Although the officers and soldiers of the Skeleton Division were surrounded by the 71st Guards Division, more than 2,000 people still escaped from the encirclement.
However, after the elite SS division was attacked by the Soviet army, one division was completely wiped out, another division was also severely damaged, and both division commanders were captured by the Soviet army. This made the German high command feel ashamed.
.
After Hitler became furious, General Zeitzler, Chief of the German General Staff, carefully introduced him: "My Führer, in order to refute the false information released by the Russian Intelligence Agency, I think we should immediately rebuild the Reich Division and send it to the Skeleton Division.
Go to the new division commander."
Hitler, who had become angry, was now much calmer. He looked at Zeitzler and asked: "Chief of the General Staff, who do you think should be the new division commander of the Imperial Division?"
"How about Lieutenant Colonel Tansen?" Zeitzler said to Hitler: "He is a regiment commander of the Imperial Division. He was wounded in the battle some time ago and was sent back to Berlin. Now he is a rank among the surviving officers and soldiers of the Imperial Division."
The highest ranking officer."
"How is his injury?" Hitler asked: "When can he be discharged from the hospital?"
"It's almost better." Zeitzler said respectfully: "If you want to see him, I can order someone to come over immediately."
"Let him come over."
An hour later, an officer wearing a black SS uniform, wearing the rank of First Class Commando Group Leader, and with a scary scar on his chin, appeared at the General Staff Headquarters. After entering the door, he raised his hands in a gesture
After the ceremony, he stood there motionless like a wooden stake.
Hitler walked up to him, looked him up and down, and asked: "Are you Lieutenant Colonel Tansen?"
"Yes, my head of state." the officer replied with a serious expression.
"Where did you get the scar on your chin?"
"My head of state was injured by a Russian grenade during a battle."
After listening to Tansen's answer, Hitler showed a smile. He turned to Zeitzler and said: "He is an officer with rich combat experience. He is better than those officers who just sit in the office and give orders randomly."
many."
"That's right, my Führer." Seeing that Hitler recognized Tansen, the boulder hanging in Zeitzler's heart finally fell to the ground. He breathed a sigh of relief, and then said to Hitler: "I wonder if you agree with the proposal I just made.
?”
"I think you can." After Hitler finished speaking, he turned to Tansen and said to him: "Mr. Captain of the First-Class Commando Group, I think you must have heard the bad news that the entire Imperial Division was destroyed?"
"My head of state, the Imperial Division has not been completely destroyed." Unexpectedly, after hearing this, Tansen said plausibly: "Now there are still me and hundreds of wounded soldiers left in the Imperial Division. As long as one of us is alive, the Imperial Division will
It will exist forever.”
Tansen's words made the smile on Hitler's face even bigger. He raised his hand and patted Tansen's shoulder, who was a head taller than him, and said approvingly: "Well done, Mr. Captain of the First-Class Commando. I
You are now officially appointed as the acting division commander of the Imperial Division and promoted to flag captain."
Upon hearing that Hitler had officially appointed Tansen as the new division commander of the Imperial Division, Zeitzler quickly said: "My Führer, I plan to reorganize the Imperial Division in half a month and send them back to Barvinkovo."
"Very good, Zeitzler." Hitler agreed very much with Zeitzler's proposal. "The Russians announced in their battle report that they had completely annihilated our Imperial Division and severely damaged the Skeleton Division. Let Tansen take the
The new Imperial Division returned to Barvinkovo and gave the Russians a hard lesson to let them know that our Imperial Division had not been wiped out by them and was still fighting."
Zeitzler knew very well that although there were still Tansen and hundreds of wounded soldiers left in the Imperial Division, to be precise, the Imperial Division had been completely destroyed. The Imperial Division of which Tansen now serves as the division commander was nothing more than an army.
Although the name of a reorganized unit has not changed, its combat effectiveness has been greatly reduced.
At this moment, I heard that Hitler planned to redeploy the new Imperial Division in Barvinkovo, and he quickly asked: "Then where should the additional troops for the Imperial Division be drawn from?"
If it were an ordinary National Defense Force, if it wanted to replenish its troops, it could do so from those reserve units. But now it is an SS division that needs to be formed, and the replenishment of troops would be much more troublesome.
After Hitler pondered for a long time, he said to Zeitzler: "Deploy personnel from the SS in Berlin and add them to the Reich Division." After giving Zeitzler the order, he said to Tansen, "Mr. Flag Captain,
I have only one request. When your troops arrive at Barvinkovo, they must restore at least 70% of their original combat effectiveness, so that they will not be at a disadvantage when fighting the Russians. How can this be done?"
"Please rest assured, my head of state." Seeing that Hitler valued him so highly, Tansen was very moved. He quickly replied: "I will never let you down. When I lead the troops back to Barvinkovo, I will
The Russian troops in that division will definitely be taught a lesson."
After handing over the two captured division commanders to people from the front army headquarters, Sokov convened a meeting with his division commanders. After introducing the great results of this battle, he said to everyone: "
Comrades, with the destruction of the Imperial Division and the Skeleton Division, the frontal defense pressure on our army has been greatly reduced. According to my analysis, the enemy will not attack us again before July."
When the division commanders present heard Sokov's words, all of them had expressions of surprise on their faces, and even began to talk quietly. Seeing that everyone was so happy, Sokov did not interrupt.
Instead, they waited patiently for them to finish their discussion before continuing: "I have one more thing to tell you."
After everyone's eyes were focused on him, Sokov continued: "Comrade commanders, the superiors have revealed a little information to me. After a while, I may be transferred and a new commander will be appointed."
Please come and take my place."
Sokov's words were like sprinkling a handful of salt into a red-hot oil pan, and it suddenly exploded: "What the hell, why should Comrade Commander be transferred away? Who gave the order?"
"That's right, we can't let Comrade Commander leave." Merkulov, who followed Sokov and made many extraordinary achievements during this period, said on behalf of everyone: "We should send a joint telegram to our superiors, asking them to let Comrade Commander stay.
Next. Only by following him can we achieve more achievements."
"Comrades, please be quiet, please be quiet!" Seeing everyone complaining about his possible transfer in the future, Sokov was still very moved. However, Ma Linin only mentioned the transfer issue casually.
Whether the mouth will become a reality is still unknown. He quickly raised his hands and pressed down: "Listen to what I have to say."
After the room regained calm, Sokov said to everyone: "My superiors have the intention to mobilize me, but whether it will be implemented is still unknown for the time being. I am very grateful for everyone's concern for me, but as soldiers, we must
It is our bounden duty to obey orders. Wherever our superiors want to transfer us, we must execute it unconditionally. Besides, even if I am no longer in the Sixth Army, you can continue to fight the Germans under the command of the new commander.
Get more wins."
After the meeting ended and all division commanders left, Lunev suddenly spoke to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, you should not tell the division commanders that you may be transferred.
I must feel very uneasy."
"But I have comforted them?" Sokov asked with some confusion: "Why are they not at ease?"
"Comrade Commander, let me explain this matter to you." Vitkov on the side interjected: "Several commanders of the Guards Division have just adapted to your new style after getting along with you in the past two months.
You have made many achievements with your playing style. But at this moment, you suddenly tell them that you may be transferred and a new commander will take over your position, which will make them have a problem.
There is a sense of crisis. I think that in order to prevent you from being transferred, they will probably express their demands through their own channels, hoping that you can stay."
"No way." Regarding Vitkov's statement, Sokov expressed doubts: "Comrade Chief of Staff, even though I am the commander of the group army now, I feel that I do not have that high prestige."
"Comrade Commander, since you don't believe it, we can wait and see whether things will develop as I guess."
That night, Sokov received a call from Malinin. The front army chief of staff said angrily on the phone: "General Sokov, did you reveal the news that you were about to be transferred?"
When Sokov heard Malinin's question, he couldn't help being surprised, and then asked: "What happened?"
"I received several calls from group army commanders, saying that since you are about to be transferred, I hope we can be more generous and return the troops assigned to your command at that time."
From Malinin's words, Sokov realized that he might have inadvertently caused a big disaster, and quickly explained to the other party: "I just want everyone to be mentally prepared, so as not to cause unnecessary chaos after the superiors issue the transfer order."
.”
Ma Lining was silent for a long time, and finally said: "So, you are still eager to be transferred? Tell me, which army will you be transferred to after you are cleared?"
In his heart, Sokov wanted to tell Malinin that if he really wanted to take him away from the Sixth Army, then transfer him to Konev's Steppe Front. But these things could only be thought about in his mind, but not said.
When he came out and heard Malinin asking, he quickly pretended to be aggrieved and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff, how can you say that? You know, if possible, I hope to always obey General Rokossovsky."
command."
Sokov's explanation softened Malinin's attitude a lot: "General Sokov, regarding whether you should be transferred, Comrade Commander is currently arguing in the Kremlin. I hope you will not make extraneous matters at this time."
"Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff." When Sokov heard Malinin use the word "argument," he immediately realized that his transfer was probably a certainty. But where exactly he could go was still unknown for the time being.
In the middle of the night, Sokov was sleeping in his room when he was woken up by a communications staff officer. He said with some embarrassment: "Comrade Commander, I have your phone number." Perhaps he was worried that Sokov would blame him, so he went out of his way to
He emphasized, "It's a call from the front army headquarters."
Sokov learned that the call was from the front army headquarters. He guessed that it might be something big and rushed into the headquarters. He picked up the microphone on the table and put it to his ear: "I am Sokov, who are you?"
Which one?"
"I'm Rokossovsky." Rokossovsky's voice came from the receiver: "I just came back from Moscow by plane."
"Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front Army!" Sokov felt that Rokossovsky definitely couldn't sleep at night and specifically called to chat with him. He must be calling at this moment because of important matters related to him.
, then asked anxiously: "I wonder if you are calling me so late because of something important?"
"Misha, it's about your transfer." Rokossovsky said in a serious tone: "Commanders on other fronts, after seeing the results you have achieved recently, raised the issue with the Supreme Commander himself, saying that their
The army needs commanders like you, so I beg the base camp to transfer you to their army."
When Sokov heard this, he knew that his departure from the Sixth Army was an unchangeable fact, but the next question he had to figure out was which front he would be transferred to. He asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army
, we would like to ask you, which front does the superior plan to transfer me to? "
"Although I argued hard, the Supreme Commander himself has made up his mind and feels that you should be sent to a more important front, so you will be transferred in a short time." Rokossovsky said on the phone: "
The places you can choose now are the Leningrad Front and the Western Front."
"Apart from these two fronts, are there any other options?"
"Misha," Rokossovsky asked in surprise after hearing Sokov's question, "Do you want to go to the Southwestern Front or the Voronezh Front?"
"No," Sokov quickly denied: "If I could choose, I would rather go to General Konev's Steppe Front."
"What, Konev's Steppe Front?" Sokov's reply frightened Rokossovsky: "Misha, are you in a sleep state to make such a ridiculous request? You know,
The Grassland Front Army is just a reserve force. If you go there, you will probably have no chance of making any achievements."
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov could not directly tell Rokossovsky that in a few months the Steppe Front Army would shine on the Soviet-German battlefield. He could only say euphemistically: "I know that the Steppe Front Army
It is a reserve team, but if I go there, I will definitely find a way to train the reserve team into an elite force."
Sokov's statement surprised Rokossovsky. After being silent for a long time, he asked: "Misha, have you really decided to go to the Steppe Front?"
"Yes, I have decided."
"Okay, now that you have made your decision, after daybreak, I will call the Supreme Commander himself and inform him of your choice."
