Although the deputy company commander had some troubles with Paul, he still faithfully carried out Paul's orders and transferred a full infantry squad from the second platoon to serve as night security.
After the second platoon leader waited for the fifth squad to leave at night, he took the deputy company commander to the ruins of a wooden house near the entrance of the village. After lighting the cigarette for the other party, he began to complain: "Comrade deputy company commander, I really feel unworthy of you."
The deputy company commander looked up at him, said nothing, and continued to smoke.
Seeing that the deputy company commander did not refute him, the second platoon leader seemed to be encouraged and continued: "Our company has always been the most combat-effective unit in the entire battalion. The company commander died in the battle some time ago. Whether it is based on seniority or military merit, you Taking over the position of company commander was expected by everyone, but the superiors sent a new company commander, who was actually an officer who had been a prisoner. Not only did he take away your position as company commander, but he also damaged the honor of our company. "
The deputy company commander raised his head again and asked with some surprise: "Second Platoon Commander, what do you mean by this?"
"Comrade Deputy Company Commander, haven't you heard the gossip?" the second platoon leader said with some dissatisfaction: "Now the soldiers of the other two companies in the battalion will say: Well, when they hear about our company, They are the soldiers in the company whose commander is a prisoner of war..."
"That's enough, stop talking." The deputy company commander heard this, interrupted the second platoon leader, threw his half-smoked cigarette on the ground, and said angrily: "Second Platoon Leader, what you said today , I can pretend I didn’t hear it. If any rumors come to my ears in the future, you, as a platoon leader, will stop being a platoon leader. Do you understand?"
The second platoon commander did not expect that the deputy company commander would fall out at the drop of a hat. He quickly stood up straight and said, "I understand, comrade deputy company commander, I will not make similar remarks again in the future."
Although the deputy company commander did not allow anyone to speak ill of Lieutenant Paul behind the scenes, he was unwilling to let him return to the company command post and be in the same room as Paul. He looked around and asked, "Second Platoon Commander, where do you plan to sleep tonight?"
The second platoon leader was not willing to squeeze into the shelter with the soldiers, so when building fortifications, he prepared to mobilize a few soldiers, find a relatively complete room in the village, pack it out, and prepare to sleep there at night.
When the deputy company commander asked, the second platoon leader laughed a little embarrassedly, and then replied: "Deputy company commander, I really can't hide anything from you. I did send someone to clean up a room nearby. With a house on the roof, you won’t be afraid even if it rains in the middle of the night.”
"What are you still standing here for?" The deputy company commander stood up straight. Seeing that the second platoon leader was still standing there stupidly, he said impatiently: "Why don't you take me there quickly?"
"Deputy company commander!" The second platoon commander was confused. He asked tentatively: "Aren't you going back to the company command post?"
"I've done what I should do, so what does it matter if I can't go back?" The deputy company commander pushed the second platoon leader with his hand and said impatiently: "Stop talking nonsense and take me there quickly. "
The second platoon leader did not dare to neglect and quickly led the deputy company commander to the room he had secretly packed up.
The deputy company commander looked at the indoor environment, nodded and said: "Although the four wooden walls have been damaged and ventilation is everywhere, fortunately there is still a roof. Even if it rains in the middle of the night, you don't have to worry." He walked to the bed. He took off his boots, leaned back, then pulled up the blanket on the side to cover himself, and said to the second platoon leader, "You can leave. Remember to call me before dawn."
After the second platoon leader left, the deputy company commander, who was preparing to sleep, thought that the place was not far from the Germans. To be on the safe side, he took out his pistol from his holster and placed it within his reach. After doing all this, he calmly closed his eyes and went to sleep.
He didn't know how long he had slept when he suddenly heard footsteps coming from outside the house and the rustling of people walking through the grass.
"Who is this? He came to disturb my sleep on purpose." The deputy company commander thought angrily. He looked at the door unconsciously, ready to scold the person as soon as someone appeared there. Give these guys a lesson for disturbing their sleep.
Unexpectedly, the footsteps suddenly stopped when they reached the edge of the house, and then the deputy company commander heard the sound of someone speaking. He was about to scold the people outside for disturbing his sleep, but unexpectedly found that he could not understand a word of what the people outside said.
After being stunned for a moment, the deputy company commander immediately realized that the people speaking outside were not his tactics, but Germans. The reason why he couldn't understand what they said was because they spoke German.
He quickly grabbed the pistol and looked out through the crack in the wall. Standing outside the wall were five or six German soldiers wearing steel helmets and submachine guns hanging around their necks. Compared with the equipment in their hands, the deputy company commander's pistol was as ridiculous as a toy. Once captured by both sides, the deputy company commander would be shot to pieces in less than ten seconds.
There is only a gap between the enemy and himself, and the deputy company commander can even hear the opponent's breathing clearly. In order to avoid being discovered by the other party, he slowly adjusted his sitting posture and tried not to make any noise. He extended the muzzle of his gun from the crack in the wall, ready to shoot as soon as the Germans discovered him.
But the enemy did not expect that in a crumbling wooden house next to them, there was a Soviet commander who was awake and aiming a pistol at them.
The Germans did not find the deputy company commander in the wooden house. After chatting for a while, they continued to move forward. Seeing the enemy walking away, the deputy company commander seemed to have been drained of all his strength, and slowly fell back onto the bed.
The deputy company commander began to think rapidly in his mind: How could the Germans be found here? How many of them are there? Are the German soldiers who just passed by the vanguard or all the members? What is their purpose? Are they preparing to occupy the village and eliminate the Ninth Company stationed here, or are they preparing to bypass the village and sneak attack Yakovlevo?
After thinking for a long time, the deputy company commander couldn't come up with a reason. He sat up straight again and looked outside the wall, but he didn't hear any sound. But for safety reasons, he looked out through the crack in the wall and found that it was empty outside, with no one in sight.
Seeing that there was no one outside, the deputy company commander thought that he should immediately return to the company command post and report the matter to Lieutenant Paul, saying that enemies had sneaked into the village and that they should send out manpower to eliminate these enemies as soon as possible.
Unexpectedly, he had just put on his boots and was about to leave the house when he heard the rustling of people walking through the grass outside. He quickly clenched his pistol and looked through the crack in the wall in the direction of the sound.
Soon, he saw several more black figures emerging from the grass and walking straight towards the wooden house where he was. Seeing the black shadow getting closer and closer, the deputy company commander's heartbeat accelerated, and even the palm of his hand holding the pistol was wet with sweat.
Perhaps the Germans felt that the village had been abandoned long ago, and there would be no one in these wooden houses buried in the grass. Therefore, they were not even interested in searching, so they directly bypassed the wooden houses and headed towards the south position of the village. .
Seeing the enemy walking towards the south, the deputy company commander secretly groaned inwardly. The troops were deployed to target the enemy who might appear from the south. No one expected that the enemy would come from behind. Although the enemy is at a numerical disadvantage, once a firefight occurs, the resting commanders and soldiers will inevitably suffer heavy casualties.
Thinking of this, the deputy company commander could no longer care about his own safety. He quickly raised the pistol in his hand, looked at the back of the retreating German soldier, and pulled the trigger.
The sudden sound of gunfire was as shocking in the silent night as the artillery fire during the day.
A black figure fell down in response, and the remaining black figures stayed in place without moving. They seemed to want to figure out from which direction the bullets came. Upon seeing this, the deputy company commander quickly fired two more shots at the black shadow. After the shooting, he immediately rushed out of the wooden house and hid in the nearby grass.
The gunfire that rang out in the village woke up the sleeping soldiers in the shelter and also woke up Paul, who was sitting and napping in the company command post. He stood up suddenly and asked loudly: "Where was the gunshot?!"
When the signal soldier heard Paul's question, he wanted to answer that it might be that the sentry's gun went off, but then two more gunshots were heard, making him realize that it was definitely not the gun that went off, but the enemy must have touched it. He listened for a moment, quickly judged the direction, and reported to Paul: "Comrade company commander, the gunfire came from the village. It must be the Germans entering the village from other directions."
"Get ready to fight!" Paul pulled out his pistol, shouted with great dignity, and then quickly rushed out of the company command post.
He had just rushed into the trench and was trying to determine where the enemy was by listening to the sound of MP40 firing. When the second platoon commander ran along the trench, he asked out of breath: "Comrade company commander, is the deputy company commander here?" In the command post?"
"Not here!" Although Paul didn't know the purpose of the second platoon leader's question, he still answered truthfully: "Since he went out to arrange sentries on night duty, he never returned to the command post."
Paul guessed that the second platoon commander might know the whereabouts of the deputy company commander, and quickly asked: "Do you know where the deputy company commander is?"
"Comrade Company Commander." When he learned that the Deputy Company Commander had not returned yet, the Second Platoon Commander was immediately frightened. He clearly heard the sound of German submachine gun fire. Worried that the Deputy Company Commander had already encountered something unexpected, he quickly replied: "Deputy Company Commander" After the commander arranged the duties of the fifth class, he went to sleep in the village."
"Going to sleep in the village?" Paul heard the second platoon leader say this and said with some confusion: "Aren't all the houses in the village burned down? Where can he sleep?"
"That's right, Comrade Company Commander." When the matter reached the current stage, the second platoon leader naturally could no longer hide it and could only answer truthfully: "While our platoon was building fortifications, I found a few soldiers to help me clean up. I went to a wooden house in the village. I planned to sleep there tonight, but the deputy company commander boarded it first."
After listening to the second platoon leader's explanation, Lieutenant Paul roughly knew what was going on. He said to the second platoon leader: "Second platoon leader, I guess it was the deputy company commander who discovered the enemy and fired to warn us. Now the villagers The gunshots are still ringing, I think he is still alive. You immediately take the remaining soldiers of the second platoon and go to the village to rescue the deputy company commander."
The second platoon leader agreed, turned around and ran back to his platoon along the trench. He led the fourth and sixth squads to spread out in battle formation and search for the village.
Besides, after the deputy company commander hid in the grass, he lay motionless on the ground. He knew very well that the enemies were equipped with submachine guns, but he only had a pistol. If they were to fight face to face, he would be shot to pieces in an instant. He prayed secretly in his heart, hoping that Paul could hear his gunfire and then mobilize people to rescue him.
Originally, I was worried that just after a few shots were fired, the soldiers who arrived would not be able to find the enemy. Unexpectedly, the Germans were quite cooperative. Seven or eight submachine guns aimed at the wooden house where the deputy company commander used to stay and fired. The dense bullets hit the wooden wall, causing sawdust to fly everywhere. "Not here!" Although Paul didn't know the purpose of the second platoon leader's question, he still answered truthfully: "Since he went out to arrange sentries on night duty, he never returned to the command post."
Paul guessed that the second platoon commander might know the whereabouts of the deputy company commander, and quickly asked: "Do you know where the deputy company commander is?"
"Comrade Company Commander." When he learned that the Deputy Company Commander had not returned yet, the Second Platoon Commander was immediately frightened. He clearly heard the sound of German submachine gun fire. Worried that the Deputy Company Commander had already encountered something unexpected, he quickly replied: "Deputy Company Commander" After the commander arranged the duties of the fifth class, he went to sleep in the village."
"Going to sleep in the village?" Paul heard the second platoon leader say this and said with some confusion: "Aren't all the houses in the village burned down? Where can he sleep?"
"That's right, Comrade Company Commander." When the matter reached the current stage, the second platoon commander naturally could no longer hide it and could only answer truthfully: "While our platoon was building fortifications, I found a few soldiers to help me clean up. I went to a wooden house in the village. I planned to sleep there tonight, but the deputy company commander boarded it first."
After listening to the second platoon leader's explanation, Lieutenant Paul roughly knew what was going on. He said to the second platoon leader: "Second platoon leader, I guess it was the deputy company commander who discovered the enemy and fired to warn us. Now the villagers The gunshots are still ringing, I think he is still alive. You immediately take the remaining soldiers of the second platoon and go to the village to rescue the deputy company commander."
The second platoon leader agreed, turned around and ran back to his platoon along the trench. He led the fourth and sixth squads to spread out in battle formation and search for the village.
Besides, after the deputy company commander hid in the grass, he lay motionless on the ground. He knew very well that the enemies were equipped with submachine guns, but he only had a pistol. If they were to fight face to face, he would be shot to pieces in an instant. He prayed secretly in his heart, hoping that Paul could hear his gunfire and then mobilize people to rescue him.
Originally, I was worried that just after a few shots were fired, the soldiers who arrived would not be able to find the enemy. Unexpectedly, the Germans were quite cooperative. Seven or eight submachine guns aimed at the wooden house where the deputy company commander used to stay and fired. The dense bullets hit the wooden wall, causing sawdust to fly everywhere.
