Chapter 1128

The two German armored armies going south, because there were a large number of Soviet troops assembled in the northeast of Igyum, Hort worried that after the troops went south, the side and rear would be exposed to the Soviet army, so he made a request to Manstein: "Marshal Your Excellency, once we continue to go south, the Russians who have just assembled may launch an attack from behind us, and I am afraid that they will cause us huge casualties."

   "General Holt," Manstein patiently listened to Holt's words, and then asked back: "Then tell me, what should we do now?"

   "I think the 57th and 48th Panzer Corps should be kept in Igyum to prevent possible Russian assaults."

   "What about the Red Army Village and Donetsk?" Manstein said coldly: "If we don't launch an offensive as soon as possible, once the Russians regain control of these places, they will pose a direct threat to our army."

"Your Excellency Field Marshal, although my two armored corps stay in Ijum, you can send the 6th and 17th Panzer Divisions southward to join General Hausser's three SS divisions and attack the Russians who are standing in the Red Army Village. People attack."

"What about Kharkov-Belgorod?" Manstein asked angrily: "I withdraw all the troops from this line, doesn't it mean that I give the Russians a chance to consolidate the defense line? They have completed supplies and built a new defense system, even if we regain the Red Army Village and Donetsk, it will not be worth the loss.”

"Your Excellency Marshal, even if the troops I mentioned are withdrawn, don't you still have the 11th Armored Division, 106th and 333rd Infantry Division?" Holt said confidently, "Even if these troops cannot capture Kharkov, But their existence will make the Russians frightened and afraid to send troops to attack the rear of our army."

  For Holt's proposal, Manstein pondered for a long time. He stared at the map and deliberated over and over again, and finally felt that what Holt said was very reasonable. Although his main force has withdrawn from the Kharkov-Belgorod line, the remaining armored division and two infantry divisions can still deter the Russians and prevent them from acting rashly.

Thinking of this, Manstein made a decisive decision: "Okay, General Hoth, then according to what you said, let the two armored corps station near Igyum to prevent possible Russian attacks. Then adjust The 6th and 17th Panzer Divisions went south, joined General Hausser's three SS divisions, and launched a powerful offensive against the Red Army village."

Hearing that Manstein agreed to station his main force in Ijum, Huot couldn't help but secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He knew very well that his troops had been greatly weakened after repeated battles. If you really face an opponent like Sokov, you will definitely not be able to please. But it is better to let the troops stay in Igyum, and take the time to rest there on the grounds of defending against the Russians.

However, he was happy for less than two minutes when he heard Manstein say quietly: "General Holt, I have something to remind you. Now Zhukov is the commander of the Russian Southwest Front Army. According to the Russian soldiers, Wherever Zhukov appeared, it meant that an attack was about to begin there."

  Holt was dumbfounded when he heard what Manstein said. He originally thought that by convincing Manstein to let his troops stay in Igyum, he would avoid meeting such a perverted opponent as Sokov. But what he didn't expect was that now in the Igyum area, he was facing a more powerful opponent-Zhukov. Thinking of this, he wished he could slap himself, but since he had finally persuaded Manstein to let his troops stay in Igyum, it was obviously inappropriate to change his words at this moment, so he could only bite the bullet and say: " Don't worry, Marshal, even if the enemy we face is Zhukov, my troops will firmly defend Igyum."

"General Holt," Manstein said, "Your task is not only to stop the Russians from attacking, but also to crush them and remove them from us." Don’t worry about your lack of troops, the fifteen divisions sent to us by the head of state, including the Grossdeutschland Division, are on their way, and they will arrive in the Kharkov area in a week.”

"Is this true, Your Excellency the Marshal?" Manstein's words made Holt seem to see a ray of light, and he said excitedly: "Analyzing the situation in the direction of Kharkov, as long as there is a large German division Say fifteen divisions, even if there are only five divisions, they can still crush the Russians."

"General Hoth, how many troops we use to capture the Kharkov-Belgorod line is our business." Manstein said on the phone: "Your task is to firmly defend Igyum, Do not let Zhukov's troops take it. Otherwise the 6th and 17th Panzer Divisions, as well as the three SS divisions, will be cut off from the Russian encirclement. After the defeat at Stalingrad, our army can We can no longer afford such a loss."

  ...

At this moment, the Red Army Village is a busy scene. Taking advantage of the temporary lack of opportunity for the German army to launch an offensive, Sokov organized a large number of manpower to build fortifications, lay minefields, and erect barbed wire fences in the west and northwest of the Red Army Village. , Prepare to establish a complete defense system before the German offensive begins.

   "Comrade Commander," when Sokov inspected the defense line of the 67th Guards Division, Major General Merkulov asked politely, "Do you think the Germans will really attack us?"

   "Yes, Comrade General." Sokov nodded and replied affirmatively: "There is no doubt about it. The Germans will definitely launch an attack on us. It's just a matter of time."

"However, Comrade Commander, I always believe that it is impossible for the Germans to fight on two fronts at the same time." Merkulov raised his own doubts: "Since they are concentrating their forces on attacking Kharkov, how could it be possible to fight on two fronts at the same time?" At a time like this, why don't you turn around and come down south to beat us?"

"Comrade General," Sokov said, looking at Merkulov, "if there is no movement after we enter here, the enemy can leave only a small number of troops to monitor us, and then transfer the excess troops to Kharko. Husband direction, to participate in the battle there.

  But the attack we carried out behind enemy lines some time ago made the Germans realize that if they were not eliminated, they would not be able to concentrate all their forces on Kharkov. Therefore, with Manstein's character, he will definitely concentrate his superior forces, first go south to eliminate us, and then nod to go north to annihilate the defenders standing on the Kharkov-Belgorod line. "

   "Comrade Commander, anyway, we still have a whole front army in the direction of Kharkov, and there are several army groups below. Don't we still have the strength to deal with the German divisions?"

"General Merkulov, you probably don't know yet." Sokov knew that even as the division commander, Merkulov still had no information and didn't know enough about the situation on the battlefield, so he explained to him: "Ge General Likov's Voronezh Front Army has been greatly weakened after a long period of fighting. Many divisions have only a few hundred thousand soldiers left, and their combat effectiveness is only comparable to that of the previous battalion. Tell me, With their strength, can they deal with the Germans?"

   Merkulov thought for a while, shook his head and said, "I can't handle it."

"Now the enemy also knows their situation, so they are confident and bold to transfer troops to the south, preparing to eat us first, and then turn around and go north to destroy General Golikov." Sokov reminded Merkulov: " When building the fortifications, we recruited a large number of residents of the city. We don't know if there are any German spies among them. Therefore, you must be vigilant and strengthen night patrols, lest any spies pass through your defense line. Go and tip off the Germans."

"Comrade Commander, if there are really German spies in the city, it will not be of much use for us to strengthen the defense." Merkulov reminded Sukov: "They can report the defense situation of the city to the enemy through telegrams." report."

"General Merkulov, you don't have to worry about this." Sokov said with a smile: "In order to prevent spies in the city from sending reports to the enemy, the superior sent us several jammers. If there is a telegram, he can immediately interfere, so that his telegram cannot be sent out. After a few more times, the secret agents can only take the risk and use the method of carrying information across the line of fire to send him out."

After Sokov's explanation, Merkulov immediately understood. He nodded and said, "Comrade Commander, I understand. Don't worry, I will definitely strengthen the defense here, let alone a spy, even Even if it was a rabbit, I would never let it pass through my defenses."

After receiving assurances from Merkulov, Sokov came to Gorishny's division again and asked him about the city's defenses: "Colonel Gorishny, tell me about the fortifications in the city." How about the construction?"

"Report to Comrade Commander," Gorishne said respectfully, "since your order was issued, the officers and men of the division immediately moved into action, not only building barricades with sandbags and logs on the main streets, It's full of tripods that stop tanks from advancing..."

Sokov patiently listened to Gorishny's report, and finally said: "Comrade Colonel, when we were in Luhansk, the combat effectiveness of your division was the worst in the entire combat group. How is it? Has it improved now?" ?”

"Comrade commander, don't worry." Hearing Sokov's question, Gorishny replied with some embarrassment: "I have been urging the regiments to strengthen the training of recruits recently. Presumably the entire division has basically formed combat power."

"Colonel Gorishny," Sokov reminded him in order to prevent Gorishny from becoming paralyzed because there was no fighting here for the time being, "although the three SS divisions of the German army were beaten by us some time ago, , but the enemy is absolutely unwilling to fail. They must be hiding somewhere to lick their wounds like wounded beasts at the moment. Once they recover, they will launch a thunderous blow to us. If we do not do well Defensive measures cannot stop the German attack at all."

   "Comrade Commander, I actually have an idea." Gorishny waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and asked tentatively, "Can I talk about it?"

   "Please tell me, Comrade Colonel." Sokov signaled to the other party what to say.

"That's right, although Paulus' Sixth Army has been wiped out by ours. The Germans should have known at that time that they were unable to take Stalingrad for a long time because the street fighting in the city firmly held it back. Their troops." Gorishne said thoughtfully: "I think that even if the enemy rushed into the city, they would have to withdraw for fear of street fighting. Therefore, I think it is completely unnecessary for us to To place a division in the city, only one regiment or even one battalion is enough, and we should deploy the main forces outside the city."

"Colonel Gorishny, you are right." Sokov said calmly: "The street fighting in Stalingrad frightened the enemy. They are indeed afraid of street fighting now, but it doesn't mean they won't Street fighting. If I deploy all the troops on the outskirts of the city, once the direction is broken, the undefended city will be easily occupied by the enemy, and the troops standing outside the city will become lonely troops. Fleeing to be annihilated by the German army."

   "Comrade Commander, so the mission of our division is still mainly to fight in the streets?"

"That's right, Comrade Colonel." Sokov nodded in agreement with Gorishny's statement: "Because your division has just completed the replenishment before the transfer, and the recruits have not had time to train, it is the weakest combat effectiveness among the several infantry divisions. The reason I put you in the city is to worry that if your division is to hold on to the field fortifications, the Germans will break through the line of defense after a short period of support.

  And when you are in the city, you can use buildings and various fortifications to compete with the German army, which has lost the support of tanks and artillery and can only use light weapons. In this way, your chances of defending the city will be greatly improved. "

"Colonel Gorishny," Vitkov, who was inspecting with Sokov, also interrupted at this moment: "After the enemy broke through our army's outer defense line, your division's ability to hold the city is a great achievement. When the battle is over , I will ask my superiors to help you as a teacher, understand?"

   Knowing that his troops would be rewarded as long as they defended the city, Gorishny couldn't help but be overjoyed, and quickly replied: "Comrade Chief of Staff, please rest assured that we will not disappoint your trust."

After listening to the other party's answer, Vitkov turned his head to look at Sokov and asked: "Comrade Commander, should we go to the 71st Guards Division to see, they are responsible for the defense of the north of the city, and the location is also very important."

  (end of this chapter)