After finishing the call with the commander of the Leningrad Front, Govorov, Meretskov informed Stepak and Zaporozhyets of the remaining command of the Front by telephone and asked them to report the good news to the Supreme High Command.

Soon after the good news was reported, a communications staff officer came to Meretskov with a telegram, saluted and handed it to him.

Meretskov took the telegram and looked at it a few times, and a smile appeared on his face that was originally tense, and he said happily to the three of us: "It is a telegram of commendation sent by Comrade Stalin himself, and I will read it to you: In recognition of the outstanding service of the 19th Guards Infantry Division in the battle to conquer the Signavino Heights, which was heavily fortified by fascist bandits, the division is hereby awarded the Order of the Red Banner and the honorary title of Sinianavino Division. At the same time, the Chief of Staff of the 8th Army, who commanded the battle, was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Colonel Golovchnier, who commanded the battle, and was promoted to the rank of major general. ”

After reading the telegram, he said to Starikov with some excitement: "Comrade Starikov, you should immediately tell the troops the good news, so that the morale of our army can be boosted." ”

Starikov agreed, picked up the phone in front of him, shook the handle a few times, and said into the microphone: "I am Starikov, the commander of the army group, give me access to the headquarters of the 19th Wei Division, and find the chief of staff of Golovchner." ”

After a short wait, the voice of Chief of Staff Golovchnier came from the microphone: "Hello, Comrade Commander of Army Group, may I ask for any latest orders?" ”

Starikov glanced at Meretskov, and when he saw that he was nodding at him with a smile on his face, he raised his voice and said: "I congratulate you." General Golovchner. ”

"Comrade Commander. What kind of joke are you kidding? I'm all confused by you. Everyone knows that I am only a colonel, not a general. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I have good news for you. Comrade Stalin had just sent a telegram of commendation commending the 19th Guards Division for the capture of the Sinianavino Heights, awarding it the Order of the Red Banner, and at the same time the division was awarded the honorary title of Sinianavino Division. ”

"Is this true? Comrade Commander. Although Starikov said this, Golovchnier was obviously a little incredulous, so he deliberately asked.

"Of course it's true. This was a telegram of commendation from Comrade Stalin himself. ……”

"Great, Comrade Commander." Before Starikov could finish speaking, Golovchnier hurriedly said, "I'll ask the staff officer to inform the commanders and fighters of the 19th Guards Infantry Division of the good news." ”

"Wait a minute, my Comrade Chief of Staff." Starikov stopped the chief of staff, who wanted to hang up the phone, and finished what he had just said, "In the commendation telegram, Comrade Stalin decided to award you the Order of the Red Banner and promote you to the rank of major general. ”

Golovchnier was stunned by the news at once, and for a long time did not make any sound. So much so that Starikov thought he hung up the phone and fed it a few times. After hearing the response from the other side, he asked with concern: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how do you deploy the troops on the high ground?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander, after the 19th Guards Division conquered the high ground, because of the heavy casualties, there was only one battalion left in the whole division, and I asked them to withdraw and recuperate. The heights are currently defended by the 140th Infantry Brigade and an incomplete regiment of Colonel Anchufeev. ”

"I told them to immediately hurry up and repair the fortifications to prevent a possible counteroffensive by the Germans." After Starikov hung up the phone, he briefly reported the situation reported by Golovchnier to Meretskov.

After listening to the report, Meretskov did not speak, but went straight to the wall, stood in front of the map with his hands behind his back, looked at the situation of friend and foe on the map, and thought quietly.

He stood in front of the map for nearly five minutes before turning around and asking Gagan, who was standing side by side with Starikov: "General Gagan, are your troops in place?" ”

Gagan hesitated for a moment, and then replied cautiously: "Comrade commander, you know that the south side of Sinavino is full of forests and swamps, and there are no roads suitable for marching, so our troops have to pave roads on the march, so that the speed of the march will inevitably be affected. ”

Meretskov beckoned to me, and I hurriedly trotted over and asked: "Comrade commander, what do you command." ”

"You go and call Lieutenant Turchinov." After he finished giving my order, he turned his head to Starikov and said: "General Starikov, now you can order the troops on both sides of the heights to attack the enemy's defensive depth, and at the same time order the tank troops on the heights to destroy the threatening firepower points on the enemy's positions with artillery fire as much as possible, so as to reduce the casualties of the attacking troops. ”

I walked out of the command and saw Turchinov and several fighters from the secret service standing outside the door. I walked up to him and said politely: "Lieutenant Turchinov, Comrade General, please come in." ”

Turchinov glanced back at the fighters beside him, and then asked: "Do you want to call me alone, or take the fighters in?" ”

"Comrade General didn't say, I think it's enough for you to go in alone."

Turchinov followed me into the command and came to Meretskov. He crossed me, stepped forward and saluted Meretskov: "Comrade General, the head of the special service section, Lieutenant Turchinov, was ordered to come and wait for your order. ”

Meretskov pointed at Gagan and said, "Because General Gagan missed the fighter, I have relieved him of his post as commander of the 4th Guards Infantry Corps, and now you take him down and find someone to take care of him." After the battle is over, send someone to send him to Moscow and hand him over to a military tribunal. ”

As soon as Meretskov's words came out, not only Turchinov was stunned, but I was stunned, and even the staff officers who were originally busy were stunned, and the room suddenly became silent.

However, Turchinov probably did this kind of arresting work often, and he quickly regained his composure, walked up to Gagan, bent down slightly, and stretched out his hand to make a gesture of invitation. Said politely: "General Gagan." Please. Let's get out of here. ”

General Gagan looked at Starikov for help, but the commander of the army group simply shrugged his shoulders helplessly, spread his hands outward, and made a gesture of impotence. Gagan sighed, and had to follow Turchinov out dejectedly. Reaching the door, he stopped, looked back at the headquarters with infinite wistfulness, and then seemed to have made up his mind. Straightened his back and walked out of the command.

Meretskov then called Stepak and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, General Gagan has been dismissed from his post on the spot because he delayed the fighter plane, which affected the course of the campaign. The post of commander of the 4th Guards Infantry Corps was replaced by the deputy commander, Major General Rogensky, and you immediately gave this appointment to himself. ”

I have to say that Meretskov's trick was an example of chickens and monkeys, and the effect was still obvious, and two hours later, the new commander of the 4th Guards Infantry Corps, General Rogensky, personally called. It was reported to him that the troops of the whole army had moved into the assigned positions.

Since it was getting late at this time, it was not the Volkhov Front. Or the offensive of the Leningrad Front, all of which came to an end for the time being. According to the reported battle reports, the 3rd and 24th Guards Divisions and the 265th Infantry Division, which belonged to the 8th Army, which attacked from both sides of the heights, were wedged into the depth of the German defense by about two kilometers, leaving only three kilometers from the Neva River.

The offensive of the Leningrad Front did not go well, although after the successful forced crossing of the Neva River, the troops of the two divisions and the German troops defending the Dubrovka area fought to the death, but because the Germans had strong fortifications and powerful artillery and aviation, our army, lacking heavy weapons, reluctantly captured the first line of defense of the German army after paying heavy sacrifices, but they were repelled by the German counterattack before they could gain a firm foothold, and several thousand commanders and fighters of the two divisions could only retreat to the valley by the Neva River.

At midnight, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, who was far away in Moscow, personally called. On the phone, he said to Meretskov in harsh terms: "Comrade Meretskov, the situation of the Leningrad Front is very bad at the moment, and if the situation is allowed to develop, the thousands of commanders and fighters who crossed the Neva River will either be driven down the river by the Germans or wiped out by artillery fire, so you must launch an offensive on the depth of the German defense without hesitation tomorrow, in the early morning of July 20. Once your offensive has begun, the forces of the Neva Cluster will also cooperate with your actions and attack from the rear of the Germans. ”

After answering the call, Meretskov began to plan for tomorrow's offensive operation, and he ordered General Starikov to immediately issue an order that the units of the 8th Army should launch a fierce attack on the enemy in front of him at four o'clock in the morning, in order to deal with the friendly forces of the Neva cluster trapped in the valley by the river.

However, Ji Lu couldn't catch up with the changes, and as soon as the sky was bright, there was a rumbling cannon outside. Hearing this, I couldn't help but be stunned, and my heart said that where is the artillery firing in this place? The artillery of the Volkhov Front was already depleted of shells, and it was no longer possible to provide artillery cover for the attacking units of our army. Could it be that in order to cooperate with the action of the two-sided flanking attack, the heavy artillery of the Leningrad Front and the naval guns of the Baltic Fleet are firing?

Just as I was thinking about it, the phone on my desk rang. Because I was close, I grabbed the microphone at any time and said politely: "Hello, this is the headquarters of the 8th Army." ”

The flustered voice of Chief of Staff Golovchner came from the microphone: "Is it Major Oshanina?" Please let General Starikov answer the phone. ”

I handed the phone to Starikov and at the same time said: "Comrade General, your phone. It was the chief of staff of the army group, General Golovchner, who called. ”

Starikov thanked him, took the phone, listened only a few words, and then asked in shock: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what did you say?" Say it again. After listening to the chief of staff repeat, Starikov's face darkened. After hanging up the phone, he walked up to Meretskov and reported with a serious expression: "Comrade commander, the situation has changed. My chief of staff had just called and said that the Germans were bombarding the Sinavino heights with heavy artillery fire, and that our commanders and fighters were being pinned down in the trenches by artillery fire and could not move, and that it seemed that today's offensive plan had to be cancelled. ”

After hearing this, Meretskov's face became cloudy, and after a long while, he spoke: "Comrade Starikov, you call Comrade Golovchnier again and ask how the situation is now?" ”

Starikov agreed, reached for the phone on the table, and prepared to call his chief of staff, but the phone rang first. He grabbed the microphone and put it to his ear and said loudly: "I'm Starikov, is it the chief of staff?" How's your situation there? ”

The voice in the microphone was so loud that I could hear it clearly even when I was standing a few steps away: "Comrade commander, the situation is very bad." At the same time as the artillery bombardment, the Germans also sent planes to carry out air strikes on the heights. The enemy's bombers used explosive shells to blow up the KV tanks, which were stationary batteries, and the heavy artillery desperately bombarded the areas where our troops were assembled. At the moment, my command post has lost contact with the high ground. ”

"Continue to contact the highlands, and report to me immediately if there is any new situation." Starikov put down the phone and just wanted to report to Meretskov, who waved his hand and said, "I heard it all." It seems that the Germans wanted to recapture the high ground, so they dispatched their air force and artillery to carry out wanton and indiscriminate bombardment, in an attempt to wipe out all our troops on the position with powerful firepower. ”

"Comrade General," Starikov asked cautiously, "you see, the German artillery fire and air raids are so fierce, do you think it is necessary to withdraw the troops on the high ground first, so as not to cause more casualties?" ”

Meretskov immediately shook his head and rejected his proposal: "No, the enemy's artillery fire is too fierce, and at this time withdraw the troops from the positions, and the troops without strong fortifications for cover may be completely annihilated." ”

The successive battle reports were all bad news. Although the Neva Cluster commanders and fighters showed great bravery, they attacked again and again, leaving only a mountain of corpses in front of the German defensive positions, and could not make more progress at all. By noon, in order to intensify the attack and break through the strong German lines, the Leningrad Front ordered the 86th Infantry Division and the 11th Infantry Brigade to cross the river and enter the battle. However, the dense offensive formation, under the heavy artillery fire of the German army, the number of casualties of our troops skyrocketed, and the troops had to retreat back to the valley again after the most disadvantaged.

The Germans poured thousands of bombs and shells on the Sinavino Heights, as if trying to wipe the place off the face of the earth and reduce all living things to ashes. Under such powerful firepower, the temporarily reinforced fortifications were torn to pieces one by one by artillery fire like toys, and the commanders and fighters hiding in them suffered heavy casualties.

The Neva Cluster's offensive failed, and the Sinavino Heights were in danger, and the two fronts joined forces to break the German plan to besiege the city, bursting like a beautiful soap bubble. (To be continued......)