Chapter 1259

"What, your troops have crossed the Dnieper?" I was surprised to hear that. After a moment of silence, he asked nervously, "where did you cross the Dnieper?"

"A lot between cherkaser and caniv." I briefly reported the situation of the troops crossing the river to watujing. In order to prevent him from directly ordering all the troops to cross the river from this area, I finally specially emphasized: "senior general, although there is no German defense at the place where we cross the river, the terrain is not suitable for the deployment of large forces, especially the deployment of armored forces. After all the research, we plan to choose other places to cross the river. "

"Why, are you going to cross the river from other places?" After I finished, watujing asked slowly, "I want to hear, where do you think the right place is?"

"Kanev!" I replied decisively: "we intend to send troops to carry out the forced crossing from kaniv. After seizing the city, we will build it as the starting point for our attack on Kiev."

"Although the river of kanevu is very narrow, the current is too fast," vatukin asked anxiously, though he heard my plan clearly. "Are you sure the troops can cross the river successfully if there are heavy German soldiers on the other side?"

I hesitated for a moment about watujing's worries, and then answered with confidence: "Comrade General, don't worry. I think our troops will be able to cross the river. Because according to the operational plan, when a troop is forced to cross the river, the 67th division of the guards will attack the flanks of the German troops along the river, so that they can't look at each other head and tail. "

"How many divisions are you going to send to take up the task of forced crossing?" "And what kind of firepower support can they get when they are forced to cross?" watujing continued

"Although our troops are moving towards the banks of the Dnieper River overnight, the only troops that can arrive before daybreak are major general Nekrasov's 52nd guard division. As for the firepower support they can get? " At this point, I pause for a moment, and turn my eyes to chisgakov. He quickly wrote a few numbers on the paper and handed them to me. After glancing at the above, I said, "before the attack, we will cover the German position on the other side with the firepower of a artillery regiment. At the beginning of the attack, the tanks of the 22nd brigade of the close guard tank will stop on the shore and destroy the enemy's exposed fire points. "

"No, you have too few troops." After listening to me, vatukin raised his voice and said, "after the main forces of the German army have retreated across the Dnieper River, we have no idea what their current forces are. If we only use one or two divisions to launch such a large-scale cross river operation, I don't think it is appropriate."

I'm a little at a loss about what vatukin said. After a long silence, I asked tentatively, "Comrade General, if we are not wrong, do you not agree that we should launch a river crossing operation immediately?"

"It's not that you disagree, it's that your forces are too weak. To attack the enemy's heavily fortified cities with your present strength is undoubtedly to die. " "Although we have won a lot of battles recently, we must not have the idea of belittling the enemy, otherwise we will suffer a great loss," watujing said to me earnestly

What vatukin said made me laugh and cry. I said in my heart: where did I belittle the enemy? Although there was only one division in the frontal attack, there were similar forces attacking the German flanks. Can't I solve the problem of the German army in kaniv? But a lot of words can be said in the heart, but must not be said. After much deliberation, I said to watujing, "Comrade General, please believe me that I have never underestimated the enemy because I have won several battles. The reason why we dare to fight across the river with two divisions is that the German army has just returned to the other side of the Dnieper River and has not yet had time to build a perfect defense system. When we launch an attack at this time, we can take them by surprise. If we wait until our successor troops arrive, and then launch the battle of crossing the river, it is estimated that the enemy will have built solid Fortifications on the other side long ago, and we will pay twice or even several times more when we attack. "

As soon as I finished, I closed my mouth and waited anxiously for watujing's response. After several minutes of silence, vatujing's voice came out of the receiver: "well, comrade oshanina, I agree with your attack plan. However, your forces are still too weak. I will contact the friendly forces immediately and ask them to cooperate with you. "

friendly forces! When I heard this word, I couldn't help but have a flash in my eyes. As long as we have the support of friendly forces, our success rate of crossing the river can be greatly improved. But when I think about it, I don't know which friendly army he is going to let fight with us. If the fighting force is strong, it's better to say that if we meet a team mate like a pig, it's our sorrow. Thinking of this, I couldn't wait to ask, "Comrade General, I don't know which friendly army you plan to arrange to cooperate with us in the war."

"This is a secret for the time being." I didn't expect that watujing, who has always been more rigorous, also sold the pass at this time. He pretended mysteriously and said, "don't worry, comrade oshanina. He will call you later to discuss the joint operation between your two troops."

After I put down the phone, chisjakov and bzikov immediately asked with concern, "Comrade commander, did the senior general say which army should cooperate with us?"

I shook my head and answered bitterly, "I don't know."

"What, you don't know?" Hearing my answer, there were incredible expressions on everyone's faces.

I understand why you all have this kind of expression. After all, the battle of crossing the river will begin in a few hours, but as the commander of the group army, I don't even know who I want to cooperate with. Isn't that funny. However, I really didn't know which army watujing was going to arrange to cooperate with us, so I had to shrug my shoulders, spread my hands and said, "sorry, I really don't know, because the senior general didn't say. But before long, the commanders who cooperate with us will call me to discuss joint operations. "

With these words, I turned my eyes to bezikov and asked, "Comrade chief of staff, apart from the 52nd division of the guards, which army is closest to us?"

Bezikov looked down at the map and then replied, "Lieutenant Colonel Lukin's 375TH infantry division should be here by noon tomorrow. Therefore, even if the attack of the 52nd division of the close guard fails, it can be replaced by the Lujin division. "

Lu Jin's application for the post of division commander of the 375TH Infantry Division was approved almost as soon as it was reported. But I don't know whether Lukin can control the army in a short time. So when zikov finished, I asked, "is general govoruninenko still in the division?"

Bezikov shook his head and replied, "general govoruninenko has taken up his post in the tank army. At present, the division is under the command of Lt. Col. Lukin." Finally, he added, "I believe lieutenant colonel ilukin's ability can build up his prestige in the army in the shortest time."

Then I learned about the deployment of zolotonoza from akhromeyev. According to our reconnaissance, the main forces of the German army retreated to the other side of the Dnieper River, leaving behind unorganized stragglers. However, we still can't take it lightly when we are on guard. If the headquarters is taken away by a small group of enemies, I will become the laughing stock of everyone.

When he was busy, the telephone on the desk rang suddenly. I raised my hand and looked at my watch. It was only 20 minutes since I talked with watujing. I immediately guessed that the call must have been from a friendly commander. Unfortunately, I don't know who this person is and whether it's easy to get along with.

While I was thinking, bzikov, who answered the phone, handed me the microphone in his hands, and said excitedly, "Comrade commander, the commander of the friendly army wants to talk to you."

As soon as I put the receiver to my ear, I heard a familiar voice: "Hello, is that Rita? I'm katukov. "

Hearing this voice, I immediately understood why bezikov was so excited. It turned out that the phone call was from katukov. I quickly calmed down and said politely, "Hello, general katukov. I'm glad to hear your voice."

"Yes, we haven't seen each other since we beat back the German attack on oboyan." Katukov's voice was a little hoarse, but he was too excited: "commander vatukin just called me and asked me to send troops to assist you in launching a river crossing operation against kaniv. Well, tell me about your plan! "

When I heard that the unit cooperating with me was actually the first group army of katukov's close guard tank, my heart immediately became more solid. In my impression, katukov has not lost any battle, that is to say, the battle of crossing the river launched at dawn will surely win the victory I imagined.

"Well, general katukov." I gave katukov a detailed account of my battle plan on the phone, and finally asked, "I don't know what kind of forces you are going to send to assist our attack?"

"I'll send general Guttman's tank Sixth Army to support you." Katukov was deeply afraid that I didn't know who gertman was. He specially explained: "before you just served as the commander of the sixth group army of the guards, I took general gertman to you once."

In fact, even if katukov didn't say it, I still remember who gertman was, so as soon as he finished, I nodded and said, "remember, general katukov, I'm very impressed with general gertman." Then I changed the subject and asked, "but what's the strength of the sixth tank army?"

"The army governs the 22nd, 100th and 200th brigades of tanks and the 6th brigade of motorized infantry." in order to dispel my doubts, katukov immediately reported to me the serial number of the Sixth Army of tanks: "although they suffered huge losses in the battle of Kursk. However, after more than a month's rest, the army has been supplemented with equipment and personnel, and now it is fully equipped and ready to enter new battles at any time. "

"Great, general katukov. That's great." When I heard that I could get the support of a fully loaded tank army, I immediately laughed and said, "with the tank army you support, I believe the river crossing battle in foxiao will surely win."

"The Germans have just pushed to the other side of the Dnieper River. It is estimated that it is too late to build a perfect fortification. If you launch a sudden attack at this time, you will certainly catch them by surprise." When I heard katukov's words, I couldn't help feeling a lot. I didn't expect that his judgment of the situation coincided with mine. When he wanted to say a few words, he continued: "however, I want to remind you that your crossing battle must be decided quickly. Once the delay, the enemy forces in the vicinity will continue to pour in. By that time, your battle of crossing the river will become a protracted and cruel war of attrition. Even if you barely occupy kaniv, the strength of the sixth group army will be greatly reduced. "“ Don't worry, general katukov. " For katukov's reminder, I think he is too pessimistic. Under the current circumstances, even without the support of the Sixth Army of tanks, our two divisions can complete the river crossing operation in the shortest time and recover kaniv from the German hands“ At the latest, before dark, we will be able to resolve the battle and successfully establish our defensive position in kaniv. By that time, if the enemy does not come, they will be defeated as long as they come. "“ Since you have this confidence, I won't say more. I believe you have such ability. " Katukov, who knew me well, said confidently: "I hope that one day, my first group army of close guard tanks, together with your sixth group army of close guard tanks, will rush into Kiev with head high and liberate this great city from the hands of the Germans." The people in the headquarters knew that there would be a fully loaded tank army to cooperate with us in crossing the river. They were excited. Everyone gathered around the map and began to talk about where to build a floating bridge to cross the river and where to launch a surprise attack on the enemy. The discussion was so heated that no one found out when general Gutman, accompanied by the staff of the headquarters, entered the headquarters and stood behind us for a long time. After hearing the staff's loud report, the room was quiet. Everyone turned their attention from the map in front of them to the general standing in the middle of the room. I recognize the person is the tank Sixth Army commander gertman, quickly went up and said hello to him: "Hello, general gertman, welcome to my headquarters." After a quick glance at his epaulets, I hastened to add, "and congratulations on your higher rank, lieutenant general Gutman!"