Chapter 34 5.This is the happiness of soldiers

At five o'clock in the morning on November 22, a telegram came from Moscow.The base camp pointed out that the loss of Rostov did not change the mission of the Southern Front: it should intensify its onslaught on Taganrog.Moscow correctly judged the situation and also expected that Kleist would jump out of the trap in a hurry. News of the enemy's capture of Rostov aroused anger among our attacking troops.The warriors rushed forward irresistibly. On November 22, Cherevichenko reported that the enemy could not bear the onslaught of our army, abandoned heavy weapons and technical equipment, and was retreating southward.

So, we thought hard again.If Kleist flees, then he should fight Taganrog and go out to his retreat path; if he wants to sit on the isolated city (anything can happen!), then let the 37th Army turn to Rostow Isn't husband better?The commander-in-chief asked the reconnaissance department to find out the enemy's intentions.But it's not easy.For now, we can only rely on speculation.Opinions are always divided in such cases. General Cherevichenko was trying to justify that the attack on Taganrog should be continued, since there were only ninety kilometers left in total. "As soon as our army has reached the Mius River," he explained his thoughts, "then—welcome, Mr. Kleist, we are waiting for you to come out of Rostov. If we turn to Rostov, Then we will encounter Kleist's army fleeing from Rostov, and it will be more difficult to stop them."

Boggin took a different view.He thought it impossible for Kleist, the arrogant Prussian ambassador, to run out of Rostov immediately after the fascist propaganda had declared his victory to the world.That is to say, turn to Rostov and beat up the enemy group occupying the city. For the first time since I had worked with the Chief of Staff, I had a disagreement with him about the situation.Cherevichenko's proposal is more convincing to me.This suggestion would be advantageous in both cases, Kleist sitting in Rostov or escaping from it.I think that if the first situation occurs, then after the Southern Front advances to the Mius River and Taganrog is liberated, the Kleist Army will be cut off from its own bases, and its situation will be bad. of.If he escaped, the attacking army of the Southern Front would have time to advance its retreat route, and at that time, Kleist would have enough.I support the opinion of the commander of the Southern Front.

The commander-in-chief is determined to develop an offensive in the general direction of Taganrog.Of course, not because my opinion and that of Cherivchenko prevailed, but the opinion of the headquarters settled the dispute: Stalin and Shaposhnikov also advocated pointing to Taganrog. On November 23, the offensive in the direction of Taganrog continued smoothly.But all signs indicated that Kleist did not intend to give up Rostov. So our commander-in-chief changed his mind.The desire to liberate the city as quickly as possible prevailed.The Marshal ordered that as soon as our army reached the Tuzlov River, we would change the deployment of the 9th and 37th Army troops to the southeast and attack Rostov from there.The cavalry corps of General Hollen, who had strengthened the tanks, was transferred to Taganrog to occupy the defense along the Mius River with the troops of the 18th Army, covering the army attacking Rostov from the enemy's attack from the west. assault.

So it seems that Kleist's calmness and patience forced us to change our original plan.So, is the enemy camp really calm and full of confidence at this time?It turned out that everything was quite the opposite: Kleist was now fully aware that he was going to play the hunter who caught the bear.He forgot his arrogance and started yelling, "Help!" His whimpering was heard. On November 22, the day after Kleist entered Rostov, Halder wrote in his diary: "The commander-in-chief of the army said that the Armed Forces High Command was extremely disturbed by the situation of the 1st Tank Army. In order to strengthen the It, in addition to the four infantry divisions sent by Rundstedt, will also send a tank division and a motorized division." At the end of the day, Halder added: "The Fuehrer's headquarters is restless. There think An extremely serious situation has developed on the flank of the 1st Tank Army. Rundstedt has been ordered to transfer some troops from the 17th and 6th Armies, but both armies are pinned down."

Yes, that is exactly the case.Our army not only oppressed Kleist, but also carried out the requirements of the Southwest Military Commission in other sectors, and acted with maximum activity: fierce fighting was fought in many sectors of the broad front.It was no longer possible for the enemy to freely maneuver its reserves. Kleist finally couldn't hold on anymore.He began to transfer two tank divisions from the Rostov area to the northwest to meet the attacking troops of the 37th and 9th armies that advanced to the Tuzlov River at the end of November 23.The right flank of the 37th Army was cut off fifteen kilometers east of Kubyshevo, and the front continued along the Tuzlov River to Veliky Krepinskaya.All three tank brigades were concentrated in Veliky Krepinskaya and the area to the north.On the left, the divisions of the 9th Army extended along the Tuzlov River to Kameny Brod.

The offensive turned out well: according to the various headquarters, the 37th and 9th Armies gave Kleist a hard screw in the first six days of fighting: they routed three of his motorized infantry regiments.The Hitlerites lost fifty-four tanks, more than fifty artillery pieces, and about two hundred and fifty vehicles. The results must be exploited immediately.But an attack on Rostov with the disposition before November 24 was impossible.The divisions drawn along the front should be gathered together to form some powerful assault groups, replenish the army with ammunition and fuel, and quickly draw up a plan for subsequent attacks.It takes at least two days and nights to do this.Moreover, according to the new determination, the main forces will be brought closer to Rostov, where they will be organized into shock groups.This takes another two days and nights.Therefore, Kleist has a longer breathing time.

It is difficult to say precisely which resolution is better when the engagement is ongoing and the military chief is forced to make up his mind, as the saying goes, blindly, without knowledge of the enemy's intentions.Judging from the facts we now know, it must be admitted that the original decision to turn the army to Rostov was not quite appropriate.We should not waste precious time in bringing the armies closer to Rostov.It would be much more advantageous if the attack was directed to the south, then gradually turned the front of the attacking army to the east, and attacked Rostov from the west.In this case, not only will we not waste precious time for lateral movement, but we can also enter the deep line of communication connecting the Kleist Army and the main force of the "South" Army Group.In this way, when Kleist's army withdraws from the city, it will encounter the corps of our 37th and 9th armies.

The commander-in-chief was eager to go to the Rostov region in order to get closer to the attacking army.But the dangerous situation at the junction with the Western Front prevented him from making the trip.Several times a day he had long phone calls with General Kostenko, who remained on the northern flank of the Southwest Front.The Marshal continued to make demands, suggestions, and to send reinforcements to Kostenko, but all this was in vain, because the situation around Moscow became more and more difficult due to the new offensive of the Fascist troops. It was not until nightfall that the commander-in-chief negotiated all the issues related to stabilizing the joint situation with the Western Front, and then he turned to Rostov.The marshal called General Cherevichenko to receive a direct telegram and asked in detail about the progress of the attack.Cherevichenko said that the SS "Viking" Division and the 16th Tank Division could be written off, while the 4th Division of the German Mountain Infantry was severely damaged.The attacking army is chasing the enemy.But because of the growing threat to the left flank of the Ninth Army, the commander of the Front ordered Kharitonov to transfer there two elite divisions - the 30th Rifle Division and the 66th Cossack Cavalry Division.Two armored trains and an anti-tank artillery regiment were also transferred from the 37th Army.Cherevichenko talked about his opinion: Kleist's basic army group is now in the northern suburbs of Rostov, and the possibility of Kleist's attempt to attack Kharitonov cannot be ruled out.He therefore asked the Chief of General Staff to order the commander of the independent 56th Army to reinforce the Novocherkassk defense area with infantry and tanks and transfer the area to the Southern Front in order to organize a coordinated counterattack against Kleist.Shaposhnikov gave the lot, but refused to reinforce it with new troops, since there were no such troops in the reserve.

At the end of the call, the commander-in-chief expressed his belief that Kleist could not talk about attacking now. As for his enhanced reconnaissance at the junction of the Remezov and Kharitonov armies, it was because he was trying to find out that our army might From where to carry out new raids.Therefore, advance in the direction of Czartri (west of Rostov), ​​cut off the enemy's advance from the Taganrog side, and prepare all air forces to defeat the enemy's attempt to resupply the army by air.The Marshal ordered the printing of leaflets urging the Germans to lay down their arms and avoid needless bloodshed, and to drop them over the cities as soon as the enemy's retreat was cut off.

Headquarters did not dispute the determination of the commander-in-chief to direct the main force of the attacking army to Rostov.The instruction forwarded by wired telegram stated: "The current task of the Southern Front is to smash the Kleist cluster, and after entering Novopavlovka, Matveyev-Kurgan, and the Mius River line, they will capture the Russian army. Tov and Taganrog." That is to say, instead of waiting for Kleist to escape by himself, a resolute attack should be launched to liberate Rostov. On this day, intelligence began to be sent to rescue Kleist from the enemy reserve force: the 1st motorized division appeared at the junction of our 18th and 37th armies. From November 25th, there was relative silence on the entire southern front.Both sides are ready to fight again.General Cherevichenko transferred the 9th and 37th Army Groups to Rostov, and the enemy transferred part of the divisions from the city to meet them and reinforced Kleist's weakest left flank with new reserves: in the motorized After the 1st division, another tank division and more than two infantry divisions arrived soon. It is not difficult to understand that in that case the time factor is of particular importance: the sooner we move our forces to the assault on Rostov, the more miserable it will be for Kleist.The commander-in-chief felt that Cherevichenko was less decisive in changing deployments (as he usually felt in such circumstances).If it weren't for the difficulties in the junction with the Western Front, the Marshal would have gone to Rostov to personally supervise and smash the enemy. Today he still cannot fly to Southern Front Command.At noon, General Kostenko reported that the fascists had launched a violent assault on our 3rd and 13th armies, which had the smallest numbers.The two armies resisted bravely and defended every kilometer of land tenaciously.However, the enemy has a huge advantage in strength, while our army has fewer and fewer troops.After listening to the detailed report on the process of fighting against the new German offensive, the commander-in-chief slammed the table with his fist: "We have resisted enough! Let's teach the fascists a lesson here." He turned to Bokin, who was sitting beside him, and ordered: "While I am busy dealing with Kleist, you and Comrade Kostenko will prepare a new Offensive campaign. The purpose is to crush the enemy Livne group." In order to carry out the main assault from the south, the commander-in-chief ordered the concentration of the 5th Cavalry Corps, the 1st Guards Rifle Division, the Motorized The 34th Brigade of Chemical Infantry and the 129th Brigade of Tanks. The 13th Army, commanded by General C. C. Moskalenko, was organized into a small assault group and should carry out auxiliary assaults north of Yelets.Commander of the 13th Army, General T. M. Gorodnyansky, commanded the entire attacking force, and General O. F. Kostenko gave overall leadership to the campaign. After the commander-in-chief and Bokin further clarified the details of the attack plan, they ordered him to speak with the supreme commander.Moscow's answer: "Wait by the telegraph." This answer was repeated several times over the course of two hours.All signs indicate that the enemy's third attack on the capital has reached the most tense level, and the base camp is making every effort to organize a resistance.When Moscow finally informed that Stalin was receiving a telegram, the commander-in-chief reported to him the situation to the southwest.He said that at the junction of the Southwest Front and the South Front, the armies of General Koroteyev and Malinovsky not only blocked the attack of General Schweedler's group, but also repelled it ten times. From 2 to 15 kilometers; the main force of the Kleist Army is still guarding Rostov, and Kleist only began to transfer the motorized infantry to the Tuzlov River in the northwest of Rostov. Then, the commander-in-chief reported that after the Southern Front Assault Group had cleared all Kleist troops on the north bank of the Tuzlov River, it had begun to change its deployment and transferred its troops to the northern approach of Rostov, so that it could directly attack the city from there.The Marshal also added that, due to the fault of the Military Council of the Southern Front, the change of deployment had been delayed, so that the offensive could not be resumed until 27 November.Of course, he said these words in a moment of anger, and he was also influenced by his conversation with Cherevichenko not long ago, when Cherevichenko insisted on proving that he had no time to prepare for the assault in the shortest time limit.But, as so often happens, action was always slow in the eyes of the higher-ups. The task of Cherevichenko and his command was no light one.Not only must the two armies be moved forty to fifty kilometers, but also the divisions scattered in the front must be mobilized to form an assault group, logistics must be mobilized, ammunition and fuel must be replenished, and a new offensive must be organized.In addition, the head of the front army also transferred some divisions from one army to another: the 216th Infantry Division with the 2nd and 132nd Tank Brigades transferred to the 9th Army, and the 150th Infantry Division to the 37th Army, thus making his tasks more complex. Complicated. When the commander-in-chief was complaining about Cherevchenko's slowness, he didn't know all these details.It is a pity that neither in my memory nor in various documents have the content of Stalin's reply to our commander-in-chief at that time, but the essence of his instructions can be summed up in one sentence: Rostov must be liberated no matter what. On the evening of November 26, Marshal Timoshenko led some generals and officers of the Southwest Front to fly to Cherevichenko's command post. "Oh, Yakov Timofeevich," cried the Commander-in-Chief, greeting the commander of the Southern Front, "if we move so slowly, Kleist will slip away from us! Intermittently too It's been too long, and the slowness in war is paid for in blood... What forces have you found out in front of your assault group?" He asked, approaching the map spread out on the table. Cherevichenko drew a pencil along the crooked light blue line representing the Tuzlov River, and said that according to the confession of the prisoners, there are party members who have been beaten by our army in the previous few battles. Guard "Viking" Motorized Division and 16th Tank Division. The marked recruits include the German 1st Motorized Division that occupied the defense in front of the right wing of our 37th Army.Kleist may have transferred other troops from Rostov, but the reconnaissance department has not yet identified these troops. Cherevichenko reported that after the 37th and 9th armies concentrated their main forces on the front lines of Stoyanov, Gneraliskoye, and Budyonny, they would shift to attack at 8:00 tomorrow morning.The general direction is Czartri, where the army group of the 56th Army under the command of General J.T. Kozlov will attack from the left bank of the Don.The 37th Army carried out the main assault to the west of Sultan Saray and Rostov via Gneraliskoye, and the 9th Army carried out the assault to the northern suburbs of the city via Veliky Saray. "The assault should be rapid," said the commander of the front, "and we therefore demand that the troops occupy Kerem, Sultansaray, Velisaray, and Rakovka before the end of the first day of the offensive. Taking this line will Ensuring the encirclement of the enemy entrenched in Rostov. Over the next few days, by assaults from several directions, it will be possible to divide and destroy the main body of Kleist. While the armies perform this task, General Hollen's cavalry corps should be Klepinskaya went south, that is, to carry out an assault on Taganrog Bay, occupying the triangle of the settlements Vesholy, Sinyavka and Nedvygovka, and protecting the attacking army from the enemy in the west. The basic task of my aviation is to isolate the main force of Kleist from the reserve force that comes to help... This is our last attempt, Comrade Commander-in-Chief." But we know very well that there is a long distance between the attempt and the implementation of the attempt.What will happen tomorrow?You must know that the Kleist Army is one of the powerful assault groups of the fascist army, and of course it will fight fiercely.Therefore, we waited for the future battle with anxiety. The gloomy morning of November 27th came.The new snow is crystal clear and white on the dry autumn grass, just like the white salt of the salt marsh.The onslaught was launched at 9 am.It was cold and the visibility was fairly good.The skirmish line attacking in the open can be seen clearly from a long distance. The enemy resisted desperately, unleashing heavy artillery and mortar fire on the impactors.The roar of shell explosions was drowned out by the roar of dive bombers.The enemy threw tanks and motorized infantry into the counterattack.But our army moved forward, of course, much more slowly than planned.The fascists are dying. The attack was carried out from all sides as planned.The troops of the 56th Army rushed to attack Rostov on the thin ice of the Don River in order to join the 9th and 37th Army from the east.The 230th Regiment of the NKVD under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Jemin and the Rostov Militia headed by a factory director Val Flomyev were the first to rush into the city.Advance battalions of the 343rd and 347th Infantry Divisions also entered the city from other directions.A fierce street battle ensued.Night and morning came one after another.But the fighting didn't stop.By the end of the second day of the offensive, Kleist's divisions began to abandon Rostov hastily.Our army turned to swift pursuit. ... On the grassland, you can see far away in all directions.The observation post of General Lopatin, commander of the 37th Army, was built on a hill.This brave and somewhat reckless man, who seemed unable to be moved by any emotion, suddenly took his eyes off the eyepiece of the scissors, looked cheerfully at all those in the command post, and exclaimed cheerfully: "Look at them running! Look at these devils running! I've always believed, I've always believed, that the Fascists are going to get out of here, but I was afraid to die without seeing it." A young staff officer standing beside the general said cheerfully: "They are just learning to run, Comrade Commander, if we train them, they will run back to their hometown in one go!" Thus began the sensational escape of "Invincible" Kleist. On November 29, when Timoshenko received the report on the liberation of Rostov, he hurriedly forwarded the good news to Stalin.The Supreme Commander immediately sent a telegram to the Commander-in-Chief and the Commander of the Southern Front. "I congratulate you on the victory over the enemy and the liberation of Rostov from the fascist German invaders. Salute to the heroic 9th and 56th armies commanded by Generals Kharitonov and Remezov, who fought in Rostov Over the sky our glorious Soviet flag was hoisted." The Commander-in-Chief ordered that the text of this telegram be conveyed immediately to the army.What followed was an order co-signed by Timoshenko, Khrushchev and the acting chief of staff, the author of this book. The order outlines the course of the Rostov battles, as a result of which our troops wiped out Kleist's elite divisions and regiments and forced his remnants to flee.General Schweedler's heavy army, which was trying to rescue Kleist, was also hit hard.Under the assault of the Southern Front, the 14th and 16th German tank divisions, the 60th motorized division and the SS "Viking" division found the grave in the vast Donetsk grassland and the mouth of the Don River.In addition, the 13th Tank Division, the SS "Adolf Hitler" Division, and the 76th, 94th, and 97th Infantry Divisions were also severely damaged. The order pointed out: "The Soviet divisions and regiments that achieved glorious victories entered Rostov on the morning of November 29 and continued to pursue the enemy fleeing westward swiftly." Finally, the Southwest Military Committee congratulated the corps, army commanders, and political workers who had achieved great victories against the fascist invaders, and believed that the glorious southern front army would crush the remnants of the enemy army and drive the fascist bandits out of the Soviet Union with the entire Red Army . The congratulatory message from the supreme commander and the order from the Southwest Military Council greatly encouraged the troops.But some are forgotten.The commanders and fighters of the 37th Army were obviously unfairly wronged.It was their heroic actions that first forced Kleist's army to flee.However, the supreme commander's congratulatory message only mentioned the feats of the 9th and 56th armies.The commander-in-chief admitted that the effect was indeed not good.He immediately dictated a telegram to Stalin, pointing out the special feats of the 37th Army in smashing Kleist and liberating Rostov, and requesting recognition of the soldiers of the Army.This oversight was immediately corrected. The Southern Front inflicted heavy losses on the enemy during the counter-offensive.Our army captured 154 tanks, 8 armored vehicles, 244 artillery pieces, 93 mortars, 1455 vehicles and other technical weapons. The counterattack of the Southern Front not only caused the 1st German Tank Army and the "Southern Army" to The other armies of Army Group "Front" were severely damaged, and near Rostov pinned down almost all of the Army Group's strength, so that the German High Command could not rely on it to strengthen the troops operating near Moscow. The news of the victory of our army at Rostov brought joy to the whole country.The laborers of the union republics and officers and soldiers of other group armies sent congratulatory telegrams to the victors one after another. The defeat of the fascist German army near Rostov made Berlin feel like it was on pins and needles.This failure, in addition to its enormous military significance (fascist plans in the south failed), also dealt a heavy blow to the Hitlerites.It happened just as they were concentrating their last forces on Moscow, dreaming of a quick victory.And suddenly the German army was routed near Rostov.Naturally, this incident was far from encouraging the troops that continued their assault on Moscow.The pride of the fascist military machine - the 1st Kleist Tank Army was defeated.This army group swept across the land of Poland, Belgium and France like a devastating tornado, and then galloped on the roads of the Balkans.It entered Soviet Ukraine with majesty and awe.Since its incursion near Vladimir-Volynsky, it has wreaked havoc across Ukraine, leaving blood and ashes everywhere it goes.The Southwest Front and the Southern Front had given it many wounds, but this tank group was still powerful and formidable when it approached Rostov.And now, for the first time in its existence, it has been utterly routed by an army that fascist propaganda says no longer exists. For the first time since the war broke out, the enemy camp was full of dejection. On November 30, Halder, who was somewhat famous, wrote in his diary: "Hitler was very annoyed by the retreat of the 1st Tank Army. He forbade the Army to retreat to the Mius River, but this was no longer up to him. Hitler cursed the commander-in-chief, who then ordered Rundstedt not to retreat, but the latter replied that he could not carry out the order. We reported Hitler.So he summoned Rundstedt..." It is not difficult to imagine how the Fuehrer would have gone mad after meeting the generals' open resistance.West German military writer Walter Görlitz described the quarrel that broke out in the Fascist High Command: "After a week, Rostov had to be abandoned. Rundstedt demanded that the entire army group be withdrawn to Mius. But Hitler forbade any retreat. Uncharacteristically, he went in person to Rundstedt's headquarters in Poltava, accompanied by Brausch and Halder. When he tried to accuse the dragon When Destedt was defeated near Rostov, the old Field Marshal, with his typical appearance of the old Prussian aristocrats, grimly replied that he who ordered these battles should be fought, in other words, by Hitler. Responsibility for the defeat. He pounced on Rundstedt and ripped the Knight's Cross from him. Brausch had a heart attack. Hitler replaced many famous generals of the Army Group South, starting with the commander of the 17th Army Infantry General von Stirpnagel. Hitler rages against him..." -------- ① Field Marshal of the German Army, Commander-in-Chief of the Army. One of the oldest generals in the German Armed Forces, Marshal Rundstedt, commander-in-chief of the "South" Army Group, also became a scapegoat. He was replaced by the old fox, commander of the Sixth Army, von Reichenau. Fascist propaganda is caught in an extremely delicate situation.Because it has been clamoring all over Europe since November 21 to capture Rostov and destroy the "Timoshenko armies".Now it is necessary to explain how the "destroyed" army group recaptured Rostov and defeated the highly praised General Kleist Tank Corps. So there is a saying that it seems that Rostov was not defeated by the Soviet army, but by ordinary people. "The Bolsheviks drove the citizens of Rostov to fight in the rear of the German army. This method of warfare violated international norms, and the German troops occupying Rostov were ordered to wipe out the enemy in the city." (And a few days ago, Goebbels' liars were still confirming that , the citizens of Rostov ... greeted the Germans with tears of joy in their eyes!) The battle report concluded: "The Bolsheviks may now report that they have recaptured Rostov. But this is not at all possible." But the fascist descendants of Baron Münchhausen failed to deceive public opinion.The world press pointed out the great significance of the Soviet Rostov victory."The German withdrawal from Rostov appears to be the worst defeat ever suffered by the German Army since the war began," wrote the Associated Press commentator Simpson, the Daily News told its readers. "Only the fall of Rostov is the biggest defeat Hitler has suffered on a battlefield since the beginning of the war." The Turkish newspaper "Nation" asked in bewilderment: Two months after Hitler's Supreme Command announced the elimination of the Red Army , this army took back Rostov, how could it happen? ... -------- ①The braggart in the 18th-century German literary masterpiece "Münchhausen's Strange Travels". Believing that Kleist was essentially doomed, the commander-in-chief turned his attention to the attack being prepared on the northern flank of his army.He ordered me to call General Boggin to answer the direct telegram.Bogin reported that offensive preparations were in full swing, but he was extremely skeptical of the strength of Thirteenth Army, which had only twenty-one guns in total.The Commander-in-Chief ordered that A. M. Gorodnyansky be allocated four artillery regiments and two hundred anti-tank guns. Since the 56th Army had been incorporated into the Southern Front, the commander-in-chief decided to go to Remezov and take a look at Rostov's aftermath. On December 1, we landed at the airfield near Bataysk, Rostov Oblast Party Secretary Dvinsky, General Remezov and his chief of staff, my old friend and former chief Bagrat Aru General Shanyan is waiting for us at the airport.Not long ago, when he was acting as the logistics minister of the Southwest Front Army, we often met there.Baggrat insisted on assigning him what he described as a more combative job.He succeeded: the day before the Rostov battle, he became chief of staff of the independent 56th Army.I'm glad to see my old schoolmate alive and unharmed. As soon as we entered the city, a slogan written in black paint on the side wall of a multi-storey building came into my eyes: "Rostov stands on the Don River, and Kleist has nothing!" The huge letters were written crookedly, It's like people dancing to celebrate victory.The witticism that the soldier came up with quickly spread throughout the Southern Front. Before we had time to learn about the formation of the 56th Group and the situation in the area of ​​​​the Army's offensive, the telegram came from Voronezh.General Bogin reported that the fascist army has not weakened its onslaught against the 3rd and 13th armies. Therefore, the situation in the direction of Yelets is still very serious.Bojin urges the commander-in-chief to go back and command a new attack. After General Remezov's report, the Secretary of the State Party Committee introduced the fierce street fighting after the fascist tanks rushed into the city.Although the Hitlerites had not been raging in Rostov for long, their traces were everywhere.About a hundred of the largest and most beautiful buildings were destroyed.The Rostov suburbs were almost completely destroyed. The next day, we went to the 56th Army Group, which continued to attack westward.We got back to Rostov very late and everyone was very tired.I started looking for a more secluded place to take a nap, but at this moment, the commander-in-chief's adjutant came running: "The marshal is calling you." I hastened to the Commander-in-Chief's room. "What's the matter with you, Comrade Baghramyan," said the commander-in-chief in a low voice, "that your birthday is not known?!" I was overwhelmed: I had completely forgotten that today I turned forty-four because of my daily fighting life.The marshal smiled and shook my hand: "Well, Ivan Khristoforovich, I congratulate you heartily. May you live to victory, when, according to the Caucasian custom, you will easily live to your hundredth birthday." The other comrades gathered in the room also came over to shake hands and hug me. From the next morning there were many new trifles.The commander-in-chief asked the army to speed up its westward march.General Cherevichenko reported that the attacking armies had been given the task of going out of the Mius River and forcibly crossing the river while on the march, so as to attack and seize the landing field afterwards. Until December 4th, the commander-in-chief was sure that the battle of the Southern Front was going well After that, it was decided to fly to Voronezh in order to launch a new offensive campaign on our northern flank.