The German offensive was repelled and the front returned to peace.
Sokov personally called Yershakov to confirm that they had all retreated, so he put down the phone.
"Comrade Commander," said Vitkov excitedly when he learned that the enemy's attack was repelled, "I really didn't expect that those once arrogant enemies would be vulnerable in front of us. Unfortunately, our tanks and cannons were a little smaller, otherwise we could launch a large-scale attack on the enemy."
Compared with Vitkov's optimism, Sokov obviously has to be much calmer. "Comrade Chief of Staff, although the enemy's attack has been repelled by us, we should clearly realize that the enemy's strength is still far stronger than ours. After the attack in this area is lost, they may launch an attack in a new area."
After hearing what Sokov said, Vitkov also realized that he was too optimistic. If the enemy was really vulnerable, he would not have beaten the Southwest Front and the Voronezh Front. He asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, what do you think the enemy may have discovered from the attack?"
"From our north or south," Sokov replied, "we must therefore remind the defenders in both directions to be vigilant and be prepared to fight the enemy."
Vetkov remembered that Sokov had said two days ago that the German army might launch an attack on the south side of the city to cut off the connection between the Red Army village and Donetsk. Thinking of this, he quickly said: "I will immediately call the two division commanders of Sivakov and Gorishne to prepare them for combat to prevent possible attacks from the enemy."
"Tell them," Seeing that Vetkov picked up the phone, Sokov told him: "Send more scouts to conduct reconnaissance around. If the German attack is successful, there will definitely be a lot of troops to be dispatched. As long as our scouts are not blind, they can discover them in time."
"I understand, Comrade Commander." Witkov nodded and said, "I will convey your order immediately."
After receiving the order conveyed by Vetkov, not only the Sivakov Division and the Gorishne Division took active action and sent more than a dozen reconnaissance teams to the outside, but even the 67th Guard Division stationed in Donetsk also sent nearby reconnaissance teams to carry out reconnaissance at places where the enemy might appear.
Major General Merkulov sent scouts entirely because of his whim. Seeing other divisions actively taking action, his division stayed motionless, which was not nice to say. What he never dreamed of was that it was precisely because of his perfunctory behavior that saved the entire combat cluster.
That night, the scouts sent to the southwest reported to Merkulov: "Comrade Commander, we found a large number of German troops gathering thirty kilometers southwest of Donetsk. They not only had a large number of tanks, armored vehicles, but also a large number of artillery."
After hearing this news, Merkulov's first reaction was that the scouts had made a mistake and must have regarded his troops as Germans. He also personally spoke to the person in charge of the scouts: "Comrade Lieutenant, do you really confirm that what you see is the German army's large force?"
"Yes, comrade Commander." The second lieutenant replied: "In order to prevent the situation of treating his own troops as enemies, I have repeatedly verified them twice, and there will be no mistakes."
Merkulov knew that the second lieutenant of the scout was a commander with rich experience and would never lie to himself in such matters. He asked guiltily: "Then according to your judgment, how many troops the enemy has?"
"I guess there is an infantry division, take-out tank regiments and artillery regiments," the second lieutenant of the scout said to Merkulov. "They are far ahead of us, both in terms of military strength and technical equipment."
"This information is important," Merkulov said to his political commissar Sheiko after finishing his call with the scouts. "I need to report to the commander immediately."
After the phone was connected, Sokov heard that it was Merkulov's voice and asked curiously: "General Merkulov, is there anything wrong?"
"That's right, Comrade Commander." Merkulov said on the phone: "I heard you ordered the 71st and 75th Divisions of the Guards to send scouts in all directions to find the enemy's traces. So I also sent several reconnaissance teams to reconnaissance where the enemy might appear."
Sokov knew very well that Merkulov could not be bored. When he called to chat with himself, something amazing happened. He quickly asked: "General Merkulov, time is tight, so just talk about the key points, don't always keep it around."
"It's like this, Comrade Commander," said Merkulov to the microphone. "My scouts reported to me that they had found a large number of German troops gathering thirty kilometers southwest of the city. According to their observations, it was an infantry division strengthened by artillery and tanks."
"What, in the southwest direction of yours, a large number of German troops were found?" Sokov asked in surprise: "Comrade General, is your news reliable?"
"Full be reliable, Comrade Commander." Merkulov replied: "The intelligence was sent back by a trusted scout lieutenant under me. He joined the Bolsheviks long before the war, and it is absolutely trustworthy..."
"Comrade General, don't say these useless things." Sokov was worried that Merkulov would talk nonsense again, so he interrupted him and asked directly: "Tell me, what measures have you all taken after you learned that the enemy appeared?"
"I have sent a combat alert to the troops and ordered everyone to be ready for combat."
Sokov was not satisfied with Merkulov's statement of being beaten up. After he finished speaking, he continued to ask: "Do you have reinforced fortifications and arranged minefields in the direction of the enemy?"
"No, Comrade Commander." When he heard Sokov's question, Merkulov's face turned red. He replied awkwardly: "You know, our division has not been in Donetsk for a long time, and many defensive facilities are not yet available to be established."
"General Merkulov, the Germans do not care whether you have time to build a perfect defense." Sokov said impatiently: "Their purpose is to destroy you. If you don't want to be eliminated by them, or be captured, hurry up and repair the fortifications and build a minefield where the German tanks may pass. Do you understand?"
"I understand, Comrade Commander." Merkulov quickly replied: "We will be ready for the battle as soon as possible."
After finishing the call with Merkulov, Sokov stared at the map for a while, then picked up the phone and dialed the headquarters of the 71st Guard Division: "Hey, is Colonel Sivakov here? I am Sokov, and I'm talking to him."
Shivakov's voice came soon on the phone: "Hello, Comrade Commander!" He thought Sokov was calling to inquire about the reconnaissance, and quickly said, "The scouts we sent have not received any feedback from us yet, so I cannot provide you with information for the time being."
"I call you not to understand the enemy's movements." Sokov said to Shivakov: "Just just now, General Merkulov reported to me that a large number of German troops appeared thirty kilometers southwest of Donetsk."
"What, the enemy appeared in the southwest of Donetsk?" Shivakov was shocked when he heard this news. He asked for instructions: "Comrade Commander, I want to ask, what is the mission of our division?"
"It is obviously very difficult to defend Donetsk just by approaching the 67th Division of the Guard." Sokov directly issued a combat order to Shivakov: "You immediately transfer the 219th Regiment of the Guard to the closest position to Donetsk. Once General Merkulov cannot resist the enemy's attack, the regiment must immediately enter the battle and assist friendly forces in defending the city. Do you understand?"
"I understand, comrade Commander." Sivakov replied loudly: "I will adjust the deployment immediately and transfer the 219th Guards Regiment to the vicinity of Donetsk."
Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Vitkov said with emotion: "Comrade Commander, I thought our cluster had four infantry divisions, and I felt that the force was already very large. But when I really wanted to use troops, I realized that this amount of force was not enough for defense. What should we do next?"
Sokov stared at the map for a long time and thought that he wanted to get rid of the predicament in front of him, so he could only ask General Krelov for help and asked him to draw troops from the 21st Army to strengthen the defense in the direction of Donetsk. He made up his mind and picked up the phone and prepared to call Krelov, but he soon let it go again. He knew that no matter how good his friendship with Krelov was, the other party would not send out any soldiers and soldiers before receiving the order from his superiors.
Thinking of this, he used another high-frequency phone number to contact Rokosovsky in the distance: "Commander of the Front Army, I think we may be in trouble."
"What trouble?" Rokosovsky's heart skipped a beat, thinking that there must not be anything wrong here in Sokov, otherwise the area that has finally stabilized will change: "Is there anything I can help you?"
"Yes, comrade Commander of the Front," Sokov heard Rokosovsky's answer and felt it was a chance, so he hurriedly said: "According to what we have detected, an infantry division strengthened by tanks and artillery appeared in the enemy thirty kilometers southwest of Donetsk. According to my estimate, the enemy may have wanted to completely cut off the retreat of my combat cluster through the attack on Donetsk."
"Why, with your current strength, can't even a German division be repelled?" Rokosovsky asked in confusion: "You know, your troops were not afraid of the attacks of several German divisions in the past. Why are you so panicked now?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I was not panicked." Sokov explained to Rokosovsky: "I placed my main force in the Red Army village, and Donetsk had only one guard, the 67th Division. You also know that this unit was seriously weakened after the battle. It would be very difficult to rely on a unit with a loss of troops to defend the important Donetsk."
"Okay, don't complain in front of me." Rokosovsky interrupted Sokov's later words and asked straight to the point: "Is there anything I can help you?"
"I would like to ask the 21st Army to deploy no less than one division of troops south of Donetsk. In this way, when the enemy launches an attack on Donetsk, the 21st Army's troops can provide us with timely support."
"Your idea is good," Rokosovsky said with a smile: "If you really want the 21st Army to transfer an infantry division over, it means that you are commanding another unit. In this way, many army commanders are unlikely to be able to compare with you. If other comrades give their opinions, how should I deal with them?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov continued: "The current priority is to defend the Red Army village, the line of Donetsk. The longer we fight here, the more time we can get to the friendly forces in the Kharkov direction to supplement and consolidate their defense. As long as the friendly forces can gain a foothold in the Kharkov direction and the attack of the fan Germans, even if our clusters are all fought, it will be worth it."
"Okay, don't pretend to be pitiful in front of me." Rokosovsky easily saw through Sokov's trick and said simply: "I will call General Krelov later, but the troops deployed south of Donetsk in the future will not be one division, but two divisions, so that they can have greater confidence in defending the city and prevent it from falling into the hands of the enemy again."
"Great, this is great." Sokov was overjoyed to learn that Rokosovsky was willing to send two divisions to strengthen his defense. He hurriedly said: "As long as friendly troops can enter the defensive positions on time, the Germans' attempt to retake Donetsk will fail."
After confirming that Rokosovsky would dispatch two reinforcements to himself, Sokov was happy. He called Merkulov again and said, "Comrade General, let me tell you good news. At the latest tomorrow, two friendly divisions will arrive in the south of Donetsk. If you need it, you can ask them for help at any time."
Chapter completed!