Chapter 2266

   Shadilov, who was deploying an offensive mission, immediately drove to the temporary headquarters of the Army Group Command after receiving the call.

"Comrade Commander," Shadilov quickly came to Kuznetsov and raised his hand to salute him: "Major General Shadilov, the commander of the 150th Infantry Division, has been ordered to come. I am waiting for your order. Please give me instructions." !"

"Please rest easy, Comrade Commander." Kuznetsov waved his hand at Shadilov and said to him, "I called you here today. I do have important tasks to entrust to you. I hope your performance will not change." it disappointed me."

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Seeing that Kuznetsov passed the army commander and was about to assign himself a combat mission, he immediately realized that it might be related to the seizure of the Capitol, and quickly assured the other party: "Our division will definitely Will take the Capitol and destroy the enemies that hide inside."

   "Comrade Military Commissar," Kuznetsov turned to the Military Commissar and said, "Bring the things here."

  The military commissar nodded, took a cloth-covered flag leaning against the wall, and handed it to Kuznetsov: "Comrade Commander, what you want."

Kuznetsov thanked the military commissar, turned to Shatilov and said: "Comrade Commander, this is the assault flag we made before entering Berlin. It is the fifth flag among the nine flags. I hope you can Plant this flag on top of the Capitol in the shortest possible time."

Shajilov stepped forward, took the flag from Kuznetsov's hands, and then said loudly: "Please rest assured, comrade commander and military commissar, we will definitely put this bright flag in the Congress. The top floor of the building."

   "Comrade Commander, how long do you think it will take you to take down the Capitol?" asked the Military Commissioner.

"It's hard to say, Comrade Military Commissioner." Facing the question raised by the Military Commissioner, Shadilov said with some embarrassment: "The Capitol is well-fortified, and the enemy's obstinacy far exceeds our imagination. This is a fierce battle. Ah, I think the most conservative needs three days."

   "No, there are not three days." But Kuznetsov shook his head and said, "Comrade commander, I can only give you thirty hours at most, understand?"

Although Shadilov felt that it was impossible to take the Capitol within 30 hours, since Kuznetsov issued such an order, he could only bite the bullet and replied: "Understood, Comrade Commander. We must In thirty hours, take the Capitol."

   "Wait a minute, Comrade Commander." At this moment, Comrade Military Commissar suddenly interrupted and said, "The thirty hours you mentioned, do you want to occupy the Capitol or control the Capitol?"

  Shadilov, who was still nervous at first, felt relieved when he heard what the military commissar said. Yes, the commander ordered him to take down the Capitol within 30 hours, but he didn't say whether it was occupation or complete control. You know, according to the tradition handed down from the Tsarist Russian era in the army, in a siege operation, as long as the flag is planted on the commanding heights of the city, it means that the city is occupied by the attacker. When we speak of control, we mean the annihilation of the defending defenders and the capture of entire cities.

"Comrade Military Commissar," Kuznetsov said, facing his own military commissar, with a serious expression, "If it's just occupation, it's a very easy thing. After the troops have stormed into the Capitol, you just need to send A commando team braved the enemy's bullets and rushed to the top of the building, and planted the flag at the highest position. But I need not only to occupy, but to control the entire Capitol, do you understand, Comrade Commander?" He said later The words were addressed to Shadilov.

   "I understand, Comrade Commander." Shadilov replied: "We will not only plant the flag on the dome of the Capitol, but also destroy the defenders inside until we control the entire Capitol."

Kuznetsov was very satisfied with Shadilov's statement, he nodded, and then said: "I also know that the German army in the Reichstag is very powerful, and it is bound to pay a heavy price if it only relies on infantry to attack. Therefore, I hand over the 23rd Tank Brigade to your command, and hope that the tank soldiers can provide you with artillery support in a more timely manner."

   After Shajilov bid farewell to Kuznetsov, he walked out of the headquarters with a banner.

   Lieutenant Koshkarbayev, the adjutant waiting outside, immediately greeted him, and asked with concern: "Comrade commander, what order did the commander give you?"

   "The order is very simple, let us eliminate the defenders of the Capitol within 30 hours and completely control this building."

Koshkarbayev suddenly saw the flag in Shadilov's hand, and couldn't help asking curiously: "Comrade commander, what kind of flag are you holding?" The military flag is placed in the division headquarters, and the flag held by the division commander is obviously not the military flag of the 150th Division.

"This is the fifth flag among the nine assault flags." Shadilov held the flag in both hands and handed it to Koshkarbayev, saying: "From now on, I will hand over this glorious flag to Koshkarbayev." You keep it until I hand it over to the commanders of the assault force."

"And I, Comrade Commander." When Koshkarbayev took the flag in Shadilov's hand, a voice suddenly came from the side: "I can go to the forefront with you as a flag bearer." ?"

Shadilov turned his head and saw that it was his guard Private Bulatov, so he nodded and smiled, and said, "Okay, Bulatov. From now on, you and Lieutenant Koshkarbayev are Flag bearers, your mission is not over until I hand the flag over to the soldiers on assault duty."

After the three got into the jeep, Shadilov said to the driver: "Comrade driver, take us to the regiment headquarters of the 756 regiment. They are in a building just a few hundred meters away from the Capitol at the moment. The specific location is waiting for the place." , I'll show you."

  Ten minutes later, under the guidance of Shajilov, the jeep came to a dilapidated four-story building and stopped.

  Shadilov opened the door first and got out of the car, and Koshkarbayev and Bulatov, who were carrying the flag, also got out of the car.

  Shadilov turned his head and glanced at the two, then shook his head and said, "Follow me into the building."

   After entering the building, Shadilov saw that except for a few commanders and fighters on duty with guns, the rest were leaning against the wall or lying on the ground to sleep. Seeing the resting soldiers, Shadilov didn't say anything. He knew very well that from the start of the offensive on April 16 to the present, not a single soldier had a full night's sleep for half a month. Taking advantage of the gap between the battles at this moment, it is understandable to lie here and rest.

  Shadilov grabbed the hand of a soldier on duty and asked in a low voice, "Where is your regimental commander?"

Seeing that the person who asked him was the commander, the soldier stood at attention and raised his hand in salute, then pointed to the ceiling and said, "It's on the second floor, Comrade Commander. The commander's temporary headquarters is in the barber shop on the second floor. "

   After thanking the soldiers, Shajilov took two of his subordinates up the dilapidated stairs to the second floor.

  Under the guidance of the soldiers along the way, they quickly found the headquarters of the 756th regiment located here.

"Hello, Comrade General." Colonel Zinchenko, the head of the regiment, was discussing the steps of the attack with several battalion commanders, but unexpectedly saw Shadilov walking in from the outside. He hurried forward and raised his hand to salute: "We The next offensive steps are being studied."

   "Let's hear it." Shadilov asked with interest: "How do you plan to break into the Capitol?"

"Comrade Commander," Zinchenko said, pointing to the map, "today the troops of the 171st Division fought the Germans for a day. Although they were very brave and tenacious, due to the strong fortifications and powerful firepower configuration of the German army, the troops suffered heavy casualties. , but did not achieve the desired results..."

"Comrade Colonel, don't mention the matter of friendly troops." Shadilov interrupted Zinchenko's words, and said bluntly: "The superior transferred our division to take over the task of attacking the Capitol from the 171st Division because the division Already crippled by the enemy in battle and unable to continue fighting. What I want to hear is, how does your regiment plan to storm the Capitol?"

"Comrade Commander, before you came here, we were discussing this issue." Zinchenko said: "Our artillery blasted a few huge holes in the wall of the Capitol. Enter the building directly through these holes, thereby reducing casualties when capturing the gate."

   "Well, it makes sense, let's continue."

"Of course, when the infantry is attacking, it is also necessary to provide them with some artillery support to suppress the enemy's firepower." Zinchenko tentatively asked Shadilov: "Comrade commander, I don't know if our regiment can support the enemy during the attack." We provide artillery support?"

"No problem, isn't it just artillery support? I can give it to you." Shadilov said: "In order to ensure that we can successfully take the Capitol, the Army Command assigned us the 23rd Tank Brigade. When you attack , these tanks staying near the square can bombard those firepower points that pose a huge threat to you, ensuring that you can enter the Capitol smoothly."

   "Comrade commander, when will we start our offensive?" Zinchenko asked.

"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel." Shadilov raised his hand and looked at the time: "When I came in, I saw your subordinates were resting. I don't think it's appropriate to wake them up at this time. I'd better wait for them Enough rest, it's not too late for us to attack again."

   "Okay, Comrade Commander, it's up to you to let the soldiers rest more." Zinchenko said with a smile: "When they have enough energy, they will be more heroic and tenacious in battle."

   "Comrade Colonel, I am here this time because I have an important task to entrust to you."

  As soon as he heard that there was an important task, Zinchenko's expression became serious: "What task?"

"That's right." Shadilov turned around and took the flag from Lieutenant Koshkarbayev, and said to Zinchenko: "Comrade Colonel, this is the assault flag awarded to us by the Army Group Command, and it is nine assault flags." Flag No. 5 in China. I hope you can send someone to plant this flag on the top floor of the Capitol. How about it, can it be done?"

"No problem, Comrade Commander." Knowing that Shadilov had entrusted such an important task to his regiment, Zinchenko became agitated. He hurried to the door and shouted to the outside: "Come on!" , come here!"

  Following his shout, several soldiers ran over and asked with concern: "Comrade commander, what's the matter?"

Zinchenko glanced over everyone's faces one by one, and then pointed at a few people: "You, Berest; and you, Yegorov; and you, Kantaria. The three of you come in with me, and the rest of you should leave."

  Zinchenko took the three of them back to the house and said to Shadilov: "Comrade Commander, I plan to send the three of them to perform this glorious and difficult task."

Shadilov nodded after hearing this, and then handed the flag in his hand to Zinchenko: "Comrade Colonel, since you think the three of them are suitable, it would be great. I hope that in tomorrow's battle, I can see To this brightly colored flag flying over the roof of the Capitol."

  The three commanders who Zinchenko came in couldn't help showing surprise expressions on their faces when they learned that they were tasked with planting the red flag on the roof of the Capitol. Even if you know everything about this kind of thing, the act of planting a flag on the roof is enough to make yourself recorded in history. After trying to understand this, the three commanders said at the same time: "Master, Commander, please rest assured that we will overcome all difficulties and plant this flag on the roof of the Capitol."

Shajilov stepped forward and shook hands with the three of them one by one, and said: "Comrades, your mission is very honorable, but it is also very dangerous. Although I hope that you can plant the flag on the roof of the Capitol as soon as possible, but at the same time I hope You will all come back alive."

   "Comrade commander, don't worry, we will save ourselves on the battlefield." Berest said on behalf of the three: "But as long as one of us is alive, we will definitely plant this flag on the roof of the Capitol."

"Very good, very good." Shadilov was very satisfied with Berest's answer, he nodded, and then said: "Go down and have a good rest, and let your regiment commander send someone to go to the army when the troops are about to start attacking." call you."

  After letting the three flag-planting commanders leave, Zinchenko looked at Shadilov and asked, "Comrade commander, when are we going to launch an offensive?"

"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel." Shadilov said to Zinchenko: "Although I want to order your troops to attack now. But the other troops have not yet arrived, especially the 23rd tank brigade that cooperates with us. Without their cooperation, we would have suffered more casualties in the battle." He raised his hand and looked at the time, "At two o'clock in the morning, we officially launched an attack on the Capitol."

  (end of this chapter)