Before Major Pugachev came back to report to us the results of his investigation, another telegram from Zhukov came first.

It was officially announced in the telegram that Lieutenant General Rebarko, commander of the 3rd Tank Army, served as the deputy commander of the campaign cluster. The candidates for military commissioners and chief of staff have not yet been determined. Kirilov and Vitkov can temporarily act as the agent. Position. At the same time, it was announced that the post of commander of the 79th Infantry Corps would be taken over by Major General Romanov, and that his vacated post of commander of the 308th Division would be taken by Colonel Andreuschenko, the commander of the 171st Division; The position was promoted by Colonel Gorokhov, deputy commander.

But after I read the content of the telegram to the commanders present, there was silence in the room. After a while, Romanov first asked: "The commander...No, it's Comrade Commander. Is it appropriate to let General Rebarko serve as the deputy commander of the campaign cluster?"

I considered Romanov’s question when I read the telegram. Although I have commanded a commander with a higher rank than mine on many occasions, it was because of the merits I had achieved that they had to be convinced. The situation in Rebarko was different. In the Battle of Ostrogozhsk-Rosós in January, he led his troops to advance 140 kilometers and eliminated 15 divisions in Germany, Italy, and Hungary. He also captured 15 divisions in Germany, Italy, and Hungary. With 80,000 prisoners, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general because of his military exploits. In the February battle, his troops cooperated with the Voronezh Front Army and recovered Kharkov in one fell swoop. Letting such an accomplished general come to me as a deputy, my heart is extremely uneasy.

Seeing that I was too late to speak, Kirilov hurriedly came out to speak for me: "General Romanov, you can't say that. I want Comrade Oshanina to be the commander of the battle cluster, not just Marshal Zhukov. It may also be the wishes of the Supreme Commander himself. I don’t think General Rebarko has any objections to such an appointment."

After Kirilov had finished speaking, the room fell into silence again. Just when no one was speaking, Pugachev ran in excitedly from the outside, and at the same time shouted loudly: "Comrade Commander. I figured it out. The 171st Division's commanders and fighters were responsible for the breakup..."

Just halfway through his words, he might have noticed the weird atmosphere in the room, so he closed his mouth in time. It’s not easy for me to find a chance to break the silence. How could I give up easily, and quickly asked: "Major. Go ahead and finish what you just wanted to say in front of everyone."

Hearing what I said, Pugachev went on to say: "It was a company of the 124th Regiment of the 171st Division that was in charge of the blocking task. The company commander was Yevtifeyev, the rank of captain; in the battle, The most outstanding performance was Sergeant Kalita. He blew up six German tanks by himself..."

When Pugachev was reporting, my mind was thinking about how to reward these commanders and fighters who had made military exploits. When his report was over, I turned my head and said to Kirilov: "Comrade Political Commissar, I plan to promote Captain Yevtifeyev to the rank of lieutenant, and Captain Kalita to second lieutenant. I will award all company commanders and fighters accordingly. Medal, I don’t know what your opinion is?"

"I agree." As soon as I finished speaking, Kirilov immediately agreed. "After the meeting is over, I will arrange for them to be awarded honors."

"Well, I have said everything that should be said." I waited for Kirilov to finish, and then said: "Next, we should discuss how to attack Kiev."

"Comrade Commander," Witkov interjected, "but the scout report has not been sent back. We still don't know anything about the enemy's military deployment, and we can't formulate a specific combat plan."

I raised my hand and looked at my watch. Continued: "I believe it may not be long before we receive the scout's report. But before that. In order to confuse the enemy so that they can't figure out our combat intentions. First of all, we have to send more troops in the Kaniv region. The troops put on the illusion that they are preparing to cross Hebei and escape, so that the enemy can't focus on the Kiev area, so that we can have a chance."

"Comrade Commander, which unit do you plan to send to reinforce Kaniv's tank brigade?" After Vitkov asked this, he glanced at the commanders present and said embarrassedly: "Our current The three divisions have been downsizing very seriously. If there are fewer troops sent to Kaniv, it will not be able to confuse the enemy; if there are more troops, then our defensive forces in Smila and Cherkassy will be Weakened."

Regarding Vitkov’s concern, I hurriedly explained: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don’t worry. I think the German forces on the right bank of the Dnieper River are limited. They are reoccupiing Kirovgrad and Alexandria. Afterwards, they may stop moving temporarily, and wait for the arrival of new troops before they advance to the area we are currently occupying."

As soon as I finished speaking, I saw that almost everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing this, I was afraid that they would underestimate the enemy because of this, and I quickly said: "Comrades commanders, don't think that the German ground forces Stop advancing, and we can take it lightly. At present, the air dominance of the battlefield is in the hands of the German army. They can dispatch the air force at any time to bomb the cities we occupy and the formations in the march. Therefore, the air defense work of the troops cannot be relaxed at all. ."

"Comrade Commander," Romanov suggested to me: "Did we take advantage of the opportunity of the German ground forces to stop advancing to gather the troops of the three divisions, except for a few left to hold on to Smila and Cherka? In addition, the rest are quietly moving to the vicinity of Kiev. Once time is ripe, we can launch an attack on Kiev in the shortest time."

Regarding Romanov’s proposal, I thought about it for a while, and just about to nod in agreement, I heard Razumeyeva sitting by the wall calling me: "Commander, Comrade Commander."

Although I am now appointed as a commander, everyone in the headquarters still calls our commander. I saw Razumeyeva holding the earphones and microphone in her hand, knowing that it must be another important commander who wanted to talk to me, so I hurriedly walked over and asked, "Lieutenant, what's the matter?" "

"Comrade commander, a commander wants to talk to you."

"who?"

Razumeyeva shook her head and replied: "I don't know him, but he said he is Rebarko. You can tell who he is just by saying his name."

I heard that Rebarko was looking for me. I hurriedly took the headset in Razumeeva’s hand and put it on, and then a little nervously said to the transmitter: "General Rebarko, hello! I’m Oshanin. Na."

Rebarco's hearty laughter came from the headset: "Hello. Comrade Commander. I am reporting to you specifically, and my troops and I are willing to accept your command."

Originally, when I was talking with Rebarko, I was very nervous, and I was afraid that he would be dissatisfied because he was not a superior. I heard him say so. I felt even more unsure: "Comrade General, look at what you said, my rank is lower than you, how can I command you. I think this commander's post. It is more appropriate for you to hold it."

"The appointment of you as the commander is meant by the Supreme Commander. As a soldier, I will unconditionally give orders from my superiors." After Rebarko heard what I said, he might have guessed my worries and quickly explained: "We tanks The group army is just cooperating with you. You must know that it is the infantry that determines the victory in the battle, not the tank. So I think this appointment by the superior is completely correct."

After listening to Rebarko's words, my heart was completely at ease. As long as he is willing to obey my orders and do not do anything wrong, then we can win the battle of Kiev with great confidence. I paused for a moment, and suddenly remembered that I didn't understand the formation of the Tank Army, and quickly asked, "Comrade General. Can you tell me the numbers of your troops and the names of the commanders?"

"No problem. Comrade Commander." Rebarko readily agreed: "In order to prevent leaks, I will send the unit number and the name of the commander. I will send it to you in the form of a telegram." After saying this, he was silent. After a while, he went on to say, "I am in contact with you at this time. I want to inform you about something."

Rebarco's words made my heart chuckle. If my heart is not good, something might happen. But he bit the bullet and asked, "Comrade General, you can just talk about it."

"That's it, Comrade Commander." Rebarko said with some embarrassment: "Due to transportation problems, the infantry divisions that cooperate with our attack have not yet entered the combat position, so the scheduled attack may not start on time."

Although I knew that tomorrow's offense might not be able to proceed on time, when this possibility really became a reality, I was still extremely disappointed.

"When can I start?" I asked weakly.

After being silent for a while, Rebarko replied in a positive tone: "The time of the attack is delayed for up to 24 hours. Our troops can launch an attack on the Germans in the designated area."

"Well, since this is the case, Comrade General, I am waiting for your good news." Since Zhukov made the decision to launch the Kiev campaign too hastily, all preparations must be started from the beginning. Entering the designated area on March 3 and launching an offensive is already a very difficult task. "I wish you good health!"

"I wish you health!" After Rebarko said this, he stopped contacting me.

When I returned to the conference table, Kirilov quickly asked: "Lida, what did General Rebarko say, why did they postpone the attack?"

I shook my head and replied: "The specific reason, although General Rebarko did not say, but I believe that the commanders here can guess. The formation of the Dnieper battle group and the launch of the Kiev battle is the Supreme High Command today. The decision was made during the day. So the participating troops are not in place when they are in place. Maybe some troops, even if they set off now, will take two or three days before they reach the designated offensive position. In this case, we have to Speed ​​up the deployment of troops to the Kaniv region, so that the enemy thinks that our purpose is to cross the river and meet the troops in the north. Maybe they will deploy the existing defenders in Kiev to attack our flanks."

"As long as the defenders in the city leave, Kiev will become an empty city." Before I finished my words, almost all the commanders had guessed the result. Vitkov was even more excited to say it. Whenever we are under the city, Kiev will fall into our hands like a ripe apple." After speaking, he shouted out the door, "Pugachev, Major Pugachev!"

As he shouted, Pugachev ran in from the outside in a panic, facing him and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, what instructions do you have?"

"The scout who went to Kiev, have you reported back?" Vitkov asked.

Pugachev nodded and replied: "Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, the scouts are sending information, but have not received it yet. I will report it to you as soon as I receive the telegram."

After hearing his answer, Vitkov stared his eyes: "Since the scouts are sending information, what are you doing here? Don't hurry up and go to the communication room to guard them. Come as soon as the telegram is received. Report to us."

Pugachev said loudly, turned and ran out.

At this time, Razumeyeva walked to my side and handed me a telegram. At the same time, she said: "Comrade Commander, this is a telegram from General Rebarko."

I took the telegram ~lightnovelpub.net~ and nodded at her. After she left, I took the telegram in front of me and looked at it carefully. The organization of the 3rd Tank Army as written on the telegram: The 12th Tank Army consists of the 30th, 97th and 106th Tank Brigade and the 13th Motorized Rifle Brigade, commanded by Colonel Mitrofanov Tank Corps; the 15th Tank Army It is composed of the 96th, 105th and 113th tank brigades and the 17th motorized infantry brigade. The commander is Major General Kopzov Tank Corps.

After I read the message, I then handed it to Vitkov. At the same time, I smiled and said to everyone: "Unexpectedly, there are actually two infantry brigades in General Rebarko’s tank army, so in the next battle, even Without separately equipping them with infantry units, they can also complete the offensive and occupation of the city alone."

As soon as I finished speaking, Pugachev walked in again from the outside and handed the text in his hand to Vitkov. Vitkov quickly took the telegram to his eyes and watched it carefully. After reading it, he looked up at me and said, "Comrade commander, according to the report of the scouts, the German army has two infantry regiments in Kiev, one motorized infantry brigade, plus one tank regiment, with a total strength of five thousand. Many people, and seventy tanks." (to be continued)

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