Vatutin had promised Stalin that the battle to liberate Voronezh would begin in a few days, but it dragged on and on until September. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

Due to the dire situation in Stalingrad, Zhukov, commanding the 24th and 66th Armies and the 1st Guards Army, launched a surprise attack on Paulus's 6th Army at dawn on September 5. But due to insufficient preparation, the counterattack did not reach the desired goal. That night, Stalin personally called Zhukov and ordered him to continue the counter-assault.

But regrettably, the attack organized by Zhukov the next day was again defeated. He tried to strike from the north to restore contact with the 62nd Army, but failed.

It was under these circumstances that the offensive of Vatutin's troops on Voronezh was hastily launched. Having received Stalin's order to attack, Vatutin threw his troops into battle in just an hour.

The long preparation time for the battle of Vatutin, coupled with several more exploratory offsets, alarmed the Germans, who strengthened their defenses in areas where the Soviets might break through.

After more than four hours of fierce fighting, the 6th Infantry Brigade, which was part of the 141st Army, finally succeeded in crossing the Voronezh and Don rivers and established a landing field on the west bank of the Don River with a width of 800 meters and a depth of one kilometer.

When the Germans saw that the Soviets had established a landing ground on the west bank of the Don River, they immediately launched a frantic counterattack, and the infantry, under the cover of tanks and artillery, launched one charge after another towards the landing field, trying to drive the commanders and fighters of the 141st Infantry Brigade into the Don River.

Vatutin, naturally, refused to easily give up the landing site, which had been obtained with great effort, and hurriedly ordered the commander of the 6th Army, Khalitonov, to send troops to strengthen the garrison of the landing site.

Khalidonov, who received the order, did not dare to slack off, and hurriedly ordered the 160th and 174th Infantry Divisions, which had just crossed the Voronezh River, to reinforce the 141st Brigade, which was holding the landing site.

Naturally, the Germans refused to allow Soviet reinforcements to cross the Don River easily, so they blocked the river with artillery fire, blowing up one boat after another full of fighters to pieces. A regiment of the 160th Infantry Division had 1,200 men, and by the time they landed on the landing ground on the west bank of the Don River, only more than 300 men remained, and the rest died in the river.

Although he saw the heavy casualties of his troops, Kharidonov, who was worried about the loss of the landing site, continued to order his troops to carry out a forced crossing and rush over to support the 141st Brigade, which was fighting hard.

The fighting continued until dark, when it stopped completely. The 160th Infantry Division, which originally consisted of 6,000 men, was left with only 1,000 men after the battles of forcing the crossing and holding the landing ground. The situation of the 141st Brigade, which was the first to establish the landing ground, was not much better, and the four battalions of the brigade were almost completely wiped out, leaving only 300 men of the brigade's direct subordinate troops.

Seeing the heavy casualties of the defenders on the west bank of the Don River, the commander of the 174th Infantry Division asked Khalidonov for instructions: "Comrade commander, you see that the landing ground established by our army on the opposite bank is too narrow, and if too many troops are concentrated there, once they are shelled by the enemy, they will inevitably cause heavy losses. ”

After listening to the division commander's worries, Khalitonov said with a serious expression: "We have finally established a landing field on the west bank of the Don River, how can we give up easily?" Comrade division commander, immediately send troops across the river, no matter how great the cost, we must hold the landing field. ”

Just as the fighting along the Don River was in full swing, Rokossovsky, who was in the headquarters, received a call from Stalin. Stalin politely asked: "Hello, Konstantin Konstantinovich, how are you doing?" ”

"Hello, Comrade Stalin." Hearing that it was Stalin looking for him, Rokossovsky couldn't help but feel a little nervous, and hurriedly asked respectfully: "Do you have any instructions?" ”

"How is your defense zone doing, and is there any movement from the Germans?"

"No, Comrade Stalin, everything is uneventful." Rokossovsky hurriedly reported: "We do not have the ability to expand the area we occupy, and it is not so easy for the enemy to seize the territory we defend, so the parties are currently in a state of peace." ”

"It seems that your defense zone is very safe, so I can rest assured." Without waiting for Rokossovsky to ask why he was relieved, Stalin continued: "Tomorrow there will be a condolence group organized by all sectors of society to visit your Front Command. At this point, Stalin suddenly lowered his voice and said, "There is one of them who is your admirer, and you must receive her well." ”

Hearing Stalin say this in such a mocking tone, Rokossovsky suddenly had a feeling of obedience in his heart. He was about to ask who his admirers were, when he heard Stalin say again: "Comrade Rokossovsky, the situation there at the moment is very bad, the troops holding there lack tanks and artillery, I wonder if you can support them and strengthen their defenses?" ”

When Rokossovsky heard this, he understood that Stalin had gone around in such a big circle in order to allow himself to send troops to support the Stalingrad direction. Having figured this out, he immediately replied: "Comrade Stalin, since there is no fighting in the defense zone of our front, I can send General Katukov's tank corps to support Stalingrad. ”

"Katukov?! Well, he was a very good tank commander, and in the defense of Moscow, his performance in the Mtsensk region was very eye-catching. Stalin, after praising Katukov, continued to ask: "When will his tank corps depart?" ”

"We'll be able to go tomorrow at dawn!"

"Very well," Stalin nodded with satisfaction when he saw that he had achieved his goal, exchanged a few more pleasantries with Rokossovsky, and hung up the phone.

Early the next morning, Katukov commanded his tank corps to leave the defense area and drive in the direction of Stalingrad along the highway still under Soviet control.

Soon after the departure of the tank army, a condolence group from Moscow arrived. Rokossovsky, who was sullen about the departure of a tank army, handed over the reception of the condolence group to the military commissar Shabalin, and himself, together with Malinin, Kazakov, and Orel, studied how to adjust the deployment and sent troops to fill the defensive zone vacated after the departure of the tank army.

Rokossovsky sat at the table with his back to the door, looking down at the map in front of him, listening to Malinin report on his plans. Listening to this, he suddenly felt that the room became quiet, he looked up at Ma Lining, and saw Ma Lining staring behind him in surprise, dumbfounded and speechless. And the situation of Kazakov and Orel was not much better, and the two of them also stared in the direction of the door with surprised expressions.

"What's going on with you guys?" Seeing that his three subordinates were so out of shape, Rokossovsky said unhappily: "What exactly did you see? As he spoke, he was about to turn around to see what was behind him, when he suddenly heard a voice that was too familiar to be more familiar: "Koschika, I'm coming!" ”

Hearing this, Rokossovsky couldn't help but be shocked. Thinking he was hallucinating, he turned slowly and looked towards the door, trying to figure out who it was.

I saw a young woman standing at the door, wearing military civilian clothes, with a handsome appearance and a bumpy figure. After Rokossovsky saw the other party clearly, the corners of his mouth couldn't help twitching violently, he never dreamed that the other party would appear in front of him at such a time.

Seeing Rokossovsky standing at the table in a daze, the young woman smiled and repeated what she had just said: "Koschika, I'm coming!" Don't you know me? ”

"Borisova, is that you?" Rokossovsky was surprised and asked, "Why are you here?" ”

Although Borisova couldn't wait to throw herself into Rokossovsky's arms, in front of so many people in the command, out of a woman's reserve, she still stood still, but looked at Rokossovsky and replied: "The city said that it would organize people from all walks of life to come here to offer condolences." Comrade Popov of the city party committee asked me to be the head of this condolence group, and this is how I got here. ”

"Comrade Borisova," seeing that Rokossovsky and Borisova were both standing still, Malinin, who knew the story between them, hurriedly stepped forward and greeted Borisova warmly: "Hurry up, please take a seat!" ”

As soon as Borisova sat down, Orel came over with a cup of hot tea and a smile. He put the teacup in front of Borisova and said politely: "Comrade Borisova, you must be tired after a night in the car." Drink a cup of hot tea with honey to warm up and refresh yourself. ”

After Kazakov also greeted Borisova, he smiled and said to Malinin: "The commander and Comrade Borisova have not seen each other for a long time, should we avoid it and let the two of them catch up with the old days." ”

"No need." Although Rokossovsky was anxious to stay with Borisova for a long time, he was still a person who knew how to prioritize, and he would never occupy an important command headquarters for his own personal affairs. "Let's go and sit in my room."

Borisova nodded, then stood up, ready to follow Rokossovsky outward. Rokossovsky looked at Malinin and was about to say a few words, but Malinin had already preemptively said: "Comrade commander, don't worry, if there is anything important, I will send soldiers to you." ”

Rokossovsky's room was in a two-story building not far from the headquarters. Borisova followed Rokossovsky into the room, and as soon as the door closed, she immediately threw herself into Rokossovsky's arms, buried her head in his chest, and kept saying in her mouth: "Koschika, Koschika, I finally see you again, how are you lately?" ”

Rokossovsky bowed his head and kissed her on the forehead, then replied: "I'm fine, what about you, how are you doing?" I've called you twice, but I haven't found anyone with you. ”

"Those two times were just for the meeting." Borisova said with some regret: "I wanted to call you, but the operator said that you are an important military unit here, and civilian lines cannot be accessed without authorization." ”

"Yesterday I received a call from Comrade Stalin," Rokossovsky suddenly remembered what Stalin said on the phone yesterday, and said to Borisova with a smile: "He said that in the condolence group that came today, there was an admirer of mine, and I must receive her well, I wonder if it is you?" ”

When Borisova heard Rokossovsky say this, she looked up at him and said: "There are twenty people in the condolence group, including four women, including me, two of whom are aunts in their fifties, and the other is a representative of the Young Pioneers in the sixth grade, do you think it will be them?" ”

As soon as she finished speaking, her mouth was gagged by Rokossovsky's, and the lips of the two kissed tightly......

More than an hour later, a weak Borisova lay in Rokossovsky's arms, drawing circles on his chest with her fingers, and asked, consciously or unconsciously: "I heard that the situation in Stalingrad is not good at the moment, is this true?" ”

Hearing Borisova ask about military secrets, Rokossovsky couldn't help but hesitate a little, and wondered very paradoxically whether he should tell her the truth.

Borisova noticed Rokossovsky's strangeness and quickly explained to him: "There are quite a few factories in Moscow that need raw materials from Stalingrad, but recently the source of these materials has been suddenly cut off. I went to the city to ask, and the city leaders also vaguely said that the situation in Stalingrad was not very good, so it affected the supply of raw materials. Can you tell me if I'm asking a question that doesn't involve leaking secrets? ”

After listening to Borisova's explanation, Rokossovsky suddenly remembered that the other party was still the director of the Industrial Bureau, and even if she didn't say it, she could find out what she wanted to know through other channels, so she nodded and replied: "That's right, Borisova, the situation in Stalingrad is very bad, and it may not be long before it will be besieged by the German army." ”

"Siege?" Hearing this word, Borisova sat up sharply. As soon as she sat up, her snow-white chest was exposed to the cold air, she quickly grabbed the quilt and covered her chest, and asked nervously: "Is it like Leningrad, surrounded by the Germans, and even the food supply cannot be guaranteed?" ”

Rokossovsky raised his hand and put his arm around her shoulder, and said with a pleasant face: "Stalingrad will definitely be besieged by the Germans, but its situation is different from Leningrad, it is behind the Volga River, even if the Germans are surrounded in other directions, our defenders can pass through the port of Mamayev and maintain contact with the outside world." ”

"Then can we repel the German attack?" Borisova asked nervously.

When Rokossovsky heard this, he couldn't help grinning, "Don't worry, Borisova, don't look at the Germans who are aggressive now, but sooner or later our troops will defeat them." ”