When Akhromeyev handed the telegram to me, he solemnly reported: "The reconnaissance team found a large number of German tanks unloading at the railway station on the outskirts of Berkichev."

"How many tanks were unloaded by the Germans?" When I heard this report, I couldn't help being taken aback, and hurriedly asked: "Has the designation figured out?"

Akhromeyev shook his head and replied: "The number of the enemy, we haven't figured it out yet, but it is estimated that it is at least an armored division of the German army."

Kistyakov took the telegram in my hand and looked at it, and then asked suspiciously: "Comrade Major, is this reconnaissance information reliable? Isn't it because our scout made a mistake?"

"No, Comrade Deputy Commander." Akhromeyev defended: "This information was sent back by the reconnaissance team led by Major Basmanov himself."

When Basmanov’s name was spoken from Akhromeyev’s mouth, all doubts disappeared. After all, this commander is a familiar and trustworthy person to all of us. The information he reported, It is undoubtedly true and credible. Therefore, after a moment of silence, Kistyakov asked Akhromeyev: "Does Major Basmanov have any time when they can figure out the name of the enemy?"

Akhromeyev shook his head again and replied: "The major said that the enemy's defenses are very strict and they cannot approach. But he will find a way to capture a valuable prisoner and figure out the situation of this German armored force."

I stared at the map for a long time, then looked up and asked, "Comrade commanders, you said that the German army assembled an armored division in Berkichev. What action will it take next?"

"It's just a matter of talking," Bezikov said in an interface: "When they gather as usual, they will definitely go north to attack Zhitomir in an attempt to re-occupy the city."

"Chief of Staff, you are right." Bezikov's judgment coincided with my speculation. After complimenting him, I continued: "Since the German army is bound to win over Zhytomyr, what they did The troops used will definitely not be just an armored division."

"It seems that we need to increase reconnaissance in other directions." After Kistyakov said these words, he immediately told Akhromeev, "Major, you go to the defenders of Zhytomyr Send a telegram to ask them to send reconnaissance troops to increase the reconnaissance area around the city."

"Wait a minute, Major." I saw Akhromeyev was about to leave the headquarters, and quickly stopped him, and said: "This matter is the most relevant, the telegraph is too slow, or I will give Tawar personally. Commander Tequilaze call."

After I connected to the Zhytomyr headquarters, I heard Tavart Kiradze’s voice coming from the receiver, and asked straightforwardly: "Comrade Commander, how is the situation with you?"

"Everything is normal, Comrade Commander." Tawart Kiradze replied in a steady tone: "Within a radius of more than ten kilometers around the city, no enemy movement was found. It seems that no large-scale large-scale will happen in the short term. For the battle, I strongly recommend that one or two divisions be transferred from Zhytomyr to Krostwiv to defend the German troops in the Fastiv region.",

As soon as I waited for Tavart Kiradze to finish speaking, I said to him in a stern tone: "Comrade Commander, I am very disappointed in your reconnaissance capabilities. The enemy's armored division has been stationed in Berkichev, and you But still at a loss, are you planning to rush into the battle after the German soldiers come to the city?"

My words made Tawart Kiradze flustered, "Comrade Commander, is this true? But my first scout reported to me that there was no German whereabouts at all. Maybe you received a mistake. Information..."

"Enough, General Tavart Kiradze." Before he was finished, I interrupted him angrily and said unceremoniously: "The information gathered by the German armored division in Berkichev, It was personally reported by Major Basmanov, the newly appointed battalion commander of the reconnaissance battalion. What kind of commander he is, I just don’t say, you should also be clear that he will never feed back unverified false information. Coming back."

Fortunately, Tavart Kiradze knew Basmanov and knew what kind of person the other party was, so he could understand what the situation is now without having to bother me to explain. After being silent for a while, he asked, "Comrade Commander, what should we do?"

"General Tavart Kiradze, listen to me." While sliding my finger on the map, I said into the microphone: "You immediately send scouts to the new city of Volensky in the west as soon as possible, and Crosten to the north is conducting reconnaissance. It is necessary to find out in the shortest time whether the enemy has assembled troops in these two directions. Understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Tawart Kiradze replied solemnly: "I will send scouts to go deep into the enemy's defense zone to conduct reconnaissance."

For the sake of safety, I also told him to say: "Also, seize the opportunity when there is no fighting now, repair and strengthen the fortifications outside the city, and be prepared to resist the German offensive."

As soon as he finished calling Tavart Kiradze, Vatutin's call came in. Since I had not had time to report to him the assembly of the German armored divisions in Berdichev, he thought that our place was still safe and sound. After reporting the information that the 60th Army was transferred to the southwest of Kiev, He said lightly: "Comrade Oshanina, your task is to cut off the way for Fastif's enemies to escape westward after they are defeated by our fresh forces."

"Comrade General, our situation here may be worse than you think." As soon as he finished speaking, I hurriedly informed Berkichev about the gathering of German armored divisions and gave him detailed information. report.

He was surprised when he heard this: "What, there are German armored divisions gathering in Berkichev? There are dozens of kilometers away from Zhitomir. If the enemy wants to attack, it will take up to two hours to rush to the daycare. Under the city of Mill. By the way, have you taken any measures?"

"In addition to informing General Tavartkilasze to have the troops repair the fortifications, I also asked him to send a reconnaissance team to conduct reconnaissance on Voronsky New Town and Krossten respectively, and quickly identified the two areas mentioned above. Is there a large-scale assembly of German troops."

After hearing this, Vatutin hummed, and then said: "It is far from enough to send scouts to conduct ground reconnaissance. Then, I will order the air force to dispatch in a moment to conduct reconnaissance on the two areas you mentioned. , To see if there is any sign of the German army gathering."

With Vatutin’s support, after more than an hour, we figured out how the enemy’s forces were assembled: in addition to finding the German armored unit in the Voronsky New Town, the German Army Corps was also found near Krossten. Signs of movement.

Seeing this reconnaissance intelligence forwarded by Vatutin, the faces of everyone in the command headquarters changed. After reading the information over and over several times, Kistyakov said to me: "Comrade Commander, we are in Zhytomyr. We have only four guard divisions and two tank brigades. We are about to face it. It is the two armored divisions and several infantry divisions of the German army. They can block the enemy's attack."

"The situation is terrible, Comrade Deputy Commander." I stared at the map and said solemnly: "I think the enemy's gathering of such forces is not just to capture Zhitomir. Their ultimate goal is to capture Kiev."

If I made this view a few days ago, it would definitely be refuted by everyone. But the hard facts of the past few days tell you that although the German army was driven away from Kiev and Zhytomyr, they still have the strength to severely damage or even destroy our army, and we must not take it lightly.

"Then what should we do?" Kistyakov asked.

"If the German forces attack from three directions at the same time, whether we can hold Zhitomir or not will be a problem." Bezikov waited for Kistyakov to finish, and immediately expressed his opinion: "I see, We should send troops to the north, west, and south to establish blocking positions to prevent the enemy from advancing to Zhitomir."

"Chief of Staff, have you ever thought about it, the enemy recommended to Zhytomyr is not a small unit." To Bezikov's proposal, Kistyakov first retorted: "If more troops are sent to block, we The defensive power in the city will be weakened; if there are fewer troops sent, not only will it not be able to stop the enemy, but it may be wiped out by the Germans.

"Then what should we do?" Hearing that his proposal was rejected, Bezikov couldn't help feeling a little anxious. He said loudly, "Even if our troops stay in Zhytomyr, if the enemy encircles in three directions, Coming up, whether we can hold the city is also an unknown."

When Kistyakov and the others were in a heated debate, I did not express my opinion. At least I kept glancing at the door from the corner of my eye, eagerly looking forward to the arrival of Akhromeev in the next telecommunications room. Click back and report to me the latest situation that the reconnaissance forces have.

When I saw Akhromeyev appear at the door, I immediately stood up from my position, and then asked him loudly, "Major, have you received the latest reconnaissance information?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Akhromeyev nodded and agreed, walked around the table and walked in front of me, handed me a freshly baked telegram, and said: "I just received it. The telegram of Major Basmanov, they have ascertained the German number in Berkichev."

"Which unit is it?" Kistyakov and Bezikov asked in unison.

Akhromeyev turned his head and glanced at the two of them, then turned his head to look at me and said, "It is the first armored division of the German army. According to the report of Major Basmanov, the division is from Greece and has a long body. There are 95 tanks, 76 Leopard tanks, 7 Spitfire tanks, and 7 command tanks. The total number of tanks is 185."

"Oh my God." Bezikov could not help but exclaimed when he heard this, and then he said to himself: "The German First Armored Division, but it is second only to the Grand German Division and the 130th in the German Defense Forces. The armored force of the armored instructor. In 41 years, they were the first to attack Leningrad and captured several settlements on the outskirts of the city. When they were transferred to the center line, they also advanced to the distance from Moscow. The nearest unit. With such a strong combat force, we only have two incomplete guard tank brigades in Zhytomyr, and they are probably not their opponents."

I very much agreed with Bezikov's statement, so I told Akhromeyev: "Major, you go and telegraph to Major General Bely immediately, so that he can rush to the headquarters immediately." Then I Xiang Qi again. Stryakov explained, “Although with the tank brigades hidden in the forest, we can use four tank troops in the Zhytomyr area, but it is still far from enough. Because the Germans are not in Belki. In addition to Chev’s First Armored Division, there is also an armored unit in Voronsky New City. Although we don’t know the other party’s number for the time being, I believe their combat effectiveness will not be too weak."

Kistyakov suggested to me: "Comrade Commander, I think I should call General Tawart Kiradze and ask him to dig a few more anti-tank trenches in front of the defensive position to prevent German tanks from quickly Advance to the city of Zhytomyr."

After Akhromeev left, Kirilov, who was sitting next to him without speaking, kindly reminded me: "Lida, the news that the German troops stationed in Berkichev are the first armored division needs to be reported immediately. Commander Vatutin report?"

"Wait a moment." Although I am also anxious to report this news to my superiors, considering that there are still two directions of the German army numbers that have not been clarified, if I rashly report it, it will be difficult for Vatutin who received an incomplete report Make the correct response measures. "Wait until you find out the numbers of the German forces in the two directions of Volensky New Town and Krossten~lightnovelpub.net~ and then report to Comrade General."

We waited not long before Akhromeyev hurried in. From the stern expression on his face, I knew that the situation was serious, and the enemies to the east and north might be more serious than we thought. When he came to me, without waiting for him to speak, I raised my hand to stop him, and ordered: "Major, you can read the content of the telegram to everyone."

Akhromeyev took a deep breath, picked up the telegram and said loudly: "After our reconnaissance, it has been found out that the 7th Armored Division of the German Army in Voronsky New City, the commander von Mantefeld Lieutenant General. In addition to the earlier 208th Infantry Division and 340th Infantry Division in the direction of Crosten, he also found the German Eighth Armored Division."

"What?" Bezikov heard Akhromeyev read the telegram, rushed over to **** the telegram, and said in disbelief as he watched it, "How is this possible? Where is the German armored division?"

I knew that Zhytomyr would be attacked by the first and seventh armored divisions of the German army. It was enough to make me uneasy. Now there is an eighth armored division. In this case, Zhytomyr still Can you hold it? Thinking of this, I told Akhromeyev: "Major, call me the number of the front army headquarters. I will personally report the detected information to the general." (To be continued.)