Burning Moscow

Bovyshchenko looked like an impatient. Before the stool was hot, he couldn't wait to ask me: "Comrade General, I heard that there is a large military airport north of Smolensk. I want to ask, the airport. Was it severely damaged by the Germans? How long would it take to make emergency repairs?"

After listening to Bovyshchenko’s question, I turned my head and looked at Akhromeyev who was standing next to him, and said with a smile: “Major, I think it’s most appropriate for you to answer the colonel’s question.”

After getting my advice, Akhromeev hurried forward two steps, stood at the conference table, facing Bovyshenko and Bliss and said: "The two commanders, comrades, although the Germans were evacuating, They carried out major damage to the city of Smolensk, blew up all the factories, hospitals and schools, and set fire to most of the buildings in the city, but they did not damage the airport. Not only did they not blow up the runway, but even the large The hangars, underground storage tanks, ammunition storage, and even the pilot’s dormitory are still in good condition. Your aircraft can be transferred at any time."

I looked at Akhromeyev who was talking to Bovyshenko and them, and thought to myself: Rokosovsky once said that his chief of staff, General Malinin, is the most outstanding staff member. As for me, Akhromeyev is undoubtedly such a person. If it were not for his young age, junior qualifications, and low military rank, I might suggest to my superiors that he be the chief of staff of the group army. It may be because of the ease of use that Kirilov suggested to me several times to arrange for him to be the commander of the troops below, but I strongly refused.

After listening to Akhromeyev’s introduction, Bovyshenko and Bliss looked at each other, got up and reported to me: "Comrade General, Lieutenant Colonel Bliss and I will go to the airport to check in person later. If the situation is true As the major said, then our two flying regiments can make a transition tomorrow."

Lieutenant Colonel Bliss waited for Bovyshenko to finish speaking, and stood up and asked me respectfully: "Comrade General, do you allow us to leave? We want to go to the airport for a visit now and arrange the transfer as soon as possible. Matters."

Although I know that there will be no combat missions for a month or two, it does not matter when the two flying regiments will be stationed at the airport in the north of the city. But seeing the urgency of the two flight captains, I couldn’t say anything, so I nodded and said, "Well, since this is the case, you should hurry to the airport as soon as possible." After that, I said. Instructed Akhromeyev, "Let Major Yushchenko send a company of guards to **** the two heads to the airport."

After the two heads from the Air Force left, Kistyakov suddenly said thoughtfully: "Comrade Commander, since the Air Force will be stationed at the airport in the north of the city in the near future, it will provide us with the necessary air cover. Then we should talk about infantry and tank soldiers next."

"Please tell me, Comrade Deputy Commander." I guess he might make some constructive personal opinions, so he took out paper and pen to prepare for the record.

"The assault rifles and new tanks equipped with troops last year showed their great strength in battle." Kistyakov, who has seen the power of these two weapons, said: "We should wait for the new weapons to be added as soon as possible. Change outfits for the veterans, and hurry up for adaptation training."

"What should we do with the replaced weapon?" Kirilov interrupted and asked: "Be aware that in addition to the Mosin Lagan rifle, there are quite a few Bobosha submachine guns. We have to think about it. What to do with these old weapons."

"Chief of Staff, aren't we going to recruit new recruits soon?" Kistyakov looked at Kirilov and said: "Of these recruits who have been recruited into the army, there will never be more than half of those who have weapons. We are just right. Give these weapons to them for use."

Speaking of new equipment, Bezikov was immediately excited. When the dialogue between Kistyakov and Kirilov was over, he was a little overwhelmed and said: "If our troops are all equipped with new assault rifles and tanks The army’s tanks are all new types of tanks, so the next battle will be much easier. As long as the artillery bombs and the aircraft bombs, our infantry will attack the enemy’s position under the cover of the tank. I don’t believe it. How long can the enemy support us in front of such a powerful offensive."

When I heard Bezikov say this, I couldn't help frowning. As soon as he finished speaking, I immediately criticized him unceremoniously and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, your thoughts are very undesirable!"

Bezikov, who was triumphant, was immediately dumbfounded when I spoke of him in this tone. He looked at me blankly, and after a while, he murmured: "Comrade Commander, I don't understand what you mean?"

I watched him and said blankly: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I remind you, don’t think that our army has turned offensive to defensive in the country. Underestimated the enemy's strength. Such a serious underestimation of the enemy will directly cause our officers and men to suffer unnecessary and great losses in the subsequent battles." Having said that, I turned my head and looked at Kirillov, "Commissioner of the military. Comrades, I hope you will communicate with the political commissars of the divisions and let them pay more attention to the signs of underestimating the enemy. Through various forms of propaganda, we should remind the officers and men of the current situation so that they can have a clear understanding of the current situation. The understanding of the situation, and urged the underestimation of the enemy within the group army."

Regarding what I said, Kirilov nodded and said, "Lida, you have a lot of truth. Don't talk about the following commanders and fighters, even me, Lida. After the troop has achieved a series of victories, it is also a little airy. Your reminder is very timely. I will pass your words to the political workers at all levels."

After Kirilov finished the record, he raised his head and said to me: "Lida, when Brusock and I went to the hospital to visit the wounded, he once mentioned to me that the winter has come, but the houses in the city have been destroyed. It's almost done. We should build some simple houses as soon as possible to accommodate the residents who are sleeping in the ruins. We also need to find a way to restore the electricity and water supply in the city, as well as to solve the heating problem..."

I felt a headache when I heard what Kirilov said in a crackling way. None of these urgently needed things were worry-free. After he finished speaking, I nodded and said cheeky: "Comrade Military Commissioner, we had a division of labor before. Military matters are up to me; and life matters are up to you. The construction of simple houses and the restoration of electricity and water supply should all be regarded as life issues, so you are solely responsible for it."

After I finished speaking, Kirilov looked at me and shook his head, and said helplessly: "Lida, I find that you are more and more shirking responsibilities now, and you will push things to me at every turn and let me have full authority. responsible for."

As soon as he finished speaking, he caused everyone to laugh with good intentions.

After everyone calmed down, I said another important thing: "Comrade commanders, in addition to solving the accommodation problem of the residents in the city, repairing the roads and railways damaged by the Germans is an urgent matter. Today's roads It is completely useless and has lost the meaning of marking on the map. If there are no roads or railways, the speed at which we can obtain supplies will be greatly reduced. Our current primary task is to repair it across the board." At this point, I paused for a moment, and then said embarrassedly, "According to my estimation, it will take at least a month to repair the road from here to Moscow. But this is only a preliminary repair. Once the spring thawing conditions, we A new repair must be made again."

Bezikov said with a frustrated expression: "I originally thought that the troops were transferred to Smolensk, at most they were training recruits, and the rest of the time was rest, so that the officers and men who were exhausted during the war would have a good rest. Who knows now? It seems that this is not the case at all. In addition to the daily training of the troops, we must also help residents build simple houses, clean up ruins, and restore factory production. In addition, we must also repair the road traffic that was completely destroyed by the Germans. The responsibility is not easy."

"You are right, Comrade Chief of Staff. The city has been destroyed too much by the Germans." As soon as Bezikov finished speaking, Kirilov continued: "Now we have liberated the city. We must find ways to build it well. Many things, such as cleaning up ruins and helping residents rebuild their homes, will always be done by others if we don’t do it. If we take the initiative to take this responsibility, then we can serve the superiors. Lighten up some of the burden. Don't you think?"

After hearing what Kirilov said, Bezikov could only nodded with a wry smile: "Yes, Comrade Military Commissioner, that's exactly what happened. It seems that orders must be given to the commanders of the divisions, except for the troops. In addition to daily training, you should also participate in voluntary labor to clean up the ruins in the city and help residents rebuild their homes."

"Comrade Military Commissioner," I wrote what Kirilov had just said in my notebook, and then asked, "I want to ask, in the consecutive battles, how many wounded people in our army evacuated?"

Hearing my question, Kirilov quickly turned to the front of the notebook. After a simple calculation, he raised his head and reported to me: "From the Battle of Kursk to the present, the number of wounded people evacuated by our army is 30,000. Nine thousand people."

The figures reported by Kirilov shocked me, because the wounded evacuated were usually severely wounded, and the lightly wounded were kept in the field hospital so that they could return to the army in time after the wounds healed. Calculated in this way, it is equivalent to the overall change of the commanders and fighters in the group army, which shows the intensity of the fighting.

"Then how many wounded can be returned to the construction in a short period of time?" Although the superior is about to add tens of thousands of soldiers to me, I still feel that there are a few people. If the wounded can return to the team, it would be better.

"About seven thousand people!" Kirilov said to me again after a simple calculation: "The wounded who are about to return to the team are basically injured in the battle of Kursk. And those in Cherkassy and Daycare The wounded in the Mir area will have to wait until around February next year at the earliest before they can be discharged from the hospital one after another."

In order to keep the water from flowing outside the field, I also specifically instructed Kirilov: "Comrade Military Commissioner, I suggest that you immediately send a team to count the treatment of the wounded, and mobilize them to return to the hospital as soon as they are discharged. Try not to let other troops pry away. You must know that these are veterans with rich combat experience, and they are rare combat backbones in any unit."

"Don't worry." After writing down what I explained in the notebook, Kirilov assured me: "As soon as the meeting is over, I will form a team like this and go to the rear to learn about the wounded in our army. As far as possible, the soldiers who have recovered from their injuries can return to the battlefield as soon as possible.

I saw that when I first said, I was almost done, so I closed my notebook and asked, "Who has anything else to say? If not, we will end the meeting."

"Comrade Commander, I want to say a few words." Seeing that I was about to announce the adjournment of the meeting, Akhromeyev, who was standing nearby, raised his hand and asked to speak.

"Please speak up, Major." As I said, I opened my notebook again, preparing to record his speech.

"The two air force commanders just said~www.wuxiaspot.com~ their flying regiment will be transferred tomorrow." Akhromeyev stepped forward, walked to the table, and said to me: "I I would like to ask, which unit is responsible for the security of the airport?"

"Oh, if Major Akhromeyev didn't tell me, I almost forgot about the security of the airport." Bezikov heard Akhromeyev say this, he couldn't help but raised his hand and patted his forehead, and said annoyedly: " With so many planes parked at the airport, if there is not enough security force, as long as a German spy enters the airport and throws two grenades at our plane parked on the tarmac, it will be enough to cause heavy losses to our air force."

"Comrade Commander," Kistyakov turned to look at me, and asked unhurriedly: "Have you thought about it? Which unit is going to be responsible for the airport's security work."

"I think, let Major General Xie Liujin's 89th Guards Regiment be responsible for the security of the airport." When I said this, I looked up at Akhromeev and told him: "Major, you Go and call General Xie Liujin and ask him to send two battalions of troops to take up the security work of the airport."

Seeing Akhromeyev's promise, I turned around to call. I closed my notebook again and stood up and announced to everyone: "Since we have discussed everything that should be discussed, let's end the meeting! These few Everyone is too tired in the month, so we will go back and take time to rest.” (To be continued.)