Burning Moscow

In the next two days, while the 9th Division of Chernoff’s Guards stubbornly resisted the German attack, a guard regiment of the Seleukin Division approached Uman, known as the fortress, and tried to attack. . )]〉〕〉]>??}]

The outskirts of Uman originally had fortifications built by the Soviet army. After the Germans occupied it, they strengthened all the fortifications. Although according to the information we have, there is only one German battalion in the city, but they rely on solid fortifications to resist. The multiple attacks of the guards all ended in failure.

When I saw a series of battle reports coming back from the front line, I couldn't help but frown. At the same time, I realized that my scattered use of forces was equivalent to opening a clenched fist. If Zhukov can launch an offensive to the north of Kiev as soon as possible, we can still get rid of the current predicament, otherwise the troops may be destroyed by each.

As my deputy, Kistyakov obviously also had this problem. He tentatively asked me: "Comrade Commander, I think using the troops in this way will spread our strength. According to the report received today, General Konev’s troops are in a terrible situation. It is inevitable that they will be defeated by the Germans. Once they are defeated, our scattered troops may fall into German encirclement."

"Ah?!" Kirilov was startled by Kistyakov's words. He looked at me, then at Kistyakov, and then asked in an uncertain tone: "Konev The general has hundreds of thousands of troops, and at the same time it has been strengthened by the other two fronts. Is it really impossible to stop the attack of the two armored armies of the German army?"

Upon hearing this question, Kistyakov did not speak, but sighed for a long time, then looked at me and said, "Comrade Commander, I think you should answer this question more appropriately."

I nodded and said with a serious expression: "Comrade Military Commissioner, what the deputy commander said is true. Judging from the current situation, it is only a matter of time before General Konev's troops are defeated. Because we are trying to contain The strength of the German army put the only four divisions in the hand into battle. If the German army has completed the action to defeat the friendly army, it is pressed from the northeast, and now the 9th Guards Division and the infantry are in the outskirts of Kirovgrad. The 375th Division is in danger of falling into encirclement."

"Do we need to shrink our troops?" As soon as I finished speaking, Chief of Staff Bezikov said anxiously: "If the Germans are attacking the 9th Guards Division and the 375th Infantry Division at the same time, they will deploy a troop along the road. Rushing towards Cherkassy, ​​we don't have the strength to stop them."

"Chief of Staff, what you said makes sense." I looked down at the map, and now the city guarded by the 52nd Guards Division was like a chicken rib. On the surface, they occupy the city and successfully cut off the traffic between Uman and Kirovgrad. If the troops standing on the periphery of Kirovgrad had to retreat, they would be trapped. The German army was attacking from left to right. I don't think they can defend an unsafe city under a strong German attack. Therefore, I made my decision in a very short time. I looked at Bezikov and said: "Call General Nekrasov and ask him to immediately withdraw the 52nd Guards Division to the original defensive position. ."

Bezikov agreed, and just wanted to deliver my order, but was stopped by Kistyakov. The latter kindly reminded me: "Commander Vatutin ordered us to take a big action to attract the attention of the German forces to cover the friendly forces moving in to the north of Kiev. If we withdraw our troops without asking for instructions. , Will it affect the coordination arrangements of superiors?"

"Well, Comrade Deputy Commander, just as you said, report this to the front army headquarters." I waved at him and said weakly, "I will leave this to you to take full responsibility. ."

When Kistyakov called the front army headquarters, I called Bezikov in front of him, pointed to the map and said to him: "Chief of Staff, I think the attack on Uman should be stopped immediately. We. There are too few troops and no heavy weapons. In addition to making the soldiers sacrifice in vain, it is also easy to irritate the enemy. According to my judgment, in order to prevent the loss of Uman, it is entirely possible for the Germans to change from Vinnytsia. More troops will come. In this way, not only the Guards Regiment may not be able to keep it, but even the 89th Guards Division will be entangled by the enemy."

"Okay, I will call General Xie Liujin and ask him to withdraw the Guards." Bezikov didn't talk any nonsense. After recording my order, he went directly to call Xie Liujin.

Sitting at the table, I looked up at Kistyakov who was calling Vatutin. From the change in his expression on his face, I knew that the situation I was facing was extremely serious. After he put down the phone with a sullen expression, I immediately stood up and asked with concern: "Deputy Commander, what did Comrade General?"

Kistyakov shook his head and said helplessly: "Comrade Commander, the situation today is very bad. Due to the continuous heavy rains, the roads have become muddy, and our troops moving to the north of Kiev are now trapped in heavy rain. It’s on the way. It will take at least three to five days for the troops to enter the attack position today."

"How is the situation on General Konev's side?" As soon as he stopped, I immediately asked: "Can they stop the German attack?"

Kistyakov shook his head again, and said bitterly: "Comrade Commander, I am sure I will disappoint you again. Commander Vatutin said that General Konev stayed in Croatia except for the Seventh Army of Guards. Lemenchuk stood firm, and the main force of the Ukrainian 2nd Front had withdrawn across the Dnieper River."

"What, General Konev's troops withdrew across the Dnieper?" Kirilov was taken aback by the sudden news. After a long time, he asked tentatively, "Is this all true?"

"In the intercepted German battle reports, they claimed that in the battle, they destroyed 4oo tanks of our army, killed and injured more than 80,000 people, and captured nearly 10,000 people." Kistyakov finished with a wry smile. After these distressing data, I still reluctantly added: "Although there is a lot of water in the German war reports, we can also judge that General Konev's troops have been hit hard, otherwise we would not retreat so hastily. Go to the other side of the Dnieper."

"With regard to our request to shrink the troops, did General Vatutin agree to it?" Konev's troops were defeated, which would have a direct impact on us here. If the troops are not gathered in time, wait until the winning German forces turn their heads. At that time, our troops will also face the fate of being defeated or encircled.

"Commander Vatutin said that the Sixth Guards Army is in your hands." Kistyakov looked at me and said, "It is up to you to decide whether the army maintains the status quo or shrinks its strength. But the only requirement is, That is, before the main force of the front army attacks from the north of Kiev, you must contain the main force of the German army near Cherkassy so that they cannot join the German army group in Kiev."

"This is no problem." As long as Vatutin allows me to gather the troops, no matter how heavy the casualties are, I have the confidence to block the German army from Alexandria to Kiev. I solemnly said to Bezikov: "The chief of staff, immediately give orders to the divisions, and let them alternately cover and withdraw to their original positions."

"Comrade Commander, I want to remind you one more thing." Kistyakov waited until I gave the order, and said with some embarrassment: "I don't know whether to say it or not."

"Go ahead, Comrade Deputy Commander." I didn't know what Kistyakov had thought of something that I had neglected, so I said rationally: "Whatever you think of, just say it."

Although I got my consent, Kistyakov still hesitated when he spoke: "That's it. In the recent combat arrangements, I think you seem to have forgotten the existence of the two guards..."

Before Kistyakov's words were finished, I immediately patted my forehead with my hand. If he didn't remind me, I would have forgotten the two commanders of the Guards. I usually asked Bezikov to directly inform the commanders of the divisions, and I forgot about these two commanders.

Since Kistyakov reminded me at this moment, if I choose to ignore it, it would be a bit too unkind. I watched Bezikov making calls constantly, so I turned my attention to Akhromeev. I waved to him, and after he had passed, I asked, "Major, do you know where the two guards' commanders are?"

Akhromeyev took out a notebook and looked at it, and then he reported clearly: "The 23rd Guards Corps commander, General Tavart Kiradze, is in the 375th Infantry Division; the Guards 22nd Corps commander. General Sivakov is in the 9th Guards Division."

After listening to Akhromeyev’s report, I smiled awkwardly at Kistyakov, and said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, this is a coincidence. Both commanders are now in base. In the periphery of Lovgrad, I don’t know who commanded the two of them during the war."

After I finished talking, Kirilov suggested to me: "Lida, our command post is quite spacious anyway. It's better to let the two army commanders come here to work. If you have any future combat tasks, you can directly arrange them. Give them, and they will give orders to the troops below. What do you think?"

"Well, good suggestion." I also know that leapfrogging is very annoying. If the orders of different superiors are the same, the commander below knows how to do it. Once there is a contradiction between commands, the commander who accepts the task will be lost in confusion. So I readily agreed to Kirilov’s proposal and told Akhromeyev: "Major, immediately notify the two army commanders of our resolution and ask them to report to the headquarters as soon as possible."

Following the issuance of a series of orders, the part that was fighting with the Germans quickly broke away from contact with the enemy, alternately covering and retreating to the original defensive position.

In the evening, Tavart Kiradze and Sivakov reported to me that their troops had retreated to their designated positions in accordance with the order.

According to the reports of the various reconnaissance teams, shortly after our army withdrew from the positions, these positions were occupied by the hurried German troops. Perhaps it was because they were afraid of our army's counterattack. After the German troops entered the position, they could not take a break, so they rushed to repair the fortifications in the rain. In Uman City, another tank regiment drove into it at about 3 in the afternoon. After seeing this information, I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Fortunately, I promptly stopped this meaningless offensive of the Guards, otherwise they might have been defeated by the newly arrived German tank troops.

The troops near Cherkassy have been gathered, and our place is temporarily safe before the Germans attack near Kirovgrad. I think of the troops standing in Korostviv. I don't know how they are now. I haven't gotten their information for more than a day.

I called Lopukhov, the Director of Communications, and asked, "Major, what the **** is going on, why haven't I contacted Korostwiv's troops?"

With an embarrassed expression on Lopukhov’s face, he defended: "Comrade Commander, since yesterday afternoon, we have not received a telegram from Korostlev."

"Have you taken any measures?" Kistyakov asked sternly.

Lopukhov nodded vigorously, and then replied: "We have been calling all the time, but unfortunately we have never been in contact. So in the early hours of this morning, I sent a communications team with a radio station and went quietly to Koros. Tviv, go get in touch with the defenders in the city."

"Is there any news back?" This time it was my question.

Lopukhov shook his head and replied with some embarrassment: "I'm sorry~www.wuxiaspot.com~Comrade Commander, so far, I haven't got any information. I guess the road is muddy and difficult, so I sent it. The communication team has not reached the destination yet."

I didn't blame him, but briefly told him: "If you have news, report it to me immediately."

When I sat back at the table, Kistyakov asked with some worry: "Comrade Commander, it has been more than a day since we lost contact with Krostlev. Could it be an accident?"

Although I was uneasy at the moment, before my gang, I forcefully said calmly: "Don't worry, maybe their radio is broken, so I can't get in touch with us. You must know that they have persisted there. It is not easy for the Germans to eliminate them for such a long time."

"Comrade Commander." As soon as I finished speaking, Tawart Kiradze continued: "I understand my commanders. Even if they beat one person, they don't think they will take a step back."

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Seeing Tavart Kiradze's speech, Sivakov naturally did not dare to fall behind. He also said loudly: "The officers and men of the 22nd Guards Army will also defend themselves. The motherland shed its last drop of blood." (To be continued.)