General Stelimach walked behind Meretskov and raised his hand to pull back the curtain that hung on the wall, revealing the military map that had been obscured. He picked up the baton leaning against the wall, held it in his hand, turned to the people present, and said, "Comrade commander, please look at the map." ”

Because the place where I was sitting was too far away from the map, I couldn't see the names of the places on it, and I could only see the blue and red arrows representing both the enemy and the enemy. I wanted to get closer to take a look, but I just leaned forward and wanted to stand up, but I saw that everyone else was sitting upright in their seats, so I dispelled the idea of walking over to see. If you can't see it clearly, you can't see it clearly, anyway, there is a chief of staff who will explain the deployment of the campaign.

After everyone looked at the map silently for a few minutes, the voice of the commander of the front, Meretskov, sounded again: "Major General Stepimakh, please give us an introduction to the enemy's forces and defenses." Seeing that some commands took out paper and pens from their briefcases and prepared to record, he immediately stopped him: "No one is allowed to record what the chief of staff said. The commanders listened to him and obediently put pen and paper in their briefcases.

Facing us, Stepach explained without looking at the map: "Comrade commander, the new campaign we are about to launch, because of the place where we are carrying out the campaign, has been chosen in the Schlüsselburg-Signavino salient, and the comrade commander calls it the 'Sinianvino salient campaign'.

This salient was formed in September 1941 when the German army advanced to the southern shore of Lake Ladoga. The advantage of choosing this direction is that it is the closest route from the southeast to the Neva and Leningrad, and the thickness of the encirclement here is the thinnest on the map. It's a pity. The topography of the salient is the same as that of other areas. It is not suitable for offensive operations. The peat mining area here is large. Stretching from the shores of Lake Ladoga to the village of Signavino, south of which was densely forested and large swamps, where it was difficult for infantry to pass, this severely limited the maneuver of the army to the advantage of the defending side. The only dry place on the Ridge in this direction is the Sinavino Highlands, which rises ten to fifteen meters above the surrounding plains. Naturally, it became the main position of the enemy on the offensive line of our troops, and the enemy could observe the situation within a radius of several kilometers from the heights. ……”

Hear here. I said in my heart that what the chief of staff said was not exactly the same as what Captain Boroda conveyed to the commanders and fighters below him at the temporary military meeting in the division, and it seems that the launch of this new campaign is imminent.

“…… For the past eleven months, the German occupation forces have done everything to make the Schlüsselburg-Signavino salient an impregnable fortress. They took advantage of a variety of terrains, along rivers and lakes, deep ravines and swamps, highlands and forests, to construct defensive positions, and set up many resistance hubs and support points. In the center of the resistance hub were artillery and mortar batteries. The density of anti-tank artillery averaged seven or eight frontal guns per square kilometer. The personnel were in a fortified shelter, and barbed wire was erected at the front of the position. Mines were laid. In this way, the terrain that was already not conducive to attacking became easier to defend and more difficult to attack. ……”

When the chief of staff explained this. Meretskov waved his hand at him, signaled him to pause, then stood up himself, stood with his hands on the table, and said to everyone: "Commanders, some people may ask, since we are facing a position that is not conducive to the offensive, why should the army of the front be in a hurry to launch a new campaign?" ”

Meretskov said this, paused, and seemed to wait for some of the commander present to echo him. But everyone here knew very well in their hearts that the commander did not really ask this question and let people answer it, it was just a self-questioning and self-answering speech technique, so no one stupidly jumped out to be this bird.

Seeing that no one spoke, Meretskov continued: "It is known that although most of the commanders and fighters of the 2nd Shock Army jumped out of the encirclement of the Germans, the commanders and deputy commanders of the group army are still missing. The commanders and fighters were tired and needed to stop to rest and take a good breath.

However, comrades, commanders, no! Although I also want the commanders and fighters to have a good rest, replenish their troops and weapons and equipment, and then launch a new campaign against the German Cole. However, the present situation was so bad that the reason why the base camp decided to carry out a new campaign at this time was that, in addition to the good desire to break through the blockade of Leningrad, it was also expected that the active actions of our front in the north-western direction would be able to contain the enemy's heavy army group and prevent it from moving its forces south, because at that time a decisive battle was taking place in the south.

We chose this direction for two purposes: first, in a smooth situation, we could reach the Neva in two or three days. Because the Front does not have the strength to carry out a longer campaign at the moment. Second, in addition, we can attack in a direction that the enemy does not expect, so that we can guarantee the suddenness of the first assault and gain an advantage in doing so. ”

After Meretskov finished speaking, Chief of Staff Stepach immediately said: "Yes, it is precisely because of the current bad situation that we have to launch the Battle of the Siniavino Salient as soon as possible to contain the German Army Group North and make it impossible to draw troops south. ”

Speaking of this, he turned around and pointed to the map with his baton and began to explain to everyone: "Comrades commanders, please see, the direction of our attack is to the south of the Sinavino Heights. The attacking forces will be divided into three echelons. The first echelon is the troops of the 8th Army, which was newly incorporated into the Front. Speaking of this, he stretched out his hand to the side and introduced to everyone: "This is Major General Starikov, the commander of the army group." Hearing his introduction, a dark and thin major general stood up beside Fedyuninsky, saluted everyone, and sat down again.

After the chief of staff introduced General Starikov, he continued: "According to the plan, after the campaign is launched, the 8th Army, with its 6th Guards Infantry Corps (including the 3rd, 19th, 24th Guards Infantry Division, and 265th Infantry Division) as the main attack, will attack the station south of Signavino and annihilate the German troops entrenched on the Sinianvino Heights.

Serving in the second echelon was the 2nd Shock Army, which was commanded by the former commander, General Krykov. Due to the heavy losses of the 2nd Shock Army in the Battle of Lyuban. It is in the reconstruction phase. At present, only the 327th Infantry Division of Colonel Anchufeev and the 58th Infantry Brigade of Colonel Zhicholiv are in the formation.

Behind the 2nd Assault Army. was the 4th Guards Infantry Corps, which served as the third echelon, under the command of Major General Gagan. The task of this division is to quickly attack and increase the strength of the assault after the first and second echelons have torn through the enemy's defensive line, expand the results of our army, complete the entire breakthrough and achieve the task of joining forces with the troops of the Leningrad side

This campaign layout was taken into account the necessity of overcoming the enemy's fortified positions in a short period of time and in the face of the possibility of increasing resistance from the enemy. Therefore. The task of the first and second echelons is to break through the entire depth of the enemy's defenses, and the task of the third echelon is to destroy the enemy's reserves in the most advanced stages of the campaign. The essence of the campaign attempt was to rush quickly towards the Neva before the arrival of enemy reinforcements from other areas.

Of course, in order to prevent the recurrence of the tragedy of the encirclement of the 2nd Assault Army in the Battle of Lyuban. The commander of the Front had deliberately prepared a strong reserve for the eventuality, consisting of 5 infantry divisions and 1 infantry brigade, which would be deployed at the junction of the 8th Army and the 54th Army on the southern flank. ”

At this point, Stelimach paused, holding the baton in both hands, and said to everyone: "This is the end of the deployment of the battle of the Signavino salient. Whoever has any questions, can ask them on the spot. It's up to me to answer. ”

The commander of the 52nd Army, General Yakovlev, stood up and asked: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I would like to ask you that to fight in such a region, a large number of artillery and tanks are needed to provide the necessary fire cover for the attacking troops. I don't know how many of these techniques and equipment can the troops of the front army use in the campaign at present? ”

Stepach smiled and replied: "General Yakovlev, your question is very good, and I will give you a detailed answer." We currently have a total of 12 artillery regiments and 9 mortar regiments, 4 separate mortar battalions, 3 M-13 Katyusha artillery battalions, 7 M-30 Katyusha artillery battalions, the density of artillery can reach 100 guns per kilometer. ”

After listening to the chief of staff's explanation, a burst of relaxed emotion resounded in the room, knowing that it was the first time that such a density of artillery firepower had appeared in an engagement with the enemy.

The chief of staff knocked the explanation stick on the wall panel with his backhand, and loudly stopped everyone's whispering: "Commanders, please be quiet, please be quiet." Now I would like to invite the commander of the 8th Army, General Starikov, to give you a brief introduction to the tank forces under his command. ”

The room suddenly fell silent, and everyone's eyes were on the thin general, and after he got up, he followed Meretskov's example, propped his hands on the edge of the table, leaned forward slightly, and said with a smile: "Commanders and comrades, my 8th Army was newly incorporated into the Front together with Fedyuninsky's 54th Army at the beginning of June, when the Volkhov Front was rebuilt. Today, we should take the opportunity of the meeting to meet and get to know the commanders of various group armies, so that we can better fight side by side in the future.

In the sequence of our group army, there are currently 2 tank brigades and 5 independent tank battalions. A large part of these tanks were the Kv heavy tanks, which, although much slower than the T-34, were able to take full advantage of their thick armor and firepower in this kind of offensive combat. Perhaps it is precisely because we have such a good offensive weapon that the commander of the front army will let the group army serve as the first echelon of the campaign. ”

Meretskov listened to him, smiled and said: "General Starikov, do you have any difficulties?" ”

Starikov shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, there are difficulties, of course. For example, the number of roads in the forest is small, and the mud makes it difficult for all means of transport to pass, so the railways have to bear all the burden. In order for all my tank units to reach the starting point of the attack, we must also rebuild the road. Once the road to the rear has been repaired, the necessary material supplies for us can be guaranteed so that the troops can fight effectively. And all of this takes time to prepare. ”

Meretskov listened to the silence for a while, and only then said: "By order of the high command, the campaign will be launched in early August. Because during this time, the High Command will replenish our weakened corps and provide the Front with a sufficient number of supplementary companies, tanks, rocket artillery units, artillery shells, and material, technical and technical equipment. Comrade General, there are still twenty days to go, which is enough for you to build roads and gather troops. ”

At this point, he stood up and said to everyone: "This is the end of today's meeting, comrades commanders. You can go back to your troops. ”

I followed the crowd to the door, and complained to Koshevoy beside me as I walked: "Comrade Colonel, I have been talking for a long time, this battle, except for the three echelons that attacked, it seems that there is nothing to do with our 59th Army and your 52nd Army. ”

Koshevoy replied vaguely: "The head of the front army has his own plans, and he may send our two army groups at any time. Didn't you receive an order to assemble your troops some time ago? ”

"Got it. At this time, I was busy gathering my troops and preparing to leave for the designated place as soon as possible. ”

Koshevoy nodded and said, "That's right, since the troops are assembled, they must be intended to be used for attack or defense in a certain direction." Just wait slowly, maybe the order will come down soon. ”

Seeing that we were about to walk down the stairs out of the shelter, suddenly a second lieutenant officer ran up to me, blocked my way, and asked breathlessly: "Excuse me, are you Major Oshanina?" ”

I looked at the ensign with such an unfamiliar face, nodded, and asked a little blankly, "Yes, I'm Oshanina." Do you have anything to do with me? ”

"Major Oshanina, I came to you on the orders of Commander Meretskov. The commander said that he had something to discuss with you, so please come to his office for me. ”

"Major Oshanina, then I'll go first." When Koshevoy saw that Meretskov had sent someone to look for me, he whispered a word to me, and then he was about to go outside.

"Wait a minute, okay?" I was a little flustered by Meretskov's sudden summons.

"There was no order for me to go to the commander's office." Koshevoy held out his hand to me, "Good luck, we'll meet later." After shaking my hand, he turned and stepped up the steps and walked out of the shelter.

Seeing Colonel Koshevoy leaving, the second lieutenant urged me again: "Comrade Oshanina, please let me go, otherwise Comrade Commander will be in a hurry." ”

Hearing the second lieutenant say this, I had no choice but to nod helplessly and say, "Okay, comrade second lieutenant, let's go." (To be continued......)