Burning Moscow

On both sides of the entrance of the three-story building, sandbags were piled up, and a dozen soldiers stood in it. A captain was in charge of them. Seeing me walking by with Bezikov and Rasmihin, the captain quickly came out of the fortifications, raised his hand to salute me, and respectfully said: "Hello, General Oshanina."

I looked at the captain in front of me carefully. He seemed a little kind. He should have met before, but it was too long ago, and his name has long been remembered. I smiled and said to him: "Comrade Captain, I have something to see General Shumilov, don't you know he is there?"

"Yes, Comrade General." The captain replied politely: "Comrade Commander is in his office. Do you need me to show you the way?"

I was worried that after I entered the building, I couldn’t find Shumilov’s office. Since this captain was so enthusiastic to show me the way, I went along and said, "If this is the case, I will trouble you, comrade Captain. ."

The captain led us to a large office on the second floor. Outside the closed wooden door, there was a desk. Sitting a young blonde female ensign was chatting with a soldier in black uniform. Seeing a few of us walking by, the female soldier immediately stopped the conversation, stood up, called the captain's name and asked: "...I don't know if you have anything to do with Comrade Commander?"

The captain shook his head toward where I was and replied, "Second Lieutenant, this is General Oshanina, an old acquaintance of the commander. She has an urgent matter to see the commander. Please go in and let me know."

The female second lieutenant glanced at me and said: "Please wait a moment!" Then she walked to the door, pushed one of the doors open, walked in, and closed the door at will.

While we were waiting, the soldier who had just chatted with the female ensign turned around and looked at me curiously. Then asked in bad Russian: "Hey, dear girl, don't know what to call you?"

The male soldier’s frivolous tone made me uncomfortable. Glancing at him sideways, he found the pilot logo on his chest. I couldn't help but murmured in my heart: Where did this strange guy emerge from? Not only did he speak bad Russian, but he also looked different from the usual Soviets?

Before I could figure it out, the captain had already stepped forward, put his hands on the opponent's shoulders, and forcibly pulled his body over, while still saying: "Okay, okay. Don't grind here. , Go back to your room."

After the captain blasted away the pilot, Bezikov asked him curiously: "Comrade Captain, where did this guy come from, and what accent he was talking about? Why do I listen to that? Are you awkward?"

"What? Comrade Colonel, what are you asking?" The captain didn't hear Bezikov's question, and asked in surprise, "Whose accent sounds awkward?"

"Who else can be the pilot you just chased away." Bezikov asked thoughtfully, "Isn't he a Russian?"

"He is Polish, Comrade General." The captain faced me. Replied unexpectedly.

"Pole?" I was taken aback when I heard the captain's words, and then asked somewhat unexpectedly. "Comrade Captain, how come there are Poles in your defense zone?"

"That's it, Comrade General." The captain explained to me patiently: "Although he is a Polish, he is ours. I heard that after the Great Patriotic War broke out, some of the former Polish pilots were lucky to escape. I went to the German prisoner-of-war camp, quietly crossed the German defense line, and rushed to our side. Joined our army and stayed in the army like this. There are probably more than 30 of them..."

Did not wait for the captain to finish. The two closed doors opened, General Shumilov, whom I knew well. Walked out of the room with the female second lieutenant who was going to report, and interrupted the words behind the captain.

Lieutenant General Shumilov saw me standing outside the door and immediately opened his arms to greet me, and at the same time said loudly: "Dear Lida Musdakova, I can see you here. It really surprised me." After speaking, he gave me a big hug.

I hugged him politely, and said: "Hello, General Shumilov, I am glad to see you again."

After Shumilov released me, he grabbed my arm and pulled me into the house. He said excitedly: "Well, Comrade Oshanina, come sit in my office. You Guy, since I hit the 62nd Army, I've been like a kite with a broken line. I haven't contacted me again, so I often ask others to inquire about you."

He led me to the desk and greeted me to sit on a chair, and he sat down on the opposite chair. After looking at me from head to toe, he said: "You are really amazing. In the difficult environment of the Defence of Stalingrad, with a newly formed unit, the Germans were frightened by the wind. After the battle was over. According to some German officers and soldiers captured by us, the Mamayev Hill, which your troops are holding on, has become the narrowest and most difficult zone to pass. Because the German army is trying to seize the high ground and cut off us and The connection across the Volga River. But their plan was completely shattered because of the tenacious defense you organized...."

I never thought that Shumilov was such a talkative person. When he gave orders, he used to finish in a few simple and clear sentences, but now he talks endlessly and makes me interrupt. There is no chance. I looked at him with a smile and tried my best to be a qualified audience.

Shumilov talked for a while, but when I saw that I didn't finish it, he just looked at him with a smile, and immediately realized that he could no longer sing a one-man show, and quickly changed the subject: "By the way, Lida, I heard that you were appointed As the commander of the 6th Guards Army, how come you have time to come to me today?"

"Comrade Commander," I still use the previous name for him, "We are now a friendly neighbor force. In order to strengthen our cooperation with each other, I think it is necessary to come and see you."

"Look, what's so good?" Shumilov asked in a daze, "Don't you know that the mission of our Voronezh Front is to contain Manstein's troops so that he dare not easily transfer troops and go Reinforce their Central Army Group to relieve the pressure on General Rokosovsky."

I couldn't help smiling bitterly at Shumilov's disapproving attitude. After organizing the vocabulary in my mind, I tentatively asked: "Comrade Commander, based on your analysis. The main direction of the German army is General Rokosovsky. Isn't it our side?"

"That's natural." Shumilov replied without hesitation: "According to the intelligence analysis we have at present, the enemy will be dispatched from the Orel area to attack Kursk. And here, at most, it is only At best, Manstein could only launch a round of feint attacks in order to achieve the purpose of containing the strength of our army."

After listening to Shumilov's analysis, I couldn't help but laugh. In truth, if I didn't come from the future. Then he might also hold the same idea as him, thinking that the main direction of the German army is west of Kursk. Besides, I do not have enough intelligence to prove that the German army will launch an offensive from the south of Kursk. I can never tell him that according to historical records, the German army will attack Kursk from two directions at the same time. He must treat me as a lunatic.

I pondered for a moment, and then evasively asked: "Comrade Commander. I don't know how the construction of your group army is completed?"

Hearing me asking this question, he immediately sighed and said helplessly, "Lida. Almost all of the fortifications we built before May were soaked in water after the snow melted and was scrapped. Now the fortifications are being repaired from scratch. In such a short period of time, without the cooperation of enough construction machinery, the progress of the construction is simply not guaranteed."

After listening to his answer, I couldn’t help worrying about his fate. I sullen my face, tapping my fingers on the armrest of the chair lightly, and said earnestly: "Comrade Commander. Have you ever thought about it here? It is only tens of kilometers away from Belgorod. In just a few hours, German tanks can rush out of the city of Koroscha. If there is no perfect defense system, you will be encircled by then." I said. Here, I paused and thought for a moment, and suggested to him, "Or, you move the headquarters to another place first, and then move the headquarters back when the defense system in the Koroscha area is perfected?"

"No, absolutely not!" As soon as I finished speaking, Shumilov replied categorically: "Even if the Germans rushed to the entrance of my headquarters, I would direct the soldiers to fight bravely, and would never retreat. step."

"Since you are not going to transfer the headquarters," hearing him resolutely stated that he would never take a step back, I had to persuade him in another way: "Then what you have to do now is to urge the troops to speed up the construction of fortifications. With a complete defense system, let alone rushing to your headquarters, even if the Germans want to get close to the city of Coroscha, it is impossible."

"Lida, how is the construction of your defense zone?" Shumilov waited for me to finish, and couldn't help but ask curiously: "I heard from my subordinates a few days ago that you are building construction projects there. There are many ways to improve the existing defense system. But there is one thing that makes me feel very strange."

"Comrade Commander, don't know what makes you strange?" I asked casually.

"In your defense zone, there are both plains and highlands. But what makes me feel strange is that almost all of your fortifications are built on highlands, but there are so few fortifications on the plains. Why is that?"

"Comrade Commander, we chose to build defensive positions on the high ground." I originally wanted to talk to him about where to build fortifications. Since he took the initiative to propose, then I took the opportunity to instill in him. Let’s take a look at my tunnel defense theory: “It’s because first, we can avoid the fate of fortifications being flooded by water, and second, we can build a large number of tunnels on high ground to hide our troops and reduce the number of enemy shelling or air strikes. casualties."

After hearing what I said, Shumilov was silent for a while, and then said: "After the Battle of Stalingrad, I visited the fortifications you built on Mamayev Hill. After seeing it, I had to Said, this is really a remarkable undertaking. Even if the German forces occupy the surface position of Mamayevgang, our troops can continue to stay in the tunnel to contain the enemy, but they cannot move forward. I think this is what you want to do. The reason for the fortifications on the high ground, right?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Seeing that Shumilov finally understood what I was trying to say, my mood became happy. I smiled and said to him: "With a complete defense system and strong fortifications, you can While making the defensive battle relatively easy, it greatly reduced the casualties of the troops.” At this point, I couldn’t help but think of the 107.5 heights like a “flesh mill”, so I added sadly, “In Mamayev Hill Next to it, there is a 107.5 high ground. Because the original defenders did not build tunnels on it, the troops who stuck to the high ground suffered heavy casualties in German artillery fire and air raids. Going up to a regiment or brigade usually took less than two days to be beaten. Disabled, had to withdraw to the opposite bank of the Volga River for repairs."

Shumilov got up from his chair abruptly, and walked back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back. At this time, I looked around and found that Bezikov and the others did not come in. I was considering whether to go out and call the two in. The door was pushed abruptly from the outside, and I hurriedly walked from the outside. A burly commander was entered.

Seeing the person coming, I quickly jumped up from my seat and straightened my body on the spot. My left hand was naturally hanging down close to the seam of my trousers, and my right hand was raised to the edge of my forehead. I said loudly, "Hello, Comrade Soviet Marshal!"

Hearing my voice, Shumilov, who was pacing, also stopped. He walked to my side, also raised his hand to salute the people who came, and said, "Hello, Comrade, Deputy People’s Committee of the Soviet Union for National Defense."

Hearing the two of us greet ourselves with different names, Vasilevsky, who had just walked in, nodded at us, walked around the back of the desk and sat down quickly, and raised his hand to greet us to sit down.

After we both sat down, he leaned back in his chair and looked at me and asked, "Lida, why did you run into General Shumilov's defense zone?"

Hearing Vasilievsky’s question, I quickly stood up and replied respectfully: "Comrade Marshal of the Soviet Union, I went to General Shumilov to establish contact after checking the defense situation of the 51st Guards Division. So that in the next battle, we can better coordinate operations."

"So," Vasilevsky raised his eyebrows, and asked with some surprise: "Do you think that Manstein, with his strength, dare to attack our strengthened Voronezh Front?"

"Comrade Marshal," I saw the Marshal Venus on Vasilievsky's shoulders, and couldn't help but mumble. I remember that when I left Moscow, he was still a general, and how he became a marshal. Although he was thinking about it~www.NovelMTL.com~, he was still answering his question: "The combat effectiveness of Manstein’s troops is not weak. His'Hitler Division', the'Imperial Division' and the'Skull Division' are not weak. They are all elite troops of the SS, let alone one-to-one. Even if we are three-to-one, we may not be able to defeat them."

"Is the situation that serious?" Vasilievsky asked in a suspicious tone.

"Yes, Comrade Marshal." I immediately replied affirmatively: "I have fought against two of the troops and know their strength very well. Even if they were weakened in the early battles, this kind of elite troops The speed of replenishment is usually very fast. I believe that their current combat effectiveness has basically recovered."

"Lida, I know you have a lot of unique opinions. Even Comrade Zhukov admires this." Vasilevsky said slowly, "Can you tell us about your considerations?"

"What we can do at present is to seize the time to repair the fortifications and improve the existing defense system." I said carefully: "After the defense system is formed, we can use defensive warfare to bring down the enemy, and then turn to counterattack and annihilate the enemy. If conditions permit, our army can also launch a full-scale general offensive in the direction of Kharkov, Poltava, and Kiev, and completely drive away the German forces from the vicinity of Moscow to ensure the safety of Moscow." (To be continued. )