Chapter 986

The battle continued. Not only did the tank brigade and the 308th division advance smoothly, but the resistance of the bantailiev division was also very weak. At seven o'clock, the 22nd division of the guards not only successfully occupied several churches, but also controlled two bridges leading to the left bank of the Dnieper River, completely cutting off the contact between the German forces on both sides of the Dnieper River.

And the 171st division, which detoured to the north of the enemy, also sent a telegram saying that they had successfully made a detour to the north of Kiev. Besides leaving a regiment to monitor the enemy in Kiev, the main force was launching a fierce attack on VOS hornod. As long as the city was successfully captured, the German escape route to the North was completely cut off.

Everyone was overjoyed to see the good news coming one by one. Kirilov even suggested to me: "Rita, judging from the current situation, all departments are progressing very smoothly. It is estimated that if we win Kiev in the daytime tomorrow, there will be no problem. Do you think it's time to send a telegram to Marshal Zhukov and tell him the good news

Although he suggested that I send a report to Zhukov a few hours ago, I had no idea whether the troops could launch an attack on time, so I didn't agree with his suggestion. At this moment, we can see that the troops are progressing smoothly, but the unprepared German army is defeated under our fierce offensive. I believe that in about ten hours, the troops will be able to completely occupy Kiev. Now that the situation is clear, it's time to send a telegram to Zhukov to make him feel at ease.

Thinking of this, I nodded and said to wittkov: "Comrade chief of staff, send a telegram to Marshal Zhukov to give him a detailed report on our army's successful invasion of Kiev. At the same time, we should also explain to him that in order to achieve the purpose of the surprise attack, all the officers and men who took part in the battle were dressed in German uniforms, so that after the battle started, the confused enemies could be completely thrown into chaos, so that they could not organize decent resistance. "

After listening to my instructions, vetkov didn't immediately arrange for the operator to send the message. Then he asked, "where is general rebalko? Do you need to send him a telegram?"

"Yes, as soon as the message to the marshal is sent, it will be sent to general rebalko." Wittkov's reminder was timely. It reminded me that in addition to the 79th infantry attacking Kiev, on the left bank of the Dnieper River, another army under my command was launching a fierce attack on bruvalli, where the enemy's heavy troops had gathered. To announce to them the news of our army's invasion of Kiev can also play a role in boosting morale“ Tell the general that our army has successfully entered Kiev and is waging a fierce battle with the defenders in the city. Let them speed up their attack and come to join us as soon as possible. "

After witkov sent a telegram back, I suddenly thought of an important question and asked cautiously, "chief of staff, did you mention the situation of the residents in the city in the war report fed back from the front line?"

Witkov didn't know the purpose of my question. He shook his head blankly, and then truthfully replied, "no, the telegram from the front didn't mention the residents of the city."

When Vitkov finished, kirilov asked me curiously, "Rita, why do you want to ask about this. Are you worried that the German forces in Kiev, like the enemies of cherkaser, will push the residents out to block bullets? "

As for kirilov's conjecture, I waved my hand and then said what I thought: "we are here to liberate Kiev. No matter how hard we fight with the German army, we can not ignore the lives and property of hundreds of thousands of civilians. Although our progress is very smooth and the damage to the city is very small, there are still some residents in some areas who will be impressed. Comrade chief of staff, we need to generate electricity for the frontier. If we find those residents who have escaped from their homes, we must evacuate them in time and hide them in a safe place to minimize the casualties of the residents. "

After hearing this, kirilov pondered for a moment and said, "Comrade Rita is very considerate. The people of Kiev have lived under the iron feet of the Communist aggressors for almost two years and have been looking forward to the return of our troops to liberate them. If we cause heavy civilian casualties during the attack, it will bring inconvenience to our management after the liberation of Kiev. General Romanov, go immediately to the commander in front of you and pass on Rita's opinion to them. "

"OK, I'll go right now." Romanov agreed and went to the operator.

Pugachev, who came in from the outside, brought us a new telegram. General rebalko said in the telegram that after a fierce battle, the troops who rushed into bruvalli occupied two-thirds of the city. At present, the main forces are launching attacks on the areas occupied by the remnant German forces. At the same time, special companies have been deployed to clear and suppress the scattered German forces in the occupied areas.

After reading the telegram, wittkov said optimistically: "Comrade commander, according to general rebalko's playing style, I think his troops will arrive in the eastern suburb of Kiev by dawn at the latest. At that time, the 22nd division of the guards will be able to rush across the river, attack them from east to west, and annihilate the remnant of the German army in the east of the city. "

I was deeply afraid that he would be too complacent. I immediately reminded him, "chief of staff, don't be so happy. Unexpected things may happen at any time before the end of the battle. Therefore, it is very necessary for us as commanders to keep calm all the time."

Just then, Romanov came back from the telephone, put a telegram on the table, and said, "Comrade commander, we've got some trouble in our attack."

When I saw wittkov reach out and pick up the telegram, I raised my head and asked Romanov, "Comrade General, what's going on in the front line?"

"Well, comrade commander." Romanov shrunk his mouth and said solemnly: "although the German army was dazed after our sudden attack, the enemy had a little taste of it after such a long time of fighting. They set up fire points in the buildings on both sides of the street and shot down our infantry charging behind tanks and armored vehicles, It caused some casualties to our troops.

What's worse is that about a multi battalion German army retreated to the October Revolution square along the grushevsky street, and retreated into the malinsky palace to the north of the square, blocking our advance with artillery and machine gun fire. After losing seven or eight tanks and armored vehicles, major perskin's tank battalion 1 was suppressed by German firepower in malinski park on the south side of the square. "

When witkov heard this, he said thoughtfully: "malinsky palace is a stone building, which can resist the direct fire of tank guns. It seems that if we want to take this building, we will have to pay a huge sacrifice. "

I thought about it for a moment, and thought that wittkov was right. We were lack of heavy artillery to attack the city. If the German army took refuge in the malinski palace, we would not be able to seize the building in the shortest time even if we took human lives to fill it. The only way is to destroy the building so that none of the enemies hiding inside can survive. So I opened my mouth and said to Romanov, "Comrade General, please send a message to major perskin, and ask him to transfer the rockets from the camp to the park. In addition, commander kavilin's artillery forces will concentrate their fire on the malinsky palace."

After my order was given, Romanov's expression was still calm, but wittkov was shocked. He said painfully: "Comrade commander, if you use rockets, it is estimated that this building with a long history will go up in smoke. I suggest organizing troops to attack malinski palace under the cover of tank fire. As long as our troops can successfully rush in, they may compete with the enemy house by house. It is only a matter of time before we can eliminate them with our superiority. "

I glared at him and said discontentedly, "Comrade chief of staff, is it the malinski palace that is important or the lives of our commanders and fighters that are precious? If we destroy the building, we can eliminate the invaders inside. After the war, we can build better and more beautiful buildings there. If our soldiers die, they will never live again. "

Listen to me, vetkov is silent. Seeing that the air in the room would solidify again, kirilov came out in time and said, "Rita is right. No matter how good or beautiful the building is, can it be as valuable as the lives of our commanders and fighters? General Romanov, don't be stunned there. Go and send a message to the commanders in Kiev. "

Seeing that Romanov turned to the telephone without saying a word, I got up from my seat and said to kirilov and Vitkov, "political commissar and chief of staff, you two will stay in general Romanov's command post for the time being..."

Before I finished, kirilov asked warily, "Rita, what do you mean by that? Do you want to go to the front line again?"

As for kirilov's conjecture, I nodded and said with certainty: "whether we can win Kiev depends on the progress of the fighting tonight. If I don't see with my own eyes that the enemies of malinski palace have been destroyed, I'm not sure. So I must go to the city to have a look. "

"You can't go alone." Kirilov after I finished, involuntarily said: "we are partners, but where you go, I will follow you."

I know kirilov's character is superficial and easygoing, but once he decides something, nine cows will not come back, so I readily agreed: "well, comrade political commissar, you can go to Kiev with me. And you, chief of staff, will continue to stay here and coordinate and command the fighting among the various units. "

Witkov saw that kirilov and I left him behind again. Although he was dissatisfied, he had no choice but to say, "yes, I will obey your orders."

When kirilov and I got into the jeep, I asked the driver, "Comrade driver, we are going to Kiev. How long will it take you to get there?"

The driver looked out of the window and then replied, "Comrade commander, the heavy snow outside has stopped. It is estimated that we will be outside Kiev in 40 minutes."

"Good. Let's drive."

After the jeep started, kirilov asked, "Rita, what are your plans after you take Kiev?"

Kirilov's question really bothered me. What I've been thinking about all this time is how to command the troops to capture Kiev and turn it into a bridgehead for our army's attack. I really haven't thought about anything superfluous.

After a long time, I answered him with a special official reply: "what else can we plan to do? Since we have captured Kiev, we should try our best to keep this city from falling into the hands of the enemy again."

After listening to my reply, kirilov asked noncommittally, "do you think our troops can hold Kiev after we capture Kiev and under the enemy's crazy counterattack?" This new question really left me speechless. At the beginning of the war, more than 700000 people in the southwest front of the Soviet army failed to defend Kiev. If I want to block the German attack with tens of thousands of troops, it's a bit like a dream. However, kirilov saw my dilemma and did not continue to ask. Instead, he sighed and turned his eyes out of the window. It was not until we entered the urban area of Kiev that we came to an end. Kirilov looked at the complete buildings on both sides of the street, and passed by our army officers and men in German uniform and tied with white towel on their left arm from time to time. He couldn't help but say in surprise, "Rita, it seems that the fighting tonight is not too cruel. Look at the buildings on both sides, even the glass on the windows is complete." With these words, our jeep, guided by the soldiers in the city, came to malinsky park. Here, I met the commander of the 308th division, Col. andreushenko, the artillery commander, Lt. Col. kaverin, and the tank battalion commander, major Peregrine. After all three of them stood in front of us, the first thing I asked was, "how is it? Has the malinsky palace been taken down?"“ Yes, comrade commander. " Andreushenko, on behalf of the three people, answered me: "after the heavy artillery attack, the walls of the malinski palace were riddled with holes and crumbling by our cannons. Our infantry followed the tanks and armored vehicles and shot down the enemies who were still fighting in the ruins. The garrison in the tallest LADA building next to us may have been frightened by our thunderous means. Before we launched an attack on them, they put up a white flag on the window and surrendered to us. I've just sent a battalion into the building to accept the German surrender and collect their weapons. "