Chapter 37 Deserter
The scorching sun has completely jumped out of the horizon and is hanging above the vast jungle, watching the billowing smoke and dust rising from the ground with indifference.
On several defensive positions in the Bredev Forest, a group of defeated soldiers with four tanks among them were slowly moving to the rear of the positions. In the two-meter-deep trenches, the soldiers of the 209th Battalion, who were on high alert, silently watched this group pass through their trenches, and everyone had an unhappy expression on their face.
This group of defeated soldiers had more than 600 people and four tanks. In terms of size, their number was greater than that of the entire 209th Battalion, but they were all defeated by the Germans. With such a small number of people in the 209th Battalion, could they have stopped the German attack?
Behind the position, outside a newly built underground air defense command post, Yuri stood on the roof of the command post, which was built with logs and covered with a lot of branches, and frowned as he watched the group of defeated soldiers pouring into his position. He knew very well that the appearance of such a large number of defeated soldiers would inevitably cause a great blow to the morale of his soldiers. Although they brought four tanks, Yuri would rather these people not show up if possible.
Under the roof of the command post, Arkady was staring at a young officer with a dusty face and crying. Judging from the brief on his shoulder, this guy was actually a major, a crying major. It was ridiculous.
The major was a member of the 19th Tank Division of the 22nd Mechanized Army under the command of Major General Kondrushev. He was the commander of a tank regiment. His name was Vissarion. Vissarion Vladimirovich Kobelyaki was from Poltava, and his last name was the name of his hometown.
"...the German tanks came like a tide, the whole field was full of their men, and there were hundreds of their planes in the sky ," Kobelyaki was obviously frightened out of his mind. He sat slumped under the roof, holding a leafy branch with both hands, trembling and pulling the leaves, and narrating in a trembling voice, "We have nothing, no artillery, no planes, and even not enough shells. God, there are only a few concrete bombs in my cabin."
Yuri ignored what this guy said. He just frowned at the fleeing soldiers.
Kobelyaki's tank regiment encountered the German vanguard in the village of Giromir, 20 kilometers away from Volynsk, and the distance from there to Lutsk was only 30 kilometers. In other words, the German vanguard should be arriving soon.
"...My troops were in chaos at the first moment. I couldn't contact anyone, and the radio was broken. There was no hope, everything was hopeless," Kobelyaki sat there slumped, mumbling soullessly, "We must retreat, yes, we must retreat, it's not safe here, the Germans are coming soon, we must retreat to Zhitomir, and then rebuild a stronger defense line..."
"Vissarion? Comrade Major Vladimirovich, do you know what you are talking about?" Hearing the bastard getting more and more outrageous, Yuri turned around and jumped down from the roof. He grabbed the major's loose collar and shouted, "As an officer, you are a disgrace to the Red Army!"
He grabbed Kobelyaki and threw him into the trench beside him. Yuri jumped in and pushed him into the command post. Kobelyaki was a big man, but at this time, he had lost all his strength. He was like a ball of mud and didn't even have the consciousness to resist, even though Yuri's military rank was lower than his.
"Vissarion? Comrade Major Vladimirovich, let me tell you," Yuri grabbed Kobelyaki's collar tightly in the command post, his face almost in front of his eyes, and said with gritted teeth, "Do you know what time it is now? A war is going on now, an unprecedented war. From the Baltic Sea to Eastern Carpathians, millions of Germans are attacking us. It is an all-out attack!"
The flying saliva sprayed all over Kobelyaki's face, but this guy still didn't react at all.
"You want to go to Zhitomir? Fine, go ahead," Yuri pushed him hard against the wall and continued loudly, "but I tell you everything that will happen: you'll lose your troops, your tanks, your defense zone, your superiors don't know where you are, and your soldiers will all die under the German tank brigade. I believe that even if you make it to Zhitomir successfully, you will be arrested by the Military Committee. The charges waiting for you will be traitor, German spy, and enemy of the state who conspired to overthrow the Soviet regime. Not only will you be shot, but your family will also be sent to concentration camps. Yes, this is what you will face, and it is the only possible outcome you will face."
Kobelyaki's lips turned pale instantly, and his trembling frequency increased. He leaned against the wall with his eyes fixed. As an officer, and a Ukrainian officer at that, he certainly knew that what Yuri said was absolutely correct.
"Vissarion? Major Vladimirovich, you only have two choices now." Yuri didn't want to say anything more to this coward. He turned and walked to the entrance of the command post. When he was about to go out, he turned back and said, "Take out your pistol . Either come with me to teach the Germans a lesson, or get rid of yourself."
After saying this, he didn't even look at this guy again. He walked out of the command post and climbed up the trench.
"Arkady!" Yuri shouted loudly, standing on the high slope in front of the trench.
"I'm here, Comrade Captain," Arkady shouted back, sticking his head out of a nearby trench.
"You..." Yuri was about to give an order when he heard a muffled "ping" sound coming from the command post behind him. It was a gunshot.
The gunshot was very loud and echoed across the battlefield. People far and near heard it. Many soldiers climbed out of the trenches and looked over here.
"Go, call all the deserters above the rank of sergeant to me," Yuri paused and quickly continued.
"Yes, Comrade Captain!" Arkady responded and ran away quickly.
Yuri jumped down the trench again and returned to his command post.
Kobelyaki's body was lying less than two meters away from the entrance, face up, with the barrel of the pistol in his right hand still partly sticking out of his wide-open mouth. This guy, who would rather commit suicide than fight the Germans, escaped his duty by swallowing the gun. The bullet shot half of his head off, and the mud wall not far from him was splattered with blood, and a large piece of bloody skull fell into the corner of the wall.
Yuri ignored the corpse and walked straight to the wooden table. He picked up the cigarette on the table and lit one for himself.
A few minutes later, under the leadership of Arkady, more than twenty deserters of different ranks were brought in. When everyone walked into the command post, they were shocked by the corpse lying on the ground. Although they had a premonition, no one expected that the body of a major would lie on the ground so undignifiedly.
"Comrades, as you can see, Comrade Major Vissarion Vladimirovich has committed suicide because he knew very well what kind of punishment he would face as a deserter, especially as a deserter who lost all his subordinates and positions." Yuri said, holding a cigarette, as he watched everyone walk into the door. "Yes, the war broke out suddenly. The German offensive was very powerful. They had large-scale fighter planes and even larger-scale tanks , but we had nothing, not even enough rifles and bullets. But this is not a reason for us to be deserters, and no one can understand or accept this reason."
Yuri took another puff of the cigarette, and in the midst of the smoke, he continued, "At this moment, all we can do is to defend the position in front of us and prevent the Germans from attacking Lutsk. If for nothing else, even for the sake of our loved ones, we have no reason to continue running away, unless you want to be a traitor, a despicable coward."
"Time is running out," Yuri winked at Arkady who was standing at the back, pointed to a record book on the table and said, "Now, everyone come over to register. Write down your name, rank, and original unit affiliation. I hope you can hold on. When the battle is over, I will report your heroic performance here. By then, you will no longer be deserters, but combat heroes."
Arkady understood what Yuri meant. He stepped forward from behind, took the record book and began to register one by one.
There were only more than 20 people, and the registration was done quickly. After everyone had registered, Yuri took the book again, looked at the names on it and said, "Now, I will hand over all the soldiers who came with you to your organization."
Among the more than 20 people, the highest-ranking ones are two second lieutenants, and the rest are basically sergeants, and there are a few warrant officers.
Yuri's plan was simple. He planned to reorganize the deserters and add them to the positions of the various battalions. Most importantly, he had to use the four tanks. The best way was to hide them on the edge of the Brezhnev Forest. In this way, when the Germans launched their attack, the presence of the four tanks would probably give them a surprise.
Reorganizing a group of deserters is a very time-consuming task. In addition, Yuri also has to arrange people to cut wood in the woods and find a hidden place for the four tanks. The time he has is very limited, because if nothing unexpected happens, the German vanguard will arrive soon.
