I was pleasant to see the first landing ground built on the other side of the river, but Kravchenko's words made my heart chill: "Comrade commander, our tanks don't know how to climb mountains, at least not yet." I can't deploy our tanks up the cliffs. ”

Kravchenko's words made me ponder, such a steep cliff is difficult for infantry to climb, let alone heavy equipment such as tanks and artillery. It seems that in order for the main forces of the group army to cross the river and establish a solid landing ground on the opposite bank, it is necessary to have a pier suitable for parking large ferries to transport heavy technical equipment such as tanks and artillery across the river.

"Comrade Commander, what are you thinking?" Maybe it was because he saw me standing there in a daze, and Kravchenko, who was next to him, asked with concern: "Is it not feeling well and needs to go back to the car to rest for a while?" ”

I waved my hand, and then said to Baksov: "Comrade division commander, immediately send reconnaissance units to Cherkasy and Kanivo to find out the enemy's armament. ”

"Yes!" When Baksov heard my order, he didn't say anything, and immediately went to set up a reconnaissance mission for his subordinates.

"Why, Comrade Commander, do you still intend to continue the implementation of the battle plan for the capture of the two port cities?" Hearing my reconnaissance mission, Kravchenko asked with some surprise: "We can completely build a pontoon bridge in this area and transport heavy equipment such as tanks and artillery across the river, why do we still attack cities heavily defended by the German army, isn't this a superfluous move?" ”

"Comrade Commander, look at the terrain here." I pointed to the other side and said, "The soil along the river is too soft for our tank artillery to get stuck and unable to move, and if enemy planes appear in this situation, our tanks will become a live target for bombing." ”

As soon as I said this, Kravchenko, who had tried to persuade me, swallowed back the words that came to his lips. He pondered for a moment, nodded and said: "Comrade commander, you are right, the terrain on the opposite bank is indeed not suitable for the deployment of tank troops, if we really indiscriminately transport all the heavy equipment across the river, maybe we will really become the target of the German air raids." It seems that reconnaissance of the upstream and downstream is completely necessary. ”

I was about to add a few words after listening to Kravchenko's words, when I saw a three-wheeled motorcycle with its headlights on, speeding towards us. I pouted over there and said to Kravchenko: "Comrade commander, it looks like you're from Zolotonosa, is there something going on in the city?" ”

After the motorcycle stopped more than ten meters away from us, an officer jumped out of the straddle and asked the commanders and fighters who passed by in a loud voice: "Hey, I said comrades, who of you knows where the commander is?" Comrades......"

I was surprised to hear that the officer was looking for me. I took a few steps towards him and shouted: "Hey, Comrade Commander, I'm here, do you have something?" ”

When the officer heard my voice, he immediately stopped his shouting, squinted his eyes at us, and trotted over. He stood still in front of me, straightened up and reported: "Hello, Comrade Commander, I am a staff officer of the headquarters of the group army, and on the order of the deputy commander, I would like you to return to the city. The headquarters had been stationed in Zolotonosa an hour earlier. ”

"What, the headquarters has been stationed in Zolotonosha?" I was taken aback by the officer's words, I did not expect Chistyakov to move so quickly, only a few hours later than me, to enter Zolotonosha. I turned to Kravchenko and asked: "Comrade Commander, what are your plans, do you want to stay here or go back to the headquarters with me?" ”

Kravchenko thought for a moment, then replied: "Comrade commander, I'd better stay by the river." Maybe after a while, three tank brigades will come over one after another, and I have to coordinate the location of each brigade and not leave it casually. ”

I also know that if there is no one to command and coordinate after the tank unit arrives, it will definitely be chaotic. Bere, who was the deputy commander of the army, was certainly not suitable, after all, he had just served as the deputy commander of the army, and he had not yet established his prestige, so Kravchenko had to stay.

I nodded, agreed with Kravchenko, got on the motorcycle, escorted by a group of fighters, back to the headquarters based in Zolotonoshary.

As soon as I walked into the headquarters, I saw that there were quite a few people inside, but everyone was gathered around the table with the map spread, and no one noticed me. I hurriedly greeted: "Hello comrades, commanders! ”

Hearing my voice, everyone turned their heads to look at me and said in unison: "Hello, Comrade Commander! ”

I walked briskly to the table and asked curiously, "What are you looking at?" ”

Chistyakov took over the topic and said: "Comrade commander, we are studying from where the main forces of the army group should cross the river? ”

"Is there a result?" I stood by the river for several hours, and after ten minutes on the motorcycle, I was already exhausted, and when I saw that the places around the table were empty, I found a place to sit down, looked up at Chistyakov and asked, "Where are you going to cross the river?" ”

Chistyakov looked at Bezzykov and Akhromeyev, who were standing on the other side, and then replied: "After our repeated discussions, we felt that the place for crossing the river should be chosen at Kanivo. ”

"Tell me your reasoning." I asked briefly.

"Quite simply, the river here is very narrow, no more than 500 meters wide, and the narrowest part is only more than 200 meters." Chistyakov confidently said: "Even if the Germans blow up the bridge across the river, we can choose to force the crossing in other areas." ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander, since you have chosen the place to cross the river." After listening to this, I asked without moving, "When are you going to start moving?" ”

Chistyakov frowned and thought for a moment, then said: "Since it takes time to assemble the troops and prepare the equipment for crossing the river, I think the time for crossing the river should be chosen two days later, that is, on October 1. After preparing for the strong artillery fire, our troops launched a forced crossing operation......"

"Alright, Comrade Deputy Commander." I interrupted him without waiting for him to finish, "Two days later, it is estimated that the enemy has already built a perfect defense system on the opposite bank, and their artillery and machine-gun fire can wipe out all our commanders and fighters crossing the river in the turbulent Dnieper River like a target." ”

Hearing me say this, the muscles in his face twitched violently a few times, and then he said with some reluctance: "But Comrade Commander, even if you cross the river in two days, it seems a little too hasty. After all, our main force is too far away from here, and when the warriors come here after a long journey, it is not realistic for them to immediately launch a battle to cross the river. ”

"Yes, Comrade Commander." After Chistyakov finished speaking, Bezikov also added: "Before dawn tomorrow, in addition to the 67th Guards Division and the 6th Guards Motorized Regiment, which arrived in advance, at most one Guards 52nd Division can arrive, and the rest of the troops will arrive at noon or evening at the earliest." I think it would be unwise to use such a limited force to carry out a river crossing operation. ”

"Leda, you have to be cautious!" After the two men finished speaking, even Kirillov, who had always rarely spoken at military meetings, unexpectedly expressed his opinion: "If the exhausted troops are allowed to attack the enemy, even if they barely cross the river, it is estimated that the troops will suffer heavy casualties." ”

When Kirillov spoke, I remained silent, but out of the corner of my eye, I glanced at Akhromeyev, who was standing opposite him without speaking, and saw that his mouth was open, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he did not say it. However, from his expression, I guessed that he must also be on the same side as the first few people who spoke first, all trying to dissuade me from acting rashly until the troops have completed preparations for crossing the river.

I waited until the room was quiet, then I coughed softly, stood up with my hands on the table, leaned forward slightly, and said: "Comrades commanders, before discussing the capture of Kanivo, I will tell you a good news. An hour earlier, General Baksov's 67th Guards Division, having successfully crossed the Dnieper and created a landing ground on the opposite bank. ”

"What? The 67th Guards Division has already crossed the river? "When I heard the news, everyone opened their mouths in surprise and had an incredible look on their faces. After a long time, Chistyakov stammered and asked me: "Comrade commander, you ...... You're ...... Is it all true? ”

"That's right, Comrade Deputy Commander." I nodded at Chistyakov and said with certainty: "I witnessed the troops of the division crossing the Dnieper and, on the opposite cliff, a landing ground was established. ”

Chistyakov grabbed the map, dragged it in front of me, and asked a little impatiently: "Comrade commander, where did the 67th Guards Division successfully cross the river?" ”

"Here," I said, pointing to the place of the river crossing on the map, "there are no German defensive positions here, only minefields, but in the first troops crossing the river, there were engineers, and it didn't take long for them to make a passage in the minefield after they came ashore." ”

Chistyakov looked at the place for a long time, and then unexpectedly called Akhromeyev over, pushed the map in front of him, and asked: "Comrade Chief of Operations, how about you take a look at this place for crossing the river?" ”

Akhromeyev looked at it for a while, then shook his head and said, "If it is a small group of lightly armed troops crossing the river here, there should be no problem." But if a large force, especially one with heavy equipment, crosses the river, it will become hesitant to move and will not be able to quickly advance into the depth of the enemy's defenses. Immediately after saying that, he raised his head and looked at me nervously to see what I had to say.

"The major is right, the current location of the river crossing is not conducive to the deployment of the large army." In order not to make Akhromeyev nervous, I walked around the table to his side, raised my hand and gently patted him on the shoulder, smiled approvingly at him, and said: "So we will choose a different direction as a place for the main force of the army group to cross the river." ”

"Where should we cross the river?" Chistyakov asked from the side.

When I heard his question, I immediately turned my attention to him, and asked strangely, "Didn't you choose the place to cross the river at Kanifu?" ”

"But, Comrade Commander." When Chistyakov heard me say this, an expression of embarrassment appeared on his face again: "Judging from the current situation, after dawn, only the 52nd Guards Division can be engaged in battle in this area, and the disparity in strength compared with the enemy is really too great. ”

"There are not many soldiers," I said casually, "if I only get close to the 52nd Wei Division and force my way through the front, I think it will be difficult to succeed." However, we can let the 67th Guards Division, which has successfully crossed the river, go up along the river to attack the flanks of the German army, so that they cannot take care of each other, so that the success rate of crossing the river will be greatly increased. ”

"If that's the case, I think there should be no problem taking Canivo." After Chistyakov said these two sentences, he turned around and instructed Bezikov: "Chief of Staff, please send a telegram to the 52nd Guards Division at once, asking them to speed up their march and try to reach the opposite bank of Kanifu before dawn, and prepare for crossing the river." ”

"No problem, I'll go and send a report to General Nekrasov." After saying this, Bezikov also took it upon himself to say: "I also asked him to collect more equipment for crossing the river along the way, so that more troops can cross the river at once." ”

As soon as Bezkov left the headquarters and went to the next door to send a telegram, the telephone in the house rang. The call came from Vatutin, who, when he heard my voice, asked straight to the point: "Hey, Comrade Oshanina, where are you and your troops?" ”

"Report to Comrade General!" I replied respectfully, "I am now in Zolotonosha." ”

"Zolotonosha?!" When Vatujin heard the name, he immediately looked it up on the map. After a moment, his voice came out of the headphones again: "Hell, how did you get to the banks of the Dnieper?" ”

"That's right, Comrade General." I thought that I had temporarily changed the direction of the march and failed to report it to my superiors in time, which was an act of disorganization and undiscipline, and if my superiors wanted to investigate it, I probably would not be able to eat and walk around, so I hurriedly replied with a sincere attitude: "I think that the gathering of troops in the Zolotonosha area will help us carry out the operation of crossing the river." ”

When Vatutin heard me say this, he did not delve further into the fact that I had deployed my troops in Zolotonosa without authorization, but asked: "Oshanina, when do you plan to start crossing the river?" As far as I know, individual units of the South-Western Front have now created a number of landing sites on the other side of the Dnieper. Your army group is the main force of our Voronezh Front, and you can't move behind them. ”

"Rest assured, comrade general," I said, thinking that Baksov's 67th Guards Division, which was currently building fortifications on the other side of the Dnieper, reported to Vatutin, with some pride: "My 67th Guards Division had successfully crossed the Dnieper an hour ago and established a landing ground on the other side of the river. (To be continued.) )