After listening to Oberstan's words, I nodded approvingly, and then asked very seriously: "Lieutenant Colonel Oberstan, what do you think we should do to restore the strength of the 22nd Guards Division to capture Zaporosh?" ”

Before answering my question, Oberstein glanced at Bandereev next to him, as if asking for his opinion. I saw that Pandereev nodded slightly with an almost imperceptible movement, and then Oberstein continued: "I think it is imperative that the two regiments drawn from my division be rebuilt. Even if the two regiments could not be rebuilt at the same time, then even the new third regiment of Major Godunov would be reinstated first. ”

I guess the reason why Oberstein said this was that he must have been angry with Pantai Leev in advance, so he didn't go around in circles, and said bluntly: "Don't worry, Commissar Oberstein." Long before I came here, I gave the order to Major Godunov to withdraw his troops from the 'landing ground' near Tokmak overnight and return to the Kuban. As for Lieutenant Colonel Kosgaard's third regiment, since they were responsible for defending our army's logistical supply lines, their unit could not be used. ”

Hearing me say this, Oberstein and Pandereev looked at each other with a satisfied smile on their faces. Seeing the reaction of the two of them, I knew that I had guessed the truth of the matter. But on second thought, this is not bad, as long as they can cooperate so closely, it will also be helpful to lead the 22nd Guards Division well.

The next topic of discussion at the meeting was to discuss how to clear the enemy's artillery position. After listening to everyone's speeches, I stood up. Pointing to an improvised sketch on the table. He said with a stern expression: "...... This artillery position of the Germans. It happens to be stuck on our choke point to Zaporosh, and if we don't take it and want to push forward, we can't do it at all.

You all see how much of a threat we are posed to this defensive area, which consists of many civil firing points, anti-tank trenches, barbed wire and concealed anti-aircraft artillery firing positions. If only tanks and infantry were sent to attack this position, it would be a huge cost. Nor can it be taken down. So, I decided, before the official offensive, to deliver a saturation strike on the enemy's positions by our artillery, destroying the anti-aircraft guns that the enemy had placed on the positions, so that our tank brigades could safely cover the infantry, assault forward and seize positions along the way. ”

"Comrade Commander," Lieutenant Colonel Kaverin hurriedly stood up and reminded me, "I have just reported to you that there are only two bases left in the ammunition of the troops. Saturated artillery strikes on enemy positions simply could not be achieved. ”

In response to Kavilin's concerns, I smiled and said to him, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel. Don't worry about the shells, I'm sure my superiors will be able to send them to us soon. And our attack will not start until tomorrow noon or the morning after tomorrow at the earliest, so you have enough time to wait for the shells to arrive. ”

After the meeting, Kirillov and I did not leave, but stayed here to wait for the report of the scouts. After all, this is the old army of the two of us, and staying here makes me feel like home.

While we were having dinner, Pandereev asked Kirillov with some embarrassment: "Old man, I heard that Major Akhromeyev has taken the posts of chief of staff and chief of intelligence in the army?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Bandereev, your intelligence is absolutely correct." Kirillov replied with a smile: "In addition to being a double chief, he now commands almost a division, and in the southern suburbs of Poloy, he is fighting stubbornly against the German 11th Panzer Division and the 336th Infantry Division, which are trying to seize the city. ”

"What? One of our divisions is going to deal with an armored division of the Germans plus an infantry division, old man, I heard you right, right? Pandereev seemed to be a little unconvinced of what Kirillov said, and he asked unconvinced: "Major Akhromeyev is okay as a staff officer, let him command the troops, it is estimated that he will suffer a big loss." ”

"Division Commander Bandereev," I felt very uncomfortable with Bandereev's suspicious comments on Akhromeyev, so I retorted unceremoniously: "I handed over the command of the troops in the southern suburbs to Major Akhromeyev, and judging from the situation of the fighting in the past few days, he has shown himself very well. Not only did the German 15th Panzer Regiment suffer heavy losses, but it also killed a large number of officers and men of the German 336th Infantry Division, so much so that the Germans spent several days still trapped in the southern suburbs, unable to pose a threat to the city of Boloy that we occupied. ”

Just as Bandereev was blushing with shame at my accusation, the division chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Elijah, hurriedly walked in, raised a piece of paper in his hand, and said loudly: "Comrade commander, the information sent back from the front by the scouts. ”

When I heard Ilya say this, I did not immediately stand up to take the telegram in his hand, but looked up at my watch, and saw that the hands had just pointed to seven o'clock. It stands to reason that the reconnaissance unit was dispatched after dark, and if it wanted to feed back the reconnaissance information, it had to wait until the second half of the night, and why did the news come back so early? Thinking of this, I asked curiously, "Lieutenant Colonel Elijah, the scouts should have just been dispatched, but why did a telegram come?" Are you sure you're not mistaken? ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Lieutenant Colonel Ilya asked me to question him in a suspicious tone, and quickly defended: "This information has just been sent back by our scouts. ”

When I heard him say this, my brows furrowed, and when I was about to have a seizure, Oberstein next to me hurriedly explained to me: "Comrade commander, please be calm, let me explain to you what is going on." After discovering the enemy's artillery position, we sent a number of reconnaissance groups to quietly infiltrate the enemy's rear to spy on the military or cause some sabotage. Comrade Chief of Staff, what did the telegram say? His last sentence was addressed to Lieutenant Colonel Elijah.

Ilya looked down at the telegram and reported to us the intelligence reported by the scouts: "...... About four kilometers behind the anti-aircraft artillery position, we found a small village occupied by the Germans. After we sneaked into the village, except for the German officers and soldiers who appeared from time to time. Not a single villager was seen. After our careful observation. It was found that all the villagers in the village had been killed by the Germans. The corpses were casually dumped in mass graves. ……”

"Bump!" Before Ilya had finished reading, Kirillov, who was across from me, was already angry and angrily scolded: "Beasts, beasts, these damned Germans are simply not human, and they have actually done the massacre of civilians. ”

"Comrade commissar, remember this blood debt well, one day we will ask the Germans for this blood debt." I'm afraid that Kirillov will lose control of his feelings because of this. So he stopped him in time, and at the same time said euphemistically: "As long as the scouts can figure out the disposition of the German troops, we can attack again soon." ”

After I finished speaking, Bandereev, Oberstein and others also denounced the crimes committed by the German army. Kirillov, who has always been relatively calm, also said angrily: "These damn Germans, as long as they are caught by me, they will definitely be shot to death." ”

As we spoke, another staff officer walked through the door, handed Ilya a newly received telegram, and turned to leave. Ilya looked down at the telegram, then looked up and said to me: "Comrade Commander. The scouts have a heavy discovery. ”

"The discovery of heavy dà?" I was puzzled and asked, "Is there a discovery in the telegram that clearly explains what the heavy dà is?" ”

Ilya continued: "The scouts discovered the German airfield three kilometers southwest of the city of Zaporosh. Except for a few warplanes on the airfield. There was also a large FW-200 four-engine aircraft parked. Judging from the situation around the plane, it seems that some kind of great man has come, because the people standing guard around the plane are all SS soldiers in black uniforms. The garrison at the airport is also on high ground alert. ”

"Comrade Commander, tell me, what kind of big man will it be?" Oberstein, who was next to him, asked cautiously: "Judging by the fact that there are SS troops in the troops on duty, I estimate that the people who come here are at least commanders above the division level." ”

"Chief of Staff, call back to the reconnaissance team and ask them to find out the number of the enemy's troops." When I heard that there was a big man in Zaporosh, my first reaction was that the person who came was at least at the same level as Manstein, otherwise he would not have turned a blind eye to the troops who appeared at the airport. "If possible, let them catch a 'tongue' and come back, and we'll find out what the hell is coming. It was possible to make an army that was originally panicked so capable of fighting that it could not advance in our current position. ”

After Ilya left, Bandereev complained to me: "Comrade commander, at this time a big man has come to Zaporosh to inspect it, could it be that the German army will have a big operation in the future?" ”

"You guessed it right, Comrade Bantai Leev." The reaction of the Germans was now extraordinarily unusual, and it would have been impossible if there had been no conspiracy. The purpose of I asked the scouts to scratch the "tongue" was to find out what kind of big people were coming, why they appeared in Zaporosh at this time, could it be that they had set a trap against us again? "If I'm not mistaken, if it weren't for the presence of this big man, the German defense line would have collapsed long ago, and the remaining troops that were not wiped out by us must have been racing against time to cross the Dnieper and flee to what they thought was safe."

"Comrade Oshanina, who do you think is here?" Although Kirillov has always been steady, he is also a little unable to hold his breath at the moment, and asks anxiously: "Can they command Manstein's troops?" ”

Regarding Kirillov's question, I shook my head with a wry smile and said: "Comrade commissar, I don't know much about this. However, according to my analysis, the person who can raise the security level of the airport so much must be an important person. That's why I told the scout to come back with a 'tongue'. ”

While we were waiting for the new telegram, Pandereev suddenly said to me: "Comrade commander, I have an idea, can we send a small detachment to quietly go around the rear of the enemy and attack this airfield. It's best if you can capture this mysterious big man alive, and if you can't capture it alive, you have to shoot the other party to death. ”

"This is a good idea of Commander Bantai Leev, I agree." As soon as Pandereev's words were finished, Kirillov opened his mouth to express his support.

In fact, even if Pantai Laiev does not mention this and Kirillov does not agree, I plan to do so. This mysterious man, at least on the same level as Manstein, could inflict heavy losses on the Germans as long as he was killed, and our gains would be no less than winning a small battle.

So when I saw that everyone's eyes were focused on me, I also nodded and said decisively: "I also agree with the mention of Division Commander Bantai Leyev, when the scouts send back the prisoner's 'tongue' and find out who is coming, we will immediately send troops to attack the German airfield." (To be continued......)