While the troops were marching, Lin Hua suddenly remembered something. Kazakov only ordered himself to lead his troops to Voloklamsk to participate in the battle, but did not tell him which senior commander he should report to. Thinking of this, he took out the written order that Kazakov had given him when parting and looked at it carefully.
Stepan, the deputy platoon leader of the second platoon who happened to be passing by him, saw Lin Hua looking at a piece of paper in his hand with an engaged expression. He slowed down and asked Lin Hua curiously: "Comrade company commander, what are you looking at?" ?”
Lin Hua shook the note in his hand at him and said with a wry smile: "Our superiors only ordered us to rush to Voloklamsk to participate in the battle, but they did not explain who they asked me to report to. You know, according to my experience in the past two days, Observe, our troops besieging the city are at least five divisions."
Stepan had long known that there were many numbers of troops outside the city of Voloklamsk. Now when he heard that Lin Hua didn't know who to report to after taking the troops to the place, he couldn't help being shocked. He quickly told Lin Hua Hua said: "Comrade company commander, can I see the order signed by comrade commander?"
After taking the note from Lin Hua's hand, Stepan looked over it several times, but also found no instructions on who to report to. He handed the note back to Lin Hua and said carefully: "Comrade Company Commander, I think the reason why we did not specify which unit our company would be assigned to command is simply because we were worried that we would not be able to find the designated unit after we rushed outside the city. force."
Lin Hua took the note, stuffed it into his pocket, and asked curiously: "Then what should we do?"
"It's very simple," Stepan said with a smile: "When we get outside the city, we will join whichever army we encounter."
"This is a good idea." Lin Hua felt that Stepan's proposal was good. This way, after the troops arrived outside the city of Voloklamsk, they would not have to worry about finding the designated troops.
Although he had known Stepan for several days, since he was a taciturn person, Lin Hua had less than ten words in total with him, so he decided to use this opportunity to enhance his relationship with him. He asked with a smile in a homely tone: "Where is Comrade Deputy Platoon Leader from?"
"Leningrad." Stepan replied without hesitation: "Comrade company commander, I am from Leningrad."
"Where did you work in Leningrad before the war?" Lin Hua continued to ask.
"Comrade Company Commander, although I am from Leningrad, I do not work there." Stepan smiled and said to Lin Hua: "I have been working in the food factory in Vyazma since 1938. "
Vyazma, when Lin Hua heard this place name, he couldn't help but be distracted. From the moment he came to this era and met Rokossovsky, he asked himself in his heart, what if Konev, the commander of the Western Front at the time, had not given orders to Rokossovsky, but had asked him to Lukin led his army group headquarters to Vyazma to receive the troops. Then after the end of the Patriotic War, the marshal who directed the military parade in Red Square was Marshal Lukin and not Marshal Rokossovsky. .
Stepan saw Lin Hua lowering his head and seemed to be thinking about something, so he quickly asked curiously: "Comrade company commander, what are you thinking about?"
"Comrade Deputy Platoon Leader, you just mentioned Vyazma." Stepan's voice woke Lin Hua out of his thoughts. He said in a panic: "A few months ago, the main force of the Western Front was surrounded by the enemy there. It is really not easy for you to break out of the encirclement."
"Comrade Company Commander," Stepan said calmly, "Although we were surrounded by German troops, it was impossible for the enemy to block all roads. After I and the soldiers from the food factory militia company escaped from the city, we entered an uninhabited area. Forest. We wandered there for a week and met a detachment led by Lieutenant Saviev. After we joined forces, we formed the Saviev guerrillas, with Saviev as the captain and me as the political commissar. Fighting guerrillas with the enemy in the vast forest."
"I heard Saviev say that the reason why your guerrillas are relatively strong in combat effectiveness is because half of them are regular troops who have been broken up." Lin Hua said this and nodded towards the marching troops. "But I see that the guerrillas are almost all new recruits, and I don't see many veterans."
"There is a reason for this." Upon hearing Lin Hua's question, Stepan's expression became serious: "At its peak, our guerrilla army had almost three hundred people, including those from the regular army. There were 180 soldiers. However, in order to cooperate with General Panfilov's 316th Infantry Division, the 8th Guards Division, to defend Voloklamsk, we continued to harass the enemy's rear and destroyed roads. , bridges, burning the enemy's logistics warehouses, etc. The enemy who was hit was angry, so he sent a regiment to wipe out us. In countless battles where we were outnumbered, our strength was weakened. Although new people continued to join Our guerrillas, but our numbers are getting smaller and smaller..."
After listening to Stepan's story, Lin Hua finally understood why this guerrilla group of only more than fifty people was equipped with a radio station. It turned out that they were once a powerful force, but in After being attacked continuously by the German army, its strength was greatly weakened.
Stepan had a good impression of Lin Hua and began to talk more unknowingly: "Comrade company commander, do you think our troops can take Voloklamsk? You know, the 8th Guards Division held on When this city was occupied, the German army dispatched seven divisions, including three armored divisions, and it took more than a month to capture the city."
"Comrade Stepan, it depends on who is the attacker and the defender." Lin Hua waited for the other party to finish speaking, then said with a smile: "If the enemy attacks and we defend, even if the enemy and our forces are greatly outnumbered, we can still hold on. Two months; but if the Germans defend it and we attack, I think we can liberate the city in a week at most."
The two chatted while marching, and before they knew it, they had walked five or six kilometers. On the right side of the road ahead, you can see a long row of T-34 tanks parked. When the soldiers saw so many tanks parked on the roadside, they couldn't help but point and talk excitedly.
A three-wheeled motorcycle came from the opposite direction. Seeing Lin Hua's troops marching, they quickly stopped on the side of the road. After the car stopped, a captain officer came out of the sidecar. He stood on the side of the road, looking at the troops getting closer and closer to him with his hands behind his back. When the troops came to him, he suddenly raised his voice and asked: "Which unit are you from?"
Hearing the captain's voice, Lin Hua quickly ran over, raised his hands in front of him, saluted, and reported: "Comrade Captain, we are the 'Istria Company', and I am the company commander, Lieutenant Sokov."
The captain raised his hand to return the salute, and then said: "I am the adjutant of Major General Remizov, the commander of the right wing rapid group, and I was ordered to come here to pick you up. Comrade lieutenant, bring your troops and follow me!"
