As soon as I had finished my call with Godunov, I heard the sound of footsteps outside, and the sentry on duty outside the tent was asking loudly, but it was Pugachev, who had just left, who answered. Immediately afterwards, the curtain of our tent was lifted, and Pugachev ran in from outside with a happy face.

"Commander, Comrade Commander." Pugachev stood in front of me, breathless, and he seemed to be so excited that he gasped for a long time and reported to me: "Comrade commander, as soon as I sent out the communications corps, I met a messenger sent by General Bandereev, saying that our main forces, before the German bombardment began, had basically withdrawn from the city of Smilla and hid in the forests to the west and north of the city. ”

When I heard Pugachev's report, my eyes widened and my face was full of disbelief, and then I showed the same ecstasy as Pugachev. I turned to Kirillov and Vitkov and said: "Commissar, chief of staff, do you hear me? Before the bombardment, General Bandereev led his troops out of the city safely. ”

"Now that the troops have safely withdrawn to the city," Vitkov asked, instead of a look of surprise on his face, "but why has our radio not been able to contact them?" ”

"Comrade Major," I also suddenly felt that something was wrong when I heard Vitkov ask, and hurriedly asked Pugachev in a loud voice: "Major, where are the people sent by General Pandereev?" Come in, hurry up and invite him in. "Although I can't figure out why the radio can't contact the 22nd Guards Division for the time being, I heard that the main force of our army has successfully withdrawn outside the city, and the apprehension in my heart just now suddenly disappeared without a trace. Only excitement and excitement remain.

An officer in a steel helmet and a snow camouflage suit. Under the guidance of Pugachev. Walked into the tent. I am still somewhat familiar with the person who came, it is the deputy battalion commander of the 1st Regiment and the 2nd Battalion, Captain Glenn, and I have dealt with him several times. Bandereev sent him over, presumably to make me understand that the information reported by the incoming people was true.

As soon as Captain Glenn entered the tent, he raised his hand and saluted me, and reported: "Report to Comrade Corps Commander, Division Commander General Pantai Leev asked me to report to you. In order to avoid German retaliation, the troops of the 22nd Guards Division, after successfully capturing Smilla, except for a few units left to serve as guards, the main force had successfully withdrawn to the outskirts of the forest to hide before the enemy's bombardment. ”

After speaking, Captain Glenn took out a document from his satchel and respectfully handed it to me, while saying, "Comrade Commander. This is a report from Division Commander Pantai Laiev. I took the paper and looked at the handwriting. Indeed, it was Bantaireev's handwriting, which was correct. After reading the Bandereev report carefully, I decided to be sure that everything Glenn said was completely true. Seeing the tired look on the other man's face, I knew that he must have suffered a lot in order to find our whereabouts, so I politely asked him to go and rest first.

I handed the Bandereev report to Vitkov, and after reading it, he handed it to Kirillov, but he still said in confusion: "Comrade Army Commander, although there is a report from General Bandereev here, I still don't quite understand: First, why was Bandereev's 22nd Guards Division able to successfully withdraw outside the city before the arrival of the enemy's air raid? Second, where are the 308th Division under the command of General Romanov and the 171st Division of Andreushchenko currently and why are they still not in contact? ”

The two issues that Vitkov spoke of are exactly what I have been thinking about. If the 22nd Guards Division really succeeded in withdrawing to the outskirts, then why couldn't it be contacted with their radio station? Seeing such doubts, we can only get to the bottom of it when we meet Bantai Leev.

But this was clearly not the time to delve into these issues, so I turned to Razumeeva, who was sitting at the walkie-talkie, and said: "Lieutenant, there is no need to continue the call to the 22nd Guards Division. You try to change the communication channel of the 171st Division or the 308th Division and see if you can get in touch with them. ”

Razumeyeva answered, adjusted the frequency, and began to call the radio stations of the other two divisions. This time, we were obviously lucky, and after a few calls, a response sound came from the headphones.

Hearing movement on the other side, Razumeyeva immediately called me excitedly: "Commander, Comrade Commander, I have made contact with the radio of the 308th Division. ”

I took the headset from her hand, put it on, and said loudly into the microphone, "I'm Oshanina, tell your commander to answer the phone." ”

Soon, a Romanov's voice came from the headphones: "It's me, Romanov." ”

Hearing Romanov's loud voice, it didn't look like a lost battle at all, and the stone hanging in my heart fell to the ground. I then asked, "Where are you now?" ”

"Report to the army commander," Romanov immediately replied, "and Andreushchenko and I are in the town of Hudoli. ”

"Hudoli Town." As I spoke to him, I grabbed the map and carefully searched for the location he was talking about. But when I saw the name of the place he said, I couldn't help but exclaim: "Hell, Comrade Deputy Commander, what are you doing on the outskirts of Cherkasy?" "Judging from the map, the town of Hudoli he was talking about happened to be a small town connected to Cherkasy.

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Romanov truthfully reported: "After the capture of Smilla, we found a small group of the enemy fleeing northeast of the city, and from the direction they should have fled to Cherkasy. In order not to allow the enemy to discover the movements of our troops too soon, I sent a unit in hot pursuit. Our pursuers exchanged fire with the defenders of Cherkasy near the town of Hudoli, and the commander of the group called for help because it was too dark and the German fire was too fierce. I was afraid that the German troops in the city were strong and that I would suffer if there were too few reinforcements, so I called Comrade Andryushchenko and asked him to rush to the town of Hudoli with me. ”

"How's it going?" Hearing that they were exchanging fire with the defenders of the city, I hurriedly asked with concern, "Have you figured out how many troops the enemy has in the city?" ”

"According to the interrogation of the prisoners, the enemy probably had a battalion of defenders in the city." Romanov reported: "At the beginning. The Germans thought we were just small troops. So we were caught off guard. When we occupy half of the city. The Germans finally came to their senses and understood that it was not a small force that was attacking. At present, they are relying on the building and fighting with our army house by house. ”

Hearing the Romanov report, I had a sense of time and space, as if I had returned to the time of the Battle of Stalingrad. Thinking of the tragic situation of the residents who were killed and injured throughout the battle, I couldn't help but worry about the innocent people in the city, and hurriedly asked nervously, "Are there any residents in the city?" ”

"Yes. Comrade Army Commander. Romanov gave me an affirmative answer, saying: "The Germans had launched a counterattack on the area occupied by our troops half an hour earlier. They had the captured residents walk ahead of the counterattack team, followed by about two platoons of German soldiers. ”

"What happened?" I asked worriedly.

Hearing my question, Romanov said lightly: "The enemy's counterattack was repulsed by us, and the inhabitants who were held hostage were rescued. ”

Although he said this in a very relaxed tone, I guessed that the casualties of those residents must be not small, but this was not the time to pursue these things, so I did not continue to ask, but changed the subject and asked: "General Romanov." How long do you think it will take for you to fully capture Cherkasy? ”

After a moment of silence for the Romanovs. He replied: "At present, the enemy has temporarily built many firing points relying on solid buildings, and our commanders and fighters have suffered heavy casualties in street battles because they are not familiar with the terrain. ”

"If you are not familiar with the terrain, you can find the residents of the city to be your guides." When I heard that the troops had suffered heavy casualties in street fighting, I couldn't help but be angry, knowing that our troops, but they were drawn from the garrison troops of Stalingrad, and their field combat ability may not be strong, but when it comes to street fighting, they can definitely be the teachers of the Germans. But now fighting such a small city, but paying huge casualties, what is going on? Because I said impatiently: "Also, when the troops attack in the streets, do not charge in a dense formation, as this will become a target for the Germans and cause unnecessary casualties." ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Romanov replied respectfully: "Speaking of street fighting, Colonel Andreushchenko is much higher than me. However, when our division's attack was thwarted due to the increase in casualties, it was the commanders and fighters of the friendly forces who stepped up in time and defeated the enemy one after another. ”

Finally, when I had finished the call with Romanov, and I was just about to report the situation of the other two divisions to Kirillov and Vitkov, Vitkov handed me a few telegrams and said with a serious expression: "Comrade commander, our situation is not optimistic. No sooner had Alexandria's troops withdrawn from the city than they were attacked by German aircraft, killing and wounding more than a hundred people. On the way to our retreat, the 4th Regiment was not very smooth, and a pro-German Ukrainian partisan detachment not only laid mines on their march, but also hid on both sides of the road and fired cold shots at our marching ranks, resulting in the death of seven Gaidar regiments and the wounding of nineteen. ”

I slammed my fist on the table, and then said viciously, "These damned fascist lackeys, one day I'll wipe them all out." After scolding this, I turned sideways and asked Vitkov, "How is the situation with Godunov?" ”

"I haven't received any information from the major yet," Vitkov said tentatively, "but no news, sometimes it means good news, maybe there is no fighting there at all." ”

I stepped out of the tent, glanced at the city in front of me, and then said to Kirillov, who had followed me out: "Comrade commissar, the enemy's air raid is over, shouldn't we go to the city to have a look, and by the way, command the troops to participate in the rescue." ”

Before Kirillov could express his position, Vitkov, who finally came out of the tent, heard what I had just said, and hurriedly stopped him: "Comrade commander, you can't go to the city like this, there will be danger, the bombing of the city by enemy planes has just ended, and who knows if they will come back." What if you enter the city and are bombed by enemy planes? ”

I pointed to the tent behind me and said, "Are we going to set up our headquarters here and direct the battle?" ”

Vitkov glanced at the tent and replied: "Comrade commander, even if the conditions here are poor, the safety factor is higher than in the city, so I think you should stay here and command the battle." ”

As we were talking, Kirillov suddenly pointed into the distance and said: "Look, there are three jeeps in front, which commander should have come to the army headquarters to report." ”

None of the three of us spoke, just stood silently in the distance, looking at the jeep that was getting closer and closer. The jeep drove to a distance of more than 20 meters from us and stopped in turn. Then, a number of commanders got out of the car, and as they approached us, I immediately recognized Pantai Laiev in the crowd.

I touched Kirillov beside me with my elbow and said, "It's General Bandereev." After saying that, I went straight to greet him. Walking up to Pantai Leyev, without waiting for him to raise his hand in salute, I grabbed his hand, shook it vigorously, and said: "Comrade General, you have worked hard. ”

Then, Kirillov and Vitkov also came up one after another to greet Bandereev.

When the four of us returned to the tent, Kirillov, an old friend of Bantaireev, sat down and asked with concern: "Old man, we are on the road and we see enemy planes bombing the city, and the commander is still worried about you." After setting up a temporary headquarters here, since she has not been able to contact you, she also specially arranged for ten communication soldiers to go to the city to find you, let you be the commander-in-chief of the defenders in the city, and ordered you to lead the troops to temporarily withdraw from the city and hide in a safe place in the suburbs at the right time. However, I didn't expect it, and later I realized that our worries were unnecessary, and you had already planned for a rainy day and led your troops out of the city. ”

"Tell me, Comrade General." Vitkov waited for Kirillov to finish speaking, and then asked curiously; "What did you think at the time, why could you withdraw the main forces from the city before the enemy bombardment came? Are you a prophet of the future? ”

After listening to the words of the two men, Bandereev stood up and thanked me for my concern for him. He then began to explain to us why he had let his troops leave the city: "Actually, I am not an unpredictable prophet at all, but I think that two days ago, shortly after the 308th Division occupied the city, it was attacked by German air raids, resulting in heavy casualties among the troops, and even the division commander, General Gurdiev, was killed. So after eliminating the defenders of the city, I ordered the troops to temporarily withdraw to the forest on the outskirts of the city, and at the same time moved many of the city's residents to safety. (To be continued......)