After about half an hour, Basmanov, whose face was blackened by gunsmoke, walked into the headquarters with an assault rifle in his hand. After raising his hand and saluting the two of us, he reported: "Comrade two commanders, the German troops who attacked by the sneak attack have been completely wiped out by us, and five prisoners have been captured. At this point, he paused for a moment, looked at me with his eyes and asked, "Do you need to send them here for your own interrogation?" ”

"There's no need." I replied coldly.

"Wait a minute, Comrade Major." Danilov asked Basmanov to leave and hurriedly stopped him. Then he turned to me and said, "Comrade commander, we should listen to why we were attacked by the Germans, and learn from the lessons so that similar things do not happen again in the future." ”

"Well, Comrade Major, tell me what is going on." I knew that Danilov was a strict commander, and if he didn't figure out some things, he wouldn't give up, so I simply asked Basmanov to explain what was going on. "How did the Germans get into the village?"

"Here's the way." Basmanov had apparently interrogated the prisoners, so he answered my question with confidence: "Our new tank had its tracks blown off because of a mine when it entered the village. When the small German troops crept up, our tank crews were repairing the tanks, and because the noise was so loud, we did not hear the approaching footsteps of the enemy. One of the tank crews inadvertently turned back, saw the Germans approaching, and immediately shouted a warning shout. When the Germans saw that their whereabouts were exposed, they opened fire, killing two tank crews on the spot. The rest of the tankmen got into the tank from the bottom of the tank. Shoot at the enemy with tank guns and machine guns. Suppress the Germans outside the village. ”

"Why did the Germans come to the village?" Danilov asked curiously.

Hear this question. Basmanov smiled bitterly and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, in fact, this German army was ordered to withdraw from the village in the north, and when they passed through here, they wanted to come in to see if there were any of their own men, but they were discovered by our tank crews and fought. I rushed forward with my troops, and it didn't take long for them to be wiped out. ”

It turned out that the attack on the village was nothing more than a German garrison originally stationed in a village to the north. Danilov immediately lost interest, asked Basmanov to leave, and then went on with me to discuss how to attack Belgorod.

Although the attack of our army on Belgorod did not work, Manstein panicked and hurriedly drew reinforcements from the direction of Tomarovka. When Rodimtsev called me, his voice had become hoarse: "Comrade commander, the German tanks, after the end of the shelling, are launching a fierce attack on the defensive positions of our division. The commanders and fighters of the 41st Regiment had repelled three German charges, and now the positions were full of destroyed German tanks and German corpses everywhere. ”

"Well done!" After complimenting him, I asked rhetorically, "What are the casualties of your division?" Can it hold off the German attack? ”

"Although the casualties of the 41st Regiment were more than a quarter," Rodimtsev said in a firm tone, "but our commanders and fighters still firmly held their positions." Not a single step back. ”

I waited for him to finish speaking, and then immediately continued: "Comrade General, I know the situation of your division very well. In the Battle of Stalingrad, you made great achievements. I hope that in the battles for the liberation of Belgorod and Kharkov, you will make another meritorious service and receive higher honors. ”

Rodimtsev's 13th Guards Division, blocking reinforcements from the direction of Tomarovka; The 77th Guards Division of Colonel Askarepov, which was assisting them, also blocked the German troops rushing out from the west of the city in an attempt to meet the reinforcements.

Hearing such a battle report, Danilov couldn't help but be a little worried: "Comrade commander, since the Germans can send troops from the west of the city to receive reinforcements from Tomarovka, then it turns out that they have a lot of troops deployed in the west of the city, if we only send a division of Colonel Seryukin to attack, will there be any problems?" ”

"What are you worried about, Comrade Deputy Commander?" I was surprised by his apprehension, and I couldn't help but ask curiously: "Are you still worried that our attacking forces will be surrounded by the enemy?" ”

"yes, I'm just worried about that." Since there were only two of us in the room, he did not hide his opinion, and said truthfully: "I am afraid that after the 89th Guards Division storms into the city, it will be surrounded by the Germans, and it will not be so easy to withdraw from the city. ”

"Comrade Deputy Commander, why did we withdraw when our troops have already stormed the city?" I saw that he looked dumbfounded, and continued: "Even if they are besieged by superior German forces, they can rely on the buildings in the city to carry out stubborn defense, and patiently wait for other troops to rescue them." ”

Danilov still said worriedly: "But in this way, it will disrupt our offensive arrangement......

For a stubborn and tenacious veteran like him, I was really speechless many times. But at such a time, I could not casually argue with him, and I could only patiently explain to him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, even if the 89th Guards Division is trapped in the city and fighting street battles with the Germans, it can contain a large number of their troops. In this way, the pressure on the rest of the troops to attack the city again will be greatly reduced. As soon as they rushed into the city, then the 89th Guards Division would be freed. ”

I explained this, and he finally quieted down. This time, however, the silence was soon interrupted by the failure of another attack by the 89th Guards Division.

Hearing the news of the failure of the offensive, I angrily asked Seryukin: "Comrade Colonel, can you tell me the reason for the failure of the offensive of the troops?" ”

"Comrade Commander, the German fortifications are far more complete than we have detected in advance." Seryukin said aggrievedly: "Our troops were about to rush to the edge of the city, but they did not expect that many hidden fire points suddenly appeared, and they used many machine guns to form a crossfire, so that our commanders and fighters suffered heavy casualties. Fight to the end. Our troops could not move forward. In order to avoid greater casualties. And I commanded them to withdraw. ”

I also knew that the battle was not achieved overnight, so I didn't blame Xie Liujin anymore, but tried to say to him in a calm tone: "Hurry up and rest and prepare to attack again." Got it, Comrade Colonel? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." He replied briefly.

After I finished the call, Danilov, who was talking to the command of the Front, also put down the phone. He said to me with a sad face: "Comrade commander, I have just received the information from the headquarters of the front. The offensive of the 53rd and 69th armies on Belgorod also ended in failure. The tank units made significant sacrifices when crossing the anti-tank trenches dug by the Germans, and simply could not provide sufficient fire support for the infantry. ”

"It seems that the German resistance is very stubborn." After listening to his words, I said thoughtfully: "Although they have only two infantry divisions and one incomplete armored division, they still fight in a very orderly manner against our army, which is nearly seven or eight times more numerous than them. ”

"How can this be compared." After listening to my words, Danilov said with some unconvincing: "The defenders who are holding the city are all elite troops under Manstein. Not only are their technical and tactical skills better than those of our commanders and fighters, but all of them have rich combat experience. To defeat them. Maybe it's not that easy. ”

I listened to the map and said to myself: "It seems that this Belgorod will not be able to be defeated today." ”

"What, Belgorod, can't we fight today?" Although I spoke very quietly, Danilov heard it, he raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said with some disbelief: "It is just noon, and there are still almost ten hours before dark, so will we not be able to capture a city with a limited number of defenders for such a long time?" ”

I didn't want to argue with him on this issue, so I diverted the subject: "Comrade Deputy Commander, the 89th Guards suffered heavy casualties in the morning battle. In my opinion, let Colonel Chernov's 90th Guards Division take charge of the afternoon offensive first. Don't know what you mean? ”

Regarding this arrangement of mine, Danilov asked in confusion: "Comrade commander, although it is said that Colonel Seryukin's troops suffered many casualties, they have not yet been injured, is it appropriate to withdraw them at this time?" ”

"Let them rest well and wait for the afternoon before attacking." When I said this, I also specially reminded him: "Don't forget, we have recently added a lot of new recruits, and it is still very helpful to properly let the recruits feel the atmosphere of the battlefield, which will improve the combat effectiveness of the troops." ”

As soon as I said this, Danilov immediately nodded in agreement: "Well, you have a point. The tens of thousands of recruits who were replenished to our army group had almost no military training. Even if some were militarily trained, they were mere militia patrolling the city. I then called Colonel Chernov and asked him to take his troops to participate in the afternoon offensive. ”

Having received the order, Chernov promised to immediately bring his troops to the front and make all preparations before the attack. When Seryukin heard that I had asked their division to rest for a while and hand over the offensive task to the 90th Guards Division, he became a little anxious and said to me on the phone: "Comrade commander, although our two attacks failed, the enthusiasm of the commanders and fighters was very high, and they replaced us with friendly troops who did not know which faction they were. I assure you that if we launch another attack, our division will be able to storm Belgorod, and this time I will personally lead the troops to charge. ”

"What if your troops can't storm the city?" Hearing his assurance, I immediately poured cold water on his head without hesitation: "Do you think that as long as the fighting enthusiasm is high, you will definitely be able to rush into the city?" ”

"Anyway, you don't have the right, let our division stop the attack." Seryugin said unconvinced: "We have so many commanders and fighters who died on the road to Belgorod, and they watched us from heaven and how we rushed into the city to destroy those fascist bandits. But you, but you ordered our division to rest in place and change friendly forces to attack, how can I explain to the soldiers? ”

"Comrade Colonel, I asked you to stop and rest for a while, not because I don't trust you, but because I have more important tasks to give you." In order to keep Seryukin from being depressed because of this, I made it clear to him: "Judging from the situation today, the German defense is very tenacious, and you will pay heavy sacrifices if you attack again as you did in the morning." Now the 90th Guards Division is replaced in front of them, just to familiarize them with the environment, after all, to occupy such a large city, it is far from enough for you to rely on one of your divisions. ”

"Comrade Commander, what do you mean ......?!" After listening to my words, Seryukin asked tentatively: "When the time is right, do you still want to send our division to attack the main attack?" ”

"That's right, that's it, Comrade Colonel." I said to him in a firm tone: "I once made a statement to the commander of the front that the troops of our army group would be the first to storm Belgorod and Kharkov and plant our flag at the highest point of the city. And the task of rushing into Belgorod first, I will leave it to your division. But before you do that, you have to rest well, and at the same time gather all the commanders who have participated in the battle, and they will study the reasons for the attack and find out how to deal with it. Do you understand? ”

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Seryokin said happily: "I understand everything now. I immediately held a meeting with commanders at all levels to analyze and study the reasons for the failure of today's offensive and prepare for the success of the next offensive. ”

"That's right, Comrade Colonel." I approvingly, "That's it." Okay, your division can rest until tomorrow, so make good use of this time to recuperate. Without waiting for him to speak, I hung up the phone.

Seeing that I put down the phone, Danilov, who was standing opposite, asked strangely: "Comrade commander, do you really think that our troops will not be able to storm the city today?" ”

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander." I replied in the affirmative: "Judging by the current indications, our offensive will not be successful, and it will be possible to occupy Belgorod only tomorrow." ”

At five o'clock in the morning of the next day, after a new round of artillery fire preparations, Seryukin's 89th Guards Division, while the 53rd and 69th armies launched an offensive, also launched a charge from their own positions.

Less than an hour later, I received a call from Seryukin, in which he excitedly said: "Report to Comrade Commander, my 270th Infantry Regiment has successfully stormed the city and is advancing towards the center of the city. ”

"Well done, Comrade Colonel." I shouted to him: "Speed up the attack, plant the red flag on the commanding heights of the city as soon as possible, understand?" (To be continued.) )