When Bandeleyev and Gurdiev came to my headquarters, Romanov explained the entire battle plan to the two of them in detail. After Romanov finished speaking, he turned to me and asked: "Comrade commander, do you have any other instructions?" ”

I nodded, walked over to the two of them and stood still, and said to them with a serious expression: "Comrade generals, at present the enemy does not know that we have captured Kafbas, and the main force of the German army led by Manstein is also pinned down by the troops of the Voronezh Front on the other side of the Dnieper, so that we have created a good combat environment. I now declare that the task of capturing Kirovgrad will be carried out by the 22nd Guards Division of General Bandeleyev; And General Gurdiev's 308th Division, which was responsible for the capture of Alexandria. Remember, after you take the city, you have to quickly replenish the army from among the inhabitants (mainly the workers). And you, General Gurdiev, as soon as you have completely occupied the city, you send liaison officers to the north-west of Znmiankadukha to get in touch with the partisans operating there. ”

After listening to my words, Gurdiev said hesitantly: "Comrade commander, as far as I know, the partisan forces operating in Ukraine are very complex, and although there are many units to fight against the Germans, they will also fight with our troops. How do I know if this guerrilla force can be trusted? ”

"General Gurdityv," Hearing Gurdiev's question, Romanov took the initiative to speak: "Although I have never dealt with the commander of this partisan detachment, as far as I know, they are still very resolute in fighting the German army. And the troops were stationed in the forest most of the time. Never harassed the local residents. ”

"Harassing residents?" Kirillov waited for the Romanov to finish. Immediately asked curiously: "Comrade Deputy Army Commander, what is going on, can you tell us about it?" ”

"Since Comrade Political Commissar wants to hear it, then I'll tell you about it." With a wry smile, Romanov told everyone about his extermination of several partisan detachments: "Last autumn, when the crops were ripe, the plains were full of waves of wheat and sunflowers. A small guerrilla group lurked in the sunflower forest, as they were starved of food for several days. We have to find a way to replenish food. Because this was the territory of the Germans, they were very cautious, because it was very difficult to get food from the Germans. In addition to taking the lives of many people, it will also waste a lot of bullets, which is not easy to come by.

What a great patriotic war, for these civilians with guns and hooligans, is bullshit. As long as they can live, they dare to do anything that has lost their conscience.

When they spotted a village a few kilometers away. There were no Germans, not even male villagers. There was only a bunch of women. So they stormed the village and snatched everything they could, including even a group of young women. When leaving the village, they brutally killed the remaining villagers and burned the village to the ground.

These things are very skillful for them. Because in their minds, even if our troops reoccupied the place and found the corpses of the villagers and the charred houses, they would have put all this on the heads of the Germans.

However, they were unlucky this time, and I happened to lead the troops to pass by, and met a middle-aged woman who had escaped from the village, and I knew from her lips what had happened, so I ordered the troops to rush forward decisively and destroy the bandits under the guerrilla banner. After interrogating several captured bandits and learning about the series of crimes they had committed against our people, I ordered them all to be executed. For the next half month, I led my troops around the neighborhood to wipe out the guerrilla scum who were endangering the residents. ”

After Romanov's words were finished, everyone understood what was going on, and Gurtiev hurriedly said: "Understood, comrade deputy commander, if this partisan force is useful to us, I will find a way to co-opt them, and if they are bandits who are doing evil, I will not hesitate to exterminate them." ”

"Comrade General, I very much agree with this consideration of yours." In response to Gurdiev's statement, Kirillov took the initiative to express his attitude: "We must not tolerate the black sheep under the banner of partisans, and we must resolutely and completely eliminate them." After saying this, he turned his head to look at me again and asked my opinion, "Comrade Oshanina, what do you think?" ”

"Comrade commissar, I think the same as you."

Seeing that we were unanimous, Bantai Laiev, who had never spoken, took a step forward and asked: "Comrade Commander, when can we leave?" ”

I raised my hand and looked at my watch, and then said to Bantai Leyev and them: "Comrades generals, first let your troops rest as soon as possible, and when it is almost dark at five o'clock in the afternoon, they will immediately advance towards your respective goals." ”

"Comrade Army Commander," Romanov immediately reminded me kindly when he heard such an order from me, "Comrade Army Commander, the five regiments led by the Chief of Staff may not arrive on time in the evening, and only the army troops are left in the city, is this appropriate?" ”

In response to Romanov's reminder and concern, I waved my hand disapprovingly and said lightly: "Comrade Deputy Army Commander, don't worry about this. According to my analysis, the Germans did not know that we occupied Kafbas, so we were very safe here. ”

"But after all, this is a transport hub for the German army, and if they have a convoy passing through, it will be easy to find out that the city has been occupied by our army." Romanov patiently explained to me what was at stake, hoping that I would change the order I had just made: "As soon as they give an alarm to their superiors, large German forces will pour in from all directions, and the enemy will also send out air forces to carry out air strikes on our city, and then we will be passive." ”

"Comrade Deputy Army Commander, the soldiers are very fast, and we are now going to take advantage of the fact that the German army has not yet come to its senses and resolutely attack their vital parts, so that they cannot take care of each other, so that our army can grasp the initiative on the battlefield." I saw that several people still looked worried, so I continued: "If we wait until Chief of Staff Vitkov arrives with his troops, and then send two divisions of Bandeleyv and Gurdiev to set off, aren't you afraid of delaying the fighters?" ”

Seeing that I said it so seriously, Kirillov and Romanov were silent. I was waving for the two of them to go back to rest when Pugachev hurried in through the door. When he came to my side, he leaned close to my ear to report the latest information he had received.

Seeing his move, I said with some displeasure: "Comrade Major, if there is anything, you can say it here, so that everyone can understand what is going on." ”

It has always been my advocacy to let the commanders and fighters understand the purpose and significance of the operation before the battle. The advantage of this is that our commanders and fighters know what they are doing and what they are going to do, so that the troops can form a cohesive force.

Pugachev, who was rebuked by me, quickly straightened up and reported to those of us present: "I have just received a telegram from the chief of staff that a large force is being transferred in an orderly manner, except for the troops left to serve as guards. According to the scouts' report, due to the thinning of the ice on the river, the Germans were looking for a suitable location to re-erect pontoon bridges in an attempt to cross the river. ”

"Comrade Oshanina, I think it is the enemy who discovered the actions of our troops." Kirillov didn't wait for Pugachev to finish speaking, then interjected: "Maybe they want to follow our troops and pounce on Kavbas." ”

"Comrade Political Commissar," I said helplessly, "the Germans across the Dnieper are not blind, how can the actions of our tens of thousands of people hide from the eyes of their scouts." Perhaps there were German scouts in ambush on our retreat route. Major, go on. ”

"The chief of staff also said that according to the reports of our scouts who remained on the east bank, the German 'Reich Division', 'Skeleton Division' and the 11th Panzer Division had turned north, leaving only the 336th Infantry Division."

Hearing that only the German 336th Division remained in Zaporosh, I quickly turned around and walked to the table, leaning over to look at the map spread out on the table. After looking at it for a while, I had a relatively complete plan in mind, so I called Pugachev to my side and asked him to record my orders: "Let the chief of staff choose a suitable place to set up an ambush circle in the process of retreating, and strive to completely annihilate or annihilate the German army, which has reduced the offensive pressure that Kafbas may be under in the future." ”

After recording the order, Pugachev reported to me: "Comrade commander, the retreating troops, after repeated battles, have almost exhausted their ammunition and are in dire need of replenishment. ”

"That's easy, you go and arrange ten trucks and send them some ammunition." After giving this order, I suddenly remembered the bad road conditions outside the city, and quickly asked, "Is the current road suitable for trucks?" ”

"No problem, Comrade Commander." Pugachev affirmed: "The temperature outside is still very low today, and I believe that most of the areas will still be able to pass through trucks." ”

"That's great." When Pugachev had finished speaking, I urged him: "Comrade Major, you first go and send a telegram to the Chief of Staff, convey my order to him, and at the same time inform him that the ammunition for their supply will soon arrive." As soon as the telegram is sent, you arrange for trucks to deliver the ammunition to the chief of staff. Troops with insufficient ammunition will not be able to fight. (To be continued......)