Burning Moscow

When I finished introducing myself, I raised my hand and looked at my watch. It was already five o'clock in the afternoon, and it was time for dinner. (Update-the fastest-novel station m):. So I stood up and said to the seven regiment-level commanders: "It’s time for dinner, so let’s stay and have a meal together. To be honest, I have been in the division for three days, and no one has ever invited me to dinner. Well. Even if I take in everyone’s light today, how is it going to taste the food in the teacher?"

As soon as my words fell, everyone burst into laughter, and Xiaolov said in a near tone: "Comrade Teacher, I have a say in food. You know I used to come here every three and five to eat. If not, I have the right to speak. Colonel Dorofeev couldn't bear it. I dug his chef into my regiment a long time ago." Sholov's words caused everyone to laugh again, and the atmosphere in the room became particularly harmonious.

While we were chatting, Boroda ran to the door and ordered the kitchen to send the meals of the nine of us to the headquarters. After all this, he returned to his place and listened to our chat quietly.

Without much effort, a second lieutenant walked into the command post with nine soldiers carrying a tray. The second lieutenant stepped forward and saluted me and reported: "Comrade Commander, hello! Your food is here, please have a meal."

I nodded at him, smiled and said, "Thank you, Comrade Ensign."

He replied with a blunt voice, and then instructed the soldiers to put the food plate on the table first, and then put the knife, fork, and napkin in front of everyone in turn. After doing all this, he saluted me again and left with the soldiers.

With current conditions, the dinner was quite generous, with two plates and a bowl of soup in front of each person. On one plate is a spoonful of oatmeal, two square aspics, five or six finger-thick pickles, an egg-sized pickled tomato, several pieces of roast lamb and two baked potatoes; the other plate is a salad platter , There are crab salad, mushroom salad, carrot salad, sweet and sour vegetable salad and chicken salad; the soup is the famous red cabbage soup, and there are cooked beef sliced ​​into strips floating in the soup.

See so many delicacies. I haven't eaten anything serious for nearly a month, and I can't help but swallow my saliva secretly. Not only in front of my subordinates, I still want to maintain my shining image. I picked up the fork next to the plate and greeted everyone in a calm manner: "Comrades. Don't froze, hurry up and eat. ." After speaking, he used a fork to pick up a piece of aspic and put it directly into his mouth. When other people saw that I was already eating, they raised their forks and started to wipe out the food in front of them.

I always think that the dining table is a good place to connect with feelings. Even Russia is no exception. After eating for a while, seeing that several commanders were no longer as restrained as they were at the beginning, I started chatting with them. I first asked the tank commander: "Comrade Donskoy, where are you from?"

Donskoy quickly put down his fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin, stood up and replied, "Comrade Chief Reporter. I am from Moscow and I was born in the town of Uvarovo on the outskirts of Moscow."

I stretched out my right hand and pressed it down and said, "Comrade Donskoy, I'm just chatting with you, don't be so restrained, or sit down and talk."

After he sat down, it suddenly occurred to me that the name of Great Uvarovo is quite familiar. So I asked him: "I heard you said that you were born in the town of Uvarovo. The name of this place is quite familiar. I seem to have heard someone talk about this place."

Hearing this, Donskoy frowned and said dazedly: "There are at least a few hundred people in the town who came out as a soldier with me. I can't guess who mentioned this place name to you."

I tapped lightly on the table with my finger, thinking over and over again who had mentioned this place name to me, and this person’s position was at least not too low, otherwise an ordinary place name would not be left to me. Deep impression. The sound of me knocking on the table. It caught everyone's attention, everyone stopped and turned their attention to me.

Seeing that it affected everyone's eating because of me, I quickly smiled at them apologetically and said, "I was thinking about something. I'm so sorry that it affected everyone's eating. You continue to eat and leave me alone." When I spoke to everyone, my eyes swept over Donskoy's body, and I saw his black tank uniform, and a familiar name jumped into my mind. When my eyes lit up, I suddenly remembered who it was, and couldn't help but mutter to myself: "It turned out to be him, no wonder I think this place name is quite familiar."

"Who is he? Teacher comrade." Donskoy asked curiously.

"Katukov!" I solemnly said the name of the person I had just thought of, and tentatively asked the tank commander: "Comrade Donskoy, do you know Katukov?"

"Katukoff?! Hahaha, it turns out that you are talking about Misha!" Donskoy couldn't help laughing when he heard the name I said, "It turned out to be this guy! No wonder you listened." He will have such a deep impression after mentioning his hometown. According to me, anyone who has interacted with him will leave a deep impression on him as a lunatic."

"Mad?! What the **** is going on, how do you call him that?" I know that Misha is Katukov's nickname, and only those who know him the most would call it that, but why would he be called by others? Become a lunatic, I don't understand.

"Oh, dear comrade teacher, this is a long story." When Donskoy knew that I knew Katukov, he became casual. "We were sent to Olabaku at the time. Ning Advanced Infantry School and the Red Army Motorized Academy of Workers and Peasants have advanced training in the command class to learn and master the command skills of tank operations. In a later military exercise, Misha served as the captain of the T-18 tank detachment, and I was the deputy captain. Our tank unit was on the way to the enemy's position. A trench dug by the other side exceeded the span of our tank, blocking our unit."

Speaking of trenches, I remember hearing others talk about Katukov's barbaric act, so I asked Donskoy tentatively: "Is it buried in a car as a bridge?!"

"Yes, comrade commander." Donskoy gave me an affirmative reply, "At that time, Misha asked his subordinates to signal me to accept the task. When my tank stopped by his side, he actually gave I gave an order: drive the tank into the pit, bring the bridge with the car, and let other tanks pass through. After listening to his order, I was in a hurry and called him a lunatic. I would come up with this. Crazy plan, you must know that a little carelessness will kill you. But no matter how I scold him, he is indifferent, just ordering me to execute the order. No way, I threw the rest of the tanks out of the car and forced me to be alone. I drove the tank into the trench with my scalp. Comrade commander, you must know that it was a trench more than two meters deep! When I drove the tank in, I was bumped and moved all the internal organs. I fainted at that time. Just like that, The other tanks of the detachment rolled over from the roof of my car and passed the enemy’s fortification area smoothly. After the exercise, Marshal Tukhachevsky, the People’s Commissar for National Defense who came to watch the exercise, received us and gave us a grievance. Add praise and call him a'Kutuzov-style commander'."

Marshal Tukhachevsky. When I heard the name, I couldn't help but shiver. You must know that Tukhachevsky was executed for treason, and the consequences are still very serious for anyone to have a relationship with him at this moment. I watched the other people's expressions vigilantly, and saw that everyone was eating as usual, and my hanging heart was put back into my stomach.

Fortunately, Donskoy did not mention Tukhachevsky again. Instead, he asked about Katukov's whereabouts: "Comrade Commander, do you also know Misha? I haven't seen him for several years, and I don't know what happened to him."

I nodded vigorously and said, "Yes, I know General Katukov, and I fought alongside him during the defense of Moscow."

"General? God, this madman can be upgraded so fast. I'm still a lieutenant colonel, but he is also a general." Donskoy's exaggerated expression provoked everyone's laughter again.

"Lieutenant Colonel Donskoy, have you been separated from General Katukov for so many years. Have you never been in contact?" According to my thoughts, as old comrades in arms, the two should be very close to each other. .

"Since the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, I have lost contact with him. You should know that being a tank soldier is different from being an infantry. We often move around. There are also wartime military postal systems, which are also inconvenient. Maybe The letter he wrote to me was lost in the mail, or it was detained by the inspection agency for fear of leaks.

Hearing what he said, I was surprised that two fellow villagers and good friends lost contact after the outbreak of the war. They didn't even know about the major event that one of them became a general? ! I asked suspiciously: "Don't you know how he became a general?"

Donskoy shook his head, saying that he didn't know.

"Haven't you read the report on the defense of Moscow? You know, you can find the answers you need there." I asked unwillingly.

Donskoy still shook his head. My eyes swept to other people again. Those present here stopped the knives and forks in their hands long ago. Seeing my gaze towards them, they collectively shook their heads, saying that they had not read the battle report I was talking about. Among them, Sholov said with a hippie smile: "Comrade Commander, since everyone is very interested in how Katukov became a general, and you have worked with Katukov, you have a better understanding of his situation. Just tell everyone about it."

"Yes, comrade teacher, tell us about it!" The rest of the people also echoed one after another.

Seeing that everyone was interested in this topic, I did not refuse any more. I pushed the empty plate in front of me to the side and told everyone about the Soviet military report that I had read: "Since everyone wants to hear about the deeds of General Katukov, Then I will first talk about his battle of fame: the Mtzensk tank battle.

In October last year, Colonel Katukov served as the brigade commander of the newly formed 4th Independent Tank Brigade. The troops were initially stationed in the Kubinka area west of Moscow to protect the roads and railways along the Moscow-Minsk line. Soon, the tank brigade was incorporated into the 1st Guards Infantry Corps of General Lelyushenko, and set off from the outskirts of Moscow overnight and rushed to Mtzensk by rail.

The task Katukov received was to lead his troops to hold on to Mtzensk, the west gate of Moscow, to block the installation of the German Army's Gudley A cluster, and to prevent them from continuing to advance east.

You know, Katukov only has 45 old tanks on hand, and he doesn’t have enough ammunition. In the eyes of others, this is an impossible task, but none of this has stumped Katukov. He knew that hard work was not a solution. As soon as he arrived at his destination, he immediately urged the soldiers to dig up fake bunkers around the clock, and made a large number of fake tanks with three-ply panels and camouflaged them. The real tank positions were deployed at 4000 meters away. local.

The commanders and fighters of the Independent 4th Tank Brigade were tossed by Katukov for days and nights without sleep, and everyone was dissatisfied. Behind him, ‘all call him a German spy who wants to exhaust the Russians’. When the battle started, the commanders and soldiers who had complained about it discovered that following this ‘slick brigade commander’, at least their lives could be saved.

During the Battle of Mtzensk, Katukov used every soldier carefully. He also instructed every tank to prepare three or four launch points, and change the place after a few shots, so that the Soviet army seemed very strong. Under his deceiving soldiers, the Germans couldn't figure out our fiction. When reporting to their superiors, they even claimed that there were thousands of Soviet tanks deployed here.

After 8 days and nights of fierce fighting. Katukov’s brigade destroyed 133 enemy tanks and shot down 2 planes, while his troops lost only 6 tanks, 2 of which were burned on the battlefield, and the other 4 were sent to the maintenance station for repairs and were soon put back into operation. Up the fight.

Thanks to the results achieved by the officers and soldiers of the 4th Tank Brigade in the Mtzensk area. With the displayed bravery, wit, agility, and tenacious fighting spirit, on October 22, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union awarded the brigade 32 soldiers with the title of Hero of the Soviet Union and medals. The 4th Independent Tank Brigade was also reorganized into the 1st Guards Tank. trip. At the same time, due to his outstanding performance in the Battle of Mtzensk, Katukov became the favored general of Comrade Stalin, and was awarded the rank of major general soon. "

After listening to talk about Katukov's experience. Donskoy slapped the table with excitement, and said loudly: "Just dozens of old tanks have beaten Guderian, who was indispensable in the German army, to abandon his helmet and armor. Misha is really great!"

I looked at him with a smile and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if you can achieve the same brilliant results in the next battle. Then I believe that in the near future, you will soon become Duns. General Coy's."

In the sound of everyone's kind laughter, Donskoy blushed. He stood up and expressed his determination to me: "Please rest assured, my commander, I will never disappoint your expectations. In the future battles, I promise to complete every order you give."

Hearing Donskoy's determination to me, everyone in the room stood up and said neatly: "Please rest assured, teacher. We promise to complete all the orders you have given."

Seeing everyone’s reaction, I nodded in satisfaction and said, “Well, since everyone is so confident, then I solemnly promise you that as long as you have achieved outstanding results in the battle that you are about to launch, then I will personally Submit an application for your promotion to the comrade commander of the front army."

Hearing that they might be promoted to the ranks after the battle was over, several commanders flushed with excitement and shouted in unison: "Serve the Soviet motherland."

I was very satisfied with their attitude. I took a look at the empty plates on the table and knew that everyone had eaten almost, so I didn’t keep them: "Everyone has eaten almost. I’ll stop here today, everyone. Comrade commander, you immediately return to your respective troops, mobilize well before the war, and be ready to pull the troops out at any time."

The seven commanders replied in unison: "Yes, comrade commander, promise to complete the task!" After saluting Boroda and me, they left one after another.

Looking at the backs of them leaving, Boroda said with emotion: "Comrade Commander, your mobilization is really ingenious. Look at how long it has been for these commanders who originally held an attitude of resistance to us. , Now I have been tuned to be subdued by you."

At today's meeting, I skillfully subdued the most unruly Lieutenant Colonel Sholof. Then at the dinner in the evening, because of Kathukov, he won the tank commander Lieutenant Colonel Donskoy, which is also a accidental accident. When I heard Boroda’s words, I smiled and said, "Comrade Captain, to be honest, if you want to quickly take control of this division, the best way is to replace all the original middle-level commanders with people you know. Tuning. But no, we just took over the division today. We have neither brought new commanders over, nor have we understood the situation of the commanders at all levels of the division. If we easily replace the commanders who disagree with us, there will be It may cause confusion in the command system and affect the morale of the troops.

The situation of managing a division is completely different from managing a company or a battalion. When we were battalion commanders or company commanders, orders could be directly communicated to squad leaders or fighters; but after we became division-level commanders, if our orders were to be passed on, we had to pass the regiment commanders who came to the meeting today to let them give orders. Convey to every soldier. So we need to consider a lot of issues. How to deal with the relationship with these intermediate commanders is our first consideration. UU Reading www.uukanshu.com Only if they don't reject us and are willing to accept us and obey us, this division command can be handy. "

"It's served, Comrade Major, I'm serving it!" Boroda's words made me a little bit baffled. I couldn't figure out why he said that. Fortunately, his following words solved the mystery for me: "Commander Meretskov appointed When you were a teacher, I was still quite unconvinced in my heart, but seeing your performance today and what you just said, I am convinced of you."

After finally waiting for him to finish, I was about to say something modest. He suddenly patted his forehead and said, "Comrade Major, it's so late. Should you go back to the dormitory to accompany your son Alek?"

When he said this, I remembered that Alek was still in the female hygienist’s dormitory, and quickly said, "Yeah, if you don’t say it, I forgot it. So, you stay on duty in the division headquarters and I will go back first. Come back tomorrow morning."

"Comrade Major, you can go back with confidence, and leave it to me here." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendation and monthly tickets from the starting point. Your support is my greatest motivation. For mobile phone users, please go to m. to read.)

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