Together with Zhukov, Manturov walked out of Stalin's office and went to the next room to call his family. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

In order to show a gentlemanly demeanor and at the same time improve the relationship with Zhukov, Manturov asked Zhukov to fight first, Zhukov simply told his family about his trip to Ukraine, told his family not to wait for him, and gave the phone to his former comrades-in-arms.

After Manturov received the phone from Zhukov, he immediately called the Moscow City Party Committee to find his only relative, Katya, Secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee.

"Katyusha, I was appointed military commissar of the Southwestern Front, and in an hour, I will get on a plane to Kyiv and go to Ukraine, you don't have to wait for me to come back."

Hearing this sudden news, Katia was so frightened that she dropped her pen, "What? You're going to Kyiv? Don't you know what the outcome of the battle for Kyiv will be? Do you want to die in Kiev with Kirponos? ”

"I knew, of course, that it was the decision of Stalin and the Politburo, and I had to go! Now the comrades at the front are experiencing life and death dangers, and if I don't go, more Red Army soldiers will die in vain! I will apply the successful experience I have accumulated in the battle against Japan on the Khalkhin River to the Southwestern Front, and lead the soldiers of the Southwestern Front to defeat the enemy! ”

"Victory over the enemy? Why are you so confident? ”

"Because I have faith in the Soviet Red Army!" Manturov did not intend to tell his wife about his whole plan, so as not to reveal his identity as a traverser in front of Zhukov and arouse Zhukov's suspicions.

"Okay, you're waiting for me at the airport! I'm going too! To live together, to die together! ”

"Katyusha, you are the secretary of the Moscow City Party Committee, you should stay in Moscow, take care of your official business, and don't go to Ukraine with me. I've said that, please take care. Manturov took the line and made a trade-off between Mao Mei and the country.

"Volodya," Zhukov said kindly, calling Manturov by his nickname, "it's getting late, let's get to the airport." ”

When they arrived at the airport, Manturov and Zhukov realized that they had not eaten anything from yesterday to now. Fortunately, there were preparations at the airport, and there were tea bags, bread, and delicious black caviar on the plane, enough for the two Heroes of the Soviet Union to cope with a meal on the plane.

Due to the early arrival of the two Heroes of the Soviet Union, in order to seize the time and not delay the war, the plane also took off 20 minutes early and headed for Kiev. At this time, Katia rushed to the airport, but could only watch the Li-2 transport plane disappear from her sight.

The plane arrived in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, at five o'clock in the afternoon, and when Manturov left the airport and set foot on Ukrainian soil again, he saw a familiar figure.

The man was short and stocky, and his head resembled a Russian food, potatoes. This person is Nikita Khrushchev, the secretary of the Ukrainian Party Committee and secretary of the Kiev Oblast Committee, who was called a "potato politician" by Soviet cadres and "corn control" by later generations.

"Two comrades have worked hard." Seeing Manturov, the deputy prime minister who came all the way from Moscow, Khrushchev, who was a member of the Politburo, also had to say a polite greeting, after all, he was also a national leader. And Zhukov, who is also the dignified Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Army and a Hero of the Soviet Union, cannot but give face.

Manturov has always been very polite in front of outsiders, especially in front of the leadership, and he also said a polite word, greeting the secretary of the Ukrainian party committee, "Comrade Khrushchev, you have also worked hard." The contribution you have made to the people of Ukraine over the years is obvious to all. ”

"Comrade Chairman, compared to you, what is my contribution?" Perhaps because of his years of rolling in officialdom, Khrushchev was particularly good at currying favor with others.

Of course, Manturov is also very good at this. "You have praised that everyone is serving the party, the country, and the people, and it is the people who contribute and benefit."

"You said it very well, we, as members of the Bolshevik Party, should serve the party, the people, and the great leader Stalin with all our hearts."

Khrushchev felt that there was no point in praising each other like this, so he got to the point, "Although the great Soviet Air Force temporarily gained air supremacy over Ukraine, if we fly any further, I am afraid of danger, so we should take a car to Ternopil." The headquarters of the Southwestern Front was located there. ”

"How long does it take to drive from Kyiv to Ternopil?"

Khrushchev touched his bald head and estimated, "It will take about 7 hours, if the road conditions are ideal." ”

"Seven hours?" For the impatient Manturov, the 7-hour drive was unacceptable. Moreover, the situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly, and a lot can happen in these 7 hours, and neither Manturov nor Zhukov are willing to wait.

"Comrade Manturov, I understand what you think, but just to be on the safe side, you just wait."

"Now that we've gained air supremacy, why can't we fly there?"

Zhukov also nodded and said, "Just fly over, I don't want to waste time." ”

Historically, since the Soviet army lost air supremacy at the very beginning, the skies over the entire western Ukraine were not safe, and it was possible to encounter German fighter groups at any time.

However, due to Manturov's opening of the Yak-3 and La-7, two fighters with superior performance, and the completion of the construction of the radar warning system before the start of the war, the Soviet Air Force not only regained air supremacy, but also made the Luftwaffe suffer a lot.

From 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 22, the Luftwaffe lost hundreds of aircraft in the skies over Ukraine. Among them are hundreds of Ju-87 "Stuka" dive bombers, BF-109F fighters, as well as a large number of Ju-88, He-111 bombers and reconnaissance aircraft.

The Soviet Air Force stationed in Ukraine, although it suffered heavy losses in the first two hours of the war, their Yak-3 and La-7 quickly turned the tide of the battle, and they also fought back, destroying a large number of German aircraft in the skies over Ukraine. And most of their losses are outdated aircraft such as the I-15 and I-16, as well as a small number of SB bombers, which does not have a great impact on combat effectiveness.

But on the Belarusian side, the situation is not so ideal. Although the Soviet Air Force also regained a certain amount of air supremacy, due to their lack of war preparedness and vigilance, many new aircraft such as the La-7 and Yak-3 placed on the ground were blown up by the raiding German fleet.

In addition, the lack of training of Soviet pilots, even if they flew better aircraft, they were still shot down by well-trained German pilots, such a situation occurred in all aspects of the army, and the situation of the Western Front, which was not well prepared and trained, was particularly serious, so they paid a great price, sacrificing many Yak-3 and La-7 to regain a little air supremacy.

Fortunately, on the Ukrainian side, because the Southwestern Front was relatively well prepared, the vigilance was relatively high, the training of pilots was relatively sufficient, and the number of new aircraft was relatively large, and the enemy aircraft faced were relatively small, their losses were naturally relatively small, and the losses caused to the 4th Air Force of the Luftwaffe were also relatively large, and they easily regained air supremacy.

Khrushchev explained to the two the reason for arranging the ride, "Two comrades, it is dangerous to fly any further, and German pilots often chase transport planes to fight. Just this morning, a Li-2 transport plane was shot down on its way to Ternopil, and we haven't sent any transport planes since. ”

However, Khrushchev's words did not frighten the young man Manturov. He pointed to a Pe-2 bomber refueling on the tarmac, "Since the transport plane is not safe, then I will take the PE-2 bomber over." ”

? (To be continued.) )