At 8:30 a.m., half an hour before the departure of our troops, Zhukov suddenly made a phone call to my headquarters. He said in a displeased tone: "Hey, Leda, the attack of Chuikov's troops has torn a gap in the German defense, why haven't you launched an attack on the enemy in Izyum and coordinated the actions of friendly forces?" ”

"Comrade Marshal, our troops are ready and ready to leave at nine o'clock......"

Before I could finish my sentence, I was interrupted by Zhukov: "Chuikov's troops are advancing in depth, and soon the tanks of the 1st Guards Mechanized Army of General Ruyanov will also be thrown into battle. The Germans, in order to hold off their attack, would certainly have drawn their forces from the defensive positions to the north, but met them with Chuikov. Therefore, I order you to strike immediately and hold the German troops north of Izyum firmly in check, so that they cannot rush to the breakthrough opened by Chuikov and them. ”

From what Zhukov said, I understand that it is inevitable that we will strike in advance. Originally, it was hoped that through Chuikov's attack, all the enemies north of Izyum would be transferred, and the resistance we would suffer in the next battle would be greatly reduced. Who knew that Zhukov's order changed all this, and the result was that we had a living force to contain the German army, so that Chuikov's attack could be smoother.

But an order is an order, and even if I have a good personal relationship with Zhukov, it cannot be changed casually. I glanced at Tavart Kiradze, who had just returned to the headquarters, and said to him with a wry smile: "Comrade General, please give the order to the 375th Infantry Division and let them attack in advance. ”

Tavart Kiradze did not hear the conversation between me and Zhukov, so he was a little dazed by my sudden order, he raised his hand and looked at his watch, and then said puzzledly: "Comrade commander, there is still half an hour before the time of departure, why should you leave early?" ”

"Just received a call from Marshal Zhukov, who told us to immediately launch an offensive on the German defensive positions north of Izyum." In order for him to figure out what was going on, I had to patiently explain to him: "Now that General Chuikov's troops are going well, in a little while the tank units of the Mechanized Corps will also be in battle." We attacked in advance in order to contain the enemy north of Izyum, lest they go to reinforce the enemy at the breach. ”

When Tavart Kiradze went to make a phone call, Chistyakov shook his head with a wry smile and whispered to me: "Comrade commander, I originally wanted General Chuikov's troops to help us contain the German army, but now it has become us to contain the enemy. ”

"Alright, Comrade Deputy Commander." Although I was quite dissatisfied with Zhukov's order, in this case I had to maintain his image, and I said in an official tone: "Regardless of which unit is used to contain the enemy, our common goal is to destroy the enemy." ”

Tavart Kiradze put down the phone and came over and reported to me: "Comrade commander, the commander of the Govorunenko division has set off with his troops. ”

"So fast?!" Chistyakov asked in surprise.

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander." Tavart Kiradze replied with a smile: "The troops have long been assembled, and they only need to give an order to set off." In particular, General Govorinenko decided to take command of the front line in order to achieve brilliant results in this battle, so that his troops could enter the ranks of the Guards as soon as possible. ”

Hearing Tavart Kiradze say this, Chistyakov nodded, then turned to me and said: "Comrade commander, the morale of the commanders and fighters is very high, and it seems that in today's battle, we will definitely achieve great results." ”

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander, it will." Although I know that the Soviets often make low-level mistakes that they should not have made when they are about to win, and as a result, they lose the battle that is sure to win. If Chuikov's offensive fails, the enemy will certainly turn around against our troops, and then the 375th Infantry Division may be heavily damaged. However, when the troops are on the march, I still have to bite the bullet and say a few kind words: "I believe that General Govorinenko's troops, after today's battle, will definitely be promoted to the Guards Division." ”

Govorinenko, perhaps on the stroke of merit, sent back a telegram from the front only an hour later, telling us that his troops had launched an onslaught on the first line of German defense.

When I saw this telegram, I didn't say anything, but handed it to Chistyakov, and went to the table myself, leaning over to look at the map that was spread out on it. He was thinking about where the Germans might attack the 375th Infantry Division if Chuikov's attack failed.

Chistyakov took the telegram and chatted with Tavartkiradze for a while, and when he saw that I was looking at the map, he hurriedly walked over and asked with concern: "Comrade commander, what are you looking at?" ”

At such a time, I felt the need to make it clear to Chistyakov, so I looked up at him and asked: "Comrade Deputy Commander, do you think that General Chuikov's troops will be able to rush to the city of Izyum today?" ”

"Does that need to be said?" Chistyakov said confidently: "You see, only a few hours after the start of their offensive, they have already torn a gap in the enemy's line three kilometers wide and eight kilometers deep. As long as our tank forces are dispatched, even if the Germans mobilize heavy forces to fill the gap, it will be of no avail. ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander, what if our tank units can't go into battle on time?" Seeing Chistyakov's optimism, I couldn't help but say worriedly: "Once our tank forces are unable to participate in the battle, then General Chuikov's offensive will be greatly weakened, and if the Germans carry out a counterattack at this time, they will be completely likely to be repulsed." When the enemy has stopped their attack, they will definitely withdraw their forces and turn around against our lone infantry division, the 375th Division. When the time comes, it is estimated that General Govorunenko's situation will become very dangerous. ”

"It can't be that serious, right?!" Chistyakov had an expression of disbelief on his face when he heard me say this, and he stared at the map for a long time before he muttered: "I think it is impossible for friendly tank units not to participate in such a big operation." ”

"Hopefully, I'm just overthinking." At this moment, a sense of foreboding suddenly swelled in my heart, and I felt that my speculation would soon become a reality. I tried to recall this history, but I found nothing, after all, compared to the Battle of Kursk and the Battle of Kharkiv, the Battle of Donbass was just a small battle, and the history books are all mentioned, and I have no way of knowing the details.

Govorinenko constantly sent telegrams back to the situation ahead. Let us know that as soon as the first line of defense of the German army was broken through by us, the enemy organized forces for a counterattack. Due to the heavy casualties of the first echelon in the offensive and not being able to hold off the enemy's attack, it had to withdraw from the occupied positions.

Immediately after the arrival of the second echelon, it joined forces with the remnants of the first echelon and again launched an attack on the enemy's positions. Today, the battle is raging.

After reading the telegram from Govorinenko, I casually put it on the table and instructed Lopukhov: "Major, send a telegram to General Chuikov and ask him how the situation is there?" ”

Hearing my order, Lopkhov immediately sent a telegram to the Eighth Guards Army. Less than ten minutes later, he walked up to me with a telegram he had just received, and with a serious expression.

Seeing his expression, I knew that something bad must have happened, so I preemptively asked: "Major, do you have a telegram from General Govorunenko or a telegram from General Chuikov?" ”

"It's a telegram from General Chuikov's Eighth Guards Army." Lopukhov replied.

When I heard that the telegram had come from Chuikov, I knew that my suspicion had come true. When I took the telegram to my eyes, I saw that it read: "...... Because the commander of the armored tank and mechanized units of the Front, Lieutenant General Voloch, died in the battle, the tank units could not be put into battle as planned, and the offensive of our army against the enemy has been suppressed at present......"

After reading this telegram, I looked heavily at the table and patted it, and then pointed to Chistyakov next to me and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, look, look, this is a telegram from General Chuikov, saying that because of the sacrifice of the commander of the tank corps of the Front, the tank units could not be put into battle on time, which led to the setback of the offensive of the Eighth Guards Army. ”

After Chistyakov grabbed the telegram and read it, his expression became serious. He frowned and said to me, "Comrade Commander, I really let you analyze it correctly. Since our tank units did not enter the battle in time and allowed the Germans to regain control of the rhythm of the battlefield, I guess it was time for them to move their forces to attack General Govorunenko's flank. ”

I said to Tavart Kiradze, who was standing not far away: "Comrade General, immediately call the commander of the division, Seryukin, and ask him to immediately lead the 89th Guards Division to reinforce the 375th Infantry Division and ensure the safety of their flanks. ”

"Understood." Tavart Kiradze had just heard my conversation with Chistyakov and knew the seriousness of the matter, so as soon as he received my order, he immediately called Seryukin and conveyed my order to him.

When I waited for Tavart Kiradze to call, I said to Chistyakov: "Comrade Deputy Commander, call them and ask them to immediately return with the 22nd Guards Army." And the 51st and 52nd Guards Divisions in the city must also be ready for all battles, and as soon as the enemy really attacks the 375th Infantry Division, they will immediately attack. (To be continued.) )