Sokov heard intensive gunfire coming from the direction of the transfer station. Where could he stay, he hurriedly rushed over with a few soldiers protecting him.
By the time he arrived at the transfer station, the battle was over. Andre was leading his people to count the results of the battle, and there was no arrangement for anyone to load the supplies into the truck. Sokov was furious when he saw this, and cursed angrily at Andre: "Second Lieutenant Andre, don't you know that the sound of gunfire has alerted the nearby enemies. The enemy's reinforcements are coming soon, but you Still in the mood to stand here and count the loot."
After being scolded by Sokov, Andrei lowered his head in panic and said in shame: "I'm sorry, comrade battalion commander, I was wrong. I will arrange for people to move the supplies onto the sled."
"In addition to weapons and ammunition, medicine and food," Sokov told Andre while listening to the noise outside, "all those military uniforms, quilts and other supplies will be given to us when we evacuate later. I burn them all. What we can’t get, the Germans can’t get.”
The fifty sleds brought by the second company were neatly placed next to the goods yard. The soldiers temporarily acted as porters. They lifted the tarpaulin covering the ammunition and moved the neatly stacked wooden boxes one by one. Moved to the sleigh.
As soon as seven or eight sleds were loaded, intensive gunfire rang out in the distance. Sokov quickly called Andrei to him and asked loudly: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, how long will it take for you to fully fill the sled?"
Andre turned his head and glanced at the busy soldiers, secretly estimated for a moment, and then replied: "Report to Comrade Battalion Commander, it will take at least half an hour to fill all these sleds. You know, in addition to In addition to looking for ammunition, we also need to find food and medicine..."
"I'll give you fifty minutes," Sokov interrupted Andre before he could finish. He knew that half an hour was the minimum time limit, and he could barely fill the sled, but it was far from enough time to burn the remaining supplies of the German army, so he added another twenty minutes: "If the task cannot be completed by then, Even if I don't say it, you should understand what the consequences will be."
"Understood, comrade battalion commander." Andre nodded hastily, then turned and shouted to the soldiers who were carrying things: "Comrades, the enemy is rushing towards us, and the comrades in the machine gun company are fighting tenaciously." They are bleeding and sacrificing every minute. Every minute you save, you can save the life of a comrade! Everyone, move quickly, don't waste time!"
Andre walked around repeating what he was shouting. After the soldiers of the second company heard his shout clearly, they all speeded up the transportation.
Sokov trotted to the wooden house where the radio station was broadcasting. There had been a battle not long ago, and the strong smell of blood could still be smelled in the house. When he saw the radio operator sitting by the window, he ordered him: "Comrade radio operator, get in touch with Lieutenant Vasily of the machine gun company immediately. I want to talk to him."
The operator wearing the earphone nodded, picked up the microphone and started calling: "Owl, owl, I am Red Star, I am Red Star, please answer if you hear me! Please answer if you hear me!..."
After calling five or six times in a row, the other party finally responded. Sokov took the earphone and microphone handed over by the operator and put the earphone on his head. Because of the tight time, he didn't bother to use the pre-agreed pronouns and spoke directly into the microphone in plain language. Call: "Lieutenant Vasily, listen, the Second Company is moving supplies here at the transfer station. It will take at least another hour. I order you to hold on for an hour, do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Battalion Commander." In addition to Vasily's voice, there were also clearly audible gunshots and explosions coming from the earphones, which showed how fierce the battle was. "We will never let the Germans advance a single step within an hour."
After all the sleds were loaded, the soldiers of the second company worked in groups of three and pulled the fully loaded sleds towards the outside of the transfer station. The remaining soldiers carried gasoline barrels and poured gasoline on the remaining supplies, preparing a fire to burn the place clean, leaving no supplies for the Germans.
Andrei walked to Sokov and asked him for instructions: "Comrade battalion commander, there are still a dozen German prisoners, what do you think we should do. Should we take them away or shoot them on the spot?"
"We are carrying so much supplies. If we bring any more prisoners, it will definitely slow us down." Sokov didn't want the prisoners to become a burden, so he naturally didn't want to take them with him. But if he were asked to issue an order to shoot all the German soldiers who laid down their weapons, he would not be able to do such a cruel thing.
After some thought, he pointed to the wooden house in the distance and said to Andre: "Tie them all up and lock them in that wooden house. Whether they can survive depends on their luck."
After the soldiers put the tightly tied German prisoners into wooden houses, they thought the Soviet army was going to set fire to kill them, so they cried loudly and begged the soldiers for their lives. Unfortunately, none of the soldiers present could understand German and had no idea what they were shouting. As soon as they closed the door, they returned to the cargo yard and set fire to it.
When the cargo yard of the transfer station burst into flames, Sokov could still feel the burning heat in his face even though he was standing dozens of meters away. He raised his hand and looked at his watch and found that fifty minutes had just passed. He said to Andrei who was standing next to him: "Lieutenant Vasily must be able to see such a big fire. If he is smart enough, he will bring it Let the troops withdraw in time. Okay, it's getting late, let's rush back to the unknown highlands as soon as possible."
Just when Sokov and the others returned to the unknown highlands along the road they came from, Vasily also saw the fire in the direction of the transfer station. He knew in his heart that this must be the fire set by the second company after completing the task of transporting supplies, so He decisively ordered to retreat into the forest using alternate cover.
The German troops who were blocked were eager to rush to the transfer station for rescue. Seeing the Soviet army retreating into the forest, they worried about being ambushed, so they did not pursue it, but continued to the transfer station.
After Vasily's troops got rid of the enemy, they quickly caught up with the second company marching in the forest. I saw the cheerful soldiers of the Second Company, happily pulling the fully loaded sleds and walking forward talking and laughing. He quickly ordered his men to help pull the cart to relieve some of the burden.
When Sokov saw Vasily rushing up with the troops, he quickly asked with concern: "Comrade Lieutenant, you have worked hard. How are you? Are there many casualties in the troops?"
"Our casualties are not large." Vasily shook his head and said: "In the darkness, the Germans who were blocked could not figure out our details, so they fought a little timidly. In more than an hour of fighting, We only suffered about thirty casualties.”
"Lieutenant Vasily, you did a good job." Sokov was very satisfied with the performance of the cannon company in tonight's battle. He smiled and said: "If it weren't for you, we probably wouldn't have captured much supplies. You will I get an award for my performance tonight.”
