Faced with Manstein's question, Kenf replied in a panic: "Marshal, I don't know either. I only learned about this matter just after receiving a report from General Rouse, commander of the 11th Army.
I don’t know much about the situation either.”
"General Kenff," Manstein said with a frown: "As a commander, you reported to me in a panic without even figuring out where the enemy came from. Is this appropriate?"
"Your Excellency, Marshal," Kenff replied with some embarrassment: "The people who reported the situation to General Routh were several Italians who escaped from the prisoner of war camp. Things happened very suddenly, from the first gunshot to the prisoners of war.
There were no Russians in the camp for more than ten minutes."
“How many Italians were held in prison camps?”
"There are more than five thousand."
"More than five thousand?" Manstein said in surprise: "General Kenff, I remember you just reported to me that more than two thousand people left with the Russians. Does this mean that there are still some people left in the prisoner of war camp?
More than two thousand people?"
"That's right, Your Majesty Marshal!" Kenf replied: "That's exactly what happened. There are indeed more than two thousand people left."
"Why do some people leave and some stay?"
"It is said that after the Russians occupied the prisoner-of-war camp, they summoned all the Italians and sent people who knew Italian to shout, asking the Italians to leave with them." Kenff explained: "Many of them felt that the Russians were not good enough.
To be so kind and send someone to rescue them, there must be some conspiracy behind this matter, so I chose to stay."
When Manstein heard this, he asked nervously: "General Kenff, how did the Russians deal with the remaining Italians and massacre them?"
"Massacre, how is this possible, Marshal?" Kenff said: "After the Russians shouted for a while, they left the prison camp with the Italians who were willing to follow them. As for those who were unwilling to leave, they are still fine now.
Stay in the camp."
Although Manstein felt strange that the Soviet army let go of the Italians who were unwilling to leave so easily, he did not dwell on the matter. Instead, he ordered Kenf: "General Kenf, first of all
Ignore those Italians, your first task now is to find out where the Russians came from and what kind of troops they have. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Your Majesty Marshal." Kenfu replied respectfully: "I have arranged people to work on this matter. Once I have clues, I will report to you as soon as possible."
Kenff's statement did not reassure Manstein. After all, the Italians who came to report the news did not figure out where the Russians who attacked the prisoner of war camp came from, or even what the strength of the enemy's troops were.
He couldn't tell a reason. Even if Kenfu sent people to investigate the matter, it would not be possible to figure out the whole story in a short time. Maybe by the time they find out the truth, the Russian army has already arrived in Djelga
Strange outside the city.
Before hanging up the phone, he ordered: "General Kenf, your attack on the Compass Town of Kazachya must continue, and you must not let the Russians use it as a starting point for their attack."
"Don't worry, Marshal." Maybe it was the smooth progress of the Kursk battle that made Kenf despise the Soviet army. Even though Sokov's troops beat him into a panic, he still felt that it was not enough.
It was an accident, so after hearing Manstein's instructions, he still vowed: "My troops are fully capable of taking down the town of Kazachiya Compass."
…
Time goes back to two hours ago,
After successfully attacking the German prisoner-of-war camp and wiping out all the defenders of the 98th Guards Division, and confirming that there was no longer a living German in the camp, the division commander Chuvashov contacted Sokov via the radio: "Commander
Comrade Comrade Communist, our division has successfully captured the German prisoner of war camp and rescued the Italians detained there. What should we do next?"
"You can divide your troops into two groups," Sokov told Chuvasov: "The troops wearing German uniforms can continue to move southward, blend into the German defense line, and meet the main attack; while the other group will lead the Italian army with them.
People return to the headquarters."
"But only half of the Italians are willing to leave with us. What should we do with the rest?" Chuvashov asked Sokov: "Should we put them on the spot..."
When Chuvashov said this, he was worried that there were Italians who knew Russian nearby, so he did not finish his words, but Sokov understood what he meant and said quickly: "No, comrade colonel, even these Italians
If people are unwilling to leave with you, don't make things difficult for them. Since they are unwilling to leave, let them stay in the prison camp and wait for the Germans."
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Chuvashov waited for Sokov to finish and then immediately continued: "I will arrange manpower to escort these prisoners back to the group army headquarters."
"Comrade Colonel, let me remind you." Sokov was worried that the troops sent by Chuvashov would mistakenly enter the compass town of Kazachya on the way to escort the Italians back, so he reminded him: "Now Kazachya
Yaluopan is at war, be sure to take the Italians around the town to avoid being involved in the battle."
After Sokov put down his earphones and microphone, he quickly walked to the table and said to Sameko, who was looking down at the map: "Comrade Chief of Staff, Colonel Chuvashov and the others rescued more than 2,000 Italians. Now,
They are coming towards us. Take a look, where would it be more appropriate to place them?"
Samyko glanced up at Sokov, then looked down at the map again, and said: "Comrade Commander, I know the Italians. It will take at least two days for them to get to us from Dergach.
, regarding their residence, we have enough time to make arrangements."
After Sameko reminded him, Sokov immediately realized that he had made a common sense mistake. He still calculated the time for the Italians to arrive here based on the marching speed of his men. He laughed twice, and then said:
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you reminded me more. The Italians' marching speed is definitely not comparable to that of our soldiers. I think it will not be too late to consider how to place them in two days."
"How's the fighting going in the Compass Town of Kazachia?"
"The enemy is still attacking." Samyko picked up a telegram on the table and reported to Sokov: "This is a telegram from General Fomenko. His 268th Regiment has taken over from the 568th Regiment.
Defense is fighting against the crazy German attack."
"Can they hold up?"
"No problem." Sameko said confidently: "According to your tactics, they deliberately let the enemy tanks pass through the defense line, destroying the infantry following them, and then the anti-tank fighters destroyed the enemy tanks."
Knowing that the commanders and fighters of the 84th Division were using this tactic, Sokov asked with some lack of confidence: "What was the result?"
"It's great, it's simply great," Sameko reported: "They destroyed no less than twenty tanks, but no member of the anti-tank team suffered more than five casualties."
"Five people were exchanged for twenty German tanks." Sokov was very happy when he heard this data: "This is really a good deal."
"Comrade Commander," Samyko reminded Sokov: "There is no problem for our army to defend the town of Kazachya Compass. Do you want to gradually transfer the main force of the group army to this area?"
"I think it's okay." With the bold attacks in the past few days, October Town, which was originally blocking the way of the troops, has become a rear area. Sokov said with a lot of confidence: "Tomorrow, the group army will
The headquarters is headed to October Town, where I will direct the attack on Kharkov."
"Moving to October Town tomorrow?" Sameko asked in surprise: "The town is only a few kilometers away from the defense area of Huote's troops. Once the enemy knows where our headquarters is, I'm afraid they will send troops to attack. Then we will
We have to deploy troops from other directions to defend October Town."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, you are worrying too much." Sokov replied confidently: "Even if Hott knew that my headquarters was in October Town, I don't think he would dare to send troops to attack easily. Because in this way,
It will inevitably weaken his frontal defense strength. Facing the intensive mobilization of the Steppe Front Army and the Voronezh Front Army, he does not have the guts to regard my headquarters as his offensive target."
Samyko was very convinced of Sokov's judgment. Since he said that Hott did not dare to send troops to attack October Town, he would definitely not send troops to attack. So he nodded, walked aside and called a staff officer
, gave a few instructions in a low voice, and arranged for the other party to go to October Town to check the terrain and find a suitable place to serve as the new group army headquarters.
…………
Early the next morning, Manstein called Kenf and asked straight to the point: "General Kenf, have your troops captured the town of Kazachiya Compass?"
"No, Your Majesty Marshal." Kenf replied with great embarrassment: "My men have tried their best, but the Russians still haven't been driven out of the town by us."
Manstein, who had already learned about the fighting situation in Kazachiya Compass Town through other channels, waited for Kenfu to finish speaking, then sneered and said: "General Kenfu, if I am not mistaken, your troops are still there until now."
Without being able to enter the town, how do you drive the Russians out of the town?"
Seeing that Manstein had told the truth, Kenff murmured: "Marshal, you should know that the enemy we are facing is not an ordinary Russian army, but the 27th Army commanded by Sokov. They are not only
He is good at attacking and is also very capable on defense.
Our artillery fire exploded their position into a sea of fire. In that case, I am afraid not even a mouse could survive. But when our soldiers launched a charge, those damn Russians appeared out of nowhere
Come, shoot at our soldiers from all directions and repel our offensive."
"General Kenf, Sokov is indeed our most troublesome opponent, but he is not without any weaknesses." Manstein waited for the other party to finish speaking, and immediately added: "You have to find ways to find his shortcomings.
This way we can defeat him completely."
Listening to what Manstein said, Kenf whispered in his heart: "If I could find Sokov's weakness, I would have defeated his troops long ago, and I wouldn't have fought for a day and night. The troops who participated in the attack could not even reach the town."
You can't even get in."
He thought so in his heart, but he did not dare to say it to Manstein. He could only bite the bullet and said: "Understood, Marshal, we will definitely find out Sokov's weaknesses and find ways to defeat him."
As soon as Manstein put down the phone, the chief of staff came in and reported to him: "Your Excellency, Marshal, the reserve team in the Donbas region has already set off. There is an armored division and three infantry divisions. They can arrive in Kazakhstan as soon as this afternoon.
Erkov."
After hearing this, Manstein nodded and strolled to the window. He opened the window and looked at the sky. He saw only dark clouds above his head. He couldn't help but frown, "Chief of Staff, it looks like it's going to rain."
"Yes, Your Excellency Marshal." The Chief of Staff replied: "According to the meteorological department's report, there will be a heavy rain at two o'clock in the afternoon at the latest."
"If it rains heavily, not only will it be more difficult to attack Kazachya Compass Town, but it may also affect the time for the reserve team to arrive in Kharkov."
"There is nothing we can do about this, Marshal." The Chief of Staff said helplessly: "Fortunately, this kind of bad weather has an impact on both sides. Although it will affect the speed of the march, the Russians are very interested in Kazakhstan."
Erkov's attack had to be postponed until the weather cleared up. In this way, we would have enough time to improve the defenses."
The reserve team departing from the Donbas region was spotted by a Soviet reconnaissance plane within half an hour of walking.
This reconnaissance plane belonged to the 4th Air Force of the Soviet Southern Front. He discovered a large number of troops on the ground and initially thought they were his own troops. However, he still lowered the altitude in accordance with regulations and conducted a close observation.
When he found a white cross on the tank that was advancing along the road, he immediately realized that it was a German army. He quickly turned around and went back, as if to observe more carefully, but he was unexpectedly met by someone on the ground.
Fire attack. At this time, even if he didn't look, he knew that the troops marching on the ground were German troops, because his own people would never fire on his own aircraft.
The pilot of the reconnaissance plane immediately turned around and flew towards the airport, and reported the information he detected to his superiors as quickly as possible.
After receiving the report, Major General Bilyuzov, Chief of Staff of the Southern Front, immediately checked the map and found that there were no Soviet troops on the enemy's path and that the enemy could enter Kharkov smoothly along the road.
After realizing this serious situation, Major General Bilyuzov came to General Tolbukhin with a telegram and reported with a solemn expression: "Comrade Commander, we have just received a reconnaissance report from the Air Force. There is a German army.
The troops left Donbas and are heading towards Kharkov. It seems that they are going to reinforce Kharkov."
Tolbukhin did not make a conclusion easily, but asked cautiously: "Chief of Staff, is the intelligence reliable?"
"Reliable, Comrade Commander, completely reliable." Major General Bilyuzov quickly replied: "The pilot is an old pilot with rich flying experience. Not only did he clearly see the white cross on the ground tank, but he was also attacked by ground fire.
, there is absolutely no mistake.”
This chapter has been completed!