Before the inspection of the fortifications was over, the rumble of cannons was heard in the distance, and black smoke rose.
Judging from the direction of the gunfire and smoke, two reconnaissance troops should have been dispatched to exchange fire with the enemy.
Katukov, who was aware of this problem, had no intention of continuing his inspection. There happened to be a battalion command post nearby, so he got in, called the brigade headquarters, and asked the staff officer on duty: "I am Katukov.
Kov, tell me, is there any news coming from the direction of Orliol?"
"Report to comrade brigade commander." The staff officer on duty quickly and respectfully replied: "I just received a call from Captain Burda, saying that a large number of German troops have entered the area where they ambush, and now the battle has begun.
"
"Well, I understand." Katukov said briefly: "I will go back immediately."
After putting down the phone, Katukov said to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, the work of patrolling the positions has been temporarily put aside. The reconnaissance troops sent to the direction of Orliol have already started fighting with the enemy. We need to rush back immediately to take command.
"
Seeing that Katukov and the chief of staff were going back to command the battle, Sokov quickly stepped forward and asked: "Comrade Colonel, what about me? Am I going back with you?"
"Let's go, Comrade Captain." Katukov said cheerfully: "You are the liaison officer sent by the commander of the army. Naturally, you should keep abreast of the progress of the battle at all times and report to your superiors in a timely manner."
After returning to the brigade headquarters, the chief of staff rushed directly to the staff officer on duty and couldn't wait to ask: "How is the situation now? Do you have the latest battle report?"
"The fighting continues." The staff officer on duty reported: "Our people performed heroically in the battle."
Before the chief of staff could speak, Katukov had already walked up to the staff officer and said with a straight face: "I want to know the actual situation on the battlefield, but not your snake oil answer. You and Burda immediately
Get in touch with the captain, I want to know the latest battle situation."
The staff did not dare to neglect and immediately called Captain Burda in the direction of Orliol via radio.
Soon, the two parties established communication links.
"Captain Burda," Katukov said, holding an earphone in one hand and an intercom in the other: "Report on the situation there?"
"Report to the brigade commander!" The deafening sound of explosions could be heard in the earphones. Captain Burda had to shout at the top of his voice: "The enemy's strength is about one regiment and there are a large number of tanks along the road and on both sides.
The plains moved forward. When they entered the area where we ambush, I decisively ordered the tanks to fire, destroying several of the tanks, and ordered the soldiers to use machine guns to shoot at the infantry queue. Now the enemy was in chaos, and I was
Prepare to order troops to attack."
"Well done." After Katukov waited for the other party to finish speaking, he immediately issued a combat order: "Order the troops to attack, Captain Burda! Remember, after the enemy retreats, you should evacuate the battlefield immediately. After all, your troops are limited.
, and there are no solid defenses. Once the enemy regroups and attacks you, you will not be able to stop them at all."
"Understood, Comrade Brigade Commander." Captain Burda replied loudly: "I will immediately command the troops to attack!"
After ending the call, Katukov looked at Sokov and asked: "Captain Sokov, you have a general understanding of the battle situation. Do you think we should report it to the comrade commander now, or wait a while?
"
"Comrade Colonel, I think it is inappropriate to report to the commander in a hurry before the battle is over. Open the champagne at halftime, maybe you will be very happy and sad?"
"Open the champagne at halftime?!" The chief of staff couldn't help but be stunned when he heard what Sokov said, and then asked: "Captain Sokov, what does this mean?"
There was an embarrassed expression on Sokov's face. You must know that the saying of popping champagne at halftime refers to the 2005 Champions League final, when the Italian team AC Milan faced the English team Liverpool. AC Milan, which has Kaká and many other stars, was there.
They had a huge advantage of 3-0 in the first half, but in the second half, Liverpool scored three goals in a row.
The ball equalized the score, and finally relied on a penalty shootout, and Liverpool won. In the post-match interview, Milan right back Cafu once broke the news: During the halftime break, the team believed that victory was in hand, so they opened the champagne prepared for celebration in advance.
, causing the whole team to relax their vigilance and miss out on the championship. This is where the saying of popping champagne at halftime comes from.
He organized the vocabulary in his mind, and then explained to the chief of staff: "Opening champagne at halftime is mainly used to describe those who are very confident in the result or ending of the game in sports events. In fact,
The ending was not satisfactory.”
"Oh, that's it." Katukov nodded after hearing this and said with approval: "Captain Sokov, you are right. Although our reconnaissance force used the ambush to catch the Germans by surprise, but in the
No one can guess what the final outcome will be before the battle ends. If we celebrate victory prematurely, it may backfire. Therefore, it is not too late for us to wait until the battle is over before reporting to the commander."
Half an hour later, Captain Burda called and reported excitedly to Katukov: "Comrade Brigadier, I have the honor to report to you that the encounter between our troops and the German invaders has been a great victory for our army."
The victory ended, and the German invaders, who had been attacked, were retreating madly in the direction of Orliol."
"Report your results." Katukov said briefly.
"We destroyed a total of 6 German tanks and injured 4. We blew up 12 trucks, killed 61 Germans, and seized a batch of weapons and ammunition."
"What about the casualties of our army?"
"One tank was damaged and two tank crews were wounded." Burda replied: "More than a dozen infantrymen were wounded, but no one died."
"The result was good." Katukov was naturally very happy to learn that no one on his side had died, but the Germans had paid a heavy price. However, while he was happy, he did not forget to remind Burda: "Captain Burda, your
The position has been exposed, we should not stay there for a long time and immediately move to our current position."
After giving the order, Katukov ended the call.
The chief of staff asked Katukov with some worry: "Comrade Brigadier, our defensive position has not been completed yet. If the German troops charge directly, can we stop them?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you can rest assured about this." Katukov comforted the Chief of Staff and said: "After the Germans have adjusted their troops, they will launch a new attack on Burda's location. When they arrive, they will find out where they are.
We won't dare to act rashly when there is no one around. In this way, we will gain time to build fortifications."
After saying these words, Katukov turned to Sokov and said: "Captain Sokov, the battle is over. You can report the good news to comrade Commander Sokov."
"Okay, Comrade Colonel." Sokov nodded, "I will immediately report the results you have achieved to Comrade Commander."
After finishing speaking, Sokov took out a pen and paper and quickly recorded the results achieved by Captain Burda and the others. Then he walked to the operator, tore off the page with writing, and ordered the other party: "Take the paper immediately
Please report the contents to the commander of the army."