Burning Moscow

After listening to Vatutin, he was silent for a while, and then solemnly reminded me: "Comrade Oshanina, your idea is good, but the measures you have taken are wrong. Have you ever thought about putting four Tens of thousands of guards and a tank brigade crowded in the city of Zhytomyr. Such a dense battle formation would cause even greater casualties if it was violently shelled and bombed by the Germans!"

"Comrade General, I have considered all the circumstances you mentioned." In response to Vatutin's concern, I quickly explained to him: "Since the residents of the city have been moved away by the Germans, our troops are stationed. They are very scattered. When they are shelled or bombed by the enemy, they can take advantage of numerous anti-aircraft fortifications or basements to avoid unnecessary casualties."

"Then how long do you plan to stay in Zhytomyr?" Vatutin saw that I was ready, and then asked: "Or should you say, when do you plan to abandon Zhytomyr?"

I thought about it in my heart, and then cautiously replied, "Comrade General, it all depends on our material supply. At present, our ammunition is only enough for a week. If I cannot get replenishment before it runs out, I Think we can only choose to retreat."

"The German army occupied Kanivka and cut off the Kiev-Zhytomyr road," Vatutin said hesitantly after I finished speaking: "Before taking back this town, I guess Kiev’s supply is I can't reach you."

"Comrade General, I am organizing troops to attack Kanifka, preparing to take the town back from the enemy. As long as normal transportation can be resumed, I believe the troops can hold on in Zhytomyr until the situation improves." I finished. After these few words, I suddenly felt that I should take this opportunity to ask Vatutin something, so he added: "Comrade General, I have a request."

"Comrade Oshanina, just let me know what you request!" It may be that I heard that I was going to stick to Zhitomir, and Vatutin seemed very generous.

"I hope you can provide us with the necessary air cover. If the troops of the Second Army of the Air Force can send out enemy planes over the city today, then maybe the troops staying outside the city will not need to withdraw." I was extremely aggrieved. Said to him: "Under the cover of planes and artillery, the Germans attacked our defensive positions more than a dozen times, and finally smashed the tough and tenacious defense of our commanders and fighters. They tore the line of defense a few holes and wedged our line of defense The depth is two to five kilometers. It was in this situation that I had to order the troops to abandon their positions and withdraw all of them to the city."

"What are you talking about?" After hearing what I said, Vatutin asked in amazement: "You didn't get air support? It's impossible. According to the original plan, the Air Force will dispatch at least forty aircraft every day. There are patrols over Zhitomir to defend the sky over the city. But you said that you didn't get air cover, which is simply too strange. You wait a moment, I ask the chief of staff what is going on.

Soon, Vatutin's voice became quieter. He should have covered the microphone with his hand, but I could still vaguely hear his voice. He whispered to others first, then his voice grew louder and louder, which could be described as a roar. Hearing his reaction, I knew that the Chief of Staff of the Front Army did not help us to contact the Air Force for dispatch. He must have never asked Vatutin for instructions, but his own opinion.

After a while, Vatutin’s voice came through the receiver again. He apologized and said to me: “Comrade Oshanina, I’m sorry, I just asked. Originally, the Air Force should go to Zhytomyr as planned. It was patrolling the sky. But because the Fastiv’s enemies suddenly attacked southwest of Kiev, our air force went there to support the ground forces. Don’t worry, I will send the air force out tomorrow, at least. An aviation division will provide you with air cover."

I can hear that Vatutin is playing cover for the Chief of Staff, but in this case, I will definitely not dismantle him. I can only continue to pretend to say: "Great, Comrade General, this is really great. If there is the support of the Air Force, then we will be more certain to hold Zhitomir."

After finishing the call with Vatutin, I sat and thought for a while, and felt that the key to defending Zhytomyr was that the city had to have strong fortifications, otherwise it would be useless to put more troops in the city. So he dialed Tavart Kiradze's phone and asked straightforwardly: "Comrade Commander, the enemy has detoured back to the north and south. Are you sure to block attacks from these two directions?"

"Comrade Commander, please rest assured." Tavart Kiradze assured me: "There are forests and swamps in the south of the city. The enemy cannot use heavy technical equipment such as tanks. The north is Colonel Sederikov's. The 51st Konoe Division, the 3o9th Regiment of the Division used an empty factory building in the abandoned factory to the north to establish a permanent firepower point.” Perhaps it was to make me feel at ease. He also added, “These buildings are all steel bars. Concrete, even if it is shelled and bombed by the enemy, it is difficult to destroy."

"Very well, comrade commander, your preparations are doing very well." After I praised him, I went on to say: "Now the night is long and the day is short. You have to use the night to send out more scouts to figure out the enemy. The deployment of troops, understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Tawart Kirazzi said with a smile: "When it was just dark, I asked the divisions to send scouts to the enemy-occupied areas to carry out reconnaissance. Don't worry. I can know what they are going to do the first time."

During the battle, scouts must be dispatched every night to conduct reconnaissance on the deployment of the enemy’s forces. This is a rule I made after I became commander of the group army. It seems that Tawart Kiradze executed my orders well. .

Early the next morning, Tavart Kiradze called me suddenly. He hurriedly said: "Comrade Commander, I have just received a report from the scouts that the Germans have assembled more than 70 tanks in the forest north of Zhytomyr, ready to attack suddenly at around nine o'clock in the morning."

When I heard this news, I didn't panic at all, but asked with my usual expression: "Comrade Commander, what measures have you taken?"

"I have transferred a battalion of the 21st Guards Tank Brigade to the north; at the same time, I have also transferred two anti-tank battery companies to strengthen the anti-tank force of the 3o9th Guards Regiment." After reporting on his deployment, he also specifically emphasized: "With such a defensive force, I believe it will definitely be able to block the impact of German tanks."

"Comrade commander, I think your arrangement like this can block the enemy, but this kind of play is completely exhausting, even if we finally win, it will be a tragic victory."

"Comrade Commander, what should we do then?" Tavart Kiraze asked immediately after I finished speaking.

"It's very simple. We should be preemptive and take the initiative on the battlefield. You immediately contact General Povsky and ask him to order the artillery to fire at the place where the enemy is assembled." I saw Tavart Kiradze took the initiative. The tactics were still his old style of play when he was a division commander, so he taught him: "Even if our artillery fire can't destroy all the tanks assembled by the enemy, it can at least disrupt their offensive plan. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Tawart Kiradze said happily. "I will call General Povsky."

"Please wait, comrade commander," I quickly stopped him, and said, "I will pass the air with General Povsky, and then you will contact him to discuss how to cooperate."

I hung up the call on Tavart Kiradze, and I connected to Povsky again. After hearing his voice, I asked first: "Comrade General, where is your headquarters?"

"Report to Comrade Commander." Povsky reported to me respectfully: "My headquarters is located in a small village between Zhytomyr and Korostviv. The target here is small and not easy. It was spotted by the enemy's reconnaissance plane." After a pause, he asked curiously, "Comrade Commander, do you have any instructions?"

"According to the intelligence, the enemy has assembled more than 70 tanks in the forest north of Zhytomyr, intending to attack the city. I am calling you, hoping that your artillery can immediately bombard the enemy's tank assembly area. Destroy as many enemy tanks as possible to reduce the defensive pressure of our northern team."

"I understand, Comrade Commander." Povsky replied immediately: "I'm here to call the artillery regiment below to get them ready for shelling quickly."

Before I hung up the phone, I added a special sentence: "By the way, Comrade Artillery Commander, I suggest you move the headquarters to Zhytomyr and stay with General Tavart Kiradze, so that it will be convenient for you. Cooperate with each other."

An hour later, Tavart Kiradze called me again and reported to me the effects of the shelling. I heard from his voice that he was in a good mood, and I asked first: "Comrade Commander, how is it? Did our artillery cause heavy damage to the Germans in the forest?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, your guess is absolutely correct." Tavart Kiradze reported to me with a little pride: "With the order of General Povsky, more than a hundred cannons were fired at the same time. The enemy assembled the ground and opened fire. The earth trembled slightly in the sound of rumbling cannons. I saw through the telescope that there were fires and thick black smoke coming out of the forest. Dozens of tanks were burning. The panicked enemy is fleeing everywhere."

After listening to his account, I asked: "Comrade Commander, do you think the enemy's plan to attack from the north will be cancelled?"

Tavart Kiradze was silent for a moment, and then said: "Comrade Commander, this is hard to say. Although the enemy has paid a lot of money under our artillery fire, I think it is a bit wrong for them to cancel the attack. Reality. In the case of Kursk, our army would also be the first to shell the enemy’s assembly areas. Although it caused a lot of casualties to the enemy, it only delayed the enemy’s attack for a few hours. I believe that today’s shelling, The final result may be similar."

Seeing that Tawart Kiradze can clearly recognize the current situation, my heart feels a lot more at ease. If he is clamoring to lead his troops to counterattack at this time, I can only consider replacing the former enemy commander in Zhytomyr. I thought for a while, and then told him: "By the way, Comrade Commander, I asked Povsky to move his artillery headquarters to you. You must cooperate more in the future so that you can defeat the Germans earlier."

When I put down the phone, Kistyakov smiled and asked me: "Comrade Commander, did our artillery severely damage the assembled German troops?"

"Yes, Comrade Deputy Commander, your guess is completely correct. According to General Tavart Kiradze’s report, although the results of the battle have not yet been counted, at least dozens of tanks were destroyed by our artillery fire. Panicked enemies. Fleeing everywhere."

"It's great, it's really great." After listening to my words, Kistyakov suddenly became excited. "As for the artillery commanders and fighters' achievements today, we need to report and encourage other division commanders and fighters. So that they can fight the enemy more bravely."

Seeing that Kistyakov was so dazzled by this small victory~www.wuxiaspot.com~ I quickly reminded him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, although our artillery has dealt a heavy blow to the German tanks that are being assembled, But the current situation we are facing is still grim. If our planes do not arrive over Zhitomir in time after dawn, the enemy’s air force will find ways to honor our artillery positions and try to destroy them."

The development of the matter was exactly as Tavart Kiradze had expected, and the enemy's offensive was postponed to the afternoon. In order to prevent the tanks from being bombarded by our army again during the assembly process, the Germans dispatched several flying brigade planes and kept circling over Zhitomir. As long as the target was available, they would dive down for a violent bombardment. Fried.

Kistyakov heard that the north of Zhytomyr had been bombed by the enemy and stomped his feet in a hurry. He kept saying, "Weird, didn’t Commander Vatutin agree to dispatch the air force to help us? How come it’s now, I haven’t seen it yet. Until our plane appears?"

"Don't worry, my deputy commander." Seeing his restless look, I quickly comforted him: "Maybe our air force is going to support the 38th and 6th Army Groups that are sticking to the southwest of Kiev. For the time being, there are no troops to be sent here to support us. Wait a minute, the plane without an aviation division will arrive soon, and there will be enough for the Germans to drink a pot." (To be continued.)