As time goes by, the situation of the Southwest Front Army has become increasingly severe. Even Vatuting, who has always been stubborn, found that the reason why he was able to occupy Zaporoze was completely a conspiracy of Germany. Because only by putting their headquarters in a position where his troops can attack can he attract himself to put more troops into the traps that the enemy has already arranged.
Realizing that he was in a trap, Watujing was walking back and forth in the command center like an ant on a hot pan. Chief of Staff Major General Bojin said cautiously: "Comrade Commander, it is obvious that the Germans set up a huge trap in the direction of the Dnieper River, and then used their headquarters as bait to lure our army into their trap."
"What should we do now?" Vatujing stopped and asked his chief of staff with some serene thoughts: "Now the Sixth Army and Popov quickly gathered, they have been surrounded by the German army, and what's more serious is that their supply line has also been cut off by the German army. If the situation continues like this, they may be completely wiped out by the enemy."
"Comrade Commander, the situation is still possible to be restored." Bojin reminded Vatujing: "Order Popov to retreat quickly to the Red Army village, strive to break through the German encirclement, arrive in Lugansk, and meet with Colonel Sokov's combat cluster. I believe that as long as the two troops meet, the enemy will not do anything to them."
"But Popov's troops are still more than 200 kilometers away from Luhansk now." Vatuting asked with a wry smile: "Chief of Staff, do you think with their current strength, can they march for two hundred kilometers continuously to Luhansk without stopping fighting?"
Seeing that Vatujing had denied his first proposal, Major General Bojin was not discouraged and continued: "If they could not move closer to Lugansk, they could only turn around and go north, break through the enemy's siege from the Ijium area, and come to meet with the main force of the front army."
"But the truth in this direction is not suitable for armored vehicles." But after seeing the second route proposed by Bojin, Watuking shook his head again and said, "If we order Popov to quickly break through from this direction, I am worried that in the end, our army will have to throw a large number of tanks on the way to retreat. I will definitely not tolerate throwing technical equipment to the enemy."
Seeing that his two plans were denied by Watujing, Major General Bojin was completely disappointed. He knew that the two plans he proposed could help Popov quickly get out of the predicament, and any other way was only a dead end. He sighed softly and asked carefully: "Comrade Commander, what should we do?"
"Appoint Popov to move into defense on the spot and rely on fortifications to defend." Vatujing stared at the map and said, "As long as he can hold on for a week, I can mobilize enough troops to rescue him from the encirclement."
"Comrade Commander, have you ever considered whether General Popov and his supplies could support one week?" Major General Bojin saw that Vatujing issued the wrong order and reminded him again: "There are not many tanks left in his hand, and the ammunition and fuel are almost exhausted. Faced with the enemy's strong attack, they could not complete the task of sticking to one week. I think it's better to let them choose to break through as soon as possible. If it really doesn't work, they can only throw away the tanks that have exhausted fuel and ammunition and break out of the enemy's encirclement with light equipment."
"Comrade Chief of Staff, I have just said that throwing technical equipment to the enemy is a crime." Vatujing said in a stern tone: "Even if our soldiers sacrifice their lives, they will find ways to save these technical equipment."
…………
Watuking and Chief of Staff Major General Bojin argued in the headquarters, and Popov on the battlefield had already felt powerless in the face of the German attack. He asked his chief of staff with a bitter face: "Chief of Staff, tell me, what should we do next? Should we continue to stick to it or break through?"
"Comrade Commander," the Chief of Staff saw that Popov wanted to break through, and quickly reminded him: "We cannot implement a breakthrough without receiving the order from our superiors to retreat. Otherwise, if our superiors pursue it in the future, we will not be able to pay the responsibility."
"But judging from the current situation, if we continue to stick here, it will be not far from the destruction of the entire army." Popov grabbed his hair with both hands and said painfully: "What should I do?"
This seemingly simple problem stumped the Chief of Staff. It is obviously unrealistic to break through. The consequences of leaving the existing position without receiving the order from the superiors are unbearable. It seems that it is not possible to stick to it. As the supply line is cut off by the German army, the troops will soon face the situation of ammunition and food exhaustion.
It's really funny to think about it. Paulus's Sixth Army had just been annihilated in early February, but less than a month later, his troops were also facing the same situation as Paulus at that time. He could not fight but could not retreat but could not retreat, which was really hard to make a decision.
Just when the two were at a loss, the political commissar who was sitting next to him without speaking suddenly said, "By the way, Comrade Commander. Last time General Rokosovsky told you that if you are in danger, you can contact the 41st Guard Division stationed in Luhansk immediately, and they will provide us with assistance."
"But they only have one division. What role can they play against the German army's large forces?"
"Comrade Commander, I heard that this division had the least casualties in the battle to defend Stalingrad, but the most enemies were eliminated." The political commissar continued: "I think the reason why the superiors deployed them in Luhansk was probably because they saw their performance in Stalingrad. Maybe we have to get out of the predicament, so we can only turn to him."
"Chief of Staff," the political commissar said, and he hurriedly asked the Chief of Staff: "Do you have any contact information for Colonel Sokov?"
"Although we don't have a phone call here," replied the Chief of Staff: "but we can connect with them by sending newspapers."
"Then contact them immediately and see how the other party responded." Popov said to the Chief of Staff: "Their reply will allow me to decide whether to stick to it or break through."
The Chief of Staff received an order to send a telegram to the 41st Division of the Guards. While waiting for the call to reply, Popov was sitting and lying restless like a primary school student waiting for the teacher to announce his grades. He kept thinking in his heart: "How will Colonel Sokov respond to me after receiving my telegram?"
After waiting for more than ten minutes, the radio operator sitting not far away began to receive the report, which made Popov feel even more nervous. After finally waiting for the communications and staff to finish the end, he couldn't wait to ask: "How is it, what did Colonel Sokov say?"
After receiving the telegram and looking at it for a few glances, the Chief of Staff immediately showed a happy look on his face: "Comrade Commander, good news. Now our army has assembled a combat cluster in Luhansk under the command of Colonel Sokov, with four infantry divisions, three tank brigades, one artillery and two rocket artillery battalions. Colonel Sokov asked us to break through immediately and decisively in Luhansk, and he will send troops to meet us."
Popov took the telegram from Sokov and pondered for a long time. Finally, he made up his mind. He gritted his back teeth and said, "Order the troops to be prepared for a breakthrough. When it gets dark, we will break out in Luhansk."
"But Comrade Commander, we did not receive the order from our superiors to retreat." The Chief of Staff reminded Popov: "If we retreat without authorization, we may be dealt with severely."
Chapter completed!