After hearing Lin Hua's affirmative reply, the captain glanced at the long queue of Istria Company again and said with emotion: "Comrade Lieutenant, there are so many people in your company!"
"Yes, Comrade Captain." Lin Hua replied with a smile: "There are now more than 400 people in the company."
"What, more than four hundred people?" The captain was obviously frightened by the number Lin Hua said. He hesitated for a while before saying, "Oh my God, the number of people is almost as much as that of an infantry brigade."
Lin Hua was not surprised at all by the captain's statement, because he had learned from Rokossovsky's memoirs that due to the 16th Army's heavy losses in the long defensive battle and the late counterattack, There are only 1,200 to 1,500 men left in each infantry division, including artillery, mortar operators, engineers, signal corps, and division headquarters staff. As an infantry brigade smaller than a division, it is not surprising that only a few hundred men remained.
After the captain dismissed the motorcycle, he led Lin Hua and his troops forward. After walking a few hundred meters forward, he stopped, pointed to a forest on the roadside, and said to Lin Hua: "Comrade Lieutenant, you must be tired, hungry and cold after walking such a long way. Arrangements Your warriors go there to rest, let them eat something, drink some hot soup, and warm themselves up.”
Lin Hua looked in the direction of the captain's finger and saw a vague open space in the forest. Not only could he see commanders and soldiers coming and going, but he could also see several tents, which should be a supply point for the right wing's rapid cluster. Just when Lin Hua raised his hand to salute the captain and was about to greet the soldiers into the forest, he was stopped by the captain: "Comrade Lieutenant, just ask your deputy to lead the soldiers there. You need to follow me to see the commander immediately." Comrade members."
Hearing that the captain wanted to take him to see Remizov, Lin Hua did not dare to neglect. He quickly called Vanya and other platoon leaders and told them: "Take the soldiers to the forest to have a rest. We are there. A supply point for the soldiers to eat, drink some hot soup, warm themselves up by the fire. Go and execute it!"
When Lin Hua followed the captain towards a nearby village, he pointed at the tanks parked on the roadside and asked curiously: "Comrade Captain, do these tanks all belong to our right wing group?"
The captain glanced at the tanks quickly, then withdrew his gaze, nodded and said, "Yes, these tanks all belong to the 27th Tank Brigade. Comrade Commander is still serving as the brigade commander."
When Lin Hua just heard Remizov's name, he felt that the name seemed familiar, but for a while he couldn't remember where he had heard it. At this moment, when he learned from the captain that the other party was actually the commander of the 27th Tank Brigade, the floodgates of memory seemed to be opened by a flood, reminding him of some things about this general: Rokossovsky served as Since becoming the commander of the 16th Army, Remizov's 27th Tank Brigade has been within the organization. Later, due to heavy losses in the defensive battle, it was withdrawn to the rear for replenishment; after the fall of Voloklamsk, the brigade was reorganized He returned to the 16th Group Army and participated in the following series of arduous and outstanding defensive battles and major counterattacks within the group army organization, and made great achievements.
Lin Hua followed the captain into Remizov's room and saw a bald general sitting opposite a sturdy lieutenant colonel on both sides of the wooden table. Both of them had serious expressions, as if they were worried about something.
The captain stepped forward and reported loudly to the general: "Comrade Commander, I have brought Lieutenant Sokov, the commander of the Istria Company!"
The general turned around suddenly, looked Lin Hua up and down, and asked expressionlessly: "Are you Lieutenant Sokov?"
"Yes, Comrade General." Lin Hua knew that the general in front of him was Major General Remizov, the commander of the right wing rapid group, and quickly replied: "I am the commander of the Istria Company Sokov."
Remizov waved his hand to the captain and signaled him to leave. Then he stood up, walked slowly behind Lin Hua with his hands behind his back, and asked suddenly: "How many people are there in your company?"
Lin Hua hurriedly turned to face Remizov and replied: "Comrade General, there are 439 people in the whole company."
An expression of surprise appeared on Remizov's face. Before he could speak, the lieutenant colonel who was sitting at the table couldn't help blurting out: "I didn't expect that there are so many people in your company, like me. A brigade has about the same number of soldiers?”
In order to answer the lieutenant colonel's question, Lin Hua quickly turned around and faced the lieutenant colonel and replied: "Comrade lieutenant colonel, according to the orders of our superiors, we reorganized several guerrilla teams to assist in the execution of the mission, so that the whole company can have So many people. We are less than a quarter of the original number."
After learning that the composition of the Istria company was mainly guerrillas, the lieutenant colonel showed disappointment on his face. Remizov returned to his seat and sat down, and introduced to Sokov: "This is Lieutenant Colonel Andryushenko, commander of the 115th Infantry Brigade. From now on, your company will be under his command."
Lin Hua quickly saluted his immediate superior: "Hello, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel."
Andryushchenko nodded to Lin Hua and asked casually: "How is your company's equipment? Do you have machine guns?"
"Yes, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Lin Hua replied: "The company has three infantry platoons, one engineer platoon, and one machine gun platoon. The company's equipment is mainly German weapons, and each infantry platoon is equipped with three Machine guns, the machine gun platoon is equipped with eighteen machine guns.”
After learning about the equipment of the Istra Company, Andryushchenko couldn't help turning his head and glanced at Remizov, and then said in surprise: "Hell, where did you get so much German equipment? "
Lin Hua grinned and said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, according to the orders from our superiors, our company has been collecting weapons, ammunition and supplies discarded by the German army these days. I saw that the equipment of the guerrillas was too poor, so I took it upon myself to give it to them. All dressed up.”
After Remizov waited for Lin Hua to finish speaking, he said with a straight face: "Comrade Lieutenant, you used the collected weapons and equipment to redress the guerrillas without authorization. This is a violation of discipline. If the head of the group army knew about it, it might even be possible You will be court-martialed."
"Comrade General," Remizov's reaction was a bit beyond Lin Hua's expectations. He explained a little aggrievedly: "I did this to improve the combat effectiveness of the guerrillas to a higher level so that they can better attack the enemy. Now that the weapons and ammunition have been distributed, if my superiors want to deal with me, I have no complaints. But I have a request, can the commanders and fighters in the company continue to keep this batch of weapons and ammunition?"
Unexpectedly, after hearing what Lin Hua said, Remizov actually had a smile on his face, "Comrade Lieutenant, you should have been severely criticized for your behavior of making decisions without authorization. But considering that you are doing it for To improve the combat effectiveness of the troops, forget it. If my superiors want to blame me in the future, I will bear the responsibility."
Andryushenko glanced at Remizov with a smile, then turned to Lin Hua and said: "Lieutenant Sokov, I feel relieved that your company has such good equipment. Come to me, I will Let me assign you a combat mission."
Lin Hua came to the table and saw a map of Voloklamsk on it. Andryushchenko pointed to the northeast of the city and said to Lin Hua: "Comrade Lieutenant, the task given to our brigade by our superiors is to seize the German army's peripheral positions on the banks of the Rama River in the northeastern suburbs of the city, and cross the river to cooperate with friendly forces to capture the city. Since there are currently only two battalions left in the brigade, with a total strength of less than 500 men, the main offensive mission will be completed by your company."
Knowing that his unit would be responsible for the main offensive mission, Lin Hua was silent for a moment and said, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I would like to ask, will our company receive the necessary artillery support when we attack?"
"Needless to say, there must be." Andryushchenko further explained to Lin Hua: "Before the attack begins, the artillery unit of the group army will shell the enemy's position for half an hour, and then you will launch the attack . Don’t worry, you are not fighting alone, the troops of the 27th Tank Brigade and the 50th Cavalry Division will cooperate with you."
