Chapter 1132 The beginning of the deterioration of the frontline battle situation in Kharkiv
Soviet soldiers all hope that their troops can continue to achieve great victories. Since the strategic counteroffensive in Moscow began at the end of last year, and in the past six months, the Soviet army has attempted counterattacks on all fronts.
The northern front was in a stalemate, and the Soviet army in the south won two battles in a row. Therefore, in this big battle to liberate the Kharkov region and try to liberate half of Eastern Ukraine, the Soviet Red Army, with a total of one million troops, launched a fierce attack.
The balance of victory simply tilted towards the Soviet army from the beginning of the battle.
In the days after the war began, the Soviet army was indeed overwhelming. However, the German army was by no means a soft persimmon.
The Soviet military knew nothing about the personnel changes in the German army. They did not know that Paulus had assumed the command of the Sixth Army at the end of April, and they did not know that Paulus had personally formulated a huge plan, that is, in
After preparation for a period of time, they launched an active attack and defeated all Soviet troops in the entire Barvinkovo salient.
For various reasons, Paulus set the attack plan on May 20. In the history of this plane, the Soviet and German armies reached a strange coincidence.
The lower limit of action given by Stalin to Timoshenko was May 20. If Timoshenko fully complied with the lower limit, then more than 100,000 Soviet advance troops would meet the German offensive troops head-on!
However, Timoshenko acted ahead of schedule. He was only one day ahead of schedule, which was enough for the Soviet army to gain a preemptive tactical advantage.
The German army also suffered heavy losses in the first two days of the war. Paulus did not expect that the Soviet offensive was so fierce.
After all, the German army also planned to take the initiative to attack, and did not build a strong defensive position at all. Their planned Operation Friedrichus would not change due to the Soviet army's active attack, because all this was the order of the Führer. According to Hitler
In Order No. 42 of the year issued in early April, the south was the main direction of the German army's advance in 1942, and its ultimate goal was to capture the Soviet Union's Volga River Basin and the large oil field Baku. Only in this way could the German army advance in 1942
Lay the foundation for military victory against the Soviet Union.
On May 22, the Soviet offensive began to hit a wall. The two most elite tank armies seemed to be at the end of their game. They and the main force of the German Sixth Army broke out fiercely in the wilderness west of Kharkov.
fighting.
As for the Kleist Armored Group, they have begun to march towards the left wing of the Soviet salient. Compared with that plane, the Kleist Group in this plane has further supplemented its personnel and equipment, and its overall combat effectiveness is stronger.
The movements of this elite force were quickly learned by Timoshenko himself. He knew very well that when the main force of the force was pushing hard on the front line, part of it was resisting the German counterattack and continuing to try to encircle and annihilate the enemy in the east of Kharkov.
When the German divisions were surrounded in the wilderness, they really lacked a few elite troops to withstand the enemy's "sharp blades poking into the soft belly."
Timoshenko pessimistically sent a telegram to Moscow: "Our weak flank is facing a fierce attack by the German armored group. Our army cannot resist the enemy's attack with infantry alone. Once the flank is lost, all the anti-war forces around Kharkov will
The Red Army will be destroyed!"
However, the German army did not launch a violent counterattack that day, so Stalin gave important instructions: "The victory of this battle will lay the foundation for us to liberate Ukraine. The Southwest Front Army must stick to the front and resolutely liberate Kharkov!"
This was the battle situation around Kharkov on May 22. If May 19 to 21 was the strategic offensive period of the Soviet army, May 22 was the strategic stalemate. After that, the Soviet army was
At the end of their efforts, they must defend with all their strength on the existing front! As for whether the Soviet army can successfully defend, the wily Timoshenko made a simple conclusion: the Soviet army is likely to be defeated in this battle.
This night was a night when the Soviet Marshal could not sleep. The entire front headquarters was in chaos, and countless telegrams hit Timoshenko's desk like hail. His thoughts were mainly on the map, following the movements of the various units.
The current position and the likely position of the German army were constantly revised to the standard position. He thoroughly saw the German army's strategic intentions.
Everything seems to be back in 1941, when the great siege of Kiev severely disabled the Southwest Front, and the personnel losses were heartbreaking. Although the current front has millions of soldiers, 90% of the soldiers were recruited in recent months. In this way,
The current victory of the army, which is mainly composed of new soldiers, has exceeded Timoshenko's expectations, but the victory is based on the premise of high casualties in each division.
In order to ensure sufficient strength of the Soviet troops on the front line, the troops with greater losses had to be withdrawn to consolidate the rear. This was really the headquarters' helplessness. Of course, many senior officers also knew the huge risks of doing so.
No, the German armored group is already moving towards the left wing of the salient!
Timoshenko, who was sitting at his desk with sweat on his forehead, asked the Chief of General Staff: "Comrade Tupikov! With the war situation like this, do you believe we can achieve final victory?"
"Me? What else can I believe in? How can we not believe in the leader?" Tupikov said this, and there was already a hint of despair about the battle in his heart.
"You are the only senior officer in the command that survived last year's battle in Kiev. I think you have noticed that the current war situation seems to be repeating last year's tragedy."
"Yes!" Tupikov pointed to the small city of Pavlovsk on the lower reaches of the Barvinko River. "There is a bridgehead here that is crucial to us and is also the focus of our current defense. If we hold on here
In this area, our flanks are still safe, but I am very doubtful."
"You don't have to doubt it! Our soldiers are too young. They are very lacking in anti-tank weapons. Not to mention excellent RPG weapons, they don't even have much equipment for anti-tank guns! What's more, the German air force is far stronger than ours!"
Timoshenko shook his head pessimistically, "Last year, the main force of the German armored forces captured the ferry at Kremenchug and successfully crossed the Dnieper River. It also cut off the connection between our army and the local troops in Crimea, and also blocked the attack.
The reinforcements from our army came from the east. The German front was like a bottle. In the end, they sealed the mouth of the bottle..."
Speaking of this, Tupikov couldn't help but take a breath. When Kilponos led the officer corps to break through, a fierce battle broke out with the enemy. In that battle, he was lucky enough to break through, but Kilponos died.
"Not good! History is repeating itself. If the German army launches an all-out counterattack, our army is likely to be surrounded!"
"This is it!" Timoshenko pressed hard on the city of Pavlovsk on the map, "We have no choice! Only by guarding this city can we avoid failure."
"In that case, let the reserve team come in!"
"Reserve team?" Upon hearing this word, Timoshenko's reaction was to laugh rather than cry. He grinned and shook his head and said: "Dear Comrade Tupikov, our reserve team has been deployed to attack Kharkov City.
It has become an attack by the besieged German army! We have not yet succeeded. If the reserves are withdrawn to defend the southern defense line, the besieged German army will bloom in the center! We no longer have sufficient troops!"
"Then what should we do? Do we just sit back and wait for death! The order given by our leader is to hold on to the current defense line! He doesn't know the battle situation here at all." Tupikov was actually asking questions knowingly. He is a dignified chief of staff of the front army.
, do you know that the most important thing to do now is to shrink the defense line? However, Stalin's attitude is very paranoid, that is, the army must attack!
Timoshenko shook his head: "Don't you understand my hope? Until now, we still continue to carry out the leader's orders! We no longer care about the life and death of the vast number of soldiers. Perhaps, only the frontline positions have been lost, especially
The city of Pavlovsk in the south. Only when all this happens, will the leader realize that continuing to stubbornly stick to the command will repeat the mistakes of Kiev. At that time, I will personally ask him for a strategic evacuation of the entire army. As long as the main force is maintained,
We can build new lines of defense and make the show solid again."