The Funahashi battalion, sent by Vatutin, arrived at nightfall. I gave Akhromeyev full responsibility for the construction of the bridge, and repeatedly told him: "Major, our offensive on the outlying positions of Kharkov will begin after dawn. So I'm hoping to erect no less than three pontoon bridges over the river tonight that can pass through tanks, understand? ”

After hearing this, Akhromeyev assured me with an oath: "Don't worry, comrade commander, I have inquired with the locals, there are many places where bridges can be built on the Oud River, and before dawn, I will definitely assist the boat bridge battalion to complete the erection of the pontoon bridge." ”

As soon as Akhromeyev left, I dialed Povsky again and asked straight to the point: "Hey, comrade artillery commander, how many artillery regiments do you have in your hands now?" ”

Povsky replied: "Together with the artillery of the 53rd Army, there are seven artillery regiments, and six Guards rocket artillery battalions. At present, the units are well armed and have high morale and are ready to fight. ”

"Good." When I heard that I had so many artillery at my disposal, I felt much more at ease, and then ordered: "I order you to immediately establish an artillery position near the river, and deploy at least four artillery regiments and three Guards rocket artillery battalions. ”

"Is it to prepare for the shelling before tomorrow's attack?" Povsky asked tentatively.

"The Boat Bridge Battalion sent to us by the Front Command will erect a pontoon bridge over the Oude River overnight." In order to make Povsky aware of this, I told him the truth: "If the Germans find out about our pontoon bridge, they may shell the area where the bridge was erected. I ask you, as soon as you find the enemy's artillery, open fire. Immediately with more powerful artillery fire. Hold them down. The operation to protect the pontoon bridge erected by the Boat Bridge Battalion. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." After Povsky figured out what was going on, he said with great interest: "If the Germans dare to open fire, we will definitely take away all the little artillery they have." ”

Then I called Bere again and asked about the tank army. As soon as the phone rang, without waiting for me to speak, he preemptively said: "Comrade commander." You're calling me now to ask how many tanks will be able to fight tomorrow, right? ”

"That's right, General Berey," I didn't expect him to guess the purpose of his call, so I smiled and said, "I just want to ask about it, so tell me about it!" ”

"In addition to the original 93 tanks of the two tank brigades, two tank battalions of the 53rd Army have been supplemented," Bere's voice suddenly lowered as he said this, as if checking the data: "A total of 108 tanks." Among them, there are 27 new tanks, even if they meet the German Tiger or Leopard tanks. It can also make them fall into trouble. ”

"I have already arranged for the newly arrived Boat Bridge Battalion to erect a pontoon bridge over the Oude River." I continued: "I ask them to erect at least three pontoon bridges capable of passing through tanks, that is, your tank corps, in tomorrow's battle, will be divided into at least three detachments and guide the infantry to attack the outlying positions of the Germans." ”

"Comrade Commander, please rest assured." Berey assured me: "My tank corps will be able to lead part of the breakthrough of the German line in the shortest possible time." ”

After I finished a series of phone calls, Managarov, who was sitting next to me, nodded and said with emotion: "Comrade commander, I now believe the words of Chief of Staff Bezikov, although the offensive will not begin until tomorrow, you have taken into account all the problems that should be considered, and even pointed out the solution. Speaking of this, he looked sideways at his military commissar and chief of staff, and said teasingly, "How is it, how do you two feel now, do you think that it is the most correct decision for your superiors to assign us to fight in the Sixth Guards Army?" ”

The chief of staff, Major General Volgen, nodded and said approvingly: "That's right, Commander Oshanina's deployment is quite thorough. After a moment's pause, he said hesitantly, "But I still want to give you a piece of advice, I don't know if I should say it or not?" ”

"Please, Comrade Chief of Staff." I know that every suggestion he makes is well thought out, and I believe this time will be no exception. "You see something unreasonable in my deployment, just bring it up, and I'll try to correct it."

"That's right." Seeing that I had generously asked him for advice, Volgeng said without any scruples: "At present, the 299th Division on the south bank has been reduced by nearly half, and if the Germans launch a counterattack, it will be difficult to hold on with their current strength, and I wonder if you can change troops to take over their defense......

"Enough, General Volgen!" Before he could finish speaking, Managarov loudly interrupted his next words, and then said apologetically: "Comrade commander, my chief of staff has seen that the casualties of the troops are too large, so he has such thoughts, please don't be surprised." ”

My heart was filled with guilt when I thought that I had ordered the 299th Division to attack the enemy's outlying positions without knowing the details, and as a result, I had lost a regiment in vain. Seeing that Managarov apologized to me, he hurriedly waved his hand and said: "Comrade General, don't blame Chief of Staff Volgeng, he is right, the casualties of the 299th Division are too large, and it should be withdrawn for correction. ”

After saying that, I turned to Bezkov and asked: "Chief of Staff, which unit is closest to the 299th Division?" ”

After glancing at Managarov, Bezkov replied: "Is it the 53rd Infantry Division of the 84th Army?" ”

As soon as he said this, I immediately remembered that I had indeed transferred the 84th Division to the rear of the 299th Division, but if they were to take over the defense at this moment, even if Managarov didn't say it, there would be a thorn in his heart. If there is a thorn in the heart, then it will be troublesome, and when they want to mobilize their troops in the future, they may encounter delays, which will lead to the situation of delaying the fighters. So I didn't hesitate to say to Bezkov: "Chief of Staff, the friendly forces suffered too many casualties in the offensive battles, so let's use our troops." Which unit is we closest to our positions on the south bank? ”

Bezikov didn't expect me to say this, and he couldn't help but have a surprised look on his face, but he quickly replied to me: "General Govorinenko's 375th Infantry Division is less than two kilometers away from them. ”

"Call Commander Tawart Kiradze immediately. Let him immediately send the 375th Division and the 299th Division to change guards overnight. "I'm after I gave this order. "At the same time, General Govorunenko would be reminded," he added. Let him hurry up and build fortifications, so that the Germans do not jump over the wall, and launch a counterattack before our attack begins. ”

"Understood, I'm going to call." As he spoke, Bezikov stood up and walked towards the walkie-talkie not far away, where he was about to call Tavartkiradze.

As soon as the bridge-building activities of the Funahashi battalion began, they were discovered by the Germans. In order to prevent our troops from erecting pontoon bridges over the Oud River. The Germans fired flares into the air. The enemy's artillery observers, guided by flickering flares, provided the artillery with firing parameters and shelled the river Ude.

When I heard a call from Povsky reporting to me that the enemy was shelling the river incessantly, I ordered him bluntly: "Comrade Artillery Commander, in accordance with the order I have just given, immediately carry out artillery shelling of the exposed German artillery positions, and be sure to destroy them all." ”

Putting down the phone, I still felt unsteady in my heart, and I was afraid that the German artillery would be too cunning. Immediately after two rounds of design at one site, positions were transferred. In that case, our artillery will not be as effective as it should be. Thinking of this, I picked up the phone, shook the handle a few times, and when I heard the voice of the communications officer, I immediately ordered him: "Give me the front army headquarters." ”

Perhaps this communications soldier was new to the army, and after hearing my order, he actually hesitated to ask: "Comrade commander, is it to take over the headquarters of the Prairie Front?" ”

"It's not the Steppe Front, it's the Voronezh Front Command." I said in a stern tone: "Don't you know that we are similar to the Voronezh Front? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." The signal soldier hurriedly replied: "Please wait, I will immediately connect you to the headquarters of the Voronezh Front." ”

After connecting with the headquarters of the Front, the person who answered the phone was actually Khrushchev, and after hearing my voice, he asked in surprise: "Lida, I really didn't expect you to call so late, what happened?" ”

"Hello, Comrade Military Commissar." After politely greeting him, I said, "Is Comrade General there?" I have important things to report to him. ”

"He is discussing with Marshal Zhukov the next battle plan. Wait a minute, I'll call him. Soon, I heard him shouting to Vatutin to answer the phone.

"Hey, Comrade Oshanina, is there something important about calling so late?" Maybe I interrupted him and Zhukov's work, so there was a hint of dissatisfaction in my tone.

"Comrade General," I could only speed up my speech so that I could finish what I was going to say as soon as possible, in order to prevent him from getting angry at me: "The Boat Bridge Battalion was discovered by the Germans when they were building a bridge over the Oud River. At the moment the artillery of the Germans is carrying out non-stop shelling of the river. ”

"Comrade Oshanina, the stronghold of the German army along the Ude River has not yet been completely cleared, and such a big operation as building a bridge, as long as the Germans are not blind and deaf, will definitely be able to find out." When Vatutin heard that I had reported such a thing to him, he said impatiently: "The enemy has artillery, don't you have artillery?" Immediately ordered the artillery to return fire and press down the enemy's fire. Do you think I'm idle every day, and even such a trivial thing bothers me. ”

I felt that he was about to hang up the phone, so I hurriedly said, "Comrade General, please don't hang up the phone yet, I haven't finished my words yet." ”

"What else do you have to say?" Although there was dissatisfaction in his tone, he did not hang up immediately.

"As soon as the enemy opened fire, our artillery began to suppress fire." I explained to him: "I was worried that the German artillery would change firing positions at any time, so I wanted to ask the air force to send out and bomb the exposed German artillery positions overnight." ”

When I finished speaking, there was silence in the earpiece. Seeing that Vatujing didn't speak, I couldn't help but be a little worried, and hurriedly asked, "Comrade General, is it that our air force can't be dispatched at night?" ”

"It's no problem to dispatch the air force at night, and in the air force under the front army, there is a night bomber division, and they can carry out night bombing missions." Vatutin said with some hesitation: "But if they go out at night, I am afraid that they will not find the target for bombing, and if they drop the bomb on their own people, it will be troublesome." ”

"Don't worry, comrade general, there will never be a mistakenly bombing." When I heard that Vatutin's concern was about this problem, I felt much more at ease, and hurriedly assured him: "The enemy is constantly firing flares into the air, and the entire western part of Kharkiv is illuminated as if it were daylight, and our air force will definitely not fail to find bombing targets." ”

"Well, since that's the case, I'll call the Air Force right away and have the night bomber division dispatch immediately." After saying this, Vatutin asked me with some concern: "Oshanina, I want to hear you tell the truth, how long will it take you to rush to the city of Kharkov?" ”

Although I knew in my heart that as long as the enemy's artillery was destroyed, then under the guidance of the tank army, a few infantry divisions would be able to break through the outlying positions of the German army in half a day at most, rush to the city of Kharkov, and even break through into the city. However, in front of Vatutin, I could not speak too much, lest I would not have completed the task by then, and there would be no room for a turnaround, so I cautiously said: "Comrade General, if tonight's bombardment by the air force can destroy the German artillery, then we will be able to rush to the city of Kharkov in two to three days. ”

As soon as I finished speaking, Zhukov's deep voice suddenly came from the earphones: "What, it will take two to three days to rush to the city of Kharkov?" It's too slow, Leda, you're too slow to attack. ”

Suddenly I heard Zhukov's voice, which startled me, but I quickly came back to my senses, raised my hand and looked at my watch, and saw that it was now August 20, so in order not to let Zhukov look down on me, I said decisively: "Comrade Marshal, now I have just entered the 20th, and I assure you that my troops will rush to the city of Kharkov before noon on the 21st." ”

"Well, since you are so confident, then I will wait for your good news!" Hearing my statement, Zhukov's tone softened: "Konev's steppe front also has a night bomber regiment, and I will let them also go out at the same time." ”

When I heard that the air force would soon appear to bombard the artillery positions in the enemy's city, the people in the command immediately cheered as soon as I put down the phone. Because everyone knew in their hearts that even if the night bombardment could not completely destroy the German artillery positions, it would inflict considerable casualties on the enemy, and in that case the pressure on us in tomorrow's offensive would be greatly reduced. (To be continued.) )