After the Imperial Division's defense area was attacked by the Soviet army, Hausser received the news and immediately called Colonel Shimon: "Colonel Shimon, the Russians are attacking the Imperial Division's defense area. I order you to immediately mobilize troops. To attack the Russian flank, crush their attack, and assist the Imperial Division in holding the sector."
"Your Excellency General," Colonel Shimon rejected Hauser's order in his heart. He waited for the other party to finish speaking, and immediately said: "The Russians in front of us also show signs of being ready to move. I'm worried that in this kind of situation, When the time comes to mobilize troops, the Russians may launch an attack on our defense zone."
"No, Colonel." Hausser disagreed with Colonel Shimon's statement: "The Russians' tactics are rigid. When they launch an attack in one direction, they will stand still in other directions. Even if you are mobilizing When you were moving troops, you were discovered by the Russians, and they had no time to formulate a battle plan. Maybe by the time you repelled the Russian attack and returned to the defense zone, the Russians in front of you would still be standing still."
Colonel Shimon did not agree with Hauser's statement at all, but since the other party had given the order, his subordinates could not disobey the order. He could only bite the bullet and agreed, and then ordered the armored regiment to move eastward and prepare to go Attack the flank of the 67th Guards Division.
The enemy's movement was discovered by the scouts of the 41st Guards Division, who quickly reported the situation to the division headquarters. After reading the intelligence, acting division commander Colonel Sidorin immediately called Sokov: "Comrade Commander, we have a new situation here and we need to report to you immediately."
"Tell me, Comrade Colonel." Sokov said into the microphone: "What happened?"
"It's like this. Our scouts discovered that the Skeleton Division has an armored regiment that is moving in the direction of the Imperial Division. According to my judgment, the enemy is preparing to attack the flanks of friendly forces. What should we do?"
Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch. He saw that there were less than five minutes left before launching an attack on the Skeleton Division. He said to Sidorin: "Comrade Colonel, there are still five minutes left. The artillery will attack the enemy." Conduct artillery bombardment on the position. Even if the enemy wants to turn around and come back by then, I'm afraid it will be too late, and your division can easily occupy the enemy's position."
"Comrade Commander," Sidorin was a cautious man. He suggested to Sokov: "I think at least one regiment should be left to monitor the transferred German troops. Once they turn back, they can still Immediately implement a blockade to prevent them from joining the battlefield between us and the Skeleton Division."
"This is a good idea." Although the 41st Guards Division is Sokov's old unit, he did not go beyond Sidorin to issue orders directly. On the contrary, he also left the choice in the hands of Sidorin: "Comrade Colonel, as for which regiment to send to meet the enemy, it is up to you."
Shortly after the armored regiment of the Skeleton Division left the defense zone, the Soviet artillery bombardment began. The commander of the armored regiment quickly asked Shimon for instructions: "Your Excellency, division commander, the Russians are shelling your position. Should we turn around and go back?"
"No. I think this is because the Russians discovered our intention and used artillery fire to contain us." Shimon said stubbornly: "You should follow the original plan and go out to the vicinity of the town of Roginsik to attack the Russians." Attack from the flank."
In this way, when the Skeleton Division's defense area was bombarded by Soviet artillery, due to Colonel Shimon's misjudgment, the armored regiment dispatched did not return to defense in time. Instead, it accelerated its march, preparing to catch up with the enemy in the shortest possible time. Arrive at the town of Rojinsik and reinforce the defeated Imperial Division.
The ten-minute bombardment ended quickly. The soldiers on the front line of the Skeleton Division, like the Imperial Division, immediately rushed back to their front-line positions after seeing the Soviet artillery fire extending, and were attacked by rockets. The new rockets owned by the Sixth Army are basically all equipped to the 41st Guards Division, so the number of rockets they fire is far more than that in the direction of the town of Roginsik.
The officers and soldiers of the Skeleton Division who rushed back to set up defenses immediately suffered huge casualties. Then, before the smoke from the position cleared, the 41st Guards Division launched its attack. The commanders and fighters adopted a sparse formation and charged towards the Skeleton Division's position.
Since the Skeleton Division had just deployed an armored regiment before the battle started, the strength of the entire defense area was significantly reduced. Facing the influx of Soviet troops, they were unable to withstand it, and the first line of defense was quickly breached. After clearing the enemies in the first line of defense, the commanders and fighters launched a charge towards the second line of defense.
Seeing that the Soviet army had easily broken through his defense line and rushed towards the division headquarters, Colonel Simon was frightened out of his wits. He quickly ordered someone to send a telegram to the commander of the armored regiment, ordering him to immediately lead his troops back to provide support. .
The Armored Regiment of the Skeleton Division was now only three kilometers away from the town of Rojinsik. After receiving the urgent order from Colonel Simon, the commander of the Armored Regiment could only order the troops to abandon the plan to attack the Soviet flank and turn around to return to the original station.
However, on their way back, they encountered Colonel Papuchenko's 122nd Regiment. The rocket launchers ambushed on the roadside, like target practice, destroyed the enemy tanks one after another; The rockets blew up the German infantry who had gathered together and tried to launch an attack, making them howl like ghosts.
According to the original battle plan, the 67th Guards Division, which attacked the Imperial Division from the north, should quickly implement a detour after breaking through the enemy's defense line to cut off the Skeleton Division's retreat to Barvinkovo. However, due to Hauser's wrong decision, the German army's defeat was accelerated.
After the 41st Guards Division broke through the enemy's defense line, Colonel Sivakov's 71st Guards Division entered the battlefield through the breach and used roundabout tactics to circle back to the rear of the Imperial Division, completely cutting off their retreat. The German officers and soldiers who found themselves surrounded became even more confused. Facing the Soviet attack, the German army, which had long been short of ammunition and supplies, was unable to organize a decent resistance.
After Sokov learned that the attack was successful, he immediately issued orders to the 74th and 88th Guards Divisions, asking them to immediately move forward to the front-line positions to take over the defense areas vacated by the three divisions of the first echelon.
After conveying the order, Vitkov looked at Sokov and asked: "Comrade Commander, it seems that even if we cannot completely annihilate the Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division today, we can still severely injure them and in a short time Unable to regain combat effectiveness.”
"Comrade Commander," Lunev also asked enthusiastically: "If we make these two SS divisions of the German army lose their combat effectiveness, what should we do next? Attack Barvinkovo?"
"The enemy is in Barvinkovo, as well as the Flag Guard Division and two armored divisions." Regarding Lunev's optimistic idea, Sokov shook his head and said: "Under today's circumstances, it is simply impossible to use it on a large scale. Tank troops. Letting infantry without tank cover launch an attack on the enemy's well-defended city is tantamount to asking the soldiers to die. I can't do this kind of thing."
"But, Comrade Commander, what a great opportunity this is." Although Sokov has made it clear that he will not launch an attack on Barvinkovo, Lunev said unwillingly: "We now have eight divisions. With the strength of the troops and the cover of the air force, it is not impossible to seize Barvinkovo."
Seeing that Lunev was dazzled by the victory in front of him, Sokov reminded him: "Comrade Military Commissar, don't forget that there are two German armored corps and some infantry divisions in the direction of Izyum. If we If we really launch an attack on Barvinkovo and fail to capture the city in a short period of time, Izyum's enemies will have no choice but to go south directly and surround our attacking troops. By then, some of the results we have finally achieved with great difficulty will be lost. Everything will be reduced to nothing, and a lot of vitality will be lost."
After listening to what Sokov said, Vitkov agreed: "Comrade Commander is right. The reason why we were able to achieve such a victory today was entirely because we blocked the enemy's communication lines in the early stage, making this The combat effectiveness of the two SS divisions was reduced due to the separation of supplies. But if we attack Barvinkovo, the enemy there is well-supplied and waiting to work, and there are also a large number of tanks and artillery, while we only have infantry. If we launch an attack rashly , which is tantamount to letting the commanders and combatants die."
"Comrade Military Commissar," when Sokov saw Vitkov agreeing with him, Lunev's face was particularly ugly. In order not to make the other party unable to step down, he also specially explained to the other party: "If you want to seize Barvinkovo, you must It is necessary to destroy the enemies in Ijumu City, and with the strength of our group army, we cannot do this. If we need to ask for help from friendly forces, I am afraid that it will take half a month or even longer just to prepare in advance. We can't wait that long.
Therefore, our attack is only aimed at destroying or severely damaging the German Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division. As for the enemies in Barvinkovo, we don’t need to worry about them. "
After Lunev waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he was silent for a long time, thinking hard about what the other party said. After some careful consideration, Lunev felt that what Sokov said was very reasonable, so he nodded and said: "Comrade Commander, you are the military commander, and it is you who have the final say if we fight. I am also speaking out what I think My true thoughts, if there is anything I said that is wrong, I would like to ask your forgiveness.”
Seeing that Lunev was so reasonable, Sokov smiled slightly and then said to him: "Comrade Military Commissar, your statement is correct. If in the current battle, our army can use tanks on a large scale to attack Barvinkovo, It’s not impossible, I’m even 60% sure that we can take that city back from the Germans.”
As the battle progressed into the afternoon, the troops of the 67th Guards Division on the right wing completely occupied the entire town of Roginsik and were attacking other defense areas of the Imperial Division. The 41st and 71st Guards Divisions on the left captured the headquarters of the Skeleton Division and captured the acting division commander Colonel Simon alive.
After reading the battle report, Sokov showed a bright smile on his face, and he quickly sent a telegram to the front army headquarters in person. The person who answered the phone was Malinin. Hearing Sokov's voice, he quickly asked: "General Sokov, how is the battle going over there?"
"Reporting to Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said excitedly: "After fierce fighting, the 41st and 71st Guards Divisions on the left wing have defeated the German Skeleton Division and captured alive the division commander Shimon. Colonel. The 67th Guards Division on the right has also occupied the town of Rojinsik and is fighting fiercely with the enemy. However, the Imperial Division's retreat has been cut off by the 41st Guards Division, and they cannot escape."
"General Sokov, this is really exciting good news." Malinin heard Sokov's report and said excitedly: "I will report this good news to Commander Rokossovsky immediately. of."
When Sokov heard what Malinin said, he couldn't help but ask: "Why, the commander of the front army is not at the headquarters. Where did he go?"
"General Sokov, there is no need to keep this matter secret from you. Comrade Commander received a call from the base camp at noon and has already taken a plane back to Moscow. But don't worry, I will report to him immediately the results you have achieved. "
As the battle progressed into the afternoon, the troops of the 67th Guards Division on the right wing completely occupied the entire town of Roginsik and were attacking other defense areas of the Imperial Division. The 41st and 71st Guards Divisions on the left captured the headquarters of the Skeleton Division and captured the acting division commander Colonel Simon alive.
After reading the battle report, Sokov showed a bright smile on his face, and he quickly sent a telegram to the front army headquarters in person. The person who answered the phone was Malinin. Hearing Sokov's voice, he quickly asked: "General Sokov, how is the battle going over there?"
"Reporting to Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said excitedly: "After fierce fighting, the 41st and 71st Guards Divisions on the left wing have defeated the German Skeleton Division and captured alive the division commander Shimon. Colonel. The 67th Guards Division on the right has also occupied the town of Rojinsik and is fighting fiercely with the enemy. However, the Imperial Division's retreat has been cut off by the 41st Guards Division, and they cannot escape."
"General Sokov, this is really exciting good news." Malinin heard Sokov's report and said excitedly: "I will report this good news to Commander Rokossovsky immediately. of."
When Sokov heard what Malinin said, he couldn't help but ask: "Why, the commander of the front army is not at the headquarters. Where did he go?"
"General Sokov, there is no need to keep this matter secret from you. Comrade Commander received a call from the base camp at noon and has already taken a plane back to Moscow. But don't worry, I will report to him immediately the results you have achieved. "
