Along with the news of the failure of the first counterattack, the bad news was that several other heights of the 51st Guards Division were also attacked by the Germans. In other words, if Tawalt Kiradze wanted to regain the lost position of the 308th Regiment, he could only rely on the forces he had at his disposal, and could not draw men from other heights, or even provide sufficient artillery support.

Since the gains and losses on the high ground were related to the fate of the 51st Guards Division, the senior commanders in the headquarters focused their attention on their counterattack in the next few hours.

Forty minutes later, Tawart Kiradze's second counter-attack report arrived. Danilov took the telegram from Akhromeyev's hand, and after a quick glance, he slapped the telegram on the table and said angrily: "How did this General Tavart Kiradze do it, the second counterattack he organized failed again. ”

I picked up the telegram on my desk, and when I looked at it carefully, I saw that Kiralzar, ****** tower, wrote on the telegram: "Before the second attack, our observation post found that the enemy had built improvised civil fire points on the hillside. In order to alleviate the casualties of the troops during the counterattack, I ordered the mortar company to shell the fortifications, and after confirming that the fortifications had been destroyed by artillery fire, I ordered the infantry to charge the high ground under the cover of tanks.

Here we learned the lesson of the failure of the first offensive, followed by the infantry behind the tanks, specifically responsible for clearing the German anti-tank men emerging from the grass. At the beginning, a few German soldiers who tried to repeat their old tricks were shot down by the soldiers who followed them as soon as they appeared.

As the tank approached the top of the hill and saw victory in sight, the German Pyro hiding in the foxhole suddenly opened fire. I'm in the command post. I saw with my own eyes that streams of flames shot into the tank's lookout hole, enveloping our tank in flames. And the German machine gunners, who remained silent, also began to shoot at this time, and the dense machine gun bullets knocked down the fighters who followed the tank like mowing grass......"

After reading the telegram, I was particularly disappointed in my heart, and I did not think that the two attacks organized by Tavart Kiradze had failed. And judging by the means of defense of the Viking divisions. They are far more effective than any other unit we have come into contact with, and at least they know how to defend against our attacks. This defense of theirs has proven to be very effective.

I looked at Danilov and Kirillov, who were standing next to me with black faces, and in order to ease the atmosphere, I deliberately joked: "Judging by the telegram, General Tavart Kiradze is not bad, and the war will be over later." Even if he was discharged from the army, he could go home and become a writer. ”

My words made everyone laugh, and the tense atmosphere in the room became relaxed again. Bezkov asked me for instructions: "Comrade commander, what should we do next?" ”

"What else can I do, of course, to continue to fight back?" I stared at Bezkov and asked rhetorically in a tone of surprise: "Is it possible that after two defeats, I ceded the position to the Germans in vain?" ”

"Well, then I'll inform General Tavart Kiradze immediately. Let him organize a third charge as soon as possible. "After Bezkov had written down my orders in a small notebook, he was going to leave.

Something suddenly occurred to me. Hurriedly stopped him: "Chief of Staff, please wait a minute." When he stopped and turned to look at me, I continued: "By the way, tell General Tawartkiradze not to be brutal." Before the attack, organize the commander of the attacking unit to study it. See how you can get the most out of it at a very small cost. ”

"Understood." Bezkov agreed, adding to the notebook what I had just said.

After Kirillov waited for Bezikov to go out, he said to me with a heavy heart: "Lida, if the counterattack does not work, then the entire defense area of the 51st Guards Division will be in jeopardy. Once Tavartkiradze they had to retreat. Then the flanks of the 90th Guards Division were completely exposed to the Germans. ”

"That's right, now it's a matter of moving the whole body." I stared at the map in front of me and said with the same concern: "Now the 51st and 90th Guards Divisions are closely intertwined, and once any division withdraws from its existing position, the other division can only retreat. Only Nekrasov's 52nd Guards Division remained, struggling to support itself under heavy enemy encirclement. ”

"Comrade Commander, we can't let this happen." Danilov waited for me to finish, pointed to the map and said resolutely: "Now the three divisions on the front line are holding back at least five or six divisions of the German army, so that they cannot concentrate more forces and launch an offensive against Prokhorovka and Oboyan." Once the 51st and 90th Guards withdrew from their existing positions, the Germans only needed to leave one division here to monitor Nekrasov's 52nd Guards Division, and the forces of the few divisions they drew could be used in any direction at will. ”

When I heard Danilov say this, I couldn't help but think again: even if General Tavartkiradze could not regain the lost position, as long as he continued to hold on to his current position, he could still accomplish the goal of pinning down the German forces. Well, for the sake of our final victory, let's do it.

Having made up my mind, I nodded and echoed Danilov's opinion: "Comrade Deputy Commander is right, the fortifications of the Yakovlevo region cannot be abandoned. Even if the counterattack organized by General Tawart Kiradze fails again, we will also rely on the tunnel fortifications on the remaining high ground to carry out a stubborn resistance, and firmly absorb a large number of German troops near our first line of defense, which will greatly reduce the pressure on our troops in other areas. ”

No sooner had we made the decision not to allow the 51st Guards Division to withdraw from its positions at any time than a phone call from Vatutin. He asked strangely on the phone: "Comrade Oshanina, what do you mean by sending me a written report requesting the establishment of a tank repair station?" ”

"Comrade General, didn't you read the above reasons?" Vatutin's words surprised me, and I thought to myself that my request would not be denied by him, right? Hurriedly added: "The members of our command unanimously believe that the existence of a sufficient number of tank repair stations can timely repair tanks damaged in battle, so that tank units can always maintain stable combat effectiveness." ”

As I finished speaking, I faintly heard the sound of flipping paper coming from the microphone. It should be Vatutin who is looking at our report. After a while, he said slowly: "Comrade Oshanina, I have no right to reply to your request. I'll need to communicate with the National Defense Committee and get their permission before I can set up a repair station for tank units in your defense zone. ”

Hear him say that. I muttered to myself: what a trouble, if we ask our superiors for instructions, we don't know when the repair station we need will be built. But on the surface, I have to laugh and say: "I understand, Comrade General, I will leave this matter to you." ”

When I put down the phone, I saw Kirillov and Danilov whispering, and I vaguely heard Kirillov say: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I have known Leda for so long, and I have never seen her speak so quietly to anyone." ”

Danilov glanced at me. He smiled and said: "Comrade Commander is doing this entirely to ensure that we can achieve the final victory. ”

General Tawart Kiradze's battle report came almost every half hour or forty minutes, and each time the report was much the same: the attack had failed. From his telegrams, I saw the super fighting of the Viking Division, a small force with no heavy weapons, actually repelled six attacks by the 51st Guards Division in a row, and each time the tactics were different.

Danilov looked at the battle report. sighed and said: "How did this Tavart Kiradze General do it, he has not recaptured the high ground until now. On the contrary, seventeen new tanks and more than two hundred fighters were lost. Experienced tankmen also sacrificed more than two dozen people, what a pity. ”

Kirillov looked up at me and asked, "Lida, you have a lot of ideas." Let's talk about what is there to do against this Viking division of the German army. I didn't expect their defense to be so tenacious, and it actually made General Tawart Kiradze helpless. ”

I was intrigued by this German force, which had repeatedly thwarted the attacks of General Tavart Kiradze, but I really couldn't figure out how to defeat them. So I replied with a wry smile: "Comrade Military Commissar, if I am at the forefront, I can also draw up a new offensive plan according to the actual situation on the battlefield. But now that I'm in the headquarters, I really don't have much to do with the battle reports from below. The only thing that can be done is to continue the assault on the high ground. ”

"Assault?" When Kirillov heard me say this, he became more and more puzzled and asked: "Lida, haven't you always been the most opposed to this tactic that has no technical content and can only be filled by people?" Why is this tactic being offered now? ”

"I can't help it, Comrade Military Commissar." I explained to Kirillov: "I also know that this kind of play is stupid, and the casualties will be staggering, and it is not enough for us to do this in the current situation." Once the Germans have gained a firm foothold on the heights, then they can encroach on the nearby heights one by one, with the goal of eliminating or squeezing out our troops. ”

While we were sighing, Akhromeyev, who had just gone out to the communications room, suddenly rushed in, holding a telegram in his hand, and excitedly said: "Comrade commander, good news, General Tavart Kiradze has recaptured the heights. ”

"What, the heights have been taken back?" Hearing the good news, I excitedly got up from my seat, snatched the telegram from Akhromeyev's hand, and examined it carefully.

In a telegram, General Tawartkiradze gave a detailed account of the battle: "...... Another attack by the troops drove the Germans back again, without exception. When the German officers and men jumped out of their positions on the top of the hill and fired wildly behind our retreating commanders and fighters, a smoking, seemingly wrecked tank, suddenly strafed and shelled the enemy who had broken away from the position with its on-board machine gun and tank guns.

The enemy was taken by surprise and immediately fell into chaos. When the commander at the foot of the hill found out about this, he immediately ordered the troops to stop the retreat and re-launched a charge to the high ground. ……”

After reading the telegram, I casually handed it to Danilov and Kirillov, who were waiting anxiously beside me. Turning his head, he asked Akhromeyev: "Comrade Major, do you know who the commander of this tank is?" ”

Akhromeyev nodded and said with certainty: "I asked General Tavart Kiradze, and he said that it was Sergeant Roschukin of the 101st Tank Brigade. He was wounded when the tank was blown off by an anti-tank grenade, but he endured the pain and used tank guns and machine guns to fight the fascists, making a great contribution to our regain of the heights. ”

After listening to this, Kirillov continued: "This commander is good, he showed tenacity in battle. Leda, I think that while awarding him a medal, he should also be promoted to the rank of military. Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered something important, turned to look at Akhromeyev and asked: "Major, where is this commander and his tank crew?" ”

"Sergeant Roschukin was seriously wounded in the leg and was sent to the divisional health camp along with another wounded tankman." Akhromeyev reported to Kirillov: "The remaining members, together with the newly replenished ones, are working together to repair the tracks, preparing to put the tank back into new combat as soon as possible." ”

When Akhromeyev spoke to Kirillov, I nodded at first, but when I heard that Roschukin had been sent to the health camp because of a leg wound, I couldn't help but shiver and then break out in a cold sweat. I was afraid that I had misheard, so I specifically asked, "Major, what did you just say?" Where is that commander Roschukin now? ”

Akhromeyev turned to me and replied: "Sergeant Roschukin has been admitted to the divisional medical camp with a serious wound in the leg, and it is estimated that the military doctor is treating him at this time. ”

After the news was confirmed, my cold sweat came down. Don't look at Roschukina from the outside, because **** Ping can't tell that she is a woman, but she has a leg injury, and she must take off her pants for treatment. As long as her pants are ripped off, the secret of her disguised as a man will be completely exposed.

Thinking of this, I immediately instructed Akhromeyev: "Major, go and call General Tavart Kiradze and ask him to personally follow the treatment of Sergeant Roschukin, and as soon as there is any situation, immediately call me personally and report to me." ”

Akhromeyev was surprised by my order, and he kindly reminded me: "Comrade commander, although Sergeant Roschukin was wounded in the leg, it is not life-threatening, and there is no need for Tavart Kiradze to go out himself, right?" ”

"Major," I couldn't help but get upset when I heard him say this, and yelled at him, "Don't you know that the orders of your superiors are not allowed to be discussed?" Go ahead and do it now. ”

Akhromeyev didn't expect me to suddenly get angry, and after being stunned for a moment, he said yes loudly, turned around and went out to the next communication room to send a telegram.

After ten minutes, a pale-faced Akhromeyev walked back to me and did not say anything, except handed me a newly received telegram. I took it, and it was briefly written: "While treating Sergeant Roschukin's injuries, the military doctor unexpectedly discovered that she was a girl. Division commander Tawart Kiradze. (To be continued.) )