A little farther away, the trees of Gediminas that would have been lush in the summer have been blown to the ground, leaving only shattered, charred trunks, and the old castle at the top of the mountain, which was majestic just a few days ago, can now see only the black-and-gray remnants of the walls. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

Further afield, there are still many buildings left, which can be regarded as some historical confirmation of the old town of Vilnius, and it is lucky that the whole city has not been completely erased from the map.

There was a lot of ice floes in the river, and the engineering units had to send people to deal with them on two steel pontoon bridges -- using long poles in their hands to dredge the small pieces of ice floes that were crowded together from time to time, so as to reduce the impact of the ice floes on the pontoons. In some cases, small pieces of explosives are even used to seal them and throw them into the river to blow up the oversized ice floe.

The silver-grey Mercedes-Benz 770K Boorman bulletproof sedan drove across the pontoon bridge and through the ruins to the "October Revolution" road, where the charred Gediminas Mountain was in sight.

At the bottom of the hill, Lin Jun got out of the car, and he was going to climb the mountain.

Walking along the scorched forest path, Lin Jun soon reached the top of the hill and saw the Red Army soldiers building fortifications - there were craters everywhere, some of them very large in diameter, which were the marks of aerial bombs.

Almost all of them stopped what they were doing and saluted Comrade Marshal.

On the edge of a large bomb crater, Lin Jun shouted to the soldiers: "Good job! Comrades, you have worked hard! ”

I was used to saying such things, and the answer I got was: "Serve the USSR!" ”

Let everyone continue with their work and not be affected by their arrival. A group of people walked to a ZIS-3 cannon artillery position in the south of the hill, where there was a group of four cannons, and the empty shells were piled up on the side to form a yellow hill.

I saw that the leader of the team was a lieutenant, "Good job, which unit?" ”

"284 Artillery Regiment of the 820 Infantry Division, Comrade Marshal, Artillery Company Commander Granov and subordinates report to you." The lieutenant with his head wrapped in his head stood up and saluted.

Seeing the pale-faced lieutenant, as well as the young artillery men who were smoky and wounded, Lin Jun nodded--the artillery of the 284th Division is a good example in history, and it has made meritorious achievements in countless battles, and it is worthy of its fame today!

An assault engineer major with the highest rank on the hill gave Lin Jun a general introduction to the battle, and also mentioned the great role of several cannons in attacking the German fortifications under the hill.

In particular, against a German artillery position near the railway station nearly 2 kilometers away, the soldiers of the 820th Regiment took a counterfire regardless of the threat of artillery shells, and simply knocked out the artillery position that posed a great threat to their own side!

Standing on top of the ruins of the original church, the entire undulating city can be seen in front of you - the east side has been completely destroyed, and the buildings around the church square below are also in shambles, but the Vilnius University campus is still intact a little farther away. The center of the city is basically intact with the southwest, of course, but the blocks and buildings have not yet been fully reimbursed, and some places are still emitting black smoke after the fire has just been extinguished.

"Marshal, the current command of the 284th Infantry Division is in the town hall below." Gusev pointed to the guide's side, right on the edge of the church square.

The convoy had come around from below and stopped in the Cathedral Square, where the stark white Vilnius Cathedral had been turned into an art gallery, but now it was scorched: I don't know which pilot had dropped bombs and Molotov cocktails on the head of the Catholic church, which was built in 1387! Looking down from the hill, a huge hole was blown open in the roof of the church, half of the house collapsed, the back half of it disappeared, and the whole building was completely destroyed by fire, a typical masterpiece of high-explosive bombs and solidified ******.

Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque have all been turned into rubbish after thousands of degrees of heat, and it is not known that the 1393-born Grand Duke Vytautas and his wife, the two wives of King Zhigimontas, and the heart of King Vladislav are still absent from the chapel in the cathedral, but it is certain that the coffin of the only saint in Lithuania, Kazimilas, on the altar of the chapel in the cathedral, is probably not there.

The coffin was gone, but the church of San Cazimilas, nearly a kilometre away, was there, apparently without any large-caliber shells hitting its head.

The Gothic watercolor frescoes in the church at the end of the 14th century, the church utensils and statues accumulated from the 14th century are also estimated to be reimbursed - the original 52-meter-high bell tower next to the church has become a pile of rubble on the side of the square, which was bombarded by heavy artillery!

"Gusev, it seems like I'm a standard butcher of ancient buildings." Lin Jun was a little emotional.

"Marshal, these will blow up when they blow up, there's no pity." The staff officer thought for a moment before answering: What did you ask him to answer? It's hard for him.

The marshal has always looked at the history of religious buildings such as churches, and the attachés around him know that the marshal's position is the same as that of the central government, and that it is completely eliminated!

Lin Jun turned around and asked the assault engineer major accompanying him, pointing to the ruins of the cathedral below, "You have a sapper, it blocks the view on both sides of the square, how much explosives do you need to blow up?" ”

The major was stunned for a moment, and glanced at it twice: "Marshal, if you are in a hurry, 50 kilograms will be enough, and if you want to waste nothing, 20 kilograms will completely collapse." ”

"Just a little bit, how much?"

Looking at the marshal's expression, the major felt a stirring in his heart: "Report to the marshal, 50 kilograms." ”

"Don't smash the town hall, give you 20 minutes."

"Yes, Marshal!"

Immediately called for manpower, the major led the team, and a dozen sappers ran down the hill with a few boxes of explosives on their backs.

Lin Jun didn't mean to leave at all, but sat down and sat on the empty ammunition box to chat with the artillerymen and assault sappers on the side.

"What, where did it hurt?" The artillerymen had already finished repairing their positions, and Lin Jun asked them to sit down as well. When he saw a sergeant sitting down, his expression was a little uncomfortable, and he asked.

"Broke two ribs and let the cannon shield hit me. It's okay, marshal, just rest for a few days. ”

It was Granov who was questioned, and it hurt a little to sit up and sit down.

Lin Jun just noticed that this artillery squad should be in charge of the nearest cannon, and then turned to look at the cannon a few meters away, and said: "You must have fought very bravely, there are still bullet marks on the shield and gun carriage, and the cannon is used as a bayonet, right?" Also, you're the aim. ”

Granov nodded with a smirk, and the artillery comrades on the side admired the marshal in their hearts when they heard this--observing the details from the clues, as well as the characteristics of this artillery, the marshal also knew a lot, otherwise he would not have judged that Granov was the aimer from these points.

"As I thought, I didn't even have time to dig the hoe pit, and I didn't have time to use the rope to pull the firerope, so I used the excitation rod, right?" Lin Jun was as if he had seen the scene of Granov playing with their lives in the forest, "How many meters are you knocked out?" ”

"Two meters, marshal."

"It's big enough! Now I give you an order, take the car to the nearest field hospital in the city, and honestly let me lie there for three weeks before coming out. In addition, they are not allowed to touch the cannon for at least two months, and they are only allowed to cultivate and not work. ”

Lin Jun's tone became serious, but it was not stern at all.

"Injured muscles and bones to recuperate for at least three months, you are good, now you are still lying on the position and not leaving, afraid that someone will rob your artillery?!" Lin Jun glared and said, "Do you understand?!" ”

"Yes, Marshal, lie in the hospital for three weeks, and don't touch the cannon for two months."

Granov was also sincere, and he could not disobey the marshal's orders.

"Sasha, you take him down for me."

Granov couldn't come up with any opinions, so he was "escorted" by the big man Sasha.

"You lads are all good, and you deserve to be awarded. It's a pity that I don't have it with me now, so I'll follow the normal procedure, and you'll be indispensable. Gusev, write down the number of their troops, and hand them over to the Political Department of the group army when the time comes, and then count them when they are free. ”

At the foot of the hill, Lieutenant Colonel Nikolai Filippovich Batyuk, commander of the 284th Infantry Division, was in the war room when he heard a report from the guards: a detachment of assault sappers was laying explosives at the nearby cathedral, and when they detonated it 10 minutes later, they hoped that their side would be a little more hidden, and they would use a sharp whistle to warn them not to be hit by small flying stones.

"What are you doing, those people are idle and have nothing to do?!" Batyuk put down his pencil and was a little dissatisfied, "You go and ask, what kind of reputation they are doing." Said to a lieutenant staff officer on the side.

"Bombing the church? I'm idle and have nothing to do! Thinking about it, he picked up the pencil again and checked the current garrison position of the marked troops on the map.

After a few minutes, the staff officer returned, "Division commander, they are leading the team with a major, saying that this is the order of the deputy commander, and the deputy commander says that this church is blocking the view from both sides of the city. The lieutenant commander is on the hill behind and may come to us after blowing up the church. ”

Batyuk put down his pen again and looked at the table below, he had been informed that the marshal would come, but he did not expect the marshal to arrive at this time, and thought it would be evening; I didn't expect the marshal to blow up the already dilapidated church, the reason was still "obstructing the view"!

"It hasn't been in anyone's sight for hundreds of years, and the marshal can really figure it out." Batyuk was a little puzzled as to why the marshal was "so boring", but the marshal's decision could never be violated, and it was just a ruin.

Fry it, fry it.

"Tell you that we're going to have a small blast."

"Yes, Commander."

Explosions can no longer be heard in the city, but from time to time there are explosions from the south, more than ten kilometers away - in fact, even without notice, and it is not surprising that some of the original duds suddenly explode.

Batyuk put the map in hand and planned to go up the hill, but the guards outside reported that they were about to carry out the blasting.

More than ten seconds later, there was a muffled sound, and the cathedral collapsed with a bang, completely in ruins.

"18 minutes, it's pretty sharp."

Lin Jun stood on the hill and watched the cathedral be blown down, and there was very little screaming that was characteristic of the stone splashing when it was blasted. Say to the people next to you: "Good job, the blasting technology is top-notch!" ”

"Go down the mountain and go to Batyuk's headquarters."

When they came to the bottom of the mountain, most of the gray fog formed by the blasting in the square had dissipated, and Batyuk was seen standing with the assault engineer major waiting for him.

Lin Jun nodded to the major, "Good job, go and finish your job." ”

The major saluted Lin Jun and left with his subordinates.

Entering the temporary headquarters of the 284th Division, Lin Jun asked Batyuk about the current situation of the troops, the infantry division and the two assault engineer regiments will be temporarily stationed in and near the Vilnius city area, and the task of continuing the assault has been handed over to other troops in the east, and now Batyuk's task is to restore combat effectiveness.

"Have you ever been to the ghetto, I'm here to see it today."

Batyuk replied: "Not yet, marshal, here is not busy at once. However, I have asked the divisional logistics office to help the citizens as much as possible, focusing on the quarantine area. ”

"The logistics guys have already sent the first batch of supplies to the quarantine area, a few truckloads of military food. The first people came back and said it was miserable, many were on the verge of starvation, and there were many sick people. Two of my medical teams also went inside, and to prevent the hungry from being fed all at once, a battalion was sent inside to maintain order and help. ”

"Marshal, it's not enough to rely on us, the 23rd Division doesn't have many people and supplies to come out, and the situation is reflected in the fact that everything inside is very bad."

Lin Jun didn't blame Batyuk for why he hadn't gone to the quarantine area to take a look yet, he had already done a good job, and the most important thing for a military commander to pay attention to in the current situation was the troops, because the Germans were only 20 kilometers away from here at most!

"The first batch of supplies provided to the city by the group army and the front army will arrive in the afternoon, and there are quite a few medical teams, you can ask your logistics chief to assist. At the moment, you personally don't focus too much on the citizens, it's right, just let the logistics people handle it. Did Marshal Tukhachevsky's order reach you? ”

"We have received orders to garrison, and the troops are constructing fortifications and preparing to enter the position for defense."

"The rainy season is approaching, and we will not launch another major offensive in Lithuania until summer comes, but we must prepare for a German counterattack, build as strong fortifications as possible, and be prepared for cold and wet weather in the rainy season."

"Yes, Marshal, we will do it."

"I'm going to go to the quarantine area, you're busy."

Knowing that the marshal was resolute in his work, Batyuk only accompanied Lin Jun to the door and watched the marshal board the car and leave.

After a few blocks, the convoy arrived at the gate of the quarantine area, just in time to meet the cars of several war photojournalists sent by the front command.

Lin Jun got out of the car and let the car follow, intending to walk into the quarantine area.

As soon as the Red Army soldiers with hand-cranked cameras saw the marshal arrive, they hurriedly prepared to shoot. Lin Jun was a little angry when he saw it: "I didn't call you here to shoot me!" Take pictures of the current situation of the Jewish inhabitants inside, and the atrocities of the fascists! (To be continued.) )