Seeing that Konev did not ask whether this harassment operation would be successful, but was worried about his own safety, Sokov was quite moved. He quickly said: "Commander of the Front Army, please rest assured about this, although we We are facing Manstein's Army Group South, but I will not confront them head-on. Instead, I will adopt harassment tactics to deal with them.
If they are too strong, we will choose to avoid fighting; but once we discover the weaknesses of the German army, we will concentrate our superior forces and attack the German army, striving to annihilate one part of the enemy to relieve the pressure on our army in the next phase of operations. . "
"Comrade Commander," Zakharov came over and said to Konev: "I think Comrade Sokov's suggestion can be considered. If his troops can continuously harass the enemy and disrupt the enemy's deployment, they can provide We gain more time. Whether it is the replenishment of troops or the transportation of weapons, ammunition and military supplies, it will take a long time."
Konev stared at Sokov, as if he didn't hear what Zakharov said. After an unknown amount of time, he finally said: "You have added nearly 40,000 soldiers at once. I will definitely not be able to provide you with weapons and ammunition here. You can only find a way to solve it yourself."
"No problem, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov thought to himself that his troops have always relied on various captures to arm themselves, and they have basically never received supplements directly from their superiors. While executing the harassment campaign, you can find a way to let your subordinates search the enemy's warehouses. As long as you find a few warehouses, the supply of weapons and ammunition will be solved. So he said confidently: "I will find a way to solve it."
"Comrade Sokov, I know what you are thinking." As Sokov's superior, Konev naturally understood what he had in mind, so he reminded him: "You have captured German warehouses many times before. , and arm yourself with the weapons and ammunition inside. But in the next battle, it will not be so easy to find such a warehouse again, and you need to be mentally prepared. Do you understand? "
"I completely understand, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov thought to himself, even if it cannot be captured, I can still use Yakov's line to obtain unplanned supplements. "I won't bother you with the issue of weapons and ammunition. ”
"Well, since you are so confident, then I will agree to your request, and your department will be responsible for harassing the German troops and disrupting their defense deployment." After Konev finished explaining the task, he also specifically told Sokov : "Comrade Sokov, as the commander of the group army, for the sake of safety, I hope you will not run to the front casually."
"Okay, okay." Sokov replied absently: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, thank you for your reminder. I will pay attention to this."
"Comrade Sokov," Zakharov waited for Konev to finish, then called Sokov to the table and said to him: "Let me introduce you to the current situation. Although our army was on August 23 The Japanese liberated Kharkov, but the front troops were still engaged in fierce fighting in the west, southwest and south of the city.
The 5th Guards Tank Army and the 53rd Army, which entered the battlefield through your defense area, were counterattacked by the German 8th Army. The 8th Army, which abandoned Kharkov, still has a strong armored force. They are trying to retake Kharkov through counterattacks. "
Sokov believed Zakharov's statement. Although the German army had hastily abandoned Kharkov a day ago and escaped from the city, the centipede insects did not freeze. Their strength Still strong. After getting rid of the Soviet troops, they regrouped and launched a new attack on the Soviet troops.
"According to the intelligence obtained by our reconnaissance," Zaharov continued: "Long before the start of the Kharkov campaign, the Germans used the Merefa, Uda, Mza, Oreli, and The terrain conducive to defense along the Volskra River built a large number of defensive areas and turned Merefa, Varki, Krasnograd, Poltava and other cities into obstacles that hindered our army's progress. A solidly defended area along the way to the Dnieper River.
The reason why the fighting in the Kharkiv area is tenacious and tense is that Mustache tried his best to enable his Donbas group to escape our army's assault. As for Manstein, he has been worried that our army will retreat before they retreat to the Dnieper River. Go out to the vicinity of Poltava. "
After Sokov stared at the map on the table for a while, he looked up at Zakharov and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, if I am not wrong in my judgment, the cities of Liubotin and Merefa that are still occupied by the German army Will the railway hub be an obstacle for our army to advance towards the Dnieper River?"
"Yes, Comrade Sokov." Zakharov agreed with Sokov's analysis: "Now the troops of General Rotmistrov and General Managarov are approaching Liubo Capital city, prepare to capture the city before the enemy recovers, and open a broad road to Poltava.”
"To capture Lyubotin, we must first capture Merefa." Taking advantage of Zakharov's pause, Sokov once again expressed his opinion, "Merefa is not only a fortress, but also an important railway. As long as the hub station is still in the hands of the Germans, the enemy can ensure the operation of railway traffic in the area. Therefore, if you want to attack Lyuboking City, you must capture this railway hub station as quickly as possible. "
"You are right." Zaharov nodded and said: "But Merefa is a major defensive fortress south of Kharkov. The German army first strengthened the defense forces in this area to ensure cover from the south. Kharkov. In addition, they also equipped with strong defense forces on the Mza River and its steep banks.
"If we want to open the road to Poltava as soon as possible, we must first seize the fortress and railway transportation hub of Merefa, and then launch an attack on the Lyubotin Fortress."
After listening to Sokov's proposal, Zakharov said lightly: "Comrade Commander has already arranged the troops to attack Merefa, which is General Shumilov's 7th Guards Army. With their strength, There is no big problem in capturing Merefa."
Unexpectedly, Sokov's expression changed after hearing this, "General Shumilov's 7th Guards Army?"
"Is there anything wrong?"
"Yes," Sokov pointed to the unit number marked on the map and said to Zakharov: "The unit closest to the south of the city now is Lieutenant General Kryuchinkin's 69th Army. If the Guards No. If the 7th Army attacks Merefa, it must pass through the 69th Army’s defense area..."
"Comrade Sokov," Konev came over and explained to Sokov: "After a long period of fighting, the troops of the 69th Group Army have suffered serious attrition. In a short period of time, it is simply impossible to execute such a plan. siege operations."
After Konev finished speaking, Sokov took the initiative and said: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, if you trust me, you can leave this task to me."
"Leave it to you to complete?" Konev looked at Sokov, his eyes full of doubts, "Is it possible?"
"Of course it can be done." Sokov answered very simply: "At the beginning of the year, I once commanded the 21st Army to fight in this area, and I am familiar with the terrain here. If the task of attacking Merefa is given to me, , I will definitely live up to your expectations and capture the fortress and railway transportation hub in a short time."
After Konev and Zakharov whispered for a while, they nodded and agreed to Sokov's request: "Okay, Comrade Sokov, since you insist so much, then I will complete the task of liberating the Merefa Fortress. , leave it to your troops to complete."
"Comrade Sokov," Zakharov felt that he needed to say a few words. He waited for Konev to finish and then continued: "The enemy has blown up the bridge on the Muza River in order to block our army's attack. . If you want to seize Merefa, you must find a way to cross the Muza River first and board the steep river bank that is heavily guarded." Seeing that Konev did not ask whether this harassment operation could be successful, but why Worried about his own safety, Sokov was quite moved. He quickly said: "Commander of the Front Army, please rest assured on this. Although we are facing Manstein's Army Group South, I will not fight with them. Instead of confronting them head-on, they adopted harassment tactics to deal with them.
If they are too strong, we will choose to avoid fighting; but once we discover the weaknesses of the German army, we will concentrate our superior forces and attack the German army, striving to annihilate one part of the enemy to relieve the pressure on our army in the next phase of operations. . "
"Comrade Commander," Zakharov came over and said to Konev: "I think Comrade Sokov's suggestion can be considered. If his troops can continuously harass the enemy and disrupt the enemy's deployment, they can provide We gain more time. Whether it is the replenishment of troops or the transportation of weapons, ammunition and military supplies, it will take a long time."
Konev stared at Sokov, as if he didn't hear what Zakharov said. After an unknown amount of time, he finally said: "You have added nearly 40,000 soldiers at once. I will definitely not be able to provide you with weapons and ammunition here. You can only find a way to solve it yourself."
"No problem, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov thought to himself that his troops have always relied on various captures to arm themselves, and they have basically never received supplements directly from their superiors. While executing the harassment campaign, you can find a way to let your subordinates search the enemy's warehouses. As long as you find a few warehouses, the supply of weapons and ammunition will be solved. So he said confidently: "I will find a way to solve it."
"Comrade Sokov, I know what you are thinking." As Sokov's superior, Konev naturally understood what he had in mind, so he reminded him: "You have captured German warehouses many times before. , and arm yourself with the weapons and ammunition inside. But in the next battle, it will not be so easy to find such a warehouse again, and you need to be mentally prepared. Do you understand? "
"I completely understand, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov thought to himself, even if it cannot be captured, I can still use Yakov's line to obtain unplanned supplements. "I won't bother you with the issue of weapons and ammunition. ”
"Well, since you are so confident, then I will agree to your request, and your department will be responsible for harassing the German troops and disrupting their defense deployment." After Konev finished explaining the task, he also specifically told Sokov : "Comrade Sokov, as the commander of the group army, for the sake of safety, I hope you will not run to the front casually."
"Comrade Sokov," Zakharov waited for Konev to finish, then called Sokov to the table and said to him: "Let me introduce you to the current situation. Although our army was on August 23 The Japanese liberated Kharkov, but the front troops were still engaged in fierce fighting in the west, southwest and south of the city.
The 5th Guards Tank Army and the 53rd Army, which entered the battlefield through your defense area, were counterattacked by the German 8th Army. The 8th Army, which abandoned Kharkov, still has a strong armored force. They are trying to retake Kharkov through counterattacks. "
Sokov believed Zakharov's statement. Although the German army had hastily abandoned Kharkov a day ago and escaped from the city, the centipede insects did not freeze. Their strength Still strong. After getting rid of the Soviet troops, they regrouped and launched a new attack on the Soviet troops.
"According to the intelligence obtained by our reconnaissance," Zaharov continued: "Long before the start of the Kharkov campaign, the Germans used the Merefa, Uda, Mza, Oreli, and The terrain conducive to defense along the Volskra River built a large number of defensive areas and turned Merefa, Varki, Krasnograd, Poltava and other cities into obstacles that hindered our army's progress. A solidly defended area along the way to the Dnieper River.
The reason why the fighting in the Kharkiv area is tenacious and tense is that Mustache tried his best to enable his Donbas group to escape our army's assault. As for Manstein, he has been worried that our army will retreat before they retreat to the Dnieper River. Go out to the vicinity of Poltava. "
After Sokov stared at the map on the table for a while, he looked up at Zakharov and said: "Comrade Chief of Staff of the Front Army, if I am not wrong in my judgment, the cities of Liubotin and Merefa that are still occupied by the German army Will the railway hub be an obstacle for our army to advance towards the Dnieper River?"
"Yes, Comrade Sokov." Zakharov agreed with Sokov's analysis: "Now the troops of General Rotmistrov and General Managarov are approaching Liubo Capital city, prepare to capture the city before the enemy recovers, and open a broad road to Poltava.”
"To capture Lyubotin, we must first capture Merefa." Taking advantage of Zakharov's pause, Sokov once again expressed his opinion, "Merefa is not only a fortress, but also an important railway. As long as the junction station is still in the hands of the Germans, the enemy can ensure the operation of railway traffic in the area. Therefore, if you want to attack Lyuboking City, you must capture this railway junction station as quickly as possible. "
"You are right." Zaharov nodded and said, "But Merefa is a major defensive fortress south of Kharkov. The German army first strengthened the defense forces in this area to ensure cover from the south. Kharkov. In addition, they also equipped with strong defense forces on the Mza River and its steep banks.
