Chapter 1285

After bezikov left, I looked at the map and asked, "which division can fight immediately, except the 89th division of the guards and the 375TH division of the infantry?"

"In addition to the two divisions you mentioned," said chisjakov as soon as I finished, "we can use the 52nd, 67th and 90th divisions of the guards, plus two tank brigades and several artillery regiments." After introducing the situation, he looked at me and asked, "Comrade commander, do you need to send a combat alert to these troops?"

After looking at the positions of the divisions for a while, I said to chisgakov, "let the 90th division of general Chernoff's guards be ready to fight. When the enemy attacks the flanks of the 53rd army, they will fight again."

"Comrade commander, actually we can do better." Seeing that I only ordered a guard division to be ready for battle, chisgakov said anxiously, "we can catch up with the enemy, build defensive positions on the road, and block the German armored forces heading for kilovgrad."

"Use the guard infantry division to block the German Panzer Division in the open." As for this proposal, I immediately denied it without hesitation: "that would be a one-sided massacre. As the commander of the group army, I can't let my soldiers die in vain."

"In order to win the battle, the necessary sacrifice is inevitable." Chisgakov earnestly advised me: "if we put our troops into the barrage, we can buy enough time for the friendly forces to build a defense..."

"Well, comrade deputy commander, you don't have to say it." Although I understand that chisjakov's consideration is for the overall interests, I am not willing to accept his proposal. If my troops are maimed in the process of blocking the German army, then in the next series of battles, our group army may change from the main force to the reserve force. Such a stupid thing can't be done. Therefore, I firmly said: "in addition to the task of covering the flank of the 53rd group army, we also have the responsibility of covering the attack on the rear side of the Kiev forces. If our troops were to go out now and block the German Panzer on the open plain. If the troops could not resist the German counterattack because of the heavy losses, and let them reoccupy cherkaser, then the troops attacking Kiev would suffer from the enemy from both sides. Perhaps in the end, they would have to retreat to the other side of the Dnieper River. "

After listening to what I said, kisjakov stopped talking and just stared at the map in front of him. After a while, he asked reluctantly, "can we just watch the German attack the friendly forces and stand by?"

"Comrade deputy commander, we are not standing idly by." In order to untie his heart knot, I explained to him: "you should know that general konev's Ukrainian second front army has not only the 53rd group army, but also the 5th group army of close guard tanks, the 5th group army of close guard tanks, the 7th group army of close guard tanks, the 37th group army, the 57th group army and two independent mechanized forces. In addition, as far as I know, the Supreme Command transferred one mechanized army and four infantry divisions of general Malinowski, and the 20th tank army of general torbusin to konev's front army. They have such a strong force, do you still worry that you can't stop the German attack? "

Some of the data I have mentioned come from the superior's reports, while others are simply the information I have seen in later generations. After listening to me, chisgakov opened his mouth and said in surprise, "ah, general konev's Grassland front army has so many troops now?"

"That's right." I nodded and said, "so even if the German army pours on kilovgrad, with the existing strength of the friendly forces, it should be able to stop them temporarily. When the German attack is weak, we will rush out of their side and beat them to pieces

Bezikov went back to the table and said in a steady tone, "Comrade commander, the telegram to the headquarters of the front army has been sent out. I believe they will soon be able to transfer this information to the friendly forces."

After listening, I nodded, and then asked akhromeyev, who was standing next to lophov in a loud voice, "major, is there anything new about travkin?"

Akhromeyev shook his head and replied, "no, comrade commander, we haven't received the latest information from the reconnaissance team yet."

I didn't wait for Tarasov's latest information, but I waited for vatukin's call first. He asked in a loud voice on the phone, "Comrade oshanina, I saw your telegrams. Are they all true? The German Panzer Division is on its way from uman to kilovgrad

"Yes, Comrade General." I replied positively, "this is the information from my deputy battalion commander of reconnaissance battalion, Tel avin. They are trying to figure out the number of the German army."

"Since that is the case, I will inform konev of this situation after they have found out the number of the German army." "He can't believe such a short piece of information even if he's told it," watujing said impatiently

"Comrade General," I was immediately worried when I heard that watujing said this in such a tone of disapproval, "the enemy has now dispatched from uman, and it will be on the flank of the 53rd army in two hours at most. If you don't inform general konev of this information in time, they may be caught off guard by the Germans. "

"But we can't judge the target of the enemy's action until we know the number of the enemy." "Maybe the enemy is not going to fight back, but just to reinforce the garrison of kilovgrad," said vatujing with some helplessness. If we inform konev of the wrong information and let him make a wrong judgment, the next battle will be very unfavorable. "

When I heard these words, I suddenly felt that I was a little nosy. But now that I was in a dilemma, I had to say, "Comrade General, although I don't know the number of the German troops going to kilovgrad at the moment, please believe my judgment, they are not going to reinforce the garrison in kilovgrad, It's about attacking the flanks of friendly forces. "

"Well, well, I see." As soon as I finished speaking, I immediately said, "I will report this information to konev immediately, so that they can prepare for the necessary battle."

After I put down the phone, I immediately told akhromeyev: "major, send a telegram to travkin again, so that he can find out the enemy's number in the shortest time."

Hearing such an order from me, several commanders sitting at the table looked at me with strange eyes. Kirilov couldn't help asking, "Rita, what's the matter? You look worried."

"Comrades of the Military Commission." I looked at kirilov and said, "don't worry now. The enemy is rushing from uman to the flank of the friendly forces in kilovgrad, but the general thinks that the enemy is only going to reinforce, not to fight back. So far, he has not informed general konev. "

"Ah, how could that be?" Kirilov was surprised at what I said. He stood up, walked back and forth in the room two times, then stopped and suggested to me, "Rita, I think you have a good relationship with general managarov. It's better for you to inform him of this in person."

"No, comrade military Commissar." I said to kirilov with a bitter smile, "if I could, I would have informed general managarov. Don't you forget that a few days ago, I informed him of a similar situation, but he was very indifferent. Now is the critical moment for the attack on kilovgrad. His character will definitely not agree to let him stop the attack and deploy his forces in the direction where the German army may appear. "

"But now that we know that the Germans are rushing to the friendly forces, we have to find a way to remind them." Kirilov said anxiously: "all of you here should know what our troops are like. Some troops are doing well in a tailwind battle, but if they are to be caught off guard by the German army, the defense line is likely to collapse. Moreover, the proportion of recruits in today's troops is too high. "

"What we can do now is to order the troops in the defense area to be ready for battle." I have no choice but to say: "when the German and friendly forces begin to fight, we choose the right time to launch an attack from the enemy's side and rear, strive to smash their attack, and let the situation develop in the direction beneficial to us."

More than an hour later, we finally got a telegram from travkin. Seeing akhromeyev coming in a hurry, instead of receiving the telegram in his hand, I told him, "major, read the intelligence of the reconnaissance unit to you."

Akhromeyev nodded and then began to read from the telegram: "we captured a German staff officer who sent a message through our efforts. After interrogation, we learned that the number of the armored division going to kilovgrad was the 11th armored division, followed by the 16th armored infantry division and the skeleton Division..."

After akhromeyev finished reading the telegram, I observed everyone's expression on purpose and found that whether it was chisjakov, kirilov or bezikov, they were all stunned. I coughed gently. After everyone's eyes focused on me, I asked faintly, "we all know the situation. Let's talk about it. What should we do next?"

"Comrades commander," said bezikov at first, somewhat flustered, "the German army now has two armored divisions and one armored infantry division, charging down the road to kilovgrad. Let alone the fact that the 53rd army is not prepared at all, even if they are allowed to build solid defensive positions, it is uncertain whether they will be able to hold on to the impact of these German divisions. "

"Yes, chief of staff, you are quite right." I supported bezikov's statement in time: "the German army has rushed to kilovgrad with such a force. The fate of the 53rd army is almost doomed. It is inevitable that it will be defeated. It depends on their support for a few days under the fierce attack of the enemy."

"What about us, comrade commander?" "Should we attack the 53rd army from their flanks at the same time as the German forces attack the 53rd army, so as to relieve general managarov's pressure on them?" he interrupted

"Comrade deputy commander, have you ever seen a drowning man?" After I asked this question, without waiting for him to answer, I said to myself, "the 53rd army is now a drowning man. If we do not rescue them properly, we will not only fail to get rid of their encirclement, but also take ourselves in. The losses of our group army are serious and small. Once the flank and rear of the troops attacking Kiev are exposed to the enemy, this is a great event. "

"What shall we do?" Although chisgakov didn't fight me any more, he still asked reluctantly, "do we really watch the friendly army defeated by the German army?"“ Chief of staff, "I didn't take what chisgakov said, but turned around and told bzikov:" give general Chernoff an order, let his troops immediately enter the defensive position, make all combat preparations, and resolutely block the German from the direction of kilovgrad. At the same time, the 52nd and 67th divisions of the guards should be given a combat alert to make them ready for the second level combat and ready to enter the battlefield at any time. " As soon as my series of orders were issued, something happened again on korostwev's side. This time Kravchenko didn't know where he got a communication line, but he called my headquarters directly. His anxious voice came from the receiver: "Comrade commander, the German army, who was unwilling to lose, has launched another fierce attack on our city after being repulsed by us. We are short of artillery support, so the casualties of the troops are very large. I beg you to send me another division, so I can have a greater grasp of the city. "“ Comrade general, I'm going to have a fierce battle with the main force of the German army. I can't spare any troops to support you. " In order to let him have a clear idea, I also briefly introduced the situation here to him, and finally stressed: "Comrade General, please tell the commanders and fighters that since we have occupied korostwev, we must never hand over the city, tell them not to panic, not to be afraid of shameless enemies, and keep the confidence of winning. Many of them made great contributions to the liberation of Belgorod and Kharkov. Now it's time for them to make contributions again. I hope they will continue to fight bravely against the German invaders who are armed to the teeth... "After listening to my words, Kravchenko immediately replied with high morale:" Comrade commander, I understand everything. I will certainly convey your words to the soldiers. You can rest assured that we will try our best to keep the city and never let the enemy take it back. "