A few days ago, Timoshenko sent a number of telegrams to the so-called 63rd Army under his command, making it clear that he intended to attack the German army, especially Kiev, in the event of a large-scale battle in the future.

The 63 Army responded quickly, and the commander Berekov said that he would resolutely complete the tasks assigned by his superiors.

Of course, this made Timoshengo very satisfied, but it was still impossible to hope for what kind of results they could achieve, especially at this juncture.

Yang Mingzhi's military operation was very successful, the German army's communication line in southeastern Belarus was paralyzed for four days, 8,000 people were saved, and first-hand evidence of the German concentration camp was obtained.

On the telegram, they claimed that the losses were negligible, and by the time they arrived at the Front Command, almost all the staff officers refused to believe that their losses were really negligible. Timoshenko knew that the army was good at winning more with less, and he really couldn't fully agree with the battle loss ratio reported by him.

In particular, the telegram sent on May 10 was even more bizarre, what new type of rocket artillery flew 40 kilometers and accidentally injured the villagers. This kind of information was directly regarded as braggadocio by all officers and staff officers, including Timoshenko himself.

They created rockets for real combat, which is understandable, after all, the inventor Berekov was the commander of the 63 Army. Even if he has more production capacity, how can he build a rocket launcher that is unique in the world just by relying on the harsh conditions of the swamp?

He believed that the telegrams of the so-called army group were more or less flooded, and that their situation was not as good as it had been advertised. This force can go to war, such as attacking Kyiv is still too risky, if they are forced to do so, it is very likely that not only will they not complete the mission, but will be eaten by the all-out attack of the elite troops of the German army.

What they have been fighting for a year is the second and third lines of the German army, and even the puppet army units! Achieving great results in such inferior troops is bound to suffer huge losses once facing the elite of the German army.

The 63rd Army should not be in danger, Timoshenko was well aware that this unit was indeed under his own command, and the opinion of the guerrilla movement command had to be taken into account. That Ponomarenko was the commander-in-chief of the partisan movement, he was a Belarusian, and this guerrilla republic meant a lot to Belarus. If the 63rd Group Army encounters a dangerous situation, it will undoubtedly be a fatal blow to the development of the guerrilla movement.

After weighing it repeatedly, Timoshenko and Tupikov made a decision that in the future Kharkov offensive campaign, the 63rd Army would not be involved in the first place.

If the battle goes smoothly and the troops successfully capture Kharkov and repel the German army, then the Soviets are likely to liberate Sumy Oblast on the entire situational map. An offensive of troops towards the Chernihiv region will be possible, when the more than 10,000 troops of the 63rd Army will cross the Dnieper and attack the city of Chernihiv from the rear will undoubtedly achieve great results.

This was Timoshenko's wishful thinking, and the 63rd Army could only be used as a surprise force after the Soviets occupied Kharkov and stabilized the front. Until then, it's better for them to stay alive.

Because of secrecy, the front army did not inform the 63rd Army of the start of the battle, so Yang Mingzhi only knew that there would be a large-scale battle in the near future.

He was still waiting for the order from his superiors, but unfortunately he still didn't.

Geographically in the swampland, this rain began to fall in the early morning of the 13th, and the rain was heavy that day, and the increase in the water level of the river pond was obvious. In the evening of the same day, the rain weakened, and the light rain continued until the 14th, and it is still unknown when the rain will stop.

And in Barvenkovo, it rained heavily throughout the 13th, but on the 14th the rain gradually stopped. The land was muddy after the heavy rains, and the troops' offensive had to be postponed for a while, first, to wait for the land to dry out, and second, for the troops to check their equipment.

On rainy days, Yang Mingzhi had nothing to do, so he had to stay honestly at the headquarters.

My wife is busy working in the hospital, the arsenal and fertilizer factory are producing step by step, and the current materials can continue to produce Exocet rocket launchers. He waited for the order of his superiors, and after the inspection of the communication equipment, everything was normal, but the orders of the superiors were not received for a long time, and it seemed that the other party kept the radio silent.

It would be nice if it was silence, this is called the tranquility before the battle, and it must be in secrecy!

Expectant, anxious and bored, the only thing that can relieve his mind is to talk to his comrades.

Yevlov was indeed bored, and he was even more worried, "This damn rain has seriously delayed the training of our fighters. ”

"Of course!" Fuming stopped his pen and said, "You two are smoking cigarettes with your legs crossed, and this room is like a fire, and it also interferes with my work!" ”

Yevlov smiled: "Really? Friends, this cigarette can fix itself, I have to admit that German cigarettes are better than ours! ”

Fuming didn't have time to talk nonsense with him, so he glanced at him and hooked his head again. There are words in the mouth: "Alas! What's the use of your anxiety right now? I'm also bored now, but am I showing it? The 5,000-odd rescued people who had just arrived formed two separate regiments. I just divided the prepared grassroots political commissars the day before yesterday, but I didn't expect it to rain yesterday. My work was also greatly disrupted, and I didn't complain. ”

"You're not talking too much now!" Yevlov came to the spirit, at least fighting with Fomin is indeed more interesting than spitting smoke rings. He continued: "Maybe this rain is also some kind of good thing, we attacked the Germans half a month ago, but they didn't react! Perhaps they are preparing for revenge against us, and this heavy rain is likely to change their plans drastically.

Because large areas of land have become mud pits, even the infantry cannot move an inch, and only we locals know where there is a reliable road! The Germans will not go crazy and walk dozens of kilometers through the mud to beat us. In a short period of time, the enemy will not attack! Berekov, what do you think? ”

"Me? Of course I think so! But what? Yang Mingzhi stood up, walked to the desk in the office, picked up the wooden stick and pointed at the map again.

His actions attracted several auxiliary staff officers present, and startled Yevlov, as if his close comrades-in-arms wanted to make some moves.

Yang Mingzhi waved his hand and only summoned Yevlov. He pointed to the map and said: "There are pros and cons to this rain, if the higher authorities order us to use troops against Kyiv, we will also have to walk on the muddy ground, not to mention that this rain has also affected the Ukrainian front line." Our army is an offensive force, mud will hinder the speed of the attack, if the offensive slows down, the pressure on our army will be great! ”

"It's nothing! The mud had an equally great impact on the Germans, and their proudest armored units had to face the mud, without which we could use our superiority to defeat them! At least in terms of troops, our Southwestern Front has the advantage in strength! We've got a million soldiers! Kharkov will be liberated in this month! ”

Seeing his excited appearance, Yang Mingzhi also laughed. "Of course! Once the campaign is successful, we will be even closer to the position of the main force! This is very important for our future, and we must not act rashly until we receive orders from our superiors, so let's continue to wait for orders! ”

Just from his tone, Fuming sensed a hint of reluctance and regret in Yang Mingzhi's smile, so he asked: "Berekov, I remember that you predicted this battle, but the result you predicted was our defeat. ”

As soon as these words came out, Yang Mingzhi, who was just in a better mood, tensed up again, and he shirked: "Me? I said we're going to fail? ”

"Yes, I have a good memory. You prophesied a battle, and I think that's what you're talking about. ”

Yang Mingzhi knew that as a high-ranking officer, it was a mistake to easily say defeat, and a soldier would be locked up in a closed room if he had such a failed speech......

Fuming is the head of the political department of the group army, and he is currently in a position with a high rank and little power. But he had a very close relationship with Salinchkin.

Yang Mingzhi had an idea, and quickly put on a posture of not being surprised, and said: "I am just a mortal, and no one can predict the prophet. What I meant was that we had to think about the worst-case scenario. What to do if we fail, we make a plan, so that after the defeat comes, we can quickly stabilize the position and seek a counterattack. So, let's wait and see what the battle will be, and we have to be prepared.

The battle was won, and it was even possible that our 63 Army would have made direct contact with the main forces. If we fail, we must also be mentally prepared to face a more severe situation between us and our enemies. ”

"Alright! All right! Fuming sat back at his desk and continued to pick up the pen, "Grim situations should never come. ”