Red Moscow

The battle on the second day was as expected by Sokov.

The 40th Panzer Army of the German Army launched a fierce offensive against Popov's rapid cluster. The battle lasted for a whole day. When it was dark, the Soviet Army, which suffered heavy losses, counted its own battle damage and found that there were only less than 40 intact tanks left. vehicles, and are largely depleted of fuel and ammunition.

General Popov, the commander of the rapid group, after cleaning up the battle damage, personally called Vatutin: "Comrade General, our situation is very bad. After the fierce battle with the enemy today, the only good tanks left are With less than forty vehicles, with our current strength, if we continue to carry out the attack as planned, it is tantamount to jumping into the abyss."

"No, General Popov." Vatutin said coldly: "I don't see any need to change the continuation of the attack, so your rapid group must continue to attack the enemy according to the original plan."

"Comrade General," seeing that Vatutin did not agree to stop the attack, Popov was a little anxious: "To attack, we need sufficient ammunition; and our tanks only have the fuel in the fuel tank left. If we drive the The remaining tanks are attacking the enemy, and I am afraid that they will all be reimbursed within half a day."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

"Temporarily stop and wait until the fuel, ammunition, and newly replenished tanks are delivered from the rear, and then attack the enemy." In order to let Vatutin understand his situation, Popov also specially emphasized: "Now My troops have not only lost their offensive capabilities, but their defenses are also very problematic, and our situation is extremely dangerous..."

"That's enough, General Popov." Before Popov could finish speaking, Vatutin interrupted him and said in a stern tone: "If you think you are not qualified for the position of commander, I can send someone to Go and take your place. If you don't want to be removed, go ahead and attack as planned."

Popov didn't want to be dismissed at this time. After weighing the strengths, he could only bite the bullet and reply: "Understood, Comrade General, my troops will continue to attack as planned tomorrow."

"That's right, General Popov." Hearing Popov's reply, Vatutin showed a smile on his icy face: "The Germans are not willing to suffer defeat, and will definitely struggle to the death. The two-day attack is nothing but the last madness. As long as we grit our teeth and persevere, the final victory must belong to us."

"Comrade commander, what should we do?" Seeing Popov put down the phone, the group chief of staff asked worriedly: "Are we really going to carry out this death mission according to General Vatutin's order?"

"Comrade Chief of Staff," before his chief of staff could finish speaking, Popov raised his hand and interrupted him: "Since it is an order from the superior, no matter whether it is right or wrong, we can only execute the order, not Discuss orders. Got it?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." After the chief of staff instinctively agreed, he still felt something was wrong, and reminded Popov: "According to the information I have, General Rokossovsky has a guard division. Just stationed in Lugansk, the division is equipped with a tank brigade, I estimate that there should be fifty or sixty tanks. Do you want to ask Rokossovsky to lend us this tank brigade? As long as we The number of tanks we have is nearly a hundred, so according to the original plan, there is not much problem in continuing the offensive.”

Popov, who was originally anxious, couldn't help but shine when he learned that there was actually a tank brigade in Luhansk. But just to be on the safe side, he still asked: "Chief of Staff, is your situation reliable?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." The Chief of Staff nodded and replied, "My information is absolutely reliable."

After confirming that there was indeed a tank brigade in Luhansk, Popov seemed to have grasped a life-saving straw. He quickly ordered the director of the communications army: "Comrade director of the communications army, immediately put me through General Rokossovsky's call." Command."

Regarding the fact that Popov's rapid cluster was severely damaged by the German army, Rokossovsky also saw it from the bulletin from the base camp. At this moment, he received a call from his old comrade-in-arms, General Popov. He asked curiously: "Popov, I heard that your troops were attacked by the German army and paid a lot of money. Is this true?"

"Yes, Comrade Rokossovsky." Regarding his old comrade-in-arms, Popov naturally would not hide it: "In today's offensive battle, we were attacked by the German 40th Panzer Army. And lack of ammunition, our technical equipment suffered a great loss."

After listening to Popov's story patiently, Rokossovsky couldn't help frowning. He found that the situation on the battlefield, just as Sokov analyzed, the Soviet army was facing a huge crisis. He was silent for a while, and asked, "Popov, what did Vatutin think about, and asked you to switch to defense on the spot?"

"No, I once proposed this plan, but it was rejected by General Vatutin." Popov replied with a wry smile: "Our battle group's combat mission tomorrow is still to continue to attack the depths of the German army."

"Hell, with your current strength, even if you switch to defense on the spot, whether you can block the enemy's attack is a big problem, let alone attack the enemy actively." Rokossovsky said to Vatutin The order issued, I feel very incomprehensible: "Isn't this asking you to die?"

When Popov heard Rokossovsky's question, he didn't speak, but just laughed twice.

Hearing the bitter laughter from the earphones, Rokossovsky immediately understood what was going on. Now that Vatutin's order had been issued, not to mention that Popov's combat group still had a certain combat effectiveness, even if it was With only one company left, the mission of the offensive will not be cancelled.

After trying to understand the matter, Rokossovsky asked tactfully, "Popov, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Konstantin Konstantinovich." Popov called Rokossovsky's real name and father's name, and asked with some embarrassment: "I heard that you have deployed a guard in Lugansk. Division, the division also has a tank brigade, is that true?"

"That's right, I put Colonel Sokov's 41st Guards Division in Luhansk. In order to strengthen their firepower, I also assigned Colonel Bely's tank brigade to their division." Rokosovs Ji asked in surprise, "Popov, why are you asking this?"

"The unit closest to me is the unit you deployed in Luhansk." Popov asked tentatively, "Can you lend me the Guards Division and Tank Brigade for a while?" He Worried about Rokossovsky's refusal, he added a special sentence, "Once the combat mission is completed, I will let this unit return to construction."

Unexpectedly, Popov's request for borrowing troops was immediately rejected by Rokossovsky: "I'm sorry, Comrade Popov, although we are old comrades-in-arms and old friends, I cannot hand over this army to the army." for you."

"Why?" This time it was Popov's turn to be puzzled.

"The reason is simple. The situation you are facing was judged by Colonel Sokov a week ago. I reported the matter to the Supreme Command and issued a warning to General Vatutin. But Judging from the current situation, it seems that he did not follow my advice." Rokossovsky explained to Popov: "The reason why I put the 41st Guards Division in Luhansk is to ensure that the Southwest After the front army is defeated by the enemy, it can have a support point to block the enemy."

Rokossovsky's words scared Popov into a cold sweat. He asked in a panic, "What did you just say, that our entire Southwest Front Army may be defeated by the Germans?"

"Yes, the possibility is very large."

"I don't think it's possible." Popov was dubious about Rokossovsky's statement: "Although the Germans launched a counter-offensive these two days, we still have hundreds of thousands of people to crush." The enemy's attack, I think it can still be done. As for the entire front army being defeated by the enemy, I think it is simply a fantasy."

"Popov, if you knew Colonel Sokov as well as I do, you wouldn't say such things." Rokossovsky felt that it was necessary for Popov to understand Sokov, so he continued: "Morning At the beginning of last year, he pointed out the flaws in the Battle of Kharkov to Marshal Timoshenko, but the marshal ignored his opinions of an unknown person like him. But in the ensuing battle, the direction of the German army's attack and his The analysis is completely consistent.

Also, after the troops attacking Kharkov were frustrated, he proposed to his superiors that the next German offensive target would be Stalingrad, and he actively requested to be stationed in Stalingrad. It is precisely because of his foresight and the perfect fortifications built on Mamayev Gang that Mamayev Gang can be turned into a fortress that cannot be conquered by the enemy. "

After listening to Rokossovsky's introduction of Sokov's deeds, Popov couldn't help taking a breath: "So, it won't be long before the troops of the Southwest Front Army will be defeated by the enemy?"

"Not only the troops of the Southwest Front," Rokossovsky said with a wry smile, "but also General Golikov's Voronezh Front, which cannot escape the same fate."

"Then what should we do?" Popov said a little confused: "With our current strength, launching an attack on the enemy would be death."

"Popov, I'll leave you the contact information of Colonel Sokov." Thinking of his old comrade-in-arms being in trouble, Rokossovsky naturally would not stand by. He thought for a moment, and then said: "If you When the day comes when you have to retreat, retreat towards Luhansk. I believe Sokov will give you a hand at the right time."