Succeeded in recovering the Norwegian town of Kinnotskga, and before I could catch my breath, my superiors gave a new order for an attack. I took the headphones handed to me by the operator and put them on, and immediately I heard an unfamiliar voice: "Hey, is it Major General Oshanina?" ”

Although I didn't know who the other party was, when the operator was handing me the headphones and microphones, he whispered to me that the call was from the headquarters of the Front, so he replied respectfully: "Yes, I'm Oshanina." I don't know who I'm having the pleasure of talking to? After saying the latter sentence with difficulty, I felt the cold sweat on my forehead come out, and sometimes Lao Maozi's way of speaking was really awkward.

"I am Major General Pilipenko, Chief of Staff of the Front," the other party said quickly after identifying himself: "Commander Vatutin's order: while ensuring the smooth flow of the H20 road, your troops should transfer the main force and go out to the city of Fleda to destroy the German troops in the area and protect the flank security of the main force of the Front. Difficult? ”

"Report to Comrade Chief of Staff, there is no difficulty, I will send troops to ensure the smooth flow of the H20 highway, and at the same time mobilize the main forces of the army to attack the German troops in the city of Fleda." In order to further understand the situation between friend and foe, after I finished saying this, I cautiously asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, may I ask how the current situation is on the battlefield?" ”

"Yes, of course." Pilipenko smiled heartily and said: "Comrade Oshanina, you may not know that the current situation is extremely beneficial to our army. The 60th Army of the Voronezh Front, which successfully captured Kursk on the 8th, consolidated the rear of the Front. And the main forces under the command of the commander of the Front, General Golikov. Kharkov has been encircled. At the moment the troops are storming the city. In order to cut off the connection between the German army in Kharkov and the German army in the Dnieper region. The main forces of our front army are currently moving towards the village of the Red Army in the north-western direction. ……”

When I heard Pilpienko casually talk about the current deployment on the intercom, I couldn't help but feel a little worried, and I thought that he was not afraid of being eavesdropped by the Germans if he unscrupulously revealed important information about our army in wireless communications.

The more I thought about it, the more wrong it became, because I was no longer the deputy commander of the army, but an ordinary commander of an infantry corps. Why did the front command go beyond the army group and give me orders directly? So I immediately asked the telegraph operator to contact the headquarters of the group army by radio, and wanted to ask what was going on.

It was Khalidonov himself who answered the phone, and he asked with some surprise: "Commander Oshanina, you called at this time, is there anything wrong?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." I politely relayed to him the order given by the chief of staff of Pilipienko, and then asked: "Since this order was given by the headquarters of the front, the link of the army group is missing in the middle. So I would like to ask you whether the order given by the Chief of Staff of the Front Army is carried out in accordance with the order? ”

"Comrade Oshanina. Needless to say? After listening to my words, Khalitonov took a hint of reproach in his tone: "Since you have received the order, then carry it out, don't you know that the orders of the superiors cannot be discussed?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Regarding this rigid regulation in the Soviet army, I could only say helplessly: "I resolutely carry out the orders of my superiors and immediately mobilize my troops to go out to the city of Fleda." ”

Khalitonov was very satisfied with my statement: "Comrade Oshanina, this is the right thing to do. Let me tell you that the main forces of the army group will attack in the direction of Maryinka and Kurakhovo, and if you can capture the city of Fleda in time, you will be able to effectively cover the left flank of the army. ”

While listening to Khalidonov, I looked up the names of the places he mentioned on the map, and found that the entire direction of the offensive of the Southwestern Front was advancing westward, and the troops of the Voronezh Front, which were trying to move south from the direction of Kharkov, joined forces, and no one thought at all that they should move their troops south to join up with the Southern Front, which was fighting in the other direction.

As for the imperfections in the deployment of the campaign, I just silently kept it in mind and did not stupidly propose it to Khalidonov, because this offensive plan must have been drawn up by the base camp, not to mention that he was the commander of the army group, and even the commander of the front army, Vatutin, did not have the authority to change it.

Now that I've discovered a vulnerability in my deployment, I'm going to have to take targeted countermeasures. After calling Kirillov and Vitkov to the table, I repeated to them what Kharytonov had said and the order given by the Chief of Staff of the Front, Pilipenko.

After waiting for me to finish, Vitkov asked me for instructions as usual: "Comrade commander, what should we do next?" ”

I frowned and thought for a moment, then replied: "It is still carried out according to the plan we discussed two days ago, with Major General Pandereev's 22nd Guards Division taking the main attack, and Gurdiev's 308th Division and Colonel Andreuschenko's 171st Division being responsible for protecting his left and right flanks. Speaking of this, I raised my head and looked at Vitkov and said in a firm tone, "In order to strengthen the assault capability of the 22nd Guards Division, I decided to strengthen the tank brigade of Colonel Bere and the artillery regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Kavilin. ”

After listening to my arrangement, Vitkov also frowned, and after a long time, he said hesitantly: "If the tank brigade and artillery regiment are strengthened to the troops in the center, then the strength of the left and right flank troops will be greatly weakened, and it is estimated that it will be impossible to involve them in the offensive battle in the back." ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are thinking too much." Kirillov said on my behalf: "The pooling of tanks and artillery is an effective tactic that we have developed in the defense of Stalingrad, which can tear apart the enemy's defense line in the shortest possible time and greatly shorten the course of the battle." Therefore, I believe that this arrangement of Comrade Oshanina is completely correct and effective. ”

As soon as Vitkov and Kirillov finished speaking, he raised a new question: "So which force should we send to protect the H20 highway unimpeded?" To know our jurisdiction, up to two hundred kilometers. ”

"It's easy." I have a mature plan in mind about how to ensure the safety of the road. Hear Vitkov ask. Immediately, without hesitation, I said: "Draw out the three regiments of the Pandereev division." As a garrison for the H20 highway. At the same time, the three assault engineer battalions of the army units were assigned to the division and formed into a temporary third regiment, with Major Godunov as the acting commander. ”

My arrangement made Vitkov dumbfounded, and it took him a long time before he put forward his different opinion: "Comrade commander, instead of having the three regiments of the assault engineer battalion and the Pantai Leev division exchange, it would be more appropriate to directly let the engineer battalion guard the road." Also, a regiment of troops guards such a long line of communication. Isn't the force too thin? ”

I waved my hand and said in an unquestionable tone: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what is the combat effectiveness of the assault engineer battalion, I think you have probably heard of it even if you have not seen it with your own eyes, is it too wasteful to let such a unit serve as a garrison force?" As for what you said, the forces guarding the lines of communication are too thin, and I can't agree with that. You must know that we have limited troops, even if we send two regiments or even more troops to defend it. There are not a few people per kilometer, on the contrary, a large number of combat backbones will be drawn out as a result. The ability of the troops to attack fortified positions has decreased, which is completely undesirable. ”

"I see." Vitkov had been partnering with me for a while and had a certain understanding of my character, and he knew that if I said so, it would definitely not change, so he hurriedly agreed: "I will give orders to the troops below immediately." Comrade Commander, is there anything else you would like to tell them? ”

I thought about it for a moment, and then said: "Let Major General Gurtiev and Colonel Andreushchenko build fortifications, it is better to rely on the ready-made hilly terrain in order to get a good view. In addition, in addition to digging a large number of fortifications in front of the enemy, it was also necessary to dig fortifications and build trenches behind the hillside to establish a solid anticline position. ”

When Vitkov gave my orders to several division commanders, the troops began to move nervously. At noon, I called Bandereev to the headquarters, pointed to the city of Fleda on the map, and said to him: "Comrade Bandereev, look at it, from the Norwegian town of Kinnotska that you occupied to the city of Fleda, there are three towns of considerable size on the road. ”

Bandereev looked at the map for a while, and replied cautiously: "Comrade commander, the Germans have not been here for a day or two, and I estimate that there should be quite a few fortifications in these towns, and if we advance along the road, it will take at least two to three days to reach the city of Fleda?" ”

"What, it takes two to three days to get to the city of Fleda?" When Vitkov heard what Bandereev said, he immediately exclaimed excitedly: "You must know that the main forces of the army group are advancing towards the attack of Maryinka and Kurakhovo, and if we cannot capture the city of Fleda in time, we will not be able to effectively ensure the security of the left flank of the main force of the army." ”

"Comrade Bandereev," I added, seeing that Bandereev was staring at the map without saying a word, with a brow on his brow, "I have assigned to you both Colonel Bere's tank brigade and Lieutenant Colonel Kavelin's artillery regiment." In addition, I have temporarily transferred Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard's 3rd Regiment from your division to garrison the H20 highway. ……”

"Comrade Army Commander, if the third regiment is transferred away, the strength of our division will be greatly reduced." When I told me that three regiments were going to be transferred to form a road garrison, Pantai Leev was immediately anxious, and he pleaded with me: "Can you draw fewer troops?" ”

"No, old man, this is an order from Comrade Commander, and it cannot be changed." Kirillov rejected Bandereev's request in one mouth, and seeing his old man's annoyed expression, he hurriedly comforted him and said: "But the 22nd Guards Division is Comrade Oshanina's old unit, and it will definitely not let you suffer." In this book, she incorporated the three assault engineer battalions originally assigned to us by the 62nd Army into your division to form a temporary third regiment, and the regiment commander was Major Godunov. ”

It turned out that the discouraged Pantai Leev was so excited that after hearing the good news, he suddenly turned red with excitement, and he said in surprise: "What, to integrate three assault engineer battalions into our division? Oh my God, this is really good, you must know that the combat effectiveness of an assault engineer battalion is comparable to the combat effectiveness of one of my regiments, and I didn't expect three more at once, and now I am even more confident in capturing the city of Fleda. ”

I deliberately said to him with a straight face: "General Bandereev, I will also assign Colonel Bere's tank brigade and Lieutenant Colonel Kavelin's artillery regiment to your division, I don't know how many days will you be able to take the city of Fleda with such a configuration?" ”

Bandereev frowned again, thought for a long time, and finally stretched out a finger and said: "Comrade commander, since the tank brigade and artillery regiment have been strengthened, I assure you that my troops will definitely arrive under the city of Vleda by two o'clock tomorrow afternoon. ”

Seeing Pandereev's confident appearance, I nodded with satisfaction, then waved at him and said: "Since you have the confidence to win, then go boldly and do it, I am waiting for the good news of your victory." ”

Bandereev's troops set off at three o'clock in the afternoon. Thanks to Chuikov's generosity, he did not take back the thousands of trucks that were sent to us, so at present our march is carried out by guò trucks to transport troops.

According to my guess, even if there is anything to report to Bandereev, it will be until the next day at the earliest. Unexpectedly, before five o'clock, the telegraph operator in the command called me, saying that General Pandereev was on the line and had important things to report to me.

When I put on the headphones, my heart was pounding all the time, and my heart said why did Pantai Leev report to me so early, could it be that there was an accident on the way? So when I spoke into the microphone, my voice became hoarse because of nervousness: "Hey, Comrade Bantai Leev? I'm Oshanina, is there anything you want to say to me? ”

"Report to Comrade Commander." The excited voice of Bandereev came from the headphones: "I now have the honor to report to you that my troops have arrived under the city of Fleda, and the vanguard of the Shegelikov regiment is engaged in an exchange of fire with the German troops defending the city. ”

"What, Comrade Bandereev, what did you say?" Hearing Bandereev's report, I couldn't help but wonder how it was possible for him to advance so quickly under the city of Fleda and engage in an exchange of fire with the defenders, more than 70 kilometers from here to Fleda, and with three small towns occupied by the Germans in between. "You say you've reached the city of Fleda and are engaged in a fierce battle with the defenders entrenched in the city?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." "Quite right, that's how it is, my troops broke through three lines of German defense in a row and managed to reach the city of Fleda," said Bandereev triumphantly. ”

"Comrade Bandereev, what the hell is going on?" This report confused me, so I wanted to figure out what was going on: "Could it be that the German troops in those three towns on the road were crushed by you so quickly?" ”

"Report to Comrade Army Commander, it wasn't us who defeated you." "To be precise, it was the Germans who voluntarily abandoned their positions and fled to the west, making way for us. So far, we have exchanged fire with the Germans, but we have not killed many enemies, and the three towns together are no more than a hundred. ”

"Why is the result of the battle so small, the Germans can't just leave a platoon in every town to guard it?"

"A platoon can't be down, and according to my observations, in every town, the Germans have at least one company of troops." In order to make me understand better, Bandereev deliberately explained: "When the enemy saw our troops coming, they scattered a few shots, and as soon as the tanks fired, they threw down their positions, got on motorcycles and fled. Our trucks were parked behind the infantry involved in the attack, and there was no time to catch up with them, so the results were very small. ”

After listening to this, I asked noncommittally: "Comrade Bandereev, what do you think about this matter, and why did the Germans retreat in a hurry after a little resistance?" ”

After a moment of silence, Bandereev said very confidently: "Perhaps the enemy was frightened by the offensive of our army, and the officers and men were demoralized and had no intention of fighting again, so that the current situation of collapse will occur. (To be continued......)