Iron Cross

Zhukov and Yeremenko were old classmates who had a very good relationship, and they usually talked quite well, so he subconsciously defended him: "There are not many places suitable for crossing the river in the lower reaches of the Don River. After the deployment of the 57th, 62nd, and 64th armies, We have basically occupied all the river crossing points, and the 2nd Guards Army cannot move forward. If we take a long way, we will not be able to rescue the 21st Army. "

It would have been better not to say this, but Stalin became even more angry when he said: "Who asked him to go to the Meander to save people? It is enough that there is an idiot Chistyakov dragging Manstein with him. His target is Ross Tov! Our commanders at all levels should keep their heads clear - now that the Germans have sent their main force to the bend of the river, how much strength is left in the direction of Rostov? "

Zhukov smiled bitterly. The Supreme Commander's words vaguely meant to blame himself. Of course, more importantly, he wanted to vent his dissatisfaction with Yereomenko's ineffective combat. He always believed that it was the negligence of the Stalingrad Front that caused this incident. Several Romanian warships were put in!

Late that night, Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev, the political commissar of the Stalingrad Front, walked into the front army headquarters with a sullen face, holding a telegram, but was shocked to find the front army commander Yereomenko beside him. Covering his face and crying, he looked like a little boy who had been naughty outside and was scolded by his mother - Comrade Commander is already 50 years old this year, and he is still the commander-in-chief of the more than 300,000-strong Red Army!

"What's wrong with you? Comrade Andrei Ivanovich." Khrushchev suddenly felt sympathy for the commander. He put aside the telegram in his hand and asked with concern, "Who Dare you show your face?"

"Comrade Stalin got angry, and Comrade Zhukov also sent a telegram to accuse us."

Following the direction Yereomenko pointed, Khrushchev saw the telegram sent by Zhukov. This was not the routine telegram he received from the General Staff. This was a long telegram sent by Zhukov in a personal tone. It not only told him that Comrade Stalin was very angry. , told him to be careful and fight harder, and also warned him that if the 2nd Guards Army was not sent out, the General Staff would adjust the operational affiliation.

After seeing this telegram, Khrushchev knew that he did not need to give out his share. He persuaded: "Comrade Zhukov's words are not bad. This is for the cause! As you have also seen, the 21st and 24th Group Armies have nearly 20 Ten thousand troops were besieged by the enemy. Comrade Stalin was so anxious that he could not eat or sleep well. Comrade Vatutin had already crossed the river. Comrade Rokossovsky's troops were blocked by warships and could not cross the river. We were the only ones left. The left bank of the river is in tatters, and Moscow will certainly be dissatisfied..."

"I have sent three armies up, what else can I do?" Yereomenko was filled with anger. "We also have the Kleist Group on our flanks, watching them. If we move all our troops to the front, What if this group takes the opportunity to attack us? Even if they don't launch an attack, what if they deploy troops to land along the Caucasus? "

"This matter has to be settled. At least the responsibility for the landing in the Caucasus cannot be borne by us, right?" Khrushchev said to himself, "That is the problem of the Caucasus Front."

At this time, the Stalingrad Front still had two armies in hand, one was the 2nd Guards Army, which had relatively strong combat effectiveness, and the other was the 51st Army. Yereomenko was full of complaints about this: "Why not let the Don River What about the reinforcements sent by the front army? They still have the 4th Tank Army in hand, and they have our troops on their left and right flanks, so they don’t have to worry about the enemy breaking in. "

"But they faced the bend of the Don River, where there were enemy warships with hundreds of German aircraft on them."

"Then just delay crossing the river for a few more days. It's going to freeze soon anyway, and it won't freeze here until next month... Can't the 200,000 people in the meander of the river not even wait a few days?" Yeremenko Said gruntingly.

"Comrade Stalin can't wait any longer."

"You can transfer the 4th Tank Army to us to cross the river... The soldiers are unwilling to be transferred to us, and they are unwilling to sacrifice in the Don River Department - do they understand who is responsible for the defeat in the battle?" Ye Liao Menko roared angrily, "If we didn't know the specific details, others would have thought that those being surrounded were our troops from the front!"

"Reinforcement is like putting out fire!" Khrushchev heard Yereomenko's dissatisfaction with Rokossovsky in his words, whether it was the usual grudges or Stalin's threat to send the 2nd Guards Army to the Don Front. In short, Yeremenko now has great opinions on Rokossovsky. He felt that the other party’s idea was very dangerous, so he persuaded him, “We are all for the cause of the party. Don’t distinguish between yours and mine. The only mission is to carry out the order - attack!"

"Comrade Khrushchev, you don't understand. You are not a soldier. You cannot feel the pain of a commander watching his troops being led in the wrong direction."

"Comrade Yeremenko! The combat order was issued by the General Staff. No matter what your reasons are, the only thing we can do is obey. Whether the mistake is wrong or not will be judged after the war." Khrushchev raised his voice. , "And this is Comrade Stalin's personal order."

"Okay, I will resolutely obey his orders!" Yereomenko wiped away his tears. The performance just now cost him his life. He said to the combat staff in an unquestionable tone, "Order the guards. The 2nd Army will complete the crossing of the river before 10 a.m. on the 13th without any mistakes.”

"What if the Kleist Cluster really comes over? Can the 51st Army do it alone?" Khrushchev suddenly became a little worried due to the commotion just now.

"Who knows, let's take it step by step..." Yeremenko blinked and said noncommittally, "In case we are attacked, the 4th Tank Army of the Don Front can be transferred over and put under my command, right?"

Khrushchev shook his head and tried his best to eliminate the worries in his mind. He originally wanted to say something, but after thinking about it for a long time, he still couldn't.

In the early morning of the 13th, after a day and night of hard fighting, the German 16th Armored Division and the Guardsmen Armored Division finally defeated the rear elements of the 24th Group Army, and met together at the original pontoon area of ​​the river meander. Both sides arrived at the designated location almost at the same time. ——This not only meant that the two of them had completely cut off the Red Army in the He meander, but also meant that the bet between the two divisions was tied. The vanguard troops on both sides with special missions laughed loudly after seeing the other side's tanks, and the hands of Count Tank and Max Wensche were tightly held together.

"Kill them back together?"

"good!"

While they were congratulating each other, a battle situation study meeting was being held at the Huot Cluster headquarters.

"Sir, according to the latest intelligence, Vatutin, the commander of the Southwest Front opposite, has sent most of his troops, including the 5th Tank Army, the 1st Guards Army and other main forces across the river, but the front headquarters is still there. On the other side of the Don River, there is only one 12th Army left beside him - this is the weakest army on the front. We estimate that there are less than 60,000 people and only 50-70 tanks, including those left behind by Vatutin. Headquarters security troops and other technical arms, the front has only 80,000 to 90,000 troops that have not crossed the river, and the number of tanks does not exceed 100. "

"Okay!" Holt laughed, "The situation is more perfect than we imagined. This idiot Vatugin, does he think we can't come back to beat him after we leave?"

"However, the Bryansk Front forces are sticking to us very closely behind." Someone expressed a different opinion. "If we are attacked by the Bryansk Front troops from behind when we attack Vatutin, we will probably be very uncomfortable."

"Reinhardt, what do you think?"

"I think we can let the Romanians and Italians deal with them." Reinhardt glanced at the map and compared the strength distribution of both sides. "If we can buy 3-4 days, our armored forces can Destroying Vatutin’s lair will at least force him to withdraw troops from the Don River, which can effectively reduce the pressure on Marshal Manstein.”

"I want to share some of the burden for him. Now all three front armies are attacking in the direction of Rostov, which is enough for him." Holt thought for a while, "Can I ask you to lead the 4th Armored Group Army to attack the Russians? I Bring the Italians and Romanians to stay here to stop the Bryansk Front, and we will hold it as long as you need us."

"How about I switch tasks with you?" Reinhard thought for a moment and explained, "This way, we have a greater chance of success."

The facts are obvious. The 4th Armored Army's assault on Vatutin will not be a big problem. Vatutin only has less than 100,000 horses and 100 tanks on hand. The 4th Armored Army has 200,000 horses and 700 tanks. But The task of blocking is very pessimistic. The Bryansk Front has 600,000 men and 500-600 tanks. After excluding the 4th Armored Group Army, the Huth Cluster has only 200,000 men and 300 tanks. More importantly, these are all axis Although the combat effectiveness of the Little Brothers Army has been strengthened, it is still not enough to cope with the Red Army.

"I am the chief, you should listen to me." Holt blinked, "It is better for me to stay. I will ask them not to attack and use as much bluff as possible..."

"Then... I will leave you with 2 armored divisions and 1 motorized infantry division? We can have some reserves at critical moments." Reinhard no longer shied away, because Holt was of higher rank and more qualified than him. It is easier to control and command these allied troops.

"Just give me one armored division and one motorized infantry division." Huot said firmly. "The assault force cannot be weakened too much. We must solve the command center of the Southwest Front as soon as possible."

"I will try to solve the problem in 3-4 days."