Shortly after sending Serelkov away, Sokov received a call from Konev.
The commander of the front army told Sokov on the phone: "Comrade Sokov, I have two pieces of good news to tell you."
"Good news?!" Sokov hadn't heard Konev say the word "good news" for a long time, and he quickly asked: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, what is the good news?"
"I just received a notification from the Southern Front. During the day, the German army in Donbas dispatched an armored division and three infantry divisions in an attempt to reinforce Kharkov and strengthen the defense of the area. But during their march, It was noticed by friendly forces and then launched a full-scale attack on them.”
"The enemy sent troops from Donbas to reinforce Kharkov?" Sokov quickly searched the history he had in his mind and found that there seemed to be no content about the enemy sending troops from Donbas, so he asked curiously: "The front army Comrade Commander, I wonder what the final result will be?"
“The Southern Front dispatched the 8th, 2nd, 5th and 17th Group Armies to intercept and block the German reinforcements in Kharkov. After a day of fierce fighting, no more than 3,000 enemies fled back to Donbas. "
"This is really an amazing result." Although Sokov did not know the strength of each division of the German reinforcements, only no more than 3,000 people fled back to Donbas, which means that today's battle of the Southern Front, At least 20,000 to 30,000 German troops were wiped out. "After the Germans suffered this loss, I believe they will not reinforce Kharkov again in the short term."
After saying these words in one breath, Sokov paused for a moment, and then asked: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I wonder when we will launch the attack on Kharkov?"
"Comrade Sokov, this is the second good news I want to tell you." Konev said: "Now our front army and the Voronezh front army have moved to the designated positions and will march towards Kharko at six o'clock tomorrow morning. Husband's defenders attacked."
"Great, this is really great." Although the battle in the past two days has been going smoothly, Sokov's heart is still uneasy. If the main force fails to take action, it is entirely possible for the Germans to Allocate forces to regain the Kazachia Compass Town and October Town occupied by your own troops, and restore the original defense line. "We've been waiting for this day."
"How is the situation there?" Konev asked with concern on the phone: "As far as I know, the enemy seems to have been attacking the town of Kazachya Compass. Can your troops hold it?"
"We can hold it, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov quickly replied: "As soon as the main force launches a frontal attack, the enemy will have to deploy troops for defense, and the pressure we bear will be greatly reduced."
"I remember you told me that you planned to send a force deep into the enemy's defenses." Konev waited for Sokov to finish and then asked cautiously: "Have they reached the designated position?"
Sokov quickly covered the microphone with his hand and asked Samyko who was standing aside: "Comrade Chief of Staff, where are the troops of the 98th Guards Division now?"
"Comrade Commander," Samyko pushed the map in front of Sokov and introduced him: "Colonel Chuvashov sent me a telegram not long ago, saying that his two Guards regiments are now wedged The German defenses were so deep that as soon as our general offensive began, he immediately took action to seize the bridge over the Oude River."
"They won't be discovered by the Germans, right?"
"No." Samyko replied with a smile: "Chuvasov had a lot of clever ideas. He ordered his troops to occupy the defensive positions at the German junction and pretended to be German troops to deploy defenses there. The enemy was not aware of it at all. "
After receiving the exact information, Sokov removed his hand covering the microphone and reported to Konev: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, the two regiments of my 98th Guards Division are now lurking in the German army. At the junction of the defense line, as soon as the main force's attack begins, they will launch an attack at the same time to seize the bridge on the Oude River, so that our army can successfully cross the Oude River."
Knowing that the 98th Guards Division was lurking in the enemy's junction, Konev asked with some worry: "Comrade Sokov, our attack will be tomorrow. They have been lurking in the enemy's junction for such a long time and will not be exposed." Target, right?”
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov replied: "Our soldiers were all dressed up as Germans. They occupied the empty positions swaggeringly and put on a posture of preparing to defend. It has the effect of confusing the enemy. I think even if the enemy finds out that there is a troop stationed here, they will think that it is their friendly force, and they will never think that our army is wearing makeup."
Konev smiled happily and said: "Comrade Sokov, it seems you have thought very carefully. Let our troops pretend to be German troops and march into uninhabited positions so that the enemy will never even dream of the troops at their junction." , it was actually disguised by our army.”
After Konev said these words, he looked down at the map in front of him and asked Sokov: "Comrade Sokov, where are your troops now?"
Sokov knew the specific positions of each division very well. Hearing Konev's question, he quickly reported to him in detail, and finally said: "When the main force launches an attack on Kharkov tomorrow, I plan to order the troops to stay in the position." Troops from the Compass Town of Kazachya went out to capture Dergach and use it as the starting point for our attack.”
…………
The German troops who set out from Donbas to reinforce Kharkov suffered heavy casualties under the siege of four Soviet army groups, leaving Manstein on the verge of tears. He never dreamed that his reinforcements would suffer such heavy losses just after they were dispatched.
Seeing Manstein's gloomy look, the chief of staff quickly comforted him and said: "Your Excellency, Marshal, don't worry. Although the troops setting off from Donbass suffered heavy losses from the Russians, the Supreme Command promised us that they would also Troops can be transferred from Army Group Center to strengthen Kharkov's defense line."
"Chief of Staff, you are too optimistic." Manstein smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Since they can attack our troops starting from Donbas today, they can also attack the reinforcements from Army Group Center tomorrow. It seems that, Generals Hott and Kenf are unable to receive assistance."
"Then what should we do, Your Excellency Marshal?" The Chief of Staff was also panicked after hearing what Manstein said: "Are we just going to watch them being annihilated by the Russians?"
"Although the Russians have advantages in strength and equipment, and have also gained air superiority on the battlefield." Regarding the chief of staff's concerns, Manstein said confidently: "But if they want to break through our army's attack in Kharkov The defense system is not an easy task, and the hundreds of thousands of landmines in the defense zone are enough to make the Russians uncomfortable."
"Your Excellency, Marshal," seeing that Manstein was so confident in blocking the Soviet attack, the Chief of Staff regained some confidence and asked tentatively: "Then how can we contain the Russian attack?"
"The strength of the Russians is far beyond my imagination." Manstein sighed heavily and said: "From the end of the fortress plan to now, the Russians have only had no more than ten days to rest. How can they survive in such a short period of time?" Within a short period of time, the supply of soldiers and supplies was completed, which is much faster than we imagined."
"Your Excellency, Marshal, this is the country of the Russians after all, and they have enough personnel to replenish the army."
Manstein nodded slightly and agreed with the Chief of Staff's statement. He pointed at the map on the wall and said to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, if we want to stabilize the war situation now, there are only two ways: First, Abandon the Donets Basin and use local troops to strengthen the direction of Kharkiv and the Dnieper River; second, draw 20 divisions from other theaters to reinforce this area..."
Before Manstein could say anything, the chief of staff exclaimed: "Your Majesty Marshal, this is simply impossible. Regardless of whether Donets is economically important to our country, abandoning such a large solid position in a hurry will have negative consequences for the entire country. The consequences for stability and coherence on the Eastern Front were unimaginable.
What's more, our army has no defense line to rely on in the Dnieper River area. If the Russians capture Kharkov, then we must build a new line of defense on the Dnieper River to resist the Russian attack.
The last point, and the most critical point, is that with the battlefield on the Eastern Front being tight everywhere, the reinforcements of the 20 divisions you mentioned cannot be mobilized at all. "
"Chief of Staff, you are right. This idea of mine is fantasy." Manstein said helplessly: "But these are also two ways for us to reverse the situation of the war."
The chief of staff heard the implication from Manstein's words, and quickly asked: "Marshal, so to speak, the fall of Kharkov is inevitable, then should we start building the Dnieper River defense line? "
Manstein nodded and continued: "We have a lot to do next, not only to build the Dnieper River defense line to prevent the Russians from crossing the Dnieper River, but also to make a request to the Supreme Command in the shortest possible time. Rebuilding the Totenkopf, Imperial and 19th Armored Divisions that were destroyed by Sokov."
When the Chief of Staff heard what Manstein said, the corner of his mouth twitched violently for a few times, and then nodded and said: "Marshal, you are right, these troops should indeed be rebuilt, so that in the next battle, we will Only then will there be more troops available.”
Seeing that the Chief of Staff echoed his opinion, Manstein ordered the other party: "Chief of Staff, please call General Zeitzler immediately, convey my intention to him, and ask how long it will take to complete these troops. reconstruction work."
The chief of staff did not dare to neglect, and quickly called the general staff headquarters in Berlin and relayed Manstein's intention to the chief of the general staff, General Zeitzler.
After hearing what the Chief of Staff conveyed, Zeitzler couldn't help but start to worry: "Mr. Chief of Staff, it stands to reason that I should not refuse Marshal Manstein's request, but our current military strength is amazing, and the condition of our weapons and equipment is amazing. It’s not ideal either, and it’s very difficult to rebuild these forces in a short period of time.”
After the Chief of Staff waited for Zeitzler to finish speaking, he said unwillingly: "General Zeitzler, Marshal asked me to tell you that once the Russians capture Kharkov, their next combat goal is to forcefully cross the Dnieper River. Capture the entire Ukraine. If these troops that were annihilated by the Russians cannot be rebuilt as soon as possible, we will not have enough troops to resist the Russian attack. What serious consequences will there be? Even if I don’t tell you, in your heart It should be very clear.”
Before Manstein could say anything, the chief of staff exclaimed: "Your Majesty Marshal, this is simply impossible. Regardless of whether Donets is economically important to our country, abandoning such a large solid position in a hurry will have negative consequences for the entire country. The consequences for stability and coherence on the Eastern Front were unimaginable.
What's more, our army has no defense line to rely on in the Dnieper River area. If the Russians capture Kharkov, then we must build a new line of defense on the Dnieper River to resist the Russian attack.
The last point, and the most critical point, is that with the battlefield on the Eastern Front being tight everywhere, the reinforcements of the 20 divisions you mentioned cannot be mobilized at all. "
"Chief of Staff, you are right. This idea of mine is fantasy." Manstein said helplessly: "But these are also two ways for us to reverse the situation of the war."
The chief of staff heard the implication from Manstein's words, and quickly asked: "Marshal, so to speak, the fall of Kharkov is inevitable, then should we start building the Dnieper River defense line? "
Manstein nodded and continued: "We have a lot to do next, not only to build the Dnieper River defense line to prevent the Russians from crossing the Dnieper River, but also to make a request to the Supreme Command in the shortest possible time. Rebuilding the Totenkopf, Imperial and 19th Armored Divisions that were destroyed by Sokov."
When the Chief of Staff heard what Manstein said, the corner of his mouth twitched violently for a few times, and then nodded and said: "Marshal, you are right, these troops should indeed be rebuilt, so that in the next battle, we will Only then will there be more troops available.”
Seeing that the Chief of Staff agreed with his opinion, Manstein ordered the other party: "Chief of Staff, please call General Zeitzler immediately, convey my intention to him, and ask how long it will take to complete these troops. reconstruction work."
The chief of staff did not dare to neglect, and quickly called the general staff headquarters in Berlin and relayed Manstein's intention to the chief of the general staff, General Zeitzler.
After hearing what the Chief of Staff conveyed, Zeitzler couldn't help but start to worry: "Mr. Chief of Staff, it stands to reason that I shouldn't refuse Marshal Manstein's request, but our current military strength is amazing, and the condition of our weapons and equipment is amazing. It’s not ideal either, and it’s very difficult to rebuild these forces in a short period of time.”
After the Chief of Staff waited for Zeitzler to finish speaking, he said unwillingly: "General Zeitzler, Marshal asked me to tell you that once the Russians capture Kharkov, their next combat goal is to forcefully cross the Dnieper River. Capture the entire Ukraine. If these troops that were annihilated by the Russians cannot be rebuilt as soon as possible, we will not have enough troops to resist the Russian attack. What serious consequences will there be? Even if I don’t tell you, in your heart It should be very clear.”
