Sokov looked at Yakov and said with a serious and sincere attitude: "Yakov, you have to fight side by side with me. There are many opportunities in the future, but now the task I assigned you is to escort the wounded and cross the river quickly." He was very afraid that Yakov would insist on his own, and he also emphasized, "The existence of a large number of wounded people will greatly slow down the movement of the troops. If we can't stop the enemy, you can't let us leave these wounded people to the Germans, right?"
Yakov was once a prisoner of the Germans, and he knew very well what fate would be encountered once these wounded people fell into the hands of the Germans. Therefore, even if he was unwilling to leave, he could only implement the order issued by Sokov unconditionally.
As he was talking, Vanya and Tnev rushed over with their troops. Sokov quickly called the two of them and said to them: "Captain Vanya, Major Tenev, from now on, you two will be under the command of Major Yakov and help them to send the wounded safely to the other side of the river."
At the meeting last night, Vanya knew that there was no bridge on the river. Therefore, after hearing Sokov's order, he asked with a bitter face: "Comrade Brigade Commander, there are no bridges on the river, how can we send the wounded?"
"I just looked carefully. There are still some wooden boats on the shore that have not been sunk. I will repair them briefly and should be used." Sokov looked at Wanya and said, "If you repair these boats, you can send the wounded to the other shore."
When Yakov led the first battalion and the guard battalion soldiers to the hillside and went to the river to repair the wooden boat, Sokov said to the remaining commanders: "...The terrain here is easy to attack and difficult to defend, and there is a lack of defense depth. Once the German army uses armored troops to attack, it only takes a short time to drive us into the river. Therefore, we must seize the time to build more fortifications in the south... In this way, when the enemy launches an attack, we can rely on preset fortifications, configure positions and firepower in depth to carry out ladder defense."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," said Gurdiev with some embarrassment: "Our manpower is limited, and it may be difficult to build a large number of fortifications in a short period of time."
"Col. Gurdiev," Sokov asked instead of answering him directly, "How many people do you have?"
Gurdiev did not expect Sokov to ask this question, and his face turned red. When he reported the number of troops the night before yesterday, he was worried that Sokov would draw his subordinates, so he reported 300 less when reporting the number. At this moment, when he heard Sokov ask this question again, he hesitated: "There are more than 1,100 people in the entire division."
"Translate the entire division into three echelons in terms of regiments." After understanding the actual number of the 308th Infantry Division, Sokov issued a direct order: "Use a rotational operation method to dig two to three trenches south of the existing position. After the trenches are completed, decide whether to build a civil and firepower point based on the specific situation."
Regarding Sokov's arrangement, the division's political commissar Svellin said cautiously: "Comrade Brigade Commander, once the enemy discovers that we have built a line of defense here, they will definitely use shelling and bombing to destroy our fortifications. I am worried that our fortifications will not be able to withstand the enemy's shelling and bombing."
"Political Commissar Svelin, I understand what you mean. You are worried that the troops that implement defense will suffer heavy casualties in the enemy's shelling or bombing." Sokov guessed what Svelin was worried about, so he comforted him and said: "After the trenches are dug, you must dig a few more traffic trenches to connect with the original German trenches. Once you are bombarded, except for a few observation posts left to monitor the positions, the other commanders and soldiers retreated to the trenches behind through the traffic trenches, and then returned to the trenches in front after the enemy's shelling is over."
"This is a good idea." Svellin nodded after hearing this, turned around and said to Gurdiev, "Comrade Commander, let's start building fortifications now. Maybe the Germans will come up in a short time."
…………
Just as the 308th Infantry Division built fortifications, the First Battalion and the Guard Battalion repaired the ships by the river, Lieutenant Samoilov, who was carrying a small team, had already arrived outside a forest five or six kilometers away from the river. Just as they were about to enter the woods, they suddenly heard a clanging sound of pushing the gun bolt, and then a loud voice asked sternly: "Stop, who are you?"
The sudden sound scared Samoilov. He almost picked up the submachine gun in his hand and rushed into the woods. Fortunately, he controlled his emotions in time, because he heard that the people in the woods were using skilled Russian, and should not be the enemy. He hurriedly replied loudly: "Don't shoot, it's your own people!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the sound of the sound of his feet stepping on dead branches and the rustling sound of the bushes in the forest. Then two soldiers holding Mosinnagan rifles walked out of the woods carefully. Although they saw that the soldiers in Soviet uniforms appeared in front of them were several soldiers wearing Soviet uniforms, and the officers led the team also wore blue brimmed hats, representing his identity as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the soldiers still asked cautiously: "Which part of you are, why did they appear here?"
"Comrade Soldier," Samoilov felt a little disappointed when he saw two ordinary soldiers walking out of the woods, but he still explained patiently: "We are from the 73rd Infantry Brigade, and we have just broken out from Orlovka. The brigade commander sent us here to find friendly troops. Can you take us to see your superiors?"
When the two soldiers heard Samoilov say this, they gathered together and muttered a few words in a low voice. Then a slightly older soldier said, "Okay, since you are your own people, come with me." After that, he turned around and walked into the woods, leaving behind his companions.
When Samoilov and his friends followed the warrior into the woods, the warrior who had not moved had also followed. He walked behind Samoilov and his friends with a gun, vigilantly monitoring the movements of these people. When he was about to find any abnormal movements of the other party, he fired without hesitation.
The radio operator walking beside Samoilov noticed that a soldier followed behind with a gun as if he was escorting a prisoner. He said to Samoilov with some dissatisfaction: "Comrade lieutenant, something seems wrong. Another soldier followed us with a gun, obviously treating us as enemies."
After hearing the radio operator's words, Samoilov sneered and said, "Comrade radio operator, if you are in the position of that soldier and see a group of unknown people appearing in front of you, you will be as vigilant as you."
They came to a clearing among the trees and saw a dozen tents neatly arranged here. The soldiers leading the way guided them to a tent, asked them to stop, and walked to the door of the tent and shouted loudly: "Report!"
After a moment, the curtain was lifted from the inside, and an officer wearing the rank of captain came out. He looked at the soldiers shouting for a report and asked, "Is there anything wrong?"
"Report to the company commander," the soldier quickly straightened his body and replied, "We found a few suspicious people in the forest and brought him here."
Seeing the soldiers report to the captain, Samoilov guessed that he might be the highest rank here, so he took a few steps forward, walked to him, and said bluntly: "Comrade Captain, I am the guard platoon leader of the 73rd Infantry Brigade. I have important things to contact your superiors. Please take me to see your superiors."
The captain was very unhappy when he saw someone interrupting his conversation with his subordinates, but when he saw the blue big-brimmed hat on Samoilov's head, his face changed. Then he replied in a panic: "Comrade Lieutenant, please wait a moment, and I will report to my superiors immediately!"
"Go and report!" Samoilov waved at him and said, "It would be better to report our situation to your division commander."
"I understand." Although Samoilov's rank is lower than that of himself, the captain nodded and said, "Please wait for a moment, I will be able to answer you soon."
The captain returned to the tent and called for instructions. After only a few minutes, he came out of the tent and smiled at Samoilov and said, "Comrade Lieutenant, I am ordered to send you to the division headquarters. Please come with me."
There was a truck with a canopy next to the camp. The captain invited Samoilov to sit in the cab with him, and asked the rest of the soldiers to get on the back car. After everyone got on the car, the captain ordered the driver: "Drive, go to the division headquarters!"
On the way, the captain asked Samoilov curiously: "Comrade Lieutenant, can I ask you, where did you come from?"
Regarding the question of where he came from, Samoilov did not intend to keep it secret from the captain, so he answered truthfully: "We broke out from Orlovka."
"Break out of Orlovka?" After hearing Samoilov's words, the captain couldn't help but widen his eyes in surprise: "Comrade Lieutenant, I want to ask, how did you cross that river?"
Samoilov looked at the captain and replied in confusion: "We broke through the German defense line and arrived at the river smoothly. There was a wooden boat by the river and was quite complete. We crossed the river by that boat."
Chapter completed!