Chapter 405

After meletskov got on the phone, he came to the big map on the wall without saying a word and looked up at the map. After a while, with shaking hands, he took out a cigarette box from his pocket, lit a cigarette in his mouth, and then looked at the map. His abnormal behavior was seen by me not far away. I guess he might be pondering what Zhukov said just now.

I also stare at the map on the wall, looking at the red and blue arrows crisscrossing on the map, and I feel sincere admiration for the German commander who is facing us. The German commander-in-chief, who was promoted to marshal by Hitler, was far superior to meletskov in command ability. Although the German army was caught unprepared by the sudden attack of our army, under his command, the German army quickly stabilized and tenaciously resisted the fierce attack of our army.

The reason why our army made rapid progress in the early stage of the campaign was that the sudden launch of the campaign caught the Germans off guard. Second, the heavy artillery of Leningrad's front army and the naval artillery of the Baltic Fleet are used to increase artillery support for the troops who attack the fortified positions; There are also fighter planes of the air force over the battlefield to provide the necessary air cover for the troops.

In a short period of two or three days, marshal tricheller discovered the fatal weakness of our army from the way we attacked. He decisively sent bombers to air attack the heavy artillery of Leningrad's front army and the Baltic Fleet, forced the formation of fighter planes serving as cover for the ground offensive forces to fly to the air attack area to protect the artillery position and fleet of Leningrad's front army, and was forced to give up the air supremacy of the battlefield.

It has to be said that tricheller's drastic tactics just hit seven inches above the front army of warhoff. Without air supremacy and artillery cover, our troops began to make no progress in attack. In addition, the German reinforcements are constantly coming to the war area, and the situation on the battlefield is developing to the disadvantage of our army. The attacking troops of the volhoff front army were blocked near the heights of sinavino, while the troops of the Leningrad front army from the other direction were still trapped in the narrow landing site on the Neva River. The meeting of the two front armies became an unfinished task.

After krakov and starikov gave the order, they came to meletskov's back. They saw the commander of the front army looking at the map, pondering and waiting patiently without speaking.

Meletzkov dropped the cigarette end on the ground, crushed it with his toes, turned around, looked at the two generals standing in front of him, and slowly asked, "general Krakow, what are you going to do to keep the high ground?"

Krakov looked at the map on the wall and said, "the northern slope of the sinavino Highlands is gentle and sparse, so it's easy to attack but hard to defend. The front of our army's defense is so wide, but at present there are only the remnants of the 19th infantry division and the 140th infantry brigade of the guards on the high ground. It's a bit hard to hold the position. I have ordered the 22nd, 23rd and 137th infantry brigades to speed up their march and get to the high ground as soon as possible. At the same time, I also ordered the brigade commanders to repair and reinforce the fortifications on the high ground immediately after the troops entered the position. "

When meletzkov didn't say a word, starikov took it over. He said with an unnatural smile, "general Krakow, you don't know. We gave orders to the commanders of these troops a few hours ago. It's not that the commanders and fighters are not active in carrying out the orders issued by their superiors, but because the damned forests and swamps have greatly slowed down the marching speed of the troops. So far, they have not been able to enter the positions. "

My heart began to murmur when I heard starikov say so. Did he imply that meletzkov's decision to withdraw Gagan was wrong.

Meletzkov obviously recognized the voice of starikov, slightly frowned and said: "at present, as long as the surviving commanders and fighters on the Highlands can block the first wave of German offensive, then the reinforcements can arrive."

A staff officer came over without our awareness. He suddenly called out a report, which made us all startled. "What can I do for you?" starikov asked the staff officer with some dissatisfaction

The staff officer quickly saluted him and nervously replied, "I just received a call from chief of staff golovchner from the front line. He said that the highland was under fierce attack by German infantry. Due to the shortage of manpower, a lot was broken through and the soldiers were engaged in a white-edged battle with the enemy who broke into the field. Seeing that the situation was not good, the chief of staff immediately took all the personnel of the command post to the high ground to fight. "

"Nonsense! It's nonsense Meletzkov said angrily to the staff: "you call the front command post immediately, and say it's my order to ask chief of staff golovchner to withdraw from the high ground. Be sure to tell him that he is the chief of staff of the group army, and his position is in the temporary command post on the south side of the highland to direct the fighting, rather than being like a company commander, carrying soldiers and German bayonets. "

The staff officer agreed. Just as he was about to run back to make a phone call, meletzkov called him back and sternly told him, "you should contact the commanders of the 22nd, 23rd and 137th infantry brigades again and ask them to speed up their march. You must enter the sinavino highland within half an hour. Otherwise, I will send the special service section to enforce the battlefield discipline for all the commanders above the regiment level." Seeing that the highland which is related to the victory or defeat of the campaign is in danger, and those reinforcements have not been able to enter the position yet, even meletskov, who has a good spleen, is in a hurry, so he will give such a death order.

After the staff left, general krakov pointed the north side of the highland with a explaining stick and said to meletzkov, "senior general, I think it is necessary for us to build another line of defense on the north slope after the German attack is defeated. In this way, when the troops of the first line of defense are attacked by German infantry, the second line of defense can also provide them with the necessary firepower support. "

Meletskov looked at the map for a long time, frowned slightly and said, "I think it can. After the new line of defense is repaired, minefields should be laid in front of the positions. However, if such work is carried out within the range of the enemy, the casualties of our troops will certainly not be small. "

"There is no way, senior general. We have no choice. " "In any case, laying mines in front of the position can increase the probability of our army holding the position," krakov said with a gloomy face

After krakov finished, several people were silent, and they were all racking their brains to think about what to do in order to reduce the sacrifice of troops in building new defense lines and laying mines.

Seeing that the three men were all worried, I felt it necessary to tell them what I had in mind for reference, so I said, "Comrade commander, I have an idea that we can make the army build new fortifications as soon as possible and reduce unnecessary casualties."

Hearing what I said, the three of them were immediately in front of their eyes. The impatient krekov urged: "major oshanina, since you have a good idea, let's talk about it."

"Three general comrades," I went to the map, picked up the explanation stick again, pointed to the north of the highland and said, "before our army captured the highland, we had received artillery support from the Leningrad front army and the Baltic Fleet."

"We all know that, but what does it have to do with your suggestion?" Starikov interrupted me.

"General starikov, don't talk. Listen to major oshanina." Meletzkov sternly stopped his interruptions, nodded at me and said, "go on."

"Because they were located on the north side of the highland, almost all the shells fell on the north slope when they provided artillery support for our troops attacking the highland. In this way, there will be dense craters here. "

"What? Comrade major, please wait a moment This time, krakov planned my words. He turned to meletzkov and asked, "when our army attacked the Highlands, it was the Leningrad front army and the Baltic Fleet that provided artillery cover. Is this correct? Comrade General. "

Meletzkov didn't know why krakov suddenly asked this question. Although he was confused, he nodded vigorously to show that it was true.

Krakov took the explanation stick from my hand, lit the map and confidently said to meletkov, "senior general, I think I understand what major oshanina means. She wanted to say that because of the shelling of our army, there are dense craters on the north slope. The troops in charge of building fortifications can use these craters to connect them together, so that a new trench can be formed soon. am I correct? Comrade major. " His last sentence was specially for me.

I nodded and agreed: "yes, Comrade General. That's how I think about it. "

Meletzkov looked at the map carefully again, narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "in that case, comrade Krakow. You give an order. As soon as the German attack is repulsed, you will send troops to the north slope to repair the fortifications. "

At this time, the staff officer who disturbed us just now ran over again. He came to meletskov and raised his hand to salute him. He reported: "senior general, the front line of our army has just called, and the German attack has been repulsed by us. The commanders and fighters of the 137th infantry brigade are taking over the defense from the 19th and 140th infantry divisions of the guards. "

Starikov got excited when he heard that the troops had entered the highland. He said in a loud voice, "great, the reinforcements have finally arrived at the highland, so our defense forces will be greatly strengthened."

"How is chief of staff golovchner?" Meletzkov did not ask about the war situation, but concerned about the commander who had just run to the front in person.

The chief of staff bowed his head and replied, "Comrade chief of staff was wounded in the battle."

"What?" When starikov heard that his chief of staff was injured, he rushed up, grabbed the chief's collar and asked aloud, "is the chief of staff injured? Where is he now and how is his injury? " Maybe he was so hard that his collar turned red and he couldn't say a word.

Krakov came forward to rescue the staff from his hands and said in a low voice, "Comrade starikov, don't worry. Let the staff talk to you slowly."

The staff officer who broke free from starikov bent down and coughed violently. After a while, he hesitated and said, "the forward command post reported that the chief of staff was stabbed in the abdomen by a bayonet in a white-edged war with the Germans. After the first aid of the military doctor, it's no big problem. At present, the chief of staff is being sent to a hospital in the rear. "

When he heard that chief of staff golovchner was wounded and was evacuated, starikov was a little upset. After walking back and forth in the room for a few times, he said to meletskov in a roar: "Comrade General, the troops on the highland have many numbers. There is no unified command. It's easy for the troops to fight on their own. Now that the chief of staff is injured, we need to send someone to take over the command position immediately. "

As soon as I heard that I had to send someone to command many troops on the high ground, my eyes suddenly brightened, and my heart said that my opportunity had come, and meletskov would send me to this position. Thinking of this, he straightened up and coughed hard to attract meletskov's attention. My cough not only attracted meletskov's attention, but also krekov and starikov's eyes on me. After looking at each other for a few eyes, they seem to have reached a consensus in a short time. When meletskov saw the other two nodding, he said to me, "Rita, I remember that you had the experience of commanding the guard division and the group army. You went to the high ground to integrate several units that were not under each other's command and command them to guard this high ground that is very important to us. I believe that with your ability, you can do it completely. " Meletskov had just said this, but the telephone on the desk rang untimely, interrupting the words behind him. If the other phone rings, he may continue to talk, but the one that rings is the one that can contact the Supreme Command and the headquarters of the front army. He had to swallow the words back, went to pick up the receiver and politely said, "Hello, I'm meletskov. Where are you? " The voice from the microphone was heard not only by meletskov, but also by me: "Comrade report commander, I'm chief of staff stilimach. Just after receiving the notice from the supreme command, major oshanina was transferred to the new Stalingrad front army, and her superior asked her to report quickly. Do you want her to come back to little Visera immediately. I'll pick her up in an hour. "“ I see. I'll arrange it. " Meletzkov finished the call, silent and deep in thought, holding the phone hand for a long time did not let go. I knew that I was about to be transferred to the front army of Stalingrad, and I felt a little sorry that my position as a front commander in the heights of sinavino would be ruined. After a long time, meletskov raised his head and said, "the plan has changed, because major oshanina is about to be transferred, and the position of Frontier commander in the heights of sinavino can only be assigned to someone else." At this point, he turned to starikov and said, "Comrade General, it's up to you to take up this position. Do you have any comments? " Starikov quickly came to attention and answered firmly, "please rest assured, senior general. I promise to finish the task well. As long as I'm on the high ground, I won't let the Germans recapture it. When a man is in the position, he vows to live or die together with the position. " After listening to starikov's determination, meletzkov turned to me and said, "Rita, I'll arrange for someone to take you back to the village of little Visera. The front army of Stalingrad will pick up your car. It's about an hour away." With that, he cried out to the outside, "Lieutenant turchinov!" With his shouts, turchinov ran into the headquarters, came to him and saluted him: "general Comrade, chief of the special service section, Lieutenant turchinov is ordered to come and wait for your order!" Meletskov pointed to me and said, "I have just received an order from the higher authorities to let major oshanina rush back to the village of little Visera where the headquarters of the front army is located. I'll give you the task of escorting her back. " To tell you the truth, I was still flustered when I saw turchinov appear in front of me, but since he escorted me back to the headquarters, I can't be too indifferent to him. So I went forward and said, "Lieutenant turchinov, it's getting late. Let's start early." Turchinov nodded, saluted meletzkov again, turned and walked out. I went up to meletskov, saluted him solemnly, and then said, "Comrade commander, I'm leaving. Please take care!" Meletzkov also saluted, nodded and said, "be careful on the way." After saluting krakov and starikov one by one, I turned and followed turchinov out of the headquarters.