March 15th arrived in a blink of an eye.
In real history, the Soviet army that stood firm in Kharkov was completely annihilated by the German army, and the city fell into the hands of the German army again. However, due to the emergence of Sokov, the butterfly, the course of the war was reversed.
The three SS divisions that should have captured Kharkov are still stuck in Barvinkovo, hundreds of kilometers away from Kharkov.
"Comrade Commander," Vitkov immediately reported to Sokov after receiving the telegram from the Front Army Headquarters: "According to the report from the Front Army Headquarters, the enemy's 6th and 17th Armored Divisions have already fought with the enemy in Barvinkovo.
The three SS divisions have converged, and their next move is to let the Red Army attack the village."
Seeing the sad look on Vitkov's face after reading the telegram, Sokov smiled and asked him: "Why, Comrade Chief of Staff, I heard that the German army has assembled several divisions, are you scared?"
"Comrade Commander, how could I be afraid? You know, I also participated in the Battle of Stalingrad. How could I be easily intimidated?" Vitkov said with a forced smile: "I am worried that our strength is too strong.
Weak, with too few tanks and artillery, and no air support, it may not be easy to block the German attack."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, compared with the enemy, our strength is indeed very weak, but we are confident of blocking the enemy." Sokov said confidently: "If the Germans really launch an attack on the city, then we will not only have to carry out a frontal attack
defense, and at the same time, we must send troops to harass the enemy's rear, disrupt their offensive steps, and completely control the initiative on the battlefield in our hands."
"Comrade Commander," faced with Sokov's confidence, Vitkov asked with some surprise: "Do you really think we are sure to stop the enemy's attack?"
"A few days ago, I had no idea whether I could block the enemy's attack." As for his assistant, Sokov felt there was no need to hide him, so he told the truth: "But the weather has gotten warmer these days.
, the snow began to melt and the roads became muddy, making it difficult for the German armored forces to move."
"The enemy's tanks can't be used, and our tanks can't be used either." Vitkov said somewhat depressedly: "But they have more artillery than us. Even if they don't have tanks, they can use powerful artillery fire to destroy our defenses.
position."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I once said that we must learn how to fight in war." Sokov said to Vitkov: "The enemy has a lot worth learning, and we need to learn from them. For example,
Every time the enemy is bombarded by us, they will retreat the troops on the first line of defense to the second line of defense through the communication trenches. When our shelling ends and the infantry begins to charge, the enemies who have retreated to the second line of defense will pass through the communication trenches.
Return to the first line of defense to repel our army's attack."
"Comrade Commander, your statement is correct." Regarding Sokov's statement, Vitkov agreed: "The enemy is very cunning. Every time our army starts shelling, they will destroy the first line of defense."
Troops are withdrawn to the second line of defense, not even observation posts, so as to minimize the casualties of the troops. As for our army, the most common method is to hide in the bomb holes or shelters in the fortifications.
inside to avoid the enemy's shelling. When the enemy's shelling ends, even if the shell-proof hole or shelter is not destroyed, the commanders and fighters staying inside will be stunned."
"Yes," Sokov nodded and continued: "Even if the bombhole or shelter is not blown up, our commanders and fighters staying inside will be deafened or stunned. When the enemy starts to attack
, it is difficult to make correct response measures in the shortest possible time.”
While the two were chatting, the German army dispatched fifty bombers and carried out intensive bombing of the Red Army village. Amidst the deafening explosions, the entire city was burning and smoke was rising everywhere. Sokov's headquarters was destroyed.
An aerial bomb exploded. Fortunately, the people inside were moved to a nearby air raid shelter in time, otherwise there would have been heavy casualties.
But the headquarters was destroyed, and the continuity between Sokov and his subordinate troops was interrupted. He could only go to the division headquarters of the 41st Guards Division and communicate with his subordinate troops through the radio and telephone here.
What he told every division commander was the same: "Let the soldiers take cover and minimize unnecessary casualties."
At the same time, he personally called the commanders in areas where enemies were likely to appear and told them: "Order observation posts to closely observe the enemy's movements. They must not take advantage of the bombing opportunity to get close to your defense area."
The regiment-level commanders who answered the call responded resoundingly: "Comrade Commander, don't worry, we have deployed enough observation posts outside the defense area. If the enemy does appear, they will discover it in time."
Just after a series of phone calls were made here, Colonel Papuchenko's call came in: "Comrade division commander, my scouts reported to me that a German unit was advancing along the road in the direction of our regiment.
."
"How far is the enemy from you?" As soon as Sokov heard that the German troops were approaching, he immediately asked: "What kind of troops do they have?"
"According to the scout's report, the enemy probably has one armored battalion and one infantry battalion." Colonel Papuchenko reported: "The enemy has twenty tanks, half of which are Panzer IV tanks. The infantry battalion rides on armored vehicles.
and trucks, but due to the muddy roads, they are now trapped about five kilometers away from our defense area."
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov couldn't help but be overjoyed when he learned that the enemy's armored troops were trapped on the muddy road. He quickly ordered Colonel Papuchenko: "Immediately send out an anti-tank team with rocket launchers to destroy the enemy's tanks."
"But, Comrade Division Commander." Regarding Sokov's order, Colonel Papuchenko said with some scruples: "The enemy also has an infantry battalion accompanying him. If I only send the anti-tank team, I might be wiped out by the enemy.
"
After hearing the other party's concerns, Sokov felt speechless. After a while, he replied: "Comrade Colonel, to defeat the enemy, it is obviously not enough to rely on a single unit of arms. I asked you to send an anti-tank team.
To deal with the enemy's tanks, you can definitely send infantry to act together, carrying at most some rockets, so that more German infantry can be eliminated."
"So that's it, Comrade Division Commander." After Sokov explained, Colonel Papuchenko suddenly realized: "I immediately sent troops to attack the enemy trapped by the muddy road."
"Very good." Seeing that the other party finally understood his intention, Sokov couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He then said: "I'm here waiting for good news from your group."
The disgraced Vitkov was a little surprised when he heard Sokov's words and asked: "Comrade Commander, doesn't the enemy have an armored battalion and an infantry battalion? You asked Colonel Papuchenko to send a small force to deal with the enemy.
Will there be any problem?"
"I don't think so." Sokov thought that his troops were equipped with new rockets and rockets, which would be perfect for dealing with enemies on the march, so he said confidently: "Even if there is only one company of troops,
, can also severely damage this enemy."
After the bombing by enemy planes ended, Gorishny immediately organized troops to put out the fire and dig out those who were not dead from the collapsed ruins.
While he was busy, he received a call from Sokov: "Colonel Gorishny, how is the situation there?"
"Comrade Commander," Gorishny replied with a wry smile: "In the bombing that just ended, most of the defenses we built in the city have been destroyed."
"Comrade Colonel, since the defense fortifications have been destroyed, while you are organizing firefighting and rescuing people, you must also seize the time to repair the fortifications." In order to increase the other party's sense of urgency, Sokov also specifically emphasized: "According to the instructions of the forward commander,
Reports indicate that an enemy force is approaching our city. I believe that there will be fierce fighting inside and outside the city soon. If you fail to repair the fortifications and wait for the enemy tanks to rush into the city, everything will be over."
It must be said that Sokov's threats were still very effective. After hanging up the phone, Gorishny immediately gave orders to the troops, asking them to seize the time to repair the bombed fortifications while putting out fires and rescuing people in the city.
After making the call, Sokov felt that if there was no air support and the enemy bombed every three to five times, it would be difficult to establish a complete defense system in the city, so he said to Sidorin: "Chief of Staff, please use the division's bombs."
Radio, send a message to General Rokossovsky and report to him the fact that we were bombed."
Ten minutes later, the telegram sent by Sokov reached Malinin's hands. After reading the telegram, he ran to Rokossovsky and reported: "Comrade Commander, Major General Sokov reported that the enemy has just dispatched
No less than fifty bombers bombed the Red Army village."
"It seems the enemy is about to attack."
"Comrade Commander," Malinin reminded Rokossovsky when he saw that he did not inquire about Sokov's safety: "The telegram I received was sent using the radio of the 41st Guards Division."
Hearing what Malinin said, Rokossovsky asked with some confusion: "Comrade Chief of Staff, why was Misha's telegram sent using the radio of the 41st Guards Division?"
"According to my judgment," Malinin replied: "Major General Sokov's headquarters may have been destroyed by enemy aerial bombs during the recent bombing."
"Our troops in the Red Army Village-Donetsk front line are all commanded by Misha. He can't make any mistakes." After learning that Sokov was in danger, Rokossovsky seemed very anxious.
He ordered Ma Lining: "You immediately call the Air Force Commander and order him to send fighter planes to patrol the skies over the Red Army Village. You cannot allow the enemy to bomb the Red Army Village unscrupulously."
"Comrade Commander, if the number of fighter planes we dispatch is too small, it will not be of much use if the enemy comes to bomb us."
"Every day except at night, at least one squadron of fighters must be patrolling over the Red Army Village during the day." After hearing what Malinin said, Rokossovsky quickly added: "No matter how many enemies come, as long as there is one squadron,
With the fighter planes, they can resist for a while, so that we can send more planes over."
After receiving Rokossovsky's authorization, Malinin immediately called the Air Force under the Front Army Headquarters and ordered them, in Rokossovsky's name, to dispatch no less than one squadron of fighters to the Red Army at any time.
Patrolling over the village.
After arranging all this, Malinin sent a telegram back to Sokov in the name of Rokossovsky, saying that the front army had dispatched the air force to perform patrol missions over the Red Army Village.
After receiving the telegram, Sokov handed it to Vitkov and said to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if the air force dispatched by the Front Army Headquarters can patrol over the city at any time, then if the enemy wants to bomb us again, I'm afraid
It’s not that easy anymore.”
Besides, Papuchenko sent the first battalion and the second company to the place where the German troops were found.
After the troops set off, a soldier asked the company commander Guchakov: "Comrade company commander, can our company defeat a German armored battalion and an infantry battalion?"
After hearing this, Guchakov sneered and said contemptuously: "Don't forget that some time ago we used one division to defeat the three most elite SS divisions of the Germans. If the Germans had two battalions,
, but since they were trapped by the muddy road and unable to move, we only needed to use long-range attacks with rockets to cause huge casualties to them."
Guchakov's words reminded the commanders and soldiers who were still a little worried about the battles of the past few days. When they thought that they had caused heavy losses to the enemy, but their own casualties were much smaller, everyone felt at ease.
Many. As the departure order was given, everyone quickened their pace, wanting to rush to the place where the enemy was found as soon as possible, and use the rockets they carried to give them a severe lesson.
The troops were walking through the forest. As the snow melted, many places became muddy, which slowed down the soldiers' march. However, Guchakov did not rush the commanders and soldiers. He knew very well that if the march was forcibly accelerated,
Speed, by the time we reach the battle location, everyone will be exhausted and there will be no physical strength left to fight the enemy.
Therefore, Guchakov only sent two groups of scouts to the front to detect the enemy's movements and prepare to adjust the combat plan according to changes in the situation.
After marching arduously in the forest for two hours, a scout was sent back to report to Guchakov: "Comrade company commander, the enemy's armored forces are less than 800 meters away from us." It was learned that the enemy.
Just 800 meters away, Guchakov quickly ordered the troops to stop advancing and begin preparations for battle.
This chapter has been completed!