While Bezikov went to report to the Front Command, I picked up the phone again and called the neighboring Katukov Command. Hearing that it was my voice, Katukov immediately asked: "Lida, according to my scout report, the German army is attacking your first line of defense. Do you need my support? If you need to speak, I immediately order Major General Krivoshein to send troops to support his mechanized 3rd Army."

"Thank you, Comrade General." I was moved by Katukov's words, but I still politely rejected his kindness: "The German army only invested a small army and launched a tentative attack on the front line of our army. Even without support, our commanders and soldiers could quickly repel their attack."

"Since this is the case, I will not send troops to reinforce for the time being." Katukov, who was rejected by me, said carefully: "If you need artillery support, even if you open your mouth, several artillery regiments of Krivoshein can always be prepared for war and can cover the German troops attacking your positions at any time."

"I understand, Comrade General." I smiled and said to Katukov, "I will call you if I need it."

As soon as I put down the phone, Povsky, who was standing next to me, immediately took over the topic and asked me for instructions: "Comrade Commander, we have a cannon regiment and a guards rocket artillery battalion behind the first line of defense. At this time, we can provide artillery fire support to our infantry comrades. Do we need to order them to open fire?"

"No, comrade Colonel." I smiled and said to Povsky, who was eager to fight. "Since we have figured out the intention of the German attack, for pre-war reconnaissance, if the artillery fire is ordered, their position will be exposed. If the German artillery or aircraft are brought in, we will suffer unnecessary losses."

Seeing that after hearing my words, Povsky looked silent, he quickly comforted him and said, "Comrade Colonel, the infantry can deal with the enemies attacking the No. 4 position. You can't use you yet. Remember, good steel must be used on the blade. In the next battle, the time when your artillerymen show their skills."

Hearing me say this, Povsky smiled again on his face, and he said understandingly: "I understand, Comrade Commander, our artillery will be a temporary audience in today's battle. When the German army launches a large-scale attack, we will teach him a lesson with artillery fire."

While we were talking, the phone ringing on the table rang again. Before I could answer, Danilov grabbed the microphone and put it in his ear and said loudly: "This is the Army Command. I am Danilov. Where are you?" After listening for a while, he continued: "Comrade Commander just said that the enemy soldiers attacking the No. 4 position can deal with it. You can't use it for the time being. OK, just like that, wait for the order." After that, he hung up the phone.

From what Danilov said, I knew which unit might be trying to join the war again, so I asked curiously: "Comrade Deputy Commander, who called the phone?"

"Who else can it be? Don't Colonel Thunder." Danilov shrugged habitually as he spoke. "He said that behind the first line of defense, he deployed two tank battalions. Ask me if I let our tanks attack and teach the Germans a lesson. I am already at a loss for his request."

I nodded in response to Danilov's approach, but also said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, although we cannot use artillery and tanks in today's battle, I think there are some things that I still need to explain to Colonel Bere clearly to avoid bad ideas."

"Bad thoughts, what bad thoughts?" Danilov didn't expect me to say this suddenly, and said a little confusedly: "According to the regulations, the superiors can only execute the orders of their superiors unconditionally, and they are not allowed to discuss and disobey. Even if he is not explained the reasons, I think Colonel Bie Lei can understand it."

"You can't say that, Deputy Commander." I was really amused and amazed at Danilov's disapproval, so I could only explain to him: "The troops below are eager to fight and take the initiative to ask for battle from the headquarters, but we did not make any reason, and in this way, even if the commander below doesn't say it, there will be a knot in their hearts."

After I said that, I was afraid that it would hurt Danilov's self-esteem, so I stared at him nervously and observed the change of expression on his face. Fortunately, his expression did not change much. I just frowned and thought for a moment, and then took the initiative to say, "I understand, Comrade Commander, I will call Colonel Bo Lei and explain the matter clearly to him." As he said that, he reached out to get the phone on the table.

Before the phone was connected, I suddenly remembered that it was far from enough to just explain the reason for not using their attack. I also needed to discuss with him how to use the tank army in the next battle. He said to Danielov: "Comrade Deputy Commander, please let Colonel Bere come here. I have something to explain to him in person."

It happened that the phone was connected at this time. Danilov, who originally wanted to explain a few words to Bere, took the opportunity to say to the microphone: "College Colonel? I am Danilov. Comrade Commander ordered you to come to the headquarters."

I raised my hand and looked at my watch. Half an hour had passed since Nekrasov called me. As soon as Danilov put down the phone, he immediately picked it up and connected to the 52nd Guard Division through the communications corps. After hearing Nekrasov's voice, I asked straight to the point: "Comrade Colonel, what is the situation in the No. 4 position?"

"Report to Comrade Commander," Nekrasov reported with some excitement: "The enemy's first attack was repelled by the defenders on Highland No. 4. The enemy lost two tanks and killed seventy or eighty people. The rest had withdrawn their attacks from their positions."

"Good fight, comrade Colonel." After hearing the battle results reported by Nekrasov, I praised it and thought that there were many new recruits on the high ground, so I asked again: "How is the casualties of our army?"

"We have little casualties. We sacrificed seven and injured more than a dozen." Nekrasov said this and suddenly said a little guiltily: "Comrade Commander, I'm sorry, please accept my apology!"

I don't know why Nekrasov suddenly said this, and asked in confusion: "Comrade Colonel, what are you sorry for me?"

"That's right," Nekrasov said a little embarrassedly when he heard my replies: "Didn't you propose a special training method a few days ago? Although I agreed verbally at that time, I felt very dissatisfied and thought you were just making a fool of yourself. If you hadn't repeatedly emphasized the No. 4 position, I wouldn't have let them do this special training. I didn't expect that in the battle today, the effect of this special training will be shown. Faced with the enemy's fierce attack, the new recruits can also take advantage of the battle like veterans and achieve considerable results."

From Nekrasov's words, I heard that he had only conducted the special training I proposed among the recruits of the No. 4 position, so I asked tentatively: "Comrade Colonel. If I was not wrong, you only implemented this training method on the No. 4 position and did not promote it across the entire division, right?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, you guessed it right." Nekrasov admitted without any hesitation, and then he expressed his opinion to me: "But after today's battle, I have realized the superiority of your training method. Once the battle is over, I will immediately promote it across the entire division."

"Then you have to hurry up, comrade Colonel." I said angrily: "The enemy has not left you much time. Before it is dark today, all the troops of your division must undergo a similar training. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Comrade Commander." Nekrasov replied loudly.

"Continue to monitor the enemy and report it to me immediately if there is any disturbance in them." After that, I hung up the phone without waiting for him to speak.

After waiting for me to put down the phone, Kirillov asked in surprise: "Lida, the enemy in front of the No. 4 position. Has our troops repelled?"

I nodded and replied, "Yes, Comrade Military Commissioner. The enemy who attacked the No. 4 position, under the tenacious blocking of our commanders and fighters, left behind seventy or eighty bodies and two destroyed tanks, and retreated their positions in shame."

After I finished speaking, Kirillov couldn't help but raise his hand and look at his watch, and then said with emotion: "The commanders and soldiers of the 52nd Guards Division are really good. They took only half an hour to repel the German attack."

"Comrade Military Commissioner," I reminded him, seeing that Kirillov was too optimistic, "It was just that the first wave of the German attack was repelled by us. They retreated and reorganized the troops, and they might immediately launch a new attack on us. It depends on how the commanders and fighters who were defending the No. 4 Highland will perform in the next battle."

After hearing what I said, Kirillov couldn't help frowning and said worriedly: "Lida, the No. 4 position will not become the 197.5 highland north of Stalingrad, and will it become a battlefield where our army and the German army repeatedly tug-of-war?"

"There is such a possibility." I had considered this issue before Kirillov said this. However, after the loss of the No. 4 position, the fortifications on the hillside were strengthened, and a tunnel was built to garrison troops and hoard combat materials. In this way, even if this position became the focus of the competition between the enemy and us, the casualties of our troops would be greatly reduced. "However, the No. 4 position has built relatively complete fortifications based on the tunnel. The troops we stick to above will never be completely drained in a day like the 1o7.5 highland."

As soon as I finished speaking, Bezikov walked in from outside the door with a telegram. I guessed that he might be holding the Vatujin telegram, so he took the initiative to ask: "Chief of Staff, how did the commander of the Front Army recover us."

"General Vatujing ordered us to defend the No. 4 position at all costs and never let it become a German offensive point." After Bezikov said that, he handed me the telegram in his hand.

I took it and looked at it. Seeing that the content above was the same as what Bezikov said, I handed it to Danilov at any time, and said to him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, it seems that the superiors have also seen the intention of the German army to seize the high ground, so they will give us an order to stick to it at all costs."

After reading the telegram, Danilov put the telegram on the table, looked up at me and said, "The view of the superior coincides with us. No matter what, the No. 4 position must be held. Comrade Commander, I think the artillery and tank army should be prepared for combat. Once the enemy occupy No. 4 position, we can launch a counterattack in time."

Regarding Danilov's concern, I smiled and said lightly: "Comrade Deputy Commander, don't worry, the Germans' attack on the No. 4 Highlands are limited, and even if they are allowed to fight for one day, they will not be able to fight. On the contrary, there is an important thing that must be implemented immediately." Speaking of this, I turned around and rushed to Bezikov, who was standing aside, and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, please call the commanders of each division immediately and ask if they have promoted the training method I proposed in the army. Any unit that has not conducted live-fire training must complete the training work before dark today."

When Danilov heard me give this order to Bezikov, he said in confusion: "Comrade Commander, why should we forcefully promote this training method at this time? You must know that before we have time to test whether this model is applicable, we rashly promote it in all the troops. What if unnecessary casualties are caused during training?"

"Comrade Deputy Commander, you may not know yet. The recruits on the No. 4 position have undergone special training in the past two days." In order to convince Danilov, I repeated what Nekrasov said to him just now, and finally concluded: "It is precisely because this special training was carried out among the commanders and fighters that in today's battle, the defenders on the position, whether veterans or new soldiers, were brave and tenacious, otherwise they would not have repelled the enemy's attack so easily."

While I was talking to Danilov, Nekrasov called again. He said hurriedly on the phone: "Comrade Commander, after a brief rest, the German army attacked the No. 4 position again."

"Can you block it?" I asked briefly.

"No problem, it will definitely be blocked." Nekrasov replied confidently.

"Can you deal with the enemy's tank?" Danilov asked loudly at the microphone from the side.

"Please rest assured, Commander, Deputy Commander." Nekrasov replied clearly: "The 4o bazooka that the superiors equipped us is so good. It can easily penetrate the frontal armor of German tanks at a distance of two or three hundred meters, which is much stronger than the previous anti-tank guns and anti-tank guns."

Hearing Nekrasov's answer, my mood suddenly became relaxed. I thought that a weapon from the future, such as a 4o bazooka, could easily penetrate their frontal armor even if it faces a tiger or a leopard tank within the effective range, not to mention the German tank No. 3 and 4. (To be continued.)

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