Watching Travkin's back disappear from the door, Danilov also asked worriedly: "Comrade commander, do you think that the captain will be able to successfully complete the task?" ”

I glanced at him and said in an impatient tone: "Comrade Deputy Commander, as commanders, we should believe in the abilities of our subordinates. Now that the task has been issued, we just need to wait for the final result, and we don't have to interfere too much with their actions, otherwise it will affect their performance. ”

Danilov heard me say this, smiled bitterly, and then said helplessly: "Since you have said so, then let's wait for Captain Travkin and their good news." ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander, that's right." After Kirillov waited for Danilov to finish, he added with a smile: "I remember that Lida used to say an oriental saying: use people without suspicion, and don't use suspicious people." Moreover, we have been dealing with Captain Travkin for a long time, and his ability is obvious to all, and I am confident that he will be able to complete the task successfully. ”

I tapped my hand twice on the map in front of me and said to them: "All right, this is the end of Travkin's affairs, let's think about what to do with a possible large-scale German attack tomorrow." ”

When Danilov and the three of them gathered around the table, Akhromeyev happened to come in with a telegram, and I waved at him and said, "Major, come here, which unit sent the telegram in your hand?" ”

"Comrade Commander," although Akhromeyev was my old subordinate, he spoke to me. Always respectfully: "It was a telegram from the 52nd Guards Division, where Colonel Nekrasov reported that the Germans in front of their positions seemed to be showing signs of massing. Probably preparing for tomorrow's offensive. ”

"Comrade Major, do you know where the commander of the artillery of the army group, Colonel Povsky, is?" As soon as Akhromeyev finished speaking, Danilov continued to ask.

Akhromeyev nodded and replied: "I sent a telegram to the colonel two hours ago, and he should be on his way back to the command at this moment. ”

Although Povsky was sent by me to command the artillery units in the first line of defense, it was too wide because of the geographical area. I went to the front this time, and I didn't see any of his people at all. I thought that in the next battle, there would be a lot of places where artillery would be used. I was about to recall him back to the command, but I didn't expect Danilov to arrange this in advance.

Danilov, seeing me staring at him, thought that I would reproach him for being arrogant, and hurriedly explained to me: "Comrade commander. I think let Colonel Povsky stay in the command. can maximize his role. Besides, I couldn't contact you at the time, so I took it upon myself to let the colonel rush back from the front. ”

Seeing Danilov's nervous look, I couldn't help but smile and comfort him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, don't be nervous, I don't mean to blame you in the slightest. You're doing the right thing, even if you don't summon Colonel Povsky back. I'll order him to be recalled, too. Now in the defensive strip of the army group, in addition to the artillery of our army group. There is also a steady stream of artillery units sent by the headquarters of the front army, and if there is no unified command, these artillery units that are fighting separately will not only fail to play their due role, but will be easily wiped out by the enemy. ”

Hearing me say this, Captain Danilov breathed a sigh of relief, and then said to me with relief: "Comrade commander, it is also out of this consideration that I have called Colonel Povsky back from the front without your consent. ”

After listening to my conversation with Danilov, Bezikov asked curiously: "Comrade commanders, do you plan to use artillery to teach the Germans a hard lesson?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Chief of Staff." To Bezikov's speculation, I replied in the affirmative: "Didn't Colonel Nekrasov just report that there was movement of the Germans in front of their positions, suspecting that a build-up was underway in preparation for tomorrow's attack. Then we will bombard them before their attack, and even if we cannot destroy them completely, we can disrupt their offensive arrangements and reduce the pressure on our defensive forces. ”

With the sound of hurried footsteps, Povsky, who was chattering, appeared at the door of the headquarters. He walked quickly in front of us, raised his hand and saluted, and reported: "Colonel Povsky, commander of the artillery of the army group, was ordered to rush back and wait for the orders of the two commanders, please instruct!" ”

I clasped Povsky's hands tightly and asked with concern: "Comrade Colonel, the way back was smooth, right?" ”

Povsky shook his head and said with a serious expression: "Not far from here, the jeep that opened the road in front of me was crushed with a mine, and all the guards and fighters on the car died. Luckily, I was in the second car and I was able to get away with it. ”

After listening to what Povsky said, Kirillov couldn't help but revisit the old story: "Listen, not only did Leda encounter the enemy on the way back, but even Colonel Povsky encountered a mine on the way back. So I reiterate once again that no one in the Command can go to the front unless they have to. Otherwise, if any accident happens to you, the command system of the entire group army will be chaotic, and if the battle is lost at that time, who can afford to bear this responsibility? ”

I was immediately the first to stand up and agree with what Kirillov said: "Comrade Military Commissar is right, whoever wants to go to the front in the future must be unanimously agreed by the five of us present. Do you have any opinion on my statement? ”

"Nope." The other four replied in unison.

"Well, let's talk about how to carry out artillery strikes on areas where the Germans are massing." After I said this, I looked at Povsky and said: "Colonel, we intend to concentrate part of our artillery fire and shell the area in front of the 52nd Guards Division, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy as much as possible. ”

Povsky looked at the map in front of him and said thoughtfully: "Comrade commander, with all due respect, such an artillery bombardment is ineffective. He looked up at the blank faces of the few of us, and continued: "Before the German attack yesterday. Not only our Front, but even General Rokossovsky's Central Front, at the same time against the possible staging of German troops. A high density of saturation shelling was carried out. However, the actual effect achieved was minimal, and at best it only disrupted the enemy's offensive deployment. Judging by the ferocity with which the enemy attacked our lines, the losses they suffered were not as great as we estimated. ”

Powsky's words made everyone present fall into deep thought. After thinking for a while, he spoke: "Comrade Colonel, the reason why the shelling in the early hours of yesterday morning did not achieve the desired results. I think the reasons are manifold. ”

My words aroused Povsky's curiosity, and he stared at me and asked: "Comrade commander, can you elaborate on this?" ”

I see that not only Powsky wants to know the answer. Even Danilov showed a curious expression, so he stopped selling it and said his judgment briskly: "I think there are two reasons: first, we don't know the specific location of the German army. It was possible to shoot only at areas where the Germans might have gathered. Maybe a lot of shells were wasted; The second point is that I guess maybe the shelling started a little earlier, you think, the Germans are quite dull, and they will definitely have to wait until the time is up to start assembling at the starting point of the attack. As a result, our premature shelling allowed the German officers and men who were still in the concealment or trenches to escape. As long as these two problems are solved, I think our shelling. It can still inflict a lot of losses on the enemy. ”

Povsky stared at me intently for a while, and finally made up his mind and said: "Comrade commander. So shelling is necessary? ”

"That's right, Comrade Colonel." I said in the affirmative: "In order to reduce the pressure on the defense of the front, artillery bombardment of the enemy is imperative. ”

Povsky nodded and said: "Okay, Comrade Commander, I'll go and call the artillery at the front and ask them to send artillery observers to reconnoiter the enemy's staging areas and indicate the direction of fire for our artillery." ”

"It's not enough to do that, Comrade Colonel, we still have to do double insurance." After I had said this to Povsky, I ordered Bezikov: "Chief of Staff, call Colonel Nekrasov and ask him to immediately send scouts to reconnoiter the assembly areas of the German troops." If possible, it would be better to scratch a 'tongue' and figure out when the Germans would attack. ”

"Understood, I'll do it right away." Bezkov agreed, turned around and walked to the telephone by the wall, picked up the microphone and called the 52nd Guards Division.

Povsky said with emotion: "It would be nice if Captain Travkin's reconnaissance battalion could be dispatched, and with their ability, it would not be a piece of cake to capture a few prisoners and figure out the assembly place of the German army and the time of the attack." ”

After I waited for Povsky to finish, I waved my hand at him: "Colonel, you can't count on Captain Travkin's reconnaissance battalion before the shelling begins tomorrow." ”

"Ahh Why? Powski asked, surprised.

"Because they're on an important mission right now." Kirillov took up the topic and said: "Today there were small groups of German troops near the headquarters, and they attacked our patrols, killing and wounding many of our fighters. In order to get rid of this cancer, the two commanders sent the captain with the reconnaissance battalion to clear the enemy. ”

"Hell, where did this enemy come from?" Povsky asked aloud: "What do they want to do here?" Is it intended to sneak up on the headquarters, or is it preparing to disrupt our lines of communication? ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel, we won't give them a chance." I confidently said, "By the end of the evening, these Germans will have completely disappeared from this world." ”

"If that's the case, I'm relieved." After Povsky finished speaking, he stood up, picked up the telephone on the table, called the artillerymen at the front, and assigned them the task of shelling.

At two o'clock in the morning, Akhromeyev came to the headquarters again with two telegrams and reported to us: "Comrade commander, a reconnaissance report from the 52nd Guards Division. Intelligence said that the Germans had assembled two tank battalions and an infantry battalion in front of position No. 5 and were ready to attack position No. 5 at four o'clock in the morning. Here are the German coordinates provided by the scouts. With that, he handed me one of the telegrams.

I took it and looked at it, handed it to Povsky, and instructed him: "Comrade Colonel, give the coordinates to your artillery, and let them aim at the assembly point and hit hard half an hour before the German attack!" ”

"Okay, I'll give the order!" Povsky took the telegram and walked briskly to the wall to make a call.

Akhromeyev handed me the second telegram and said with a serious expression: "Comrade commander, this is from Captain Travkin, who found traces of Germans in the village, about fifty people, who were scattered in the homes of the inhabitants in groups of five. ”

"It's a terrible situation, Leda." Hearing Akhromeyev say this, Kirillov sighed and said with a little worry: "It is very difficult to destroy this group of enemies without injuring ourselves by mistake. ”

"Comrade Military Commissar, the situation is worse than you think." Akhromeyev frowned and said to Kirillov: "Since these Germans are dressed in the uniforms of our army and speak Russian fluently, our villagers consider them their own. If the reconnaissance battalion rashly attacked, the enemy might incite the villagers who were bewitched by them to clash with our troops, and then they would be in trouble. ”

I thought that if we found the enemy, even if they were scattered in the homes of the villagers, our reconnaissance battalion would be able to clear them out. Unexpectedly, they disguised themselves as our army and swaggered to live in the homes of the villagers, and if our troops attacked, the frightened villagers would really be bewitched by them and fight with our reconnaissance battalion.

This unexpected change gave me a headache. I kept walking around the house with my hands behind my back, and my mind kept thinking: what to do, what to do? What can we do to destroy the enemy and minimize our losses?

While I was circling around the house, the chief of communications, Lopukhov, ran in and, after handing over a telegram to Bezkov, turned and left.

After reading the telegram, Bezikov sighed, and then read it carefully. After reading it this time, he raised the telegram and said to me excitedly: "Comrade commander, Captain Travkin has called and said that he has a solution to the current difficulties. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, hurry up, bring me the telegram." Hearing that Travkin had thought of a solution, I was immediately overjoyed and hurriedly ordered Bezkov: "I want to see what the captain said on the telegram." (To be continued.) )