Red Moscow

In the face of Konev's insistence, Stalin did not change his mind: "Okay, I will discuss it with the General Staff at the base camp and make a decision at that time." After finishing speaking, before Konev could speak again, Stalin said Ended the call.

After hanging up the phone, Stalin picked up the matches on the table and prepared to light the pipe in his mouth. But because of his anger, he struck several matches, but failed to light the pipe. He was so angry that he threw the matchbox on the table, and the matchbox hit the table heavily, and the matches in the box were splashed everywhere.

Antonov, who was standing aside, hurried forward, picked up a match on the table, lit it and helped Stalin light his cigarette. After finishing all this, he tidied up the messy matches on the table and asked tentatively, "Comrade Stalin, what happened to make you so angry?"

"It's not that Konev." Stalin gritted his teeth and said: "I said that the Germans are breaking through the defense zone of the 27th Army. Refused."

After finding out the reason for Stalin's anger, Antonov said cautiously: "Comrade Stalin, in fact, General Konev has his reasons for doing this."

"His reason, what reason?" Stalin said angrily: "On weekdays, when they called me, they kept asking me to send them more troops. Now I take the initiative to transfer the 27th Army to Konev. No way."

After Stalin finished speaking, Antonov said, "Comrade Stalin, if you had offered to return the 27th Army to Konev a few months ago, he would have been grateful. But since Comrade Sokov After being wounded and hospitalized, Lieutenant General Trofimenko took over the command, and the combat effectiveness of the unit fell off a cliff.

In the liberation of Kiev and the later battles, this army lost nearly two-thirds of its strength. Now the army is full of recruits, and its combat effectiveness is even more unbearable. In addition, this army is too far away from Konev, and it will not be of much use after taking over, so he will refuse your kindness. "

Antonov's explanation made Stalin calm down again. After careful consideration, it seemed that it was really the case. "You make a lot of sense, Comrade Antonov." Stalin took a deep puff on his cigarette, and after his emotions stabilized, he continued: "The same troops, the same equipment, just because the commanders are different, The result is two very different treatments for the same unit."

"That's right, Comrade Stalin." Antonov understood what Stalin was trying to express, and added: "When Sokov was the commander, the 27th Army could be said to be the most elite unit. A battle has achieved good results. But since Lieutenant General Trofimenko took over, the whole army seems to have changed. In the next battle, although the commanders and fighters still performed bravely, they It's hard to win."

"Then tell me, will the 27th Army be returned to Konev?"

"I don't think it's necessary." Antonov felt that as the chief of the general staff, he should express his true thoughts on this matter: "One is that the 27th Army is too far away from Konev's troops, and it is not easy to command. It is convenient; the second is that the current combat effectiveness of this army is not flattering, if they are forcibly transferred to Konev's army, I am afraid that it will hold everyone back."

"Okay, Comrade Antonov, since you said the same thing, I will not assign the 27th Army to Konev for the time being." Stalin specifically told Antonov: "Call Konev later. Call and tell him what I mean."

Antonov knew that this matter was of great importance, and he did not dare to neglect it. After he came out of Stalin's office, he called Konev: "General Konev, hello! I am Antonov, the Supreme Commander himself Let me tell you that after our research, the 27th Army will not be transferred to you for the time being, and you can launch an offensive against the enemies in the encirclement according to the original plan."

"Comrade Chief of the General Staff, this is really great." Konev learned that his superiors will not assign the 27th Army to his command for the time being, and the boulder hanging in his heart finally fell to the ground: "In this way, we can concentrate on The attack on the Germans has begun."

"General Konev," Antonov heard the joy in Konev's tone, and couldn't help asking curiously: "The 27th Army was originally your army. Why do I feel that you are avoiding fighting with this army now?" Troops are intersecting."

"Comrade Chief of the General Staff, you and I are friends, and I will not hide this matter from you." Since Antonov asked, Konev naturally had to tell the truth: "Since Lieutenant General Trofimenko took over as the first After he became the commander of the 27th Army, he abandoned the tactics used by Sokov, and even prohibited the troops below from using similar tactics. His order made the commanders below not know how to fight. , It’s no wonder such an army can win battles.”

Now that Konev mentioned Sokov, Antonov naturally asked, "By the way, what is Comrade Sokov doing now?"

"He is commanding the troops to stop the German attack on Height 239." Konev reported to Antonov: "The Germans tried to break through our Height 239 and open a road to escape, but Sokov's commanders and fighters How could it be possible for the enemy to escape easily? They are fighting on the high ground at the moment, ready to act like a gate to block the enemy's escape route."

"Oh, it turns out that Sokov's troops are holding on to Height 239." Antonov said with emotion after hearing this, "I believe General Sokov will do everything possible to block the way for the Germans to retreat."

…………

After dawn, Stemmermann learned of the 57th Infantry Division on the left flank of the breakout force. Was attacked by the Soviet cavalry, and the troops were severely reduced. After the division commander reported the situation, he asked Stemmerman tentatively: "Your Excellency, Commander, it is obviously unwise for our division to continue to attack the south according to the original plan."

"Mr. Commander," Stemmermann said sternly about the thoughts of the commander of the 57th Division: "The task of your division is to operate on the left flank of the main force, to attract the attention of the Russians, and to restrain part of their forces, to serve as the main force. Breakthrough creates conditions."

After hearing this, the division commander seemed extremely hesitant and hesitant. As a commander, he would never watch his subordinates die here for such a reason. So he solemnly told the other party: "You let the troops take the time to rest, and when the order is issued, they can start fighting immediately."

After hanging up the phone, Stemmerman immediately received a report from the chief of staff: "The 72nd Infantry Division and the Viking Division, after several hours of fighting, have successfully broken through the Russian defense line and are advancing north. "

Stemmelman glanced at the map and found that the vanguard of the breakout had completely deviated from the route planned in advance. But he didn't get angry, because he knew very well in his heart that in order to break through the Soviet army's defenses, just blindly attacking them was obviously ineffective. It would be better to let the officers and soldiers choose a weak point of defense to attack.

"Your Excellency, Commander," the Chief of Staff of the Army reported, seeing Stemmelman staring at the map in a daze, he quickly asked tentatively: "Now that the 72nd Infantry Division and the Viking Division are progressing smoothly, do you think we should put all the The troops turned in that direction. If we had moved quickly, we would have reached the Gniloydikich River before their reinforcements arrived, joining the oncoming friendly forces."

When the two were triumphant, a staff officer suddenly came over and handed the telegram to Stemmerman: "I just received a telegram from Marshal Manstein."

When Stemmelman received the telegram, he was still secretly delighted, thinking that Manstein must have informed them that the reinforcements were staying at such and such a place and asked him to lead the troops to join them. But after reading the above content clearly, his eyes turned dark, and he leaned back. Fortunately, the chief of staff supported him in time, so that he did not fall to the ground.

"Your Excellency, Commander," the Chief of Staff asked in a panic, "What happened?"

Stemmerman handed the telegram in his hand to the chief of staff: "Look, the 1st Armored Division and the Banner Guard Division who were going to rescue us can't come now."

The chief of staff couldn't help being taken aback when he heard what Stemmerman said, and wondered what the hell was going on. Didn't it mean that the 1st Armored Division and the Banner Guard Division were moving towards Height 239 to rescue their troops? Why did you suddenly say that you can't come? What's going on?

With such doubts, the chief of staff opened the telegram and read it. Seeing this, cold sweat broke out on his forehead. The oil depots and ammunition depots that originally supplied the 1st Armored Division and the Banner Guard Division were attacked by the Soviet army and were completely destroyed. A tank that has lost fuel and ammunition is just a pile of scrap iron that is of little use, so it is reasonable that they cannot come to join forces.

"Then what should I do?" The chief of staff asked worriedly: "Are we just waiting to be annihilated by the Russians?"

"We can't sit still, we have to find a way to break out of the siege." Stemmerman is also a decisive person. Since the 1st Armored Division and the Banner Guard Division in the west cannot rush to reinforce, it is not too big to attack the 239 Heights. role. So he ordered him decisively: "Chief of Staff, inform all division commanders, and immediately after dark, lead the troops to move to the north, follow the 72nd Infantry Division and the Viking Division, and jump out of the Russians through the gap that opened. encirclement."

Just as the chief of staff agreed, he heard Stammelman say again: "Also, chief of staff, I decided to lead a unit to stay, not only to cover your retreat, but also to take care of the wounded left behind."

"What, Your Excellency, Commander, do you want to stay?" The chief of staff of the army heard that Stemmelman wanted to stay with the wounded, and quickly persuaded him: "It's too dangerous here. I think you should follow the main force as soon as possible." Transfer it, lest you have any accidents, which will cause problems in the command system of the troops."

"No, I can't leave." Stemmelman said bitterly: "We lost tens of thousands of officers and soldiers in this area, and I'm really not reconciled to leaving in such a disgruntled manner."

Seeing that the Chief of Staff wanted to persuade him, Stemmelman waved his hand and said weakly, "Chief of Staff, time is running out, hurry up and execute my order."

Seeing that Stemmerman had made the final decision, the chief of staff knew that no matter how much he tried to persuade him, he could not change the other party's mind, so he could only reluctantly agree, and then according to Stemmerman's order, he gave his subordinates The division commanders called and ordered them to move to the north after dark, and follow the vanguard to break through the Soviet defense.

...

The German army was considering the issue of overnight breakthrough, while Sokov was in his headquarters, discussing with several commanders about the overnight attack.

"General Selivanov," Sokov looked at the commander of the cavalry army, Selivanov, and said with a smile: "Nowadays, the snow in many areas is still deep, which seriously affects the infantry's charge speed, so tonight When attacking the German positions, you still have to rely on your cavalry to break through the enemy's defenses and chase down the fleeing enemy."

Regarding the order issued by Sokov, Selivanov fell into deep thought.

After a while, Selivanov raised his head, looked at Sokov and said, "General Sokov, too much snow will not only affect the movement speed of infantry, but also have a great impact on cavalry. You know , The targets of the soldiers on horseback are too big, and the Germans only need a few machine guns to cause considerable casualties to your attacking troops."

"General Selivanov, I don't deny what you said." Sokov said categorically, "Could it be that without the support of artillery, our commanders and fighters have become intimidated?" He paused for a moment, He went on to say, "Don't worry, comrades, before your offensive starts, we will shoot a few shots at the German firepower. After destroying them, you can start your offensive boldly."

"Great, this is really great." Selivanov said yes repeatedly, and at the same time assured Sokov: "As soon as the artillery fire of the army artillery stops, we will launch an attack immediately."

"Wait a minute, General Selivanov." Sokov interrupted the other party's words in time: "Unless your cavalry stays within a range of one or two hundred meters from the German position, then after the shelling is over, Just rush into the enemy's position quickly. Otherwise, when you rush to the front of the position, you will be intercepted by German firepower, and you will definitely pay heavy casualties."

"Then what should we do?" Selivanov asked.

"After the shelling is over, don't take any action for the time being, just stay where you are and wait." Sokov said: "The Germans will definitely think that our troops will launch an attack as soon as the shelling is over, and they will quickly enter the position and do it. Prepare to fight against our army's attack. At this time, we can send them another bombardment, and we can blow them up."

Sokov's words made Selivanov's eyes brighten: "Wonderful! It's really wonderful! Why can't I think of such a good way. General Sokov, you are right. Usually our army As soon as the bombardment was over, the enemy returned to their position from their hiding place and made preparations to stop our army. And your second bombardment is completely beyond the enemy's expectation and will definitely cause them great damage casualties."