After cutting off contact with Katukov, I glanced at the commanders in the room. There were too many people, and the command post was too small for everyone to sit down for a meeting, so I simply stood for a pre-war meeting.

I looked at the commanders in front of me and said, "Comrades, tonight we will launch an attack on the German troops occupying the city of Cumbre del Sol. The specific deployment was that after the troops of the divisional mixed regiment and the mixed cadet regiment were assembled, they immediately set off for the vicinity of Sun Hill City to carry out lurking. After the battle began, the Guards Tank Brigade of General Katukov was to carry out a surprise attack on the enemy's defensive positions. When his troops tore through the enemy's lines, the mixed regiments followed in time to widen the breach. ……”

"Comrade division commander, who commands the mixed regiment?" An officer asked below.

I looked at General Leviagin and Colonel Chistyakov, who were standing straight next to me, and decisively pointed at the colonel and said: "Mixed regiment, it will be commanded by Colonel Chistyakov, the commander of the 1073 regiment." Speaking of which, I looked at Leviagin and said: "Comrade General, you should go back to the division headquarters first, and when I am not there, the remaining troops of the 8th Guards Division will be under your full command." ”

"Yes!" Leviagin agreed without hesitation, and then continued to stand there and listen to my assignment of combat missions.

I also gave an order to Chistyakov: "Comrade Colonel, as soon as the mixed regiment breaks through the defensive line, it should quickly spread out and occupy strong positions to prevent the enemy from counterattacking. ”

"Yes!" Chistyakov agreed loudly.

Then the head of the mixed cadet corps, Lieutenant Colonel Mlagintsev, and Commissar Slavkin, came out to receive my orders. I looked at the two men and said, "Two commanders, when twenty minutes after the attack of the mixed regiment begins, your regiment should rush forward in time and rush into the depth of the enemy, and be sure to disrupt the enemy's disposition." Then, with the reinforcements of Commander Rokossovsky, the enemy was driven out of the city of Cumbre del Sol. ”

"Understood!" The two replied in unison: "Please rest assured, we promise to complete the task." ”

After the combat mission was arranged, I asked the group of commanders in front of me: "Who has any questions?" ”

"Yes," said the officer who had just spoken, again in a loud voice, "Comrade Division Commander, where will we take the starting point of the attack?" ”

"Of course, the closer you are to Cumbre del Sol, the better, so that you can quickly break through the German defenses." To be honest, I'm not familiar with the terrain in this area, so I can only answer him vaguely.

"Report to Comrade Division Commander, about two kilometers southwest of Sun Hill City, there is a forest, where we can hide the attacking troops." Seeing that it was Captain Lomov who relieved me, I was secretly grateful in my heart, and I must promote him to deputy commander if I have the opportunity in the future.

"But it was so close to the enemy's line that the infantry didn't care, and the roar of the motor would be detected by the enemy when the tank drove past. In this way, our offensive loses its suddenness. "It was the officer who challenged me, and I smiled at his captain's badge, and said in my heart that when this battle is over, I will definitely let you become a sergeant.

"Don't worry about this, even in the silence of the night, as long as the distance is more than 1,500 meters, the enemy will not be able to hear the roar of the tank motor, not to mention that the distance between the forest and the city is far more than that." This time, it was Major Dulov, the battalion commander of the 1077th regiment, who spoke.

The captain officer still asked inexplicably: "When our tanks drive into the forest, will they really not be discovered by the enemy in the city of Sun Hill?" ”

"Yes," Major Dulov replied very patiently, "I used to be a tank soldier, and this is the most basic common sense, and I must not be mistaken." ”

"But......" The captain was about to say something, but I coldly interrupted him: "Well, instead of arguing here, you should go back to the troops at once, and lead the soldiers to the starting point of the attack as soon as possible." ”

"This is the end of the meeting, and the commanders should all go back to the troops. Pack up and lead the soldiers to the designated place as soon as possible. Do you understand? "Leviagin stood up and echoed me, so that there would be no unnecessary quarrels at the meeting.

Leviakin's prestige in the division was higher than mine, and with his order, the commanders saluted in unison, turned around and left, leaving only a few colonel-level officers in the room, including me.