Chapter 1104

It took him less than a day to become familiar with the reconnaissance battalion he commanded. At noon the next day, I came to my headquarters and asked for a mission. Maybe he was afraid that I would not agree with him, so he specially stressed: "Comrade commander, I have talked with all the platoon leaders in the reconnaissance battalion. Everyone thinks that under the current situation of our battalion, we can immediately carry out the reconnaissance work against the frontal German army. Please approve! "

My heart has been quietly calculating the time of the outbreak of the Kursk battle. Seeing the start date of the departure battle, there are only ten days left. If we don't send people to carry out reconnaissance and get to know the dynamics of the German army in time, we may suffer a big loss at the beginning of the battle.

However, instead of making my own decision, I asked Danilov, "Comrade deputy commander, what's your opinion? Do you agree with the captain that they go out for reconnaissance?"

"I don't mind," Danilov replied very simply. "We should have sent someone to the German Garrison for reconnaissance. It's very difficult to understand the real deployment of the German army simply by relying on the intelligence reported by the troops below. Therefore, I think we should send the reconnaissance battalion of the group army to conduct a detailed reconnaissance of the defense depth of the German army. "

Seeing that Danilov thought the same as I did, I did not hesitate any more. After I asked trafkin that he wanted to lead a team of scouts himself this time, I picked up the pencil on my desk and wrote in my notebook:

"Hereby order:

Captain travkin of the reconnaissance battalion of the group army immediately dispatched capable personnel to form a reconnaissance team and went deep into the German controlled bergorod Kharkov to investigate the German deployment and activity rules. The time limit is eight days without delay.

Group Commander: o'shanina

Military commissar and political commissar:

Deputy Commander:

Chief of staff:

Date of issue: 25 June 1943. "

After writing and signing, I pushed the order to several of them, Danilov. After reading the order in turn, the three signed their names one after another.

After they had signed, I took up the order and handed it to travkin, who had been waiting nearby. I told him, "Captain, it's very important to go to the enemy's rear for reconnaissance this time. You must feed back the information in time, so that the head of the group army can adjust the deployment of troops according to the changes of the enemy's situation."

"Yes "Please rest assured, comrade commander, that we will complete the task," he replied loudly

Seeing that he turned to leave, I stopped him at the back and told him, "you will be in great danger if you go deep behind enemy lines. You must remember to minimize the loss of small teams. Do you understand? "

"I see, comrade commander."

Looking at the figure of travkin leaving, kirilov, who knew him well, suddenly asked, "Rita, why should captain travkin go in person for this reconnaissance? You know, he is now the commander of the reconnaissance battalion. He has so many company commanders and platoons under his command. Whoever he sends will be able to successfully complete this task. "

"Comrades of the military commissar," I explained to kirilov about his doubts, "the reason why I let travkin go out in person is that this reconnaissance mission is so important. Although there are a lot of company commanders and platoons in the reconnaissance battalion, it's a pity that I didn't know enough about them and sent them out rashly because I came to the group army too soon. "

My words aroused Danilov's vigilance. He asked tentatively, "Comrade commander, a few days ago, the headquarters of the front army issued an order to strengthen our combat readiness and prevent possible German attacks. As a result, the days predicted by the superior have passed for several days. Do you think the German army will still launch an attack? "

"Yes, certainly." It's only a few days since the outbreak of the Kursk battle. I don't want my deputy to take the war preparations lightly, so he said solemnly: "judging from the current signs, the German army may launch an attack on our defense area in early July."

"Early July?" After listening to my analysis, Danilov had an incredulous expression on his face: "it's the end of June now, but in the front of our defense, there is no sign of large-scale German mobilization. We should know that if we want to launch an attack on our group army's defense area, the German army must prepare at least 300000 people. It is impossible to complete the mobilization of so many soldiers and weapons and equipment without more than a month's time. "

"Comrade deputy commander, never underestimate the enemy." Kirilov interjected: "you know, on the eve of the outbreak of the patriotic war, we didn't notice that the German army entered the attack position, and even some early warning information was ignored by us. As a result, we were caught off guard when the war broke out. The more quiet the enemy in front of us is, the less we can take it lightly. Otherwise, once they attack, we will suffer greatly. "

"Comrade military commissar is right." As soon as kirilov finished speaking, I immediately expressed support for him and explained to Danilov: "Manstein is not a simple figure. A few months ago, he once defeated two front armies several times more than him. Now his troops are deployed in the front of our defense. We can't be vigilant."

"But how can you be sure that the German army will attack in the first ten days of July?" Although kirilov and I have said a lot, Danilov still looks incredulous. "There is no intelligence to support this statement at present." Seeing that he was so stubborn, I said with a bitter smile: "Comrade deputy commander, if I said it was just my intuition that the German army would launch an attack on our defense area in early July, would you believe it?" Almost as Danilov shook his head, kirilov nodded hard and said aloud, "I believe in the judgment of Comrade commander. Based on my previous experience as a partner with her, I believe her prediction will soon come true. " Before we could completely convince Danilov, the new commander, shijerikov, walked into the headquarters. As soon as he saw his face, kirilov asked him with a smile, "how are you, comrade commander? Has your army been formed?" Xiejerikov waved his hand and said with a bitter smile, "Comrade military commissar, how can it be so fast. Now we have just put together the framework of the battalions and appointed some commanders. As for the soldiers, it may be two days before they are in place one after another. " When I heard that, I first thought that he would come to me at this time. I don't want any commander to enrich his troops, do I? So when he finished, I frowned and asked, "Lieutenant sergeant shijerikov, what's the matter with you coming to the headquarters today?"“ Well, comrade commander. " Shejerikov didn't notice my dissatisfaction, but said truthfully, "I want to ask a regiment what is the first task to perform after the reconstruction?" I didn't expect that he didn't come to me to ask for a commander, but to ask for a task, which made my dissatisfaction with him disappear. I asked with a smile, "do you have any good ideas?" Shejerikov went to the table, pointed to the map on the table and asked respectfully, "Comrade commander, will you allow me to explain it to you on the map?" With my permission, he drew a straight line from Kursk to Yakovlev by hand, and then said, "Comrade commander, please see, the total length of the traffic line from Kursk to Yakovlev, where our first line of defense is, is 120 km or a little longer. The supply of the whole group army depends on this traffic line. Am I right? "“ Yes, this road is our only transportation line. " Sergeant, can you tell me what your plans are“ We should strengthen the security of this road. " When shejerikov said this, he pointed to one of the points and said: "at that time, we entered from here. Our troops walked on the road for nearly an hour, and they didn't see any checkpoints or fortifications. If it's not us who enter this area, but the Germans, what kind of consequences will it bring? I won't say, you can imagine The words of Xie jerikov surprised me in a cold sweat. I always thought that this road had special army defense, but it just became a place that we ignored. If it was not for the warning of shijerikov, once the battle of Kursk broke out, as long as the German army sent out an armored force to cut off our transport line, the first and second lines of defense would be in danger because of the shortage of ammunition and supplies. However, since shejerikov found this defensive loophole in our army, he must have a good countermeasure, so I secretly wiped a cold sweat on my forehead and asked, "commander shejerikov, what's your plan?"“ I think so, comrade commander. " Shejerikov had obviously done his homework before he came here, so he answered my question without hesitation: "I intend to deploy two battalions between the first and second lines of defense, because once the battle breaks out, it will become the focus of the German attack. The remaining battalion and regiment units were placed behind the second line of defense and used as reserves. Once the German forces break through our first line of defense, the two battalions in front will withdraw to the back of the second line of defense, join the regiment and continue to protect the traffic line between Kursk and the second line of defense. " I was very satisfied with this arrangement. After nodding in agreement, I took the initiative to say to him, "in order to enhance the combat effectiveness of your regiment, I will ask the chief of staff to provide you with 20 mortars and five armored vehicles. In a word, even at the expense of one's own life, the safety of the group's military transportation lines must be guaranteed. Do you understand? "“ I see, "he replied loudly, repeating what I just said:" even at the cost of his own life, we must resolutely ensure the safety of the group's military transportation lines. "