Both armies were under my command, which meant that while giving me a "peace of mind", it also put a lot of pressure on me.＞If the net can successfully seize Kharkov, it would naturally be happy; but if the attack failed, it would be a disappointment to the trust of my superiors, and what awaited me would be severely punished.

And Chisdakov and the others obviously didn't think so. When they heard that their superiors handed over the command of the joint force to me, several people immediately cheered.

After the calm in the observation center returned to its regaining peace, Chisdakov, who was still excited, asked: "Comrade Commander, should we hold a military meeting after the commander of a friendly army arrives to discuss how to attack Kharkov?"

"Yes, comrade Deputy Commander, your proposal is very good. It is necessary to hold a military meeting." Chisdakov's proposal immediately reminded me that two unaffiliated troops are likely to fight on their own when they cooperate in the first cooperation, so it is completely necessary to hold a military meeting and unify their thinking. Therefore, I agree with it: "When General Managarov and his division commanders arrive, we will hold a meeting. However, the current task is to occupy the city of Dergaci first."

When I was making the phone call, Baksov not only observed the lookout for a long time, but also received calls from several frontline commanders. When he heard me say this, he immediately replied: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander. According to the report of the frontline commander, two-thirds of the city of Dergaci has fallen into the hands of our army. A few German troops resisted stubbornly in several buildings, but I believe that it will not take long to eliminate them or drive them away from the city."

I was not surprised at all about the 67th Guards Division's attack on Dergach. After all, this is just a small city. If Baksov and his friends had not marched for a long distance yesterday and broke through several German defense lines, the commanders and soldiers were a little tired, and they might have taken it off last night.

My eyes were fixed on the map and asked, "General Sivakov, have you figured out the deployment of the German army on the edge of the forest?"

"Comrade Commander, I have figured it out." Sivakov pointed to the forest location on the map and said to me: "The German army assembled the 3rd Armored Division and the 168th Infantry Division in the forest. Although these two troops suffered heavy casualties in the early battles, their combat effectiveness should not be underestimated."

My original plan was to attack the forest area by Colonel Babaxin's 71st Guard Division, and advance to the north bank of the Ude River. Now that there is an entire army, my strategy needs to be adjusted. Thinking of this, I decisively announced: "I announced that the combat missions of the 71st Guard Division and the 9th Guard Division were cancelled. After the 67th Guard Division captured Dergaci, the troops were resting on the spot."

As soon as I said that, Babaxin and Chernov, who were eager to try, were stunned. They asked in unison: "Comrade Commander, why is this?"

After I looked at the two of them, I said, "Two division commanders, you must know that the troops participating in the war are not only your Guards 22nd Army, but General Tavalt Kiraze's Guards Army is also coming soon. Behind them are there tens of thousands of commanders and fighters of General Managarov's 53rd Army. Therefore, our original combat deployment must also be adjusted accordingly."

After I finished speaking, Chisdakov looked around and looked at the observation center where we were, and then said, "Comrade Commander, if a military meeting is held, this place will be too small. Even if only the division commander comes to attend the meeting, he will not be able to sit down. Do you see, will you put the meeting in the city after taking down Dergaci?"

"No, Deputy Commander, this is definitely not possible." As soon as Chisdakov's proposal was released, I immediately retorted: "The large German troops were stationed not far south of Dergach. If they knew that we were in the city, as long as we had a round of artillery bombing, we might have to take the pot. So we could not have a meeting in the city anyway."

After hearing what I said, Chisdakov was a little troubled. "Then where should we have a meeting? It must not be possible in the tent, and there are not many people inside. Can we only have a meeting in the open air?"

It is really a troublesome place to hold a meeting. While in a dilemma, Shivakov suddenly spoke, "Comrade Commander, there are many loggers and carpenters in my army. I can gather them together, find a spacious place, and seize the time to build a wooden house."

"Well, Comrade Commander, your proposal is good." In order to ensure the progress, I also specifically reminded him: "In order to speed up the construction level, the trees cut down do not need to peel off the bark outside. As long as the house can be built, that's fine. Okay, start logging and building a house immediately!"

After Shivakov left with Colonel Babaxin, I looked at Baksov opposite me and said, "Comrade Commander, once the troops completely occupy Dergach, in addition to continuing to clear away the remaining enemies in the city, we must also build solid fortifications in the direction of the forest."

After listening to my order, before Baksov had time to speak, Chisdakov interrupted and asked, "Comrade Commander, do we really have to wait until the Guards and General Managarov's 53rd Army arrived before attacking the forest area?"

"Yes, Deputy Commander." I answered him with certainty: "With the joining of General Managarov's 53rd Army, we now have doubled our strength, so we must also make corresponding adjustments to Kharkov's offensive tactics."

"Adjustment?!" Chisdakov asked in confusion: "How to adjust?"

I pointed to the location of the forest on the map and said, "Look, the German army deployed an infantry division and an armored division in the forest. If we attack now, even if we suffer heavy casualties, we may not be able to drive the enemy away from the forest area. Therefore, I plan to wait until our artillery and the tank troops behind us arrive, and then we will launch a shelling of the forest first, and then with tank cover infantry to attack. This will have a much higher chance of victory."
Chapter completed!