General Golikov was taken aback and asked quickly: "General Kryuchinkin, isn't there a Third Army of Tanks in Kharkov? You can let the tanks cover the infantry and counterattack the enemies who rushed into the city and kill them. Get out of the city.”
"I'm afraid this cannot be done, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Kryuchinkin said with a sad face: "Most of the tanks of the Third Tank Army have become a pile of scrap metal due to lack of fuel and ammunition. The few tanks that are usable are It was also destroyed by the enemy in the battle, and we now have no tanks at all to use."
"Where is the 25th Guards Division in the south of the city?" In Golikov's mind, among the troops deployed in Kharkov, the most reliable one is General Sakoko's 25th Guards Division. They have had many The German attack from the south was repelled for the first time: "What are they doing now?"
"I don't know." Kryuchinkin replied: "The headquarters lost contact with them an hour ago. I'm worried that their entire army has been destroyed."
"How is this possible when the entire army is destroyed?" Golikov asked in surprise: "In any case, there are still more than 5,000 people in the 25th Guards Division, and the division commander, General Sarkozyko, is also a veteran with rich combat experience. Old commander..."
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I didn't lie to you." Seeing that Golikov did not believe what he said, Kryuchenkin quickly defended himself and said: "The Skeleton Division and the Flag Guard Division rushed from the defense area of the 25th Guards Division. Come over. Originally, we could contain the offensive of the Imperial Division and prevent them from further expanding the occupied area, but as the Skeleton Division and the Flag Guard Division entered the city, the situation became more and more unfavorable to us."
"Send someone to find General Sako immediately." General Sako is Golikov's favorite general. At this moment, he learned that he had lost contact, and he seemed particularly anxious: "If you want to see a person alive, you must see a corpse. I understand." ?"
"Understood." Kryuchinkin quickly replied: "I will immediately send someone to find his whereabouts." He did not put down the phone immediately, but asked tentatively, "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, my situation here is very critical. , I wonder if you can send a reserve team to reinforce us?"
"General Kryuchinkin, I don't have a reserve in my hand." Golikov said impatiently: "The German 11th Army is attacking Belgorod, and the 40th Army is fighting with them. I can't spare any troops to reinforce you during the battle. You can only rely on your own strength to resolutely defend the city, do you understand?"
After Golikov hung up the phone, he stood and looked at the map for a while. He felt that if Kryuchinkin really did not send additional reinforcements, Kharkov might not be able to defend it, so he used the high-definition map on the table. The phone number was connected to the General Staff Headquarters. After hearing Antonov's voice, he said straight to the point: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, I am Golikov."
"It's General Golikov." Antonov was Golikov's subordinate before the war, so he spoke in a particularly polite tone: "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Under the strong offensive of the German army, the situation in Kharkov and Belgorod under our control is not good." Golikov said: "I hope the base camp can send us reinforcements immediately so that we can The army was rescued from danger."
"General Golikov," Antonov waited for Golikov to finish and explained to him: "To send out reinforcements, it must be discussed by the Supreme Command. But I have good news to tell you. "
"What good news?"
"According to the suggestion of Major General Sokov, commander of the 27th Army," Antonov said: "The 21st, 6th and 64th Army will launch an attack in the direction of Barvinkovo, and the South-Western Front will also launch an attack in the direction of Izyum Feint to attract the enemy's attention. In this way, the enemy's offensive against you will definitely weaken, and you can buy time to strengthen the existing defenses."
"Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, everything you said has no practical significance to us." Golikov said anxiously: "What we need are reinforcements to strengthen our army's existing capabilities." Defend and ensure that the enemy cannot capture Kharkov and Belgorod from our hands.”
"General Golikov," Antonov said cautiously, "I will immediately report the situation there to the Supreme Commander himself and see if I can send reinforcements to you as soon as possible."
After ending the call, Antonov did not go to Stalin's office immediately. Instead, he ordered someone to send relevant information. After studying it carefully, he set off for Stalin's office.
Poskrebyshev, who was sitting outside, saw Antonov walking in with a serious expression. He immediately realized that something unpleasant had happened, and quickly asked tentatively: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, are you right?" Has the situation at the front worsened?"
"Yes, Comrade Poskrebyshev." After Antonov gave the other party a positive answer, he asked: "Is Comrade Stalin in the office?"
"He is inside." Poskrebyshev replied: "He is reading a report on the Leningrad Front. He seems to be in a bad mood. You should be careful when you go in later."
Antonov walked into Stalin's office. Stalin, who was sitting in the back of the office reading a report, raised his head, looked at Antonov and asked slowly: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, why are you coming to me in such a hurry? Something about that?”
"Comrade Stalin," Antonov said straight to the point without beating around the bush: "The situation of our army in the direction of Kharkov has become worse. According to the intelligence we have, the German army has invested 14 troops there. The strength of three divisions, including four armored divisions, three SS divisions, one motorized infantry division, and three infantry divisions..."
After Stalin waited for a while of Antonov's report, he asked: "How many tanks does the enemy have?"
"No less than four hundred Li vehicles."
"What about our army?"
"Less than seventy, and this is the statistics from yesterday evening." Antonov said cautiously: "I think the number of tanks our army has at this moment will be much less."
"The situation is very serious, Comrade Antonov." After listening to the report, Stalin said with a serious expression: "Tell me, what should we do to save the situation in Kharkov?"
"I think we should send troops for reinforcements." Antonov said to Stalin: "I checked and found that we can mobilize the 2nd Guards Army, the 18th Tank Army and the 3rd Tank Army of the Supreme Headquarters for reinforcements. , they can appear on the battlefield in two days."
"Comrade Antonov, I have a question." After Stalin lit his pipe with a match, he frowned and asked: "Why have the German army been silent some time ago, but suddenly made such a big noise in the past few days? "
"Comrade Stalin, I think the recent actions of the German army may be related to the transfer of Major General Sokov."
"Oh, are the recent actions of the German army related to Xiao Misha's transfer?" Stalin asked with interest: "Comrade Antonov, what is the reason?"
"Yes, Comrade Stalin, according to my analysis, this is exactly the case." Antonov explained to Stalin: "Major General Sokov had launched an active attack on the German army before he became the commander of the Sixth Army. Moreover, the enemy was severely beaten and disabled, so that the German army had to mobilize a large number of troops to guard against him.
However, as he was transferred and the commander who took over his post had not yet taken up his post, the acting chief of staff did not dare to make decisions without authorization and could only order the troops to concentrate on building fortifications. The Germans may know that Sokov has been transferred, and seeing that the Sixth Army is currently busy repairing fortifications, they may not be able to spare the strength to attack themselves, so they can safely and boldly deploy troops to launch an attack on Kharkov-Ber. Gorod's attack. "
General Golikov was taken aback and asked quickly: "General Kryuchinkin, isn't there a Third Army of Tanks in Kharkov? You can let the tanks cover the infantry and counterattack the enemies who rushed into the city and kill them. Get out of the city."
"I'm afraid this cannot be done, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Kryuchinkin said with a sad face: "Most of the tanks of the Third Tank Army have become a pile of scrap metal due to lack of fuel and ammunition. The few tanks that are usable are It was also destroyed by the enemy in the battle, and we now have no tanks at all to use."
"Where is the 25th Guards Division in the south of the city?" In Golikov's mind, among the troops deployed in Kharkov, the most reliable one is General Sakoko's 25th Guards Division. They have had many The German attack from the south was repelled for the first time: "What are they doing now?"
"I don't know." Kryuchinkin replied: "The headquarters lost contact with them an hour ago. I'm worried that their entire army has been destroyed."
"How is this possible when the entire army is destroyed?" Golikov asked in surprise: "In any case, there are still more than 5,000 people in the 25th Guards Division, and the division commander, General Sarkozyko, is also a veteran with rich combat experience. Old commander..."
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I didn't lie to you." Seeing that Golikov did not believe what he said, Kryuchenkin quickly defended himself and said: "The Skeleton Division and the Flag Guard Division rushed from the defense area of the 25th Guards Division. Come over. Originally, we could contain the offensive of the Imperial Division and prevent them from further expanding the occupied area, but as the Skeleton Division and the Flag Guard Division entered the city, the situation became more and more unfavorable to us."
"Send someone to find General Sako immediately." General Sako is Golikov's favorite general. At this moment, he learned that he had lost contact, and he seemed particularly anxious: "If you want to see a person alive, you must see a corpse. I understand." ?"
"Understood." Kryuchinkin quickly replied: "I will immediately send someone to find his whereabouts." He did not put down the phone immediately, but asked tentatively, "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, my situation here is very critical. , I wonder if you can send a reserve team to reinforce us?"
"General Kryuchinkin, I don't have a reserve in my hand." Golikov said impatiently: "The German 11th Army is attacking Belgorod, and the 40th Army is fighting with them. I can't spare any troops to reinforce you during the battle. You can only rely on your own strength to resolutely defend the city, do you understand?"
After Golikov hung up the phone, he stood and looked at the map for a while. He felt that if Kryuchinkin really did not send additional reinforcements, Kharkov might not be able to defend it, so he used the high-definition map on the table. The phone number was connected to the General Staff Headquarters. After hearing Antonov's voice, he said straight to the point: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, I am Golikov."
"It's General Golikov." Antonov was Golikov's subordinate before the war, so he spoke in a particularly polite tone: "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Under the strong offensive of the German army, the situation in Kharkov and Belgorod under our control is not good." Golikov said: "I hope the base camp can send us reinforcements immediately so that we can The army was rescued from danger."
"General Golikov," Antonov waited for Golikov to finish and explained to him: "To send out reinforcements, it must be discussed by the Supreme Command. But I have good news to tell you. "
"What good news?"
"According to the suggestion of Major General Sokov, commander of the 27th Army," Antonov said: "The 21st, 6th and 64th Army will launch an attack in the direction of Barvinkovo, and the South-Western Front will also launch an attack in the direction of Izyum Feint to attract the enemy's attention. In this way, the enemy's offensive against you will definitely weaken, and you can buy time to strengthen the existing defenses."
"Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, everything you said has no practical significance to us." Golikov said anxiously: "What we need are reinforcements to strengthen our army's existing capabilities." Defend and ensure that the enemy cannot capture Kharkov and Belgorod from our hands.”
"General Golikov," Antonov said cautiously, "I will immediately report the situation there to the Supreme Commander himself and see if I can send reinforcements to you as soon as possible."
After ending the call, Antonov did not go to Stalin's office immediately. Instead, he ordered someone to send relevant information. After studying it carefully, he set off for Stalin's office.
Poskrebyshev, who was sitting outside, saw Antonov walking in with a serious expression. He immediately realized that something unpleasant had happened, and quickly asked tentatively: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, are you right?" Has the situation at the front worsened?"
"Yes, Comrade Poskrebyshev." After Antonov gave the other party a positive answer, he asked: "Is Comrade Stalin in the office?"
"He is inside." Poskrebyshev replied: "He is reading a report on the Leningrad Front. He seems to be in a bad mood. You should be careful when you go in later."
Antonov walked into Stalin's office. Stalin, who was sitting in the back of the office reading a report, raised his head, looked at Antonov and asked slowly: "Comrade Deputy Chief of General Staff, why are you coming to me in such a hurry? Something about that?”
"Comrade Stalin," Antonov said straight to the point without beating around the bush: "The situation of our army in the direction of Kharkov has become worse. According to the intelligence we have, the German army has invested 14 troops there. The strength of three divisions, including four armored divisions, three SS divisions, one motorized infantry division, and three infantry divisions..."
After Stalin waited for a while of Antonov's report, he asked: "How many tanks does the enemy have?"
"No less than four hundred Li vehicles."
"What about our army?"
Set a small goal first, such as remembering in 1 second: Shukeju
