"Immediately call the two regiment commanders, except for a small number of observation posts left on the position, the rest of the fighters will go into hiding." After listening to the report of his chief of staff, Bandereev did not ask me for instructions, but directly began to give orders: "At the same time, we must pay close attention to the movements of the two pontoon bridges, and if we find that the Germans are taking advantage of the fact that our troops are under artillery bombardment and cannot be observed, we must immediately report to the division headquarters." ”

Lieutenant Colonel Ilya agreed, hung up the phone, and re-dialed the 1st and 4th regiments to convey the order that Pantai Laiev had just issued. Bandereev turned around and reported to me, who was sitting at the table: "Comrade Commander, I judge that it is possible for the Germans to secretly repair the blown up pontoon bridge during the shelling, and then use armored forces to carry out a surprise attack on the city. Therefore, I thought it was appropriate for us to send out reconnaissance units to closely monitor the movements of the Germans on the other side of the river. ”

After I heard what Bandereev had said, I nodded approvingly with his opinion, and then said: "Manstein's recent actions are very abnormal, not to mention a siege on all sides like the present one, even if he only orders one unit of the 'Skeleton Division' to launch a fierce attack, it is enough to crush our army, and destroy one or two of our regiments or even one division, it is completely possible." But he didn't, and I guess he must have some kind of conspiracy. So you are right, in order to prevent the Germans from quietly repairing the pontoon bridge and using armored forces to carry out a surprise attack on the city, it is necessary to send a reconnaissance unit. ”

As soon as I finished speaking, a telephone on the table rang, and Oberstein grabbed the microphone and listened for a while, then replied loudly, "Yes, yes." Comrade Chief of Staff. Comrade Commander is with us. Need to get her on the phone? I vaguely heard Vitkov's voice, and then Oberstein handed me the phone, and at the same time said respectfully, "Comrade commander, your call was from Colonel Vitkov from the army headquarters. ”

I took the microphone and asked aloud, "Hey, Chief of Staff?" Is something wrong? ”

"Yes. Comrade Army Commander. Vitkov, perhaps afraid that I would not be able to hear clearly, replied loudly: "There is something important for you to decide, can you immediately rush back to the army headquarters?" ”

Hearing Vitkov say so solemnly, my heart couldn't help but tighten, and I hurriedly asked, "What's the matter?" ”

Vitkov said with some embarrassment: "Comrade commander, this matter is inconvenient to talk about on the phone, it is better for you to come back in person." ”

From Vitkov's words, I knew that this must be a tricky matter, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to talk about it on the phone. So as soon as I put down the phone, I said to Bandereev and Oberstein: "There is something going on in the army. I'm going to rush back to headquarters right away. ”

Bandereev asked with concern: "Comrade commander, is something wrong?" ”

Since I don't know what's going on. So I had to shake my head and said helplessly: "At present, I don't know what happened for the time being, but I guess it has little to do with you." I can leave the defense of the north and west of the city to you, and I hope you don't disappoint me. ”

"Rest assured, commander," said Bandereev, who quickly assured me that "we will never give the Germans a chance to storm the city." ”

I wanted to say a few more words, but remembering that I had said that the 22nd Guards Division would have the final say on how the 22nd Guards Division would fight, it was up to Bandereev, so I opened my mouth, but in the end I didn't say anything, but just beckoned Yushchenko, who was waiting outside the door, to return with me to the army headquarters in the center of the city.

Walking into the command headquarters, I saw Vitkov standing next to the walkie-talkie, wearing headphones, shouting hoarsely at the microphone: "...... Recapture, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I order you, immediately organize a counter-charge and retake the lost positions for me. ……”

When I heard this, I couldn't help but chuckle in my heart, what kind of place did my heart say? It would have made Vitkov so out of shape. I just heard him clearly call the other party's rank lieutenant colonel, could it be that the Kuban was lost? Thinking of this, I walked quickly to the table, leaned down and asked Kirillov, who was still sitting there and looking at the picture: "Comrade commissar, what's wrong?" ”

Kirillov heard my voice, raised his head, and said with some surprise: "So it was you, Comrade Oshanina, who came back?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commissar. I am back. I tried my best to find out what was going on, and without going around in circles, I asked straight to the point, "What happened?" ”

Kirillov smiled bitterly at Vitkov, who was talking to the troops below, and said: "The situation is very bad, Comrade Oshanina. The German 2nd 'Reich' Panzer Infantry Division broke through the defensive positions of the 308th Division on the north side of the airfield and pounced on Zaporosh. But don't worry, it's not a big deal, the chief of staff is arranging for the troops to prepare for a counterattack......"

The defense line of our army has been broken through, and such a big thing is not important, so Kirillov will tell me more strictly in the future. I nervously urged him: "Comrade Political Commissar, if something else is going on, tell me quickly." ”

"That's right, Comrade Oshanina." Kirillov pushed the map on the table in front of me, pointed it to me, and said: "The 1st 'Hitler' Panzer Infantry Division and the 2nd 'Reich' Panzer Infantry Division, which consisted of three SS divisions, completely broke through the defensive depth of our 6th Army, and the troops of the German 48th and 57th Panzer Corps joined forces in the Pavlograd area, completely cutting off the line of communication of our 6th Army. ”

"What, the lines of communication of the 6th Army were cut off by the Germans?" The news shook me like a bolt from the blue. After a while, I regained my strength and asked weakly: "Have you been in contact with Commander Khalitonov?" What kind of remedy does he have for the cutting off of the lines of communication of the main forces of the group army? ”

Kirillov glanced at Vitkov, who was talking to him, and then said to me: "Commander Kharytonov once called and asked us about the fighting here. ”

When I heard that Khalitonov was asking us about the situation here, I had an ominous premonition, perhaps at such a critical moment. He is still planning to transfer troops from our army. In order to be in the know. I cautiously asked Kirillov: "Comrade commissar. So how did you reply? ”

"It was the Chief of Staff and the Commander who replied simply that we are fighting here." Kirillov said with a bitter face: "The commander first asked you if you were away, and when the chief of staff said that you were not there, he ordered you to rush back to the army headquarters as soon as possible, he had important matters to discuss with you." ”

Important, something, not thinking about sending troops from me to reinforce them. He also didn't want to think that we were currently under siege from all sides by the Germans. The army is already stretched thin, where can we draw troops to help them? Thinking of this, I gritted my back molars and asked Kirillov: "Comrade commissar, what do you think the commander will do?" ”

Kirillov looked at me strangely, and then said carefully: "Comrade Oshanina, don't you really guess? Now that the 6th Army's lines of communication have been cut off, it is definitely necessary to draw elite troops into a counterattack and reopen the lines of communication with the rear. I estimate that the commander will have to discuss with you how many troops to draw from our army. ”

"Do you think we should send troops to them?" I waited for Kirillov to finish speaking, and did not say anything. Instead, he asked rhetorically.

"No, Comrade Commander." Vitkov, who had just finished the call, happened to hear my question to Kirillov. hurriedly replied: "At present, our forces are already tight, and if we forcibly transfer our troops, we will not be able to hold Zaporosh at all." So, I think when the commander calls again, we're going to have to find a way to turn him down. ”

"Commissar, chief of staff, you two don't have to worry." I saw that Kirillov and Vitkov were both worried, and hurriedly comforted them and said: "In this situation in front of me, let alone Kharidonov, the commander of the army group, even if the commander of the front army, General Vatutin, comes out, I will not send a single soldier to them." ”

As soon as I finished speaking, I heard the telegraph operator call me: "Comrade army commander, your phone is the commander of the group army, and he wants to talk to you personally." ”

I walked quickly to the walkie-talkie, grabbed the headset and put it on, and then said politely to the microphone: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am Oshanina, what instructions do you have for our army?" ”

"Comrade Oshanina, presumably you have learned from Colonel Vitkov about the current situation of our army group." Khalidonov didn't even have a simple greeting, and said bluntly: "The Germans have not only cut off the lines of communication of our army group, but now the German 40th Panzer Army, which has 3 armored divisions and armored infantry divisions, is launching a fierce attack on the Popov cluster in the rear of our army, which has no fuel. Since all the units of the 6th Army were pinned down by German troops, I intend to transfer the 22nd Guards Division and the 308th Infantry Division from you to attack the rear of the German army to the east, to contain their forces, and to quickly extricate the main forces of the Army Group from the predicament. ”

Let the main forces of the army group get out of the predicament? That's a pretty good thing to say, but at the cost of the possibility that our 79th Infantry Corps will be wiped out. After quickly weighing the pros and cons, I replied decisively: "I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, please forgive me for not being able to carry out your orders. The two divisions you are talking about are currently engaged in a firefight with the Germans. If you hastily withdraw from the battlefield, you will probably be routed or wiped out by the Germans before they can enter your designated attack position. ”

"Major General Oshanina!" Hearing that I refused his order, Khalitonov couldn't help but be a little annoyed, and he raised his voice and shouted: "You dare to disobey the orders of your superiors, aren't you afraid of going to a court-martial, and not afraid that I will enforce battlefield discipline against you?" ”

"Comrade commander, I have very little courage, I am afraid of going to a military court, and I am afraid of being disciplined on the battlefield by you." Since I have turned my face, there is no need to be respectful to him anymore, and I said unceremoniously: "But before that, I ask you to make one thing clear, the Germans have at least five or so armored and armored infantry divisions near Zaporosh and are simultaneously attacking the defensive areas of our army from four directions. Under the siege of the superior German army, not only did we not receive the assistance of friendly forces, but on the contrary, we had to draw two-thirds of our troops from our limited forces to carry out a counteroffensive with no chance of victory. I resolutely refuse to carry out such erroneous orders, even if you shoot me for it. ”

"Major General Oshanina!" From the sound of the headphones, I was sure that Khalidonov was on the verge of going berserk, and if I were standing in front of him at this moment, he might have pulled out his pistol and shot me. But at this moment, he could only be on the other end of the phone, furyly furious: "Do you believe that I will remove you from my position now?" ”

"Comrade Commander, I believe that you have such power." I was afraid that he would remove me from my post on the spur of the moment, and appoint someone who would obey his orders as commander, and that our army would be in a situation from which we would never recover, so I made it clear to him: "But under the present circumstances, you have no right to do so." Because if you remove me, not only will Zaporosh be lost, but even the 79th Infantry Corps will be in danger of being completely destroyed. Have you ever thought about such consequences? ”

When I had finished speaking, I held my breath and waited anxiously for Khalitonov's final sentence on me. Unexpectedly, after a while, he didn't speak. Just when I was about to lose my breath, I heard him sigh, and then the headphones went silent, apparently he cut off contact with me.

When I returned to the table, Kirillov asked me worriedly: "Comrade Oshanina, are you not afraid of going to court-martial if you talk to the commander like this, and you deliberately disobey his orders?" ”

"Is it useful to be afraid of these now?" I looked at Kirillov and said with a wry smile: "Once you accept this unrealistic order from him, then our army will be completely annihilated in a few hours." If sacrificing me alone can save the entire infantry army, I am willing to make this sacrifice. ”

Kirillov thought for a moment, stood up and said resolutely: "Comrade Oshanina, as the political commissar of the infantry corps, I am willing to take on this responsibility with you. Whether it is a court-martial, or being disciplined on the battlefield by superiors, I will face it with you. ”

"And me, Comrade Commander." Hearing Kirillov say this, Vitkov also took a position.

"Okay, don't do this, the commanders in the army have an accident, who will command the troops?" After I said this, I turned to Vitkov and asked: "What is the situation on the 308th Division?" ”

Hearing my question, Vitkov remembered that he had not had time to report the battle situation to me, and hurriedly replied: "The regiment commander said that he would immediately block the breakthrough and concentrate his forces to destroy the German troops rushing in our direction. (To be continued......)