The imagined bloody battle did not happen at all.
The plan was to fight four infantry divisions, an artillery division and three tank brigades. In the end, Sokov used only one regiment of troops to carry out several battalion-level attacks, and eliminated the defenders in the city and successfully liberated the city.
When he learned that the 124th Guard Regiment commanded by Sokov had successfully captured Donetsk, Vitkov was excited and reported the victory to the Front Command while ordering the divisions to speed up and move closer to Donetsk as soon as possible.
When Rokosovsky received a telegram from Vitkov, his first reaction must be that the radio operator had a wrong translation. According to his idea, it is a difficult task for Sokov's troops to launch an attack before dark today. However, the telegram said that Sokov commanded a guard regiment and had successfully won Donetsk, which was simply a fantasy.
In order to verify the authenticity of this matter, Rokosovsky personally called Vetkov: "Col. Vitkov, please tell me what exactly did you write in the telegram you just sent me?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front," Vitkov did not know the reason why Rokosovsky asked, but answered truthfully: "Major General Sokov had personally commanded the 124th Guards Regiment not long ago and successfully liberated Donetsk, which was occupied by the German army. Now, all the troops in the combat cluster are heading towards Donetsk, preparing to strengthen the defense there and welcome the possible counterattacks of the enemy."
Hearing Vetkov's answer, Rokosovsky murmured after being silent for a long time: "So, is it true to liberate Donetsk?"
"Of course it's true, Comrade Commander of the Front." Vetkov explained to Rokosovsky: "The war report was sent by the radio station of the 124th Guards Regiment, and I think there should be no mistake."
"Thank you, Colonel Vetkov." After confirming the news of victory, the expression on Rokosovsky's face became relaxed: "Thank you for bringing us such good news."
As soon as he put down the phone, Malinin came over and handed the telegram in his hand to Rokosovsky and said, "Comrade Commander, the German telegram that had just been intercepted, they said Donetsk was lost."
Through the comparison of intelligence between the two sides, Rokosovsky felt that it was a foregone conclusion that Donetsk was liberated by Sokov's troops. He quickly picked up the high-frequency phone on the table and contacted Moscow.
After answering Stalin's call, Rokosovsky said excitedly: "Comrade Stalin, I have good news to report to you."
"Is it good news, Konstantin Konstantinovich?" Stalin said in surprise: "The current situation on the battlefield is not good for our army, and we are in need of exciting good news."
"This is indeed exciting news," said Rokosovsky. "According to the battle report just obtained, the troops commanded by Major General Sokov have successfully captured Donetsk."
"What, our army has seized Donetsk?" After listening to the report, Stalin's instinctive reaction was that Rokosovsky made a mistake. According to the original plan, the combat cluster troops would take at least two days to arrive at Donetsk, and after a little rest, they would attack the city. Yesterday he proposed to launch an attack before dark today. Rokosovsky repeatedly sang against him, saying that the journey was long and the troops could not enter the designated attack position in such a short time. Now, just over a dozen hours have passed, but he told himself that Donetsk had been liberated by his army. How could this be possible? So he asked solemnly: "What the hell is going on?"
Rokosovsky heard Stalin's implication and quickly explained to him: "Comrade Stalin, this is the situation. At the normal hiking speed, I'm afraid that Sokov's combat cluster is still marching. The reason they were able to take Donetsk so quickly was because Sokov personally led a guard regiment to the town of Khaltsky by truck, and launched an unexpected attack on the enemy from there."
"So that's the case." Stalin nodded, picked up the cigarette box on the table, pulled out a cigarette from it, crushed it with his fingers, and filled the tobacco into the pipe. He held the pipe in his mouth, but did not light it: "I wonder what Xiaomisha has next plan?"
"Now the troops belonging to the combat cluster are advancing towards Donetsk." Rokosovsky reported to Stalin: "It seems that he wants to build a line of defense there to block the German army's way eastward advance."
What Stalin was most concerned about at the moment was whether Sokov's troops could divert the attention of the German senior leaders after they occupied Donetsk and allowed them to draw some of their troops from the direction of Kharkov. In that case, the troops that defended Kharkov and Belgorod would have a chance to breathe for several days.
"Konstantin Konstantinovich." Stalin asked Rokosovsky tentatively: "Do you think the Germans' attention will be attracted by Xiaomisha's actions? Even if they only draw a division of troops from Kharkov, our troops will get a chance to breathe."
"It's hard to say, Comrade Stalin." Rokosovsky said with some embarrassment about Stalin's statement: "If I were Manstein, even if I knew that my rear was attacked, I would probably find a way to destroy the enemy in the direction of Kharkov before turning around to solve the enemy who captured Donetsk."
Stalin lit the matches, lit the tobacco in his pipe, and then took a sip and said, "If Xiaomisha's troops really cannot mobilize the enemy, then what's the point of us seizing Donetsk."
"Of course it makes sense, Comrade Stalin." Seeing that Stalin was a little discouraged, Rokosovsky hurriedly comforted him and said, "If our army stayed in Donetsk and could not mobilize the enemy, then we can consider attacking Zaporoze. Manstein has moved his headquarters back to Zaporoze. If he is attacked again this time, he will definitely order the front-line troops to return to aid, and at that time it will relieve the pressure on the troops in the direction of Kharkov."
"Well, you make sense." Stalin said thoughtfully: "If the troops can attack from Donetsk and threaten Zaporoz's safety, Manstein will definitely transfer the troops back to aid, and our troops will be able to take a breath."
During the call, Rokosovsky reached a consensus with Stalin that after all the combat clusters arrived in Donetsk, they needed to actively move westward and act as a threat to Zaporoz, forcing Manstein to draw troops from Kharkov to return to aid.
Chapter completed!