For the two German armored corps moving south, since a large number of Soviet troops were gathered northeast of Izyum, Holt was worried that the troops would be exposed to the Soviet army on their flanks and rear after moving south, so he made a request to Manstein: "Marshal
Sir, once we continue to move south, the Russians who have just gathered may attack us from behind, which may cause us huge casualties."
"General Holt," Manstein patiently listened to Holt's words, and then asked: "Then tell me, what should we do now?"
"I think the 57th and 48th Armored Corps should be left in Izyum to prevent possible assaults by the Russians."
"What about the Red Army Village and Donetsk?" Manstein said coldly: "If we don't launch an attack as soon as possible, once the Russians regain control of these places, they will pose a direct threat to our army."
"Your Excellency, Marshal, although my two armored corps are staying in Izyum, you can send the 6th and 17th Armored Divisions south to join General Hausser's three SS divisions and attack the Russians who are holding on to the Red Army Village.
People attack."
"What about Kharkov and Belgorod?" Manstein asked angrily: "If I withdraw all the troops from this line, doesn't it mean giving the Russians a chance to consolidate their defense line?
Once they complete supplies and build a new defense system, even if we retake the Red Army Village and Donetsk, the gains will not be worth the losses."
"Your Excellency, Marshal, even if the troops I mentioned are withdrawn, wouldn't there still be the 11th Armored Division, the 106th and the 333rd Infantry Division?" Holt said confidently: "Even if these troops cannot capture Kharkov,
But their presence will frighten the Russians and they will not dare to send troops to attack our army's rear."
Manstein pondered for a long time about Holt's proposal. He stared at the map and considered it again and again. Finally, he felt that Holt's suggestion still made sense. Although his main forces had evacuated the Kharkiv-Belgorod line.
, but the remaining one armored division and two infantry divisions can still act as a deterrent to the Russians, preventing them from taking rash actions.
Thinking of this, Manstein made a decisive decision: "Okay, General Holt, then let the two armored corps be stationed near Izyum as you said to prevent possible attacks by the Russians. Then adjust
The 6th and 17th Armored Divisions moved south, joined General Hausser's three SS divisions, and launched a powerful offensive against the Red Army Village."
Hearing that Manstein agreed to station his main force in Ijumu, Hott couldn't help but secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He knew very well that his troops had been greatly weakened after successive battles.
If we really face an opponent like Sokov, we will definitely not be able to get rid of it. But it is better to let the troops stay in Izyum and seize the time to rest and recuperate there on the grounds of defending against the Russians.
However, he had been happy for less than two minutes when he heard Manstein say quietly: "General Holt, I have something to remind you. Now Zhukov serves as the commander of the Russian Southwest Front. According to the Russian soldiers,
Wherever Zhukov appears, it means an attack is about to begin."
Holt was dumbfounded when he heard what Manstein said. He thought that by persuading Manstein to let his troops stay in Izyum, he could avoid meeting a perverted opponent like Sokov. But what he didn't expect was that
, now in the Ijum area, he has to face a more powerful opponent-Zhukov. When he thinks of this, he wants to slap himself, but since he has just managed to convince Manstein to let his
The troops stayed in Izyum. It was obviously inappropriate to change their words at this moment. I could only bite the bullet and say: "Don't worry, Marshal, even if the enemy we face is Zhukov, my troops will firmly defend Izyum."
"General Huot," how could Manstein not guess Huot's little thoughts? He said earnestly: "Your task is not only to block the Russian attack, but also to crush them and remove them from us.
We are chasing them far away from the city. Don't worry about your lack of troops. The fifteen divisions sent to us by the Führer, including the Grossdeutschland Division, are on the way. They will arrive in the Kharkov area in a week."
"Is this true, Marshal?" Manstein's words made Holt seem to see a glimmer of hope. He said excitedly: "Based on the situation in the direction of Kharkov, as long as the Grossdeutschland Division is here, there will be no other way.
Speaking of fifteen divisions, even if there are only five divisions, they can still defeat the Russians."
"General Huot, how many troops we use to capture the Kharkiv-Belgorod line is our business." Manstein said on the phone: "Your mission is to resolutely defend Izyum.
, must not let Zhukov's troops occupy it. Otherwise, the 6th and 17th Armored Divisions, as well as three SS divisions, will be cut off in the Russian encirclement. After experiencing the disastrous defeat in Stalingrad, our army
But I can no longer afford such a loss.”
…………
At this moment, the Red Army Village was a busy scene. Sokov took advantage of the opportunity that the German army had not launched an attack for the time being, organized a large number of manpower, and built fortifications in the west and northwest of the Red Army Village, laid minefields, and erected barbed wire fences.
, prepare to establish a complete defense system before the German offensive begins.
"Comrade Commander," when Sokov was inspecting the defense lines of the 67th Guards Division that day, the division commander Major General Merkulov asked politely: "Do you think the Germans will really launch an attack on us?"
"Yes, Comrade General." Sokov nodded and replied affirmatively: "There is no doubt that the Germans will definitely launch an attack on us, it's just a matter of time."
"But, Comrade Commander, I have always believed that it is impossible for the Germans to fight on two fronts at the same time." Merkulov raised a question in his mind: "Since they are concentrating their forces to attack Kharkov, how can they possibly attack Kharkov?"
At this time, what if you turn around and come south to attack us?"
"Comrade General," Sokov said looking at Merkulov: "If there is no movement after we are stationed here, the enemy can only leave a small number of troops to monitor us, and then transfer the excess troops to Kharko
Husband's direction, to participate in the battle there.
But the attack we carried out behind enemy lines some time ago made the Germans realize that if they did not eliminate them, they would not be able to concentrate all their forces to attack Kharkov. Therefore, with Manstein's character, he would definitely concentrate superior forces.
First go south and destroy us, then head north to annihilate the defenders holding on to the Kharkov-Belgorod line."
"Comrade Commander, after all, we still have an entire front army in the direction of Kharkov, with several army groups below. Don't we still have the strength to deal with several German divisions?"
"General Merkulov, you may not know yet." Sokov knew that even though Merkulov was the division commander, he still had little information and did not know enough about the situation on the battlefield, so he explained to him: "Georgi
General Likov's Voronezh Front has been greatly weakened after a long battle. Many divisions only have hundreds of thousands of men left, and their combat effectiveness is only the same as that of a previous battalion. Tell me,
With their strength, can they deal with the Germans?"
Merkulov thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "It can't be dealt with."
"Now the enemy also knows their situation, so they are confidently and boldly moving their troops south, preparing to eat us first, and then turn north to eliminate General Golikov." Sokov reminded Merkulov: "
When building fortifications, we recruited a large number of residents in the city. We don't know whether there are German spies among them. Therefore, you must be more vigilant and strengthen night patrols to prevent spies from passing through your defense lines.
Rush to tip off the Germans."
"Comrade Commander, if there are really German spies in the city, just strengthening our defenses will not be of much use." Merkulov reminded Sokov: "They can use telegrams to inform the enemy of the city's defense situation.
Make a report."
"General Merkulov, you don't have to worry about this." Sokov said with a smile: "In order to prevent agents in the city from sending reports to the enemy, our superiors sent us several jammers. Once someone in the city is found to be sending signals,
If he reports, he can immediately interfere and prevent his telegram from being sent out. After a few more calls, the spies can only take risks and use the method of carrying intelligence across the line of fire to send out the message."
After Sokov's explanation, Merkulov immediately understood. He nodded and said: "Comrade Commander, I understand. Don't worry, I will definitely strengthen the defense here, let alone a spy.
Even if it is a rabbit, I will never let it pass through my defenses."
After receiving Merkulov's guarantee, Sokov came to Gorishny's division and asked him about the defense situation in the city: "Colonel Gorishny, tell me about the fortifications in the city.
How is the construction going?"
"Report to Comrade Commander," Gorishny said respectfully: "Since your order was issued, the officers and soldiers of the entire division immediately took action. Not only did they build barricades with sandbags and logs on the main streets, they also built barricades on the roads.
It was filled with tripods that stopped the tanks from advancing..."
Sokov patiently listened to Gorishny's report, and finally said: "Comrade Colonel, when we were in Luhansk, your division's combat effectiveness was the worst in the entire combat group. How about it? Has it improved now?
?”
"Comrade Commander, don't worry." Hearing Sokov's question, Gorishny replied with some embarrassment: "I have been urging each regiment to strengthen the training of new recruits recently. I believe that the entire division has basically formed a
combat effectiveness.”
"Colonel Gorishny," Sokov reminded Gorishny in order to prevent Gorishny from becoming careless because there was no fighting here for the time being: "Although the three SS divisions of the German army were hurt by our beatings some time ago,
, but the enemy is absolutely unwilling to fail. They must be like wounded beasts at the moment, hiding somewhere and licking their wounds. Once they recover, they will launch a thunderous blow at us. If we don't do a good job
Defensive measures cannot stop the German attack at all."
"Comrade Commander, actually I have an idea." Gorishny waited for Sokov to finish and then asked tentatively: "Can I tell you something?"
"Please tell me, Comrade Colonel." Sokov signaled the other party to say something.
"It's like this. Although Paulus's Sixth Army has been annihilated by ours. The Germans should have known at that time that they were unable to take Stalingrad because of the street fighting in the city.
Their troops." Gorishny said thoughtfully: "I think even if the enemy rushes into the city, they will be worried about the possibility of street fighting and have to withdraw. Therefore, I don't think there is any need for us to
To place a division in the city, only one regiment or even one battalion is enough. We should deploy the main force outside the city."
"Colonel Gorishny, you are right." Sokov said calmly: "The street fighting in Stalingrad scared the enemy. They are indeed afraid of street fighting now, but it does not mean that they will not know how to fight.
Fight street fighting. If I deploy all my troops outside the city, once the direction is breached, the undefended city will be easily occupied by the enemy. At that time, the troops who stick to the outside of the city will become a lone army, and it will be difficult in the end.
Escape from being annihilated by the Germans."
"Comrade Commander, so our division's mission is still to focus on street fighting?"
"That's right, Comrade Colonel." Sokov nodded in agreement with Gorishny's statement: "Because your division has just completed the replenishment before the transfer, and the new recruits have not had time to train, it is the weakest among the several infantry divisions in terms of combat effectiveness.
The reason why I placed you in the city is that I am worried that if your division is to hold on to the field fortifications, I am afraid that the Germans will break through the defense line after not being able to hold on for long.
And when you are in the city, you can use buildings and various fortifications to compete with the Germans who have lost the support of tanks and artillery and can only use light weapons. In this way, your chance of holding the city will be greatly improved.
"
"Colonel Gorishny," Vitkov, who was inspecting with Sokov, also intervened at this moment: "After the enemy broke through our army's outer defense line, it is a great achievement for your division to hold the city. When the battle is over,
, I will ask my superiors for merit for your teacher, do you understand?"
Knowing that his troops would be rewarded as long as they defended the city, Gorishny couldn't help but be overjoyed and quickly replied: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please rest assured that we will not betray your trust."
After hearing the other party's answer, Vitkov turned to look at Sokov and asked: "Comrade Commander, next, should we go to the 71st Guards Division to take a look. They are responsible for the defense of the north of the city and their location is also
