Burning Moscow

Regarding Razumeyeva’s report, the first reaction of all of us was: I’m mistaken, how could the 27th Army that evacuated to the rear to cross the river from Cherkassy? It must be a mistake.くく

After I read the telegram, although the content written above is exactly the same as that reported by Razumeeva, my heart is still full of doubts. It is reasonable to say that such a large-scale troop movement, especially when entering our defense zone, is high. Always breathe me first, and won't even say hello.

I waited for the telegram to be circulated in the hands of Kistyakov and the others before I asked Razumeyeva and said, "Captain, are you sure that the content of the telegram is correct?"

Razumeyeva nodded vigorously and replied affirmatively: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, this telegram is indeed from Commander Sivakov, and there should be no mistakes."

It was confirmed that the telegram was indeed from Sivakov, and I knew in my heart that the 27th Army crossed the river into our defense zone, and it was an ironclad fact. I hurriedly used the high-frequency phone on my desk to call the front army headquarters. When I heard a voice from the receiver, I quickly said: "Hello, I am Oshanina, commander of the Sixth Guards Army. Please help me find General Vatutin. I have important things."

"I'm sorry, General Oshanina." The person who answered the phone unexpectedly replied, "Comrade commander of the front army is not there."

Is Vatutin out? When I heard the other party say this, I couldn't help feeling a little surprised, because in my impression, Vatutin almost never left his headquarters. How could he not be at the headquarters when the fighting was so fierce? I hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Is the chief of staff there?"

"The chief of staff is not there either."

"What about the military commissar? Is the military comrade always there?" When I heard that Vatutin and the chief of staff were not there, I could only find the military commissar and report to him about the entry of the 27th Army's troops into our defense zone. And figure out what happened.

"I'm sorry, the military commissioner is not there either." The other party may be afraid that I will continue to ask, and quickly added: "The commander of the front is not in the headquarters now, and I don't know when I will come back. But I will call you later. Report this matter to Comrade Chief of Staff." After speaking, he directly hung up the phone.

Seeing me put down the phone, Kistyakov immediately asked: "How is it, Comrade Commander, what did General Vatutin say about the 27th Army?"

I looked at him and shook my head and said, "Comrade general, chief of staff, and military commissar are not in the headquarters, and the personnel on duty don't know where they have gone."

"Ah? How could this be?" Kistyakov was surprised when he heard me say: "At present, the fighting in the southwest of Kiev is fierce. How can the commander of the front collectively leave the command position? This is incredible."

The 27th military group entered our defense zone without notice; Vatutin was not in the headquarters at the critical moment. These two things were strange, but I didn’t understand it for a while, so I directly told Razumeyeva: "Captain, you go back and keep in touch with General Sivakov, let him find a way. Find out what the friendly forces are coming from."

"Yes!" Razumeyeva agreed, then turned and left the headquarters.

"If the 27th Army can take over for our defense in Cherkassy," Bezikov, who had not spoken after Razumeyeva left, suddenly said: "Then we will be still there. The 52nd Guardian Division and the 375th Infantry Division were transferred over to participate in the defensive operations in the Zhytomyr region."

"You tell me that the superiors suddenly transferred the 27th Army to Cherkassy. What is the intention?" I didn't answer Bezikov's words, but directly asked everyone, "And before letting the troops in, even a little bit There is no wind."

Kistyakov stared at the map for a while, then raised his head and said to me: "Comrade Commander, I think there are two possibilities for the troops of the 27th Army to enter Cherkassy: one is to move to the south. To capture Alexandria and Kirovgrad; the second is to attack westward to occupy the Uman and Vinnytsia regions."

After listening to Kistyakov's analysis, I hurriedly looked down at the map, and at the same time wondered whether the two speculations he said were reasonable. About five minutes later, when I considered the causes and consequences, I looked up and said to everyone: "Comrade commanders, the two possibilities mentioned by the deputy commander just now. I think the first one is unlikely. You have to know. General Konev’s troops are on the opposite bank of the Dnieper River. If they want to capture Alexandria and Kirovgrad, it will be more convenient for them to send troops. Moreover, they can be ashamed and reported to be driven by the Germans. A revenge on the other side of the river.

As for the analysis of the attack on Uman and Vinnytsia, I think this kind of speculation is very accurate. Everyone knows that the main force of the German army is currently near Fastiv and Zhytomyr, while around Uman and Vinnytsia, there are only three infantry divisions and some scattered small parts. The defense force is relatively weak. I believe that a surprise attack at this time will surely achieve considerable results. "

"Comrade Commander, you have a point." As soon as I finished speaking, Bezikov reminded me: "Although the attack on Uman and Vinnytsia can achieve great results, I don't think it is at all. Commander Tutin’s command style, he will never divide his forces to open up a new battlefield when the fighting is fierce in two places at the same time."

"If the 27th Army is mobilized from the direction of Cherkassy to attack Uman and Vinnytsia, it is really an order from the front army command." At this moment, I suddenly had a bold idea. There were no outsiders on the scene anyway. , He said decisively: "That is the replacement of the commander of the front army."

"What, the commander of the front army has been replaced?" After hearing what I said, Kistyakov was taken aback for a moment, and then he burst into laughter. He pointed at me and said, "Comrade Commander, you must see that the atmosphere in the command post is too tense. Let's tell a joke on purpose to make everyone relax, hahaha!"

"Comrade Deputy Commander, I'm not kidding." Originally, I only had this kind of speculation, but seeing that Kistyakov took it as a joke, the thoughts in my heart suddenly became stronger, so I said decisively: "I think it is really possible for the commander of the front army to be replaced. The superiors suddenly deployed the 27th Army near the enemy's weak defenses. This deployment is far from the usual style of General Vatutin's deployment of troops."

Bezikov said worriedly: "However, when the fighting in Kiev is going on the most intense, the superior suddenly and silently replaces the commander of the front. Will this not cause chaos in the army?"

Kirilov, who has always spoken little, interrupted and said: “Perhaps the Supreme Command has seen the poor performance of General Vatutin recently. In order to save the current situation and ensure that Kiev will not be re-occupied by the enemy, it has sent new commanders. Taking over his position, this kind of possibility completely exists. But, tell me, who will the Supreme Command send to take over the position of commander of the front army?"

After I heard Kirilov’s question, five or six names popped up in my mind: Zhukov, Rokosovsky, Konev, Tolbushin, Malinowski, and Trikov. But I quickly ruled out one by one. Zhukov is busy coordinating the overall situation and will definitely not go to the Ukrainian First Front as commander; and Rokosovsky and Konev are now commanders of the front army. He is commanding his own troops to fight with the German army. If the adjustment is made at this time, not only will it have a bad effect on the original troops, even if it is a new force, it will not take just a few days to get acquainted with the environment. As for Cui Kefu, it is even more impossible. He is currently only a commander of the Guards Army. He has suddenly risen to the position of commander of the Front Army, and it is estimated that it will be difficult for him to hold this position.

Just when I was thinking about it, Tavart Kiradze called from Zhytomyr and he told me: "Comrade Commander, the German army rushed into Zhytomyr from the west of the city and occupied a street on the edge of the city. Our troops are engaged in a fierce battle with the enemy."

"Comrade commander, immediately organize forces to take back the lost streets to me." I severely ordered Tawart Kiradze to say: "Tell the commanders and fighters to fight every inch of land with the enemy, and fight with the enemy for every street. Every building, every step they make, will have to pay a huge price."

"Understood, I immediately organized my forces to take back the lost streets." Tavart Kiradze assured me, and then said: "The enemy who is currently attacking Zhitomir has chosen the direction of attack in the west and To the north, they invested a lot of troops in these two directions in an attempt to quickly open a breakthrough."

"Please tell the soldiers that we should make more use of the fortifications in the city to destroy the enemies who have broken into the city." After I said this briefly, I then hung up the phone.

I put down the phone and said to Kistyakov and Bezikov: "General Tavartkilasz reported that a part of the enemy broke through our defenses in the west of the city, rushed into the city and occupied a street. I have ordered them to fight back immediately and take the streets back from the enemy."

The fighting in Zhytomyr didn't come to a halt until late at night. I finally breathed a sigh of relief and instructed Tavart Kiradze to raise his vigilance to prevent possible night attacks by the Germans.

Just as I was napping on the table, the phone rang on the table. I grabbed the phone and pressed the receiver to my ear. After hearing the other party's voice, I said weakly: "Hey, I am Oshanina, where are you?"

"Hello, Comrade General." A low male voice said: "I am the combat staff officer of the front army command. The commander wants to speak to you."

I didn't know what Vatutin was looking for at this time, and I was sleeping drowsily, so I said vaguely: "Well, comrade staff, please give the call to the commander."

"Lida, are you sleeping?" Suddenly an unusually familiar voice came from the receiver: "How do you say that is weak?"

Hearing this voice, I fought a cold war violently, and the sleepy bug disappeared. I took a deep breath and asked cautiously, "Is it General Rokosovsky?"

"Yes, Lida, it's me." Rokosovsky said with a smile on the phone: "If my phone disturbs your sleep, then I am here to apologize to you."

"Look at what you said, Comrade General." Rokosovsky and I have always spoken casually, so they said jokingly: "If I knew it was your call, I would jump out of bed immediately even if I fell asleep. Come down to answer your call."

Rokosovsky laughed twice, and then asked unexpectedly: "The 27th Army's troops should all enter your defense zone, right?"

In front of me was a telegram that I received not long ago. The telegram came by Sivakov himself. He wrote in the telegram: "...about 80,000 troops entered the Cherkassy area and took the initiative to occupy it. Some of the positions we gave up due to lack of troops,...look like this, they are preparing for a big battle."

At this moment, when Rokosovsky asked about this, I quickly replied: "Yes, Comrade General, starting in the afternoon, the 27th Army's troops have been through the first place without prior notice. Niebo River, entered the Cherkassy area." When I said this, I suddenly remembered how he knew about the transfer of the 27th Army. Is it true that he was transferred to the post of commander? So I asked tentatively: "Comrade General, how do you...how...know..."

Rokosovsky didn't wait for me to finish, so he asked the question I wanted to ask first: "Lida, you want to ask me how I know about the movement of the 27th Army, right?"

"Yes, Comrade General, that's it." I replied quickly.

"Because I am now the acting commander of the Ukrainian First Front, I am very aware of the troop movement." Rokosovsky announced to me in a shocking manner: "And I personally gave the order to the 27th. The group army stationed in Cherkassy. This was the first order I gave after taking office."

Although I had long guessed that Rokosovsky might take up the post of commander again, I was surprised when the news was verified. I hurriedly asked: "Where is General Navatudin going? Up?"

Regarding this question of mine, Rokosovsky said lightly: "Comrade Vatutin, because of his good health, he returned to Moscow today to train, and the High Command asked me to temporarily take over his position."

After listening to Rokosovsky's words, I couldn't help but smile secretly, because when I called Vatutin in the morning, he was still alive when I heard his voice. Why did he have problems with his health before one day? Also, the 27th Army began to cross the river and enter Cherkassy from below. It would not take an hour or two to mobilize tens of thousands of troops. It must have been arranged two days ago.

But since Rokosovsky doesn't want me to know the truth~www.wuxiaspot.com~ I won't dwell on this matter, but changed the topic: "Comrade General, I have a question to ask you. I don’t know where the 27th Army is stationed in Cherkassy, ​​where is the next offensive direction?"

Rokosovsky smiled and asked, "Lida, aren't you able to analyze and speculate? Then you can guess, where is the next target of the 27th Army?"

Regarding the target of the 27th Army, Kistyakov once analyzed to us in the afternoon, because there is Konev's large army on the other side of the river, let us attack Alexandria and Kirovgrad, which is purely superfluous. Therefore, it is most likely to attack Uman and Vinnytsia. Thinking of this, I replied decisively: "Comrade General, if I didn't guess wrong, your next target should be Uman and Vinnytsia, right?"

After I finished speaking, Rokosovsky was silent for a moment, and then said in amazement: "Lida, you are not easy. You can see my combat intentions at a glance. Fortunately, you are not on the side of the enemy. Otherwise, our attack will definitely suffer setbacks."

"Comrade General," I asked cautiously, "I can ask you whether the 27th Army, which has just finished remediation, has the strength to capture Uman and Vinnytsia?" (To be continued.)