It is quite easy to give orders to subordinate troops. But when the troops were mobilized, something unexpected happened. The commanders and fighters of the 308th Division, which was stationed in Volnovaha City, were stationed in the surrounding villages in companies or battalions. Since the communications equipment was only equipped at the battalion level, Gurtiev had to send a large number of personnel, on motorcycles or trucks, to convey the departure order to the companies that did not have communication equipment.

At noon the next day, when the 22nd Guards Division, the Tank Brigade, the Artillery Regiment and the 171st Infantry Division had all moved to the designated locations, Gurdiev's troops had not yet completed their assembly.

After reading the telegram sent by Akhromeyev, Vitkov was so angry that he took off his military hat on his head, slammed it on the table, and said with a curse in his mouth: "Hell, what the hell does this Gurdiev want to do? The order to open was issued last night, but now more than ten hours have passed, and their division has not yet been assembled. If he misses the plane, isn't he afraid of going to court-martial? ”

I stared at the map on the table, quietly considering all possible scenarios, and when Vitkov had finished speaking, I called Akhromeyev to him and instructed him: "Major, you go and send a telegram to General Gurdiev, asking him to immediately lead the assembled troops to the designated place, leaving the commissar Lieutenant Colonel Sverin to continue the build-up of troops." At this point, I lowered my voice, as if talking to myself and wanting to say to everyone: "Although the distance from Volnovaha City to Poloy is not far in a straight line, the speed of the troops' march will be greatly affected by such heavy snow. And on the way, there were three towns occupied by the Germans. Don't talk about capturing Poloi until it gets dark. Even being able to get there is a question. ”

Vitkov waited for Akhromeyev to leave. He put the military hat on the table back on his head, sat down at the table again, and asked me: "Comrade commander, this will not work, if the 308th Division is delayed for too long, then the defenders of Poloi will take the opportunity to strengthen their defenses and make our siege more difficult. If Manstein had drawn reinforcements from elsewhere to reinforce the Kuban garrison. Then our next battle will not be easy to fight. ”

"Yes, Comrade Oshanina." Kirillov also helped, "From the time your new order is issued, it will take an hour at the fastest to set off from Gurdiev's 308th Division, and with the delay on the road, it will not be possible to complete the plan to capture Poloy City before dark." Do you think that after the 22nd Guards Division has captured Huli Ebol, let General Bandereev send troops south to attack Poloy? ”

Although because of the Akhromeyev and Pugachev affair, I have a grudge against Bandereev. However, in the current situation, this division is still the most combat-effective unit of our army. With the ability to fight continuously, otherwise Kirillov would not have deliberately proposed such a proposal to me.

I stared at the map for a long time without saying a word, and felt that although Kirillov's proposal made some sense, if it was really implemented, it might not be as easy as we imagined. Although the Germans had only one company of troops in both Huli and Boloy, if we did not attack both cities at the same time as planned, and make Manstein vigilant, the rest of the battle would not be easy.

I thought about it for a long time, and finally made a difficult decision. I raised my head and said to Vitkov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, send a telegram to General Pandereev that the new 3rd Regiment of Major Godunov will turn south and seize the city of Poloy with the cooperation of Major Perstian's tank battalion. "Although I know that it is taboo to divide my forces before the battle begins, I can only take this risk in order to occupy and consolidate our starting position as much as possible.

"What about after the capture of Poloi?" After listening to me, Vitkov immediately asked with concern: "Let the new third regiment stay in the city to be responsible for defense?" ”

"The New Third Regiment is composed of a battalion of assault engineers with strong combat effectiveness, and their specialty is to attack cities and seize land rather than passive defense." I immediately and without hesitation rebuffed Vitkov's suggestion: "Except for leaving a company in the city to wait for the troops of the 308th Division to take over, the main forces of the regiment and the tank battalion continue to move south, looking for suitable areas to form battle formations, and to guard against German armored forces that may come from Tokmak." ”

In the evening, reports from the front came back one after another. Since our main direction of attack was the cities of Huli Eborough and Poloi, the reconnaissance was also mainly concentrated in these two directions. Unexpectedly, in the process of advancing towards Boloy City, the 308th Division encountered a surprise attack by those small German troops stationed in the town. After the troops were hit, the entire marching column was disrupted, and the commander could not organize an effective counterattack in a short time, only to watch the Germans bite us fiercely and calmly withdraw from the battle.

In four hours, the 308th Division exchanged fire with small German units seventeen times, killing 29 German officers and men, while our side suffered 315 casualties. When I saw such a war report, I was so angry that I slammed the telegram on the table, resisted the urge to curse, and walked back and forth in the room with my hands behind my back.

"Comrade Commander," Pugachev's voice suddenly came from the door, and I stopped and turned my head to look in the direction from which the voice came, only to see the newly promoted chief of operations walking in with a happy face. Seeing that I had noticed him, he waved a piece of paper in his hand at me and said to me in a loud voice: "Good news, Comrade Commander. Major Godunov sent a telegram saying that his new third regiment had succeeded in capturing the city of Poloy, and that all the defenders in the city had been cleared. ”

When I took the telegram from his hand, I casually asked: "What is the situation with General Bandereev?" Has the city of Huli Abres been captured? "Thinking that the strength of one regiment of Godunov can easily capture the city of Poloy, then the troops led by Bandereev, consisting of the 1st and 2nd regiments, plus tank brigades and artillery regiments, will occupy the city of Huli and Ebol.

Unexpectedly, after listening to my question, Pugachev slowly shook his head and replied: "According to the latest battle report, the city of Huli Eborough is still in fierce fighting. The Germans at noon today. Two companies have just been reinforced. And our scouts did not detect this in time, so that the current battle is in a stalemate. ”

Hearing this unexpected news, I just sighed, and did not blame Captain Travkin in the slightest, after all, their reconnaissance area was too large, and it was entirely possible that such a small-scale transfer of the German troops was in their reconnaissance blind spot. Glancing at the telegram, I handed it to Vitkov, who was standing next to me. Then he asked Pugachev: "Major, where has Colonel Andreushchenko's 171st Division arrived at the moment?" ”

"Report to the commander that they have reached the northeast of the city of Huli Aborough and are standing by in place." Pugachev knew that I would not suddenly ask where a unit was and that I would definitely have my own considerations, so after reporting on the whereabouts of the 171st Division, he asked curiously: "Do you have a new arrangement for them?" ”

"Major Pugachev, since they are not far from the city of Poloy, then you go and send a report to Colonel Andryushchenko. Let him immediately lead his troops south to take over the defense of the city of Boloy. "Speaking of which. I felt as if I was a little indifferent to Gurdiev's 308th Division, and continued. "After the defense is completed, let the colonel transfer the 149th Infantry Regiment to the 308th Division."

Looking at Pugachev's departing back, Vitkov said with emotion beside him: "Comrade army commander, in this way, maybe the deployment positions of each division will have to be readjusted. ”

I nodded and said affirmatively: "Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, that's for sure." Let the 171st Division and the 308th Division swap defensive grounds. As for the 22nd Guards Division, regardless of whether or not the city of Huli Abora can be captured tonight, it will have to launch an attack on the city of Kuban tomorrow. ”

"Understood." Hearing me say this, Vitkov immediately understood and said: "I will do my best to give your orders to the troops." He raised the telegram I had just handed him, and added: "Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar's Fourth Regiment, having cleared the remnants of the German army at Fleda, left a company to defend, and the main force of the regiment also set out overnight for the city of Huli Ebol. ”

The battle of the Pandereev division to attack the city of Huli Aborough ended at two o'clock in the morning, and with the exception of a few German troops who escaped, the remaining defenders were either killed or captured alive. Bandereev sent a telegram asking me for instructions that the troops were too tired and should they rest for a day or two before launching an attack on the Kuban?

After reading it, I handed the telegram to Kirillov and asked noncommittally: "Comrade commissar, what do you think about General Pandereev's request to postpone the attack on the city of Kuban for a day or two?" ”

"No, resolutely not." Without thinking, Kirillov raised his objections and said angrily: "Tonight's battle, due to the unexpected reinforcement of the enemy, has caused great losses to our troops. If we rest in our existing positions for a day or two, it will be tantamount to giving the German troops in the Kuban and Zaporos time to set up defenses, which will be quite detrimental to our next battle. I immediately sent a telegram to Pantai Leev, informing him that the original order would not change, and that the 22nd Guards Division must launch an attack on the Kuban tomorrow morning. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," I saw that Vitkov was still standing in a daze after listening to Kirillov's words, and said to him bluntly: "immediately send a telegram to General Pandereev saying that his request has been rejected." The original offensive plan remained unchanged, and the 22nd Guards Division had to launch an offensive against the Kuban tomorrow morning. ”

At daylight on 13 February, the 308th Infantry Division, after a night of fierce fighting, finally arrived at a new station, the city of Huli Aber, where they were to rest and cover the right flank of the 22nd Guards Division, which was attacking the Kuban.

Having heard the news that the 22nd Guards Division had launched an offensive to the Kuban, I asked Akhromeyev: "Comrade Major, how is the situation in the city of Poloy?" ”

Akhromeyev, as chief of staff and chief of intelligence, was already familiar with these situations, and at this moment, when he heard my question, he hurriedly stepped forward and reported to me: "Comrade commander, the city of Poloy and the surrounding villages and towns are under the control of Andreushchenko's 171st Division. ”

"What about Major Godunov's third regiment, and Captain Travkin's reconnaissance unit?" I then asked.

"Report to the commander of the army, the confluence of Major Godunov's troops and Travkin's reconnaissance troops, in order to create favorable conditions for the organization of the defense of Zào and to prevent a possible surprise attack by the Germans on the city of Boloy. Godunov sent two powerful reconnaissance detachments in the direction of Tokmak. ”

"Two powerful reconnaissance detachments?" When Vitkov heard this, he couldn't help but ask curiously: "Comrade Major, I would like to hear what kind of detachment they are, can they hold back the attack of the German armored forces?" ”

Akhromeyev turned to Vitkov and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, two reconnaissance detachments sent by Major Godunov, one consisting of 10 tanks and an infantry company on tanks, commanded by Captain Travkin; The other consisted of 8 tanks and an infantry company and was commanded by Major Persten. ”

"So Godunov split the tank battalion of Major Perstian." Hearing this, Kirillov said: "Comrade Army Commander, I think Major Godunov's arrangement is very correct, you must know that what he commands is an assault engineer with strong combat effectiveness, and the combat effectiveness far exceeds that of ordinary combat units. It was up to them to stop a possible surprise attack by the Germans, which I thought was appropriate. ”

I nodded approvingly to Kirillov's statement, and added: "Major Godunov's arrangement is suitable, but the rest of his troops cannot remain where they are, and they should look for suitable locations to build fortifications." You must know that if Tokmak's German armored forces were really dispatched, it would be very difficult to hold off the enemy with only two reconnaissance detachments sent. At this point, I looked at Akhromeyev and said, "Major, go and give my latest order to Major Godunov at once." ”

After Akhromeyev left, my eyes were fixed on the map, and I said to the remaining people: "I have sent troops to cover the left and right flanks of the Pandereev division, so that they can attack the Kuban city without any scruples." "Although I said it lightly, I was still nervous about whether Bantai Leev would be able to take the Kuban smoothly.

"Comrade commander, don't worry." Perhaps seeing that I still had scruples about this battle, Vitkov unexpectedly comforted me and said: "With the combat effectiveness of the 22nd Guards Division, coupled with the cooperation of tank brigades and artillery regiments, there will be no problem in capturing the Kuban." (To be continued......)