General Lidukov's 5th Tank Army launched an attack on the German traffic line within the specified time. The Istrian Battalion hidden in the Dym area also responded actively. In addition to blowing up bridges and destroying railways, even the telephone lines along the way were cut off overnight by them, forcing the orders of the German commander to be transmitted through radio stations or communications soldiers.
Just when everyone saw the hope of victory, the tank army's attack on the German army came to an abrupt end. Some German troops, which were defeated by the main force of the Soviet army, took the opportunity to shrink to one place and re-establish a new defense. The enemies stationed in the Dym area also mobilized troops to encircle Sokov's troops.
Seeing that the situation on the battlefield suddenly took a sharp turn, Sokov could only send a telegram to the Army Command, trying to understand what was going on so as to take corresponding measures. More than half an hour later, the headquarters' telegram arrived. After reading the contents of the telegram, Sokov's heart was cold. He knew that this cooperation with the Tank Army to harass the enemy's rear had already ended in failure.
Sokov summoned the commanders of each company and platoon to the command post and handed the telegram to them for circulating it, saying, "Comrades, General Lidukov, the commander of the Tank Army, in yesterday's battle, the tanks he drove were destroyed by German artillery fire, and the general died for his country. Due to his sacrifice, he lost the unified command of the tank army and was defeated by the German army. Not only is the situation in the direction of Voronezh deteriorating, but the enemy can also draw more troops to encircle and suppress us. Tell me, what should we do next? Should we continue to stay here to harass the German transportation line, or return to our defense zone."
After Sokov finished speaking, the whole room fell into silence, and the commanders present were considering the future fate of their own troops. Although some officers wanted to express their opinions, they saw that no one on the field spoke, and quietly swallowed the words they were about to say.
"Tell me, comrades in command." Sokov raised his voice and said in a high voice when he saw that no one was talking in the house. "The fate of the Istrian camp is in your hands. Let's talk about our own opinions. Should we stay or go back?"
"Comrade Battalion Commander," Captain Vanya, the first company commander who made his statement, said firmly: "Since our superiors ordered us to harass the German traffic lines in the Dim area, I think we should stay until this order is cancelled."
"Captain Vanya," as soon as Vanya finished speaking, Andrei retorted him: "Don't forget that the order given to us by our superiors is to assist the tank army in destroying the enemy's traffic lines. Now General Lidukov has died and the tank army has been defeated by the enemy. If we continue to stay in this area, then what awaits us will be an extremely tragic fate."
After the two different views were expressed, the command post immediately started a debate: there were those who supported Vanya and hoped to stay here to attack the enemy; there were also those who agreed with Andrei, who believed that the troops were weak now and that they would not only not be able to attack the enemy well, but also the possibility of being annihilated by the enemy, so it would be better to withdraw as soon as possible.
Seeing the two sides arguing, Belkin leaned close to Sokov's ear and asked quietly: "Comrade Major, if I guessed correctly, you have made a decision in your heart."
"Wait a minute, Comrade Belkin." Although Sokov made a bold decision in his heart when he convened the commanders for a meeting, in order to listen to his subordinates' opinions, he whispered: "Listen to what the commanders say, and I will express my own opinion."
However, after waiting for a long time, the two sides were still arguing. Belkin clapped his hands hard. After the room returned to silence, he said to everyone: "Comrades Commanders, you have been arguing for a long time, but there is still no result. I think it is better to let Major Sokov decide on the issue of staying or leaving. No matter what, he was once our battalion commander, and now he is commanding us to fight and obey his command. I think it is very necessary."
The two sides, who had already had a red face, couldn't help but turn their eyes to Sokov when he heard Belkin say this, and wait for him to make the final decision. Sokov knew very well that if he continued to fight in the Dym area according to the original plan, he would force the enemy to draw more troops here to encircle him. Maybe it would take no time for his troops to be destroyed. But what about withdrawing? This is simply impossible, because Rokosovsky did not give him a retreat order, so he could only stay here to deal with the German army.
If you want to neither violate the orders of your superiors and retreat without permission; and not be surrounded by heavy German troops, Sokov has only one choice, that is, to transfer the troops and move to other areas with weak German defenses to achieve the goal of eliminating the enemy and preserving his own goals.
Seeing that everyone's eyes were on him, Sokov coughed gently, cleared his throat and said, "Comrades, we cannot retreat until the retreat order of our superiors is issued. But if we continue to stay in the Dym area, we will face heavy encirclement and suppression of the German army..."
"Comrade Battalion Commander, tell you," Vasily couldn't wait to ask, "What should we do if we can't stay or withdraw?"
Sokov took out a map, placed it in front of everyone, and said to them: "The order given to us by our superiors is a traffic line that harasses the German army. It is obviously impossible to stay in the Dym region now. We can continue to go west and rush to the Kursk region, and continue to harass the German transportation line there."
Sokov's words shocked everyone in the room. Berkin said in shock: "Major Sokov, Kursk is in the depth of the German army's defense. If we are in that area, we will not only not receive any support from our army, but also face multi-faceted siege by the German army. You should consider it carefully."
It seems that if you stay in the Dym area, you will get support from your superiors. Sokov murmured a few words in his heart and then continued: "Because our army has gathered heavy troops in the direction of Bryansk and Voronezh, in order to prevent our army from breaking through, the German army will transfer their main force to the above-mentioned areas. In this way, their defenses in the deep cities will become extremely empty, giving us an opportunity to take advantage of them."
"Comrade Battalion Commander, would it be a bit too risky to do this?" Wanya carefully reminded Sokov, "I think we should think carefully."
Chapter completed!