"A month later?" After hearing Antonov's answer, Golikov said with a wry smile: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, do you think we can sustain it for a month with our current strength?"
"General Golikov, it seems that we have all been dazzled by the victory in Stalingrad." Antonov naturally did not have so many scruples when talking to his old friend: "I thought that after the enemy was attacked by us,
, elite troops will definitely be left to block the attack, and the sacrifice of these troops will be used to cover the retreat of the main force to the other side of the Dnieper River.
But now we have discovered that the German retreat was a conspiracy. When they gave up a large amount of occupied land, they concentrated their originally disadvantaged forces in a certain place to form a local advantage. When our offensive forces became
When they were exhausted, they launched a surprise counterattack and inflicted heavy losses on our army."
"Yes, judging from the current situation, the German conspiracy has succeeded. It is only a matter of time before we are defeated by the enemy."
When Golikov and Antonov were talking, no one mentioned Sokov's combat group. In their minds, this force could contain several German divisions, which was their limit.
, if you want to crush the German conspiracy, it is simply a fantasy.
Antonov considered that once Kharkov and Belgorod fell and Golikov's Voronezh Front was severely damaged, the German army would threaten Moscow's safety again. Thinking of this, he said to Golikov
: "General Golikov, judging from the current situation, I can only report to the Supreme Commander himself and ask him to dispatch other troops to reinforce you."
"Oh, other troops?" Golikov heard what Antonov said, like a drowning man grabbing a life-saving straw, and asked quickly: "Where are the troops?"
"I can't give you an accurate answer yet." Antonov said: "I need to ask the Supreme Commander himself for instructions first, and only after getting his permission can I mobilize that troop."
"Okay." Golikov used to be the chief of intelligence. He naturally understood that some things could not be spread casually before the Supreme Commander himself made a decision, so he said understandingly: "I'm waiting for your good news."
After Antonov ended his call with Golikov, he immediately rushed to Stalin's office and greeted Poskrebeshev who was sitting outside: "Hello, Comrade Poskrebeshev. May I ask?
Is Comrade Stalin here?"
Poskrebyshev did not speak, but nodded, indicating that Stalin was inside. He picked up the phone on the table, pressed a button and said: "Comrade Stalin, Deputy Chief of Staff General Antonov is here and said
I have something important to ask you, can you meet him?"
After Boskrebyshev put down the phone, he said expressionlessly: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, please come in!"
Stalin, who was pacing back and forth in the room with his pipe in hand, stopped when he saw Antonov entering the door and asked: "Comrade Antonov, has the situation on the battlefield become unfavorable to our army again?"
"Comrade Stalin, the battlefield situation has not changed significantly in the past few hours." Antonov straightened his back and replied: "I came here to see you because I have more important things to tell you.
report."
"What's the matter? Tell me."
"The situation with General Golikov is very dangerous." Antonov said: "Once a few SS divisions of the German army moved south and defeated Major General Sokov's combat group, they turned north and re-captured Kharkov
With Belgorod, General Golikov's troops will find it difficult to resist."
"Why can't we stop the enemy?" Stalin said angrily when he heard this: "According to intelligence, there are more than thirty infantry divisions under the command of Golikov. How can it be that he can't stop only a fraction of them?"
A German?"
"Comrade Stalin, the situation is more serious than you think." Antonov gritted his teeth and decided to tell everything he knew: "Don't look at the fact that General Golikov's front army still has more than thirty infantry divisions.
However, these divisions have been severely weakened, with no more than 5,000 men, and only 1,000 men, or even less. In other words, these troops are a division in name, but in fact they can only be a regiment, or even
One battalion to use.”
"Damn it, it's so abominable." Stalin punched the table with his fist and ran away in the room. "What did Golikov do? The situation of his troops is so bad. Why didn't he report it to me earlier? If
If I had known about this situation, I would not have agreed to give priority to replenishing Vatutin's Southwest Front when the logistics department made a supply distribution plan."
"Comrade Stalin, in fact, Sokov's troops have restrained the main force of the German army at this moment, buying General Golikov precious time. We can use this opportunity to supplement them."
"Supplement?!" Stalin asked in surprise: "Where do we draw troops from to supplement Golikov?"
"Actually, we do have such a force in our hands, but it's just a little far away from Kharkov."
"Where is that army?" Stalin asked impatiently: "Who is the commander of the army?"
"Comrade Stalin, I'm talking about General Shumilov's 64th Army." Antonov quickly replied: "Although they were weakened in the battle, and they are a little too far from Kharkov. But as long as they are
Even if we put them into Kharkov, it will be very helpful to reverse the entire war situation."
"General Shumilov's 64th Army," Stalin walked to the map, carefully checked the location of the 64th Army, and said in surprise: "What, they are thousands of kilometers away from Kharkov?
Comrade Antonov, have you ever considered how long it will take to transport them to Kharkov with our current transportation situation?"
"I have calculated that if we use the walking method, it will take at least 25 days. By truck, we can reduce the time to two days. As long as the garrison of Kharkov and Belgorod can be reinforced by them,
It is completely capable of resisting the German attack."
"We simply can't afford so many transport vehicles now." Stalin understood very well how bad the current transportation situation of the troops was. If it weren't for insufficient logistical supplies, how could this battle, which was originally a sure win, be so frustrating. Now we have to
If you want to deploy Shumilov's 64th Army to the Kharkov area as soon as possible, the fastest way is to use railway and road transportation. But now the railway has not been completely repaired, and the road has been damaged by the German army and covered with snow.
melted and became difficult to navigate.
"Comrade Stalin, I want to tell you one thing. The reason why Major General Sokov's two attacks achieved unexpected results is entirely because of the speed of the troops." Antonov said to Stalin: "He was also in
Due to the shortage of transportation vehicles, the soldiers were sent to the battlefield in batches by batches, thereby winning the battle."
"Comrade Antonov," Stalin heard this and finally understood Antonov's intention, so he asked tentatively: "What you mean is to use a group of trucks to send part of the troops to Kharkov first.
, and then turn around to pick up the soldiers on foot?"
"Yes, Comrade Stalin." Seeing that Stalin had guessed his intention, Antonov nodded quickly and said: "In this way, we can speed up the deployment of troops to the fierce fighting areas when the transportation force is insufficient.
Purpose."
"Okay, Comrade Antonov, I agree with your request." Stalin said to Antonov: "You immediately send a telegram to General Shumilov and order him to lead his troops to Kharkov immediately.
Rokossovsky, remember to say hello to him, lest he suddenly discovers that a certain unit is missing and becomes anxious."
After receiving Antonov's order, Shumilov did not dare to neglect and quickly issued a mobilization order to the troops.
After the commanders and soldiers who were still resting received the order to be transferred to Kharkov, no one complained. Instead, they immediately packed up and marched on foot in the direction of Kharkov.
Rokossovsky learned that the base camp was moving his 64th Army to the direction of Kharkov, and quickly called Sokov to inform him of the matter: "Misha, let me tell you something.
, the base camp has transferred General Shumilov's 64th Army to Kharkov, and they are marching on the road at the moment."
Sokov knew exactly where the 64th Group Army was. When he learned that the unit was heading towards Kharkov on foot, he couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Oh my god, how can we go from the station of the 64th Group Army to Kharkov?"
Cove is thousands of kilometers long. If you just walk, it will take at least 20 days. Moreover, after the troops arrive at the designated position, they have already become exhausted. Without a long period of rest, I think they will be very tired.
It’s difficult to regain combat effectiveness.”
"My thoughts are the same as yours." Rokossovsky said helplessly: "I had no choice at the time. The deployment of the 64th Army was an order from above."
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I would like to ask, do you think General Golikov's troops can still hold on for half a month to a month?"
"I don't think they could have lasted that long." Rokossovsky said into the microphone: "If your troops hadn't captured Donetsk and the Red Army Village by surprise, attracting the attention of the Germans,
, causing the enemy to transfer a large number of troops back from Kharkov, I am afraid that the place has long been lost."
At this point, Rokossovsky was silent for a while, and then asked: "Misha, tell me honestly, if the Germans launch a fierce attack on you, how sure are you of holding the Red Army Village and Donetsk?
?”
After mentally calculating the comparison of the enemy's and our own forces, Sokov replied: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, the chance of winning is less than 10%."
"What, only a 10% chance of winning?" Regarding Sokov's analysis, Rokossovsky not only did not blame him, but also said understandingly: "Facing such a powerful enemy, you have a 10% chance of winning.
It’s already very difficult.”
After Sokov put down the phone, he stared at the map on the wall in a daze. He was thinking in his mind, if Shumilov's 64th Army could reach Kharkov and Belgorod in two to three days.
Germany and building fortifications, then it may be able to sustain a few more days in the face of the powerful German offensive.
"Comrade Commander, what are you thinking about?" Witkov couldn't help but ask when he saw Sokov staring at the map on the wall in a daze.
"General Rokossovsky just told me that the base camp is dispatching the 64th Army to Kharkov to strengthen the defense there." Sokov pointed to the map and said: "I am considering that this army will probably
How long does it take to reach the designated location?"
"The defense area of the 64th Group Army is too far from Kharkov." Vitkov had just come from Stalingrad not long ago, so he naturally knew the location of the 64th Group Army. When Sokov said this, he immediately
He said with a sad face: "If all the troops march on foot, I estimate that it will take nearly a month to arrive at the earliest. Moreover, these are lightly armed troops with no heavy weapons or technical equipment. If they encounter German armored troops,
, they just died in vain.”
"But this should be the only thing that the base camp can do," Sokov pointed to the location where the Southwest Front Army was defeated and said: "Although there are still many troops of the Southwest Front Army in these areas, they have just suffered a heavy blow from the German army.
Attack, I am afraid that the morale and morale of the army are extremely low, so they cannot count on it at all. Although the 64th Group Army is thousands of kilometers away from Kharkov, it is the only available force. After all, to outsiders, everyone
Knowing that it was this force that captured Paulus and his headquarters alive, the enemy would have some scruples when they heard their names."
"Pull him down, Comrade Commander." Vitkov waited for Sokov to finish, but said disdainfully: "Who doesn't know that you personally captured Paulus? Don't talk about us, even the enemy knows
This matter. Otherwise, the enemies who rushed back from the direction of Kharkov only fought two battles with us, suffered some small losses, and then hurriedly withdrew back. They only faced off against our troops and did not dare to launch an attack.
I think they are just afraid of you, so no one dares to attack easily."
"It is not a bad thing for us if the enemy does not attack." Sokov smiled lightly and said: "Not only can we contain a large number of German troops, but at the same time, we can also use this precious time to strengthen our existing defenses.
."
"By the way," Sokov remembered an important thing and told Vitkov: "As soon as the two divisions of the 21st Army arrive in Donetsk, immediately order General Merkulov to move the city
After handing over the defense to friendly forces, he took the remaining troops closer to the Red Army Village."
This chapter has been completed!