Chapter 165 Cadet Cavalry
October 1941, Moscow, Podolsk Academy.
As night falls, bursts of fire light up in the sky outside Moscow from time to time. If you look carefully, you can still hear faint explosions.
In the stables, the war horses have long been accustomed to the continuous sound of cannons. One of the snow-white Orlov horses naughtily brushed its sleeping companion with its tail from time to time, while the docile Don hippo beside it He snorted impatiently.
A black figure appeared in the stable. The other horses were a little restless, but the Orlov horse was obviously excited.
The person who came was a young man of 18 or 9 years old, with refreshing blond hair, wearing a student military uniform without a collar badge, and holding a jar tightly in his arms.
"Hey, Victory, old man, how are you?" The young man reached out to stroke the Orlov horse named "Victory".
The white horse also responded to him kindly and wanted to put his mouth into the jar.
"Okay, okay, don't worry, I'll take it out for you." The male student put his hand into the jar and grabbed a handful, then spread out his palm, and there were round beans inside.
Baima lowered his head excitedly to nibble the beans, and kept licking the young man's palm with his warm tongue.
Bang! A voice sounded from the side.
“Who!” The male student looked warily towards the corner in the darkness.
"Alexei, it's us." A familiar voice came from the corner, and seven or eight boys also wearing student shirts slipped over from the alley. Without exception, each of them held a child in his arms. jars, big or small.
They are cadets of the cavalry department of the Podolsk Academy.
As students from the famous military academies of the Soviet Union, these students can obtain at least the rank of warrant officer upon graduation, but these future officers are saving their rations to share with their war horses.
The cavalry has declined since the beginning of World War II. The current situation of the Soviet cavalry is that their numbers are increasing, and their equipment and supply conditions are getting worse and worse. Originally, the cavalry divisions had fewer heavy weapons, and in order to make up for the lack of weapons in other units , these heavy equipment were handed over to other troops in large quantities.
There are fewer weapons and less food.
War horses are very delicate animals. They often need to add night food on weekdays. Barley, fish bones, and beans are all standard meals.
But now the Soviet Union is extremely short of supplies. People eat black bread and boiled beans every day. How can there be excess food to feed the horses? Therefore, the concentrated feed for all war horses has been reduced to 30% of the previous level. Even those in the military academy Losing fat is inevitable when training a horse.
These students have already developed a deep relationship with their war horses. They would rather go hungry themselves than secretly share details with the war horses.
"Alexei, I heard that during the last Red Square military parade, our college had an independent cavalry phalanx, right?" A younger student asked his senior.
"Yes, our cavalry major is the best, no worse than that of Frunze School. We are at the forefront of the cavalry in every military parade. Shengli participated in the last military parade." Alexey proudly patted the neck of the white horse next to him.
"Oh, God, Alexei, have you participated in the military parade? Have you met Comrade Stalin?!" The young students looked at the senior with admiration.
"Um...no, because I was not the victorious rider before." Alexey explained awkwardly, but he immediately added, "But this year is different. As long as we can participate in the military parade, I It must be..."
Gulong! Goulon! The sound of gunfire in the distant suburbs was like muffled thunder, bringing the students back from imagination to reality.
Yes, the Germans have reached the outskirts of Moscow, and there may not be a military parade this year. beep! beep! ! Dudu! ! !
A high-pitched trumpet sound suddenly sounded.
"Emergency assembly number! Hurry!" the leading boy shouted, and the cadet soldiers ran towards the playground.
During the war, everyone was very alert. In less than a minute, everyone had stood on the playground and arranged their queues. Two senior officials stood opposite them.
One of them was General Kirponos, who had been benched by Stalin and was now in charge of the militia.
“Comrade Principal, are these the only people?” General Kilponos asked the people around him.
"Yes, the 380-person cadet cavalry battalion is all here." The principal of the school answered standing aside, and then he said, "No way, we don't have enough vehicles now. If we follow the order and require 8 hours Only the cavalry can reach the defense line of Mozhaisk."
Looked at the young faces. , the general reached out and picked up an iron trumpet: "Davari! Young soldiers! The Soviet motherland needs you!"
Half an hour later, Alexey got his weapon, a half-armed one. A new Mosin-Nagant rifle, a standard cavalry saber, three infantry grenades, and the reins of the white horse "Victory" were also in his hands.
The original student ID cards were stamped with a red seal and returned to the young guys one by one.
He has just completed the change of identity, from a cadet of the cavalry department to a soldier of the Moscow Guards Cavalry Regiment.
They were given a mission to rush to the Mozhaysk defense line within 8 hours, support the defenders there and hold on for 72 hours.
Most of these young people who are less than twenty years old have childish and confused faces, and some are full of fantasies about the battlefield.
"Do you think we will get medals after completing the mission this time? I don't ask for much, just a medal of bravery." A young man leading a dark horse caught up with Alexei. Friend Sergey.
"Sergey, I suggest you don't think so far ahead. This mission is not that simple." In contrast, Alexey, who is one year older, has his own ideas.
Think about it. Pulling the student soldiers who are still in school to the front line shows that the mobile forces in this area have been exhausted to the limit. The commander has no choice, even these three hundred people. The troops don't care anymore.
Their instructor, Colonel Robrov, personally served as the commander. He waved his hand behind him, and the team of more than 300 people disappeared into the night.
Behind them, Admiral Kilponos stood at attention and saluted them, unable to put down his hand for a long time.
Although the task is urgent, it is very dangerous to ride horses in the dark, so Robrov asked the students to lead their horses and walk slowly, and wait for two hours for sunrise before the others can mount their horses and march quickly.
Dudu~~ A Gis-5 truck came up from behind. Alexei leaned over and looked around. There were two mortars and ammunition in the back of the truck, as well as several boxes of anti-tank grenades.
These are the "heavy weapons" used by the general to support them.
Alexey wanted to see what else was inside. At this time, a strand of golden hair appeared in his field of vision.
Woman? !
(End of this chapter)