Chapter 1170

"Comrade General," as soon as his words were finished, shumilov, sitting below, asked doubtfully, "is this not false news? Since 1941, the allies have been talking about opening up a second battlefield, but it has been almost two years now, and they have not seen the shadow of the second battlefield. So that our soldiers call the canned beef they aid "the second battlefield."

His words burst into laughter. Vatukin also laughed a few times, and then said, "don't worry, comrades, this time the president of the United States called the Supreme Commander himself. That is to say, the information is absolutely accurate. "

We heard that the intelligence came from the supreme command. Instead of being entangled in this matter, we changed the topic and began to ask other questions to watujing. Although I feel that when vatujing just explained his mission, he estimated everything and arranged all tasks properly. Even the situation and distribution of the enemy and the direction of our army's attack have been indicated on the map. But they still asked him about this and that, for example, how many guns are going to be arranged for the necessary fire preparation before the attack? Where and how many tank repair stations will be set up

For these questions, watu Kyoto handed over to general zaharov, chief of staff, to answer. When the general finished answering everyone's questions, the room became quiet.

Vasilevsky looked around the room and asked, "who else has a question?"

There was silence and no one spoke.

Then he asked again, but no one asked. He turned to murmur to watujing and konev, who were sitting on the left and right. Then he stood up and announced: "since everyone has no problem, then..."

"Marshal," seeing that he was about to announce the end of the meeting, but before he talked about the task of recovering bergerold and Kharkov, he stood up decisively and asked aloud, "allow me to ask questions?"

Just now, when everyone was eager to ask questions, I kept silent. Now all the questions have been asked, but I jumped out to ask questions. All the people are focusing on me, maybe some people secretly despise me and think that I'm flattering others.

After looking at each other, vasilevsky and vatukin turned to look at me and said helplessly, "Comrade oshanina, if you have any questions, just ask them."

After getting permission from vasilevsky, I asked aloud, "Comrade marshal, please allow me to ask which army will liberate Belgorod and Kharkov after completing the counter offensive against the enemy in the south of Kursk?"

What I said was like pouring a ladle of cold water into a hot oil pan and frying the pan. It's OK for other commanders to talk about it one after another. The key point is that I thought about it temporarily. I didn't have time to discuss with kirilov and Danilov. So they stared at me with wide eyes and wide mouth just like other commanders.

It took quite a while for vatukin to wake up from his shock. He said sternly to me, "Comrade oshanina, what we are discussing now is how to counter attack the enemy in southern Kursk. Even if the enemy is repulsed by us in the area invaded by us now, if we want to attack bergorod and Kharkov, we have to go through repeated discussion and study by the supreme command before we can work out the relevant operational plan.... "

"Comrade General, you can't scare her!" Konev, who had never spoken, suddenly said something nice for me: "Marshal Zhukov once said that she had many ghost ideas and would use her brains in war. Otherwise, she would not be famous among the enemies because she stuck to mamayev post. I think that her proposal to liberate Belgorod and Kharkov at such a time must be reasonable. We might as well listen to what she said? "

For konev's proposal, vasilevsky bowed his head to think about it, and then said with certainty: "well, comrade oshanina, I'll tell you what you think, so that you can have a clear idea."

Warsilevsky asked me to speak. I'm sure I won't be silly to tell you that in real history, after the German troops attacking Kursk were repulsed, they were forced to turn to defense, and Belgorod and Kharkov will soon be back in our hands. I quickly organized the words in my mind, and then said, "Comrade marshal, two comrades of the commander of the front army. I asked this question because I was inspired by commander watujing. " Seeing the blank expression on vatukin's face, I explained immediately, "he said that the Allied forces landed in Sicily, and the German forces must send troops to reinforce them. In this way, the pressure on us will be greatly reduced, and the time for the counterattack will be ripe."

"Yes, comrade oshanina." When watujing heard this, he nodded and affirmed, "that's what I said."

I went on to say, "if the Germans want to stop the Allied forces from penetrating into the Italian territory, they must deploy enough troops to intercept. At such a time, where should they deploy their troops? As far as I know, the army under the command of Manstein is also the only strategic reserve that the German army can mobilize. "

"Even so, what conclusion have you reached?" Vasilevsky asked with a flat expression.

"Marshal, according to my judgment, with the departure of the main forces of Manstein, the German forces in southern Kursk will become weak." Looking at vasilevsky, I said confidently: "after being strengthened by the grassland front army, our troops of Voronezh are in an advantageous position compared with the German army in terms of strength and equipment. So I venture to conclude that the time is ripe for us to recover Belgorod and Kharkov. "

When I finished, vasilevsky was silent and seemed to be lost in thought. After a moment's hesitation, vatukin asked, "Comrade oshanina, what facts can you use to prove to us that your inference is correct?"

Vatukin asked me this question, which really stopped me. I can't tell him that's what the history book says, so we can recover a big city like Kharkov soon after the German attack. Just when he was in a dilemma, Khrushchev, who was sitting behind vatukin, suddenly and leisurely said, "senior general, don't forget that Comrade oshanina visited the United States with Comrade Molotov a few months ago, and had in-depth exchanges with the US military. She must know something we don't have the authority to know, so I think her judgment is completely correct. "

Khrushchev indirectly supported me in public, and also mentioned my trip to the United States. His words worked. I saw curiosity and approval in the face of the commander who watched me on Friday. Even vassilevsky kept nodding his head.

"After such a long meeting, we must be tired." Vasilevsky waved his hand and announced in public, "take a ten minute break before continuing the meeting. Comrade vatukin, come with me. " With that, he stood up and walked out. Vatukin also quickly stood up and walked out.

After seeing the chief of general staff and the commander of the front army leave, the commanders in the room begin to talk to each other. Without waiting for kirilov to ask me anything, I quickly got up and went to Khrushchev. After thanking him, I asked in a low voice, "Comrade military commissar, why didn't I see the deputy commander General apanashchenko today? Where has he gone?"

When he heard my question, Khrushchev shook his head like a rattle and said, "I don't know. His headquarters is not with us, and as soon as the deputy commander is free, he likes to go to the troops in the front line. It is estimated that now he has gone to another division or even regiment to inspect it. "

"Comrade deputy commander, it's too dangerous to do so!" As I said this, I turned and beckoned to Danilov in the distance to come to me.

Danilov had not come yet, but konev came first. He asked curiously, "Comrade oshanina, did you get any inside information, so that you asked such a question?"

"Comrade commander of the front army, please wait a moment." I saw that Danilov had come to me, so I had to apologize to konev first, and then told Danilov: "Comrade deputy commander, according to our original agreement, you should call Colonel bezikov and ask him to inform divisions to pay attention to the whereabouts of general apanashinko and ensure his personal safety."

After Danilov left, Khrushchev nodded with a smile and said with approval, "Comrade oshanina, you are very considerate. It's a very effective way to let the troops below protect general apanashchenko. "

After Khrushchev finished speaking, I had time to explain to konev: "Comrade commander of the front army, please forgive me for not explaining too much to you, because it involves a lot of secrets that you can't know. However, I assure you that as long as the forces of the fifth group of close guard tanks defeat the main German forces in prohorovka, the enemy will no longer be able to organize any effective resistance. At that time, not to mention the liberation of bergorod and Kharkov, even if it was to recover Kiev again, it was not a big deal! "

When I mentioned the place, Khrushchev and konev's faces were red with excitement. Because this city is where Khrushchev once presided over his work; But konev thought that the liberation of Kiev's record, can let his future a bright.

"Recover Kiev?" Khrushchev asked tentatively in a low voice, "is our army really powerful enough to liberate Kiev from the enemy?"

"Yes, comrades of the Military Commission." I respectfully said to him: "since a few months ago, I was able to liberate Kiev from the hands of the German army with a poorly formed infantry army. Now we have millions of troops. If we rush to Kiev together, do you think the German army can block our attack? "

"Can't stop, absolutely can't stop." Konev took over the topic and said: "you know, after many of our troops are equipped with new weapons, the overall combat effectiveness has been greatly improved. Although our strength is still relatively weak compared with the German army's strong fighting force, we can't beat them one-on-one, so we can compete with them in the ratio of two to one, three to one, or even four to one. I don't believe we can defeat the Germans. "

The three of us were talking in a low voice when vasilevsky and vatukin came in from the outside with a serious face. I quickly went back to my seat and saw that the two leaders who had just returned had something important to announce.

After seeing all the commanders sitting down one after another, vasilevsky stood at the table, holding the table in both hands, leaning forward slightly, and said in a loud voice, "comrades commander, just now I and the Supreme Commander reported to him the questions raised by Comrade o'shanina through the phone."

At this point, he stopped deliberately and gave me a meaningful look. Then he said without hesitation: "after listening to this, comrade Stalin highly praised the brave and fearless fighting spirit of general oshanina, so he decided to hand over the honor of liberating the two cities of Belgorod and Kharkov to the glorious guards of the sixth group army." Then he took the lead in clapping.

I stood up in thunderous applause and raised my hand to salute vasilevsky. But I didn't put down my hand immediately. Instead, I saluted the whole audience. After the applause stopped completely, I put down my hand raised to my forehead and assured vasilevsky in a loud voice: "please rest assured, marshal. All the officers and men of the sixth group army of the guards will surely put our glorious flag on the highest point of Belgorod and Kharkov." After I finished speaking, watujing also stood up and encouraged me a few words, and then announced the end of the meeting. As kirilov and I walked out of the crowd, he came close to my ear and said in a low voice, "Rita, you are crazy. Manstein's troops are constantly attacking in the south of Kursk. Whether the counterattack can be successful or not is a question. How dare you come forward with the request to recover Belgorod and Kharkov. If you can't finish this task, your future will be over. "“ Don't worry, my military Commissar I raised my hand and gently patted him on the shoulder, comforted him and said, "you have known me for a long time. Don't you know what kind of person I am? When did I say that I didn't cash it? You can rest assured that if you can recover the two cities in the south, you will certainly recover them. " At this point, I looked around and saw that no one noticed us, so I said in a low voice, "this is a rare opportunity to make contributions. If I miss it, I will regret it in the future." When kirilov saw that I was so stubborn, he had no choice but to sigh and say, "forget it, as for whether Kharkov can be recovered or not, it will be a matter of the future. Now we have to consider how to launch a counter offensive against the German army. "