As the sky dawned, the sound of gunfire and explosions outside the house gradually thinned out. From my battlefield experience, this is a sign that the battle is coming to an end.

Although a few hours earlier, Bandereev's troops had launched an attack on the eastern end of the bridge, where the Germans had entrenched, several charges were unsuccessful due to the enemy's stubborn resistance with strong fortifications, and at great cost. As the sky gets brighter, if we fail to take the position on the opposite shore and join up with friendly forces, we will suffer even greater losses if we wait for the enemy's planes to arrive.

I rubbed my temples, which were faintly painful, and then said to Pugachev, who had just arrived at the headquarters: "Major, call General Pandereev and ask him about the situation there, and see if he has joined forces with friendly troops." ”

Pugachev agreed, walked quickly to the table, and was about to pick up the phone when the phone rang first. He grabbed the microphone and whispered to his ear, "Hey, this is the headquarters, where are you?" ”

After listening for a moment, he suddenly shouted excitedly: "What, join forces with friendly forces?!" Where is it? In the vicinity of Bridge No. 1, it was the tanks of the 97th Brigade of the 3rd Tank Army that broke through the enemy's positions on the eastern bank and joined forces with the troops of the 1st Regiment of the Guards Division ?! Great, that's great. Tell me, who are involved in the meeting, I will write it down. As he spoke, he grabbed the microphone between his shoulders, picked up the pen from the table, and began to record it in his notebook, repeating loudly: "We have a regiment, Captain Mishenkov, deputy commander of the third battalion...... Captain Grakov, commander of the ninth company...... The 3rd Tank Army had the tank platoon commander of the 97th Brigade, Irina Brown. Levchenko ...... Tank Corps ......"

When they heard that they would join forces with the troops of the Eastern Tank Army, there was a burst of cheers and applause from the command headquarters. Kirillov also said happily: "Great, this is wonderful." Lida. Reunited with friendly forces. It means that we have re-established contact with the main forces. ”

I nodded, didn't speak, just silently listened to Pugachev repeat what was on the phone, and when I heard the name Irina, I couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. Although I have known for a long time that there are female tankers and pilots in the ranks of the Soviet army, I heard a woman's name in the list of commanders. Still surprised me.

After Pugachev put down the phone, I didn't wait for him to speak, but asked first: "Major, I just heard that one of the names you said is a female name, am I right?" ”

Pugachev glanced down at the notebook in his hand, then nodded, and replied affirmatively: "Yes, Comrade Commander, there is a man named Irina. Levchenko's sergeant. Was a platoon commander in a tank brigade. ”

"Female tank soldiers, this is really rare." Kirillov listened to Pugachev's words. Surprised, he said: "And I am honored to be one of the first commanders and fighters to join our division, and I really want to meet this brave girl if I have the opportunity." ”

"Comrade Political Commissar, don't wait for the opportunity, we'll go there now." I considered that since the two armies had met, whether or not the fighting continued elsewhere, Rybalko, as the deputy commander of the campaign group, would come over to meet with me as soon as possible. Rather than sit here and wait for his arrival, it would be better for me to meet him personally, so I said to Kirillov: "Let's go, Comrade Commissar, anyway, things here can be left to Major Pugachev, let's go meet General Rybalko." ”

Kirillov did not object to my sudden proposal, but replied gently: "Lida, I know that you are a little out of breath when you hear the news of the meeting of the two armies, and you want to go there and have a look, right?" Okay, no problem, I'll go with you. ”

"Then let's go, Comrade Commissar." I shook my head at Kirillov, then stood up, grabbed the assault rifle on the table, and walked out with my legs raised.

When we arrived at the west head of the No. 1 bridge, we could not continue to move forward, because our commanders and fighters were cleaning the battlefield, and they were either collecting the bodies of their fallen comrades and placing them neatly on the side of the road; Or assist the hygienist in carrying the wounded on a stretcher who has fallen to the ground and cannot move.

Seeing that the car could not continue to move forward, I simply pushed the door and got out of the car, and bent down to Kirillov, who was still sitting inside, and said: "Comrade commissar, the car can't drive forward, let's go over." ”

Kirillov looked ahead, and without saying a word, pushed the door and got out of the car on the other side, and then said to me: "Let's go, Leda, let's go to the other side of the bridge and see the comrades of the friendly forces." ”

We crossed the Dnieper on foot from the iron bridge and saw several tanks parked at the head of the bridge on the east bank, all of which were pointing to the south, because there were sporadic gunfire in the direction of Bridge No. 2 a kilometer away.

Seeing our arrival, the infantrymen, who were on guard behind the sandbag fortifications at the bridgehead, immediately ran out of a few people and met us. One of the commanders quickly ran up to us, straightened up and reported to me: "Comrade commander, Captain Grakov, commander of the 9th Company of the 3rd Battalion of the 1st Regiment of the 22nd Guards Division, reports to you that we have successfully joined up with friendly units and are now on guard in case the enemy, who has been routed in the direction of Bridge No. 2, is fleeing towards us. I am at your command, please instruct! ”

"Keep on guard," I replied quickly. But when I saw him turn around to leave, I remembered that I hadn't seen Rybalko's subordinates yet, so I hurriedly stopped him again, "By the way, Captain, where are General Rybalko's subordinates, I want to see them." ”

"Comrade Commander, please wait a moment, I'll go and call them." With that, he turned and ran quickly to the nearest tank, clenched his fists, and smashed it on the ground.

After a few knocks, the closed roof of the turret was suddenly lifted, and a tankman leaned out of it and leaned over to look at Captain Grakov who was knocking on the car. Grakov shouted at the other and pointed his hand at us. The tanker looked in the direction of his finger, and when he saw us, he quickly climbed out of the turret, jumped out of the tank, and ran towards us quickly.

When the tanker stood still in front of us, I realized that it was a young and beautiful girl, so I smiled and asked, "You are the tank platoon commander Sergeant Levchenko, right?" ”

Levchenko gave me a quick glance at my rank. A look of surprise flashed across his face. But he quickly replied, "Yes." Comrade General, I'm Dashi Levchenko. ”

I looked at the young female tank platoon commander with a smile on my face and asked in a friendly manner, "I don't know your real name and patronymic, what do you call it?" ”

Levchenko heard my question and replied: "Irina. Nikolaevna. Comrade General. ”

"Comrade Tuas, I think maybe being a hygienist would be more suitable for you." Kirillov, who was next to him, waited for Levchenko to finish answering, and then interjected: "Tankman." It's still suitable for men. ”

Levchenko turned to look at Kirillov, who was speaking, and said in a firm tone: "Comrade Military Commissar, after I became a soldier, I became a hygienist, and I participated in the battles in Smolensk, the Crimean Peninsula and other places. ”

"Looks like you're doing a good job in the fight." Kirillov snorted at the Order of the Red Star on her chest: "I actually got a Red Star Medal." ”

Before Levchenko could explain, a tankman who had just come to her side began to introduce us: "Comrade commander, you may not know that Sergeant Levchenko saved a total of 168 wounded from the battlefield, captured an enemy, and captured a machine gun from the Romanians. Later, because he was seriously injured. He was diagnosed as unable to continue his military service and should have been discharged. But she couldn't help but accept the medical treatment that she could not continue to serve. There was also a strong demand to learn tank driving techniques and to join the tank unit. ”

I know that the tank crew is a special class, and it is not something that can be joined if you want to, and besides, she is still a wounded who has been diagnosed and treated as unable to continue to serve, and if you want to join, the difficulty factor will be even higher. I was fascinated by her legendary experience, so I couldn't wait to find out how she joined the tank unit: "Comrade Tuas, can you tell me how you later joined the tank unit?" ”

"Comrade General, when my request to join the tank forces was rejected in accordance with the normal procedure, I did not give up and went to the commander of the tank corps, General Fedorenko." Levchenko told me about her experience in the tank units without concealment: "Initially, the general also did not hesitate to refuse me. But I did not leave, but cried to the general that my hometown of Voroshilovgrad Oblast had fallen into the clutches of the fascist invaders, and as a Ukrainian, I could not watch my compatriots struggle in pain under the iron hooves of the enemy, so I insisted on joining the tank forces to fight the fascist invaders fiercely and strive for the early rescue of our enslaved people.

Perhaps it was my words that moved General Fedorenko, who finally agreed to my request to join the tank troops. When I was turned away by the doctor because of the disability on my right arm, it was General Fedorenko who went out and allowed me to pass the medical examination and enter the tank academy in Stalingrad for a crash course in the relevant courses. ”

Hearing her mention Stalingrad, I couldn't help but ask: "So, you also participated in the Battle of Stalingrad?" ”

She nodded and said affirmatively: "Yes, Comrade General." My unit, which had fought the Germans in the Don Valley, suffered heavy losses and was withdrawn to Tula, near Moscow, to reorganize. No, not long after the completion of the rectification, he was transferred to the front line to participate in the battle for the liberation of Ukraine. ”

After hearing about her experience, not only did I nod my head in admiration, but even Yushchenko, who was standing behind me, kept whispering to the fighters next to me: "Great, this girl is really amazing!" ”

As we talked, several armored vehicles came from a distance, followed by a truck with a canopy. The convoy stopped twenty or thirty meters away from us, and when we saw the fighters jumping out of the truck, quickly forming a vigilant formation near the armored vehicle, we knew in our hearts that General Rybalko must have arrived.

I was hesitating whether to meet me when the group of commanders who had just come out of the armored car walked towards me. At such times, I can't stand still, I can only meet it.

The burly, round-faced general who walked in front stopped a few steps away from me, raised his hand and saluted, and said loudly: "Hello, Comrade Commander! ”

"Hello, General Rybalko." I hurriedly returned the salute, stepped forward, and stretched out my hand to shake his hand: "Welcome to Kyiv!" ”

Rybalko shook my hand and shook it vigorously and said: "Comrade commander, you are really amazing, but when I learned from Marshal Zhukov that you planned to launch an attack on Kyiv, I was not sure in my heart, thinking that a large city like this must be heavily guarded by the German army, and it will never be possible to capture it without a month or two. Unexpectedly, from the launch of the offensive to the present, in just a dozen hours, most of the territory of Kyiv has fallen into the hands of our army. The capital of Ukraine has finally broken free from the clutches of the fascist invaders and returned to the embrace of the motherland. ”

"General Rybalko," I said politely, after he had finished, "although we have captured Kyiv, the enemy will certainly not rest on its laurels. Manstein, who is fighting with the Voronov Front and the Southwestern Front of our army, will definitely deploy heavy troops to counterattack Kyiv in the shortest possible time. With the strength of the 79th Infantry Army, it will be very difficult to hold Kyiv, so you have to transfer troops to Kyiv as soon as possible to participate in the defense. ”

Hearing what I said, Rybalko nodded and agreed: "This is no problem, after we have cleared the remnants of the German army on the east bank of Kiev, we can transfer all the main forces into the city to strengthen the city's defenses." ”

When Kirillov waited for Rybalko to let go of my hand, he also extended his hand to him, while introducing himself: "Hello, Comrade Deputy Commander. I'm Acting Military Commissar Kirillov, and it's a pleasure to see you here. ”

Next, General Rybalko introduced me to the commanders who followed him, except for the commanders of the 12th and 15th armies, the rest were the commanders or political commissars of the tank brigades.

After the greetings were over, Kirillov kindly reminded us: "Lida and General Rebalko, although there are all our people nearby, after all, they are on the battlefield, and there are no enemy hidden stragglers nearby, so for the sake of safety, let's go back to the headquarters." ”

"Where is Headquarters?" Hearing Kirillov say this, Rybalko immediately asked curiously: "Is it in the Mariinsky Palace?" ”

Kirillov shook his head and replied: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I may be going to disappoint you. Mariinsky Palace, which had been destroyed by our artillery fire during the battle a few hours earlier, was not completely collapsed, but could no longer serve as the seat of the headquarters. So before I came here, I had already instructed my subordinates to move the new command to the Verkhovna Rada building opposite the Mariinsky Palace. ”

When Rybalko heard about the destruction of the Mariinsky Palace, a regretful expression appeared on his face, but he still said very casually: "Since the new headquarters is located in the Verkhovna Rada building, let's go there now." The government building was also a stone building, and there was a basement underneath, so we could move to the basement below in time even if we were bombed by enemy planes. (To be continued......)