Lin Hua followed the sergeant to the dam and found that the bodies of officers and soldiers from both sides of the Soviet Union and Germany had been packed away. Teams of soldiers were walking back and forth on the dam, and several communications soldiers were nervously laying telephone lines.
The sergeant brought Lin Hua to a small house and said to the sentry on duty at the door: "Please go in and tell the battalion commander that the search team has brought back a lieutenant from a friendly army."
The sentry glanced at the sergeant and then said: "Comrade sergeant, the battalion commander is not free. He is reporting to the regimental commander. But he has just told you that as soon as you come back, go in and see him."
Lin Hua followed the sergeant and walked into the room. As soon as they entered the door, they saw three commanders standing against the wall with their backs to the door, looking up at a huge military map hanging on the wall.
Hearing the sound of footsteps, a commander with the rank of captain on his collar turned around and looked towards the door. When he saw clearly that it was the sergeant he had ruled out and a strange German officer, he asked: "Sergeant, is this the commander of a friendly force?"
After getting a positive answer from the sergeant, the captain walked up to Lin Hua, stretched out his hand to him, and said friendly: "I am the battalion commander, Captain Chakov. If I guess correctly, you are the captain of the 5th Guards Division." Lieutenant Koff."
Lin Hua couldn't help showing a surprised expression on his face when he saw that the other party had guessed his identity. But he did not forget the basic etiquette. After raising his hand in salute, he shook the battalion commander's hand and said respectfully: "Yes, comrade battalion commander, I am Sokov."
The other two commanders with their backs to the door also turned around. One of them, wearing the rank of colonel, looked at Lin Hua from head to toe and nodded with a smile: "Comrade Lieutenant, you Do you know? Your name is well-known in today’s 16th Group Army!"
Lin Hua looked at the colonel blankly, thinking to himself: What did he mean by saying this? Is it a joke? But judging from the expression on his face, it doesn't look like it. What exactly is going on?
Seeing Lin Hua standing at the door like a stupid goose, the colonel came over, took the initiative to extend his hand to Lin Hua, and said with a smile: "Lieutenant Sokov, I am Bentay Leye, the commander of the 248th Regiment. Colonel Husband, before I came here, I received a call from General Mironov, the commander of the Fifth Guards Division, and he asked me to help find your whereabouts."
When the colonel shook hands with Lin Hua, he turned to Chakov and another commander and said: "On the way here, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to help the general. I didn't expect that my luck was so high. As soon as I got here, I encountered Here comes Lieutenant Sokov." His words immediately caused laughter from the other two commanders.
After Lin Hua let go of the colonel's hand, he asked cautiously: "Comrade colonel, you have confused me. Can I ask what is going on?"
"It seems you don't know anything yet." When the colonel heard what Lin Hua said, he explained to him: "Because you successfully smashed the German army's plot to blow up the dam, our troops were able to pass through the island smoothly. Tra River, continue to pursue the fleeing German troops. In view of your contribution, the Army Group Headquarters has decided to award you the Order of Lenin."
For Lin Hua, the Order of Lenin was just a name, because after hearing it, his expression did not change at all. But Chakov and another commander were shocked after hearing this. They all knew that the Order of Lenin represented the highest honor, so they all looked at Lin Hua with envy.
However, Lin Hua did not notice the expressions of Chakov and the others. Instead, he looked at Panteleev and asked: "Comrade Colonel, can you tell me where the 5th Guards Division is now?"
"Chief of Staff," Benteleev turned to another commander and said, "Please bring the map."
Lin Hua paid attention to the other party's collar badge and found that it had the rank of captain. It seemed that he should be the battalion chief of staff. After hearing the order, the battalion chief of staff picked up a map on the table and handed it to Panteleev.
After taking the map, Benteleev glanced at it a few times, then pointed to it and said to Lin Hua: "Lieutenant Sokov, General Mironov told me on the phone that once you are found, you will be ordered to join the company." Rush to Istria City to receive new combat missions."
After receiving a new combat mission, Lin Hua couldn't help but smile bitterly when he heard what Benteleev said, secretly thinking that his company only had two squads of soldiers left, what other combat missions could it carry out?
But in front of Benteleev, he definitely couldn't complain. He straightened his back quickly and asked in accordance with the regulations: "Comrade Colonel, are you allowed to leave me? I need to lead the troops to the designated assembly point immediately."
"Don't be anxious, Comrade Lieutenant." After Bentaleyev handed the map back to the Chief of Staff, he continued to say to Lin Hua: "You stay here first and wait for the troops to be supplemented by your superiors to arrive. After the replenishment is completed, , it’s not too late to start again.”
"Additional soldiers?" Lin Hua thought he heard wrongly and quickly asked: "Comrade Colonel, did I hear correctly? You just said that your superiors want to give us additional soldiers?"
"That's right, the troops that the Army Group Headquarters will personally replenish for you are probably on the way now." Seeing Lin Hua's surprised expression, Panteleev specifically explained: "Follow the sergeant towards the dam. When I arrived, I saw that there were only a dozen of you left, so I reported to the division headquarters. After some negotiation between the two division commanders and reporting to the group army headquarters, Chief of Staff Malinen informed me that you should be here After completing the replenishment, rush to Istria City.”
Lin Hua left the command post and found his troops on the dam. When Wanya saw Lin Hua coming back, she immediately came over and asked, "Comrade company commander, what is the next task of our company?"
"Rest here for the time being and wait for the arrival of additional soldiers from our superiors." After Lin Hua finished saying this, he called Andre over and said: "Andre, send a soldier to inform us to stay at the outpost. Pavel and others inside, ask them to rush here immediately and bring a few German prisoners with them."
"Comrade Company Commander, what do you plan to do with those German prisoners?" Vanya waited for Andre to walk away, then said to Lin Hua thoughtfully: "I think the corporal named Ernst is not bad. , if we can bring him with us, he will definitely come in handy in the next battle."
Regarding Vanya's proposal, Lin Hua thought for a while, and finally nodded in agreement: "Okay, Comrade Second Lieutenant, I have the final say on this matter. When Pavel and the others come back, hand over the remaining prisoners to friendly forces, and take this Take Corporal Ernst with you and march with us."
