Chapter 1171

We went back to the headquarters of the group army, and Danilov immediately ordered ahlomeyev to inform the commanders of all the close guard divisions, tank brigades and artillery regiments of the group army to come to the headquarters to attend the emergency military meeting.

I thought that the three commanders of the 51st, 52nd and 67th divisions of the guards would not be able to attend the meeting because they were deeply behind enemy lines. I didn't expect that after receiving the telegram sent by lophoff, they immediately called back to say that they would arrive at the headquarters of the group army overnight after handing over the command to the deputy.

After reading several people's telegrams, kirilov flicked the telegram newspaper with his finger and said with a smile, "Rita, you see, these three teachers are more cunning than rabbits. I guess we have to call all the senior commanders for a meeting at this time. There must be something important to announce, so they have to come back even at the risk of their lives."

At one o'clock in the morning, I saw that all the commanders who had been informed had arrived. Bzikov said aloud, "comrades of commanders at all levels, you are called here today to convey to you the latest orders of the headquarters of the front army. Now, let's invite general Danilov, deputy commander of the group army, to speak! "

"Comrades in command!" Danilov stood up and said to the commanders at the meeting, "the decisive moment has come. It's time to pay for the blood of our commanders who died in the battle of Kharkov! Comrades, the head of the front army told us that all preparations for a counter offensive have been made. A week ago, there was only one Voronezh front army in the south of Kursk, but now there is another grassland front army of general konev. With the powerful strength of our two front armies, we can certainly defeat the invincible man Stein. Of course, the enemy's strength is not weak. We can't take it lightly. However, it's reassuring that they have no troops to reinforce them, because the successful landing of the allies in Sicily will contain a large number of German troops. That is to say, comrades in command, we will win an absolute victory in this counterattack. "

"Comrade deputy commander," as for the news of the Allied landing, most of the people who attended the meeting were as skeptical as those senior commanders just now. After a brief conversation, the commander of the 52nd division of the guards, nikolasov, asked on behalf of everyone, "is the news of the Allied landing reliable? Can their landing really stop the Germans from adding more troops to our defensive zone? "

Danilov looked at him for a moment, then put his hands on the edge of the table, leaned forward slightly, and said, "the news of the Allied landing came from the supreme command, so you don't have to doubt that. As for the fact that the German army can't increase its troops, it is because the troops under the command of Manstein are all the strategic reserves of the German army. In order to block the attack of the Allied forces, they can't get replenishment. On the contrary, they will also transfer a considerable number of troops from here to leave... "

Danilov's words immediately aroused a lot of discussion. I looked at the dozens of commanders in front of me. Except for a few generals, the rest were either the colonel or the lieutenant colonel. But everyone was as excited as a child. They were all too happy to close their mouths. In order to prevent the situation of underestimating the enemy, I stood up from my seat.

There was a sudden silence in the headquarters. All the people focused on me. The whole room could only hear everyone's breathing.

After scanning the whole room with my eyes, I said in a loud voice: "comrades commander, although from the current intelligence analysis, many German troops will be transferred in the near future, we can't take it lightly. You know, Manstein is a cunning old fox. He will launch a final attack on us before the troops are transferred, Therefore, we should provide vigilance and be ready to fight back at any time. Do you understand? "

"I understand!" All the commanders got up from their seats and agreed in a loud voice.

"Comrades in command! There is another important thing I want to tell you. " After all the people sat down again, I went on to say, "after we have defeated Manstein's troops, the next task is to continue to attack south. With the cooperation of friendly forces, we will liberate Belgorod and Kharkov! "

As soon as my words came out, the whole room fell into silence again. After a long time, Kravchenko, commander of the Fifth Army of the close guard tank, stood up and asked, "general oshanina, I think this is an unfinished task."

"Why, general Kravchenko?" I didn't have the first person to come forward and question me. It was him, so I asked curiously.

"General oshanina," maybe I don't want to lose face in public. Kravchenko said euphemistically, "the enemy's tanks are several times as many as ours. If we want to liberate these two cities, we must solve the problem of German tanks which occupy the dominant number, otherwise our infantry will easily defeat them when they attack the cities."

To understand the reason why he questioned me, it turned out that it was this matter, so I said to him with a smile: "general Kravchenko, you may not know yet. Maybe tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, the main force of the fifth group of close guard tanks will fight a decisive battle with the German armored forces in prohorovka area. After this battle, I believe that there are not many German tanks left, so that when we attack cities, the German forces will not be so strong. "

"In that case, I can rest assured." After listening to my explanation, Kravchenko nodded with satisfaction and sat back in his seat.

Danilov then introduced to you the whole counter offensive plan, describing in detail our counter offensive route and the forces that we can put in. After explaining the task, we entered the question session.

Colonel berey began to fight and asked: "Comrade deputy commander, although I only have the 101st brigade of tanks with incomplete organizational structure in my hands, I can still take up important tasks in the counter offensive. I want to ask, "what are the tasks that you assigned to the 33rd tank army in this counter offensive?"

After listening to berey's words, Danilov turned to look at me and said with a smile, "Comrade commander, I think it's more appropriate for you to answer this question."

In the coming counter offensive, I really want to put Colonel berey where he can make contributions. As long as he has made contributions, he will have a chance to join the ranks of generals as soon as the campaign is over. So when I saw Danilov pushing the conflict in front of me, I was not angry at all. Instead, I said to berey with a smile, "Comrade Colonel, the task is very simple, just like you did a few days ago, attacking the German traffic line. If necessary, you will also take on the task of blocking the defeated German armored forces. "

"I see, comrade commander." When bielei heard that I had given him such an important task, he couldn't help looking happy. He might have guessed that I arranged it for him to pave the way in the future, so he gave a very loud answer. But before he sat down, he hesitated for a moment, and then said to me, "I have another request. The shells of the new tank are almost consumed. Can you give us more?"

"No problem." I saw with my own eyes the performance of the new tanks in dealing with the German tanks, so I agreed very readily, "I'll apply to commander vatukin later, and ask him to supply us with a batch of new tank shells as soon as possible." At this point, I turned my eyes to the anxious Kravchenko, comforted him and said, "don't worry, comrade general, your troops will be supplemented accordingly."

After Danilov and I had finished the task and answered the questions one by one, kirilov stood up. He picked up a piece of paper placed in front of him, looked at the commanders present, and then said, "comrades, I'm going to read out the Military Commission's report to all the commanders and fighters of the sixth group army that I have just drafted."

I don't know what kind of medicine kirilov sold in his gourd. How could I draw up a letter to all the commanders and soldiers without even calling me in advance? However, I saw that everyone's eyes were focused on him, his mouth was open, but he didn't speak at last. I want to hear what he said in his senior commander's book.

Just listen to kirilov read: "at the same time that the sixth group army of the close guard has turned in and decided to attack, the military committee of the group army believes that each unit of the group army will be able to perform its duty to the motherland with honor... Fight bravely, comrade! Glory belongs to the brave soldiers in Zhanzhong! Fight, fight to the death with the enemy, our brave soldiers! "

When kirilov finished reading the letter and put it on the table, the whole room suddenly rang out a tsunami like cry: "Wula! Wula!! Wula At first, I just listened, but I couldn't help shouting with everyone because I was excited.

I don't know how long later, when peace returned to the room, kirilov continued: "Comrade commander, this letter to the commanders and fighters will be read out to all units of the sixth group army of the guards today. Political commissars and directors of political departments at all levels who have come to the meeting, you should conscientiously perform your duties and let every soldier know this letter of high command. Do you understand? "

With his words, more than 20 commanders sitting in front of me stood up hullably, and they answered in unison: "we promise to complete the task!"

Kirilov nodded his head with satisfaction to their reply, then turned to me and said, "Rita, if there is nothing else, I will announce the end of the meeting. Let's go back to our respective troops as soon as possible and convey the spirit of our meeting."

I nodded in agreement, then stood up and announced to those present: "comrades, today's meeting is over. You can go back to your respective troops."

As the commanders who came to the meeting left one after another, I stopped berey and Kravchenko because I had more important tasks to give them.

When there were only two of them and the main leaders of the group army left in the room, I asked them to sit down, and then said, "I left you two with more important tasks to give you."

"General o'shanina, if you have any mission, please speak." Kravchenko did not wait for me to finish, he said impatiently: "our close guard fifth tank army guarantees that it will successfully complete any orders you assign."

"Well, Comrade General." Since Kravchenko showed such cooperation, I would not beat him around the Bush, but directly said: "I intend to deploy your tank headquarters in the southwest of Prokhorovka, where I will build the necessary defensive positions to deal with the German tank troops who have been defeated from Prokhorovka."

"General oshanina, I don't understand." For my command, Kravchenko's face showed a confused expression: "if we want to build a defensive position, it may be more appropriate to use infantry. My tanks are good for attack, but they are good for defense... "Although he didn't finish his words, I heard his voice over and quickly said:" Comrade General, you should know that there are plains in the southwest of Prokhorovka, where infantry build defensive positions to block the German armored forces. Although they can also block them, the price is expensive. But your tank troops are not the same. No matter in defense or attack, the enemy's tanks will not be your opponent. At that time, the sky will be on our side. " After explaining the task to Kravchenko, I looked at berey and said, "Comrade Colonel, you and your tank troops don't need to build any defensive positions. Instead, they take the defensive area of general Kravchenko's tank troops as the center, harassing the German lines of communication and attacking small units of zero star."“ But, general o'shanina, when can our superior supply us with ammunition? " Kravchenko said to me in some embarrassment after I explained the task to Colonel berey: "you know, most of our tanks are new type tanks. If there is no matching ammunition, they will not play their due role in the battlefield."“ Don't worry, Comrade General. " I raised my hand, patted him on the shoulder, comforted him and said, "I'll call commander watujing overnight and try to get him to arrange a transport team to transport the shells we need during the day."“ Comrade commander, there is one more thing I need to remind you. " Colonel berey said politely: "although our tanks are superior to German tanks in performance, they are not invulnerable. They will be damaged in battle. Therefore, it is necessary to build a tank maintenance station in our garrison area, so as to repair damaged or faulty tanks in time. What do you think? "“ No problem, comrade colonel If I don't mention it, I almost forgot the speed of repairing damaged tanks in the tank maintenance station, which also determined the success or failure of the tank battle, so I quickly agreed: "there is a tank maintenance station near the headquarters. I'll discuss with the station master Koski later and ask him to move the maintenance station to your defense zone."