Without waiting for Major Pugachev to return and report to us the results of his investigation, another telegram from Zhukov came first.

The telegram officially announced that the commander of the 3rd Tank Army, Lieutenant General Rybalko, would be the deputy commander of the campaign group, and that the military commissar and chief of staff would be undecided, and that Kirillov and Vitkov could temporarily assume the above positions. At the same time, it was announced that the post of commander of the 79th Infantry Corps would be taken over by Major General Romanov, and the post of commander of the 308th Division, which he had vacated, would be taken by Colonel Andryuschenko, commander of the 171st Division; The post of commander of the 171st Division was promoted by Deputy Division Commander Colonel Gorokhov.

But when I read the telegram to the commanders present, there was silence in the room. After a while, Romanov was the first to ask: "Commander...... No, it's Comrade Commander, is it appropriate for the superiors to make General Rebalko the deputy commander of the campaign cluster? ”

I thought about the Romanov question when I read the telegram, although I had commanded commanders of higher rank than me on many occasions, but it was because of the exploits I had achieved that they had to be convinced. The situation was different with Rybalko, who was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general for his 140-kilometer advance in the Battle of Ostrogozzhisk-Rosoš in January, destroying 15 German, Italian, and Hungarian divisions and capturing 80,000 prisoners. During the February battles, his troops, in conjunction with the units of the Voronezh Front, recaptured Kharkov in one fell swoop. Let such a general with great achievements come to me as my deputy, my heart is extremely unsteady.

Seeing that I was slow to speak, Kirillov hurriedly came out to help me speak: "General Romanov, you can't say that. I would like to put Comrade Oshanina as the commander of the campaign group. It's not just Marshal Zhukov who meant. Probably also the will of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief himself. For such an appointment. I don't think General Rybalko would have any objections. ”

After Kirillov's words, the room fell silent again. Just when no one spoke, Pugachev excitedly ran in from outside, and at the same time shouted loudly: "Comrade commander, everything has been figured out, it is the commanders and fighters of the 171st Division who are responsible for the break......"

He was just halfway through his words, probably aware of the strange atmosphere in the room, so he shut his mouth in time. I haven't been able to find a chance to break the silence yet. How could he give up easily, and hurriedly asked: "Major, go on, finish what you just wanted to say in front of everyone." ”

Hearing me say this, Pugachev continued: "The one who was tasked with blocking was a company of the 124th Regiment of the 171st Division, and the company commander was Yevtifeev, with the rank of captain; In battle, the most prominent one was Sergeant Kalita. He blew up six German tanks alone......"

When Pugachev was reporting, I was thinking about how to reward these commanders and fighters who had made great achievements. Wait for his debriefing to end. I turned to Kirillov and said: "Comrade Political Commissar, I intend to promote Captain Yevtifeev to the rank of lieutenant, Sergeant Kalita to the rank of second lieutenant, and award the corresponding medals to the commanders and fighters of the whole company. ”

"I agree." As soon as my words fell, Kirillov immediately agreed, "When the meeting is over, I will arrange for them to be honored." ”

"Alright, everything that needs to be said has been said." I waited for Kirillov to finish, and then he continued: "Next, we should discuss how to capture Kyiv." ”

"Comrade Commander," Vitkov interjected, "but the scouts' reports have not yet been sent, and we do not know anything about the enemy's disposition, so we are not able to draw up a concrete battle plan." ”

I looked up at my watch and continued, "I'm sure it won't be long before we get the scout's report. But before that, in order to confuse the enemy and make them confused about our intentions. First of all, we should think of sending additional troops in the Kaniv area, putting on the illusion that we are preparing to cross the river and flee north, so that the enemy will not be able to focus on the Kyiv area, so that we will have an opportunity. ”

"Comrade Commander, which unit do you plan to send to reinforce the tank brigade in Kanivo?" After asking this, Vitkov glanced at the commanders present, and said in embarrassment: "At present, our three divisions are seriously attritional, and if there are fewer troops sent to Kanivo, it will not have the effect of confusing the enemy; If we send more troops, then our defenses in Smilla and Cherkasy will be weakened. ”

Regarding Vitkov's concerns, I hurriedly explained: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you don't have to worry. I estimate that the Germans have limited forces on the right bank of the Dnieper, and that they may temporarily halt their advance after reoccupying Kirovgrad and Alexandria, waiting for the arrival of new forces before advancing towards the areas we now occupy. ”

As soon as I had finished speaking, I saw that almost all of them breathed a sigh of relief with relief, and when I saw this, I was deeply afraid that they would underestimate the enemy, and hastened to say: "Comrades commanders, do not think that the German ground forces have stopped advancing and we can take it lightly. At present, the air supremacy of the battlefield is in the hands of the German army, and they can dispatch their air force at any time to bomb the cities we occupy and the ranks on the march, so the air defense work of the various units cannot be relaxed in the slightest. ”

"Comrade Commander," Romanov suggested to me, "did we take advantage of the cessation of the advance of the German ground forces to gather the forces of the three divisions, and except for a few who remained to hold Smilla and Cherkasy, the rest quietly moved towards the vicinity of Kiev." As soon as the time is ripe, we can launch an offensive against Kyiv in the shortest possible time. ”

I thought about the Romanov proposal for a moment, and was about to nod my head in agreement, when I heard Razumeyeva, who was sitting by the wall, shouting to me: "Commander, Comrade Commander." ”

Although I am now appointed commander, everyone in the command still calls me commander. I saw Razumeyeva holding a headset and a microphone in her hand, and knew that there must be some more important commander who was going to talk to me, so I hurried over and asked, "Lieutenant, what's the matter?" ”

"Comrade Commander, there is a commander who wants to talk to you."

"Who?"

Razumeeva shook her head and replied: "I don't know. But he said he was Rebalco. Just say the name. You'll know who he is. ”

When I heard that it was Rybalko looking for me, I hurriedly took the headset in Razumeeva's hand and put it on, and then said into the microphone a little nervously: "Hello, General Rybalko! I'm Oshanina. ”

Rybalco's hearty laughter came from the headphones: "Hello, Comrade Commander. I am reporting specifically to you, and I and my troops are ready to accept your command. ”

Originally, when I spoke to Rybalco, I was very nervous, and I was afraid that he would not be the commander. What kind of dissatisfaction will there be, hearing him say this, my heart is even more bottomless: "Comrade General, look at what you said, my military rank is lower than yours, how can I command you." I think it would be more appropriate for you to assume the position of commander. ”

"The appointment of you as commander is the meaning of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, as a soldier. I will unconditionally give the orders of my superiors. "Rybalco, when he heard me, probably guessed my concern. hurriedly explained: "Our tank army is only fighting with you, and you must know that it is always the infantry, not the tank, that determines the victory in the battle." Therefore, I think this appointment by the superiors is completely correct. ”

After listening to Rybalko's words, my heart was completely steady, as long as he is willing to obey my orders and does not disobey the yin, then we are still very sure of winning the battle of Kiev. After a pause, I suddenly remembered that I did not know much about the formation of the tank army, and hurriedly asked: "Comrade General, can you tell me the number of your troops and the name of the commander?" ”

"No problem, Comrade Commander." Rebalko readily agreed: "In order to prevent leakage, I will send you the number of the unit and the name of the commander in the form of a telegram." After saying this, he was silent for a moment, and then continued, "I am contacting you at this time because I want to inform you of something. ”

Rybalco's words made my heart chuckle, and if I didn't say well, something might happen. But he still stubbornly asked: "Comrade General, if there is anything, you can just say it." ”

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Rybalko said with some embarrassment: "Due to transportation problems, none of the infantry divisions that cooperated with our attack have yet entered combat positions, so the scheduled offensive may not start on time." ”

Although I knew that tomorrow's attack might not be carried out on time, I was still very disappointed when this possibility actually became a reality.

"When will it start?" I asked weakly.

After a moment of silence, Rybalko replied in the affirmative: "The time of the attack, postponed for a maximum of 24 hours. Our troops will be able to launch an offensive against the Germans in the designated area. ”

"Well, since that's the case, Comrade General, I'm waiting for your good news." Since Zhukov's decision to launch the Kiev campaign was too hasty, all preparations had to be made from scratch, and it would have been very difficult for the troops to enter the designated area and launch an offensive the day after tomorrow, that is, on March 3. "I wish you good health!"

"I wish you good health!" After saying this, Rybalko cut off contact with me.

When I returned to the conference table, Kirillov hurriedly asked, "Lida, what did General Rybalko say, why did they delay the attack?" ”

I shook my head and replied, "Although General Rybalko did not say the specific reason, I am sure that all the commanders present here can guess it." The formation of the Dnieper campaign cluster and the launch of the Kiev campaign were decisions made by the Supreme High Command during the day today. Perhaps even if some troops set off now, it will take two or three days before they can reach their designated offensive positions. In this case, we must speed up the deployment of troops to the Kanivo area, so that the enemy will think that our purpose is to cross the river and join forces from the north, and perhaps they will draw the existing defenders of Kiev to attack our flank. ”

"As soon as the defenders of the city leave, Kyiv will become an empty city." Before I finished my words, almost all the commanders guessed the result, and Vitkov said even more excitedly, "When the time comes, as long as our troops are in the city, Kyiv will fall into our hands like a ripe apple." After saying that, he shouted loudly outside the door, "Pugachev, Major Pugachev!" ”

With his shout, Pugachev ran in from outside in a panic, faced him and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what instructions do you have?" ”

"Scouts who went to Kyiv, have you come back with a report?" Vitkov asked.

Pugachev nodded and replied: "Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, the scouts are sending intelligence, and for the time being they have not finished receiving it." I'll report back to you as soon as I get the telegram. ”

After listening to his answer, Vitkov widened his eyes: "Since the situation of the scouts is sending information, then what are you still doing here, why don't you hurry up and go to the communication room to guard, as soon as the telegram is received, you will immediately come and report to us." ”

Pugachev said yes loudly, turned and ran out.

At this time, Razumeyeva walked up to me, handed me a telegram, and at the same time said: "Comrade commander, this is a telegram that General Rybalko has just sent. ”

I took the telegram, nodded at her, and waited for her to leave before I took it to me and looked at it carefully. The composition of the 3rd Tank Army written on the telegram: the 12th Tank Army, consisting of the 30th, 97th and 106th tank brigades and the 13th motorized rifle brigade, the commander of which was Colonel Mitrofanov tank corps; The 15th Tank Army consisted of the 96th, 105th and 113th Tank Brigades and the 17th Motorized Rifle Brigade, and was commanded by Major General Koptsov Tank Corps.

After reading the telegram, I handed it to Vitkov and said to everyone with a smile: "I didn't expect that General Rybalko's tank army actually has two infantry brigades, so that in the next battle, even if they are not equipped with additional infantry units, they can complete the attack and occupation of the city alone." ”

As soon as I finished speaking, Pugachev walked in again from outside and handed the telegram he was holding to Vitkov. Vitkov hurriedly took the telegram to his eyes and looked at it carefully. After reading it, he looked up at me and said: "Comrade commander, according to the report of the scouts, the German army in the city of Kiev has two infantry regiments, a motorized infantry brigade, plus a tank regiment, with a total strength of more than five thousand people, and seventy tanks. (To be continued......)

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