After wiping out the enemies who had entered the village south of the city, the Germans stayed quiet for a few days and did not send any more troops to attack or harass. Instead, they concentrated their forces and launched a fierce attack on the Soviet Sixth Army and Popov's Rapid Group.
How could the Sixth Army and Popov's rapid grouping, which were already at the end of their strength, withstand such a blow from the German army? The towns, residential areas and some villages they occupied were all lost one after another to the German attack.
Seeing that the situation was not good, Popov personally called Vatutin and reported to him: "Comrade Vatutin, the situation is not good. There are more and more German troops around us, and the offensive is becoming more and more fierce. I
It feels like we have fallen into a German trap."
"Nonsense, how is this possible?" Even though the situation on the battlefield has reached an extremely critical stage, Vatutin still refuses to believe Popov's judgment, thinking that this is just a flashback by the German army to cover the withdrawal of their main force.
Dnieper River, therefore scolded Popov: "General Popov, are you frightened by the German counterattack, and you have become so panicked? If you really feel that you are not qualified for your current position, I can definitely contact you."
Someone will replace you."
Popov did not dare to refute, so he could only say a few perfunctory words and then hung up the phone.
The chief of staff standing aside heard the conversation between Popov and Vatutin and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, what should we do next?"
"Order all troops to stop offensive operations against the German army and switch to defense on the spot." Popov knew that Vatutin was now stubborn and no matter what he said, the other party would not listen. If he continued to follow his orders,
His army was in danger of being wiped out at any time. So he decided to take a risk with his own head: "If my superiors want to be held accountable, I will bear the responsibility alone."
The chief of staff, who originally wanted to persuade, changed his mind when he heard Popov's decisive words. He nodded vigorously and replied: "I understand, Comrade Commander, I will convey your order immediately."
When Popov's rapid group turned to defense, the commander of the Voronezh Front Golikov, who was far away in Kharkov, also noticed that something was wrong with the situation. He personally called Vatutin and said worriedly: "Vatutin
Comrade Tuking, I find that the situation there seems to be a bit wrong. The enemy's counterattack against you is getting stronger and stronger. If you continue like this, you will be in danger of being eaten by the German army in less than a week."
"Comrade Golikov, please don't tell such jokes, it's not funny at all." Although both Rokossovsky and Popov called, asking Vatutin to be more vigilant and not to fall into the German trap.
It was a trap, but Vatutin must not have taken it seriously. He even felt that the other party had the intention of taking credit from him when he said this. At this moment, when he heard Golikov saying the same thing, he became a little impatient: "
The enemy is far weaker than our army in terms of strength and equipment. They launched counterattacks in individual areas to cover the withdrawal of their main force across the Dnieper River. The final victory must belong to us."
"Comrade Vatutin, I beg you to wake up." Seeing that Vatutin had been dazzled by a series of victories, Golikov persuaded him earnestly: "You did make good progress in the early stage, but now
The situation has changed. As you occupy more areas, more troops are left for defense, which greatly weakens the offensive power of the troops. Also, your leading troops are thousands of kilometers away from the logistics base. Once they
If they don't get enough supplies, they will be in the same situation as Paulus was for more than 20 days."
"Comrade Golikov," Vatutin said extremely stubbornly: "I want to remind you one thing. I am the commander of the Southwest Front Army, not you. Therefore, it is up to me to decide how the Southwest Front Army fights.
. Now the German army has been defeated by my attack. As long as we launch another offensive, the enemy will be completely destroyed."
"What a stubborn guy." Seeing that he could not convince Vatutin, Golikov could only put down the microphone in frustration and said to his chief of staff: "Comrade chief of staff, you have heard that Vatutin and I
Have you had a conversation with Jing?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Chief of Staff Major General Pilipenko nodded quickly and replied: "I heard your conversation, General Vatutin is really stubborn."
"Yes, with Vatutin's character, I dare to say that sooner or later he will ruin the entire Southwest Front." After Golikov said this, he ordered Pilipenko: "Chief of Staff, you give all the troops under the Front
Issue an order to seize the time to repair the fortifications and prepare to meet the German attack. Especially Kharkov, that is the focus of our defense. We will send another tank corps and an infantry division in. We must hold it at all costs.
That city.”
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Major General Pilipenko nodded and said, "I will urge the defenders in the city to build fortifications to make the city capable of street fighting. If the Germans don't come, that's it. Once they come, that's it.
, we will let them get stuck in the quagmire like they were in Stalingrad."
When Pilipenko was about to convey the order, he suddenly remembered something important and asked Golikov tentatively: "Comrade Commander, judging from the current situation, the most dangerous ones are the Sixth Army and the Polish Army.
Bov Rapid Cluster, do you think we can do anything?"
"The commander of the Sixth Army, Kharitonov, is an old friend and subordinate of Vatutin." Golikov replied with a wry smile: "With his character, he will definitely obey Vatutin's orders unconditionally, even if
Even if he knew there was a pit of fire ahead of him, he would jump into it without hesitation."
"What about Popov's rapid cluster?" Pilipenko then asked Golikov: "Are we going to watch them being annihilated by the Germans?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, let me remind you that we are the Voronezh Front Army, not the Southwest Front Army." Although Golikov wanted to remind Popov that he should stop attacking the German army and switch to defense on the spot, waiting for reinforcements.
Rescue. But considering that if he really called Popov, even if his intention was good, he might be punished afterwards. In order to avoid causing unnecessary trouble to himself, he decided to sit on the sidelines: "We didn't
You have the right to command other people’s troops, do you understand?”
Pilipenko knew that Golikov was right. If he really crossed Vatutin, he would directly contact Popov and make suggestions to him. If the base camp knew about it at this time, Golikov would definitely be punished.
Just when he was disappointed, he suddenly heard Golikov say: "But you can contact Colonel Sokov. His troops are now stationed in Lugansk. Maybe at a critical moment, Labopov can help