Just as Kurtzbach brought Weitman back to the army command, Yakubow had led the commanders and fighters of the Fourth Battalion of the Preparatory Regiment into the barricade factory.
Under the guidance of the Barrier Factory defenders, Yakubov came to Belkin's command center. When he walked into the room without a roof and only four walls, he saw a political worker sitting by the broken wooden table, looking at the map on the table. After seeing the other party's political rank, he coughed gently and asked politely: "Comrade Deputy Battalion-level Political Commissar, I am Lieutenant Colonel Yakubov, the new deputy commander of the reduction regiment, where is your regiment commander?"
Hearing Yakubov's voice, the political worker stood up to greet him. He stretched out his right hand from a distance: "Welcome, Lieutenant Colonel Yakubov. I am the leader of the regiment Berkin."
"What, are you the commander of the regiment?" Yakubow's face showed a surprised expression when he heard Belkin say this. He looked at Belkin's collar again. It was indeed the military rank of a political worker. He couldn't help but ask in surprise: "But are you a political worker?"
"That's right, before I became the leader of the reduction regiment, I was the brigade political commissar of the 73rd Infantry Brigade." While shook hands with Yakubow, Belkin explained to him: "After merging with the 41st Guards Division, he could not find a suitable candidate to serve as the reduction regiment. The division commander considered that I had served as the military chief before, so he handed over this important task to us."
After figuring out why the leader of the reduction regiment was a political worker, Yakubow continued: "Comrade Commander, it was the division commander who ordered me to come and serve as your deputy regiment commander, and at the same time brought a battalion to strengthen the defense of the barricade factory."
"A battalion?" Belkin asked instinctively when he heard that a battalion had come, "Lieutenant Colonel, how many people are there?"
"There are eight hundred people in the camp." Yakubow replied with some smugness: "In addition to my original regiment's direct troops, the total strength exceeds one thousand."
"Great, this is great." Belkin was worried about the lack of troops in his hands. When he learned that Yakubow brought a reinforcement of thousands of people, he was overjoyed and asked, "Are they all veterans with combat experience?"
Belkin's question made Yakubow blush with shame. He hesitated for a moment and replied: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, the troops I brought are all recruits who have just joined the army, and this is the first time I have been on the battlefield." After saying that, he looked at Belkin guiltily to see what the other party reacted.
"Are they all the recruits who have been on the battlefield for the first time?" Belkin felt a little regretful when he heard Yakubow's reply. But now the troops who are holding the barricade factory are insufficient, and a recruit with thousands of people is better than that. He called Yakubow to the table, pointed to the map and said to him: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I'll introduce you to the situation."
Yakubow looked down at the map on the table, his eyes almost fell out. He asked in surprise: "Comrade Commander, what's going on? The Germans actually occupied most of the factory. What did our troops do? Why didn't we stop counterattacking and take back these lost positions from the enemy?"
Faced with Yakubow's doubts, Belkin was silent for a moment and replied: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, it's not that we don't want to regain these positions from the enemy, but because our troops are limited and it's very difficult to use for defense, let alone organize counterattacks. When our regiment entered the barricade factory, the only few divisions that were holding the factory were Colonel Lyudnikov's infantry 138th Division, and the total strength was only one thousand."
After listening to Belkin's introduction, Yakubow realized that the situation of the barricade factory was more serious than he had imagined. He raised his head and looked at Belkin with a serious expression: "Comrade Commander, please give us an order."
"Your mission is to firmly defend the factory, and the Germans must not occupy it. Do you understand?" After hearing Yakubow's loud answer, Belkin continued: "I will now introduce you to the distribution of each battalion. The first and first battalions are on the left wing of my command; the second company and my regiment headquarters are in the middle of the defense area of ​​our regiment; and the first battalion and third company cover our right wing on the right. As for the second battalion, they are currently deployed behind the entire defense line, responsible for assisting artillery and assisting infantry in defense with artillery fire..."
After Belkin introduced the troops in the barricade factory, Yakubow suddenly discovered a problem and asked quickly: "Comrade Commander, do you have only two battalions in your regiment?"
"Of course not." Belkin shook his head and said, "There are also a Third Battalion and a Marine Battalion, the former defending in Shizhong District, south of the city; and the latter defending in the workers' village of the Red October factory."
"The defense area of ​​your regiment is really wide." Yakubow said with emotion: "In this way, your regiment's troops will be greatly dispersed."
"Lt. Colonel, I need to remind you." Berkin said to Yakubow with a smile: "Please don't always use the word 'your regiment'. Now you are the deputy leader of the reduction regiment, so you should call it 'our regiment'. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Comrade Commander." Yakubow agreed embarrassedly and then asked back: "How do you plan to allocate troops?"
"The Second Battalion is behind the entire defense line. As long as the defense line is not broken by the enemy, they will not have the chance to confront the enemy. I think they will allocate the troops to the First Battalion. As for the regiment-affiliated troops you bring, they will stay here to be responsible for the defense of the regiment-in-chief."
As soon as the work of assigning troops was completed, Captain Vasily, the first battalion commander, called and reported to Belkin: "Comrade Commander, the Germans launched an attack on us again."
"Great." Belkin, who had just replenished his troops, was now full of energy. He shouted to the microphone: "Comrade Captain, since the enemy is rushing to die, then you can teach them a lesson. By the way, did the enemy send tanks or assault guns this time?"
"Yes, comrade commander." Vasily, while calling, looked out from the gap in the command wall, and reported: "I saw three assault guns and two No. 3 tanks coming towards the first company's defense zone."
"It seems that the Germans have not learned the lesson just now. Then you immediately send an anti-tank platoon to hide the anti-tank players in the craters, and kill them all after the enemy tanks and assault guns approached." Berkin sneered and said, "I want to see how many tanks and assault guns the Germans plan to use to target my bazooka."
Although Yakubow had just come from the division headquarters, he didn't understand many things. After Belkin put down the phone, he couldn't help asking curiously: "Comrade Commander, what is a rocket launcher?"
"It is a new type of individual anti-tank weapon." Before Belkin could speak, a voice came from the door: "Anti-tank players can carry this lightweight anti-tank weapon, hide where the enemy must pass, and kill the enemy's tanks."
Before Berkin looked at the door, he had already heard that the person who spoke was Captain Vanya, the chief of the regiment staff, and introduced to Yakubof, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, let me introduce you to you. This is Captain Vanya, the chief of the regiment staff. Comrade Captain, this is Lieutenant Colonel Yakubof, the newly appointed deputy regiment commander. You two should get to know each other well."
After Wanya and Yakubow got to know each other, Belkin looked at Wanya and asked, "How is the situation in the Second Battalion?"
"Comrade Commander, I am about to report this to you." Vanya, who had just returned from the second battalion, said to Belkin: "The soldiers requested me, and they should go to the frontier like the first battalion to fight the enemy."
"Nonsense, this is simply nonsense." Belkin immediately turned a stern face when he heard Wanya say this, "The division commander arranged for the Second Battalion to assist the artillery of friendly forces to consider that using artillery fire can reduce the defensive pressure on our frontal positions. If they are all deployed to the forefront, the strength of the artillery will be weakened. You immediately tell Captain Brisky that before receiving the order from his superiors, no one in the Second Battalion is allowed to leave the existing territory, otherwise I will ask him."
While Vanya was calling the second battalion, Yakubow asked curiously again: "Comrade Commander, can I ask, where has our political commissar gone?"
"Comrade Dmitry, the political commissar of the regiment, was injured in the battle the day before yesterday and had been sent back to Mamayev." Berkin replied with a wry smile: "I think you may not be able to see it before he recovered from his injury."
When he learned that the political commissar of the regiment was injured, Yakubow said regretfully: "What, the political commissar of the regiment was injured? That's a pity."
As the two were talking, another telephone on the table rang. Berkin only glanced at it and said to Yakubow: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, it should be the call from the division commander. I believe he wants to know if you have reached the designated location."
Berkin picked up the phone and listened. Sure enough, Sokov called. He smiled and said, "Misha, I know what you are asking. Lieutenant Colonel Yakubow and his troops have arrived at the barricade factory safely. The troops have been replenished to the companies of the first battalion and are preparing to participate in the battle."
"Join the battle?!" Sokov asked casually when he heard this: "The enemy has launched an attack on you again. What is the scale?"
"According to Captain Vasily's report, the enemy dispatched two No. 3 tanks and three assault guns, as well as some infantry." With experience in repelling the German offensive, Belkin said confidently: "With our existing strength, it is enough to crush any attack by the Germans."
"My political commissar," Sokov heard Berkin's words so confident that he had placed his hope on those bazooka, so he reminded him tactfully, "Although the bazooka is the nemesis of the enemy's tanks and assault guns, we cannot take it lightly. The Germans are very cunning, and maybe they will find a way to deal with your bazooka soon. Don't underestimate the enemy."
"Don't worry, Misha, I won't underestimate the enemy." After Berkin made a promise to Sokov, he suddenly remembered the political commissar of the regiment Dmitry, whom he mentioned to Yakubow just now, and asked quickly: "By the way, how is Comrade Dmitry, my political commissar of the regiment, and when will he be discharged from the hospital?"
"Comrade Dmitry's injury is not serious. After the doctor's treatment, he can get out of bed and walk around." In order to make Belkin feel at ease, Sokov also emphasized: "When I went to see Grissa today, I looked at Dmitry by the way. He is in a good spirit and can return to your regiment in four or five days at most, and will not delay the counterattack."
Sokov chatted with Belkin for a few more times before putting down the phone, and smiled at Cidolin, who was standing aside, "Chief of Staff, our political commissar is a little uneasy. Dmitry had just arrived at the health team for two days, and he was asking when his political commissar could be hospitalized. It would be too anxious."
"I think the mood of Captain Belkin is understandable." Sidolin and Sokov finished speaking, and then said: "After all, we have been in the city for several months. We have finally waited for a large counterattack to come, and no one wants to miss such a historical moment."
Before Sidolin finished speaking, the phone ringing on the table suddenly rang. Sidolin stared at her and said to Sokov jokingly: "Comrade Commander, maybe it was the call from Commander Belkin again. He was really anxious."
But after Cidolin put the microphone in his ear and listened for a moment, his face suddenly showed a look of panic. He couldn't even cover the microphone and could not wait to report to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, it was a call from the health team that something happened to Dmitry."
"What, something happened to Dmitry?!" Just a few minutes ago, he was talking to Belkin about the political commissar of the reduction regiment, Dmitry, who said that he could return to the team before the counterattack, but at this moment he heard the news that something happened to him. Sokov quickly took the microphone from Sidolin and asked, "I am Sokov, what happened to Comrade Dmitry?"
"Report to the commander of the division," the person who called the phone replied in a panic: "Political Commissar Dmitry was poisoned, and it seems that it will not last long."
When Sokov learned that Dmitry couldn't hold on for long, he threw the microphone on the table and ran out of the command center. After Sidorin and Ivanov looked at each other, they put the microphone on the base of the phone and ran out. They were eager to figure out what happened to Dmitry.
Sokov ran to the health team panting and asked at Asia who was approaching him: "Asia, what happened to the political commissar Dmitry?"
"He was poisoned." Asia replied hurriedly: "The person is almost out of reach, so I asked someone to call you to notify you."
"Where are others?" Sokov grabbed Asia's arm and urged: "Take me over quickly."
Asia brought Sokov, Cydolin, Ivanov and others to the door of a small ward. Asia lifted the curtain and walked in, pointed to the wounded man lying on the bed, and said to Sokov who followed in, "He is here."
Chapter completed!