The battalion that was concerned about Sokov and others was currently led by Captain Mikhailev and entered the Poltava-Kirovgrad highway along the fork. Here, they encountered a large-scale transfer of German troops.
Seeing the oncoming German army, Captain Narva, who was walking next to Mikhailev, could not help but feel his heart in his throat. He asked nervously: "Comrade Battalion Commander, the closer we are to the city, the greater the number of enemies in front of us. If we encounter an interrogation, I am worried that our identities may be exposed."
"Don't worry, Comrade Captain." Seeing the increasing number of enemies appearing in the front, Mikhailev's heart was getting hairy, but he knew very well that as the highest-ranking military officer in the battalion, he would not be able to do anything like this in such a situation. It is necessary to maintain absolute calm at all times, otherwise it will have a negative impact on the commanders and fighters. He whispered to Narva: "Pass it down, stay calm, and move forward. Especially those soldiers who do not understand German must not speak casually to avoid exposing our identity."
After the order was passed on, Narva asked Mikhailev in confusion: "Comrade Battalion Commander, the German troops we encountered along the way were no less than one division. It seems that they are turning in which direction. Do you know this?" what is going on?"
"I don't know." Mikhailev, who was equally confused, replied: "I'm afraid only the headquarters knows what happened?"
"Look, do you need to ask your superiors what happened?"
What he saw before him made Mikhail realize that something had gone seriously wrong. The oncoming German army not only had a large number of infantry, but also a large number of tanks, armored vehicles and trucks transporting soldiers. In order to find out what happened, he decided to ask the radio operator to send a telegram to the brigade headquarters to find out what happened.
Just as a village appeared not far away, he issued an order for the troops to enter the village.
There was only one squad of German soldiers in the village, and they were ordered to maintain order on the roadside. Suddenly I saw a troop approaching, and the German corporal leading the troop naturally wanted to come over and question them. He stopped in front of the team and asked loudly: "Stop, which part are you from, and what are you doing here?"
Second company commander Yegor, wearing the uniform of a German captain, pushed through the crowd and came to the German corporal. He put his hands behind his back and said with a straight face: "We are from the 198th Infantry Division and were ordered to take over the defense in Pavlish." Yes. It's getting late now, and the officers and soldiers are tired from walking and want to find a place to rest. What, are you not allowing us to enter the village?"
When the German corporal saw Yegor wearing a captain's uniform, how dare he offend him? He hurriedly laughed and said: "Mr. Captain, it's not that I don't let you enter the village. It's because this village has been abandoned for a long time, and there is no one living in it." , even if you enter the village, you won’t be able to find a place to spend the night.”
"We have to reach Pavlish before dawn and will not spend the night in the village." Yegor knew that Mikhailev planned to find a place to send a report to the brigade headquarters, and this uninhabited village was undoubtedly It was the most ideal place. He said to the German corporal: "You continue to stay on guard outside the village. We will rest for a while and then continue on our way."
In this way, the commanders and fighters of the first battalion successfully entered the village.
Yegor, who was the first to enter the village, immediately greeted Mikhailov and others after they entered the village, and reported in a low voice: "Comrade Battalion Commander, except for a few German soldiers at the entrance of the village, there is no one in the whole village."
"Very good." Mikhailov nodded, and then asked: "Where can I send the report?"
"Almost all the buildings in the village were burned down. We searched for a long time and only found a relatively complete wooden house." Yegor said: "You can ask the telegraph operator to send the report there."
"Hurry up and take us there." After Mikhailov said this, he did not forget to give instructions: "Pay attention to setting up a warning circle and don't let the Germans at the entrance of the village enter the village. Comrades, company commanders, all follow me!"
Under the leadership of Yegor, the group came to the wooden house with no roof and only four walls. Mikhailov looked around and ordered: "The telegraph operator goes to the house and sends a telegram to the brigade headquarters, reporting the situation we encountered on the road and asking for instructions on what our next task will be."
Although this is the center of the village, it is impossible for German soldiers to pass through the layers of security of the first battalion and appear nearby. But for safety reasons, Mikhailev still set up a cordon within a fifty-meter radius centered on the wooden house to prevent irrelevant personnel from approaching.
Besides, after Askel answered Samek's call, he realized the seriousness of the problem, and quickly sent someone to wake up Guchakov, who was still sleeping, and said to him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, something big may be going on." .”
Guchakov, who had just woken up from his sleep and was still in a state of confusion, yawned greatly after hearing what Askel said, and then asked casually: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what will happen? "
"Comrade Brigadier," Askel said, seeing Guchakov's absent-minded look, "I just received a call from Chief of Staff Samyko. He said that the situation has changed unexpectedly. To the south of the landing site, The German troops are moving northwest. Their transfer route coincides with the march route of the 1st Battalion, which means that the 1st Battalion is in danger of being exposed."
Hearing that the first battalion was in danger of being exposed, Guchakov was shocked and suddenly woke up. He quickly came to the table, looked down at the map, and drew the marching route of the battalion with his fingers. At the end, he couldn't help but gasp, raised his head and asked Askel: "Comrade Chief of Staff, after discovering this problem, have you contacted the First Battalion?"
"No." Askel shook his head and said, "Don't say that the first battalion is on the march and can't get in touch with them. Even if we can get in touch, I don't dare to send them a report casually."
"Why?"
"The reason is very simple." Askel said: "If they are passing through the German marching column and want to receive our telegrams at this time, they may be exposed."
"So, we can only wait here for Captain Mikhailov to contact us."
"Yes, Comrade Brigadier." Askel nodded and said, "Under the current situation, we can only wait."
Guchakov poured himself a cup of strong tea, took a sip to refresh himself, and asked Askel tentatively: "Does Comrade Commander know about this?"
"I know." Askel answered simply, "He is on duty tonight with Chief of Staff Sameko. Naturally, he will know the news as soon as possible."
While the two were worrying about the fate of the First Battalion, the operator sitting next to the radio suddenly turned around and shouted: "Brigade Commander, Chief of Staff, this is a telegram from the First Battalion."
Hearing that the telegram was from the First Battalion, the two immediately stood up and came behind the telegraph operator. Askel pointed her hand toward the radio and told the operator: "Receive the telegram immediately."
A few minutes later, Guchakov and Askel both read the telegram sent back by Mikhailev, and their brows frowned even more. Askel, who was holding the telegram, asked Guchakov with a grimace: "Comrade Brigade Commander, how should we reply to the telegram to Captain Mikhailev?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, now the First Battalion is in the middle of the enemy. Whether it continues to advance or withdraws immediately, there is a great risk." After Guchakov expressed his concerns, he decided to pass the matter off to Sokov made the decision: "In my opinion, it is better to report the matter immediately, and the comrade commander will decide whether they should stay or go."
Regarding Guchakov's proposal, Askel did not object, but took the initiative to ask: "I wonder if you will report to the headquarters, or should I make the call?"
"It's better for me to report." Guchakov was eager to know Sokov's decision, so he took the initiative and said, "I will order the communications troops to call the headquarters."
The call was quickly connected, and when Samyko's voice came from the receiver, Guchakov quickly said: "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff, I am Major Guchakov. I have something important to do. Report to Comrade Commander immediately."
Samyko wanted to hand the microphone to Sokov, but when he saw the other party waving his hand, he continued to put the microphone to his ear and said: "Comrade Major, if there is any situation, you can report it to me the same way. Is it Mihai?" Is there any news about Captain Yev’s battalion?”
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." Since Sokov did not answer the phone, Guchakov did not force himself, so he reported the contents of the telegram he had just received to Samyko in detail, and finally asked Said: "How do you think we should reply to Captain Mikhailev?"
Whether to let the troops continue to advance or to withdraw on the spot, this question made Samyko feel very embarrassed. He quickly covered the topic with his hands and asked Sokov for instructions: "Comrade Commander, Major Guchakov asked, since The 1st Battalion is now among the German troops and may be in danger of being exposed if they continue to advance. Should we order them to withdraw immediately?"
"No, we cannot retreat at this time." But Sokov simply rejected his proposal: "It is precisely because the first battalion is among the German troops. If we withdraw at this time, there is also the risk of being exposed."
The battalion that was concerned about Sokov and others was currently led by Captain Mikhailev and entered the Poltava-Kirovgrad highway along the fork. Here, they encountered a large-scale transfer of German troops.
Seeing the oncoming German army, Captain Narva, who was walking next to Mikhailev, could not help but feel his heart in his throat. He asked nervously: "Comrade Battalion Commander, the closer we are to the city, the greater the number of enemies in front of us. If we encounter an interrogation, I am worried that our identities may be exposed."
"Don't worry, Comrade Captain." Seeing the increasing number of enemies appearing in the front, Mikhailev's heart was getting hairy, but he knew very well that as the highest-ranking military officer in the battalion, he would not be able to do anything like this in such a situation. It is necessary to maintain absolute calm at all times, otherwise it will have a negative impact on the commanders and fighters. He whispered to Narva: "Pass it down, stay calm, and move forward. Especially those soldiers who do not understand German must not speak casually to avoid exposing our identity."
After the order was passed on, Narva asked Mikhailev in confusion: "Comrade Battalion Commander, the German troops we encountered along the way were no less than one division. It seems that they are turning in which direction. Do you know this?" what is going on?"
"I don't know." Mikhailev, who was equally confused, replied: "I'm afraid only the headquarters knows what happened?"
"Look, do you need to ask your superiors what happened?"
What he saw before him made Mikhail realize that something had gone seriously wrong. The oncoming German army not only had a large number of infantry, but also a large number of tanks, armored vehicles and trucks transporting soldiers. In order to find out what happened, he decided to ask the radio operator to send a telegram to the brigade headquarters to find out what happened.
Just as a village appeared not far away, he issued an order for the troops to enter the village.
There was only one squad of German soldiers in the village, and they were ordered to maintain order on the roadside. Suddenly I saw a troop approaching, and the German corporal leading the troop naturally wanted to come over and question them. He stopped in front of the team and asked loudly: "Stop, which part are you from, and what are you doing here?"
Second company commander Yegor, wearing the uniform of a German captain, pushed through the crowd and came to the German corporal. He put his hands behind his back and said with a straight face: "We are from the 198th Infantry Division and were ordered to take over the defense in Pavlish." Yes. It's getting late now, and the officers and soldiers are tired from walking and want to find a place to rest. What, are you not allowing us to enter the village?"
When the German corporal saw Yegor wearing a captain's uniform, how dare he offend him? He hurriedly laughed and said: "Mr. Captain, it's not that I don't let you enter the village. It's because this village has been abandoned for a long time, and there is no one living in it." , even if you enter the village, you won’t be able to find a place to spend the night.”
"We have to reach Pavlish before dawn and will not spend the night in the village." Yegor knew that Mikhailev planned to find a place to send a report to the brigade headquarters, and this uninhabited village was undoubtedly It was the most ideal place. He said to the German corporal: "You continue to stay on guard outside the village. We will rest for a while and then continue on our way."
In this way, the commanders and fighters of the first battalion successfully entered the village.
Yegor, who was the first to enter the village, waited for Mikhailev and others to enter the village. He immediately greeted them and reported in a low voice: "Comrade Battalion Commander, except for a few German soldiers at the entrance of the village, there is no one in the whole village."
"Very good." Mikhailov nodded, and then asked: "Where can I send the report?"
"Hurry up and take us there." After Mikhailov said this, he did not forget to give instructions: "Pay attention to setting up a warning circle and don't let the Germans at the entrance of the village enter the village. Comrades, company commanders, follow me!"
Under the leadership of Yegor, the group came to the wooden house with no roof and only four walls. Mikhailov looked around and ordered: "The telegraph operator goes to the house and sends a telegram to the brigade headquarters, reporting the situation we encountered on the road and asking for instructions on what our next task will be."
Although this is the center of the village, it is impossible for German soldiers to pass through the layers of security of the first battalion and appear nearby. But for safety reasons, Mikhailev still set up a cordon within a fifty-meter radius centered on the wooden house to prevent irrelevant personnel from approaching.
Besides, after Askel answered Samek's call, he realized the seriousness of the problem, and quickly sent someone to wake up Guchakov, who was still sleeping, and said to him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, something big may be going on." .”
