Since it was already dawn, the selected team could only stay in the tunnel for one more day. After dark, they set off from Mamayev Hill and headed towards the old city along the road full of craters and bricks and rubble. Drive away.
Before the troops set off, Sokov personally called Captain Andrei and told him that three German armored vehicles would pass through his defense area. The vehicles were all comrades disguised as enemies. He asked him to pay attention to identifying them to avoid accidental injuries. .
Although Andrei notified his subordinate troops as soon as he received Sokov's order that friendly troops disguised as enemies were riding in three German armored vehicles and wanted to pass through the defense area, and asked everyone to let them go and not to block them. But some combat groups scattered among the ruins did not receive this order.
When the armored vehicle the detachment was riding entered the defense zone of the Ninth Company, Guchakov, who was sitting in the lead vehicle, also used the vehicle radio to say to Samoilov, who was sitting in the last vehicle: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, I am in front of you. The Ninth Company Defense Area, they must have received the order to let us pass, don't worry..."
Before Guchakov finished speaking, a gunshot was heard not far away, and then the sound of bullets hitting the car was heard. "Enemy attack," Tavlin, who was sitting next to Guchakov and wearing the uniform of a German second lieutenant, reacted immediately and shouted to the soldiers sitting in the car: "Hurry and lower your body to avoid being hit by bullets. bingo."
A soldier of the Ninth Company hiding in the ruins saw that the shot he fired did not cause any casualties to the people in the car. He quickly picked up a grenade, pulled the string and threw it out. The grenade landed more than ten meters away from the vehicle and exploded. The flying shrapnel clanked on the car body and the soldiers' helmets.
After the soldiers sitting in the armored vehicle were suddenly attacked, they immediately set up their guns and prepared to fight back, but were stopped by Guchakov. He shouted loudly: "Don't fight back, don't fight back, we are one of our own. Everyone lower their bodies to avoid being hit by stray bullets." After shouting to both sides, he shouted to the driver: "Speed up. Rush over quickly."
After breaking out of the third battalion's defense area, Guchakov quickly counted the number of people and found that two soldiers in the car were injured. Fortunately, the injuries were not serious and would not affect the subsequent battle. Seeing unnecessary casualties before the battle even started, Guchakov was really on the verge of tears: Didn't the division commander say hello to the battalion commander, why would he still fire on us? What made him most angry was that the place where the convoy was attacked actually belonged to his ninth company's defense area. This was a slap in his face. When he returned from the mission, he must deal with the people who fired randomly. .
"Comrade Lieutenant," just as Guchakov was thinking wildly, Samoylov's angry voice suddenly came from the car radio: "Didn't you say that was your company's position? Why are those hiding in the ruins Soldier, are you, the company commander, involved in the fight? If it really causes huge casualties to the squad, I’ll see how you can complete the mission.”
"Comrade Second Lieutenant, please listen to my explanation." Since the convoy was attacked in his company's defense area, Guchakov said with a guilty conscience: "Maybe the soldiers hiding in the ruins did not receive the battalion commander's order. Look. Suddenly several armored vehicles full of soldiers appeared, and they shot instinctively. By the way, are there any casualties in your vehicles?"
"No, there are no casualties in my car." Samoilov said impatiently: "We won't encounter another cold shot of our own ahead, right?"
"We have completely left the defensive zone of the third battalion." Guchakov said with a smile: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, I assure you that a similar incident will never happen again."
Being attacked by their own people for no apparent reason, the soldiers in the car were all simmering with anger, but because Guchakov was their superior, they dared not speak out in anger. Seeing that the atmosphere in the car was tense, Taflin quickly came out to smooth things over: "Comrade Lieutenant, there may have been a little misunderstanding just now. Those soldiers hiding in the ruins mistook us for Germans. Fortunately, their marksmanship was not good, otherwise It will definitely cause us some casualties.”
Hearing what Tavlin said, Guchakov showed an embarrassed expression on his face: "Comrade Sergeant, to tell you the truth, there are many workers and residents in our company, and they have only had a short time to hold guns. Their marksmanship is naturally not very good. If they are fighting the enemy, this is their shortcoming; but for today's misunderstanding, it is a good thing."
After resolving the embarrassment in the car, Tavlin asked again: "Comrade Lieutenant, I would like to ask, where do you plan to attack the target first?"
"When selecting candidates for the team, I heard from the guard battalion commander Major Tenev that some time ago Lieutenant Grisa led a small team to penetrate into the vicinity of the town of Gorodishe and used rockets to destroy the enemy's open-air munitions. depot, disrupting the enemy's attack plan on the Barricade Factory and Dzerzhinsky Factory. I think we can adopt the same tactics this time and attack the enemy's ammunition depot first. If the enemy has no ammunition, how can he still have the ability? Continue to attack friendly forces."
"I don't think so." Tavlin waited for Guchakov to finish speaking before retorting: "The enemy's arsenal was bombed last time. I think their defenses will be tighter now. I'm afraid it will take us a while to Only through reconnaissance can we find the location of the enemy’s arsenal.”
"Don't worry, Comrade Sergeant." Guchakov said confidently: "The division commander did not set a time limit for us to fight. In other words, we can stay behind the enemy's rear as long as we want. We have enough time. , to find the enemy’s ammunition depots, military camps and headquarters.”
"Comrade Lieutenant," a soldier sitting next to Tavlin asked curiously after listening to the two men's chat: "I want to ask, we can obviously move northwest from Mamayev Heights, but can we Why do you have to go in such a big circle from the south?"
Hearing the soldier's question, Guchakov straightened his face and was about to scold him, but was stopped by Tavlin's handle. Tavlin smiled and said to the soldier: "Comrade soldier, we all know that after leaving Mamayev Heights, driving directly northwest will reach the enemy's rear in the shortest time. I'm right. ?"
"Yes." The soldier nodded vigorously: "You are right."
"Now that we know this route is the shortest, wouldn't the Germans have thought of it?"
Hearing the soldier's question, Guchakov straightened his face and was about to scold him, but was stopped by Tavlin's handle. Tavlin smiled and said to the soldier: "Comrade soldier, we all know that after leaving Mamayev Heights, driving directly northwest will reach the enemy's rear in the shortest time. I'm right. ?"
"Yes." The soldier nodded vigorously: "You are right."
"Now that we know this route is the shortest, wouldn't the Germans have thought of it?"
