Since the reinforcements mentioned by Vatutin did not reach Oboyan on time, Kravchenko's tank corps, and Chernov's Guards Division, had to stay for an extra day before withdrawing to the location of the headquarters of the army group. The original plan for a night attack had to be postponed.

When Danilov heard that the tank detachment under the command of Colonel Bere could not start the attack on time, he kept thinking about it, as if the Germans would have an advantage on the battlefield if they attacked one day late.

Perhaps because he had been talking for so long that everyone was a little numb, Kirillov was still engrossed in writing his application for the honor, while Povsky was studying on the map how to adjust the position of the artillery units. And Bezikov pulled me aside and talked to me about the tank detachment.

He looked left and right, and then asked very casually, "Leda, I would like to ask you how you plan to use Colonel Bere's tank detachment?" ”

I was confused by his brainless question, and asked, "Colonel, what do you want to say, I don't understand?" ”

"I mean I want to ask you, are you going to let tank detachments only go to attack the German camp at night?" Bezikov said worriedly: "Don't forget, it's summer, and it's only four or five hours a day when it's dark. ”

"Tell me what you think." I know that he must have something in mind when he said this, otherwise he would not have talked to me privately, and he used the relatively affectionate title he used to call me Commander instead of calling me Commander on official business.

"I think even during the day, our tank detachments can attack." Betzikov looked at me and said: "Don't look at the number of tanks, but use them in any direction." will have the effect of disrupting the deployment of the German army. ”

"But Comrade Colonel. Have you ever wondered. If they are sent out during the day. How can air defense be guaranteed? "The reason why I didn't let Bere's tank detachment attack during the day was because the German planes appeared over the battlefield much longer than our fighters." Although our tanks can defeat the Tiger tanks, they can only be beaten passively in front of the Luftwaffe. ”

"Have you forgotten that we also have quite a few self-propelled anti-aircraft guns." Bezikov reminded me with a smile: "Don't forget that this new type of double-barreled anti-aircraft gun has a good hit rate against German aircraft." ”

"I see, I see." Bezzikov said so. I immediately understood, feeling that he wanted me to incorporate the self-propelled anti-aircraft guns into Colonel Bere's tank detachment. Tank detachments equipped with air defense, as long as they are not bombarded by German artillery, can turn the battle into a one-sided slaughter.

I called Colonel Bere to the command and told him about Bezkov's proposal. After listening to this, he also patted his thigh and said yes, and added excitedly: "If we encounter German infantry units, there is no need to open fire at all." Let the tanks form a dense formation and run straight at the German ranks, while the self-propelled anti-aircraft guns follow behind, and use artillery fire to eliminate the fleeing German soldiers. ”

Colonel Berey had said this in a joking tone. Unexpectedly, Bezikov took it seriously, and he even fantasized about the scene. Say it in an exaggerated tone: "Imagine a German convoy that was attacked, a truck full of soldiers was overturned, and the soldiers inside were thrown out. Our tanks swept through the convoy like a wave, knocking over trucks, running over trailers and wagons, crushing matchboxes like matchboxes, crushing enemy soldiers and horses to pulp. How exciting it looks like that scene. ”

After I waited for Bezikov to finish, I smiled and said to Colonel Berey: "Colonel, don't listen to the chief of staff, he takes it for granted, there will be such an exaggeration in the war." However, he reminded me that your tank detachments, in addition to attacking the German camps and disrupting their transport lines, can focus on attacking the enemy's car convoys or trains transporting troops, and consume a lot of their vital forces to relieve the pressure on the troops at the front. ”

Hearing this, Beray raised his hand and looked at his watch, then got up from his seat and asked for my opinion: "Comrade commander, it's ten o'clock in the morning, can I immediately set off with the tank detachment?" ”

"Where are you going?" I asked briefly.

"I intend to lead in the direction of Yakovlevo." When Beray saw that I heard Yakovlevo, he couldn't help frowning, and quickly explained: "Although the Germans have heavy forces in that direction, our army has many scattered troops in that area, and we can gather them in the past and reorganize them into new ones." ”

As soon as Colonel Beray said this, I immediately remembered the deputy commander of the new regiment, Major Basmanov, and the commander of the third battalion, Captain Rosenberg, whose lives and deaths had been unknown since their defensive positions were broken through by the Germans. The tank detachment drove over, just in time to see if they were there with the remnants of the troops, and they were there to engage the Germans.

It was precisely because of this consideration that I readily agreed to Colonel Bere's request and instructed Bezikov: "Chief of Staff, you go to the air defense regiment and transfer six self-propelled anti-aircraft guns to Colonel Bere's command." ”

Bezikov agreed, and was about to leave, when Danilov suddenly said: "Comrade commander, if self-propelled anti-aircraft guns are transferred from the air defense regiment, the air defense of the army group command will be weakened. Is this appropriate? ”

Regarding Danilov's concerns, I smiled and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, our headquarters has long been bombed by the Germans and moved from the city to the forest. In such a large forest, it is very difficult for German planes to find our specific position, so it would be a waste to leave a fully formed air defense regiment here. ”

Danilov frowned and thought for a long time, and finally nodded reluctantly, and said reluctantly: "Well, since Comrade Commander said so, let the air defense regiment draw part of its forces to assist Colonel Bere's tank detachment." ”

The tank units assembled in two hours, and after replenishing fuel and ammunition, drove along the improvised road to Yakovlevo to look for the Germans.

Listening to the roar of the tank's motors as it faded away, Danilov asked me thoughtfully: "Comrade commander." What do you think of Colonel Bere's tank detachment. Will we get the results we wanted? ”

Didn't wait for me to finish. Bezikov already smiled and said to Danilov: "What's wrong with you, Comrade Deputy Commander? Although the troops commanded by Colonel Bere were only a tank detachment in fate, they had 49 tanks and 6 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, and in fact their combat effectiveness was even stronger than that of our tank army, which was not fully organized. As long as it wasn't for the head-to-head confrontation with the Germans, I couldn't think of anyone who could stand in the way of such a powerful armored force. ”

"Okay, whether the tank detachment will work or not, we will know when they report the results of the battle." I'm afraid that the two of them will have to fight for a long time for this trivial matter. Hurriedly interrupted them, and said to himself: "Let's study how to adjust the deployment of the group army to prepare for the counteroffensive in the near future." ”

Danilov wanted to say a few more words to Bezikov, but when he heard me talk about the counteroffensive, his attention was immediately attracted, and he asked one after another: "Comrade commander, did you get the order from your superiors to counterattack?" Where will our troops fight back? ”

Seeing his anxious reaction, I couldn't help but laugh dumbly, and forced a smile to explain to him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, at present our counteroffensive is still being prepared. As for when it will officially start, don't say I don't know. Maybe even Commander Vatutin didn't know. So you have to be patient and wait slowly, I don't think it will be long before. ”

Colonel Bere's first report of the battle came back at about two o'clock in the afternoon. He reported that they had successfully reached the high ground where the three battalions of the new regiment were stationed, and routed a company of German troops. When he sent people to the high ground to search, he found that there seemed to be survivors in the tunnel that had collapsed the entrance.

When Kirillov and I saw this information, our first reaction was that they were still alive. Kirillov called Lopkhov over and ordered him with a serious expression: "Major, you immediately send a telegram to Colonel Bere, asking him to immediately organize manpower to dig up the entrance to the tunnel and rescue the people inside." ”

Shortly after the telegram was sent, another telegram from Colonel Bere arrived. He said in the telegram that, according to the reports of the scouts, a convoy of twenty trucks was heading north along the road, perhaps to replenish the convoy for the German troops at the front, and that he had left some of his men to continue digging the tunnels, and that he had led the rest of the troops south to attack the German convoys.

Hearing that Bere was leading his troops to meet the enemy, Kirillov was so anxious that he stomped his feet and said repeatedly: "If the entrance to the tunnel is blown up, there will be a lack of oxygen inside, and if the entrance is not dug up as soon as possible, the survivors inside will suffocate to death due to lack of oxygen." This Colonel Bere, too, did not rescue our men first, but ran first against an insignificant convoy. ”

When Danilov heard about this, he reacted diametrically opposite, and he said strangely: "Comrade Military Commissar, I don't think Colonel Beray has done anything wrong, our first task is to destroy the enemy." There are no immortals in war, and we can't miss the opportunity to destroy the enemy in order to save a few commanders and fighters who don't know if they can be saved. ”

After listening to the two very different statements of Kirillov and Danilov, I thought it was quite difficult to deal with, because both of them had a point, and you can't have both fish and bear's paws. If you do your best to save people, you will miss the opportunity to destroy the enemy; And it doesn't seem right to focus on destroying the enemy and putting the matter of saving people later.

I thought about it for a long time, but I didn't come up with a way to do both, so I had to say vaguely: "Okay, military commissar and deputy commander, don't argue between the two of you." Colonel Bere, a commander at the front, was an excellent commander with more than ten or twenty years of military experience, and he knew how to make the right decisions according to the changes in the battlefield situation. ”

After another hour we waited for Colonel Bere's third telegram. He said that the tank detachment was met by a convoy of German supplies, and there was no suspense in the battle. Seeing dozens of tanks rushing towards them violently, the drivers who could turn around turned around and fled directly, and those who couldn't turn around also obediently got out of the car, standing beside the car with their hands raised and waiting to be taken prisoner.

And Kirillov apparently did not have the patience to listen to the results of the Berey tank detachment, and before Lopukhov finished reading, he could not wait to ask: "Have the commanders and fighters trapped in the pit been rescued?" ”

When I heard Kirillov ask, I stared nervously at Lopukhov, afraid that he would say what everyone feared. I saw him cough, clear his throat and continue reading: "...... Twenty-five commanders and fighters were found in the tunnel, including Major Basmanov, chief of staff of the new regiment, and Captain Rosenberg, commander of the third battalion. Although the entrance to the tunnel was blown up, fortunately there were ventilation holes to provide oxygen to those trapped in the tunnel, otherwise they would have been suffocated to death. At present, the rescued commanders and fighters have been sent to escort the captured German officers and soldiers to the headquarters in the captured trucks. ”

When Lopukhov finished reading, almost everyone let out a long sigh of relief, rejoicing that our 25 commanders and fighters had escaped death. Danilov immediately ordered Bezkov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please immediately send troops to meet them." We can't let these comrades who have just escaped from the clutches of death suffer any more accidents. ”

To Danilov's proposal, Bezikov immediately agreed. He immediately made a phone call to the head of the guard regiment, Yushchenko, and ordered him to send a company to meet Basmanov's convoy of them.

The safe escape of Basmanov and their danger has completely landed on the stone hanging in our hearts. For the rest of the day, everyone was impatiently awaiting Colonel Bere's new battle report, while I was waiting for the latest news of the Allied landing in Sicily.

In the evening, another telegram from Colonel Berey arrived. In the telegram, he said that they had encountered a tank battalion of the German 19th Tank Division. After a fierce battle, all 28 tanks of the German tank battalion were destroyed and no prisoners were taken. Five T-34 tanks of our army were destroyed, and another self-propelled anti-aircraft gun was seriously damaged, 9 people were killed and 11 were wounded.

Everyone was satisfied with such a battle loss ratio. Danilov also said with emotion: "Comrade commander, I really didn't expect that our tank detachment could achieve such a big result with such a small casualty. I think that when the artillery shells in the rear are replenished, we can organize more tank detachments to go to various sections and attack the German troops, so that we can achieve greater results. (To be continued.) )