Chapter 935

In the following time, I didn't pay much attention to the battle of the 22nd division. Since they were able to annihilate all the German troops that rushed into the city yesterday, their performance in today's battle will not be too bad. At present, what I am most concerned about is whether the 171 and 308 divisions, as well as the third Regiment under the command of major kosga and major akhromeyev, can be safely withdrawn into the city.

Almost every half an hour, wittkov would call the observation post in the city and ask them, "did you find the German plane in the air?"“ Did you see our retreating troops in the city

"No, comrade chief of staff." The other person answers him with the same words every time.

Seeing that wittkov was as anxious as an ant on a hot pot, although I was equally anxious, I still wanted to comfort him: "Comrade chief of staff, what's your worry? We need to know that the retreating troops are not one or two companies, but two divisions, enough for seven or eight regiments? In addition, it's a good thing that we don't see enemy planes in the sky. At least the probability of our troops successfully withdrawing to the city has been greatly improved. "

Wittkov sat down in his seat and said dejectedly, "Comrade commander, before the troops were withdrawn from the city, I was never at ease. Without them, the 22nd division of a close guard alone would not have been able to defeat the enemy. "

Kirilov waited for me to finish and said cautiously, "Comrade oshanina, we can't just wait here. Should we make some preparations?"

"Comrade political commissar, you remind me of that." After that, I immediately told wittkov: "Comrade chief of staff, please call lieutenant colonel kaverin, head of artillery regiment, and ask him to come to my headquarters with his battalion commander. I have important tasks to assign to them. By the way, there are major Morozov and captain kurishenko, the artillery battalion commander of the guard division. Let them join in the meeting. "

"Call all the artillery commanders to a meeting?" As soon as kirilov heard these names I said, he asked strangely, "are you going to discuss with them the preparation of the artillery before the attack tomorrow?"

"Yes, comrade political commissar." As for his question, I did not hide anything. I answered truthfully, "our army has a limited number of guns and not many shells, so we must use them intensively in order to make the most of them."

When the six artillery commanders, led by lieutenant colonel kaverin, stood in front of me, I pointed to the map on the wall and said to them, "comrades, artillery commanders, our troops will cross the Dnieper River tomorrow morning and attack the German defense area." Seeing these people's expressions of joy, I continued, "before the attack, you will take the lead in shelling the German defensive zone."

"Comrade commander." When I said that, Lieutenant Colonel cavelling stepped forward and asked clearly, "may I ask where the target area of our shelling is?"

"Right here - HAMA!" I pointed to the city named HAMA on the map and said to him, "the 22nd division of the guards will send reconnaissance troops to the vicinity of the city to carry out reconnaissance and clean up the German patrols to clear the way for our next crossing. Once our shelling starts, only God knows what the shell can hit. It may be German devils or open space. But, comrade commander, I need your shells to hit the target, so tonight you also need to send artillery observers to cross the river with the reconnaissance troops to indicate the accurate target for our artillery. Do you understand? "

Lieutenant Colonel Calvin nodded his head vigorously and said aloud, "I see, comrade commander. I will send experienced artillery observers to cross the river at night with our scouts. "

"One more thing, comrade commander." I pointed to Morozov and kurishenko and said to kavilin, "they are the commanders of the artillery battalion of the 22nd division of the guards. In tomorrow's battle, their troops will be under your unified command. Morozov, kurishenko. " After I finished, without waiting for kaverin to speak, I called out the names of the two artillery battalion commanders.

"Here it is They agreed with one voice, and took a step forward, standing straight in front of me.

"From today on, you two artillery battalions will be under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Calvin." After the announcement of the decision, I was worried about their concerns and added, "I will tell general bantailiev about this in person."

They nodded, turned to kaverin, raised their hands and said, "Hello, comrade commander, we are at your command!"

After giving them a salute, kaverin said politely, "please take a moment. On behalf of the 266th artillery regiment, welcome to join us."

After arranging the artillery business, I then recruited the tank battalion commander in the city. When he stood in front of me, I solemnly said to him, "Comrade major, you may have known that our tank brigade had been completely destroyed in the battle of the other day in order to rescue friendly forces under the heavy bombardment of German planes. The remaining tanks of your battalion and the 171st division are the only armored force of our army. "

After listening to what I said, pelsjian said solemnly: "Comrade commander, please rest assured that our tank battalion has been fighting a tough battle since its establishment. In the battle of Stalingrad, the whole battalion lost all our tanks several times, but as soon as we were supplied with new tanks, the troops would immediately become effective again. "

I understood what he meant by this, that no matter what kind of arduous task I gave them, the commanders and fighters of the tank battalion would go forward without hesitation. I nodded and continued with a smile: "tomorrow, when the artillery regiment's artillery attack on the enemy is over, you will lead your tank battalion to set out from the position of the first regiment and rush to the opposite bank along the enemy's pontoon to cover the attack of our troops."

"But, comrade commander." After listening to my order, peresjian became a little hesitant. He asked cautiously, "the German army has deployed a lot of tanks on the other side of the pontoon, and there may be anti tank guns of various calibres. Can we rush through just by our tanks?"

"You don't have to worry about this." Although our large troops have not yet withdrawn into the city, I am full of confidence in tomorrow's attack. I comforted him with confidence and said, "major, I believe that before you go into battle, the German troops on the other side of the pontoon will be wiped out by our reconnaissance troops who have dived over the ice. If you're lucky, you may be able to capture a few German tanks in good condition. "

"Comrade commander, this is very good." After finishing this sentence, perschien took the initiative to say to me: "please allow me to return to the army immediately, check the condition of the existing tanks, and replenish the ammunition and fuel."

"Go, comrade major." I took the initiative to reach out to him and said in a friendly way, "good luck to you!"

Looking at peiersjian's leaving back, kirilov standing on one side said with emotion: "o'shanina, a commander like peiersjian, is relieved to use it. In this way, the success rate of our cross river operations tomorrow will be greatly improved. "

I nodded my head and looked at Vitkov on the phone. Judging from the change of his face, it seems that he heard some good news. As soon as he put down the phone, I immediately asked, "chief of staff, is there any good news to tell us?"

"Yes, comrade commander." Wittkov replied with a smile: "major Godunov, the head of the new third regiment, called and said that the two regiments of the 171st division have entered his position one after another. He is arranging defense areas for the new troops."

"Where is general gurdyev's 308th division?" When kirilov heard that the 171st division had been in place one after another, he could not wait to ask, "and the third Regiment under the command of major akhromeyev, where are they now?"

Wittkov took off his cornice cap, raised his hand, scratched the back of his head, and said slowly, "general gurdyev reports that the German imperial division is attacking his defense area. Because of the fierce German offensive, the regiment that had been with him had to return to stand by again to prevent the German army from breaking through their first line of defense and rushing straight to zaborosh. As for major akhromeyev's troops, they have now arrived at the airport to join the regiment left behind by the 171st division, and are ready to withdraw to the city after a short rest. "

Kirilov and I were relieved after listening to wittkov's report. Although the situation of the 308th regiment is not good at present, as long as the main force of the 171st division and the third regiment of the 22nd division of the guards return to the city, our attack plan for tomorrow will go on as usual.

Wittkov's idea obviously didn't keep pace with mine. He also asked anxiously, "Comrade commander, if the main force of the 308th division can't successfully withdraw to the city before dark, will it affect tomorrow's offensive battle?"

"No, comrade chief of staff." I said confidently, "even if the 308th division is entangled by the enemy, we can adjust our deployment in time and swap their tasks with those of the 171st division. The task of protecting the right wing of the 22nd division of the guards was completed by the 171st division, while the task of holding fast to the city was undertaken by the 308th division of general gurtyev. "

"I agree." As soon as I spoke, kirilov first agreed.

Vetkov frowned, thought about it, nodded, and said helplessly, "since that's the case, I don't have any different opinions. Let's do it according to what the commander said." At this point, he thought of another thing and immediately reported to me: "another thing, the captured German general Ike has been sent to the city. I asked major Godunov to find a basement for him."

"Comrade oshanina," kirilov asked after hearing wittkov's words, "under the present circumstances, I think we should get rid of this general as soon as possible."

"Get rid of it? How to deal with it? " Although I detest the SS, when I heard kirilov say so, I couldn't help but ask, "can you shoot a dying man?"

Kirilov shook his head and then said helplessly, "I can't do it either. Well, forget it. Let him live and die on his own. Whether he can survive depends on his own fortune. "

We were talking when the telephone on the desk rang. Wittkov went to pick up the phone, listened to it, and then handed it to me. At the same time, he said, "Comrade commander, it's major akhromeyev. He seems to have something urgent to report to you." I answered the phone and said, "Hello, major akhromeyev. I'm glad you've made it to the airport. How long will it take for the troops to rest before they can withdraw into zaborosh? "“ Comrade commander, it's almost time for the troops to rest. They can withdraw to the city at any time. However, just a few minutes ago, the German "skull division" suddenly shelled the airport“ Shelled the airport? " I was startled to hear akhromeyev say that because Ike was always in my hands, the "skeleton division" did not dare to bombard the airport with artillery. What happened to them today? Are they crazy? I asked nervously, "Comrade major, are there any casualties in the army?"“ Yes, comrade commander. " Akhromeyev replied: "a battalion of the 171st division deployed on the runway of the airport suffered heavy casualties under the attack of German artillery. The shelled people on the runway have turned into headless flies and don't know where to run. The shelling of the German army made them terrified. Even the ordinary people were not as good as those who lost their organizational units. They had no brains and no thinking. All they had left was to run instinctively and run to where there were many people. When commander kosga went to direct their evacuation, he was also hit by shrapnel flying across the country and was injured again. "“ What, commander kosga's hurt? " I was surprised again and asked excitedly, "is the injury serious?"“ He was hit by about a dozen shrapnel in his back. At present, military doctors are treating him, but he may not be able to fight again in a short time. "