Romanov said in his rich bass: "Comrade commander! The decisive moment has come, the time has come to pay the blood debt for Kyiv, to punish the enemy for all the suffering suffered by the people of Kyiv!

As a result of this operation to attack Kyiv, we will do it at night. So we will attack the city directly without artillery fire prepared. Now I announce the offensive lines of the divisions in battle. ”

Although everyone had a surprised expression on their faces when they heard that there was no artillery preparation before the attack, no one spoke, just quietly listened to the Romanov's assignment.

"The 22nd Tank Brigade, commanded by Major Perstian, will be the vanguard of our entire army. After entering Sumska Street from the south of the city, you will make a surprise attack along the street to the north, clearing out every enemy you see along the way. When the troops reached the 'October Revolution Square' in the center of the city, while the main force continued to rush to the airfield north of the city, a small number of troops should be left behind to build fortifications in the area in case the Germans cut off the rear route.

The 22nd Guards Division of General Pandereev, attacking from the east of the city, advanced along the streets to the north. In the shortest possible time, it is necessary to occupy St. Sophia's Cathedral, Pechersk Lavra, Cave Church, St. Vladimir's Cathedral and other places, so as to avoid the German troops being routed by our armored forces and hide in these fortified buildings to resist stubbornly.

Colonel Andryushchenko's 308th Division, along the route of the tank brigade, advanced to the airfield north of the city and cleared the German units from the buildings along the way.

As for Colonel Gorokhov's 171st Division, the attack was launched from the western flank of Kiev and a quick detour back to Voskhonod, north of the city. Cut off the enemy's escape to the north. ”

It was seen that the three infantry divisions and the tank brigade had their own tasks. Lieutenant Colonel Kavilin, who did not receive an order to prepare artillery fire before the attack. Got up from his seat and asked loudly: "Comrade commander, I would like to ask, what is the task of our artillery regiment?" ”

Seeing that Kavirin stood up and interrupted his words, Romanov said with obvious dissatisfaction: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, didn't I tell you that we will attack at night. In order to avoid accidentally injuring the residents of the city, so before the attack. There is no need for artillery fire preparation. Your regiment, let's not participate in this battle for the time being. ”

"But, Comrade Commander." Hearing Romanov say this, Kavirin was a little anxious, and he said: "There are a lot of Ukrainian fighters in our regiment, let them stay in the rear, and watch other friendly units fight with the enemy, I am worried that many commanders and fighters will be emotional." ”

"I think it's you who has the mood, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." As soon as Romanov waited for him to finish, he said unceremoniously: "Since the order has been given." Your regiment is in Obukoshiv, and by the way, get acquainted with the various types of artillery that have just been replenished to you. ”

"General Romanov." I saw that Lieutenant Colonel Kavilin's face was full of disappointment, and hurriedly came out to play a round, "Although we don't need to prepare artillery fire before the attack, artillery can still be used in street fighting. Then I said to Kaverin, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, when the offensive begins, you have your artillery advance with the infantry, and when it encounters the enemy's point of fire, destroy it with direct aim." Let our cannons also be bayoneted and strike hard at close range to the enemy. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Upon hearing my order, Kaverin replied loudly. Then he looked at me again and asked with some embarrassment, "Can I sit down?" ”

"You may be seated, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." I replied with a smile, and then said to the commanders present: "All the commanders and fighters who participated in the attack this time must wear German uniforms, so that the enemy will not know what is happening when they are attacked by us." In order to prevent accidental injury, we have tied a white towel to the left arm of our own people. ”

After I finished assigning the task, probably out of a desire to boost morale, Kirillov stood up and said loudly to the commanders present: "Comrades, when Kyiv is liberated, I invite you to the largest restaurant in the city to eat Kiev's most famous cold trout and cream gratin. ”

As soon as Kirillov's words fell, a neat shout suddenly sounded in the room: "Good! ”

As soon as the shouting stopped, Pantai Leev, who had a very good relationship with Kirillov, stood up and said to him with a smile: "Hey, I said old man, we have been nibbling on dry bread for so long, you can't just send us away with two dishes." At least Ukraine's most famous salo and beetroot soup is indispensable. ”

"Yes, yes, Comrade General is right." As soon as Pantai Leyev finished speaking, someone immediately answered: "There are still many famous dishes in Ukraine, as well as potato cakes, chicken liver, cucumber mustard pancakes, these things are indispensable." ”

Kirillov turned his head to look at me, then smiled and said in the direction where the voice came from: "No problem, as long as Kyiv can be liberated, no matter what you want to eat, I and Comrade Commander will fulfill your wishes." You say yes, Leda? ”

"That's right!" Hearing the list of names of dishes announced by Kirillov and the commanders, I couldn't help but want to drool, and when I heard Kirillov ask me, I hurriedly said to everyone: "Just like the political commissar said, as long as Kyiv is liberated, everyone can eat whatever they want, and I will let everyone eat enough at one time." ”

Romanov waited for everyone to make a fuss, and then solemnly announced: "Comrades commanders, the task has been clarified. I'll let you know when the attack will be. It's okay now, let's all go back to our respective units. ”

After all the commanders had left, Kirillov, who was standing behind the operator with me, raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said to me: "Comrade commander, as long as the scouts find out whether the German troops in Kiev have transferred their troops to Kyiv, we will be able to determine the timetable for the offensive. ”

"Hey, I said, anyway, the scouts haven't sent back the reconnaissance to the enemy, so don't stand next to the walkie-talkie and affect the operator. Come here, I'll show you something. Kirillov, who was sitting at the table, probably thought that the two of us had snubbed him, so he greeted us loudly.

When Romanov and I returned to him, he looked up at me. Mysteriously said: "Lida, General Romanov." I'll show you something. As he spoke, he took out his party card from his pocket. I opened it in front of the two of us and took out a small orange-red piece of paper sandwiched in the middle.

I took the crudely made piece of paper in his hand, and when I saw that it was full of words, I looked at it curiously. After looking at it for a moment, I recognized it as a ticket to a football match. After handing the ticket to Romanov, I asked Kirillov in confusion: "Comrade commissar, what are you doing to show us the ticket to this ball game?" ”

Without waiting for Kirillov to speak, Romanov, who had just received the ticket, suddenly exclaimed: "Oh my God." Comrade commissar, isn't this a ticket to the stadium of the Khrushchev Republic? The date was June 22, 1941, which coincided with the outbreak of war. With that, he handed the ticket back to Kirillov and asked puzzledly: "What the hell is going on, you have confused me." ”

And Vitkov, who was sitting next to Kirillov, reached out and took the ticket, and after reading it, handed it to Kirillov, and said: "That's right. It was June 22, 1941, the ticket to the stadium of the Khrushchev Republic. Comrade Political Commissar. What is the origin of this ticket, tell us about it. ”

Kirillov took the ticket and carefully clipped it back to his party card. He looked up at us and said, "Lida, Romanov, Vitkov, you may not know, the new stadium in Kiev was rebuilt two years ago, renamed the 'Khrushchev Republic Stadium', and in order to celebrate the completion of the stadium, a grand football match was scheduled to be held at the opening ceremony on June 22, 1941. Since I was on a mission in Kyiv at the time, I was lucky enough to get a ticket as well. I wanted to attend the opening ceremony of the expansion, which covers an area of 800,000 square meters and can accommodate 50,000 spectators, after Moscow Stadium and Leningrad Stadium, the third largest stadium in the Soviet Union. Unexpectedly, on the day of the opening ceremony at the stadium, the war broke out......"

Kirillov's words came to an abrupt end at this point. Romanov sighed softly and comforted him: "Comrade commissar, don't be sad, we are now near Kiev, and it won't be long before we can liberate the city, which has been occupied by the enemy for almost two years." When the time comes, I will accompany you to visit the stadium. ”

While we were talking and laughing, the telegraph operator hurried over and handed a telegram to the Romanovs. Romanov only glanced at it, and then applauded again and again. Then he handed me a telegram and said excitedly: "Comrade Commander, the situation is really as you judged, the enemy, having sensed that our troops were approaching Bruvarie, had indeed mobilized the troops in the city to reinforce Bruvalry. ”

"How many troops are left in the city?" I didn't read the telegram, but casually handed it to Vitkov and asked Romanov bluntly: "Did the enemy's tank units also go to reinforcements?" ”

Romanov nodded vigorously and replied in the affirmative: "According to the report of the scouts, the enemy has not only transferred a large number of troops from the city, but also quite a few tanks. ”

Hearing Romanov's answer in such a general way, I asked with some dissatisfaction: "Did the scouts provide a specific number?" ”

Hearing my question, Vitkov, who had just finished reading the telegram, immediately replied: "According to the report provided by the scouts, at the moment there is still one regiment of the German army and two tank companies left in the city. After talking about the specific data, he couldn't help but say with emotion: "Such a big city, with such a small number of troops, is similar to an empty city." As soon as our tank brigade and three infantry divisions rushed in, the enemy's defenses immediately collapsed. ”

"Chief of Staff, you must not underestimate the enemy." Seeing that Vitkov looked a little complacent, I hurriedly reminded him: "Not to mention that the defenders in the city have a regiment of more than 1,000 people and two tank companies with more than a dozen tanks, even if there is not an enemy, we can't take it too lightly." If you underestimate the enemy, you will suffer a big loss. ”

After hearing what I said, Vitkov nodded again and again, and took the initiative to admit his mistake to me: "Comrade commander, I am too light on the enemy, I will pay attention to it in the future." After saying this, he solemnly asked me again, "Since we have discovered that the enemy has increased the number of troops in Bruvarian, is it necessary to inform General Rybalko of this information, so that he can also prepare in advance?" ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are very thoughtful." I immediately agreed with Vitkov's proposal, and at the same time said: "General Rybalko may have figured out the deployment of the German troops in Bruvalli, but they would never have thought that the enemy would transfer such troops to reinforce Bruvary overnight, and once the battle starts, they may suffer a big loss." Don't waste time, hurry up and send the report. ”

Less than half an hour after the telegram reminding Rybalko was sent, the call back arrived. "Our division has readjusted the deployment of forces in the light of the enemy's troop build-up, appropriately strengthening the offensive forces in the direction of the 15th Tank Army," Rebalko wrote on the telegram. Rest assured, commander, that our Third Tank Army and the three infantry divisions will be able to gloriously and successfully fulfill their duty to the Motherland and, having moved into a decisive offensive, will resolutely crush the enemy forces resisting in front of us and quickly advance towards Kiev. Liberate this great city, which was under the iron hooves of the fascist invaders. ”

As soon as Kirillov read this telegram, his emotions immediately became agitated again, and he said in a loud voice: "It seems that General Rybalko's subordinates are in high spirits, and the small city of Bruvary cannot stop their progress at all. If they go well, it is estimated that they will be able to reach the city of Kyiv tomorrow night. ”

After listening to Kirillov's emotional remarks, Romanov turned his head and asked me cautiously: "Comrade commander, if tomorrow General Rybalko's troops advance under the city of Kiev in the afternoon, do we need to advance our offensive plan?" ”

"General Romanov, this is not necessary." In response to Romanov's question, I explained to him: "We are still dozens of kilometers away from Kyiv, and if we march during the day, we are prone to air attacks by enemy aircraft. And even if we get to the city of Kyiv without any success, the defenders of the city will be on guard, and then our sneak attack will turn into a strong attack. Attacking this well-defended city without artillery fire will cost us more casualties than we can imagine. No matter how General Rybalko fights tomorrow, we will carry out the plan and wait until after dark, and then advance the whole army towards Kyiv. ”

After that, I again instructed Vitkov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, call General Rybalko back and wish him victory!" (To be continued......)