When all the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs left the headquarters, I breathed a long sigh of relief, knowing that I was completely out of danger this time. Meretskov walked up to me, raised his hand and gently patted my right shoulder, comforting me and saying, "Lida, don't worry, it's all over." Then he said to the rest of the generals, "This is the end of today's meeting, and you all go back to your troops." Hurry up and prepare for battle, and launch an attack on the enemy on time the morning after tomorrow. ”

After the generals collectively saluted Meretskov, they left one after another. Starikov and Gagan were about to leave when Meretskov stopped them and said, "General Starikov, I will inspect your army group tomorrow." You have to hurry up the preparations for the battle, there is only more than a day left. ”

"Please rest assured, Comrade Commander." Starikov expressed his determination to him: "I will go back and make arrangements to ensure that before midnight on the 17th, the troops participating in the battle will be moved to the starting position of the offensive to ensure the smooth progress of the battle." ”

Meretskov nodded with satisfaction and said softly: "Go ahead." ”

"Yes!" Starikov agreed loudly, and after saluting Meretskov again, he turned around and strode towards the door of the headquarters.

The two of them had just reached the door when a general was about to go inside. Seeing that the two were leaving, he stopped to greet them: "General Starikov, I heard that your meeting is over." Are you going to go back to the army? ”

"Yes, Comrade General. The meeting has already ended, and Comrade Gagan and I will go back to deploy the transfer of troops, so I won't talk to you about the specific things. You can go in and ask Comrade Commander. Farewell. "Finished. The two raised their hands and saluted the general. Turned and walked away.

The general looked at the backs of the two in surprise and asked Meretskov a little strangely: "Comrade commander, what's wrong with the two of them, as if they have an opinion about me." With that, he walked into the headquarters.

When Meretskov saw the general coming, he hurriedly pulled me to him and introduced me: "Leda, let me introduce you. This is the artillery commander of the Front, whom we have just mentioned, General Degtyalev. ”

The bald general in front of him, who did not wear a hat, looked like a pampered lord, with a belly as big as a pregnant woman in October, and her whole body leaned back when she walked, as if this was the only way to maintain balance. I glanced at the four gold stars on his collar badge, and hurriedly stood up and saluted, and said respectfully: "Hello, Comrade Admiral." I'm Major Oshanina, the new operational staff officer of the Front, and it's a pleasure to meet you! ”

"Hello! Comrade Major. "Admiral Degtyalev did not return the salute, but directly reached out and shook my hand.

After shaking hands. He turned his head and asked Meretskov curiously: "Comrade commander, I just met General Starikov and his subordinate General Gagan at the door. They seemed to be very unhappy, and after a few words with me, they hurried away. What the hell is going on? ”

"It's a long story, I'll sit down first."

As soon as we sat down, an ensign hurried in with a cup of hot tea, went straight to the table, and placed the hot tea in front of General Degtyalev. The tea was served in a clear glass with a shrewd silver saucer on the outside. The general picked up the tea, put it to his nose and smelled it, then said to the second lieutenant who brought the tea with a straight face, half-jokingly: "I repeat, you can only put a spoonful of sugar in the tea, but what about you?" Comrade Second Lieutenant, put three spoonfuls of sugar on me, I, the commander of the artillery, am fat enough, and if I continue to gain weight, I will not be able to walk. ”

To the laughter of me and Meretskov, the second lieutenant smiled and saluted the artillery commander, turned and walked out of the headquarters.

General Degtyalev took a sip of tea, and then asked Meretskov: "Comrade commander, what is the matter with General Starikov, he doesn't even want to talk to me more, is it who made him angry?" ”

Meretskov glanced at me and said to General Degtyalev: "Old man, at the meeting just now, Major Oshanina proposed to take back the command of the artillery units involved in the battle from the hands of the artillery commander of the 8th Army, General Bezruk, and put them back under your command. After some consideration, I had agreed to her proposal, perhaps because of the surrender of command of the artillery unit, and General Starikov felt a little lost. ”

"Let the artillery command of the Front command command in the campaign, what is going on? Comrade commander, you have confused me. ”

Meretskov continued: "Major Oshanina suggested that in the campaign, we should follow the principle of concentrated use of artillery fire in the main assault directions, increasing the density of artillery from the current seventy to one hundred guns per kilometer to one hundred to one hundred guns. Old guy, how many artillery units are there in the Front now? ”

Degtyalev put down the teacup in his hand, his expression became solemn, he thought for a moment and replied: "Comrade commander, in my hands I originally had a total of twenty-four artillery regiments, among which there were two Guards artillery regiments, that is, rocket artillery regiments. Of the remaining twenty-two regiments, there were eighteen cannon regiments and four mortar regiments. These units, some time ago, were assigned to the 8th Army and were evenly distributed among the divisions by the artillery commander of the army, General Bezluk. ”

"I think Major Oshanina has a point, that all artillery units should be used in the main assault directions of the campaign, and that after the infantry has advanced, the artillery positions should be quickly moved forward and continue to provide the necessary fire support for the battle in depth. And to command such a large artillery unit, you need an experienced and good commander, and you are clearly more suitable for this position than General Bezluk. ”

After listening to Meretskov's words, Degtyalev bowed his head and pondered. After a long while, he raised his head and said slowly: "Comrade commander, I would like to remind you that General Bezluk originally distributed the artillery evenly among the divisions, and it was with my consent. The reason why we have to do this is because the Germans firmly hold the air supremacy of the battlefield, and once such a large-scale artillery is used intensively, it will inevitably attract a brutal air attack by the Luftwaffe and cause heavy losses to our artillery units. ”

"You can rest assured, old man." Meretskov lost no time in reassuring him, "When the campaign is launched, the Leningrad Front will send out its air force to compete with the Germans for air supremacy on the battlefield." With that, he turned to me and asked, "Leda, is there anything else you want to say?" ”

The Germans controlled the air supremacy on the battlefield, and this was indeed a big trouble that could not be avoided, I thought about it, and then said to Degtyalev in a consultative tone: "Comrade General, do you think this will work?" We deployed the artillery in different areas as regiments, and after the battle began, you commanded the artillery to fire at the same area. In this way, it was possible to achieve the purpose of concentrated use of artillery, and at the same time effectively evade the air raids of the Luftwaffe. ”

As soon as my words fell, Meretskov was the first to speak in support: "I think Major Oshanina's proposal is feasible. What do you mean, old man? ”

It seemed that Degtyalev still wanted to say something against it, but seeing that Meretskov was also helping me speak, I had to nod helplessly and say, "Okay, comrade commander, just do as you say." ”

"Old man, after you go back, arrange the preset positions of each artillery regiment as soon as possible."

Degtyalev stood up with a teacup and said with a bitter face: "I'll go back and let those staff officers plan, and in about a week, the artillery units will be able to enter the designated preset positions." ”

"A week? No, it's too long. Meretskov immediately objected, "The new order given to us today by the Supreme Command is to launch the Battle of the Bulge no later than the 17th of this month. ”

"What?" Degtyalev was startled, the cup in his hand was not steady, and fell directly on the table, and all the tea in the quilt was spilled on the map. I quickly got up and went to the corner to find a towel to wipe the tea on the table.

Degtyalev was so anxious that he complained loudly at Meretskov: "Comrade commander, the artillery of the artillery unit is not a toy, and it can be placed wherever it is said to be placed with a raise of one's hand. In order to get into the designated position, we must first have suitable roads, the necessary transport vehicles, and we also need to have enough artillery shells to cope with the long battle, and these preparations will take time. ”

"No, you only have one day to prepare. By tomorrow evening, all artillery units under your command must all enter the designated positions. If the course of the campaign is affected by the inability of the artillery to enter the position with delay, not only you, but also me, may be court-martialed. Meretskov did not save face for his old fellow in the slightest, and spoke in a much heavier tone.

Degtyalev did not give up, and asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, can't you discuss with the Supreme High Command and give us a few more days to prepare?" ”

"No way!" Meretskov replied categorically: "On the phone just now, Comrade Stalin was angry, and he demanded that we launch a campaign as soon as possible at all costs, to achieve a rendezvous with the Leningrad Front, and to completely break the German siege of Leningrad. ”

Seeing that there was no chance for things to turn around, Degtyalev had no choice but to bite the bullet and say: "Okay, Comrade Commander, since this is the case, I will immediately go back to deploy and let all the artillery units enter the preset positions as soon as possible before the specified time limit." ”

"That's right, old man." Meretskov walked over, patted him lightly on the shoulder, and said amicably: "Since it is the order of the base camp, we should carry it out to the letter." ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander. I'll go back to the headquarters and give the latest combat orders to the troops. After saying that, the serious-looking Degtyalev raised his hand and saluted, and turned around and left without even taking the quilt on the table. (To be continued......)