Kiev.

This is the fifth month of the siege of Kyiv, and Kievan Rus' is lifeless compared to the prosperity of Kyiv before the outbreak of the war.

There are few pedestrians in sight on the street, and with the surrounding dilapidated buildings and patches of rubble, the sight of a row of apocalyptic scenes is immediate. But if you look closely, you can still find clues: in half-collapsed buildings, in the craters of the streets, in the rubble there are carefully camouflaged Red Army soldiers.

"The Germans are coming up again, signal!"

In the dilapidated building, a young Red Army soldier quickly shakes the telephone, then picks up the receiver to report quickly and succinctly.

In a few moments, under his guidance, a group of Red Army soldiers in khaki uniforms could be seen faintly approaching the window or the breach caused by the shelling in another dilapidated building. From time to time, the squad leader, who had the rank of sergeant on his shoulder, reminded a few daredevils: "Keep your head down, prostrate!" Do you know what it means to be prostrate? And you Ivan, put your big ass away, you thought the Germans couldn't see it! ”

Led by the squad leader, this squad of fighters immediately took up a vantage point in the two dilapidated buildings. At a distance of a few dozen meters from them, German devils in iron-gray military uniforms were approaching.

I have to say that the German rat-gray military uniform usually looks very handsome, but in Kyiv and Ukraine in winter, it looks a little out of place. In the land of snow, they are so easy to expose that they can be spotted from a hundred meters away.

Of course, this is not that the Germans insist on their beautiful military uniforms and do not want to take them off, but the reality of material shortages leaves them with no choice. For the Germans. It's not easy enough to have a military coat. I can't be picky about the color. But clever German devils also take local materials. Cut a white sheet, or get a light-colored cloth quickly, and it will not be so easy to expose in the snow.

In fact, it was not only the German army that faced the problem of insufficient camouflage of military uniforms, but also the Red Army, whose supplies were actually quite tight, especially in besieged Kiev. But the smart Red Army fighters had a special option, and that was a parachute. A broken white parachute was enough for a squad of fighters to camouflage, and in these days of siege. Kyiv lacks nothing else, parachute tubes are enough.

The infiltration of the small German devils continued, but they did not expect to be exposed, and when they cautiously emerged from the houses and prepared to cross the streets, the guns rang out!

Sudden ...... Sudden ......

The submachine guns were constantly spewing tongues of fire, the bullets were dancing, the Germans were wailing, and in just over a minute, four or five German devils fell in a pool of blood. And the rest of them fled in a hurry.

"Fool, don't chase! Give me back! ”

The sergeant who led the team roared angrily. Trying to pull the overly excited recruit back, he was just a step too late, and just as he was putting his hand on the recruit's lower back, a dull gunshot rang out in the distant street.

Burst!

A large cloud of blood spurted from the recruit's back, and the young man shook before falling headlong into the snow, noting that he had only jumped out of the door for less than two steps.

"Sniper! Beware of concealment! ”

The sergeant shouted angrily, glancing at the recruit who had fallen in the snow, and the poor boy was facing the sky with his mouth wide open, as if he wanted to say something, and blood was gurgling from his chest.

"Donovan! Cover me! The sergeant shouted angrily, and as his comrades poured ammunition in the direction of the gunshot, he jerked out, dragging the recruit in as fast as he could, and then the next moment he began to roar again: "Hygienist! ”

By the time the hygienist arrived, the recruit's pupils had begun to dilate, and only a slight hissing sound was left in his throat, which was fading away, and a few seconds later, he died, and this was his first time in battle.

"Damn it! Bastard! ”

The sergeant kicked the wall hard, he was fed up with the pain of watching his comrades die, how young he was! Maybe just eighteen? But he died like that, as if a flower had just bloomed and immediately withered.

"Listen to me! Obey my orders, you don't fucking act without my orders! The sergeant yelled at the remaining recruits, which would make him feel better.

A few hours later, the sergeant withdrew from the defense zone with his boys, and while the other fighters could roast around the fire and drink a sip of hot water, he had to report the casualties to the company commander: "Valentin died, Boris had one of his legs blown off by a mine, and several comrades had chilblains......

Sitting behind the flickering oil lamp, the company commander's face was not good-looking, the casualty rate of recruits was too high, nearly 30 percent of them would lose their lives on the first battlefield, another third could be wounded, and only a little more than a third would be able to complete the first combat mission alive. This is the fighting norm in Kyiv, a meat grinder.

Of course, these are not the worst, what is even worse is that as the German army strengthens the air blockade, Kiev's supplies are becoming more and more tight day by day, half a month ago, they still didn't worry about eating and drinking, half a month later, what can be supplied is boiled water, the soldiers can only eat Lieba with boiled water dipped in salt, and there is really no meat at all.

However, compared with the fighters, the common people of Kyiv had a much harder life, with only 400 grams of bread a day. Four hundred grams of bread, hmph, not to mention adults, even half-grown children can't eat enough.

"Company commander, when will reinforcements come?" For the first time, the sergeant spoke his heart, and he was really fed up with this goddamn ghost day.

The company commander glanced at him and said with a wry smile: "Soon!" ”

Of course, the company commander himself did not believe in this set of rhetoric soon, in October, it was said that reinforcements were already on the way, and Kiev would soon lift the siege; In November, it was said that reinforcements were ready to go; In December, the Battle of Bryansk replaced the topic of reinforcements; After the New Year, reinforcements have become a joke in the hearts of the warriors; In February, the fighters had largely forgotten about reinforcements. Everyone wonders when this will be over.

The company commander also wanted to be relieved. That way he wouldn't have to worry about the warriors' stomachs. Don't look at the little guys who have just enlisted in the army with flesh and blood blurred in front of him, he has had enough!

But what the company commander didn't know, this time it would indeed turn out to be very fast, and reinforcements were really already on the way.

Petrovsky looked at the sky, the weather was not bad, the damned blizzard had finally stopped, and with the help of engineering troops, his tanks and armored vehicles were struggling to move forward with two mud-stained tracks.

"How far is it from Nosovka?" Petrovsky asked impatiently.

In ordinary life, Petrovsky was a very patient person. The reason why he's so irritated right now is very simple, it's that there's a mission on him, and his mission deadline is approaching.

In accordance with the instructions of the Central Military District of Moscow and the Belarusian Front, the 1st Guards Mechanized Army marched south from Novos-Buzikov in the middle of winter in the direction of Kiev. He had to get to Nosovka within the stipulated time, and then, together with other fraternal troops, to attack Kyiv.

As the best equipped unit available in the armored forces of the Red Army, the 1st Guards Mechanized Army was given the task of attacking the fist, and Petrovsky had to penetrate forward as soon as the infantry opened the gap. And now, he is afraid that it will be extremely difficult for him to get to the place where the attack was launched.

"Damn the weather!" Petrovsky cursed indignantly.

Launching a large-scale offensive operation in the middle of winter, to be honest, is not ideal. But God did not give the USSR a choice, if not to watch the millions of soldiers and civilians in Kyiv starve to death and freeze to death. Then we can only attack as soon as possible.

According to the battle plan that Triandafilov and Tukhachevsky had barely worked out after a dozen quarrels, the five armies of the Red Army were to storm Kiev from three directions: Nosovka, Grezhenka, and Priluki.

Of course, the three arrows were only an illusion, and the existing forces of the Red Army were not enough to commit the main forces in three directions at the same time, and if they did, it would have dispersed valuable forces. According to the battle plan, only two army groups would be engaged in feints in Priluki and Gresignka, and Nosovka would be the main direction of the Red Army's attack.

Probably, some comrades will look at the map, and from the map, these three attack points, Nosovka is in the far north, and further north is Chernysiv, which is controlled by the Germans, where a considerable number of German troops are stationed.

From this point of view, Nosovka did not seem to be an ideal choice, because the Red Army from here was vulnerable to the attack of the German army in Chernysiv in the north, and there was a possibility that they would be copied back. On the contrary, Glebenka in the south is safer, and it is at least safer for the main forces to depart from here.

So why was the final choice Nosovka and not Gregorenka? Tukhachevsky believes: "Nosovka is closer to Kyiv, and there is no interference from rivers along the way, which facilitates the long drive of mechanized troops!" ”

Seems to make some sense? And that's just what it seems. It is true that there are two rivers to pass through along the way from Glebugenka, which does interfere with the mechanized troops to a certain extent, and it is indeed a little farther away from Kyiv, but these are not the key reasons.

There is only one reason why Tukhachevsky insisted on the main offensive from Nosovka, which is closer to Belarus and his troops transferred from the Minsk direction can go a little less.

Yes, Tukhachevsky just cares about such a little distance, for him the siege of Kyiv is not necessary, and the Minsk counterattack is what haunts him. In order to reduce the consumption of troops in Kyiv, he began to calculate.

And this is what annoys Triandafinov the most, he prefers Grebeenka, for the simple reason that the main force can attack here to avoid interference from the Germans in the north, but devote himself wholeheartedly, as far as the river and the distance are concerned.

"That's all, is there any river in Ukraine that doesn't freeze in winter? How does this affect mechanized troops? And how much closer can Nosovka be, so does a distance of a dozen kilometers make sense? ”

Only this time no one could get Tukhachevsky to give in, and the chief of the General Staff bit Nosovka to death, otherwise he wouldn't do it, and in desperation, he could only follow this awkward guy.

Of course, Tukhachevsky's insistence was not without benefits, at least the 1st Guards Mechanized Army, which had moved south from the north, was indeed much easier, and if they were to rush to Glebenka, it would be 100% impossible to arrive within the stipulated time.

At night when the north wind is howling and the goose feathers are drifting. Petrovsky's troops finally arrived in Nosovka. In fact, it was a few hours out of the allotted time. However, Triandafilov and Tukhachevsky knew how badly the 1st Guards Mechanized Army was tossed by a blizzard along the way. There will be no nitpicking.

"The battle will start in the early hours of the day after tomorrow, so let the lads hurry up and rest!" Triandafilov commanded with a wry brow.

What bothers Triandafilov so much? It's very simple, it's nothing more than the organization of the campaign, according to the original plan, the troops should have arrived in the predetermined area earlier, but due to the impact of the blizzard, the assembly time could only be postponed again and again, as a result. There's hardly much time to recuperate.

In fact, there was no need to be in such a hurry, so hasty, because Tukhachevsky did not agree to postpone the Minsk counterattack originally scheduled for April, and could only launch the Kyiv Relief Campaign in a hurry.

Not only were the troops tired and the preparations hasty, but a large amount of supplies were stranded on the railway, and at the three predetermined attack points, wagons were waiting to be loaded and unloaded, which in Triandafilov's opinion would never have been possible in two days.

It's not a good thing to have supplies piled up at the station. Once it is attacked by the enemy's air raid, the consequences will be unimaginable!

Triandafilov could only give this order: "Mobilize all the local manpower that can be mobilized." Be sure to empty all the piles of supplies at the station before sunset tomorrow! ”

Outside the encirclement, the Red Army's troops were making final preparations, and inside the encirclement, the encircled troops were also beginning to be highly nervous. For example, Zhukov's troops, as the only mechanized troops in the Kiev encirclement, Zhukov's Kiev Independence Army undertakes an unusual task.

But to be honest, Zhukov's Independence Army at hand is not in a very good state, first of all, the equipment is outdated, the main equipment is still BT-7, only a small number of T-34 and -T-35; The second is the serious wear and tear of the battle, which has been consumed for most of the year, so that the spare parts have basically bottomed out, and the attendance rate of the armored forces is quite low.

But none of this can stop Zhukov's ambitions, he cherishes this opportunity quite a bit and is determined to prove himself with his best performance!

Yes, Zhukov felt that he was being underestimated, and since the fall of the Stalin clique, his life began to change dramatically. The former rising star suddenly became a stinky shit, if it weren't for Timoshenge covering him, it is estimated that he would have been forced to retire long ago, at this time, I am afraid that he will be an official with the size of a sesame mung bean in a small and medium-sized city, and then live this life in mediocrity.

Zhukov naturally didn't want to be a mediocrity, especially when he was about to succeed, and he didn't want to go on like this. So during the time when he fell into the lowest point of his life, he kept telling himself to be strong, to persevere, and not to give up.

It turned out that it was right not to give up, and after more than a year of studying in the advanced special class of the Frunze Military Academy, the Great Patriotic War suddenly broke out. And this gave him the opportunity to make a comeback, and soon under the care of Timoshenko, he returned to the army, although he only served as Timoshenko's chief of staff, and could not directly command the troops to fight, but this was enough for Zhukov.

It was not that Zhukov was satisfied, but that he thought that he had been given a sufficient opportunity to show his talents, and in the General Staff of the Ukrainian Front, he worked diligently, and sure enough, he quickly won the favor of the commander of the Front, Shaposhnikov.

From chief of staff, to commander of a certain division, to commander of a certain army, Zhukov took less than four months. During these four months, his talents were fully developed, and he was no longer a remnant of the bleak Stalinist clique, but an excellent commander.

However, these are not enough for Zhukov at all, he is not so easy to satisfy, what is a mere army commander, is it that his Zhukov's military talent can only command one army? Zhukov had big ambitions, and he thought that with his own ability, not to mention the commander of the army group, what about the commander of the front? If you want to be a man, you have to be the commander-in-chief of the three armies!

Zhukov did not think that he was whimsical, since the outbreak of the Great Patriotic War, he has been studying the strategies and tactics of both the enemy and us in detail, and he admires the German army's campaign organization and tactical implementation, but Zhukov really disdains Tukhachevsky on his side.

In Zhukov's view, the only mistake of the Red Army was to make a man who should not have been the chief of the General Staff the chief of the General Staff, and to play a good hand into a bad one. If he were the Chief of the General Staff, he would never have made so many mistakes.

The contempt for Tukhachevsky made Zhukov have the idea that since the Red Napoleon only has this level, then why can't I, Zhukov, become the next Red Napoleon? Back then, Tukhachevsky was just a battalion and regiment-level cadre, and he had worked as a division commander and army commander, which point was inferior to him!

Zhukov was determined to prove himself and let the Military Commission and the Red Army see his genius and ability, so in this siege relief operation, after carefully studying the situation on the battlefield, he came to a bold conclusion -- Lao Tzu's side has a lot to do! (To be continued......)

PS: Something is delayed, sorry!

Bow and thank you for the parasite Schistosomiasis, xuyiqing1985, the drink of a thousand cups, the glorious charter and Comrade Juventus!