Chapter 1094: bold plan

  Chapter 1094 Bold plan

  General Rebalco's remnant troops, after retreating to the friendly line of defense, rearranged new defensive positions to resist the following German troops.

  Paul Hausser, after his escape from Valkyrie, referred to this as the greatest shame of his military career. In order to avenge his revenge, he assembled the main force of the Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division, and launched a fierce attack on the position built by Rebalco's troops.

  The troops that had just jumped out of the German encirclement had low morale and a lack of morale. In addition, a lot of equipment was lost during the breakout. Therefore, in the face of the onslaught of the German army, Rebarco's troops were unable to do what they wanted.

   Knowing that positions were breached by the Germans from time to time, Rebalco was strangely angry. He gave orders to the division commanders to counterattack the Germans and regain those lost positions. One side to the rescue of Golikov, hoping to be replenished.

Unexpectedly, when Golikov received his call, he sighed and said: "I'm sorry, General Rybalko, I don't have any troops in my hands. You can only rely on your existing strength to firmly hold the defense zone. Once you let If the Germans carry out an effective breakthrough, then Kharkov is in jeopardy."

Although Golikov had clearly told Rybalko that he did not have a reserve force, Rybalko still said unwillingly: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, you just need to give me another infantry division reinforced with tanks. My troops can stop the German onslaught."

"General Rybalko," Golikov said seriously, seeing that Rybalko had been pestering himself, "I really don't have any troops in my hands. Besides, almost all of our tanks are fighting the enemy. It was reimbursed. Now many tank soldiers have switched to infantry."

"If Colonel Sokov's troops can be transferred over, maybe we can hold the enemy's position." Rybalko muttered on the phone: "In the battle to defend Stalingrad, he has fully demonstrated that he is good at defense. specialty."

"Even if Colonel Sokov's troops are called in, they may not be able to block the enemy's attack." Golikov, who once served as the deputy commander of the 62nd Army, naturally knew many inside stories that others did not know: "As early as Before the German army attacked Stalingrad, they built a reinforced defensive tunnel on Mamayev Gang, if there were no tunnels, Mamayev Gang would have been occupied by the Germans countless times.”

   "So, before the German army attacked Stalingrad, he had already judged that the German army might launch an attack on the city, so he made preparations in advance?"

   "That's right, that's exactly what it is."

   "Since his analysis is so accurate, I would like to ask, did he guess that our situation would become so difficult?"

"As early as when the Southwest Front Army was advancing towards Zaporozhye, he sent a warning to the base camp through Rokossovsky, saying that the reason why our army was able to recover so many cities so easily was the intention of the German army. Among them The purpose is to lengthen our transportation line, and when our army is unable to attack due to insufficient logistical supplies, the Germans will launch an offensive by surprise."

   "Ah?!" Rebalco couldn't help being surprised when he heard this: "When was this analysis made, why didn't I know?"

"About mid-February," Golikov said helplessly, "the warning he raised at that time did not attract any attention at all, and some people even suggested that those who caused panic should be severely punished. If it weren't for Zhukov and Rokosso If Vsky insisted, he would probably have been assigned to plant potatoes in Siberia by now."

   "Then what should we do?" Rebalco knew that in the current situation, he could not count on others, so he asked tentatively, "Should we continue fighting like this?"

"That's right, General Rybalko, you can only do everything possible to hold your position firmly." Golikov said on the phone: "General Sarkov, who is sticking to the southwest of Kharkov, has commanded The poorly equipped 25th Guards Division resisted the German attack for five days."

   "I understand, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Rebalco said: "I will do everything possible to prolong the time of holding the position."

  ...

   Just as the situation in the direction of Kharkov became more and more tense, Sokov, who was stationed in Luhansk, couldn't sit still.

   After carefully studying the terrain, he called Rokossovsky who had just arrived in Stalingrad. After the phone call, he briefly introduced Rokossovsky about Ada's recent situation, and then went straight to the topic: "Commander of the Front Army, I have a bold idea."

   "What do you think?" Rokossovsky knew that Sokov had always been courageous, so he asked curiously, "Are you planning to do something again?"

"You are right, I really want to make some noise behind the enemy." Sokov said into the phone: "The situation in the direction of Kharkov is tense now, if we can make a big noise, It may disrupt the German attack on Kharkov."

"It's like this. Lugansk is less than a hundred kilometers away from Donetsk." Sokov said: "I think about it this way. Now the enemy's main attention is concentrated in the direction of Kharkov. , and in the city of Donetsk, there is only one infantry regiment, one armored battalion, and some troops from the Eastern Battalion. Since the enemy's defense is so weak, we might as well launch an attack on Donetsk. In this way, we can Disrupt the German offensive steps."

   "Tell me about your plan, how do you think about it?"

   "I plan to use the 41st Guards Division and two tank brigades to launch a strong attack from the east, while the 67th Guards Division and the 71st Guards Division will detour from the south and north respectively, and the 75th Guards Division will serve as a reserve team."

"Major General Sokov," because the two were talking about official work, so Rokossovsky did not call him by his nickname, but by his military rank: "Why should the 75th Guards Division What about the reserve team? Wouldn’t it be possible to cut off the escape route of the German army by deploying them to the west of the city?”

"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, if the enemies in the city find that their retreat has been cut off, they will put up a stubborn resistance. Not only will it take a long time to completely wipe them out, but our casualties will definitely not be small. Sokov explained to Rokossovsky: "But if we only besiege three sides and let the German army see that there is a retreat behind them, the enemy will not be too tenacious when resisting our army's attack. It will help us successfully capture the city."

Regarding Sokov's bold plan, Rokossovsky was silent for a long time, and finally asked: "Major General Sokov, have you really considered it? If you launch an attack on Donetsk, Then you will become a key target of the German army. If they gather heavy troops and launch an attack on you, will you be able to withstand it?"

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Before making this decision, Sokov had already considered all aspects of the problem. Since the railway line leading to Luhansk has been completed, his troops can fight in the shortest possible time. With sufficient ammunition and fuel, are you still worried that you won't be able to beat the Germans? It was based on these considerations that he replied confidently: "As long as we can get enough supplies, we should have no problem capturing the city and holding it."

   "Who do you think the defense of Luhansk should be handed over to?"

"Colonel Chepurkin's 378th Infantry Division," Sokov replied without hesitation: "A regiment of this division is now stationed in a small town south of Lugansk, and it is most appropriate for them to take over the defense. of."

"I agree with you. I will immediately call General Krylov and ask him to send the 379th Infantry Division to Lugansk." After Rokossovsky readily agreed to Sokov's request, Then asked: "Then when do you plan to launch an attack on Donetsk?"

"The situation in Kharkov is becoming more and more tense now, and we don't have much time left." Sokov replied simply: "In two days, my troops will officially launch an attack on Donetsk. .”

   "Very good, very good." After Rokossovsky said two good things, he continued: "If you have any difficulties, please call me."

   "Yes!" Seeing that Rokossovsky said this, Sokov quickly said: "I hope to get the support of the air force. As long as we have the air supremacy on the battlefield, we will be more confident in capturing the city."

  (end of this chapter)