I followed the steps down to the shelter. Not very spacious room filled with smoke, so that the original poor light of the room has become more dim. It was so easy for me to see a tall soldier standing upright with his head almost touching the roof. Then I saw a wooden table with an officer holding a telephone headset.

"Comrade commander," because the light in the room was so dim that I could not see the rank on his shoulder. When I raised my hand to salute, I could only vaguely address him, "I'm sergeant oshanina from air defense command."

The tall officer didn't speak. He just pointed to the stool beside him, gestured to me to sit for a while, then turned away and looked at the caller seriously.

I went over and sat down. The voice of the officer on the phone came clearly. "······ Comrade Colonel, I still think that regular troops should be replenished as soon as possible. From the name itself, we can see that the militia division is only a division in the form of a special military sense. Yesterday the Germans tried to break through our defence, but we smashed their attack. God knows when they will attack again. If the enemy already knows, this part of the position is defended by irregular forces - their scouts are neither deaf nor blind. The militiamen could not resist the attack of the tanks. If the Germans break through here, the prkovo highlands may fall, and then they will march straight into Leningrad

"The militia Division will not retreat." The sound from the microphone interrupted him“ Instead of complaining here, it's better to consider how to use your forces to defend the defense line and not to retreat. "

"But, comrade Colonel, have the militia ever seen German tanks rush in front of them? Have they ever been shot by machine guns? When you see such a tank crawling towards them and a plane pressing down overhead, they will show their original shape! When they see the tank turning and running away, they can't be stopped by any propaganda. Please believe what a veteran said

"Enough, comrade captain." The captain's angry voice came from the microphone“ Who gave you the right to insult the militia division? They are all the working class in Leningrad. As long as they live, they will stick to this land and no one will escape from here. "

The captain hesitated for a moment, then quickly changed the subject and said, "in yesterday's battle, our battalion was reduced by more than one third. I don't want to tell lies. The soldiers are very brave. But we can't stand the next attack. We should add regular troops, even a platoon

"No, Captain," the Colonel's voice softened“ I don't have any reserves

The captain finally put down the phone in disappointment. The tall officer next to him couldn't wait to ask, "what did you say?"

"What else can we say? We need troops everywhere. If we all send regular troops, that is far from enough. The division commander said that tomorrow the militia Division will send two companies to supplement us. " Then he glanced at me and asked, "who are you?"

I stood up quickly and saluted him seriously: "Comrade captain, I'm sergeant oshanina from the air defense command. I'm ordered to be the platoon leader of the high altitude anti-aircraft machine gun platoon."

"How long have you been in the army?" He picked up the paper on the desk, looked at it, and asked with a frown.

"Four months. I joined the army a month before the war broke out. "

"Oh, you've only been in the army for four months. You're a sergeant. It seems that it's very easy to be promoted in the rear." His words are full of provocative elements, he said: "war is a man's business, women still stay in the rear."

"Red flag medal?" Just as I was thinking about how to deal with the captain's provocation, a voice suddenly broke in beside me. The tall officer was surprised and said, "you've got the red flag medal."

"Yes, I took part in several battles. These two medals were awarded to me personally by Marshal voroshlov." I replied humbly that I can't be modest at this time, or I will be looked down upon by them and think that I am climbing up by virtue of nepotism.

Medals and marshals, these two things, a drop close to the distance between us. The captain's attitude took a 180 degree turn, and he extended his hand to me with a smile: "I'm captain horopov, commander of the fighter battalion. Welcome to the unknown highland."

After shaking hands, he pointed to the tall officer next to him and took the initiative to introduce him to me. He said, "this is captain helopov, the first-class political instructor in the battalion."

After we sat down again, the captain began to point to the map on the table and explain the current situation to me. The Pulkovo highlands are hills on the nearest road from the south to Leningrad. If the German army occupied here, it could control the roads between Moscow and Kiev to Leningrad, and ensure their motorized troops to advance to the urban area. At the same time, the German army on the high ground could also deploy artillery to accurately bombard a series of areas in the city.

"What is the task of our AA platoon?" After the captain introduced the situation to me, I asked another question.

"The task is very clear. Our battalion sticks to the right side of the Pulkovo highland, and we can't retreat a step to resolutely block the German devils here. The task of your anti-aircraft machine gun platoon is to provide effective air defense protection for our battalion's positions. "“ I see I stood up straight“ Comrade captain, I think it's time for me to meet my comrades in the platoon. Will you allow me to leave? " After listening to his nonsense and smoking so many second-hand cigarettes here, it's time for me to go out for a breath of fresh air“ Let's go. The instructor and I will take you to the platoon With that, the captain took the lead and walked towards the door. I followed them and walked along a very flat path. After a while, I saw a big wooden house. Then suddenly a voice rang out: "who is it? Stop, command When I went, it turned out that a female soldier was holding a bayonet rifle in front of me“ What password is not a password? " The captain was a little unhappy and said, "I'm captain horopov. Go and ask the Deputy platoon leader to come out and say your new platoon leader has arrived."“ Yes The woman soldier agreed, put the gun on her shoulder, turned her head and ran to the big wooden house“ Come on, Sergeant oshanina, "the silent instructor pointed to the cabin and said kindly to me," your soldiers live there. "“ Sergeant, "there was a shout from behind. I turned to see that it was the driver who had just sent me. He was trotting towards me with a paper box in his hand. Ran to my side, did not wait for me to speak, handed me the carton, said: "almost forget, this is the air defense command distribution to your row of soap." I took the carton, and the captain muttered: "the air defense command has even specially distributed soap to you." The driver heard that although his rank was very low and he was only a corporal, he still said impolitely to a commander who was not his superior: "Comrade captain, female soldiers are different from male soldiers. They have privileges." Then he saluted me and said, "good bye, dear. Good luck! See you when you win“ Turn around and stride back along the way you came. By the time the three of us got to the wooden house, the women soldiers in the anti-aircraft machine gun platoon had assembled“ Salute With the command, the women soldiers neatly saluted us. Then a slender female soldier ran up to us, gave a serious salute to captain horopov, and dryly reported: "Comrade captain, lieutenant commander, Sergeant Karenina, report to you, the anti-aircraft machine gun platoon is assembled, waiting for your order."“ At ease. " The captain went to the front of the line and introduced me to you directly: "this is sergeant oshanina, your new platoon leader. She will command you to fight in the future." I put down the carton in my hand, went up to salute the women soldiers, and said briefly, "I'm your new platoon commander, Sergeant oshanina. The Deputy platoon leader and squad leader stay, and the rest of the soldiers are disbanded. " I have a lot to say, but I'm afraid I don't know enough Russian words. I'd better say less in order to avoid being a gangster. When the team was disbanded, I called a female soldier who was close to me: "wait a minute, please move this carton into the room." After the captain and the instructor left, I took the Deputy platoon leader and the three squad leaders to inspect the artillery position“ This gun position is in the charge of a squad leader, Jenna. There are no less than two bases of ammunition. " Karenina was there to introduce me“ Well, in addition to here, we need to prepare one or two more preparation positions. " Although I haven't been to the battlefield, I still know that if I keep a fixed position in the battle, I can easily become the target of the enemy“ Yes I reached out again and touched the gun barrel. My hand was stained with a little rust. I also told Karenina to say, "I'll arrange someone to wipe the machine gun tomorrow. It's useless for a long time. It's rusty."“ Yes