Just as we rejoiced at the movement of German troops in the Chismena area, in the direction of the main attack of the army group. At 11 o'clock in the evening of the same day, the Kalinin Front, which was located southwest of Moscow, took the lead in turning into a counteroffensive against the German troops in the front, thus opening the prelude to the Red Army's counteroffensive on all fronts under the city of Moscow.

At three o'clock in the morning on December 6, we received a telephone call from Zhukov, who ordered: at six o'clock this morning, three hours before dawn, the infantry of the 20th Army, together with the infantry units of the 1st Shock Army and the 30th Army, and at the same time without artillery and aviation fire preparation, began a full-scale offensive against the Germans.

After receiving the order, I discussed with Vlasov and General Lin and decided that they would stay in the headquarters to coordinate the overall situation, and I would serve as the commander-in-chief of the front line and go to the front line to direct the troops of the group army to carry out a counteroffensive.

In addition to infantry divisions, there are also tank brigades, artillery regiments, rocket artillery regiments, and other units to be commanded, and this is the first time that all arms of the armed forces have coordinated operations in the true sense. So when I set out, I took with me not only Yushchenko and these guards, but also several operational staff officers and communications officers of the headquarters, and even Major Leutov, the commander of the cavalry regiment who had just arrived in the afternoon, in the hope that he would be of great use in the counterattack on Kling.

Due to the presence of cavalry troops, the speed of our convoy was affected, and it was supposed to take only an hour to travel, but it ended up taking half an hour longer.

By the time we arrived at the positions of our troops in the Chismena area, it was already half past five in the morning, and there was only half an hour left before the official offensive. The convoy stopped at the edge of the forest, and was greeted by Colonel Gryaznov, the commander of the 7th Guards Division, who had been waiting there, and walked up to me, raised his hand and saluted, and said in a friendly manner: "Hello, Comrade Chief of Staff, welcome to the front. ”

I returned a military salute, then reached out and shook his hand, and said, "Comrade Colonel, we meet again." I'm here today to fight alongside you. ”

The colonel leaned to the side and made a gesture of please: "Comrade Chief of Staff, time is running out, let's go to the headquarters first." ”

After a short walk, we descended into a trench, where thousands of commanders and fighters who were about to take part in the battle were crowded together, and because the participants came from different units, they were dressed very differently, some wore white camouflage uniforms, some wore short fur coats, and some wore long gray army coats. When they saw our group coming, they immediately straightened up and leaned their backs against the wall of the trench to make way for us.

Walking into the headquarters of the 7th Division, the staff officers and communicators who were already busy inside immediately stood up and saluted us. I also did not fail to be too polite, and instructed a staff officer of the group army who came with me: "Comrade second lieutenant, immediately contact the group army headquarters and say that we have arrived safely." ”

When the staff officer was in contact with the headquarters, I stood in the observation hole and looked at the German position two kilometers away with a telescope, only to see that it was pitch black and there was no movement. I turned my head and asked Gryaznov, who was standing next to me: "Comrade Colonel, is there any movement of the enemy on the other side?" ”

He shook his head and said without looking back: "According to the scout's report, the Germans had transferred all the mechanized units on the position yesterday afternoon, and the only thing left on the position was the infantry. After a pause, he said with some concern: "However, Comrade Chief of Staff, I think that the gathering of our troops tonight may have been discovered by the enemy. ”

I snorted softly and said disapprecantly: "Comrade Colonel, do you think that such a large troop build-up may not be noticed by the Germans at all?" But even if they knew that we were about to attack, it would be too late, and the troops they had transferred would not be able to return in time to join the battle. I then changed the subject and asked, "How are the fighters?" ”

When the colonel heard me ask, he immediately replied confidently: "I have already mobilized the soldiers for battle just now, and now everyone is full of enthusiasm for fighting and ready to go into battle at any time." ”

At this time, the second lieutenant staff officer who was calling called me on the side: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the phone with the headquarters has been connected." ”

I picked up the microphone, and it was Commander Vlasov who was speaking, and as soon as he heard my voice, he smiled and asked: "Lida, you have already arrived at the headquarters of the 7th Guards Division, right?" ”

I looked around, mostly unfamiliar faces, and I didn't want to show too much intimacy with the commander in front of too many subordinates, so I replied decently: "Yes, Comrade Commander." ”

Vlasov didn't seem to notice the change in my tone, but went on to himself: "There's good news for you, do you want to hear it?" ”

I said very politely: "Comrade commander, please speak!" I'm listening. ”

"I have just received a call from the Supreme High Command saying that with the approval of Comrade Stalin, the 1st Guards Cavalry Corps under the command of General Belov has been assigned to our army group, and they will cooperate with the 8th Guards Division to advance to Klin during the day today."

I was overjoyed by this news, and with the vitality of a whole corps, the Eighth Division's attack to the north would be extremely easy.

After finishing the call with Vlasov, I immediately called the division headquarters of the 8th Division, and it was the deputy division commander Chistyakov who answered the phone. Hearing my voice, he said with great joy: "Comrade division commander, the great counterattack is about to begin, and I really hope that you can return to the division to command us to fight the enemy." ”

"Am I now directing you to battle? Is everything ready? Comrade Colonel. ”

Hearing his affirmative answer, I could not contain the joy in my heart and announced to him: "Comrade Colonel, I ask you to convey to you that tomorrow there will be the 1st Guards Cavalry Army under the command of General Belov to fight with you. ”

"Totally understood. Comrade division commander, please rest assured that the enemy in the north will definitely be defeated by us. ”

"Alright, we'll see you at Kling during the day." With that, I hung up.

Then I spoke with the artillery and tank commanders under my command through the communications staff officers, and laid out the tasks of each branch of the army when the infantry began to counterattack.

As I got closer and closer to the start of the counteroffensive, my heart began to beat faster, because I was going to witness a great piece of history here.

I held the phone, which had been connected to a dozen units at once, and my eyes were fixed on the watch hands on Colonel Gryaznov's wrist. When I saw that the pointer was pointing to 12, I decisively gave an order to all the commanders who were answering the phone: "Go!" ”

There was no spectacular scene of 10,000 cannons roaring in film and television works, only someone outside shouted "Ignition!" ”

I put down the microphone and walked out of the headquarters, where I saw that the commanders and fighters who had been crowded in the trenches were crawling out of the trenches, and several bonfires had been lit in the distance behind the position.

"Comrade Chief of Staff!" Colonel Gryaznov appeared next to me, handed me a microphone and said: "Say a few words to the fighters to boost morale." ”

I glanced at him, took the microphone, and said loudly, "Hello, comrades! I am the Chief of Staff of the Army Group, Major General Oshanina! After briefly identifying myself, I did not say any high-sounding clichés, but simply and clearly said to these commanders who participated in the battle: "Our long-awaited moment for the great counteroffensive has finally arrived, and I order you: Advance!" Go ahead! Destroy every fascist bandit you come across, and thus establish your immortal feats. Advance! The last victory must belong to our heroic Red Army! Comrades, forward! Ulla! I started out in a flat tone, but when I got to the end, I became so excited that I couldn't help but shout "Ula!" ”

"Ulla! Victory! ~~~Ulla! Victory! "When I heard the commanders and fighters around me shout these two words in a neat voice, I felt more and more enthusiastic, if it wasn't for the command of the troops, maybe I would really lead a unit to charge personally.

A commander not far from me raised his pistol and shouted: "Spread out and march forward!" Then he swung his arm forward and strode forward. Fighters with rifles and submachine guns rushed straight ahead of him, trying to rush into the enemy's position as quickly as possible, and the machine gunners who walked behind the sharpest part of the troops, dragging heavy machine guns with wheels and sleds full of ammunition boxes.

The Germans on the opposite side were silent and did not make any movement, but when our soldiers were only about a hundred and fifty meters from the first line of trenches, they began to fire stormily at the attacking fighters, and the soldiers fell to their stomachs.

Seeing this scene, I hurriedly rushed into the headquarters, grabbed the telephone headset that contacted the artillery position, and shouted: "I am Chief of Staff Oshanina, and I order all the artillery to fire at the enemy's position at once!" Fire! ”

The shells of our troops immediately blew up the enemy's positions into a sea of fire, and the enemy's fire was suppressed.

"Artillery fire extends, open the way for the infantry!"

My order was faithfully carried out, the artillery fire extended the depth of the enemy's position, and the soldiers, who had been lying on the ground, rose again and continued to charge.

But as they approached the first line of trenches, German fire began again. It turned out that the machine gunners who had fallen behind the whole team had set up their heavy machine guns and covered the attack of their comrades with dense and powerful firepower. Under the cover of the fire of the machine gunners, the attacking fighters crawled forward at one time, ran forward at the other, and quickly approached the enemy trenches.

The Germans were limited in strength, were killed and wounded by our artillery fire, and were suppressed by our heavy machine-gun fire, so their resistance became weaker and weaker. Although there are still a few people who are desperately resisting, it cannot save them from defeat.

A red flare volleyed up from the trench, and Colonel Gryaznov, who was next to him, could not help but cheer: "Great! Our fighters have already taken down the first line of trenches. ”

I walked up to the table, picked up the phone, dialed the command of the army group and reported to Vlasov: "Report to Comrade Commander, the infantry has occupied the enemy's first line of defense and is currently advancing in depth. ”