In the hours following the end of my correspondence with Rokossovsky, I kept in touch with Colonel Chistyakov and Lieutenant Colonel Mlakintsev, who were directing the battle in the city, through walkie-talkies.

Judging from the information feedback, the situation is very favorable for us. Except for the beginning of the war, when the tank brigade killed dozens of German tanks, the resistance of the Germans was very weak or even negligible.

At first, I was puzzled by this one-sided victory, knowing that even if the Germans were caught off guard by us, they would not be so vulnerable. It wasn't until Chistyakov reported to me the record of the interrogation of the captives that I understood what was going on. It turned out that there was only one battalion of less than 800 defenders in the city from beginning to end, and the dozens of German tanks that were shot down by the Katukov tank brigade were temporarily parked in the south of the city because there was no fuel. The Germans originally planned to refuel the tanks the next day before they could attack our troops, but they didn't expect that the sudden attack of our division tonight would knock these tanks to pieces, so Guderian should cry his nose.

At five o'clock in the morning, Rokossovsky spoke to me again, and he told me two things. First, the three settlements occupied by Pliyev's cavalry corps were hastily withdrawn because they had not cleared the remnants of the enemy, and did not leave the necessary troops to take over the defense, with the result that the remnants of the enemy reoccupied the settlements, and the troops of our army, which had gone to receive the defense, were fighting the enemy in the settlements. Second, Zhukov is very satisfied with the results of our division's offensive operation last night, and he will contact you personally later, and the most important task at present is to transfer all the 8th Guards Division to the city of Sun Hill and firmly hold the city, and as for the original defense area, the 20th Army will send troops to take over the defense. He also added at the end that the 1077th Regiment under the command of General Leviagin has already begun to move in the direction of Sun Hill City, and it is estimated that it will be able to enter the city at about seven o'clock in the morning.

Having cut off contact with the commander, I began to give orders to the troops who remained in the original defense zone. After receiving the order, Lieutenant Colonel Serebryakov of the 1075th Regiment immediately went to direct the troops to move the defense without saying a word. However, Lieutenant Colonel Chernyugov, who acted as the commander of the 1073 Regiment, talked a lot of nonsense, and he repeatedly asked me who would take over the existing defense area after all the troops were transferred.

The reason why I cleanly carried out Rokossovsky's order to move the defense was because I heard him say that it was the troops of the 20th Army, that is, General Lin's troops, that were coming to take over. From what I know about General Lin, after his troops accept the defense here, they can ensure that our division has no worries.

Beginning at eight o'clock in the morning, the division's subordinate units entered the city of Cumbre del Sol one after another. By this time, the battle had long since ended, and the enemy troops in the city were either killed or captured. Both Chistyakov and Mlagintsev in their respective occupied areas began to lay out defensive positions in anticipation of a possible German counterattack after dawn.

My headquarters was also moved from the communications vehicle to a relatively intact building. While the communications corps was still laying the telephone lines, Zhukov contacted me via walkie-talkie, and he asked loudly: "I said Lida, how are you doing, are there still Germans in the city?" ”

"Yes, Comrade General!" I replied lightly, "But except for the captives, the rest are lying on the ground and have become cold corpses." ”

Zhukov was stunned for a moment about my humor, and then he laughed and praised me: "Leda, you are amazing! When you came up with this offensive plan yesterday, I thought it was an impossible task, so I didn't have much hope. But since your proposal coincides with the High Command's ideas, even if it doesn't work out, I'll have to let you try. I didn't expect you to be so lucky to take the city back in one fell swoop. I want to congratulate you! ”

Hearing him say this, I can't help but feel a little embarrassed, the victory of this offensive is indeed a lot of luck, if the city is heavily guarded by the Germans, even with the strong support of General Katukov's tank brigade, it is not easy to capture the city.

Without waiting for me to speak, he continued: "In view of your outstanding performance, the Front has submitted a report to the Supreme High Command recommending that you be promoted to the rank of colonel and that the rest of the commanders be awarded the Order of the Red Banner. Speaking of which, he also deliberately explained: "If you are a man, according to my authority, I can directly promote you to colonel." But because you have long exceeded the highest rank of female soldiers, if you want to be promoted, you must report to the High Command. But rest assured, this is just a formality, and I am sure that even Comrade Stalin, hearing of your great results, will agree to a promotion to your rank. ”