With the city of Huli Abol being conquered by the 22nd Guards Division, our corps headquarters moved forward. On the question of where to place the headquarters, I arbitrarily announced that the new corps headquarters would be located in the city of Poloi, where Colonel Andreuschenko's 171st Division was located, and not in the city of Huli Ebol, which had just been conquered. None of them objected to my arrangement. With the order, the military headquarters began to move in an orderly manner.

On the way to the city of Poloy, I received a telegram from Bandereev. In the telegram, he said: Since the commanders and fighters of the 22nd Guards Division have become exhausted after three days of continuous fighting, if they do not rest for a day or two and launch a direct attack, the combat effectiveness of the troops will be greatly reduced. At that time, it will not only affect the effect of the attack, but also pay unnecessary casualties.

I sat in the jeep, holding the telegram from Pandereev in my hand, and fell into deep thought: the soldiers were quick to take the Germans by surprise, but judging from the current situation, the Germans were still aware of our actions and accordingly increased the defenders of the town on the road to Zaporosh, and it was impossible to take Zaporosh by surprise. Moreover, after the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, the 22nd Guards Division did not have a good rest, so it was transferred to Ukraine, and fought fiercely again and again, even if their combat effectiveness was strong, but at this moment, it is estimated that it has become the end of the crossbow, so rest and recuperation are necessary. Only a short rest for the commanders and fighters to recover could cope with the more brutal battles that followed.

I made up my mind, turned my head and asked Kirillov: "Comrade commissar, what should the 22nd Guards Division do next." It was planned to launch an offensive on the Kuban. Or a two-day break in Huli Abrah? I'd like to hear from you. ”

Kirillov after hearing my question. Instead of answering immediately, he took out a cigarette from his pocket, took one out of his mouth, and ran his hands around for matches in the pockets of his clothes. Before he could find a match, Akhromeyev, who was sitting in the front row, had already struck a match sideways and lit a cigarette for him.

Kirillov thanked Akhromeyev, took a hard puff on his cigarette, and coughed when he heard me choking. Hurriedly threw the cigarette butt in his hand out of the window, and then said solemnly: "Comrade Oshanina, I estimate that the Germans have sensed our intention to seize Zaporosh. However, they didn't know how many troops we had, so reinforcements to the towns along the way were limited. My opinion is that as long as the Germans do not massively send more troops to the Kuban, they can let the Pantai Leev Division temporarily stop and recuperate, after all, the continuous vicious fighting has overdrawn the commanders and fighters. ”

Akhromeyev in the front row waited for Kirillov to finish speaking, and also expressed his opinion: "Army commander, political commissar, my opinion is also to let the 22nd Guards Division suspend the offensive. That's it. It can have the effect of paralyzing the enemy and making them think that the offensive power of our army is exhausted. Thus letting your guard down. ”

All three of us were the first divisional commanders of the 22nd Guards Division, and our understanding of this unit was no less than that of the division commander Bantai Leev at this moment. Seeing that Kirillov and Akhromeyev agreed with me, I nodded and said, "Okay, since everyone's opinions are unified, then let Pandereev pause the attack, rest in place, and wait for tomorrow to launch the attack." ”

"Just a full day's rest?" Akhromeyev was stunned for a moment when he heard me say this, and then asked tentatively: "Is the time too short?" You know, the commanders and fighters are exhausted, can you give them two or three days to rest? ”

"No, Major Akhromeyev." I did not hesitate to refuse his euphemistic request, and told him in a solemn and solemn manner: "The reason why I let Bandereev rest for a day is because the troops are too tired, and if they are allowed to continue the attack, their combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced." But if the rest time is too long, it is equivalent to giving the German soldiers time to transfer troops and improve the fortifications. By the time we have rested and attacked again, we will be faced with the strong German defenses. Have you thought about it, how much will it cost us? ”

After listening to my explanation, Akhromeyev nodded and said: "Understood, Comrade Commander. I will now convey your order to Division Commander Pandereev. With that, he pushed the door and got out of the car, circled around the front of the car, walked to the signal soldier waiting on the left side of the jeep, and relayed to him my order.

When Akhromeyev got back into the car, he turned his head and asked for my opinion: "Comrade commander, where do you plan to set up the new headquarters?" Is it a small village in the city or on the outskirts? ”

"Comrade Major, do you have anything good to build?" Knowing that Akhromeyev was a competent deputy, I confidently and boldly gave him the decision to establish a new command, "Are you familiar with the terrain around here?" ”

"If we drive two or three kilometers further, we will see a village where the 171st Division has a platoon of troops." Akhromeyev already knew the location of the new headquarters, and when he heard my question, he immediately introduced me in a gushing voice: "The villagers have been evacuated, but the buildings in the village are well preserved, and we can completely build the headquarters there." ”

"Well, as you said, build our new headquarters in the village." I readily agreed to Akhromeyev's suggestion, and then asked curiously: "By the way, Major, how do you know that the buildings in the village are in good condition?" Could it be that you've really been here before? ”

"That's not the case, Comrade Commander." Akhromeyev shook his head and replied: "As the head of the intelligence department, it is my duty to collect such information. ”

"Well done, Comrade Major." In the face of the conscientious Akhromeyev, I couldn't help but praise him.

Half an hour later, Kirillov and I arrived at the new headquarters. This large room, which may have been the meeting room of the village Soviet, had a long wooden table and a dozen chairs. The tattered portrait of Stalin, cut by bayonets, was also carefully picked up from the ground by the fighters and put aside.

I just didn't say a few words to Vitkov. Captain Yushchenko walked briskly into the room. Report to me: "Comrade Commander. The sentry spotted a force approaching our village. ”

Hearing the approaching troops, I couldn't help but get nervous, but on the surface I tried my best to maintain my composure, deliberately pretending to be casual and asked, "Comrade Captain, find out who is here?" Our troops or the units of the German army? ”

"Of course it's our troops." Yushchenko hurriedly gave me a further explanation: "I sent someone to inquire about the troops of the 149th Regiment, who were preparing to return to Poloy City after completing their mission to meet the 308th Division last night. ”

"Who led the team?" Although the 171st Division is under my command. However, I am not at all familiar with the commanders at all levels of my division, and now that I have placed the army headquarters next to them, it is imperative to reacquaint myself with and familiarize myself with the group of commanders under me. So I instructed Yushchenko: "Comrade Captain, send someone to invite the commander of the 149th regiment to me." ”

Yushchenko agreed, turned and left the command. After about ten minutes, he walked in with a commander wearing a gray cylindrical leather military cap and a military coat. As the commander appeared, I looked at him carefully, and saw that the other party was burly, dignified, and had the rigor and fortitude unique to a soldier on his face. The collar badge is worn with the rank of colonel.

He came to us, raised his hand and saluted and reported: "Comrade Commander. The commander of the 171st Regiment of the 149th Infantry Division, Colonel Borvinov, reports to you that our regiment has completed its task of receiving friendly troops and is returning to the city of Poloy, please instruct! ”

"Nothing to instruct, Comrade Colonel." I hurriedly asked him to sit down, and at the same time said with a pleasant face: "Have you received the 308th Division of General Gurdiev?" ”

Bolvinov sat in front of us with his legs together and his hands on his knees, and when he heard my question, he tried to stand up, but I raised my hand to stop him, and he sat down in his seat and turned his back to tell us about the rescue.

From Colonel Borvinov's prosaic description, I can still feel the difficulty of last night's battle. In particular, I heard that more than 100 enemies occupied a small village and stubbornly resisted the two-sided attacks of our troops, so that the vanguard of the 149th Regiment and the 308th Division was only five or six hundred meters apart, but they were unable to meet the division. After launching more than a dozen charges in a row and paying the price of more than 300 casualties, he completely annihilated the remnants of the enemy in the village.

Hearing about such fierce battles, I asked Borvinov with concern: "Comrade Colonel, what are the casualties of your regiment?" ”

Hearing my question, Bolvinov smiled wryly and said: "Comrade army commander, the situation is bad. In last night's battle, we eliminated less than two hundred enemies, and our casualties were more than double the enemy's. ”

"Why is this happening?" Vitkov asked puzzledly: "You must know that the firepower of your division is very good, there is a mortar company in the regiment, there is a heavy machine gun platoon in the battalion, and each company has at least five light machine guns. ”

Bolvinov pondered for a moment and replied: "Comrade Chief of Staff, although our firepower is much stronger than that of the defense of Stalingrad during the war. However, due to the fact that the troops were reduced in battle, and the recruits who were replenished in the later period were recruits with no combat experience, and they were not skilled enough in the use of weapons, it was inevitable that there would be a situation that you were puzzled about just now. ”

Without waiting for Borvinov to speak, Kirillov stood up to relieve him, he patted the colonel on the shoulder, smiled and said to Vitkov, who was about to have a seizure: "Comrade Chief of Staff, Colonel Bolvinov and his troops have been fighting with the Germans last night, I think they must be very tired, so I asked Comrade Colonel to go back and rest first." ”

There are many reasons for the weak combat effectiveness of the troops, and in order to enhance their combat effectiveness, it is necessary to strengthen the training of the troops. Thinking of this, I stood up and said to Borvinov: "Comrade Colonel, we have all understood the situation, there is nothing for you here for the time being, you can go back to the city of Beroyev first." ”

Borvinov stood up and said yes, turned around and wanted to leave, but Kirillov stopped him and said: "Comrade Colonel, we may rest for a day or two before launching an attack, so you should hurry up and train your commanders and fighters, so that you can fight a big battle with the Germans in a different environment at a time." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commissar. In the next battle, our regiment will definitely make more feats and let the Germans know how powerful our Red Army is! ”

Kirillov smiled with satisfaction, then waved at him and said, "Go! ”

As soon as Colonel Borvinov left, Akhromeyev hurried in from outside with a telegram. Seeing his arrival, Kirillov smiled and asked, "Comrade Major, seeing that you are in a hurry, is there any good news for us?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Commissar." Akhromeyev raised the telegram in his hand, shook it vigorously a few times, and then handed it to me, saying: "The telegram was sent by Major Perstian, who said that in the early hours of this morning, a German column of about a regiment, with tanks and artillery, was heading towards the ambush site of our reconnaissance detachment.

The scouts waited for the Germans to come within direct range of the tank guns and began firing, destroying several German tanks. Then the fighters of the reconnaissance detachment launched a storm, captured three prisoners, captured an armored transport vehicle and some combat documents. After interrogating the prisoners, it became known that the attacking German troops were armored units stationed in Tokmak. They had received orders from their superiors that they had spotted a small force of our army near Poloy and asked them to come and clear it. ”

"Where is the enemy now?" When I heard that Tokmak's German armored forces had been dispatched, I immediately cheered up and asked, "What kind of actions did Captain Travkin and Major Perstent take?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander," Akhromeyev replied, "having routed the vanguard of the German army, Major Perstian immediately made contact with Major Godunov and Captain Travkin, and the three are currently adjusting their forces and preparing to organize a defense in the direction where the enemy may appear. ”

After listening to him, I walked quickly to the walkie-talkie by the wall and said to the operator: "Comrade operator, immediately connect me to Major Godunov, I want to talk to him." "Although I have repeatedly stressed that wireless calls are not allowed, at this moment, the matter is urgent, and I have to make an exception. (To be continued......)

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