The fall of Jankoy caused panic among the German troops.
The next day, when German reinforcements from two directions arrived at Zhankoy, they launched a counterattack against Zhankoy under the unified command of Sponeneck.
The battle was fierce. Several divisions of German troops repeatedly attacked Zhankoy under the cover of air force artillery, but the Soviet troops occupied Zhankoy and remained motionless.
The 1st Guards Tank Brigade used tanks, rocket launchers and Bobosas to defend the city under the cover of buildings. It could not be captured by ordinary troops and superior strength, not to mention that the Soviet Air Force also fully reinforced Zhankoy, and at the same time the artillery
, infantry and others also landed from the Sea of Azov in waves, and soon gained an advantage in strength.
"General!" Lieutenant General Sponneck reported to Manstein on the phone: "I think we should retreat! Although we are still attacking now, it is obvious that the enemy is gathering strength!"
"Stop them, Sponeneck!" Manstein replied feebly: "Stop them no matter what!"
"Yes, General!" Lieutenant General Sponneck replied: "But I have tried my best!"
Manstein had to admit his defeat... The loss of Zhankoy meant that the flank at the exit of the Perekop Isthmus was exposed to the Soviet front.
Just like Lieutenant General Sponneck said, the Soviet army is gathering strength. Then, they only need one charge to completely block the Perekop Isthmus, which will wipe out the tens of thousands of elite German troops who invaded Crimea.
Completely surrounded.
But is it too early to retreat now?
It takes at least a day to get to the Isthmus from Sevastopol.
This is still calculated based on marching speed. If we alternate cover and fight while retreating, I am afraid it will take at least two to three days.
This was enough time for the Soviet army to completely blockade the isthmus.
After thinking about it for a while, Manstein sent a secret telegram to Sponneck telling him to make some arrangements, and then ordered the troops to retreat.
Shulka on the other side didn't know this. At this time, he encountered a little trouble in Feodosia.
"Comrade Captain!" Nekrasov, commander of the engineer battalion, reported to Shulka: "We were stopped outside the warehouse and they asked us to show our passes!"
"Pass?"
"Yes, a pass to get the gear into the warehouse!"
Shulka and the instructor looked at each other and walked towards the warehouse without saying a word.
Sure enough, an officer with the rank of major stopped in front of a group of engineers and shouted something.
"Comrade Major!" Shulka squeezed forward and saluted the major: "This is an emergency. I hope you will let it go immediately. We need to transport it into the warehouse!"
"This is impossible, Captain!" the major replied without thinking: "You should know this. Unknown people are not allowed to store personal belongings in the warehouse unless you have a pass or an order from your superiors. Otherwise, how can I
Do you know if what you are transporting is a load of explosives?"
"Of course not, Major!" The instructor followed up and introduced: "This is Comrade Shulka, the 'breakout hero'. I think his name is a kind of proof, don't you think so?"
The major turned to Shulka for a moment and asked, "Are you a 'breakout hero'?"
Shulka didn't say anything, just took out his military ID card and handed it over.
The major flipped through his military ID card, then handed it back to Shulka and said, "Sorry, Captain! We have orders..."
"Can I make a call?" Shulka raised his head towards the phone booth next to him.
"Of course!" the major replied, "but the phone line has been blown!"
This is true. Railway stations are often bombed by the enemy, and line interruptions are common.
To be honest, what the Major did was right, because things of unknown origin should not be allowed into the warehouse.
So Shulka ordered the correspondent: "Contact the front army headquarters immediately!"
"Yes!" the correspondent responded and asked the communications team to deploy the radio station on the spot.
But the situation made Shulka angry and anxious... There was no response from the front army command.
Shulka guessed that on the one hand, this was due to the low efficiency of the Mahlis command, and on the other hand, a request from the battalion radio station for materials to be admitted to the warehouse was simply ignored by the staff. They even thought that such a telegram was simply ignored.
There is no need to send it to the front army headquarters.
Shulka looked at his watch, then at the pale sky in the east, pacing back and forth anxiously, but there was nothing he could do.
The instructor thought for a while, then invited the major aside, whispered something, and then saw the major waving his hand and letting him go.
Shulka was confused and asked the instructor: "How did you convince him?"
"It's very simple!" the instructor replied: "Everyone knows that Comrade Mahlis obeys your words. I only need to tell him this... there is nothing that cannot be solved!"
Shulka smiled bitterly.
No orders or passes, or the hero Shulka, are actually as useful as the notoriety of Mahlis, the "King of Reporters".
That’s why there is a saying, “It’s better to offend a gentleman than a villain.” I’m afraid this is what it means.
However, the major was also responsible, or it could be said that he was out of curiosity. He followed the others to transport the "things" on the flatbed truck into the underground warehouse, and then asked Shulka: "Can I know what it is, comrade captain?"
"Sorry, Major!" Shulka replied: "I can't tell you!"
The major shrugged and said it didn't matter.
After a while, the major lowered his voice and said: "Captain, if you have the opportunity, I hope you can introduce him to Comrade Mahlis!"
"Okay, no problem!" Shulka answered simply.
The major immediately became excited, and he happily said to Shulka: "My name is Yefimhi, comrade captain, and I am responsible for the logistics and security of the railway station. If you need anything, any need... you just need to tell me here
Just call the soldiers, and they will immediately forward your request to my headquarters!"
"I know!"
"Well, goodbye, comrade captain!" the major shook Shulka's hand excitedly: "Nice to meet you, and I'm sorry for my behavior just now..."
Seeing all this and feeling the major's flattery, Shulka only felt a little desolate, because the people who held the power were not people like Zhukov and Katukov who had made meritorious deeds on the battlefield, but people like Mahlis.
of incompetent people.
Although Shulka doesn't think it would be a good thing to get such power, such as working next to Mahlis or even gaining his trust... This is a supreme honor in the eyes of others, but for Shulka