After hanging up the phone, Rokosovsky stared at the map for a long time. The more he looked at the more he felt that Sokov's plan was a stroke of magic. If the troops deployed in Lugansk attacked Donetsk unexpectedly, the German army, who were worried that they would be trampled on the back, would have completely disrupted the attack plan of the Kharkiv area.
Thinking of this, he ordered the Director of the Communications Force to help him connect to Moscow. When he heard Poskrebeshev's voice coming from the receiver, he quickly said friendly: "Hello, Poskrebeshev, please help me pick up Comrade Stalin's office. I have important information to report to him."
"General Rokosovsky, Comrade Stalin is listening to the report of the Deputy Chief of General Staff General Antonov." Poskrebeshev said coldly: "I'm afraid you will not be able to answer your call for the time being."
Rokosovsky knew that Stalin was approaching the Deputy Chief of Staff at this moment, and it was definitely related to the situation in Kharkov. He quickly said, "Comrade Poskrebeshev, the work I want to report is also related to Kharkov. Please help me get in touch with Comrade Stalin immediately. I believe that after listening to my report, he will be happy."
Since Rokosovsky had already said this, it was obviously inappropriate not to help repost the phone. Poskrebeshev could only say to the microphone: "Please wait a moment, I will ask Comrade Stalin for instructions."
Poskrebeshev carefully placed the microphone on the table, walked to the door, knocked gently twice, and before a sound could be heard inside, he pushed open the door and walked in.
Stalin, who was scolding Antonov, heard someone pushing the door open and walking in. He turned his head and saw that it was Poskrebeshev, so he asked unhappily: "Do you have anything to do?"
"Comrade Stalin, General Rokosovsky called," Poskrebeshev reported with a blank expression: "He said there are important things and I want to report them to you immediately."
"What else is more important than the battle situation in Kharkov?" Stalin pointed at Poskrebeshev with his hand holding the pipe and said, "I still have something to do now, let him call him in half an hour."
"Comrade Stalin, General Rokosovsky said he was ready to report to you about Kharkov. He even said that you can get better after listening to his report."
When Antonov heard Poskrebeshev say this, he immediately realized that Rokosovsky might have found a way to reverse the direction of Kharkov and occupied it unfavorably. He quickly said to Stalin: "Comrade Stalin, I ask you to listen to General Rokosovsky's report first. Maybe he can surprise you."
Stalin, who was a little hesitant, nodded when he heard Antonov say this and said to Poskrebeshev: "Click the phone in."
As soon as the phone rings on the table rang, Stalin grabbed the microphone and put it in his ear: "I am Stalin, General Rokosovsky, I hope you will tell me good news."
"Comrade Stalin, more than ten minutes ago, I spoke with Major General Sokov, the commander of the combat cluster in Lugansk," Rokosovsky said bluntly after simply saying hello: "He proposed a plan to me to reverse the adverse situation in the direction of Kharkov."
"Major General Sokov?" Stalin asked in confusion: "Who is he?"
"Comrade Stalin," Antonov quickly explained to him: "It is Xiao Misha, the son of your old comrade. In order to commend him for his superb command skills and great achievements in his battle to defend Stalingrad, the base camp has just promoted him from colonel to major general."
"I really didn't expect that if a person is not careful, this Xiaomiao will become a general." Stalin learned that it was Sokov who was giving advice and guessing that the plan proposed by the other party might be helpful for reversing the direction of Kharkov, so he asked anxiously: "Konstantin Konstantinovich, hurry up, what suggestions did Xiaomiao give you?"
"Comrade Stalin, according to the situation we have mastered, the enemy has concentrated their main forces in the direction of Kharkov and Belgorod to launch a fierce battle with our Voronezh Front." Rokosovsky reported to Stalin: "Major General Sokov discovered that the enemy's defenders in Donetsk were greatly weakened, so a bold plan he proposed was to immediately launch an attack on Donetsk and seize the city from the enemy's hands. As long as our attack begins, the German army, who was launching an attack in Kharkov, would be worried that our army would draw some of its troops back to defend. In this way, the strength of the enemy attacking Kharkov would be weakened, thereby reducing the pressure on our army."
After hearing this, Stalin did not immediately express his opinion, but looked at Antonov standing in front of him: "Comrade Vice Chief of Staff, tell me, does Xiaomisha's plan work?"
"Comrade Stalin, please look at the map." Antonov pushed a map on his desk to Stalin and explained to him: "If Sokov's troops successfully occupied Donetsk, then the German retreat that controlled the Red Army's village, Pavlograd, would be threatened. And they could also advance west at any time to cut off the German supply from the direction of Zaporoze."
"So, as long as Xiaomisha's troops launch an attack on Donetsk and capture the city, can they disrupt the German attack on Kharkov and win a precious respite for our troops?"
"Totally correct, Comrade Stalin."
Hearing Antonov speak in such a sure tone, Stalin took the microphone back to his ear and said, "Konstantin, the Deputy Chief of Staff and I have discussed the plan proposed by Xiaomia, and I think it's better to give it a try. When will he launch an attack on the defenders of Donetsk?"
"There is nearly a hundred kilometers from Lugansk to Donetsk. Even if the troops start marching overnight, they will have to wait until the day after tomorrow to reach Donetsk at the earliest." After calculating the time in his mind, Rokosovsky replied: "If everything goes well, they will attack the enemy the night after tomorrow."
"What, wait until the night after tomorrow?" Stalin was a little anxious when he heard what Rokosovsky said. From the information he had just obtained, it was already the limit for some troops to last until tomorrow night. He asked tentatively: "Can you advance the attack time? Also, why do they launch an attack at night?"
"The reason is simple." Although Rokosovsky was willing to provide air support to Sokov's troops, the air force today, like the army's armored forces, lack fuel and ammunition, so he said euphemistically: "Our Air Force aircraft, because they lack fuel and ammunition, cannot provide air cover for them. If we want to reduce casualties during offense without air cover, we can only choose the attack time at night."
Chapter completed!