After dawn, the troops of the Steppe Front and the Voronezh Front continued to attack the enemies in front of them.
Not long after the battle started, Zhukov and Vasilevsky arrived at Konev's forward headquarters.
Konev's forward headquarters is located at the location of the 53rd Army. Seeing the arrival of the two marshals, Konev hurriedly stepped forward to greet them, and asked somewhat unexpectedly: "Comrade marshals, why did you think of coming to my place?"
Vasilevsky, who was shaking hands with Konev, tilted his head deliberately when he heard what Konev said, and asked teasingly: "What, Konev explained, don't you welcome us?"
"Where!" Konev replied with a smile: "It's an honor for you to come to my headquarters. However, it is very close to the front line. I am worried that you may encounter danger on the way here."
"Comrade Konev, you are worrying too much." Zhukov deliberately said with a straight face: "During the Moscow Defense War, the situation was so dangerous. Didn't I often run to the front with only one driver? Now it is our army attacking the enemy. , and there are so many soldiers accompanying us when we travel, how can there be danger?"
Hearing what Zhukov said, Konev thought of the past event two years ago: "That's right, Marshal Zhukov. I still remember that when you came to the front to take over my position as commander of the Western Front, you only brought A driver.”
Speaking of this, Konev said gratefully: "At that time, I was being examined by Voroshilov, Molotov and Bulganin. If you hadn't put in a good word for me, I would have been sent to the military a long time ago. Court, it is not possible to hold the post of commander of the Steppe Front today.”
Zhukov stared at Konev for a while, and couldn't help but feel sorry for him secretly. Konev was a general before he stood, but the war has been going on for two years, and he still carries the epaulettes of a general. And his subordinate Rokossovsky was now a general, and his subordinate's military rank surpassed his own. Konev must have felt unhappy in his heart.
But just think about Konev's sad past in your heart, and there is no need to speak out about it. Zhukov walked to the table, looked down at the map spread out on it, and asked casually: "Comrade Konev, has Sokov on your right wing made any progress in the past two days?"
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Konev was not sure whether Sokov had reported to Zhukov, so he reported the results achieved by the 27th Army to Zhukov: "They successively captured the town of October and Kasha. Kazakya Compass Town, when our front army and Voronezh Front Army launched an attack on the Kharkov area yesterday, they launched an attack from Kazakya Compass Town to Dergach.
When the battle progressed until dark, Colonel Shechtman's 254th Division broke through the German defenses and entered the city of Dergach, occupying most of the area north of the city. "
"Good fight." Since Sokov did not report the result of the battle to Zhukov, Zhukov still does not know that Sokov's troops rushed into Dergach. He turned sideways and said to Vasilevsky beside him: "This little Misha is really good at fighting. I thought it would take him at least two or three days to reach Dergach. I didn't expect that he captured it yesterday. The northern part of the city in Dergach is really amazing.”
After talking to Vasilevsky for a few words, he turned to Konev and asked: "How was the battle today? Did they continue to expand their results?"
He originally thought that Konev would report to him a series of Sokov's achievements, but he saw the other party shook his head and said with a grimace: "I'm sorry, Comrade Marshal, they did not achieve any results today. Before dawn, their All the troops were driven out of the city of Dergach by the enemy.”
"What, they were driven out of the city of Dergach by the enemy." A trace of anger appeared on Zhukov's face: "What on earth is going on? Aren't Sokov's troops good at defense? Why were they driven out of the city by the enemy? come out?"
"Comrade Marshal, Sokov's troops were driven out of the city by the enemy. They cannot be blamed at all."
"You can't blame them at all?" Zhukov asked with a straight face, "Why?"
"The Germans used flamethrowers to set fires in the middle of the night, and in the buildings occupied by our army, there were a large number of gasoline barrels discarded by the enemy. In addition, our army was downwind, and the fire quickly spread everywhere. There was no way to put out the fire, so the troops who stayed in the city had to withdraw immediately to avoid the annihilation of the entire army."
Zhukov and Vasilevsky have been in the army for more than ten or twenty years, and naturally understand that when the fire is fierce, the troops at the disadvantage have to do not put out the fire, but escape in time.
"What are the casualties of our troops?" Zhukov asked.
"Before the enemy set fire, Sokov sensed something was wrong, so he gave Shechtman an order to withdraw the two infantry regiments of the division from the city, leaving only the 762nd Regiment to hold on to the occupied area." Konev explained to Zhukov: "It is precisely because of his order that the danger of the 254th Division being annihilated was avoided."
"Marshal Zhukov," Vasilevsky said to Zhukov after Konev finished speaking: "It seems that the reason why the 254th Division was able to break into the city of Dergach so smoothly was entirely because the Germans gave him a They prepared a trap."
"It's rare for Misha to see through the enemy's plot and minimize the losses of the troops." After Zhukov sighed with emotion, he asked Konev: "Have they launched an attack on Dergach now?"
"No." Konev shook his head and replied: "Although the fire in the north of the city has been extinguished, the fire field is still hot and our commanders cannot get close at all, so the attack time can only be postponed until the afternoon."
Zhukov sneered, and then said: "The Germans have suffered too much at the hands of Xiao Misha, and now they are trying every means to set a trap for Sokov and prepare to carry out revenge. However, Xiao Misha is not a vegetarian. He actually predicted the enemy in advance. The conspiracy led to the timely withdrawal of the large troops outside the city, effectively reducing the casualties of the troops."
After chatting for a while, Vasilevsky asked Konev's next plan: "General Konev, when do your troops plan to rush into Kharkov?"
"Comrade Marshal," after hearing Vasilevsky's question, Konev quickly replied: "The conditions for entering the city are not yet mature. I plan to start a decisive battle with the enemy outside the city."
"A decisive battle outside the city?" Konev's statement made Vasilevskiy feel strange: "Wouldn't it be better to attack the city early and drive the enemy out of the city early?"
"Comrade Marshal," Konev explained in the face of Vasilevsky's doubts: "Although the defense system in Kharkiv is not as good as Stalingrad. But we clearly know that after such careful preparations, Fighting in a city requires a huge effort by the troops, which will definitely cause heavy casualties, and the fighting may be protracted. It will inevitably cause unnecessary losses to residents, leading to the destruction of residential buildings and intact industrial enterprises.
Therefore, after study, the Military Commission of our Front Army decided to divide and defeat the enemy groups individually under field conditions, so that they could not cooperate with the tank corps carrying out counter-assaults in the Bogodukhov area, and to separate the city from the west. Tank reserve isolated. "
Konev's words reminded Zhukov of the report given to him by the Southern Front, "Comrade Konev, the day before yesterday the German army mobilized the reserves of Donbas in an attempt to strengthen the defense of Kharkov. But General Tolbukhin decisively Troops from four armies were mobilized to block and pursue the German army, inflicting heavy casualties on them and completely cutting off the German army's possibility of obtaining reinforcements from Donbas."
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Konev nodded and replied: "I know this. General Tolbukhin's actions strongly supported our attack on Kharkov. From Donbass The annihilation of the German army reduced our operational resistance in the next phase."
"Comrade Konev," Sokov took the cigarette that Zakharov handed to him, did not light it, but turned it around in his hand, and said casually: "After your front army invades Kharkov Vasilevskiy and I will stay here until now. If you have any difficulties, please just ask and I will try my best to help you."
"This is really great." Knowing that Zhukov and Vasilevsky were going to stay at his headquarters, Konev couldn't help but feel ecstatic. He was still worried about dealing with the base camp, but now he has With the two marshals here, if there is any difficult matter, they can come forward to solve it. "On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the Prairie Front Army, I welcome the arrival of the two comrades marshals."
Just when the atmosphere in the headquarters was harmonious, the high-frequency phone on the table rang. Zakharov stepped forward, picked up the phone, listened for a moment, and then reported to Konev: "Comrade Commander, Air Force Commander General Goryunov said that according to the reconnaissance of the Air Force, they found that there was a gap in the direction of Bogudukhov and Azerbaijan. There is a battle going on in the Hertelka area, and it seems that the German army has launched a powerful counterattack against the area occupied by our army."
"What, the enemy launched a powerful counterattack in the direction of Bogudukhov and the Akhtelka area?" Hearing the news, the most surprised was Zhukov: "If this is true, why didn't Vatutin tell me Report?"
Konev murmured quietly from the side: "It's not that I won't report it, I'm afraid it's not too late."
"No, I need to call Vatutin to confirm whether the enemy has really launched a powerful counterattack in the direction of Bogudukhov and the Akhtelka area." "A decisive battle outside the city?" Nev's statement made Vasilevsky feel strange: "Wouldn't it be better to attack the city early and drive the enemy out of the city early?"
"Comrade Marshal," Konev explained in the face of Vasilevsky's doubts: "Although the defense system in Kharkiv is not as good as Stalingrad. But we clearly know that after such careful preparations, Fighting in a city requires the troops to make a huge effort, which will definitely cause heavy casualties, and the fighting may be protracted. It will inevitably cause unnecessary losses to residents, leading to the destruction of residential buildings and intact industrial enterprises.
Therefore, after study, the Military Commission of our Front Army decided to divide and defeat the enemy groups individually under field conditions, so that they could not cooperate with the tank corps carrying out counter-assaults in the Bogodukhov area, and to separate the city from the west. Tank reserve isolated. "
Konev's words reminded Zhukov of the report given to him by the Southern Front, "Comrade Konev, the day before yesterday the German army mobilized the reserves of Donbas in an attempt to strengthen the defense of Kharkov. But General Tolbukhin decisively Troops from four armies were mobilized to block and pursue the German army, inflicting heavy casualties on them and completely cutting off the German army's possibility of obtaining reinforcements from Donbas."
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Konev nodded and replied: "I know this. General Tolbukhin's actions strongly supported our attack on Kharkov. From Donbass The annihilation of the German army reduced our operational resistance in the next phase."
"Comrade Konev," Sokov took the cigarette that Zakharov handed to him, did not light it, but turned it around in his hand, and said casually: "After your front army invades Kharkov Vasilevskiy and I will stay here until now. If you have any difficulties, please just ask and I will try my best to help you."
"This is really great." Knowing that Zhukov and Vasilevsky were going to stay at his headquarters, Konev couldn't help but feel ecstatic. He was still worried about dealing with the base camp, but now he has With the two marshals here, if there is any difficult matter, they can come forward to solve it. "On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the Prairie Front Army, I welcome the arrival of the two comrades marshals."
Just when the atmosphere in the headquarters was harmonious, the high-frequency phone on the table rang. Zakharov stepped forward, picked up the phone, listened for a moment, and then reported to Konev: "Comrade Commander, Air Force Commander General Goryunov said that according to the reconnaissance of the Air Force, they found that there was a gap in the direction of Bogudukhov and Azerbaijan. There is a battle going on in the Hertelka area, and it seems that the German army has launched a powerful counterattack against the area occupied by our army."
"What, the enemy launched a powerful counterattack in the direction of Bogudukhov and the Akhtelka area?" Hearing the news, the most surprised was Zhukov: "If this is true, why didn't Vatutin tell me Report?"
Konev muttered quietly from the side: "It's not that I won't report it, I'm afraid it's not too late."
"No, I need to call Vatutin to confirm and see if the enemy has really launched a powerful counterattack in the direction of Bogudukhov and the Akhtelka area."
