Konev fed Sokov's plan to the General Staff at the fastest speed. However, whether this plan is feasible must be discussed by all members of the Supreme Command Base Camp, and after reaching an agreement, it will be fed back to the troops below. In this way, the precious time of the day will be wasted.
Since Sokov came up with this idea, he was in a state of uneasiness. He didn't know whether his superiors would adopt his plan. And even if he wanted to adopt it, it could not be implemented immediately. After all, such an action involved too many troops, and it would be fast to implement it within two days.
Seeing Sokov's restless look, Sameko hurriedly comforted him and said, "Comrade Commander, you have done what you should do. Whether Kharkov can save it depends on how our friendly forces respond. Although the enemy's imperial troops have rushed into the city, our army is still resisting tenaciously. It is not easy for the enemy to occupy the city."
Seeing that Sameko was full of confidence in whether the Soviet army could defend Kharkov, Sokov was not willing to pour cold water from the other party. Moreover, he had already bought a month and a half for the Soviet army that was defending the city through various active actions. If the defenders in the city could make full use of this period to consolidate their defense, it would be impossible to defend the city. "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are right. After occupying Kharkov, friendly troops received almost two months of rest. I believe they had built complete fortifications to fight against the German attack."
When saying this, Sokov thought silently in his heart: "If we want to fight defensive wars, any unit's experience is not as good as the 62nd Army. If the base camp deployed Cuikov's troops in Kharkov, it might be able to defend the city. But the troops that defend the city now have almost all formed new troops for several months, and it is okay to fight a smooth battle during the attack. Now, facing the German attack, there is not much chance of winning."
Sokov's worries soon became a reality.
The 25th Guard Division, which was defending the south of the city, tenaciously resisted the attacks of the Skeleton Division and the Flag Guard Division. The 53rd Guard Artillery Regiment deployed in the city was simply bad news for the German army. Many tanks that covered infantry charges were destroyed by artillery fire during the attack. The German infantry, who had lost the cover of tanks, were defeated by machine gun fire in front of the Soviet defensive positions.
Seeing that the attack in the south of Kharkov was not going well, SS Commander Hauser personally called Tansen: "Mr. Captain Flag, I am Hauser."
When he heard that it was the commander who called him personally, Tansen quickly said respectfully: "Hello, Commander, do you have any instructions?"
"The Skeleton Division and the Flag Guard Division launched a German attack on the Russian position in the south of the city, and both ended in failure because of the opponent's tenacious resistance." Haussel said to Tansen: "I order you now to immediately draw a regiment of troops and launch an attack on the south of the city to force the Russians' forces and cooperate with the other two divisions to seize the positions in the south of the city."
"Hissergeant," Tansen was a little anxious when he heard Haussel's order: "The Russians in the city are under the cover of tanks and are constantly fighting back towards the area we occupied. If I draw troops to attack south now, I am worried that my troops will be driven out of the city by the Russians."
"Mr. Flag Captain," Haussel seemed very unhappy when he saw Tansen pushing his orders, and he said with a stern face: "Have you ever thought that if the Skeleton Division and the Flag Guard Division were unable to invade the city for a long time, the Russian defenders in the city could concentrate their forces and launch a counterattack on your division. But as long as you can assist the Skeleton Division and the Flag Guard Division to break through the Russians' southern position, even if you are temporarily driven out of the city, you will be able to fight back sooner or later."
After hearing what Hauser said, Tansen thought for a long time and felt that Hauser's words made sense. It had been a day since his troops had invaded the city, but due to the tenacious resistance and uninterrupted counterattack of the Russians, it was very difficult to continue to expand the results of the battle. But if the Skeleton Division and the Flag Guard Division also entered the city, the resistance they faced would be greatly weakened.
After understanding this, he quickly said to the microphone: "Mr. Commander, I understand. I will immediately order the head of state to attack the south of Kharkov and support friendly forces to attack the Russian positions in the south of the city."
An hour later, the Skeleton Division and the Flag Guard Division once again launched an attack on the Soviet army's south position. Just as the artillery of the 53rd Guard Artillery Regiment was bombarding the German tanks and infantry attacking the south position with artillery fire, several German tanks were driven west along the street.
Seeing this, the artillery regiment commander, who was commanding the artillery to fire, quickly ordered the artillery to turn the guns and open fire on the coming German tanks. Hearing the commander's order, the artillery immediately stopped shooting outside the city, aimed the guns at the streets in the city, and bombarded the German tanks that were coming quickly.
The artillery reacted very quickly, but was still one step late. The enemy tanks rushed to the artillery positions along the streets, fired artillery soldiers using artillery on the positions with machine guns, and bombarded the infantry covering artillery with tank guns, destroying the machine gun fire points they established one by one.
In less than ten minutes, the artillery position with 24 76mm cannons was destroyed by German tanks. The artillery that was still firing shells not long ago were crushed into piles of scrap iron, and the artillery and infantry covering the artillery were seriously injured and injured.
The infantry, which had lost the cover of artillery fire, could not resist the rumbling German tanks. Soon, the first line of defense that the 73rd Guards Regiment was broken through by the tanks of the Skeleton Division. The infantry following immediately submerged the Soviet army's first line of defense like a tide.
After breaking through the first line of defense of the Soviet army, the officers and soldiers of the Skeleton Division did not stop and continued to launch a new attack on the second line of defense held by the 81st Regiment of the Guards.
The command of General Sa*ko, the commander of the Guards Division, was located on the second line of defense. Seeing that the German army broke through its first line of defense and launched an attack on the second line of defense, he quickly called his boss, Major General Kryuqinjin, the commander of the 69th Army, and asked him for help: "Comrade Commander, I am General Sa*ko, the commander of the 25th Guards Division. The enemy has broken through the first line of defense in the south of the city and is launching an attack on the second line of defense. I ask for support, request support!"
At this time, Kluqinjin's situation was not much better. He was organizing all the troops he could mobilize and launched a counterattack against the imperial division in the west of the city regardless of casualties. At this moment, when he heard Sa*ko's request for help, he said impatiently: "Comrade General, I order you to firmly defend the position and not to retreat at all, and you will definitely not be allowed to hand over the position to the enemy."
In the order issued by Kluchenjin, he only ordered Sa*ko to defend the position. As for how to defend and whether reinforcements would be sent, he did not mention it. Regarding Kluchenjin's confused order, Sa*ko could only ask: "Comrade Commander, isn't the Third Tank Army still in the city? If they had their assistance, we believe that the German attack could be completely crushed."
"General Saxko," said Kryuchenjin with some impatient words: "The Third Tank Army lacks fuel and ammunition, and most of the tanks cannot move. The only tanks are covering our infantry and carrying out uninterrupted counterattacks on the Germans in the west of the city, trying to drive the enemy out of the city."
Seeing that Kluchinkin could not get the assistance he wanted, Sa*ko put down the phone in disappointment and said to his chief of staff: "Chief of Staff, immediately transfer the 78th Guards Regiment. It seems that we are going to launch a counterattack against the enemy."
"What, counterattack against the enemy?" The Chief of Staff looked through the lookout, looking at the German officers and soldiers rushing towards the position like a tide, and couldn't help but say with concern: "Comrade Commander, you see, there are no less than twenty tanks in the enemy's attacking troops, but we are all infantry. If we launch a rash counterattack, the entire army will be destroyed."
Although he knew that using infantry to counterattack the enemy's tanks would cause huge casualties, Sa*ko still gritted his teeth and said, "At present, the city cannot provide us with any assistance. We can only rely on our own strength to defend our position. Chief of Staff, execute the orders and immediately transfer the 78th Guards Regiment to let them fight back against the enemy."
The German tanks that rushed to the second line of defense were blown up by the soldiers hiding in the craters with grenades. The remaining tanks turned around and fled. It happened that at this time, the troops of the 78th Guards arrived and took the opportunity to launch a counterattack, charged behind the enemy, and tried to regain the first line of defense occupied by the enemy.
The enemy who was staying in the position saw their troops retreating like a tide. Because they were worried that they would accidentally hurt their own people, they did not dare to shoot easily. Some Soviet commanders and fighters took the opportunity to jump into the trenches and engage in close combat and hand-to-hand combat with the enemy.
Just when the two sides were in a stalemate, the German army's long-range artillery fired, and dense shells fell between the first and second lines of defense, as if a firewall was erected, cutting off the retreat of the counterattack troops. At the same time, the troops of the Flag Guard Division began a large-scale attack. As the enemy entered the battlefield, the 78th Guard Regiment, which was responsible for the counterattack mission, immediately fell into the German encirclement.
Seeing that his troops were trapped in the German encirclement, Saxko, who was in the command center, was so anxious that he stamped his feet. He was about to order the 81st Guards Regiment to attack and rescue the 78th Regiment, but was stopped by the Chief of Staff: "Comrade Commander, the enemy's strength is stronger than us, and there are tanks. We cannot use the remaining troops to take risks. Once all the troops are wiped out, what kind of troops should we use to block them if the enemy attacks again?"
After hearing the Chief of Staff’s persuasion, Sa*ko only hesitated for a moment, but still made his own decision: "Leave a battalion on the second line of defense, and the remaining troops will attack immediately. Be sure to rescue the trapped 81st Regiment. We cannot watch our soldiers be wiped out by the enemy."
After the order from Sa*ko was issued, the 78th Regiment, which was standing on the second line of defense, was not only left to hold its position, but the commanders and fighters of the other two battalions decisively launched a charge, and they wanted to rescue the remnants of the 81st Regiment and the 73rd Regiment from the enemy's siege.
But when the area blocked by the enemy's artillery fire was blocked, one-third of the officers and soldiers fell into the artillery fire. The remaining troops rushed into the first line of defense, fought with the enemies here, and tried to get closer to friendly forces.
The remnants of the 81st and 73rd regiments who met with them tried to regain their positions from the Germans. However, after half an hour of fierce fighting, they had to choose to retreat due to the huge gap in strength and the disadvantage of equipment. However, during the retreat, they were bombarded by the enemy and machine guns, and many soldiers fell on the way to retreat.
Seeing the troops withdrawing from the second line of defense, plus the defenders on the positions, and the total strength of the total troops was unknown, Sa*ko couldn't help but feel like a knife. After the early battles, his troops were only less than 5,000 left. Unexpectedly, they suffered huge casualties today, with only less than 1,000 left. It is very difficult to defend the position with the existing troops alone.
In desperation, Sa*ko could only ask for help from Kliuqinjin again: "Comrade Commander, after our division fought fiercely with the German army, the total strength was less than a thousand. If you do not send troops to reinforce, I am worried that the position will not be able to be defended."
Logically speaking, the 25th Guard Division suffered such heavy casualties, and Kryuqinjin should have sent someone to reinforce, but after listening to the report, he thought that Sa*ko had falsely reported the situation of the war to him in order to obtain reinforcements, so he said impatiently: "Comrade Commander, I still said the same thing. Without my order, I will not retreat at all. I must not hand over the position to the enemy."
Seeing that Kliuqinjin was still unwilling to send reinforcements to him, Sa*ko could only smile bitterly and said to his chief of staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, the commander still refuses to send reinforcements to us. Go and tell the commanders and fighters to do all their efforts to stick to the position until the last bullet is fired and the last person is fought."
In the evening, the command center of Saxx was destroyed by German artillery fire. Most of the people in the command center died on the spot. Fortunately, several commanders and soldiers saw that the command center was hit by the enemy's artillery fire, so they ran over to rescue and rescued the seriously injured Saxxxx. The 25th Guards Division faced the fierce offensive of the German army. It was originally at the end of their strength, but at this moment it lost unified command and could not stop the enemy's attack.
More than ten minutes later, the troops of the Flag Guard Division crossed the defense line of the 25th Guard Division and rushed into Kharkov from the south of the city. They soon joined the head of state of the Imperial Division and continued to attack the Soviet-controlled area in the city.
Chapter completed!