Nekrasov leaned his head over to look at me, and then asked me curiously: "Comrade commander, do you still know German?" ”

When I heard his question, I immediately shook my head like a rattle, "I don't know a single letter except for a few simple spoken German words." ”

"Then how can you understand the deployment of the German troops on the map of the city's defenses?" Nekrasov then asked again.

"It's very simple," I said, pointing to the numbers on the map, "these numbers are undoubtedly the numbers of the German troops, and you can guess them even if you don't know the German alphabet." After saying this, I saw the officer sent back by Seryujin again, and thought that if it was just to send a city defense map and send a communication soldier, why would an officer be sent, there must be some purpose.

Thinking of this, I looked at the officer and asked, "Comrade officer, what is your name?" ”

"Mel Kuli," the officer replied with some nervousness when he heard my question, "Captain Mel Kuli, I am the intelligence staff officer of the 89th Guards Division. ”

When I heard about his position, I asked with a hint of luck: "Comrade Captain, do you know German?" ”

Melkuli nodded and replied in the affirmative: "Yes, Comrade Commander, I know German. As he spoke, he shrugged his shoulders and added a little shyly, "I studied German at university." When Comrade Division Commander ordered me to hand over the city fortification map to you, he also asked me to translate for you. ”

"Comrade Captain," Nekrasov asked beside him, "how long would it take for you to translate this map of the fortifications and mark it on our map?" ”

After a moment's thought, Merkuli replied: "Comrade General, I think in half an hour at most I will be able to translate the contents of the German city defense map and mark it on our map. ”

Hearing Melkuli's answer, Nekrasov suddenly became excited, and after he asked his subordinates to bring a map of Kharkov, he ordered Merkuli in a stacked voice: "Comrade Captain, hurry, hurry up and mark the enemy's troop deployment on the map." ”

"Wait a minute." I saw Melkuli leaning over and preparing to start work, and hurriedly stopped them: "This is too slow, wait for the captain to finish marking, and then send it back to the army group headquarters, at least nearly an hour." ”

When Nekrasov heard me say this, he was stunned for a moment, then nodded vigorously, and replied: "That's right, if the captain does this work alone, it will indeed delay a lot of time, so I'll find someone to cooperate with him." ”

"Comrade division commander, now our troops are fighting fiercely outside, so every minute counts. So if we shorten the battle by a minute or less, our commanders and fighters will shed a lot less blood. I didn't agree to his proposal, but said to myself: "In order to save time, let Captain Mercully inform the headquarters directly of the distribution of troops on the map." ”

As I spoke, I picked up the phone and asked the communications corps to help me connect to the army group headquarters. While waiting for the phone to be answered for a short time, I instructed Nekrasov: "Comrade division commander, you have another staff officer with a high level of drawing come over, and when Captain Merkuli reports to the headquarters, he will also mark the enemy's position on the map at the same time." ”

Nekrasov was very satisfied with my proposal and readily agreed: "Okay, that's it!" ”

At this moment, Chistyakov's voice came from the earpiece: "Hey, Comrade Commander, is that you?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander, it's me." I hurriedly replied.

"How's your situation there?" Chistyakov asked cautiously.

"The battle is still ongoing!"

"Has General Managarov's troops arrived?"

"Not yet, I estimate that in another half an hour or so, their troops will be able to arrive." After a brief exchange of words with Chistyakov, I went straight to the point: "Comrade Deputy Commander, Seryukin's troops captured the headquarters of the German 106th Infantry Division and captured a map of the fortifications of the city. ”

"What, the map of the fortifications?" After hearing this, Chistyakov asked in surprise: "Is it the latest deployment of the German army?" ”

"I think so." I don't know if this map officially reflects the real disposition of the German army now, so I can only answer vaguely. Then I said: "Seryukin has sent me a staff officer who understands German, and I will ask him to report to you on the deployment of troops on the map." Remember, as soon as this map of the fortifications of the city is marked, it should be reported to the headquarters of the two fronts. ”

"Major Akhromeyev, please bring me a map of Kharkiv." I heard Chistyakov shouting Akhromeyev, and after he had finished speaking, I deliberately emphasized again: "Comrade Deputy Commander, this plan of fortifications will allow our troops to speed up the offensive and reduce unnecessary casualties. So as soon as you mark it, report it to your superiors! ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Chistyakov said to me: "It is not necessary to report to the higher authorities after it has been completely marked. It is completely possible to report to the superior while annotating, which can greatly save time. ”

"Great, Comrade Deputy Commander, this is great." When I heard Chistyakov's idea, my mood suddenly became relaxed, and I had followed my method by sending the information from us back to the headquarters of the group army, and then reporting it to the headquarters of the front army, and then using them to send the map of the city defense to all the units participating in the battle, and it would take two or three hours at the earliest. According to Chistyakov's proposal, it would only take an hour at most, and the commanders of the divisions on the front line would receive this map of the fortifications of the city, and clearly know the distribution of German troops. "Just do as you suggest."

When I finished my call with Chistyakov, I handed the microphone to Captain Melkuli and said, "Comrade Captain, you can begin." ”

When Merkuli and Nekrasov's staff officers began to get busy, I pulled Nekrasov aside and said to him: "Comrade division commander, since we have this map of the city, then even if it is dark, our offensive must continue. ”

"Fighting at night?" When Nekrasov heard me say this, an expression of embarrassment appeared on his face, "Comrade commander, I don't think it's wise to let the troops engage in street battles with the enemy at night in a strange city. ”

"There's no way around it." I don't know what Nekrasov is telling the truth, but we can't help it, we are now in a race against time, if the Germans know that we have captured their fortifications, once we make adjustments, our troops may suffer a big loss, so we must fight quickly. "It is necessary to launch a non-stop attack while the Germans do not know that we have captured the fortifications of the city, so that they have to run for their lives. Even at the end of the day, knowing that we know how their forces are deployed, they don't have the time and the means to adjust. ”

"It seems that this is the only way to go." Nekrasov sighed helplessly and said to me: "I will now inform the regimental commanders and let them prepare for battle, and when the two divisions of General Managarov arrive, they will immediately launch an attack on the enemy." ”

Just as Nekrasov was assigning tasks to his subordinates, a telegraph operator came up to me, handed me a telegram, and at the same time said: "Comrade commander, your telegram!" ”

I took the telegram and looked at it, only to see one word written on it: "Well done! "It was Zhukov who made the payment.

Holding this telegram sent by Zhukov himself, my heart suddenly became excited, and I secretly muttered to myself, if our troops can greatly shorten the time for attacking Kharkov according to this map of city fortifications, then when the battle is over, there will definitely be great benefits waiting for me.

An hour later, the dusty Managarov walked into the command headquarters, and as he walked towards me, he saluted me and said: "Hello, Comrade Commander, how are you doing here?" ”

"Our commanders and fighters are fighting stubbornly with the enemy." After I said something in an official tone, I then asked: "Comrade General, have the 29th Guards Division and the 107th Infantry Division arrived?" ”

"It's all here." After a simple answer, Managarov asked rhetorically: "Comrade commander, I don't know what you plan to use these two divisions for?" ”

"Comrade General, please come here." I guided him to the table, pushed the city defense map marked by the staff officer in front of him, smiled and said, "What do you see here?" ”

Managarov glanced disapprovingly at the map, and just looked away, before he could speak to me, he focused his attention on the map in front of him. After looking at it carefully for a while, he said with some excitement: "Comrade commander, this, this, is this a map of the fortifications of Kharkov?" ”

"That's right, Comrade General." I looked at him and said with certainty: "This is the map of the fortifications of Kharkov." ”

Managarov grabbed the map and asked excitedly, "Where did you get it?" ”

"It was the division commander Seryukin, who captured them from the division headquarters of the 106th Infantry Division of the German army." In order to give Managarov an idea, I added: "Now that we know the disposition of the German forces, I intend to let the troops continue the offensive and even fight night battles with the Germans." ”

"Your decision is right," Managarov said approvingly, "and we will beat the Germans while they have not yet come to their senses and have not had time to adjust their deployment." By the way, where are you going to use my two divisions? ”

"That's what I think, Comrade General." Pointing to the offensive line on the map, I politely said to Managarov: "Your two divisions will follow these streets and storm towards Dzerzhinsky Square in the center of the city, trying to take out the German command in the area. Have faith? ”

"No problem." Managarov readily agreed: "I will go and inform the two division commanders, and after they have a short rest, they will immediately attack the enemy." ”

Nekrasov waited for Managarov to leave, then walked up to my side and said with some concern: "Comrade commander, we have all gone to participate in the offensive, and your forces here have become weak, and if the Germans carry out a counterattack, you may be in danger." ”

"Don't worry, Comrade Division." In response to his concerns, I smiled and said: "At present, the guard duties here can be taken over by General Kravchenko's motorized regiment." As long as you fight harder in front, the safer we will be here. After saying that, I raised my hand to look at my watch and urged him, "Okay, it's not too early, and your troops should leave quickly!" ”

Nekrasov nodded and said to me with a solemn expression: "Comrade commander, please rest assured, I will definitely bring you back the news of victory!" After speaking, he raised his hand and saluted me with a solemn military salute, then turned around and walked out of the headquarters.

Since all the units involved in the battle were provided with the German fortifications provided by me, the battle was fierce, and fierce fighting was going on all night inside and outside the city of Kharkov.

At one o'clock in the morning, Sivakov called me. He excitedly reported to me: "Comrade Commander, our three-way troops have broken through the German defenses one after another, have rushed into the city, and are developing in depth. ”

"I see, Comrade Commander." When I heard that the other three troops had also rushed into the city, my emotions became excited, "Please convey my thanks to the commanders and fighters!" Then tell the commanders and fighters not to stop after storming into the city, and to rush wherever there is an enemy and where there is gunfire. In the shortest possible time, the enemy must be completely and cleanly destroyed. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Sivakov replied loudly.

Since the three troops who had been fighting hard outside the city had rushed into the city, the reserves outside the city could not let them sit idle, so I then called Chistyakov and asked him to put all the other divisions into battle.

After another hour, I received a call from Seryukin, who reported to me with emotion: "Comrade commander, my troops have rushed to the center of the city and raised the red flag at the highest building in the city, the Gosprom Building. ”

"Great, General Seryugin, it's great!" When I heard that the 89th Division had occupied the city's landmark tonight, my heart immediately beat faster, and I said in a voice that was hoarse with excitement: "The results you have achieved today will go down in history!" ”

"By the way, Comrade Commander, there is one more thing that I have not reported to you yet." After Seryukin's mood stabilized a little, he continued: "According to my soldiers' reports, the 183rd Division of the 69th Army, which also advanced along Sumy Avenue to Dzerzhinsky Square, is engaged in a fierce battle with the Germans. In the rest of the area, friendly troops broke through the German outlying positions and stormed into the city. ”

"General Seryukin, immediately send troops to reinforce friendly forces." Hearing that friendly troops had also rushed into the city, I immediately ordered Seryukin, "to destroy the enemy in the center of the city as soon as possible." ”

"Yes, I'll send troops to reinforce it right away." Seryukin replied loudly.

As more and more units of our army poured into Kharkov, the resistance of the German troops was constantly destroyed. By ten o'clock in the morning, the sound of gunfire and explosions outside had become thin.

After calling the commanders of the divisions in the city one by one to verify, I finally came to a gratifying conclusion: Kharkov has been recaptured by our army! (To be continued.) )