The most significant consequence of the failed Kharkov Battle was that the Soviet Union was losing the entire Crimean Peninsula!
It was past June 10, and there were only 120,000 combatable defenders left in Savastopol! There were more than 100,000 troops trapped on the Kerch Peninsula. The Soviet army used all its ships to transport the city. Refugees and wounded people, attacks by the German air force also caused serious losses to ships and personnel.
Anyone who can evacuate is lucky. Those soldiers who stayed to guard Sevastopo were almost not willing to stay and fight, but because there were no more ships for 120,000 people to retreat!
In Timoshenko's view, Crimea can be defended until the first day of July at most. When July arrives, the Southwest Front will definitely face a new German attack!
He was so worried that he expressed his concerns to Chief of Staff Tupikov.
"Our army now lacks elite troops the most. The 21st, 28th, and 38th Group Armies suffered heavy losses, and heavy weapons were even more lost. Comrade Kostenko also died in Severodonesk, and it is difficult to hold on to that city. Although The troops in the rear are still rushing to reinforce our army, but I have no more illusions about these new troops."
The commander-in-chief actually had a pessimistic attitude, and Tupikov himself was even less optimistic.
Within the front army command headquarters, a feeling of failure was still spreading. No one had any good ideas on how the Soviet army could hold on to its existing defense lines.
Tupikov said nonsense: "We need a large number of anti-tank guns, a large number of tanks, a large number of heavy artillery, and a large number of experienced fighters. Unfortunately, we cannot have these in a short time."
His nonsense can only aggravate the uneasy mood, and the future of the Soviet army is bleak.
On the front line, the soldiers of the Southwest Front Army had no choice but to build their infantry defense line. These young soldiers had just experienced a defeat, and the mood of defeat was also spreading on the battlefield. The political commissars at the grassroots level were very worried about such soldiers because of this It is easy for our troops to surrender when faced with difficulties instead of fighting desperately!
The various divisions on the front line sent to the headquarters requirements for various weapons, ammunition and personnel. The division commanders had the greatest demand for anti-tank weapons. This is because almost all of their defense lines are in open areas, in the huge Donbas Basin. , only heavy artillery and anti-tank guns can withstand the German blitzkrieg!
Timoshenko could only bite the bullet and answer them. These heavy firepower supports were scarce in quantity. The so-called wait for the number of heavy weapons on the front line to basically meet the defense expectations would have to wait until August! Who can guarantee that the German army will not turn to defensive mode during this period? attack?
Faced with defensive pressure, Timoshenko had trouble sleeping these days!
He was eager to get good news, so a lengthy telegram from the 63rd Army finally made him smile.
This was a telegram signed by Army Commander Belekov. It was actually drafted by Fomin and sent by Yevlov’s representative.
Its contents illustrate two things: First, Commander Berekov became ill from overwork and simply rested for a while to recover. Second, all the transported materials were delivered, and the early warning radar was quickly manufactured and is expected to be launched in the middle of this month. experiment.
The 63rd Group Army is only nominally affiliated with the Southwest Front. Now it is the guerrilla movement headquarters in Moscow that can actually direct their operations. Timoshenko is indeed full of curiosity about Yang Mingzhi, but hundreds of kilometers of enemy-occupied areas block him. He can't get this magical general!
Yes, in Timoshenko's opinion, Yang Mingzhi is a strange person.
When he got the telegram and read it, he even doubted in public whether the telegraph operator had mistranslated the telegram.
"He's really not kidding. He can build a radar out of just a used magnetron?"
Tupikov had already read the telegram, and he guessed: "Comrade Berekov is not an ordinary talent. The rocket launcher with a range of forty kilometers, and this so-called early warning radar, maybe these are real. Just like he invented
RPG weapons have been widely used in combat, and even the Germans quickly copied them!"
"The RPG is visible and tangible! But I refuse to believe their so-called early warning radar. How can that man build a radar with just a magnetron? Could he also solve other components? Could it be that other components are
Fished out of the swamp? Or does everything depend on their laboratory-like arsenal?!"
"There is also a fertilizer factory!" Tupikov said by analogy.
"Yes! There is also a fertilizer factory. It is said that because of the fertilizer factory, they can grow enough potatoes to eat until next year! I hope this is true, otherwise tens of thousands of people there will only starve to death in the next severe cold!
"
"After all, that's Berekov, this man can always create miracles!" Tupikov could understand Timoshenko's reluctance. The marshal really wanted to have a strong general by his side!
In the past year, Yang Mingzhi's three major feats have been recognized by the Soviet authorities. First, he was the first to defeat the German armored division. Second, he invented a new type of weapon. Third, he mobilized a powerful combat force in the swamp.
troops, and killed nearly 30,000 enemies in total! These achievements naturally overshadowed his other achievements, so much so that those small achievements are horrifying to think about!
Tupikov had only seen Yang Mingzhi’s true face from his ID photo, and he could be regarded as an old comrade who fought together. Tupikov inevitably kept whispering to Timoshenko. The more he praised him, the more he praised him.
Timoshenko wanted to stop him more and more.
Unfortunately, these ideas are delusional after all, and the headquarters of the Southwest Front Army will be moved again!
The new location of the headquarters was decided to evacuate to the direction of Voronezh. During his last days in Luhansk, Timoshenko was full of reluctance.
Tupikov continued to praise the 63rd Army and Berekov. During a military meeting, Tupikov was arrogant again, which finally made the marshal explode.
"Please shut up! Even if that army is invincible, is it entirely our fault? Even if it is an incredible elite force, it cannot be directly commanded by us! My dear Chief of Staff, please give up your illusions
, stop talking about that force that is five hundred kilometers away from us! Our command will continue to retreat, and we will be further away from them!"
Tupikov was speechless for a moment.
Timoshenko also took the opportunity to find a way to vent his long-term pressure, so he continued this study of the enemy's situation and vented it out.
The so-called current situation is that the German army is gathering their elite troops, as well as a huge number of servant troops, namely Romanians, Hungarians and Italians.
"The strength of the Axis powers continues to increase. According to intelligence reality, they are equipped with more armored and improved Panzer IV tanks and more fighter jets. The intelligence agency said that the German army may even have a more powerful tank! These troops are
Assembling on that side of our defense line, what do they want to do? Attack of course! They want to attack there, so there is no need to think about it! Therefore, we no longer care about the distant 63rd Group Army! We can no longer provide them with air
assistance!"
When the words came out of the front commander's mouth, Tupikov was also surprised.
"Could it be that the stable air assistance we promised them is now void?"
"Yes! Because we no longer have enough transport aircraft, and the only transport aircraft we have cannot be risky! Since you have repeatedly claimed that the 63rd Army has strong self-sufficiency capabilities, and you are so convinced, why should I not believe it?
?Comrade Berekov will create military miracles one after another. Only if he can truly become a strong general under my command, this honor can be part of me. In the future, everything will depend on them!"