There is an hour time difference between Ukraine and Germany. Manstein knew the habit of the head of state, which was to get up at eight o'clock every morning, take a hot bath, and then have a breakfast of only a glass of milk and two pieces of bread, and then start reading. Newspapers and magazines. He would not show up in his own office until noon.
It is precisely because of this that Manstein decided to postpone reporting the news of the Soviet army's invasion of Kharkov and his intention to abandon the city until after 1 pm local time, when the head of state should happen to be in his office.
At 12 noon Berlin time, Mustache appeared at the door of his office on time. The generals sitting at the long table covered with maps saw Mustache's appearance and stood up in unison, raising their right hands to him. salute.
Mustache came to the center of the room with his hands behind his back, looking at the Chief of General Staff standing at the table, "Zeitzler!"
When his name was called, the Chief of General Staff stepped forward quickly, straightened his back and agreed: "My head of state!"
"How is the situation at Manstein's place?" Mustache asked casually as he walked towards his seat: "Have they driven the damn Russians away from Kharkov?"
When Zeitzler heard this question, he showed a desperate expression on his face. He looked around at the generals and saw that some people turned their faces to one side, some shook their heads with a wry smile, and some gave him sympathy. look.
"Zeitzler," Mustache had come to his seat, but still didn't hear Zeitzler's answer. He put his hands on the back of the chair, frowned and said, "Why don't you speak or listen?" Got my question?"
"I heard it, my head of state." Zeitzler said bravely: "I'm afraid all I can tell you is bad news. The Russian 27th Army, the 53rd Army, the 5th Army, and Rotmistrov Part of the tank army has broken into Kharkov. Now the troops of General Hott and General Wheeler are putting up a tenacious resistance."
"What's going on?" After listening to Zeitzler's report, anger appeared on the mustache's face, and he asked dissatisfiedly: "Why is this happening? I remember yesterday, when you reported to me, you said that we The heroic 3rd Armored Division smashed the Russian armored assaults twice in a row in the northwest of the city, destroying at least 1,500 of their tanks. In recognition of such a great result, we even gave 3rd Armored Division Commander Weiss General Thofen awarded the Cross of Merit.
How could the Russian tank army rush into the city overnight? And the number of army-level numbers has also been increased to three? "
Faced with Mustache's questioning, Zeitzler raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and said with a guilty conscience: "My head of state, Marshal Manstein's report was not detailed enough, and I don't know why, overnight, Halko There will be so many numbers of Russian troops in the city."
"Get me through to Manstein's headquarters immediately." Mustache said to Zeitzler: "I want to ask what happened last night."
Hearing Mustache say that he wanted to call Manstein personally, Zeitzler's legs could not help but tremble. In order to please Mustache, he and the members of the General Staff deliberately exaggerated the results of the 3rd Armored Division and would destroy it. The results of nearly 400 tanks were exaggerated to 1,500. If Mustache and Manstein talk on the phone, there is a possibility that the matter will be revealed.
Seeing Zeitzler's dilly-dallying, Mustache became even more angry and urged sternly: "Zeitzler, what are you still doing? Why don't you quickly get through to Manstein's headquarters?"
The call was quickly connected. Mustache took the phone and asked angrily: "Manstein, tell me why so many Russian troops appeared in Kharkov overnight?"
"My head of state." Manstein did not expect that Mustache would take the initiative to call him. He hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "The strength of the Russians far exceeds ours. Although the two generals Hott and Wheeler They tried their best, but could not stop the Russians from breaking into the city, and now their officers and soldiers are fighting to the death with the Russians."
"Manstein," Mustache was not satisfied with Manstein's answer and continued to ask: "You just need to tell me, how long will it take for you to drive the Russians out of Kharkov?"
"Please forgive me, my head of state." Manstein was very aware of the current situation in Kharkov and knew that if the fight continued, Hoth's Panzer Army and Wheeler's 8th Army would inevitably follow Paulus's 6th Army. Following in his footsteps, he said euphemistically: "The Russians have an absolute advantage in terms of military strength and weapons and equipment. If they continue to fight, our troops may be completely annihilated. Therefore, I suggest Abandon Kharkov, withdraw the city's defenders to the Dnieper River, and build a new line of defense there to resist the Russian attack."
"Manstein," Mustache raised his voice: "In February this year, the Russians also had an advantage in troops and equipment, and even occupied Kharkov and Belgorod for a time, but they still didn't Escape the fate of being defeated by you. What happened to you now that you actually plan to hand over the city to the Russians? "
"My head of state." Facing the angry mustache, Manstein felt weak for a while, but he still said bravely: "The situation today is very different from that at the beginning of the year..."
"what is the difference?"
"After the Russians annihilated Paulus' troops at the beginning of the year, their morale was high. I knew that I would suffer a loss in a head-on confrontation with them, so I chose to voluntarily give up some places to lengthen the Russians' front and keep them away from their logistical supply lines." Manstein Explained: "We can concentrate our superior forces and attack the Russians in the situation area, thereby wiping them out one by one. Although we have achieved a series of victories and completely defeated the Russians, we should also see the suffering we have suffered. huge loss."
"The huge losses suffered?" Mustache frowned and asked, "Marshal Manstein, what are you referring to?"
"Sokov's troops are a nightmare for our army." Seeing that Mustache seemed to have forgotten that several SS divisions were beaten to pieces, Manstein reminded him tactfully: "The 21st Infantry Division he commanded at the time The Army Group once caused our SS division to suffer huge losses. If he had not been transferred later, it would have been basically impossible for us to capture Kharkov."
After Manstein reminded him, Mustache immediately remembered that the Imperial Division was completely wiped out and later rebuilt, so he gritted his teeth and asked: "Is this defeat related to him?"
"That's right, my head of state." Manstein quickly replied: "I personally called General Westhoven, the commander of the 3rd Armored Division, and asked about what happened early this morning. Only then did I find out that originally they were targeting Luo Tmistrov's tank unit had already gained the upper hand, but unexpectedly a unit suddenly shot out from behind, catching them off guard. After this unit merged with the remnants of Rotmistrov's troops, they followed Our retreating troops rushed into the city..."
"Who is commanding this Russian force that suddenly appeared?"
"Based on the corpses left on the battlefield, General Westhofen said they were troops of the Russian 5th Assault Army."
"Does the Russian 5th Assault Army have any connection with Sokov?"
"Of course there is a connection." Seeing that Mustache did not understand the connection between the two, Manstein quickly explained to him: "Sokov's troops established two bridgeheads on the east bank of the Oud River. One of them is on the right wing of our army. In the bridgehead, half of the troops belong to the 5th Assault Army. It is said that Sokov and Lieutenant General Tsvetaev, the commander of the 5th Assault Army, are directing the battle there."
"Marshal Manstein, are you saying that the reason why the Russian troops attacked the rear of the 3rd Armored Division was entirely because of Sokov's instigation?"
"Yes, my head of state." Seeing that Mustache's guess coincided with his own, Manstein continued: "It is precisely because of Sokov's instigation that these troops who were originally too timid to attack took the initiative. The attack was launched in an area where our army's defenses were empty, which led to the city defense being breached." There is an hour's time difference between Ukraine and Germany. Manstein knew the habit of the head of state, which was to get up at eight o'clock every morning, take a hot shower, and Enjoy another breakfast of only a glass of milk and two pieces of bread, and then start reading newspapers and magazines. He would not show up in his own office until noon.
It is precisely because of this that Manstein decided to postpone reporting the news of the Soviet army's invasion of Kharkov and his intention to abandon the city until after 1 pm local time, when the head of state should happen to be in his office.
At 12 noon Berlin time, Mustache appeared at the door of his office on time. The generals sitting at the long table covered with maps saw Mustache's appearance and stood up in unison, raising their right hands to him. salute.
Mustache came to the center of the room with his hands behind his back, looking at the Chief of General Staff standing at the table, "Zeitzler!"
When his name was called, the Chief of General Staff stepped forward quickly, straightened his back and agreed: "My head of state!"
"How is the situation at Manstein's place?" Mustache asked casually as he walked towards his seat: "Have they driven the damn Russians away from Kharkov?"
When Zeitzler heard this question, he had a desperate expression on his face. He looked around at the generals and saw that some had turned their faces to one side, some were smiling bitterly and shaking their heads, and some were showing sympathy towards him. look.
"Zeitzler," Mustache had come to his seat, but still didn't hear Zeitzler's answer. He put his hands on the back of the chair, frowned and said, "Why don't you speak or listen?" Got my question?"
"I heard it, my head of state." Zeitzler said bravely: "I'm afraid all I can tell you is bad news. The Russian 27th Army, 53rd Army, 5th Army and Rotmistrov Part of the tank army has broken into Kharkov. Now the troops of General Hott and General Wheeler are putting up a tenacious resistance."
"What's going on?" After listening to Zeitzler's report, anger appeared on the mustache's face, and he asked dissatisfiedly: "Why is this happening? I remember yesterday, when you reported to me, you said that we The heroic 3rd Armored Division smashed the Russian armored assaults twice in a row in the northwest of the city, destroying at least 1,500 of their tanks. In recognition of such a great result, we even gave 3rd Armored Division Commander Weiss General Thofen awarded the Cross of Merit.
How could the Russian tank army rush into the city overnight? And the number of army-level numbers has also been increased to three? "
Faced with Mustache's questioning, Zeitzler raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead, and said with a guilty conscience: "My head of state, Marshal Manstein's report was not detailed enough, and I don't know why, overnight, Halko There will be so many numbers of Russian troops in the city."
"Get me through to Manstein's headquarters immediately." Mustache said to Zeitzler: "I want to ask what happened last night."
Hearing Mustache say that he wanted to call Manstein personally, Zeitzler's legs could not help but tremble. In order to please Mustache, he and the members of the General Staff deliberately exaggerated the results of the 3rd Armored Division and would destroy it. The results of nearly 400 tanks were exaggerated to 1,500. If Mustache and Manstein talk on the phone, there is a possibility that the matter will be revealed.
Seeing Zeitzler's dilly-dallying, Mustache became even more angry and urged sternly: "Zeitzler, what are you still doing? Why don't you quickly get through to Manstein's headquarters?"
The call was quickly connected. Mustache took the phone and asked angrily: "Manstein, tell me why so many Russian troops appeared in Kharkov overnight?"
"My head of state." Manstein did not expect that Mustache would take the initiative to call him. He hesitated for a moment, and then replied: "The strength of the Russians far exceeds ours, although the two generals Hott and Wheeler They tried their best, but could not stop the Russians from breaking into the city, and now their officers and soldiers are fighting to the death with the Russians."
"Manstein," Mustache was not satisfied with Manstein's answer and continued to ask: "You just need to tell me, how long will it take for you to drive the Russians out of Kharkov?"
"Please forgive me, my head of state." Manstein was very aware of the current situation in Kharkov and knew that if the fight continued, Hoth's Panzer Army and Wheeler's 8th Army would inevitably follow Paulus's 6th Army. Following in his footsteps, he said euphemistically: "The Russians have an absolute advantage in terms of military strength and weapons and equipment. If they continue to fight, our troops may be completely annihilated. Therefore, I suggest Abandon Kharkov, withdraw the city's defenders to the Dnieper River, and build a new line of defense there to resist the Russian attack."
"Manstein," Mustache raised his voice: "In February this year, the Russians also had an advantage in troops and equipment, and even occupied Kharkov and Belgorod for a time, but they still didn't Escape the fate of being defeated by you. What happened to you now that you actually plan to hand over the city to the Russians? "
"My head of state." Facing the angry mustache, Manstein felt weak for a while, but he still said bravely: "The situation today is very different from that at the beginning of the year..."
