At 8:30 a.m., half an hour before our troops left, Zhukov suddenly called my headquarters. He said in a displeased tone, "Hey, Rita, the attack of trakov's troops has torn a gap in the German defense. Why haven't you launched an attack on the enemy of ijum to coordinate the actions of the friendly forces?"
"Marshal, our troops are ready to start at nine o'clock..."
Before I finished, Zhukov interrupted me: "trakov's troops are developing in depth, and soon general rusyanov's guards will be mechanized, and the tanks of the first army will also be put into battle. In order to block their attack, the Germans would certainly withdraw their troops from the defensive area in the north, but they would meet trakov. So, I order you to attack immediately, to hold down the German troops to the north of ijumu so that they can't rush to the breach opened by trakov. "
Through what Zhukov said, I understand that it is inevitable for us to attack ahead of time. Originally, we wanted to transfer all the enemies to the north of iqumu through trakov's attack. In the next battle, our resistance will be greatly reduced. Who knows a command from Zhukov, but it changed all these things. As a result, it became our effective force to contain the German army, so that their attack could be smoother.
But orders are orders. Even though Zhukov and I have a good personal relationship, we can't change them at will. I took a look at tavartkilaze, who had just returned to the headquarters, and said to him with a bitter smile, "Comrade General, please give the order to the 375TH infantry division to let them attack ahead of time."
Tavartkilaze didn't hear the conversation between Zhukov and me, so he felt a little at a loss when he suddenly gave me such an order. He raised his hand, looked at his watch, and then said in a puzzled way, "Comrade commander, it's half an hour before the departure time. Why do you want to go ahead?"
"I just got a call from Marshal Zhukov. He told us to attack the German defensive position to the north of ijumu immediately." In order to make him understand what was going on, I had to patiently explain to him, "now general trakov's troops are going well, and in a little while, the tank troops of the mechanized army will also go into battle. We attack ahead of time in order to contain the enemy in the north of ijum, so as not to reinforce the enemy in the breach. "
When tavartkilaze went to make a phone call, chisgakov shook his head with a bitter smile and said to me in a low voice: "Comrade commander, originally we wanted general trakov's troops to help us contain the German army, but now we have to contain the enemy."
"All right, comrade deputy commander." Although I was quite dissatisfied with Zhukov's order, I still had to maintain his image under such circumstances. I said in an official voice: "no matter which army is to contain the enemy, our common goal is to eliminate the enemy."
Tavartkiraze put down the phone and came over to me and reported, "Comrade commander, division commander govorunanko has set out with his troops."
"So fast?" Asked chisgakov in surprise.
"Yes, comrade deputy commander." Tavartkiraze replied with a smile: "the troops have been assembled long ago. They can start with a single order. In particular, general govorunanko decided to come to the front line to command in person, so as to achieve brilliant results in this battle, so that his troops can enter the ranks of the guards as soon as possible. "
After hearing what tavartkilaze said, chisgakov nodded, then turned to me and said, "Comrade commander, the morale of the commanders and fighters is very high. It seems that we can achieve a lot in today's battle."
"Yes, comrade deputy commander. Certainly." Although I know that the Soviet army often makes some undeserved low-level mistakes when it is about to win, and as a result, it loses the battle of steady victory. If trakov's attack fails, the enemy will certainly turn around to deal with our troops, and the 375TH Infantry Division will be seriously damaged. However, when the troops are going out, I still have to say a few good words: "I believe that after today's battle, general govorunanko's troops will definitely be promoted to the guard division."
Govorunenko, perhaps eager to make a contribution, sent a telegram from the front just an hour later, telling us that his troops had launched a fierce attack on the German first line of defense.
Seeing the telegram, I didn't say anything, but handed it to chisgakov. I went to the table and leaned over to look at the map on it. He wondered where the German might attack the 375TH infantry division if trakov failed.
Chisjakov took the telegram and chatted with tavartkilaze for a while. Seeing that I was looking at the map, he quickly came over and asked with concern, "Comrade commander, what are you looking at?"
At such a time, I felt it necessary to make it clear to chisgakov, so I looked up at him and asked, "Comrade deputy commander, do you think general trakov's troops can rush under the city of ijum today?"
"Don't you need to say that?" Chisjakov said confidently: "you see, their attack has only started for a few hours, and they have torn open a gap of three kilometers wide and eight kilometers deep in the enemy's defense line. As long as our tank troops go out, it will be useless for the German army to mobilize heavy troops to fill the gap. "
"Comrade deputy commander, what if our tanks can't fight on time?" Seeing that chisgakov was so optimistic, I could not help saying with great anxiety: "once our tank troops can't take part in the war, general trakov's offensive strength will be greatly weakened. If the Germans counter attack at this time, they are completely likely to be repulsed. When the enemy stops their attack, they will certainly pull out their troops and turn around to deal with our isolated 375TH infantry division. At that time, it is estimated that general govorunanko will be in a very dangerous situation. "“ It's not that serious, is it? " When chisjakov heard me say this, he had an incredible expression on his face. He looked at the map for a long time, and then murmured, "I think it's impossible for friendly tanks not to fight in such a big operation."“ I hope it's just that I think too much about it. " At this moment, I suddenly felt an ominous premonition that my speculation would soon become a reality. After all, compared with the battle of Kursk and the battle of Kharkov, the battle of dunbas is no more than a very small battle. I can't know the details of it even more because it's all covered in history books. Govorunanko continuously sent back the situation in front of him by telegram. Let us know that after the German first line of defense was broken through by us, the enemy immediately organized troops to fight back. As the first echelon suffered heavy casualties in the attack, it failed to block the enemy's attack and had to withdraw from the occupied positions. When the second echelon arrived, it immediately joined forces with the remnants of the first echelon and launched another attack on the enemy's position. Today, the fighting is going on nervously. After reading the telegram from govronenko, I put it on the table and said to lophov, "major, send a telegram to general trakov and ask him what's going on there?" As soon as lophov heard my order, he sent a telegram to the eighth group army. After less than ten minutes, he came up to me with a telegram that he had just received and a serious look on his face. Seeing his expression, I knew that something bad must have happened. I asked first, "major, are you holding a telegram from general govoruninenko or general trakov?"“ It's a telegram from general trakov's Eighth Army Replied lophov. When I heard that the telegram came from trakov, I knew that my guess had come true. When I took the telegram to my eyes, I saw that it read: "because the commander of the armored tanks and mechanized forces of the front army, lieutenant general wolohe, died in the battle, the tanks could not fight as planned. At present, our army's offensive against the enemy has been restrained..." after reading the telegram, I looked at the table heavily, Then he pointed to chisgakov and said, "Comrade deputy commander, you see, you see, this is a telegram from general trakov, saying that because the tank commander of the front army died, the tank troops could not fight on time, resulting in the defeat of the attack of the eighth group army." After reading the telegram, chisgakov's expression became serious. He frowned and said to me, "Comrade commander, you are right. Because our tank troops didn't fight in time, so that the German army regained the rhythm of the battlefield, I think it's time for them to send troops to attack the flank of general govorunanko I said to tavartkilaze, who was not far away: "Comrade General, call Mr. sherekin immediately and ask him to lead the 89th division of the guards to reinforce the 375TH division of the infantry to ensure the safety of their flanks."“ I understand Tavartkilaze had just heard my conversation with chisgakov and knew the seriousness of the matter. As soon as he received my order, he immediately called sherekin and conveyed my order to him. When tavartkilaze went to make a phone call, I said to chisgakov, "Comrade deputy commander, you should call bezikov and ask them to come back immediately with the 22nd army of the guards. The 51st and 52nd divisions of the guards in the city should also be prepared for all battles. Once the enemy really attacks the 375TH infantry division, they will attack immediately. "