According to the history that Sokov is familiar with, the German 1st Armored Group, which has withdrawn from the Caucasus, is now deployed in the Stalino (Donetsk) area, only more than 100 kilometers away from Luhansk, which he is holding on to. Once
After they defeated the 1st Guards Army and Popov's rapid group, it only took them two days to rush outside Luhansk.
Sokov was very self-aware. He did not think that one of his divisions could easily block the attack of a German armored group. You must know that his troops had just entered the city and did not have time to build permanent defenses. If the Germans
If we really launch a fierce attack, even with the support of General Krylov, it will be very difficult to defend the city.
Especially during the battle on February 19, the 6th Army commanded by General Kharitonov was fiercely attacked by the German 2nd SS Panzer Corps in the Krasnograd area, and the defensive position was torn open with a width of 50 kilometers.
In this gap, the German army successfully defeated the Soviet 4th Guards Corps and established a new offensive starting position.
Sokov stared at the complicated situation between the enemy and ourselves in the west of Lugansk and found that the Soviet army's deployment was scattered and supplies were seriously insufficient. After a long battle, the troops had become unable to deal with the enemy in front of them. And the German army finally
The elite Flag Guard Division, Imperial Division and Skeleton Division have entered this area one after another and are about to launch a thunderous blow against the Soviet army.
Seeing Sokov staring at the map without speaking, Sidorin asked curiously: "Comrade Commander, I see that you have been staring at the map for a long time. Can I ask, what are you thinking about?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov asked Sidorin without raising his head: "If our 1st Guards Army and Popov quickly group together and are defeated by the German army, how do you think the situation will develop?"
Although Sidorin felt that the situation Sokov mentioned was unlikely to occur, he still drew a circle between the Dnieper River and Lugansk with his hand: "Comrade Commander, if the situation you mentioned really occurs,
situation, then this vast land will fall into the hands of the enemy again."
Anisimov on the side expressed doubts about Sidorin's statement: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I think it's impossible, right? You know, we have more troops than the enemy, and we also have a numerical advantage in technical equipment.
, I think even if the enemy launches a counterattack, we are fully capable of repelling the enemy's attack."
"Comrade Political Commissar, you are so optimistic." Sokov knew very well that Anisimov's idea would make his troops underestimate the enemy, so he retorted: "General Popov
The rapid group was now ambushed and stopped in the Red Army City because of exhaustion of fuel. What they faced was the main force of the German 40th Armored Corps.
Think about it, one side's tanks have lost their combat effectiveness because they have no fuel and ammunition, while the other side's tanks have plenty of ammunition and fuel. Even if we can't see it with our own eyes, we can guess the final outcome."
Hearing what Sokov said, Anisimov immediately realized the seriousness of the problem and quickly asked Sokov: "Comrade division commander, what should we do?"
"What we can do is seize the time to consolidate the outer defense line and try to hold off the oncoming enemies for a longer period of time." Sokov pursed his lips and said, "Other than that, there is nothing we can do."
"But," Anisimov said reluctantly, "we should at least warn the friendly forces and rescue them from the current danger."
"I have warned the friendly forces through the commander of the front army, but it has no effect at all." Sokov picked up a pencil as an explanation stick, pointed to the location of Popov's rapid cluster, and said to the two people: "According to my
Knowing General Vatutin, he will definitely give orders to General Popov to continue to advance westward, assist the troops in attacking Zaporozhye, and seize the city where Manstein's headquarters is located."
"If our troops can really capture Zaporozhye, will that make the situation better?" Anisimov heard Sokov mention Zaporozhye, as if he saw a glimmer of hope, and he said excitedly
Question: "You must know that if the city where the German army headquarters is located is occupied by our army, it will cause a serious blow to the enemy's military morale and morale."
"Comrade Political Commissar, Manstein is not Paulus. He doesn't care at all whether the city where his headquarters is located will be lost." Sokov sneered and said: "I think he just deliberately used himself as a bait to attract our troops to attack Zashgar.
Porizhia launches an attack, so that he will unknowingly fall into the trap he has set long ago. When the time is right, he will launch a comprehensive counterattack, first defeating General Vatutin's Southwest Front Army, and then turning around.
Go north and defeat General Golikov's Voronezh Front."
"Comrade division commander," Sokov's words made Anisimov break into a cold sweat, but he still said with hesitation: "Aren't German commanders afraid of life and death? Their division-level headquarters usually have
How could Manstein, as a German field marshal, put himself in danger dozens of kilometers away from the front line?"
Sokov pointed at Zaporozhye with a pencil and said to Anisimov: "Some time ago, when the German army faced our attack, it did not put up a resolute resistance and gave up the rear of the position. On the surface, it seemed
, our army has recovered a large amount of territory, but the further we advance, the farther our troops are from the logistics supply base, and sufficient troops must be allocated to defend those occupied areas. But the enemy is constantly
After shrinking their forces, the troops they have assembled near Zaporizhia on the left bank of the Dnieper River have already gained a local advantage. If they do not counterattack, once they do, it will only take a few days to defeat our army.
"
After arranging the defense of the tank brigade, Belly returned to the division headquarters. When he entered the door, he happened to hear the next few words of Sokov, and nodded in agreement and said: "Misha is right. Judging from the current situation,
Continuing with the analysis, Manstein set a trap for our army around Zaporozhye. However, the commander of the friendly forces did not realize that this was a trap prepared by the Germans for us, and ordered the troops to continue the attack regardless of risk.
I thought that by doing this, I could break up the German defense line and drive them all to the other side of the Dnieper River."
"Comrade Deputy Division Commander." Sokov knew that the situation he had been talking about for a long time was a lot of nonsense. The current top priority was to strengthen the defense of the Lugansk area to ensure that it could block the enemy's attack. Now that Belly has returned
, he happened to ask about the deployment status of the tanks: "Have the tank brigades been deployed?"
"Yes, Misha." Bely replied: "I deployed the second and third battalions behind the 122nd Regiment, while the first battalion was placed in the city as a reserve for the entire brigade."
"I remember that the first battalion seems to have a few self-propelled artillery." Sokov said thoughtfully: "Deploy them all on the edge of the city. When the battle starts, they can use artillery fire to intercept the attacking enemy."
"Misha, don't you plan to use these self-propelled artillery guns to deal with German Tiger tanks?"
"The Germans don't have many Tiger tanks. I think it's unlikely that the enemy will use them here in Luhansk." Sokov said confidently: "I think we should use self-propelled artillery to deal with the German infantry.
."
This chapter has been completed!