"No, Comrade Commander." I was embarrassed and said: "At present, my troops do not have air supremacy, and as long as they are dispatched, they may attract indiscriminate bombing by German bombers." As a result, without waiting for our troops to reach the starting point of the offensive, they will suffer heavy losses in enemy bombardment. ”

"You want me to provide air support to your troops, right?" Vatujing immediately guessed what was on my mind, and then asked with a smile: "How many planes do you want to support you?" ”

"Two hundred!" Since Vatutin asked me how many planes I wanted, I simply reported the number higher. During the counterattack phase of the defense of Moscow, I still remember the visual impact of seeing the overwhelming number of our military planes flying overhead. If Vatutin could really get the air force to send 200 planes, it would be enough to blow up the German armored forces attacking Oboyan.

"Nonsense, it's nonsense!" I was originally joking, but I didn't expect it to make Vatujin angry. He said angrily: "Do you think that our air force is the same as the infantry, blowing a whistle and hula can come in hundreds? ”

I knew in my heart that without the support of aircraft, we would simply not be able to launch an offensive against the German armored forces during the day, so I asked with a shy face: "Comrade commander, how many planes can you send me?" ”

"20, no more." After Vatutin's words, without waiting for me to speak, he continued: "Among them, there are 12 attack planes and 8 bombers. ”

"All right, Comrade Commander." I knew that since Vatujin had already said this amount, no matter how much I begged him, he would not give me any more increases, so I could only reluctantly accept it. But in order to make our planes play the best role on the battlefield, I deliberately asked: "I don't know how I can contact the Air Force commander?" ”

"An army commander who also wants to command the Air Force. No, no, no. As soon as my proposal was exported, it was immediately vetoed by Vatutin, and he also said in a heartfelt voice: "If you want a layman to take command, the commander of the Air Force still doesn't settle accounts with me?!" Forget it, if you need Air Force support, call me. I'll get the Air Force out. ”

Hearing Vatutin say this, I had no choice but to say helplessly: "Okay, Comrade Commander. Since this is the case, then I would like to ask you to order the attack aircraft of the Air Force to immediately fly to the Yakovlevo area to cover the advance of our tank brigades; Bombers, on the other hand, made sorties around 1 p.m. and bombed German armored units in the area along the Belgorod-Kursk road. Remember, be sure to remind them to pay attention to identification. Don't blow up our tank brigade to the Germans. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Oshanina." In response to my concern, Vatutin said lightly: "Our air force has made thousands of sorties in the past few days, can't we do such a simple thing as identifying friend or foe?" You can rest assured,"

Putting down the phone, I said to Bezkov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I can send a message to the 90th Guards Division and the 101st Tank Brigade. Let them immediately march in the direction of Oboyan. ”

Hearing me say this, Bezkov said with some concern: "Comrade commander. Although the 90th Guards Division faced only ordinary German troops, what if the Germans took the opportunity to attack when they withdrew from their positions at such a time? ”

To Bezkov's concern, I thought for a moment and replied: "In that case, let Colonel Chernov leave a battalion of troops on positions No. 2 and No. 3 each." Used to monitor the enemy in the front. In the event of an attack by the enemy on our positions, after making the necessary resistance, they could withdraw to position No. 1, where the 51st Guards Division was located. ”

"Okay, I'll send a telegram." Bezzikov agreed and walked out of the tent.

I looked at Kirillov and asked with a smile: "Comrade Military Commissar, would you like to go with me to see our tank troops." How did it compete with the German armored forces? ”

When Kirillov heard me say this, he first nodded, then shook his head and said: "Lida, I know that our army is equipped with many new tanks, and I would like to see our tanks beat the enemy's armored units all over the ground, but we have stipulated in advance that the main leaders of the group army cannot casually leave the headquarters and go to the most dangerous places. ”

"Let's go, Comrade Military Commissar." I really wanted to see for myself how the tank brigade, equipped with new tanks, had managed to defeat the proud Panzer units of the German army, so I repeatedly persuaded Kirillov to go with me. "We find a place with a good view, where not only can we guarantee personal safety, but we can also see with our own eyes how our troops defeat the enemy."

Kirillov was a little moved by what I said, you must know that when he was in Stalingrad in the past, he often followed me everywhere, and now he is getting bigger and bigger, and the opportunities to go to the front are getting less and less. I saw that he was hesitating, so I walked over and grabbed his hand, pulled him out, and said at the same time: "The deputy commander and the chief of staff are in charge of the affairs in the headquarters, and we don't need to worry about it." ”

Danilov wanted to leave when he saw that the two of us said to go, so he hurriedly stretched out his hand to stop in front of me, and said bitterly: "Comrade commander, your post is here and not the front line, please stop running around?" Speaking of this, he glanced at Kirillov quickly, "Also, even if you don't think about your safety, you have to think about the safety of Comrade Military Commissar." If either of you has three strengths and two weaknesses, no matter how big we win, it will be meaningless. ”

Under Danilov's bitter persuasion, Kirillov's confidence was first shaken. He sat back in his seat and persuaded me, "Forget it, Leda, I think we'd better stay here and be in control." ”

I'm a little reluctant to let me stay in the command, but if I want to leave at this moment, I must first convince Kirillov and Danilov, otherwise I won't even be able to get out of the tent. I thought about it for a moment and said to the two: "In this way, Comrade Deputy Commander and Military Commissar, I will not go to the most dangerous place, I will go to Oboyan." Anyway, it's not far from us, just half an hour's drive. When I got there, I stayed with General Katukov and definitely didn't run around. So you should be relieved, right? ”

Seeing that Povsky was sitting next to him without saying a word, I turned to him and asked: "Comrade Colonel, how many rocket artillery battalions do we have at our disposal now?" ”

Povsky stood up and replied: "There are still three rocket artillery battalions, and the convoy just delivered new rockets last night." Currently, each rocket launcher has four base ammunition. ”

When I heard him say this, a satisfied smile immediately appeared on my face. I nodded, smiled and said, "Comrade Colonel, good job." Later, when we go to Oboyan, you will be there to command your artillery and cover the German armored forces attacking the city. ”

When I was about to leave the tent with Povsky. It just so happened that Bezzikov came back from outside. When he saw that I was going out, he couldn't help but ask in shock: "Comrade commander, where are you going?" ”

"I'm going to Oboyan." After explaining to him where I was going, I added: "But I am not alone, but I am accompanied by the commander of the artillery of the army, Colonel Povsky." ”

After some resistance, Bezikov did not dare, so he turned his attention to Danilov and Kirillov for help. Kirillov came over, patted Bezikov on the shoulder and said to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff." It's useless, you didn't meet Lida on the first day, and no one can change what she decided. After saying that, he said to me again, "Lida, I won't say anything else, you have to pay more attention to your own safety." ”

"Don't worry. Comrade Military Commissar. I said to Kirillov with a big grin: "I will take care of my own safety." ”

Just as I lifted the curtain and was about to walk out. Bezkov said later: "Comrade commander, the 6th Guards Tank Army has left Prokhorovka, and the 21st and 22nd Guards Tank Brigades are moving towards us. How do you plan to arrange this force? ”

I thought about it, turned to him and said, "Chief of Staff, let these two tank brigades immediately turn around and turn to the Oboyan area." Although one tank brigade would be enough to pack up the German armored forces, if two more tank brigades could join the battle. The results will be greater. ”

Povsky and I were in a jeep halfway through the tank unit heading for Oboyan.

Povsky looked out the window and saw the rumbling tanks around us, and his face was flushed with excitement, and he excitedly said to me: "Comrade commander. This...... Is this our new tank? Oh my God, it's really big, it looks much more powerful than the original T-34 in our army. ”

When I heard him say this, I realized that he had never seen what our new tank looked like, so I explained to him loudly: "That's right, Comrade Colonel, this is our latest tank, not to mention the T-34, even if it is the most advanced Tiger tank in the German army, if you match it, you can't get the slightest advantage of it." ”

"Really?" After listening to my explanation, Povsky asked with some disbelief: "Can these tanks really defeat the German Tiger tanks?" If our T-34 is against the Tiger tank, it will only be beaten passively. ”

"Don't worry, Colonel." I had seen the destruction of the German Tiger tank by the new tank, so I confidently said to him: "I saw the battle between the new tank and the Tiger tank." At that time, the two tanks were only 200 meters apart, and the Tiger tank opened fire first, hitting our tanks. But our tank did not have anything at all, except for the dent of the steel plate at the place where it was hit. Then the muzzle of the gun was turned, and the turret of the Tiger tank was overturned with one shot. ”

After listening to my slightly exaggerated description, Povsky's eyes widened, and his mouth became an O-shape, which could not be closed for a long time. When I saw his reaction, I couldn't help but smile, and then said to him: "Comrade Colonel, I know that it is difficult for you to accept what I am saying, but it is true or false, and you will be able to see it with your own eyes when you are on the battlefield later." ”

Our car went some way further and was stopped by a checkpoint of the Guards Mechanized Corps. The sergeant in charge of the checkpoint, after checking our documents, made another phone call to his superiors and respectfully asked us to stay here for a while, saying that Commander Katukov would send someone to pick us up.

After about ten minutes, sure enough, a jeep came speeding along the road. More than ten meters away from us, the jeep braked sharply and stopped steadily on the side of the road. A major jumped out of the car, quickly ran to my car, raised his hand and reported to me that he had taken me to the headquarters on the orders of Commander Katukov.

I nodded and said to the major, "Comrade Major, you lead the way in front, and my driver will follow you in a car." When the major turned to leave, I instructed the driver, "Follow the car in front." ”

When we arrived at Katukov's temporary headquarters, the Germans were launching a new wave of offensives. Katukov, who was observing the enemy's situation, heard my voice, put down his binoculars, turned around and walked in front of me, and said with an unhappy face: "Hey, I said Lida, don't you know that my situation here is dangerous?" Why did you just leave and run back? ”

"Comrade General." I smiled and said to him, "I just saw that your situation here was critical, so I rushed here with reinforcements." I also want to stay in your command and see how these units of mine are doing? ”

"Reinforcements?" When Katukov heard me say this, an expression of ecstasy immediately appeared on his face, and he asked excitedly: "Leda, I don't know how many reinforcements you have brought here?" ”

I held out one finger and said, "One Guards Infantry Division," and then raised two more fingers and said jokingly, "There are three more tank brigades." How about such strength, Comrade General? Can it help you repel the German offensive? ”

"Great, that's great." When he heard that I had sent him three tank brigades and an infantry division, Katukov was overjoyed, he hugged me vigorously with open arms, and then said: "Don't talk about three tank brigades, even one tank brigade can crush the armored forces of the Germans." ”

After speaking, he suddenly saw Povsky, who was standing next to him and did not speak, so he pointed at him and asked, "Leda, who is this colonel?" ”

Although Katukov had seen Povsky, he was certainly not impressed, and it is not surprising that he did not recognize it at this time. I pointed to Povsky and introduced him: "Comrade General, this is the artillery commander of this army group. The reason I called him here was because he could be of use when he needed artillery support. ”

"Hello, Colonel Povsky." When Katukov heard that it was the artillery commander who could help him a lot who was standing in front of him, he hurriedly shook the other party's hand and said warmly: "Welcome to Oboyan." (To be continued.) )

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