Vasilevsky was impressed by the alarm bell I had sounded, and he nodded, and then began to write down the pen and paper, while saying to himself: "...... The idea of defending first, then counterattacking, is not bad, and coincides with the ideas of Marshal Zhukov and me. ”

After he finished writing, he put the pen in his hand on the table, looked up and asked me: "Lida, if a fierce battle breaks out between our army and the Germans in the Kursk salient, what do you think will be the final outcome?" ”

Naturally, I knew better than anyone else the significance of the Battle of Kursk, but when I heard Vasilevsky ask, I did not answer immediately, but pretended to be thoughtful. After a long time, I replied: "Comrade Marshal, the end of the battle will undoubtedly be the final victory of our army. The German army's plan to regain the strategic initiative and attack Moscow again, after losing a large number of troops and weapons and equipment, will be completely crushed. I estimate that the Germans will no longer be able to launch a strategic offensive and will have to adopt a passive defensive strategy until they are finally and completely defeated. As for all the commanders and fighters of our army, because of this victory, the morale will be high, and a large-scale all-out offensive to recover the territory will be officially started. ”

After I finished speaking, Vasilevsky and Shumilov looked at each other and said to me with a smile: "Lida, I didn't expect you to be so optimistic about the future of this battle. ”

When Vasilevsky said this, I smiled but did not say anything, but I said in my heart: the historical Battle of Kursk lasted only more than 50 days, and the Soviet army won the final victory. Today, the Soviets are equipped with tanks that are ahead of their time, and it would be incredible if they could not defeat the Germans and shorten the course of the campaign.

Vasilevsky paused for a moment and asked Shumilov and me: "I say, comrade commander of the two armies, have you noticed anything unusual recently?" ”

Unusual situation? Vasilevsky's words made me ponder. I tried to think about whether anything special had happened recently, otherwise Vasilevsky would not have asked so suddenly. It's a pity that I thought about it for a long time, but I didn't come up with a reason, and in the end I could only honestly shake my head and answer: "I'm sorry, Comrade Marshal of the Soviet Union." I haven't really noticed anything special going on lately. ”

Vasilevsky, seeing that he could not get an answer from us, turned his eyes to Shumilov again, waiting for his answer. I saw Shumilov, who had been thinking about it just now, his brow suddenly relaxed, and a smile appeared on his face. He said carefully: "Comrade Vasilevsky, if I am not mistaken, the number of sorties of the German Air Force has decreased significantly lately. In the past, their planes often bombed the defensive positions we were building, or machine-gun fire on convoys, causing us dozens or even hundreds of casualties each time. But by the time our plane arrived, they had already fled. As soon as our plane left, they re-emerged. I don't know what's going on in the last few days, and it's rare to see enemy planes all day. ”

When Shumilov said this, I felt as if it was really the case. In the past, when I went to inspect defensive positions, I was repeatedly attacked by enemy planes. On one occasion, the roof of my car was even punched out of a row of holes by dive-strafing enemy aircraft. If we hadn't happened to have taken refuge in a nearby bomb shelter, I guess I would have died in Huangquan long ago.

I was thinking. Suddenly, I heard Vasilevsky ask me: "Leda, how is your situation there, have you been attacked by enemy planes recently?" ”

"No, Comrade Marshal of the Soviet Union, it has been rare to see enemy aircraft in my defense zone lately." After answering Vasilevsky's question, I couldn't help but ask the question in my mind: "What is going on?" ”

"What else could it be. Of course, it is the result of the initiative of our Air Force. Vasilevsky said with a smile: "It is precisely because of the brilliant results achieved by our Air Force and the elimination of a large number of German fighters that the number of enemy planes entering the Kursk region has been greatly reduced. ”

"Dear Alexander. Mikhailavic, tell us what the hell is going on. Vasilevsky's words not only intrigued me. It also made Shumilov excited, and he couldn't wait to ask: "How many German planes did our air force destroy?" ”

Before Vasilevsky could speak, there was a soft knock on the door, and then the door was pushed open from the outside, and the figure of the female ensign shook in the doorway and disappeared. I was about to ask Shumilov what was going on, when I saw the female lieutenant walking in with a tray and a smile.

She went to the table, put a cup of tea in front of Vasilevsky, and set a cup of tea on each of the tables near me and Shumilov, and then began to arrange the carefully prepared refreshments. Shumilov, after waiting for her to finish all this, waved his hand at her and ordered: "Comrade Ensign, you go out first, no one is allowed to come in without my orders." ”

The female lieutenant agreed, turned around and left Shumilov's office with the tray. Seeing that his subordinates reflexively closed the door, Shumilov urged Vasilevsky: "Okay, Comrade Vasilevsky, there are only three of us left here, you can say with confidence." ”

"As you all know, the reason why Manstein was able to turn defeat into victory in the Battle of Kharkov two months ago was entirely due to the fact that the field airfield that our army had just recovered could not be put into use, and the planes supporting the ground forces had to take off from a long distance, so the Germans occupied the initiative on the battlefield, causing us to lose the victory that was originally at our fingertips." Before describing the brilliant achievements of the Air Force, Vasilevsky first briefly reviewed the reasons why our army was unable to receive air support for a long time during the Kharkov Campaign, and then returned to the point and began to introduce to us the achievements of the Air Force.

"After the May Day parade, a fierce air battle broke out between our air force and the air force of Nazi Germany. While enemy planes were bombing and blockading our defense areas and transport lines, our air force was not idle, and they launched large-scale air raids on the headquarters of German units, communication hubs, and warehouses, and focused on sabotaging the main railway and road lines of the German army, causing problems with their logistical supply.

The commander of the Air Force, Comrade Novikov, on the orders of the High Command, and his subordinates worked out a plan for the offensive of air warfare. The purpose of the campaign was to carry out surprise attacks on the German airfields and annihilate the main forces of the German air force deployed in the Bryansk, Orel and Kharkov regions, so that our army could firmly grasp the air supremacy on the battlefield. According to the plan. Our army will assemble six air armies, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 15th, 16th, and 17th, to carry out surprise attacks on 26 airfields of the German army on the front. ”

The Battle of Kursk in my memory was basically a tank battle between the Soviet Union and Germany, and no one mentioned the performance of the air forces of both sides in this battle at all. With a teacup in my hand, I looked intently at Vasilevsky and quietly listened to him talk about the achievements of the Air Force.

“…… The air raids of our troops were carried out from 6 to 8 May. At 5:30 a.m. on the 6th, our army dispatched 112 bombers, 156 attack planes, and 166 fighters to simultaneously raid 17 German airfields on a 1,200-kilometer-long front.

Since the target of our first round of strikes was the German field airfield, there were no underground oil depots, ammunition depots, and aircraft hangars. Mountains of ammunition and fuel. They are all placed separately near the runway and the tarmac to facilitate the refueling of the aircraft.

When our pilots spotted the airport full of parked planes and a mountain of ammunition and gasoline drums nearby, they swooped down from a high altitude and dropped the bombs they were carrying. As bombs exploded one after another between ammunition and gasoline barrels, the entire airport was turned into a sea of fire. The flaming gasoline barrels turned into incendiary bombs, which were swept in all directions by the blast of air and smashed into the planes at the airport. to the end. All the planes were reduced to wreckage, and the outbuildings of the airport were also flattened in the fire and explosion. The airfield was littered with charred corpses of German soldiers.

Some airfields, which were not under air strikes, were alerted and sent fighter jets to intercept our fleets. The enemy and the enemy were evenly matched, and in the ensuing fierce air battle, 21 aircraft were lost each, and as many as 194 aircraft were destroyed on the ground.

Fifteen p.m. on the same day. Our army continued its efforts and launched a second air raid, dispatching 372 aircraft and attacking 20 airfields of the German army. This time, the Germans, who had suffered losses, were ready to defend, except for the anti-aircraft guns and anti-aircraft machine guns in the airfield that were put into combat readiness. There are also quite a few fighter jets patrolling in the air.

Our valiant pilots, bravely breaking through the defensive network of German fighters and ground anti-aircraft fire, carried out a surprise attack on the designated target, destroying 134 enemy aircraft parked on the airfield. And in the air battle, our troops shot down 24 German fighters, and lost 46 aircraft themselves.

In the early morning of the 7th, our army launched a third air raid, dispatching a total of 405 planes to carry out surprise attacks on 22 German airfields that were still in use. After fierce air battles, 29 enemy aircraft were shot down, 48 of their own losses were lost, and 93 enemy aircraft were destroyed at the airfield.

In the face of the intensive raid tactics of our troops, the Germans were forced to move a large number of aircraft to the rear, and the bombers who remained near the front line were also evacuated and camouflaged urgently, and more fighters were brought in to deal with our bomber groups.

On the 8th, our fourth air raid, a total of 181 aircraft were sorted, and the bombing of the airfield did not yield any results due to the excellent preparation of the German troops. In air battles, our troops, while losing 8 aircraft, shot down 6 German fighters.

Seeing that the tactics of the raid would continue and that they would not achieve much success, Marshal Zhukov and I, after receiving a report from General Novikov, decisively ordered the temporary suspension of air strikes on German airfields.

In this campaign launched by the Air Force, our army flew a total of 1,392 sorties, destroyed 372 planes on German airfields, and damaged 51 aircraft. In air battles, our troops shot down 67 German planes and damaged 10. The Germans lost a total of 501 aircraft, while our army lost 122 aircraft successively. ”

Shumilov waited for Vasilevsky to finish speaking, picked up the cup and drank water, and then said: "Comrade Chief of the General Staff, I knew General Novikov during the Battle of Stalingrad. After Paulus's troops were surrounded by our troops, whenever the weather improved, he sent aviation units to cover the rapid corps of the ground attack, to destroy the German ground forces and technical equipment, and also to conduct aerial reconnaissance, raid enemy airfields, and deliver supplies to the troops of Chuikov's 62nd Army. It is precisely because of their heroism that we were able to achieve the final victory in the siege of Paulus. ”

The heroic performance of the Air Force commanders and fighters made me feel that my eyes were bright. However, what I am concerned about at present is not the air supremacy of the battlefield, but the equipment of the troops, and with the existing equipment, it is very difficult to block the German attack. So after both of them had finished speaking, I tentatively asked Vasilevsky: "Comrade Marshal of the Soviet Union, I want to ask you something, I don't know whether to ask or not?" ”

Vasilevsky smiled and waved his hand, and said amiably: "Lida, just say something." You and I are so familiar, do you still need to be so polite when you speak! ”

I put the teacup on the table, stood up, straightened my body and put my fingers on the seam of my trousers, and said with a serious expression: "Comrade Chief of the General Staff, I would like to ask my superiors when they can change the clothes of our group army?" ”

As soon as I had said this, I saw Vasilevsky raise his well-defined eyebrows slightly, look at me in bewilderment, and then turn his gaze to Shumilov.

"Comrade Chief of the General Staff," Shumilov saw Vasilevsky looking at him, quickly got up from his chair and, like me, addressed each other by title: "I think that it may be that not only Lida's army, but also all the units of the Voronezh Front, have not completed the redressing. For example, my group army was supposed to complete the refitting of all the guards divisions on May 10, but today it is the 20th, and there is not even a shadow of new equipment. ”

Vasilevsky restrained the smile on his face, got up from his seat, and walked back and forth in the office with his hands behind his back. After a while, he stopped, looked at us and asked sternly: "Do you know what is the monthly production of the new rifles and tanks that are about to be reequipped for the troops?" ”

Hearing Vasilevsky's question, Shumilov and I looked at each other, and we both saw in each other's eyes that we were dazed and puzzled. After we shook our heads together and said that we did not know, Shumilov muttered: "Comrade Chief of the General Staff, these production data are absolutely confidential and cannot be known at our level. ”

Vasilevsky smiled bitterly, and then said: "Okay, comrades of the two army commanders, I will not keep this matter secret from you. In the first twenty days of May, the production of Kalashnikov rifles was seventy thousand; And the production of new tanks is one hundred and seventy units. Speaking of this, he couldn't help but shake his head and said to himself, "Although the number of Kalashnikov rifles produced seems quite large, according to the judgment of the Supreme Command, Kursk will be attacked by the Germans from the Orel region, so the new equipment produced should be prioritized to replenish Rokossovsky's troops." Do you know how many troops the Central Front has? ”

"How much?" Shumilov asked casually.

"700,000," Vasilevsky opened the palm of his left hand, stretched out two fingers of his right hand, and said with an exaggerated expression, "There are 700,000 people." According to the plan of the High Command, the new equipment must be equipped with them before it can be the turn of the troops located in other secondary areas. At the current pace, you'll have to wait until November at the earliest to start your outfit change. ”

Vasilevsky's words left me speechless, "November, November," my temples were pounding, and my heart was numb thinking: "If I really have to wait until that time to change my clothes, there is no point in it, you must know that my defense area will be attacked by the German army in early July, can I still not change the established history, in order to block the onslaught of the German army, can I only fill it with countless lives?" (To be continued.) )

PS: Heartfelt thanks to the book friends for the six monthly passes and 50,000 coins of the most powerful army children's shoes!