To move towards Kiev, where the Germans could be weakly defended, unified action of the whole army was required. Because, at the moment, I decided to return to Kirovgrad and deploy the next combat mission to the troops. Romanov and Andreushchenko were also commanders at the meeting, so I asked them to hand over command to their deputies, and then returned to Kirovgrad with me.

While on the road, Andreushchenko, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, turned his head and asked: "Comrade commander, what kind of troops do you plan to use to go to the German troops in Kiev on the other side?" ”

"I intend to leave one regiment each in Kirovgrad and Alexandria to ensure the security of the rear of our army." Seeing that there were no outsiders in the car, I told them the truth: "As for the main forces of the three divisions, they will concentrate their forces to attack and advance in the northwest direction, and after taking Smilla, put on the posture that our army is preparing to capture Cherkasy and cross the Dnieper, so that the Germans will not be able to understand our true intentions." Speaking of this, I couldn't help but turn my head and ask Romanov, who was sitting next to me: "Comrade Deputy Commander, have the scouts been sent?" ”

"Dispatched," Romanov said, raising his hand to look at his watch, and continued: "They should have set off." In order to increase the speed of reconnaissance, I asked them to disguise themselves as Germans and equipped them with captured motorcycles, believing that by tomorrow night, they would be able to give back the reconnaissance to Russia. ”

As soon as I returned to the command, I first asked Pugachev to inform Bandereev and Kaverin, so that the two of them would immediately come to the military headquarters for a meeting. Kirillov, who was standing next to me, waited for me to finish speaking, and immediately asked with concern: "Lida, I heard that you personally led people this morning. Exchange Ike's body for General Kharytonov's body. And two hundred captured wounded? ”

"Yes. Comrade Political Commissar. To Kirillov's question, I answered truthfully: "After handing over the coffin containing Ike's body to the Germans, the enemy also returned to us the body of General Kharytonov, as well as two hundred captured wounded. I knew that he asked this because he was worried about the adverse consequences for me, and without waiting for him to ask again, I comforted him and said, "Don't worry." My good commissar, after the exchange, I have already reported this matter to Commander Vatutin, and nothing will happen. ”

When Kirillov saw that I had guessed what was on his mind, he smiled and said, "That's good, that's good." He glanced at Romanov and Andreushchenko, who were talking to Vitkov, and asked tentatively, "I saw that the other two division commanders were also coming, is there any big action?" ”

"Yes. Comrade Commissar," I nodded. "From what we have at the moment, the main forces of the German army have basically been moved to the other side of the Dnieper, and in our vicinity there seem to be only a few scattered troops." The reason why the Germans took the initiative to exchange with us was probably also to stabilize us and buy them valuable time to crush our army on the other side. ”

"What? What do you say? My words startled Kirillov, and he changed his address to me from "you" to "you": "What did you just say? If I heard me correctly, you say that what the Germans are doing at present is to confuse us so that we do not dare to act rashly, so that they can draw enough forces to strengthen the troops on the other side of the river, so as to achieve the goal of crushing our army as soon as possible? ”

"That's right, Comrade Commissar." I replied in the affirmative: "After all, we are an army of tens of thousands of people, and the Germans do not have enough strength for the time being to fight on two fronts." That's why the cunning Manstein will give us such a hand, so that we will not dare to act rashly, and if we stay in the existing place for three or five more days, then his plot will succeed. ”

I said my judgment in one breath, but I didn't expect Kirillov to think about it at all, he muttered: "Lida, this is impossible, you must know that the strength of our army is several times more than that of the German army, even if it can't encircle and annihilate the main force of the German army, it won't be defeated, right?" ”

"Comrade commissar, nothing is impossible." In order to convince him, I also gave the example of the 4th Guards Army, "Last time I took the 171st Division and the 84th Tank Brigade to cover the flanks of friendly forces, but in the face of the fierce offensive of the German Imperial Division, the defense line of the 4th Guards Army was easily broken through by the enemy. You must know that although our strength is several times larger than that of the German army, the technical and tactical level of our commanders and fighters is not as high as that of the German army. Coupled with the lack of cooperation between the various units and the fact that they fought in silos, it was very easy for the Germans to break through each of them, which had a local advantage. The main forces of the 6th Army and the mobile forces of the Popov group were routed by the Germans, leaving holes everywhere in the line of defense of our army, and the Germans could break through in depth from any point. ”

My words made Kirillov's expression solemn, and he was about to continue asking questions of his own concern, when Pantai Laiev, who had been informed, walked briskly into the headquarters. After greeting Vitkov and the other two division commanders, he quickly walked in front of me and the political commissar, raised his hand to salute us, and said respectfully: "Report to the army commander, political commissar, the commander of the 22nd Guards Division, Bandereev, has been ordered to come and listen to your orders, please instruct!" ”

"Alright, alright," Seeing him so serious, Kirillov hurriedly waved his hand at him and said teasingly: "Old man, we have all been old friends for many years, don't be so formal, make me uncomfortable." ”

Pandereev laughed twice, turned his head to look at where Romanov and Andreushchenko were, and then asked me in a low voice: "Comrade commander, do you have any big combat mission when you gather the commanders of the three divisions?" ”

"Now that everyone is here, let's have a meeting." I just nodded my head in agreement with Bandereev's question, because seeing that Kaverin had also entered the command at this moment, he loudly announced: "Everyone come to the map." With that, I took the lead and walked towards the map hanging on the wall.

When several of the commanders who attended the meeting gathered around me, I picked up the baton placed on the wall, pointed to the map, and said: "Comrade commanders, according to the intelligence gathered from all sides, there are no formed German troops in the vicinity of the cities of Kirovgrad and Alexandria, and there are only scattered defenders in some towns and villages. And the main forces of the German army. All on Manstein's orders. The Dnieper River was crossed one after another. to take part in the offensive launched against our two fronts. ”

"These damned fascist invaders are simply beyond their means." As soon as my words fell, I heard Pugachev, who was standing on the side, muttering in a low voice: "Don't look at the fact that our army has several times more troops than theirs, it's just to send them to death." ”

Although Pugachev's voice was not loud, because it was quiet in the command headquarters, his words were clearly heard by everyone present. Romanov immediately frowned and retorted: "Major." On the battlefield, we can't simply use mathematics to calculate the outcome of a battle. It is important to know that the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and if we cannot adjust our tactics and deployment according to the specific situation, we will still lose the battle even if we have superior troops and equipment. ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander is right." Since Romanov had not been in our army for a long time, I was worried that his rash criticism of Pugachev would arouse dissatisfaction among other commanders, so I hurriedly spoke in support: "There are many factors that determine the outcome of the battlefield, and it is not that there are many people on any one side. to achieve the final victory. Okay, let's get down to business. We have gathered you here today to plan the next course of action. ”

At this point, I deliberately paused to observe everyone's expressions, and seeing that everyone's attention was focused on me, I continued: "Since the Germans have transferred the main forces away, it is up to us to decide where the battle will be fought and how it should be fought on this side of the Dnieper." If we don't know how to grasp such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and teach the Germans a hard lesson, then even if we go to meet Marx in the future, his old man will not forgive us. ”

My words immediately caused a burst of laughter in the command, and the originally tense and solemn atmosphere became relaxed. "Comrade commander, tell me, how are you going to clean up the Germans?" We will resolutely carry out your orders. ”

"Lieutenant Colonel Kavilin," I asked, turning my head to look at Kavilin, who had remained silent, "how many cannons do you have in your artillery regiment?" ”

Hearing my question, Kaverin immediately straightened his back and reported to me: "Comrade Commander, the regiment now has 25 artillery pieces, of which 14 are anti-tank guns, 6 are 76.2 mm cannons, and 5 are 150 mm howitzers. We replenished enough artillery shells from the supplies captured in Kavbass and Kirovgrad. The existing artillery and ammunition reserves can complete the infantry attacking medium-sized cities, providing sufficient artillery support. ”

"Very well, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Kaverin was also a nimble man, and he guessed exactly what I was thinking from my questions, and gave me all the answers I might be interested in before I asked new questions.

Having learned about the artillery, I drew a large circle on the map with the tip of the stick, which is our final destination - Kyiv. Then he said in the same tone as usual: "For the Germans, Kyiv is an important city that they must hold, and if we attack the city, or even find out that our troops are marching towards Kyiv, it will cause Manstein to panic." In order not to lose Kyiv, in addition to sending troops across the river to help, he may also send out the air force to bomb our marching queue. ”

After I finished speaking, seeing that no one answered, everyone's attention was focused on the map, as if they were thinking about why I value Kyiv.

"My plan of attack is," I continued after a moment's pause, "to concentrate the main forces of three divisions, advance in a northwesterly direction, and quickly seize the cities along the way, giving the enemy the illusion that we will march to Kiev......

"Comrade Commander, I have a question." The person who interrupted me was none other than Chief of Staff Vitkov, who asked in confusion: "You said that you created a false impression for the enemy, so can we fight Kyiv or not?" ”

"At the moment the situation in Kyiv is not clear, we do not know how many troops the enemy has there, nor how effective these forces are, if they rush to attack Kyiv." I was saying to Vitkov, but at the same time I was telling all the commanders what I thought: "If we do not solve the battle in the shortest possible time and become entangled by the enemy, then our attacking forces will soon be surrounded by the enemy from all directions, and finally the whole army will be annihilated by the enemy's front and rear attacks." ”

I leaned the stick against the wall, returned to the table and sat down, and in a calm voice, as if I was commenting on the simplest and most ordinary things: "Some people may ask, since the success rate of our attack on Kyiv is not high, then why do we still advance to Kyiv?" ”

After saying this, I paused for a moment, waited for the commanders, who were sitting down at the table, to ask their questions, and when everyone sat down, no one spoke, and then continued: "Because this will be advantageous to support the friendly forces fighting the Germans on the other side of the Dnieper, so that the Germans will not dare to move their troops to the other side with impunity." ”

"Comrade Commander, tell me about your specific deployment." Seeing that everyone was silent, Romanov immediately stood up and relieved me of the siege as soon as I finished speaking, "so that the commanders and comrades can know in their hearts." ”

"My idea was to leave one regiment each in Kirovgrad and Alexandria for defense, and then concentrate the main forces of three divisions to advance northwest along the kilometer to seize Smilla and threaten the German city on the banks of the Dnieper - Cherkasy. After Smilla's replenishment, we will once again move north to make a posture of approaching Kyiv and disrupting Manstein's deployment across the Dnieper. ”

"Comrade Commander, I have a question." After listening to my plan, Bandereev said carefully: "How should we deal with the German concentrated superior forces pressing from our flanks and rear in the process of advancing towards Kyiv? ”

I couldn't help but smile when I heard this question from Bandereev, and it seemed that the commander did not only know how to simply obey, but also knew how to pick out some problems from my plan. I replied unhurriedly: "General Bandereev, if the situation you have spoken of does then occur, then we will continue to advance to the northwest, occupy Munivka, and send troops to attack Kaniv on the banks of the Dnieper. The river here is narrow, and the current is not turbulent, which is conducive to the forced crossing of troops. ”

As soon as I finished speaking, Vitkov stood up and said with emotion: "The commander's plan is really wonderful. We put on a posture of marching towards Kyiv to attract the main German forces on the other side to come back with reinforcements. If the enemy does not come back to help, we can turn the false into the real and really attack Kyiv; If the enemy comes back and the defenders of Kiev are on guard, then we can quickly cross the Dnieper and turn in the direction of Moscow after capturing Kanivo. As soon as the chief of staff made such an analysis, the commanders in the room suddenly realized that they had figured out the true purpose of my implementation of this plan.

"The main force is going north, and the two regiments left behind are also crucial. The 22nd Guards Division could leave the fourth regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Gaidar; The 171st and 308th Divisions each drew two battalions to form a mixed regiment that was responsible for the defense of Alexandria. Do you understand? ”

"Got it!" The three division commanders replied in unison.

"Now that everyone's mission is clear, let's go back to the troops and make all the preparations for battle." I looked up at my watch and said, "It's four o'clock in the afternoon, and I hope that at seven o'clock your troops will be on the road to Smilla." As long as Smilla is captured before dawn tomorrow, then we can achieve the goal of intimidating Kyiv and mobilizing German troops. ”

"Comrade Commander, I have one more question." When he saw that the commanders were all standing up and about to rush outside, Bandereev suddenly asked: "I want to ask, do the artillery regiment and the newly formed 22nd Tank Brigade also follow our division to advance towards Smilla?" ”

"Exactly, General Bandereev." Even if he doesn't say it, I'm going to arrange it that way. Although both the 171st and 308th Divisions lacked heavy weapons, they needed artillery and tank support during the attack. But now if the tank brigade and artillery regiment marched dozens of kilometers to the convergence of Alexandria and Romanov and their troops, and then pulled out to Smilla. Not to mention the delay, it was easy to cause back, so I finally decided to let them follow the 22nd Guards Division and march towards Smilla City. "The tank brigade and artillery regiment will be handed over to you for temporary command as soon as they arrive outside the city of Smilla." (To be continued......)