At 3 p.m., the good news came one after another.

First Sivakov called me, and on the phone he excitedly said: "Comrade commander, the 299th Infantry Division managed to capture a bridge over the Ud River and build a bridgehead on the south bank of the river. ”

"Great, Comrade Commander, your news is so encouraging." I had planned to ask Vatutin to borrow a boat bridge battalion and build a pontoon bridge over the Oud River so that the troops could cross the river smoothly, but Sivakov and they actually occupied a complete bridge. I immediately instructed him: "Immediately let the rest of the troops cross the bridge to the south bank." ”

As soon as I said this, Sivakov suddenly became slumped: "Comrade commander, it may be difficult to cross the river with a large force. ”

"Why, Comrade Commander?" I was confused by his words, and I asked in confusion: "Can't our troops pass over the bridge?" ”

"That's right," Sivakov probably heard the dissatisfaction in my tone, and quickly explained: "The 299th Infantry Division occupies only a narrow wooden bridge, and the infantry has no problem passing through, but heavy weapons such as tank artillery are impassable. At the moment they are blocked by German fire, and it is difficult to continue to advance. ”

"The German strongholds on the north shore, how are they being cleared?" When I said this, I was deeply afraid that he would take it lightly, and I especially emphasized: "Only after all the German strongholds have been cleared can we confidently and boldly launch an attack on the south bank." ”

"Rest assured, Comrade Commander," Sivakov said confidently, "almost half of the German strongholds on the north bank have fallen into our hands. The remaining strongholds, under the attack of troops supported by tanks and artillery, I believe that they will not be able to support for long. I reckon that the troops were before dark. to solve the battle. ”

"Comrade commander, I remind you that the Ude River is the last natural barrier of the German army to the west, and once we can successfully break through, then we will be able to smoothly rush under the city of Kharkov." I knew the meaning of the Oud River very well, so I couldn't help but seem a little impatient when I spoke: "Except for clearing the German strongholds on the north bank. It is also necessary to try to find a way to expand the bridgehead on the south bank, and hold it at all costs, whether or not Kharkov can be captured, the bridgehead on the south bank is the key. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Sivakov hurriedly replied: "I will send the 84th Division to support the 299th Division and hold this place at all costs." ”

As soon as he hung up Sivakov's phone, Babakhin's phone rang right after. It was Bezkov who answered the phone, and after listening to the other party's report, he excitedly said to me: "Comrade commander. The scouts sent by Colonel Babakhin fed back the information they had snooped in. ”

"Oh, so fast!" Babakhin got the Scout's report so quickly, and I was a little surprised by the speed, "Is it accurate information?" ”

"That's right," Bezkov nodded vigorously, affirmatively, "according to the scouts, a train carrying munitions was blown up. It was still hot within a kilometer or two radius, and they couldn't get close enough to see the effect. However, it is estimated that all the German soldiers on the car should be dead. ”

When he said this, everyone, including me, nodded, because based on everyone's experience, after such a violent explosion, there should be no living creatures in the vicinity, and the German soldiers in the car are probably already crushed.

He continued, "Our scouts see that the railroad has been blown up. They went to reconnoiter the road transport line, and found that the situation there was not much better, and there were bomb craters one after another, and they guessed that at least a thousand Germans were killed......"

"Please wait, Comrade Colonel." Bedzikov is not finished. Managarov interrupted him and said with some dissatisfaction: "Why is it that the information provided by the scouts is full of words such as 'estimate' and 'guess', can't they provide accurate numbers?" ”

Hearing Managarov say this, Bezkov smiled bitterly and said: "Comrade General, you don't know, there are broken corpses everywhere, and the scouts simply can't piece them together and count them, so they can only estimate." ”

Bezkov's words caused laughter from everyone, and even Managarov laughed. He laughed and said: "That's right, Comrade Colonel, under the intensive bombardment of our Air Force, it is strange that the Germans can keep the whole corpse." Go on. ”

Bezikov continued: "...... The reason why we were able to get the scouts' reports so quickly was because Colonel Babakhin was so thoughtful that he had all the scouts rush to the south of Kharkiv on motorbikes, and equipped them with radios so that they could get the information back in time. ”

After I waited for Bezikov to finish, I turned to look at Managarov and asked, "Comrade General, I wonder when your 48th Infantry Corps will arrive?" ”

Managarov heard my question, thought for a while, and said: "The 48th Infantry Corps was temporarily transferred to us by Commander Konev from the 69th Army, and they may not have expected that your troops would break through the German defenses in the Djergach area so quickly, so they may not be able to arrive until noon tomorrow at the earliest. ”

Hearing Managarov say this, I was slightly disappointed in my heart, it seems that my original plan will be adjusted, and I can only let the 23rd Guards Army out first. Just as I was about to ask Bezikov to give the order, I heard Managarov say: "Comrade commander, if you are worried about cutting off the German supply lines, I can transfer the 252nd Division to you first. This unit was replenished after the conquest of Belgorod, and now the total strength of the division is 6,000 men, with sufficient weapons and ammunition, and it is ready to fight at any time. ”

I just wanted to transfer the 23rd Guards Army, but I didn't expect Managarov to take the initiative to give me a division. Since he took the initiative so much, I couldn't spoil his interest, so I pushed the boat and said: "Comrade General, since this is the case, then the task of cutting off the German transportation line will be entrusted to the 252nd Division." When the 48th Army came, troops were sent to reinforce them. ”

After I finished speaking, I stood up, walked up to Lopukhov, bowed my head and asked him: "Major, can you get in touch with General Bere?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Lopukhov said respectfully: "Please wait a moment, I will contact General Bere immediately." ”

Not long after, I heard Bere's voice through the earpiece, and asked with a smile: "Comrade General, how is the tank army doing?" ”

"Perhaps the tank corps is fighting well, I can tell from his voice that he is not in a bad mood," we assisted the infantry in taking off three strongholds on the north bank of the German army and destroyed two tanks and four assault guns of the German 3rd Panzer Division. Lost only one tank of its own. ”

"That's a good result, General Bere." When I heard that the tank army had achieved such a great result at such a small cost, I was also very happy, and then asked: "Is there a way to rush to the other side of the river?" ”

"It's difficult, Comrade Commander." Beray sighed and said: "The Germans have blown up the passable bridge over the river in order to prevent our tanks from rushing across the river, and now we can only stare at the enemy on the opposite bank. ”

"Don't worry, General Bere." Judging from the current situation, we can only ask Vatutin for help, hoping that he can send a bridge bridge for us, otherwise the tanks will not be able to cross the river, and it will not be of much use for a group of infantry to rush into the city. "I will immediately report this to the commander of the front army and ask the bridge unit to erect a pontoon bridge for us."

"If that's the case, that's great." After Berey said these two sentences, he said in a little hurry: "But the speed should be fast." The Germans have not yet built any anti-tank trenches on the other side of the river, and it will be very difficult for us to attack again if it takes too long for them to complete their fortifications. ”

"Don't worry, General Bere." Although I was not at all sure about the affairs of the Zhouqiao troops, in order to give Belei confidence, I deliberately said to him lightly: "By tomorrow morning at the latest, the Zhouqiao troops will be able to reach the garrison of your army." ”

In order to implement the affairs of the Zhouqiao troops as soon as possible, as soon as the phone call was made, I walked quickly to the high-frequency telephone, dialed the headquarters of the front army, and when I heard Vatutin's voice, I immediately identified myself: "Comrade General, hello! I'm Oshanina. ”

"Comrade Oshanina, if you call me at this time, do you have any good news to tell me?" Judging by Vatutin's voice, he is in a good mood at the moment.

Thinking that when a person is in a good mood, I can make a request to him, and the success rate is very high, so I said straight to the point: "Comrade General, this is the case. My troops were fighting on the north bank of the Oud River, and the Germans had blown up the bridges over the river to prevent our tanks from rushing to the south bank. So ......"

Before I could finish my words, Vatutin took over with a smile: "So you plan to ask me for the Zhouqiao Camp so that I can build a pontoon bridge over the Oude River, am I right?" ”

"Yes, Comrade General." I politely replied: "If the boat bridge battalion has built a pontoon bridge for us, then we will be able to rush under Kharkov tomorrow; If not, we'll only see the enemy staring at the enemy on the other side. ”

"Okay, okay, don't whine in front of me, as if Kharkov can't be taken without your army group. I sent out the Boat Bridge Battalion an hour ago, and I will probably be there after dark, and then I will help you build a few pontoon bridges over the river overnight. Vatutin's words suddenly made me overjoyed, what I just thought of, it turned out that the superior leaders had already thought of it and made corresponding arrangements. Without waiting for me to say a word of thanks, I heard him continue: "Wait a minute, Marshal Zhukov has something to say to you. (To be continued.) )