"Hello, Lieutenant Sokov!" Batrakov did not return the salute, but directly held Lin Hua's hand and said with a smile: "You are good, and your subordinates are also good! You successfully prevented the German army's plot to blow up the Istria Reservoir Dam, allowing our troops to successfully cross the Istria River and continue to pursue the fleeing enemies. This made the outcome of the battle very favorable to our army. …”
After Batrakov said these words, he pulled Lin Hua to the table, pointed to a general sitting at the table and said: "Let me introduce to you, this is our division commander Mironov Comrade."
Hearing that the person sitting in front of him was Major General Mironov, commander of the Fifth Guards Division, Lin Hua quickly stood at attention and raised his hand in salute: "Hello, comrade commander!"
Mironov stood up, stretched out his hand to Lin Hua, and said with a smile on his face: "You are good, Lieutenant Sokov. This is what I want to say to you." After that, he He stretched out his hand to the regiment chief of staff standing aside and said, "Comrade chief of staff, please bring me the things."
When the regiment chief of staff heard what the division commander said, he quickly took out a folded piece of paper and a red box from his satchel and handed it to Mironov. After Mironov took it, he unfolded the piece of paper and read aloud: "The Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union awards the Order of Lenin to Lieutenant Mikhail Sokov for his service on the front line of the Great Patriotic War. The bravery and heroism displayed!”
Hearing that the person who awarded him the medal was actually the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, Lin Hua couldn't help but feel a little confused. He instinctively took the medal box handed over by Mironov and thought to himself: "Isn't this a mistake? I just How could a young lieutenant, who had just been promoted, alarm the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet?"
When Mironov saw Lin Hua standing there in a daze without saying a word after taking the medal box, he asked with some displeasure: "Comrade Lieutenant, don't you know what you should say after receiving the medal?"
When Lin Hua heard what Mironov said, he immediately realized that he had lost his temper. Fortunately, this was not the first time he had been awarded a medal, so he quickly said loudly: "Serve the Soviet Motherland!"
Mironov nodded and said with satisfaction: "Comrade Lieutenant, you have served well. It is precisely because you successfully secured the dam that the huge surging water did not cause great difficulties to our army. situation, if our counterattack can achieve final victory, your company will be indispensable."
Just as Lin Hua was thinking about how to respond to Mironov's words, the other party quickly changed the subject: "Comrade Lieutenant, can you ski?"
Although Lin Hua was a little unable to keep up with the teacher's leaping thinking, he still answered truthfully: "I'm sorry, comrade teacher, I don't know how to ski."
"Comrade Lieutenant," Mironov said with some regret after hearing Lin Hua say he didn't know how to ski: "Your regiment will march towards the Volokolamsk area next, and your company is the vanguard. Due to the heavy traffic on the road ahead, The snow was very deep, and our engineering troops could only use extremely simple tools to clear obstacles on existing roads, and could not even talk about building new roads. Therefore, in order to speed up the attack, we had to use ski teams, but intercepted Those who are retreating, so that our main force can catch up and annihilate them as quickly as possible."
After Mironov's explanation, Lin Hua finally understood why the division commander suddenly asked him if he knew how to ski. It turned out to be because the next march had to be completed by skiing. I don't know how to ski, which means that the remaining dozens of kilometers of road can only be marched on foot.
After Mironov finished speaking, he turned to look at Batrakov and asked: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you have anything else to add?"
Batrakov nodded, and then asked Lin Hua: "Misha, do you know the way to Volokolamsk?"
Even though Lin Hua stayed in Moscow for a long time in later generations, he never knew where Volokolamsk was. When Batrakov asked this question at this moment, he certainly couldn't answer directly and said he didn't know. This would lower his status in the eyes of his superiors, so he bit the bullet and replied: "I will find out."
"Is there any need to ask?" Batrakov heard Lin Hua's answer and said with some laughter and tears: "You go out from the west of Istria and walk west along the road. It's about seventy kilometers. , in this kind of road conditions, you will have to walk for at least two days. After you return to the company, let the soldiers eat something, seize the time to sleep for two hours, and then set off immediately. Note that according to the situation we have, the German army The 106th Infantry Division and the 11th Armored Division have retreated to this area. You must remain vigilant during the march."
"Understood!" After Lin Hua said this, he raised his hand to his forehead, saluted the division commander and regiment commander, and asked politely: "Are you allowed to return to the army to assign combat tasks?"
"Go, Misha!" Batrakov nodded to Lin Hua and said, "I wish you good luck!"
Lin Hua walked out of the regiment command post and found his troops outside. Vanya, Andrei, and Vasily immediately gathered around and asked anxiously: "Comrade company commander, do you know what combat mission our superiors have assigned us?"
Seeing the reaction of his subordinates, Lin Hua couldn't help but be a little surprised. In his impression, the troops had been fighting non-stop since they entered the village of Kryukovo. He believed that after so many battles, the cadres and soldiers in the company should be concerned about where to rest and recuperate, rather than what combat tasks were assigned by their superiors.
However, seeing the anxious looks on the faces of the three platoon leaders, he still told them the combat mission assigned by his superiors. After hearing the mission from his superiors, the one who reacted most violently was Second Lieutenant Vanya. He said to Lin Hua with excitement: "Comrade Company Commander, do you know? The 316th Infantry Division where we were originally won the victory because it stubbornly blocked the German army in the Volokolamsk area for several months. The title of the 8th Guards Division. Unexpectedly, not long after we left this heroic city, we would have to fight back. Comrade company commander, please let our platoon be the vanguard of the entire company. We must inherit and give full play to Panfilo With the fine traditions and brave fighting spirit of our husband, we severely attacked the fascist invaders."
Seeing that Vanya was eager to fight, Lin Hua readily agreed to his request. Then, regardless of the objections of the three platoon leaders, he resolutely announced: "The entire company will find a place to have something to eat, and then rest for two hours before advancing to Volokolamsk."
