The reconnaissance squad led by Trafkin returns with the intelligence it detects every day. According to their intelligence, the German army is gathering a large number of troops in the Belgorod-Kharkov area. Among them, the 19th Tank Division that has just moved into Belgorod and the 332nd Infantry Division are mobilizing for combat.

The intelligence that the German troops were mobilizing for combat was received at around 10 o'clock in the evening on June 30. After reading the information, I instructed the Director of Intelligence Ras Mihin to report this information to the Front Army Command by telegram.

I don't know why, after the information was reported to the front army headquarters, it was like a mud cow entering the sea, and there was no more movement. In the middle of the night, seeing Danilov and Kirilov both yawning, I took the initiative: "Deputy commander, military commissioner, artillery commander, comrades, you are all tired, go to rest first."

When the sleepy Danilov heard me say this, he waved his hand quickly: "Comrade Commander, after the reply from the Front Army Command comes back, let's go to rest."

I raised my hand and looked at my watch, and saw that it was already one o'clock in the morning on July 1. Since there was no reply from the superior at this time, there would be no reply to us before dawn. Therefore, I solemnly said to the two of them again: "Deputy commander, military commissar, you two should go to rest first. I will stay on duty here. As soon as the superior's reply comes, I will send someone to notify you immediately. of."

Kirilov and who knew my character did not insist upon hearing what I said. They stood up and nodded, and took Danilov, who wanted to say something more, and left the headquarters. Povsky saluted me and walked out after the two of them.

Bezikov watched Kirilov and Danilov leave, and said to me with concern: "Lida, I guess it will be before dawn. The superior will not give us any answer. You might as well go to rest. I just stay."

"No need." I waved my hand and rejected his kindness, after receiving the information sent back by Telfkin and them. My heart is always unreliable, because there are only less than a hundred hours left before the Battle of Kursk. In order not to be caught off guard by the Germans, I immediately reported it to the front army headquarters after receiving the information. I just hoped that they could work out contingency measures based on the intelligence gathered by the German army, but a few hours passed. Vatutin did not reply, even if I was asked to go to bed, I couldn't fall asleep at all. "I will stay here waiting for news. If I get tired, I will sleep on the table for a while."

I sat at the table, looked at the map lying in front of me, and carefully considered the possible defensive loopholes in my defense zone. After watching for a long time, a minefield was found where the mine was buried; the key defense area was relied on the hillside to build a complete defense system including tunnels; and located between the first and second lines of defense, A plain area that is convenient for German tank troops to attack. In addition to minefields and anti-tank firepower points, a large number of "Oxianingna trenches" named after me were also excavated.

Although there are dense fortifications in the defense zone, important defense zones are heavily guarded. But in the face of the German thunder strike, I still have no confidence at all. For a moment, I was even thinking about how to concentrate all my forces on the third line of defense once the first and second lines of defense were lost.

I stared at the map and saw that at six o'clock in the morning, my sleepiness came up unknowingly, and I was lying on the table preparing to sleep for a while. At this moment, the phone on the desk rang suddenly. There was an excitement in my heart: "Could it be that Vatutin called?"

As soon as I raised my head, Bezikov rushed to the table. Grabbed the phone. After listening for a while, he put down the phone and reported to me: "Lida. The commander of the 89th Guards Division reported that Marshal Zhukov's motorcade was approaching our headquarters. It will take about ten minutes. Can reach us."

I nodded and turned to Akhromeev in the room: "Major, immediately notify the deputy commander, military commissar, artillery commander, and go with me to meet Comrade Marshal. In addition, call the commanders of the divisions. , Order them to rush to the headquarters immediately and wait for Marshal Zhukov’s reception."

Taking advantage of Akhromeyev’s call, I simply tidied up the table, gathered all kinds of information on the table and set aside, straightened my military cap again, and rushed. Turning his head at Bezikov, he said, "Let's go, Comrade Chief of Staff, come with me to meet Comrade Marshal."

Walking out of the building where the headquarters was located, the head of the guard Yushchenko and deputy head Bukov were already waiting there. Seeing Bezikov and I come out, Yushchenko ran forward, and after saluting, he asked me whether to pick him up by car or on foot.

I waved my hand and said, “The streets in the city are narrow and it’s not easy for cars to turn. Let’s go on foot. But since you are in the city, you don’t need so many people. You two will take a class with me.”

Before the guards lined up, Danilov, Kirilov, and Povsky hurried out of the building. Danilov came next to me, and while tying his waist belt, he said nervously, "How come Marshal Zhukov is here, and he didn't say hello to us in advance, so we were not prepared at all. ."

Seeing that all the people who should come have come, I don't talk nonsense, and took everyone out of the headquarters, and walked neatly along the street toward the outside of the city. Several patrol teams met along the way, seeing our arrival, gave way to the side of the road, and raised their hands to salute our group.

We arrived at the entrance to the north of the city, and after a short wait, we saw a convoy of two jeeps and three armored vehicles approaching us. I hurriedly said loudly to the officers and men behind me: "Attention, everyone, Comrade Marshal's motorcade is here, and immediately line up."

After speaking, I stood sideways on the side of the road, and then Danilov, Kirilov, Povsky, Bezikov and others stood on my left side, Yushchenko and Bukov. The soldiers from the guard squad stood behind us.

When the first Jeep passed us, it only slowed down, but did not stop. Just as I was guessing whether Zhukov was on the armored car behind, the second Jeep stopped in front of me. A lieutenant colonel sitting in the co-pilot's position went around from the front of the car to the rear door on the left, and opened it. After the car door, he stood upright and stood aside.

Saw Zhukov getting out of the car. I immediately greeted me, raised my hand and saluted, and said politely: "Hello. Comrade Marshal, you are welcome to the 6th Guards Army to inspect the work. Commander Oshanina is waiting for your order. Please give instructions!"

A smile appeared on Zhukov’s face. He took the initiative to reach out and hold my hand, and said with a smile: "Lida, we meet again!" Then he went up to Danilov, Kirilov, and Pov. Schi, Bezikov and others shook hands one by one. Finally, he waved his big hand and said, "Well, let's go to your headquarters."

We walked back to the headquarters and came to my headquarters. Zhukov looked around after entering the door, and the lieutenant colonel who followed him in immediately nodded. He approached Bezikov's ear and said something.

After hearing this, Bezikov immediately waved to Akhromeyev, Rasmihin and others who were still in the house, and led them out of the room. Zhukov saw that only me, Danilov, Kirilov, and Povsky were left in the room, and then said slowly, "Lida, I received a call from General Vatutin last night. Said that your scouts found that the German army was gathering in Belgorod and there were signs of an offensive against our army. After I learned the news, I rushed over overnight to find out what was going on."

When Zhukov said this, I realized why he appeared in my defense zone early in the morning. It turned out that after getting the information I reported, I felt unreliable in my heart, but specifically to verify the situation. I quickly replied: "Comrade Marshal. From what we currently know, it is possible that the Germans have assembled a large number of troops and are preparing to attack the defense area of ​​our group army." After that, I took two steps forward. I picked up the pile of intelligence on the table, took out a few pieces I thought were important, and handed them to him.

Zhukov took the situation I handed him and looked down carefully. After watching for a while, he raised his head and asked me: "Lida. In your judgment, when will the Germans be. From what direction will they attack us?"

Although I have a better understanding of this period of history, I cannot directly say the answer. I can only put on a tone of analysis based on intelligence and say: "Comrade Marshal, I think the Germans will use a pincer offensive from north to south to attack us in order to encircle and annihilate our troops in the Kursk Outburst. The purpose of the campaign. As for the attack time, I think it might be between July 2 and 8."

After listening to my analysis, Zhukov put the information in his hands on the table, stood up, and walked back and forth in the room with his hands on his back. I stood still and didn't move, but my eyes moved with his movement. I knew in my heart that he was thinking about everything I said, so I closed my mouth interestingly so as not to affect his thinking.

After walking back and forth a dozen times in the room, he suddenly stopped, turned around and walked quickly in front of me to stop, looked at me and asked with some wonder: "Lida, according to our recent various Based on the information gathered, the German offensive against Kursk may indeed be launched from July 2 to 8. But how do you know the date of the German offensive?"

"Comrade Marshal, please allow me to answer this question to you." Danilov, who was standing next to him, also took two steps forward, walked to my side and juxtaposed me, and said respectfully to Zhukov. After seeing the opponent nodding his head to express his permission, he went on to say, "After receiving the intelligence of the reconnaissance squad every day, Comrade Commander will conduct repeated deductions on the map to speculate on the possible offensive route and the force used by the German army. , I think it is entirely possible that she can analyze the approximate date of the German attack."

Hearing Danilov's words, Zhukov frowned and turned around, making one hand into a fist, and constantly beating the palm of the other hand, seeming to be lost in thought again.

After a while, Zhukov stopped his movements, walked quickly to the table, looked down at the map placed on it, after a while, he waved at us and said, "You all come on."

When he saw that we were all around the table, he pointed to the map and said to us: "Know that our troops have not recovered from the defeat of the Battle of Kharkov. If the Germans really take the initiative to attack us , Is exactly what we can't ask for. You see, after our efforts over the past few months, the number of artillery regiments has surpassed that of infantry for the first time, and the number of artillery regiments has exceeded one and a half times. The place where the most heavy artillery is deployed is the commander. The Ministry analyzed those directions in which the Germans were most likely to attack.

Take the 13th Army of the Rokosovsky Department as an example. They are responsible for covering the most threatened part of the Orel-Kursk railway line. There are about 140 artillery and guns on the front of each kilometer. Mortar support is much more than the artillery that the Germans can concentrate on for offensive purposes.

At the same time, the Central Front and the Voronezh Front added more than 9,000 artillery and mortars, and a total of 92 artillery regiments were reinforced from the reserve of the Supreme Command. In addition, more than 6,000 anti-tank guns were deployed along more important directions, and nearly 400,000 landmines and explosive packs were buried.

In order to strengthen the leadership of the front line, the Supreme Commander himself issued an order yesterday that my headquarters should be stationed in Kursk, responsible for coordinating the coordinated operations of the Central Front, the Bryansk Front and the Western Front, while Vasilevsky is in charge of the Voronezh Front. To guide..."

All of what Zhukov said ~lightnovelpub.net~ is top secret to me. I immediately understood why he had just asked his subordinates to expel all the commanders who were not enough level from this room, just to prevent the possibility of leaks.

After Zhukov said all this, he raised his head and asked me: "Lida, now our army is ready for all battles. As long as the Germans launch an offensive, we can hit them head-on and hit them. All of this, I said, Do you understand everything?"

Although I don't know why Zhukov asked this, I answered honestly: "I understand, Comrade Marshal."

"Your 6th Guards Army is the closest to the German defense line in the Voronezh Front. Once it is attacked by the Germans." Zhukov paused for a moment when he asked here, and then tentatively asked: "Can your troops stop them? ?"

Zhukov’s words reminded me of the game performed on the map a few hours ago, so I shook my head and answered truthfully: "Comrade Marshal, although I want to answer you decisively, we can stop the German attack. However, based on the current situation of the enemy and ourselves, I can only answer you regretfully: I'm sorry, I can't stop it. At least before the start of our army's counter-offensive, the first and second lines of defense are likely to be breached." (To be completed. Continued.)