Chapter 54: Nature
"This was sent by your guard," Olga said, changing the subject when she saw Yuri's eyes fall on the phonograph in the room. "It's made in Germany. I heard it was confiscated from the home of a German spy."
Yuri smiled and nodded without saying anything.
Because it was a temporary room, it was relatively simple. The furnishings in the room were very simple. Apart from a bed and a desk, there was only a chair. There was not even a sofa to entertain guests.
As a last resort, Olga asked Yuri to sit down beside the bed.
"Are the Germans about to attack here?" Seeing Yuri sitting down on the bed, Olga sat down next to him and asked, "Tonight, I heard people talking about the German tanks reaching Perepisi and they will probably move south in the next two days."
"Yes," Yuri nodded and replied without hiding the truth from her, "Not only is the German offensive in the north very fierce, but the west is also not safe . I just received news that the German 51st Infantry Corps has broken through the defense line in the Ivankov direction and is advancing towards Chernigov, preparing to raid the flank of the 21st Army."
Olga knew that the 21st Army was currently stationed in Chernigov. Because of the previous battle, this unit had suffered serious damage, so the defense in the Chernigov direction was very weak.
"What should we do then? Does the front have any reserve troops?" Olga asked worriedly.
Yuri shook his head and said, "Kiev has already transferred the 4th Division of the Internal Guard. I heard that two airborne brigades will come to reinforce in the next two days and build a defense line in the area west of Chernigov. This is the last part of the troops that the front can mobilize. As for us, we can only rely on ourselves."
"Will the battle be brutal?" Thinking of her brother being in the 34th Division, Olga couldn't help but feel worried and continued to ask.
"Yes," Yuri raised his head slightly and sighed, "The order given to me by the front headquarters is to strictly guard every inch of land here, at least to prevent the Germans from breaking through the Desna River defense line from here and threatening the rear of Chernigov."
"Will the Germans definitely attack here?" Olga asked.
"I also hope that the Germans will not choose this place as the main attack direction," Yuri said with a wry smile, "but in fact, if I were the commander of the German army, I would definitely choose this place as the direction of the attack."
"Why?" Olga didn't understand these things, so she asked curiously.
"This is determined by the direction of the Desna River," Yuri said patiently. "You also know that the Desna River flows from north to south. When it passes through Desnitsa, it suddenly turns and flows to the west. When it reaches Chernigov, it turns again and flows to the southwest. The Desna River has abundant water. Now it is summer and the water volume has reached its peak. Whether in Desnitsa or Chernigov, the water flow must be turbulent at these two river turning points, and it is very difficult to build a floating bridge on the river. And here, we are 30 kilometers east of Desnitsa and 15 kilometers west of Chernigov. It is the area with the slowest water flow in this section of the Desna River. Therefore, how could the Germans give up such a best choice for building a floating bridge?"
What Yuri said was an analysis of military geography. As for why the German army chose this area as the main attack direction, there were many actual reasons, and Yuri did not have time to explain them one by one.
"Then, will the casualties of the troops be great?" Olga hesitated for a long time before asking cautiously. She had also experienced a series of battles in the Western Front before, and of course she knew very well how tragic the casualties of the Soviet army were on the front battlefield.
"Well, I'm arranging a new combat plan. I plan to rely on the city of Berezna to engage in street fighting with the German army," Yuri turned his head and looked at Olga and said, "It is foreseeable that the troops will inevitably suffer a lot of casualties. But you don't have to worry. I will find a way to transfer Vasily to the logistics department. Although once the battle starts, no one, including me, can enjoy absolute safety, but the safety factor in the logistics department will always be higher."
Yuri knew why Olga asked so many questions, so he just said it directly. Things like this, in fact, he didn't need , the guard Arseni could arrange everything properly. Although the soldiers of the 34th Brigade were poor, the number was definitely not small. At present, the number of new recruits assigned to the 34th Brigade has exceeded 4,000, and new recruits are still being sent from Kursk and Belgorod. Although a large part of these soldiers will be added to the 21st Army, the 34th Brigade can also be allocated a part.
The decision of the front was very clear. In the Chernigov direction, it was a war of attrition to delay the German army moving southward and buy time for the battle that was unfolding in the Kiev area. Since it was a war of attrition, there was no shortage of people like Vasily. Yuri was not worried that someone would be dissatisfied with him because his fate was always determined by whether the battle was fought beautifully. If it was fought beautifully, then in the eyes of the superior command, he was full of advantages and no one could find fault with him, nor would anyone be allowed to find fault with him. On the contrary, if he fought badly, he would be full of disadvantages and no one would dare to point out his advantages.
Olga heaved a sigh of relief after hearing what Yuri said. She was not worried about anything else but her brother's life safety. If possible, she didn't even want her brother to join the army. But the problem was that her family background was too poor, and the preferential policies given by the Supreme Command this time made it impossible for her and her family to refuse.
Olga now even feels a little regretful. She should have worked harder when she was in the training school. If she could have established a relationship with Yuri at that time, with his current achievements, her family would definitely not have to suffer in Siberia.
With this utilitarian emotion, Olga took this opportunity, plucked up the courage, moved closer to Yuri, said "thank you", and leaned over to kiss Yuri on the lips.
Yuri, who already had some ideas in mind, certainly would not miss this opportunity. He took the opportunity to hold Olga's delicate little face and kissed her back roughly... The man was in love and the woman was willing, so everything happened so naturally.
The temperature in the small room rose quickly. Considering the poor sound insulation, Yuri did not forget to cover Olga's mouth the whole time, making the play seem like a brutal rape. Perhaps because of the servitude, Olga, who had never experienced sex before, was very relaxed and accepted any request from Yuri, so that Yuri felt very satisfied afterwards.
Happy times always pass quickly. In order not to attract other people's attention, Yuri left Olga's room at five o'clock in the morning. Although he was exhausted, he still had to cheer up and get back to work.
After returning to his room, taking a shower and changing into his underwear and military uniform, Yuri hurried to the office of the command post.
At around 6 o'clock, Arseni went to Yuri's room, but didn't find anyone there. He then rushed to the command post office. As soon as he entered the door, he saw Yuri lying on the command desk, measuring and drawing on the map with a coordinate ruler (distance card) and making notes.
"Good morning, Comrade Major," Arseni greeted and began to busy himself with pouring water for Yuri.
"Good morning," Yuri said without even looking up. "Go prepare something to eat, anything will do. Then go find Comrade Major Visoko. I have something to discuss with him."
Major Visoko is the operations staff officer of the 34th Brigade, and Yuri needs him to issue orders to the subordinate regiments.
"Okay, Comrade Major," Arseni quickly poured a glass of water and brought it to Yuri's table, then trotted away.
Ten minutes later, a tall, thin, young major with blond hair knocked on the door. He was Major Visoko, a former instructor at the Odessa Military Command Academy. He had been called up to the army just a month ago and was directly assigned to the 34th Brigade.
In the office of the command post, Yuri showed Major Visoko the reply issued by the front command last night. According to this instruction, the previous rejection of Yuri's tactical arrangements by the brigade staff and political commissars was declared invalid. As the brigade commander, Yuri will assume all the command and corresponding responsibilities for the subsequent operations of the 34th Brigade. In other words, the front command meant that how the 34th Brigade fights is decided by Yuri, the brigade commander, and others can only obey and cannot raise objections. Of course, correspondingly, if there are any problems in the future operations, Yuri will be the only one to bear them.
Major Visoko was also helpless when he saw this approval. He understood that this approval seemed to put a heavy burden on Yuri, but it also showed the trust of the front command in Yuri - at least in commanding operations, the commander, military commissar and trusted Yuri alone more than the current staff of the 34th Brigade.
With the approval of the front command, Yuri obtained the absolute command of the 34th Brigade. The rest, naturally, was to arrange the operations according to his plan.
At that moment , Yuri ordered Major Visoko to contact all the troops under the brigade headquarters, requiring them to withdraw their troops into the city before noon today, and to allocate troops and set up positions according to the plan he had made.
In addition, Yuri also asked the logistics staff to seize the time to collect nylon clothing, used tires, various rubber products, asphalt and other materials from the warehouses of various clothing factories, and then distribute these things to various high-rise buildings in the city.
