Burning Moscow

Out of consideration for my safety, Zhukov added a few soldiers to Yushchenko to form an elite guard class. Yushchenko, the original guard battalion commander, could only follow me, wronged to be a guard squad leader who could only command more than a dozen soldiers.

Although there were only a dozen people in my guard squad, when we left Zhukov’s headquarters, it was still packed with a truck with a canopy. Seeing this situation, Vatutin couldn't help laughing and teasing me and said: "General Oshanina, it seems that your movement is not small when you travel. Apanashenko and I will inspect wherever we go, and we will take four if we pass. Five guards, and you brought more guards than the two of us combined."

For Vatutin’s ridicule, I still can’t get angry. I can only accompany my smiling face and say: "Comrade General, since I have been in danger too many times on my way, Marshal Zhukov gave me a special match for my safety. This guard class."

"Comrade Oshaninna, don't worry, I just made a joke for you." Seeing that I was a little nervous, Vatutin explained to me specifically, after saying that he opened the back door. He made a please gesture at me, and said with a grin: "Get in the car, we have to drive hundreds of kilometers. But don't worry, the situation and the route are all in the defense zone of our army, and there will be no danger. "

We bumped on the road all night, and at dawn, we finally arrived at the headquarters of the Voronezh Front Army in Oboyan.

Our car stopped outside the building where the headquarters was located. When I got off the car, I saw two familiar figures from the crowd standing at the door preparing to welcome us. One was Apanaschenko who had a fate, and the other was Khrushchev who had served as a military commissar of the Stalingrad Front, but now he is no longer purely a political worker, but soon Before, he was also awarded the rank of lieutenant general.

I followed Vatutin. Shake hands one by one with the commander who came to greet him. When I shook hands with Khrushchev, I was relatively respectful to this future leader. I bend over slightly. Stretching out his hands, he said politely: "Hello. Comrade Military Commissioner, I am glad to see you here!"

"Hello, Lida!" Khrushchev looked very affectionate when he saw me, a former comrade of the Stalingrad Front. He held my hands and shook it vigorously, and said warmly: "Welcome, welcome. Come to our Voronezh Front to supervise and guide the work."

In front of this future boss, I showed the humility I deserve. I accompanied the smiling face and said: "Comrade Military Commissioner, you are laughing. In front of your leaders, where can I guide what work? I am on the order of my superiors to go to the Voronezh Front to assist Commander Vatutin. Also, , I am young and have little experience. If there is anything wrong with me, please point it out to me."

"Okay, Comrade Military Commissioner." Vatutin interrupted the narrative between us and said with a smile: "Let's go to the headquarters. As soon as possible, convey the higher-level intentions to the commanders at all levels."

When we entered the conference room, we sat down. Vatutin sat opposite me, with the deputy commander Apanashchenko in his left hand. Khrushchev was sitting on my right hand, Major General Korzhenevich, Chief of Staff, was sitting on my left hand, and Major General Kazakov, commander of the 69th Army, was sitting on my right.

After the meeting began, Vatutin scanned the audience and slowly said: "Comrades, I have brought the latest order of the base camp from Moscow. The mission of our Voronezh Front is no longer a simple warning of Biel. The German army of Gorod encircled the flanks of the central front, but to increase the intensity of fortifications in the defense zone to prevent possible violent attacks by the German army. This General Oshanina is a special commissioner sent by the base camp. . Responsible for supervising the construction of various fortifications in our defense zone."

Hearing Vatutin introduced me to everyone, I quickly got up from my seat. He raised his hand to salute everyone present before sitting down again.

Vatutin went on to say: "Because General Oshanina has a special mission, no matter which group army zone she enters, you must actively cooperate, understand?"

"Understood." Several group army commanders sitting at the table replied neatly.

After the room became quiet again, Apanashenko publicly said his doubts: "Comrade Commander, I don't understand why the base camp wants us to be adjusted to the main defensive direction. Everyone knows, Orel. The area is home to the elite central army group of the German army. They may attack General Rokosovsky’s central front at any time. Belgorod in front of us is a weakened remnant under the command of Mainstein. Defeated."

After listening to this question, Vatutin did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at me and said, "Comrade Oshanina, I think it is more appropriate for you to answer this question from Comrade Deputy Commander."

Seeing that Vatutin pushed this problem to me, I couldn’t refuse, so I could only bite the bullet and stand up and said to Apanashenko: "Comrade Deputy Commander, you are right about one thing, Manstein. Yin’s troops were indeed weakened in the battle. But have you ever wondered what kind of strength they were before they were weakened, and what is their strength after being weakened?"

"This, this..." Faced with my question, Apanashchenko looked a little flustered, and got stuck in the middle of speaking. But after all, he was a not-so-simple person. After a while, he recovered and asked bluntly: "I really don’t know the specific strength of Manstein’s troops. However, one was hit by a joint attack by our Southwest Front and Voronezh Front. No matter how strong the combat effectiveness of the troops in the past were, their current strength will be greatly reduced."

Although Apanashchenko’s seniority is old, and even Vatutin as a commander is not as good as him, but I do not have the slightest sense of awe for him, so I don’t speak in circles, and bluntly said: "Comrade Deputy Commander , I once witnessed a German division, in just a few hours, severely injured one of our infantry guards, and easily broke through their strong defense line. And I sent reinforcements from the tank brigade from them After the attack on the flank, the entire army was wiped out after a fierce battle. You must know that the troops annihilated by the Germans were elite troops that had just experienced the defense of Stalingrad, but they still did not parry in front of the disadvantaged German troops. This shows how strong their fighting power is."

After Apanashenko listened to me. He said unconvincingly: "Even if there is such a German division, would he dare to risk being encircled? Will the lone army go deep into the defense zone of our front?"

"Comrade Deputy Commander," thinking that he would die in a few months, and there is no possibility of becoming my immediate superior, so I was not afraid of the possibility of offending him. There are three underlings, and one of them makes us overwhelmed. If we encounter three at the same time, then even if our troops have the upper hand, they will still be caught in a fierce battle. Moreover, if such an elite unit is lost, the Germans will definitely be against it. They give priority to replenishment so that they can restore their original combat effectiveness as soon as possible and pose a greater threat to our army."

"Lida," Khrushchev asked slowly after my generous statement was over, "Are you sure that the German Central Army Group will not attack the defense zone of the Central Front first?"

"No, Comrade Military Commissioner." In response to Khrushchev's question, I politely answered: "The German Army gathered the Central Army in the Orel region. It was to attract our 70 infantry soldiers deployed near Moscow. The division and Rokosovsky’s central front force us to focus all our attention on the west. They can secretly deploy troops to strengthen Mainstein’s forces in the future."

"Then where do you think the main direction of the German army will be?" Khrushchev then asked.

"Prokhorovka!" Since I mentioned this place in Zhukov's headquarters a long time ago, there is no need to hide it here, so I simply said it out: "Commander Vatutin once explained Because the terrain of Prokhorovka is an open hilly area, it is divided into two by an important railway, which is not conducive to our construction of a complete defense system. Once the German army chooses this place as a breakthrough, it will be based on the existing combat power of our troops. . It is very difficult to stop the German attack. So we must survey the area as soon as possible and build fortifications in suitable places."

"Yes. General Oshanina is right. The next main task of our front army is to choose a suitable location in the Prokhorovka area and build a complete defense system." Vatutin finished these few sentences. Later, I looked at Major General Kazakov sitting on my right hand side, and said, "General Kazakov!"

Hearing Vatutin calling his name, Major General Kazakov quickly got up from his seat, straightened his waist, and waited for Vatutin's next order.

"Prokhorovka is the defense area of ​​your 69th Army," Vatutin looked at him, and began to explain the task to him: "You have to personally accompany General Oshanina to complete the terrain survey, do you understand? ?"

"Understood." Kazakov replied loudly, and then sat down.

"Next, we..." Watutin was only halfway through when he was interrupted by a staff officer who rushed in. After I saw the staff murmur a few words in Vatutin's ear, Vatutin's face changed drastically. After I waited for the staff to stand up straight again, I hurriedly asked Vatutin nervously: "Comrade Commander, what happened?"

"That's it, Comrade Oshaninna." Vatutin stood up from his seat and said to me with a serious expression: "The troops stationed in Prokhorovka called and reported that they had been found near the area. The trail of the Germans."

Before I could speak, Apanashenko got up from his seat and said loudly, "Comrade Commander, since the enemy has been found in the Prokhorovka area, what are we doing sitting here? "After saying this, he paused for a while, seeing that Vatutin didn't mean to stop him, he went on to say, "I suggest to stop the meeting immediately. The commanders of the headquarters rushed to Prokhorovka to take a look. What happened."

Apanashenko’s words made me frown, because I thought of Zhukov in my heart, thinking about what action Zhukov would take if he heard the news. Based on what I know about him, he will definitely order the person reporting his intelligence to figure out where the enemy is and what kind of troops and equipment he has, instead of hurriedly ending important military meetings and leading A large group of commanders ran to the place where the German army appeared. If there is an ambush from the enemy on the road, so many high-level commanders will have some accident, the troops will fall into a situation of no leader.

Thinking of this, I stared at Vatutin nervously to see what decision he would make. Apart from me, Khrushchev sitting next to him, and a group of commanders of various armies stared at him intently, waiting for him to make the final decision.

Vatutin was silent for a long time, looking down at Khrushchev and asking: "Comrade Military Commissioner, what do you think?"

Khrushchev did not expect Vatutin to push this problem to him. He raised his hand and scratched the back of his head, and finally said: "Comrade Commander, we have rushed to end the military meeting, and then rushed to Prokhorovka. It feels a bit sloppy. Why not, anyway, Lida is going to Prokhorovka to survey the terrain~www.NovelMTL.com~ Let the deputy commander and General Kazakov accompany her on a trip. We can understand that she is there. The situation of the German troops in the Prokhorovka area can also be surveyed in the local area by the way, killing two birds with one stone. What do you think?"

After listening to Khrushchev’s comments, Vatutin nodded and said in agreement: "Comrade Military Committee made sense. We are holding an important military meeting. We cannot interrupt the meeting just for this matter. Deputy Commander. Comrade, you will rush to Prokhorovka together with General Oshanina and General Kazakov to see what happened, okay?"

"Okay, I'm going now." After Apanashenko said this, he greeted me and Kazakov: "Let’s go, let’s go to the Prokhorovka area immediately and find out the Germans What do you want to do."

I sighed inwardly for Apanaschenko’s reckless behavior, but I couldn’t object, so I had to say goodbye to Vatutin and Khrushchev, and follow him and Kazakov to Prokhoro. Fka.

On the bus to Prokhorovka, I really admired Stalin’s arrangements with Apanashenko. If he was transferred from the position of commander of the Far Eastern Front regardless of his intentions, I would directly be in charge of an important one. Direction, then the Soviet army will suffer unnecessary heavy losses because of his outdated command thinking. (To be continued.)