Chapter 1129

   In a blink of an eye, it will be March 15th.

  In real history, the Soviet army standing in Kharkov was completely annihilated by the German army, and the city fell into the hands of the German army again. However, due to the appearance of the butterfly Sokov, the course of the war has been reversed. The three SS divisions that were supposed to capture Kharkov are still staying in Barvenkovo, hundreds of kilometers away from Kharkov. .

"Comrade Commander," Vitkov reported to Sokov immediately after receiving the telegram from the Front Command, "According to the report from the Front Command, the enemy's 6th and 17th Armored Divisions have already met with The three SS divisions converge, and their next move is to let the Red Army Village launch an attack."

  Seeing the sad expression on Vitkov's face after reading the telegram, Sokov asked him with a smile: "Why, Comrade Chief of Staff, do you feel scared when I heard that the German army has assembled several divisions?"

"Comrade Commander, why am I afraid? You know, I also participated in the Battle of Stalingrad, so how can I be easily intimidated." Vitkov said with a strong smile: "I am worried that our strength is too large. Weak, too few tanks and artillery, and no air support, it may not be an easy task to block the German attack."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, compared with the enemy, our strength is indeed very weak, but we have the confidence to stop the enemy." Sokov said with confidence: "If the Germans really launch an attack on the city, then we will not only have to carry out a frontal attack." At the same time, we must send troops to harass the enemy's rear, disrupt their offensive steps, and completely grasp the initiative on the battlefield in our hands."

   "Comrade Commander," Vitkov asked in surprise in the face of Sokov's confidence, "Do you really think that we are sure to block the enemy's attack?"

"If it was a few days ago, I still don't know whether I can block the enemy's attack." As for his assistant, Sokov felt that there was no need to hide him, so he told the truth: "But the weather is getting warmer in the past few days." , the snow began to melt, the roads became muddy, and the German armored forces were in a state of difficulty."

"The enemy's tanks can't be used, and our tanks can't be used either." Vitkov said a little depressed: "But they have more artillery than us. Even without tanks, they can use powerful artillery to destroy our defenses." position."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, I once said that we have to learn how to fight in the war." Sokov said to Vitkov: "The enemy has a lot to learn from them, and we need to learn from them. For example, Every time the enemy is bombarded by us, the troops on the first line of defense will retreat to the second line of defense through the communication trench. When our shelling is over and the infantry begins to charge, the enemy who retreats to the second line of defense will pass through the communication trench Return to the first line of defense to repel our army's attack."

"Comrade Commander, your statement is correct." Regarding Sokov's statement, Vitkov agreed: "The enemy is very cunning, and every time our army starts shelling, they kill the first line of defense. Troops are all withdrawn to the second line of defense, and even observation posts are not left, so as to minimize the casualties of the troops. As for our army, the most common method is to hide in the artillery holes or shelters in the fortifications After the enemy's shelling is over, even if the anti-bomb holes or shelters are not destroyed, the commanders and fighters staying inside will be stunned."

"That's right," Sokov nodded, and continued, "Even if the anti-battery holes or bunkers are not blown up, our commanders and fighters staying inside will be deaf or stunned. When the enemy starts to attack , it is difficult to make correct countermeasures in the shortest possible time.”

  While the two were chatting, the German army dispatched fifty bombers to carry out intensive bombing of the Red Army Village. In the deafening explosion, the whole city was burning everywhere, and smoke was everywhere. Sokov's headquarters was blown up by an aerial bomb. Fortunately, the people inside were moved to a nearby air-raid shelter in time, otherwise there would be heavy casualties.

  But the headquarters was destroyed, and the continuity between Sokov and his subordinate troops was interrupted. He could only come to the division headquarters of the 41st Guards Division, and communicate with his subordinate troops through the radio and telephone here.

   What he told every division commander was the same: "Let the soldiers take cover and minimize unnecessary casualties."

  At the same time, he also personally called the commanders in areas where the enemy may appear, and told them: "Order the observation post to closely observe the enemy's movement, and you must not let them take advantage of the opportunity of bombing to approach your defense area."

  The regiment-level commanders who answered the phone all replied loudly: "Comrade commander, don't worry, we have deployed enough observation posts outside the defense zone. If the enemy really appears, they will find it in time."

As soon as a series of phone calls here were finished, Colonel Papchenko's phone call came in: "Comrade Commander, my scouts have reported to me that a German army is advancing along the road in the direction of our regiment." .”

   "How far is the enemy from you?" As soon as Sokov heard that the German army was approaching, he immediately asked, "What kind of troops do they have?"

"According to the report of the scouts, the enemy probably has an armored battalion and an infantry battalion." Colonel Papchenko reported: "The enemy has twenty tanks, half of which are Panzer IV tanks. The infantry battalion is equipped with armored vehicles. and trucks, but because of the muddy roads, they are now trapped about five kilometers away from our defense zone."

   "Comrade Colonel," knowing that the enemy's armored forces were trapped by the muddy road, Sokov couldn't help being overjoyed, and quickly ordered Colonel Papchenko: "Immediately send an anti-tank team with rocket launchers to destroy the enemy's tanks."

"However, Comrade Division Commander." Regarding Sokov's order, Colonel Papchenko said with some scruples: "The enemy still has an infantry battalion with them, if I only send out an anti-tank team, I might be annihilated by the enemy. "

  Sokov was speechless after hearing the other party's worries. After a while, he replied: "Comrade Colonel, to defeat the enemy, it is obviously not enough to rely on a single unit of arms. I asked you to send an anti-tank team to deal with the enemy's tanks. You can also send infantry to act together. At most Carry more rockets, so that more German infantry can be wiped out."

   "So that's the case, Comrade Commander." After Sokov explained, Colonel Papchenko suddenly realized: "I will immediately send troops to attack the enemy trapped by the muddy road."

   "Very good." Seeing that the other party finally understood his intention, Sokov couldn't help secretly heaving a sigh of relief. He then said, "I'm here waiting for good news from your regiment."

The disheartened Vitkov was a little surprised when he heard Sokov say this: "Comrade Commander, doesn't the enemy have an armored battalion and an infantry battalion? You asked Colonel Papchenko to send a small force to deal with the enemy. Will there be any problem?"

"I don't think so." Sokov thought that his troops were equipped with new rockets and rockets, which would be perfect for dealing with the enemies on the march, so he said with confidence: "Even if there is only one company of troops , can also severely damage this enemy."

  After the bombing by the enemy planes ended, Gorishny immediately organized troops to fight the fire, and dug out the people who hadn't died from the collapsed ruins.

   When he was very busy, he received a call from Sokov: "Colonel Gorishny, how is the situation there?"

   "Comrade Commander," Gorishny replied with a wry smile: "During the bombing that just ended, most of the fortifications we built in the city have been destroyed."

"Comrade Colonel, since the fortifications have been destroyed, you must hurry up and repair the fortifications while organizing the fire fighting and saving lives." In order to increase the other party's sense of urgency, Sokov also specially emphasized: "According to the forward commander's Report that an enemy is approaching our city, and I believe that it will not be long before there will be fierce fighting inside and outside the city. If you do not repair the fortifications, when the enemy tanks rush into the city, everything will be over."

   I have to say that Sokov's intimidation is still very effective. Gorishny, who hung up the phone, immediately issued an order to the troops, asking them to rush to repair the bombed fortifications while fighting fires and rescuing people in the city.

After making the phone call, Sokov felt that if there was no air support and the enemy bombed every three to five times, it would be difficult to establish a complete defense system in the city, so he said to Sidolin: "Chief of Staff, please use the division's Radio, send a report to General Rokossovsky, and report to him that we have been bombed."

  Ten minutes later, the telegram sent by Sokov reached Malinin. After reading the telegram, he ran to report to Rokossovsky: "Comrade Commander, Major General Sokov reported that the enemy has just dispatched no less than fifty bombers to bomb the Red Army Village."

   "It seems that the enemy is about to attack."

   "Comrade Commander," Malinin saw that Rokossovsky did not ask about Sokov's safety, so he reminded him, "The telegram I received was sent from the radio station of the 41st Guards Division."

  Hearing what Malinin said, Rokossovsky asked a little puzzled: "Comrade Chief of Staff, why did you use the radio station of the 41st Guards Division to send Misha's telegram?"

   "According to my judgment," Malinin replied: "Major General Sokov's headquarters may have been destroyed by enemy aerial bombs during the bombing not long ago."

"Our troops on the Red Army Village-Donetsk line are all under the command of Misha, and he can't make any mistakes." After learning that Sokov was in danger, Rokossovsky seemed very anxious. He told Ma Lining: "You immediately call the air force commander and order him to send fighter planes to patrol the sky above the Red Army Village. The enemy cannot bomb the Red Army Village unscrupulously."

   "Comrade Commander, if the number of fighter planes we send is too small, it will not be of much use if the enemy comes to bomb us."

"Every day except at night, at least one squadron of fighter planes must be patrolled over the Red Army Village during the day." Hearing what Malinin said, Rokossovsky quickly added: "No matter how many enemies come, as long as there is one squadron fighter planes, they can resist for a while so that we can send more planes to catch up."

After receiving Rokossovsky's authorization, Malinin immediately called the air force of the Front Army Command, and in the name of Rokossovsky, ordered them to dispatch no less than one squadron of fighter planes to be in the Red Army at any time. Patrol over the village.

   After arranging all this, Ma Linin sent a telegram back to Sokov in the name of Rokossovsky, saying that the front army had sent an air force to perform patrol missions over the Red Army Village.

After receiving the telegram, Sokov handed it to Vitkov and said to him: "Comrade Chief of Staff, if the air force dispatched by the Front Army Command can patrol the sky over the city at any time, then the enemy will bomb us again. It's not that easy anymore."

   Besides, Papchenko sent the first battalion and the second company to the place where the German army was found.

  After the troops set off, a soldier asked the company commander Guchakov: "Comrade company commander, can one of our companies fight against an armored battalion and an infantry battalion of the Germans?"

After hearing this, Guchakov sneered and said contemptuously: "Don't forget that we used one division to defeat the three most elite SS divisions of the Germans some time ago. If the German army has two battalions , but because they were immobilized by the muddy road, we only needed to launch a long-range attack with rockets to inflict huge casualties on them."

Guchakov's words reminded the commanders and fighters who were still a little worried about the battles of the previous few days, and when they thought that they had suffered heavy losses from the enemy while their own casualties were much smaller, everyone felt at ease many. As the departure order was issued, everyone quickened their pace, wanting to rush to the place where the enemy was found as soon as possible, and use the rockets they carried to give them a hard lesson.

  The troops walked through the forest. Due to the melting snow, many places became muddy, which slowed down the marching speed of the soldiers. But Guchakov did not urge the commanders and fighters. He knew very well in his heart that if he forced to speed up the march, everyone would be exhausted when they felt the battle location, and there would be no energy left to fight the enemy.

   Therefore, Guchakov just sent two groups of scouts to the front to scout the enemy's movements, preparing to adjust the combat plan according to changes in the situation.

After two hours of hard marching in the forest, a scout sent back to report to Guchakov: "Comrade company commander, the enemy's armored force is only less than 800 meters away from us." Just 800 meters away, Guchakov quickly ordered the troops to stop advancing and begin combat preparations.

  (end of this chapter)