As to whether the combined forces of Baksov, Lukin, and Villadere can successfully capture Cherkasy, although I am relaxed on the surface, my heart is like fifteen buckets of water. I kept thinking in my heart: although Baksov told me that Cherkasy had only one infantry regiment of the Germans and would not be able to withstand our attack at all. But what if the Germans still had troops nearby, or if our tank brigade had just stormed into the city and the enemy had come to reinforce the armored units? In that case, not only will we not be able to take Cherkasy, but on the contrary, the troops involved in the siege will be in danger of total annihilation.

"Leda, Leda!" While I was thinking cranky, Kirillov's voice pulled me back from my contemplation. When he saw that I was looking at him with some confusion, he continued, "What shall we do next?" Whether to move the command of the army group immediately forward to Kanivo, or to stay in the distance. ”

"Let's stay away and stay still." Hardly without a second thought, I rejected Kirillov's offer and gave my reasons: "At the moment there are only two regiments of the 52nd Guards Division and the 67th Guards Division in the city, and if the enemy strikes back at this time, the command will be in a dangerous situation. ”

"Well, since that's the case, let's let the headquarters stay where it is, and wait until the follow-up troops arrive." Kirillov did not express any opinion on my statement, but simply followed my meaning and said: "After all, the main forces of the German army are on the opposite bank, and they may launch a counterattack against us at any time." ”

As soon as Kirillov finished speaking, Guttman smiled and asked: "Comrade Military Commissar, do you want to go to the other side to see?" ”

Kirillov did not answer, but simply looked at me, as if asking for my opinion. I looked outside, and when I saw that although the tank troops had crossed the river, there was still fire everywhere in the German positions along the river, I shook my head and said, "No, at least not yet." We have just taken up the enemy's position, and perhaps the remnants of the enemy have not yet been cleared, so it is too risky to pass at this time, so it is better to wait until after noon. ”

Hearing me say this, both Guttman and Kirillov had disappointed expressions on their faces. I deliberately pretended not to see it, turned my eyes to the map, and said in my heart: Although we have occupied the German position, there may still be remnants of stragglers who have not been cleared, what if we go out at this time and get coldly shot? It is not too late to cross the river after the arrival of the large army at noon.

After looking at it for a while, I looked up and asked Guttman: "Comrade General, I wonder when your motorized brigade and the other two tank brigades will arrive?" ”

My question made Guttman feel nervous, and after the muscles on his face twitched violently for a while, he replied with some embarrassment: "Comrade Commander, I really don't know about this. Originally, according to the order, they should have rushed to the river an hour ago. But I haven't seen a single unit until now. ”

"Do you need to call to urge?" I asked lightly.

"I'm going to call." After that, Guttman walked quickly to the intercom and instructed the operator to contact his men.

"It's a pity, it's a pity." Kirillov walked up to me and whispered, "If the other two tank brigades had arrived earlier, they would have joined forces with Colonel Villadel and rushed directly to Cherkasy." With so many tanks acting at the same time, even if the Germans ambushed the anti-tank men on the road, they could not stop their advance. ”

I nodded and said, "That's right, if we can concentrate more tanks and launch a surprise attack on the enemy, I believe that Cherkasy will soon fall into our hands." I said this, paused for a moment, and then sighed, "Alas, alas, it is this bad road that prevents our troops from increasing the speed of their march. ”

While we were waiting for news from the front, Chistyakov called me and asked: "Comrade commander, what is our next task after the capture of the cities of Kanifu and Cherkasy?" ”

I stared at the map in front of me and said: "After successfully capturing Cherkasy, except for Seryukin's 89th Guards Division, the rest of the troops crossed the river and relied on the cities of Kaniv and Cherkasy to build the necessary fortifications and establish a solid starting point for the attack. ”

"Comrade commander, look at the map, we are not too far from Kyiv." Chistyakov asked tentatively: "Aren't you going to try it and see if our army group can liberate Kyiv again?" ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander, your idea is good, but unfortunately there is no possibility of implementation." For his whimsy, I immediately poured cold water on him without hesitation: "Although half a year ago, I led my troops to capture Kyiv, but at that time there was no main force of the enemy in the city at all, and Manstein also commanded troops on the right bank of the Dnieper, so it is reasonable to capture Kyiv. But now, the enemy has hoarded heavy troops in Kyiv and built a perfect defense system, not to mention our army group, even if we add General Katukov's 1st Guards Tank Army, it is an impossible task to capture Kyiv. ”

"Well, that's a shame." When Chistyakov heard me say this, he couldn't help but be disappointed and said: "I thought you were going to attack Kyiv directly after successfully capturing Kanivo and Cherkasy. ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander, we captured Kaniv and Cherkasy, nothing more than opened a landing ground on the other side of the Dnieper. We cannot attack Kyiv until a well-developed defense system is established. I pointed to the map with my hand and continued: "After we have cleared the enemy in the two cities, we will divide our forces to capture Smilla and other cities, cut off the connection between Kyiv and Zaporosh, so that the enemy cannot take care of each other, so that we can concentrate our superior forces to attack Kyiv." ”

After my phone call with Chistyakov, I turned to Guttman and asked, "Comrade General, when will your follow-up troops arrive?" ”

Guttman said to me with a sad face: "Comrade commander, because of the poor condition of the roads, my other three brigades will not be able to reach the river until at least after noon. ”

It's still a few hours before the follow-up troops arrive, but I'm not going to stay here and wait. I looked outside, and saw that some troops were passing through the pontoon bridge, and I couldn't help but have an idea, and turned to Guttman and said, "Comrade General, this way, your boat bridge battalion is idle anyway, it is better to let them erect two more pontoon bridges over the river, so that when the large army arrives, it can also increase the speed of crossing the river." ”

Guttman raised his binoculars and looked out, then said: "Comrade commander, although the river is not wide, the current is too fast, and it is difficult to erect two more pontoon bridges. Otherwise, I will let the Boat Bridge Battalion build another pontoon bridge, which should be more than enough. ”

"Well, Comrade General, according to what you say, one by one." I said disapprerovingly, "Anyway, we have more than one place to cross the river, and then we will set up a few more in other places." ”

As soon as Guttman had finished giving the Boat Bridge Battalion the task of erecting a pontoon bridge over the radio, Villadelle sent a message. Hearing the Colonel's voice, Guttman asked with some excitement: "Hey, Comrade Colonel, where have you been in the brigade?" ”

"Report to Comrade Commander." The loud roar of a tank motor was heard in the headphones, and Villadelle reported at the top of his voice: "We have reached a distance of three kilometers from Cherkasy. No traces of German troops were found along the way, repeating, no traces of German troops were found along the way. ”

When Guttman heard this report, he couldn't help but be stunned, he turned his head and asked me: "Comrade commander, Colonel Villadelie reports that the tank brigade has reached a point only three kilometers from Cherkasy, and no trace of the enemy has been found for the time being. What should they do next, please instruct! ”

When Guttmann finished speaking, I frowned and thought: I saw no trace of the enemy along the way, and there was only one regiment in the city, so where did the main force of the German army go? Because Gutman was waiting for my reply, I didn't think much about it and said directly to him: "Comrade General, order the colonel to lead the tank troops to move on." If you reach the outskirts of the city and have not yet been counterattacked by the Germans, you will rush straight into the city. ”

"Understood." Guttman agreed, and then said loudly into the microphone: "The commander orders, continue to advance, and if there is no German resistance on the outskirts of the city, rush directly into the city." ”

As soon as the call between Gertman and Villadele was over, I immediately instructed the operator: "Operator, get in touch with General Baksov, I want to talk to him." ”

Kirillov walked quickly to my side and reminded me in a low voice: "Lida, when you talk wirelessly with the troops, you are prone to enemy eavesdropping, which will ......"

"Comrade Military Commissar," I didn't wait for Kirillov to finish, and then raised my hand to interrupt his later words, "I know that such a conversation can easily be eavesdropped by the Germans. But there is no way, we now have to compete with the Germans for time, and we must decisively seize Cherkasy before they come to their senses. ”

As soon as I finished speaking, I saw the operator hand me the headset and the microphone, and at the same time he said: "Comrade commander, the line has been connected, and you can talk to General Baksov." ”

I put on my headphones and asked into the microphone, "Hey, Baksov?" How is the situation in your place, did Lieutenant Colonel Lukin's troops arrive? ”

"When it's time to arrive, a vanguard regiment of Lieutenant Colonel Lukin has arrived." Baksov spoke very quickly: "The rest of the troops will arrive in twenty minutes." Comrade Commander, when are we going to attack? ”

"How's it going in the city?" I then asked, "Has the enemy increased his troops?" ”

"No, the enemy's main force is basically concentrated on the defensive positions by the river, and the defenders in the city are limited." After a slight pause, Baksov replied: "According to the latest reports of the scouts, there are only two companies or so of infantry in the city, and there are no heavy weapons. ”

"Great, that's great." Hearing that the defenders of the city were limited in number and that there were no heavy weapons at the same time, the big stone hanging in my heart fell to the ground, and I immediately gave the order to Baksov to attack: "Comrade division commander, a tank brigade of friendly troops is rushing along the road to Cherkasy, and in a few minutes at most they will be able to storm into the city. Immediately lead your troops into attack, and use some of your forces to pin down the defenders along the river so that they cannot send their troops back to the city. Once the enemy forces in the city have been cleared, you command your troops to destroy the German forces along the river. ”

When I returned the headphones and microphone to the radiograph, Kirillov, who had heard my conversation with Baksov, said in surprise: "Lida, the situation is so favorable to us that if we take the city, we will cut off the enemy's retreat by the river." As long as Lukin's remaining troops arrive, the two divisions will join forces and launch a final attack on the enemy under the cover of the tank brigade, and it is estimated that it will not be long before the battle can be resolved. ”

"The situation will not be as rosy as you think, you know, the Germans have a regiment in Cherkasy after all." Guttman said worriedly: "Even if we are caught off guard, we will have to support it for half a day or even longer." ”

I didn't answer his concerns immediately, but looked up at my watch. I stared intently at the second hand above, spinning round and round. It took a full five minutes before I lowered my hand, sighed softly, and said, "Colonel Villadel's tank brigade must have rushed into Cherkasy. ”

As soon as I said this, Kirillov also learned from me, raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said: "Baksov and Lukin's troops are infantry, and they move a little slower than the tank brigades, but in ten minutes they should also rush into the city." ”

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard the newspaper operator shout excitedly: "Comrade General, Colonel Villadel wants to speak to you. ”

Guttman knew that it was himself when he heard the operator shouting the general, and quickly took the headset and microphone from his hand. Asked aloud: "Hey, Comrade Colonel, how is your situation there?" ”

I tilted my head and pressed it next to the headphones that Guttman was wearing, and I clearly heard Villadere say: "Comrade Commander, our brigade has stormed the city. Although the enemy erected sandbag fortifications at the junction, they could not stop our attack because they did not have heavy weapons. We have rushed into the city from the northwest of Chengdu and are heading towards the city centre. ”

"Well done, Comrade Colonel, you and your men are good." Hearing that the tank brigade had stormed Cherkasy, Guttman could not help but get excited, and he shouted into the microphone: "Continue to assault forward, and we must destroy all the German troops in the city in the shortest possible time." ”

A few more minutes later, I received a call from Baksov, who excitedly reported to me: "Comrade commander, our troops have stormed the city and joined up with the friendly tank units. I got some of the infantry on the tanks and went down the streets to clear the remnants of the Germans in the city. I believe it won't be long before we can take control of the whole city. (To be continued.) )