In every city, village and settlement in Russia, there will be a church, large or small. These churches are made of stone, so they are much stronger than the surrounding houses, and they are almost never in danger of collapsing if they are not directly hit by shells or bombs. In addition, the high bell tower has a wide view and can see the whole city clearly, so almost all commanders like to set up their headquarters in churches.

As soon as I entered the city, I had Tawart Kiradze set up his headquarters in a sturdy church. While the communications corps was pulling telephone lines and setting up radio antennas, I sat at my desk and looked at the map to study the next battle plan.

Zhukov's task was very general, allowing us to move south of the Sixth Guards Army and cooperate with the Southwestern Front, to be precise, with Chuikov's Eighth Guards Army, and use a two-sided attack to completely break the German defense. As the commander of the group army, I need to consider how to turn Zhukov's orders into a practical and effective combat plan.

Maybe I was staring at the map so engrossed that I didn't even notice when Tavart Kiradze came to me. It wasn't until he stood behind me and coughed heavily twice that I woke up from my deep thought. Hurriedly stood up straight, turned his head and asked him: "Comrade General, have the troops been settled?" ”

"The whole division has entered the city." Tavart Kiradze reported to me in accordance with the regulations: "In order to prevent a possible counterattack by the Germans, I have deployed the 309th Regiment, which is the most combat-ready in the direction of the south of the city. ”

I didn't interfere too much with his arrangement, but nodded noncommittally, and then said: "Comrade General, please sit down, I am considering our next move, and you can give me advice." ”

When he sat down, I pointed to the map and said, "Look, Comrade General, if we are going to join the Eighth Guards Army, there are two routes to take. The first is to go east, successively occupying the cities of Kupyansk and Svato; The second is to move southeast to occupy Izyum. Both places are fifty kilometers away from Chuhuev, where we are. Which route do you think is more appropriate for us to take? ”

Tavartkiradze stared at the map with his eyes on the map, frowned and thought for a long time, and finally replied: "Comrade commander, I think we should take the direction of the attack, and we should choose the eastern route. ”

"Why?" I asked briefly.

"You see," Tavart Kiradze politely explained to me why he had chosen this route: "Although we went east, we needed to conquer two German cities in succession, but further on, there were no more cities to attack, only some field fortifications of the German army, and I believe that we would fight more easily." And after occupying these two cities, we can turn three cities, including Chuhuyev, into our supply points and military depots, so that we don't have to worry about the Germans detouring to our rear and cutting off our transportation lines. ”

"Comrade General, your analysis is very reasonable." I agree with his proposal. But then he asked, "Can you tell me more about why you didn't take this route to the southwest?" ”

"The reason is simple." Tavartkiradze spread his palms, patted on the line I was talking about, and then said disapprovingly: "The enemy repulsed by the 309th regiment retreated along this road in the southwestern direction, which means that the Germans are likely to deploy heavy forces in this direction." If we attack and advance like this, not only will the troops suffer heavy casualties, but the speed of the advance will be very slow. Moreover, even if we occupy Izyum, we will have to conquer many cities to join up with the Eighth Guards Army. To be honest, I don't think that with our current offensive capabilities, we will be able to capture so many enemy cities in a short period of time. Therefore, I think it is also necessary to choose the main direction of attack in the east. ”

After listening to his reasoning, I did not make any comment, but asked him: "Comrade General, has the telephone with the headquarters of the group army been set up?" ”

"It's already time to talk to the command." Tawart Kiradze replied with a smile, "I just came here to tell you about it. ”

It was Chistyakov who answered the phone in the headquarters, and when I heard his voice, I immediately couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Deputy Commander, how are the troops in the city being gathered?" "The reason why I asked so anxiously about the situation of the troops was because there was only one unprepared Guards Division in my hands at the moment, and with such strength, to attack the German troops blocking the road of the Southwestern Front would be tantamount to hitting a stone with an egg.

"Comrade commander," said Chistyakov, somewhat embarrassed, "the current situation in which the troops are gathered is not ideal. Some of the troops suffered more than half of the casualties, and some of the troops, although the losses were smaller, were scattered and stationed many enemies, and it was very difficult to gather them all in a hurry. ”

I didn't have enough troops in my hands to carry out the next battle plan, so I anxiously asked: "Hey, comrade deputy commander, how many troops can you send me to Chuhuev before dawn?" ”

Hearing my question, Chistyakov thought for a while and replied: "Comrade commander, judging by the current situation, before dawn, I will send you the 52nd Guards Division and the 375th Infantry Division at most, plus the 21st Tank Brigade and two artillery regiments. If you need more troops, I can't do anything about it. If you want to gather all your troops to Chuhuyev, you will have to wait at least until tomorrow night or the morning after tomorrow. ”

"No, no, Comrade Deputy Commander, the pace of the troop buildup is too slow." Although I also knew that it would not be easy to gather tens of thousands of troops scattered in various places and transfer them to another city, at least not in a day, I urged Chistyakov: "The soldiers are very fast, I just want to beat the Germans before they come to their senses." If we take two or three days to gather our troops, then when the attack is launched, the Germans, who are waiting for their work, will be able to crush our troops. ”

When it comes to this, if Chistyakov doesn't understand, he is not qualified to be my deputy. After being silent for a while, he replied: "Well, Comrade Commander. I immediately sent the 89th Guards Division of Major General Seryukin to Chuhuev to strengthen your forces. As for the rest of the troops, I'll ask the commanders below to speed up their actions. ”

"Alright then, Comrade Deputy Commander." When I heard Chistyakov say this, I knew that under the present circumstances, it would be the limit of his ability to transfer the 89th Guards Division to me first, and then the 52nd Guards Division and the 375th Infantry Division tomorrow. So I could only reluctantly say: "Let's let these three divisions come over first, with the strength of four divisions in hand, they barely have the ability to take the initiative to attack the Germans." ”

As soon as I put down the phone, Tavart Kiradze couldn't wait to ask: "How is it, Comrade Commander, when will our main forces come over?" ”

"By tomorrow morning, all the units of your 23rd Guards Army will be able to finish out Chuhuev." After I had said this to Ta****** Kiradze, I instructed him: "Comrade General, call Lieutenant Colonel Lukin here, I have a task to be entrusted to him." ”

Ten minutes later, Lukin arrived at the headquarters after receiving the order. Since I hadn't seen Lukin for a long time, I was still very happy to see him appear in the headquarters suddenly. I shook his hand first, then beckoned him to sit down, and asked in a friendly tone, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, can you tell me about your battle today?" ”

Lukin couldn't help but be stunned when he heard my words, and then muttered: "Comrade commander, haven't I already reported to you the details of the battle in the form of a written report?" ”

"However, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, there are some contents that cannot be seen in the report." In order to make him clear what I wanted to know, I added: "For example, what combat characteristics of the Germans you found during the battle, and how you dealt with them, these things are not visible in your report." ”

Listening to my explanation, Lukin suddenly realized. After calming down, he began to report to me: "Comrade commander, after our regiment stormed into the city, when fighting street battles with the Germans, instead of adopting the tactic of charging in a dense formation, we let the tanks open the way in front, and our fighters hid behind the tanks and slowly advanced to the enemy's stronghold. ”

When Tavart Kiradze heard Lukin's report, he said with some displeasure: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, have you ever thought that if the tank that rushed to the front was destroyed by the German anti-tankers, the tank that followed behind would be blocked in the street and unable to move, and finally become a target for the enemy's shooting. ”

"Division commander, no, Comrade Army Commander." Hearing Tawart Kiradze's criticism, Lukin quickly got up from his seat, straightened up and reported to his commander: "I usually observe the terrain before using tanks. If the streets are narrow, and the tanks are destroyed, where the roads will be blocked, I will not use the tanks, but let them stay at the entrance to the street and cover our infantry with artillery fire. As long as the street is wide, even if the tank that rushes to the front is destroyed by the enemy's anti-tank fighters, the rest of the tanks can bypass it. ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are very thoughtful." After listening to Lukin's story, I nodded with a smile and said with satisfaction: "It seems that in the past year or so of fighting, your combat experience has become richer and richer. Do a good job, I believe that after the liberation of the whole territory of Ukraine, you will be able to obtain higher positions and ranks. ”

After complimenting him, I went on to ask: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, I have heard from General Tavart Kiradze that he has deployed your regiment to the south of Chuhuev. How about it, what actions did you take to strengthen your defenses after you were stationed in the defense zone? ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Lukin replied in the affirmative: "In addition to reinforcing the fortifications, we sent several reconnaissance groups. Part went south to Izyum to reconnoiter the deployment of the enemy's forces. The other part remained on the periphery of the defense zone, monitoring the movements of the Germans, and immediately alerting the forward positions at any trouble. ”

"Very well, Lieutenant Colonel Lukin, you have thought it through." When Tavart Kiradze waited for Lukin to finish speaking, he immediately gave a thumbs up and praised him, saying: "Today you won the battle, but you were not proud, and you took the initiative to send scouts to conduct reconnaissance. It seems that Comrade Commander is right when he says that, with your ability and experience, you are fully capable of taking on a higher post. ”

Seeing the smile on Lu Jin's face, he deliberately turned his face again, and added: "Of course, meritorious service will be rewarded, and if you have done it, you will definitely be punished." If your regiment doesn't do as well as it did in the next battle, you'll be punished! ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Lukin replied with a smile: "Our regiment promises not to discredit the honor of the 51st Guards Division." After saying that, he paused for a moment and asked Tawart Kiradze tentatively, "Can I go back to the troops?" ”

"No, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, not yet." Tavart Kiradze immediately stopped him, "It is the intention of Comrade Commander to call you to the command headquarters, she has an important task to assign to you. ”

Lukin had a surprised expression on his face when he heard Tavart Kiradze say this, and he quickly turned to face me and asked respectfully: "Comrade commander, Lieutenant Colonel Lukin, commander of the 309th Guards Infantry Regiment, is waiting for your order, please instruct!" ”

"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel," I said, seeing that he had reported to me in accordance with the regulations, "I know that you have sent scouts to the south, but this is not enough. Because we will not necessarily choose this direction because of our final offensive line. Therefore, as soon as you return, send scouts to the east to find out in the shortest possible time the deployment of enemy forces in Kupyansk and Svato. ”

After I finished speaking, seeing that Lu Jin frowned and seemed to be very embarrassed, I raised my voice and asked, "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, are you confident that you can complete this task?" ”

"But, Comrade Commander," Lukin asked, a little confused, "shouldn't our main direction of attack be to the south?" Why scout the situation in the east? ”

"Whether it's south or east, we should send scouts." In order to make Lukin really pay attention to this matter, I patiently explained to him: "Only after we have figured out the enemy's troop deployment can we formulate a targeted battle plan for the next step." Do you understand? ”

Hearing my question, Lukin thought for a moment, then nodded vigorously, and replied decisively: "Understood, Comrade Commander, I will go back and arrange scouts and conduct detailed reconnaissance of the enemy in the east." ”

"That's right, Comrade Lieutenant Colonel." Seeing that Lukin understood my intentions, I nodded in satisfaction, then waved at him and said, "Okay, there's nothing to do with you here, you can hurry back and arrange for the scouts to go." (To be continued.) )