Due to the calm and calm of the defensive area of our group army, several division commanders quickly rushed over. Kol Pakchi and Gurov shook hands with several subordinates one by one, and after everyone sat down, the meeting began.

Gurov took off his hat, showed his big bald head, smiled on his face, and said in a loud voice: "Several comrades of the division commander, maybe everyone thinks it is strange, why do I and the commander have to summon everyone to the command headquarters so late? When he said this, he deliberately paused to observe everyone's expressions, and when he saw that the eyes of several division commanders were staring at him, he said unhurriedly: "The Germans have been rampage in our defensive areas for the past few days, and now it is our turn to teach them a hard lesson."

Korpakich continued: "The commissar is right, I have just received a call from the Chief of the General Staff, General Vasilevsky, who will send the newly formed 1st Tank Army to our defense area tonight and cooperate with us in carrying out a counter-assault on the German army tomorrow. He spoke in the same tone as usual, and when I heard him mention the commissar, I remembered that Gurov was not only a military commissar, but also a commissar of the army group.

Colonel Fanasyev hesitated for a moment and said: "Comrade commander, I wonder what is the combat effectiveness of the newly formed tank army in Ludao? You must know that the last time our division carried out a counter-assault on the Germans, it was the newly formed 13th Tank Army that cooperated with us in the battle, but because of poor coordination, although we finally seized the German position, we still paid a lot of unnecessary sacrifices. ”

"The last time we carried out a counter-assault, we used the tactics of infantry and tank coordination, because the troops had not practiced this new tactic beforehand. As a result, there was confusion in the battle. A number of unnecessary casualties were caused. "Speaking of which. He turned his head to look at me, who was standing by the wall with Captain Semykov, and continued: "But in terms of actual results, this tactic is still very effective. So I'm still going to continue to use this tactic in tomorrow's counterattack. Colonel Fanaseyev, as soon as you go back, gather the commanders and fighters who participated in the last battle, summarize them well, and then let them have these valuable combat experiences. Teach it to commanders and fighters in other units. ”

Fanasyev hurriedly straightened up and said: "Please rest assured, Comrade Commander, I will deploy as soon as I go back and ensure that the glorious task assigned to me by my superiors will be completed." ”

Novikov asked: "Comrade commander, in which divisional defense zone will the tank army that carried out the counter-assault be deployed. ”

Korpacchi pondered for a moment and replied: "At present, the Germans have a tank division and two infantry divisions in front of the 192nd Division, and if we do not destroy this enemy, our surprise attack will not be victorious." Therefore, the task before us is to make a detour to the two flanks of the enemy and contain the enemy from the flanks. If they can't put all their forces into the frontal battle, your 181st Division will do the job. And then. It is also necessary to pay attention to the left flank of our army, although in this afternoon's battle, the counterattack of Chuikov and our 147th Division has achieved certain results, but it is still necessary to prevent the Germans from continuing to choose this place as a breakthrough, General Volhin, the task of your division tomorrow is to ensure the safety of the left flank of our army. ”

Major General Volkhin hurriedly agreed: "Yes, Comrade Commander, please rest assured, as long as my 147th Division is there, the Germans will never be allowed to move forward." ”

Korpakich looked at Tarantsev with his eyes and said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, tomorrow's battle will depend on your 192nd Division to sing the leading role, is there any problem?" ”

Tarantsev hurriedly got up from his seat and replied loudly: "Comrade Commander, please rest assured that the commanders and fighters of the 192nd Division are confident that they will complete all the tasks assigned to us by their superiors. ”

Kol Pakchi looked at him, smiled and nodded, reaching out and tapping him twice on the shoulder, as if he was going to say a few words of encouragement. At this time, a staff officer walked in from outside and reported to him: "Comrade report commander, the commander of the 1st Tank Army, General Moskalenko, has arrived and is waiting for you outside." ”

Hearing the staff officer's report, Kolpakchi turned to Gurov and said: "Comrade Military Commissar, comrades of the tank corps are coming so quickly, let's go meet him." After speaking, he said to several division commanders: "Everyone is still stunned to do something, and they all follow me outside to welcome the commanders of friendly forces." ”

A group of men poured out of the headquarters after Korpakichi and Gurov, and a jeep was parked not far from the door, and next to the car stood two commanders, one of whom was a major general of medium height, and next to him stood a major of about his height, who looked like his lieutenant.

Seeing our group of people coming out of the headquarters, the general immediately greeted him, and after sweeping his eyes from the crowd, he directly stretched out his hand to Kolpacchi, and took the initiative to greet him: "Is it General Kolpacchi, commander of the 62nd Army?" ”

Kol Pacchi stepped forward and grabbed the other man's hand, shook it vigorously, and said, "Yes, I'm Kol Pakchi." You must be the commander of the 1st Tank Army, General Moskalenko, welcome. After speaking, he let go of the other party's hand, turned his body to the side slightly, pointed to Gurov beside him, and introduced: "Comrade General, let me introduce to you, this is Comrade Gurov, political commissar and military commissar of the group army." ”

Gurov raised his hand and touched his big bald head, then reached out to shake hands with Moskalenko, and said with a smile: "Hello, Comrade General, we have been looking forward to your arrival." Alright, don't stand outside the house, let's go to the headquarters and rest. He let go of his hand, stepped aside, and made a gesture inside.

Re-entering the headquarters, Korpakchi beckoned everyone to take their seats, and the adjutant who had come with him walked up to Semykov and me, whispered hello, shook hands with each other, and then, like us, stood by the wall to observe the military meeting.

Kolpakchi asked Moskalenko straight to the point: "Comrade General, can you tell us about the situation of your troops?" ”

General Moskalenko nodded and said: "Well, because our army group has only been formed for a short time, the number of tanks is not large, only 227 tanks of various types, after replenishing ammunition and fuel, is moving towards the Koska River defense line. Speaking of this, the general paused for a moment and said with some hesitation: "But then it is far from enough for the tank to enter the starting position tonight and pass by a bridge over the river." ”

Kolpakchi smiled and said: "Comrade General, you don't have to worry, in addition to the bridge you saw, we have built three pontoon bridges over the river, which will allow your tank army to pass smoothly." ”

A smile appeared on General Moskalenko's face, and he asked excitedly: "This is really good, Comrade Commander, I wonder where these three pontoon bridges are?" (To be continued......)