At about eight o'clock in the morning of the next day, Akhromeyev walked into the headquarters from the outside with a copy of the battle report he had just received. He came to the table, pointed to the map spread out on the table, and said: "Comrade commander, intelligence shows that the German army is gathering near Yakovlevo, there are about seven divisions, with a total strength of about 100,000 people, among which there are 'Hitler's divisions' and 'Reich' divisions'. Although the enemy's offensive forces had not yet been fully deployed, judging from the situation on the battlefield, they planned to launch a large-scale offensive battle against Prokhorovka after clearing out the 51st Guards Division. ”

After staring at the map for a while, I nodded and said, "Comrade Major, I agree with you. The Germans were more cunning than we thought, and after occupying the few defensive positions we had ceded, they also concentrated their forces to capture positions 2 and 3 of the 51st Guards Division. In this case, they could have driven straight along the Belgorod-Kursk highway and rushed north towards Oboyan; Or concentrate a part of your forces and launch an attack on Prokhorovka. But now they did not rush forward aggressively, but assembled near Yakovlevo, preparing to completely destroy the 51st Guards Division. ”

After reading the battle report, Danilov lowered his head and looked at the map for a while, and then expressed his opinion with a serious expression: "It seems that the Germans want to establish a solid offensive starting point in Yakovlevo, so the 51st Guards Division, which was originally stationed here, has become the object that they must eliminate. ”

I looked around and saw that Bezikov was standing next to a telephone, talking loudly to someone, and I guess he wouldn't be able to get back to me for a while. So I asked Kirillov, who was sitting at the table: "Comrade Military Commissar." What do you think? ”

"The Germans must not be allowed to wipe out our 51st Guards Division." Kirillov heard my question. Immediately replied unequivocally: "If the enemy eats them and consolidates their positions, then it is possible that they will be able to draw part of their forces and send reinforcements to the 'Skeleton Division' and launch a larger attack on the 52nd Guards Division." Therefore, we must act to whitewash this conspiracy of the Germans. ”

"Comrade Commander, do you need me to move the tank corps forward?" Colonel Bere interjected and asked: "Now we can transfer the defense to the 5th Guards Tank Army." Then the 82nd and 101st brigades were transferred to the Yakovlevo region. With our current strength, as long as the German army does not send out its air force, their tanks will only be in a situation of being passively beaten when they encounter us. ”

I did not immediately reply to Colonel Bere, who volunteered, but continued to stare at the map and think. Speaking from the heart, at present we have assembled a lot of tank brigades and artillery regiments in Yakovlevo, and if we want to block the onslaught of the German army, we can barely do it, and if we can't do it, we will pay a greater price. If at such a time. If Colonel Bere's tank 33rd Army is transferred up, it may be possible to form a certain advantage in the local area.

I'm weighing the stakes at the moment. The phone on the table rang suddenly. I picked up the earpiece and put it to my ear, and I heard Vatutin's voice coming from inside: "Hey, Comrade Oshanina? I'm Vatutin, how are you doing there? ”

"Comrade General," I said thoughtfully, staring at the map, "there are currently seven German divisions assembled near Yakovlevo, and it seems that they are trying to clear our forces in the area before launching a large-scale offensive to Oboyan in the north or Prokhorovka in the northeast. ”

"What measures are you going to take to try to get rid of this attempt by the Germans?" Vatutin asked slowly: "I have transferred two tank corps and several artillery regiments to you, I believe that with such strength, the strength should be enough to deal with the armored forces of the German army, right?" ”

The troops that Vatutin sent to me sounded like a lot, but they were a little less to deal with the Manstein group of the German army. But I also know that in the current situation, this is pretty much the most he can do for me. I thought about it, although we can't ask him for troops anymore, but we can use him to get the Air Force to provide us with the necessary support. As long as air supremacy is in our hands, then our tank forces will be able to teach the Germans a hard lesson with their advanced new tanks.

Thinking of this, I solemnly said to Vatutin: "Comrade commander, I intend to transfer the 33rd Tank Army, which was originally deployed in the Prokhorovka region, to the Yakovlevo region to further strengthen the anti-tank forces there. But there's one thing right now, and I need you to do it. ”

"What's the matter? You just say. When Vatujin heard my arrangement, he readily agreed: "As long as I can do it, I will definitely meet your requirements." ”

"Comrade General, in yesterday's battle, the Germans bombarded many of our defensive areas, inflicting considerable casualties on our defenders. Among them, the loss of Butovo is still related to the bombing of the German army. I first mentioned the danger of the Luftwaffe in two sentences, and then said: "From Prokhorovka to Yakovlevo, it is more than forty kilometers. On such a long march, our tank units could easily have become targets for German aircraft without the cover of the Air Force. Look, can you ask the 2nd Army of the Guards Air Force to send out fighters to cover the transfer of our tank forces? ”

In response to my request, Vatutin was silent for a moment, and then said decisively: "Okay, Comrade Oshanina, I will call Lieutenant General Krasovsky of the Air Force and ask him to send the 205th Division of Fighter Aviation and the 223rd Division of Short-Range Bomber Aviation to assist you in launching a counterattack against the German troops in the Yakovlevo area. Well, so be it, good luck! After he finished speaking, he hung up the phone without waiting for me to speak.

Vatujing had already hung up the phone, but I was still in a daze with a microphone with a busy sound in my hand. Originally, I just wanted the Air Force to send out to cover Colonel Bere's 33rd Tank Army heading to Yakovlevo, but I didn't expect Vatutin to directly order me to launch a counterattack.

Although this wrong order of Vatutin, I am in a dilemma. At such times, I could not have called Vatutin again and told him that we had no intention of counterattacking the Germans, not to mention that the Germans were outnumbered by us. Even if the troops and weapons and equipment are completely equal. Nor are we anyone else's opponent.

Orders from superiors cannot be changed. At times like this, I can only mistake what is wrong. I put down the phone and first said to Colonel Berey: "Comrade Colonel, immediately assemble your troops and try to get to the Yakovlevo region as soon as possible." Seeing that he opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, I hurriedly added, "Comrade General has promised to let the Air Force send two divisions. Cover your army towards Yakovlevo. ”

Hearing that there was air force cover, Colonel Bere had a smile on his face, and when he answered me, his voice was particularly loud.

I looked at Bezikov, who had just put down the phone and came towards us, and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately call Colonel Chernov, commander of the 90th Guards Division, and ask them to move with the tank corps and quickly rush to the Yakovlevo region. ”

Without waiting for Bezikov to leave, Danilov, who heard the news, exclaimed excitedly: "Great, this is great!" Comrade Commander. As long as the 90th Guards Division is sent, we have a gap in strength with the Germans in the Yakovlevo area. It's greatly reduced. You can rest assured that as long as the air supremacy on the battlefield is in our hands, then we will be able to repel the enemy. ”

I tried to squeeze a smile on my face and said to him with a forced smile: "Although the Germans made some progress yesterday, they also paid a huge price. I believe that these achievements have greatly boosted the morale of our commanders and fighters, and if we see so many reinforcements appearing today, they will certainly perform even better. ”

Originally, I said it perfunctorily, but Danilov took it seriously, and after nodding vigorously, he also took the initiative to ask me: "Comrade commander, at present there are too many numbers of troops near Yakovlevo and there is a lack of unified command. Therefore, I would like to ask you to allow me to go there and command the troops. ”

Danilov is telling the truth, in addition to the original units of our group army, there are also the newly transferred tank corps, artillery regiments, and so on from Vatutin, and there are as many as a dozen numbers. With so many troops, if there was no unified command, they would fall into a situation of fighting separately, and eventually they would be broken by the German army.

Just as I was about to accede to Danilov's request, I saw Rasmikhin hurrying in. Seeing the panicked look on his face, I couldn't help but secretly cry out, could it be that something went wrong again, otherwise he wouldn't have behaved so gaffe. Before he could walk up to me, I asked aloud, "Hey, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, see you are so flustered, is something wrong?" ”

"Comrade Commander," Rasmikhin walked up to me, frowned, handed me a telegram, and said in a solemn tone: "A telegram from the front, General Apanashchenko, deputy commander of the Front, has appeared near Yakovlevo. ”

"What?" Hearing Rasmikhin's words, I hurriedly snatched the telegram from his hand and looked down. The telegram was sent by the chief of staff of the newly formed regiment, Basmanov, who wrote on it: The deputy commander of the Front, General Apanashchenko, and a driver and two guards, had just passed through their defensive positions five minutes earlier and went to Yakovlevo.

Hell, hell. I can't help but curse in my heart, Apanashchenko is not staying at the headquarters of the Front, but at this time he ran to Yakovlevo, didn't he make trouble for me? Thinking of this, I slapped the telegram on the table, then grabbed the phone and called Vatutin.

As soon as the phone called, I didn't care about any etiquette, so I hurriedly said: "Comrade General, I would like to ask, how did Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army go to Yakovlevo?" ”

Vatutin, apparently not expecting me to call him and talk about this, couldn't help but be surprised, and then he cautiously asked: "Comrade Oshanina, you are not mistaken, are you?" How could Commander Apanashchenko go to the front at such a time? ”

"That's right, Comrade General." I could not help but be at a loss when I heard that Vatutin did not know anything about this matter, but to his suspicions, I replied in the affirmative: "I received a telegram from one of my subordinates, and I learned that Comrade Deputy Commander had passed through his defense zone and was going to Yakovlevo. In order to add to the veracity of what I said, I also made a point of emphasizing that "the man who sent me the telegram, who had previously served as the commander of my guard battalion, was a very reliable commander, and I believe that he could not have lied on this matter." ”

After listening to this, Vatutin did not speak to me, but lowered his voice and said to the person next to him: "You call the command of Commander Apanashchenko and ask if he is there?" ”

"Yes!" Those who heard his command loudly agreed.

Soon I heard Vatutin say to me: "Comrade Oshanina, thank you for providing me with such important information. I have already sent someone to contact the command of Comrade Deputy Commander to see if he is still there. ”

"What, Comrade General, it turns out that you and Comrade Deputy Commander are not in the same command?" I was really surprised by this unexpected situation, and I muttered quietly, "If you give two contradictory orders at the same time, who should I listen to?" ”

Vatutin didn't know if he heard my complaints, but after he coughed, he said with some embarrassment and helplessness: "Comrade Oshanina, you don't know, I and the command of General Apanashchenko are separate. After all, he is older than me, and he has been promoted to general for a longer time than me, so it will be very awkward for us to meet if he is under me as my deputy. So as early as half a month ago, our headquarters was divided into two places. ”

After listening to Vatutin's explanation, I really couldn't laugh or cry, I didn't expect that this Apanashchenko was still an old soldier, as a deputy commander, he did not stay well in the command headquarters to direct the battle, but ran to the most dangerous place in the front line at every turn, as if only by doing so could he reflect his fearless spirit of not being afraid of death. But he didn't think about it, he was now the deputy commander of the front army with hundreds of thousands of people under one person, and if any accident happened, it would be a blow to the morale of the army.

After the end of the call with Vatutin, I looked up and asked Rasmikhin: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, do you know where Deputy Commander Apanashchenko is at the moment?" ”

After listening to my words, Rasmikhin shook his head and said with a bitter face: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I have not received further information about Comrade Apanashchenko, I only know that he is on his way to Yakovlevo. ”

Apanashchenko's wayward actions obviously disrupted my arrangement. The deputy commanders of the front have run to our first line of defense, and I certainly cannot continue to stay in the headquarters without moving. So I had no choice but to say to Danilov: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I have decided, or you will stay at the headquarters and command the forward troops, or I will personally be responsible." (To be continued.) )