The sudden heavy rain made Naunaco feel worried. He looked at the bombers and attack aircraft parked on the runway. After a fierce ideological struggle, he made the most difficult decision. He turned to his chief of staff and said : "Chief of Staff, inform several aviation division commanders to temporarily stop air strikes against the Germans."
While the chief of staff was calling to convey his order, Naunako picked up the high-frequency phone on the table and dialed the front army headquarters, preparing to report the matter to Tolbukhin.
Tolbukhin was worried when he saw the heavy rain pouring outside. When he heard the chief of staff say that General Naunako was looking for him, his heart sank suddenly, and he guessed that the call might have something to do with the air force attack.
"General Naunako, this is Tolbukhin."
"Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Naunako said to Tolbukhin respectfully: "I am specifically reporting to you that our aircraft cannot take off for combat due to heavy rain."
Although he knew that fighter planes could not take off to fight in heavy rain, Tolbukhin still asked reluctantly: "General Naunako, is there really no way to let fighter planes take off to fight? You know, as long as the enemy comes to attack again, One wave of offensive might be able to completely defeat them."
In his heart, Naunako didn't want to order the fighter planes to take off to eliminate the German troops that had already fallen into chaos. But in such weather, letting the fighter planes take off for combat was tantamount to asking the pilots to die. As the commander of the Air Force, he was absolutely Such an order cannot be given.
After Tolbukhin finished speaking, he carefully explained: "Commander of the Front Army, I feel the same as you. I want the pilots to assist the army brothers in destroying the Germans. But it can't be done. It's raining so heavily. Our plane was forced to take off, and due to visibility restrictions, it could not see the target on the ground clearly. It would be bad if it hit one of our own people."
Naunako's words did not mention the danger of flying into the air in rainy weather. He knew that Tolbukhin should understand this truth, so he only emphasized that in such bad weather, pilots cannot clearly see targets on the ground in the air.
Tolbukhin was persuaded by Naunako's reason. He was silent for a moment and said to Naunako: "Okay, General Naunako, since the weather is so bad, let the pilots go back to the barracks to rest first. It’s not too late to attack after the weather improves.”
Even so, Tolbukhin understood that this damn rainstorm had saved the German army from the brink of destruction. After he ended the call with Naunako, he put down the phone and asked Bilyuzov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, in such bad weather, can our troops still destroy this German army as planned?"
"Comrade Commander, I think this heavy rain has rescued the enemy from the brink of destruction." Bilyuzov explained to Tolbukhin: "Don't look at the 8th Army dispatched on our southern front. Following the enemy's The attack was launched from behind; the 2nd, 5th and 17th Group Armies on the northern front also blocked the German army's path from the front.
But we should clearly see that although the number of troops participating in the battle sounds large, the number of troops actually engaged in the battle is very limited. For example, the 10th Infantry Corps of the 8th Army on the southern front launched an offensive against the Germans. They were only two under-equipped infantry divisions, and they also lacked heavy weapons. If the German army suddenly turns around and breaks through in the direction of Donbas, our troops will not be able to stop them at all. "
After hearing what Bilyuzov said, Tolbukhin frowned and thought for a moment, and then asked: "Then if we order the troops on the northern front to attack, can we annihilate them all before the enemy takes a breakout action?"
"Comrade Commander, it is also very difficult to do this." Bilyuzov said with a wry smile: "The number of troops we have put into battle on the northern front is not much more than that on the southern front. They now occupy the train stations and bus stations along the way, and their strength has already Being spread out and used defensively may be enough, but when used offensively, it is far from enough.”
"So, we can only watch helplessly as the enemy escapes from our encirclement?"
"Actually, we still have a chance." Bilyuzov pointed to the map and said to Tolbukhin: "Comrade Commander, we can let the 8th Army invest another infantry division and a tank brigade in this area to completely cut off The retreat of the German army forced them to go north and fight our troops who stood in this direction."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, your proposal is good, just do as you say." In order to completely eliminate this German army, Tolbukhin continued: "In addition, you informed Gorbatov of the 2nd Army General, Lieutenant General Polenov of the 5th Army and Major General Gastilovich of the 17th Army immediately sent additional troops to participate in the battle, not only to intercept the German army's northward movement, but also to prevent the defenders of Kharkov The army went south for reinforcements.”
Tolbukhin felt in his heart that at this point in the battle, the German army would rush towards Kharkov at all costs, so he issued an order to the three army commanders in the north to dispatch more troops. Join the battle and try to destroy this enemy force leaving Donbas.
But what he didn't expect was that Manstein had already discovered that if the troops continued to move north, it would only lead to the annihilation of the entire army, so he issued an order for the troops to return to Donbass.
The German commander received Manstein's order and couldn't help but complain. Judging from the current situation, the Soviet army in the south is constantly attacking itself, while the Soviet army in the north is on the defensive. When he was hesitating whether he should obey Manstein's order, it suddenly rained heavily. As a result, the Soviet fighter planes could no longer be dispatched, and they had to deal with only the Soviet infantry. He breathed a sigh of relief, immediately ordered someone to pass on Manstein's order, and turned around to return to Donbass,
Due to the heavy rain, the Soviet army did not notice the abnormality of the German army and continued to launch uninterrupted counterattacks towards the temporary positions established by the German army.
When another round of attacks failed and the Soviet commanders and soldiers began to retreat, the German army unexpectedly launched a counterattack. The Soviet army was caught off guard. In less than ten minutes, the area that took them several hours to occupy fell into the hands of the German army.
The Soviet division commander, who was stunned by the German counterattack, took a while to confirm that the enemy had launched a counterattack against his troops. He quickly reported the situation to the commander of the 10th Army. After receiving the report, the army commander realized that the situation on the battlefield had changed, and he did not dare to neglect it. He quickly reported the matter to the group army commander Lieutenant General Starikov.
After receiving the report from his subordinates, Starikov immediately pulled the map on the table in front of him and examined it carefully. After watching for a while, he found that with this German counterattack, the enemy had established a defensive line with deep defenses. He sent two infantry divisions without heavy weapons to break through without air force and artillery support. The enemy's defense line is almost impossible.
The sudden heavy rain made Naunaco feel worried. He looked at the bombers and attack aircraft parked on the runway. After a fierce ideological struggle, he made the most difficult decision. He turned to his chief of staff and said : "Chief of Staff, inform several aviation division commanders to temporarily stop air strikes against the Germans."
While the chief of staff was calling to convey his order, Naunako picked up the high-frequency phone on the table and dialed the front army headquarters, preparing to report the matter to Tolbukhin.
Tolbukhin was worried when he saw the heavy rain pouring outside. When he heard the chief of staff say that General Naunako was looking for him, his heart sank suddenly, and he guessed that the call might have something to do with the air force attack.
"General Naunako, this is Tolbukhin."
"Hello, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Naunako said to Tolbukhin respectfully: "I am specifically reporting to you that our aircraft cannot take off for combat due to heavy rain."
Although he knew that fighter planes could not take off to fight in heavy rain, Tolbukhin still asked reluctantly: "General Naunako, is there really no way to let fighter planes take off to fight? You know, as long as the enemy comes to attack again, One wave of offensive might be able to completely defeat them."
In his heart, Naunako didn't want to order the fighter planes to take off to eliminate the German troops that had already fallen into chaos. But in such weather, letting the fighter planes take off for combat was tantamount to asking the pilots to die. As the commander of the Air Force, he was absolutely Such an order cannot be given.
After Tolbukhin finished speaking, he carefully explained: "Commander of the Front Army, I feel the same as you. I want the pilots to assist the army brothers in destroying the Germans. But it can't be done. It's raining so heavily. Our plane was forced to take off, and due to visibility restrictions, it could not see the target on the ground clearly. It would be bad if it hit one of our own people."
Naunako's words did not mention the danger of flying into the air in rainy weather. He knew that Tolbukhin should understand this truth, so he only emphasized that in such bad weather, pilots cannot clearly see targets on the ground in the air.
Tolbukhin was persuaded by Naunako's reason. He was silent for a moment and said to Naunako: "Okay, General Naunako, since the weather is so bad, let the pilots go back to the barracks to rest first. It’s not too late to attack after the weather improves.”
Even so, Tolbukhin understood that this damn rainstorm had saved the German army from the brink of destruction. After he ended the call with Naunako, he put down the phone and asked Bilyuzov: "Comrade Chief of Staff, in such bad weather, can our troops still destroy this German army as planned?"
"Comrade Commander, I think this heavy rain has rescued the enemy from the brink of destruction." Bilyuzov explained to Tolbukhin: "Don't look at the 8th Army dispatched on our southern front. Following the enemy's The attack was launched from behind; the 2nd, 5th and 17th Group Armies on the northern front also blocked the German army's path from the front.
But we should clearly see that although the number of troops participating in the battle sounds large, the number of troops actually engaged in the battle is very limited. For example, the 10th Infantry Corps of the 8th Army on the southern front launched an offensive against the Germans. They were only two under-equipped infantry divisions, and they also lacked heavy weapons. If the German army suddenly turns around and breaks through in the direction of Donbas, our troops will not be able to stop them at all. "
After hearing what Bilyuzov said, Tolbukhin frowned and thought for a moment, and then asked: "Then if we order the troops on the northern front to attack, can we annihilate them all before the enemy takes a breakout action?"
"Comrade Commander, it is also very difficult to do this." Bilyuzov said with a wry smile: "The number of troops we have put into battle on the northern front is not much more than that on the southern front. They now occupy the train stations and bus stations along the way, and their strength has already Being spread out and used defensively may be enough, but when used offensively, it is far from enough.”
"So, we can only watch helplessly as the enemy escapes from our encirclement?"
"Actually, we still have a chance." Bilyuzov pointed to the map and said to Tolbukhin: "Comrade Commander, we can let the 8th Army invest another infantry division and a tank brigade in this area to completely cut off The retreat of the German army forced them to go north and fight our troops who stood in this direction."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, your proposal is good, just do as you say." In order to completely eliminate this German army, Tolbukhin continued: "In addition, you informed Gorbatov of the 2nd Army General, Lieutenant General Polenov of the 5th Army and Major General Gastilovich of the 17th Army immediately sent additional troops to participate in the battle, not only to intercept the German army's northward movement, but also to prevent the defenders of Kharkov The army went south for reinforcements.”
Tolbukhin felt in his heart that at this point in the battle, the German army would rush towards Kharkov at all costs, so he issued an order to the three army commanders in the north to dispatch more troops. Join the battle and try to destroy this enemy force leaving Donbas.
But what he didn't expect was that Manstein had already discovered that if the troops continued to move north, it would only lead to the annihilation of the entire army, so he issued an order for the troops to return to Donbass.
The German commander received Manstein's order and couldn't help but complain. Judging from the current situation, the Soviet army in the south is constantly attacking itself, while the Soviet army in the north is on the defensive. When he was hesitating whether he should obey Manstein's order, it suddenly rained heavily. As a result, the Soviet fighter planes could no longer be dispatched, and they had to deal with only the Soviet infantry. He breathed a sigh of relief, immediately ordered someone to pass on Manstein's order, and turned around to return to Donbass,
Due to the heavy rain, the Soviet army did not notice the abnormality of the German army and continued to launch uninterrupted counterattacks towards the temporary positions established by the German army.
When another round of attacks failed and the Soviet commanders and soldiers began to retreat, the German army unexpectedly launched a counterattack. The Soviet army was caught off guard. In less than ten minutes, the area that took them several hours to occupy fell into the hands of the German army.
