Sokov received the telegram from Rokossovsky and was stunned: "What, his troops killed the Skeleton Division Commander Ike during the battle? But why didn't Papchenko report this to him? Where’s the important news?”
In order to find out what was going on, he personally called the headquarters of the 122nd Regiment and asked Papuchenko: "Comrade Colonel, did you kill any senior enemy commanders during the battle?"
"Senior commander?" Papuchenko shook his head and replied: "Comrade division commander, you also know that the enemy's commanders are all cowards. Even their regiment-level headquarters are usually located more than ten kilometers away from the front line. position, let alone their senior commander.”
"Are you really sure that you didn't kill any senior German generals during the battle?"
When he heard Sokov actually say the word "general", Papuchenko immediately realized that the other party might know something that he didn't know, and quickly asked tentatively: "Comrade division commander, what is going on? Can you tell me?" Any more clarity?”
"That's it, Comrade Colonel," Sokov said into the microphone: "According to the superior's report, there seems to be some confusion in the command system of the Skeleton Division. The superior analyzed that it may be that something unexpected happened to the division commander Ike. Therefore. , I will ask you whether you killed any important figures in the German army during the battle."
"Comrade Division Commander, except for one major, the enemy commanders who were killed by us were all lieutenant-level officers. There were no general-level commanders at all."
Sokov thought for a moment and felt that since Papuchenko and the others did not kill Ike, the only possible way for Ike to die was to be killed by a rocket, so he ordered Papuchenko: "Comrade Colonel, please order someone here." Search the ruins in the area you occupied to see if there are any dead commanders inside."
"Understood, Comrade Commander."
When Sokov put down the phone, Sidorin asked tentatively: "Comrade division commander, do you think your superiors made a mistake?"
"No." Sokov immediately denied Sidorin's question, "I think the superior's analysis is reasonable. If nothing had happened to Ike, the Germans would not have The division commander was replaced. I think it’s very possible that Ike is dead, but we haven’t found his body yet.”
"If Ike dies, it is a good thing for us." Sidorin said: "It will take some time for a division commander to get familiar with the army. In other words, the Skeleton Division will be in the army for a long time. Within, they cannot fully exert their original combat effectiveness.”
Rokossovsky called Sokov and asked about Ike's life and death. Not long after, Zhukov also sent the same telegram, also knowing about Ike's life and death. After receiving this telegram, Sokov learned that Zhukov was now concurrently serving as the commander of the Southwest Front.
After learning the news, Sokov couldn't help but be overjoyed, and he understood very well. If someone else were to serve as the commander of the Southwest Front Army, he would definitely not pay attention to his plan. But Zhukov is different. Once he understands his intentions, he will definitely make enough noise in the northeast of Izyum to attract more German troops and reduce the pressure on himself who is dealing with heavy enemy groups.
Taking advantage of Papuchenko's opportunity to verify Ike's life and death, Sokov turned his attention to the southwest, because the German Flag Guard Division was heading towards Barvinkovo. And their vanguard has already caught fire with the 125th Regiment.
The bomber formation sent by Rokossovsky carried out air strikes against the German troops heading towards Barvinkovo, destroying a considerable number of tanks, armored vehicles and trucks, and causing considerable casualties to the German troops. It was precisely because of the Soviet air attack that the rapidly advancing Flag Guard Division had to stop in place to avoid the air attack, making the battalion that advanced to Barvinkovo become a lone army.
Knowing that there was only one battalion of German troops fighting with him, Yershakov immediately ordered three battalions to detour from the flanks and launched a surprise attack from the side of the German troops. As German tanks, armored vehicles and trucks were destroyed one by one by rocket launchers, the German army fell into chaos.
Seeing that the enemy on the front began to retreat, Yershakov promptly issued the order to attack, and the entire regiment launched a comprehensive counterattack. The battle lasted only half an hour. Except for more than 40 soldiers who escaped, the leading troops of the Flag Guard Division were completely destroyed.
At the same time, Papuchenko was organizing people to search the ruins while the enemy was not attacking to see if he could find what Sokov wanted.
In the search, the soldiers gained a lot. Some found ammunition, food, and medicines hoarded by the Germans, while others found the bodies of German officers killed by rockets.
But what is regrettable is that after searching for a long time, among the hundreds of corpses found, Ike's body was not found. After Papuchenko learned of his subordinate's report, he secretly wondered: "Could it be that the division commander really made a mistake? In fact, Ike was not dead at all, but continued to stay in his headquarters?"
Just when he was about to give up, Major Andre, commander of the first battalion, called: "Comrade commander, we found a collapsed house in the defense area, and it seemed that a crushed barrel truck was buried inside."
When he heard that the barrel truck had been discovered, Papuchenko's eyes suddenly lit up. He knew very well that those who were qualified to ride on the barrel truck in the German army would definitely not be some low-level officers. He quickly told Andre: "Comrade Major, you Immediately stop people from digging out the car to see who is inside."
"Comrade leader, I have organized manpower to dig." Andre replied: "I estimate that it will take at least twenty minutes to find out who is in the barrel truck."
"Major, order the soldiers to speed up." According to Sokov's instructions, no news should be leaked before Ike's body was found. He could only urge the other party: "We must find out the barrel truck in the shortest possible time. Who is sitting?"
More than twenty minutes later, he received a call from Andre again. The major said excitedly on the phone: "Comrade commander, you may not have imagined, what did we find in the barrel truck?"
"Major, stop beating around the bush and tell me quickly what you found."
"Although the head of the corpse was smashed by bricks and stones, it was impossible to identify his appearance." Andre reported: "But the military uniform on the officer had the rank of SS general."
"What is the rank of SS General?" When Papuchenko heard this, he felt his breathing quicken and his heartbeat accelerated unsatisfactorily. He quickly asked: "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely certain."
"Comrade Major, I am ordering you to immediately find something suitable to collect the body and send him to the division commander's headquarters. Do you understand?"
"I understand, comrade leader, I will carry out your order immediately."
After ending the call with Andrei, Papuchenko felt that he should report such important news to Sokov as soon as possible, so he ordered the communications soldier to answer the phone call at the division headquarters: "Hello, division commander. Comrade, I am Colonel Papuchenko."
"Comrade Colonel," there was no sound of gunfire from the direction of the city. Sokov knew that there was no fighting there. If there was anything worthy of Papuchenko calling him, it must be related to Ike, so he said bluntly Question: "Has Ike's body been found?"
"Comrade Division Commander, I'm not sure yet whether the corpse we found is that of Commander Ike of the Skeleton Division." Colonel Papuchenko said, "But Major Andrei reported to me that the corpse was wearing The uniform, the rank worn on it, was that of SS-General.”
"Ike's military rank is SS General." From Papuchenko's report, Sokov had basically determined that the corpse was Ike. He quickly ordered the other party: "Arrange people immediately to send his body to come over."
"I have ordered Major Andre to collect the body and send it to your headquarters."
"Well done, Comrade Colonel." Sokov said happily: "I believe that just by killing Ike, it is enough to award you a medal."
"Comrade Commander, you've thanked me for the award." Papuchenko felt ecstatic when he learned that he might win the medal, but he still said in a calm tone: "This is what I should do."
Not long after, Major Andrei personally took a truck and escorted the coffin containing Ike's body to Sokov's headquarters. After everyone's inspection, it was determined that the deceased was Ike. Sokov quickly ordered Sidorin to send a telegram to Rokossovsky and Zhukov, notifying them of the confirmed death of Ike.
Rokossovsky couldn't help but be overjoyed to learn that Ike was really dead. He quickly said to Malinin: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately report this important result to the General Staff. They need a battle at the moment." Such a victory.”
Malinin did not dare to neglect Rokossovsky's instructions. He immediately connected the General Staff Headquarters with a high-frequency phone and reported to the Minister of Operations Shtemenko who answered the phone: "Comrade Minister of Operations, this is Malinin. I have good news for you."
Shtemenko has been tortured by a series of bad news recently. When he heard Malinin say this, his eyes suddenly lit up: "Comrade Malinin, what's the good news?"
"Major General Sokov's 41st Guards Division just recently killed the German Skeleton Division commander and SS General Theodore Eicke."
"What, Ike was shot dead?" Shtemenko felt a little unbelievable about the news Malinin said, "Is this true?"
"Of course it's true, Comrade Minister of War." Malinen said confidently: "This is the telegram that Major General Sokov just sent us. He himself saw Ike's body with his own eyes. It can't be wrong."
"That is really an amazing victory, Comrade Malinin." Shtemenko said excitedly: "If I report this good news to the Supreme Commander himself, he will definitely be very happy."
"Comrade Minister of Operations, please immediately report this good news to the Supreme Commander himself." Malinen also said with a smile: "I think he is very happy to hear such good news."
Yeremenko said that he wanted to report to Stalin in person, but according to the procedure, he had to report to Antonov, who would then report to Stalin. He picked up the internal phone, dialed a number, and said into the phone: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, can you come to the Operations Department immediately? I have important things that I need to report to you in person."
Antonov soon came to the Operations Department, looked at Yeremenko and asked: "Comrade Minister of Operations, is there anything important?"
"That's right, Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff." Yeremenko said with a smile: "I received a call from General Malinin not long ago. He said that Major General Sokov's 41st Guards Division not long ago, Successfully killed Eke, the commander of the German Skeleton Division."
"Oh, Ike was shot dead." When Antonov heard this, he also showed a surprised expression on his face: "This is really exciting news. I wonder if it has been verified?"
"It has been verified." Yereomenko nodded and said: "Major General Sokov saw Ike's body with his own eyes. There is no doubt about it."
Antonov knew very well that as long as Sokov was involved, such a result would be absolutely correct. He said to Yereomenko: "That's great. Such good news needs to be reported to Comrade Stalin immediately. Comrade Minister of Operations, just come with me."
…………
After taking over Ike's command, Colonel Shimon made some adjustments to the deployment of the troops, and then ordered the troops again to launch an attack on the Soviet troops controlling the south of the city.
Fortunately, Sokov had already guessed that the enemy had the intention to counterattack, so he ordered the anti-tank soldiers to carry rocket launchers and hide in the buildings on both sides of the street. Once the enemy tanks came into range, they would immediately use the rocket launchers to destroy them. Then use machine guns to shoot at the soldiers who followed the tanks, beating the enemies until they howled like ghosts.
In this way, Sokov relied on such tactics to crush several German counterattacks. Burning German tanks can be seen everywhere on the streets, as well as dead German corpses lying on the ground in various postures.
The battle continued until dark. The counterattack carried out by the Skeleton Division in the city did not make any progress. Instead, it lost troops and generals. However, the Flag Guard Division in the southwest and the Imperial Division in the south had woken up from the Soviet surprise attack. After they readjusted their deployment, they rushed towards Barvinkovo aggressively, trying to cooperate with the Skeleton Division in the city to complete the close attack. The encirclement operation of the 41st Guards Division.
After learning the news, Sokov ordered unusually calmly: "The 124th and 125th regiments each left one battalion to block the German Imperial Division and the Flag Guard Division, while the rest of the troops moved to the outskirts of the city."
"Comrade Division Commander," Sidorin reminded Sokov: "If we gather all the troops together, it will be easy to fall into the enemy's encirclement. You should think again."
