Chapter 1080

My group army is adjacent to the first group army of katukov's close guard tanks, defending the south of Kursk. In order to make the defense line formed by our two army groups a real barrier for Kursk, I dare not slack off. In order to obtain the detailed information in the defense area, in addition to keeping telephone contact with katukov every day, I often go to the defense line for inspection. The focus of the inspection, of course, is on those areas that will be attacked by the German army first. Every time I was accompanied by the acting chief of staff and the director of intelligence, lasmishin.

On this day, we are going to the defense area of the 51st division of the guards.

Because I find that every time I go out for inspection, the motorcade composed of a jeep and two trucks full of soldiers is too eye-catching when they appear in the front, which will not only leave a bad impression on the commanders and fighters, but also be easily found by the German scouts, and even become the target of their attack one day in the future. So when I go out now, I'll take three jeeps with me. The guard soldiers are sitting in the front and back cars, while bezikov and rasmish and I are sitting in the middle jeep.

On the way, rasmishin, who was sitting in front of him, turned his head and asked curiously, "Comrade commander, with all due respect, do you really think that our defensive zone will be attacked by the German army?"

"That's for sure, comrade commander." As for rasmishin's question, I immediately gave him a positive answer: "if Manstein wants to cooperate with their central army group and launch an attack from the south, our defense area will bear the brunt, so it is absolutely necessary to prepare for the war."

"But, comrade commander." After getting along with me during this period, rasmishin didn't speak as rigidly as he used to, so when he listened to me, he said somewhat unconvinced: "the 7th group army of the guards under the command of general sumilov in the east of our army is closer to Belgorod than we are. If the enemy wants to attack, I think the first place to bear the enemy's attack should be korocha, Although it's only a small city, the headquarters of the seventh group army is located there. Once the German army captured this small town only 50 kilometers away from Belgorod, it would be an ideal starting point for the attack. "

"Comrade commander," said bezikov, who was sitting beside me before I made a statement, "don't forget that our defense area is only ten kilometers away from the German army. Once the war starts, the German tanks can rush in front of our position in half an hour at most. "

When I saw that rasmishin wanted to retort, I quickly raised his hand to stop him and said to myself, "commander, you have a point. After we have inspected the defensive positions of the 51st division of the guards, we will go to korocha to see general shumilov and discuss with him about the coordination of defense."

"One more thing, comrade commander." Rasmishin then asked, "do you really need to deploy a tank brigade and two artillery regiments in the first and second lines of defense? Moreover, once we are attacked by the German air force, our precious armored forces and artillery will suffer heavy losses. "

After rasmishin's question, bezikov unexpectedly did not refute him, but turned his eyes to me. It seems that he has the same question. In view of this situation, I have to explain to them: "the territory near Kursk is vast, and the strength of both sides is equal, so neither side can fully control the air, so a large part of the victory or defeat of ground operations is decided by tank warfare. In the past, our defense operations failed because the defenders were defeated by German tanks and then surrounded and annihilated by a large number of German infantry. Therefore, the success or failure of the anti tank operation became the key to the German attack, which was why I had to arrange a tank brigade and two artillery regiments on each line of defense. Do you understand? "

When I explained this, they suddenly realized, and then answered neatly, "I see."

Our car stopped in the 51st division of Jinwei. Immediately, a lieutenant commander came to me and opened the door for me. At the same time, he loudly reported: "Comrade commander, it's the chief of staff of the division. Comrade commander is in the tent over there, talking to the front troops on the phone. I can't meet you in person. Please forgive me!"

After I got out of the car, I closed the door behind me. Then I told the chief of staff of the division in front of me, "Comrade chief of staff, take me to see your division commander, general tavartkilaze."

The chief of staff, who was leading the way in front of me, took the initiative to lift the curtain for me when he arrived outside the tent and invited me in. I nodded at him and went in with bezikov and rasmishin.

As soon as I entered the tent, I saw general tavartkilaze standing in the middle of the tent. He was furious at the microphone: "no, absolutely not. The defensive position of your regiment must be completed in two days... What? It needs to be supplemented. No, I don't have any extra people in my hand... If you allow me, I'll dig the trench for you..."

He hung up angrily and turned to salute me. I asked with a smile, "Comrade General, I don't know who you are angry with?"

"Who else, of course, is one of my commanders." Tavartkilaze said helplessly: "according to the plan, they should have finished the defense work yesterday, but today, almost one third of the work has not been completed. Just now, just for this matter, I urged him to speed up the progress, which must be completed in two days. "

"General tavartkiraze, you are right." As I know the specific time of the outbreak of the Kursk battle, my worry will increase by one point every day, so I will urge my subordinates to speed up the construction of fortifications every day and inspect the positions from time to time. It was under my supervision that the division leaders were particularly attentive to the construction of fortifications.

After I sat down on the bench beside the wooden table, I looked up at tawalter killazer standing in front of me and asked, "Comrade General, I don't know which regiment of your division has done better in building fortifications?"

"Colonel Lukin's 309 regiment." When he heard my question, tavartkilaze opened his mouth and said a number. Without waiting for me to speak, he suddenly added: "Comrade commander, this commander is your old subordinate."

Old man, I heard tavart killazer say so, and quickly thought about the name of the person. A moment later, I still had an image of a person in my mind - Lu Jin, an excellent commander who once served as company commander, battalion commander and even acting commander under my command. Is it really him? I can't wait to ask tavartkiraze, "Comrade General, where is he?"

"Where else?" Tavartkiraze shrugged his shoulders and said, "of course, on the defensive front."

"Can you take me to see him?" To make sure that he said that Lukin was the same person as the one I knew, I got up from my seat and made my own request to him.

"Comrade commander." Hearing what I said, tavartkilaze's face showed an expression of embarrassment: "the defense position of the 309th regiment is too close to the German defense line. I'm afraid that when you go by, you may be found by the enemy's scouts, which will attract long-range artillery bombardment."

"General tavartkiraze, you don't have to worry about that." I said lightly, "I'm not a rookie on the front line for the first time. I know how to avoid risks. Besides, we are in our own defense zone, and even if we are shelled by the enemy, we can still hide ourselves. " At this point, I raised my hand, looked at my watch and urged the other party to say, "it's getting late. After I have inspected the positions of the 309th regiment, I have to go to the headquarters of the 7th group army. Comrade general, please show me the way. "

At my request, tavartkilaze, though still with a embarrassed expression on his face, finally agreed to my request with difficulty: "well, comrade commander, in this case, I will accompany you to the front line."

In order to prevent the target from being exposed, our jeep stopped a long way from the command post of the 309th regiment. Tavartkiraze told the driver to hide the car in a cave by the side of the road, and then take us along the easy road.

Looking at the hills on both sides, I said to tavartkilaze, "Comrade General, you should remember to deploy tanks on the high ground, so that when the enemy's armored forces attack you, our tanks can launch high and low assault from the high ground and defeat the enemy's attack at one stroke. There are also artillery positions, which should be deployed on the reverse slope of the high ground. In this way, they can avoid unnecessary losses in the artillery preparation before the German attack... "

Tavartkilaze listened to my arrangement carefully. When I finished, he nodded his head and assured me, "Comrade commander, please rest assured that I will deploy according to your arrangement."

The closer I was to Lukin's command post, the more my heart beat. My mind kept thinking: Although tawalter killazer also said that Lukin was my subordinate, what should I do if I made a mistake? What's more, Lu Jin's whereabouts have been unknown since he separated from me by the river. How can he suddenly become the commander of the 51st division of the guards?

The command post of the 309th regiment is located in a wooden shelter half buried in the ground behind the hillside. When I see the sentries outside the house, I know where we are.

Tavartkilaze and I walked side by side through the saluting sentinels, into the regiment headquarters, and down the earthen steps.

Looking at the command post of the regiment outside, I found that the space was not small after I went in. Outside a wooden door at the bottom of the steps stood a second lieutenant. Seeing us coming down the steps, he quickly raised his hand to salute us.

Tavartkilaze raised his hand to return the salute and asked, "is your commander in?"

"Yes, sir." When the second lieutenant answered, he glanced at me and added, "the commander is calling a meeting of the battalion commanders."

"Come on, comrade commander. Let's go in. " Tavartkiraze said to me, then he pushed the door and went in.

In this stuffy command room, I saw a commander with his back to me and several other commanders around a wooden table. They all looked down at the map on the table and talked in a low voice. They didn't find me and tawalter killazer who had just entered the door.

Tavartkiraze wanted to greet them, but I shook my head and stopped him. I stood silently at the door, looking around this not too big room. Under the two bright lanterns, I could see the furnishings clearly. After listening for a while, I found that what they were discussing was all about building fortifications, so I couldn't help asking, "comrades commander, what are you discussing?"

When several commanders heard my voice, they all looked at me. As soon as we could see clearly, tawalter killazer and I were standing at the door. Several people immediately stood upright and raised their hands to salute us.

When the lieutenant commander turned around, I had seen the commander clearly, and it was indeed my old acquaintance Lu Jin. After raising his hand to return the salute, he rushed to him with a lunge, grabbed his hand, shook it vigorously, and said excitedly, "Lu Jin, my good brother, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Hello, comrade commander." Lu Jin held my hand tightly in both hands and said with the same emotion: "I'm very happy to see you here, too."

I raised my empty left hand, clenched my fist, punched his arm lightly, and asked with a smile, "Lieutenant Colonel Lukin, I haven't seen you since I separated by the river dun. I thought you were dead."

Lu Jin gave a simple and honest smile and replied: "Comrade commander, not long after we separated in the Don river, I quit the fight because of my injuries, and then I was injured in gubishev for four months. In the hospital, I often hear from the mouth of the wounded and the radio that you are commanding the troops to beat the German army. It's a pity that my injury can't get better, otherwise I will go to mamayev post and teach the German a lesson with you. After I was discharged from the hospital, I came to the reserve army in Moscow. During the reorganization two months ago, I was transferred to the 51st division of the guards and was appointed head of the 309th regiment

Tavartkilaze also came to him and said, "Comrade commander, at that time, my division had just completed the rectification, and there was a shortage of commanders at all levels. It happened that I heard that lieutenant colonel Lukin was once your subordinate, and he was an excellent commander with rich combat experience, so I proposed to the higher level that he should be the head of the 309th regiment."

"Comrade General," I said gratefully to the bole who promoted and reused Lukin, "I believe that in the next battle, you will be proud of the right decision you have made."

"Comrades commander," the dialogue between the three of us had just come to an end when a major next to us suddenly asked, "can we leave?"

"Leave, why do you leave?" Lukin was puzzled by his men's request.

The major laughed sheepishly and replied, "Comrade commander, we are afraid to disturb your reminiscence with the commander, so we intend to avoid it."

"Comrade major, there is no need to evade." I restrained the smile on my face and said to the major steadily, "I'm here to learn about the construction of your regiment's fortifications. It happens that everyone is here. Let's start reporting." At this point, I looked around and asked, "who will come first?"

"Comrade commander, let me report to you." Lu Jin finished this sentence, then said to me: "before reporting, please allow me to introduce my subordinates to you." Then he pointed to the major who had just spoken, "this is major Nicola, chief of staff."

"Major chuckleko, first battalion commander, major selibitzer, second battalion commander, major gilgin, third battalion commander." Every time Lu Jin introduced someone, the other side stepped forward and raised his hand to salute me. After the ceremony, they returned to their respective positions.

After Lu Jin introduced his subordinates to me, he began to report on the construction of fortifications and the deployment of troops. He pointed to the place on the table and said to me, "Comrade commander, please see, there are three relatively large Highlands in our regiment's defense area. In addition to the necessary surface works, according to your deployment and the characteristics of the Highlands, two kinds of tunnels of "H" and "X" specifications have been excavated respectively on these highlands... "

When listening to Lu Jin's endless introduction, I kept smiling and nodding my head, and said in my heart: my old subordinates are reliable. If you want them to do something, you don't have to ask them to do it again and again. You just need to explain a few words, they will be able to successfully complete the task I delivered.

After Lu Jin finished, I asked, "Comrade commander, how is your regiment equipped?" I ask this question because during my recent inspection, I found that there are not many troops equipped with Kalashnikov rifles, and most of the commanders and fighters are still armed with bobosha submachine guns or mosinlagan rifles.

When Lu Jin heard my question, he did not answer it immediately. Instead, he turned his eyes to his teacher. Tavartkilaze saw that Lukin and the other commanders' eyes fell on him. He waved his hand and said impatiently, "what do you see me do? Comrade commander, just say what you have. I'm sure the commander won't be surprised. "

With the permission of tavartkilaze, Lukin had no scruples, so he reported to me: "Comrade commander, we have long said that we would be equipped with a new type of infantry weapon. Who knows, up to now, we haven't even seen any new weapons. At present, the troops are still equipped with mosinragan rifles, bobosha submachine guns and jaggyaliov light machine guns, And a small amount of heavy machine guns. " At this point, he seemed to think of something and added, "by the way, we still have a few Czech light machine guns seized."

"Czech light machine gun?" Lukin mentioned this kind of weapon, I was very surprised, I turned to look at tavartkilaze, surprised and asked: "Comrade General, if I remember correctly, the German machine gun, is not MG34, is mg42, where is the Czech light machine gun?"

"Come on Lu Jin suddenly yelled at the door. With his shouts, the second lieutenant we just met at the door came in. He stood straight at the door, waiting for Lukin to give him an order. Lukin pointed at him with his hand and said, "second lieutenant, go and hold out the German machine gun we have captured. Let the commander and the division commander see what it looks like."“ Yes The second lieutenant agreed, turned and went out. In less than a minute, the second lieutenant reappeared at the door with a light machine gun in his hand. My sharp eyes recognized that this was the Czech light machine gun I used to use in movies and TV plays. After Lu Jin sent the second lieutenant to leave, he explained to me with a smile: "Comrade commander, you think, the whole Czech Army has surrendered to the German army, and all the domestic arms factories have been taken over by the German army. They can produce as many Czech light machine guns as they want." After listening to Lukin's analysis, I nodded and said, "well, it's possible. During the war of Stalingrad's defense, the independent division under my command once seized the standard equipment of the Italian and Hungarian forces. " I took the light machine gun, looked at it, and asked, "is there enough bullets?" Lu Jin shook his head and said with some regret, "we didn't capture many bullets, probably only three clips per gun." As soon as I heard this, I was greatly disappointed. The 20 round straight magazine and three magazines used in this kind of machine gun are only 60 rounds. It's estimated that they can't even fight back a wave of enemy's attack, and they are even inferior to firesticks. I gave the machine gun back to Lu Jin with indifference and said, "Comrade commander, you can only make do with this kind of light machine gun for a period of time before the new weapon is officially equipped in the army." I raised my hand, looked at my watch and said to Lukin, "Comrade commander, general tavartkilaze and I are here to inspect your fortifications. Come to us and have a look." When I said this, I thought that Lu Jin would shirk on the ground of worrying about my safety. Unexpectedly, he just pondered for a moment and readily agreed: "OK, comrade commander. I'll take you to inspect our defensive positions. " After that, he turned to the third battalion commander and said, "third battalion commander, the regiment is the closest to your camp. We'll ask the commander to visit the fortifications of your camp later. Is there any problem?"“ Comrade commander of the report, "major gilkin, the commander of the Third Battalion, who was named by him, immediately replied loudly," no, no questions. " With these words, his eyes turned to me again and said, "Comrade commander, welcome to the defense area of our third battalion for inspection."“ Come on, stop talking nonsense. " Tavartkilaze was deeply afraid that his subordinates would not finish talking about it. He quickly cut in and said, "Comrade commander, there are other things. After checking, we will leave. Let's start at once."“ Yes, sir Major gilgin agreed, walked quickly to the door, made a gesture of invitation to the outside, and politely said, "please, commander, sir, I'll show you the position of our camp."