"What, you have nearly a hundred tanks now?" When Rokossovsky heard Mikhailov say this, he could not believe his ears, and after repeating the words of the other party, he asked tentatively: "Is this all true?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info"Mikhailov replied with certainty: "To be precise, we now have 90 tanks of the BT-5 type, 7 KV-2 heavy tanks. Although most of the old tanks are old, when it comes to encountering German armored divisions, they can barely be regarded as equal. ”

"Colonel, that's wonderful." Rokossovsky pulled Mikhailov aside, pointed to the defensive positions in the distance and said to them: "You first send a tank regiment and deploy behind these lines. This was done for two purposes: first, to provide the necessary artillery support for the infantry when the enemy attacked; Secondly, when the enemy retreats, you can also guide the infantry to pursue the fleeing Germans. ”

Mikhailov agreed, turned back to his tank, and prepared to use the on-board radio to inform the troops behind him to rush here as soon as possible to arrange defenses.

Carmela, who stayed behind, looked at Mikhailov's back and asked Rokossovsky with some concern: "Let them come and provide us with artillery support, there will be no problems, right?" ”

Hearing Carmela's question, Rokossovsky was stunned for a moment, and then remembered that the old comrade-in-arms standing in front of him was the artillery chief of his newly appointed combat group, so he smiled and said: "Comrade Carmela, at present our strength is limited, and even the infantry is insufficient, let alone the formation of an artillery unit. What's more, we don't even have a cannon in our hands. ”

Unexpectedly, as soon as Rokossovsky's words were finished, Carmela said in shock: "Who said that there are no artillery, as long as you can find enough manpower, I can immediately form an artillery regiment for you." ”

From Carmela's words, Rokossovsky heard that the other party seemed to have a way to get the artillery, so he carefully put the words out of the other party's mouth: "Comrade Carmela, I listen to the tone of your voice, as if I am very confident in getting the cannon." ”

Carmela turned her head and shouted at her subordinates who were standing not far away, "Bring the map." ”

As his order was given, a middle-aged officer who looked like a staff officer hurriedly ran over, took out a boxy map from his briefcase, and respectfully handed it to Carmela.

Carmela unfolded the map, and after only a few glances, she found the place he was looking for. So he pointed to Rokossovsky and said: "Comrade commander, come and see, there are two military warehouses directly north of Yatsevo. I went in and saw that in addition to dozens of medium guns, there was also a batch of 45 mm anti-tank guns, which was perfectly suitable for defense in such a position. ”

If a few minutes ago, Rokossovsky was unsure whether he would be able to hold the defensive position west of Yaltsevo, but with the two pieces of news that Mikhailov and Kamela told him, he suddenly became confident. He grabbed Carmela's hand and said with some excitement: "Comrade Carmela, are all you saying true, there are two warehouses of our army near here?" ”

"That's right," Carmela replied in the affirmative, "I personally took someone to the warehouse to see when our troops passed through here a week ago, and I can't be wrong." ”

"Although you have visited the warehouse yourself, it has been a week now," said Carmela with some trepidation, although Carmela was sure, "I am worried that something unexpected will happen during this time." So to be on the safe side, I'd like to ask you to go to the warehouse again and see if the artillery you've seen before is still there? ”

"That's fine." Carmela readily agreed, folded the map in her hand, handed it to the staff officer beside her, and then said to Rokossovsky: "I'll bring someone over to check it now." ”

As he watched Carmela's jeep drive away, Rokossovsky couldn't help but start counting the forces in his hand in his heart. An infantry division, a tank division, and an artillery regiment that can be formed as soon as possible, this number of troops may sound like a lot, but it seems that it is not enough to use such a wide defensive area outside the city of Yaltsevo. At least the 38th Infantry Division, which was in defensive positions, did not yet have any troops of its own to cover their flanks.

However, Rokossovsky's worries quickly dissipated. Because he remembered that when he first took over the defense of Shepetovka some time ago, the forces in his hands were also very limited, and then he relied on constantly containing troops to expand his strength, so as to firmly hold his defensive zone. Now that his new defensive zone is located on the main transportation route to Moscow, it is believed that it will not be long before he can contain more troops to establish a real combat cluster. (To be continued.) )