Burning Moscow

On the evening of November 11th, our attack on Zhytomyr was about to begin, and the divisions were gradually entering their designated positions. In order to ensure the victory of the offensive war, I asked Bezikov to notify the officers of the regiment level and above of the participating divisions and the commanders of the units who cooperated with them to immediately rush to Korostviv to participate in the pre-war military conference.

The jeep that Chistyakov, Bezikov and I rode in, just arrived in the southern suburbs of Koroslav, I saw two jeeps parked on the side of the road in front, and a few of the fighters had their backs straight. Standing on the side of the road. Upon closer inspection, one of them was Major General Tavart Kiraze, commander of the Guards Army. He raised his hand and patted the driver on the shoulder and told him: "Comrade driver, stop the car by the side of the road."

The driver nodded and drove a few dozen meters forward before stopping. Seeing our car parked on the side of the road, Tawart Kiradze ran all the way, and when we came to the side of the car, we all got out of the car. He raised his hand to salute us, and then said loudly to me: "Comrade Commander, Major General Tavartkilasze, commander of the Guards Army, reported to you that I am here to meet you specifically."

I shook hands with him, and then told Bezikov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please take the car behind you, I have something to talk to General Tavart Kiradze."

"Yes!" Bezikov agreed, turned and ran to a jeep parked behind.

"Get in the car, Comrade General." I said politely to Ta*** Kiraze: "I can only wrong you to sit in the co-pilot's position."

Before getting into the car, Tavart Kiraze gestured towards his subordinates standing in the distance. After seeing his signal, the commanders turned around and then the two jeeps turned around and opened the way for us in front.

As the car drove into the city, I saw that although there were no good buildings on both sides of the road, there were no masonry and rubble on the road. Tavart Kiradze should have organized it to clean it up. I asked Tavart Kirazzi sitting in the front row with my face sideways: "Comrade General, what is happening with the German army in Fastiv?"

Tavart Kiradze turned around and reported to me: "The German army has repelled the troops of our 38th Army, and has moved quickly towards Kiev. And a company of the German 509th Heavy Tank Battalion was here this afternoon. Under the cover of the infantrymen, they attacked our defensive position southeast of Korostviv. However, our defenders, with the cooperation of the 22nd Guards Tank Brigade, defeated the German attack and killed a hundred. Several soldiers and destroyed five Tiger tanks."

"Comrade General," although our troops smashed the German offensive, I was still a little frank in my heart, so I deliberately told Tavart Kiradze: "Tomorrow we will launch an offensive against Zhitomir, and we must not take it lightly. If, when the offensive war falls into a stalemate, Fastiv’s enemies suddenly launch an attack on us, we will face the unfavorable situation of being attacked back and forth.

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Tawart Kiradze promised me: "I deployed the 77th Guards Division and the 22nd Guards Brigade to the east of the city. They are there. I believe it will be able to stop the German army from the direction of Fastiv."

The military meeting was held in a small auditorium next to the headquarters of Tawartkiraz. When we walked in, I saw that it was full of commanders at all levels who came to the meeting, and I could only see a piece of darkness. We came to the rostrum under the guidance of Tavart Kiradze, and took our seats in order.

"Comrades, commanders," Bezikov stood up and said loudly, "Now we have a meeting. I will formally deploy their offensive missions to the troops participating in the war tomorrow."

Due to the situation a few days ago, we have passed written orders to deploy the combat missions of all divisions. So at this moment when everyone heard Bezikov say this, they all behaved very calmly and did not cause any violent reactions.

Bezikov said: “Before the attack, there will be artillery units of General Povsky who will shell out the German defensive positions for an hour and a half. After the shelling is over, the 67th guard of the first echelon will be And the 90th Division, under the cover of the 20th Brigade of Guards Tanks, will launch an inrush to the German defensive positions.

When the first echelon broke through the German defense line outside Zhytomyr, the 51st and 71st divisions as the guards of the second echelon quickly followed up, expanded and consolidated the torn breach, and prepared for street fighting... …"

After Bezikov read out the commands that the commanders all knew about, he asked, "Who has the problem?"

There was silence for a while in the small auditorium, and the commanders seemed to be nervously considering what questions to ask. After a while, regiment-level commanders stood up and asked Bezikov some tactical questions. Regarding these, we took all of them into consideration when formulating the combat plan. So Bezikov was able to calmly answer all the questions raised by the commanders.

But when calm was restored in the small auditorium, Kistyakov asked me in a low voice: "Comrade Commander, since everyone has no problems, it is better to adjourn the meeting and let them return to their respective troops to prepare."

"Comrade Commander," before I could answer, I heard someone say loudly below: "Please allow me to ask a question. In Fastif, southwest of us, there is the 25th Armored Division of the German Army. If we are in When attacking Zhytomyr, they carried out a sneak attack from behind, what should we do?"

Kistyakov glanced at the other party's epaulettes, and then asked Tavart Kiradze next to him: "Comrade Commander, who is talking about this?"

Tavartkilasze took a look, and then replied: "Comrade Deputy Commander, this is Major Chuklik, the new commander of the 309th Regiment of the 51st Guards Division. The original commander, Lieutenant Colonel Lukin, is now an infantryman. The commander of the 375th Division."

After I figured out the identity of the other party, I had a good feeling for him because of Lu Jin, and said with a smile: "Comrade Major, please rest assured, we have left a special unit to the Germans in the southwest direction of the other party. They can't imagine being with us. When attacking Zhytomyr, carry out a sneak attack from behind us. If they want to come, then our troops will ruthlessly crush their wishful thinking."

"Comrades commanders," Kistyakov stood up after Major Chukliko sat down. He held the edge of the table with both hands, leaning forward slightly, and said, "Tomorrow's battle is for us to face the fascists. The time for the bandits to collect their blood debts is the time to punish the enemy for the sufferings of the Ukrainian people. In order to make this upcoming offensive a final victory, we have made all preparations. Now the main force of the German army is right. Contained in other directions by our friendly forces, they no longer have the ability to deploy troops to reinforce the defenders of Zhytomyr. Comrades, that is to say, we will surely win the final victory in the battle tomorrow.

Fight, comrades! Let’s fight a desperate battle against the enemies who occupy Zhytomyr..."

"Ula!" As soon as Kistiakov's speech was over, there was a tsunami-like shout from the small auditorium, and the sound seemed to lift the roof off.

When calm was restored in the small auditorium, I stood up and said to the commander who was meeting below: "Comrades, the meeting is over, everyone will return to their troops and deploy tomorrow's offensive."

After the following commanders left, I took a look at the three remaining Tavartkilasze, Povsky and Bere, and then asked: "Three generals, comrades, I don’t know before the battle begins. Where will your headquarters be located?"

"My artillery headquarters is located in the forest to the south of the city, because our artillery position is located there." The first answer to me was Artillery Commander Major General Povsky. "At the same time, we sent a large number of artillery observations. Officer, go to the front line to guide the artillery."

"The headquarters of the tank army is located in the forest north of the city," Major General Bere waited for Povsky to finish, and immediately continued: "There are two tank brigades and a cavalry division deployed there. According to the plan, If the attack is not smooth, the tank brigade and cavalry division serving as the reserve team will immediately go into battle."

"My headquarters is located only 500 meters away from the forward position, where you can clearly see the situation on the battlefield." Tawart Kiradze looked at me and asked, "Comrade Commander, you Would you like to go there and see with your own eyes how our commanders rushed into Zhytomyr?"

"Yes, Comrade General, I just meant it." After I responded politely to Tavart Kiradze, I turned to Kistyakov and Bezikov and said, "Deputy Commander, Chief of Staff, I Just go to the headquarters of General Tawartkiraze alone. You should go back to the headquarters of the group army to coordinate the overall situation."

"Understood." Kistyakov heard me say this. Although there was a disappointed expression on his face, he replied straightforwardly: "I will go back to the headquarters of the group army with the chief of staff."

At 7 o'clock in the morning on November 12, more than 150 cannons concealed in the forest south of the city of Krostweif fired at the same time, and the German defensive positions were instantly shrouded in flames and smoke.

After an hour of shelling, the battlefield suddenly became quiet. At this moment, a red flare rose in the sky, which was a signal of offense. As dozens of tanks took the lead over the trenches and quickly rushed towards the enemy's position, thousands of commanders and fighters concealed in the trenches, holding their weapons and shouting, followed behind the tanks and rushed up.

A few days ago, we also studied the plan specifically on how to deal with the German anti-tank trenches, but now it seems a bit redundant. I saw logs tied to a lot of tanks, and I knew that General Bielei must have a good way of anti-tank trenches.

After a while, our tanks stopped by the anti-tank trenches, using artillery and vehicle-mounted machine guns to suppress the fire on the German positions, while some infantrymen climbed onto the body, unloaded the logs tied to them, and set them up. On the trench. In a short while, I saw seven or eight tanks slowly drove past the simple wooden bridge erected.

With the support of tanks, the infantry quickly approached the German position. After a period of intense short-soldier butt, our commanders rushed into the trenches one after another. Seeing this situation, Tawart Kiradze said excitedly: "Comrade Commander, have you seen it? Our soldiers have rushed into the first line of defense of the German army and are expanding their results."

After looking at the telescope for a while, I turned my head and told him: "Comrade General, immediately order the second echelon to be ready for battle, ready to go into battle at any time!"

Hearing this order from me, Tavart Kiraze was stunned for a moment, and then asked in a puzzled way: "Comrade Commander, the offensive battle hasn’t been long since the start, and the progress of the first echelon is going well. Put the second echelon into battle?"

"Don't you see that the enemy has fallen into chaos?" I pointed to the battlefield filled with gunpowder in front of me, and said: "We are going to take advantage of the chaos and command failure of the enemy to decisively defeat them. Otherwise, we will wait. They slowed down, and if we want to eliminate them, we have to pay a higher price."

"Understood." After Tavart Kiradze said, he ordered the staff next to him: "Call the commanders of the 51st and 71st Divisions of the Guards and ask them to move their troops forward and be ready to attack at any time."

The troops of the first echelon progressed extremely fast, less than an hour later, except for the small troops that were sweeping the battlefield and clearing the remnants of the enemy, the main force had rushed into the city along the open breach. Seeing this, I rushed to the tower and Kiraze nodded and said: "Comrade General, time is almost up, order the second echelon to attack!"

After the troops of the second echelon rushed into the city one after another, Tawart Kiradze picked up the phone without waiting for my instructions, and contacted the commanders of the 67th and 90th divisions of the guards who rushed into the city first. . I heard him asking loudly: "Major General Chernoff, the second tier troops have followed you and stormed into the city. How is the situation there?"

"Report to Comrade Commander!" I leaned over, and heard Chernoff's voice on the phone: "My troops have now turned to the south of the city and are fighting the Germans street by street."

"How is the situation with the 67th Guards Division?" Tawart Kirazzi raised his voice and asked, "I can't get in touch with them right now."

"I saw the troops of the 67th Guards Division, along the main street, rushing directly towards the city center." Chernov replied: "I guess they are planning to take the lead in putting the red flag on the church in the city center. ."

After putting down the phone, Tawart Kiradze reported to me very optimistically: "Comrade Commander, the 67th and 90th Guards Divisions are currently developing towards the city center and the south of the city respectively, and they are progressing very smoothly. I believe that we will wait. After entering the city, the second echelon can quickly destroy the German resistance and liberate the city."

Vatutin was also very concerned about our attack on Zhytomyr. He specifically called and asked me: "Comrade Oshanina, is your attack going well?"

"Yes, Comrade General." Seeing that the troops were progressing well, I reported in a happy mood: "At present, our two echelon and four guard divisions have rushed into the city separately and are engaged in street fighting with the German army~www.wuxiaspot .com~Because you took the initiative to launch the attack on Zhytomyr, the German troops that forced the 38th Army to retreat have stopped their operations at this moment, and they seem to be standing in place." Vatutin kindly reminded me. : "I am worried that they will launch a surprise attack from behind you. You must be more vigilant."

"Relax, Comrade General." I said confidently: "I deployed the 77th Guards Division and a tank brigade to the east of the city. They are enough to crush any German attack."

Seeing that I was so confident, Vatutin stopped talking nonsense, just said: "Good luck!" Then he hung up the phone.

The German army dispatched the air force in an attempt to bomb our offensive troops, but the fighter jets that were rushed out of the city drove away from the city. Seeing that there is no threat of enemy planes in the air, our commanders have become more and more courageous, and the whole battle continues to develop in a favorable direction for us.

At one o'clock in the morning on the 13th, Tavart Kiradze received a call from Major General Chernov and reported to me excitedly: "Comrade Commander, the remnants of the German army have been driven from the city by us. Go, retreating southward towards Vinnytsia. Let’s put it this way, our troops have captured Zhytomyr and successfully liberated this suffering city.” (To be continued.)