Red Moscow

The train fully loaded with the 98th Guards Division set off, and all regiment-level cadres held a meeting in the last train compartment.

Before the official meeting, Chief of Staff Uzakov announced to the crowd: "Commanders, I have some good news for you. In view of the outstanding performance of our division in the battle to liberate Kharkov, the Supreme Command awarded the High honor to my division 'Kharkov'."

After everyone listened, they were taken aback for a moment, and then began to whisper to each other to make sure they had heard correctly. You know, after the liberation of Belgorod, everyone hoped that their superiors would grant themselves a title named after the city, but they were disappointed in the end. Hearing what Uzakov said at this moment, it was as if he was dreaming, thinking that he had an auditory hallucination.

Seeing this, Chuvashov quickly stood up from his seat, and said to everyone with a smile: "Commanders, don't doubt your ears, you heard it right, what Comrade Chief of Staff said just now is true, The High Command has indeed bestowed upon my division 'Kharkov' the high honor."

Lieutenant Commander Shamrih, the new head of the 296th Guards Regiment, stood up and asked the question in his heart on behalf of everyone: "Comrade Commander, I would like to ask, how many units are there in our army that won this high honor this time?" ?”

"This time there are only two units that have received high honors." Chuvashov said, stretching out two fingers: "Our division and General Fomenko's 84th Infantry Division."

"Ah, there are only two divisions?" Shamrih asked in surprise: "You know, the first troops to rush into the city were all troops from our 27th Army. Why did only two divisions receive this honor?"

Shamrih's words aroused the resentment of other commanders: "That's right, even if all divisions cannot be awarded this honor, at least half of the divisions should be there. Two divisions are too few."

"Quiet, please be quiet, commanders and comrades." Seeing that everyone's discussion below was getting louder, Uzakov slapped the table vigorously with his hands a few times, and said loudly: "Let's continue the meeting."

After the carriage became quiet again, Uzakov continued: "Perhaps everyone is wondering, where are the troops going to board the train? Before boarding the train, for the sake of confidentiality, except for our three division chiefs, No one knows the destination this time. Since we have set off now, I can tell everyone that we are going to Klemenchug."

"Klemenchug?!" The commander of the 302nd regiment repeated the name of the place and said in surprise, "Are we going to cross the Dnieper River?"

"That's right," Uzakov replied, nodding his head: "The superiors ordered our division to take a train and go quickly to Klemenchug to capture the city and control the bridges over the Dnieper River. A reliable landing site ensures that the main force of the Front can successfully break through the German Dnieper River defense line."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Shamrich asked curiously: "As far as I know, troops from the 7th Guards Army and other friendly forces are attacking Poltava at the moment. On the road to Klemenchuk, I am afraid we will not be able to reach Klemenchuk if we do not occupy the city."

"Major Shamrich, you don't have to worry about this." After Uzakov accepted the combat mission from the headquarters, he also received Sameko's instructions and knew what to do next. In order to reassure all commanders, he stated the truth straightforwardly: "There is a railway line that bypasses the Poltava area, and we will rush directly to Kremenchug from this line, before the enemy Quickly take Klemenchug as soon as you notice."

After Uzakov arranged the combat tasks in detail to the commanders present, he asked, "Are there any questions?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Shamrih stood up again and asked, "I want to ask, do we have any artillery preparations before we attack?"

"No, Comrade Major." Uzakov shook his head and replied, "Not to mention artillery preparations, there are no tanks either. In other words, we can only rely on pure infantry to take this city."

Hearing what Uzakov said, the expression on Shamrikh's face became serious: "It turns out that it is like this, that is to say, when we are fighting in the city, when we encounter the enemy's firepower, we can only use new rockets or Bazooka to destroy it instead of counting on our artillery or tanks?"

"Yes, that is exactly what it is, Comrade Major."

Seeing the expression on Shamrikh's face, Chuvashov and Uzakov smiled at each other, and then said: "Comrade Major, don't worry, this time we attack Klemenchug, we will still focus on sneak attacks." , it is unlikely that there will be a fierce battle."

Hearing what Chuvashov said, Shamrikh's eyes lit up immediately, and he asked repeatedly: "Comrade commander, what is your plan?"

"Commanders," Chuvashov stood up and said to everyone: "After the train passes Poltava, everyone will change into German military uniforms and pretend to be German troops retreating from the front. Deceived the defenders in Klemenchug."

Chuvashov's words seemed to give all the commanders a reassurance. Yes, the current situation is so chaotic, if my troops disguise themselves as Germans, maybe they can really sneak into the German defense zone, and it will be very easy to capture Klemenchug by then.

The train, loaded with more than 6,000 commanders and soldiers, went smoothly along the way, without encountering any damage to the railway, so that they bypassed Poltava half an hour earlier and officially entered the German defense zone.

At this time, the commanders and fighters on the train were all changed into German uniforms, and even the flags on the train were changed into German ones. As long as the train is not stopped for interrogation, the Germans who see the train along the railway line will think that the train is full of troops that have just withdrawn from the front.

Saw the train smoothly rounding Poltava and heading towards Klemenchug. The deputy division commander Dobrushin said to Chuvashov: "Comrade division commander, it seems that we are lucky. We entered the German defense line so easily without being noticed by them."

Although Chuvashov was secretly pleased when he saw that the troops had successfully entered the German defense line without any trouble, but when he heard Dobrushin say this, he still said with a straight face: "Comrade deputy division commander, Before our troops reach Klemenchug, any accident may happen, and we must not take it lightly just because we passed Poltava smoothly, otherwise we will suffer big losses."

Dobrushin realized that seeing the smooth operation of the troops, he somewhat underestimated the enemy, and quickly admitted his mistake to Chuvashov: "Comrade commander, I was wrong. I shouldn't have underestimated the enemy at this time. Fortunately, you reminded me Timely, otherwise there is a risk of a catastrophic error."

When the train was about five kilometers away from Klemenchug, it stopped suddenly.

Chuvashov frowned and asked: "What happened, why did the train stop?"

Uzakov quickly picked up the phone and asked the officer on duty at the locomotive: "Hey, what's going on, why did the train stop?"

The officer on duty recognized Uzakov's voice, and quickly explained: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the railway ahead has been severely damaged, and the train cannot move forward."

"Order the engineers accompanying the vehicle to hurry up and repair immediately."

After Uzakov put down the phone, he reported to Chuvashov: "Comrade Commander, the railway ahead has been damaged, and our train cannot move forward. I have ordered the engineers to repair it."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Chuvashov asked after listening to Uzakov's report, "what do you think?"

Uzakov thought for a while, and then replied: "Comrade commander, we don't know the damage to the road ahead and how long it will take for the engineers to complete the repair. This is how I think about it. Let people go to explore the road first. Before dawn, the damaged railway cannot be repaired, so we might as well get off the train and march."

"Get out of the car and march?" After hearing this, the deputy division commander Dobrushin couldn't help but said with great concern: "Comrade Chief of Staff, is it appropriate for us to get out of the car at this time?"

"Comrade Deputy Division Commander," Uzakov said to him, "I'm going to send people to explore the road first to find out the length of the damaged railway and the time it will take for the engineers to repair the road. If the waiting time is too long, We will be discovered by the enemy if we stay here, and they may be able to figure out that we are counterfeit with just two phone calls, and when the enemy rushes from all directions, we may be in danger of being wiped out."

"Then send someone to explore the road ahead while the engineers rush to repair the railway." Chuvashov said noncommittally: "After finding out the damage to the road, decide whether to sit in the car and wait or wait." Get out of the car and march on foot."

After investigation, the railway destroyed by the German army was two kilometers long, and many places were savagely blasted. Even the foundation stones under the sleepers were blasted into big pits. In this case, if you want to wait until the engineers repair the railway, I am afraid that you will have to wait for a long time.

"Comrade Commander," Uzakov reminded Chuvashov after the situation outside became clear: "Since the railway cannot be repaired in a short time, it is better to order the troops to get off the train."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I think it's better to wait." Dobrushin said: "The troops are marching in unfamiliar areas at night, and it is easy to get lost. There are enemies around here. Once our troops enter by mistake If you enter the enemy's defense zone, I'm afraid there will be a big problem."

"But it's not an option for us to stay here and wait." Uzakov said tit-for-tat: "You know, we are deep behind the enemy's rear, and once the enemy surrounds us from all directions, even if we want to break out, we will not be able to find a suitable direction. "

The two argued for a long time, but neither could convince the other. They could only cast their eyes on Chuvashov at the same time, waiting for him to make up his mind. After all, he is the leader of the first division.

Chuvashov thought for a while, and said to Uzakov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the deputy division commander makes sense. If the troops march in unfamiliar areas at night, it is easy to lose their way. If they accidentally enter the German defense zone, I'm afraid you will suffer unnecessary losses..."

"Comrade commander, although our commanders and fighters are not familiar with the surrounding terrain, we can march along the railway, so that we can avoid getting lost." Uzakov reminded Chuvashov: "And walking along the railway, you can enter For the stations in the city, as long as we capture the station and use the station as the starting point for our attack, then the next battle will be much easier."

Chuvashov was so moved by Uzakov's proposal that he almost couldn't help but agreed to let the troops get out of the car and march on foot. But looking at the anxious deputy commander, he felt that this matter still needs to be cautious. "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think we'll have to wait a little longer. Maybe the engineers will repair the railway faster than we thought."

"Okay, then we'll wait." Seeing what Chuvashov said, Uzakov could only helplessly agree: "After half an hour, I will contact the engineers in front to confirm when Restoration of the railroad can be done."

After waiting for more than half an hour, the officer on duty at the locomotive called and reported to Uzakov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the engineer said that the road ahead has been damaged too much by the German army, especially the foundations of some sections have been destroyed. It was blown up and it would take a lot of time to fix it."

After waiting for the other party to finish speaking, Uzakov asked in a deep voice, "Tell me, how long will it take to complete the repair of the railway?"

The officer on duty was silent for a while, then sighed softly and said, "Comrade Chief of Staff, the engineer said that even if the repair work goes well, it may take until this afternoon to complete the repair work."

Uzakov put down the phone and reported to Chuvashov: "Comrade Commander, the engineers said that the road ahead was damaged too much by the German army. Even if the repair work goes well, it will not be completed until after this afternoon."

"Ah, it took that long?" Dobrushin said in surprise, "If we really have to wait until the afternoon to leave here, wouldn't it be possible for the Germans to discover us?"

"That's right, Comrade Deputy Division Commander." Uzakov nodded and said, "In order to prevent us from being discovered by the German army, I think we should order the troops to get off the car as soon as possible and march towards Kremenchug on foot. After all, here It is only a few kilometers away from the city, even if you walk, you can reach the goal in an hour."

Chuvashov pondered again, and he admitted that Uzakov was right. If he stayed here, he would still be in danger of being exposed even if his troops were all dressed in German uniforms as soon as the sun dawned. But if he let the troops get off the car and march at night in an unfamiliar place, he would not feel at ease.

Seeing that Chuvashov was still indecisive, Dobrushin lost his composure. He asked the other party: "Comrade commander, you are the leader of the first division, so hurry up and make up your mind."

At this time, if Chuvashov cannot make a decision, he is undoubtedly incompetent as a division commander. He stood up and told Uzakov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately call Major Shamrich and order him to get off with the 296th Guards Regiment and advance along the railway line to Kremenchug, and the rest Troops remain on standby in vehicles."

"What, let only one regiment get out of the car?" Uzakov asked in surprise: "Will the remaining two guard regiments stay on the car and won't be discovered by the Germans?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff, at this time, we can only gamble on luck." Chuvashov said: "Maybe before Major Shamrich's troops reach Klemenchug, the railway in front will be repaired by engineers." Now, we can get to Klemenchug as quickly as possible by train."

Now that Chuvashov had reached this point, Uzakov knew that there was no point in arguing with him, so he nodded and said, "Okay, Comrade Commander, I will give Shamri the Major He called and understood that he led the troops out of the car and marched towards Kremenchug."