Trotsky was not able to reach Luga at noon, as he claimed, and it was already dusk when he arrived. Of course, for Russia in this season, dusk is nonsense, day is day all day long, don't expect night to bother your enemies.

"Comrade Trotsky, all the comrades and all the inhabitants of Luga warmly welcome you!" The chubby party secretary was constantly singing praises to Trotsky, hoping to get the attention of the second teacher.

But his sycophants were destined to be slapped on the horse's legs, and Trotsky cared only about one thing - whether Pskov had fallen or not.

"Grigory. Regimental Commander Ivanovich, have you gotten in touch with Comrade Frunze? Trotsky asked worriedly.

"I can't get in touch yet," said Grigory. Ivanovich added, "But, an hour ago, Comrade Voroshilov sent us a telegram on his behalf saying that the situation in Pskov was quite unsatisfactory...... The enemy has the strength of an entire corps, which is greatly beyond our estimates...... The enemy launched wave after wave of frantic counterattacks, and Comrade Frunze was no longer able to stop the enemy's advance in Pskov......"

Trotsky interrupted him and asked: "It was at that time that Comrade Voroshilov, on behalf of Comrade Frunze, gave you an order not to go to Pskov again, but to hurry up and build a line of defense in Luga, is that so?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Trotsky!" Grigory. Ivanovich nodded, pointed at the map and said: "From the moment I received the order, I have mobilized all the boys and started to build positions......"

Trotsky interrupted him again and asked: "Do you think you can accomplish this task with the forces at your disposal?" ”

Grigory. Ivanovich, of course, knew what the task was, and to be honest, he was not sure about it, after all, he had only one regiment, not the strength of a division, and with the strength of one regiment to block the enemy's army, well. If he dares to pack a ticket. Then there must be something wrong with his nerves.

"All I can say is that our 1st Machine Gun Regiment will fight until the last fighter falls, and the enemy can only step over our corpses......"

Trotsky became more and more impatient: "I don't want you to die, it doesn't mean anything, I want to fulfill the instructions of the Party Central Committee, and I must not let the enemy's reinforcements come near Petrograd, and nothing else." I don't care about anything else! ”

Grigory. Ivanovich was a little unhappy in his heart, he felt that his dignity was insulted, as a military man, a glorious Bolshevik, he was always ready to give everything for the party, including his life! But Trotsky ignored all this. This made him feel deeply dissatisfied.

"I don't mean anything disrespectful to you, Grigory. Comrade Ivanovich! Trotsky noticed that his mood was not right, "I have no doubt about your dedication to the party, but, my comrade regimental commander, what the party needs is not to sacrifice your lives, but to stop the enemy's reinforcements, so we must adopt more effectively." And a better way to accomplish this mission! ”

Grigory. Ivanovich felt a little more comfortable. He asked, "Do you have any ideas for this?" ”

Trotsky smiled wryly and spread his hands, "I am not a soldier. I don't know how to fight. I don't have a particularly good solution to the dilemma at hand," seems to see Grigory. To Ivanovich's disdain, Trotsky added: "But I understand that a regiment cannot stop an army!" ”

Grigory. Ivanovich smiled back wryly, and although he was proud, he admitted that Trotsky was right, that he was really unable to stop his opponent and was unlikely to cause much trouble.

He said of course: "I think the most important thing now is to expand our army......

While saying, Grigory. Ivanovich looked at the fat party secretary, and Trotsky immediately understood what he meant, and the second tutor asked straight to the point: "How many party members are there in Luga, and how many workers' Red Guards?" ”

Of course, the chubby party secretary also understood what these two meant, it was nothing more than to pull Zhuang Ding, this kind of method is too common in Russia, but he really can't pull Zhuang Ding now, he said with a sad face: "90% of the party members and workers' Red Guards in Luga have been transferred by Comrade Voroshilov, and there are some women comrades who remain in Luga, and it is completely impossible for them to go to the battlefield......"

"What about the workers?" Trotsky then asked, "Is it possible to mobilize a part of the workers, if necessary, I can do their work myself!" ”

The chubby party secretary shook his head bitterly: "Comrade Trotsky, the workers of Luga, everything that can be mobilized has already been mobilized, after all, the population here is not large......"

Trotsky and Grigory. Ivanovic sighed in unison, pulling the strong man must be out of play, and it is difficult to say how much of a role this kind of temporary strong man can play.

"Looks like we're going to have to fight to the death!" Grigory. Ivanovich said firmly.

Trotsky shook his head, "There is no point in fighting to the death, as I have already said, with your forces you cannot stop the enemy. ”

Grigory. Ivanovich said anxiously: "Then you can't do nothing, right?" ”

Trotsky ignored him, meditated on his own, and was in Grigory. When Ivanovich was about to get impatient, he suddenly asked: "When we came, did we cross a railway bridge?" ”

This question is quite mentally retarded, there is the Luga River to the north of Luga, and there must be a bridge to the river. But Grigory. Ivanovich reacted immediately: "You mean, blow up this railway bridge? ”

Thinking of this, Grigory. Ivanovich immediately became excited, lying on the map and carefully studying it, there was a railway bridge three hundred meters long north of Luga, and if this bridge was destroyed, the enemy's direct northward access would be cut off, and they would either have to swim across the river or turn east, first to the city of Veliky Novgorod, and then north, through Chudovo to Petrograd.

"If the enemy goes Veliky Novgorod, then they will have to go twice as much!" Grigory. Ivanovich shouted excitedly.

However, Trotsky was not as excited as he was, and although he had to take a long detour to Veliky Novgorod, if he thought about it, it was less than 300 kilometers away, and if the Veliky Novgorod line had not been able to stop the enemy's strength, they would have been able to reach Petrograd in ten hours by train. And how long will the fighting in Petrograd last. That's not at all clear. Anyway, more than ten hours is definitely not enough.

"Is Veliky Novgorod still under our control?" Trotsky asked.

The chubby party secretary replied: "Not exactly, the pressure there is also very great, and if all the enemies on our side go to them, then they will definitely not be able to resist it!" ”

"In other words, we can't blow up the bridge right away!" Trotsky shook his head in anguish, "If we blow up the bridge, the enemy will immediately turn to Veliky Novgorod." We have to draw them here......"

Grigory. Ivanovich understood perfectly well what Trotsky meant, and only if the enemy felt that there was hope of seizing the railway bridge, they would obediently stay in Luga, and not turn to Veliky Novgorod, which meant that around the railway bridge. They will fight hard with the enemy.

"I immediately changed the layout of the defenses, focusing on the railway bridge ......"

"That's not enough!" Trotsky shook his head, "We must also prevent the enemy from turning part of his forces to Veliky Novgorod, this possibility exists, so ......"

Grigory. Ivanovich said: "So we must destroy the communication line to Veliky Novgorod!" ”

Without hesitation, Trotsky ordered: "Transfer all locomotives to the north bank of the railway bridge, destroy the railroad at the same time, destroy all locomotives that do not obey our orders or fall into the hands of the enemy, and take with them all the cars, wagons, and donkey carts that can be used for transportation." Delay the enemy's movement as much as possible. Be sure to drag them in Luga! ”

The order was conveyed as soon as possible, and the second company in which Kozhemiyaka belonged was withdrawn. They will go straight east, searching for all motor vehicles on the road to Veliky Novgorod and destroying as many roads as possible.

"Platoon commander, aren't we going to Pskov?"

"You've already asked." The platoon commander replied impatiently, "We have a new mission!" ”

"New mission? According to my sense of direction, we are heading east, and to the east of Luga is Veliky Novgorod...... Platoon commander, our new mission is to go to Veliky Novgorod? ”

"It's not!"

"Don't lie to me, platoon commander! That's where we go to Veliky Novgorod...... Hey, platoon commander, my house is there, can you let me go back and see my mom? ”

"My comrade, I can understand that you are homesick!" The platoon commander looked back impatiently at his nagging subordinate, "However, we are not going to Veliky Novgorod. We have other tasks to accomplish! ”

"What the hell is that mission?" The soldier asked curiously.

The platoon commander was just about to answer this question, when Kozhemiyaka, who was walking in the forefront, suddenly shouted, he quickly ended this senseless conversation, and asked in a low voice: "What's the matter?" Comrade Kozhemiyaka! ”

"There are enemies!" Kozhemiyaka pointed to the front and lowered his voice.

In just a moment, all the soldiers in the platoon were lying on the ground and aimed their weapons in the direction of Kozhemiyaka's finger. The platoon commander cautiously climbed up to him and raised his binoculars to look there.

An army appeared in his sight, a kilometer away, about four or five hundred soldiers, or more, unlike them, revolutionary soldiers, who did not wear red scarves, and who were supposed to be Kornilov's troops.

This is about a battalion of light infantry, no artillery is seen, no machine guns are seen, quite normal, most of the Russian light infantry is not supported by machine guns and artillery. Whoever makes them, even if they do, generally don't know how to use it...... The platoon commander quickly analyzed the strength of the opponent, and then was relieved. The enemies apparently did not notice them, maintained a lazy pace, and morale did not seem to be very high.

"Kozhemyaka, report to Comrade Company Commander immediately." He commanded in a low voice, "The others continue to be on standby." ”

Kozhemiyaka began to crawl back, and when he passed by his comrade-in-arms who had been talking about the question just now, the most talkative guy suddenly asked: "Hey, Kozhemiyaka, guess what the order of Comrade Company Commander is?" ”

"What else could it be?" Kozhemiyaka gave him a roll of the eyes, "Kill all the enemies." ”

Destroy the enemy, this is indeed the order of the commander of the second company. In the time that followed, he commanded his troops to prepare a small ambush circle for the hapless opponent - indeed a "small" ambush circle. Because the second company also had more than a hundred men in total, and there was a good chance that there was a whole battalion of the enemy opposite them, it was quite risky anyway.

But the commander of the second company thought that he could do this, and that it was possible to ambush and annihilate the enemy army.

"PK machine gun. Uzi submachine gun ...... I could have given these little White Army cubs a little color. Aha, that's it! The second company commander was so excited that he could completely overwhelm the opponent with the automatic weapon at hand, which was the confidence that he had the courage to ambush the opponent.

At this time, not a single White soldier had realized that he was entering an ambush circle, and they never expected to encounter an enemy ambush on the march, for there was no information indicating that the Bolshevik army was operating in the area. And they will not believe that a company would dare to fight a battalion. Of course, more importantly, they are only the vanguard, and behind them an army of more than 10,000 people is slowly moving......

The White Army actually came from Veliky Novgorod, where conditions were rather bad, and the striking workers took control of the railway. Unable to move any further, their division commander felt that a detour to Luga would be a shortcut, and if they moved fast enough, they would be able to catch the coronation of Supreme Commander Kornilov in Petrograd.

Yes, these soldiers were convinced that Kornilov would soon take Petrograd completely and soon become the new tsar of Russia, at least that's what their division commanders said: "My soldiers." The future of the Great Soul is in your hands. As long as we can move faster! We will be able to witness the moment when General Kornilov ascends the throne of God, and we will be the heroes who supported his accession to the throne...... Soldiers. Do you know what that means? Medals, a lot of rubles, gold, jewelry, and pretty chicks! ”

The soldiers were so happy that they were imagining a bright future, so much so that they were careless on the way. They thought that as long as they arrived in Petrograd on time, it meant a lot of money...... Even if most of the wealth would be taken by the officers, they would still receive benefits worth thousands or even tens of thousands of rubles.

Getting rich, this is the dream of every soldier who supports Kornilov, they are looking forward to the day when Kornilov will succeed, but they will never wait for that day.

"The enemy has completely entered the ambush circle, Comrade Company Commander." Kozhemiyaka reported.

The company commander had already seen this in his telescope, and he nodded: "Very good. Then he turned around and waved his hand lightly at his soldier in what he thought was the most dashing gesture, "Fire." ”

As soon as the company commander's words fell, several soldiers operating gun grenades aimed at the ranks of the White Army, and then pulled the trigger, and with the muffled sound of empty cartridges, a row of black pressed grenades flew out of the sky and exploded above the heads of the White Army.

The White soldiers were completely blinded, and after a few violent explosions, a large blank space appeared in their ranks. Whoever made their marches quite dense, with little spacing between people, that even a single grenade could have the same lethal effect as an artillery strike, and at least seven or eight people fell from the landing point of each grenade.

But this was only the beginning, as the wounded White soldiers began to scream, and as soon as they realized what was happening, the PK machine guns lying in ambush on both sides of the road began to spray tongues of fire frantically.

As a rain of bullets from the flanks swept across the marching column, the panicked White soldiers had no chance but to let the bullets hit their bodies, and worse, their spontaneous confusion made the scene even worse.

Completely ignoring the officer's orders, they blindly pushed and shoved their comrades in the queue in an attempt to escape from this terrible hell. However, this does not make any sense, the only effect is to slow down their escape - people are constantly falling, people are constantly being trampled by their teammates......

For the machine gunners of the second company, the bullets could hit the target as long as they fired, and the only thing they had to worry about was that there were not enough bullets. It can be said that this is not a battle, but an execution...... Or rather, a one-sided slaughter.

But the Heavy was excited, screaming wildly, pulling the trigger with their index fingers, shifting their muzzles back and forth, and pouring bullets at all the targets that were still standing. In just a short moment, the vast majority of the White Army soldiers had already fallen. Many have seen God, and the rest are dying.

The soldiers of the White Army had never experienced such a terrible battle, they were so frightened that of course the soldiers of the second company did not care about these at all, so they did not care about the life or death of the enemy. Like the machine gunners, they raise their rifles and submachine guns and pull the triggers frantically, shooting at all targets that are standing or fleeing.

A chaotic white army was knocked down like a scythe harvesting wheat, and then ...... Then the battle was over, and the excited officers and men of the 2nd Company had exhausted all the bullets in the chambers of their guns, and then began to prepare to reload, apparently intending to kill all the enemies who could still move or were still struggling.

"Stop shooting! I'm CAO! Stop it! The company commander hurriedly gave the order for a ceasefire, he shouted: "I want to live, damn it, leave a few tongues, I want to interrogate them!" ”

Despite their reluctance, the soldiers of the second company stopped, and soon the gunfire died down, and in the small ambush circle there were now only the screams and wails of the remaining White soldiers, and the hysterical screams of a few poor creatures who were scared to the point of urine. (To be continued.) )

PS: Brain cramps, I made a mistake at the beginning, revise it