Burning Moscow

　　 Half an hour later, Katukov and Yevremenko and I drove to the regiment headquarters of the 1073 regiment. Seeing our arrival, the commander, Colonel Kistyakov, was taken aback. He was surprised and said: "Oh, my comrade commander, why did you come to me? It is too dangerous here. The enemy may be possible at any time. To launch an offense, you should return to the division headquarters!"

I waved my hand and said, "Comrade Commander, you don't have to worry about my safety. I'm here not to stroll around, but to help you destroy the enemy." I faced Kistyakov and pointed at the other two. Introduce him: "Comrade Colonel, please come here, let me introduce to you: this is General Katukov, commander of the 1st Tank Brigade of Guards; that is Major Yevremenko, commander of the 280th Anti-tank Regiment. "Then turned around, faced Katukov and the others, pointed to the colonel and said, "This is Colonel Chistyakov, the head of the 1073 regiment of our division."

　　 While the three saluted and shook hands with each other, I called around this command post built of logs and found that it was similar to my division command post. In the middle of the room was a large wooden table with military maps and telephones on it. There is a square observation hole on the wall on one side, and the periscope for observation is placed in front of the hole. On the other side of the wall, there were transmitters, walkie-talkies, and the like. Since no fighting had taken place outside, the soldiers in charge of operating these devices were sitting there quietly.

　　 I walked to the table and looked at the map spread on it. I still felt that I still couldn't understand it, so I greeted the three of them: "Stop chatting, come and study the battle deployment!"

　　 After the three people came to the table, I said to Kistyakov: "Comrade commander, you can tell us about the defense situation of your regiment first."

"Please come here with me," the colonel took us to the observation hole, pointed outside and said: "The regiment headquarters is located in the forest, two hundred meters east. It is a battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Chernigov. A defensive position. About two kilometers further east, there is a forest where the enemy tank troops that have rushed in are stationed."

　　 "How many tanks does the enemy have?" When I heard about the enemy's tanks, the first thing I thought about was Major Yevremenko, the commander of the anti-tank regiment. I wonder if this counts as his professional habit.

"I sent someone to reconnaissance last night. It was probably an enemy tank battalion. When I broke through our defense line, I lost a few tanks. Now there are 17 tanks. It is a pure tank unit and no infantry is following. "

"Our brigade currently has only 30 tanks. If we attack from the front, even if the enemy's tank unit is wiped out, our casualties will be great." Katukov looked outside thoughtfully. Said.

　　 "Could you go around behind the enemy and attack them, so that the casualties will be smaller." Kistyakov made his own proposal to the tank brigade commander.

"No!" Katukov immediately rejected his proposal. "We don't know how the enemy is deployed in the forest. Not only is it approaching from any direction, it may be discovered. Then, the sneak attack becomes a forceful attack. This kind of battle is not worthwhile."

　　 While the two were discussing how to attack the German tank unit, I used a periscope to observe the situation outside. Russia's forests are not the kind of continuous invisible edges. Pieces of open space divide the forest into small irregular areas. The forest two kilometers away is no exception. It is surrounded by bare open land, no matter how close it is hidden, it will be discovered by the people inside. I adjusted the periscope and continued to look at the terrain in other directions. I saw that there was still a forest about 500 meters southeast of our army position.

　　 Seeing this, I stood up straight, turned and called Kistyakov: "Comrade Colonel, come and see, are there our or enemy troops in the forest over there?"

Kistyakov took a look and replied: "Comrade commander, the forest area is too small for the troops to expand, so we did not set up the defense line there. When the scouts came back from reconnaissance last night, they checked. , There are no enemies there." As he spoke, Katukov and Yevremenko also squeezed over, leaning over to the observation hole to look at the terrain outside.

　　 When Kistyakov finished speaking, I nodded, went back to the table, and said to them: "Come here, let me tell you how to fight this battle?"

　　 I wanted to point on the map, but when I thought that I didn’t know the map and feared making jokes, I picked up a notebook on the table, tore a page, and spread it on the table. I first drew a square on the top and bottom of the paper with a pencil, then drew a horizontal line on the top of the square below, and finally drew a circle to the right of the middle of the paper.

I drew it and raised my head. Seeing that the three of them all looked at me blankly, knowing that they didn't understand what I was drawing on paper, I quickly explained to them: "This is a picture of the enemy and me I drew." Point to the square below with a pencil and say: "This is where our headquarters is located. This horizontal line represents the line of defense of our army...."

"I understand." The high-rank response is fast. As soon as I said something, Katukov understood: "The square above is the position of the enemy, and the circle on the right should refer to the forest you just asked about. Right?"

　　 "Good job!" Seeing that Katukov understood the sketch I drew so quickly, I praised him, and then said: "Next, I will set up combat missions."

"Comrade commander, I want to remind you that our army has limited strength. If we attack, we will pay a great price. When the enemy launches a new offensive, we will not have enough troops to defend." It's Kistyakov, he is afraid that my blind command will ruin the whole army.

"This battle ~www.wuxiaspot.com~The infantry is only responsible for defense, and the tank brigade is responsible for the offense." Having said that, I looked up and asked Katukov: "Comrade General, what kind of tanks do you have? Is it a KV heavy tank that can't be beaten by enemy shells?"

　　 "Our brigade is equipped with the latest T-34 tanks. There is no KV heavy tank that you mentioned."

"Oh, it's a pity. Otherwise, the enemy will be full of teeth. I will continue to talk about operational deployment." I pointed to the horizontal line with a pencil and said to Yevremenko: "Comrade Major, you will deploy the anti-tank regiment. Here is our defense line." Then he moved the pen tip to the circle and said to Katukov: "Comrade General, you place twenty-five tanks here. Then send the remaining five tanks to the enemy. The forest where you are moving forward."

　　 "Do you mean that these tanks should be used to lure the enemy?" Katukov asked tentatively.

　　 Talking to a smart person is easy, I only halfway through it, and he knows my deployment. But there are two other people next to me. I don’t know if they understand my intentions. I have to explain to them: "General Katukov’s tanks are advancing towards the enemy’s position, and when the enemy shells them, they turn around and head towards me. The army was running and trying to lead the enemy out of the forest. When the enemy's tank came into range, the anti-tank artillery group fired. When the enemy was dizzy and turned, the other tanks of General Katukov rushed out of the forest. Cut off their retreat. At this time, even if they come back to their senses, it is too late to turn around and escape. What awaits them is the fate of the entire army. Do you understand what I mean?"

　　 "I understand completely!" The three answered me in unison.