After finishing the call with Akhromeyev, I was about to call Bandeleyev and ask about the situation of the battle by the river, but the operator turned around and shouted at me: "Comrade commander, the commander of the army group is on the line, and he wants to talk to you." ”

I cursed in my heart, put the microphone I had just picked up back on the phone base, and walked towards the intercom. Although I was extremely dissatisfied with Kharitonov's phone call at such a time, which affected my command of the troops, I tried to say in a polite tone when speaking into the microphone: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am Oshanina, what instructions do you have?" ”

"Comrade Oshanina, how is your situation there?" Kharytonov asked in a polite tone: "Have you found any traces of German troops near Zaporosh?" ”

Hearing him ask this, I couldn't help but chuckle in my heart, saying that we are now surrounded by German troops on all sides, and our troops are already stretched, and your old man will not transfer my troops at such a time, right? In that case, it will make matters worse, and the battle that had a chance to win will also be completely defeated because the living forces are transferred.

Without waiting for me to speak, he continued: "According to reports from the front, the numbers of the 48th and 57th Panzer Corps under the 4th Panzer Army have been found among the German units that are attacking our troops. Judging by the direction of their offensive, they were intending to join the SS Panzer Corps wedged into the defense zone of our army group. Comrade Oshanina, our current situation is very bad, and as soon as the German troops are united, the whole army group is in danger of being encircled, so I would like to transfer a division from Zaporosh. Attack from the rear of the German 'Reich divisions'. Hold back the German forces. ”

When my conjecture was confirmed. My heart was half of the conversation, and my heart said that your old man really dares to speak, I have a total of three divisions, and they are all fighting with the Germans, which division do you want me to send out to reinforce you? Besides, you promised me that you would send troops to take over the defense of the towns from which our troops had withdrawn, and now it seems that there is no hope of it.

I was thinking about how to reply to him. He was already a little impatient to urge me: "Comrade Oshanina, now that the situation is critical, which division are you going to send reinforcements?" ”

At present, Zaporosh is fighting with the Germans all around, but Khalitonov obviously does not know about this situation, otherwise he would not have given such an order for the transfer of troops. By this time the three divisions in my hands had exchanged fire with the Germans in several directions at the same time, and it would have been impossible to transfer any of their troops away. Thinking of this, I knew that I would offend Khalitonov by refusing his order to transfer troops at this time. He was even in danger of going to court-martials for disobedience in the future, but he still rejected him stubbornly: "I'm sorry." Comrade commander of the army group, I think I can't carry out your orders! ”

"What, what did you say?" Khalidonov obviously did not expect me to reply like this, and asked loudly in a tone of disbelief: "If I heard me correctly, you are saying that you cannot carry out the order I gave to transfer troops." ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander, I can't send troops to support you." In order to prevent Khalitonov from going crazy on the phone and directly dismissing my post, I hurriedly said in one breath: "The German army is currently concentrating superior forces and is attacking Zaporosh from four directions at the same time, and all my forces are pinned down, and there is simply no extra force to be withdrawn. ”

"What, the Germans are attacking Zaporosh?" My words once again surprised Khalidonov, who asked in a skeptical tone: "Are you sure that the Germans are attacking Zaporosh with all their might, and not launching a feint to contain your forces in order to prevent you from coming to our aid?" ”

"Comrade Commander," I can understand in my heart Kharidonov's suspicions. If any of my commanders said what I had just said at a time when I needed troops, I would have doubts about the veracity of what he said. So I was extremely cautious in answering Kharidonov's question: "I have just contacted the commanders at the front and basically figured out the number of the German troops attacking Zaporosh. To the south is the German 'Skeleton Division' and to the east is part of the 'Reich Division'. The Germans, who had withdrawn with Manstein to the other side of the Dnieper, were also bombarding our positions along the river with artillery fire, and it was estimated that as soon as the artillery fire stopped, their infantry would rush over the frozen river. ”

"The situation in Zaporosh is already so bad?" Although I tried to report the situation to Khalidonov truthfully, there was always a hint of doubt in his tone: "Are you sure that the Germans are really attacking, and not a feint to disguise their true strategic intentions?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander." From Khalitonov's voice, I could sense his distrust of me, but this was not the time to deal with him, so I could only say to him patiently: "I can assure you that this German attack is not a feint, but an attack that they have been preparing for a long time. The Germans deliberately abandoned Zaporosh and also gave way to the city to our troops. As soon as our troops entered the city, they immediately surrounded them from all sides, trying to take advantage of the easy and difficult terrain to attack and defend here, and annihilate all our troops in the city. ”

After listening to my words this time, Khalitonov was silent for a long time, and finally said slowly: "Comrade Oshanina, if the situation is really as you say, then my order just now is revoked, and I order you to concentrate your forces on the defense, and Zaporosh must not fall into the hands of the Germans again." ”

"Comrade Commander," I was afraid that he would be too optimistic about the situation before him, and deliberately gave him a vaccination: "The Germans far outnumbered us in terms of strength and armament, and coupled with our difficulties in supplying ammunition, in this case, we would have very limited time to hold out. ”

"Comrade Oshanina," said Khalitonov, hearing my pessimistic tone, sternly: "Although the Germans seem to have the upper hand in these two days, don't forget that on the territory of Ukraine, our troops are several times more numerous than theirs, and we will fight him even if we are five against one." There will still be wealth. So you have to have the consciousness of turning Zaporosh into a second 'Stalingrad'. Fight the Germans here. Wait until our main forces arrive and encircle and annihilate the Germans under the city. ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." I was now anxious to find out what was going on with Bandeleyev, so I had to vaguely promise Kharytonov and assure him: "As long as we do not receive an order from our superiors to retreat, our 79th Infantry Corps will fight heroically in Zaporosh to the last man." ”

"Comrade Oshanina, this attitude of yours is right." Hearing my statement, Khalidonov's tone was noticeably more relaxed. He then added, "You don't have to worry, three days at most." The troops of our Southwestern Front and the Voronezh Front will be able to reach the perimeter of Zaporosh and encircle all the German troops besieging the city. I await the news of your victory, and finally say one last word to you: good luck! ”

I put down my headphones and microphone, turned my head and asked Vitkov, who was standing in front of the table: "Comrade Chief of Staff, have you contacted Bantai Leyev?" "That's why I asked because when I was talking to Kharidonov just now, I heard Vitkov seem to be on the phone.

"I asked, Comrade Commander." Vitkov heard me ask. Immediately replied: "The artillery shelling of the positions by the Germans on the river has ended, and at the moment their infantry is under the cover of mortars and machine guns." Rushing towards the city from the ice, the commanders and fighters of the 1st and 4th regiments were stubbornly resisting. ”

"What about the damage to buildings in the city?" I thought that if the Germans stormed the city, it would be time for street fighting, so the next thing I wanted to know was the damage to the buildings in the city.

After listening to my question, Vitkov actually shook his head and replied: "Report to Comrade Commander, the German artillery fire only destroyed part of the buildings along the river, and the buildings in the city were not damaged in any way. Seeing my puzzled look, he analyzed it for me and said, "I guess Manstein probably still wants to use this city as his headquarters, so he ordered the artillery not to shell the city, in case the city is too bad." ”

"Is this possible, Comrade Chief of Staff?" After listening to Vitkov's explanation, Kirillov asked with doubts: "If the Germans don't shell the city, aren't they afraid that we will use the buildings to turn this place into an impregnable fortress?" ”

"Comrade Commissar," in a matter of moments, I figured out Manstein's intentions in doing so, for this is no better than Stalingrad, and our troops, surrounded on all sides, no matter how tenacious they may be, will soon be in a situation of running out of ammunition and food. He didn't destroy the city, probably because he wanted to wait for the pontoon bridge to be repaired, so that the tanks that rushed into the city would not be affected by the masonry and rubble everywhere. So, I explained my speculation to Kirillov: "If the city is not destroyed, no matter which direction their tanks rush into the city, they will not be affected by the rubble everywhere, and they can pose a greater threat to our army." ”

By noon, several German attacks from across the Dnieper were repulsed by our commanders and fighters guarding the river. After receiving a report from Bandeleyev, I picked up the assault rifle I had put aside, put it on my shoulder, and said to Kirillov and Vitkov: "Commissar, chief of staff, I'll go to the river and have a look, and I'll leave it to you." ”

When Kirillov heard that I was going to be in danger again, he quickly got up from his seat and stopped me: "Comrade Oshanina, don't forget it, you are the supreme commander of our army, how can you casually go to the front line of danger?" ”

I wanted to go to the frontier, but it wasn't a whim. In addition to wanting to know the real situation at the front, I also hope that when I appear on the position, it will have a morale-boosting effect. Therefore, I just shook my head at Kirillov's dissuasion, and then said resolutely: "Thank you, Comrade Commissar, for your kindness. It is at this dangerous moment that I should go to the front line and talk to the commanders and fighters who are participating in the battle to boost their morale. ”

Kirillov knew my character very well and knew that once I decided on something, no matter what he said, I would not change my mind, so I had to nod my head and said helplessly: "Well, Comrade Oshanina, since you have decided to go to the front, then I will not stop you. Speaking of this, he raised his hand to stop Vitkov, who wanted to speak, and beckoned to Yushchenko, who was standing at the door, and when he came to him, he specially told him, "Comrade Captain, you will lead someone to protect the safety of the commander." You have to assure me that even if you all die, you will ensure the safety of your comrade commander. Can it be done? ”

"Please rest assured!" Yushchenko glanced at me, straightened his back and replied loudly: "As long as there is only one person left, we will never let Comrade Commander hurt a single hair." ”

More than half an hour later, our group came to the forward position of a group of riversides. There were more than a dozen trenches far from the river, which had been blown up by German shells, and there were craters everywhere. Many craters are full of empty soil, and as soon as you step on it, you immediately sink down, and if it weren't for Yushchenko's timely pull on me, I don't know how many falls I would have fallen.

After walking a little further along the dilapidated trench, several soldiers who were sitting in the trench smoking in front of us noticed us, and immediately got up from the ground and stood straight in the trench.

As soon as I walked over, I heard a familiar voice: "Hello, Comrade Commander, welcome to our inspection. ”

I looked in the direction from which the voice came, and saw Sergeant Adir, who I was familiar with, standing among several soldiers, and hurriedly took two steps forward, walked in front of him, and took the initiative to extend his hand to him. When I shook hands, I asked curiously, "Sergeant Adil, I remember that you are a scout, how did you run into the trenches to be an infantryman?" ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Adil respectfully reported to me: "The regimental commander said that our current task is to carry out defense, so there is no reconnaissance mission for the time being, so I signed up to participate in the battle at the forward position. ”

I looked at the battle-hardened soldier in front of me and asked curiously, "Is it to serve as a squad leader?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander. When I first arrived, I was the class leader. The order given to us by our superiors was simple, that is, no matter what the price was, we must hold our positions and never let Dekou cross the river. As he spoke, he pointed to the frozen river and continued: "The Germans rushed in droves from the ice, and when they approached our position, we opened fire with all our firepower, knocking the Germans down in pieces. You see, comrade commander, the Germans threw at least two hundred corpses in front of our positions. ”

The ice was littered with German corpses, and the closer you got to the trenches, the more corpses there were, and I could believe how stubbornly Adil and the others were holding back the rushing enemy. I nodded in satisfaction, then patted Adil on the shoulder and promised him, "Comrade Sergeant, as soon as this battle is over, you will be promoted to platoon commander, and I will personally inquire into this matter." ”

As soon as I said this myself, Sergeant Adil would have thanked me gratitiously at once. Unexpectedly, after listening to this, he was silent for a moment before he said to me: "Comrade commander, I am now ...... Right now...... Already...... It's already a platoon commander! (To be continued......)

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