In recent days, akhromeyev's troops have been fighting against the successive attacks of the 11th armored division and the 336th infantry division of the German army. Although he adopted reasonable tactics, the infantry held the position, and at the same time, he concentrated the armored forces and attacked the German army repeatedly, resulting in heavy losses to the German army. However, due to the differences in strength and equipment between the enemy and us, the 115th and 124th regiments, which were firmly in their positions, inevitably suffered a large number of casualties under the enemy's fierce attack.
After listening to Pugachev's report, wittkov asked me anxiously: "Comrade commander, what should we do? Is it right to transfer the 149th regiment up now? "
Staring at the map in front of me, I began to think about Vitkov's suggestion. After much deliberation, I found that this was not a good proposal. Once the last remaining regiment of the 171st division was put into battle, the city would become empty. If the German army bypassed our defensive position and made a direct attack on poloi, the city would be in danger of being lost.
So I slowly shook my head and said to wittkov, "no, comrade chief of staff. Once we put the 149th regiment into combat again, boloi will become an empty city. If the German army bypasses major akhromeyev's defense area and pours directly on the city, do you think the city can still hold
"Since the 149th regiment in the city can't be used, why don't we give the removed gordonov regiment back to akhromeyev?" Seeing the first proposal, I denied it. Wittkov immediately put forward the second proposal, "although their regiment has suffered a lot of casualties in the fighting these days, their combat effectiveness is still very strong."
"Comrade chief of staff," although I didn't want to hurt vetkov's face, I stubbornly denied his second proposal, "don't forget that our main goal now is to seize zaborosh as soon as possible. At the moment, the 22nd division of the guards, the tank brigade and the artillery regiment, which are fighting hard in front of them, have been tenaciously blocked by the German army. Without the reinforcement of the troops, they will not be able to break through the German defense line. "
Seeing that his proposal was repeatedly rejected by me, vetkov became impatient. After walking back and forth in the headquarters for two laps, he stopped and turned to me and said, "Comrade commander, at present, the main force of the group army is progressing smoothly, approaching zaborosh from our north. Since all the friendly forces are in the north of our army, there is no need for the right wing of the 22nd division to defend with another division. I suggest that one regiment be left in huri Abel to defend, and the other two regiments be transferred to the southern suburbs of Kuban and poloi respectively, so as to strengthen the forces of the Bantai leyev division and major ahlomeyev. "
Although I have been worried about the possibility that the 22nd division of the close guard, which was on the offensive mission, would be cut off by the German army from its flank. However, judging from the series of achievements made by the southwest front army in the past two days, I feel a little worried. After all, our army just won the battle of Stalingrad, but the morale of the German army was low. I even began to doubt my own judgment. Judging from the current situation, our army does not look like it will lose. After all, we have several times more troops than the German army. Even if we trade a few people for another, we will still have a surplus.
It was because I had doubts about myself that I didn't refuse wittkov's new proposal again. Instead, I seriously considered it: since our friendly troops are all in the north, it would be a waste to keep a whole division in the city of Huli Abel. Anyway, I don't have enough troops now, so I'll transfer them to solve the current predicament first.
Just as I was about to answer wittkov's request, my reason stopped my impulse. My brain seems to have a person constantly saying to me: "before the situation is clear, gurdyev's 308 division can not be used casually." It was because of this inexplicable voice that my words came to my lips and became something else: "chief of staff, although you have a good point, the 308th division can't move until the enemy situation is clear."
When I saw what he wanted to say, I raised my hand to stop him and said, "chief of staff, I plan to go to Kuban to see what's going on there, and the headquarters will be handed over to you for the time being." Then I lowered my head and asked kirilov politely, "Comrade political commissar, would you like to go to Kuban with me to see the situation there?"
"All right, comrade oshanina." Kirilov stood up from his position, arranged his uniform, and said decisively, "we have been in the headquarters for too long, so we should go out for a walk."
As we were sitting in a jeep bound for Kuban, kirilov suddenly asked me in a low voice, "Comrade oshanina, may I ask you a question?"
Although I don't understand why kirilov said that, I still nodded my head habitually and said, "Comrade political commissar, if you have something, don't beat around the Bush, just open your mouth."
Kirilov quickly glanced at the driver in the front row and asked thoughtfully, "just now, Colonel wittkov was right. The main force of the group army has approached zaborosh from the north. That is to say, at present, our army's right wing is all friendly forces. But why do you want to put a whole division in Huli Abel? What's more, this division was also an army that made many achievements in the battle of Stalingrad. Why did it set them aside as a garrison
As for kirilov's question, I was silent for a long time before I said slowly: "Comrade political commissar, the reason why I decided to let the bibantalyev division be the main force of the army to attack the fortified positions and put the two divisions on the two wings was that they were afraid that they would attack too fast and expose their weak wings to the enemy. Once they were surrounded, they would be able to attack the enemy, There's a risk of total annihilation. However, judging from the recent fighting situation, I have doubts about my own judgment. Under the continuous attack of our army, the German army has little resistance and is losing. It may not be long before they give up zaborosh and flee to the other side of the Dnieper
After listening to what I said from the bottom of my heart, kirilov pondered for a moment, and then asked, "Comrade oshanina, do you doubt that our army can win?"
I nodded my head habitually. Suddenly, I found kirilov's topic too sensitive. Then I shook my head and replied in a panic: "how can this happen, comrade political commissar. You know, I have never doubted that we will defeat the enemy in the end. What I am worried about is that in the next battle, the German army will adopt the usual tactics, detour back to the two wings of our offensive troops, and cut our troops into two sections. "
"Comrade o'shanina, your worries are well founded." Kirilov is obviously over optimistic that we will win this campaign. He said confidently: "but at one time and another, our army is taking the initiative in the battlefield. It is impossible for the German army to block our attack with its existing troops. If our attack is not fast enough and other friendly forces rush into zaborosh, you will miss another chance to capture the German marshal. "
Kirilov's words filled my heart with a sense of loss. Half a month ago, my troops were only a few blocks away from the headquarters of Paulus. As a result, with the order of the superior, my troops turned north and attacked the German north group, giving a chance to make a great contribution to the 64th army. This time, if the friendly forces rush into zaborosh first, I will be making wedding clothes for others again.
Thinking of this, I coughed and said to kirilov solemnly: "Comrade political commissar, when we go to Kuban to see the specific situation of the front line, we can decide how to use general gurdyev's 308 division. You see, is that all right? "
"I hope you can make the right decision quickly after watching Kuban's situation." Kirilov said with some gaffe, "if we don't act fast, our hard work these days will be in vain."
Bantai leiev, who received the notice, was waiting for us at the entrance of the eastern suburb of the city with several soldiers. Kirilov saw the crowd coming to welcome us. He patted the driver on the shoulder and told him to stop by the side of the road.
As soon as the jeep stopped, Bantai leiev trotted over and opened the door for me. Without waiting for me to speak, he began to report his work first: "Comrade commander, I will report the current fighting situation to you first."
I raised my hand to stop what he would say later, and said to myself, "general bantailiev, zaborosh is only tens of kilometers away from us, but what about you? You and your troops, who have been held up by the German army for several days and nights, are still not moving forward
On hearing my criticism, bantaileiev showed an embarrassed expression on his face. He murmured: "Comrade commander, we have done our best to face the anti-aircraft guns specially used to fight tanks on the enemy's positions. Our commanders and fighters rushed forward without hesitation. Unfortunately, the enemy's firepower is too fierce, except for causing certain casualties, There's no progress at all. "
I waited for Bantai leiev to finish complaining, and then I said, "Sir, I want to see the situation on the battlefield. Where is your observation post? Take me and the political commissar over."
As Bantai leiev said it would take at least half an hour to walk to the other end of the city, kirilov and I got back in the car and asked the driver to follow Bantai leiev who was leading us.
I look through the car window at this city which has just been recovered by us. The buildings on both sides of the street have collapsed most seriously. If I go inside, the buildings scattered all remain intact. It seems that the street battles happened some time ago are mainly concentrated in the buildings on both sides of the street.
I was just thinking about it when I heard kirilov coughing heavily. Then I heard him ask me, "Comrade o'shanina, I found something wrong with your mood these days. Did you encounter any trouble?"
I turned to look at kirilov and said with a bitter smile, "Comrade political commissar, you have been working with me for quite a long time. You should know that I like to go to the grass-roots units when the battle is going on. But since I became the commander of the army, I have been in the headquarters every day, commanding the battle according to the battle reports and maps I received, so it is difficult to accurately understand the exact situation on the battlefield. "
Kirilov listened to me, nodded thoughtfully, and then said to me earnestly, "Comrade oshanina, the senior commander is just like you. He stays in the headquarters every day, looks at the map in front of him, and adjusts his troop deployment and combat plan according to the battle report he receives. You can't do this. With your ability, you will never end up as a small commander. Maybe you will take on more important positions in the future. So you must get used to the current way of command. After all, you are the commander of an army, not a small company commander. It's no longer your turn to rush into battle. All you have to do is to command the battle in the headquarters according to the information you have. "
After our car arrived at the destination, bandeleev led us into a four story building. When walking up the stairs, Bantai leiev took the initiative to introduce himself to me and said, "Comrade commander, my headquarters is located on the fourth floor, from which you can clearly see the overall situation of the battlefield." Standing in front of the gap in the wall, I raised my telescope and looked into the distance: there were craters and charred land left by the explosion everywhere on the white snow, the traces of tank rolling were clearly visible on the snow, and there were piles of tankers left by our army. It may be that the battle is not over for a long time, and the remains of our tanks are still burning. Bantaileiev came up to me, pointed to the German position in the distance, and said to me, "Comrade commander, you have a look. That's the German artillery position. They changed the 88mm antiaircraft gun to anti tank gun. The tanks we lost were destroyed only after they were hit through the front armor by this kind of antiaircraft gun. " I looked in the direction of his finger and saw the simple artillery position built by the German army in the middle of the snow. It was almost the same 88mm antiaircraft gun. This kind of weapon is really the enemy of our army's tanks. If we don't destroy this artillery position, it's almost impossible to continue to attack forward. I frowned and asked Bantai leiev: "Sir, where did the Germans get so many anti-aircraft guns?" Hearing this question, Bantai leiev shrugged his shoulders and said helplessly: "sorry, comrade commander, I don't know. When we attacked Kuban, according to the Scout's report, there was no enemy artillery position here. When we occupied Kuban and planned to move forward, the enemy's artillery seemed to come out of the ground and stood in front of us. "