When I learned that the German troops in Zhytomyr had been completely eliminated, after a few words of praise to Tavart Kiradze, I called Vatutin in Kiev and reported to him the victory that I had just won.

After listening to my report, Vatutin was stunned for a long time, and then asked somewhat unexpectedly: "You really wiped out all the German troops in Zhytomyr?"

"Yes, Comrade General," although I did not understand why he spoke to me in this tone, I told him truthfully: "Our troops have retaken two colleges and eliminated all enemies in the city."

"Very well, you did a great job." After praising me for a few words, Vatutin changed the topic and said: "Fastif's battle will be completed by this morning at the latest. I will take the original preparations The troops bound for the area will be transferred to Zhytomyr. As for you, come to Kiev as soon as possible. I want to have a good talk with you."

"Understood, Comrade General." I knew in my heart that he was definitely going to talk to me about the relocation of the troops to the rear, so I said in a steady tone: "I will rush to you as soon as possible."

Putting down the phone, I took the time to explain the work to Kistyakov and Bezikov: "Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff, Comrade General asked me to go to Kiev immediately. I guess I am going to talk to me about the army. Regarding the transfer to the rear, when I am away, you will be responsible for the matters here."

Regarding my going to Kiev, because the two of them had been mentally prepared for a long time, they both acted very calmly, but Kistyakov repeatedly told me to pay attention to safety on the road.

From the base to Kiev, it is only one hundred and sixty kilometers. Although the road is not too long, since this road has just been opened by our army, no one can tell whether there will be German troops in the forest on both sides of the road. The remaining troops, so before I set off, I asked Major Yushchenko to find me an armored vehicle, and then set off towards Kiev under the **** of a company of soldiers.

On the way to Kiev, there are still traces of battles on both sides of the road. Destroyed tanks, armored vehicles, trucks, and artillery can be seen everywhere, both from our army and from the Germans. When passing through the small town of Kanivka, you can see the trenches outside the town criss-crossed, and the trenches are filled with the bodies of officers and soldiers of both sides. From this, we can judge how fierce the fighting here was at that time.

After entering Kiev, I hardly recognized the city I once occupied. I only saw ruined walls everywhere, and almost no complete buildings could be found. I don't know if it was destroyed by our army's siege artillery fire or was deliberately destroyed by the Germans. In the ruins on both sides of the street, soldiers and civilians are immersed in cleaning up.

When I met Vatutin in the command post, he had just finished a phone call. He might have heard some good news, and the whole person looked beaming. After he greeted me to sit down, he asked politely: "Comrade Oshanina, is the journey going well?"

I nodded and replied, "Yes, Comrade General. The journey went smoothly, and there was no encounter with the enemy's stragglers."

"I called you here today because I have something important to tell you." After the adjutant asked the adjutant to bring me a cup of hot tea, Vatutin explained the reason for calling me straightforwardly: "You Since the group army has been fighting continuously for more than a month, the consumption of soldiers and ammunition is very high, and the commanders are exhausted. Therefore, the Supreme Command decided to temporarily withdraw you to the rear for rest and recuperation."

Seeing that he didn't mention the topic that would put us in other fronts at all, I started to guess whether he didn't know about it, or he didn't say it on purpose. But this question, I can only think about it in my heart, and cannot ask him directly. As soon as he finished speaking, I immediately asked: "Comrade General, our group army currently occupies the three areas of Zhytomyr, the base, and Krostwiv. We need troops to take over the defense before we can withdraw."

"Don't worry, I have made arrangements for this." Vatutin said lightly: "I will send the 60th Army to take over the defense of the two cities of Zhytomyr and Koroslav. The troops of the group army will take over. After the handover of defense, your troops will immediately retreat to Kiev."

"Yes, Comrade General." I quickly stood up and replied.

"Your troops played very well." Vatutin added: "You have successfully completed the tasks assigned to you by your superiors. I am grateful for this. For the commanders who performed well in the battle, we will give the necessary Reward. Alright, are you all clear now?"

"Clear." After answering this question, I was silent for a moment, and then asked tentatively: "Comrade General, have all our troops launched a counterattack? I mean, every battlefield across the country has launched a counterattack. ?"

"I need to talk about it," Vatutin said triumphantly: "Of course, our troops have moved into a full-scale counteroffensive. I attended a high-level meeting in Moscow two days ago. At the meeting, I mainly discussed and summarized the Soviet Union. The situation of the German warfare analyzed the potential of the military economy. The meeting pointed out: The strength of the Red Army has grown in all aspects, the most fundamental thing is that it has sufficient weapons, commanders at all levels have matured, and the patriotic enthusiasm of the soldiers in the army The unprecedented rise, our army’s total strength on the battlefield is nearly five million, there are also 55,000 artillery and mortars, 5,400 tanks, and more than 3,000 aircraft. The Red Army that has undergone combat training is now superior to the enemy in many aspects: The number is 13 times that of the enemy, 17 times that of artillery, and 27 times that of airplanes..."

The series of data that Vatutin said surprised me. Although the Soviet army paid a lot in the continuous large-scale decisive battles, the number of their supplements far exceeded my imagination. I muttered. He said: "Unexpectedly, our army has already unconsciously occupied the superiority in strength and technical equipment."

"Yes, after our troops have a firm foothold on the right bank of the Dnieper River, they will launch a series of continuous strikes against the enemy." Vatutin said confidently: "When we beat the enemy to the point where we cannot fight back," You can make great strides to advance to the original border, and make all preparations for going abroad in the future."

When Vatutin mentioned advancing towards the border, he reminded me of Travkin’s squad, which is still staying in Lutsk to detect the whereabouts of the Amber Room. Quickly remind Vatutin: "Comrade General, the reconnaissance squad sent by us is still in Lutsk, trying hard to find the whereabouts of the Amber Room. If our army retreats to the rear, will we be able to find the Amber Room? Is it influential?"

Regarding the question I mentioned, Vatutin frowned and thought for a while, then said: "Comrade Oshanina, don't worry about this matter, I will send someone to follow up. He will be here later. From now on, you just need to explain this to him."

Vatutin was talking when suddenly the phone on the desk rang. He walked over to the phone and said to me: "Sit down first, and I will ask you something later."

I thought he could finish talking on the phone in a few words, but he and the other party kept talking. Waiting is sometimes a torment, because I don't know if he is going to ask me about the crime, and blame me for agreeing to Rokosovsky to go to the Belarusian Front in private, so I feel even more uneasy.

Finally, when he finished the call and walked towards me, I quickly got up from my seat. He walked up to me and said with a hint of apology: "The call was from Marshal Vasilievsky. It took a long time to talk. I'm sorry to have you waited so long."

He went on to say: "When I discussed the next strategy with Marshal Zhukov yesterday, he once suggested to me and let me listen to your opinions. Now I want to ask you if our army will continue to engage with the Germans. In the event of a large-scale battle, what should be paid attention to?"

I didn't expect him to ask this question suddenly, and his mind was messed up for a while and I didn't know how to answer him.

Seeing that I was just staring at him stupidly, Vatutin didn’t speak, so he smiled and said to me in an encouraging tone: "Let’s talk about it, Comrade Oshaninna, I know you have many ideas. Just say what you think. , Even if it is wrong, I will never blame you."

I thought about it seriously, and finally expressed my opinion: "Comrade General, I think that in the next battle, we should not simply carry out a frontal attack to defeat the enemy, so that they will soon regroup in the rear. , To launch a new offensive against us again. Instead, we must be bolder to carry out the encirclement campaign to completely wipe out the enemy’s viable forces and reduce the pressure for future operations abroad."

After listening to my opinion, Vatutin smiled and nodded, and said approvingly: "Comrade Oshaninna, this is a coincidence. Your idea coincides with Marshal Zhukov, no wonder he wants me to What about your advice. In the battle to liberate Kiev, the interspersed of your group army fought very well. They decisively captured Koroslav, cut off the retreat of the Kiev enemy, and let our army annihilate more near Kiev. The German army was strong, which eased the pressure in the next battle."

After saying this, he walked back and forth in the room with his hands on his back. He stopped and looked at me and said: "Comrade Oshanina, an excellent commander like you, if not for the Supreme Commander himself, I I will never let you go."

"The Supreme Commander himself?" Vatutin suddenly mentioned Stalin, and I couldn't help being confused. I asked in astonishment: "Comrade General, I don't quite understand what you mean, how come I have something to do with the Supreme Commander himself. ."

"That's it, Comrade Oshaninna." After Vatutin greeted me and sat down, he said to me with a sad face: "Before I came back yesterday, Marshal Zhukov once talked to me about you and your guard number six. Regarding the use of the group army, he believes that our army’s strength in the direction of Ukraine is completely sufficient, and General Rokosovsky’s Belarusian Front Army needs to be strengthened, so he proposed to include your group army in the organization of the Belarusian Front Army. Inside. Originally, I resolutely disagreed, and even offered to replace you with other troops. However, Comrade Marshal was very stubborn, and despite my strong opposition, I must transfer you away. This event finally shocked the Supreme. The commander himself, he decided to wait for you to take a rest, and then formally join Rokosovsky's army."

When I learned that the future of our group army had been decided by Stalin himself, and no one could change it, I sighed with relief. To be honest, although Vatutin is also very good, but I don't know how to do it. Under his hand, I always have a feeling of being tied up, and now I can go to Rokosovsky's, I really can't ask for it. However, on the surface, I still have to pretend to be reluctant: "Comrade General, can you ask the Supreme Commander himself to take his life back? You must know that I am used to fighting the Germans under your leadership. I'm really a little uncomfortable with this sudden change of place."

"I'm sorry, Comrade Oshaninna." Vatutin said with a sad face: "I have worked hard, but I can't change the decision of the Supreme Commander himself." It may be that I was so sad when I saw my frown. I said, "Don't worry. Anyway, you and Rokosovsky are old acquaintances. I believe you will get along well..."

After trial and error, I knew that our group army went to the Belarusian Front Army. It was impossible to get away. Then I changed the subject and asked, "Comrade General, I don’t know where our group army will withdraw for rest and recuperation?"

"The specific remediation site has not been determined by the superiors. Anyway, either Tula or Smolensk~lightnovelpub.net~ are both near Moscow." Vatutin continued: "Your priority now is Let the troops withdraw to Kiev first. As for the next destination, I will let you know when the time comes."

After speaking, he went to the table where the phone was placed, picked up a document, handed it to me, and said: "You happen to be here. I will give you this order for your group army to withdraw to the rear for repairs. Up."

After I took the order, I looked straight at him and asked, "Comrade General, do you allow me to leave? I plan to go back and deploy the retreat."

"Wait a moment." Vatutin stopped me again and added: "I know that Katukov sent you two tank brigades and a guard before the battle to liberate Fastiv began. Mechanized brigade, when you retreat, let them stay there and continue to stand by. By the way, the cavalry division and General Svoboda’s Czech First Brigade are no longer under the command of your group army."

Although I knew that the several troops mentioned by Vatutin could not be kept, when I really heard this order, I was still a little disappointed. In any case, there were more than 20,000 commanders and soldiers and nearly 200. A tank is a force that cannot be underestimated on the battlefield. But at this moment, following Vatutin's light words, it all disappeared.

...