"Have you figured out the number of troops and technical equipment of the German army on the opposite side?" I looked at the German artillery positions in the distance with my binoculars, gritted my back molars and asked, "Do they have any other artillery positions nearby besides these anti-aircraft guns?" "The reason why I asked this was because I thought that if there were no German artillery positions around, I could use Lieutenant Colonel Kavelin's artillery regiment to eliminate the enemy's anti-aircraft artillery positions.

After I finished my question, I did not hear an answer from Bandereev for a long time. I frowned, put down my binoculars, turned my head to look at Pantai Leev, and asked dissatisfiedly: "Comrade division commander, didn't you hear my question, why didn't you answer me?" ”

Bandeleev replied with some embarrassment: "Comrade commander, it's like this, our reconnaissance intelligence was all two days ago. At the time of the reconnaissance, there were no German artillery positions in the vicinity, but it is difficult to say whether there are any now. ”

"In that case, Comrade Bandereev, should you immediately organize manpower to reconnoiter the enemy's positions?" After listening to his defense, I said angrily: "If you want to attack again, you must first find out the enemy's troop deployment, right?" ”

Bantai Reev's face was flushed with shame, and he nodded again and again in agreement: "Yes, Comrade Commander, I will arrange for people to go to the enemy's rear to conduct reconnaissance." ”

Seeing that he wanted to walk towards the walkie-talkie placed at the door of the house, I suddenly remembered something, and hurriedly stopped him, and ordered: "Division Commander Pantai Leev, there is something necessary to remind your scouts, many units of our army have just changed their ranks, from the original collar badge to epaulettes. Have the Scout pay attention to identification when scouting. Don't mistake our troops for Germans. ”

"Understood." Pandereev agreed very cheerfully: "I will definitely explain it clearly to the scouts to avoid an oolong incident in which I regard my own people as local enemies." At this point, he cautiously asked, "Comrade Commander, do you think you need to call Colonel Berey and Lieutenant Colonel Kaverin here?" ”

I was going to casually agree, but then I thought that this observation post was facing the enemy's anti-aircraft artillery position, and although it was several kilometers away, no one knew whether it had been spotted by enemy artillery observers. If a group of our commanders were in a meeting here, they would have been hit by two shells. The command system of the troops is completely finished. Thinking of this, I shook my head and replied to him, "No, Comrade Division Commander. For the sake of safety, let the two of them go to your division headquarters, where we will hold an impromptu military meeting later. ”

Kirillov walked up to my side when Pantai Leev went to make a call, raised his binoculars and looked into the distance, and then said to me worriedly: "Comrade Oshanina, this anti-aircraft artillery position of the German army must be destroyed as much as possible. Without destroying them for a day, our troops will not be able to advance towards Zaporosh. ”

Seeing Kirillov's anxious look. I couldn't help but ask him curiously: "Comrade commissar, why do you think the Germans would deploy such an anti-aircraft artillery position to the west of the Kuban?" You must know that if our side has a strong force and perfect technical equipment, even if the Germans have twice as many anti-aircraft guns, we will be able to break through their defenses. ”

Kirillov thought for a while and tentatively analyzed: "Could it be that the enemy discovered our intention to attack Zaporosh, so he transferred anti-aircraft artillery units from other places to block our footsteps towards Zaporosh?" ”

"Comrade commissar, we have been fighting with the Germans here for a few days." I patiently explained to Kirillov: "Where our next offensive will be, I guess the Germans have already guessed very clearly. With this position alone, it is impossible to block our armored assault. I guess their intention in arranging this anti-aircraft artillery position was to slow down the advance of our troops, so that Manstein would have enough time to deploy his troops. ”

When Kirillov heard me say this, a relaxed expression appeared on his face, and he said disdainfully: "Even if Manstein is given a few days to dispatch troops, it will still not stop the advance of our large army, but it will only give those Germans who have been attacked by us a few more days to survive." According to the current progress of the war, in three to five days at most, the Germans will be driven across the Dnieper by us. ”

I did not agree with Kirillov's blind optimism, and as soon as he finished speaking, he expressed his opinion: "Comrade commissar, I don't think things are so simple. Some time ago, we were able to make a smooth progress because Manstein had his men abandon some towns on his own initiative, leaving us with troops to defend while occupying one town after another. As a result, our offensive forces gradually weakened after capturing a large number of towns. If Manstein was going to withdraw across the Dnieper with his troops, how could it be possible to improvise an anti-aircraft artillery unit and assume such a defensive posture on our path? ”

"Comrade Oshanina, do you mean that the Germans have set up a defensive formation in front of us in such an unusual way, is there some conspiracy they are trying to carry out?" Kirillov quickly understood what I was implicitly saying in my words, and said worriedly: "If this is the case, how shall we deal with it?" ”

"I don't know." After I said this sentence casually, I found that such a statement was a little inappropriate, and quickly corrected it: "I am just conjecture now, and there is no conclusive evidence yet." First, we can only make an accurate judgment after the scouts of the 22nd Guards Division have fed back the information they have reconnoitred. ”

We chatted a little longer, until Pandereev came and reported to me that the scouts for the mission had been arranged, and that Colonel Bere and Lieutenant Colonel Kaverin had come to the division headquarters for a meeting.

Half an hour later, our group returned to a sturdy building in the center of the city, which had been the office building of the city Soviet, and although the roof had been blown through, it did not affect the headquarters of Bandereev in the slightest.

Bere and Kaverin arrived before us, and when they saw us walk through the door, they quickly got up from their seats. Raise your hand and salute me. At the same time it was reported: "Comrade Army Commander. The commander of the tank brigade (artillery regiment) reports to you that we are ordered to move forward and wait for your instructions! ”

After raising my hand to return the salute, I shook hands with them and beckoned them to sit down: "Please be seated, Comrade Commander. We are about to convene a military conference to discuss what kind of actions our army should take in the next operation in order to disrupt the enemy's disposition. ”

Colonel Bere, who had re-seated, listened to me. He complained to me with a wry smile: "Comrade commander, my tank brigade has four battalions with a total of 110 tanks. In the previous battles, only five or six vehicles were lost, but this time, just a small battle for the capture of the Kuban and the advance to Zaporosh, I lost a battalion of tanks in vain. ”

"Comrade Colonel," I asked Bere, with a smile, after he had finished speaking, "what would you do if you were to command this offensive battle?" ”

"Do you need to talk about that?" Colonel Berey after hearing this question. After looking at me strangely, he said to himself, "Of course, it is to concentrate all the tanks and make a quick assault forward." And the infantry in trucks followed. As soon as the tanks broke through the German lines, our infantry could get off and occupy the trenches, widening the breach. ”

"Yes, Comrade Colonel, you have thought it through." In order not to attack Colonel Bere's affection, I followed his words and said: "This anti-aircraft artillery position of the German army has completely blocked our way forward. If you want to continue the rush to Zaporosh, you must first seize the enemy's positions. ”

After listening to my thoughts, Beray nodded seriously, and then asked: "Comrade Commander, do you have any new orders?" ”

"The current situation of the enemy is unknown, and we do not know anything except this anti-aircraft artillery position that the enemy has placed west of the Kuban." Although I also wanted to rush to Zaporosh as much as I could, I did not want to take risks lightly until I found out the enemy's situation, so I said to Bere in earnest: "Comrade Colonel, we must wait for the scouts to understand the enemy's troop disposition, and then adjust the offensive deployment in a targeted manner. ”

"Comrade Commander," Kaverin, who had not spoken all this time, finally mustered up the courage to ask, "I would like to ask, what is the mission of our artillery regiment?" Or is it to raise the necessary artillery support for the troops when they attack? ”

Instead of answering Kaverin's question, I diverted the topic and asked rhetorically: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, how many artillery pieces do you still have in your regiment and what is the ammunition situation?" ”

"Report to the corps, commander," Hearing me ask about the number of cannons and ammunition, Kaverin quickly straightened up and replied to me, "Our regiment now has 24 cannons left, and each cannon still has two bases. Speaking of this, he said to me with some embarrassment, "Comrade commander, I wonder when the ammunition that has been replenished to us will arrive?" You know, now this shell can only provide artillery support for infantry once at most. As soon as the shells ran out, we could only stand in the back and watch the excitement in the next battle. An artillery regiment without artillery is not as good as an infantry battalion. ”

"Regarding the artillery shells, I will contact the logistics department of the group army and ask them to transport the supplementary artillery shells as much as possible." After I had said these two sentences, I asked Kaverin with some embarrassment: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, if you have enough ammunition, can you destroy this anti-aircraft artillery position that is blocking our path?" ”

Hearing my question, Kaverin instinctively looked to the left and right, and then a proud expression appeared on his face. He confidently said to me: "Comrade commander, as long as there are enough shells, it is only a trivial matter to take out the antiaircraft artillery position on the opposite side. Those 88mm anti-aircraft guns, it is okay to hit planes in the sky or tanks running on the ground, but it is not qualified to compete with our cannons. ”

Kavirin's words caused a burst of laughter, and the atmosphere in the room lightened. At this time, a familiar voice came from the door: "Everyone is laughing so happily!" If there is anything good, tell me about it, and let me be happy and happy. ”

I looked in the direction from which the voice came and saw a commander in a military coat and a gray cylindrical leather hat appear at the door. In the dim light, I squinted for a long time before I recognized the person who had come in as Oberstein, the divisional commissar who had succeeded Kirillov.

Oberstein walked into the room, saw so many people, couldn't help but be stunned for a moment, and when he recognized me and Kirillov sitting at the table, he hurriedly stepped forward to us and raised his hand to salute us.

I raised my hand and returned the salute and asked with a smile, "Lieutenant Colonel Oberstein, how are you?" Long time no see, where did you just come back? ”

"Report to the corps commander," although Oberstein is now the political commissar of the division, in front of me, he still respectfully said: "I went around the regiments with the chief of staff, Lieutenant Colonel Ilya, to learn about the development of political and ideological work in the troops. ”

Listening to his answer, I nodded, casually pointed to an empty seat next to me, and said politely, "Please be seated, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." We are in a meeting to discuss how to break through the German positions and capture Zaporos as much as possible. I'd like to hear if you have any good builds. ”

Originally, I just asked casually out of politeness, but I didn't expect that after listening to it, Oberstein immediately got up from his seat, straightened his waist and replied: "Report to Comrade Commander, I have an idea, I don't know whether to say it or not?" ”

"Say, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." When I saw Oberstein get up from his seat, I remembered that although he was a political worker, he was quite a military talent, so I encouraged him in a friendly tone: "Tell everyone what you think, and let them evaluate whether it is feasible." ”

Oberstein agreed, and then began to express his opinion: "Comrade commander, I think that with the strength of the 22nd Guards Division, even if it breaks through the anti-aircraft artillery positions of the German army, it will be very difficult to occupy Zaporosh in a short time, and it may turn into a tug-of-war similar to that of Stalingrad. ”

"Why?" His statement immediately piqued my interest, so I couldn't help but interject and ask.

"After continuous battles and two divisions of the 22nd Guards Division, the existing strength has been greatly reduced." Oberstein did not hide his point of view, and said frankly: "With such troops and equipment, it is still difficult to capture a city like the Kuban, not to mention a city like Zaporosh, where an important command system of the German army is stationed, there will definitely be a heavy German garrison." The sacrifice of our entire division is a trivial matter, but if it affects the course of the entire campaign, then the consequences will be very severe. (To be continued......)