The fate of the Soviet 17th and 51st Divisions was decided in this way. In the wilderness without positions, encountering the malicious Romanian armored forces, the outcome was already expected.
In the uncovered wilderness, dead Soviet soldiers could be seen everywhere, with corpses and weapons everywhere. Groups of Soviet prisoners with their hands raised dejected were escorted by Romanian soldiers and walked towards the Ukrainian Ka in the rear.
On the other side of the battlefield, tanks, armored vehicles and other vehicles that had finished the battle were parked aside, and their crew members were sitting together in groups of twos and threes, smoking and chatting.
Soldiers can rest, but officers naturally cannot. Distributing fuel and ammunition, and directing maintenance personnel to repair damaged tanks and other vehicles are also among their tasks.
As the commander of the first division, Lieutenant General Hoffmann was not much better. Although these things were done by the officers below, he still needed to make decisions such as the allocation of marching tasks and combat plans.
A new battle plan was placed in front of him.
"These staff officers were so mesmerized by the results before them that they actually wanted to capture Kirovograd just by relying on us and the Fifth Division."
After reading the battle plan, Hoffman couldn't help but complain.
"What?"
Guderian, who was shocked by Hoffman's words, couldn't help but asked. "Isn't the Soviet army only one division in Kirovograd? I think it won't be a problem to capture Kirovograd."
"That happened yesterday. Today's aviation reconnaissance found that two Soviet divisions are rapidly approaching Kirovograd. We have been delayed by the two Soviet divisions for too long. We cannot defeat them.
Arrive at Kirovograd before."
Hoffman said regretfully. In fact, this is nothing to regret. The armored division has annihilated two Soviet divisions and crippled one division. More importantly, it has torn a big hole in the Soviet defense line, leaving Timoshenko everywhere.
Passive. However, Hoffman may not know the idiom "Delong Wangshu", but he must understand the meaning, because he has this mentality in the current situation.
"Then what do we do next?"
Facing Guderian's inquiry, Hoffman said. "These two battles caused us a lot of losses. Seventy-eight tanks were damaged or broke down, and 23 armored vehicles were out of service. Self-propelled artillery was also lost.
We lost 13 tanks, which reduced our combat effectiveness by 30%. Now we can only reorganize the intact tanks and continue to march towards Kirovograd to clear the way for the army behind. However, we have no chance of capturing Kirovograd.
I have no choice but to gather around and call for reinforcements."
From previous battles, Guderian also knew that tanks were less useful in cities. "It seems like this is all."
The armored division then reorganized its troops, leaving some personnel to repair the damaged tanks and vehicles. They also tried to dismantle the equipment that could not be repaired, and also asked them to wait for subsequent additions of tanks and armored vehicles. Then Hoffmann took the remaining troops with the Fifth
The first division continued to advance towards Kirovograd.
When Hoffman set off towards Kirovograd, the 29th Division and the 37th Division, which had been marching all the way, finally arrived at Kirovograd within the specified time.
At this time, Kirovograd was as busy as before the war. Sandbag fortifications were built at many street corners. There were also people, led by the army, busy digging trenches and hanging barbed wire. Outside the city, there was even more
It was a very busy scene. A large number of traffic trenches extended everywhere in twists and turns, and machine gun fortresses also exuded the smell of fresh earth and stood at various key points.
These are the results of two days and two nights for all residents of Kirovograd. Under the mobilization of the Soviet army, almost everyone went to the battlefield to build fortifications.
As for the officers and soldiers of the two divisions who arrived in Kirovograd, many of them were tired and sat on the street to rest. The officers and soldiers of the garrison who were responsible for receiving them were busy giving them water and food, which made the reception scene busy.
As the commanders of the two divisions, Major General Rodkol and Major General Tolomanv would naturally not be crowded together with ordinary officers and soldiers. Under the reception of Major General Dicktov, the commander of the city defense, they first went to Major General Dicktov's headquarters to learn about the specific situation.
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"Thank you for leading the team to support Kirovograd. Without your support, I would not have known how to fight when the Romanians came to the city."
Although the reinforcements from the 29th Division and the 37th Division were ordered by Timoshenko, Major General Dictov did not take it for granted, and still politely expressed his gratitude to Major General Rodkol and Major General Toromanov.
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"Where is the enemy now?"
As the commander of the 29th Division, Major General Rod Cole was the most anxious. He asked about the military situation as soon as he came up.
"Currently, according to intelligence, the enemy's leading troops, the First Armored Division and part of the Fifth Division, have appeared in Domuko west of Kirovograd. This is the intelligence from fifteen minutes ago."
Under the guidance of Major General Dictov, everyone quickly found this small village on the map.
Major General Rod Cole frowned and said, "Then the enemy will arrive outside the city as soon as tonight."
"It's impossible to march at night. I think we'll have to arrive early tomorrow morning."
Major General Dictov expressed his judgment, and when he saw the questioning look coming over him, he continued to explain. "At night, the enemy's warning range will be reduced to a minimum, and the Romanians already know that there are three divisions of garrison troops in the city.
Aren't they afraid of our surprise attack? Moreover, the enemy's vanguard is physically and mentally exhausted from continuous fighting and needs a night's rest to replenish their physical strength."
The approving glances around him said it all, and Major General Dicktov continued. "As for the defensive areas of the two troops, this is how I arranged them."
According to Major General Dicktov's explanation, the area south of the city from Doleri Hill to Busol Street was defended by the 29th Division. Major General Dicktov sent people to familiarize them with the topography here. In the north of the city, from Teldo Street to the Snova River
The 37th Division will defend the area between them, and people will also be sent to familiarize them with the terrain here.
The west side of the city facing the Romanians will be defended by his troops. This is not because Major General Dictov is noble and elegant. It is because his troops are most familiar with this place and are more adaptable to the use of terrain.
There will be armed militiamen in the east of the city. As the city farthest from the enemy, there is no need to worry about handing it over to the militia. After all, these people are locals. With the blessing of protecting their hometown from being invaded by Romanians, their defensive capabilities are still
trustworthy.
It is not yet the time for the Great Famine in Ukraine. At this time, Ukrainians still have patriotic enthusiasm for Soviet Russia. There must be a leading party, but it is definitely impossible to have a large number of people asking to join the invaders.
After Major General Dictov assigned the tasks, he added, "Next, we need to fight together. For the sake of the great Soviet, we will definitely defend this city."
