After the attack of the German 168th Infantry Division failed, the division commander immediately reported the bad news to the army commander, General Rouse: "Your Majesty, Army Commander, my troops' attack on the Compass Town of Kazachya was bombed and attacked by the Russian Air Force. The strafing operation unfortunately ended in failure.”
General Rouse listened quietly to the report of his subordinates, and after thinking for a while, he said slowly: "Mr. Division Commander, temporarily stop the attack on the Compass Town of Kazachia and wait for my new order."
The German division commander expected Rouse to order him to regroup his troops and launch a new attack against the Russians. When I heard this order, I immediately let go of the huge stone in my heart and quickly replied: "I understand, Your Excellency, Army Commander, I will resolutely implement your order."
After Rouse put down the phone, he felt that the matter was of great importance, so he called the commander of the battle group, General Kenf, and told him the news of the failure in the attack on the Compass Town of Kazachiya: "...General Kenf, because the Russians Controlling the air superiority of the battlefield, if we continue to attack the town of Kazachya Compass without air cover, the offensive we launch may be crushed by the Russian air force."
"General Routh, I know that the Russians have control of the air on the battlefield, and their aircraft pose a great threat to our attack." Kenf said firmly: "But our attack on the Russians must continue, and we must do it in the shortest possible time. Within the time limit, drive them out of Kazachia Compass Town."
"But, General Kenf." After hearing Kenf's order, Rouse became a little anxious: "If my troops launch an attack on the Compass Town of Kazachiya without any air cover, once they are attacked If the Russian air force attacks, the troops will inevitably suffer heavy casualties."
"General Routh, I think it is necessary to remind you that the troops currently occupying the Compass Town of Kazachya are the 27th Army belonging to Sokov." Kenff reminded Routh in a stern tone: "The Russians have always Using his troops in important areas, now the Compass Town of Kazachya has fallen into their hands. If it is not recaptured as soon as possible, the Russians may use it as a starting point for the attack. Do you think, with what you have now? With your strength, can you stop them in Dergach?"
"It can't be stopped." Rouse replied rationally: "If we encounter other Russian troops, the probability of victory is very high. But the enemy we face now is the 27th Army commanded by Sokov. This The record of this unit has always been more wins than losses. If they attack my defensive position, I don’t think my men can stop them."
"General Routh, your answer is correct." Kenfu continued: "It is precisely because our soldiers cannot stop their attack that we need to launch an attack with all our strength and take them out of the town while their foothold is not stable. Drive out."
"General Kenff," Rouse said in embarrassment: "Let my troops continue to attack. I will resolutely obey your orders, but I implore you to provide air support for my troops no matter what."
As a senior senior officer, Kenf did not know the importance of air superiority in war, but now he is also a clever woman who cannot make a meal without rice. In addition to infantry, the troops under his command only have armored troops, and there is no air force at all. If it was necessary to provide air support to the attacking forces of the Routh Army, Marshal Manstein could only ask for help.
Based on the recent actions of the Soviet army, Manstein had already calculated that Kharkov would be the next target of attack. Although the Soviet army had the advantage in terms of strength, he was not worried at all. At the beginning of the year, the Soviet army had the advantage in strength and equipment, and once occupied Kharkov, but in the end they were beaten to pieces.
Regarding the two Soviet front commanders, the one he looked down upon the most was Vatutin. Although this person now holds the rank of general, he is the type with great ambition and limited talent. This can be seen from the battle at the beginning of the year. It is with such a manager that Manstein is confident of defeating Vatutin again in Kharkov.
As for Konev, his performance has been mediocre since the Soviet-German war broke out, with no remarkable record at all. It is said that when the German army advanced towards Moscow, Konevdie, who served as the commander of the Western Front, suffered a defeat. If Zhukov had not protected him, he would have been sent to a military court long ago.
It is precisely because of this mentality that Manstein is not interested in the war in the direction of Kharkov. Instead, he is fully operating the Dnieper River defense line to prevent possible cross-river operations by the Soviet army.
After receiving a call from Kenf, Manstein asked casually: "General Kenf, are there any movements from the Russians in the direction of your defense zone?"
As the commander of the battle group, Kenf's losses such as the loss of October Town and Kazachiya Compass Town were trivial matters to him, so he did not report them to Manstein at all.
Now he called Manstein for help and could only report truthfully: "Your Majesty Marshal, I have some sad news to tell you. October Town and Kazachiya Compass Town have been lost."
"What, what did you say?" Manstein couldn't believe his ears: "General Kenf, what did you just say, that both October Town and Kazachya Compass Town were lost? When did this happen? ?”
"yesterday."
"Falled yesterday?" Manstein's blood rushed to his head and he almost dropped the microphone in his hand. However, in order to find out what happened, he suppressed his anger and tried his best to ask in a calm tone: " Why didn’t you report it in time?”
Kenf hesitated for a while and replied: "Your Majesty Marshal, I think the Russians are not very powerful. Even if they occupy the town, we can drive them out as long as we counterattack. But the attack launched today failed." And ended.”
After Manstein waited for Kenf to finish speaking, he gasped and asked: "When did the Russians become so powerful in combat?" He asked this because during the Battle of Kursk, Kenf's combat group had Several Soviet armies were defeated. Now he has not received reports from Kharkov, proving that the number of troops invested in this battle will not be too many.
"Your Excellency, Marshal, it's Sokov." Kenfu said through gritted teeth: "It was Sokov's troops who captured October Town and Kazachya Compass Town one after another."
Manstein picked up a piece of intelligence he had just received not long ago. It said that the Soviet troops were being mobilized intensively and that they might not be able to launch an attack within a day or two. However, at this time, he learned from Kenf's report that the defense line The two towns on the left were occupied by the Soviet army. This was really incredible. He asked in confusion: "What the hell, how could Sokov's troops suddenly launch an attack on your defense area?"
"I don't know either, Mr. Marshal." Kenff said helplessly: "When General Routh reported to me that the Russians began to attack, half of the Compass Town of Kazachia had already fallen into the hands of the Russians. In order to To recapture the town, he used an artillery group to bombard the outer positions in the south of the town today, and then more than thirty tanks covered a regiment of infantry to attack the town."
Although Manstein already knew that the attack failed, he couldn't help but ask: "You used such a strong force to attack the town, why did it end in failure?"
"Originally, the leading troops of the 168th Infantry Division were already close to the Russian trenches. As long as they took a few more steps forward, they would be able to rush into the Russian trenches." Kenff regretfully reported to Manstein: "But just now At this time, a large number of Russian aircraft appeared in the sky. They dropped bombs and strafed our ground troops, causing us huge casualties. In this case, the commander in charge of the operation could only order the troops to stop the attack and temporarily withdraw. Out of the fight."
"Oh, what a pity." Manstein sighed and said: "If the Russian plane had arrived a minute or two later, our troops might have rushed into the Russian position."
"Yes, Your Majesty Marshal." Kenf continued: "I am calling you just to request the air force to dispatch to provide necessary air support for our ground offensive forces. If there is no air cover, no matter how much we use, If our troops and equipment participate in the attack, they will probably be crushed by Russian aircraft."
When Manstein heard this, he understood the purpose of Kenf's call and said quickly: "General Kenf, so you called me just hoping to get air support?"
"That's right, Your Majesty Marshal." Seeing that Manstein had guessed his intention, Kenf said with a feeling: "As long as you can provide us with the necessary air support, we will definitely be able to remove the town of Kazachia Compass from the Russians. Take it back from your hand."
"General Kenff, I can provide you with air support." Manstein asked cautiously: "But do you think your troops can break through Sokov's defense line?"
Manstein's words silenced Kenfu. Yes, it is indeed not difficult to get air support. But during the attack, if our troops received air support, would they be able to break through the Russian defense lines and rush into the town of Kazachya Compass?
After the attack of the German 168th Infantry Division failed, the division commander immediately reported the bad news to the army commander, General Rouse: "Your Excellency, Army Commander, my troops' attack on the Compass Town of Kazachya was bombed and attacked by the Russian Air Force. The strafing operation unfortunately ended in failure.”
General Rouse listened quietly to the report of his subordinates, and after thinking for a while, he said slowly: "Mr. Division Commander, temporarily stop the attack on the Compass Town of Kazachia and wait for my new order."
The German division commander expected Rouse to order him to regroup his troops and launch a new attack against the Russians. When I heard this order, I immediately let go of the huge stone in my heart and quickly replied: "I understand, Your Excellency, Army Commander, I will resolutely implement your order."
After Rouse put down the phone, he felt that the matter was of great importance, so he called the commander of the battle group, General Kenff, and told him the news of the failure in the attack on the Compass Town of Kazachiya: "... General Kenff, because the Russians Controlling the air superiority of the battlefield, if we continue to attack the town of Kazachya Compass without air cover, the offensive we launch may be crushed by the Russian air force."
"General Routh, I know that the Russians have control of the air on the battlefield, and their aircraft pose a great threat to our attack." Kenf said firmly: "But our attack on the Russians must continue, and we must do it in the shortest possible time. Within the time limit, drive them out of Kazachia Compass Town."
"But, General Kenf." After hearing Kenf's order, Rouse became a little anxious: "If my troops launch an attack on the Compass Town of Kazachiya without any air cover, once they are attacked If the Russian air force attacks, the troops will inevitably suffer heavy casualties."
"General Routh, I think it is necessary to remind you that the troops currently occupying the Compass Town of Kazachya are the 27th Army belonging to Sokov." Kenff reminded Routh in a stern tone: "The Russians have always Using his troops in important areas, now the Compass Town of Kazachya has fallen into their hands. If it is not recaptured as soon as possible, the Russians may use it as a starting point for the attack. Do you think, with what you have now? With your strength, can you stop them in Dergach?"
"It can't be stopped." Rouse replied rationally: "If we encounter other Russian troops, the probability of victory is very high. But the enemy we face now is the 27th Army commanded by Sokov. This The record of this unit has always been more wins than losses. If they attack my defensive position, I don’t think my men can stop them."
"General Routh, your answer is correct." Kenfu continued: "It is precisely because our soldiers cannot stop their attack that we need to launch an attack with all our strength and take them out of the town while their foothold is not stable. Drive out."
"General Kenff," Rouse said in embarrassment: "Let my troops continue to attack. I will resolutely obey your orders, but I implore you to provide air support for my troops no matter what."
As a senior senior officer, Kenf did not know the importance of air superiority in war, but now he is also a clever woman who cannot make a meal without rice. In addition to infantry, the troops under his command only have armored troops, and there is no air force at all. If it was necessary to provide air support to the attacking forces of the Routh Army, Marshal Manstein could only ask for help.
Based on the recent actions of the Soviet army, Manstein had already calculated that Kharkov would be the next target of attack. Although the Soviet army had the advantage in terms of strength, he was not worried at all. At the beginning of the year, the Soviet army had the advantage in strength and equipment, and once occupied Kharkov, but in the end they were beaten to pieces.
Regarding the two Soviet front commanders, the one he looked down upon the most was Vatutin. Although this person now holds the rank of general, he is the type with great ambition and limited talent. This can be seen from the battle at the beginning of the year. It is with such a manager that Manstein is confident of defeating Vatutin again in Kharkov.
