Just as Sokov called his battalion commanders to meet, more than ten kilometers northwest of Orlovka, there was a city called Little Ivanovka, where the headquarters of the Stalingrad Front of Rokosovsky was located.
At this moment, the command center was crowded with people. Except for Chief of Staff Malining and Military Commissioner Terekine and other leaders of the Front Army, the rest were commanders of various army groups. After receiving the notice from Malining, they hurried here to attend the meeting. However, when everyone came here, they found that although the main leaders of the Front Army were there, they did not see the shadow of Commander Rokosovsky.
Batov, commander of the 65th Army, walked to Malining and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the commander called us to meet here, but he did not see him. Can I ask, where has he been?"
Malining and Batov had a good personal relationship. After hearing his question, he quickly replied in a low voice: "During the attack two days ago, the 67th Tank Brigade of the 4th Tank Army, which belonged to the 4th Tank Army, broke through the German defense line and rushed directly to Orlovka, preparing to meet with friendly troops going north there?"
Batov knew about the 62nd Army that was standing in Stalingrad. Therefore, in the combat plan formulated by the Front Command, his troops should have arrived in Orlovka yesterday and met with the defenders coming from the opposite side. However, due to the tenacious resistance of the German army, his troops were unable to break through the defense line. At this moment, he heard that Rokosovsky was not in the headquarters, which must be related to the matter. He quickly asked with concern: "How is the situation of the Tank Brigade? Have you met with friendly troops in Orlovka?"
Malining shook his head and said with a serious expression: "Today we have received news from the Southeast Front that the tank brigade has been completely wiped out by the German army on the road to Orlovka."
"What, the troops were wiped out?" Batov was shocked when he heard the news. Then he grabbed Malining's hand and asked nervously: "Courtes Commander went to the area where the tank brigade was wiped out?"
"Yes," Malining nodded and said in a affirmative tone: "Since our army has not yet had the strength to break through the German defense line, he went by plane. It is easier to see the battlefield from the air than on the ground."
"O my God, fly over the enemy's defense line by plane." Malinin's words made Batov's breathing become rapid: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't you know that the plane he is on is at risk of being shot down by German air defense artillery fire at any time? Why don't you stop him?"
"General Batov, you have known Comrade Commander for a day or two. Do you still know what kind of character he is?" Malining shrugged, spread his hands, and said helplessly: "Do you think we can persuade him to change his mind about what he decided?"
The words of Malinin and Batov shocked the rest of the army commanders. Everyone knew very well that once the plane Rokosovsky was shot down, there was almost no hope of survival. However, before they arrived here, Rokosovsky left, and they could only pray silently in their hearts, hoping that the commander would return smoothly.
Fortunately, the situation was not as bad as everyone thought. Just as everyone was worried about Rokosovsky's safety, a voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Comrade Commander is back!"
When everyone heard that the commander had returned, they all looked at the door, trying to find out whether Rokosovsky was really back. After a while, everyone saw the tall Rokosovsky walking in from outside the door, and quickly stood up and saluted him.
"Comrade Commander, you are all here!" Rokosovsky quickly walked to the table and sat down, raised his hand and pressed down, and said in a commanding tone: "Everyone should sit down."
After everyone was sitting, he said in an apology: "I'm sorry, comrades in command, I've been waiting for you for a long time. I just took a plane to the front line and took some time off."
"Comrade Commander," Rokosovsky said, the first person who stood up was Batov. "You are our supreme commander, and you have no right to take risks with your life."
"There's no way, Comrade Batov." Rokosovsky did not care about the tone of Batov's speech to him, but gestured to him, signaling him to sit down, and then said: "Our move to join the 62nd Army in the city has failed. As the commander of the front army, I feel that it is necessary for me to go deep into the frontlines and figure out what happened."
"But have you ever thought that the enemy's anti-aircraft artillery will knock down the plane you are on." Batov said unwillingly: "Once you have any accidents, the entire front army will lose unified command and fall into unnecessary chaos."
"Batov, you're over-concerned. The plane I was riding in was flying very low, and it could be said to be flying close to the ground." Rokosovsky said with a relaxed expression: "The enemy rarely shoots down such an ultra-low-altitude aircraft, so my safety is guaranteed."
Rokosovsky was unwilling to get entangled with Batov on this topic, so he turned his attention to a general sitting in the crowd and asked: "General Klijokin, I'll ask you, after the 67th Tank Brigade of your subordinates broke through the German defense the day before yesterday, why did the follow-up troops not keep up, and Colonel Sidjayev and his tank brigade completely destroyed?"
The person named by Rokosovsky was General Klyuchokin, the commander of the 4th Tank Army. Colonel Shidjayev, who died, was a tank brigade commander under him. Klyuchokin quickly stood up from his seat and wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and said, "Comrade Commander, the reason why we have suffered so much in terms of technical equipment is many. First of all, because of the poor organization, the troops scattered in the war and lack of necessary artillery fire support. So much so that Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade broke through the German defense line, and their entire army was destroyed because of the lack of support."
"Why don't you provide more tanks and soldiers to Colonel Shidjayev's tank brigade?" Terekine couldn't help but interrupt and asked, "You know, maybe more than a dozen tanks will be more likely to join forces with friendly troops going north and establish a solid fire support point in Orlovka."
"There is no way, comrade of the military committee." In response to Terekine's reproach, General Klyuchogin quickly explained: "I have already sent all the tanks that can move in the tank army to Colonel Shidjayev, and also sent an infantry company to accompany them. Who knew that we still failed to get them to join forces with friendly troops in the city."
Rokosovsky had resentment towards Klyuchin, but after hearing his explanation, he knew that he had blamed him for his mistake, so he sighed softly and said, "I just saw in the air that the destroyed tank wreckage stretched for four or five kilometers. In other words, after breaking through the German defense line, Colonel Sidjayev's troops rushed to the Orlovka area desperately and tried to join forces sent there by the 62nd Army."
"In my opinion, it was because of the troops that Cuikov eliminated that were too slow to move, which led to the annihilation of Colonel Shidjayev's troops." Learning that Klyuchokin had done everything he could do, Terrekin transferred his resentment to the troops that met with the Tank Brigade: "Comrade Commander, do you know the number of that unit?"
"I know." Rokosovsky nodded slightly and said, "It is Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's 73rd Infantry Brigade." After saying the number of the troops, he saw that Telekine looked confused. He knew that Telekje had taken office and did not understand many situations, so he added, "This army was originally used by the base camp to defend Mamayev. They achieved great results in two months of battle. This time, in order to quickly achieve the meeting with our army, Cui Kov mobilized the troops to head north. When the plane was hovering over Orlovka, I saw several destroyed German tanks on the ground. After communicating with the Southeast Front, I realized that Sokov had encountered the German tank team and fought... "
After Terekine waited for Rokosovsky to finish his speech, he remained silent for a long time before asking: "Comrade Commander, since our joining forces with the 62nd Army failed, what should we do next?"
"After my observation, the enemy has a strong force on the front of our army and is also very mobile. They occupy a very favorable area. You should know that this was the area where our army built defense lines before, with many fortifications. With our current strength, it is very difficult to break through the enemy's defense again." Rokosovsky said with a serious expression: "So we can only turn to the defense on the spot, wait for the right opportunity before launching an attack on the enemy."
"Transfer to defense on the spot?" Hearing Rokosovsky say this, Terekine was a little unhappy: "Comrade Commander, our front army's mission is to rescue Stalingrad, not to stop here and do nothing."
"Comrade of the Military Commission," Rokosovsky said in a calm tone to the annoyed Terekin: "We are not doing nothing. Once we notice that the German army is launching a new attack on Stalingrad, we attack the frontal enemy, firmly restraining their living forces here to relieve the pressure on the defenders in the city."
"So that's how it is." After Telekine figured out Rokosovsky's intentions, her expression became much more relaxed, and then she said: "Comrade Commander, we have summoned all the commanders of the army here. If you have any tasks, just arrange them."
Rokosovsky summoned his army commander here, mainly to announce the cessation of the offensive and to move into defense on the spot. After he announced the order, Batov said with some concern: "Comrade Commander, have we stopped the offensive and to move into defense on the spot? Have we approved the Supreme Command?"
"General Batov," said Rokosovsky kindly: "I have discussed this with Deputy Commander General Zhukov. He felt that we should not waste our precious troops now in such meaningless counterattacks. He believed that moving onto defense on the spot was to accumulate strength and prepare for the next attack."
When everyone learned that the troops were allowed to move into defense on the spot, they were given Zhukov's permission. Since the deputy commander said so, there was no need for everyone to attack the German positions in vain. Instead, they should use this period to replenish troops, weapons and ammunition, and wait for the start of a new round of attack.
After all the commanders attending the meeting left, Malining asked Rokosovsky with some concern: "Comrade Commander, did General Zhukov say when will we launch an attack on the German army?"
"Within ten days," Rokosovsky said with a bitter face: "General Zhukov feels that after ten days of replenishment, our troops should have the strength to break through the German defense line again, so the next round of attack will be launched in the early morning of ten days later."
Hearing Rokosovsky's words, Military Commissioner Terrekin smiled happily, because in this way, the troops could launch an attack from the enemy's side and rear again and meet with the defenders in the city; while Malining frowned. He felt that even if he waited for ten days to attack the enemy, it would still be very hasty. The troops lacked the necessary supplies of troops and materials to support the new counterattack, so it was difficult to achieve ideal results.
Thinking of this, Malining mustered up the courage to say to Rokosovsky: "Comrade Commander, I think you should report directly to the Supreme Command and ask them to provide us with enough troops and technical equipment, otherwise even if the attack is launched ten days later, it will still be difficult for us to achieve any results."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I am the commander of the Front Army. Don't I know the current situation of the troops?" Rokosovsky and others said with a stern face after explaining their views, "But launching another attack on the German army ten days later is an order issued by Zhukov as the deputy commander. Not to mention that we can get limited supplies for soldiers and materials, even if there is no supply, we must launch another attack on the frontal enemy within the prescribed time."
"But an inadequate attack will only further weaken the strength of our army." Malining said anxiously: "Comrade Commander, you should find an opportunity to discuss with General Zhukov and cancel this meaningless attack."
Rokosovsky stared at Malining with his eyes and said, "Chief of Staff, I think it is necessary to remind you that no matter what price our army will pay in the new round of attack, it is all about preventing the Germans from occupying Stalingrad. I don't want to hear such words as "at the future, do I understand?"
Chapter completed!