Red Moscow

The German attack was repelled and calm was restored on the front.

Sokov personally called Ershakov to confirm, and only put down the phone when he learned that all the enemies in front of them had retreated.

"Comrade Commander," Vitkov said excitedly when he learned that the enemy's attack had been repulsed, "I really didn't expect that those once invincible enemies would be vulnerable in front of us. It's a pity that our tanks and artillery The number is less, otherwise we can launch a large-scale attack on the enemy."

Compared with Vitkov's optimism, Sokov is obviously much calmer, "Comrade Chief of Staff, although the enemy's attack has been repelled by us, we should clearly realize that the enemy's strength is still far greater than ours." Strong. After losing the offense in this area, they may attack in a new area."

Hearing what Sokov said, Vitkov also realized that he was too optimistic. If the enemy was really vulnerable, he would not have beaten the Southwest Front Army and the Voronezh Front Army all over the place. He asked cautiously: " Comrade Commander, what do you think the enemy may find to launch an attack from?"

"From our north or south," Sokov replied: "We must therefore warn the defenders in both directions to be vigilant and ready to meet the enemy."

Witkov remembered that Sokov said two days ago that the German army might launch an attack to the south of the city in order to cut off the connection between the Red Army Village and Donetsk. Thinking of this, he said hastily: "I immediately called the two division commanders, Sivakov and Gorishny, and asked them to prepare for battle to prevent possible enemy attacks."

"Tell them," Seeing Vitkov picked up the phone, Sokov urged him, "Send more scouts to conduct scouting around. If the German attack is to succeed, there must be a lot of troops dispatched. As long as our Scouts are not blind and can spot them in time."

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Vitkov nodded and said, "I will pass on your order immediately."

After receiving the order conveyed by Vitkov, not only the Sivakov Division and the Gorishny Division took active actions, sending out more than a dozen reconnaissance teams, even the Guards No. 1 stationed in Donetsk The 67th Division also sent a reconnaissance team nearby to conduct reconnaissance where the enemy may appear.

Major General Merkulov sent out the scouts entirely on his own whim, seeing that other divisions were actively moving while his division remained motionless, which was not a good thing to say. What he never dreamed of was that it was because of his perfunctory actions that he saved the entire combat group.

That night, scouts sent to the southwest reported to Merkulov: "Comrade Commander, we found a large number of German troops 30 kilometers southwest of Donetsk. Not only did they have a large number of Tanks, armored vehicles, and a lot of artillery."

After hearing the news, Merkulov's first reaction was that the scouts had made a mistake, and he must have mistook his troops for Germans. He also personally called the head of the scouts: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, are you really Confirm, is what you saw a large German army?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." The second lieutenant replied, "In order to prevent my troops from being treated as enemies, I have checked twice, and there is absolutely no mistake."

Merkulov knew that the scout second lieutenant was a commander with rich experience, and he would never lie to himself about this kind of thing. He asked a little guilty: "Then according to your judgment, how many enemies are there?" troops?"

"I estimate that there is an infantry division, with tank regiments and artillery regiments and the like." The scout second lieutenant said to Merkulov: "They far exceed us in terms of strength and technical equipment."

"This information is very important," Merkulov said to his political commissar Sheiko after finishing the call with the scouts: "I need to report to Comrade Commander immediately."

After the call was connected, Sokov recognized Merkulov's voice, and asked curiously, "General Merkulov, what's the matter?"

"That's right, Comrade Commander." Merkulov said on the phone: "I heard that you ordered the 71st and 75th Guards Divisions to send scouts in all directions to look for the enemy. So I Several reconnaissance teams have also been sent to conduct reconnaissance where the enemy may appear."

Sokov knew very well in his heart that Merkulov could not be bored. He called to chat with him. Something must have happened. He hurriedly asked: "General Merkulov, time is running out. Just get straight to the point, don't go around all the time."

"It's like this, Comrade Commander," Merkulov said into the microphone: "My scouts reported to me that they found a large number of German troops 30 kilometers southwest of the city. According to their observations , an infantry division reinforced with artillery and tanks."

"What, a large number of German troops have been found in your southwest direction?" Sokov asked in surprise: "Comrade General, is your news reliable?"

"Totally reliable, Comrade Commander," Merkulov replied: "The information comes from one of my trusted scout lieutenants, who joined the Bolsheviks long before the war, and is absolutely trustworthy. . . . ”

"Comrade General, don't say these things are useless." Sokov worried that Merkulov would talk nonsense again, so he interrupted him and asked directly: "Tell me, what do you all do when you learn that the enemy has appeared?" What measures?"

"I have issued a combat alert to the troops and ordered all to prepare for battle."

Sokov was not satisfied with Merkulov's official statement. He waited for the other party to finish speaking, and then asked: "In the direction facing the enemy, have you reinforced the fortifications and set up minefields?"

"No, Comrade Commander." Hearing Sokov's question, Merkulov blushed, and he replied with some embarrassment: "You know, our division stationed in Donetsk The time is not long, and many defense facilities have not had time to build."

"General Merkulov, the Germans don't care whether you have time to build a perfect defense." Sokov said impatiently: "Their purpose is to destroy you. If you don't want to be destroyed by them, or be taken prisoner , seize the last time to rush to repair the fortifications, and set up minefields where German tanks may pass. Understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Merkulov quickly replied, "We will get ready for battle as soon as possible."

After finishing the call with Merkulov, Sokov stared at the map for a while, then picked up the phone and dialed the division headquarters of the 71st Guards Division: "Hello, is Colonel Sivakov there? I am Sokov, talk to him."

Sivakov's voice soon came from the phone: "Hello, Comrade Commander!" He thought that Sokov was calling to inquire about the reconnaissance situation, so he hurriedly said, "The scouts we sent are still there. I haven't received any feedback, so I can't provide you with information for the time being."

"I didn't call you to learn about the enemy's movements." Sokov said to Sivakov: "General Merkulov just reported to me that there is an army 30 kilometers southwest of Donetsk. There, a large number of German troops appeared."

"What, the enemy has appeared in the southwest of Donetsk?" Hearing this news, Sivakov couldn't help being taken aback, and he asked for instructions: "Comrade commander, I would like to ask, what is the mission of our division? "

"It is obviously very difficult to defend Donetsk with the strength of the 67th Guards Division alone." Sokov directly issued a combat order to Sivakov: "You immediately transfer the 219th Guards Regiment to the The closest position to Donetsk. Once General Merkulov is unable to resist the enemy's attack, this regiment will immediately go into battle to assist friendly forces in defending the city. Do you understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Sivakov replied loudly: "I will immediately adjust the deployment and transfer the 219th Guards Regiment to the vicinity of Donetsk."

Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Vitkov said with emotion: "Comrade Commander, I thought we had four infantry divisions in our group, and I felt that the strength of our troops was already quite a lot. But I didn't realize this until it was time to use troops. There are not enough troops for defense. What should we do next?"

Sokov stared at the map and thought about it for a long time. He felt that if he wanted to get out of the predicament in front of him, he could only ask General Krylov for help, and asked him to draw troops from the 21st Army to strengthen the defense in the direction of Donetsk. Having made up his mind, he picked up the phone and was about to call Krylov, but quickly put it down again. He knew that no matter how good his relationship with Krylov was, the other party would not be able to do so before he got an order from his superior. Will dispatch a soldier at will.

Thinking of this, he used another high-frequency phone to contact Rokossovsky in the distance: "Commander of the Front Army, I think we may be in trouble."

"What's the trouble?" Rokossovsky's heart skipped a beat, and he said that there must be no accidents here in Sokov, otherwise the area that has finally stabilized will change: "Is there anything I can do to help you?" ?”

"Yes, Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov felt funny when he heard Rokossovsky's answer, and said hastily: "According to our reconnaissance, there is an infantry division reinforced with tanks and artillery. The enemy appeared 30 kilometers southwest of Donetsk. According to my estimation, the enemy may want to completely cut off the retreat of my combat group by attacking Donetsk."

"Why, with your current strength, can't you even repel a division of the German army?" Rokossovsky asked puzzledly: "You know, before your troops faced the attack of several German divisions. You don't have the slightest timidity to attack, why are you so panicked now?"

"Comrade Commander of the Front, I am not panicked." Sokov explained to Rokossovsky: "I put the main force in the village of the Red Army, and Donetsk has only one 67th Guards Division. Defense. As you know, this army has been severely weakened after the battle. It will be very difficult to defend the important Donetsk with a lost army."

"Okay, don't complain in front of me." Rokossovsky interrupted Sukov and asked straight to the point: "Is there anything I can do to help you?"

"I would like to ask the 21st Army to deploy no less than one division of troops to the south of Donetsk. In this way, when the enemy launches an attack on Donetsk, the troops of the 21st Army can provide timely support We provide support."

"You have a good idea," Rokossovsky said with a smile: "If you really ask the 21st Army to transfer an infantry division there, it means you have one more unit under your command. In this way, I'm afraid many army commanders can't compare with you, if other comrades raise their opinions, how should I deal with them?"

"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov continued: "The current priority is to defend the Red Army Village-Donetsk line. The longer we fight here, the friendly forces in the direction of Kharkov will You can get more time to replenish and consolidate your defenses. As long as the friendly forces can gain a firm foothold in the direction of Kharkov and crush the German attack, even if all our clusters are wiped out, it will be worth it.”

"Okay, don't act pitiful in front of me." Rokossovsky easily saw through Sokov's trick, and said simply: "I will call General Krylov later, However, the troops deployed south of Donetsk in the future will not be one division, but two divisions, so as to have greater confidence in defending the city and preventing it from falling into the enemy's hands again."

"Great, this is really great." Knowing that Rokossovsky was willing to send two divisions over to strengthen his defense, Sokov couldn't help being overjoyed, and he quickly said: "As long as the friendly troops can enter the defense on time position, then the German attempt to recapture Donetsk would be in vain."

After confirming that Rokossovsky would dispatch reinforcements from two divisions, Sokov was overjoyed. He called Merkulov again and said: "Comrade General, I have good news for you. Two divisions of the friendly army will arrive in succession to the south of Donetsk by tomorrow at the latest. If you need it, you can Call them for help at any time."

"Ah, there will be two divisions of the friendly army in the south of the city?" This unexpected good news made Merkulov, who was originally gloomy, suddenly smile: "This is really great. In this way, I will More troops can be concentrated on the front line to fight to the death with the invading enemy.”