In the southeastern part of Pustoshka, in a dense pine forest, Captain Vaski leaned back against a red pine tree, facing the sky on his back, observing the battle in the sky through the gaps in the branches and leaves of the pine trees.

Beside him, under each pine tree, there were groups of infantry sitting on the ground, passing the time by watching the battle in the sky.

After an unsuccessful night attack, Captain Waski and the remnants of his men retreated to the rear to rest and wait, and then waited for two good news.

The first good news was that in the theater of operations of the 10th Mechanized Corps, friendly forces had made a decisive breakthrough, and the Germans were pushed back to the city of Pustoska for stubborn resistance.

The second piece of good news was that the company under his command would follow the division north to support the 10th Mechanized Corps and launch the final blow on the city of Pustozka.

Soon after the troops were deployed, however, Captain Waski and his comrades were forced to flee into the forests on both sides of the road due to a barrage of air raids.

Remembering the scene of the first air raid, the infantrymen who had no time to dodge were strafed by the German fighters, and the hatred of the enemy deepened in Captain Waski's heart.

However, in the face of an enemy from the air that he could not resist, Captain Wasky could only bury his hatred deep in his heart and lead his men to continue on his way.

The Luftwaffe fighters went crazy and did not disappear into the sky for a whole day.

Whether it was intercepted by ground anti-aircraft artillery fire or pursued by Soviet Air Force fighters, Luftwaffe fighters and bombers of all kinds still stubbornly hovered in the sky, and whenever they found a marching column of Soviet troops on the road, they would swoop down and smash aerial bombs and aerial guns and shells on their heads.

Faced with the Luftwaffe's attack at any cost, Waski and his men had to follow the large force and disperse to both sides of the road. Marching with the help of the cover of the forest.

The dense forests provided cover for the Soviet infantry from Luftwaffe air raids, but they also slowed down the march until late in the evening, when Captain Vasky and his men followed the bulk of the army to the east of Pustoska, where they hid in the dense forest.

Three hours of time. Captain Vass and the other officers were not idle, and they rotated to the front line in batches to inspect the terrain and receive their respective areas of attack.

While looking at the terrain, two episodes appeared.

First, a red-roofed building used by the 3rd Battalion as an observation post was attacked by German mortars, and the five officers inside were slightly injured and one seriously wounded.

The bad news soon came, the commander of the 9th Company of the 3rd Battalion, Captain Vrsky's classmate at the Frunze Military Academy, Captain Figiko, died of his wounds and died honorably.

Shortly after attending the farewell ceremony of Captain Figiko's remains. Another thrilling scene deeply shook Captain Waski.

The birch forest, where the 2nd Company of the 1st Battalion was the first to infiltrate the starting position, was suddenly attacked by German rockets.

The burning birch forest, the soldiers who were thrown into the air by the rockets, surrounded by flames, fell to the ground and rolled and wailed, until the soldiers were burned to charcoal, the tragic scenes kept turning in Captain Waski's mind.

Wait until it gets dark, wait until it gets dark and launch a general attack. I must stain the earth with the blood of the Germans and pay tribute to those comrades who died in the war.

Keep your head up. Glancing at the increasingly gloomy sky, Captain Waski knew that the moment of revenge was not far off.

On the other side of the Agron River, from time to time there were bursts of radio, and Captain Waski could not understand German, so he could only barely hear the radio. Heil? Hitler".

Presumably it is boring political propaganda again. It was boring to stir up the fighting spirit of the Germans on the other side of the river and make them go on the road of cannon fodder, and Captain Waski silently despised the Germans in his heart.

A herald quietly appeared at Captain Waski's side and brought orders from the battalion commander.

Three minutes later. Captain Waski appeared at the battalion headquarters deep in the woodland.

When the battalion commander Pinkovsky saw that all three company commanders under his command had arrived, he announced the opening of the meeting.

"It's getting dark, and the Luftwaffe won't come back to harass us for at least five hours, which are the five hours left for us to attack. Immediately after the meeting, you set out with your troops, enter the predetermined positions, and wait for the order to attack. The 10th Mechanized Corps will send tanks to accompany our attack. Who still has questions about the mission? ”

Captain Wasky shook his head in unison, and seeing the movements of the three, Pinkowski nodded with satisfaction and said, "What I want to say next is a big news. ”

Captain Wasky's gaze became more serious.

"On the other side of the river, did you hear the Germans broadcasting?" Pinkowski asked.

"I heard it, it's boring." Captain Waski said.

Pinkowski smiled and said to Captain Waski: "You're right, this kind of slogan is really boring, but if you knew who the German broadcaster was, you wouldn't have that idea anymore." ”

Captain Waski asked nonchalantly, "It can't be Goebbels himself doing the broadcast, right?" ”

"Even our German-speaking soldiers said that the man who made the radio claimed to be Heinz von Rosen, the Polish governor-general." Another company commander, Chabaev, said.

The battalion commander Pinkowski restrained his smile and said to Chabaev: "It is this person I am talking about, according to the order issued by the superiors, I can confirm that it is the Polish governor who is shouting on the radio. Heinz von Rosen can be called Germany's number three man, second only to Hitler and Hermann Goering, so you should know how to do it? ”

Captain Chabayev said with a cruel smile: "Kill him, and then bring his body to you, Comrade General Secretary will definitely award me the Order of the Hero of the Soviet Union." ”

Captain Vasky first sneered and said to Chabaev: "Your idea is so simple, if it were me, I would find a way to capture him alive, and then take a picture of him when he was captured, print a million copies, and then let the Air Force airdrop him to Warsaw and Berlin." ”

Pinkovsky said: "I like your idea, but in our troops, there are too many officers with the same goals as yours to count, and you are under a lot of competitive pressure. ”

"In short, your task is to break through the German fascist lines. Then find the Polish governor and kick him in the ass. It doesn't matter if he's alive or dead. ”

Pinkowski made an impassioned remark, but did not receive a response from the three subordinates, and the scene instantly became extremely embarrassing.

The three Wasky held the same position and raised their heads. His gaze crossed Pinkovsky's head and stared straight behind him.

Pinkovsky also noticed the change in light and hurriedly turned his head away.

The western sky, the roar of the engines once again broke the silence of the sky, and their wishful thinking, the Luftwaffe, which would not appear at night, flew to the front again, unexpectedly.

It's just that the Luftwaffe dropped not aerial bombs this time, but patches of white umbrella flowers.

Under some parachutes, dazzling flares are hung, and these flares are like artificial suns. Covered the earth with a layer of silver frost.

More parachutes are hung from large and small boxes, ranging from square wooden crates to bomb-shaped supply crates.

Retracting his gaze, Pinkovsky said to Captain Waski: "You have all seen the madness of the Luftwaffe during the day, and the more crazy they are, the more it shows that the Germans attach great importance to the troops in the encirclement and to the Polish governor, so. Killing these Germans is tantamount to a slap in the face of the Germans and Hitler. ”

"If only the Polish governor could be captured alive. It's like two slaps in the face. Captain Wasky said.

"That's right. Let it go, comrades, bring the good news of the victory to our Motherland, to Comrade Stalin, we need this victory so much. Pinkowski said.

・・・・・・

On the west bank of the Agron River, Captain Nietzsche and Captain Nobel stood next to an armored car. Looking at the flares in the sky, they were anxiously discussing the battle plan.

"Flares alone cannot stop the Russians, and we must interfere with the enemy's deployment and disrupt their combat rhythm as much as possible before the enemy launches an attack." Captain Nietzsche said.

"It's a pity. It would have been nice if all our troops had not been withdrawn across the river and a few bridgeheads had been left on the other side of the river, so that the enemy's offensive could be buffered to a greater extent. Captain Nobel said.

"Why don't we make a proposal to the Führer and come back with a bridgehead on the other side of the river?" Captain Nietzsche said suddenly.

"No kidding, our task is to assist the Führer Regiment in holding the riverbank, not to command the Führer's troops indiscriminately." Captain Nobel said.

"No, when there are enough troops, offense is the best defense, we can't sit here and be beaten passively, we have to take the initiative. If you are afraid of taking responsibility, we can ask the Excellency next to you to help you and persuade the Führer to help. ”

Seeing that Captain Nobel was still hesitating, Captain Nietzsche put his arm around Captain Nobel's shoulders and said: "Don't forget, we are all accused of betrayal now, and when this battle is over and we return home, the anger of the governor in the rear is still waiting for us." I don't want to be sent to Peneminde, tied to a V2 rocket and sent to the moon, and you don't want to be stuffed into a Gustav cannon as a human bullet, do you? There is only one way to reduce your punishment for us, and that is to gain greater merit in this campaign, and if you want to obtain greater merit, you always have to take some risks. Captain Nietzsche said.

Captain Nobel still hesitated, and Captain Nietzsche said: "You always look like this, it's a real headache." Come with me, let's go to Major Bach. ”

Five minutes later, the four-man group of adjutants, led by Major Bach, sat around a rectangular desk.

Major Bach frowned and said to Captain Nietzsche: "Your suggestion is very good, and it is indeed a good way to calm the anger of that Excellency with his military exploits. It's just that why didn't you say earlier, the Russian offensive could be launched at any time, and we don't have enough time to finish all this. ”

"I just thought of it." Captain Nietzsche said.

"I also support this action, if Your Excellency is really here, you will definitely not sit here and be beaten passively. Your Excellency often said that if possible, the offensive of the armored corps will never stop. In your Excellency's style, you will definitely not sit here passively waiting for the Russians to attack, let alone passively sit here and be covered by the Russian artillery fire. Major Lorenz said.

"But we need to convince the Führer to cooperate with our operation, and it is ・・・・・・ difficult to do so," Captain Nobel said.

"There is no need to send the Führer regiment, don't forget, we have our own direct troops. In Your Excellency, we may transfer a company from the Doge's Guard. Captain Nietzsche said.

"That's what you just thought of?" Captain Nobel said.

"Yes."

Major Bach stood up and said resolutely: "I have decided to carry out this battle plan. As Your Excellency's Adjutant General, if this battle plan leads to bad consequences, I will bear all the responsibility・・・・・・"

Major Lorenz interrupts Major Bach.

"The plan is made by all of us, and the responsibility is borne by all of us."

Captain Nobel and Captain Nietzsche also stood up and firmly stated that they would bear the consequences of the defeat together.

Major Bach stopped the three with a wave of his hand.

"I haven't finished speaking, if there is an accident in this battle, I will pick up my gun and rush to the river to fight the Russians until I die in battle, Your Excellency will not punish an old subordinate who died in battle."

Major Lorenz and the three of them felt the tragedy and determination in Major Bach's tone.

Captain Nietzsche, seeing that his bold proposal had triggered Major Bach's declaration of death, said with a heavy face: "What I want to say about this operation is that we are bound to win. You don't have to worry about the false military order, Your Excellency also said that the victor is not to blame. As long as we win this battle, no matter what we have done, we will not be held accountable by Your Excellency. ”

"In that case, let's not waste our time, let's just do it." Major Bach said.

Thirty minutes later, on the east bank of the central Agron River, in a dense forest near the riverbank, Captain Nietzsche took off his steel helmet and handed it to Captain Nobel beside him, and took an STG42 assault rifle handed by Captain Nobel and carried it behind his back.

Bending down, Captain Nietzsche grabbed a handful of dirt from the ground, kneaded it with both palms, and wiped it on his face, which turned black.

Seeing that Captain Nietzsche was preparing to be a commando himself, Captain Nobel flashed a panic in his heart for no reason.

Grabbing Captain Nietzsche, Captain Nobel whispered: "Remember, don't force it, your safety is the most important thing." ”

"After this operation was launched, the word "safe" was no longer in our dictionary. Believe me, I'll be fine, the victory will be ours. (To be continued.) )