Taking advantage of the air force's opportunity to attack the German ground forces, Koida led his troops into the position.
As soon as he entered the position, he grabbed a busy soldier, leaned into his ear, and asked loudly: "Where is your battalion commander?"
The soldier saw clearly that the person standing in front of him was actually the division commander. He straightened his back quickly and prepared to raise his hand to salute him, but Koida stopped him: "Don't salute on the battlefield!"
"Yes, Comrade Division Commander." The soldier quickly put down the hand that was about to be raised to his forehead and said to Koida: "Comrade Division Commander, the enemy's shelling has smashed our position into pieces, and the shelter where the battalion headquarters is located has been under fire.
Destroyed, I will take you to the location of the battalion commander."
Koida and political commissar Mashkov, with several guards, followed the soldier and walked forward along the trench filled with loose soil. When the soldiers along the way saw Koida and Mashkov, they hurriedly
Stand up straight, lean against the trench wall and pay attention to the two people.
"Comrade soldier," Mashkov chatted with the soldier leading the way with great interest: "What is your name and where are you from?"
"My name is Lenek, I'm from Kiev." The soldier replied expressionlessly.
"Oh, it turns out you are from Kiev." Mashkov then asked: "When did you join our army?"
"I escaped from Kiev in January 1942 and walked on the road for more than two months before arriving in Moscow." Lenek said through gritted teeth: "After arriving in Moscow, I first entered a factory.
I joined the militia there, but I never had the chance to fight the Germans. In March this year, the base camp formed a grassland front army, and they came to the factory to recruit soldiers, so I immediately signed up."
"What about your family? Have they all escaped?"
"No. They are all dead." Lenek's eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth and said, "The Germans killed them all." At this point, he stopped and turned to Koida.
, "Comrade division commander, the battalion headquarters is here!"
Koida stretched out his hand to Lenek, shook his hand, and said with a smile: "Thank you, comrade soldier."
Guchakov happened to come out of the dilapidated command post and saw Koida and Mashkov at the door. He quickly straightened his body and reported to the two colonels: "Division Commander, Comrade Political Commissar, the 562nd Regiment is here.
The battalion commander, Lieutenant Guchakov, reports to you that our battalion is repairing the fortifications, please give instructions!"
"Well done, Captain Guchakov." Koida held Guchakov's hand again and said with a smile on his face: "Well done to your battalion, it actually blocked two fierce attacks by the German army."
Guchakov felt that he was well-deserved for Koida's praise. The first time was when Yegor used rocket launchers to destroy many German tanks. Coupled with the assistance of the tanks used as fixed forts behind the position, it was only then that
The enemy's attack was barely repelled; but for the second time, the German army was attacked by the Soviet air force before they even got close to the position, and was beaten to a pulp.
Therefore, Guchakov said modestly: "Comrade division commander, you have given me a compliment. Our battalion did not really fight against the Germans..."
"Comrade Captain," Mashkov interrupted Guchakov before he could finish his words: "Your battalion has performed its duties very well. It has resolutely blocked the path of the Germans here and served as the main force.
The arrival of the troops bought valuable time, and for this reason alone, your battalion should receive a commendation."
"How many people are left in your battalion?" Koida asked.
"There are still 87 people left in the entire battalion."
"87 people." When he heard this number, Koida's heart seemed to be tugged hard by someone, and he felt severe pain. He thought to himself: "If the superiors did not send the air force to support, just relying on Gucha
Can the small number of troops under Kokov stop the German attack?"
"Comrade Captain," Koida continued after a brief silence: "Your battalion has successfully completed the tasks assigned to you by your superiors. The next defensive tasks will be left to other troops to complete. Your battalion will first
Retreat to the back to rest."
Now that Koida had given the order, Guchakov did not refute. Instead, he agreed loudly, called over Lenek who was leading the way, and ordered him: "Leneck, you go and notify the first company commander and the third company commander immediately.
Company commander, order them to assemble the troops and prepare to withdraw and rest."
Looking at Lenek's leaving figure, Mashkov curiously asked Guchakov: "Comrade Captain, do you know this soldier?"
"Yes, Comrade Political Commissar." Guchakov answered simply: "I know all the commanders and fighters in the battalion."
"I think this person's name is..." Although Lenek had just told Mashkov his name, at this moment he had forgotten Lenek's name.
"My name is Lenek, and I am from Kiev." Guchakov said unequivocally: "In March this year, he joined our army as a militiaman in the factory."
After listening to Guchakov's words, Mashkov asked with some surprise: "Comrade Captain, do you think you can remember the resumes of the soldiers so clearly?"
"Comrade Political Commissar," Guchakov grinned and replied: "The whole battalion at full strength is more than 600 people. When I have nothing to do, I like to walk around the squad below and chat with the soldiers.
Understand their family situation. Comrade Commander once said that a qualified commander must get along well with his subordinates, so that he can be comfortable commanding troops on the battlefield."
"Yes, Comrade Commander said this." Koida waited for Guchakov to finish, then nodded and said to Mashkov: "I have heard it before. Only commanders and soldiers are mutually exclusive.
Only by being familiar with each other can we have better cooperation on the battlefield."
Mashkov asked Guchakov: "Comrade Captain, I just heard Lenek say that his family members are all dead. Do you know what's going on?"
"Know!"
"Know?!" Guchakov's answer surprised Mashkov: "Can you tell me?"
"This, this..." Guchakov saw the communication company soldiers brought by Koida, who were pulling telephone lines and setting up antennas in the command post, and said with some embarrassment: "It won't affect the work of the communication company, right?
"
"No." The person who spoke this time was Koida: "It takes time to set up the communication antenna and the phone line. It also takes time to assemble your troops. Take this opportunity to tell us about this person."
Let’s call it Soldier Lenek’s situation. To be honest, I’m also very curious.”
"Lennek is a piano teacher who teaches piano in schools." Seeing that both Koida and Mashkov wanted to know about Lenek, Guchakov stopped being pretentious and began to tell them about it.
Get Up: "Shortly after the war broke out, the enemy launched an attack on Kiev. At the beginning, everyone thought that our army could completely crush the enemy's attack. However, in September, they discovered that our army not only showed no signs of repelling the enemy
, but there is a possibility of being annihilated.
Under this situation, people with connections in Kiev began to think of ways to leave this city that would fall sooner or later, and the Lenek family was no exception. They pooled a large sum of money and contacted a car to prepare to leave.
The driver of the truck in Kiev promised them that he could deliver them safely to Moscow.
When the truck left Kiev and drove on the road to Moscow, braving German artillery fire, the people in the truck thought they had been rescued and would reach Moscow smoothly in a few hours.
Unexpectedly, at this moment, intensive gunfire rang out from the front. Lenek's father and driver were killed on the spot on the driver's side. Then machine guns fired into the car, killing Lenek's mother and sister.
He and his neighbor's family were all beaten to death.
Seeing his relatives who died around him, Lenek realized that although they had left Kiev, they were not out of danger yet. The Germans had cut off the road from Kiev to Moscow. In order not to be shot to death indiscriminately, Lenek
Gram took the risk and jumped out of the truck, then escaped back to Kiev under the cover of darkness.
Shortly after the German army occupied Kiev, they carried out a purge of Jews in Kiev. They posted notices in the city, asking local Jews to go to Melnikov Street and Deggarevs on September 29, 1941.
The intersection of Kaya Street was concentrated to facilitate the implementation of the "relocation plan" by the German army. The next day, tens of thousands of people arrived at the designated location to gather. They were asked to walk from Melnikov Street to the suburb of Kiev, where the German army guarded the Barbi
Yare Canyon.
When approaching the canyon, all men, women and children were asked to take off their clothes and fold them up, and place their valuables in categories. Then, they were divided into several teams and entered the canyon. The Germans used machine guns to massacre them."
Hearing this, Mashkov couldn't help but interrupt and asked: "Comrade Captain, so Lenek is a Jew? How did he escape from danger?"
"Yes, Lenek is a Jew." Guchakov nodded and continued: "When he went to the designated place, he happened to meet a teacher from the school. The teacher knew some German and learned from the teacher who lived at home.
When the Germans learned the real purpose of the gathering, they stopped him and hid him in the attic of their house at their own risk.
Lenek hid in the attic and watched the endless queue of Jews, escorted by the German army, for hour after hour. In the crowd, he saw his relatives, friends and neighbors. He
Knowing that these people were about to be taken to the Babi Yar Gorge and shot, he was powerless and could only watch as they walked towards death step by step.
In the next few months, he simply lived like a year. Since a German lived in his friend's house, he did not dare to leave the attic for even half a step, lest he expose himself and injure his well-intentioned friends. Until January 1942,
The German who was staying at a friend's house was transferred in another direction, so he had the opportunity to escape from Kiev, walked with difficulty for several months, and finally arrived in Moscow."
After listening to Lenek's tragic past, Mashkov continued to ask: "Comrade Captain, how is his performance in the army?"
"He performed very bravely on the battlefield." After Guchakov said this, he realized that he was using general formulas to evaluate his subordinates, and quickly added: "According to my statistics, the number of people who participated in the battle from our division
Since then, he has destroyed two German tanks, one armored car and eight trucks, and killed 21 German officers and soldiers."
"Oh, he actually achieved so many results?" Mashkov was a little surprised when he heard this and asked: "Why don't you see his name in the results reported by your battalion?"
"Comrade Political Commissar, it's not that I don't want to report his results." Guchakov said with some embarrassment: "It's that he didn't let me."
"What, he won't let you report your results?" As a nation that is keen on honors, some people actually don't want to get the honors they deserve. This makes Mashkov extremely puzzled: "Comrade Captain, have you asked
Pass him, what the hell is going on?"
"He said that he was avenging his relatives, friends and neighbors." Guchakov said: "He said that the Germans owed him 159 lives, and he wanted to kill the same number of Germans before he died.
After his relatives and friends take revenge, let me report the results he achieved."
After figuring out the ins and outs, Mashkov pondered for a moment, and then said to Koida: "Comrade division commander, this is an amazing hero. We must not let him remain unknown like this. If other commanders and combatants know that we do this,
It will give them chills.”
"Comrade Political Commissar, you are right." Koida nodded and said, "We must not let such a hero remain unknown. We must let more people know about him."
"Then what are you going to do?" Mashkov asked.
"After our division fought these battles, the casualties among the officers and soldiers were very heavy." Koida said: "I think after the battle is over, the superiors will definitely add new recruits to us. As a combat backbone, Lenek, I think
There should be no problem in letting him serve as a monitor."
"Comrade division commander, I think the position of the squad leader is too low." Mashkov suggested: "How about we appoint him as the platoon leader?"
"Well, it's decided. After the battle is over, as long as he is still alive, he will be promoted to platoon leader." After Koida said this, he also specifically told Guchakov: "Comrade Captain, the battle is over.
Later, you must remember to remind me of this."
When he learned that Koida planned to appoint Lenek as the platoon commander, Guchakov was also sincerely happy for him. He quickly replied loudly: "Don't worry, comrade division commander. I will definitely remind you after the battle is over."
It’s about you.”
"Comrade Captain," as soon as Guchakov finished speaking, Mashkov reminded him: "But this matter must be kept strictly confidential for now, lest Lenek will be proud when he knows about it."
Guchakov grinned, and when he was about to speak, he heard the voice of the company commander Narva not far away: "Comrade Captain, the troops have been brought here, please give instructions on the next move."
Guchakov turned around and saw Narva and the third company commander standing not far away. In the trench behind them stood dozens of soldiers covered in gunpowder smoke. Guchakov did not speak, but
He turned around and looked towards Koida and Mashkov, waiting for further orders from the two.
"Comrade Captain," Koida raised his hand and patted Guchakov's shoulder twice, and said to him: "Your battalion has successfully completed its mission. Now withdraw and rest."