When Kravchenko's 6th Tank Army advanced south, something unexpected happened. Heavy snow suddenly fell in the sky, and the path forward of the tank troops was blocked by the snow.
After Sokov learned the news, he couldn't help but smile bitterly. He didn't expect that the climate in Ukraine was similar to that in Russia. It was almost April, but the snowstorm came all at once without any warning in advance.
"Comrade Commander, what should we do?" Samyko said to Sokov: "According to the meteorological department's report, the snowstorm will continue for at least two days. I'm afraid the actions of the 6th Tank Army will have to be postponed."
Sokov did not express his position immediately, but asked everyone: "Which of you had been in Ukraine before the war?" When everyone heard Sokov's question, they all shook their heads, saying that they had never been in Ukraine before the war.
Fortunately, Smirnov reminded Sokov in time: "Comrade Commander, Ponedelin served as the commander of the Army Group in Ukraine in the early days of the war. He must be very familiar with the situation in Ukraine."
With these words, he woke up the dreamer. Sokov raised his hand and slapped himself on the forehead, and said angrily: "Yes, how could I forget Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin? He stayed in Ukraine for a long time. He spent a lot of time in Ukraine."
Everyone has a say in everything.”
Then, he ordered the director of the communications corps: "Immediately contact the headquarters of the 41st Guards Division for me and speak to Lieutenant Colonel Ponijelin."
Besides, Ponejelin was about to lead his troops to take over the defense area of the 27th Border Guard Regiment in Romania. Suddenly, he received a call from Sokov. He felt quite strange: "Comrade Commander, what's important?
Something?"
"Lieutenant Colonel Ponedelin, you spent a lot of time in Ukraine before the war, right?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Although Ponedelin did not understand what Sokov meant when he asked this question, he still answered truthfully: "I have been in Ukraine for almost twenty years. What do you do when you ask this question?"
What?"
"It's like this, there was a snowstorm suddenly in the direction of Wengerny." Sokov asked on the phone: "I want to ask, how long will the snowstorm last in Ukraine at the end of March or early April?"
In any case, Ponejelin has also been a commander, so his thinking is naturally different from ordinary people. When he heard Sokov ask this, he was stunned for a moment, then he understood what the other party meant, and he took the initiative and said: "
Comrade Commander, you can rest assured. Blizzards in this season will lead to strong cooling. As a result, the originally muddy and difficult roads will become frozen again, which is very conducive to the movement of our tank troops."
Sokov called Ponijelin just to find out whether, in such bad weather, the 6th Tank Army could advance to Wingene as planned and break through the border in advance. At this moment, he heard that
Nijelin's explanation made me feel much more at ease.
After putting down the phone, the confident Sokov said to Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, call General Kravchenko immediately and tell him that since the snow and wind are so heavy, let the troops stop and rest until the snow and wind stops.
It’s not too late to set off after that.”
"Comrade Commander," seeing Sokov's distracted look on the matter, Sameko quickly reminded him: "The snowstorm has caused our troops to move slowly. If the troops are stopped to rest, I am afraid it will affect their entry into Romania.
Time within the territory. I think it’s better to let them march in the snow, at worst the speed will be slower.”
"Comrade Chief of Staff, there are many disadvantages to marching in the snow. If the tank breaks down on the road, even if it wants to repair it, it will be a big problem." Sokov said: "I think it is better to wait until the snowstorm stops before rushing on. The road will be frozen by then.
It is convenient for our tanks and various vehicles to travel."
"Okay." Seeing that Sokov had already considered all the issues that should be considered, Samyko nodded and said, "Then I will call General Kravchenko immediately and tell him your intention."
Before Kravchenko received Samyko's call, he was worried about the march of the troops. His chief of staff had the same idea as Samyko. The sudden snowstorm slowed down the march of the troops, but if he did not continue on his way,
, you will not be able to reach the designated place within the specified time.
But Kravchenko did not agree with the plan proposed by his chief of staff. He plausibly said: "Comrade chief of staff, there are many lakes and swamps on our marching road, and the snow will cover their true appearance. If we march in the snow,
Then the tank may get stuck in a lake or swamp, and the additional loss of technical equipment will make our next battle more difficult."
While the two were talking, Afunin came to visit. Seeing Kravchenko's sad face, he expressed deep sympathy: "General Kravchenko, you are right, tanks cannot compete with our soldiers.
In comparison, no matter how bad the terrain is, our soldiers can find a way to pass it, but tanks cannot. For the sake of safety, I suggest that we wait until the snowstorm stops completely before we continue on our way."
The chief of staff of the group army immediately retorted: "General Afunin, the 41st Guards Division under your command has entered Romania and became the first army to enter the border of another country. This is something to be proud of. The progress of our group army
, has been far slower than expected. If the fighter plane is delayed due to delays due to the snowstorm, I am afraid it will not be easy for Comrade Commander to explain."
Several people were talking non-stop, and the phone on the table suddenly rang. The chief of staff reached out and grabbed the phone and said: "This is the headquarters of the 6th Tank Army. Where are you?"
"I am Samyko." Samyko recognized the voice of the Chief of Staff of the Tank Army, and did not talk to him in circles, but asked directly: "Is General Kravchenko here?"
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff. Please wait a moment, I will call him right away." After saying that, the Chief of Staff covered the phone with his hand, turned to Kravchenko and said: "Commander, your phone number."
When Kravchenko reached for the phone, the chief of staff lowered his voice and said, "It's General Samyko calling."
"Hello, General Samyko." Kravchenko knew that Samyko was Sokov's assistant, so he asked politely: "Does General Sokov have any latest instructions for me?"
"Your guess is correct, General Kravchenko." Samyko replied truthfully: "Comrade Commander indeed has an order for you."
"What instructions?"
"The troops stopped advancing and looked for a suitable place to camp on the spot." Sameko said on the phone: "Wait until the snowstorm completely stops before continuing to move forward."
Although Kravchenko wanted to stop advancing immediately, he became uneasy after receiving such an order. He asked tentatively: "General Samyko, is this true?"
"Of course it's true." After Sameko answered in an affirmative tone, he continued: "Comrade Commander said that the snowstorm will reduce the visibility and slow down the march of the troops. In order to avoid unnecessary losses, he specially issued this order
I have issued an order to temporarily stop your advance and find a suitable place to camp on the spot. When the blizzard passes and the ground freezes, making it easier for large-scale armored forces to move, it will not be too late for you to set off again."
After figuring out the reason why Sokov ordered the troops to temporarily stop advancing, Kravchenko was still very grateful. The reason why his troops were making slow progress was because of this damn terrain. There were forests, lakes and swamps everywhere, and the infantry was marching
It's okay, but my own armored troops are struggling. If the roads are completely frozen after the snowstorm is over, it will be very conducive to the deployment of mechanized troops.
After understanding this, Kravchenko quickly said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please convey our agreement to the commander. After the snowstorm is over and the ground is frozen hard, we will definitely speed up the march and make up for the lost time.
."
"By the way, Comrade Chief of Staff." When the two were about to end the call, Kravchenko suddenly saw Afunin sitting beside him and quickly added: "General Afunin happens to be here, what do you want to say?
Did you tell him?"
"What I want to say to him is the same as what I said to you." Samek said: "I also order him to stop moving temporarily and choose a suitable place to camp on the same spot. As soon as the snowstorm stops, we will be on our way immediately.
"
Afunin waited for Kravchenko to finish the call, grabbed a telephone on the table in front of him, picked up the phone and put it to his ear, and said loudly: "I am General Afunin, please let me know immediately."
Chief of Staff, answer the phone."
The mission was clear. As soon as Afuning's chief of staff received the call, he immediately informed the commanders and soldiers who were still marching in the blizzard to stop advancing and choose a suitable location to camp.
After the order was conveyed, Afunin showed an expression of relief on his face. He said to Kravchenko: "General Kravchenko, in fact, even without this order from the commander, I would have ordered the troops to stop.
Forward. Troops can easily lose their way while rushing in a blizzard. If they accidentally break into the enemy's defense zone, they may suffer huge losses."
Sokov stayed at his headquarters until the afternoon. He felt that Ponejelin's troops had entered the Romanian 27th Border Guard Regiment's defense area at this moment, so he ordered someone to call Ponejelin and wanted to know whether the troops had arrived at the designated location.
Location.
But after the operator called for a while, there was no response from the other party. He could only report to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the other party's radio station is not responding. It should be that he is on the march and has not turned on the radio."
"Keep calling." Sokov told the operator: "No matter what, we must get in touch with them."
"It's a pity that the weather today is too bad." Smirnov said with emotion: "Otherwise, we could ask the air force to dispatch to conduct reconnaissance on the ground."
"In such bad weather, not to mention our planes, I'm afraid the German planes will also be unable to take off." Just halfway through his words, Sokov suddenly realized that something was wrong, "That's not right. The place that suffered the blizzard is Krala.
Where Vchenko and the others are located, the sky is clear to the north and there is no sound for thousands of miles. How could there be a reason why the signal cannot be received?"
Sokov said to Samyko: "Chief of Staff, you give an order to the Front Army Air Force, asking them to immediately send out two reconnaissance planes to search in different places, and be sure to find the whereabouts of the 41st Guards Division."
Just when Samyko picked up the phone and was about to call the Air Force and ask them to send out reconnaissance planes, a staff officer came over from the communication area and reported to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, we just received the call from the Guards.
According to the telegram sent by the 41st Division, they have successfully occupied the defense area of the 27th Border Defense Regiment and are building fortifications in advance to prevent possible enemy counterattacks."
"That's great, that's great." Sokov said to Samyko: "As long as our troops hold on to the newly occupied position, it means that we have established a reliable landing site on the right bank of the Prut River.
In this way, we can use this as a starting point for our attack."
"Originally, we thought that after the combat group was established, our attack targets would mainly be the Germans. But somehow, all we came into contact with were Romanian troops, and the German troops were nowhere to be found. Now it seems that they should have all been transferred to
Vinnitsa area, and prepare to launch an attack on Marshal Zhukov's troops from there to save them from defeat."
When Zhukov was mentioned, Smirnov immediately became interested. He came over and said, "I think Marshal Zhukov will be very happy when he sees so many enemies attacking him."
"Why are you happy?"
"The reason is very simple. The more enemies you destroy, the greater your contribution to the motherland, and it will even be recorded in the annals of history in the future." Sokov explained to Smirnov: "So the more German troops besieged the First Front.
, it means that more Germans come to die on their own."
"Since the Battle of Kursk, the elite troops of the German army have been used up little by little in the battles launched by our army. I believe that it will not be long before the German army will recruit people temporarily in order to make up for the shortage of soldiers.
There are a lot of new recruits. It may be okay for these new recruits to look at the gate, but if they are to be sent to the battlefield, haha...it is equivalent to bringing military merit to our army."
"That's right." Sameko agreed with Sokov's statement: "The battle depends not on the number of people, but on the weaponry, equipment and technical and tactical level. The elite of the German army have already proven themselves in previous battles.
They have been wiped out by us, and the new recruits we have added now cannot compare with the veterans in terms of technical and tactical level or combat experience. This is probably the reason why our recent battles have gone smoothly. After all, what we are facing is
A bunch of Romanians with poor fighting skills.”
"After entering Romania, the 41st Guards Division temporarily switched to defense on the spot and seized the time to repair various fortifications. It may not be long before they can be put to use."
"Comrade Commander, do you think that after the battle has reached this point, can the Germans still mobilize their troops to go south?" After hearing this, Gorokhov said disapprovingly: "I think in the next battle,
The enemy we face is the Romanian army. Facing the powerful offensive of our army, they are simply unstoppable. As long as the soldiers surrender, it is not surprising that the remaining officers will. If they are willing to cooperate with us, we will naturally
They are welcome; but if they are hostile to us, then I'm sorry, we can only eliminate them all."
"Comrade Military Commissar, you are so optimistic." Sokov explained to him: "The pro-German faction in Romania will definitely not give up when they see that their master is about to die, and will ask the German commanders they know to
Redeploy troops to Romania to counter our offensive."
This chapter has been completed!