General Lidyukov's 5th Tank Army launched an attack on the German lines of communication within the specified time. The Istrian battalion hidden in the Tim area also responded actively. In addition to blowing up bridges and damaging railways, they also cut off all the telephone lines along the way overnight, making it impossible for the German commander's orders to be carried out. Not delivered via radio or radio.
Just when everyone saw the hope of victory, the tank army's attack on the German army came to an abrupt end. Some German troops that were defeated by the main force of the Soviet army took the opportunity to shrink to one place and re-establish new defenses. The enemies stationed in the Tim area also deployed troops to encircle and suppress Sokov's troops.
Seeing that the situation on the battlefield suddenly took a turn for the worse, Sokov could only send a telegram to the army headquarters to try to understand what happened so that corresponding measures could be taken. More than half an hour later, the telegram from headquarters arrived. After reading the contents of the telegram, Sokov's heart dropped. He knew that this operation of cooperating with the tank group army to harass the enemy's rear had ended in failure.
Sokov summoned the commanders of each company and platoon to the command post, handed the telegram to them for circulation, and said: "Comrades, General Lidyukov, commander of the tank group army, in yesterday's battle, the tank he was driving was killed by the German army. The general was destroyed by artillery fire, and the general died for his country. Due to his sacrifice, the tank army lost its unified command and was defeated by the German army. Not only is the situation in the Voronezh direction worsening, but the enemy can also deploy more troops to encircle and suppress us. Tell us. , what should we do next? Should we continue to stay here to harass the German transportation lines, or should we return to our defense area."
After Sokov finished speaking, the whole room fell into silence, and the commanders present were thinking about the future fate of their troops. Although some officers wanted to express their opinions, they quietly swallowed back what they wanted to say when they saw that no one was speaking.
"Tell me, comrade commanders." Seeing that no one was speaking in the room, Sokov raised his voice and said, "The fate of the Istrian Battalion is in your hands. Let us all share our opinions. Should I stay or go back?"
"Comrade Battalion Commander," Captain Vanya, the first company commander to express his stance, said resolutely: "Since our superiors have ordered us to harass the German lines of communication in the Tim area, I think we should continue to stay until this order is cancelled. Down."
"Captain Vanya," as soon as Vanya finished speaking, Andrei retorted: "Don't forget, the order given to us by our superiors is to assist the tank group army in destroying the enemy's communication lines. Now General Lidyukov He died, and the tank army was defeated by the enemy. If we continue to stay in this area, an extremely tragic fate awaits us."
After the two different views were expressed, a debate immediately started in the command post: some supported Vanya and hoped to stay here to fight the enemy; others supported Andre and believed that the army is now weak and should continue to stay. Here, not only cannot we attack the enemy well, but there is also the possibility of being annihilated by the enemy. It is better to withdraw as soon as possible.
Seeing the heated debate between the two sides, Belkin leaned close to Sokov's ear and whispered in his ear: "Comrade Major, if I'm not wrong, you have already made a decision in your heart."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Belkin." Although Sokov made a bold decision in his heart when he called the commanders for a meeting, in order to listen to the opinions of his subordinates, he replied in a low voice: " Listen to what the commanders have to say, and then I will express my opinion."
However, after waiting for a long time, the two sides could not come to an agreement. Belkin clapped his hands vigorously, and after the room became quiet again, he said to everyone: "Comrade commanders, you have been arguing for a long time, and there is still no result from the argument. . In my opinion, let Major Sokov decide whether to stay or leave. In any case, he was once our battalion commander and is now directing our operations. I think it is very necessary to obey his command. of."
The two sides, who were originally arguing with each other red-faced, heard what Belkin said and couldn't help but cast their eyes on Sokov, waiting for him to make the final decision. Sokov knew very well in his heart that if he continued to fight in the Tim area according to the original plan, it would force the enemy to deploy more troops here to encircle and suppress him. It might not be long before his entire army was destroyed. Danger. But what about withdrawing? This is simply impossible, because Rokossovsky did not give himself a retreat order, and he could only stay here to deal with the German army.
In order not to disobey the orders of his superiors and retreat without permission, but not to be surrounded and suppressed by heavy German troops, Sokov had only one option, which was to transfer his troops to other areas with weak German defenses. In order to achieve the purpose of destroying the enemy and saving yourself.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Sokov coughed lightly, cleared his throat and said: "Comrade commanders, we cannot retreat before the retreat order from our superiors is issued. But if we continue to stay In the Tim area, we will face a heavy encirclement and suppression by the German army..."
"Comrade Battalion Commander, please tell everyone." Before Sokov finished speaking, Vasily asked impatiently: "We can neither stay nor withdraw. What should we do?"
Sokov took out a map, placed it in front of everyone, and said to them: "The order given to us by our superiors is to harass the German army's communication lines. It is obviously impossible to stay in the Tim area now. We can continue to move toward West, rush to the Kursk area, and continue to harass the German transportation lines there."
Sokov's words shocked everyone in the room. Belkin said in shock: "Major Sokov, Kursk is deep in the German defense. If we move in that area, not only will we not receive any support from our army, but we will also face multi-faceted siege by the German army. You You have to think carefully."
It seems that if you stay in the Jim area, you can get support from your superiors. After muttering a few words in his heart, Sokov continued: "Since our army has gathered heavy troops in the directions of Bryansk and Voronezh, in order to prevent our army from breaking through, the German army will transfer their main force to the above-mentioned areas. In this way, the defenses in their deep-defense cities will become extremely empty, giving us an opportunity to take advantage of them.”
"Comrade Battalion Commander, is this too risky?" Vanya reminded Sokov carefully: "I think we should consider it carefully."
"If we withdraw from our defense area without permission from our superiors, officers including me may be sent to a military court for violating military orders. If we continue to stay here, it will be like what I just did As said, after the enemy defeats the tank group army, he can mobilize more troops and rush back to the Tim area, then we will face the annihilation of the entire army." Sokov said firmly: "To withdraw is also to die; Staying means dying. If that is the case, then why don’t we take the risk to attack Kursk, where the German army’s defenses are weak, and disrupt the German army’s deployment?”
