The German army, which suffered a night attack, paid a huge price. They were worried that they might be attacked by the Soviet army at night, so after dawn, they packed up their things and retreated west in a hurry.
Paulkosky was quite satisfied with the sneak attack he was commanding. He said in front of the battalion commander Captain Vasily: "Comrade Battalion Commander, if we are not carrying sixty rockets, but two hundred, or even three hundred. Then after the attack last night, the German infantry division would be greatly damaged."
"Captain, there are not so many assumptions on the battlefield." Captain Vasily said to him: "The reason why the new rockets are only equipped with our division now is because the production capacity of these rockets is insufficient. This night attack, the division commander can agree to give you sixty consecutive shots, probably after repeated consideration."
After saying that, Captain Vasily picked up a red box from the table and said to Paulkosky: "This is the box sent by Lieutenant Colonel Cydolin, with a medal inside it, which is rewarded to the commander who performed outstandingly in the night attack last night."
Paulkosky thought the medal in the box was prepared for himself, and said loudly: "Serve the Soviet motherland!" After that, he reached out to get the box, but his hand was stopped by Vasily.
"Sorry, comrade Captain." Vasily said to him apologetically: "The medal in this box is not for you, but for a row of commanders, Lieutenant Narva."
"What, is the medal given to Lieutenant Narva?" Paulkosky said angrily: "But the commander who attacked the night last night was me, not him. How could his superior give him the medal?"
"Captain, I don't deny that you won a great victory in the night attack last night." Vasily knew Paulkosky's resentment, so he said to him: "Do you want to hear how the commander judges you?"
When Paulkosky learned that Sokov had commented on his battle last night, he immediately asked impatiently: "Comrade Battalion Commander, please talk quickly."
"First of all, the division commander felt that last night's night attack was very successful." Vasily said: "But he felt that you could have achieved greater results, but because of your conservatism, only one platoon was sent to disrupt the enemy. If the entire company was dispatched, the casualties caused to the German army would increase exponentially under the circumstances, and at least one regiment of troops would remain on this land permanently. If the enemy suffered heavy casualties, they would probably not attack this area for a long time.
It is precisely because of this that the division commander decided to just give you verbally and hand over the medal to Lieutenant Narva who bravely led the troops to attack. Do you understand?"
Hearing Vasily say this, Paulkosky immediately realized what he was wrong. However, he still said unconvincedly: "Comrade Battalion Commander, although I have more than 300 people in my company, the enemy is a division. It is too funny to use more than 300 people to fight against tens of thousands of people from the enemy."
"Look at you, you are still stubborn and feel that you only have more than 300 people in your hands, so you dare not take the initiative to attack the enemy? You know, the division commander used to launch a fierce attack on the German regiment headquarters with more than 100 people, and finally achieved great results." Vasily continued: "Besides, the division commander also said that in Lugansk, our army has an advantage in military strength. Even if you are trapped in the siege when you attack the enemy, he will not stand by and will definitely send troops to rescue you."
Hearing this, Paulkosky slapped himself fiercely. The reason why he couldn't make up his mind in the end was that he was worried that the entire company would be destroyed after being surrounded by the German army. When he knew that the division commander would send troops to rescue him, he regretted it so much that his intestines were blue.
Seeing his subordinates so upset, Vasily quickly patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Captain Paulkosky, don't be discouraged. There are still many wars to fight with the Germans. The division commander said that fighting with the enemy requires not only courage, but also by one's own brain and wisdom to defeat the enemy. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Comrade Battalion Commander." Only then did Paulkosky truly understand what he was wrong. He assured Vasily: "Next time I encounter this situation, I will definitely lead the troops to rush up and turn the enemy's camp upside down."
"Don't worry, comrade Captain, there will be such an opportunity." Vasily picked up the box on the table and put it in Paulkosky's hand, and said to him: "Okay, come back to the company quickly and hand this medal to Lieutenant Narva. I believe that the soldiers will definitely play a role in morale when they see this medal."
Paulkosky returned to the company and quickly ordered people to call all the platoon leaders to the company headquarters for a meeting.
After everyone arrived, he announced in public that he would award a medal for the heroic performance of Nalva in the battle last night. The platoon leaders present had their eyes red when the medal was hung on Nalva's chest, and they all hoped that the person who won the medal was himself.
After completing the simple medal ceremony, the second platoon leader suddenly asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, I want to ask, what kind of medal did you win in the battle last night? Can you take it out for everyone to see?"
The words of the second platoon leader immediately resonated with everyone. The squad platoon leaders wanted to see what medal Paulkosky received. Unexpectedly, Paulkosky shook his head and replied with a wry smile: "I'm sorry, this time the division only awarded us one medal, which was for Lieutenant Narva, and I just received verbal commendation."
"What, you only received verbal commendation?" The squad leader present was shocked. After a while, Narva asked on behalf of everyone: "Comrade Commander, what's going on? You know, you were commanding the battle last night, so why didn't you have a medal?"
"Comrades, please be quiet, please listen to me." Seeing the platoon leaders of his squad and platoons talking, Paulkosky quickly raised his hand and pressed down, saying to everyone: "The division commander said that my tactics last night were too conservative. He could command the entire company to rush into the enemy's camp while the enemy was in chaos, causing them greater casualties. Then I only sent one platoon, which caused limited losses to the enemy. Therefore, he only awarded the medal to Narva, and I only received verbal commendations."
"Comrade Commander, how can this work?" Hearing Paulkosky say this, Narva reached out to take off the medal on his chest: "You were commanding last night's battle, and this medal should belong to you."
Chapter completed!