Lin Hua, who is familiar with history, knows very well that the Kalinin Front Army commanded by General Konev launched a counterattack against the German army on December 5. Since the results achieved were not great, it did not arouse the Germans' attention. vigilance. The real highlight was the comprehensive counterattack launched by the Western Front commanded by Zhukov in the early morning of the 6th.
Lin Hua felt particularly depressed when he thought that other troops were making contributions at the front, while he could only stay as a spectator in a small town where no more battles would take place. Because he was so preoccupied, he tossed and turned in bed and couldn't fall asleep for a long time.
Seryosha, who was on the bed next to him, heard him turning over and over, and guessed that he must have suffered from insomnia. He quickly asked in a low voice: "Misha, why aren't you asleep yet? Is there something on your mind?" The soldier heard about Lin Hua and Asiya going hand in hand and thought that Lin Hua's insomnia was because he missed Asiya.
Unexpectedly, when Lin Hua heard his voice, he simply sat up and asked angrily: "Seryozha, what time is it?"
Seryozha quickly took out his pocket watch from under the pillow, looked at it under the dim light for a moment, and replied: "Five-fifty."
Lin Hua rolled out of bed, put on his boots, and muttered softly: "It's almost time to start!"
When Seryosha saw Lin Hua getting up, he thought he was going outside to find Asiya. Unexpectedly, he walked through the hall, walked into the stairwell, and walked up the spiral staircase towards the bell tower.
The squad leader Grisa was on duty on the bell tower. When he heard footsteps coming from the stairwell, he quickly took off the submachine gun on his shoulder, pointed it in the direction of the sound, and shouted vigilantly: "Stop, password!" "
When Lin Hua heard Grisa's voice, he immediately stopped and replied: "Moscow!"
"Leningrad!" Hearing clearly the voice of Lin Hua, Grisa quickly replied and put the submachine gun on his shoulder again. When Lin Hua entered the bell tower, he couldn't help but asked curiously: "Comrade platoon leader, why are you up here?"
"I can't sleep, come up and take a look." Lin Hua casually recited a reason and then asked, "Is there anything going on outside?"
"No, there's no movement at all." Grisa pouted in the distance and said, "In the past, you could still hear the faint sound of gunfire, but today you can't hear anything."
Lin Hua concentrated his eyes and looked into the distance, trying to see if the Soviet army had any motives. Unfortunately, he forgot that it was December now, not March or April. At six o'clock in the morning, the sky was still dark and nothing could be seen clearly except the outline of the forest around the town.
Just on the distant horizon, there was a red light. Grisa asked strangely: "Comrade platoon leader, what is that? The sun rises so early?"
"Comrade Grisa, the sun never rises from the north." Lin Hua, who knew it well, said with a smile: "That is the fire when our artillery bombards the enemy's position and the artillery shells explode." His words As soon as he landed, the rumble of cannons could be heard in the distance, which seemed to be a footnote to what he just said.
The soldiers who were sleeping in the church were also awakened by the rumbling sound of artillery. They sat up from their beds and curiously asked their comrades around them: "What's going on? Where did the sound of artillery come from?" And Andre and Zheliya, Seryosha and other squad leaders rushed to the bell tower to find out what happened.
Seeing that the squad and platoon leaders had all arrived, Lin Hua smiled and said to everyone: "Comrades, you can see it. The fire in the distance is that our army is launching a major counterattack against the enemy."
He thought that everyone would cheer after he said these words, but he didn't expect that the expressions on everyone's faces did not change at all after hearing it. Seeing everyone's indifferent reaction, Lin Hua was stunned for a moment, and then he understood what was going on: Since the beginning of the war, the Soviet army had been defeated steadily in the face of the fierce German offensive. Although they had organized several counterattacks, In the end, they all ended in failure. They must have thought that this counterattack would have the same ending.
After Lin Hua wanted to understand what was going on, he said to everyone: "Comrades, according to my judgment, the scale of our army's counterattack this time will be unprecedentedly powerful. The German army has long been exhausted and cannot stop it at all." If we can withstand our thunderous strike, I believe that our army will be able to defeat the enemies near Moscow in a short time. You see, our superiors may soon transfer us to the front line."
"Comrade platoon leader, is comrade platoon leader up there?" Not long after he finished speaking, he heard a soldier shouting from below: "I have a call for him."
Hearing that there was a call for him, Lin Hua hurriedly took three steps at a time and rushed downstairs along the spiral staircase. He looked at the soldier who called him and asked, "Who called?"
As soon as Lin Hua put the microphone close to his ear, he heard a loud voice coming from inside: "This is Comrade Sokov, I am Major Kaverin from the Garrison Command. I am now officially informing you that you have been assigned to the 16th Group Army. Commander, tell your soldiers to take the time to clean up, the car to pick you up will be here soon."
After Lin Hua finished the call, Andre and others also came down from the bell tower, gathered around Lin Hua, and asked curiously: "Comrade platoon leader, what did the superior say on the phone?"
"From now on, we have been officially placed under the command of the 16th Group Army," Lin Hua put on a serious look and said to several subordinates: "Let the soldiers hurry up and pack their things. The car to pick us up will be here soon."
Just as the soldiers in the hall began to pack their bags, Asya, who was sleeping in the corridor hut, was also awakened. She hurried in and saw the busy scene in the hall. She grabbed Lin Hua and asked in surprise: "Misha, why are everyone packing their bags? Are we going to be transferred?"
"Yes, Asiya." Lin Hua grabbed Asiya's hand and said to her: "I just received an order from my superiors. Our platoon is now under the command of the 16th Group Army, and a car will come to pick her up soon. Us, send us to the front lines.”
"What, we want to go to the front line." Asiya's heart tightened when she heard what Lin Hua said, and then she asked in a panic: "Then will we be in danger?"
Lin Hua turned to look at the busy soldiers, then turned to Asiya and said, "Asiya, as long as we go to the front line, everyone here may die. I hope you can be mentally prepared in advance. "
"Don't worry, Misha. From the day I entered the army, I have been prepared to sacrifice." Although Asiya tried her best to stay calm, Lin Hua, who was holding her hands, still noticed that she was in fear because of fear. Shivering constantly.
Lin Hua took advantage of the soldiers not paying attention, kissed Asiya on the forehead, and said softly: "Don't worry, Asiya, when we get to the front line, I will try my best to protect your safety. It's getting late, you go quickly Pack your things, the car to pick us up will be here soon."
