Although the German army controlled this area, they did not have any decent defenses. After being attacked by rockets, they were instantly killed and injured. The remaining people either ran away or raised their hands to surrender.
After learning that more than 20 prisoners had been captured, Sokov couldn't help but feel a headache. His troops were now operating behind enemy lines. If they took prisoners, it would definitely affect the marching speed of the troops. How to deal with these prisoners, the division leaders had two ideas.
If there are different opinions, the first is to execute them on the spot to avoid future troubles; the second is to take them together to act.
The two sides disagreed, and finally handed over the conflict to Sokov. Now that the Germans had surrendered, it would be a bit too inhumane to shoot them; but it was impossible to let them go. How to deal with these prisoners became a problem
Sokov's dilemma.
After some thought, Sokov said to everyone: "I think we can take these prisoners with us temporarily and wait until the situation becomes critical before dealing with them."
After Sokov spoke, the other leaders in the division no longer had any disputes and all expressed that they would obey Sokov's orders. Sidorin asked: "Comrade division commander, what should we do next?"
"Since we have put forward a posture of advancing towards Izyum, the enemy will misjudge that we are preparing to attack Izyum." Sokov said to Sidorin: "In this way, the German troops who are worried about the loss of Izyum will mobilize
Send troops to strengthen the defense there."
"Comrade Division Commander, I have an idea." Sidorin waited for Sokov to finish and then said to him: "To the northeast of Izyum, there are troops of the defeated Southwest Front Army stationed. Should we send troops to join them?
Get in touch. As long as they feint in that direction, it will make the enemy more aware that our attack target is Ijumu."
"Chief of Staff, what you said makes sense. However, we cannot command the friendly forces." After thinking for a while, Sokov continued: "I will immediately send a report to Commander Rokossovsky to tell us
We told him the plan and asked him to contact friendly forces and make some noise to the east of Ijumu to confuse the enemy."
Sokov's telegram was quickly placed in front of Rokossovsky.
After reading the telegram, Rokossovsky asked Malinin who was standing next to him: "Comrade Malinin, can you tell me whether Misha's plan is feasible?"
"Comrade Commander," Malinin replied: "The question now is not whether Major General Sokov's plan is feasible. It is whether the remnants of the Southwest Front Army are willing to cooperate with our actions."
"Go on."
"Since the troops of the Southwest Front were defeated by the Germans, the remaining commanders and fighters have been in a state of panic." Malinin analyzed to Rokossovsky: "They have been frightened by the Germans. If the enemy does not attack, they will
Their hearts are filled with joy; but if they are asked to attack, even in name only, they will become timid."
"So, in a very long time, the Southwest Front Army cannot be counted on at all?"
"I think so, at least they will ignore our suggestions."
"It seems that we can only ask Antonov for help in this matter." Rokossovsky said, picking up the high-frequency phone on the table and connecting to the General Staff Headquarters in Moscow.
Hearing Antonov's voice coming from the receiver, Rokossovsky quickly said: "Hello, General Antonov, I am Rokossovsky."
"Hello, General Rokossovsky." Antonov didn't know the purpose of Rokossovsky calling him at this moment, so he asked tentatively: "Do you have anything important?"
"It's like this. Major General Sokov has led a division deep into the enemy's rear. He plans to launch a feint attack on Izyum to attract the enemy's attention and force the enemy to move the main force back from the direction of Kharkov."
Rokossovsky told Antonov on the phone: "According to the intelligence we have, the Southwest Front has assembled a large number of troops northeast of Izyum. If they make feints, they can cause the enemy to
Misjudgment, thinking that our army is preparing to recapture the recently lost Izyum. In this way, the enemy's main force will continue to move away from the direction of Kharkov, giving the friendly forces holding on to that area more time.
Rest and replenish.”
"General Rokossovsky, I am afraid that I need to ask Comrade Stalin for instructions immediately on this matter. Only after obtaining his permission can I issue orders to the troops of the Southwest Front. Two hours ago, General Vatutin was unfavorable in the battle.
For this reason, I was dismissed from my post."
Rokossovsky was surprised to learn that Vatutin had been dismissed from his post, and then asked: "Then I can ask who the headquarters is planning to order to take over his post?"
"General Malinovsky." Antonov said: "He will officially take over the post of General Vatutin in a week."
"Hell, General Antonov, I don't have a week." Rokossovsky learned that he still had to wait a week, and he couldn't help but became a little anxious: "Now Sokov's troops are surrounded by the German army.
If the friendly forces cannot provide timely cooperation, I am afraid they may be eliminated. I beg you..."
"What are you pleading for, Konstantin Konstantinovich?" Unexpectedly, at this time, Stalin's voice came unexpectedly from the receiver.
Hearing that the person talking to him turned out to be Stalin, Rokossovsky quickly stood up from his seat, straightened his body and said, "Hello, Comrade Stalin."
"Tell me, what happened?"
"That's it, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky quickly reported to Stalin: "Major General Sokov led the 41st Guards Division, pretending to be the enemy and went deep into the enemy's rear and launched an attack on the enemy. According to his original plan
, preparing to retake Izyum so that the Voronezh Front can gain a foothold there.
However, their whereabouts had been discovered by the enemy at this time, so the plan to capture Izyum had to be adjusted. In order to consume the German army's effective strength more effectively, Sokov proposed to give way to the remnants of the Southwest Front northeast of Izyum, appropriately
Make some noise to attract the enemy's attention and make them mistakenly think that the target of our attack is Ijumu."
"Comrade Rokossovsky," Stalin said seriously after waiting for Rokossovsky to finish, "I remember that not long after the war broke out, all fronts of our army were retreating step by step under the attack of the German army.
At this time, Petrovsky, commander of the 63rd Infantry Corps, commanded the troops to launch a counterattack against the enemy, liberating the cities of Rogachev and Zhlobin one after another, and wedged themselves into the enemy's front line for thirty kilometers.
In order to commend his bravery and great achievements, I ordered him to be promoted to lieutenant general."
When Rokossovsky heard Stalin mention Petrovsky, he immediately understood the other party's intention and said quickly: "Comrade Stalin, the situation now is very different from that then."
"What's the difference?" Stalin asked, "What's the difference?"
"At that time, the enemy was advancing deep into our country, and their forces were very dispersed. This time, as long as we concentrated a combat-effective force and carried out an effective counterattack against them, we could achieve huge results. But now, Sokov
The division is surrounded by three of the most elite German SS divisions. In the direction of Izyum, there are also two German infantry divisions, as well as an armored corps that can arrive within a day. If Sokov's troops are ordered to attack directly
Ijumu, I’m afraid they will be completely destroyed.”
Rokossovsky's words caused Stalin to fall into silence. After a long time, he spoke: "Comrade Rokossovsky, what is Sokov's intention in this area?"
"According to his report," Rokossovsky reported: "He intends to annihilate as many effective forces of the German army as possible during the movement in order to reduce the pressure on our army."
"Annihilate the enemy on the move," Stalin mentioned this statement and said dubiously: "Does Sokov really have the ability to do this? By then the enemy was not wiped out much, but his troops were annihilated by the Germans.
"
"Comrade Stalin, Sokov is very good at fighting." Rokossovsky saw that Stalin did not trust Sokov, so he explained to him: "Since he proposed the tactics of annihilating the enemy in the movement, then I
I believe he will not let me down."
"You should have already known from Antonov that I have dismissed Vatutin from his post and appointed General Malinovsky to replace him." Stalin said on the phone: "But he will be there as soon as possible.
It will take a week to get familiar with your troops. I think you can ask him to assist you in the battle by then."
"Comrade Stalin, we simply can't wait a week." Rokossovsky became a little anxious: "Sokov's troops are fighting a desperate battle with the Germans. If the troops of the Southwest Front do not fight in the direction of Izyum
If you make some feints, I'm afraid you won't be able to attract the enemy's attention."
"Can't they wait even a week?"
"We can't wait, Comrade Stalin." Rokossovsky said with emphasis: "Every minute on the battlefield is precious, and our troops simply don't have time to wait another week."
"Okay then." Stalin said into the microphone: "I will discuss this matter with Comrade Zhukov immediately and let him temporarily go to the Southwest Front Army to take over the command. I believe that with his friendship with Xiao Misha, he will do his best to help.
"
After receiving a positive answer, Rokossovsky asked Malinin to send a telegram to Sokov, saying that the base camp was prepared to immediately send Zhukov to act as the commander of the front army. If Sokov's division prepared to attack Izyum
, the troops of the Southwest Front will fully cooperate. Even if they are temporarily unable to attack, they will make some noise to attract the attention of the Germans so that they will not be besieged by more German troops.
After reading Rokossovsky's telegram, Sokov seemed to have received reassurance. He was worried that when his troops got too close to Izyum, not only would the enemy's resistance become stronger, but at the same time, there might also be
He received an order from his superiors to seize Ijumu at all costs. If so, he would have to be prepared to sacrifice everyone in advance.
"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov handed the telegram to Sidorin and said to him: "Order the 122nd Regiment to continue advancing westward, while the 124th Regiment remains in ambush, preparing to attack the enemy who comes after hearing the news.
"
"What, let the 124th Regiment stay in ambush?" Hearing Sokov's order, Sidorin asked in surprise: "Comrade Division Commander, do you really think that the enemy's large troops will arrive here?
"
"We first destroyed a German regiment headquarters, and now we have captured their defense area." Sokov said with a smile: "In order to find out who attacked them, the German commander will definitely send troops to check.
.When the time comes, we will take advantage of their inattention and attack decisively to destroy or severely damage this enemy group."
"Well, that makes sense." After thinking about Sokov's words, Sidorin felt that setting up an ambush near the area he had just captured would indeed surprise the enemy, and he would be able to catch them off guard. He quickly tried his best to
He nodded and said: "Comrade division commander, your approach is really good. As long as the enemy's troops do not exceed a thousand people, once they enter our ambush circle, there will probably be no hope of survival."
"By the way, Chief of Staff, I want to emphasize discipline."
Seeing Sokov saying this expressionlessly, Sidorin couldn't help but feel his heart skip a beat, and quickly asked: "Comrade division commander, could you please explain what discipline is?"
"From now on, every battle we fight will take no prisoners. Do you understand?"
Sidorin naturally understood that the reason why Sokov issued this order was because if the troops operating behind enemy lines carried a large number of prisoners, their movements would become slow and they would be in danger of being exposed at any time, so he quickly replied: "
Understood, comrade division commander, I will convey your order to each regiment, so that everyone will take no prisoners during the battle."
Sokov nodded and continued: "The ammunition we carry is limited and cannot be replenished. It is destined that we will not be active behind enemy lines for too long. Therefore, we must use quick tactics to attack a certain place.
After the German troops were defeated, we immediately moved to attack new targets. We must constantly consume the effective strength of the German troops in mobile warfare. In this way, by the time we withdraw to the Red Army Village, the enemy will not have enough strength to attack the city."
Hearing Sokov mention the Red Army Village, Sidorin couldn't help but look to the east. He murmured: "I hope the troops holding on to the city can use the time we bought them by harassing them to strengthen the city's defenses.
.Otherwise, when the enraged enemies launch a frantic attack on the city, we will not be able to stop them without a complete defense system."