Facing the tension of Vitkov and Kirilov, and the panic of Pugachev, I tried to maintain my final composure, and asked in a calm tone: "Comrade Major, the commanders and fighters on the current position are still there. Continue fighting?"

Pugachev didn't know why I asked, but he nodded vigorously and said with certainty: "Yes, comrade commander, although the enemy has intruded into our position, our commanders are still fighting stubbornly. As long as the enemy has entered our position. If there is one other person, they will never take a step back."

As soon as Pugachev and Pugachev finished speaking, he immediately suggested to me: "Comrade Commander, the German 11th Armored Division is far stronger than our army in terms of combat effectiveness and equipment. Since they are they If we can easily defeat a tank army, then the line of defense set up by Major Akhromeyev will soon be breached."

After hearing what he said, I asked noncommittal: "If this is the case, Comrade Chief of Staff, what measures do you plan to take to resist the German offensive?"

"Immediately mobilize the 115th regiment of the 171st Division to reinforce the first echelon in the southern suburbs," Vitkov may have thought carefully about the defense of the southern suburbs of Poloy. Hearing my question at this moment, he said immediately without hesitation. It came out: "The 124th Regiment also transferred south at the same time, building a second line of defense behind the first echelon. Only the 171st Division Division and the 149th Regiment were left in the city to be responsible for the defense of the city."

In all honesty, Vitkov's arrangement is quite satisfactory and very suitable for the current defensive warfare. So I did not raise any objections, and directly said to Pugachev: "Major, record the order. Order the 115th and 124th regiments to move to the southern suburbs immediately. The 124th regiment builds new fortifications five kilometers south of the city. Be prepared to resist the impact of the German armored forces. After the first echelon repelled the German offensive, the 115th Regiment immediately switched defenses with the Godunov Regiment."

"Change defense?!" Pugachev, who was recording the order, couldn't help stopping when he heard me utter the word. He asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, are you talking about the 115th Regiment and Godunov Regiment changing defenses?"

"Yes, after the German offensive is repelled. Let the two regiments seize the time to switch defenses." I was afraid that Pugachev would not be able to fully understand what I meant. Major Khromeyev unified the command."

"Comrade Commander, I don't understand why you made such a decision." Vitkov beside him couldn't help it. He asked in amazement: "Don't you know that changing defenses on the battlefield will cause unnecessary confusion." ?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff." I turned to look at him and said, "The reason why I made the decision to switch defenses is because the troops who are sticking to the defense line at the moment are the assault engineering battalions assigned to us by the headquarters of the former 62nd Army. They are good at them. It’s offensive rather than defensive. Instead of putting them on the ground and sending them to death in vain, it is better to withdraw. Let them play a greater role in the next Kuban or Zaporosh battle. As for the 115th Regiment The situation is different. In the battle to defend Stalingrad, they learned how to defend, and it would be more appropriate to replace this defensive unit to deal with the offensive of the 11th Armored Division."

After listening to my somewhat far-fetched explanation, Vitkov no longer insisted on his opinion, waved to Pugachev, and said: "Comrade Major, immediately convey the commander's order."

After Pugachev went back to the telecom room. Kirilov, who was still silent, asked me worriedly: "Comrade Oshanina, you know, the 11th Panzer Division is the elite of the German army. They once used fifty tanks to severely damage our No. 1 in two weeks. A tank army, we can’t take this kind of enemy lightly. Do you really think that our line of defense can block the German attack?"

Although I feel like fifteen buckets to fetch water at the same time, I still bit my head and replied: "Comrade Political Commissar, I believe in Major Akhromeyev’s command ability to face the German tanks. He won’t have a back-up for his assault. Let’s just sit here and wait for the news. I believe it won’t take long. Good news will arrive."

"Comrade Commander," a shout suddenly came from the wall. I turned my head and looked in the direction of the sound, and saw the radio operator standing in front of the radio with a nervous expression. He was still holding a headset and a microphone in his hand. Seeing that I noticed him, he raised his voice and said to me: "The commander wants to talk to you."

I walked quickly towards the telegraph operator, and at the same time I thought to myself: Khalitonov just talked to me not long ago, so how quickly he wants to talk to me again? Does he know that the southern suburbs are in danger?

When I received something from the radio operator, he suddenly lowered his voice and said to me: "It's the commander of the front army."

Hearing that the person who called me was not Khalitonov, but the commander of the front army, Vatutin, I couldn’t help but shudder, and asked such a big leader to call me what to do. Is he here to ask questions? ? I put on the earphones and said to the microphone: "Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I am Oshanina, what instructions do you have!" As soon as I uttered the words, I found that my voice changed because of tension. It's a bit hoarse.

"Hello, Comrade Oshanina." Vatutin's loud voice came from the headset: "I heard General Khalitonov report that your army attacked decisively and successfully captured Huliai. Borre and Poloy are only one step away from the city of Kuban. Once you successfully capture Kuban, you can pose a threat to the Manstein headquarters in Zaporos. How about, what are the difficulties now? ?"

I understand that Vatutin did not come to Xingshi to inquire about crimes. I feel more at ease. Since he asked us what difficulties we have, I will not pretend to be polite, but openly and say: "Comrade Commander, our army’s artillery and tanks. The number of infantry divisions is very small, and it is okay to deal with the enemy's infantry divisions. If we encounter enemy armored divisions, we will be at a disadvantage in equipment. In addition, we have no air support. Once the enemy's air force is dispatched, we can only be passive. The situation of being beaten."

After listening to what I said, Vatutin smiled and said, "Comrade Oshanina, you have a lot of difficulties. But I can’t help you now. You have to know whether other troops are in strength or In terms of equipment, there is no way to compare with you. I believe that even with your current equipment and strength, you can take Zaporos without the support of friendly forces. After all, your army now has more than 20,000 men, accounting for This is one-third of the total strength of the entire 6th Army, and it is still one-third of the strongest. Such a strength, no matter where it is placed, may have a decisive impact on the entire battle."

When I learned from Vatutin’s words that we could not get any support from the superiors. I couldn’t help feeling disappointed. Thinking of the fierce fighting in the southern suburbs, I complained to Vatutin: “Comrade commander of the front army, our army’s flanks are currently being attacked by the German 11th Panzer Division. According to the latest report, the enemy’s Tanks have entered our defensive positions. The entire defense line is in danger of being broken by the Germans at any time. Once the Germans open the breach, their tanks can directly rush to the city of Poroy. Once our main force is killed by the German armored divisions Obsessed. I think we might not be able to mobilize enough troops to capture Cuban and threaten Zaporos."

After listening to what I said, Vatutin was silent for a long time. Just when I was worried about whether he was irritating him, he finally said: "I know the German 11th Armored Division. This division is very powerful. In the Battle of the Zil River, we almost completely wiped out one of our tank corps. But after a long battle, they have been greatly weakened. According to the circumstances, didn’t you just wipe out their 15th Armored Regiment? In this way, Block them with your existing forces. I think there is no problem. Now the left wing of the 6th Army, I will leave it to your army to be responsible. I order that the 11th Armored Division of the German Army must be blocked at all costs. ."

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Hearing what he said, I quickly expressed my determination to him, "I assure you that as long as there is one person in the 79th Infantry Corps. I will never give up my position.

Although there was no supply of soldiers and technical equipment from Vatutin, he personally promised. Let our army separate from the 6th Army and have more freedom of movement. No need to participate in an offense that is not worth the loss.

When I told Kirilov and Vitkov what Vatutin had said, worried expressions appeared on their faces. I chuckled and comforted the two of them and said, "Political commissar, chief of staff, what's wrong with you? Although the superiors cannot provide us with any support for soldiers and technical equipment, we still can’t beat the Germans with our existing strength and equipment. An incomplete armored division?"

Unexpectedly, Vitkov said pessimistically: "Comrade Commander, although the 11th Armored Division has lost a lot of personnel in the battle, and the 15th Armored Regiment was severely damaged by our army, it is still not easy to block their attack. of."

Just when I was speechless, I suddenly caught a glimpse of Pugachev at the door. From his happy brow expression, I knew there was good news, so I asked loudly, "Comrade Major, are you bringing us good news this time?"

Pugachev nodded vigorously, raised a telegram in his hand, and said emotionally: "Report Comrade Commander, the German attack was repelled by us."

Vitkov was relatively close to the door. Hearing the good news, he rushed to Pugachev's side, snatched the telegram from his hand, and quickly read it with his head down.

"Let’s talk about it, Comrade Major." I knew that the telegram in Vitkov’s hand would not be able to return to my hand for a while, so I asked Pugachev bluntly: "What the **** is going on here? Our troops? , How did you repel the enemy's attack?"

Pugachev has adapted to my habit of not reading the telegram and directly asking about the situation of the battle, and hastily reported: "Report to Comrade Commander, when the enemy's tanks have penetrated into our army's positions and are gradually destroying our anti-tank guns. , The tank battalions of the 115th and 124th regiments of the second echelon rounded up from both sides of the enemy and fired violently at the enemy from the side. The German tanks that were assaulting forward were immediately stunned by the sudden violent artillery fire. , Had to hurriedly withdrew from the position of our army. In the battle, only four tanks of the 115th tank battalion company destroyed 9 German tanks and annihilated one infantry company.

The German tanks that were suddenly hit by us were forced to retreat to a depression one kilometer away, where they were ready to assemble there before attacking our position again. Before the enemy attacked again, the Persian Tank Battalion rushed back from Rivne. Major Akhromeyev ordered all the tanks to concentrate their firepower and launch a salvo on the German forces in the depression. Under our intensive artillery fire, the German army in the depression was in chaos, and both soldiers and equipment suffered heavy losses.

In this battle, our side lost five tanks, two of which were burned on the battlefield, and the remaining four, being led by other tanks, are returning to the repair point in the city. Although the tank losses were not large, our assault engineer battalions and anti-tank artillery companies suffered more. "

Hearing that this blocking battle was won under Akhromeyev’s command, I automatically ignored the casualties of the infantry, and then asked Pugachev: "What’s next for Major Akhromeev? What kind of plan?"

"The major believes that if the troops continue to hold on to the existing positions, the troops are likely to suffer heavy casualties from the German shelling and bombing, so he suggested that the troops retreat two to three kilometers back to build new fortifications. At the same time, Pell Major Sijian’s tank battalion and the other two regiment tank battalions continued to set up an ambush in front of the line of defense, actively looking for suitable fighters."

"Major Pugachev, you immediately replied to Comrade Akhromeyev: The military command completely agreed with your combat plan~lightnovelpub.net~ Heard of the series of results achieved by Akhromeyev. , I have more confidence in him, so in response to his request, I added another sentence: "The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. In order to ensure the victory of the battle, I grant the right of arbitrary discretion. You can adjust the force according to the specific situation. Deploy, do not ask for instructions on everything, so as not to delay the fighter. "

After Pughachev left, Vitkov asked me in surprise: "Comrade Commander, is it appropriate for you to give Major Akhromeyev such a great power?"

"There is nothing inappropriate, Comrade Chief of Staff." Thinking of the Soviet army's rigid offensive tactics, I was furious. But at the moment I have to be patient and explain to Vitkov: "Our army is on the battlefield. In many cases, we clearly have an advantage, but the reason we can’t win in the end is because the rigidity of our army’s offensive actions is well known. The commander does not know how to be flexible and stupidly repeatedly attacks a certain defensive point. The artillery firepower is organized. The formulation of the army and the poor choice of terrain for offense all show that grassroots commanders lack creativity and ideological rigidity when performing tasks.

For commanders like Akhromeyev who know how to adjust and deploy in time when encountering changes in the battlefield, we must boldly delegate power to them so that they have the opportunity to exert their talents. I don't want to see that we have the advantage on the battlefield, but because the superiors did not give new orders to the subordinates in time, the result of the battle cannot be expanded. To be continued)