Just as Sokov was convening a meeting with his battalion commanders, there was a city called Little Ivanovka more than ten kilometers northwest of Orlovka, where Rokossovsky’s Stalingrad Front army The headquarters is located here.
The headquarters at this moment was crowded with people. Except for Chief of Staff Ma Linin, Military Commissar Teretin and other front army chiefs, the rest were all group army commanders. After receiving Malinin's notice, they hurried here to attend the meeting. However, when they arrived, they discovered that although the main leaders of the front army were there, there was no sign of Commander Rokossovsky.
Batov, commander of the 65th Group Army, walked to Malinin and asked in a low voice: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the commander called us here for a meeting, but he was not seen. Can I ask where he went? Yet?"
Malinin had a good personal relationship with Batov. After hearing his question, he quickly replied in a low voice: "During the offensive two days ago, the 67th Tank Brigade belonging to the 4th Tank Army broke through the German defense line and charged directly into it. Heading towards Orlovka, are you ready to join forces with the friendly troops heading north?"
Batov knew about the rendezvous with the 62nd Army that was stationed in Stalingrad. Therefore, in the battle plan formulated by the Front Army Headquarters, his troops should have rushed to Orlovka yesterday to join forces from the opposite side. The incoming defenders joined forces, but due to the stubborn resistance of the German army, his troops failed to break through the defense line. At this moment, when Malinin mentioned this matter, he guessed that Rokossovsky was not at the headquarters and must be related to this matter. He quickly asked with concern: "How is the situation of the tank brigade? Has it joined forces with friendly forces in Orlovka?" ?”
Malinin shook his head and said solemnly: "Today we received news from the Southeastern Front that the tank brigade had been completely wiped out by the Germans on the road to Orlovka."
"What, the troops were annihilated?" When Bartov heard the news, he was shocked, then grabbed Malinin's hand and asked nervously: "Did Comrade Commander go to the area where the tank brigade was annihilated? "
"Yes," Malinen nodded and said in a positive tone: "Since our army does not have the strength to break through the German defense line yet, he went by plane. It is easier to see the battlefield from the air than from the ground. .”
"Oh my God, fly over the enemy's defense lines by plane." Malinin's words made Bartov's breathing quicken: "Comrade Chief of Staff, don't you know that the plane he is flying is in danger of being shot down by German anti-aircraft fire at any time? Really? Why didn't you stop him?"
"General Bartov, you have known Comrade Commander for only a day or two. Don't you still know what kind of character he has?" Malinin shrugged his shoulders, spread his hands, and said helplessly: " Do you think we can persuade him to change his mind about what he has decided?”
The words of Malinin and Batov shocked the other army commanders. Everyone knew very well that once Rokossovsky's plane was shot down, there would be almost no hope of survival. However, Rokossovsky left by plane long before they got here, and they only I can pray silently in my heart, hoping that the commander can return smoothly.
Fortunately, the situation was not as bad as everyone imagined. Just when everyone was worried about Rokossovsky's safety, a voice suddenly came from outside the door: "Comrade Commander is back!"
Hearing that the commander was back, everyone's eyes turned to the door invariably, trying to figure out whether Rokossovsky was really back. A moment later, everyone saw the tall Rokossovsky walking in from the door, and they quickly stood up and paid attention to him.
"Comrade Commander, you are all here!" Rokossovsky quickly came to the table and sat down, raised his hand and pressed down, and said in a commanding tone: "Everyone, please sit down."
After everyone was seated, he said in an apologetic tone: "I'm sorry, comrade commanders, to keep you waiting for so long. I just took a flight to the front for a tour, which delayed me a bit."
"Comrade Commander," after Rokossovsky finished speaking, Bartov was the first to stand up. "You are our supreme commander, and you have no right to risk your life."
"There is nothing we can do, Comrade Bartov." Rokossovsky did not care about the tone of Bartov's conversation with him. Instead, he gestured to him to sit down, and then continued: "We and the city The 62nd Group Army's rendezvous operation failed. As the commander of the front army, I felt it was necessary to personally go deep into the front line to find out what happened."
"But have you ever thought that the enemy's anti-aircraft fire will bring down the plane you are riding on?" Bartov said with some reluctance: "Once something happens to you, the entire front army will lose its unified command, and thus into unnecessary confusion.”
"Batov, you are worrying too much. The plane I am flying is very low, it can be said to be flying close to the ground." Rokossovsky said with a relaxed expression: "It is rare for the enemy to shoot down such an ultra-low-altitude aircraft." plane, so my safety is guaranteed.”
Rokossovsky was unwilling to tangle with Batov on this topic, so he turned his attention to a general sitting in the crowd and asked: "General Klyuchodin, let me ask You, after your 67th Tank Brigade broke through the German defenses the day before yesterday, why did the follow-up troops fail to follow up, and as a result, Colonel Hidjaev and his Tank Brigade were completely destroyed?"
The person named by Rokossovsky was General Klyuchodin, commander of the 4th Tank Corps, and the deceased Colonel Hidjaev was a tank brigade commander under him. Klyuchodin quickly stood up from his seat, wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and said: "Comrade Commander, there are many reasons why we have suffered such huge losses in technical equipment. First of all, because of the organization Incompetent, the troops were dispersed to participate in the battle, and there was a lack of necessary artillery support. As a result, after Colonel Hidjaev's tank brigade broke through the German defense line, their entire army was destroyed due to lack of backup."
"Why don't you provide more tanks and soldiers to Colonel Hidzhyev's tank brigade?" When Telekin heard this, he couldn't help but interjected and asked: "You know, maybe a dozen more tanks , they can hope to join forces with friendly forces heading north and establish a solid fire support point in Orlovka."
"Nothing can be done, Comrade Military Commissar." In response to Telekin's accusation, General Klyuchodin quickly explained: "I have given all the movable tanks of the entire tank corps to Colonel Hidzhyev, and also sent An infantry company accompanied them. Who knows that even though we did this, we still failed to allow them to join forces with the friendly forces in the city."
Rokossovsky originally had resentment against Klyuchodin, but after listening to his explanation, he realized that he had been wrongly blamed, so he sighed softly and said: "I just saw the wreckage of a destroyed tank in the air. Stretching four to five kilometers, that is to say, after breaking through the German defense line, Colonel Hidjaev’s troops rushed desperately towards the Orlovka area, trying to join forces with the troops sent there by the 62nd Army.”
"In my opinion, it was the troops that Chuikov eliminated that moved too slowly, which led to the annihilation of Colonel Siddhayev's troops." Knowing that Klyuchodin had done everything he could, Telekin transferred his grievances He went to the unit joining the tank brigade: "Comrade Commander, do you know the number of that unit?"
"I know." Rokossovsky nodded slightly and said, "It's Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's 73rd Infantry Brigade." After saying the unit number, seeing Telekin's confused look, he knew When Teretajong took office, he still didn't understand many things, so he added, "This force was originally used by the base camp to defend Mamayev Heights. They achieved great results in two months of fighting. This time In order to quickly join forces with our army, Chuikov mobilized this force north. When the plane was hovering over Orlovka, I saw several destroyed German tanks on the ground. After communicating with the Southeast Front, Only then did I know that after Sokov led his troops here, they encountered a German tank detachment and fought..."
After Telekin waited for Rokossovsky to finish speaking, he was silent for a long time before asking: "Comrade Commander, since our operation to join forces with the 62nd Group Army has failed, what should we do next?"
"After my observation, the enemy is very powerful and mobile in front of our army. They occupy a very favorable area. You must know that this was the area where our army built a defense line before, and there are many fortifications. "With our current strength, it is very difficult to break through the enemy's defense again." Rokossovsky said with a serious expression: "So we can only switch to defense on the spot, wait for the right time, and then attack The enemy attacks."
"Transfer to defense on the spot?" Hearing what Rokossovsky said, Telekin was a little unhappy: "Comrade Commander, the task of our front army is to rescue Stalingrad, not to stop here and do nothing."
"Comrade Military Commissar," Rokossovsky said in a calm tone to the angry Telekin, "we are not doing nothing. Once we notice that the German army has launched a new attack on Stalingrad, we will Just launch an attack on the enemy in the front and pin down their effective forces here to reduce the pressure on the city's defenders."
"So that's it." After Telekin figured out Rokossovsky's intention, his expression became much more relaxed, and then he said: "Comrade Commander, we have summoned all the army commanders here. If you have any tasks, just assign them to them."
Rokossovsky summoned his army commanders here, mainly to announce the cessation of the offensive and to shift to defense on the spot. After he announced the order, Batov said worriedly: "Comrade Commander, have we obtained the permission of the Supreme Command to stop the attack and switch to defense on the spot?"
"General Bartov," Rokossovsky said kindly, "I have already discussed this matter with the deputy commander-in-chief, General Zhukov. He feels that we should not waste our precious troops on such a meaningless mission now. During the counterattack. He believes that switching to defense on the spot is to accumulate strength and prepare for the next attack."
Knowing that it was Zhukov's permission to transfer the troops to defense on the spot, everyone suddenly felt much more at ease. Since the deputy commander said so, there is no need for everyone to launch attacks on the German positions in vain. Instead, we should use this time to replenish troops, weapons and ammunition, and wait for the start of a new round of attacks.
After all the commanders who attended the meeting left, Malinin asked Rokossovsky with some concern: "Comrade Commander, did General Zhukov tell us when we will launch another attack on the German army?"
"Within ten days." Rokossovsky said with a grimace: "General Zhukov felt that after ten days of replenishment, our troops should regain the strength to break through the German defense line, so the next round of attack will be in the early morning ten days later. Initiate.”
Hearing Rokossovsky's words, Military Commissar Teretin beamed, because in this way, the troops could once again attack from the enemy's flank and rear and join forces with the city's defenders; but Malinin was Frowning, he felt that even if he waited ten days before attacking the enemy, it would still be too hasty. The army lacked the necessary soldiers and material supplies to support a new counterattack, so it would be difficult to achieve the desired results.
Thinking of this, Malinin plucked up the courage to say to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, I think you should report directly to the Supreme Command and ask them to provide us with enough soldiers and technical equipment, otherwise we will launch the attack in ten days." With the offensive, it is still difficult for us to achieve any results."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I am the commander of the front army. Don't I know the current situation of the army?" Rokossovsky waited for Malinin to explain his views, and then said with a straight face and an expressionless face: "But ten Launching another attack on the German army three days later was an order given by Zhukov in his capacity as deputy commander. Not to mention that we could get limited supplies of soldiers and materials, even if there were no supplies, we still had to attack the front within the specified time. The enemy attacks again."
"But an attack without sufficient preparation will only further weaken our army's strength." Ma Linin said anxiously: "Comrade Commander, you should find an opportunity to discuss with General Zhukov and cancel this meaningless attack."
Rokossovsky stared at Malinin with his eyes and said: "Chief of Staff, I think it is necessary to remind you that no matter what price our army will pay in the new round of offensive, it is all to prevent the German occupation Stalingrad. I don’t want to hear this again, do you understand, that an attack is meaningless?”
"Understood, Comrade Commander." After being criticized by Rokossovsky, Malinin immediately realized that he was a bit unscrupulous in his words, and quickly assured him: "I will not make similar remarks in the future. "(https:)
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