Chapter 934

Before dawn on February 23, the main force of the 308th division in the east of the city and the 171st division in the south of the city began to withdraw from their positions in an orderly manner. Even the third regiment in Kuban was ordered to give up their positions and cover the retreat towards zaborosh in turn.

Looking at the light outside, kirilov said with a sad face: "Comrade oshanina, it's going to light. If the retreating troops are found by German scouts, will they be attacked by enemy planes? "

I knew in my heart that kirilov was telling the truth. The German army firmly held the air supremacy. Once our retreating troops were found by them, it was very likely that they would send groups of planes to bombard the marching troops. However, I have nothing to do about the fact that our army has no air supremacy. Let alone being a commander of our army, even the commanders of the two front forces, vatukin and Golikov, who command hundreds of thousands of troops, may not be able to let our air force seize the air supremacy from the hands of the German army, otherwise the battle of Kharkov would not have been so hard.

Just as he was talking, the radio operator sitting by the wall suddenly stood up and yelled at us: "Comrade commander, comrade commander of the front army wants to talk to you."

The commander of the front army wants to talk to me? When I heard the operator say this, I couldn't help but feel nervous and screamed that it was not good. My heart said that maybe watujing had come to ask for a crime.

I didn't expect that the more I was afraid, the more I was afraid. I was worried that watujing came to ask for punishment because of disobedience. I didn't expect that he really made trouble for me for this matter. Only his low and gentle voice came from the earphone: "major general o'shanina, I ask you to find out one thing. It's me who command the front army, not others. Therefore, you must carry out the orders given by general haridonov, commander of the 6th army. Before dark today, the two divisions he will transfer must appear in the designated positions, or you will be sent to the military court. " At the end, he habitually asked, "what do you think of the orders I gave you?"

After listening to these words, my mind is still angry. First, I hate haridonov, the commander of the group army. I have clearly told zaborosh about the situation and tried every means to make him understand that if I follow his orders to mobilize the troops, I will be overthrown by the whole army. Unexpectedly, he even sued me in front of watujing. Second, he hated vatukin's inflexibility. Listening to his tone, Zhukov must have said hello to him, but regardless of the actual situation, in order to maintain his authority as the commander of the front army and support haridonov, he gave me such absurd orders directly.

Although the nature of self disobedience is relatively bad, I can't help but see a unit with complete organizational structure and strong combat effectiveness destroyed by wrong orders. However, in the face of such a senior leader as vatukin, I could only suppress my anger. After taking a deep breath, I tried to explain to him in a smooth tone, so that he could understand why I refused to obey: "Comrade commander of the front army, I also know that the orders of the superior commanders are not allowed to be discussed and can only be implemented unconditionally. But do you know the current situation of our army in zaborosh? "

After hearing my rhetorical question, vatujing said slowly: "Comrade haridonov has reported to me the situation near zaborosh. He said that there is an imperial division near the city and a skeleton division near the airport. After several days of fighting, he has made no progress. I think that since the combat effectiveness of the German army is not strong, you can leave one division to guard the city, and transfer the other two divisions to reinforce general haridonov. "

His words almost brought tears to my eyes. I secretly scolded you for being the commander of the front army? The German army is almost encircling zaborosh. Do you think you need only one division in the city to cope? Before I could speak, I heard him continue to say: "at present, our troops in Ukraine are several times as many as the German troops. Even if they can gain some advantages in some areas, they will not escape the final doom. Comrade oshanina, don't be intimidated by the bravado of these bandits. Even if you have only one division in the city, you can block their attack. When our two front armies meet in zaborosh, it will be the end of the German army. "

After listening to his optimistic analysis, I was deeply afraid that he would give more absurd orders in a moment of excitement, and quickly said, "Comrade commander of the front army, the situation of zaborosh is much more serious than you know."

"More serious?" After repeating this sentence, watujing asked in a relatively gentle tone, "what's the matter? I'm confused. Comrade o'shanina, you'd better give me some information. "

Hearing that he wanted to know the real situation of zaborosh, I did not hesitate to report the situation of our army to him truthfully: "Comrade commander of the front army, this is the situation. In addition to the "skull division" and "imperial division" as you know, the German troops attacking zaborosh also have the 11th armored division and the 336th infantry division of the German army in the Kuban area. There is also a German division on the West Bank of the Dnieper River who participated in the attack on us. "

"Ah, what? Why did the German army put so many troops into zaborosh? " Vatukin was startled by the information I provided him. After a short silence, he asked in bewilderment, "but why is the information given to me by general haridonov so different from what you said?"

Although I resent haridonov at the moment, I still have to save face for him in front of our common superior, so I vaguely said: "Comrade commander of the front army, there are plains near zaborosh. Maybe the scouts sent by commander haridonov can't get close to the German defense area, so they can't grasp the German movement in time."

"Well, I see." "Since the situation is so serious, I will withdraw the order just given and not mobilize your troops," said watujing with understanding

Vatujing's words made my heart relaxed. I repeatedly said to him, "thank you, comrade commander of the front army. Your decision is tantamount to saving our 79th infantry army from the danger of total annihilation."

"Don't be so polite, comrade oshanina." With a little apology, vatukin said: "I didn't know the specific situation, so I gave you the wrong order. For this, I want to apologize to you! By the way, how do you plan to deal with the German attack next? "

When I was about to speak, I suddenly thought that I was talking to him in Ming language, and it was easy for the Germans to eavesdrop on me. So when I said it, I said something else: "Comrade commander, I intend to withdraw the troops scattered outside the city to zaborosh one by one. Rely on the fortifications in the city to fight against the German attack and wait for the rescue of friendly forces. "

"You have a good idea." Vatukin inadvertently changed his address to me from "you" to "you", and then asked with concern, "are there enough fortifications in the city?"

"Yes, comrade commander. The defense system in the city is very perfect. One part of the fortifications was built when we entered the city, and the other part was built temporarily after we settled in. " Although I concealed an important battle plan from him, I told him the truth about the defense situation in the city, because the German's familiarity with the city is no worse than ours. If they want to deceive the enemy, they must add a lot of truth while telling lies to influence their judgment.

After listening to my report, vatukin said with satisfaction: "since there is a complete defense system, and all the troops are contracted to the city, we have the strength to block the German attack. Don't worry. As long as you insist on it for about three days, the Voronezh front army and our front army will join forces under the city. At that time, the German army besieging zaborosh will fall into our encirclement, and their fate will be the same as that of the Paulus regiment. "

I couldn't help laughing bitterly when I heard what he said. I didn't expect that after winning a battle to defend Stalingrad, the senior commanders of the Soviet Army belittled the enemy so much because of their complacency. However, they can only understand some things in their own mind. They must not say them, otherwise they will offend many people. So, I followed his words and said with a ha ha: "yes, yes, comrade commander of the front army, you are absolutely right. As long as our army stubbornly confines the main force of the German army around the city, the day when the two front armies meet will be their end."

After the call with watujing, I went back to the table and sat down, only to find that my vest was wet with sweat. At this moment, I can't help but feel scared when I think back to the scene of the call. If watujing was a stubborn commander, he would have given the order to remove me directly, but fortunately, he passed the test without danger.

"Comrade oshanina," kirilov pushed a fresh cup of tea in front of me and asked with concern, "what did the commander of the front army say on the phone?"

I picked up the teapot and tried the temperature of the water with my tongue. I felt it was not hot, so I took a sip. He put the teapot on the table and said, "what else can we do? We can't do it just by asking us to carry out the wrong order given by commander haridonov, and to dispatch two divisions to attack the flank of the German army, so as to reduce the pressure on the main force of the group army."

"Comrade commander, such an order can't be carried out." Before I finished speaking, vetkov could not wait to interrupt me and said, "if two divisions are really deployed to reinforce, it is estimated that they will be strangled by the three-dimensional firepower of German planes and tanks and artillery before they leave zaborosh's area, leading to the collapse of the whole army."

After witkov finished complaining, I nodded and said, "yes, chief of staff, I share your opinion. Let alone the fact that we need a large number of troops to take part in the river crossing operations. Even if I don't have such a plan, I don't intend to hand over my troops casually and let them be consumed in meaningless places. By the way, do divisions have the latest information to report? "

"Yes, comrade commander." Wittkov listened to my question and quickly reported that "just now, Colonel andreushenko, the commander of the 171st division, called and asked me for instructions on how to deal with the captured" skeleton division "commander ike?"

General Theodore Ike, division commander of the skull division, I almost forgot this man if Vitkov didn't mention it. As soon as he said this, I immediately remembered that the German general was dying, so I asked casually, "how is he now?"

Vetkov frowned and replied: "the situation is very serious. There is a large area of infection in the wound. The high fever has never subsided, and he has been talking nonsense all the time. It is estimated that he will not live long."“ Comrade oshanina, what should we do with him? " Kirilov also asked for my opinion after witkov finished his speech: "is it to blow him up with people and planes according to the original plan, or to leave him alone?" On this issue, I pondered for a moment. The plan of blowing up the plane with people was a necessary measure to be taken when the German army rushed into the airport. But now it's time for us to give up the airport and blow up the plane again. I can't bear to throw him in the snow and let him live and die on his own. On second thoughts, I finally said to wittkov, "chief of staff, call Colonel andreushenko and ask him to send some men to carry ike to the city on stretchers."“ Comrade commander, is it necessary? " At my command, vetkov's face showed a embarrassed expression. He said reluctantly: "if you don't have the heart to blow him up with the plane, I think you'd better leave him at the airport. Anyway, his injury is so serious that he won't live long. Let him live and die on his own. Why do you want to bring him to the city?"“ Comrade chief of staff, just carry out the order. " At the moment, I suddenly didn't want ike to die like this, so despite vetkov's objection, I stubbornly told him: "after entering the city, find a room to place him and send someone to guard him. As for whether he can survive after this battle, it depends on his personal luck." As soon as I finished, the sound of guns came out of the window. After listening for a moment, I found that the gunfire was coming from the river. I saw that the German army on the West Bank of the Dnieper was preparing for the gunfire again. As soon as the gunfire stopped, their ground attack would begin again. I picked up the phone on the desk and dialed the division headquarters of the 22nd division of Jinwei. When I heard Bantai leiev's voice coming from the receiver, I asked the other party directly: "Comrade division commander, listen to the voice, the German army is shelling the defense area of the first and fourth regiments again. Are you sure you can block the enemy's attack“ Don't worry, commander Bantaileiev confidently said: "in order to deal with the German tanks, a regiment planted a lot of anti tank mines near the pontoon. If the German tanks don't come, they will come. As long as they come, we will discipline them