Chapter 1463

The plan couldn't keep up with the change. At 6 a.m. the next day, before general Moskalenko's 38th army entered the battle, the German army had used 15 divisions to launch a fierce counterattack in the main assault direction of our army, trying to drive our troops back to the starting position.

After reading the telegram from the front, Zhukov said to several of us, "look, the German army put nine tank divisions and six infantry divisions into battle in the line of jernopol and proskurov, and took the lead in carrying out a fierce counter attack against us, in an attempt to prevent our army from advancing south."

After reading the contents of the telegram, I raised my head and asked Zhukov, "marshal, we have ordered our troops to turn to defense immediately and rely on solid fortifications to fight against the German attack and avoid being driven back to the north of the railway line of jernopol proskurov by the enemy. In this way, the railway line of the German southern army group, which was cut off by our army, will be restored. "

Before Zhukov spoke, Bogoliubov retorted, "Comrade deputy commander, I think you are too pessimistic. Although the German army sent out 15 divisions, it was our three multi arms group army and two tank group army in front of them. If they launched such an attack, they would only seek their own death. "

"Chief of staff," Zhukov said after listening to bogoleubov's words, he ignored me directly and asked the other side, "what do you think we should do?"

"Attack instead of defense!" As for Zhukov's question, Bogoliubov actually put forward a fighting method that made me laugh and laugh, but he also said with a strong voice: "marshal, although the enemy has carried out counter assault on our army, they do not have any advantage in strength and technical equipment. Our army's commanders and fighters are in high morale. If we attack them, we can defeat them."

Bogoliubov's proposal brightened the eyes of major general kleinukov, who was always playing the role of soy sauce. He stood up from the corner where he was sitting, walked quickly to the table, and said to Zhukov, "marshal, I agree with the chief of staff. Our commanders and fighters are at the peak of their morale because they are successful in company battles. Let alone the superiority of our army in strength and technical equipment, that is to say, the strength and equipment are roughly the same, or even at a disadvantage. The Red Army soldiers armed with Stalin's ideas can also defeat the enemy. "

"Yes, comrade Zhukov. I think kleinukov is right." When Khrushchev, who was still calm, heard his deputy say this, he felt a little bit feverish. He pushed the boat forward and said to Zhukov, "if Comrade Stalin knew that our commanders and fighters were fighting against the German army and achieved brilliant results, I think he would be very happy."

The suggestion of three people leaning to one side made Zhukov difficult. He went to the wall, held his chin in his hand, and looked up at the map on the wall. After thinking for a long time, he turned to bogoleubov and said, "chief of staff, call general Moskalenko and let his troops attack at the scheduled time."

When bogoleubov ordered, he asked, "how do we deal with the German attack?"

"Order general lelushenko, commander of the 4th group army of tanks, to dispatch the 22nd army of tanks, the 133rd brigade of tanks and the 18th infantry division to assist the 60th group army and the German army in the attack." Zhukov stared at the map and issued his order clearly: "order general rebarko of the 3rd group army of the guards to send the 6th army of the tanks, the 91st brigade of the tanks and the mechanized 2nd army of the guards to cooperate with the attack of the 1st group army of the guards."

On hearing Zhukov's order, bogoleubov's face showed a happy expression. After he gave a loud answer, he quickly ran to make a phone call.

Zhukov's decision cooled my heart, because I knew very well that after a week of high-intensity attacks, with the loss of soldiers and technical equipment, the combat effectiveness of the troops had been weakened. If in this case, regardless of the German attack, the outcome will be very bad.

Although I had guessed the ending, I didn't persuade Zhukov, because according to my understanding of him, as long as he made up his mind, even if nine cows could not be pulled back, it would not help if I said it. So I simply kept silent and wanted to see what kind of measures Zhukov would take when the team was repulsed by the German army.

Khrushchev and kleinukov were talking and laughing. When they looked back, they saw me sitting beside me with a look of depression and saying nothing. They immediately guessed why I was like this. In order to enlighten me, he deliberately turned away from the topic and asked me, "Rita, I have something I haven't figured out. I want to ask you for advice."

"Comrade military commissar," when I heard Khrushchev speak to me in such a polite tone, I was not used to it. I quickly and politely responded, "I don't dare to ask for advice, but as long as it's something I know, I will answer truthfully."

"Usually in combat, our division headquarters, even the group headquarters, are only a few hundred meters away from the forefront," Khrushchev asked unexpectedly. "Why are the German headquarters a few kilometers or more away?"

"It's no use saying that, comrade military Commissar." Major general kleinukov said contemptuously, "German commanders are cowards who are afraid of death. They can't be compared with my fearless revolutionary soldiers. They were afraid to hear the gunfire on the battlefield, so they set their headquarters far away from the front line. "

After kleinukov finished speaking, I gave him a dry smile, and then said to Khrushchev, "Comrade military commissar, major general kleinukov has a certain truth, but this is only one of them. I think the reason why the German army set up their headquarters far away from the front line is that when the headquarters are on the front line, our army may be too aggressive and involved in the battle. In that way, they will lose control and command of the troops. That's why they set up their headquarters far away from the frontier or the main road. "

After listening to my analysis, Khrushchev nodded and said thoughtfully, "Oh, that's true. I always thought they were greedy for life and afraid of death."

…………

The battle ahead was relatively smooth at the beginning, but as more and more German troops entered the battlefield, the battle began to fall into a stalemate. In the afternoon, the troops who had received good news from the top sent out instructions one after another, asking if they could stop the attack and turn to defense on the spot.

Zhukov looked at the stack of war reports in front of him, his face as if he was going to eat people. The chief of staff, Bogoliubov, stood nervously in front of him and asked, "Comrade marshal, what shall we do next? Is it to order the troops to continue to attack, or to turn them into defence on the spot? "

"Rita, you are the deputy commander of the front army. What should we do now?" Instead of answering bogoleubov's question directly, Zhukov turned to me and asked, "do you want to continue to attack or turn to defense on the spot?"

"Comrade marshal," when Zhukov asked for my opinions, I immediately stood up and replied, "I think under the present circumstances, we should immediately order the troops to turn to defense. After all, since the summer of 1943, our officers and men have been engaged in uninterrupted offensive operations and are very tired. Under the present circumstances, we can turn our troops to defense on the spot. On the one hand, we can prevent our troops from suffering greater losses; on the other hand, we can use the fortifications to weaken and fatigue the enemy's anti assault forces and prepare for our next attack. "

After hearing what I said, Zhukov turned to bogoleubov and said, "chief of staff, have you heard everything? The deputy commander's opinion, which is my opinion, immediately ordered all troops except the 38th group army to stop attacking and turn to defense on the spot, relying on the existing fortifications to resist the German counter assault. "

After listening to Zhukov's order, Bogoliubov gave me a look of incomparable resentment. Then he sighed softly and promised with insufficient confidence: "yes, I'm going to convey your order."

Seeing that Zhukov was working hard after bogoleubov left, Khrushchev pulled me aside and asked in a low voice, "Rita, if our troops turn to defense, when can we turn to attack again?"

"Don't worry, my comrades of the military committee." As for Khrushchev's worries, I said to him with a smile: "the German anti attack on our army is the last madness. They can't last long. You can wait and see. For a week at most, maybe three or four days, the enemy will have to return to their defensive positions again for passive defense because of the loss of troops. "

When I spoke, I didn't deliberately lower my voice, so that Zhukov, who was working, also heard me. He looked up at me. His eyebrows went up involuntarily. He seemed to want to say something, but he didn't say it in the end and continued to work.

By nightfall, the front lines of the enemy and US had basically stabilized. Due to the fierce German offensive, several troops were repulsed to the north of the railway. Fortunately, there were many fortifications occupied by our army in the north of the railway. After the repulsed troops entered these fortifications, they blocked the German army advancing northward in time.

Looking at the newly marked situation of enemy and ourselves on the map, Zhukov's eyebrows turned into a knot in one's heart. Seeing him standing in front of the map with his hands behind his back, motionless like a statue, I quickly walked over and stood beside him, and said in a low voice, "Comrade marshal, our troops will temporarily turn to defense. After greatly consuming the effective strength of the German army, we can put general katukov's first tank group army into the battlefield, and then we will certainly defeat the enemy."

Zhukov nodded and echoed, "yes, I think so, too." With that, he pointed to the map on the wall and asked, "Rita, do you still think the German 48th Armored Division will break through the gap between our two army groups?"

"Yes, comrade marshal." As for Zhukov's question, I gave a positive answer: "I am sure that, with Herman balk's personality, the army will never be allowed to fall into our encirclement. Therefore, he will definitely choose the way to break through. "

"Then tell me, if they want to break through, where will they go?" Zhukov asked, expressionless, as I finished.

After a moment's pause on the map, I pointed decisively at jernopol and said confidently, "Comrade marshal, I think balk will go to this place when he commands his troops to rush out of the junction of our army."

Zhukov looked at the direction of my finger, shook his head, and said in a suspicious tone: "look, Rita, if the German army is going to pass our defense area and go to jernopol, you see how many cities they will pass through. As long as our troops block them in these places for more than half a day, they will be surrounded by our troops coming from all directions. Balk is not a fool. He will never send his troops into a trap like this. " Seeing that Zhukov was suspicious of what I said, I hesitated and thought about how to persuade him. When Zhukov saw that I didn't speak, he couldn't help saying, "Rita, do you think I have a point?"“ Marshal, "I don't want to watch balk's 48th armored army pass through our defense line, so I braved the possibility of offending Zhukov and said," I think it's balk who has mastered our army's operational characteristics that he dares to cross our defense line. "“ The operational characteristics of our army My words aroused Zhukov's curiosity. As he was about to turn around and walk away, he stopped and asked, "tell me, what are the combat characteristics of our army that balk has mastered?"“ The present operational feature of our army is to launch offensive operations against larger towns. Many of the previous failures of the German army were to set up their high-level headquarters in big towns or too close to the front line. Balk seems very cunning to avoid this mistake and set up his headquarters far away from the town and traffic lines. " When Zhukov heard this, he raised his hand and interrupted me. After looking at Khrushchev not far away, he said, "Rita, it seems that Comrade Khrushchev asked you in the afternoon why the enemy's headquarters are far away from the front line, and you answered him. Why, do you think balk will order the troops to bypass our big towns and major traffic arteries when breaking through the encirclement? "“ Yes, comrade marshal, "I nodded and replied positively," I think balk will do it. "