Red Moscow

According to the history Sokov is familiar with, the German 1st Armored Army, which was withdrawn from the Caucasus, is now deployed in the Stalino (Donetsk) area, only more than 100 kilometers away from Lugansk where he is standing. Once they defeated the 1st Guards Army and Popov's rapid group, it only took two days to rush to the outside of Lugansk.

Sokov is very self-aware. He doesn't think that with one of his divisions, he can easily block the attack of a German armored army. You must know that your own troops have just entered the city, and there is no time to build permanent fortifications. If the Germans really launched a fierce attack, even with the support of General Krylov, it would be very difficult to hold the city.

Especially in the battle on February 19, the 6th Army under the command of General Khalidonov was attacked by the German 2nd SS Panzer Corps in the Krasnograd area. In this gap, the German army successfully defeated the 4th Guards Army of the Soviet Army and established a new offensive starting position.

Sokov stared at the complicated situation of the enemy and the enemy west of Luhansk, and found that the deployment of the Soviet army was scattered and the supplies were seriously insufficient. After a long period of fighting, the troops had become powerless against the enemy in front of them. And the most elite Banner Guard Division, Imperial Division and Skeleton Division of the German army have entered this area one after another, and are about to launch a thunderous blow to the Soviet army.

Seeing Sokov staring at the map without speaking, Sidolin asked curiously: "Comrade commander, I see that you have been staring at the map for a long time. May I ask, what are you thinking?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov asked Sidolin without looking up: "If our 1st Guards Army and Popov's rapid grouping are defeated by the Germans, how do you think the situation will develop?"

Although Sidolin felt that the situation Sokov said was unlikely to happen, he still drew a circle between the Dnieper River and Luhansk with his hands: "Comrade commander, if it really happens what you said situation, then this vast country will fall back into the hands of the enemy.”

Anisimov on the side expressed doubts about Sidolin's statement: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I don't think it is possible? You know, we have more troops than the enemy, and our technical equipment also has a numerical advantage. , I think even if the enemy launches a counterattack, we are fully capable of repelling the enemy's attack."

"Comrade Commissar, you are so optimistic." Sokov knew very well that Anisimov's thinking would make his troops feel underestimated, so he retorted: "General Popov The fast group of the German Army now has to ambush and stop advancing in the Red Army City because of exhaustion of fuel. What they are facing is the main force of the 40th Panzer Army of the German Army.

If you think about it, the tanks on one side lose their combat effectiveness because they have no fuel and ammunition, while the tanks on the other side have enough ammunition and fuel. Even if we can't see the final outcome with our own eyes, we can guess it. "

Hearing what Sokov said, Anisimov immediately realized the seriousness of the problem, and quickly asked Sokov: "Comrade commander, what should we do?"

"What we can do is to seize the time to consolidate the outer defense line, and strive to block the charging enemies for a longer time." Sokov said with a pouted mouth: "Other than that, we can't do anything."

"However," Anisimov said unwillingly, "we should at least warn our friendly forces and rescue them from the current danger."

"I have warned the friendly troops through the commander of the front army, but it has no effect at all." Sokov picked up a pencil as a explaining stick, pointed to the location of Popov's rapid cluster, and said to the two: "According to our Knowing General Vatutin, he will certainly give General Popov an order to continue advancing westward to help attack Zaporozhye's forces and capture the city where Manstein's headquarters is located."

"If our troops can really capture Zaporozhye, will it make the situation better?" Anisimov heard Sokov mention Zaporozhye, as if seeing a glimmer of life, he was a little excited Question: "You must know that the occupation of the city where the German headquarters is located by our army will deal a serious blow to the enemy's morale and morale."

"Comrade Commissar, Manstein is not Paulus. He doesn't care whether the city where his headquarters is located will be lost." Sokov sneered and said, "I think he deliberately used himself as a bait to attract our army to Zha. Porozhia launched an attack, so that he would fall into the trap he had set long ago without knowing it. When the time is right, he will launch a full-scale counterattack, first defeating General Vatutin's Southwest Front Army, and then turn around Go north and defeat General Golikov's Voronezh Front."

"Comrade Commander," Sokov's words made Anisimov break out in a cold sweat, but he still said dubiously: "Aren't German commanders greedy for life and afraid of death? Their divisional headquarters usually have How could Manstein, as the German Field Marshal, put himself in danger at a distance of tens of kilometers from the front line?"

Sokov pointed at Zaporozhye with a pencil, and said to Anisimov: "Some time ago, when the German army faced our attack, they did not resolutely resist, so they gave up the rear of the position. On the surface , our army has regained a large amount of territory, but the further we advance, the farther our troops will be from the logistics supply base, and we must allocate enough troops to guard those occupied areas. But the enemy is constantly Withdrawing their forces, the troops they have assembled near Zaporozhye on the left bank of the Dnieper River have already taken advantage locally. If they do not counterattack, it will be fine. Once they counterattack, it will only take a few days to defeat our army. "

After setting up the defense of the tank brigade, Bely returned to the division headquarters. When he entered the door, he happened to hear Sokov's next words, so he nodded in agreement and said, "Misha is right. Based on the current analysis, Manstein set up a plan for our army around Zaporozhye. However, the commanders of the friendly army did not realize that this was a trap prepared by the Germans for us, and ordered the troops to continue attacking desperately, thinking that by doing so, they would be able to split the German defense line and drive them all to the first place. to the other side of the Dnieper."

"Comrade Deputy Commander." Sokov knew that what he had said about the situation for a long time was a bunch of nonsense. The current priority was to strengthen the defense of the Lugansk area to ensure that the enemy's attack could be blocked. Now that Belyi has returned, he happened to ask about the deployment of the tanks: "Is the tank brigade deployed?"

"Yes, Misha," Bely replied, "I put the second and third battalions behind the 122nd regiment, and the first battalion in the city as a reserve for the whole brigade."

"I remember that the first battalion seems to have a few self-propelled artillery." Sokov said thoughtfully: "Deploy them all on the edge of the city. After the battle starts, you can use artillery fire to intercept the attacking enemy."

"Misha, don't you plan to use these self-propelled guns against the German Tiger tanks?"

"The Germans don't have many Tiger tanks, and I think it's unlikely that the enemy will use them here in Luhansk." Sokov said confidently, "I think it's better to use self-propelled artillery to deal with the German infantry." .”