I don't know why, as soon as I heard Malinin mention the Battle of Kharkov, I couldn't help but shudder. In May last year, the Battle of Kharkov commanded by Marshal Timoshenko officially opened the prelude to the Battle of Stalingrad, and the German victory in Crimea and Kharkov exhausted the hard-won reserves of the Soviet Union, while the southern flank was severely weakened, allowing the German army to regain some of its strategic initiative and temporarily occupy an advantageous position. And the Germans, having captured the Balvenkovo salient, managed to occupy the starting position for the offensive on Stalingrad in their favor. Is it really good to have just finished a super-scale battle, and the troops participating in the battle have not yet been fully rested and replenished, and they have to rush into a new battle?

Rokossovsky waited for Malinin to finish speaking, and said to Vitkov: "Colonel, after the meeting, you and Comrade Oshanina will stay together, I have other things to explain to you." ”

"Yes!" The reckless Vitkov hurriedly agreed, and then asked in a tone of inquiry: "Comrade Commander of the Front, may I sit down?" ”

"You may be seated, Comrade Colonel." Rokossovsky answered him with a smile, then turned to Chuikov and said: "Now please Vasily. Comrade Ivanovich spoke. ”

Chuikov's speech was very simple, he mainly informed the commanders present about a series of plans for rest and recuperation, and I did not listen carefully because my troops would soon be transferred. After finishing his speech, Chuikov turned to Rokossovsky and said: "I'm done, Konstantin. Konstantinovich. ”

Rokossovsky nodded after hearing this, and then said: "Since Comrade Chuikov's words are finished. Then let's dismiss. Commanders and comrades, you can go back to your own units. ”

The other commanders (including my division commanders) got up and walked outside. Vitkov and I were left sitting still.

By the time the commander who arrived at the meeting was about the same. Rokossovsky beckoned to me and said enthusiastically: "Leda, don't sit down, come to me." ”

Vitkov and I stood up and walked to the table, but instead of sitting down as Rokossovsky had ordered, we stood straight in front of him.

"Leda, you and your troops are about to be transferred to the Southwestern Front." Rokossovsky politely said to me: "If you have any requests, you can ask for them. ”

Since it was Rokossovsky who asked me to put forward the conditions, I naturally would not be polite, and after thinking for a moment, I said decisively: "Comrade Commander of the Front, I have two requests. First, my military commissar, Comrade Vasilyev, died heroically some time ago as a result of being sniped by German snipers, and there is currently no political commissar in the army, in order to strengthen the leadership of the troops. I hope that the higher authorities will send us a new commissar. ”

After listening to my first condition, Rokossovsky turned his head and asked Chuikov: "Comrade Chuikov. What's your opinion? ”

"Comrade Commander of the Front, Comrade Oshanina's 79th Infantry Corps is the main force of our 62nd Army, and I think he should be equipped with a competent deputy." After saying this to Rokossovsky, Chuikov turned to me and asked: "Oshanina, do you have a suitable candidate?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." In fact, not long after Vasilyev's death, I had a suitable candidate, but because I was fighting every day, I did not propose it for the time being, and since Chuikov asked me to recommend a candidate, I said without hesitation: "Colonel Kirillov, the political commissar of the Bantailyev Division, has partnered with me for several months, and he is a more suitable candidate. ”

"I have no problem with having Colonel Kirillov serve as your military commissar. That's right," Chuikov reminded me: "In this case, isn't there a vacancy in the political commissar of the division of Pantaireev?" Who do you think would be the best place to take over? ”

I was well acquainted with the commanders at all levels in the Pantai Leev Division, and when I heard Chuikov ask who was suitable to take over the post of political commissar of the division, I said in one breath the plan I had come up with in one breath: "After Colonel Kirillov became political commissar in the army, the vacant post he had left could be filled by Lieutenant Colonel Oberstan, the political commissar of the first regiment. And the post of political commissar of the 1st regiment, which was filled by Major Savchenko, the instructor of the 1st battalion of the 2nd regiment, was the most suitable. "Now that political workers have been given new military ranks and job titles have been adjusted accordingly, it doesn't feel as awkward when it comes to their positions.

After listening to my arrangement, Chuikov nodded, and said with satisfaction: "Comrade Oshanina, you have thought it through. I know all the political workers you mentioned, and they are all very good commanders, and I have no opinion on the candidates you have proposed. What about you, Comrade Military Commissar? His last words were addressed to Gurov.

"I also agree with the candidate proposed by Comrade Oshanina." With a smile on his face, Gurov added: "I'll let Colonel Kirillov serve in the army today." ”

Rokossovsky smiled and waved his hand: "Okay, Lida, the first condition you proposed, we have already agreed." Let's move on to your second request. ”

Because of the second condition that I was about to propose, and since only Rokossovsky could do it, I turned to him and said: "Comrade Commander of the Front, my troops suffered great losses in the early battles, and although they once replenished us with new troops, with the transfer of General Vachuk's 79th Guards Division, our army has become weak again, and I hope that you will replenish us with 8,000 to 10,000 new troops." In addition, Colonel Bere's tank brigade has a little less tanks, and it would be great if the Front could replenish us with about a hundred of them. ”

After Rokossovsky waited for me to finish, he glanced at Chuikov next to him, and then said with a smile: "Leda, your expectations for me are really high. But unfortunately, I can't meet your request. You must know that during this period, the entire Don Front army was only replenished with 12,000 men, and the technical equipment of tanks, artillery, and aircraft was even more limited. ”

"But Comrade Commander," Rokossovsky said reluctantly, although Rokossovsky refused my request, "you know. After our army was transferred to the Southwestern Front. The face will be one tough battle after another. If the troops and technical equipment are not replenished, they may suffer a great loss. ”

Rokossovsky, hearing me say this, did not speak immediately, but thought about it with a frown. After glancing at each other, Chuikov and Gurov next to him also took the initiative to help: "Konstantin. Konstantinovich, I think what Comrade Oshanina said is quite reasonable, we should find a way to replenish her troops with the necessary personnel and technical equipment. ”

If I had been the only one who had made the request for addition, no matter how close my relationship with Rokossovsky were. It is also possible that he will refuse, after all, I am about to be transferred from the Don Front, and he cannot waste the limited replenishment he has received on my troops, which will soon not belong to him.

Rokossovsky saw that Chuikov was also helping me speak, and a hesitant expression appeared on his face. After being silent for a while, he looked at Malinin and asked, "Comrade Chief of Staff, I want to hear your opinion?" ”

Seeing that the hope of whether or not I could get supplies fell to Ma Linin, I quickly turned my attention to the chubby chief of staff of the Front Army, staring intently at the expression on his face. Seeing that Rokossovsky threw this difficult problem to himself, Malinin did not dare to assert it on his own, he looked at Rokossovsky. He looked at me again, and finally said in embarrassment: "Comrade Commander." I know that the supplies I have received from the base camp have been limited recently, but from the point of view of improving the combat effectiveness of the troops, Comrade Lida really needs to replenish here. However, whether or not to replenish her troops and weapons and equipment, I think it is up to you to decide. ”

Seeing that Malinin skillfully threw the problem to himself again, Rokossovsky finally couldn't help laughing, he stood up and said to me: "Lida, since Comrade Chief of Staff thinks that your troops should be replenished, then I will give you a part of it." Chief of Staff, record orders. Seeing that Malinin took out a pen and paper from his briefcase, he began to dictate the order, "Immediately replenish the 79th Infantry Corps with three thousand recruits, ten tanks and five cannons." Well, that's all, Comrade Chief of Staff, and you'll be responsible for arranging this matter. ”

Ma Lining put away the pen and paper, straightened up, and replied loudly: "Yes, I will arrange it immediately." After speaking, he turned around and said to Krylov, who was standing nearby: "General Krylov, please come with me, the new reserve troops need you to receive them in person." ”

After the two chiefs of staff had left the headquarters side by side, Rokossovsky waved at me again and motioned for me to stand beside him. I knew in my heart that he had asked me to come over because he had something important to explain, perhaps to explain to me the situation of friend or foe in the Ukrainian region, so I walked around the table and walked to his side.

Rokossovsky moved the map on the table a little in front of me, pointed it in red and blue, and introduced me to the current situation of friend and foe like a geography teacher lecturing: "Look, Lida, this is Stalingrad, where we are now, all the way west to Donetsk, and this is where General Vatutin's Southwestern Front is located. And to the north-west of Donetsk, there was the Voronezh Front of General Golikov. According to our reconnaissance, the headquarters of the German Field Marshal Manstein was located in the important town of Zaporosh, located on the bend of the Dnieper. ”

Hearing that Manstein's headquarters was in Zaporosh couldn't help but arouse my interest, but when I saw that the distance between Donetsk and Zaporosh was more than two hundred kilometers, I promptly dismissed the idea of sending troops to take the other side's headquarters directly. On such a long front, it is not known how many impenetrable lines of defense were laid out by the German troops. I casually asked: "Comrade commander, I wonder how many troops Marshal Manstein currently has?" ”

Since Rokossovsky was in a different position from us and had far more information than we had, he heard me ask about Manstein's troops, and casually gave a lot of important information: "Manstein's 'Army Group Don', some time ago, in order to save Paulus's troops besieged by us, sent the most elite 4th Tank Army under the command of Admiral Hort, to break through our layers of defense and approach only thirty kilometers from Stalingrad. However, Paulus's indecision and refusal to disobey Hitler's insistence on his orders resolutely refused to lead his troops to break through, and as a result, the rescue operation of Zhì Hoult failed.

In this case, the German 'Don Army Group' had to fight on three fronts at the same time, one was to save Paulus's 6th Army, which was attacking Paulus, but to defend the lines of communication of the German army that was attacking the Caucasus, and the important task was to ensure that it was not eaten by our army, which had the upper hand.

It is precisely because their defense line is full of holes, and because our army is several times stronger than theirs, and enjoys freedom of movement, they can constantly detour back to the two flanks of the German army with large corps, and Li Qiang annihilate a larger number of German troops. However, the Germans were cunning, they saw through our plan and, relying on the skillful defense of Army Group Hollitt and the 4th Tank Army, succeeded in breaking up our plan to encircle and annihilate and re-establish the line of defense between the Sea of Azov and the Donets River. ”

Rokossovsky's explanation gave me a perceptual understanding of the shape of the Ukrainian region. According to him, the troops of the German Field Marshal Manstein were in a situation of being attacked on all sides, and he was able to mobilize only a fraction of the strength of our troops. In addition, the annihilation of Paulus's troops and the severe blow to the morale and morale of the German army made the vast number of officers and men unwilling to fight, so after our army launched the offensive, it quickly achieved considerable results.

"Leda, your foe posture towards the Ukrainian region." Rokossovsky saw that I was staring at the map for a long time, so he raised his voice and asked, "Have you figured it out?" ”

"It's all figured out, Comrade Commander." I quickly straightened my back and replied loudly. Although I have figured it out, I still feel unfamiliar with the new battlefield I am about to go to. But that's all Rokossovsky can help me, and the rest of the information can only be asked by Vatutin or the commander of the 6th Army after I get to the Southwestern Front. After hesitating for a moment, I cautiously asked, "I wonder when my troops will leave?" ”

"Wait for Chief of Staff Malinin and General Krylov to complete the replenishment of your army, and then set off immediately." After Rokossovsky said this, he raised his hand and looked at his watch, and then continued: "Today is February 5th, so you should set off on the morning of February 7th." I will have the logistics department of the Front Command dispatch a thousand trucks to transport your troops and supplies to Donetsk. (To be continued......)