Seeing that the bridge over the Dnieper, which was successfully occupied by our troops, I stopped at Kanivo for a while, and then returned to Smilla with Kirillov to get acquainted with the troops on the left bank of the Dnieper.

As soon as I returned to the command, I saw a thick stack of telegrams in Vitkov's hand. In order to keep me up to date with the situation on the battlefield as soon as possible, Vitkov put the most important telegrams on it so that I could read them first.

At the top was a telegram from General Rybalko. The telegram said: "The 12th Tank Brigade of the 30th Tank Army and the 13th Motorized Infantry Brigade, after reaching the vicinity of Priluki, found that there was only less than a battalion of German infantry in the city, so they decisively launched an attack, fought fiercely for two hours, succeeded in crushing the defenders, and occupied Priluki."

The 15th Tank Brigade of the 96th Tank Army, outside the city of Priti, joined forces with the 27th Guards Infantry Division, which had arrived earlier, and successfully captured Priti. At the moment the battle is developing in depth. ”

After reading Rybalko's telegram, I looked up to Vitkov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what does General Rybalko mean when he says that our army has occupied Priti and the battle is developing in depth?" ”

"Comrade Commander, please look." Vitkov picked up the map on the table, unfolded it in front of me, pointed to the position on it and said: "According to the follow-up telegram of Comrade Deputy Commander Rybalko, it is known that our 27th Guards Infantry Division is currently attacking Hrybinka to the south. Once the city is captured, they will only need to advance another eighty kilometers south to join our forces at Canivo. ”

I stared at the map for a while and thought Rybalco's style of play was interesting. He was clearing the flanks of the offensive road at the same time as the enemy. And let us be isolated behind enemy lines. Established contact with the main forces of the campaign cluster. Even if the next battle goes unfavorably, we will be able to retreat smoothly in the direction of Moscow along this open road.

I picked up a second telegram, a telegram from General Romanov, who had led his troops in a sneak attack on Obkokhiv. He reported to me that the troops had succeeded in capturing the city. The Germans in the city never dreamed that our troops would camouflage a sneak attack, and when a large army of several thousand people quietly arrived under the city of Obukokhiv, how could the hundreds of German troops in their sleep be able to resist?

According to the battle report provided by General Romanov. The battle went smoothly, and the commanders and fighters, led by the scouts, used cold weapons such as bayonets and shovels, but did not fire a single shot. After the settlement of the sentry posts in the city, the German troops in the barracks became lambs to the slaughter. After the battle, except for the strong smell of blood in the air, the dawn of the whole city was silent, and the residents could not have dreamed that the original defenders of the city had been replaced by our own troops.

After reading this uplifting telegram, I casually handed it to Kirillov. At the same time, he said excitedly: "Comrade political commissar, take a look." General Romanov did a fantastic job, they took Obukokhiv without a word, so that we were all within easy reach of Kyiv. ”

I took the opportunity of Kirillov to read the telegram and asked Vitkov: "Chief of Staff, how did you reply to this telegram from General Romanov?" ”

Hearing my question, Vitkov hurriedly replied: "In my reply to the general, I asked them to continue to disguise themselves as Germans, and strictly blocked the news, imposed martial law in the city, and the whole city could only enter and not leave, and absolutely did not let the enemy know that our troops had quietly touched their noses." In this case, as soon as friendly troops on the left bank of the Dnieper arrive, an attack on Kyiv can be launched immediately. ”

After reading the telegram, Kirillov also said excitedly: "Lida, General Romanov has done a great job. Without a single wound or a single shot, we occupied Obkoshiv near Kyiv. ”

As soon as I had finished speaking, I added: "General Rybalko's tank army has also behaved very well, and his commander has decisively launched an attack on two targets, Priluki and Priti, without waiting for all the troops to be in position, and has succeeded in capturing the two cities mentioned above." ”

"Comrade Commander," Vitkov asked respectfully, waiting for me to finish, "how do you think the Germans will respond to our attack next?" ”

I took the map from his hand, put it on the table with the telegrams in my hand, and said: "Look, if there are no surprises, General Rybalko's troops and the troops of the other three divisions can advance on Bruvarius in a big way tomorrow, and put a kind of pressure on the defenders of Kiev. In this way, it is entirely possible that the enemy will move the defenders of the city eastward in order to hold Bruvaria, the eastern gate of Kiev. As long as the defenders of the city are attacked, then our chance has come. ”

"But, Comrade Commander, the enemy now knows that our troops have captured the cities of Smilla and Kanivo," Vitkov said, pointing to our position, expressing his concerns: "Can the enemy confidently and boldly send troops to Bruvaria?" ”

"Chief of Staff, you don't have to worry about this." Seeing that he looked worried, I hurriedly comforted him and said: "I believe that our army's battle to seize the bridge over the Dnieper River in Kanivo today must have attracted the attention of the German army, coupled with General Rybalko's active military actions. I believe that the Germans have been given the illusion that our army's intention is to break through and join up with friendly forces on the left bank. In this case, the enemy may send only a part of his forces to see where we are, and the bulk of the defenders, who will be transferred to Bruvariar, to strengthen the defenses there. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff," as soon as I finished speaking, Kirillov, who had finished reading the telegram, suddenly asked: "To the south of us, the enemy occupying Kirovgrad and Alexandria, is there any movement?" ”

Vitkov shook his head and replied: "According to the reports of the scouts, the Germans stopped after occupying the two cities, probably because of the limited number of troops, but at the same time they were clearing the city of residents who had dealt with our troops, as well as the families of the commanders and fighters who had just joined the ranks. ”

"Are there German planes coming to bomb today?" Thinking that the Germans had bombed Smilla yesterday and caused large casualties to the residents in the city who had not been evacuated, I couldn't help but ask with concern: "And those residents who were evacuated from outside the city last night." Many of the houses where people lived had collapsed in the bombing. Have they been properly housed? ”

"Comrade Commander. Rest assured. For those who have lost their homes, I have placed them in several schools in the city. Although the conditions in the school are a little worse, it is better than freezing in the open air. After explaining the resettlement of the refugees, he paused for a moment and then continued: "At dawn, several reconnaissance planes appeared, circled twice over the city, and then flew away. Judging by all indications. If the Germans were going to bomb, they would have bombed a long time ago. It's already afternoon, and I don't think the enemy planes will come again. ”

Seeing that there was no possibility of a major battle breaking out around us at the moment, I instructed Vitkov: "Chief of Staff, as soon as it gets dark, hand over Smilla's defense to Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar's 4th Regiment." We rushed overnight to Obkoshiv, where we commanded the rest of the battle. ”

"What should we do if the enemy discovers that there are not many defenders in Smilla and mobilizes a large army to storm it?" Vitkov as chief of staff. Almost every time he heard an order from me, he had to think about the big picture: "If we delay in taking Kyiv." And the Germans are attacking from behind us, and then we are in danger of total annihilation. ”

"Chief of Staff, don't worry, as long as we do a good job of preparing in the early stage, then the next battle will go very smoothly." After I had said this, I instructed him: "Send a telegram to General Romanov and tell him that while blockading Obkokhiv, we must not stand still, but quickly divide our forces, and sweep away all German troops in the outskirts of Obukhiv and the surrounding towns in battalions, so as to lay the foundation for our next action." ”

"Chief of Staff, please wait." When Kirillov saw that Vitkov was about to turn around and go to shoot a telegram, he quickly stopped him, and added: "After clearing the surrounding German troops, we must quickly form several partisan detachments that can cooperate with us by drawing trustworthy people from the local population." Perhaps afraid that I would oppose his opinion, he deliberately turned his face to me after saying this, "These newly formed guerrillas are all locals, and even if their combat effectiveness is poor, they can help us transport supplies or take care of prisoners, so that we can devote more troops to front-line operations." ”

I agreed to Kirillov's consideration almost without thinking. I nodded and said to Vitkov: "Chief of Staff, did you hear what Comrade Commissar said?" Add this part to the telegram as well, and ask General Romanov to clear the German forces near Kiev as much as possible and mobilize our people. ”

But in the evening, after the official transfer of Smilla's defense to Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar, we were about to transfer when Razumeyeva suddenly walked up to me with a telegram and said with a serious expression: "Comrade commander, this telegram from Deputy Commander Rybalko. ”

When I saw her expression, I knew that the telegram was not going to be such a good thing. When I took the telegram in front of me, it was really bad news, saying that the 97th Tank Brigade, shortly after leaving Priluki, was indiscriminately bombed by German dive bombers. After the half-hour bombardment, the brigade lost 20 tanks, as well as more than a dozen ammunition and fuel tankers, and more than 200 commanders and fighters were killed or wounded. Since the brigade had lost a third of its vital strength in the air raid, it had to temporarily halt its advance and take a sheltered repose in a forest near the road.

When I was reading the telegram, Vitkov also craned his neck from the side and came over to read the telegram with me. After reading the above content, he snorted heavily, and then said indignantly: "Damn Germans, relying on their air supremacy, they will bombard our moving troops indiscriminately, and sooner or later, we will take revenge on this." ”

After reading the telegram, I folded it and put it in my briefcase, and then said to Vitkov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, we will definitely find the Germans for this revenge." But now, what we have to do, is to immediately transfer and rush overnight to Obkoshit, where we will command all the forces of the battle cluster. The political commissar and I will go first, and you will be responsible for the rest of the aftermath. After saying this, I shook my head at Kirillov, who was standing next to me, and said, "Comrade commissar, let's go first." ”

Our jeep bumped around the road for more than two hours and finally arrived on the southern outskirts of Obkokhiv. Here we met the head of the regiment that had been waiting for us, Sederikov.

When our jeep came to a steady stop on the side of the road, Shederikov quickly ran out of my window, raised his hand to salute me, and reported: "Comrade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov, commander of the 1st Regiment of the 22nd Guards Infantry Division, was ordered to meet you and the commissar, I am waiting for your orders, please instruct!" ”

When he finished his report, I didn't talk too much nonsense, just said one word briefly: "Get in the car!" ”

After Sedjerikov took his seat in the co-pilot's seat, the driver slammed the accelerator and our jeep continued to move forward.

Looking at the patrols in German uniforms outside the car window, I asked Sedelikov in the front row: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, have you been able to see through your disguise by the residents of the city?" ”

When Shedelikov heard my question, he quickly shook his head and said: "Comrade commander, please rest assured that our camouflage has definitely not been detected by the residents. They seemed to be afraid of the Germans, and when they saw our patrols in the streets, they hid far away. ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," Kirillov heard the conversation between me and Sederikov, with a bit of a businesslike emphasis, and hurriedly came out to play a round: "Did your regiment send troops to participate in the operation to clear the German troops in nearby towns?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Political Commissar." Shedelikov hurriedly turned his gaze to Kirillov again, and replied truthfully: "The Sherebryanny battalion I sent, the unit named after the battalion commander, has the strongest combat effectiveness. For them to carry out such a task, not only the leaders of our regiment, but also the division commander himself is very relieved. This afternoon alone, they cleared the Germans of two villages and a town south of the city, and wiped out about sixty people, and they did not die on their own side, except for five who were slightly wounded. ”

After listening to Sederikov's report, Kirillov turned his head and smiled at me, and said with satisfaction: "Lida, Lieutenant Colonel Sederikov is worthy of being the old foundation of the independent division, and in such a small-scale battle, the performance is to be better than other units. If we can have a few more such troops and take Kyiv, there will be no problem at all. (To be continued......)

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