It took Akhromeyev three hours to reappear in the tent. With a tired face, he raised his hand to salute me and reported: "Comrade Commander, I have been ordered to collect a batch of communications equipment from the 71st and 77th Guards Divisions. Since the communications corps of the headquarters was either killed or wounded in the bombing just now, I also borrowed a communications platoon from Colonel Sivakov of the 71st Guards Division. ”

"Well done, Comrade Major." Hearing him say this, Lopukhov, the head of the communications department, who had just found this place a few minutes ago and whose head and hands were bandaged, said excitedly: "In this way, we can again restore contact with the front army headquarters and the troops in the front." ”

"We've been out of touch with the outside world for hours, and we don't know what's going on outside." Danilov could not wait to order: "Comrade Major, without further ado, immediately order the signal corps to set up the radio station, and we must get in touch with the outside world as soon as possible." ”

Akhromeyev and Lopukhov said yes and were about to walk outside the tent. But I stopped them, and I instructed them: "You should first restore the telephone line to the headquarters of the front army, so that you can get in touch with your superiors as soon as possible." ”

Hearing this order from me, Lopukhov grinned and said: "Comrade commander, rest assured, although the communication room was blown up, before I came here, several major communication lines had been inspected, and normal communication could be restored at any time. ”

I heard Lopukhov say that, and a smile came to my face. Walked over and lifted his leg and gave him a kick. Seeing his blank expression, I scolded angrily: "Since the communication line has been checked, why don't you restore it immediately." Why did we wait here for three hours? ”

Lopukhov, who had been kicked by me, said aggrievedly: "Comrade commander, I arrived only a few minutes earlier than Major Akhromeyev, and before that, I didn't know where the headquarters was, and even if I wanted to set up a new telephone line, I didn't know where to set it up." ”

Although I know I blamed Lopukhov wrong, this is not the time to apologize. Restoring contact with the outside world as soon as possible is the key, so he urged: "Okay." Major, don't bother, go and set up the telephone line for me. ”

At my roar, Akhromeyev and the two of them left the tent in a panic. Less than five minutes passed. A young and well-dressed lieutenant walked gently into the tent. He carried a telephone in his left hand and a bundle of telephone cords in his right hand.

"Comrade Lieutenant," I said, pointing to the table in the middle of the tent, "put the telephone here." ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander!" The lieutenant agreed, unhurriedly placed the telephone on the rudimentary wooden table, and began to debug it. When he was done, he straightened up and reported to me, "It's ready to use." ”

Perhaps to confirm that his words were correct. The telephone that had just been installed rang. The lieutenant immediately grabbed the microphone and listened for a moment. He handed the microphone to me, and at the same time said respectfully: "Comrade commander, this is a call from the headquarters of the front army. ”

"Hey, I'm Oshanina, who are you?" I put the microphone to my ear and asked out loud.

"I'm Vatutin." Vatutin's stern voice came from the earpiece: "Let me ask you, why can't your phone get through?" Well, what the hell is going on? ”

"That's right, Comrade General." I already knew in my heart that not being in contact with our superiors for several hours like this would definitely provoke Vatutin's anger, but there was no way, who told us that our communication system was destroyed in the German bombardment. At this moment, I can only report to him truthfully what happened, "A few hours ago, the city where the headquarters of the army group is located was heavily bombed by the Germans, and our communication room was lost in the bombing, so the contact with the outside world was completely cut off. Now we have obtained a batch of communication equipment from the 71st and 77th Guards Divisions, and we have barely restored communication with the outside world. ”

After listening to my explanation, Vatutin's anger subsided, and he asked with concern: "Are the casualties of the troops large?" ”

"The casualties are not small." My heart bleed at the thought of the results of the casualties counted: "The guard regiment suffered one company casualties, most of the communications company was killed, and the direct units of the group army also suffered more than 300 casualties. ”

"Comrade Oshanina, I am deeply saddened by your casualties in the bombing." "But now is not the time to be sad, if you want to ensure that there is no confusion in the command system of the troops, you must improve the responsibilities of the various departments within the headquarters......"

"Comrade Commander, I understand." Before he could finish speaking, I rushed to speak.

"You don't understand." Unexpectedly, Vatujing suddenly raised his voice and said: "I have been to your group army, and many departments have only one empty shelf, and in addition to the department leaders, there is not even a staff officer below. How can such a department play its due role in the process of commanding battles? ”

"Comrade Commander, I don't understand what you mean." Vatutin's words confused me, although I knew that if I asked him, I might be scolded, but I still stubbornly asked: "I don't know how to improve the subordinate organization, can I?" ”

"The combat department, the first thing you have to improve is the combat department." To a layman like me, Vatutin patiently explained: "All senior commanders know that the Operations Department is a department that concentrates and studies information on the situation and situation of our army, the enemy situation, and the entire operational situation. Its function is to prepare the information that the commander needs to formulate a plan on the basis of this information. After the commander has drawn up a plan, the Operations Division will convey it to all units in the form of a battle order and supervise their execution of the order. Since the role of the Operations Division is particularly important, I suggest that you, the Chief of Operations, should also concurrently hold the post of Deputy Chief of Staff of the Group Army. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." After his popularization of science, I felt that the power I gave to Akhromeyev was so small that he became a handyman in the command, so that he could not use his talents at all. "Major Akhromeyev, chief of operations. Originally, he had served as the chief of staff of the division, and he was a commander with rich staff experience, and I think he is fully qualified for the post after the reorganization. ”

"Good. With this fully functional combat office, I hope you can perform better on the battlefield. After saying it with a smile, Vatujin hung up the phone.

"Leda, what did Comrade General say on the phone?" As soon as I put down the phone, Kirillov asked curiously.

"Comrade General said that our operations department should be further improved so that we can command operations in the future. Provide more advantageous help. After I said this, after sweeping my eyes over all the people in the tent, I looked at Danilov and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander. Among the commanders present, you were the only one who had served as a senior commander for a relatively long time and was well acquainted with the various troop functions in the headquarters. I will now give you full responsibility for the strengthening of the Operations Division. You don't have a problem, right? ”

Danilov shook his head. He replied: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, I will rearrange the manpower to strengthen the Operations Department later." At present, there is only one major Akhromeyev in the entire operations department, and I plan to accompany him with 12 more staff officers, including assistants and principal assistants to the section chief, so that the work efficiency can be effectively improved. ”

When I heard Danilov say this, although with a smile on his face. But in my heart I hate itchy. Danilov, the deputy commander, is too inauthentic, in the entire army group command. In terms of your qualifications, you are the oldest and have the best knowledge of the situation in each department. However, after I took over the post of commander, I never reminded me that I should improve the intelligence of all departments of the headquarters, and as a result, I still gave orders to the subordinates as if I was a division commander, without considering that almost all of them were bare-bones commanders, and as a result, they were exhausted.

As soon as Akhromeyev walked into the tent with a stack of telegrams he had received, I immediately announced to him the decision to appoint him as deputy chief of staff of the army group and to reinforce the operations department with staff officers. In this regard, he behaved very calmly, and after handing me the telegram in his hand, he said with a serious expression: "Comrade Commander, I have just received a telegram from the 51st, 52nd, and 67th Guards Divisions. ”

"How's it going?" I took the telegram, but instead of reading it immediately, I habitually asked Akhromeyev, because he usually summarized the contents and reported to me, "The divisions are defending and fighting, and during this time, have there been any battles?" ”

"After dark, the 51st Guards Division sent a battalion of the 309th Regiment to attack a German baggage camp and successfully captured a batch of supplies. …… All the materials that could not be brought back have been burned. "Although Akhromeyev had given me all the telegrams, he explained to me the situation of the divisions in great detail," the defenders of position No. 5 of the 52nd Guards Division, when the German offensive was frustrated and retreated, decisively launched a counterattack and, under the cover of tanks, rushed to the German offensive assembly area, destroying one of their camps. At present, the troops, having achieved the results of the battle, have returned to their positions. ”

"Where is Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov?" Because I had ordered Sedjerikov to lead the 67th Guards Division after dark to counterattack the Germans, who had lost the cover of aircraft, tanks, and artillery, I wanted to hear if they had any effect in that direction. "Has their counterattack begun?"

"Lieutenant Colonel Shederikov sent two telegrams." When Akhromeyev heard my question, he immediately replied: "In the first telegram, he said that he had launched a sneak attack on the German entrenchment with one regiment, and that another regiment had been sent to make a detour from the right flank of the German army. ”

"What about the second telegram?" Bezikov asked impatiently, apparently wanting to test as soon as possible whether Akhromeyev was suitable for the post of his deputy. "What did Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov say again?"

"When the attacking troops were approaching the forward positions of the German army, a commander and fighter accidentally stepped on a mine planted by the enemy, exposing the target, so the sneak attack turned into a strong attack." Akhromeyev said with a blank face: "Due to the lack of artillery support, the battle entered a stalemate from the very beginning. ”

"And what about the regiment that detoured from the right flank?" When I heard that the troops in charge of the frontal attack were in a bitter battle, I could not help but ask another regiment sent by Shederikov, "Did they strike from the flanks of the Germans in time?" ”

Akhromeyev shook his head and said: "It may be that it is too dark, and the regiment marching in the forest has lost its way, and until now Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov has not contacted them." ”

"Okay, I got it." I let out a long sigh, waved my hand at Akhromeyev and said, "Major, you go down first, and then report back to me when the latest battle report comes." ”

Akhromeyev said yes and was about to go outside. But he was stopped by Danilov: "Major, please wait a minute, I will go with you, and by the way, I will equip you with the necessary manpower for the combat department." With that, he walked over, put a hand on Akhromeyev's shoulder, took him and walked out.

Since the map we used had been burned during the bombing, what was on the table at the moment was only a small map of the march, and the situation of the enemy and the enemy did not look as clear as the big map. However, Bezkov quickly found the position where the 67th Guards Division was sitting on it, and he nodded with his hand and said: "Comrade commander, you see, this is a vast primeval forest, and the troops marching in it, probably because there is no reference, will get lost in the forest. If they continue to force their march, they may be further and further away from the right goal. Should we send a telegram to Sederikov and ask him to find a way to contact the troops in the forest and tell them to stop their advance for a while and wait until dawn to continue their advance. ”

Kirillov and I put our heads together in front of the map and looked at it for a long time, and then expressed our opinion and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think that maybe it is not a bad thing to let the troops continue to march. You must know that the area they are going to is going on, there is a fierce battle, and as long as they move towards the place where the gunfire is most intense, they will definitely be able to get out of the forest. ”

Immediately after listening to Kirillov's proposal, Bezkov asked for my opinion: "Comrade commander, I would like to know what kind of opinion you have. It is to keep the troops on standby; Or let them, as the military commissar said, let them move on? ”

"Go ahead!" Without thinking, I said: "Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov is also a commander with a lot of experience, and I believe that even if we don't give any orders, he knows what to do." Okay, the matter of the 67th Guards Division is put aside for the time being, and let's look at other defensive directions. (To be continued.) )

PS: I recommend my new book "Moscow 1941", if this book is the female version of the Great Patriotic War, then the new book is the male version of the Great Patriotic War, the protagonist is the famous Soviet general Rokossovsky.