"How long can our ammunition and supplies last?" I asked briefly after listening to chisgakov.
"At today's fighting intensity, I estimate that the ammunition will last about a week." Chisjakov said solemnly, "more materials are needed. If we save a little, it will take about half a month."
What chisjakov said reminds me of last year's situation at mamayev post. At that time, our ammunition and material consumption was also an amazing amount. The reason why we could maintain the normal operation was that in addition to a large number of weapons, ammunition and materials stored in the secret warehouse at mamayev post, as well as the German materials we seized from the battlefield, the most important thing was that, Or do I make use of the advantage of the military defense area close to the port to order people to intercept part of the materials sent to the city from time to time to give priority to meet the needs of our department.
Today, the troops under my command are several times more than when I was at mamayev post. Naturally, the consumption of weapons, ammunition and materials will increase. If we can't solve this problem, the Germans only need to surround us for ten days and a half months, and the troops will probably collapse.
To be honest, where did the weapons and equipment used by the army come from? Where did the daily supplies for the commanders and fighters come from? This kind of problem is never in my consideration, because these are all in the charge of the logistics department. But now the situation is different. We may have to fight in the enemy's encirclement for some days. If we do not accumulate enough ammunition and materials, it will be difficult to maintain normal operations. So I looked up and asked, "where did our ammunition and supplies come from?"
"Most of the materials we need come from Kiev and are transported by the transport team to korostev, where they are distributed and sent to the various units." Bezikov now has a very clear understanding of what he is in charge of. After listening to my question, he immediately replied unambiguously: "of course, a small part is transported across the river from cherkaser, and then sent to us through the path of Koson."
"Comrade chief of staff, I don't think it's necessary to consider the use of korsong's transport line unless I have to." "The roads there are very rough and the supplies are very limited every time," chisjakov said with a sad face. Moreover, because of the complex terrain, the German army could easily cut off the transport line with only one or two companies. If any German commander, on a whim, disguises his troops as our men and makes a sneak attack, we will suffer a heavy loss. "
As for the concern expressed by chisjakov, I thought about it for a moment and said, "Comrade deputy commander, the Germans may soon launch an attack on the area we are defending. Under the current situation of urgency, I think we should transport ammunition and materials here through different transport routes at the same time."
At this moment, akhromeyev, not far away, suddenly called me and said, "Comrade commander, commander tavartkiraze of Zhitomir, has important information to report to you."
When I heard the sentence "commander tavartkilaze report", I felt nervous all over. He seldom took the initiative to call me. Generally, I called him to assign tasks. I went over to take the phone call from akhromeyev, took a deep breath, prepared to hear the worst news, and then said, "Comrade commander, do you have anything to report to me?"
"Well, comrade commander." "According to the Scout's report, in addition to the seventh armored division in the west, the German forces in the north and South are also assembling. It seems that they will launch a large-scale attack on Zhitomir tomorrow at the latest," tavartkiraze said by telephone
After waiting for him to finish, I asked slowly, "Comrade commander, what preparations have you made in the face of the large-scale German attack?"
"In addition to having the troops rush to repair the fortifications overnight, I also ordered the divisions to move their main forces to the most advanced areas." After a brief report, tavartkilaze said to me, "don't worry, no matter how much I pay, I will keep Zhitomir."
Although tavartkilaze made a promise, when I put down the phone, I was very uneasy. I still remember clearly that the defense line of the 51st division of the guards under the command of general tavartkilaze was first broken by the German army in the battle of Kursk.
I stood by the telephone and thought for a moment, then turned to chisgakov and said, "Comrade deputy commander, according to general tavartkilaze's report, the enemies from north, West and South are gathering. It seems that they will launch a large-scale attack on Zhitomir tomorrow at the latest."
"This situation should be reported to the headquarters of the front army immediately." As he said this, he picked up the phone and said, "operator, connect me with the headquarters of the front army and find general watujing."
Seeing my unhappy face, chisjakov quickly advised me, "Comrade commander, this matter is of great importance. We should immediately report it to the headquarters of the front army, so that Comrade vatukin can make the correct deployment according to the actual situation of the battlefield."
When chisjakov finished, I didn't say anything. I just stared at bezikov to see if he had contacted vatukin. After waiting for two or three minutes, bzikov turned to me, handed me the microphone and said, "Comrade commander, the headquarters of the front army is connected."
I wanted to report this matter to the chief of staff of the front army, but I didn't expect that the person who answered the phone was watujing. It seems that it's really like what Zhukov said: watujing, who was born as a chief of staff, took over almost all the work of his own chief of staff, making the chief of staff who should be responsible for these things idle. As a subordinate of watujing, I have no intention of commenting on whether his work style, which involves himself in every detail, is correct. I only know that by doing so, he undoubtedly increases the pressure he is facing, and even leads to the deterioration of his physical condition.
"Hello, senior general." I politely said to the microphone, "I just received intelligence from Zhitomir. The enemy's forces from north, West and South are gathering. It seems that they are ready to launch a large-scale attack on Zhitomir in a short time!"
"What, the enemy is about to attack Zhitomir?" After a moment's silence, he asked tentatively, "Comrade oshanina, don't you know the credibility of this information?"
"Comrade General, this information was reported to me by general tavartkilaze, commander of the 23rd army of the guards." In order to dispel vatujing's doubts, I specially explained the source of intelligence to him, "he is an old commander with more than ten or twenty years of rich combat experience. I think the intelligence he reported should be accurate."
"I knew tavartkilaze before the war. He was a commander with brave fighting spirit. Since he provided the information, I don't think it was false." After knowing that the intelligence was provided by tawalter killazer, vatujing's attitude changed greatly. It can be seen that he still has great trust in the older generation of commanders in the army. After a pause, he asked, "Comrade oshanina, what measures are you going to take to resist the enemy's attack?"
"Judging from the daytime fighting of the 67th division of the guards, a solid fortification can greatly reduce the offensive pressure on the troops. So I'm going to go to Zhitomir overnight to check the fortifications there. "
"You are very considerate. As long as our troops can rely on solid fortifications and build a perfect defense system, they can still block the German attack." After finishing these two sentences, vatukin asked casually, "is there anything else I can help you solve?"
"Yes, senior general." I had planned to wait until Zhitomir called vatukin to talk about weapons, ammunition and materials. Unexpectedly, he asked us what difficulties we had. I immediately pushed the boat along the river and said, "I'm afraid Zhitomir may fall into the siege of the German army after the battle starts. As long as the enemy cuts off the road between Kiev and Zhitomir, we will lose supplies of weapons, ammunition and materials. "
"Under the present circumstances, I think the German army may not be able to encircle your group army." After listening to me, watujing said with some disapproval, "you know, to the east of you, there are the 38th and 60th army groups. As long as they exist, if the German forces of fastiev want to attack you from the East, they must think about the end of being cut off by our army in advance. "
Seeing that vatukin did not arouse the necessary vigilance, I immediately reminded him, "however, senior general, judging from the various signs at present, it is entirely possible for the German army to launch an attack on our occupied Zhitomir from four directions at the same time."
"All right, comrade oshanina." Without waiting for me to finish, vatukin interrupted me and said with a strong voice, "don't worry, if the German army really attacks you from the direction of fastif, I will immediately order the two army groups on the west side of Kiev to attack the enemy's rear, so that they can't look at each other head and tail."
I have nothing to say for vatukin's stubbornness. After I put down the phone, I said to chisgakov, "Comrade deputy commander, I'm going to gotomir overnight. I'll leave it to you. If you have anything to do, you can call general killazer's headquarters. " Then I told bzikov, "chief of staff, please contact General sivakov, commander of the 22nd army of the guards, and ask him to organize forces to transport some of the weapons and ammunition stored in the cherkaser River to us. Remember, in order to prevent German attacks, let him send more troops to escort cars. "
When I went out, it was already eleven o'clock in the evening. I looked up at the sky. There was a moon in the sky. The road should not be difficult. In order not to expose the target, I only needed two jeeps, one for me and the other for the driver and four guards.
The driver was very familiar with the route we had to take. He drove quite fast and sped along the snowy forest path. It took less than an hour for the car to enter Zhitomir. Although the driver carefully avoided the bricks and gravel on the road, he could not avoid the potholes covered by snow, so that danger often occurred.
I watched the city outside, which was destroyed by German artillery and bombs. Although we had occupied it for a long time, it still felt like a battlefield that had just ended the battle. Everywhere we could see the remains of tanks and armored vehicles, burned trucks, and some bodies that had not yet been collected.
As we were driving forward, our car gave a jerk and then came to a sudden stop. I quickly asked the driver: "Comrade driver, what's the matter?"
The driver turned to look at me and said, "Comrade commander, the car broke down. I'll go down and check it. Don't worry, just a few minutes at the most. " Then he pushed the door open and got out of the car. When I watched the driver lift the hood in front of me and start to check, I looked out of the window a little bored. Just in front of the right not far from the street, two soldiers appeared. Although the light is not very good, but I still see at a glance is a man and a woman. Two people may be separated for too long, come together to embrace together, did not let go. When I saw the intimacy between them, my heart said: maybe it's a couple in the field. Because of the fierce war, they have no chance to be together. That's why they are so close when we meet today. Just then, further down the street, I saw a five person patrol coming towards us along the street. When they come to their lovers, they stop one after another. Then I heard a stern voice saying, "Hey, comrade commander, please pay attention to your image. How do you feel when you cuddle in the street?" With this voice, the lovers who had been hugging each other immediately separated. Then I heard a male voice saying apologetically, "I'm sorry, chief, we haven't seen each other for a long time, so we just lost our manners." The patrol sergeant said coldly, "please show me your papers and passes." The couple cooperated very much and took out the certificate and handed it to each other. After the sergeant insisted, he didn't immediately return the certificate to them. Instead, he said with a strong attitude: "Comrade commander, the city is under martial law after ten o'clock, but your pass is not in this area. I think you may want to come with me."“ Chief The commander said in a flattering tone: "although my pass is not in this area, my residence is only a few streets away from here. Please accommodate me."“ No, your pass is out of question. You must come with us to the garrison headquarters. " The sergeant of the patrol said reluctantly, "Comrade commander, do you take the initiative to follow us, or do I ask the soldiers to escort you?"