Red Moscow

Without the assistance of the 5th Guards Tank Army, Sokov decided to go it alone. He only hoped that his troops could approach Kharkov as soon as possible after launching the attack. It would be great if they could rush into the city.

Facing Sokov's troops, they launched an attack from the left and right landing fields at the same time, which completely disrupted the German defense deployment. The defense lines were breached one after another. retreat.

In order to contain the Soviet attack, Weller personally called Manstein and asked him to dispatch the air force to bomb the attacking troops.

After receiving the call from Weller, Manstein asked with a serious expression: "General Weller, are you really sure that the troops that are attacking you are under the command of Sokov?"

"That's right, Marshal." Weller, who once served as the chief of staff of Manstein, still maintains enough respect for his old superior: "According to the report of the forward commander, the Russians who launched an attack on our army , it is indeed the 27th Army under the command of Sokov. As our defense line was breached, the vanguard of the Russians was less than one kilometer away from the main road of Kharkov. The mortars they carried, They can directly bombard vehicles driving on the road."

"Ah, are the Russians so close to the city?" Manstein was very surprised by Wheeler's report: "General Wheeler, please explain to me why the Russians can, in such a short period of time, Break through your layers of defense and reach the approach of Kharkov?"

Faced with Manstein's question, Weller replied with some embarrassment: "Your Excellency, Marshal, I didn't expect Sokov's troops to be so capable of fighting that they couldn't rely on the existing defense line to stop him."

"General Weller, as my former chief of staff, don't you know the strength of Sokov?" For Weller who shirked his responsibility, Manstein criticized him mercilessly and said, "I know this is a difficult situation to deal with." opponent, yet you, in fighting him, forget something so important that the troops suffer such losses."

"You are right, Marshal." Hearing Manstein's reprimand, Wyler did not dare to refute, and could only say in a low voice: "Because the Russian tanks and artillery are too powerful, the first counterattack we organized, It has ended in failure. Now the 11th and 42nd armies are regrouping and preparing to attack again."

"General Wheeler," Manstein said in a stern tone, "you must move quickly. After the main force of the Russians enters the battlefield through the gap opened by Sokov, you may not be able to prevent the Russians from entering the city. "

"Understood, Your Excellency the Marshal." Weller finally revealed the real purpose of his call: "I would like to ask you to dispatch the air force to provide the necessary air cover for our counterattack forces."

When Manstein heard what Weller said, he immediately understood that Sokov's troops were attacking fiercely. Whether it was the 11th Army or the 42nd Army, the current resistance was very difficult. If the air force is dispatched and the Russians attacking the position are given gaps, it may be possible to reverse the unfavorable situation on the battlefield.

After trying to understand this, Manstein said into the microphone: "General Wheeler, I will immediately send the air force to assist you in counterattacking the Russians. I hope that your counterattack this time will not disappoint me again."

"Don't worry, Your Excellency the Marshal." Knowing that Manstein planned to send the air force to support him, Wheeler couldn't help being overjoyed, and he quickly said gratefully: "As long as we can get the air force support, we will be able to drive the Russians down the Oud River. "

After hanging up the phone, Manstein told his adjutant: "Call me through the 4th Air Force immediately and find their commander, General Otto Desloch."

The adjutant did not dare to neglect, and hurriedly called the headquarters of the 4th Air Force Air Force. Not long after, he said respectfully to Manstein: "Your Excellency, the call has been connected. General Otto Desloch is waiting for you on the line."

"General Otto Desloch," Manstein took the microphone and asked straight to the point: "How many planes do you have that you can use?"

Otto Desloch didn't know the purpose of Manstein's question, but he replied truthfully: "The number of planes I can use now does not exceed fifty, and many of them are reconnaissance planes."

Knowing that the 4th Air Force Air Force had less than 50 aircraft left, and many of them were reconnaissance aircraft, Manstein asked a little annoyed, "Why are there only so few aircraft?"

"Your Excellency the Field Marshal," Otto Desloch replied aggrievedly when Manstein asked the question in a reproachful tone, "there are fightings everywhere in Kharkov, and I send most of my planes to these We have gone to the war zone, and I hope they can cooperate with the army to eliminate more effective Russian forces."

"General Otto Desloch," Manstein said after the other party finished speaking: "Now Sokov's troops launched an attack from the two bridgeheads on the east bank of the Oude River at the same time, breaking through the 11th and 1st bridgeheads one after another. Several defense lines of the 42nd Army are approaching the main communication line of Kharkov."

Otto Desloch was aware of the seriousness of the problem, and quickly assured Manstein: "Your Excellency, Marshal, please rest assured that I will transfer planes from other directions as soon as possible to the area you mentioned to stop the Russians The advancement of man into the city."

Half an hour later, the 120 planes improvised by Otto Desloch flew to the two offensive lines of Sokov's troops, trying to smash the Soviet army's advance to the city through heavy bombing. plan.

Unexpectedly, as soon as the German planes entered these areas, they were hit head-on by the Soviet Air Force. During the quarter of an hour of fighting between the two sides, more than 20 German aircraft were shot down, and another dozen were forced to withdraw from the battlefield due to injuries. The Soviet army only lost two fighter planes and five attack planes.

This one-sided air combat performance made everyone who saw the battle report rejoice. Tsvetayev said emotionally to Sokov: "General Sokov, since our army is progressing so smoothly, and the Air Force has firmly grasped the initiative on the battlefield, it is better to order the troops to move forward. "

"No, Comrade General, we can't push forward any further." Sokov was naturally happy that the troops were progressing smoothly, but he clearly realized that his own strength was limited, and now that he had advanced so far into the enemy, it was too late. Completely decoupled from the main force. If Huot or Weller join forces to deal with themselves, I am afraid that the entire 27th Army may be encircled. Therefore, the safest way is to consolidate the occupied area, and it will not be too late to launch a new attack when the main force of the front army reaches the outskirts of the city.

"Why?" Seeing that the victory was in sight, Sokov chose to let the troops go to the defense on the spot, which made Tsvetayev very puzzled: "General Sokov, the enemy has been beaten into a panic by us. Choosing to stop the offensive at this time is not to give the Germans a chance to breathe? Once they complete the regrouping, if we want to launch an offensive again, I am afraid that we will suffer even greater losses."

"General Tsvetayev," Sokov looked at Tsvetayev, and said solemnly: "The troops on our two landing sites have been wedged into the German defense line for eight to twelve kilometers since we launched the attack. The farthest forward troops, even less than one kilometer from the main traffic artery of Kharkov, can even bombard vehicles driving on the road with mortars.

In order to hold such a wide area, I had to mobilize troops to defend. Now the force used for attack has been greatly reduced. If we continue to advance, it may be difficult to obtain results. Instead of making unnecessary sacrifices for the troops, it is better to let them stop and consolidate the occupied areas..."

Before Sokov finished speaking, the phone on the table rang.

What Sokov didn't expect was that the call was actually from Zhukov.

When he heard Zhukov's voice from the handset, he thought the other party was asking about the results of the battle, and quickly reported the current progress of the troops to Zhukov in detail.

After patiently listening to Sokov's report, Zhukov asked coldly: "Misha, what do you think? Let the troops that are on the offensive stop to defend and give the enemy enough time to assemble and rest. What's going on in your head?"

Sokov didn't expect Zhukov to criticize himself so much, and he didn't know how to answer for a while. Only Zhukov continued: "Misha, I am not ordering you as a marshal, but as an elder, I beg you to let your troops continue to attack. If possible, it is best to rush into the city. Put up red flags on taller buildings."

Zhukov's words made Sokov confused. It was the first time he heard Zhukov give such an order, so he asked in puzzlement: "Comrade Marshal, I don't quite understand what you mean, can you explain to me?"

After a brief silence in the receiver, Zhukov's voice came again: "Misha, is there anyone around you?"

Sokov glanced at Tsvetayev, who was standing opposite, and replied: "General Tsvetayev, commander of the Shock Army, is with me."

"Oh, General Tsvetayev is with you." Zhukov hesitated for a moment, then said decisively: "Since you are not outsiders, I will tell you a secret, the secret of why you continue to attack."

Something that Zhukov could call a secret must not be a trivial matter. Sokov held his breath involuntarily, waiting patiently for the other party to reveal the secret.

"Misha, not long ago, the Supreme Commander himself officially announced to the outside world that our army has occupied Kharkov..."

When Sokov heard this, the corners of his mouth twitched violently a few times, and he couldn't help but interjected: "But, Comrade Marshal, our main force has not even entered the suburbs of Kharkov, how did we talk about the capture of the city?" Woolen cloth?"

Zhukov sighed, and continued: "The Supreme Commander himself received a report. In the report, some words were wrong, so that he mistakenly thought that our army had liberated Kharkov. So he not long ago, to the stationed Military attaches from various countries in Moscow announced that our army has recovered Kharkov."

Cold sweat suddenly fell on Sokov's forehead. He didn't expect the bearded man to make such a low-level mistake, and even reported the wrong news to the military attaches of various countries stationed in Moscow. After taking two deep breaths, he tentatively asked: "Comrade Marshal, what can I do for you?"

"I've just said it: continue to attack Kharkov and try to rush into the city before dark." Zhukov also explained specifically to prevent Sokov from ignoring his intentions: "According to the tradition of the army, In an ancient city like Kharkov, as long as our flag is planted on a tall building, it means that we have occupied the city."

Sokov waited for Zhukov to say, and said with a wry smile: "Comrade Marshal, I understand what you mean, I will order the troops to continue to attack, and try to rush into the city of Kharkov before dark, and find a way to break into the city somewhere." On the top of the building, plant the flag of our army and announce to the world that the city has been occupied by us."

"Very good, very good." Zhukov was very satisfied with Sokov's answer, and he continued to ask, "Then from which direction do you plan to rush into the city?"

"Comrade Marshal," Sokov said confidently, "There are only two infantry divisions and one tank brigade in the left-wing landing field. It may be very difficult to continue to expand the results of the battle. Storm into the city before dark."

Zhukov thought for a while, and then pointed to Sokov: "The Pokrovsky Cathedral is to the southwest of the city. You can order the troops to find ways to occupy the church and plant our flag on the bell tower."

Sokov is considering what kind of buildings the troops should occupy and plant flags on top of them. After hearing Zhukov's proposal, he nodded vigorously and said in an affirmative tone: "Comrade Marshal, please rest assured that my troops will plant the bright red flag on the Pokrovsky Cathedral before dark." On the bell tower."

Tsvetayev heard only part of the conversation between Sokov and Zhukov, and therefore did not understand the whole thing. Finally seeing Sokov put down the phone, he hurriedly asked, "General Sokov, what did Marshal Zhukov say to you on the phone?"

The bearded man announced the wrong news to the military attaches stationed in Moscow. It was originally a top secret, but when he talked to Zhukov just now, the other party indicated that he could tell Tsvetayev the news, so he did not hide it, so he shared what he knew. Everything was said in detail.

Tsvetayev was also surprised that the Supreme Commander himself had made an erroneous statement. After a long time, he asked Sokov cautiously: "General Sokov, what do you think, do you really want to continue the attack?"

Sokov pointed to the map on the desktop and said: "Now our left-wing landing field troops' attack is already a little bit powerless, and we can't continue to move forward; while the right-wing landing field has assembled at least four divisions, they are fully capable of continuing to defend against the enemy. Push forward."

"If the troops are going to continue to develop in depth against the enemy, shouldn't the artillery that provides them with artillery support also advance?" In order to prevent Sokov from opposing his proposal, Tsvetaev continued: " At least the artillery should be deployed on the east bank of the Oude River, so as to better provide artillery support for the infantry."