The forests and swamps in the northwest of Kharkov are not conducive to the deployment of large forces, so the steppe front will choose the main direction of attack in the north and east, after all, in the last Kharkov battle, Rybalko's tank troops rushed into the city from these two directions and liberated the fourth largest city in the Soviet Union.

Precisely because I took into account the limited number of German troops deployed in the west, I chose to march on Dergach when Konev's front was inseparable from them. As long as we can capture this small city northwest of Kharkiv, then we have an offensive starting point that will play a pivotal role in the rest of the battle.

At the end of the meeting, Chistyakov, who had been full of confidence, suddenly asked me worriedly: "Comrade commander, will our troops really be able to successfully occupy Durgach?" ”

Seeing his reaction of both gains and losses, I just smiled faintly, and then said in an understated tone: "Comrade Deputy Commander, don't worry, the German defense is focused on the north and east. And to the west, according to our reconnaissance, there are only a few fortifications that are not too strong. I think an infantry division and a tank brigade will be enough to clear these obstacles in the way of advancement. ”

"I hope so." Chistyakov raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said to himself: "There are still three hours until dark, and I don't know if Baksov's troops will be able to advance to Durgach." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Chistyakov." Kirillov was sitting next to him looking at the application forms for commendations submitted by the divisions, and when he heard Chistyakov's whisper, he looked up at him and said, "Since Leda said don't worry, you can rest assured." I believe that General Baksov's troops will be able to occupy Durgach before dark. ”

Chistyakov was taken by surprise by Kirillov's words, and he sat down in the vacant seat next to Kirillov. He asked, "Comrade Military Commissar, why are you so sure?" ”

Kirillov put the pen in his hand on the table, then looked at Chistyakov and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, you may not know that when the Steppe Front and the Germans were fighting, our troops were resting. See friendly forces fighting in full swing. And we can only stay in the rear to repair fortifications and rest, and the commanders and fighters are always holding back a lot of energy in their hearts. Now that they finally have the opportunity to go to the battlefield, don't these commanders and fighters who have long been eager to try not know how to grasp such an opportunity? I assure you, if you don't fight, if you open fire on the Germans, then they will be able to burst out with superior combat power and defeat the enemy. ”

Although both Kirillov and I resolutely told Chistyakov about our vanguard. He would definitely be able to break through the various defensive positions established by the German army along the way, but he was still skeptical in his heart, after all, the four armies of the steppe front had only advanced five kilometers after fighting with the Germans for a week, and they were still ten kilometers away from Kharkov, and our troops would advance to a small city nearly seven or eight kilometers northwest of Kharkov in a few hours.

About two hours passed. Baksov, who served as the avant-garde unit, sent a telegram saying that the troops were seven or eight kilometers away from Dergach. Encountering the defensive positions of the German troops, at the moment the troops are on the offensive.

After reading the telegram, I looked up and asked Lopukhov, who was standing in front of me: "Major, can you talk to General Baksov directly?" ”

Hearing my question, a trace of embarrassment appeared on Lopukhov's face: "Comrade commander, due to the fact that the 67th Guards Division is advancing too fast. Therefore, it is not possible to lay a corded phone for the time being. At this point, he pouted at a walkie-talkie placed by the wall, "Although you can talk wirelessly to the front, the content of the call will be eavesdropped by the Germans." ”

"Immediately contact Baksov with the intercom." Although I knew that talking to Baksov on a walkie-talkie was in danger of being eavesdropped by the Germans. But in order to keep abreast of the situation at the front, I can't take care of it so much. Moreover, we were swaggering towards Dergach during the day, and if the Germans could not find out, they would be a bunch of blind and deaf men.

Seeing that my attitude was very resolute, Lopukhov did not dare to refute it, and immediately ran to the walkie-talkie himself to contact the outpost. After a while, he got in touch with Baksov.

I walked over, grabbed my headphones and put them on, although I asked Baksov in a loud voice: "Comrade division commander, report on the situation there." What kind of enemy are you fighting against? ”

"The enemy did not have many troops, probably only one company, and apart from two or three machine guns, no heavy weapons were found." Baksov reported to me truthfully over the phone: "However, because they cleared the firing boundary, the first attack launched by the vanguard battalion was unsuccessful, and after more than 70 casualties it retreated. ”

"Comrade Division Commander," I felt bad when I heard that Baksov had been blocked by a small army with no heavy weapons, and that the first attack they launched was easily repulsed by the Germans. I shouted into the microphone: "Since the Germans don't have any heavy weapons, let the tank units charge in front and tear a gap in the enemy's defense, and then let the infantry go up and destroy the remnants of the German army." ”

As soon as I finished talking to Baksov, Chistyakov and Bezikov surrounded me and asked curiously: "Comrade commander, is it possible that our vanguard has been blocked by the enemy. ”

"That's right, Comrade Deputy Commander." I said indignantly: "The vanguard of the Baksov's division was blocked by a small German force. They immediately attacked, but unfortunately it didn't work. ”

"Is the enemy's fortifications too strong?" Chistyakov asked worriedly: "If this is really the case, the time for our troops to be stationed in Durgach will be greatly extended. ”

"The reason for the failure of the offensive was not that the German fortifications were too strong." Thinking of Baksov's style of play, I was angry: "Because the enemy cleared the firing range, our commanders and fighters did not even have a place to hide in the open field, so our attack was easily repelled by the Germans." But don't worry now, I've ordered Baksov to let the tank troops charge first, and when the gap has been torn open in the enemy's defense, the infantry will rush forward to clear the remaining enemy in the position. ”

Chistyakov listened to me. He habitually raised his hand and looked at his watch, then raised his head and said to me: "Comrade commander, anyway, if we stay in the headquarters, there is nothing to do, why don't we go to the front line first while it is still dark?" ”

"Okay. Comrade Deputy Commander. Since you say so, let's go check it out. After I said this, I turned around and ordered Bezkov: "Chief of Staff, you and the military commissar stay, and after the main forces of our army occupy Dergach, you will rush over with General Seryukin's 89th Guards Division." ”

Bezikov, who received my order, nodded, and then said with concern: "Comrade commander, we don't know how many German blocking positions we will encounter on the road to Djergach. You and Comrade Deputy Commander can pay more attention to safety. ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Chief of Staff." Although I also know that there is a lot of danger on the battlefield, and no matter how high-ranking the commander is, he may be killed by a bullet flying from somewhere, or be killed by the enemy's cold artillery, but I don't worry about these at all, no matter what, I am also a person with the aura of the protagonist. Before I came into this world, I had never seen the main character in that book after a time travel. There is a situation where you lose your life. So I triumphantly said, "I haven't made a bullet that can kill me yet." ”

An hour and a half later in our jeep, we arrived at the area where the 67th Guards Division had been fighting. As soon as I entered the area, I could smell the smell of gunpowder smoke in the air, as well as the strong smell of blood. I asked the driver to park in front of the German position, then pushed the door and got out of the car.

I stood in a position occupied by our troops, looking at the damaged MG34 machine gun lying crooked next to the collapsed sandbag. The wooden stakes that were obviously cut off by bullet skins, the broken guns, the steel helmets that had fallen off, and the corpses of the fallen officers and soldiers of our army and the German army that were stacked not far away, could not help but feel a lot of emotion in my heart.

I stood by the trench for a short time, the commander of the 22nd Guards Army, Major General Sivakov, and the new commander of the 71st Guards Division, Colonel Babachin. I hurried over.

After waiting for the two of us to salute us, I asked Sivakov: "Comrade Army Commander, where is the 67th Guards Division of General Baksov at the moment?" ”

Sivakov thought for a moment, then replied: "Report to Comrade Commander, I just made contact with General Baksov half an hour ago, and now his troops have arrived outside Djergacht and are engaged in battle with the Germans. ”

"Is there an update on the battle?" Chistyakov, who had been silent beside him, suddenly asked.

Sivakov looked at Chistyakov and replied: "According to General Baksov's report, the enemy has quite a few anti-tank trenches in the fortifications outside Dergach, blocking the path of the tank brigade, and there is no progress for the time being. ”

When I had finished speaking, I criticized him harshly: "Dergach is a small city, and since the tank brigade cannot attack from the front, why not go back to the enemy's flank?" ”

Sivakov listened to my question, with a hint of bitterness on his face, and he replied with a complicated expression: "There are forests and swamps on both sides of the east and west of Durgach, and the tanks cannot get around it, so they can only storm it from the front. ”

"How many troops did the Germans have in the city of Djergach?" I then asked.

"According to the confessions of the captives, there is a battalion in the city, and there is a battalion with a company outside the outer positions." Sivakov mechanically replied: "Since the front of the offensive is too narrow, we cannot deploy too many troops, so we can only attack the enemy in battalions." ”

I looked around and asked Colonel Babakhin: "Comrade division commander, are your divisions all nearby at the moment?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." The new division commander replied with some nervousness: "At present, the whole division is stationed nearby, and when the friendly troops behind come up and we hand over the position to them, we can continue to advance." ”

I looked up at the sky, which was already darkening, and then instructed Sivakov: "Comrade commander, except for one regiment left here to wait for the follow-up troops, the rest of the troops continue to advance and join General Baksov's troops as soon as possible." ”

Without waiting for Sivakov to mobilize his troops, Chistyakov and I continued on our way. After walking about two kilometers, I saw a defensive line that had been broken through by our army, and the commanders and fighters were hurrying to clean up the battlefield.

Seeing this scene, Chistyakov's face showed a satisfied smile, and he said to me in a relaxed tone: "Comrade commander, I didn't expect our fighters to be quite remarkable. In less than two hours, several German lines were broken through in succession. I believe that the capture of Djergach is also not a difficult thing. ”

When I saw the third line of positions that had been broken through by our troops, my heart suddenly became heavy. Because I was fifty or sixty meters away from the trench, I saw a tank of my house still burning, and around the tank, there were several corpses of tank soldiers.

"Comrade Commander, what are you looking at?" Maybe I was staring out the window for too long, so I aroused Chistyakov's curiosity, "I think you seem to have something on your mind." ”

Pointing to the tank, surrounded by flames and billowing smoke, I said to Chistyakov: "Comrade Deputy Commander, did you see that destroyed tank?" Seeing that he nodded to indicate that he had seen it, I continued: "Judging by the location where the tank was destroyed, the enemy should have anti-tank weapons." I fear that the further we go, the stronger the enemy's defenses will become, and that we will pay a considerable price when we take Djergach. ”

Perhaps it was the successive sight of several positions broken through by our troops that gave Chistyakov confidence, so much so that after listening to these words, he comforted me and said: "Comrade commander, even if the Germans have anti-tank weapons, aren't their positions also broken through by us?" Besides, they only destroyed one of our tanks, and they couldn't hurt the vitality of the tank brigade. I believe that it will not be long before General Baksov's troops will be able to take Dergach out of the hands of the enemy. ”

I listened to the sound of gunfire coming from the window and became clearer and clearer, sighed secretly, and said helplessly, "I hope so." ”

As soon as I finished speaking, the jeep suddenly stopped without warning.

"What's going on?" As soon as the car stopped, Chistyakov asked loudly: "Comrade driver, why did you stop?" ”

The driver pointed out the window and said helplessly: "The two comrades commanders, it was the soldiers who came out of the forest on the side of the road in front of us and blocked our way. (To be continued.) )

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