Faced with the nervousness of Vitkov and Kirillov, the panic of Pugachev, I tried to maintain the last composure and asked in a calm tone: "Comrade Major, are the commanders and fighters on the current positions still fighting?" ”

Pugachev didn't know why I asked, but he nodded vigorously and said with certainty: "Yes, Comrade Commander, although the enemy has broken through into our positions, our commanders and fighters are still fighting stubbornly. As long as there is one person left, they will definitely not take half a step back. ”

As soon as Vitkov and Pugachev finished speaking, he immediately couldn't wait to say to us: "Comrade commander, the German 11th Panzer Division is far stronger than our army in terms of combat effectiveness and equipment. Since they can easily defeat one of our tank corps, the defensive line set up by Major Akhromeyev will soon be broken through. ”

After listening to his words, I asked noncommittally: "In that case, Comrade Chief of Staff, what measures do you intend to take to resist the German offensive?" ”

"Immediately transfer the 115th Regiment of the 171st Division to reinforce the first echelon in the southern suburbs," for the defense of the southern suburbs of Poloy City, Vitkov may have considered it carefully, and when he heard my question at this moment, he immediately said without hesitation: "The 124th Regiment was also transferred south at the same time to build a second line of defense in the rear of the first echelon, leaving only the headquarters of the 171st Division and the 149th Regiment in the city, responsible for the defense of the city. ”

In mind, Vitkov's arrangement was decent and well suited to the current defensive battle. So I didn't raise any objections and said directly to Pugachev: "Major, record the order." The 115th and 124th regiments were ordered to move immediately to the southern outskirts. The 124th Regiment constructed new fortifications five kilometers south of the city. Be prepared to resist the onslaught of German armored forces. And the 115th regiment after the first echelon repelled the German attack. Immediately switch guards with the Godunov regiment. ”

"Change of guard?!" Pugachev, who was recording the order, heard me say the word. I couldn't help but stop and asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, are you talking about the 115th Regiment and the Godunov Regiment changing guards?" ”

"Yes, when the German attack is repulsed, let their two regiments hurry up and change defenses." I was deeply afraid that Pugachev would not fully understand what I meant, and I made a point of emphasizing: "The troops after the change of defense will be under the unified command of Major Akhromeyev. ”

"Comrade Commander, I don't understand why you made such a decision." Vitkov next to him couldn't help it. He asked in surprise: "Don't you know that changing guards on the battlefield will cause unnecessary chaos?" ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff." I turned my head to look at him and said, "The reason why I made the decision to change the defense is because the troops holding the defensive line at the moment are the assault engineer battalion assigned to us by the former 62nd Army Command. They are good at attacking rather than defending, and instead of putting them in positions for nothing, it is better to withdraw them and let them play a greater role in the next battle in the Kuban or Zaporosh. As for the 115th regiment, it was different, they learned how to defend during the battle for Stalingrad. It was only fitting to replace this well-defended unit with the attack of the 11th Panzer Division. ”

After listening to my somewhat far-fetched explanation. Vitkov no longer insisted on his opinion, waved at Pugachev, and ordered: "Comrade Major, immediately convey the order of the army commander." ”

When Pugachev returned to the telecommunications room, Kirillov, who had never spoken, asked me worriedly: "Comrade Oshanina, you must know that the 11th Panzer Division is the elite of the German army, and they once inflicted heavy damage on our 1st Tank Army in two weeks with 50 tanks. Do you really think that our defensive line will be able to hold off the onslaught of the Germans? ”

Although I am now like fifteen buckets of water, I still replied stubbornly: "Comrade Political Commissar, I believe in the command ability of Major Akhromeyev, and he will not be left without a back in the face of the surprise attack of the German tank troops. Let's just sit here and wait for the news, and I'm sure it won't be long before good news comes. ”

"Comrade Commander," I turned my head to look in the direction from which the voice came, and saw the telegraph operator standing in front of the walkie-talkie with a nervous expression, still holding a headset and a microphone in his hand, and seeing that I had noticed him, he quickly raised his voice and said to me: "The commander wants to talk to you." ”

I walked briskly towards the operator, and at the same time thought to myself: Khalidonov had just spoken to me not long ago, why did he have to talk to me again so quickly, did he know about the precarious situation in the southern suburbs?

As I took something from the operator, he suddenly lowered his voice and said to me, "It's the commander of the front." ”

When I heard that the person who called me was not Kharidonov, but the commander of the front, Vatutin, I couldn't help but shudder, and said in my heart what such a big leader called me for, did he come to Xingshi to ask for sin? I put on my headphones and said to the microphone: "Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front, I am Oshanina, what instructions do you have!" As soon as I spoke, I noticed that my voice was a little hoarse because of nervousness.

"Hello, Comrade Oshanina." From the headset came Vatutin's loud voice: "I heard General Khalidonov report that your army made a decisive attack and succeeded in taking Huli Abol and Poloy, which is only one step away from the city of Kuban. Once you succeed in capturing the Kuban, you can pose a threat to the Manstein command in Zaporosh. How's that, are there any difficulties now? ”

Since he asked us what difficulties we had, I would not pretend to be polite, but said straight to the point: "Comrade commander, the number of artillery and tanks in our army is very small, and it is okay to deal with the enemy's infantry division, but if we encounter the enemy's armored division, we will be at a disadvantage in equipment. In addition, we have no air support, and once we encounter the enemy's air force, we can only be in a passive situation. ”

After hearing what I said, Vatutin smiled and said, "Comrade Oshanina, you really have a lot of difficulties. But I can't help you right now. You must know that the other troops are both in strength and equipment. I can't compare to you. I believe that even with the existing equipment and troops. Without the support of friendly forces, you will not have a problem taking Zaporosh. After all, your army now has more than 20,000 people, accounting for one-third of the total strength of the entire 6th Army, and it is also the strongest one-third. Such a force, no matter where it is placed, has the potential to have a decisive impact on the entire battle situation. ”

When I learned from Vatutin's words that we could not get any support from our superiors, I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, thinking of the battlefield in the southern suburbs, where the battle was raging. I complained to Vatutin: "Comrade Commander of the Front, the flank of our army is currently being attacked by the German 11th Panzer Division, and according to the latest battle reports, enemy tanks have broken through into our defensive positions. The entire line of defense was in danger of being broken by the Germans at any time, and once the Germans opened the breach, then their tanks could rush directly under the city of Boloi. Once our main forces are entangled in the German panzer divisions, I think we may not be able to draw enough forces to capture the Kuban and threaten Zaporosh. ”

After listening to my words, Vatutin. There was a long silence, just when I was worried about whether I had provoked him. He finally spoke: "I know the German 11th Panzer Division, which is very strong in combat and once annihilated almost one of our tank corps in the battle on the banks of the Zil River. However, after a long battle, they have been greatly weakened. According to the situation, didn't you just annihilate their 15th Panzer Regiment? In this way, with the forces you have, I don't think there will be any problem in holding them back. Now the left flank of the 6th Army, I will be entrusted to your army, and I order that the German 11th Panzer Division must be held back at any cost. ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Hearing him say this, I hurriedly expressed my determination to him, "I assure you that as long as there is still one person in the 79th Infantry Corps, it will never abandon its position." ”

Although he was not able to get supplies of troops and technical equipment from Vatutin, his personal promise allowed us to separate our army from the 6th Army, and to have more freedom of movement and not to participate in the kind of offensive that did not outweigh the losses.

When I told Kirillov and Vitkov about Vatutin's words, both of them had worried expressions on their faces. I chuckled and comforted the two of them, saying, "Commissar, Chief of Staff, what's wrong with you?" Although the higher authorities could not provide us with any support of troops and technical equipment, with our current strength and equipment, could we not defeat a crippled panzer division of the German army? ”

Unexpectedly, Vitkov said pessimistically: "Comrade commander, although the 11th Panzer Division has suffered a great attrition in the battle, and the 15th Panzer Regiment has been severely damaged by our army, it is still not easy to block their attack. ”

Just as I was speechless, I suddenly caught a glimpse of Pugachev appearing at the door. From his happy expression, I knew that good news was coming, so I asked loudly, "Comrade Major, did you bring us good news this time?" ”

Pugachev nodded vigorously, raised a telegram in his hand, and said excitedly: "Report to Comrade Commander, the German attack has been repelled by us. ”

Vitkov was closer to the door, and when he heard the good news, he rushed to Pugachev's side, snatched the telegram from his hand, and read it quickly with his head down.

"Tell me, Comrade Major." Knowing that the telegram in Vitkov's hand would not return to me for a while, I asked Pugachev bluntly: "What the hell is going on?" How did our troops repel the enemy's attack? ”

Pugachev got used to my habit of asking directly about the battle situation without reading telegrams, and hurriedly reported: "Report to Comrade Commander, when the enemy's tanks broke through into the positions of our troops and were gradually destroying our anti-tank guns, the tank battalions of the 115th and 124th regiments of the second echelon flanked the enemy in a roundabout way and opened heavy fire on the enemy from the flanks. The German tanks, which were attacking forward, were immediately dazed by the sudden heavy artillery fire and had to hastily withdraw from our positions. During the battle, only four tanks of the 115th Regiment Tank Battalion destroyed nine German tanks and wiped out one company of infantry.

The German tanks, which had been attacked by our surprise blow, were forced to retreat to a depression a kilometer away, where they were ready to assemble and attack our positions again. Without waiting for the enemy to attack again, the Persjian tank battalion rushed back from the direction of Rivni. Major Akhromeyev ordered all the tanks to concentrate their fire and fire a salvo at the Germans in the depression. Under our intensive artillery fire, the German troops in the depression were in great disarray, and they suffered heavy losses in men and equipment.

In this battle, we lost five tanks, two of which were burned on the battlefield, and the remaining four, towed by other tanks, were returning to the repair point in the city. Although the losses of tanks were not significant, our assault engineer battalions and anti-tank artillery batteries suffered large losses. ”

Hearing that the blockade had been won under the command of Akhromeyev, I automatically ignored the casualties of the infantry and asked Pugachev: "What is Major Akhromeyev's plans next?" ”

The major believed that if they continued to hold on to their existing positions, the troops would most likely suffer heavy casualties from the German shelling and bombardment, so he built his troops to retreat two to three kilometers back and build new fortifications. At the same time, Major Perstian's tank battalion and two other regimental tank battalions continued to set up ambushes at the front of the line of defense, actively searching for suitable fighters. ”

"Major Pugachev, you immediately send a telegram back to Comrade Akhromeyev: the army command completely agrees with your battle plan." Hearing about Akhromeyev's series of victories, I became even more confident in him, so I replied to his request with a sentence: "The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and in order to ensure victory in the battle, I grant the right to arbitrarily determine the aircraft, and you can adjust the deployment of troops according to the specific situation, without asking for instructions on everything, so as not to delay the fighters." ”

After Pugachev left, Vitkov asked me in surprise: "Comrade commander, is it appropriate for you to give Major Akhromeyev such great power?" ”

"There is nothing inappropriate, Comrade Chief of Staff." I am angry when I think of the sluggish offensive tactics of the Soviet army, but at this moment I have to be patient to explain to Vitkov: "On the battlefield, our army obviously has an advantage, but in the end it cannot achieve victory, because the rigidity of our army's offensive operations is well known, the commander does not know how to be flexible, stupidly repeatedly attacks a certain defensive point, the formulaic organization of artillery fire, and the terrain that is not good at choosing the offensive. Lack of creativity and rigidity of thought.

For commanders like Akhromeyev who know how to adjust their deployment in a timely manner when the battlefield situation changes, we must boldly delegate authority to them so that they can have the opportunity to display their talents. I don't want to see a situation where we have the upper hand on the battlefield and we can't expand the results of the battle because the superiors did not give new orders to the subordinates in time. (To be continued......)