The troops under the command of General Rybalko launched an attack on Bruvary on time at eight o'clock the next morning.

At the beginning, the battle went well, and before nine o'clock, the troops attacking from two directions at the same time broke through the German positions outside Bruvarian one after another, rushed into the city through several open gaps, and engaged the enemy in street fighting.

Vitkov, who was the first to receive this battle report, was particularly agitated, and he raised the telegram in his hand and said to me: "Comrade commander, although the German forces in Bruvary are reinforced by the defenders of Kiev, they can hardly form an effective defense under the blows of General Rybalko's powerful armored forces. You see, less than an hour into the battle, the enemy's well-defended outlying positions were broken through one after another. If we continue to fight like this, we may be able to capture Bruvarian at noon. ”

Affected by Vitkov's mood, Romanov and Kirillov were also excited. They even studied on the map which way General Rybalko had captured Bruvary and then advanced directly to the city of Kiev.

I just smiled faintly at the reaction of the three of them to the good news of the victory. I know in my heart that although our army currently has the advantage on the battlefield, the Germans will definitely not be willing to lose, and they will definitely carry out a crazy counterattack next. Not to mention anything else, the air supremacy on the battlefield is not on our side, which is a special headache for me. Even if our armored forces were doubled, as long as the German planes were dispatched, they would only become targets for bombing.

After 10 o'clock, the friendly forces, having occupied both the east and south sides of the city, became more and more stubborn as the resistance of the German troops who had been compressed together. Their advance into the city slowed down. Some lots are even caught up in repeated battles. The fighting became more and more intense.

When Vitkov saw the telegram from General Rybalko, he couldn't help but get upset, and he walked around the room with his hands behind his back, still muttering: "What the hell, what a hell." Isn't it just street fighting, our troops are several times more than the enemy, even if we change a few for one, we will already take the city. ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff." A telegraph operator got up from his seat and shouted at Vitkov, who was not far from him: "A new telegram has arrived." ”

"Is there any bad news coming again?" Vitkov went over to take the telegram and walked over to me in a whisper. When he walked up to me, he also happened to read the telegram, and then said with a heavy face: "Comrade commander, the situation is very bad, the enemy has dispatched the air force to bombard the assembly points of our attacking troops indiscriminately. In order to avoid unnecessary casualties, General Rybalko intended to order the troops to suspend the offensive, evacuate in place and prepare for air defense. ”

"Damn the Germans." The Romanov, who was sitting next to him, heard this hour. couldn't help but curse indignantly.

After glancing at Romanov, I instructed Vitkov: "Call back General Rybalko." Agree to his request, let the troops temporarily stop the offensive and conceal the air defense in place. Wait for the enemy's planes to fly away, and then continue to charge into the city. Also, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, he doesn't need to ask for advice on everything, and let him decide what he can do. ”

Although Vitkov was unhappy, he did as I told him to send a telegram to Rybalko.

As soon as our offensive stopped, the Germans in Bruvarian, under the cover of the air force, launched a counterattack on the positions occupied by our troops. Although our commanders and fighters fought stubbornly, due to the enemy's air superiority, some of the positions that had just been occupied were lost one after another.

Frightened by the telegrams that brought bad news one after another, Vitkov said to me in a hoarse voice: "Comrade Commander, the situation is becoming more and more unfavorable for us. If we had simply defended and not counterattacked, the positions we had captured this morning would have been completely recaptured by the Germans by dark at the latest. ”

"Fight back? Comrade Chief of Staff, tell me, what is the counterattack method? I saw that Vitkov was a little hot-headed, so I unceremoniously poured cold water on him, "Let our commanders and fighters brave the indiscriminate bombardment of enemy planes and the intensive artillery fire of the German troops in the city, and sing songs with weapons in their hands?" Do you think that no matter how heroic the commanders and fighters are, their flesh and blood can stop the enemy's bullets and shrapnel? ”

Hearing me say this, Vitkov fell silent. The Romanov next to him opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but Kirillov pulled his sleeve hard and obediently closed his mouth.

I saw that all the people were silent, and then I continued: "Although General Rybalko and they have suffered a temporary setback, after all, our forces are stronger than the Germans, and even if we fight for attrition, we can afford to fight." It doesn't matter if all the positions captured in the morning are lost. In any case, as long as General Rybalko's troops can pin down the main German forces on the left bank of the Dnieper, then the pressure on us to seize Kyiv will be greatly reduced. ”

As soon as I finished speaking, Vitkov lowered his head and raised it again, and the confidence he had lost was restored. He straightened his back and said to me, "Comrade Commander, I understand. Kyiv is our main target, and the battles in other areas, whether won or lost, can play a role in containing the enemy and cooperating with our actions to capture Kyiv. ”

I nodded with satisfaction about Vitkov's comprehension and said, "As a senior commander, you must maintain a good mentality, so that when commanding a large army to fight, there will be no situation where you will not issue a series of wrong orders on the spur of the moment, resulting in the final defeat of the battle." Okay, you go ahead and take care of the intelligence from General Rybalko, I'm going to think about the plan for a sneak attack on Kyiv at night, and see if there are any details that need to be perfected. ”

As Vitkov walked away, I stared at the map in front of me, carefully recalling each step of the offensive plan, pondering if there were any adjustments that needed to be made. After a long time, I raised my head and said to Romanov: "Comrade General, please inform your subordinates that the troops will leave at seven o'clock tonight. The tank brigade, which is the first to attack, must reach the offensive position by eight o'clock. ”

After waiting for me to finish, Romanov asked again: "We are almost 50 kilometers from here to Kyiv, and if the infantry is on foot, it may not be possible to arrive in the early morning, will there be any problems with the tank brigade fighting alone?" ”

"Don't we still have a few hundred trucks?" When I saw that he actually had the idea of letting the infantry walk, I quickly reminded him: "Don't forget, our commanders and fighters who participated in tonight's attack are wearing German uniforms, and they can swagger to Kyiv in trucks." Even if you encounter an enemy on the road, as long as you say that you are going to reinforce Kyiv, it will not arouse suspicion. ”

Pugachev, who was in the telecommunications room next door, suddenly ran in from outside, and as soon as he entered the door, he excitedly shouted: "Good news, comrade commander, there is good news!" ”

Hearing the good news, everyone's frowns relaxed. I smiled and asked Pugachev: "Hey, Comrade Major, I wonder what kind of good news you have brought to all of us?" ”

Pugachev quickly straightened up in front of me and replied: "I just received a call from Major Akhromeyev, who said that the vanguard of the 79th Guards Infantry Division had successfully reached Kanifu and joined their regiment. ”

"Teacher?!" The first person who reacted to this news was Kirillov, who said to me excitedly: "Lida, in this way, we are no longer alone." At least there is a passage that can be connected to the defensive areas of our main forces. ”

I smiled and nodded at him, then turned back to Pugachev and asked, "What else did Major Akhromeyev say?" ”

Pugachev bowed his head slightly and replied: "Yes, Major Akhromeyev asked you if it is possible to send away the 2,000 wounded who are now in Kanifu through this passage that has just been opened?" ”

Although I was forced to abandon the seriously wounded who had difficulty moving, I was unable to bear it and finally transferred them all to Kanivo. As a result, in the small city, there were several thousand more wounded of our army at once, of which 2,000 were seriously wounded. What Akhromeyev proposed was to transfer these seriously wounded to the rear of our troops through the newly opened passages.

Of course, I had no reason to object to such a proposal, so I nodded hurriedly, and instructed Pugachev: "Comrade Major, I beg you to convey to Major Akhromeyev that, except for the wounded, all citizens who wish to leave can also be sent to the rear of our troops through this newly opened passage." ”

A few of us were laughing from ear to ear because of this good news, but there was new bad news. Vitkov took the new telegram from the telegraph operator, and after looking at it a few times, his expression suddenly changed drastically, and then he reported to me in a somewhat panicked manner: "Comrade commander, something has happened! ”

"What's wrong?!" When I heard him say this, my heart couldn't help but hang in the air, and I hurriedly asked, "Is it a telegram from General Rybalko?" ”

"Yes!" After answering my question in the affirmative, he continued: "General Rybalko reports that enemy aircraft bombed the headquarters of the 15th tank corps in Boryspil. During the half-hour-long bombardment by enemy aircraft, a bomb directly hit the command of the tank army, and the staff officers inside suffered heavy casualties, and the commander of the army, Major General Koptsov, died unfortunately! (To be continued......)