Struggle in Soviet Russia

"...Yes, each of us is afraid of war and death. Everyone has only one life. Who is not afraid?"

In Warehouse No. 2, facing the crowded heads below, Victor stood on a box with a loudspeaker and said.

"But fear is not a reason to retreat. As a soldier, an internal servant, and a Bolshevik party member, each of us has our own responsibilities," Victor said smoothly as his eyes slid across the crowd below. "Our duty is to fight the German fascists. We need to guard every city, every street, and even every inch of land that belongs to us. We are not fighting alone. Behind us, there are our parents and relatives. Wives, children, and hundreds of millions of people, they are praying for us, what do we need to repay them? Is it retreat again and again, escape again and again? That would be a shame, even if it takes us all our lives Shame that cannot be washed away."

With a deep tone, he finally asked: "Someday in the future, we may lose or win this war. We may have our own children and grandchildren, and our children and grandchildren may be our own masters. Enemy slaves, at that time, when our children and grandchildren ask us what we are doing during the war, what kind of response should we give them? Should we tell them that we are fighting or that we are running away?"

"Tell me, what are you going to say to them?!" Victor asked loudly, raising his voice suddenly.

"fighting!"

"Yes, we are fighting!"

"Agree, we want to fight!"

......

After all, they are not ordinary soldiers, everyone present can make the right choice.

"So, very good. Next, I need to arrange tasks for you," Victor said with a sigh of relief. "We need to reorganize all the soldiers and register each soldier's military ID. We need to tell those who have lost their fighting spirit. Guys, only if they muster up the courage to fight is their only choice. Our **** sacrifice is not only for the Soviet mothers, but also for each of us, for the relatives behind us, who are greedy for life, fear of death, and retreat. It is shameful that they will be characterized as traitors to the country, and their relatives will pay the price for their war-fearing behavior. Those who have the courage to fight will be rewarded, and their families will be honored for their efforts."

"What should a person who has lost a military ID do?" someone in the crowd asked.

"Anyone who loses a military certificate loses the most basic honor of being a Red Army soldier," Victor said coldly. "For such a person who has no sense of honor, being executed on the spot is the only way to wash away their shame. ."

For now, the military ID is the only tool used to prove the identity of a soldier. Victor needs to use the method of registration to force these broken soldiers to summon the courage to fight. If even the military ID is discarded, it can only show that the other party has been completely eliminated. The loss of fighting spirit, of course, may also be pure luck. But for Victor, he currently has no better way to identify soldiers, so there is no way to use such cruel methods.

Soon, the people in the warehouse were divided into twelve groups, and a registration office was set up on the platform to register each soldier gathered at the concession station.

The registration process was not smooth. Faced with the notices posted on the pillars, it was impossible for people to resist, but after six deserters who insisted on getting in the car were shot and killed on the spot and hung their bodies on the eaves of the warehouse. , The small-scale riots were calmed down, and the soldiers who had been congested on the platform began to line up on their own and went to the registration offices to register.

People have a herd mentality and like the pace of chasing idols. In the army, idols are naturally the commanders. Victor first draws commanders above ensign, and arranges party members who can take the lead. The rest gather in The soldiers on the platform have become stragglers. Even if they make trouble, they can't make much trouble. When the registration of the military certificate is completed, everyone will have concerns, and naturally there will be no people who want to continue making trouble.

In fact, the reorganization of the defeated troops is nothing more than these few methods. When this reorganized troop undergoes a fierce battle, there will not be a few people who want to escape next time.

When night fell, the basic reorganization work had been completed. In the entire juncture and adjacent areas, Victor reorganized a total of nearly 2,700 soldiers from various units. Of course, the most important thing was the 20th Group and the surrounding area. The 19th Army.

With 2,700 soldiers, it was ready to form a full infantry regiment. Therefore, Victor selected two captains and a second lieutenant to serve as the battalion commanders of the three integrated battalions, and assigned them to the corresponding battalions. Department members. Subsequently, he requisitioned all the supplies of the station, including three trucks, a jeep, and a BA-3 armored car that had malfunctioned but could be repaired. In addition, Victor forcibly opened two armament warehouses, emptied the weapons and ammunition, and opened a warehouse containing boxes of apples, looted the stored apples, and distributed them all to the soldiers.

It is against military law to open the arms warehouse privately. However, Victor believes that no one will be held accountable, because this **** station is destined to fall into the hands of the Germans. It is better to leave the things here to the Germans. Let him finish.

When it was completely dark, Major General Aleksenko and his soldiers set off by train. They must return to their starting point this morning. The cover of the night can ensure that they are not attacked by air, in order to enhance the victories of Victor's troops. For combat effectiveness, they removed the two anti-aircraft guns on the roof of the car.

At the same time as the train departed, there were nearly two hundred wounded soldiers with limited mobility. They occupied three carriages, and even Victor and his carriage squeezed many people in.

Six staff officers, including Lieutenant Colonel Tarasov, stayed voluntarily. They hoped to travel with Victor's troops. If necessary, they could also act as staff officers of the regiment and advise the troops in combat.

Victor didn’t think about holding on at this **** concession. His task was to bring this troop back to Yelnya. If there were other retreating troops along the way, he would take them all. .

To be honest, when watching the slowly moving train disappear into the night, Victor's mood was still relatively relaxed. He never thought that he would encounter a comparison in this seemingly simple task. Rudki's defensive battle was even more brutal.

When the reorganization regiment departed from the meeting station, it was 8:23 at night. Victor marched according to the troops arranged by the combat manual-the team was based on battalions and moved eastward along the railway line in four columns. In front of the team, there were two A reconnaissance company is responsible for taking the lead and investigating the enemy's situation, with a reconnaissance range of three to five kilometers.

Because the use of any lighting tools including torches is not allowed, the team's speed in the dark is not fast, coupled with the fatigue and sleepiness of the soldiers, the speed of marching is even slower.

When the sky was dark, the troops marched to the vicinity of the Hermosti River, less than two kilometers away from the ferry bridge leading to Milleyevo. The forward scouts brought back a message that they were in Hermosti. By the river, I encountered a retreating Soviet army, which belonged to the 19th Army.

Victor’s troops quickly merged with the retreating Soviet troops. Later, he learned that this troop was also a troop that had broken down from the direction of Smolensk. The leader of this troop was a man named Niguo. Captain La Fedorovich Belinsky, he gathered the broken up troops and soldiers along the way, and he assembled a force of nearly four thousand people along the way.

According to Captain Belinsky, the defense line of the 19th Army had been pierced by the Germans. His original unit lost contact with the higher-level troops. Subsequently, the regiment headquarters was hit by a German shell, except for him and his body. No one survived except the seriously injured Chief of Staff Major Ivanov.

Major Ivanov was a shaggy middle-aged man. He was lying half-dead on a stretcher. Obviously he couldn't get up to command the troops. So, as the highest-ranking man, Victor took over the command of the whole troops. One of his decisions was to transfer the troops to the Hermosti River Ferry, on the one hand, to reorganize the troops there, on the other hand, they can rely on the bridge over the river to arrange defensive positions.

This bridge on the Hermosti River, together with the ferry that is less than two kilometers away from the bridge, is very important geographically. Crossing the river from here, less than 15 kilometers away is Milleyevo. Yevo continues to the southeast, less than 20 kilometers away is Yelnya. In other words, once the Germans had crossed the Hermosti River, they only needed to travel less than 30 kilometers before they could outflank Yelnya from the right flank.

After occupying the bridges and ferry crossings on the Hermosti River, after discussing with Belinsky, Viktor decided to set up a defensive position on the east bank of the river, while arranging people to go to Milleyevo and Yelnya to find the higher command. , Asked about the next course of action-whether to stay here or blow up the bridge and evacuate to Yelnya.

It is still because of poor communication. Today, Victor is not only ignorant of the situation in the direction of Smolensk, but also ignorant of the situation in the direction of Yaltsovo. He didn’t know that the moral army had already carried out an airborne landing in the direction of Yaltsovo. At the same time, the German Eighth Army had bypassed Demidov and was advancing rapidly towards the Hermosti River. The 19th and 20th Army Groups on the front line of Morensk, as well as one part of the 16th Army, were encircled in the area west of the Hermosti River.

Victor and his defeated remnant were just at the forward position of the German offensive.