As soon as my order was given, Lopkhov reported to me with a sad face: "Comrade commander, have you forgotten that the command of the army group is in the process of being transferred and cannot be contacted for the time being!" ”

Hearing Lopukhov say this, I suddenly remembered that I had ordered Bezikov to lead the headquarters of the army group, as well as the 22nd Guards Army, to Chuhuev, so I slapped my hand on the forehead and said self-deprecatingly: "Major, you look at my memory, I have forgotten such an important thing." When I saw Lopukhov smiling dumbly, I went on to ask, "Can the phone here speak directly to the Front Command?" ”

Lopukhov shook his head again and said: "Unless the front command takes the initiative to call us, our phone will not be able to get through." Seeing my disappointed look, he hurriedly added: "Although we can't talk on the phone, we can send a telegram, and maybe the commander of the front army will take the initiative to call us when he sees the telegram we sent." ”

Lopukhov's words lit up in my eyes, and I thought that this was really a good idea, so I hurriedly ordered him: "Major, send a telegram to Commander Vatutin now, and tell him that we have launched an attack on Izyum, but because of the stubborn resistance of the German army, our progress is not going well. ”

Seeing Lopukhov's telegram, Akhromeyev asked me with some concern: "Comrade commander, is it appropriate for you to report the failure of our offensive to the command of the Front?" ”

"Nothing out of place, Comrade Major." I heard from Akhromeyev's words that he wanted to persuade me to temporarily conceal the failure of the offensive from my superiors, and to report to my superiors after seizing the German defensive line, so I said to him: "Marshal Zhukov hated the commanders below very much, and hid the news of the failure of the attack from him, and if he knew who had done so, he would have given the other side the most severe punishment." ”

When Akhromeyev realized that he had given me a bad idea, his face flushed and he apologized to me: "I'm sorry, comrade commander, but I was wrong. ”

I waved my hand at him and said magnanimously: "Okay, Comrade Major, please remember that as long as you are a commander, then at any time, do not try to hide unfavorable news from your superiors, otherwise you will cause yourself a lot of unnecessary trouble." ”

Although I wanted Chistyakov to show what he was capable of, when he left, I became nervous, always fearing that he would not be able to organize an attack on the German lines north of Izyum along my lines. I raised my hand and looked at my watch, and said to myself: "I don't know where Chistyakov is, why didn't he even call back." ”

After Akhromeyev heard what I was saying, he hurriedly explained: "Comrade commander, you are in too much of a hurry, the deputy commander has not been away for a long time, and it is estimated that he has not yet rushed to the front line at this moment, how can he call you." ”

Chistyakov's call did not wait, but Vatutin, after receiving the telegram, called me directly from the headquarters of the Front. He asked straight to the point on the phone: "Hey, Comrade Oshanina, what is going on, why is your attack repulsed by the Germans?" ”

Before answering his question, I carefully asked: "Comrade General, is Marshal Zhukov at your headquarters?" ”

"No, Comrade Marshal went to the headquarters of General Konev in Kharkov." After answering my question, Vatutin urged with some impatience: "Comrade Oshanina, I am asking you why the offensive of the troops was thwarted, and what are you doing for the whereabouts of Comrade Marshal?" ”

When I heard Vatutin say this, I immediately understood in my heart that since Zhukov went to the Konev command in Kharkov, he must not have known the news that Chuikov's offensive from the southwest of Izyum had failed. I hurriedly coughed, and then asked, "Comrade General, do you know the current situation of the Southwestern Front?" ”

My question stunned Vatutin for a moment, and it took him a moment before he replied: "Didn't General Chuikov's troops fight quite well?" Before Comrade Marshal left, I saw a telegram saying that they had torn a huge gap in the German line, and that the Germans were drawing troops from all over the place in an attempt to fill the gap. ”

"Comrade General, the battle situation of the Southwestern Front is not as optimistic as we imagined." Seeing that Vatutin now knew nothing about Chuikov's defeat, I had to say euphemistically: "Before we took the initiative to attack the defensive positions north of Izyum, General Chuikov's troops did achieve great results. Unfortunately, the tank commander of the Front was killed in the German artillery before the tank troops attacked, so the tanks that were supposed to lead the infantry to attack did not enter the battle. Coupled with the German tanks, under the cover of the air force, they launched a fierce counterattack against Chuikov's troops at the breach, and so far many of their successes have come to naught. ”

Although I didn't say a word about our army group in my words, Vatutin was also a smart man, and he immediately understood what I was trying to say. As soon as I finished speaking, he immediately asked: "Could it be that the Germans, after containing the attack of General Chuikov, transferred the armored forces in your direction?" ”

"That's right, Comrade General." Seeing that he had guessed the truth of the matter, I hurriedly explained to him: "When I learned that the attack of General Govorunenko's 375th Infantry Division had been frustrated, I immediately sent General Seryugin's 89th Guards Division to reinforce them. The vanguard regiment of the division was taken by surprise, and the troops suffered heavy casualties, and if General Seryukin had not arrived in time with the other two regiments, it is estimated that the vanguard regiment would be in danger of being completely annihilated. ”

"If I'm not mistaken, in addition to the 89th Guards Division and the 375th Infantry Division, there should be two more Guards Divisions in the city, right?" Vatutin, who knew the numbers of our army well, asked in a serious tone: "Did you immediately put these two divisions into battle?" ”

"Comrade General, I have already thrown the entire 23rd Guards Army into battle. First I sent the commander of the army, General Tavart Kiradze, to command, and later, because I was not at ease, I sent the deputy commander, Comrade Chistyakov, over. In order to make Vatutin feel that I was doing my best, I also made a point of explaining the situation in front of me: "Now, in the entire city of Chuhuev, there is only one guard company, which is responsible for the protection of my temporary headquarters. ”

"What, there's only one guard company in the city?" When Vatutin heard this, he didn't care to reproach me, and immediately asked with concern: "In addition to the guard company, are there any troops of your group army nearby?" You must know that although you captured Chuhuev yesterday, the remnants of the enemy in the city may not have been cleared, and there are probably many German stragglers outside the city, and if they unite and join forces, you will be in a dangerous situation. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade General." Seeing that he no longer mentioned the failure of the army's attack, my heart suddenly felt much more relaxed, and I said with a smile: "Although there is only one guard company, it is not so easy for those stragglers of the German army to capture my temporary headquarters. Besides, Bezikov and Kirillov are leading the troops of the 22nd Guards Army from Kharkov, and I estimate that in a little while they will be able to arrive. ”

"That's great." When Vatutin heard that the troops of the 22nd Guards Army led by Bezikov were about to arrive, he also secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and then said to me: "Comrade Oshanina, when the 22nd Guards Army arrives, let them also want to start Izyum after a short rest. At this point, he listened, but I heard the sound of a paper flipping through the earpiece, and I guess he was looking at a map.

Sure enough, after a while, his voice came out again from the earpiece: "Comrade Oshanina, I have carefully looked at the map, and there are dense forests to the west and south of Izyum. Do you think you can send a force back to the flank of the Germans and give them a hard blow? ”

"I beg your pardon, Comrade General." This suggestion gave me a headache, and I said with a little cry and laughter: "Even if you give the order to take us back behind enemy lines, I don't think I will be able to carry it out." ”

"Why?" Vatutin asked coldly, his tone full of puzzlement.

"More than an hour ago, I received intelligence from the scouts at the front." I picked up the reconnaissance report on the table, moved it to the front of me, stared at it and said: "The enemy opened the sluice gates and flooded most of the forests in the western part of the city, not to mention the mechanized troops, even the infantry could not pass. ”

"Damn the Germans, as soon as the water is released, the whole forest becomes a swamp, and our troops will not be able to pass through it at all." Vatutin scolded angrily, and then asked me: "Comrade Oshanina, what are your plans?" If there's anything you need my help with, just ask, and I'll do my best to help you. ”

I've been waiting for Vatutin's words, since he offered to ask me to make a request, if I don't know how to take this opportunity, I would be a fool. But I'm not going to make a request too quickly, otherwise Vatujin will definitely push back. I deliberately hesitated for a long time before I said slowly: "Comrade commander, I intend to send troops to carry out a frontal assault. ”

"Frontal assault?" After repeating my words, Vatutin said with some hesitation: "Then your troops will pay heavy casualties in the attack, which is contrary to your tactical idea of reducing the casualties of your troops and exchanging the greatest victory at the lowest cost. ”

What Vatutin said surprised me, but when I thought about it, it was not surprising that he knew the tactical thinking I was used to, after all, Zhukov, who knew me well, had been with him all this time, and when the two of them were idle, they must have talked about me a lot.

"Comrade General, in addition to the armored forces, the German army now has the air force to help the war, and we must break the enemy's three-dimensional defense from the front, and we are bound to pay a heavy price." After I said this, I felt that the foreshadowing had been almost done, and then I said my true intentions: "If the front army can provide us with the necessary air cover in the event of an attack, then I think our casualties will be greatly reduced." ”

When Vatutin heard me say this, he couldn't help but laugh. He said jokingly: "Comrade Oshanina, you are really cunning enough, you have been going around with me for a long time, and it turns out that you are waiting for me here. Then his tone became serious again, "Don't worry, I will immediately send the air force to bomb the enemy in the Izyum area to cooperate with the frontal offensive launched by your army." Later I will have the commander of the Second Air Army, General Krasovsky, contact you to discuss how to coordinate the air-ground space. ”

"Great, Comrade General, this is very good." I thanked Vatutin repeatedly: "With the cooperation of the Air Force, I believe that it will not be long before we can free the city of Izyum from the clutches of fascism." ”

As soon as I put down the phone on my side, Lopukhov over there reported to me: "Comrade commander, the deputy commander has called from the front, do you want to answer?" ”

"Get it for me right away." With that, I grabbed the phone on my desk again. Soon, Chistyakov's voice came from the earpiece: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I'm Chistyakov. ”

"Hello, Comrade Deputy Commander." I politely asked, "Are you at the front now?" ”

"Not yet, my headquarters is still about three kilometers away from the front line where the fighting is most intense." Chistyakov said to me in a serious tone: "The enemy is constantly counterattacking our troops, and at present the troops of the 375th Infantry Division and the 89th Guards Division are entangled with the enemy and are engaged in fierce battles. ”

"How's the situation with our army?" Hearing his serious tone, my heart couldn't help but hang, "Can they stop the ferocious attack of the Germans?" ”

"The situation is not good, Comrade Commander." Chistyakov said loudly: "Although our commanders and fighters have shown tenacity, due to the lack of a strong preset position, the troops are currently retreating step by step under the enemy's attack. ”

When I heard that the situation was so serious, I couldn't help but raise my voice and ask loudly: "What about Tawart Kiradze, where is General Tawart Kiradze, the commander of the 23rd Guards Army?" ”

"Tawart Kiradze is not in Command at the moment." Chistyakov sensed that I was on the verge of a rampage, and hurriedly explained to me where Tavart Kiradze was going: "I asked him to go to the rear and command the 51st and 52nd Guards Divisions, looking for suitable locations to build fortifications so that our troops could resist the fiercer German offensive. (To be continued.) )