The sound of artillery rumbled, and shells exploded around Shulka and Vasily.
Vasily glanced at Shulka, nodded slightly and disappeared into the darkness with the sniper rifle.
Shulka understood what Vasily was doing.
To be precise, they should understand each other, and there should not be too many formalities on the battlefield, especially at this time:
Saluting is dangerous, it only gives the enemy an opportunity.
Conversation is unnecessary, it is a waste of fighter time, and it is difficult and dangerous in the sound of gunfire.
At the same time, as a sniper, Vasily should be a lone wolf, a lone wolf staring at the enemy in secret, instead of staying with other soldiers, especially next to Shulka, the deputy commander.
Command and other orders.
If Vasily needs to cooperate with someone, it should be a sniper.
This is why Vasily and Shulka separated after making brief eye contact.
This is a battlefield, and snipers and officers each have their own tasks. They need to do their job before the enemy attacks.
For example, Shulka at this time, what he should do most is to unify the command on Mamayev Heights... There are two troops on Mamayev Heights from time to time: the 82nd Infantry Regiment and the 39th Guards Infantry Regiment.
Although the two armies have joined forces and know each other, they also have full control of Mamayev Heights.
However, due to the separation under two sets of command systems, a lot of troubles inevitably arise, especially in the dark.
For example, issues such as task distribution, which trench section is responsible for which unit, who should report to when reinforcements or supplies are needed, whether to attack, retreat, or hold on, etc.
All of these things affect the whole system. If one of them is not done well, there will be problems such as two companies being deployed in the same section of the trench while the other section of the trench is empty.
This would not be a big problem if the German army had strong communication equipment and coordination capabilities. They would first integrate the command system through communication equipment... This may only take a few minutes.
Then, soon the various orders will be conveyed from top to bottom through telephones, correspondents, etc., and then there will undoubtedly be unified operations.
But it was a big problem when the Soviet troops were severely lacking in communication equipment.
Shulka first had to find the commander of the 39th Guards Infantry Regiment. He even had to use the most primitive method: roar!
Shurka ran back with his gun and braved the artillery fire. Lying down in the crater, he picked up a few soldiers from the ground and asked loudly: "Are you from the 39th Regiment?"
"Yes, comrade!"
"Where is your commander?"
The answer he got made Shulka almost vomit blood.
"I don't know, comrade!" the soldier replied: "Our company commander died not long ago!"
Later, Shulka learned that not only the company commander had died, but also their battalion commander... The 39th Infantry Regiment was worthy of the title of "Guards Infantry". On the battlefield, their officers and soldiers must charge bravely together, and they were even officers.
The instructor leads the charge.
The result of this is that basic and even middle-level commanders suffer heavy casualties.
Of course, if a commander is injured or killed, command authority can be passed down based on military rank.
But this is easy to say. In battlefields where shells are flying, especially in tense night battles, no one knows what rank the commander has been sacrificed to at this time, and of course no one knows who their commander is.
While Shulka was still working hard, gunfire rang out nearby.
This was extremely unusual because the artillery bombardment was still going on, and normally there would not have been an enemy charge at this time.
Sure enough, when Schur lay on the ground and raised his binoculars to look up the slope, he saw groups of teams running towards Mamayev Hill... Their formation was not a charge at all.
"Stop shooting!" Shulka shouted: "Stop shooting, they are our own!"
Those were Valery's troops. They had been delaying the Germans in the cemetery until they received the order to retreat, then they gave up their position and retreated to Mamayev Hill.
Shulka's shouts were insignificant among the gunfire, but fortunately a considerable number of soldiers in the 82nd Infantry Regiment knew what was going on, so they shouted spontaneously.
Of course, there are snipers including Vasily among them. They can also distinguish between ourselves and the enemy based on their skills and formations, even if it is dark at this time.
The gunfire soon stopped.
Only then did Valery and his men retreat to the defensive line without any danger and jumped into the trench to avoid the artillery fire.
After a while, the German artillery fire gradually stopped.
Shulka rested for a while and waited for his hearing to normalize before thinking about continuing to search for friendly forces headquarters.
At this time, Mikhailovich called Shulka from a few meters away and waved to Shulka.
Then Shulka understood that Mikhailovich had found someone in the 39th Guards Rifle Regiment with whom he could talk things over.
Following Major Mikhailovich, he ran back along the trench that was almost invisible due to the bombing and the corpses along the way, and soon found a lieutenant and a radio station that was undergoing emergency repairs in a bomb crater.
"This is Lieutenant Lermontov!" Mikhailovich introduced: "He is the battalion commander of the 3rd Infantry Battalion!"
"Hello, Comrade Lermontov!" Shulka said.
But Lermontov just looked at Shulka, and then ordered the soldiers around him:
"Order them to build fortifications immediately and not to retreat or allow the enemy to move forward!"
"Send a correspondent to inform the regiment headquarters that we need supplies and reinforcements!"
"We also need a radio station! Our radio station has been blown up!"
…
"What we should do most is to establish unified command!" Shulka couldn't help but interrupt the battalion commander.
From these orders given by the battalion commander, it can be seen that he is not a qualified commander. His thoughts are purely defense, persistence, and reinforcement... just like the thoughts of most Soviet commanders.
"I know what to do, Captain!" The lieutenant glanced at Shulka: "Yes, we should indeed establish unified command!"
As he spoke, the lieutenant took out a map from his pocket, pointed to the front slope of Mamayev Hill, and said, "This part is your defense area, and the rear is ours. Is the mission clear?"
"Wait!" Shulka looked at the "big or small" lieutenant with incredulous eyes: "Comrade Lieutenant, I wonder if you can see clearly that there is a major next to you? Comrade Mikhailovich,
He is our leader!"
"Of course!" the lieutenant replied, "Any questions?"
"You should listen to Comrade Major's command instead of trying to command us!"
The lieutenant couldn't help laughing: "I don't have time to argue with you about this, Captain. But I think you should know one thing. We are the Guards Infantry Regiment. Do you understand? Guards Infantry Regiment? And the 82nd Infantry Regiment... you
Do you think the Guards should be under the command of a guard unit?"
The lieutenant was being polite when he called the 82nd Infantry Regiment a guard force. In his mind, the 82nd Infantry Regiment was actually a punishment battalion, so of course there was no reason for the Guards troops to obey the command of the punishment battalion.