While Danilov was talking on the phone in the corner, I vaguely heard him keep saying, "I beg you...... Please, ......" or something like that, but I didn't listen to it, after all, he and Vatujin have been old friends for many years, and what he says is better than what I say.

Sure enough, when he put down the phone, a smug expression appeared on his face. He came over and said excitedly to me: "Comrade Commander, I have already agreed with Senior General Vatutin, and he will ask the convoy to bring us a batch of shells for new tanks overnight. ”

"Where did you get them to go?" Bezikov asked curiously.

"Colonel Bere, of course, where they are stationed." Danilov picked up the red and blue pencils on the table, tapped them next to Oboyan, and said a little strangely: "If the convoy brings the shells here and then transports them to the town, how much time will it take to go back and forth?" The sooner the shells were sent to the tank detachments in Bere, the sooner they could resume harassment of the German rear and transport lines. ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander, did Comrade General say when the shells will arrive?" I was particularly anxious at the thought that Bere's tank detachment had to stop attacking the Germans because there were no shells.

Danilov replied casually: "The shells will not arrive until after seven o'clock at the earliest." ”

I looked up at my watch, saw that it was still early, and turned the conversation back to the topic we were discussing: "Let's talk about how to use the Guards Division in our hands and let them play a role in the next battle of Prokhorovka." ”

Danilov had just called and didn't hear what we were talking about. So when I heard this, I immediately couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade commander, you plan to transfer our reserves. To reinforce the Fifth Guards Tank Army? ”

"It's support, not reinforcement!" Bezkov corrected the other side with a bite: "Comrade Commander meant that both Guards Divisions should send small detachments to launch a non-stop attack on the enemy approaching Prokhorovka. ”

"I don't understand," Danilov said with a blank expression, "on the open Great Plains, the small detachments sent by our army, once discovered by the Germans." With just a few armored vehicles, they can wipe out all of these detachments like hunting. ”

After listening to this, a smile appeared on Bezikov's face. He turned his head to look at me and said, "Comrade Commander, help you think about the plan and tell us about it." ”

I nodded and said what I thought: "I plan to use the 71st and 77th Guards Divisions. Several detachments were sent each. Motorbikes, carrying mortars, explosive packs, and mines, went to harass the German camps. ”

"Can you be more detailed?" Danilov continued: "You know, I haven't been with you for a long time, and I'm still very new to your new style of play. ”

"Quite simply, it was to plant explosive packs and mines on the main roads near the German camps to block their lines of communication." I was afraid that Danilov would not understand, so I gave him a detailed explanation: "While the Germans were eating or sleeping. Our small detachment attacked with mortars, so that the Germans could not eat or sleep well. Every day is in a state of panic. I think as long as it lasts three to five days, the Germans will not have the energy to launch a large-scale offensive again. ”

Danilov thought about what I said, then nodded with a smile and said: "Comrade commander, don't really say it, these methods of yours are good. explosives packs and mines, which make enemy lines of communication unsafe; Mortars, on the other hand, left the German officers and soldiers physically and mentally exhausted. In addition, the team is all on motorcycles, even if they are discovered by the enemy, as long as they run away at full speed, the certainty of escaping from the clutches of the enemy is still quite large. ”

Seeing that everyone agreed to my proposal, I instructed Akhromeyev to draw up an order to be sent to the 71st and 77th Guards Divisions, telling them to immediately form small detachments and start attacking the Germans without stopping, so that they could not concentrate all their forces and launch an offensive in the Prokhorovka area with all their might.

Then I asked Bezikov: "Chief of Staff, are there any latest battle reports from the 51st, 52nd and 67th Guards Divisions?" ”

"Major, is there a new telegram?" Bezikov immediately turned his head and asked the chief of communications, Lopukhov: "It is better to have intelligence on the three divisions of the first line of defense." ”

"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff." As he spoke, Lopukhov walked over and handed a telegram in his hand to Bezkov, saying, "This is a telegram from the 51st Guards Division. In the early hours of the morning, they carried out a sneak attack on a German camp, blowing up two tanks and five armored vehicles, killing and wounding more than 60 German soldiers, and seizing a batch of guns and ammunition. ”

After the telegram was passed through the hands of several of us, Danilov said with some surprise: "I thought that General Tavart Kiradze and they would be in the encirclement of the German army and would not be able to hold out. Unexpectedly, they would take advantage of the night to launch an attack on the enemy, which is really surprising. ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander," Kirillov, who was next to him, said to him with a smile, "and it's all thanks to Lida." In the past, when our troops held their ground, they had only one purpose, and even if there was only one person left, they would never take a step back. When the enemy comes to attack, we fight them bravely; When the enemy didn't come, we were glad that we could get precious time to recuperate. But after Lida became the commander, the tactics changed subtly.

When the enemy attacks, our commanders and fighters will no longer simply defend themselves, but will even carry out local counterattacks when the conditions are favorable. And when the enemy does not attack, we do not hide in the trenches and be lazy, but take the initiative to look for fighters to attack the weak points of the German army. ”

In response to Kirillov's remarks, Danilov nodded approvingly and echoed: "That's right, Comrade Military Commissar, since I took up the post of Comrade Oshanina's deputy, I have also found that the unit has changed a lot from before. At least in the face of the onslaught of the Germans, our defense appeared to be more effective. At first I thought it was the weakening of the combat effectiveness of the German army and the strengthening of the combat effectiveness of our army, but now it seems. It may be a shift in tactical thinking that has brought about this welcome change. With that, he turned his head to look at me. I believe that the attack of the small team can also achieve quite brilliant results. ”

Perhaps the Germans, in order to concentrate their forces on the capture of Prokhorovka, correspondingly weakened their offensive operations in our defensive area, and except for a telegram from the 52nd and 67th Guards Divisions saying that there had been a company-sized exchange of fire with the Germans, the rest of the area was calm.

I saw that there was nothing going on in the headquarters, so I said hello to Danilov and Kirillov. With the newly appointed commander of the guard battalion, Basmanov, they went to the town where Colonel Bere's tank detachment was located.

As soon as we entered the town in our jeep, we were almost in the center of town. There was no figure in sight, it was as silent as a dead town, and the only sound that could be heard was the roar of the motor of the car.

Basmanov, who was sitting in the front row, turned around in his seat. Said vigilantly: "Comrade commander. Why isn't there anyone in town? Could it be that Colonel Berey and they all transferred? ”

I shook my head and told the driver to keep driving forward, trying to find someone to find out what was going on in the town. But we were soon disappointed, for the car was almost out of town, and there was still no one to be seen.

Just when we were disappointed, two men in tank uniforms jumped out of the window of the building on the side of the road, waving their hands at us. Motioned for us to stop. Seeing the tank crews that suddenly appeared, Basmanov instinctively aimed the assault rifle in his hand at them.

"Wait. Comrade Major. I saw clearly that the tank soldiers outside were wearing the uniforms of our army, and I was afraid that Basmanov would shoot on the spur of the moment, so I hurriedly stopped him: "It seems to be our own people, you go and ask which part they are." ”

Basmanov nodded, pushed the car door open, and walked over with his rifle. I saw him talk to the other party for a few words, then suddenly turned around and ran back, leaned half of his body into the car, and said excitedly: "Comrade commander, they are Colonel Bere's subordinates. ”

"Major, did you ask them why there is no one in the town?" I've always been obsessed with the fact that there's no one in town, so I'm trying to figure it out.

Basmanov nodded and replied, "I asked, and they said that the road in the town was too narrow, and Colonel Bere was worried that the tanks would be blown up if they were spotted by German bombers, so now they have all moved to the forest outside the town." ”

Hearing Basmanov say this, I hurriedly pushed the door and got out of the car, and asked the tank crew who was standing not far away: "Hey, comrade tank crew, how far is this from where you parked your tanks?" ”

After the two of them saw the rank on my shoulder, they said in unison: "Comrade commander, walk west from here, and you will be there in five minutes at most. ”

I looked at the submachine guns on the shoulders of the two of them and asked curiously, "What are you two doing here?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." One of the fighters immediately reported to me: "Since our tanks were all hidden outside the town, the colonel was worried that the convoy carrying ammunition would not be able to find our place when it came." So he ordered the two of us to stay in the town and be responsible for guiding the way for the convoy. ”

The driver followed the road pointed out by the tankmen, drove for less than two minutes, and came to the place where Colonel Bere had parked his tank. Seeing the tanks neatly arranged at the edge of the forest and covered with camouflage nets, I couldn't help but nod with satisfaction, and said to Bere, who greeted me: "Comrade Colonel, you have been very thoughtful. Placing the tank here will not only make it easier for you to attack, but also serve as a good concealment. ”

After raising his hand to salute me, Bere's first sentence asked me: "Comrade commander, how did you come here?" Don't you know it's still dangerous? ”

I replied with a smile: "Colonel, since you are not afraid of danger, I, as a commander, naturally cannot be afraid of danger. ”

Hearing my words, Colonel Berey shook his head with a wry smile, and then asked: "Comrade commander, I wonder when the convoy will be able to deliver the shells to us?" ”

I asked rhetorically, a little puzzled: "Didn't the telegram you received say when the convoy arrived?" Seeing him shake his head blankly, I stopped delving into the question.

I silently counted the tanks, and found that there were less than twenty, and all of them were new tanks, and I couldn't help but ask strangely: "Comrade Colonel, can you tell me where the rest of the tanks have gone?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Seeing that the expression on my face was serious, Colonel Beray quickly explained: "Although our new tank has almost run out of shells, the T-34 tank still has enough ammunition. After consulting with a few of my lieutenants, I decided that we couldn't stupidly stay here and wait for the convoy to deliver ammunition to us, so I had all the T-34 tanks form a new detachment to attack the German transport lines. ”

When I heard that the tanks that weren't there were in battle, not destroyed, I felt a lot more at ease, and casually asked, "Is there any feedback on the results?" ”

"Yes," replied Colonel Bere, smiling, "they found a German convoy of troop transports about twenty kilometers from here, and since the enemy had no heavy weapons, they were of little repel against our blows. After a short battle, more than 20 trucks were wrecked, and about 200 German soldiers were killed and wounded. ”

"Yes, this is a very good result, Comrade Colonel." I gladly said to Colonel Bere: "If you continue to destroy their convoys of transports and men, the enemy in the depths of our army will be consumed little by little by our troops because of the lack of supplies. ”

After saying this, I suddenly remembered that during the Battle of Moscow, Bezikov and I were escorting Stalin's stand-in back to Moscow when we were attacked by German tanks. Because there were no anti-tank weapons, except for the two of us, all the commanders and fighters who served as escorts died heroically, and even Stalin's stand-in died of his wounds, so that Bezikov and I almost lost our lives.

Remembering this old incident, I solemnly instructed Bere: "Comrade Colonel, you have a relatively large number of tanks, and if you operate in one area alone, although you can temporarily be in the position of winning a safe victory, the results you have achieved will always be limited. I suggest that after completing the replenishment of ammunition, divide the tank detachment into two parts, and at the same time launch a non-stop attack on the enemy's transport lines from different sections. In this way, the lifeline of the German army will be completely cut off by us. Do you understand? (To be continued.) )