Although Major General Petrov was dubious, he finally conveyed the news and order... After all, this was an order from Moscow, and to a certain extent it was good news.
However, Major Petrov was more conservative when conveying this information: "Reinforcements may arrive in the next two or three days. As you know, it is 70 kilometers, and there will be enemy obstructions along the way!"
Major Petrov's approach is correct, because if the time is too short, such as one day, it will give the troops a shot of stimulant, but if reinforcements do not appear after one day, morale will suffer.
But even so, the morale of the Soviet troops in Odessa was greatly boosted. They even launched a counterattack against the Romanian and German forces in some local areas and drove out several Romanian troops that entered the city. The German 22nd Infantry Division
The same is true of staying strong.
When the news reached Lundstedt, he felt a headache.
On the one hand, it was unable to stop the penetration of the Soviet 9th Army, and on the other hand, it was unable to completely occupy Odessa in a short time. This would put the Romanian 4th Army in a double-sided attack by the Soviet army.
Although the total strength of the Romanian and German coalition forces was greater than the total strength of the Soviet army, it was completely possible to divide the troops, but Rundstedt knew that dividing the troops would not have much effect.
The reason is that the Romanian army's strength of hundreds of thousands is fictitious. If calculated based on combat effectiveness, they can only be counted as one army at most.
"How do they solve the water problem?" Lundstedt asked. He remembered that the adjutant once told him that the Romanian army occupied the reservoir in Odessa.
"Rainwater, Your Excellency Marshal!" the adjutant replied: "They collect rainwater!"
Rundstedt nodded clearly, and then cursed in his mind: "This damn weather, if it hadn't rained, the battle would have ended long ago!"
But the fact is that it is raining now, and it is foreseeable that it will be rainy for some time in the future.
So the problem still needs to be solved.
Rundstedt stared at the map for a while, then pointed at the map and said to the adjutant: "The outermost line of defense..."
"The total length of the outermost defense line is 80 kilometers!" The adjutant immediately gave the information Rundstedt needed: "From the Gulf of Dniester all the way to Lake Tiligur!"
“How far is it from the city?”
"25 to 30 kilometers!" the adjutant replied.
"That is to say, it is nearly 20 kilometers away from the middle defense line!" Lundstedt said.
"Yes!" The adjutant nodded: "The farthest place should be more than 20 kilometers, and the nearest one is 17 kilometers!"
This is a simple subtraction operation.
"Both the outer and middle layers of defense are under our control?" Lundstedt asked again.
"Yes, Your Majesty Marshal!"
"What fortifications are there?"
"Trenches, bunkers and anti-tank gun emplacements!"
"Then..." Rundstedt said: "Move troops and logistics troops into the middle of the two lines of defense!"
Rundstedt's idea was very simple, which was to make use of the Soviet defense lines and fortifications without completely capturing Odessa, and then attack Odessa internally and repel powerful enemies from the outside.
The adjutant immediately understood the meaning of these words. He looked at Rundstedt in surprise and said: "But general, this also means that the Russians can cut off our connection with Romania!"
Utilizing the defense line certainly has its benefits, but moving the main force between the two defense lines is a kind of self-enclosure, which means cutting off one's own supply line.
"No!" Rundstedt pointed at the Gulf of Dniester and said, "This is our supply line!"
The adjutant couldn't help but suddenly realized, and then nodded in agreement.
"Besides!" Rundstedt said: "Order General Schobert to rush to Odessa immediately to command this battle. I can't trust the Romanians!"
"Yes, Your Majesty Marshal!"
Shulka on the other side certainly didn't know these arrangements of the German army. They only knew how to travel day and night... Everyone knew that Odessa was the key to the entire battle, and the key to Odessa was whether the 9th Army could be in time.
arrived.
Otherwise, if the Romanian and German forces occupied the entire territory of Odessa, things would be a little bad.
Admiral Kilponos also became nervous at this time, and he repeatedly sent telegrams to urge him.
According to Major Gavrilov, General Kirponos asked about the location of the vanguard almost every half hour.
Therefore, the only time the 9th Army rested was after it broke away from the Romanian Army.
That was mainly because the tank driver couldn't stand it anymore, and considering that it would be too dangerous for the infantry to advance in cars without tanks, the entire army took a two-hour rest.
The infantrymen are not that big of a deal. Apart from fighting, they spend the rest of their time sitting in the back of cars and resting.
Uncle Alek, who was driving, leaned into the driver's seat and immediately started snoring like thunder.
Even car drivers are so tired, let alone tank drivers.
In order not to affect Uncle Alek's rest, the soldiers in the rear compartment consciously lowered the volume.
"Who knows the destination?" Leonev asked in a low voice.
"Odessa!" The veteran rolled his eyes: "What were you doing when the order was given?"
"I might have fallen asleep at that time!" Leonyev replied, and then asked again: "It's almost there, isn't it?"
"Do you hope to arrive or not?" the veteran asked again.
Leonyev couldn't help but fell silent, everyone's subconscious hope to reach the destination as soon as possible.
But that was a hope in peacetime, and it could also be said to be the hope of high-ranking military officers or the Odessa garrison.
For the soldiers of the 9th Army, reaching the destination often means the beginning of the battle, which means blood and death.
After being silent for a while, Leonyev replied: "I hope it will arrive soon!"
"Why?" The veteran was a little surprised by the answer.
"You have to face it!" Leonyev replied: "If there must be a bad ending, I would rather end this life as soon as possible!"
"Yes!" Another recruit looked at the continuous rain outside the carriage and said thoughtfully: "If there is a hell, wouldn't this be it? If this is a hell, what's the difference between dead and alive?
Woolen cloth?"
There was some truth in what he said, so the other recruits also nodded.
"Very good!" Shulka said: "You have entered the second stage!"
The veterans couldn't help but laugh.
Shulka is not joking, but there is indeed such a psychological process: at first, I was scared to death and always wanted to leave this ghost place. But if I am afraid... I will soon be tortured by this fear and become mentally and physically exhausted.
At this time, there will be a phenomenon similar to "reflection", which is what Shulka calls the "second stage". Simply let go and stop being afraid of useless things.
Of course, not everyone can survive to this stage.