General Rybalko's remaining troops retreated to the friendly defense lines and rearranged new defensive positions to resist the following German troops.
After Paul Hausser escaped from the town of Valkyrie, he took this incident as a great humiliation in his military career. In order to avenge an arrow, he assembled the main force of the Skeleton Division and the Imperial Division and headed towards Rybalko's troops.
Build a position and launch a fierce attack.
The troops that had just jumped out of the German encirclement were originally low in morale and disorganized. In addition, many of their equipment were lost during the breakout. Therefore, Rybalko's troops were unable to cope with the fierce German attack.
When he learned that positions were breached by the Germans from time to time, Rybalko became bizarrely angry. He issued orders to the commanders of each division, asking them to counterattack the Germans and recapture the lost positions. At the same time, he went to Golikov to rescue him, hoping to get some help.
Replenish.
Unexpectedly, Golikov received his call, but he sighed and said: "I'm sorry, General Rybalko, I don't have any troops in my hands. You can only rely on your existing strength to resolutely defend the defense zone. Once given,
If the German army makes an effective breakthrough, Kharkov will be in danger."
Although Golikov had clearly told Rybalko that he had no reserve force, Rybalko still said reluctantly: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, you only need to give me another infantry division reinforced by tanks.
My troops can hold off the German onslaught."
"General Rybalko," seeing that Rybalko kept pestering him, Golikov said seriously: "I really don't have any troops in my hands. Besides, almost all of our tanks are fighting with the enemy.
It’s been reimbursed. Nowadays, many tank soldiers have switched to infantry.”
"If we can bring Colonel Sokov's troops over, maybe we can hold the enemy's position." Rybalko muttered on the phone: "In the battle to defend Stalingrad, he has fully demonstrated that he is good at defense.
specialty."
"Even if Colonel Sokov's troops are transferred over, they may not be able to block the enemy's attack." Golikov, who once served as deputy commander of the 62nd Army, naturally knows many inside stories that others do not know: "As early as
Before the German army attacked Stalingrad, they built reinforced defensive tunnels on Mamayev Hill. Without the tunnels, Mamayev Hill would have been occupied by the Germans countless times."
"So, before the German army attacked Stalingrad, he had already judged that the German army might launch an attack on the city, so he made preparations in advance?"
"Yes, that's exactly what it is."
"Since his analysis is so accurate, I want to ask, did he guess that our situation would become so difficult?"
"As early as when the Southwestern Front was advancing towards Zaporozhye, he sent a warning to the base camp through Rokossovsky, saying that the reason why our army was able to recapture so many cities so easily was because of the deliberate actions of the German army.
The purpose is to lengthen our transportation lines. When our army is unable to attack due to insufficient logistical supplies, the Germans will launch an attack unexpectedly."
"Ah?!" Rybalko couldn't help being shocked when he heard this: "When was this analysis made? Why didn't I know?"
"It was probably mid-February," Golikov said helplessly: "The warning he raised at that time did not attract any attention at all. Some people even proposed that those who caused panic should be severely punished. If it weren't for Zhukov and Rokoso
If Vskylibao were to be killed, he would probably have been sent to Siberia to grow potatoes by now."
"Then what should we do?" Rybalko knew that in the situation at hand, he could not count on others, so he asked tentatively: "Are we going to continue the fight like this?"
"That's right, General Rybalko, you can only do everything you can to resolutely hold your position." Golikov said on the phone: "General Sarkozy, who is standing southwest of Kharkov, has already commanded
The poorly equipped 25th Guards Division resisted the German attack for five days."
"I understand, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Rybalko said: "I will do everything possible to extend the time I can hold my position."
…………
Just as the situation in Kharkov became increasingly tense, Sokov, who was stationed in Luhansk, became unable to sit still.
After carefully studying the terrain, he called Rokossovsky, who had just arrived in Stalingrad. After the call was connected, he briefly introduced some recent developments about Ada to Rokossovsky.
Then he went straight to the topic: "Commander of the Front Army, I have a bold idea."
"What are your ideas?" Rokossovsky knew that Sokov was always bold, so he asked curiously: "Are you planning to do something else?"
"You are right, I do want to make some noise behind the enemy's rear." Sokov said into the phone: "The situation in the direction of Kharkov is tense now. If we can make some big noise,
Maybe it can disrupt the German attack on Kharkov."
"It's like this. Luhansk is less than a hundred kilometers away from Donetsk." Sokov said: "I think about it this way. Now the enemy's main attention is focused on the direction of Kharkov.
, and in the city of Donetsk, there are only one infantry regiment, one armored battalion, and some Eastern Battalion troops. Since the enemy's defense is so weak, we might as well launch an attack on Donetsk. In this way, we can
Disrupt the German offensive steps."
"Tell me about your plan, what did you think about it?"
"I plan to use the 41st Guards Division and two tank brigades to launch a strong attack from the east, while the 67th Guards Division and 71st Guards Division will detour from the south and north respectively, and the 75th Guards Division will serve as a reserve."
"Major General Sokov," because the two were talking about official work, Rokossovsky did not call him by his nickname, but by his military rank: "Why should the 75th Guards Division be regarded as
Where are the reserves? By deploying them to the west of the city, wouldn’t it be possible to cut off the German army’s escape route?”
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, if the enemies in the city find that their retreat has been cut off, they will put up a tenacious resistance. To completely eliminate them will not only take a long time, but our casualties will definitely not be small.
"Sokov explained to Rokossovsky: "But if we only besiege three sides and let the Germans see that there is a retreat behind them, the enemy will not be too tenacious when resisting our attack.
It will help us successfully capture the city."
Regarding Sokov's bold plan, Rokossovsky was silent for a long time, and finally asked: "Major General Sokov, have you really thought about it? If you launch an attack on Donetsk,
Then you will become a key target of the German army. If they gather a large number of troops and attack you, can you withstand it?"
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov had considered all aspects of the issue before making this decision. Since the railway line to Luhansk has been connected, his troops can fight in the shortest time.
After being replenished within a short period of time, and with sufficient ammunition and fuel, are we still worried about not being able to defeat the Germans? It was based on these considerations that he confidently replied: "As long as we can obtain enough supplies, we can capture the city and hold it."
It should be no problem."
"Then, who do you think should be entrusted with the defense of Luhansk?"
"Colonel Chepultin's 378th Infantry Division," Sokov replied without hesitation: "A regiment of this division is currently stationed in a small town south of Luhansk. It is most appropriate for them to take over the defense.
of."
"I agree with you. I will call General Krylov immediately and ask him to send the 379th Infantry Division to Lugansk." After Rokossovsky readily agreed to Sokov's request,
Then he asked: "Then when do you plan to launch an attack on Donetsk?"
"The situation in Kharkiv is getting more and more tense now, and we don't have much time left." Sokov replied simply: "In two days, my troops will officially launch an attack on Donetsk.
.”
"Very good, very good." After saying "very good" twice in a row, Rokossovsky continued: "If you have any difficulties, just call me."
"Yes!" Sokov saw that Rokossovsky had said this and said quickly: "I hope to get support from the air force. As long as we have control of the air on the battlefield, we will be more confident in capturing the city."