For Sokov, being able to contain the five most elite German divisions was a great victory.
In real history, the Soviet troops holding on to Kharkov gave up useless resistance on March 15 and carried out a breakout operation eastward. After losing a large number of soldiers and discarding countless technical equipment, the Soviet army withdrew to the left bank of the Northern Donets River on March 17 and was incorporated into the Southwest Front on the spot. On March 18, the German Defense Forces' Grossdeutschland Division captured Belgorod.
It is now March 21, and Kharkov and Belgorod, which should have fallen long ago, are still in the hands of the Soviet army. The three SS divisions that occupied Kharkov were licking their wounds in Barvinkovo after being severely damaged by Sokov's troops. The Great German Division of the Wehrmacht was still more than 200 kilometers away from Belgorod because it was attacked by the Southwest Front. In a word, with the emergence of Sokov's butterfly, the original battlefield situation has been completely messed up.
Sokov knew very well that the longer the delay with the Germans was, the more beneficial it would be for the Soviet army. After a while, the ice and snow will begin to melt on a large scale, and the roads will become even more muddy. Coupled with the insufficient strength of the German army, the front may stabilize at its current position.
"Comrade Commander," Witkov saw Sokov standing in front of the map and not moving for a long time. He couldn't help but asked curiously: "What do you think the Germans will do next?"
"Chief of Staff, look." Sokov pointed to the map and said to Vitkov: "Our left wing is now General Krylov's 21st Army; and General Shumilov's 64th Army is now Appearing on our right flank. If the Germans continue to attack our defense zone, their flanks are in danger of being attacked."
Vitkov stared at the map and felt that what Sokov said was very reasonable. Due to the active defense some time ago, the Red Army village-Donetsk line, which was originally just a protruding part, has now become part of a parallel front. . If the German army continues to attack the Red Army Village, it means that their left and right wings will be attacked by friendly forces. What was originally a dangerous move, under Sokov's control, made the military more advantageous to him.
"You are right, Comrade Commander." Seeing that the next situation would be more and more favorable to the Soviet army, Witkov also smiled on his face. He slapped the map with his hand and said excitedly: "As long as the Voronezh Front can hold Kharkov-Belgorod, the enemies in Izyum and Barvinkovo will be in our arc. within the encirclement.”
Lunev, who knew only a little about military affairs, heard the two people talking so lively and came over to watch the fun. He listened for a while, pointed to the left bank of the North Donne River, and said to the two of them: "You don't know yet, General Katukov's First Guards Tank Army will be stationed in Oboyan today. In this way , the German army cannot break through our defense line on the North Donne River."
"Oh, General Katukov's First Guards Tank Army will be stationed in Oboyan soon?" Sokov was overjoyed when he heard that Katukov's troops were coming. Even though the Soviet Union had so many tank generals and tank marshals, in Sokov's mind, the most powerful tank commander in the Soviet army was none other than Katukov.
Suddenly an idea came to his mind, asking Zhukov to let Katukov's troops launch an assault in the direction of Izyum, defeat the German 48th and 57th Armored Corps there, and completely eliminate the enemy's attack on Kharkov and Bel. Danger in the direction of Gorod and the Red Army Village.
But as soon as the idea came to his mind, it was immediately crushed by him. Although General Katukov's First Guards Tank Army was a powerful unit in the Soviet army, launching an attack at this time would lead to failure of the attack due to insufficient material preparation. If this elite force is lost at this moment, then in the Battle of Kursk a few months later, this force will probably just stand aside and watch the fun.
Vitkov knew that Sokov had many fantastic ideas. When he heard him mention General Katukov's tank army, he expected him to come up with a bold attack plan. But after waiting for a long time, he saw that Sokov still didn't say a word, so he asked with some confusion: "Comrade Commander, do you think we can let General Katukov's troops assist us in launching an attack on Izyum?" "
"No." Regarding Vitkov's proposal, Sokov shook his head and refused: "We cannot win if we launch an attack at this moment."
"Why?"
"The reason is very simple," Sokov said, pointing to Oboyan's position: "General Katukov's troops have just arrived here, and I am afraid that many tanks have problems. If they are not repaired, they cannot be put into battle. . And they don’t have much ammunition and fuel. If they launch an attack hastily without any preparation, it will be difficult to achieve the desired results. In addition, it is the season when the ice and snow melt, and the muddy ground is The roads will make it difficult for our tanks to move, and the German artillery that sticks to the position will be able to destroy them all like target shooting."
Sokov persuaded Vitkov, but Lunev who was standing aside had another idea in mind. He thought that he had just arrived in the Sixth Army and was not yet familiar with the commanders below. If he advocates an attack against the Germans, he will soon become famous within the Sixth Army.
Thinking of this, he slipped out of the headquarters, returned to his residence, and said to a telegraph operator sitting in the corner: "Contact me immediately, Comrade Beria. I have important information to report to him."
Five or six minutes later, a telegram drafted by Lunev was placed on Beria's desk. After reading the telegram sent by Lunev, Beria walked to the map. After carefully checking the situation maps of the enemy and ourselves, he returned to his desk, picked up the phone, dialed a number, and said: "Hello, Poskrebyshev! Is Comrade Stalin here?"
Even though Boskrebyshev was Stalin’s secretary, he was still a little scared of Beria. After hearing the other party’s question, he quickly stood up and replied respectfully: “Yes, Comrade Beria, Supreme Commander-in-Chief I'm in his office."
"Comrade Boskrebyshev, please tell him that I have something important to report. I hope he can take time to meet me."
"Okay, Comrade Beria, please wait a moment. I'll go ask him for instructions right away." After saying that, Poskrebyshev put the microphone on the table, walked into Stalin's office, and asked him for instructions: " Comrade Stalin, Comrade Beria said there are important things that need to be reported to you immediately."
"What's the matter with Beria?" Stalin, who was reading documents, heard Boskrebyshev's voice, raised his head and asked in surprise: "What's the matter?"
"He didn't say."
Stalin knew that Beria would not call specifically to see him if he had nothing important to do, so he told Poskrebyshev: "Let him come over."
Boskrebeshe returned to his desk and picked up the microphone on the table: "Comrade Beria, the Supreme Commander himself invites you to come and see him."
A few minutes later, Beria appeared in Stalin's office.
"Comrade Beria is here." When Stalin saw Beria's appearance, he quickly asked him to sit down and asked, "How about it? When are you going to send Paulus to Moscow?"
"Comrade Stalin, this may take some time." Beria replied: "The place where he and the captured German generals are detained is still under construction, and it will probably take half a month before it can be officially put into use."
"We must find a way to bring him to Moscow as soon as possible." Stalin lowered his head, looked at a document in front of him and said: "According to Rokossovsky's report, German airborne troops have appeared near the place where he was detained. , it seems that the Germans want to rescue their marshal."
"I understand, Comrade Stalin, I will urge the following to speed up."
"Tell me about it." After Stalin and Beria finished explaining, he asked about each other's background: "You came here to see me, what's the matter?"
"That's right, Comrade Stalin, I received a telegram from Runev."
"Lunev?" Stalin repeated the name and asked tentatively: "Is this the Deputy Minister of the Interior Lunev who was sent to Xiao Misha as the military commissar?"
"Yes, that's him." After Stalin confirmed Lunev's identity, he said with some displeasure: "Did he report something to you?"
"No." Beria quickly replied: "It is an attack plan formulated by Major General Sokov."
Hearing that the attack plan was drawn up by Sokov, Stalin couldn't help but his eyes lit up and he quickly asked: "Where does he plan to attack the German army?" Sokov commanded the three SS divisions some time ago. Stalin was deeply impressed by the battle in which he lost his armor. He even felt that as long as there were a few more people like Sokov in his army, the Germans would have been driven out of the Soviet Union.
Beria came to the map, pointed to the location of Oboyan, and said to Stalin: "According to intelligence, General Katukov's First Guards Tank Army has entered Oboyan. And General Krylov's The 21st Army and General Shumilov's 64th Army have all reached the two wings of Sokov's Sixth Army, which means that they have formed parallel fronts in this area."
It was under this circumstance that Major General Sokov formulated this bold combat plan. He wanted General Katukov's First Guards Tank Army to attack from east to west to capture Izyum, while his troops moved north to capture Barvinkovo. As long as this strategic goal can be achieved, the enemy will have no organized troops on the left bank of the Dnieper River. In the following days, they could only retreat to the right bank of the Dnieper River and confront our army. "
After listening to Beria's story, Stalin nodded slightly. He felt that although this offensive plan was bold, it was not without hope of success, and he could give it a try. However, the matter was of great importance, so he did not make an immediate decision. Instead, he said to Beria: "I understand. But launching an attack on the enemy is a major matter, and we cannot make a hasty decision. We will wait until the general staff and I The comrades in the ministry will make a decision after studying this plan."
After sending Beria away, Stalin called Antonov: "Comrade Deputy Chief of Staff, please come to my office. I have something to talk to you about."
Taking advantage of Antonov's absence, he called Rokossovsky again. After a brief exchange of greetings, he asked directly: "General Rokossovsky, what do you think of the combat plan formulated by Xiao Misha?"
"The battle plan formulated by Xiao Misha?" Hearing Stalin's question, Rokossovsky couldn't help but be startled, and then replied in confusion: "I'm sorry, Comrade Stalin, I don't know what the attack plan is, because Soko Major General Hu did not report to me."
"What, Xiao Misha didn't report his attack plan to you?" Hearing Rokossovsky's answer, Stalin also felt strange. He said with some confusion: "What on earth is going on?"
"Comrade Stalin," although Rokossovsky did not receive any report from Sokov, he knew very well that Stalin would not ask this without reason. There must be some reason, so he asked quickly: "I want to ask Ask, where did you get this news?”
"It was Luniev, the military commissar of the Sixth Army, who sent a telegram to Beria and told him about Xiao Misha's attack plan. Then Beria reported to me. What, did you really not get the report? ?”
"No." After giving the other party a negative answer, Rokossovsky asked tentatively: "Comrade Stalin, can you tell me what kind of attack plan it is?"
"Xiao Misha's attack plan is for General Katukov's First Guards Tank Army to launch an attack on Izyum from Oboyan in the east, while Xiao Misha's troops will attack from the south to flank the enemies of Izyum. .”
Knowing that it was the battle plan reported by Luniev, Rokossovsky immediately guessed what was going on. He quickly covered the phone, called Malinin, and told him: "Chief of Staff, call Major General Sokov immediately and ask him if he has formulated any combat plan."
After Malinin left, Rokossovsky removed his hand covering the microphone and continued: "Comrade Stalin, I think Comrade Lunev must have made a mistake. If Sokov has any attack plan, he will definitely be there." Report to me as soon as possible. I have not received any report from him at that time until now. Therefore, I feel that the information you have received may be wrong. "
