At noon the next day, accompanied by Bezzikov and Yushchenko, I arrived at the headquarters of the army group in Kirovsky. The deputy commander, Major General Danilov, who received the notice, stood at the door with several commanders waiting for me.

I sat in the car, and when I saw the group of commanders standing at the door of the building, I turned my head and asked Bezikov, who was sitting next to me: "Colonel, I don't know which one is General Danilov?" ”

Bezikov glanced out of the car window, then pointed to a small middle-aged man with the rank of lieutenant general on his shoulder, and said to me decisively: "Lida, you see, in the crowd that greets you, he has the highest rank, and it should be Deputy Commander Danilov. ”

The car we were riding in stopped seven or eight steps away from the crowd. As soon as the car stopped, Bezkov opened the door and jumped out of the car, went around to my door from the back of the car, and took the initiative to open the door for me.

When they saw me get out of the car, a group of people standing at the door greeted me, and it was the little general who took the lead. He smiled and stretched out his hand to me and said in a friendly manner: "Hello, Comrade Commander! I am Deputy Commander Danilov, and you are welcome to work in the 6th Guards Army. ”

"Hello, General Danilov!" I clasped his hand tightly and flattered, "I was really happy to hear that such an excellent commander with a wealth of combat experience as you would assist me in my work in the future." In the future, if there is something I don't understand in my work, I will definitely ask you more for advice. ”

Although the Russians did not say anything modest, my compliments still made Danilov happy, and he said in a loud voice: "Comrade commander. You're so polite. I am your subordinate. How can I talk about what to ask. If you have anything to do, just ask me to do it, and I will do my best to get it done for you. ”

I kept holding his hand and didn't let go, and continued to smile and say, "Comrade General, we will be partners from now on. You keep calling me Commander, which seems a bit too raw, or you might as well call me by my nickname - Leda! ”

"Since you say so. Then I'll call you Leda. "Danilov was obviously an easy-going man, and when he heard me say this, he immediately changed his name to me. Then he leaned to the side and said to me, "Lida, let me introduce you, they are all commanders of various divisions. Taking advantage of the opportunity to welcome you to your post today, I will call them all to get to know you, which will also be conducive to the development of future work. ”

The first was a tall, emaciated major general, Danilov introduced: "Lida, this is the commander of the 51st Guards Division, Nicholas. Talielovich. General Tavart Kiradze. ”

"Hello. General Tavart Kiradze. I smiled and reached out to shake the other's hand.

The second was a colonel of medium stature, Danilov said: "This is the commander of the 52nd Guards Rifle Division, Ivan. Mikhailavich. Colonel Nekrasov. ”

"Hello. Comrade Commander, it is a pleasure to accept your command. Before I could speak, Colonel Nekrasov had already stretched out his hands first, and at the same time said in a friendly voice: "I and my subordinates hope for immortal feats in the future under your leadership." ”

After listening to Nekrasov's words, I felt happy in my heart, and secretly said that this division commander is good, he is very good at talking, and I can deal with him more in the future.

When I saw that the third was an elderly colonel, I thought to myself that this might be the commander of the 67th or 71st Guards Division. Just thinking like this, he heard Danilov say: "Lida, this is the commander of the 375th Infantry Division, Peter. Dmitrievich. Colonel Govorunenko. ”

The remaining two colonels, Danilov, introduced me in turn: "They are Colonel Baksov, commander of the 67th Guards Division, and Ivan Baksov, commander of the 71st Guards Infantry Division. Prokofievich. Colonel Sivakov. ”

When Danilov had introduced all the commanders who had come out with him to greet him, I couldn't help frowning, because I hadn't seen the military commissar or the chief of staff except for a few division commanders.

Seeing that he was displeased, Danilov hurriedly asked me in a low voice: "Lida, I see that you seem to be very unhappy, is something wrong?" ”

"Why didn't you see the military commissar and the chief of staff?" Since Danilov took the initiative to ask, I did not hide the dissatisfaction in my heart, and on the first day that I, the commander, took office, the military commanders of the two group armies did not show up.

"Oh, I see." After Danilov figured out what was going on, he quickly explained to me: "Lida, the military commissar and the chief of staff were in a car accident when they were out with Commander Chistyakov some time ago, and all three of them are still lying in the hospital. ”

After figuring out what was going on, the dissatisfaction in my heart suddenly disappeared without a trace, and instead comforted Danilov and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, don't worry too much. Although there are no military commissars and chiefs of staff in the group army, you are familiar with the situation of the troops and can temporarily take on the work of Comrade Military Commissars; As for the post of Chief of Staff, it will be held by our Deputy Chief of Staff, Colonel Bezikov, for the time being. ”

"Is this appropriate?" Danilov was a little hesitant about my arrangement.

"Comrade Deputy Commander, don't worry." In order to dispel his scruples, I said with a big grin: "You are only temporarily acting for this post, and you can just hand over the work after the higher authorities have sent a new military commissar and chief of staff." Bezkov," I said, turning my head and glancing at Bezikov behind me, and when he stood in front of me, I turned to Danilov and said, "Comrade Deputy Commander, let me introduce you, this is Colonel Bezkov, he is from the Kremlin's Central Guard Regiment. ”

Hearing the words Kremlin and the Central Guard Regiment, the surrounding commanders gasped and were in awe of Bezkov. Danilov shook Bezikov's hand and said with a smile: "Hello, Colonel Bezikov, welcome to one of us. ”

After the meeting, Danilov guided me to a spacious office. He beckoned everyone to sit down around the elaborate long wooden table in the room, then looked sideways at me and asked, "Leda, your first day in office today." Do you have anything to say to the commanders here? ”

"Yes. Comrade Deputy Commander. I do have a lot to say to the commanders here. With that, I stood up, put my hands on the edge of the table, leaned forward slightly, and said, "Comrades, although this is the first time I have met with all of you here, I think everyone knows that. Some time ago I was active in Prokhorovka, inspecting the construction of fortifications in the region. ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." The first to speak was Sivakov, commander of the 71st Guards Division, who said respectfully: "My subordinates have reported this matter to me in detail, so I still know some of your whereabouts. I have another question, can I ask you? ”

"Please, Comrade Colonel." I didn't know what questions he would ask, but I smiled and said to him in a friendly way, "If you have any questions, just ask." I will try to give you a satisfactory answer. ”

"I've heard people vaguely reveal it," Sivakov saw that he did not object to his question. After a moment of silence, he carefully said: "Did the commander of the Front, General Vatutin, and the military commissar Comrade Khrushchev, propose to the Supreme Commander himself to conduct a preemptive assault on the German troops deployed in the Belgorod + Kharkov region?" But now more than a month has passed, and there has been no movement, is this raid canceled? ”

To his question, I thought for a moment and replied: "Comrade Colonel, as far as I know, the superiors did have such considerations, but after much deliberation, this plan was canceled. The next thing we need to do is to build a solid and perfect defense system and organize a strong defense to deal with the enemy's attack. Let the Germans exhaust and exhaust the forces in the deep echelon defense of our army, and then strike at the enemy with a powerful counteroffensive in the direction of Belgorod-Kharkov. ”

"What are we supposed to do?" The person who asked the question this time was the commander of the 378th Infantry Division, Colonel Govorinenko.

In addition to consolidating the existing defensive positions, "I took this opportunity to state to the commanders present the plan I had considered on the train back to Moscow:"...... The German assaults were led by tanks, followed by infantry. Therefore, we have to deploy a sufficient number of artillery and anti-tank guns in the more important directions, laying mines and explosives packs, so that the enemy cannot easily rush in front of us. ”

After explaining my defense plan, I began to instill in the commanders present the advantages of building tunnels and fortifications, and ordered the commanders of all divisions to build more fortifications and hiding holes according to their own conditions, so as to make preparations for long-term operations.

After I finished speaking, I picked up the teacup in front of me and prepared to drink water, and the commander of the 67th Guards Infantry Division, Baksov, stood up and asked: "Comrade commander, I would like to ask, is there a time limit to complete such a large amount of work?" ”

"Surely there are restrictions at times, Comrade Colonel, do you need to talk about that?" I understand the character of the Russian people, they are very serious about what they do, but they just drag it out too much, and if they don't set a deadline, it is estimated that by the end of the year, these projects will not be completed. Seeing that there were only two months left before the Battle of Kursk began, I could not help but say anxiously: "In any case, this project must be completed in forty days." ”

"Ah, forty days." My words surprised not only Baksov, but even Danilov, who was sitting next to him, asked in a low voice: "Lida, is this deadline too short?" ”

"It's not short at all." I glanced down at Danilov and said to myself that if you knew exactly when the Battle of Kursk would break out, I guess you would be eager to complete all the civil works tomorrow. "According to my estimate, the German army will not stay on our opposite side and will attack us sooner or later, so we must make all combat preparations in advance to resist the German attack that may be launched at any time."

After listening to my words, Danilov was silent for a long time, and then asked me cautiously: "Comrade commander, when do you think the Germans will attack us?" ”

"The Germans crossed the border on June 22, 1941 and brazenly attacked us." I did not immediately answer him with a specific time, but said vaguely: "And the Battle of Stalingrad, which the German army also launched around June." This shows that the Germans are accustomed to attacking us when summer comes. ”

"Will the Morals Army launch a new attack on us in mid-to-late June?" As soon as I finished speaking, Danilov casually said: "In that case, we really don't have much time left." ”

"But will the Germans really attack us in mid-to-late June?" After listening to the conversation between me and Danilov, the commander present could not help but say with suspicion: "If the commanders and fighters are exhausted by building fortifications, then once the battle breaks out, I wonder if they will have enough physical strength to participate in the battle." ”

"Comrade commander," a loud voice suddenly came from the door, "if I were you, I would have believed everything your commander said." You must know that a few months before the outbreak of the Battle of Stalingrad, she had warned the Supreme Commander himself, and therefore she was criticized. ”

I could clearly see that it was Lieutenant General Katukov who was standing in the doorway and speaking, followed by two other generals. I hurriedly walked around the table and stepped forward with Danilov. While shaking hands with him, he said unexpectedly: "General Katukov, how did you have time to come to my headquarters today." ”、

"Lida, I heard that you took office today, and I came to congratulate you." Speaking of this, he turned his head to look at the two generals behind him, and added, "I also brought two of my right-hand men to introduce them to you." After saying that, he turned sideways, let the two generals out, and introduced to me: "This is Major General Gottman, commander of the 6th Tank Army, and next to him is the commander of the 3rd Mechanized Army: Major General Krivoshein, both of whom are my right-hand men. ”

Then he said to the two generals: "This is General Oshanina, whom I often mention to you, don't look at her as a woman, but ordinary men cannot compare with her at all." ”

"Hello, General Oshanina." The two generals waited for Katukov to finish, neatly raised their hands to salute me, and greeted me politely.

After giving up Katukov's seat, I asked with concern: "Comrade General, I would like to ask you, when will your tank army be replenished with new tanks?" ”

Without thinking, Katukov replied: "I came this time to tell you about it. I have just been informed that the first batch of tanks will be ready for the next month of May. (To be continued.) )