While the troops were marching, Lin Hua suddenly remembered something. Kazakov only ordered him to lead his troops to Voloklamsk to participate in the battle, but did not tell him which senior commander he should report to. Thinking of this,
He took out the written order that Kazakov had given him when parting and looked at it carefully.
Stepan, the deputy platoon leader of the second platoon who happened to be passing by him, saw Lin Hua looking at a piece of paper in his hand with an engaged expression. He slowed down and asked Lin Hua curiously: "Comrade company commander, what are you looking at?"
?"
Lin Hua shook the note in his hand at him and said with a wry smile: "Our superiors only ordered us to rush to Voloklamsk to participate in the battle, but they did not tell me who to report to. You know, according to what I have learned in the past two days,
Observe, our troops besieging the city are at least five divisions."
Stepan had long known that there were many numbers of troops outside Voloklamsk. When he heard that Lin Hua didn't know who to report to after taking the troops to the place, he couldn't help being shocked. He quickly told Lin Hua
Hua said: "Comrade company commander, can I see the order issued by comrade commander?"
Taking the note from Lin Hua, Stepan looked over it several times and found no instructions on who to report to. He handed the note back to Lin Hua and said carefully: "Comrade Company Commander.
, I think the reason why we did not specify which unit our company would be assigned to command is simply because we were worried that we would not be able to find the designated unit when we rushed outside the city."
Lin Hua took the note, stuffed it into his pocket, and asked curiously: "Then what should we do?"
"It's very simple," Stepan said with a smile: "When we get outside the city, we will join whichever army we encounter."
"This is a good idea." Lin Hua thinks Stepan's proposal is good. This way, after the troops arrive outside Voloklamsk, they don't have to worry about finding the designated troops.
Although he had known Stepan for several days, since he was a taciturn person, Lin Hua had less than ten words in total with him, so he decided to use this opportunity to enhance his relationship with him.
He asked with a smile in a homely tone: "Where is Comrade Deputy Platoon Leader from?"
"Leningrad." Stepan replied without hesitation: "Comrade company commander, I am from Leningrad."
"Before the war, where did you work in Leningrad?" Lin Hua continued to ask.
"Comrade Company Commander, although I am from Leningrad, I do not work there." Stepan smiled and said to Lin Hua: "I have been working in the food factory in Vyazma since 1938.
”
Vyazma, when Lin Hua heard this place name, he couldn't help but be distracted. From the moment he came to this era and met Rokossovsky, he asked himself in his heart, what if the commander of the Western Front at that time
Konev did not give orders to Rokossovsky, but asked Lukin to lead his army group headquarters to Vyazma to receive the troops. Then after the end of the Patriotic War, he was the one who directed the military parade on Red Square.
Marshal is Marshal Lukin, not Marshal Rokossovsky.
Stepan saw Lin Hua lowering his head and seemed to be thinking about something, so he quickly asked curiously: "Comrade company commander, what are you thinking about?"
"Comrade Deputy Platoon Leader, you just mentioned Vyazma." Stepan's voice woke Lin Hua out of his thoughts. He said in a panic: "A few months ago, the main force of the Western Front was there.
Being surrounded by enemies, it is really not easy for you to jump out of the encirclement."
"Comrade Company Commander," Stepan said calmly, "Although we were surrounded by German troops, it was impossible for the enemy to block all roads. After I and the soldiers from the food factory militia company escaped from the city, we entered an uninhabited area.
We wandered around in the forest for a week and met a detachment led by Lieutenant Saviev. After we joined forces, we formed the Saviev guerrillas, with Saviev as the captain and me as the political commissar.
We fought guerrillas with the enemy in the vast forest."
"I heard Saviev say that the reason why your guerrillas are relatively strong in combat effectiveness is because half of them are regular troops who have been broken up." Lin Hua said this and nodded towards the marching troops.
"But I see that the guerrillas are almost all new recruits, and I don't see many veterans."
"There is a reason for this." Upon hearing Lin Hua's question, Stepan's expression became serious: "At its peak, our guerrilla army had almost three hundred people, including those from the regular army.
There were 180 soldiers. However, in order to cooperate with General Panfilov's 316th Infantry Division, the 8th Guards Division, to defend Voloklamsk, we continued to harass the enemy's rear and destroyed roads.
, bridges, burning the enemy's logistics warehouses, etc. The enemy was angry after being hit, so he sent a group to wipe out us. In countless battles where the numbers were overwhelmingly outnumbered, our strength was weakened. Although new people continued to join
Our guerrillas, but our numbers are getting smaller and smaller..."
After listening to Stepan's story, Lin Hua finally understood why this guerrilla group of only fifty people was equipped with a radio station. It turned out that they were once a powerful force, but in
After suffering continuous attacks from the German army, its strength was greatly weakened.
Stepan had a good impression of Lin Hua and began to talk more unknowingly: "Comrade company commander, do you think our troops can take Voloklamsk? You know, the 8th Guards Division held on
When the city was occupied, the German army dispatched seven divisions, including three armored divisions, and it took more than a month to occupy the city."
"Comrade Stepan, it depends on who is the attacker and the defender." Lin Hua waited for the other party to finish speaking and said with a smile: "If the enemy attacks and we defend, even if the enemy and our forces are greatly outnumbered, we can still hold on.
Two months; but if the Germans defend it and we attack, I think we can liberate the city in a week at most."
The two chatted while marching, and unknowingly they had walked five or six kilometers. On the right side of the road ahead, you could see a long row of T-34 tanks parked. The soldiers couldn't help but see so many tanks parked on the roadside.
Pointing fingers, talking excitedly.
A three-wheeled motorcycle came from the opposite direction. Seeing Lin Hua's troops marching, it quickly stopped on the side of the road. After the car stopped, a captain officer came out of the sidecar and stood on the side of the road.
He looked at the troops getting closer and closer to him with his hands behind his back. When the troops came to him, he suddenly raised his voice and asked: "Which unit are you from?"
Hearing the captain's voice, Lin Hua quickly ran over, raised his hands in front of him, saluted, and reported: "Comrade Captain, we are the 'Istria Company', and I am the company commander, Lieutenant Sokov."
The captain raised his hand and saluted, and then said: "I am the adjutant of Major General Remizov, commander of the right wing rapid group, and I was ordered to come here to pick you up. Comrade lieutenant, bring your troops and follow me!"