As a tank commander, Katukov is much more famous than Rotmistrov. Although the latter shined in the Battle of Kursk, compared with Katukov, his reputation is obviously much less. You know, Katukov is known as the "number one armored force" because of his outstanding performance in the Battle of Mtsensk in the early stages of the Moscow Defense War.
At that time, there was a huge disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves. The German commander was the famous tank general Guderian, while the Soviet army was a less famous colonel. The German army attacking Mtsensk had two armored divisions plus a motorized infantry division, with a total of five to six hundred tanks, while the Soviet army was just a newly established independent tank brigade with more than 40 tanks, most of which They are all old tanks used for training before the war.
Lieutenant General Yeremenko, commander of the Bryansk Front, had four full armies. He patted his chest and assured the bearded man that he would be able to stop Guderian and even have a chance to beat him. As a result, he was soon slapped in the face by reality. They only advanced less than ten kilometers and could no longer advance. Instead, they were defeated by the German army. A front army with well-equipped soldiers and equipment is not a match for the German army. How can a temporarily formed tank brigade cause a big disturbance?
Under the absolute strength gap, any tactics are useless. An unknown person like Katukov is the opponent of a famous general like Guderian. No matter how you look at it, the Soviet army is bound to lose in the battle of Mtsensk.
Katukov knew that it was absolutely impossible to hold back Guderian's troops with conventional warfare. He adjusted his tactics in a timely manner and made a series of changes to the battlefield. After 8 days and nights of fierce fighting, they destroyed 133 German tanks and shot down 2 aircraft, while their own troops almost completely retreated. They successfully completed their superiors' mission and minimized the impact of the German tanks. Due to their outstanding performance and the great results achieved, the brigade was reorganized into the 1st Guards Tank Brigade on November 11, 1941, becoming the first tank unit to receive the title of Guards.
It is precisely because Katukov had such a brilliant record that Tsvetaev felt more at ease when he heard that Katukov's troops also participated in the attack in other areas. According to his idea, Katukov's troops would appear in Kharkov in less than two days, and then his troops would be able to fight alongside them.
"General Sokov," although it was possible to join forces with General Katukov's troops in two days, Tsvetayev said reluctantly: "It's really too long to wait for two days. .”
Sokov stared at Tsvetaev for a while, and then said: "Comrade General, if you can't wait, you can join General Rotmistrov's troops before dawn tomorrow."
"Meet with General Rotmistrov's troops?" Tsvetayev looked at Sokov with wide eyes and said in surprise: "Didn't the attack they launched today be crushed by the Germans? Wasn't it possible? Are they going to launch a new attack soon?"
Sokov did not know the specific situation of the 5th Guards Tank Army, but he knew that Rotmistrov had suffered huge losses for three days in a row. Cover and launch a new attack on the enemy again.
It was out of this consideration that Sokov told Tsvetaev that there was a chance to join Rotmistrov's troops before dawn tomorrow.
He tapped his fingers on the table and said to Tsvetaev: "Comrade General, don't look at the attacks launched by General Rotmistrov for two days in a row, but they all ended in failure. The first German army that intercepted them ended in failure. The 3 Armored Division must have suffered quite a lot of casualties.
According to my analysis, General Rotmistrov will also feel that the enemies blocking them have become exhausted. As long as he launches a new attack at night, he may be able to break through the German defense line in one fell swoop and successfully rush into Kharko In the husband's city. "
After Tsvetayev said "Ah", he quickly said: "General Sokov, I know that you have always been very good at analyzing the situation between the enemy and ourselves. Since you think General Rotmistrov's troops, A new attack will be launched tonight, so can we assist them and make their attack go smoothly?"
"Response?!" Sokov sneered and said: "Do you think we can detach troops to respond to them? The enemy force in that area is extremely strong. I am afraid that if the two divisions on our left landing field are thrown in, they will even see blisters. If you don’t see it, you will be annihilated by the enemy.”
Thinking of the hundreds of Rotmistrov's tanks that were wiped out in the confrontation with the German army, Tsvetayev did not think Sokov's words were alarmist. He asked hesitantly: "Are we going to Do you want to watch your friendly forces being annihilated by the enemy without taking any action?"
"It's not that there is no way." Sokov said thoughtfully: "If we invest a new force in this area, there is still a chance to reverse the situation of the war."
"Invest another new force?" Tsvetayev heard what Sokov said and couldn't help but get into trouble. The three infantry divisions in his hand, the 300th Division, were placed under Sokov's command and are now deployed in Fei near the Ski collective farm, and the 87th Division was also stationed in the area, working with former friendly forces to resist the Viking Division's attack. The other 315th Division is currently fighting side by side with Sokov's 384th Division on the east bank of the Oud River. In addition to these three infantry divisions, the only thing he could use was the Mechanized 4th Army.
Thinking of this, he asked Sokov tentatively: "General Sokov, what do you think of me putting the Mechanized 4th Army into the battlefield at this time?"
"Not very good." Unexpectedly, after he finished speaking, Sokov did not give him any face. Instead, he said plausibly: "As far as I know, except for one mechanized infantry brigade in your mechanical army, the rest are Tank brigade. Now there is no bridge on the river in front of us. It is simply an impossible task to transport so many tanks to the other side of the river."
Sokov's words reminded Tsvetayev that if the bridge problem was not solved, even if the 4th Mechanized Army was transferred over, they would have nothing to do but stay on the shore. Thinking of this, he humbly asked Sokov for advice: "Then should we build a pontoon bridge on the river as soon as possible?"
Tsvetayev's question is also a question that Sokov has been struggling with in his heart. Although the troops on the left landing field were intended to attract a feint attack by the German army, as the main force approached the city, it was only a matter of time before it turned into a formal attack. At that time, there will be no bridges on the river and it will become a shortcoming of our own troops.
Thinking of this, Sokov said to Tsvetayev: "Comrade General, if your engineers can complete the erection of the bridge over the river before dark, then your Mechanized 4th Army and General Rotmistrov will It is not impossible for our troops to join forces."
Seeing that Sokov agreed to build a pontoon bridge on the Oud River, Tsvetayev couldn't help feeling ecstatic. If your troops are able to join forces with Rotmistrov's tank troops coming from the northwest before dawn tomorrow, they will be able to take the opportunity to expand their results. When the battle is over and rewards are given, your troops will be able to gain more honors.
After thinking about this, Tsvetayev quickly picked up the phone on the table, made a call to his headquarters, and told the Chief of Staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, immediately mobilize the engineering troops to the bank of the Ude River. I’m going to have them build a pontoon over the bridge.”
In fact, as early as the moment Sokov's troops entered the city, Tsvetaev's chief of staff began to wonder why not build a pontoon bridge on the Oud River. In that case, the two artillery divisions deployed on the river would and other troops can pass through the pontoon bridge, continuously reach the landing site on the other side of the Oud River, and launch an attack on Kharkov at the appropriate time.
Upon receiving Tsvetayev's order at this moment, he couldn't help but be overjoyed and said repeatedly: "Understood, Comrade Commander, I will immediately send an engineering unit to the bank of the Ude River to build a pontoon bridge."
After saying this, he paused for a moment, and then asked: "Comrade Commander, I also want to ask, do you need to mobilize other troops to the bank of the Oude River?"
"If our engineering troops can complete the erection of the pontoon bridge before dark, then the 4th Mechanized Army can be transferred over to assist the friendly forces in the attack." Tsvetayev was cautious and did not compare his plans with General Rotmistrov told the chief of staff about the rendezvous of troops, so as not to accidentally leak the news and cause unnecessary trouble: "Our next actions completely depend on the speed of the engineering troops to build the bridge."
Before putting down the phone, he also specifically told the chief of staff: "Comrade chief of staff, let the 4th Mechanized Army be ready to go, so that after receiving the order, it can rush to the designated location as quickly as possible. "
Sokov listened while Tsvetaev called. After Tsvetaev put down the phone, he reminded the other party: "Comrade General, the area in front of us is the widest part of the Oud River. Can your engineering troops really complete the erection of the pontoon bridge before dark? ?”
"As long as the German planes don't bomb, I think we should be able to accomplish this mission."
Seeing that Tsvetaev was so confident, Sokov did not pour cold water on him. On the contrary, he followed his wishes and said: "Comrade General, you don't have to worry about the German air force. Our air force has already mastered the air superiority on the battlefield." , as long as the enemy's air force is discovered, our air force can be dispatched in time and teach them a severe lesson." As a tank commander, Katukov is much more famous than Rotmistrov. Although the latter shined in the Battle of Kursk, compared with Katukov, his reputation is obviously much less. You know, Katukov is known as the "number one armored force" because of his outstanding performance in the Battle of Mtsensk in the early stages of the Moscow Defense War.
At that time, there was a huge disparity in strength between the enemy and ourselves. The German commander was the famous tank general Guderian, while the Soviet army was a less famous colonel. The German army attacking Mtsensk had two armored divisions plus a motorized infantry division, with a total of five to six hundred tanks, while the Soviet army was just a newly established independent tank brigade with more than 40 tanks, most of which They are all old tanks used for training before the war.
Lieutenant General Yeremenko, commander of the Bryansk Front, had four full armies. He patted his chest and assured the bearded man that he would be able to stop Guderian and even have a chance to beat him. As a result, he was soon slapped in the face by reality. They only advanced less than ten kilometers and could no longer advance. Instead, they were defeated by the German army. A front army with well-equipped soldiers and equipment is not a match for the German army. How can a temporarily formed tank brigade cause a big disturbance?
Under the absolute strength gap, any tactics are useless. An unknown person like Katukov is the opponent of a famous general like Guderian. No matter how you look at it, the Soviet army is bound to lose in the battle of Mtsensk.
Katukov knew that it was absolutely impossible to hold back Guderian's troops with conventional warfare. He adjusted his tactics in a timely manner and made a series of changes to the battlefield. After 8 days and nights of fierce fighting, they destroyed 133 German tanks and shot down 2 aircraft, while their own troops almost completely retreated. They successfully completed their superiors' mission and minimized the impact of the German tanks. Due to their outstanding performance and the great results achieved, the brigade was reorganized into the 1st Guards Tank Brigade on November 11, 1941, becoming the first tank unit to receive the title of Guards.
It is precisely because Katukov had such a brilliant record that Tsvetaev felt more at ease when he heard that Katukov's troops also participated in the attack in other areas. According to his idea, Katukov's troops would appear in Kharkov in less than two days, and then his troops would be able to fight alongside them.
"General Sokov," although it was possible to join forces with General Katukov's troops in two days, Tsvetayev said reluctantly: "It's really too long to wait for two days. .”
Sokov stared at Tsvetaev for a while, and then said: "Comrade General, if you can't wait, you can join General Rotmistrov's troops before dawn tomorrow."
"Meet with General Rotmistrov's troops?" Tsvetayev looked at Sokov with wide eyes and said in surprise: "Didn't the attack they launched today be crushed by the Germans? Wasn't it possible? Are they going to launch a new attack soon?”
Sokov did not know the specific situation of the 5th Guards Tank Army, but he knew that Rotmistrov had suffered huge losses for three days in a row. Cover and launch a new attack on the enemy again.
It was out of this consideration that Sokov told Tsvetaev that there was a chance to join Rotmistrov's troops before dawn tomorrow.
He tapped his fingers on the table and said to Tsvetaev: "Comrade General, don't look at the attacks launched by General Rotmistrov for two days in a row, but they all ended in failure. The first German army that intercepted them ended in failure. The 3 Armored Division must have suffered quite a lot of casualties.
According to my analysis, General Rotmistrov will also feel that the enemy blocking them has become exhausted. As long as he launches a new attack at night, he may be able to break through the German defense line in one fell swoop and successfully rush into Kharko In the husband's city. "
