After eradicating the German army's hidden power in Lugansk, the city became calm again.
There was no danger of war here, but in other areas, the Soviet army's situation became difficult. On the evening of March 4, Zhukov received a war report from the base camp and learned that the two tank troops and three infantry divisions sent by the Voronezh Front were already surrounded by the German Skeleton Division, Imperial Division and Flag Guard Division west of the Bereka River.
Seeing Sokov eager to try, Zhukov handed him the battle report he had just received and asked: "Misha, tell me, how can our troops get rid of the current predicament."
After reading the war report, Sokov did not speak, but walked to the wall, looked up at the map above and carefully studied the situation of the enemy and us. After a long time, he turned to Zhukov and said, "Comrade General, judging from the situation reported in this war report, it is basically impossible for the surrounded troops to block Paul Hauser's troops, not to mention the establishment of the troops."
Zhukov was very clear in his heart that Sokov's words were very ugly, but the other party's judgment coincided with him. He smiled bitterly and asked, "So, can we only watch these troops be destroyed by the enemy?"
"I have a way to give our army a glimmer of hope." Sokov looked at Zhukov and said, "But first we have to contact General Reblk."
"Why do you need to contact Rebarko?" Zhukov asked.
"I found that the 9th and 15th tanks surrounded by the German army were both General Rebarco's troops."
"Misha, you observed it very carefully." Zhukov showed a gratified smile on his face: "Not only these two tank troops are under the command of Rebarko, but even the other three infantry divisions are also under his command."
"That's great." Sokov blurted out and realized that his words might be ambiguity, he quickly explained: "Comrade General, I mean that all the troops in the encirclement are under the command of General Rebarko, so the next thing will be easier."
"Tell me, what are you going to do."
Sokov pushed the map on the table to Zhukov and said to him: "Comrade General, I found an interesting phenomenon. Near Nevalki, the defense zone of the German Imperial Division, the numbers of the Skeleton Division and the Flag Guard Division appeared."
"But, what does this mean?" Zhukov's adjutant said disdainfully: "Maybe Valky town is the junction of several German divisions."
"Don't interrupt, listen to Misha continue." Zhukov stopped his adjutant and said to Sokov with a kind look: "Hurry up and say your thoughts."
"In the town of Valky, there were only one or two battalion-level numbers of the Skeleton Division and the Flag Guard Division, which proved that this was not the junction of the three divisions." Sokov analyzed to Zhukov: "The reason for this is that the headquarters of the German commander Paul Hauser was located in the town of Valky."
"Misha, how likely do you think Paul Haussel has to set up his command in Valky?"
Although Sokov had long learned from later information that Paul Hauser's headquarters was located in Valky town, when faced with Zhukov's inquiry, he did not dare to speak too slowly, so he could only answer cautiously: "I am only 50% sure."
"The 50% of the grasp is also very good." Zhukov believed in Sokov's so-called "analysis". After all, so many facts prove that Sokov's analysis is basically correct every time. Every time he does not listen to his advice, he will definitely suffer a great loss. "I will contact Rebarko immediately and make him ready for the attack."
"Comrade General, the current location of the 15th Tank Army is closest to the town of Valky. I suggest that the army will carry out assault on the town before dawn." Sokov remembered that in the official history, the commander of the 15th Tank Army died less than 200 meters away from Paul Hauser's command. If the assault power can be increased, even if the German command cannot be removed, their command system can be disrupted and thus change the unfavorable situation on the battlefield. "However, just using the tank army assault is still slightly weaker, and at least two infantry regiments should be sent to cooperate in combat."
When Sokov said this, he sighed helplessly and said, "It's a pity that our place is too far from the battlefield. Otherwise, I could order Colonel Bere's tank brigade to attack Valky and rescue the trapped troops from danger."
Zhukov did not speak up about the plan proposed by Sokov, but stared at the map and thought quietly. In order not to affect Zhukov's work, the people in the command center dared not speak loudly, so as not to attract the adjutant's scolding.
"Misha." After a while, Zhukov finally raised his head and said to Sokov: "The plan you proposed is too risky. After all, we have not obtained similar information. I wonder if Paul Hauser's command is located in the town of Valky. If you choose the wrong direction of the assault, it will lead to the troops in the encirclement being in a state of doom."
"Comrade General, I understand what you mean." Sokov could not tell Zhukov that the fact that Paul Hauser's command was located in Valky town was seen by himself in later generations. He could only smile bitterly and said, "I just made a judgment based on some clues. I can't guarantee whether it is accurate or not."
"You can't guarantee, then what are you doing when you say nonsense?" Seeing that Zhukov didn't say anything, the adjutant began to attack again: "If you mislead the general and make a wrong decision, resulting in huge casualties in our army, can you afford such consequences?"
Sokov directly chose to ignore the adjutant's doubts. He just wanted to hear what decision Zhukov would make. The life and death of the two surrounded tank troops and three infantry divisions were all in Zhukov's hands.
"Misha, I choose to believe you." Zhukov stood up and said to the uneasy Sokov: "I will convey your meaning immediately to Rebarko, and let him order the 15th Tank Army to attack Valky before dawn. Regardless of whether the enemy's headquarters is in Valky, at least the first attack we launched will disrupt the original deployment of the German army."
Half an hour later, Rebarko, who was trapped west of the Bereka River, received a telegram from Zhukov. He asked his chief of staff with the telegram: "Chief of Staff, tell me that General Zhukov is far away in Rebarko. How did he judge that Paul Hauser's headquarters would be located in the town of Valky?"
"Comrade Commander," the chief of staff looked at the call code on the telegram and said to Rebarko: "According to the telegram code, Comrade General is currently in Lugansk. It is said that the combat cluster commanded by Colonel Sokov, who is responsible for the defense of that area, is the combat cluster commanded by Colonel Sokov. I think this judgment should be made by Colonel Sokov."
If Rebarko heard that this judgment was made by someone else, he might have scoffed, but he had to pay attention to it when he heard that it might be Sokov's analysis. He said to the Chief of Staff: "Chief of Staff, I have heard General Golikov, the commander of the Front, mention Sokov more than once, saying that he was an amazing commander. In the battle to defend Stalingrad, the 41st Guard Division he commanded was like a gate, firmly blocking the Mamayev hill, and even if the enemy launched countless attacks, he could not cross the hill.
If it were his judgment, I would choose to believe it. Now, you call the two tank commanders and three infantry division commanders immediately and ask them to arrive at the headquarters immediately. We will hold an emergency meeting as soon as possible."
Chapter completed!