I heard Shcheglov's command: Don't let them within grenade throwing distance!
This command directly concerned me, too, but first I had to do something about the machine guns and the infantry rushing in. I took my last grenade off my belt. The Germans jumping out of the dugout were 80 meters away. Some of the soldiers were already out of the trenches, and some of them were still just leaving the shelter. I chose the trajectory so that the fuse burned out while still in the air, and the grenade exploded over the Germans' heads. It's hard to make a good grenade throw from a trench, but combat mode can do much more than that. My shoulder was sore after all, my body hadn't fully recovered from the boat ride, and now the bio-implants had to strain my muscles again.
I had no time to follow the flight and explosion of the grenade. I picked up my MG-34 again and found the positions of the German machine gunners. They oriented themselves to the situation and opened heavy fire over the heads of their infantry, trying to pin the Russian saboteurs to the ground. Two short bursts silenced them, but the enemy had an overwhelming advantage over us even without machine guns.
A series of explosions rumbled about 50 meters from us, somewhere in the middle between the first and second lines of German trenches, it was a Soviet mortar battery that opened fire. That was great, but what we needed now was something else entirely a quick attack on the section of the German platoon that we had disorganized, while simultaneously suppressing its neighbors to the right and left with artillery fire.
The night battle was spreading like wildfire. The Soviet mortar men's strike was immediately countered by their German counterparts. A little later the artillery got involved in the battle. The density of German fire increased as more and more enemy soldiers approached the battlefield. I tried my best to regulate their numbers with a machine gun, but the winding passages allowed the Germans to get closer and closer. Soon I was concentrating only on the most dangerous targets, namely, enemy soldiers already ready to throw a grenade. The consequence of my efforts was several explosions right in the enemy's battle lines the grenade throwers I killed or wounded blew themselves up together with their own comrades. This somewhat dampened the ardor of the German infantry, but it cannot be said that our prospects became brighter the Red Army soldiers from our trenches still did not rise to the attack.
We have to get out of here, Nagulin! I heard the voice of Shcheglov, who had been pushed back by the Germans along with Ignatov and Nikiforov almost to my position, Looks like there won't be an attack!
If we get out of the trenches, we will be cut down at once, or destroyed by mortars in the field, I shouted back without stopping to shoot.
We're sure to get crushed here, but this way we'll have at least a chance!
Take the prisoner and retreat through the ravine! I'll cover you with machine gun fire. You will have a two or three minute head start.
Shcheglov did not answer anything, but fiercely let out a long burst from his PPSh, slightly elevating over the parapet, and then shouted out: Fighters, follow me! We're pulling back! Take care of the prisoner!
This order did not apply to me. Shcheglov did not say any solemn words and preferred not to say goodbye at all, for which I was very grateful to him.
The Germans were lingering. They were still confident that the Russians weren't going anywhere and were pulling up their forces for another attack. I managed to reload my machine gun before the group left, and now I had a hundred rounds to spare, but I still would not have been able to withstand a simultaneous attack from different sides.
To the right, beyond the ravine, there were enemy soldiers, too, but they did not fire yet, for fear of hitting their own, while at the same time, they did not want to climb the mined slopes in the dark. The view from orbit showed the utter hopelessness of the situation. The Germans would have launched a decisive attack had it not been for the rather intense mortar and artillery fire from the Soviet side, but for now they waited out the artillery preparations.
The night's darkness was broken by an eerie howl. The ground shook violently and tons of earth, illuminated by a bright flash, rose into the air a hundred meters to my right. Seconds later a similar fire geyser rose among the German trenches on the left. The howling continued, and I think I now understood what our infantry were waiting for. The command of the Southwestern Front finally realized that the Kremenchuk bridgehead could pose a significant threat, and it allocated to the 38th Army from its scarce reserves an artillery regiment of the Reserve of the Supreme High Command, which included a B-4 howitzer division.
The three minutes I had promised Shcheglov were over, and if I wanted to keep walking on this planet, I had to act immediately there could be no better moment. I fired a long burst from the machine gun, using up the rest of my belt. My bullets didn't hit any of my opponents, but I hoped it made them think twice about whether they should stick out from behind the parapet right now.
A few steps behind me there was a ravine, and in a second I was rolling down the slippery slope, twisting and tumbling so as not to run into the mines that were not too densely laid by the Germans. The 203 millimeter "suitcases" continued to howl in the sky, unleashing the wrath of the gods of war on the German trenches, and in between bursts a resounding "Hurrah!" could be heard from our trenches the Red Army men of the 300th Division had gone on the attack after all.
The artillery preparation stopped, and I climbed up from the muddy bottom of the ravine. The Germans in the trenches were now clearly not interested in me. It wasn't yet dawn, but the sky was beginning to lighten, and I was going to take advantage of the last minutes of limited visibility to get to our trenches.
Our infantry went on the attack, firing on the run. It was their fight, and I had done my job for the day. No one paid attention to the fighter in the camouflage robe, covered in mud, who ran to the rear.
About halfway through, I was stopped by a senior lieutenant with a pistol in his hand.
Are you a scout? From Captain Shcheglov's company?
Yes, Comrade Senior Lieutenant. Returning from the mission.
You need to go a hundred meters to the right, the officer shouted on the run, All your guys are already there. The division commander himself is meeting you.
Chapter 4
When I jumped into the trench like a dirty ghost, the division commander's guards immediately pointed their PPSh submachine guns at me, but I had no weapons in my hands, and the Red Army men relaxed slightly.
Are you Junior Lieutenant Nagulin? asked Kuznetsov, looking at me with interest.
That's right, Comrade Colonel, I tried to stand at attention and raised my hand to my cap.
At ease, scout. Did you cover the retreat of the group?
That's right, Comrade Colonel.
You're lucky to be back. I was beginning to think that Shcheglov's platoon was once again without a commander.
Junior Lieutenant Nagulin is not so easy to kill, Comrade Colonel, the Captain grinned wearily, many have tried
Don't jinx it, the Colonel smiled faintly as he looked at Shcheglov. Did he get the prisoner for interrogation, too?
Yes, he did, Comrade Colonel, nodded the Captain. He captured a boat carrying a German officer across the Dnieper, killed the soldiers who were rowing and the Feldwebel, and stunned the Hauptmann. He was wounded in the fight, but remained in the ranks.
Wounded? Kuznetsov turned to me again.
Slightly, Comrade Colonel, I got a knife in my shoulder. The arm moves normally.
I know you, heroes! Take the Junior Lieutenant to the infirmary, quickly! Captain, I give you and your men one hour to clean up. You will go to the army headquarters together with the head of the special department of the division. You got the prisoner for interrogation yourself you will deliver it to the destination, and I have enough to do in the meantime, the division commander looked toward the German trenches, from where the sounds of gunfire and grenade explosions could be heard. And take Nagulin with you, if the medics let him go.
* * *
It took us about an hour to get to the 38th Army headquarters. The German prisoner was sullenly silent, sitting in the back of a lorry between two men from the NKVD platoon. The five of us settled in the same place, and Major Gunko, head of the Special Department of the 300th Division, took a seat in the cabin.
Comrade Captain, the Germans will start an attack any day now. They have almost everything ready, I started working on Shcheglov as soon as we hit the road.
With what? Infantry? Did you see a single tank or self-propelled gun on the bridgehead?
I've seen something more unpleasant, and I've heard even more. The enemy pulled a huge number of pontoons to Kremenchuk and is stockpiling materials to build a bridge capable of supporting heavy equipment.
Are you kidding me, Junior Lieutenant? More than a kilometer of pontoons! They'll be working on it for two weeks, if they can do anything at all. Our troops will not sleep either they will bomb that bridge without regard for any losses.
Here he is, I nodded at the Hauptmann, confirming to me that he saw a large accumulation of means of passage on the shore and the ever arriving units of sappers.
And the tanks? Shcheglov was still hesitant, had he seen tanks?
The German didn't say anything about tanks, but that just means they haven't arrived yet. The Germans will not build such a grand crossing for the infantry, Comrade Captain! They're already handling the transfer of infantry divisions to the bridgehead, you've seen it.
Yes, I've seen it, Shcheglov agreed.
Tomorrow or the day after tomorrow they will erect a crossing. Because of the un-flying weather, no one will be able to stop them, and our headquarters won't even know anything about it. And then several tank divisions will be on the Kremenchuk bridgehead in one night, and in the morning they will strike. Can the 300th Rifle Division withstand an attack by hundreds of tanks? There will be hundreds of them only in our defense zone, but they will strike our neighbors as well.
Listening to me, Shcheglov grew darker and darker. It was felt that he wanted to object, but the Captain restrained himself. Nevertheless, after I stopped talking, he didn't answer right away.
I have known you for a long time, Junior Lieutenant, Shcheglov said at last, choosing his words carefully, and you have never panicked without reason. But what you say They won't believe it at the headquarters. You have too little evidence. Did Hauptmann see any tanks? He didn't see them. Have you seen the finished bridge or at least part of it? You haven't seen it! Everything else is just your guess. And even if I believe it's right, it doesn't change anything. No one is going to make decisions based on the fantasies of a captain and a junior lieutenant.
I understood that Shcheglov was right, but I could not leave the situation as it was.
Comrade Captain, can you make sure that the army headquarters at least listens to my report?
I don't know, Nagulin. I don't know! Who am I? Captain, commander of the reconnaissance company of the 300th Division. And there's a major general, the army commander! Do you think Feklenko will listen to my requests? Well, okay, let it not be Feklenko personally, but Chief of Staff Simvolokov, so he, too, is a major general. It is not certain that we will be allowed into the headquarters at all, and not limited to being questioned in the Special Department.
So we'll have to report at whatever level we can get to. Maybe we should talk to our head of the Special Department first?
To Gunko? Shcheglov shook his head doubtfully, I don't know. He's a normal guy, on the whole. And he knows his service, but he can hardly help us in such a case. It's the first time he's seen you. What if your assumption is wrong? That would be misinformation! He won't want to take that responsibility.
It looked like I had only to rely on chance, but if it presented itself, I wasn't going to let it pass me by.
Comrade Captain, I have a suggestion, but we can't carry out this plan ourselves, without help from above.
* * *
Stalin stood up leisurely, left his desk, and walked around the office, clutching an unlit pipe in his hand. He stopped, cast a keen eye over the people assembled in the office, and spoke, pausing for a few moments between words:
The commander of the Southern Front, General Tyulenev showed himself in the battles near Uman from the worst side. He knows neither how to attack, nor how to organize a competent withdrawal of troops. Tyulenev lost two armies where it would have been a disgrace to lose two regiments. I have already suggested to Comrade Budyonny to deal with this situation personally, and, as far as I know, an investigation has been conducted. I read the preliminary reports. Tyulenev tries to shift all responsibility for the loss of the armies to Army Commanders Ponedelin and Muzychenko, but there is an opinion that this is only an attempt at self-justification. What do you, comrades, think about this issue?
Let me say, Comrade Stalin, the People's Commissar of Internal Affairs took the floor.
I'm listening to you, Comrade Beria.
General Tyulenev undoubtedly made a number of miscalculations, which had grave consequences and cast doubt on his competence, as commander of the front. However, the investigation found no signs of treason in his actions. Tyulenev was seriously wounded in the battles near Dnepropetrovsk, and now the question of his evacuation to Moscow for treatment is being decided.
I know that, Comrade Beria. And what can you say about the role of Generals Muzychenko and Ponedelin in the deaths of the 6th and 12th Armies?
The Southern Front command entrusted Ponedelin to lead the breakthrough of encircled armies from the Uman battlefield. Without trying to absolve him of the blame for the failure of the operation, I am forced to clarify that the leadership of the Southern Front did not notify the encircled troops about the change in the situation and the fact that the 18th Army had left Pervomaysk. Therefore, the tasks that Ponedelin set for the strike groups, could not provide a real breakthrough of the encirclement ring, even if successfully accomplished.
But Muzychenko made it through. So there was an opportunity.
Lieutenant General Muzychenko did not have the task of leading his army out of the encirclement, Comrade Stalin. Ponedelin fully concentrated in his hands the leadership of the operation. Muzychenko was ordered to reach the Southern Front troops and coordinate their actions with the efforts of the encircled armies. He accomplished the first part of the task, even though our troops were no longer at Pervomaysk, and his column had to break through further. But there was nobody to coordinate efforts with all strike groups of Ponedelin were defeated, and the commander of the 12th Army himself surrendered, and now the Germans are scattering this over the positions of our troops by planes, Beria took a leaflet out of the folder and put it on the table.