Sergeant Yakov Fedotovich Pavlov, who joined the Red Army in 38 and is currently the squad leader of the reconnaissance squad of the 7th Company of the 7th Battalion of the 42nd Infantry Regiment of the 87th Infantry Division. It turned out that he was also the leader of the machine gun squad in the company, and he also served as an anti-tank gun aimed, and even the mortars could be used skillfully, and he was a rare all-round squad leader in the 7th Company, and was deeply trusted by the company commander, Captain Nau Yingfu.www.biquge.info

In the twilight, the soldiers boarded the stuffy wagons with wooden shells and found a place to sit. Due to the urgency of time, these carriages, which were originally used to pull goods, were only roughly cleaned, and the fixed wooden "pigeon cages" that are common to mobilized soldiers in peacetime were not built, and even the most basic floor bunks were not prepared: an empty carriage was not even laid with wheat straw, like a prisoner's cart for pulling prisoners.

As the most qualified squad leader here, Pavlov has the privilege of picking a place first, and the others will not have an opinion - the dim platform light peeks through the door, and a new barrel can be seen at one end of the carriage, and whoever is close to it is unlucky!

"Glushchenko, throw that thing back, it's all against the wind!"

Pavlov shouted, and the privates in the squad immediately threw the barrels to the east and bottom of the carriage, and several recruits there hurriedly moved places. "You guys, you don't even look in one direction, you deserve it! Also, the east side of the door is vacant, and those who want to pee in the future should consciously go to the door, don't blow it back! ”

After arranging the carriage, Pavlov unloaded the blanket and other equipment from his shoulders. He liked the air better, so he put a blanket on the place near the west ventilation window, which was his bunk.

Aleksandrov and Glushchenko put their bunks on either side of the squad leader, and Chernogorov on the opposite side handed over half a box of cigarettes, each of whom smoked one, and threw the rest to the comrades on the side. Nearby are all people from their own reconnaissance squads, and there are a few from the fire platoon on the other side, there are no officers and senior sergeants, Pavlov is the oldest in the carriage, and most of the others are new recruits this year, not even last year's soldiers.

Aleksandlov, Glushchenko, and Chernogorov all joined the army last year, and they are veterans compared to the new recruits. The most important thing in the army is qualifications, and it is inevitable to put some qualifications, but it will not bully newcomers. These three soldiers have very good professional qualities and are suitable for becoming scouts, and Pavlov has always regarded them as the backbone of the squad, and he is usually more casual.

"Squad leader, when will this car drive?" Glushchenko, who was more active, asked while he was lighting a cigarette for the squad leader.

Pavlov rolled his eyes: You ask me, who do I ask?!

Glushchenko was rarely deflated, and "hehe" smiled and sat back in his place - the squad leader was not angry, but he was really an idiot to ask his own question.

Queues continued to pass outside the carriages, and the shouts of officers on the platform urging them to get on the train continued. A few soldiers approached the carriage where they were, and when they saw that it was still relatively empty, they asked: "Comrades, is there anyone else who wants to get into your carriage?" ”

One of the soldiers closest to the door looked at Pavlov, "It's gone." Pavlov shouted.

"Comrades, come and take a hand, and these grenades will be placed in your carriage." A leading second lieutenant carried a truckload of green ammunition boxes and parked the car directly by the door of the car.

It stands to reason that large quantities of ammunition must be transported by special ammunition trains, and no matter how bad they are, special wagons must be used -- such a "mixed loading of people and goods" violates the regulations and will make the comrades lose sleep! Obviously, the wagons are tight, there is not so much to care about, how much can be loaded, and the troops must not be starved of ammunition: in Minsk it is said that ammunition is consumed at an alarming rate!

Alexander Ilyich-Rodimtsev is desperately "digging" ammunition supplies, and the "mixed load of people and goods" is also forced by the situation!

The people in the car immediately became porters, and one by one they carried the flat grenade boxes into the carriage, stacked them neatly at the east end of the carriage, and tied them firmly with the rope on the truck.

This is not over, and half a truck of crates was brought in, and Pavlov, who had worked as an artilleryman, was itchy when he saw the outer packaging: "Everyone be careful, those are mortar shells, don't smash them!" ”

The fuses of the mortar shells haven't been installed yet, but they're all in small boxes in crates, and it's okay to bump and bump over them normally, but if any fool misses and smashes them from the car to the platform, he can't make sure to have a pot!

Finally all the crates were disposed of, everyone was sweating, and each took out the kettle and drank a few large sips. The second lieutenant who led the team over there did not get into the car, but threw a few packs of cigarettes to everyone and said to Pavlov, who was in the lead: "Comrade sergeant, thank you for your hard work. If you can use the grenades, I'll carry the shells when they get to the place, and I'll be in the back compartment. ”

"Pavlov."

"Chernushenko." The second lieutenant shook the sergeant's hand.

The place was reassigned, and everyone was about to huddle into a heap. Just made a lot of effort, and there were a lot fewer words, not to mention the neat and tidy ammunition boxes in the carriage, which inevitably made the young soldier feel a little like sitting on the crater!

Pavlov was not much affected, and then asked Alexandrov to check the ropes that were tied up, and then sat back on his bunk. took out a cigarette and lit it for himself, and the comrades who did not dare to smoke also took their own cigarettes and smoked them when they saw the sergeant's movements.

"As long as you don't drop those boxes, they won't blow up."

The ammunition truck was non-smoking, but the sergeant didn't care - cigarettes wouldn't set those crates on fire. The order is an order, but it will be carried out by few people to the letter, not to mention that this is a military train of the Liela people, not an ammunition train, but a few more ammunition boxes.

There was also much less talk in the carriage, a few of them were already lying on blankets, and Pavlov snuffed out his cigarette butts and stretched out his limbs to lie down. Outside the car came the shouts of driving, and the train slowly started and slowly drove out of the Smolensk military station in the twilight. (To be continued.) )