Burning Moscow

Although Katukov’s telegram to me stated that his two tank brigades and a mechanized brigade would arrive at noon the next day and participate in our offensive operations against Fastiv. Bayi Middle School √Wennet, but the plan couldn't keep up with the changes. I still didn't receive the information of the friendly troops arriving until 3 o'clock in the afternoon. So I called and inquired about Major General Bere in the city of Korostviv. He replied to me that he had sent manpower to the direction of the friendly army to conduct reconnaissance, but so far I have not received any reports.

When Kistyakov heard the news that the reinforcements had not arrived, he couldn't help but feel a little anxious. He reminded me carefully: "Comrade Commander, do you see if you send a telegram to General Katukov and ask what happened? Why is it that afternoon, the troops have not reached the designated position."

Although in my heart I was also anxious for the late arrival of the troops, but at the same time I understood that it would be useless to telegraph Katukov at this time. In the circumstance of heavy snow and wind, the troops have to march for hundreds of kilometers in the forest, and they are bound to encounter many unexpected difficulties, and it is normal for them to be unable to arrive on time. It is as if we send express delivery in later generations. After we hand over the items to the courier company, when we can reach the destination, to a large extent, we can only rely on fate.

However, seeing Kistyakov’s anxious appearance, I still have to say a few words: "Comrade Deputy Commander, look at the wind and snow outside, even if you march on the highway, it will inevitably be affected. Let alone marching in the forest. Moreover, in our combat plan, there was no consideration of General Katukov’s support for our unit, so even if they cannot arrive before the battle, we will follow the original plan. Plans to launch an attack on Fastiff."

Hearing what I said, Kistyakov's face was full of disappointment. He sighed and said with regret: "It's a pity, it's a pity, I thought that General Katukov supported our two The tank brigade, our armored assault strength can be greatly improved, and can conquer the German defensive positions in the shortest time. It seems that whether they can participate in this battle is a problem."

I waited for him to finish, and said with a smile: "Comrade Deputy Commander, don't worry, don't you have to attack the enemy yet? Maybe they can arrive before the battle begins."

After speaking, I called Bezikov over and told him: "Chief of Staff, the blizzard outside seems to be unstoppable for a while, and the weather is too cold. If you let the troops prematurely Entering the offensive position will cause a large number of non-combat attritions. You inform the commanders of the participating departments, and the troops will wait until 1 am tomorrow morning before moving to the offensive position."

When Bezikov called to convey my order, I asked Akhromeyev again: "Major, does the reconnaissance battalion have the latest information about Fastiv?"

Akhromeyev nodded and said: "I received information from the reconnaissance battalion a few minutes ago. At present, the west of Fastiv is silent, probably because of the heavy snow and the enemy’s position. Can't see any movement, maybe they are hiding in the warm shelter."

After listening to Akhromeyev’s report, I turned my face to look at Kistyakov, and said jokingly: "Comrade Deputy Commander, if we attack tomorrow, the Germans will also hide in the warm shelter. If we don’t come out, our offense can be as easy as an exercise."

For my statement, Kistyakov just grinned, and then changed the subject and asked me: "Comrade Commander, I wonder who you plan to send to the front to direct the battle tomorrow, is it you or me?"

Because of the large number of troops participating in the war tomorrow, it is impossible to do without a unified command. At present, there are only two commanders at the military level in the group army, Tavart Kiradze and Bere. The former shoulders the heavy responsibility of defending Zhytomyr and cannot get rid of it at all; while the latter is just a tank corps commander, let him command various arms, his ability is slightly insufficient. Therefore, people can only be sent from the headquarters to take command in the center.

I thought for a while, and then replied to him: "Comrade Deputy Commander, you will stay at the headquarters tomorrow. Let me direct the battle on the front line of Fastiv."

After listening to my proposal, Kistyakov did not speak, but just nodded in agreement. After a while, he asked me again: "Will the Czech First Brigade of General Svoboda also let them participate in tomorrow's battle?"

"General Xeliujin's 89th Guards Division has been transferred to Korostviv. There is only one motorized infantry regiment left at the base, and its strength is too weak." I calmly replied, "Or according to the original plan. , Let the Czech First Brigade take over the defense of Division Xie Liujin."

"But, Comrade Commander," Kistyakov said with some embarrassment: "General Svoboda was a little dissatisfied with our arrangement for their defense base. He said that the new army was newly expanded and most of the soldiers had not participated. Fighting, in order for the troops to form combat effectiveness as soon as possible, he proposed to let them exercise in the battle tomorrow."

"No, no," I said with a very difficult attitude: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I think you should also understand in your heart that tomorrow's battle will be a fierce battle. If you rush the Czech First Brigade, once the new fighters are in During the battle, I was frightened by the sound of guns and the cruel and **** scenes. If you turn around and run back, it will cause our army to lose heart and morale."

"Well, Comrade Commander, since you said so, I will persuade General Svoboda later to let him change his mind." Kistyakov said, "In fact, the responsibility for the defense work here is also very important. Importantly, I will clarify the stakes of this to him."

In the evening, I called Yushchenko in and ordered him to assemble a guard company, led by the deputy commander, Major Bukov, to follow me to the front of Fastiv.

Our small convoy, not far from the base, saw a jeep rushing towards us in front of us. I stared at the jeep that was getting closer and closer, saying that even if it was driving so fast on a snowy day, there must be some important information to be sent to the headquarters, so I immediately told the driver: "Stop!"

"Understood!" The driver agreed, pressed his horn twice, and then stopped the car firmly on the side of the road. The trucks that followed stopped one by one, and then the trucks driving in front also stopped one after another because they heard the driver's horn.

The jeep on the opposite side saw our convoy stop and slowed down. Because of our fleet, the only car I was in was a jeep, and the rest were trucks, so the jeep was parked next to us.

Bukov, who had gotten out of the co-pilot position a long time ago, saw that the other party's car stopped and hurriedly drove around in the front direction. At this time, the back door of the jeep there rang, and then a commander in the uniform of a general got out of the car. While I was looking at the other party carefully, Bukov had walked up to him, raised his hand to salute, and asked politely: "Hello, Comrade General! What part of you are you and why are you here?"

After raising his hand, the thin-faced general raised his hand and said politely: "Hello, Comrade Major! I am Major General Babajanyan, commander of the 2oth Brigade of the 8th Guards Mechanized Guards Corps. May I ask who you are? When he said this, he quickly glanced at our car, "Where are you going?"

"I'm Major Bukov, the deputy commander of the Group Army Guard Corps." After listening to the other party's identity, Bukov answered the other party's questions truthfully: "I was ordered to **** the commander to the front."

Sitting in the car, after hearing the name Babajanyan clearly, I frowned and thought for a moment, vaguely remembering that Katukov had mentioned this person to me. At this time, I felt that it was not appropriate to sit in the car again, so I pushed the door and got out of the car. With a smile on my face, I stretched out my hand to Babajianyan and greeted him proactively: "Hello, General Babajianyan, I It’s Oshanina. I’m glad to see you here."

Babajanyan saw me coming out of the car and quickly saluted me. Then he took my hand and said politely: "Hello, Comrade General, I used to listen to our commander and army commander. Mentioned you again. It is an honor for me to fight with you tomorrow."

"How is General Krivošein?" I asked kindly: "I haven't seen him for four months since the Battle of Kursk."

"He's fine." Babajanyan replied: "He often mentioned you in front of me, saying that the troops under your command have repeatedly made great achievements on the battlefield, and they have frightened the Germans."

I don't know if his praise is from the heart or out of general courtesy. After he finished speaking, I asked first: "General Babajanyan, where are your troops?"

Babajanyan raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said, "They should be driving into Korostviv by this time." Maybe I guessed what I was going to ask about the tank brigade next, and he quickly added, "Because of the forest. The road here has not completely frozen, so the tanks are very difficult to drive, so the tank brigade gave way to the convoy of the commanders of our brigade."

"When will they arrive?" I continued.

Babajanyan shook his head and said helplessly: "This is hard to say. If the road is freezing, I guess they should be able to arrive in the middle of the night, otherwise they will have to wait tomorrow afternoon as soon as possible."

I heard that the tank brigade would not be able to arrive in a short period of time, and I was still very disappointed. But in front of Babajanyan, I tried to conceal this disappointment. I tried to say in a calm tone: "Comrade General, are you planning to go to the headquarters to find me?"

"Yes, General Oshanina." Babajanyan said politely: "According to the order I received, after the troops arrive at their destination, they must immediately report to you." At this point, he grinned. Laughing, he said with a bit of pride, "My luck is not bad, I met you just halfway through."

"Comrade General, please get in the car and walk with me?" After speaking, I moved to one side of my body and made a gesture of asking. He was also welcome, nodded at me, then limped to the open door, and got into the car with the door.

After the restart of the jeep, in order not to be cold, I deliberately talked about Babajanyan’s impressive achievements in the past: "Comrade General, if I remember correctly, in the battle in early July, your tank brigade blocked the German 48th armor. The army succeeded and repelled the attacks of Hitler's Division and the Grand German Division. But at that time, your designation didn't seem to be the 2oth Guards Mechanized Brigade, right?"

When Babajanyan heard me mention his past achievements, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly. After a while, he replied: "Yes, at that time our designation was the Third Mechanized Brigade. After the capture of Tomarovka in October, the Third Mechanized Army was renamed the Third Mechanized Guards Army because of our military exploits. The Eighth Army, and our brigade was also renamed the 2oth Guards Mechanized Brigade."

I remembered that Babajanyan was a little lame when he was walking in the car, so I asked with concern: "Comrade General, I think your feet are a little inconvenient when you walk. Have you ever been injured?"

Babajanyan smiled and replied: "General Oshanina, you are very careful. Not long after the Battle of Kursk, I suffered a serious injury to my left leg during the battle and lay four feet in the hospital. Months."

For four months, when I heard him say this time, I immediately calculated it silently in my heart. Now even if he was injured at the beginning of July and stayed in the hospital for four months, it should not have been long since he was discharged from the hospital. Thinking of this, I immediately asked with concern: "Comrade General, the injury on your leg will not affect the command and operation?"

"Don't worry~www.wuxiaspot.com~General Oshanina." To give me a reassurance pill, Babajianyan patted his chest and said: "Lying in the hospital for four months, my leg hurt early. It’s fine. Although it’s a bit inconvenient to walk, I’m going to charge the enemy with a tank, there’s no problem at all."

After expressing his determination to me, he asked curiously: "General Oshanina, I don't know what the mission of our brigade will be in the battle tomorrow?"

"Because we did not know that General Katukov would send you over when we were formulating combat missions, we did not include you in the sequence of the offensive force." After I said these two sentences, he looked disappointed. He hurriedly said: "Of course, with your brigade joining us, our chances of victory will be even higher. After the battle begins tomorrow, your brigade will stay in the rear to serve as the reserve team. When there is a shortage of troops along the line, you will Go into battle with the cavalry division."

"Since your battle plan has been formulated long ago, then I will obey your arrangement." Babajanyan's mood quickly returned to normal, and he said flatly: "However, General Oshanina, no matter what Whether the forward force is tight, I beg you to put my troops into battle. We walked for almost one day and one night, from Kiev through the snow-covered forest, to Korostviv, two hundred kilometers away. Come to be the reserve team." (To be continued.)