"Comrade Commander," suddenly came the voice of a telegraph operator behind me. Seeing that our tanks were blown up by German planes, I was holding back a fire in my belly, and when I heard the operator calling me, I couldn't help but be angry, turned my head and yelled at him: "What's the matter?" ”

The telegraph operator held a headset and a microphone in his hand, and said timidly: "Comrade Army Commander, Comrade Commander of the Group Army is still online, and he wants to talk to you." ”

Listening to the operator say this, I remembered that I was talking to Khalitonov before our tanks were bombed by the Germans, so I quickly walked to the operator, took the headset and microphone from his hand, took a deep breath, calmed down my excitement, and then said politely: "Comrade commander, I am Oshanina." ”

"Comrade Oshanina," Khalitonov apparently heard Gurdiev's shout just now, so as soon as he heard my voice, he couldn't wait to ask, "what's going on?" Is the situation on the battlefield dangerous now? ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander of the Army." With the advent of German planes, the situation facing our army tended to deteriorate, so I had to tell Khalitonov the truth and let him know what to do: "Our tank 25th Army was completely annihilated by German units equipped with new tanks, although I promptly ordered Colonel Bere's tank brigade to attack from the flank, destroying and wounding some German tanks and destroying quite a few infantrymen. Seeing that the German infantry and tanks were about to be completely separated by us, German planes appeared. Since our tanks lacked the means of air defense, I estimate that it will not be long before they are completely wiped out by the bombing and strafing of German aircraft. ”

Kharytonov listened to me say so. A long sigh. Rhetorical question: "Comrade Oshanina." What do you think the Germans will do after the tank brigade is completely destroyed? ”

"The situation is obvious, Comrade Commander." What will happen next is nothing more than the German tanks and infantry converging and attacking the defensive zone of the 4th Guards Infantry Corps, so I said straight to the point: "As soon as our tanks are destroyed, the German tanks and infantry will regroup and launch a new attack on our defensive positions." ”

"Do you think the 4th Guards Army will be able to hold its ground?" Khalitonov listened to what I said. Asked in cautious and polite words.

"Comrade commander, with all due respect: our position cannot be defended." Without waiting for him to ask anything, I took the initiative to tell the reason: "The shells of the 45-mm anti-tank guns on our positions hit the bodies of the new German tanks, leaving only one or two white marks, which could not stop the impact of the German armored forces at all. Once our defense line is torn through by German tanks, then the swarming German infantry will encircle and annihilate our defenders. Judging by the defensive strips of the 4th Guards Infantry Corps, they lacked the necessary defense in depth, as long as the front line was broken through. The Germans were able to break through to the rear of our army. ”

After saying all this in one breath, it occurred to me that if the Germans were really like what I said. If they break through the defense line of the friendly forces and develop in depth, then the first to bear the brunt of the army group headquarters in the rear, and hurriedly reminded Khalitonov: "Comrade commander, if the Germans break through the friendly defense lines, then their tanks may soon rush to the position where the army group headquarters is located, so I advise you to order the troops to hurry up and build fortifications to resist the possible German troops." ”

When I returned to the observation port, I saw that our tanks on the battlefield were facing an extremely bad situation, and at this moment the enemy planes in the sky were no longer just four, but more than a dozen planes circling. From time to time, enemy planes dived into our tanks that were moving rapidly, dropping bombs one after another, or machine-guns strafing the tank crews who had escaped from the destroyed tanks.

I watched as the tanks of the tank brigade were blown up one by one by German planes, or destroyed by tank guns by Tiger tanks turned around in the distance; One after another, the tankmen, who managed to escape from the wrecked tanks, fell under the guns of the machine guns of the planes or the machine guns of armored vehicles. My nose was sour, and my heart felt like a knife, but I couldn't do anything about what was happening in front of me. I clenched my fist tightly and finally slammed it hard against the dirt wall of the observation post.

After the Germans had settled on our tank brigade, they began to regroup in the open field, and at this moment the planes hovering in the air dived down towards the friendly positions, bombing and strafing, while ignoring our positions as if they had not seen us at all.

When the enemy planes had dropped all their bombs, run out of bullets, and turned around and flew westward, the German ground offensive began again. Led by tanks, they again rushed aggressively towards our friendly positions.

Seeing that the Germans had launched another ground offensive, the brave anti-tank artillery men crawled out of the bombed position, ran quickly to the undestroyed artillery in front of the position, adjusted the firing angle of the artillery, loaded the shells, and fired at the rushing tanks. Although their shells did little damage to the German tanks, they continued to shoot tenaciously, knowing that all the gunners fell under fire or were crushed by the German tank tracks and guns, and the firing on the German tanks would stop.

Perhaps seeing that the artillery brothers in front of them had died too tragically, the infantry on the position jumped out of the trenches, holding Molotov cocktails or anti-tank grenades, and bravely rushed towards the German tanks in groups without hesitation.

In the face of the swarming commanders and fighters of our army, the remaining 30 or so German tanks stopped in place and fired shells into the crowd, and the vehicle-mounted machine guns kept strafing, quickly harvesting the lives of our commanders and fighters. In particular, tank shells exploded when they fell in the crowd, and there were often cases where a single shell exploded and more than 10 or 20 commanders and fighters were blown into the sky.

Seeing that our friendly troops were being slaughtered by the enemy, Gurtiev could not hold his breath, he straightened up and asked me in a loud voice: "Comrade commander, we can't watch the Germans kill all our comrades." I immediately sent the regiment of my division at the forefront to attack, and hit them hard from the flanks of the Germans, relieving the pressure on the comrades of the 4th Guards Infantry Corps. ”

For Gurdiev's Tiyì. I rejected it in no uncertain terms. I pointed to the few enemy planes that had just appeared in the sky. "General Gurdiev, without air support, it is undoubtedly unwise to let your commanders and fighters abandon their existing fortifications and go to the field to fight the German troops with air supremacy, strength and equipment superiority," said worriedly. So, I can't agree with your suggestion. ”

"But, Comrade Commander." After my refusal, Gurtiev did not give up. Continuing to try to convince me: "Do we just watch the Germans break through the positions of friendly troops and drive straight into the rear of our defenses to crush the main forces of Army Group to crush the main forces of Army Group?" ”

"Comrade General," I had to accentuate my tone in order to make him clear about the current situation, and said to him sternly: "I remind you that the task of our army is to cover the flank of the main force of the group army, and we are carrying out this task in front of us. If the Germans turn around and attack us. Even if we fight to the last man, we cannot abandon our positions. The Germans must be resolutely kept out here. Do you understand? ”

When Gurtiev heard me say this, he probably understood in his heart that I would definitely not allow him to send troops to reinforce friendly troops, so he could only agree weakly: "Understood, Comrade Commander. ”

"And, Comrade General." When I thought of the tank brigade that had been surrounded and annihilated by German tanks and planes, I was heartbroken, and I held back the grief and indignation in my heart, and ordered Gurdiev: "When it gets dark, you must send men to the battlefield to search for them, and if you encounter the wounded of the tank brigade, you must bring them back." Colonel Bere, in particular, could not leave his body to the Germans, even if he was sacrificed. ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Gurtiev agreed to my order very quickly, and he said loudly to me: "I will call the regimental commander at the front and ask him to organize a search and rescue team to search the battlefield and treat the wounded of the tank brigade." ”

Half an hour later, the Germans broke through the defensive positions of the 4th Guards Army, and the tanks rushed through the defensive zone of the 4th Guards Infantry Army like a tidal wave, advancing rapidly to the east. Since the enemy never attacked our positions, and I needed to return to the corps headquarters to take control of the overall situation, I left the observation post of the Gurtiev division and drove back to the airfield.

When I walked into the command headquarters located in the cabin of the aircraft, I was greeted by both Kirillov and Vitkov and asked with concern: "What is the situation ahead, are the Germans still advancing in depth into the defense of Army Group?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commissar and Chief of Staff," I said to the two with a stern expression, "the current situation is very bad, the Germans have torn a gap in the line of defense of the 4th Guards Infantry Corps, from which more than thirty tanks and a large number of infantry rushed to the rear of our defense. However, our defenses have not completely collapsed, and the commanders and fighters of the Guards are still fighting stubbornly. ”

After the briefing, I asked Vitkov rhetorically: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what is the situation at the airport?" ”

"The German infantry, under the cover of tanks, launched two attacks." Vitkov said lightly: "Since they did not use heavy artillery and bombardment, their attack was easily repulsed by our troops. ”

"Do you know the number of the attacking German troops?" It occurred to me that it was the SS units that attacked the positions of the 4th Guards Infantry Corps, and that we could not be the Wehrmacht here, so I wanted to find out which part of the enemy it was.

"It's all figured out, Comrade Commander." Vitkov beckoned to Pugachev, who was standing nearby, and at the same time ordered: "Comrade Chief of Operations, please tell the commander about the situation of the German army." ”

Pugachev nodded, and then reported to me: "Comrade commander, based on our reconnaissance and interrogation of German prisoners. The attack on the positions of the 4th Guards Infantry Corps was carried out by the 'Reich' Panzer Infantry Division, which was part of the SS Panzer Corps. The troops attacking the airfield were the 'Skeleton' armored infantry division commanded by Ike. They also got the information that their division commander, General Ike, was in our hands, so they seemed a little restrained when attacking, which was also their willingness to be repelled by our light. ”

After listening to this, I called Kirillov and Vitkov to the map in front of the desk, pointed to the position of our army on the map, and said to them: "Comrade commanders, to the north is the German 'Reich' armored infantry division that has broken through the defense line of the Guards, to the south is the 11th armored division, and in front is the "skeleton" armored infantry division with strong combat effectiveness. The situation is not good, our army has unknowingly fallen into the encirclement of the German army on three sides. If they send a force to cut off our logistical supply lines, we will be left alone. ”

After listening to my analysis, Vitkov said with some disapproval: "Comrade commander, are you too strict? You must know that although the Germans have broken through the Guards line today, their forces are limited, and in the face of the powerful offensive of our two fronts, they will soon be in a desperate situation. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, it may be our army that is about to fall into a desperate situation." As soon as I waited for Vitkov to finish speaking, I immediately raised my voice and said: "In the early battle, Manstein except for a small number of troops left to deal with our army, the main force quietly withdrew to the vicinity of the Dnieper River. Now that they have an absolute advantage in the local area, if they only need to launch a surprise and fierce blow to our troops, then our campaign may end in defeat. ”

"Comrade Commander, what should we do next?" Taken aback by my analysis, Pugachev cautiously asked: "Is it time to concentrate your forces and retreat to the east?" ”

"Comrade Major, why retreat to the east?" After listening to Pugachev's question, Kirillov asked rhetorically, puzzled.

Hearing Kirillov's question, Pugachev quickly coughed, cleared his throat, and explained: "Comrade commissar, our east is the weakest link of the German army, and once the situation is critical, we choose to retreat to the east, and we can get strong support from the troops in the Don Valley and quickly get out of danger. ”

"Major, you're thinking too simply." Vitkov retorted to Pugachev unceremoniously: "The situation has not yet reached such a bad point, you are actually thinking about retreating, it is better to listen to what the army commander has to say." ”

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on me, I also went around in circles and said my plan straight to the point: "I will definitely not take this road to the east, and to take this road is to be a deserter; And to the north or south, since the superiority in forces and weapons and equipment is on the side of the German army, it is not on my radar. There is one last direction left," I said, pointing my finger at Zaporosh on the map, and solemnly announced, "we will concentrate our forces on this attack tomorrow." (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you for the two votes of book friends ultimate spitting, RexKidd, Louise ~~ Queen, Bingyue Heart, Book Friend 111018224708442, and Book Stealing Mouse Children's Shoes! Thank you for your votes from wzzhnag68, Ashes of Wutong, Moge Fan, Huang Liqin, zheng1360, Lao Gan Dad, Ocean Guard, Peterzyj, and Zhaojingchao Children's Shoes! Thanks to book friends l599xl, 00120012Z... Tips for children's shoes!