaidar deserves to call to report to you

"It's not that simple." I waved to akhromeyev and then said my guess: "what the enemy did to the positions of the fourth regiment was only sporadic shelling, and their offensive troops stopped three kilometers away from the high ground. I'm worried about their plot. "

Kirilov did not speak after listening, but stood up straight, picked up the phone on the table and dialed the second group: "Hello, commander Oleg? I'm commissar kirilov. The enemy is shelling the position of the fourth regiment. Let the observation post pay attention to the enemy's movements. If you find anything, report it to me in time. "

After putting down the phone, kirilov said to us with a straight face: "the Germans suffered a lot in front of our Highlands, and they gradually became cunning. The day before yesterday, when we were not convenient, they suddenly launched a fierce artillery attack on the 4th regiment position, resulting in heavy casualties among the officers and men who built the fortifications. I agree with the division commander's judgment that there must be some hidden conspiracy behind their sporadic shelling of the fourth regiment's positions today. "

"What kind of conspiracy will it be?" Bantai leiev asked thoughtfully: "listen to what you said, the officers and men of the fourth regiment only left a few soldiers to observe, and the rest of them hid in the fortifications. Even if they increased the density of artillery, they would not be able to achieve better results than before?"

I didn't know how to answer bantailiev's question. I shrugged my shoulders and went back to razumeyeva. I told her, "Lieutenant, contact the fourth regiment immediately to learn about the situation in the front."

Razumeyeva quickly connected the fourth group and handed me the earphone and transmitter. I asked Gaidar in a loud voice: "Comrade commander, what's the situation? Are the Germans still shelling you sporadically? Their ground forces did not continue to advance to your positions? "

"Report, sir," Gaidar hastily reported, "the enemy is still sporadically shelling our positions, but I have found out why they are doing so."

"Why?" I can't wait to hear him say that.

"The enemy is digging trenches and building fortifications three kilometers away from the front line of our army. Their sporadic shelling on our highlands may be to protect them from being interrupted by our regiment's initiative in the course of construction. "

When I heard that the Germans were building fortifications at the front of our army, I was stunned. I thought about what happened to the Germans. I even thought of building fortifications so close to our army. I was not afraid that we would suddenly attack and seize this position from them. I couldn't figure it out for a while, so I could only say in an official voice, "keep observing. If there are any new changes, please report them to me at any time."

I went back to the table and told the three of them what Gaidar had reported. Kirilov felt very strange after hearing this. He said to himself, "what are the Germans doing? They are building fortifications so close to our positions. Aren't they afraid that we will take the positions down by night attack?" Then he picked up the phone and called the second regiment.

As soon as the phone rang, he raised his voice and asked, "Hello, commander Oleg? Is your observation post up to date? " After that, he was silent and listened to the other party's report. Although I could hear Oleg's voice coming from the receiver, I couldn't hear what he was saying because of the distance.

After listening for a while, he covered the microphone with his hand and reported to me, "Comrade oshanina, the report of Lieutenant Colonel Oleg is similar to that of Gaidar. The highlands are being bombarded by sporadic enemy artillery. A few kilometers away, there is probably a company of German soldiers digging trenches."

I walked quickly over, took the phone from kirilov's hand, pointed to the phone and asked, "Hello, commander Oleg, this is my teacher. I now ask you, "have your regiment's positions been shelled by the enemy?"

Although Oleg didn't know the purpose of my question, he replied honestly, "report, sir, our regiment's position is very calm and has not been shelled by the enemy."

"I see." With that, I just hung up. Then I looked up at kirilov and said solemnly, "commanders, now I'm going to the observation post of the second regiment to see what's going on. I wonder which of you would like to go with me? "

After hearing what I said, kirilov looked left and right, and then said, "well, it's the same. The chief of staff will stay on duty. Comrade o'shanina, I'll accompany you to the mountain with colonel bantaileiev. " At this point, he turned around and told basmanov standing at the door: "Captain, take a class of soldiers with us, and be responsible for protecting the safety of the division commander." Basmanov, who had received his order, agreed loudly, turned to open the door, went out, and went outside to gather the troops.

The three of us, with a class of guards, bent down along the traffic ditch and ran to the observation post halfway up the hill. Just on the way, I met Oleg who came to meet us. I didn't inform him when I came here just now, but he was able to show up at such a suitable time. Obviously, he was informed by akhromeyev.

Oleg came up to me and said with a worried face, "Comrade teacher, it's too dangerous up there. You'd better not go up there?"

"Mischief," I said to him without false words, "I've never been in the position. I don't know if it's dangerous or not? Stop talking nonsense and show us the way ahead. "

Seeing my resolute attitude, Oleg had no choice but to promise and take us along the trench towards the observation post on the hillside.

After entering the observation station, I quickly came to the observation port and raised my telescope to look into the distance. I saw from the telescope that about two hundred or three hundred German soldiers wearing helmets were digging up the bunkers. The weather in October was already very cold, but many Germans wore only underwear inside, and waving their spades desperately, shovelling the earth from shovel to trench. A little further away, there were more than a dozen trucks with awning. In the open space between the trucks, mortars were supported and several fire points of heavy and heavy machine guns were built.

Seeing this, I knew that the German sporadic shelling on the fourth regiment's positions was to suppress the fourth regiment's troops and prevent their progress in building fortifications from being interrupted by their attacks. These machine gun fire points and mortars were specially deployed just in case our army escaped the blockade of gunfire.

Seeing this situation, Bantai leiev cautiously put forward his own suggestion: "the enemy is not too far away from our position. At such a close distance, we can annihilate them all with artillery fire."

Kirilov sighed and said with regret: "Comrade Bantai leyev, the shells in our division are almost exhausted, and can't be supplemented in a short time. If we fire all the shells for the sake of so many enemy infantry, then when the enemy attacks again under the cover of tanks, we will have no heavy firepower any more."

I looked at the German soldiers who were building fortifications, and I scolded the German commander who gave the order countless times. If the German army really builds up this line of defense, it is equivalent to pushing forward their original starting point of attack by four or five kilometers. In this way, their attack intensity will be further strengthened in the next battle. Moreover, the establishment of this line of defense has greatly reduced the scope of our division's activities. At least we can't carry out the sneak attack along the river in the future.

Bantaileiev looked at it for a while and put forward his own suggestion again: "Sir, political commissar, I have an idea that since there are not many Germans building fortifications, we might as well launch a counterattack. The troops who stick to the high ground in front of them will charge decisively and rush up with lightning speed to wipe out the weak enemy completely and cleanly. "

From the heart, bandeleyev has put forward two suggestions, both of which have merits. However, under the current situation, they are not feasible. With a wry smile, I pointed to bantailiev in the distance and said, "Comrade Colonel, look, there is a three kilometer open area between our army's position and the enemy. If we launch an attack rashly, it will take at least ten minutes to rush through. In such a long time, it will be enough for the enemy to prepare for all battles and call for artillery support. As long as the German long-range artillery fire to block the words, our officers and men in the open field, will be blown up bloody. Even if someone can get away with rushing to the enemy's position, he will almost lose his fighting capacity. It's good to save himself, let alone destroy the enemy. "

"What about you?" Bantaileiev even denied his two proposals, and he couldn't help but feel helpless: "can't you just watch the enemy build such a fortification under our eyes? In this way, they will shorten the offensive distance and pose a greater threat to us

"You have a point, comrade Deputy teacher." I responded politely. However, under the current situation, I am helpless to the German tactics. It seems that the German people have long expected that our division, which is in charge of the mamayev post, will not be able to do anything about their fortifications. I put down my telescope and said helplessly: "since the enemy wants to repair fortifications, let them repair them. Let's go back to the headquarters first, and then we'll find a way

The three of us went back to the headquarters dejected. As soon as akhromeyev saw us enter, he couldn't wait to ask, "what's the situation outside? Has the enemy really built fortifications in front of our army?"

I said to him with a bitter smile, "yes, comrade chief of staff. The Germans have suffered so many losses in front of our Highlands, and now they are smart enough to know how to build fortifications so close to our positions. "

"Can we annihilate all these enemies with artillery fire?" Asked akhromeyev.

I waved my hand and said, "since the Germans intend to build fortifications in front of our positions, no matter what difficulties they encounter, they will stick to it with their rigorous working attitude. Even if our artillery fire has wiped out the enemy today, they will send new troops tomorrow to continue to build this fortification. We don't have many shells in our division. We can't waste them on these German infantry. "

"But, sir." Obviously aware of the seriousness of the problem, akhromeyev said to me in a hurry: "if we do not destroy them and allow this line of defense to be built, then we will let the enemy set the starting point of attack in front of our position. In this way, once there is a fight, I'm afraid the officers and men of the fourth regiment will not be able to withstand it. "

"If you can't, you have to." Akhromeyev's nagging in my ear made me upset. As soon as I patted the table, I stood up and fired at him inexplicably: "as long as there is one person left in the fourth regiment, the Highlands must not be lost. Not to mention the fourth regiment, even if the whole division is finished, we must hold the mamayev post firmly. "

"Comrade o'shanina, please calm down and don't get angry." When kirilov saw that I was suddenly furious, he quickly stood up to persuade me: "Comrade chief of staff said this for the sake of the overall situation. However, I just went to the field to have a look, and I think your worry is also very reasonable. The fact that the Germans dare to build fortifications so close to us proves that they are well prepared. Maybe they just want to lure our troops to attack, and then use artillery to destroy them in the open. Next, the German soldiers who are building fortifications can take a truck and rush to the foot of the hill. Although they have only one company, almost all the remaining officers and men on the highlands are recruits without military training, so they can't hold the position at all. Once the northern highland is lost, the highland where we are is in danger. "

I only thought that the German fortification might be a conspiracy, not as carefully as kirilov. After listening to his analysis, I was immediately scared out in a cold sweat. In recent battles, the fourth regiment also suffered a lot of casualties. Although two battalions were added last night, they were all untrained recruits and had no combat effectiveness at all. If I order them to attack, I will send those experienced veterans to attack with Gaidar's character, and then I will fall into the trap of the German army. After the charging troops are destroyed by the enemy's artillery fire, the German soldiers who repair fortifications can rush to the foot of the mountain by truck, and then easily seize the position of the fourth regiment from the recruits.

It is obviously inappropriate for the enemy to be so close to us, but with our strength, if we launch a counterattack at this time, we will fall into the trap of the enemy again. After thinking about it for a long time, I didn't come up with a proper way, so I had no choice but to say, "let's wait for the enemy to repair the fortifications, and then we will study how to deal with them."

Kirilov thought that I had come up with another good idea. When his eyes lit up, he asked thoughtfully, "Comrade oshanina, do you want to wait until after dark before sending troops to carry out the night attack?"

I didn't say anything about his guess, but just laughed noncommittally. With such a smile, even akhromeyev thought that I was well-established and wisely analyzed: "political commissar, I also think that the reason why the division commander decided not to take action against the enemy during the day was to attack the enemy at night. Do you think so, sir? "

Instead of answering akhromeyev's question, I turned the topic and said, "comrades, I think we should not consider how to deal with the enemy in front of the position, but how to train the new recruits who have just been added to the division. Although 2000 new recruits have been added this time, "I turned to Bantai leiev and added with a smile," Comrade deputy division commander, you are familiar with these new recruits. Let's introduce their situation to the political commissar and chief of staff. "

Bantai leiev nodded, stood up from his seat and said solemnly, "my new division was formed ten days ago. The soldiers in the division are from the city and collective farms. There is no doubt about their loyalty. But because of the tight time, we have no time for military training and no weapons. It was not until last night when we had to cross the river into the city that Comrade Khrushchev, a military commissar of the front army, asked the logistics department to supply us with some weapons. As there are not many weapons stored on the dock, we have only a limited supply of weapons. In some battalions, there are three or four soldiers with a gun, while in some battalions, there are ten soldiers with a gun. I think our teachers are very clear about this. " Seeing that I nodded in agreement, I continued to say, "I don't think the recruits who are short of weapons and without training have combat effectiveness. No matter how many people there are, they can't stop the German soldiers who rush up."

After bantaileiev sat down, kirilov added: "our next priority is to seize the time to train new recruits. However, in this regard, we have been fully prepared for a long time. The political work cadres led by Comrade oberstein can be dispersed to the ranks in the shortest time to strengthen the training of new recruits. I estimate that perhaps in a week or less, the newly added troops in the division will be able to form combat effectiveness. "