Vitkov heard the news of Kosga's wounded on the side, and with an expression of surprise on his face, he whispered to Kirillov: "Comrade commissar, I heard that it seems that Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard was wounded in German shelling. ”

When Kirillov heard the news, he was also taken aback, and hurriedly asked me with concern: "Comrade Oshanina, is what the chief of staff said true?" Is Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard's injuries serious? ”

I covered the microphone with my hand, and just as I wanted to answer Kirillov's question, I heard Akhromeyev's voice coming from the earpiece again: "Comrade army commander, what should I do now, send someone to send Comrade Lieutenant Colonel back to the city?" ”

Hearing Akhromeyev's voice, I quickly smiled apologetically at Kirillov, let go of the hand holding the microphone, and said into the microphone: "Yes, Comrade Major. After the military doctor had taken care of Lieutenant Colonel Cosgaard's injuries, he sent him into the city. By the way, did the Germans, after the end of the shelling, attack the airfield? ”

"No," Akhromeyev replied, "the Germans only shelled the runway and blew it to a pulp, but did not damage the plane parked on the side of the airfield." The artillery bombardment was selected to end, and according to reports from the front, there was no movement at all in the starting positions of their attacks. ”

After listening to Akhromeyev's report, I secretly guessed in my heart that the Germans were afraid that important people would leave on that plane, so they carried out a round of shelling. Thinking of this, I instructed Akhromeyev: "Comrade Major, since the enemy is not moving, then you should immediately withdraw to the city with a large force, except for leaving a small unit to serve as a guard in the airfield." ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander. I will carry out your order immediately. ”

After I put down the phone. Only then did he say to Kirillov, who was anxious next to him: "Comrade commissar. The Germans had just shelled the airfield, and as a battalion of the 171st Division was thrown into chaos when it was shelled, Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard was unfortunately hit by shrapnel when he went to maintain order, and the military doctor is currently treating him. ”

"Comrade Commander, can he still command the battle?" Kirillov asked with concern.

"He was hit by more than a dozen pieces of shrapnel and has temporarily withdrawn from the fight." I said with some regret: "It seems that the task of leading the troops to attack Hama can only be completed by others." ”

I've just finished my sentence. Vitkov then asked: "Comrade Commander, who do you think is suitable to take his place?" ”

"I think I'll leave this task to Major Akhromeyev." Although Kosgaard was wounded, there were still many people who could take over his command, but the first thing that came to my mind was Akhromeyev, the former chief of staff of my division; "When the third regiment was stationed in the Kuban, it was originally under his command, and I am sure that in tomorrow's offensive, Major Akhromeyev will also perform well."

"All right, Comrade Commander." After hearing my words, Vitkov nodded. He said: "I will call General Bandereev and inform him of this matter. so that he can make adjustments in time. ”

Perhaps there were enemy scouts who were constantly monitoring the movement of the airfield, and according to Akhromeyev's report, the vanguard of the "Skeleton Division" seized the airfield not long after the withdrawal of our troops from the airfield. The main force of the 308th Division, which was attacked by the Germans, also managed to withdraw to the city before dark after fierce fighting.

When the "Skeleton Division" and the "Imperial Division" surrounded Zaporosh from the south and east, Vitkov asked me for instructions: "Comrade Army Commander, is the order you mentioned today to have the 171st and 308th Divisions exchange tasks still being conveyed downwards? ”

Considering that General Gurdiev's 308th Division, although it had suffered a lot of losses in the battle with the Germans today, its combat effectiveness had not been greatly affected, and it should still be able to carry out the task of protecting the right flank of the 22nd Guards Division, I shook my head and replied: "No, Comrade Chief of Staff. The current combat effectiveness of the 308th Division is still there, so it should be no problem for them to launch an attack on the German positions on the right flank of the Bantaileyev Division, and there is no need to convey the order to exchange tasks with the 171st Division. ”

At ten o'clock in the evening, Bandereev called me. On the phone, he reported to me: "Comrade Army Commander, I have sent a reconnaissance unit from the division, which is now quietly passing through the ice to the other side of the river. They were accompanied by two observation groups from the artillery regiment. ”

"Comrade Division Commander," I hurriedly asked with concern when I heard that the reconnaissance unit of the Guards Division had departed, "How many people are there in the reconnaissance unit you have sent?" ”

"There are fifty people, all of whom have a lot of combat experience." Bandereev patiently explained to me: "In order not to be detected by the German sentries on the opposite bank, they all crawled over the ice. The 3rd Regiment, which served as the first echelon, was also ready, and as soon as the scouts had cleared the German posts on the shore and signaled, they would follow and cross the river in a big way. ”

"Very good, comrade division commander, you have done a good job." After complimenting him casually, I added: "Please keep in touch with the reconnaissance unit at all times, and report to me immediately if there is any situation." ”

Vitkov waited for me to put down the phone, and said with some trepidation: "Comrade commander, my heart is still a little unsteady. Could it be that the Germans could not find out about our actions? ”

I looked at him and replied with a wry smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, we can only gamble on our luck for now. It was hoped that the slackening of the Germans' defense would allow our troops to successfully reach the other side of the river. Otherwise, we will be able to hold on to Zaporosh and wait for reinforcements to arrive. ”

As we waited anxiously, the minutes ticked by. At four o'clock in the morning, the phone on the desk rang suddenly. Vitkov, who had been waiting for a long time, grabbed the microphone and said loudly: "Hey, I'm Colonel Vitkov, Chief of Staff, where are you?" ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," I vaguely heard the voice of Bandereev coming from inside: "After the reconnaissance unit cleared the guard posts along the river, the third regiment led by Major Akhromeyev had passed the Dnieper from the ice, entered the starting position of the attack, and successfully eliminated the enemy near the pontoon bridge. So that our tanks could rush over the bridge by the way. ”

"Great. It's just wonderful. "I heard that the pontoon bridge of a regiment of defense areas has fallen into the hands of our troops. Vitkov excitedly said: "Comrade General. Which commanders and fighters were involved in the battle to seize the pontoon bridge, immediately report their orders to me, and I will take credit for them. Okay, you say, I'll record ......"

While Vitkov was recording the list of meritorious servicemen, Kirillov whispered to me: "Comrade Oshanina, since our army has captured the pontoon bridge that can pass through the troops, the chances of winning today's battle have been greatly improved. Do you think we need to report the offensive plan to our superiors now? ”

"No, I can't. Comrade Political Commissar. Hearing that Kirillov had brought up the old matter again and asked me to report the attack plan to my superiors, I hurriedly waved my hand to express my objection: "Now that the German army is eavesdropping on our communications very closely, I am worried that there will be leaks in the report of the battle plan. Therefore, it is not too late to report to our superiors after we have seized the position. ”

Listening to me say so resolutely, Kirillov could not object, so he could only nod his head in agreement.

Now that the pontoon bridge has fallen into the hands of our army, it is necessary to fight quickly. lest you have long nights and many dreams. I hurriedly interrupted Vitkov, who was on the phone with Pandereev, and said to him decisively: "Chief of Staff. I ask you to immediately convey to the division commander of Pandereev that his troops will be ready for battle, and as soon as our artillery preparations are over, they will immediately launch an attack on the city of Hama. ”

Vitkov covered the microphone and said to me with some embarrassment: "Comrade commander, it's not dawn yet, isn't it a little too early to launch an attack now?" ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, tell Division Commander Pantai Leev that the offensive will begin in an hour, let him prepare for the offensive." In order not to give Vitkov any bad thoughts, I also deliberately added: "If we wait for dawn, as soon as our artillery fires, German planes will swarm and blow up our artillery positions into a sea of fire." ”

As soon as I said this, Vitkov immediately understood the original intention of my order, and after nodding his head, he said into the microphone: "General Bandereev, the commander has a new order, the offensive will begin in an hour, so that you are ready for all the attacks. As soon as our artillery fire was ready, we immediately launched an attack on the city of Hama. ”

After Vitkov ended his call with Pantai Leev, he dialed Lieutenant Colonel Kavierin. As soon as he heard the other party's voice, he said loudly: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, the army commander has an order. An hour later, when the artillery bombardment of the Germans was launched, did your artillery observers send back specific coordinate information? ”

"The coordinates have been sent back, Comrade Chief of Staff." In a deep voice, Kaverin replied: "The artillery can be prepared in half an hour and carry out artillery shelling of the marked German positions." ”

"To be on the safe side, I'll give you an hour." Vitkov said reasonably: "In sixty minutes, I will hear the sound of artillery from the artillery position. ”

Then he called Pelsjian again and first asked: "Comrade Major, how many tanks do you have in your hands at the moment?" ”

"Report to Comrade Chief of Staff!" Immediately, after hearing Vitkov's voice, Persjian respectfully reported: "At the moment I have twelve tanks, twenty armored vehicles, and an equal number of three-wheeled motorcycles. As long as the pontoon bridge in the defense area of the regiment can be taken down, I can lead the troops to rush across the river. ”

"The pontoon bridge has been occupied by Major Akhromeyev's troops, and your armored units can swagger across the Dnieper from the pontoon." After briefly informing him about the availability of the pontoon bridge, Vitkov asked with concern: "How much fuel and ammunition are left for the tank?" ”

"Please rest assured, Chief of Staff." Pers replied with conviction: "All the tanks and armored vehicles have just been replenished with fuel and ammunition, and I think there will be no problems with participating in a long battle." ”

An hour later, the rumbling sound of artillery was heard outside the headquarters, and it was the artillery regiment of Kavilin preparing for artillery fire before proceeding to the attack. I walked briskly out of the headquarters to the third floor, looking in the direction of the flames. Although the other buildings did not allow me to see the spectacle of our artillery bombardment of the German army, I was able to imagine how the unprepared German army was bombed.

The shelling lasted about ten minutes before it ended, not because Kavilin and his men were afraid of being discovered by the German planes and did not dare to shell for a longer time, but because our artillery reserves were limited, and perhaps all the shells had been exhausted in the shelling just now.

I was just about to go downstairs when I saw a soldier hurrying up the stairs. After coming to me and raising his hand in salute, he reported in a panic: "Comrade Army Commander, Chief of Staff, please return to the headquarters and say that there is a call from the 22nd Guards Division. ”

I returned to the command headquarters, took the phone from Vitkov's hand, heard the voice of Bandereev coming from the receiver, and said loudly: "Comrade division commander, I am Oshanina, do you have anything to report to me?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander!" Pandereev emotionally reported to me on the phone: "The three regiments under the command of Major Akhromeyev are attacking the city of Hama. And several other regiments of our division are also crossing the Dnieper one after another. In a maximum of an hour, these forces will also be able to engage in an assault on the city of Hama. (To be continued......)

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