Chapter 1558

At the same time, the attacking forces in the direction of Lvov have entered their respective positions. I thought konev would push the boat forward and order the area to launch an attack at the same time, but after thinking for a long time, he told sokolovsky: "chief of staff, send a message to the commanders of the group army in the middle line, so that they can prepare for the attack at the existing position. When the artillery fire preparation is finished tomorrow morning, they will launch an attack in the direction of Lvov immediately."

Hearing konev's order, I hesitated for a moment, stopped sokolovsky who was going to give the order, and then said to konev solemnly: "marshal, I think since the troops in the middle line have reached the designated position, I can order them to attack immediately and attack the enemy in the direction of Lvov."

"Rita, after a long march, our soldiers have become exhausted." Unexpectedly, konev directly denied my proposal: "if they are allowed to attack in a hurry, it may be difficult for them to fight for a long time. So I decided to let them rest for another night, and after they have recovered their strength, they can participate in the new attack

I didn't argue with konev when he insisted on his opinion. When sokolovsky went to issue an order to the midline troops, I made a new request to him: "marshal, I don't know if you can transfer the close guard 18th army to take part in the attack in the midline area?"

"No problem," konev agreed very readily this time: "the 18th army of general afuning's close guard has been transferred back to the north of jernopol a few days ago, that is, their original garrison, and they can take part in the offensive battle of the middle line at any time."

"Great, that's great." When I heard that afuning's troops had returned to the original defense area, my heart suddenly felt more secure. Even if I don't look at the map, I know the area where they are stationed, where they can advance, attack and retreat, and defend. No matter whether the midline troops of our army are progressing smoothly or not, the troops of our army can achieve great results.

…………

Early the next morning, after an hour and a half of artillery preparation, the 38th and 60th group armies adopted the tactics of advancing hand in hand and launched an attack in the direction of Lvov, which was heavily guarded by the German army.

As soon as the battle started, the troops of the two army groups, who had been keeping up their energy, successfully broke through the German first defense zone and, on this basis, launched an attack on the enemy's second defense zone.

At first, it was very smooth, but with the strengthening of German resistance, our army's offensive seemed to be weak. At that moment, the German army sent out two armored divisions to counter attack our attacking troops. The 38th army of general Moskalenko, who was the first to be attacked, lacked enough anti tank infantry divisions, and was immediately scattered by the German armored forces.

After cutting off the contact between the vanguard and the second echelon of the 38th group army, the German armored division continued to rush forward with all its might towards the defensive depth of the 60th group army under the command of general kurotchkin. As our offensive troops had not yet established a defense after breaking through the German first defense zone, chaos inevitably appeared immediately after the German counterattack.

After receiving the war report, konev said angrily: "waste, it's just waste. The two army groups of kurozhkin and Moskalenko were unable to deal with the two German armored divisions. They destroyed the good situation. "

Staring at the map on the table, I thought quickly: "although the vanguard forces of the two group armies contracted in time, they had fallen into the encirclement of the German defense forces and assault forces; And the troops of the second echelon were forced to retreat under the attack of the German army. "

"Comrade marshal," I heard sokolovsky ask anxiously at this moment, "the offensive forces of the two group armies are now surrounded by the German army. If we don't find a way, they may be more or less dangerous."

"Chief of staff, what are you panicking about?" Konev took a look at sokolovsky and said flatly: "although we are involved in the offensive forces, several divisions are surrounded by German forces. However, due to the limited strength of the German army, their encirclement is not enough to trap our troops. The encircled troops only need to hold on for more than ten hours, and the troops of the second echelon can join them. "

"Yes, comrade marshal, you are right." After listening to konev's words, sokolovsky nodded and echoed: "in order to make the second echelon troops join the besieged troops as soon as possible, I suggest that the third group army of general rebalko's close guard tanks be put into combat immediately."

"Yes, I'll call general rebalko." Konev nodded in agreement with sokolovsky's suggestion. Then he picked up the phone on the table, dialed a number, waited for a while, and then said, "rebalko? I'm konev. At present, our attack in the direction of Lvov has encountered some problems. Two German armored divisions unexpectedly launched an attack from the left wing of the 38th and 60th group army, and successfully cut off the connection between the attacking forces and the second echelon. I order you to send out the main force immediately, cooperate with the troops of the second echelon, break through the German defense, and deal with the vanguard troops trapped in the front. Do you have any confidence? "

Maybe rebalko gave him a positive answer. Konev said with a smile after hearing this: "well, general rebalko, I wish you victory first. I will wait for your good news all the time."

Konev put down the phone and said to me with a smile, "I have ordered rebalko's tank army to attack. I believe that in a short time, they will be able to defeat the German armored division, and then we can resume our attack on the second defense zone of Lvov."

I carefully looked at the attack route and distance of the German armored division, and thought that their strength should be almost consumed. The end of their attack was only two or three kilometers away from the garrison of the 18th army. If they suddenly attacked the exhausted German army at this time, they would surely get good results.

Thinking of this, I looked up at konev and made a decisive request to him: "Comrade marshal, the current position of the German armored division is not far from the 18th garrison of general afuning's guards. I suggest that they should be put into combat immediately and take the lead in counterattack against the German armored division."

"Let the 18th guards fight?" When konev heard what I said, his eyebrows twisted into a knot. After looking down at the map for a long time, he looked up at me with a puzzled face: "afuning's close guard 18th army has only one tank regiment and several tank battalions. Can it beat the German armored division?"

"Comrade marshal, after several hours of assault, the German armored division is not only seriously short of ammunition and fuel, but also the soldiers are tired. If we let the 18th guards take the surprise tactics, we can certainly catch the Germans by surprise. In this way, it will be much easier for the 3rd group army of close guard tanks or the second echelon of the 38th and 60th groups to launch attacks against the Germans. "

Although I have already said this, konev shook his head and vetoed it after thinking about it for a long time: "no, Rita, I don't agree to put the 18th guards into battle at this time."

"Comrade marshal, why is that?" I asked, puzzled, about konev's reply.

"Very simply, there are nearly 20000 rescued prisoners of war in the 18th army of the guards. In particular, Colonel Lukin's new division is composed entirely of prisoners of war. " Konev solemnly explained to me: "if this unreliable force is put into battle now, in case they change sides or break up on the battlefield, who can afford the responsibility."

I know in my heart that konev said this for the sake of my future. If we really rashly put the 18th army of the guards into battle, if something really happened, konev would certainly be blamed by Stalin, but my future would be completely destroyed.

Seeing that I was silent, konev thought that he had convinced me. He came over and patted me on the shoulder, comforted me and said, "Rita, I know that you bet your future on the adaptation of the 18th army of the guards. But for the sake of safety, I think we should wait until the war situation is stable, and then find a suitable time to put them into the battlefield."

I carefully considered what konev said, which is right and wrong. If I adopt his proposal for my own future, his words are undoubtedly correct. But the commanders and fighters who were rescued from the German POW camp are full of hatred for the Germans. Now is a good time for the army to use their hearts. How can they not fight?

After repeated weighing, I still resolutely said to konev, "marshal, I think the commanders and fighters of the 18th army should be allowed to fight. I believe they will be able to play our military power."

"Have you really decided, Rita?" Konev asked. Seeing that I nodded in affirmation, he then asked, "no regrets?"

"No regrets." I shook my head and said, "marshal, I think at this time, we should take a risk to let these officers and men return to the battlefield and feel the life of blood and fire."

"Well, now that you've made up your mind, I'll give an order to general afuning myself." Konev said, picked up the phone on the desk, dialed a number, and said in a very dignified voice: "operator, I'm konev! Get close to the 18th army and find the commander, major general afuning

The phone was soon connected, konev in the phone to afuning issued a combat mission, continue to say: "I let the deputy commander to you say a few words."

I took the phone and politely said, "Hello, general afuning."

"Hello, comrade deputy commander." At the other end of the microphone, afuning politely asked, "what instructions do you have?"

"Comrade General, please tell all the officers and men of the 18th army, especially those who were rescued by us a few months ago." I carefully said to the microphone: "it's time for revenge. We must ask the Germans for their blood on the battlefield."

"I see. Comrade deputy commander, I will certainly convey your words to the commanders and fighters of the whole army."

After a pause, I asked, "Comrade General, how do you plan to attack the enemy?"

"Prepare for the artillery fire first." although afuning was a commander with rich combat experience shortly after receiving this combat order, he immediately reported to me in a clear and orderly way: "then the tanks of the tank regiment will guide our infantry to attack the enemy. As soon as the enemy has finished the assault, there must be no time to build fortifications. Our attack is enough to defeat them. " Hearing ah Funing's confident reply, my heart became uneasy. After he finished, I immediately put forward my own view: "Comrade General, the number of tanks in your army is not as large as that of the German army. If you directly launch an attack, the battle will easily fall into a stalemate."“ Comrade deputy commander, this situation is inevitable on the battlefield. " After listening to me, afuning replied dryly, "but we will try our best to destroy or defeat the enemy who intruded into our army."“ No, general afuning, this battle cannot be fought like this. " I said with some displeasure, "if it's the same old way of playing, and the second echelon of the 38th and 60th army can draw out four or five divisions at will, why should I put your army into battle?" Ah Funing is also a smart man. After listening to me, he guessed that I must have other ideas, so he humbly asked me, "Comrade deputy commander, what should we do?"“ Let Colonel Lukin's new division take up the main task. " I was deeply afraid that afuning could not understand my intention, so I told him in detail: "it's not a strong attack, but a sneak attack, and there is no need for artillery preparation before the attack. The specific operational deployment is up to you and Lukin to negotiate with them. "“ I see, comrade deputy commander. I'll call Colonel Lukin immediately and discuss with him the specific plan for the night attack on the German army. " Konev saw me put down the phone and asked, "Rita, do you really think that the new division can defeat the German armored division with night attack tactics?"“ It should be OK. " I remembered that before I went to Moscow, when I heard about the two offensive and defensive exercises conducted by the new division, I said confidently, "Lukin is my old subordinate. He knows how to skillfully use night attack tactics to cause heavy casualties to the enemy."“ I remember Listening to what I said, konev suddenly brightened his eyes and then asked curiously, "your troops defeated the mechanized 29th brigade of the German army and captured the commander of the brigade by sneak attack tactics in the war of Stalingrad defense, which effectively attacked the arrogance of the German army."