Chapter 1047 Popov's decision

   As time went by, the situation of the Southwest Front Army became more and more severe. Even Vatutin, who has always been stubborn, found that the reason why he was able to occupy Zaporozhye was entirely a German conspiracy. Because only by placing their headquarters in a position where their own troops can attack, can they attract more troops into the traps that the enemy has already set up.

  Vatutin realized that he had fallen into a trap, like an ant on a hot pot, walking back and forth in the headquarters with his hands behind his back. Chief of Staff Major General Bokin said cautiously: "Comrade Commander, it is obvious that the Germans set a huge trap in the direction of the Dnieper River, and then used their headquarters as a bait to lure our army into their trap. "

"What should we do now?" Vatutin stopped, and asked his chief of staff in confusion: "Now the Sixth Army and Popov's rapid grouping have been surrounded by the German army, and what's more terrible is, Their supply lines were also cut off by the Germans, and if the situation continues like this, they may be wiped out by the enemy."

"Comrade Commander, it is still possible to recover the situation." Bogin reminded Vatutin: "Order Popov to quickly retreat to the Red Army Village, try to break through the German encirclement, rush to Lugansk, and meet Sokov The colonel's combat group joins forces. I believe that as long as the two troops join forces, the enemy will not be able to do anything to them."

"But Popov's troops are still more than 200 kilometers away from Lugansk." Vatutin asked with a wry smile: "Chief of Staff, do you think that with their current strength, they can fight without stopping?" March two hundred kilometers in a row and rush to Lugansk?"

Seeing that Vatutin rejected his first proposal, Major General Bokin was not discouraged, and continued: "If they cannot get closer to Lugansk, then they can only turn around and go north, break through the enemy's siege from the Igyum area, and rush Come join forces with the main force of the Front Army."

"But this direction is not suitable for the passage of armored vehicles." But after seeing the second route proposed by Bokin, Vatutin shook his head again and said: "If you order Popov to quickly swarm from this direction Breaking through, I am worried that in the end, our army will have to abandon a large number of tanks on the way to retreat. I absolutely cannot tolerate throwing technical equipment to the enemy."

  Seeing that his two proposals were both rejected by Vatutin, Major General Bojin was completely disappointed. He knew that the two plans he proposed could help Popov get out of the predicament quickly, and any other methods would lead to a dead end. He sighed softly, and asked cautiously, "Comrade Commander, what should we do then?"

   "Order Popov to switch to defense on the spot and rely on fortifications for defense." Vatutin stared at the map and said, "As long as he can hold on for a week, I can mobilize enough troops to rescue him from the encirclement."

"Comrade Commander, have you considered whether General Popov's supplies can last for a week?" Major General Bokin saw that Vatutin had issued a wrong order, and reminded him again: "His hands The number of remaining tanks is running low, and ammunition and fuel are almost exhausted. In the face of the enemy's strong attack, they simply cannot complete the task of holding on for a week. In my opinion, let them choose to break through as soon as possible. If it is not possible, You can only throw away the tanks that have run out of fuel and ammunition, and break out from the enemy's encirclement with light equipment."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I just said that throwing technical equipment to the enemy is a crime." Vatutin said in a stern tone: "Even if our soldiers sacrifice their lives, they will find ways to keep these technical equipment of."

  ...

  Vatutin and the chief of staff, Major General Bokin, were arguing in the headquarters, while Popov on the battlefield felt powerless in the face of the onslaught of the German army. He asked his chief of staff with a bitter face: "Chief of staff, tell me, what should we do next? Should we continue to hold on or break through?"

"Comrade Commander," the chief of staff saw that Popov wanted to break out, and quickly reminded him, "We can't carry out a breakout until we get an order to retreat from our superiors. Otherwise, we will not be able to bear the responsibility if the superiors will pursue us in the future." .”

   "But judging from the current situation, if we continue to stand here, we will not be far from the destruction of the entire army." Popov grabbed his hair with both hands and said painfully: "What should I do?"

  This seemingly simple question stumped the chief of staff. It is obviously unrealistic to break out of the encirclement. No one can bear the consequences of breaking away from the existing position without the order of the superior. Persisting, it seems that it will not work. As the supply line is cut off by the German army, the troops will soon face the situation of running out of ammunition and food.

  It's really funny to think about it. Paulus's Sixth Army had just been wiped out in early February, but within a month, his own troops were also facing the same situation as Paulus was at that time. Fighting, but not being able to fight; withdrawing, but not being able to withdraw, it is really hard to choose.

Just when the two were at a loss, the political commissar who was sitting next to him suddenly said: "By the way, Comrade Commander. General Rokossovsky told you last time that if you are in danger, you can immediately Get in touch with the 41st Guards Division stationed in Lugansk, they will help us."

   "But they only have one division. What role can they play against the large German army?"

"Comrade Commander, I heard that this division had the least casualties in the battle to defend Stalingrad, but it destroyed the most enemies." The political commissar continued: "I think the reason why the superiors deployed them in Lugan I'm afraid I just saw their performance in Stalingrad. Maybe we can only turn to him if we want to get out of the predicament."

   "Chief of Staff," the words of the political commissar gave Popov a glimmer of life, and he quickly asked the chief of staff, "Do you have Colonel Sokov's contact information?"

   "Although we don't have a phone call to them here," the chief of staff replied: "But we can establish contact with them by sending a message."

   "Then contact them immediately and see how the other party responds." Popov said to the chief of staff: "Their reply will allow me to decide whether to stick to it or break through."

  The chief of staff took the order to send a telegram to the headquarters of the 41st Guards Division. While waiting for the call back, Popov was like a primary school student waiting for the teacher to announce his grades. He kept thinking: "After Colonel Sokov receives my telegram, how will he reply to me?"

   After waiting for more than ten minutes, the radio operator sitting not far away began to receive the report, which made Popov even more nervous. After finally waiting for the communication staff officer to finish translating the telegram, he couldn't wait to ask: "How is it, what did Colonel Sokov say?"

After the chief of staff took a few glances at the telegram, his face immediately showed joy: "Comrade Commander, good news. Now our army has assembled a combat group commanded by Colonel Sokov in Lugansk, with a total of four infantrymen division, three tank brigades, one artillery and two rocket artillery battalions. Colonel Sokov asked us to break out immediately and decisively in the direction of Luhansk, and he will send troops to meet us.”

Popov took the telegram sent by Sokov, pondered for a long time, and finally made up his mind. He gritted his molars and said: "Order the troops and prepare to break out. When it gets dark, we will report to Lu Break out in the direction of Gansk."

   "But Comrade Commander, we have not received an order from our superiors to retreat." The chief of staff reminded Popov: "If we retreat without authorization, I am afraid our superiors will punish us severely."

"If we continue to stand here, I am afraid that the superiors will not even have a chance to deal with us, and our entire army will be wiped out." Popov said firmly: "I can't just watch our troops die here. Chief of Staff , order the troops to prepare for the breakout, and if the superiors hold the responsibility in the future, I will bear it alone."

  (end of this chapter)