Burning Moscow

　　 Before Zhukov returned to the headquarters, I received an unexpected call. General Lelyushenko's voice came from the receiver. He couldn't wait to ask, "Is Comrade Marshal here?"

"General Lelyushenko, he is not here!" I have always maintained sufficient politeness for this former superior: "I am the only one in the command post. If you have anything to do, it is the same to me."

"Our army is being attacked fiercely by the German army," Lelyushenko said anxiously: "According to the latest intelligence, their tank troops have continuously broken through the two lines of defense of our department and are rushing towards our headquarters."

I pressed the receiver tightly to my ear, and heard the faint sound of an explosion coming from it, and my heartbeat accelerated. I nervously asked, "General Lelyushenko, which German army is attacking you? , How many troops do they have?"

"It should be a unit of the 2nd Army of the Waffen-SS of the German army. They used more than 30 tanks and about one regiment, and they are rushing towards my headquarters."

After Lelyushenko's report, I immediately fell into a panic. My eyes couldn't help but glanced at the door of the headquarters, hoping to see Zhukov appearing at the door at this time. In this way, I can logically. Leave the matter to him. Regrettably, there was no one at the door, and I was the only one in the command center. The staff and communications officers of the combat department had all left as early as six o'clock.

It may be that when I heard that I hadn't answered for a long time, Lelyushenko raised his voice and asked anxiously: "Hey! Lida, are you still listening? Hey! Are you still there?"

"Yes, Comrade General, I'm still there." Lelyushenko's voice made me calm, thinking that Zhukov might not be back in a short time, so I can only bite the bullet to deal with this emergency. But for the sake of safety, before giving the order, I asked one thing: "How many troops can you mobilize?"

"There is only one mechanized brigade, two anti-tank artillery companies, and one guard battalion." After Lelyushenko reported to me the number of existing troops, he added: "The rest of my troops are scattered across the vast defensive area. , It is impossible to implement reinforcements for us in a short time."

I took a quick look at the map in front of me and found that the defense zone of the 1st Guards Army was next to his headquarters, and said decisively: "Comrade General, immediately concentrate all forces and try my best to block the enemy rushing towards the headquarters. , I will send friendly troops to support you as soon as possible."

After finishing the phone call with Lelyushenko, I immediately dialed the number of the combat department and ordered the officer on duty: "I am Oshanina, order the relevant personnel to rush to the headquarters immediately. There are important tasks for them to complete here. ."

The officer on duty did not ask me anything, so he directly agreed: "Understood, comrade deputy commander, they should all be in place within five minutes."

While waiting for the staff, I dialed the headquarters of the 1st Guards Army, found the commander General Grechko, and said straightforwardly: "Comrade General, General Lelyushenko just called me. It is said that an enemy is rushing towards his headquarters. I order you to send troops to reinforce them immediately, so that all the invading enemies must be wiped out."

"Understood, Comrade Deputy Commander." Grechko replied respectfully: "I immediately sent the 18th Tank Army and the 153rd Infantry Division to reinforce them. I hope General Lelyushenko can support them."

"Don't worry, General Grechko." When he heard him say Lelyushenko in a skeptical tone, I said with some dissatisfaction: "As long as your troops can arrive on time, the Germans will never rush into Lelyushin. Branch’s headquarters."

Although Lao Maozi has always had the habit of not being punctual, because I said that there was an important job, all the combat staff and communications personnel who had gone back to rest were all rushed to the headquarters within five minutes.

After seeing the staff and communications personnel lined up in two rows in front of me, I did not say anything nonsense. Instead, I gave a straightforward order: "Everyone should return to their working positions and establish a relationship with the 1st Guards Army and the Tank 4th. The connection between the group armies. What is the latest battle report that I need to report to me immediately, understand?"

"Understood!" After all the people agreed loudly, they ran back to their seats.

Soon a radio operator turned around and reported to me loudly: "Comrade Deputy Commander, General Lelyushenko, commander of the 4th Tank Army, is online. He wants to speak to you."

I walked quickly over, stood next to the new-style walkie-talkie, picked up the microphone and pressed it to my ear. I heard the rumbling noise coming from inside that was clearer than before. I couldn’t help but squat, knowing that the German troops were leaving Lelyushin. Section's headquarters is getting closer. Hurriedly asked with concern: "General Lelyushenko, how is your situation there?"

"Lida, the German tank is less than 500 meters away from my headquarters." Lelyushenko reported loudly, "I have ordered the chief of staff to take two guard companies. Less than a hundred meters away from the headquarters, build a defense and prepare to block the German tanks coming over."

"Hold on, Comrade General." It will take at least an hour or more for Grechko's troops to arrive. Under the current circumstances, we can only hope that Lelyushenko's troops can hold the Germans. attack. In order for him to know what he knew, I specifically explained to him: "General Grechko's troops will arrive soon. You must hold on."

"General Grechko's troops are coming to support us?" When Lelyushenko heard the news, he became excited and said repeatedly: "Great, this is great! If the friendly forces can arrive in time, we Not only can it repel the enemy’s attack, but it is even possible to destroy this enemy..."

Before he finished speaking, I heard another stranger’s anxious voice in the receiver: "Comrade Commander, the German tank is less than two hundred meters away from our headquarters, Chief of Staff Let me tell you, please transfer immediately."

"Where is the chief of staff?" I heard Lelyushenko yelling at the man: "Let him block the German tanks firmly. You must not let them rush to the headquarters."

"Yes!" I heard the man replied loudly, and then heard footsteps from near and far, presumably going out to convey Lelyushenko's order.

When Lelyushenko’s voice came out of the receiver again, for his safety, I said euphemistically: "Comrade General, since the German tank has approached your headquarters, for your safety, you still Transfer temporarily!"

"No, Comrade Deputy Commander." Regarding my kindness, Lelyushenko refused without hesitation: "I am the commander of the group army and should stay with my own fighters. How can I lose my mind because of danger? Let them run away?"

"What's going on here?" While I was talking with Lelyushenko, Zhukov and Sokolovsky walked in from the outside and couldn't help asking loudly when seeing the busy scene in the headquarters: "Who can tell me what the **** is going on here?"

I handed the microphone in my hand to the operator, walked quickly in front of Zhukov, and reported to him: "Comrade Marshal, there has been an emergency, and the 2nd Army of the German Waffen-SS suddenly confronted Lelyushin. The headquarters of General Ke launched a frantic offensive."

After listening to my report, Zhukov had a serious face, while Sokolovsky looked at Zhukov blankly and said: "Damn it, what the **** do the Germans want to attack at this time?"

Zhukov did not respond to Sokolovsky, but looked at me and asked: "Lida, what measures have you taken after learning this news?"

"I ordered the 1st Guards Army to send the 18th Tank Corps and the 153rd Infantry Division to rush for reinforcements as quickly as possible." After I finished my deployment, I was afraid that Zhukov would criticize me for making good ideas, so I explained. : "Because you are not in the command post, I can't get in touch with you temporarily, so I made my own claim and gave orders to the troops below."

Zhukov walked back to his seat blankly, looked up at me and said, "Lida, don't forget, you are the deputy commander of the front army. Although you are only acting as an agent, you can replace me when I am not there. Conduct full command." At this point, his face suddenly showed a smile, "If I change to the command post, I will give the same order as you. Good job, you are good!"

Sokolovsky came over and asked Zhukov puzzled: "Comrade Marshal, I don't understand why the German army suddenly launched an attack on the 4th Tank Army at this time?"

"Chief of Staff, don't you understand?" Zhukov looked at Sokolovsky and said faintly: "Our air strikes today made Hubei feel that their way of breaking through the mountains is not necessarily successful, so Only then will Dessel’s troops be contacted and attacked from the west of the 4th Tank Army, hoping to open a gap from here so that their defeated soldiers can escape our encirclement smoothly."

"It turned out to be so." After understanding the intentions of the German army, Sokolovsky stared at the map for a long time, and then said: "Comrade Marshal, if the German army really intends to open a gap here in the 4th Tank Army, So at the mountain exit to the northwest, is it still necessary to deploy the main force of the 13th Army?"

"Lida, what do you say?" Zhukov turned his gaze to me and asked, "Do we need to continue to the northwest and maintain sufficient forces?"

Zhukov’s question immediately caused a cold sweat on my forehead. What if you leave enough troops at the mountain pass in the northwest, and the enemy really chooses Lelyushenko for the breakthrough? If the actions of the German army tonight are nothing but a feint, if we do not leave enough troops, then the enemy will smoothly break through our defense line, merge with their friendly forces, and retreat to the defense zone north of Ukraine.

When I was in a dilemma and didn't know how to answer, the operator just turned his head and shouted at us again. But he did not call me this time, but Zhukov: "Comrade Marshal, I have lost contact with the command of the 4th Tank Army."

"What? I lost contact with Lelyushenko." After hearing the bad news, Zhukov jumped up from his seat, strode to the operator's side, and asked sharply: "What the **** is going on, why? Suddenly lose contact?"

The operator shrugged and replied with some helplessness: "The line between us and them was still open just now, but I don't know what happened, the other party suddenly lost any signal."

"Is there something wrong with the line?" Although we all considered the worst possible, Sokolovsky, who spoke first, said in a tactful tone: "Maybe something went wrong with their line. So I suddenly lost contact with us."

"This is impossible, Comrade Chief of Staff." Zhukov sneered at Sokolovsky's statement. "Lelyushenko is also an old commander who has experienced many battles. Didn't he know that during the fierce battle? , Does it make sense to keep the line open?" After that, he instructed the operator, "Once the contact is restored, report to me immediately!"

When the three of us walked back to Zhukov’s desk again, Sokolovsky asked cautiously: "Comrade Marshal, do you really think that we lost contact with Lelyushenko because something serious happened to him? ?"

Zhukov stared at him for a moment, then nodded, and said solemnly: "Yes, we suddenly lost contact with Lelyushenko. It can only show that the enemy has rushed to his headquarters and cut off. His communication with the rear."

"Ah?!" Sokolovsky was taken aback by Zhukov's analysis. He said in an incredible tone: "Comrade Marshal, this is impossible. You must know that General Lelyushenko is commanded by the tank army. , If the German army does not have a hundred tanks, it will not be able to break through his defense."

"Have you forgotten that his tanks suffered particularly severe losses during the battle during this period of time." Zhukov said, pointing to several locations on the map: "The remaining tanks are distributed in these locations, away from Lieliu. Shenke’s headquarters are quite far away. It’s not easy for UU Read www.uukanshu.com to gather them at night."

"Comrade Marshal," the operator called at this moment: "We have contacted General Lelyushenko again."

"Take the phone to me." After saying this, Zhukov picked up the handset of the phone in front of him, put it in his ear and asked, "Hey, is it Lelyushenko? This is Zhukov. "

The other party was silent for a moment, and then replied timidly: "No, Comrade Marshal, I am the chief of staff of the group army, and the commander is leading the troops outside to direct the troops to counterattack."

Zhukov was taken aback when he heard it, and then reluctantly said: "Isn't I more terrible than the Germans, he would rather charge with troops instead of talking to me. Okay, report to me about your situation."

Zhukov's words left me confused. I gently touched Sokolovsky next to me and asked in a low voice: "Chief of Staff, do you know why Comrade Marshal said that?"

Sokolovsky grinned silently, and then explained to me in a low voice: "Comrade Oshanina, you know, Comrade Marshal has always been strict in managing the army, and he always asks for full reproach to his subordinates. So, you know, Comrade Oshanina. Regardless of the fact that General Lelyushenko was a brave and eloquent commander, he was very afraid of Comrade Marshal, and always tried every means to avoid meeting him. The Marshal later learned about this incident accidentally, so he would use it from time to time. A few ridicules."

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