Knowing that Colonel Villadere's tank brigade was already rampage through the streets of Cherkasy, Kirillov, who heard the news, could not help but be somewhat dumbfounded. After a while, he said tentatively: "Lida, it's unbelievable that our tank brigade rushed into Cherkasy in just a few minutes, isn't it a bit incredible. ”

"That's right, Comrade Military Commissar has a point." After Kirillov finished speaking, the commander of the 52nd Guards Division, Nekrasov, continued: "If the Germans were really so vulnerable, would we have paid such a big price in Belgorod and Kharkov to defeat them? I think there must be some conspiracy in there. ”

"Conspiracy, what conspiracy?" When Gertman heard this, he said disapprovingly to Nekrasov: "Comrade General, do you still think that our army is far inferior to the Germans in terms of equipment and technical and tactical level, as it was at the beginning of the war?" You must know that from the beginning of the Battle of Kursk, our army has gradually grasped the initiative in strategic offensive while mastering air supremacy on the battlefield. ”

"General Gottman, even if the situation is as you say, the enemy will not be vulnerable." Nekrasov retorted somewhat unwillingly: "The enemy's defenders at Cherkasy have a regiment, and even if it is vulnerable, it is entirely possible to hold our troops back for half an hour or even an hour." But now? In just a few minutes, a few minutes, our tanks swaggered into the city. ”

"Tell me, then, what will the enemy conspiracy will be?" Guttman looked at Nekrasov, who was a head taller than him, and asked dissatisfiedly: "Could it be that the enemy will still set up a pocket formation near Cherkasy and put us in it?" ”

As the two men argued, I remained silent, and at the same time my mind was trying to think about why the German army in Cherkasy was so weak, because of the defeat and the lack of fighting spirit? Or are the Germans, as Nekrasov analyzed, a trap set for us in Cherkassy, just waiting for us to jump in?

Before I could figure out why, Kirillov called out to me: "Lida, I want to hear what you think." What do you think about the fact that the tank brigade rushed into Cherkasy almost without fighting? ”

Seeing that everyone's eyes were focused on themselves, I knew that if I didn't express my judgment, I guess they wouldn't be reconciled. After a moment of silence, he began to speak carefully: "I think the situation that Division Commander Nekrasov said is unlikely to happen. You must know that once we have captured Cherkasy, we have our back to the Dnieper, and the enemy will not be able to encircle us. If we are to be destroyed, we must attack head-on. If we can't hold on, we can retreat across the river. ”

After listening to this analysis of mine, Nekrasov thought about it, then nodded and said: "Comrade commander, this analysis of yours is very convincing. However, I still couldn't understand that even if our troops had the upper hand and caught them off guard, they couldn't be so vulnerable. ”

Nekrasov's question really stopped me. I smiled bitterly at him, and then said perfunctorily: "Comrade division commander, don't worry, everything will be worked out." When Baksov, Lukin or Villaderet have wiped out the remnants of the German army and occupied the city, they will give us a clear answer. ”

After I had said this, I instructed the telegraph operator next to me: "Send a telegram to General Baksov, and tell him to report to me the whole battle as soon as he has cleared the remnants of the enemy and completely occupied Cherkasy." ”

While the operator was sending the news, I called Chistyakov and asked: "Comrade Deputy Commander, how many more troops have arrived there?" ”

"Commander Tawart Kiradze and his 51st Guards Division have just arrived." Chistyakov asked me: "In which direction should this division be sent, Kanivo or Cherkasy?" ”

"I'm going to let them drive in the direction of Cherkasy." Regardless of whether the Germans had set a trap in the direction of Cherkasy or not, I would send the 51st Guards Division over so that the forces there would be stronger, and even if they were attacked by the Germans, they would be able to resist for a while. "But General Tavart Kiradze doesn't need to follow, I have appointed Colonel Sederikov of the 67th Guards Division as the new commander of the 51st Guards Division."

Chistyakov did not show much surprise at my appointment, after all, it was still during the war, and for various reasons, it was very common for a person to be suddenly promoted. Moreover, the ability shown by Shedelikov in these months of fighting is obvious to all, and he deserves to be the commander of this guards division.

As soon as I finished the call with Chistyakov, I called the new commander of the Guards Division, Sederikov: "Colonel Sedjerikov! ”

Hearing me call me like this, Shederikov hurriedly reminded me: "Comrade commander, I am a lieutenant colonel, not a colonel. ”

"From now on, you are not only a colonel, but also the commander of the 51st Division tonight." I commanded in an unquestioning tone: "Immediately hand over the troops to your deputy commander, and then rush to the Cherkasy area to receive your troops." ”

After a series of phone calls, I turned my attention to Guttman and asked in a friendly manner, "Comrade General, can your Zhouqiao battalion continue to work?" ”

As soon as Guttman heard me ask, he immediately shook his head desperately, and at the same time said: "Comrade commander, I understand what you want to say, but I tell you, it will definitely not work. Seeing the displeasure on my face, he quickly added, "The Zhouqiao Battalion has been busy all night, and the commanders and fighters are exhausted, and it is unrealistic to let them go to the Cherkasy area to build bridges again." In addition, they erected two pontoon bridges in succession, and the materials needed to build the bridges were also exhausted. ”

I was in the headquarters and could observe the whole process of building the bridge through the telescope, so I knew that what Guttman said was the truth. Since you can't count on them, you can only find another way.

Thinking about it, the only person he can count on is Vatutin, who still has several boat bridge battalions in his hands, and he can complete the task of erecting pontoon bridges if he sends one over. Just as I was about to call Vatutin, the operator got up and handed me a telegram and said: "Comrade commander, this is a telegram from General Baksov. ”

I took the telegram and quickly read through it, handed it to Kirillov at any time, and then said to Guttman and Nekrasov: "The commander of the Baksov division has sent a telegram saying that all German units in the Cherkasy region have been cleared. The reason why their battle was so easy was that the enemies in the city were from different units, which were previously not subordinate to each other, and the highest commander was only a major. It is precisely because the enemy does not have a unified command and fights separately in battle that it will be easily eliminated. ”

After listening to my explanation, Nekrasov breathed a sigh of relief and said: "I thought that the enemy was so vulnerable, and said that there was some conspiracy, but now I have figured out what is going on, and it turned out to be a false alarm." (To be continued.) )