The battle on the second day turned out just as Sokov had predicted.
The German 40th Armored Corps launched a fierce offensive against Popov's Rapid Group. The battle lasted for a whole day. By dark, the Soviet army, which had suffered heavy losses, counted its battle losses and found that there were less than 40 intact tanks left. vehicles, and the fuel and ammunition have been basically exhausted.
General Popov, commander of the fast group, personally called Vatutin after cleaning up the battle damage: "Comrade General, our situation is very bad. After today's fierce battle with the enemy, only the intact tanks are left. There are less than forty vehicles. With our current strength, if we continue to carry out the attack as planned, it will be equivalent to jumping into the abyss."
"No, General Popov." Vatutin said coldly: "I don't see any need to change the continuation of the attack, so your rapid group must continue to attack the enemy according to the original plan."
"Comrade General," Seeing that Vatutin did not agree to stop the attack, Popov became a little anxious: "To attack, we need sufficient ammunition; and our tanks only have the little fuel left in the tank. If we open If the remaining tanks attack the enemy, they will all be wiped out in less than half a day."
"Then what do you think we should do?"
"Stay where you are and wait for the fuel, ammunition, and newly added tanks from the rear, before attacking the enemy." In order to make Vatutin understand his situation, Popov also specially emphasized: "Now Not only has my unit lost its offensive capabilities, but its defense is also very problematic. Our situation is extremely dangerous..."
"That's enough, General Popov." Before Popov could finish speaking, Vatutin interrupted him and said sternly: "If you think you are not qualified for the position of commander, I can send someone to Go and take over your post. If you don’t want to be removed, continue to attack according to the original plan.”
Popov did not want to be dismissed at this time. After weighing the seriousness of the relationship, he could only bite the bullet and replied: "I understand, Comrade General, my troops will continue to attack as planned tomorrow."
"That's right, General Popov." After hearing Popov's reply, a smile appeared on Vatutin's cold face: "The Germans are not willing to suffer defeat and will definitely fight to the death. They are The two-day attack is just the final madness. As long as we grit our teeth and persevere, the final victory will definitely belong to us."
"Comrade Commander, what should we do?" Seeing Popov put down the phone, the cluster chief of staff asked worriedly: "Are we really going to follow General Vatutin's order to carry out this death-defying mission?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff," before his Chief of Staff could finish speaking, Popov raised his hand to interrupt him: "Since it is an order from a superior, no matter whether it is right or wrong, we can only execute the order, not Discussing orders. Got it?”
"Understood, Comrade Commander." After the chief of staff instinctively agreed, he still felt something was wrong and reminded Popov: "According to the information I have, General Rokossovsky has a Guards Division. Just stationed in Luhansk, the division is equipped with a tank brigade. I estimate there should be fifty or sixty tanks. Do you think we should ask Rokossovsky for help and ask him to loan this tank brigade to us? As long as we We have nearly a hundred tanks, so there won’t be much problem in continuing the attack according to the original plan.”
Popov, who was originally anxious, couldn't help but light up when he learned that there was actually a tank brigade in Luhansk. But for the sake of safety, he still asked: "Chief of Staff, is your situation reliable?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." The Chief of Staff nodded and replied, "My information is absolutely reliable."
After confirming that there was indeed a tank brigade in Lugansk, Popov seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw. He quickly ordered the director of the communications corps: "Comrade director of the communications corps, get me through to General Rokossovsky immediately. Command."
Rokossovsky also saw the news from the base camp about Popov's rapid group being severely damaged by the Germans. At this moment, he received a call from his old comrade General Popov. He asked curiously: "Popov, I heard that your unit was attacked by the Germans and paid a heavy price. Is this true?"
"Yes, Comrade Rokossovsky." Naturally, Popov would not hide his old comrade: "During today's offensive battle, we were attacked by the German 40th Armored Corps. Due to the tank's fuel and lack of ammunition, our technical equipment suffered heavy losses.”
After Rokossovsky patiently listened to Popov's story, he couldn't help but frowned. He found that the situation on the battlefield was just as Sokov had analyzed, and the Soviet army was facing a huge crisis. He was silent for a while and then asked: "Popov, what did Vatutin think about letting you go to defense on the spot?"
"No, I once proposed this plan, but it was rejected by General Vatutin." Popov replied with a wry smile: "The combat mission of our combat group tomorrow is still to continue attacking the depth of the German army."
"Hell, with your current strength, even if you switch to defense on the spot, whether you can block the enemy's attack is a big problem, let alone take the initiative to attack the enemy." Rokossovsky told Vatutin I really don’t understand the order given: “Isn’t this asking you to die?”
When Popov heard Rokossovsky's question, he didn't say anything and just laughed.
Hearing the bitter laughter coming from the earphones, Rokossovsky immediately understood what was going on. Now that Vatutin's order had been issued, not to mention that Popov's combat group still had a certain combat effectiveness, even if it was just With only one company left, the offensive mission will not be cancelled.
After thinking about the matter, Rokossovsky asked politely: "Popov, is there anything I can do for you?"
"Konstantin Konstantinovich." Popov called Rokossovsky's birth name and father's name, and asked with some embarrassment: "I heard that you deployed a guard in Luhansk. Division, this division is also equipped with a tank brigade, is it true?”
"That's right, I placed Colonel Sokov's 41st Guards Division in Lugansk. In order to strengthen their firepower, I also assigned Colonel Bely's tank brigade to their division." Rokossovs Ji asked in surprise: "Popov, why are you asking this?"
"The unit closest to me now is the unit you deployed in Luhansk." Popov asked tentatively: "Can you lend me this Guards Division and Tank Brigade for a while?" He asked. Worried that Rokossovsky would refuse, he deliberately added, "Once the combat mission is completed, I will let this unit return to the army."
Unexpectedly, Popov’s request for borrowing troops was immediately rejected by Rokossovsky: “I’m sorry, Comrade Popov, although we are old comrades-in-arms and old friends, I cannot hand over this army to him. for you."
"Why?" This time it was Popov's turn to be confused.
"The reason is simple. Colonel Sokov made a judgment about the situation you are facing a week ago. I reported the matter to the Supreme Command and issued a warning to General Vatutin. But Judging from the current situation, it seems that he did not listen to my advice." Rokossovsky explained to Popov: "The reason why I placed the 41st Guards Division in Luhansk is to ensure that the southwest After the front army is defeated by the enemy, it can have a supporting point to block the enemy."
Rokossovsky's words scared Popov into a cold sweat. He asked in a panic: "What did you just say, that our entire Southwest Front Army is likely to be defeated by the German army?"
"Yes, this possibility is very high."
"I think it's impossible." Popov was dubious about Rokossovsky's statement: "Although the Germans have launched a counterattack in the past two days, after all, we still have hundreds of thousands of people to crush. I think the enemy's attack is still possible. As for the entire front army being defeated by the enemy, I think it is simply a fantasy."
"Popov, if you knew Colonel Sokov as well as I do, you wouldn't say such things." Rokossovsky felt that it was necessary for Popov to understand Sokov, so he continued: "Morning At the beginning of last year, he pointed out the flaws in the Kharkov Battle to Marshal Timoshenko, but the Marshal ignored his opinion at all. But in the subsequent battle, the direction of the German attack was different from what he wanted. The analysis is completely consistent.
Also, after the troops attacking Kharkov were frustrated, he proposed to his superiors that the next target of the German attack would be Stalingrad, and took the initiative to request to be stationed in Stalingrad. It was precisely because of his foresight and the construction of complete fortifications on Mamayev Hill that he was able to turn Mamayev Hill into a fortress that the enemy could not conquer. "
After listening to Rokossovsky's introduction to Sokov's deeds, Popov couldn't help but take a breath: "So, it won't be long before the troops of the Southwest Front will be defeated by the enemy?"
"Not only the troops of the Southwestern Front," Rokossovsky said with a wry smile, "but also the Voronezh Front of General Golikov could not escape the same fate."
"Then what should we do?" Popov said with some confusion: "With our current strength, attacking the enemy will simply lead to death."
"Popov, I will leave you the contact information of Colonel Sokov." Thinking that his old comrade-in-arms was in trouble, Rokossovsky naturally would not stand idly by. He thought for a moment and then said: "If you When the day comes that you have to retreat, just retreat towards Luhansk. I believe Sokov will give you a hand at the appropriate time."
