Burning Moscow

Chapter 722: The Struggle for the Central Sector (Part 2) No sooner had I hung up than the phone rang again, seemingly unable to wait. I pressed the receiver to my ear and asked impatiently, “This is Division Commander Oshanina. Who is this?” After a moment of silence on the line, Oleg’s cautious voice came through: “Comrade Division Commander, it’s me, Oleg.” “What is it? Spit it out.” “Here’s the situation: I heard gunfire and explosions outside, so I stepped out of headquarters to investigate. I noticed faint flashes of light to the east of the 4th Regiment’s positions—it looks like they’re engaged in a firefight with enemy raiders.” At this point, Oleg asked tentatively, “Should we send reinforcements?” “No, Lieutenant Colonel Oleg. It’s pitch black out there—it’s impossible to tell friend from foe. If you go, you won’t be helping; you’ll just be getting in the way.” I rejected his suggestion without hesitation, speaking sternly: “Your responsibility is to strengthen security at your own positions and prevent the enemy from sneaking onto your lines while they’re launching a surprise attack on the 4th Regiment’s heights.” After I hung up the phone, even Akhromeyev lost his composure and couldn’t help but ask me, “Comrade Division Commander, should we send reinforcements to the northern heights?” I rolled my eyes at him and retorted indignantly, “Reinforcements? Why would we need reinforcements? Gadar’s 4th Regiment has over a thousand men now. If they can’t even handle a single enemy platoon, what good is such a unit? We might as well disband it altogether.” Seeing my harsh attitude, Kirillov and Bantayev exchanged a glance and both obediently shut their mouths, choosing not to argue with me. It wasn’t until more than half an hour later that Gadar called again to report that most of the raiding enemy had been wiped out, with only a few quick-footed ones escaping. Hearing that enemies had escaped, I flew into a rage and shouted at Akhromeyev, who was taking the call: “Chief of Staff, have Major Gadar come to headquarters immediately to brief us in person on tonight’s battle.” Gadhar didn’t come alone to report on the battle. As he nervously walked into the command post, I immediately noticed a dejected commander following behind him. As Gaidar approached us and raised his hand to salute, my gaze drifted over his shoulder to the helmeted officer behind him. From his collar insignia, I could tell he was a second lieutenant. Without returning Gaidar’s salute, I asked him curiously, “Major Gaidar, who is that second lieutenant behind you?” Without turning to look at the second lieutenant behind him, Gadar stood up straight and reported to me: “Reporting to you, Comrade Division Commander. His name is Atakuz. He is the platoon leader of the regiment’s reconnaissance platoon. It was he who just led his men to conduct reconnaissance on the enemy’s positions.” Atakuz—when I heard that name, I misheard it as “A Da’s pants” and couldn’t help but laugh. But I immediately realized this was no time for laughter, so I quickly suppressed my smile and asked sternly, “Go on, Second Lieutenant Atakuz, how did tonight’s reconnaissance go?” Atakuz’s face flushed crimson, and he bowed his head even lower, replying in a low voice, “I’m sorry, Comrade Division Commander, tonight’s reconnaissance mission failed.” ” “Failed?!” This time, before I could say a word, Akhromeyev had already lost his temper. “Atakuz, you haven’t been the reconnaissance platoon leader for just a day or two. You’ve completed so many reconnaissance missions before—why did you fail today?” After scolding Atakuz, he turned specifically to me to explain, “He’s also a member of the Second Lieutenant Training Group.” Upon hearing that he was a comrade from Volkhov, just like Akhromeyev, my expression softened. To prevent Atakuz from becoming even more nervous, I said in a gentle tone, “Comrade Second Lieutenant, please give us a detailed account of tonight’s operation. Only then can I determine the exact cause of the reconnaissance mission’s failure.” Atakuz looked up at me, nodded, and began his account: “Tonight I received orders from the regiment commander to carry out a reconnaissance mission at the enemy’s newly constructed defensive positions. Before setting out, I carefully observed the situation outside and noticed that the enemy’s defenses along the riverbank appeared to be lax. So, I led four soldiers along the outer edge of the embankment, moving downstream to quietly approach the enemy positions. When we were still more than 200 meters from the enemy positions, we still hadn’t spotted any enemy patrols or sentries, I sensed something was wrong and ordered everyone to stop. After careful observation confirmed there were no enemy ambushes nearby, I allowed the soldiers to continue forward. To ensure a safe approach, two soldiers went ahead to scout the path, while I and the other two maintained a thirty-meter distance, following at a steady pace. But we hadn’t gone far when there was a thunderous explosion, as if a bomb had landed and detonated right beside us. Right before our eyes, the two soldiers scouting ahead fell in the blaze; one fell directly into the river and was swept away by the current, while the other lay on the ground, clutching his eyes and rolling around in agony, screaming in pain.” Hearing this, Kirillov couldn’t help but ask, “Comrade Second Lieutenant, did you eventually figure out where the shell came from?” Atakuz shook his head and said with a bitter smile, “As I lay on the ground with the other two soldiers, I thought to myself that they didn’t seem to have been hit by a shell. If it had been a shell, we wouldn’t have heard the whistling sound of it flying through the air. The soldiers up ahead must have stepped on a landmine. Just then, a flare lit up the sky. Sensing danger, I rushed forward, hoisted the wounded soldier onto my back, and, under cover from the other two soldiers, retreated back to our positions.” “Stepping on that landmine must have alerted the Germans in their fortifications. They might have come after you soon. How did you manage to escape?” Bantayev asked curiously after hearing the second lieutenant’s account. Atakuz glanced at the rank insignia on Bantayev’s epaulet. Since he wasn’t sure of the other man’s specific position, he could only address him by his rank: “Comrade Colonel, you’re absolutely right. Before long, a dozen or so German soldiers appeared on the riverbank, shouting and chasing after us. Since I was carrying the wounded soldier, I couldn’t move very fast, so the other two soldiers volunteered to stay behind and hold off the enemy, covering me as I carried the wounded man to safety. When I got back near the high ground, I saw a firefight taking place on the hillside. Fearing I might be caught in the crossfire, I had no choice but to find a shell crater at the foot of the hill to hide in. I waited until the fighting was over before picking up the wounded man again and returning to our positions.” “Did the other two soldiers make it back safely?” Akhroomeyev asked with concern. “No, not a single one returned…” Before Atakuz could finish his sentence, tears began streaming down his face uncontrollably. “It’s not your fault.” Seeing a grown man wipe away tears in front of me for the sake of his comrade, my own nose grew sore. “It’s all because we commanders underestimated the enemy’s cunning.” After pinching my nose, I asked again, “How is the wounded soldier doing now? ” Atakuz quickly wiped away his tears and replied loudly, “Reporting to the Division Commander, the wounded soldier took several shrapnel wounds to the face and chest. After receiving emergency treatment from the military doctors at the medical battalion, he is no longer in critical condition.” After discussing Atakuz’s failed reconnaissance mission, it was time for me to question Gadar about how tonight’s defensive battle had been fought. I stared at Gadar with a stern expression, gave a heavy snort, and asked coldly, “Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how many Germans did you eliminate in tonight’s battle?” Gadar replied with a look of embarrassment, “We killed 37, and 11 escaped. ” I gave a cold chuckle and asked again, “And what are your regiment’s casualties?” Though Gaidar was flushed with shame, upon hearing my question, he could only answer honestly: “149 casualties, including 73 killed, and we lost one light machine gun.” The moment he uttered those casualty figures, everyone was stunned. Despite being prepared, our forces had engaged the Germans in a night battle, yet our casualties were two or three times higher than the enemy’s. Enraged, Kirillov pointed his finger at Gadar and shouted, “Major Gadar, I expect you to provide an explanation to division headquarters. We had long anticipated that the enemy would send small units to launch night raids, so we specifically ordered you to post sentries and two machine guns on duty. Yet, despite that, we still suffered such heavy losses at the enemy’s hands. Explain to me—what on earth happened here?” Geydar glanced at me; seeing that I was merely staring at him without saying a word, he mustered his courage and said: “Commander, Political Commissar, please allow me to report the detailed course of the battle to you.” I turned my head and looked around, noticing that everyone was standing. I quickly motioned to them: “Why are you all standing? Sit down first. Let Lieutenant Colonel Gadar explain it to us at his own pace.” After saying this, I led the way to the table and sat down in my seat. Seeing me sit down, Kirillov, Bantayev, and Akhromeyev also sat down one after another. Gedar walked over and sat down across from me. Noticing that I was staring at him, he quickly stood up again and stood straight-backed opposite me. “Go ahead, Major Gedar,” I said calmly. “Now that we’re all seated, please explain why there was such a lopsided casualty ratio between us and the enemy during tonight’s battle.” “It was like this, Comrade Division Commander,” Gaidar replied hastily. “The enemy crept up from the east side of the high ground. Since that direction is close to the river, it has never been an area where the enemy typically attacks, so I had only posted a single machine gun on duty there. As soon as the enemy appeared, our machine gunner spotted them and opened fire decisively, cutting down the German soldiers at the very front. The remaining Germans took cover on the spot and hurled grenades at the machine gun position; the gunner, assistant gunner, and ammunition handler were all killed in the explosion. Subsequently, a patrol that had rushed to the scene upon hearing the news exchanged fire with the German soldiers who had stormed the trenches. There were two shelters nearby housing a company-sized unit. Had they been seasoned veterans, this enemy force could have been easily eliminated. However, the unit was composed entirely of newly recruited soldiers who had received no military training and had no combat experience. Upon hearing the intense gunfire and explosions outside, they fled in a panic. It was precisely because they clogged the trenches that the reinforcements I had dispatched were completely unable to get through. Meanwhile, the enemy fired furiously at these panicked new recruits, mowing them down in droves. Later, when there were few people left standing in the trenches, the experienced veterans finally stepped over the corpses strewn everywhere and charged toward the enemy.” Gadar’s explanation made the cause of such a lopsided casualty count clear to me. I sighed and asked helplessly, “Lieutenant Colonel Gadar, aside from the newly recruited soldiers, how many of the original veterans were killed or wounded? ” “Twenty-five casualties, thirteen of whom were killed,” Gadar replied briefly and clearly. Hearing these casualty figures, I felt a little more at ease. The two battalions newly assigned to the 4th Regiment were less like recruits and more like civilians in military uniforms. If they hadn’t caused such chaos, we might have been able to wipe out that entire German raiding force. With that in mind, I asked, “Comrade Major, after the battle ended, did you take any effective measures to prevent the enemy from launching another surprise attack?” “Yes, Comrade Division Commander,” Gedaar replied with certainty. “We’ve laid mines in the direction from which the enemy approached. This way, it will be impossible for the enemy to harass our positions like they did tonight.” “Comrade Gedaar. ” Kirillov stood up and instructed him, “Remember to prepare a detailed map of the minefield so that in the future, when they are no longer needed, we can safely remove them all and avoid blowing up our own men.” After Gadar had explained the heavy casualties from tonight’s battle, the atmosphere became more relaxed, and Akhromeyev proceeded to discuss with him how to make the most of the time to train the new recruits and quickly build up their combat effectiveness. Bantayev whispered to me, “Comrade Division Commander, judging by the failure of tonight’s reconnaissance—the Second Lieutenant’s reconnaissance squad triggered a landmine and alerted the enemy—it may no longer be feasible to approach the enemy positions from the riverbank. I think we should come up with a plan as soon as possible to try approaching from other directions.” In response to Bantayev’s suggestion, I replied noncommittally, “Comrade Deputy Division Commander, we have previously made numerous raids on enemy camps by traveling downstream along the riverbank. The first few times, we used boats to drift downstream with the current, and the results were quite good.” Upon hearing this, Bantayev’s eyes lit up, and immediately picked up on my idea: “Commander, since we’ve used boats before, why not have our scouts take boats to the rear of the enemy positions during our next reconnaissance mission?” “But what happens after the reconnaissance?” I countered. “They might not be able to use the boats for the return trip. If they have to walk back, they’ll be forced to risk crossing the river embankment, which is heavily defended by the enemy and littered with minefields. This would put their lives in danger; if they were killed, the so-called reconnaissance mission would be a failure as well.”