Trafkin became familiar with the reconnaissance battalion he commanded in less than a day. △↗, Oh, at noon the next day, he came to my command center and asked me for a task. He might be afraid that I would disagree, so he emphasized specifically: "Comrade Commander, I have talked to all the company and platoon leaders in the reconnaissance battalion. Everyone thinks that based on the current situation of our battalion, we can immediately start reconnaissance work on the front German army. Please approve it."

I was silently calculating the time when the Kursk Battle broke out. Seeing that there were only ten days left before the start of the battle. If we did not send people to reconnaissance and understand the German dynamics in a timely manner, then we might suffer a great loss in the early stages of the battle.

But I did not take my own initiative in this matter, but turned around and asked Danilov: "Comrade Deputy Commander, what are your opinions? Do you agree to the captain and the others go out for reconnaissance?"

"I have no objection," Danilov replied very simply, "We should have sent people to the German defense zone for reconnaissance. It is difficult to understand the real deployment of the German army simply by relying on the information reported by the troops below. Therefore, I think we should send a reconnaissance battalion to the group army to conduct detailed reconnaissance of the German defense depth."

Seeing that Danilov's thoughts were the same as mine, I no longer hesitated. After asking Trafkin wanted to lead the team to reconnaissance this time, I picked up the pencil on the table and wrote on the notebook:

"This order:

Captain Travkin of the Group Army's reconnaissance battalion immediately dispatched elite personnel to form a reconnaissance team to go deep into Belgorod Kharkov, controlled by the German army, to reconnaissance the German defense and activity rules. It is limited to eight days and no delays are allowed.

Army Commander: Oshanina

Military Commissioner and Political Commissar:

Deputy Commander:

chief of staff:

Issuance date: June 25, 1943."

After writing and signing the order, I pushed the order in front of Danilov and the others. After taking turns reading the order, the three of them signed their names behind their positions.

After signing the letter, I picked up the order and handed it to Trafkin who had been waiting beside him, and told him: "Captain. This reconnaissance is of great importance to visit the enemy's back. You must promptly feedback the reconnaissance situation so that the leader of the group army can adjust the deployment of troops according to the changes in the enemy situation."

"Yes," Trafkin replied loudly: "Comrade Commander Rest assured, we promise to complete the task."

Seeing him turning around and leaving, I called him from behind and reminded him: "You will be in a very dangerous situation when you go deep into the enemy's back. You must remember to minimize the losses of the team. Do you understand?"

"I understand, Comrade Commander."

Looking at the back of Trafkin leaving, Kirillov, who knew him well, suddenly asked: "Lida, why did Captain Trafkin go there in person for this reconnaissance? You must know that he is now the battalion commander of the reconnaissance battalion, with so many company commanders and platoon leaders under his command. Anyone who sends him can complete this mission successfully."

"Comrade Military Commissioner," I explained to Kirillov's doubts: "The reason I let Trafkin take action in person is because this reconnaissance mission is really important. Although there are a lot of company commanders and platoon leaders in the reconnaissance battalion, unfortunately, I have not known them enough because I have been to the group army for too short and I am not sure of them. I am worried to send them out rashly."

My words aroused Danilov's alertness, and he asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, the Front Command issued an order a few days ago to strengthen our combat readiness and prevent the possible attacks by the German army. As a result, the days predicted by the superiors have passed several days. Do you think the German army will launch an attack?"

"Yes, sure." Seeing that the Battle of Kursk was only a few days before the outbreak of the Kursk Battle, I didn't want my deputy to take the matter of combat readiness lightly, so I said seriously: "Judging from all the signs at present, the German army may launch an attack on our defense zone in early July."

"Early July" After listening to my analysis, Danilov had a disbelief expression on his face: "It's the end of June now, but there is no sign of a large-scale mobilization of the German army on the front of our defense. You must know that if we want to launch an attack on our group army defense zone, the German army must prepare at least 300,000 people. The mobilization of so many soldiers and weapons and equipment is impossible to complete without more than a month."

"Comrade Deputy Commander, you must not underestimate the enemy." Kirillov interrupted, "You must know that on the eve of the outbreak of the Patriotic War, we did not realize that the German army had entered the attack position, and even some early warning information was ignored by us. As a result, as soon as the war broke out, we were caught off guard. The less the enemy on our front, the less we should be careless, otherwise once they launched an attack, we would suffer a great loss."

"Military Comrade is right." As soon as Kirillov finished speaking, he immediately expressed his support to him and explained to Danilov: "Manstein is not a simple person. He had defeated two fronts with several times more people than him a few months ago. Now his troops are deployed on the front of our defense. It is impossible not to be vigilant."

"But how can you be sure that the German army will launch an attack in early July?" Although Kirillov and I said a lot, Danilov still looked disbelieving. "At present, there is no intelligence to support this statement."

Seeing that he was so stubborn, I smiled bitterly and said, "Comrade Deputy Commander, if I said it was just my intuition, I felt that the German army would attack our defense zone in early July, would you believe it?"

Almost as Danilov shook his head, Kirilov nodded vigorously and said loudly: "I believe in the judgment of Comrade Commander. Based on my previous experience with her partner, I believe that her prophecy will soon become reality."

Before we could completely convince Danilov, the new regiment commander Xiejierikov walked into the headquarters. As soon as he saw him, Kirilov asked him with a smile: "How is it, comrade Lieutenant Colonel, is your unit completed?"

Xiejierikov waved his hand and said with a wry smile: "Comrade Military Commissioner, how can it be that fast? Now we have only built up the frameworks of each battalion and appointed some commanders. As for the soldiers, it may take two days to get there."

When I heard Xie Jierikov say this, the first thing I thought of when he came to me at this time was that he would not want a commander to enrich his troops. So when he finished speaking, I frowned and asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Xie Jierikov, you came to the headquarters today, what's wrong?"

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Xiejierikov didn't notice the dissatisfaction I showed, but said truthfully: "I want to ask the first task of the group to perform after completing the reconstruction."

Unexpectedly, he did not come to me for a commander, but to ask for a task, which made my dissatisfaction with him just now disappear. I asked with a smile, "Then do you have any good ideas?"

Xiejierikov walked to the table, pointed to the map on the table, and asked respectfully: "Comrade Commander, are you allowed to explain to you on the map?" After getting my permission, he drew a straight line from Kursk to Yakovrewo with his hands, and then said, "Comrade Commander, please see, from Kursk to Yakovrewo, where our first line of defense is located, the total length of the traffic line is 120 kilometers or a little longer. The supply of the entire army is completed by this traffic line. I'm right?"

"Yes, this road is our only transportation line." Bezikov said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, can you tell me what are your plans?"

"We should strengthen the defense of this highway," said Serjrikov, pointing to one point, "We entered from here at that time. Our troops walked on the road for nearly an hour and saw no checkpoints or fortifications. If it were not us who entered this area, but the Germans, what consequences would be brought, I wouldn't say, you can think of them."

Xiejierikov's words shocked me and I was sweating all over. I always thought that this road had a special army defense, but I didn't expect it to become a place we ignored. If Xiejierikov had not reminded me that once the Battle of Kursk broke out, the German army would have to dispatch an armored force to cut off our transportation line, and the first and second lines of defense would become precarious due to insufficient ammunition and supplies.

However, since Xiejierikov discovered this defensive loophole in our army, he must have a good countermeasure. So after secretly wiping the cold sweat on my forehead, I asked, "Lieutenant Colonel Xierikov, what are your plans?"

"That's how I think, Commander." Xiejierikov obviously did his homework before coming here, so he replied without hesitation to the question I asked: "I plan to deploy the two battalions between the first and second lines of defense, because once the battle breaks out, it will become the focus of the German offensive. The remaining battalions and regiment-level troops are placed behind the second line of defense and used as a reserve. Once the German army breaks through our first line of defense, the two battalions in front will retreat behind the second line of defense, meet with the regiment headquarters, and continue to protect the traffic line between Kursk and the second line of defense."

I was very satisfied with Xiejrikov's arrangement. After nodding to express my approval, I also took the initiative to say to him: "In order to strengthen the combat effectiveness of your regiment, I will ask the Chief of Staff to equip you with twenty mortars and five armored vehicles. In short, even if you sacrifice your life, you must ensure the safety of the group army's transportation line. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Xiejierikov replied loudly, repeating my just words: "Even if you sacrifice your life, you must firmly ensure the safety of the group army's transportation line." To be continued.
Chapter completed!