Without the assistance of the 5th Guards Tank Army, Sokov decided to go it alone. He only hoped that his troops could approach Kharkov as soon as possible after launching the attack. It would be great if they could rush into the city.
Facing Sokov's troops, they launched attacks from the two landing sites on the left and right at the same time. This completely disrupted the German defense deployment. The defense lines were broken through one after another. The defenders holding these positions had to move toward the urban area of Kharkov. retreat.
In order to curb the Soviet attack, Weller personally called Manstein and asked the other party to dispatch the air force to bomb the attacking troops.
After receiving Weiler's call, Manstein asked with a serious expression: "General Weiler, are you really sure that the troops attacking you are commanded by Sokov?"
"Yes, Your Majesty Marshal." Wheeler, who once served as Manstein's chief of staff, still maintains sufficient respect for his old superior: "According to the forward commander's report, the Russians who launched an attack on our army , indeed the 27th Army commanded by Sokov. As our defense line was breached, the Russian leading troops were less than one kilometer away from the main road in Kharkov. The mortars they carried were They can directly bombard vehicles traveling on the road."
"Ah, are the Russians so close to the city?" Manstein was very surprised by Wheeler's report: "General Wheeler, please explain to me why the Russians were able to reach the city in such a short time. Break through your layers of defense and reach the approach to Kharkov?"
Facing Manstein's question, Weller replied with some embarrassment: "Marshal, I didn't expect Sokov's troops to be so capable that they couldn't rely on the existing defense lines to stop him."
"General Wheeler, as my former chief of staff, don't you know Sokov's strength?" Regarding Wheeler's shirk of responsibility, Manstein criticized him mercilessly: "You know that this is a difficult person to deal with. adversary, yet in fighting him you forgot something so important that your troops suffered such losses.”
"You are right, Marshal." After hearing Manstein's reprimand, Weller did not dare to refute, and could only say in a low voice: "Because the Russian tanks and artillery were too powerful, the first counterattack we organized was It has ended in failure. Now the 11th Army and the 42nd Army are regrouping and preparing to attack again."
"General Weller," Manstein said sternly: "You must move quickly. Once the main Russian force enters the battlefield through the gap opened by Sokov, you may not be able to prevent the Russians from entering the city. "
"Understood, Your Majesty Marshal." Only then did Weller reveal the true purpose of his call: "I would like to ask you to dispatch the air force to provide necessary air cover for our counterattack forces."
When Manstein heard what Weller said, he immediately understood that the offensive of Sokov's troops was fierce. Whether it was the 11th Army or the 42nd Army, the current resistance was very difficult. If the air force is deployed to create gaps for the Russians in the offensive position, it may be possible to reverse the unfavorable situation on the battlefield.
After understanding this truth, Manstein said into the microphone: "General Wheeler, I will immediately send the air force to assist you in counterattacking the Russians. I hope your counterattack this time will not disappoint me again."
"Don't worry, Marshal." When he learned that Manstein planned to send the air force to support him, Weller couldn't help but be overjoyed. He quickly said gratefully: "As long as we can get air force support, we will definitely be able to drive the Russians down the Oude River. "
After hanging up the phone, Manstein told his adjutant: "Get me through the 4th Air Force immediately and ask for their commander, General Otto Deslohe."
The adjutant did not dare to neglect and quickly called the headquarters of the 4th Air Force Air Force. Not long after, he said to Manstein respectfully: "Your Excellency, Marshal, the call has been connected. General Otto Deslohe is waiting for you to speak on the line."
"General Otto Deslohe," Manstein took the phone and asked straight to the point: "How many aircraft do you have available for use?"
Otto Deslohe didn't know the purpose of Manstein's question, but he still answered truthfully: "The number of aircraft I can use now is no more than fifty, and many of them are reconnaissance aircraft."
Knowing that the 4th Air Force Air Force had less than fifty aircraft left, many of which were reconnaissance aircraft, Manstein asked angrily: "Why are there only so few aircraft?"
"Your Excellency, Marshal," Otto Desloch replied aggrievedly when Manstein asked this question in a reproachful tone: "There are fightings everywhere in Kharkov, and I sent most of the planes to these We have gone to the fighting area, and I hope they can cooperate with the army to eliminate more of the Russians' effective forces."
"General Otto Deslohe," Manstein said after waiting for the other party to finish: "Now Sokov's troops launched an attack from two bridgeheads on the east bank of the Oude River at the same time, and successively broke through the 11th and 11th Several lines of defense of the 42nd Army approached Kharkov’s main lines of communication.”
Otto Desloch realized the seriousness of the problem and quickly assured Manstein: "Marshal, please rest assured that I will dispatch planes from other directions as soon as possible and rush to the area you mentioned to stop Russia. The push of people into cities.”
Half an hour later, one hundred and twenty planes improvised by Otto Desloch flew to the two offensive lines of Sokov's troops, trying to crush the Soviet army's advance towards the city through violent bombing. plan.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the German aircraft entered these areas, they were attacked head-on by the Soviet Air Force. Within a quarter of an hour of fighting between the two sides, more than twenty German aircraft were shot down, and a dozen more were forced to withdraw from the battlefield due to injuries. The Soviet army only lost two fighters and five attack aircraft.
This one-sided air combat performance made everyone who saw the battle report rejoice. Tsvetayev said to Sokov emotionally: "General Sokov, since our army is progressing so smoothly and the Air Force has firmly grasped the initiative on the battlefield, it is better to order the troops to continue to advance. "
"No, Comrade General, we can't move forward any further." The troops were progressing smoothly, and Sokov was naturally happy. However, he clearly realized that his troops were limited. Now that he had advanced so far into the enemy, he was already exhausted. Completely decoupled from the main force, if Holt or Weller join forces to deal with themselves, I am afraid that the entire 27th Army may be encircled. Therefore, the safest way is to consolidate the occupied area, and when the main force of the front army reaches the outskirts of the city, it will not be too late to launch a new attack.
"Why?" Seeing victory in sight, Sokov chose to let the troops switch to defense on the spot. This made Tsvetayev very confused: "General Sokov, the enemy has been beaten by us in a panic. If Choosing to stop the attack at this time is not to give the Germans a chance to breathe? Once they complete regrouping, we may suffer even greater losses if we want to launch another attack."
"General Tsvetaev," Sokov looked at Tsvetaev and said solemnly: "Since the launch of the attack, the troops at our two landing sites have wedged eight to twelve kilometers into the German defense line. The furthest troops, even less than one kilometer away from the main traffic artery in Kharkov, can even use mortars to bombard vehicles traveling on the road.
In order to defend such a wide area, I had to deploy troops for defense. Nowadays, the number of troops used for offense has been greatly reduced. If we continue to advance, it may be difficult to achieve results. Rather than letting the troops make unnecessary sacrifices, it is better to let them stop and consolidate the occupied areas..."
Before Sokov finished speaking, the phone on the table rang.
What Sokov didn't expect was that the call was actually from Zhukov.
When he heard Zhukov's voice coming from the receiver, he thought the other party was asking about the results of the battle, and quickly reported the current progress of the troops to Zhukov in detail.
After Zhukov patiently listened to Sokov's report, he asked coldly: "Misha, what do you think about it? Let the troops with strong offensive momentum stop to defend and give the enemy enough time to complete their assembly and rest. What’s going on in your head?”
Sokov didn't expect Zhukov to criticize him so much, and he didn't know how to answer for a while. Just listen to Zhukov continue to say: "Misha, I am not ordering you as a marshal, but as an elder asking you to let your troops continue to attack. If possible, it is best to rush into the city, in a Put red flags on taller buildings.”
Zhukov's words confused Sokov. This was the first time he heard Zhukov give an order like this, so he asked in confusion: "Comrade Marshal, I don't quite understand what you mean. Can you explain it to me?"
After a brief silence in the receiver, Zhukov's voice came again: "Misha, are there any outsiders around you?"
Sokov glanced at Tsvetaev standing opposite and replied: "General Tsvetaev, commander of the Assault Army, is with me."
"Oh, General Tsvetaev is with you." Zhukov hesitated for a moment, and then said decisively: "Since you are not an outsider, then I will tell you a secret, the secret of why you continue to attack."
Something that even Zhukov could call a secret was definitely no small matter. Sokov couldn't help but hold his breath and waited patiently for the other party to reveal the secret.
"Misha, not long ago, the Supreme Commander himself officially announced to the outside world that our army has occupied Kharkov..."
When Sokov heard this, the corner of his mouth twitched violently a few times, and he couldn't help but interjected: "But, Comrade Marshal, our main force has not even entered the suburbs of Kharkov, so how can we talk about seizing the city? Woolen cloth?"
Zhukov sighed and continued: "The Supreme Commander himself received a report. There were errors in certain words in the report, which led him to mistakenly believe that our army had liberated Kharkov. So he not long ago reported to the garrison Military attachés from various countries in Moscow announced that our army has recaptured Kharkov."
Cold sweat suddenly broke down on Sokov's forehead. He did not expect that the bearded man would make such a low-level mistake, and he also informed the military attaches stationed in Moscow of various countries about the error. After taking two deep breaths, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Marshal, is there anything I can do for you?"
"I have just said: continue to attack Kharkov and try to rush into the city before dark." In order to prevent Sokov from not understanding his intention, Zhukov also specially explained: "According to the tradition of the army, As long as our flag is flying over an ancient city like Kharkiv, it means that this city has been occupied by us." Sokov did not expect that Zhukov would criticize him so much, and he didn't know how to answer for a while. Just listen to Zhukov continue to say: "Misha, I am not ordering you as a marshal, but as an elder asking you to let your troops continue to attack. If possible, it is best to rush into the city, in a Put red flags on taller buildings.”
Zhukov's words confused Sokov. This was the first time he heard Zhukov give an order like this, so he asked in confusion: "Comrade Marshal, I don't quite understand what you mean. Can you explain it to me?"
After a brief silence in the receiver, Zhukov's voice came again: "Misha, are there any outsiders around you?"
Sokov glanced at Tsvetaev standing opposite and replied: "General Tsvetaev, commander of the Assault Army, is with me."
"Oh, General Tsvetaev is with you." Zhukov hesitated for a moment, and then said decisively: "Since you are not an outsider, then I will tell you a secret, the secret of why you continue to attack."
Something that even Zhukov could call a secret was definitely no small matter. Sokov couldn't help but hold his breath and waited patiently for the other party to reveal the secret.
"Misha, not long ago, the Supreme Commander himself officially announced to the outside world that our army has occupied Kharkov..."
When Sokov heard this, the corner of his mouth twitched violently a few times, and he couldn't help but interjected: "But, Comrade Marshal, our main force has not even entered the suburbs of Kharkov, so how can we talk about seizing the city? Woolen cloth?"
Zhukov sighed and continued: "The Supreme Commander himself received a report. There were errors in certain words in the report, which made him mistakenly believe that our army had liberated Kharkov. So he not long ago reported to the garrison Military attachés from various countries in Moscow announced that our army has recaptured Kharkov."
Cold sweat suddenly broke out on Sokov's forehead. He did not expect that the bearded man would make such a low-level mistake, and he also informed the military attaches stationed in Moscow of various countries about the error. After taking two deep breaths, he asked tentatively: "Comrade Marshal, is there anything I can do for you?"
"I have just said: continue to attack Kharkov and try to rush into the city before dark." In order to prevent Sokov from not understanding his intention, Zhukov also specially explained: "According to the tradition of the army, As long as our flag is flying over an ancient city like Kharkiv, it means that the city has been occupied by us."
