Chapter 1283

The German troops have increased in the uman area. When I saw the report, I had a headache. In this way, the German army's counterattack against the grassland front army in the near future was definitely not an ordinary skirmish. Maybe they wanted to drive our army across the Dnieper River again, so they would be willing to give up.

I immediately told bzikov: "chief of staff, call captain travkin back immediately, and let him grasp the German name of uman area as soon as possible. In addition, report the situation to the headquarters of the front army. "

"Don't you need to inform the 53rd army?" Bezikov kindly reminded me.

"No, no notice." Think of their good intentions to alert the friendly, but the other side responded indifferently. Fortunately, this is a unit that once fought side by side with us. If other units were replaced, it might arouse the suspicions of those commanders, thinking that I gave them such a situation in order to fight for credit with them in the future. "Since the intelligence we reported last time did not attract their necessary attention, there is no need to hit a nail in the head this time."

"I see." Bezikov gave a wry smile, then turned and sent a message to travkin and the headquarters of the front army.

Kirilov, who was busy, heard me, stopped his pen, looked up at me with a strange look, and then continued to write his report.

Compared with kirilov's indifference, chisjakov was worried. He frowned and asked me, "Comrade commander, if we don't report this information to the friendly forces, once their flanks are attacked by the German forces and affect the whole campaign plan of the superior, I'm afraid it will cause us trouble."

"Comrade deputy commander, you are too worried." In order not to let him continue to worry, I specially explained to him: "the task of our group army is to cover the flanks of the 53rd group army. As long as we don't let the German army threaten their flanks, then we don't have to bear any responsibility."

Looking down at the map in front of him, chisgakov continued to ask, "Comrade commander, what kind of forces do you think the German army will send to fight back against the grassland front army?"

"We can't do without more troops." I looked at the telegram from travkin and carefully organized my own words: "I estimate that the German army will carry out a surprise attack on the front of the grassland front army at least in the scale of two or three armored divisions."

Listening to me, chisgakov became more relaxed. He said with disapproval: "if the German forces counterattack from the front of the friendly forces, then don't worry. You know, we have several army groups on the banks of the Dnieper River. If the German army wants to eat them, it needs to have good teeth. "

I waited for bzikov to return from his telegram and asked him, "chief of staff, is there any new information coming back from the troops in korostevev?"

"Yes, comrade commander, there is no news for the moment." After finishing these two sentences, bezikov suddenly said to me: "I think that now in korostwev area, there are three close guard divisions and one tank brigade. If there is no unified command, when the battle starts, the troops may go their own way, so that they can be easily defeated by the German forces. Therefore, I suggest that a commander be appointed to be responsible for the unified command of the forces in the area. "

Bezikov's remark reminds me that when I first sent troops to set out, I didn't expect to appoint a special person to be responsible for unified command of these troops. At this moment, since biezikov mentioned it, I would push the boat forward and say, "among the commanders in korostwev, general Kravchenko has the highest rank and position. Let him be responsible for commanding all the troops."

"Well, I'll pass on your order." Seeing that my suggestion had been accepted by me, bzikov immediately went to send a telegram to Kravchenko.

This time, without waiting for bzikov to come back, a call came from the headquarters of the front army. I was talking to Zhukov, who asked in a loud voice, "Rita, I heard that your troops have successfully occupied korostev and cut off the connection between Kiev and Zhitomir. Is that so?"

"Yes, comrade marshal." I replied positively.

"How long are you going to stay there?" Zhukov continued.

Hearing his question, I couldn't help but be stunned. I don't understand why he asked this question. However, he answered truthfully: "marshal, of course, he will stick to it until Kiev is liberated by our army."

Zhukov sighed and said, "Rita, you have to prepare the commanders in korostwev for the crazy German counterattack."

"Don't worry, comrade marshal." When I heard that Zhukov was talking about this, I felt that he was making a fuss. Since I had decided to send troops to occupy korostwev, I was ready to be attacked by both sides of the enemy. Is it necessary for him to remind me“ Our officers and men have long been ready to meet the enemy. "

"Don't take it lightly, Rita." Zhukov probably recognized my disapproval from my tone, so he specially emphasized: "since the liberation of bergorod, due to the limitation of the terrain, we can only besiege the city from three directions at the most, so the enemy can withdraw from the direction of no attack if they can't support it. You cut off the German traffic line this time, which is also equivalent to cutting off the German retreat. In this way, the enemy who has cut off the retreat will become more crazy, and you will pay huge casualties. "

Zhukov's words startled me. In the last battle, no matter Belgorod or Kharkov, because of the dense forests and rivers around the city, we could only attack from three directions. Once the Germans could not support us, they could withdraw from the direction not controlled by our army. Now that I have occupied korostwev, I have encircled the German army in Kiev. The character of imanstein is that this situation is absolutely not allowed. He will definitely order the troops of Kiev and Zhitomir to launch a fierce attack on our troops who have controlled korostwev. In the face of such an offensive from the enemy, it's really a big question whether Kravchenko can keep them.

After a long silence, I said to Zhukov solemnly, "don't worry, marshal. No matter how fierce the enemy's attack is, our troops will firmly hold korostev. "

"Since you have such confidence, I can rest assured."

When I heard Zhukov about to hang up, I suddenly thought of wuman's affair and cried out: "Comrade marshal, please wait a moment, please don't hang up."

"What can I do for you, Rita?" Asked Zhukov, somewhat puzzled.

"Well, comrade marshal." I hastened to report to Zhukov the intelligence that they had detected. At the same time, I said anxiously, "marshal, please hand over this intelligence to commander konev, so that he can make preparations in advance, so as not to be caught off guard by the Germans."

"Is it really as serious as you say?" Zhukov said suspiciously: "we now have five front armies along the Dnieper River, with a total force of more than two million. I think as long as Manstein is not a fool, he will never launch any suicide counterattack against our army, which is several times more powerful than him."

"But, marshal..." seeing that Zhukov didn't believe what I said, I didn't want to persuade him again, but he interrupted me: "well, Rita, you don't have to say anything. I don't think it's realistic for the German army to launch a counterattack before our strong offensive. You don't have to worry about this. I'll tell konev myself. " With that, he hung up without waiting for me to speak.

I can't help laughing bitterly when I listen to the blind sound coming from the microphone. When I put down the phone, chisgakov asked curiously, "Comrade commander, what's the situation? What did the commander think of the increase in the number of uman German troops? "

I shrugged my shoulders, spread my hands, and said with some helplessness, "Marshal comrades do not believe that the enemy in wuman will have the courage to attack the defensive area of the grassland front army."

After I finished, chisgakov said cautiously: "Comrade commander, I'll say something I shouldn't say. Please don't be angry. Maybe you think too much this time. The total strength of our five front forces is seven or eight times more than that of the German forces. Under such circumstances, what Manstein has to consider is how to block our attack, instead of withdrawing troops from the already stretched forces to carry out a counterattack that has no chance of winning at all. "

Although I can't remember exactly what this period of history was like, it is an indisputable fact that Kiev was liberated in early November. If all the five front armies are going well, why have they fought with the Germans for more than half a month? It must have suffered a great loss from the German army, which affected the process of the liberation of Kiev.

Although I made such a judgment, I didn't tell anyone. Instead, I personally called Lu Jin and Xie Liujin to ask them about the construction of the fortifications there.

Xie Liujin told me on the phone: "Comrade commander, you can rest assured that my troops have built two lines of defense relying on forests and swamps, and laid minefields in front of the positions. If the Germans don't come, they will be punished as long as they come. "

Lu Jin's reply was more cautious: "Comrade commander, we can't build solid fortifications in such a short period of time because we are in a hurry. It may be no problem to block the Germans for a day or two, but if the time is too long, I'm not sure. "

I know what Lukin said is a fact. If we want to block the attack of German armored forces in such open terrain, the casualties of the troops will be very heavy. In order to enhance his confidence, I specially stressed: "don't worry, comrade commander, I have not only arranged the 22nd brigade of the close guard tank behind you in this battle, but also two artillery regiments. They can block and shoot the enemy when the enemy attacks your position."

When Lu Jin heard what I said, he immediately felt at ease. He sighed for a long time and said, "Comrade commander, if that's the case, then there will be no problem for us to hold the position."

In the next two days, the troops who held fast in korostwev were attacked by both sides of the German army. Krasovsky sent me a telegram saying that the German armored forces from Zhitomir had broken through the defense line of the 51st division of the guards, rushed into the city, and were engaged in fierce street fighting.

Seeing the telegram, the people in the headquarters were shocked. In particular, chisgakov said nervously: "Comrade commander, whether korostvev can hold on or not is related to the success or failure of the whole Kiev campaign. I suggest that troops be immediately deployed to reinforce."

"Reinforcements?" When I heard what chisgakov said, I couldn't help laughing bitterly. Then I asked, "Comrade deputy commander, where are we going to reinforce?"“ But we still have a few close guard divisions and two tank brigades in our hands. " It is estimated that this plan has been brewing in chisgakov's mind for a long time, so when he heard my question, he replied without hesitation: "we can take out two more close guard divisions and a tank brigade to reinforce korostwev."“ Comrade deputy commander, once our troops are transferred northward, our defense area will become empty. " I flatly refuted him and said, "if the enemy launches a counterattack against the friendly forces from uman at this time, then what strength do we have to protect their flanks?"“ As early as a few days ago, you have been emphasizing that the German army of uman will launch a counterattack against the grassland front army. " After I finished, chisgakov said unconvinced, "but what's the actual situation like this? After the successful liberation of Alexandria, the 53rd army is now besieging kilovgrad. If there is no accident, the city will be liberated from the German hands in two or three days at most. "“ Comrade deputy commander, however, the German forces in Wurman have been increasing their forces all the time Bezikov reminded him carefully: "I think that since the Germans have assembled so many troops, they will certainly make some moves somewhere. According to the information gathered by various parties, the 53rd army is most likely to be attacked. " Hearing that bezikov was also questioning himself, chisjakov was not happy. He raised his voice and said, "Comrade chief of staff, the Germans have assembled a large number of troops in uman. I think they are not for attack, but for defense. Think about how many troops we have gathered in front of them. If they don't gather heavy troops in such an important city as uman, our troops will be able to seize the city from them in a few days. " In the face of the dispute between chisjakov and bezikov, I kept silent and thought to myself, "am I really wrong? Is it true that, as chisjakov said, the German forces assembled in uman not for counterattack, but for defense against our attack? "