After listening to Vitkov's words, I couldn't help being silent. Although Kiev's defenders were weak, their numbers were far beyond my imagination. It is very difficult for our army to seize a big city like Kiev from the Germans when its strength and equipment are not superior. And even if we barely win it, we will have to pay a huge price. Once the Germans launched a crazy counterattack, we simply did not have enough troops to defend the city.

Seeing that I didn’t say a word, Vitkov might have guessed what I was thinking about. After sighing, he said: “Comrade commander, although the German army has only more than 5,000 men, there are more than 70 tanks, even if they only guard If we don't attack, just relying on the little force in our hands, there is nothing we can do with them."

"Yes," Romanov continued as soon as Vitkov's words fell: "At present, our army's artillery regiment has only a few cannons left. It's okay to fight defenses. If you want to attack, the power seems a little too strong. Weak. And the total strength of our army is only more than 13,000. Among them, 4,000 are recruits who have just been replenished. Use this strength to attack tough..." He stopped at this point, and then he shook his head and sighed. Screamed.

"Yes, comrade commander." Witkov added: "Our troops were supplemented only after the end of the Stalingrad defense battle. The training level and equipment standards were very poor. This period of time has been continuously passed. In the battle, the troop was reduced greatly. The addition of new recruits further dilutes the combat effectiveness of our army. Our current situation is that not only the material support is poor, but the commanders and fighters of the army have not been well-trained. They want to conquer such things as Kiev. In big cities, it’s almost impossible."

The problems pointed out by Vitkov and Romanov. It is the key to the success or failure of the Battle of Kiev. Just as I was having a headache with these problems, Razumeyeva came to me again, and when she handed me a telegram, she whispered: "Comrade Commander, this is a new telegram from Marshal Zhukov. ",

I took the telegram and took a look. My brows frowned, and I saw it read: "...the logistics unit and the base are too far away from the assembly area, which greatly increases the difficulty of supporting the combat troops. In addition, the assembly area of ​​the troops has just been liberated from the enemy. What came out, there were no conditions to set up a large number of troops, combat equipment and materials. Work such as building bases, roads, and organizing logistics can only be carried out at the same time as the offensive preparations.

Currently there is only one branch of the Castornoye-Kursk railway. A short section of the Livne-Marmège railway along the front line. Trains on this branch line can only reach the Sigla station. The road was buried by successive blizzards, and there was thick snow everywhere. In the section of Zolo Tushinno-Budanovka, vehicles transporting supplies can only run on the railway embankment.

Under these conditions, the 3rd Army of Tanks under the command of General Rebarko. And a few infantry divisions will not be able to launch an attack on the enemy-occupied city tomorrow, which is March 2, according to the original plan. The new offensive will be postponed until noon on March 3, and the existing ammunition and fuel of the Tank Army can only last for one day..."

After reading the telegram sent by Zhukov, I became less optimistic about the prospects of this Kiev battle. I threw the telegram on the table and turned to ask Pugachev who was standing next to me: "Major, how many troops do the Germans have on the other side of Kaniv."

"Report to Comrade Commander. According to the report of Major Perskin of the Tank Brigade, there are two German companies on the other side." Hearing my question, Pugachev hurriedly walked towards me. Standing upright and replied, "They have built fortifications on the opposite bank of the iron bridge, and they are also equipped with war defense artillery. Several of our attempts to seize the bridge have failed."

I heard that the German army on the other side of Kaniv had only two companies. I felt more at ease, and quickly told Pantai Leyev: "Comrade General. Please send a regiment immediately and arrive at Kaniv overnight. Go for reinforcements. Weak tank brigade."

"Yes!" Pantai Leev, who stood up and accepted the order, agreed and sat down again.

"Comrade deputy commander." I then gave Romanov an order: "In addition to leaving a battalion in the 308th division to stand at the ferry, the remaining troops and the 171st division were put on German uniforms and walked along overnight. Go up the highway to capture Obukoshiv city south of Kiev and use it as the starting point for our next offensive. Remember, after occupying the city, we must pay attention to blocking the news and not let the enemy realize that we are under his nose. "

After listening to my order, Romanov did not immediately reply to me. Instead, he turned his head and said to Andryuschenko who stood up with him: "Comrade Colonel, is the commander's order clear?"

"Clear, Comrade Commander." Andryuschenko replied loudly.

Romanov went on to say: "The battalion defending the ferry crossing is under the command of Captain Yevtifeyev, who made meritorious defensive battles today. It happened that the battalion commander was in the daytime fighting because After being wounded and retiring from the battle, he needs a commander with rich experience like the captain to take his place."

Seeing Romanov giving orders to Andryuschenko, I remembered that he was no longer a deputy commander, nor was he commander of the 308th division, but the newly promoted commander of the 79th Army. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but smile wryly, without interrupting him, and continued to patiently listen to his assignments.

After the two of them sat down, Kirilov asked me curiously: "Lida, I want to ask you, what do you do to send troops to Kaniv, do you really intend to seize the bridge over the river?"

"Yes, Comrade Political Commissar." I replied affirmatively: "A friendly attack will be postponed for various reasons, so if our lone army rashly attacks Kiev, it will expose our campaign intentions to the Germans. But before the friendly forces begin the offensive, we can’t stay where we are. We must make some movement to draw the Germans’ attention away."

"Lida, who do you plan to let to direct this attack?" Kirilov asked with concern.

"Comrade Political Commissar, who else?! Of course it is me." When I finished speaking to Kirilov with a smile, watching his face become gloomy, I quickly added: "Of course, except for me. . You have to go together too."

When I said this, Kirilov’s tight face showed a smile, and he proudly said: "Lida, that’s right, I’m your political commissar. It’s your partner, no matter you go. Wherever you are, just take me on."

"Commander, political commissar," Vitkov saw that Kirilov and I had reached an agreement in a moment, and quickly persuaded: "Kanivo is too dangerous. Let me take command."

"Comrade Chief of Staff. You have more important work left." I raised my hand to stop Vitkov's words, pointed to Romanov and said to him: "Your job is to help Commander Romanov to be familiar with and Command the troops. Understand?"

"Understood." Hearing what I said, Vitkov had to agree with a depressed voice and sat down again.

After explaining the rest of the tasks. Kirilov and I left the headquarters and headed to Kaniv along with Akhromeyev's three regiments who were drawn by Bantai Lev.

After arriving at Kaniv’s command post, I met the temporary supreme commander of the tank brigade, Major Perskin. Seeing my arrival, Perskin looked a little flustered. After he raised his hand to report to us, he was nervous and kept his hand on his forehead and did not let it down.

I raised my hand and pulled his hand from his forehead. Then asked in a flat tone: "Major Perskin, I heard that you failed in the battle to seize the bridge today. Can you tell me what happened?"

Kirilov also helped and said: "Yes. Comrade Major, you and Comrade Commander are also old acquaintances. If you have anything to say, we will not blame you even if you say something wrong."

"Comrade Commander?" Perskin had a strange expression on his face when he heard the name. He even tilted his head slightly and looked behind me. See if we are still following a commander he doesn't know.

Seeing his behavior, Akhromeyev, who came in with us, smiled and said to him: "Comrade Major. What are you looking at, aren't we all in front of you?"

"I just heard the comrades of the political comrade talk about the commander," Perskin murmured, "I want to see if he is following you into the command post."

As soon as his voice fell, it caused a chuckle of us. After laughing, Akhromeev pointed his finger at me and said: "Apart from us, where are there other commanders. To tell you the truth, the superiors just formed the Dnieper battle group based on our army today. , And our commander is the commander of this cluster."

Hearing this unexpected news, Perskin was taken aback for a moment, then raised his hand to salute me, and at the same time smiled and said sincerely to me: "Comrade Commander, please accept what I said to you. congratulate."

When the four of us were seated, I asked the question again. Perskin replied: "Comrade Commander, this is the case." When he said that, he didn't realize what he called me. He was still the original commander instead of the current commander, but I didn't correct him either. He just listened quietly to his description of today’s fighting situation: "...When the enemy was driven out of the city by us after the battle, Major Prikhodko personally drove a tank, led hundreds of fighters, followed the enemy and rushed up. At that time, I saw this scene with a telescope on the top floor of a building. I was optimistic that we had completely occupied the bridge leading to the other side of the river, but an accident happened.

We rushed to the troops on the other side. Just after leaving the bridge, we were ambushed by the Germans who had already ambushed behind the fortifications. Our commanders immediately fell into the German firepower network composed of machine guns, mortars, and war defense artillery. The commanders who rushed in front fell under the enemy's guns.

In order to cover the retreat of the infantry, Major Prikhodko personally drove the tank towards the enemy’s position. He wanted to crush the enemy’s machine gun position with tracks and destroy the enemy’s mortars with tank guns, so that more officers and fighters could escape from the enemy. Escape from the ambush circle. But unfortunately, when his tank was more than 30 meters away from the enemy's trench, he was hit by a war defense gun and caught fire. He escaped from the burning tank and was shot and died on the way back to our army's position. "

At this point, Perskin may have seen the serious expressions on the faces of Kirilov and I, and quickly explained: "There were more than 120 commanders and fighters who crossed the bridge, most of them The number is the Shamrih guerrilla fighters. Due to their inexperience in regular warfare, the casualties were high. In the end, there were only a dozen people who returned to our position."

He just said this, when someone outside the door shouted excitedly: "Comrade Major, good news, there is good news." Then a commander in the uniform of a political worker rushed into the room.

The people who came in obviously did not know that there would be so many people in the house. After a short period of time, he walked in front of us and raised his hand to salute me. He said, "Comrade commander, hello. Tank 22nd Brigade, 1st Battalion. Instructor Vajim reports to you, I am waiting for your order, please instruct!"

I recognized that it was Vajim, a political worker who I personally brought to the tank battalion. I quickly stood up, smiled and stretched out a hand to him, and said politely: "So it's you, Comrade Vajim."

After shaking my hand, I asked curiously: "Comrade Instructor, you just said that you have good news. I want to know what good news is that can make you happy like this."

"That's it, Comrade Commander." When I asked this question, Vajim became excited: "Today we launched an offensive on the other side of the river during the day, but the troops that crossed the bridge were ambushed by the enemy. The casualties were heavy."

When I heard this, UU Reading www.uukanshu.com repeatedly nodded and said regretfully: "Yes, Comrade Instructor, Major Perskin is just telling us about this. It's a pity, the deputy commander of the Tank Battalion. Major Prikhodko died in vain...."

"No, Comrade Commander, Major Prikhodko did not sacrifice." Before I could finish my words, I was interrupted by the emotional Vajim: "He was just injured, he has just returned, and he is now outside. "

"What, comrade instructor, what are you talking about?" Perskin heard this, rushed over and grabbed Vajim's shoulder, shook it vigorously, and asked loudly: "I saw him fall at the enemy's gunpoint with my own eyes. Next, why would you say that he did not sacrifice? You must be mistaken."

"Yes, Comrade Major." Although Vajim was about to fall apart by Perskin, he still said in a positive tone: "Comrade Deputy Battalion Commander did not sacrifice, he is still alive. After he was wounded, he fell down. In a crater to avoid the enemy's intensive firepower, when it got dark, he crawled back secretly. Not only did he come back alone, but also three wounded people crawled back together. They are now outside."

"Then what are you doing here, take me to see." Perskin came back to life when he heard that his comrades died, and because of excitement he even forgot that we were still there, pushing Vajim to go outside. (To be continued)