Chistyakov, who had always been angry about our inability to directly participate in the war, heard me say that there was a situation of entering the war, and his eyes lit up and he couldn't wait to ask me: "If only General Moskalenko's 40th Army attacks from the south, once their attack is frustrated, can the head of the front army throw our army into battle?" ”

"Don't worry, my deputy commander." Looking at Chistyakov, who was eager to fight, I replied with a smile: "As soon as the battle starts, we may not wait for the 40th Army's attack to be thwarted, and the higher authorities will throw us into battle." ”

After my words, Chistyakov was surprisingly silent. After a long while, he asked tentatively: "Comrade commander, didn't you just say that if you attack from the south, the large army will not be able to deploy, and you can only use the tactic of adding fuel to the battle, and throw one division after another into battle?" ”

"That's right, that's what I said." After hearing this question from Chistyakov, I immediately nodded in approval.

"In the face of the strong defensive positions of the German army, if we only attack with one division, will the ability to attack the fortification be too weak?" Chistyakov asked with some concern: "In this way, our attack on Kyiv, even if there are heavy casualties, may not achieve the desired results." ”

After figuring out that Chistyakov was worried about this matter, my heart suddenly became much more reassured, "Don't worry, comrade deputy commander, even if our army group is engaged in battle, it will not attack from the south, which will not help the course of the battle except for increasing casualties." ”

"Tell me, then, from which direction we will attack?" My words aroused great interest in Chistyakov, and as he spoke, he was about to dig out the picture bag he had brought with him. 、

"Wait a minute, Comrade Deputy Commander, please wait a minute." I glanced at the driver who was engrossed in driving, and said in my heart that although this was a trustworthy fighter, I still couldn't say it casually in front of him about such a confidential matter, so I deliberately diverted the topic: "Even if I analyze the situation for you now, I will have to analyze it again with Chief of Staff Bezikov when I return to the command headquarters later." But in this case, when we return to the headquarters, we will explain it to you. All right? ”

After hearing this, Chistyakov saw the special glance I threw at the driver, immediately put down the picture bag, and said with understanding: "Okay, comrade commander, then we will wait until we return to the headquarters." ”

After a bumpy few hours on the road, we crossed the Dnieper and returned to the headquarters in Cherkasy. As soon as we walked in the door, Bezikov greeted us and asked with a smile: "The meeting ended so quickly, I don't know what tasks the superiors have assigned to us?" ”

"Chief of Staff, in a little while we are going to launch an offensive against Kyiv. At today's meeting, we will arrange the order of attack of the various army groups. Chistyakov explained to Bezzikov as he walked towards the table in the middle of the room. Seeing the other party's surprised expression, he stopped and added coldly: "But our group army will not participate in this attack." ”

"What, we don't participate in the offense?" Bezikov trembled when he heard this, then looked at me in surprise and asked, "Comrade commander, why is this?" Why not let us go on the offensive? ”

"Chief of Staff, sit down first, and I'll explain to you slowly." I made a gesture of please and whispered.

Bezikov frowned, and then honestly sat down at the table, keeping his eyes fixed on me, waiting for me to give him a reasonable explanation.

I called Akhromeyev over and instructed him: "Major, starting tomorrow the units of the 40th Army will enter our defense zone and assemble in the northwest direction of Kanivo. You call the commander of the 23rd Guards Army, Sivakov, and ask him to send someone to do a good job of coordination. ”

"Yes, I'll do it right away." After saying that, Akhromeyev turned and left.

"Comrade commander, can you tell me now why the superiors didn't let us participate in the attack?" As soon as Akhromeyev left, Bezikov asked impatiently: "We have won a lot of battles recently, and these superiors should know about it, but why didn't they let us join the war, it's really strange?" ”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, there is nothing strange about it. In such a large offensive campaign, the superiors must have made an overall arrangement, and they cannot let all the troops participate in the offensive without leaving the troops for defense. In order to give Bezikov an idea of the true intentions of his superiors, I gave him a general picture of the situation and added: "Remember, if our offensive is thwarted, and the enemy turns to a counteroffensive in a certain area and tries to rush to our rear, what will happen if the troops holding on to our lines do not stop them? ”

After waiting for me to finish speaking, Bezikov nodded vigorously, but he still said aggrievedly: "Comrade commander, other troops have gone to participate in the offensive, but let us stay in the original defense area for defense, which will have a negative impact on the morale of our troops. ”

"Chief of Staff, you don't have to worry about this." After hearing Bezikov's worries, I just smiled faintly, then looked at Kirillov on the side, and said with confidence: "This point can be entrusted to the comrade military commissar, who will personally send troops to carry out political agitation work to the commanders and fighters in the near future." I believe that with his ability, he will be able to avoid the situation of unstable morale of the military. ”

"Comrade Commander, there are no outsiders here, you can tell me your analysis." Chistyakov, who had been waiting impatiently for my analysis, urged as soon as I finished speaking: "You know, in the past few hours, I have thought about all kinds of possibilities, and I have not analyzed which direction to throw our troops in before the friendly attack is frustrated. ”

Instead of answering his whole question directly, I asked rhetorically: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I would like to ask you, where would the Germans retreat if we drove them out of Kiev?" ”

Hearing my question, Chistyakov leaned his head closer to the map, and after looking at it for a moment, he pointed with his hand and said confidently: "Needless to say, it must be to retreat to Zhytomyr to the west, which is a big city." ”

"You are quite right, as soon as the Germans are driven out of Kyiv by us, their troops will definitely retreat along the road to Zhytomyr, after all, the two places are only a little more than a hundred kilometers apart." I echoed Chistyakov's opinion, patted my hand on the map, and continued, "If you look closely at the map, you can see that to the west of Zhytomyr, there is a place called Shepetovka. ”

"That's right, I know this place, in the early days of the war, it was the main warehouse of our army." Chistyakov didn't know why I suddenly mentioned Shepetovka, but he still truthfully said what he knew: "The supplies stored there are enough to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of troops of the Southwestern Front." Unfortunately, due to the enemy's rapid advance, most of the materials in the warehouse could not be transferred in time, and finally fell into the hands of the Germans. ”

Seeing that Chistyakov knew more about the Ukrainian cities near Kyiv, I didn't explain more, so I directly stated my analysis: "I think that after the battle to attack Kyiv begins, it will be difficult for the troops of the Front to break through the fortifications built by the Germans in a short time. In this case, it would have been possible for the higher authorities to order us to strike from the flank of the German troops and to cut off the road and rail from Zhytomyr to Kiev. As long as we control this line of communication, it is equivalent to cutting off the main transportation artery of the German army, so that the weapons, ammunition and materials that Kyiv needs cannot be transported in, and the wounded in the battle cannot be withdrawn to the rear. As long as this situation lasts for a week or so, the German army in Kyiv will be shaken by the morale of the army, and friendly forces may break through those strong defensive positions. ”

After I finished my analysis, I turned my head to look at Chistyakov. I saw him sitting there expressionlessly, staring at the map in front of him in a daze, as if he was thinking about something.

"Comrade Deputy Commander, Comrade Deputy Commander." I screamed several times in quick succession, waking Chistyakov from his contemplation.

"Hehe, I'm sorry, Comrade Commander, I was thinking about the situation you analyzed, and I was distracted for a moment." Chistyakov smiled and said to me: "Please go on. ”

I nodded, pointed to the map and analyzed: "I estimate that when the battle starts, General Moskalenko's 40th Army will engage in repeated tug-of-war with the Germans in the two areas of Obkoshiv and Bezelkovy. If we want to complete the severance between Kyiv and Zhytomyr, the assault force will have to bypass these two cities, first go west to seize the small city of Skovya near Betselkovy and use it as a supply point, and then attack north to occupy Korostviv in the north, taking advantage of the favorable terrain with many forests and swamps to cut off the connection between Zhytomyr and Kyiv. ”

"Zhytomyr, Zhytomyr." Kirillov, who had been listening, repeated the name twice, and then shut his mouth and said nothing.

Kirillov said such a sentence inexplicably, which could not help but arouse my curiosity. I looked at him and asked in a friendly manner: "Comrade Military Commissar, why are you so interested in the city of Zhytomyr, have you been there before?" ”

Kirillov nodded and said with certainty: "I used to be the city leader in Zhytomyr for a while, and I was transferred to Moscow until 40. By the way, when I was transferred, Comrade Rokossovsky, then commander of the 9th Mechanized Army, was transferred to the post of commander of the Zhytomyr garrison. ”

"It's a pity that General Rokossovsky's Central Front, this time it did not take up the task of liberating Kyiv." After listening to what Kirillov said, Bezkov said with some regret: "Otherwise, it must be a very meaningful thing for him to personally command the troops to recover Zhytomyr." ”

"Although General Rokossovsky's troops cannot participate in the battle for the liberation of Kyiv this time, they will enter Belarus and eliminate the fascist bandits entrenched there," Chistyakov said. ”

"Since the end of the Battle of Kursk, our army has changed from the original strategic defense to a strategic offensive." I also said with great interest: "Now the initiative on the battlefield is in our hands, and it is up to us to decide where to attack and what kind of troops to attack." ”

After waiting for me to finish, Bezkov said with some caution: "Comrade commander, I have a question, I don't know whether to ask it or not. ”

"Ask, Comrade Chief of Staff." I said disapprerovingly: "Since you are my chief of staff, just ask any question that comes to mind, and as long as I know the answer, I will give you a satisfactory answer." ”

"Is it true that our troops will not succeed in attacking from the south?" Although I have just repeatedly said that an attack from the south will not achieve any results, Bezikov still asked unwillingly: "Do you know that to the south of us, there are powerful steppe front and southwestern front, and they cannot break the German defenses?" ”

"If we are going to attack the enemy's defensive positions at all costs, we will definitely be able to break through the enemy's fortifications." To Bezikov's doubts, I replied in the affirmative: "But at the same time we will pay a heavy price." Perhaps by the time the troops storm Kyiv, many of the formations will cease to exist. ”

"Since this is the case, then why did the superiors choose the main direction of attack this time to the south of Kyiv?" Bezikov was puzzled and asked: "Are you really going to use the tactics of crowds to break through the strong defenses of the German army?" ”

Since attacking from the south was Stalin's intention, even Zhukov could not go against it. That's what happened, so I didn't go into detail about it when I was briefing me just now. At this moment, hearing Bezikov ask this question unrelentingly, I can't help but hesitate, if I don't tell the truth, I can't make Bezikov feel grounded; Let's be honest, there is another suspicion of slandering the Supreme Commander.

However, after thinking about it for a while, I still stubbornly said to Bezikov: "The choice of the direction of the offensive is a decision of the Supreme Command, and no one has the right to revise it. "I threw out the organ of the Supreme Command because there were seven people in it, including Stalin and Zhukov, so that no one would be given authority.

Sure enough, when he heard me say this, Bezikov sighed in disappointment, and then said: "If the high command can adjust the strategic deployment according to the actual situation on the battlefield, then it can reduce a lot of casualties." ”

At this time, Akhromeyev suddenly called out to me in a loud voice: "Comrade commander, your phone!" ”

"Who called?" I thought it was a division commander calling, so I asked casually.

"It's the Konev commander of the Steppe Front," Akhromeyev respectfully reported, "he said that there is something important to discuss with you." (To be continued.) )