Chapter 210
Molyvyan Village is a small village less than 100 kilometers away from Lozovaya. There is a large collective farm here called Red Flag Farm No. 1. Before the outbreak of the war, this farm was the largest soybean farm in eastern Ukraine. It was very famous. Almost every year, Moscow would organize inspection teams to visit here.
However, with the outbreak of the war, this farm could no longer provide Moscow with a single bean. Two days ago, with the retreat of the German army, the Germans who implemented a scorched earth policy burned all the soybeans that were about to be harvested on the entire farm. Even the houses in the collective farm were burned down, leaving only a wasteland.
On the dirt road outside the farm, a burned-out German Leopard 2 tank lay across the middle of the road, with a charred body hanging at the entrance of the tank's tower. Just one look at it would make one feel uncomfortable.
Northeastward, at the end of the road, a Soviet T-34 tank bypassed the jungle that blocked the view and drove slowly with a roar. When the tank was still three or four hundred meters away from the ruins of the farm, another T-34 tank turned around the corner of the jungle. Then, one tank after another appeared on the path. After about thirty tanks passed, a team of four Soviet soldiers came around the corner of the jungle.
About half an hour later, several American jeeps appeared at the ruins of the farm. The convoy stopped and Chuikov jumped off the second jeep holding his military cap. He scratched his itchy ears, then looked around, frowned, and said, "Bring me the map."
The accompanying guard hurriedly opened his bag, took out a map and handed it over.
"..." Looking at the map, Cuikov cursed something. Then he folded the map, threw it back to the guard, rubbing his chin with his hand, as if thinking about something.
Two days ago, Chuikov received a notice from the headquarters that the 9th Guards Army was assigned to the 4th Ukrainian Front. He was quite happy. Since the Battle of Kursk, his troops had entered a period of rest and recuperation, and there had been no battles for several months.
Now, the Fourth Ukrainian Front on the southern front is fighting fiercely, and the Ninth Guards Army has been transferred there. Needless to say, there is a battle to fight. For a soldier, only by fighting can he gain merit and get promoted. Therefore, Chuikov is eager to go to the front line, which is no different from Yuri.
However, the news that followed ruined Chuikov's good mood. Tolbukhin was relieved of his post as commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front and transferred to the Ministry of Defense, and the person who replaced him was Yuri...
Well, Chuikov had no problem with Yuri. They had worked together in the Battle of Stalingrad and had a good relationship. Chuikov also recognized Yuri's command ability. There was nothing wrong with that. But the problem was that Yuri was climbing too fast and was too young.
Look at Chuikov's qualifications. He was already a regimental commander in the 1920s, and before the war broke out, he was already an army commander. And what about Yuri? He is only in his twenties, not yet thirty. Before the war broke out, he was still a soldier... Oh, he was still a soldier when he was fighting the Finns, but now, he has actually begun to command a front army, but Chuikov is still commanding an army.
Well, everyone is jealous, and Cuikov is not a saint, so he is naturally no exception.
Starting from Ijume, the main force of the 9th Guards Army marched for two days and arrived at its current position. According to the information from the front command, it is now less than 30 kilometers away from the designated position.
According to the order of the front command, the 9th Guards Army should move towards Gorlovka, threaten the left wing of the German 1st Tank Army, and cooperate with the 9th Assault Army operating on the interior line.
The order was issued by the front command. As the field command organization of the current southern campaign, this was the highest order, and Chuikov had to obey it. But deep down, he still hoped to continue advancing westward, toward the Dnieper River, or toward the southwest, toward Zaporizhia.
Just as Chuikov's 9th Guards Army was advancing towards its set target, less than a hundred kilometers away, in the eastern suburbs of Gorlovka, the 51st Army headquarters was located.
Yuri's jeep stopped in front of a tent with a Red Cross sign. As soon as the car stopped, Arseni, who was acting as the driver, jumped out of the car first, trotted around to the back of the car and opened the door for Yuri.
This is the location of the 51st Army's field hospital, but all the tents are green, not white. There is no way. Although the Soviets have seized air superiority in this area, it does not mean that German planes will not appear here. In the second year of the Soviet-German War, all conventions are useless. The Red Cross does not provide any protection, but is more conspicuous and easily exposes the target.
At the entrance of the field hospital, several main commanders of the 51st Army were present. Yuri came here today not for combat matters, but because of the news he received last night that the deputy commander of the 51st Army, Major General Konstantin Fedorovich Barons, was dying.
Major General Barons is an old revolutionary. As a Georgian, he grew up in Tbilisi. He had already made his mark in the Red Army during the Civil War and was from the First Cavalry Army. Just by looking at his resume, you can tell that he had a special relationship with Comrade Stalin.
In fact, Major General Barons' health condition has been not optimistic since he was injured in the Battle of Kursk. However, he declined the General Staff's proposal to transfer him back to Moscow several times and always insisted on commanding the battle on the front line. He has persisted until now, but he finally couldn't make it.
Seeing Yuri getting out of the car, Army Group Commander Lieutenant General Kreizer was the first to come forward.
"What's the situation?" Yuri asked with a serious expression as the first sentence he asked when they met.
"It's not optimistic. He has already fainted three times," Kreizer whispered. "The doctor suggested sending him to Moscow immediately. The conditions here are too poor."
"I have contacted the Air Force," Yuri nodded and said, "They will arrange a special plane to come here soon."
After a pause, he added: "However, there is no place with suitable take-off and landing conditions here. We must at least find a way to send the people to Voroshilovgrad first."
"I'll arrange it right away," Kreizer nodded.
Yuri nodded and walked towards the entrance of the field hospital.
A few minutes later, in a tent, Yuri saw the unconscious Major General Barons. He was not very familiar with this low-key Major General, and today was the first time they met. However, it was a waste of time because the other party was completely unconscious, and due to long-term illness and lack of good treatment, his square face was swollen, his eyelids were swollen and almost deformed.
After asking the doctor about the other party's condition and expressing some concern, Yuri quickly left the tent. For him, the new commander of the front, one of his senior generals was critically ill, so it was necessary for him to come and see and express concern, but this was all he could do.
After coming out of the field hospital, Yuri talked with Kreizer for a while at the entrance to learn about the current battle situation of the 51st Army.
At present, the progress made by the 51st Army in the offensive direction is not satisfactory. However, there is nothing that can be done about it. Since the rapid cluster commanded by Major General Razuvayev, including the 19th Tank Army, was transferred to the southern front, the offensive power of the 51st Army has been greatly weakened. To put it bluntly, it is now in a completely lame state.
At the beginning, Yuri did not agree to transfer the Razuvayev combat group to the southern front to encircle and annihilate the completely disabled German Ninth Army. However, at that time, he was only a representative of the headquarters, not a front commander, so he had no decision-making power in such matters. In addition, Tolbukhin bypassed him and directly asked Moscow for instructions, so his opposition had no effect.
Now, Tolbukhin was transferred back to Moscow, and Yuri became the commander of the 4th Ukrainian Front, but he could not transfer the Razuvayev Rapid Group that had already been put into battle on the southern front back. That was simply nonsense. Therefore, he could not blame Kreizer, the commander of the army group, too much. After all, a good cook cannot cook without rice.
"Where is the main force of the 10th Army now?" Yuri asked.
The 51st Army's current subordinate troops are mainly the 1st Guards Rifle Army, the 10th Infantry Army and the 63rd Army. Among them, the 1st Guards Rifle Army is naturally the most powerful. Previously, the main offensive tasks were undertaken by them. At the same time, the victory of capturing Gorlovka was also achieved by them.
However, this Guards Infantry Army also suffered heavy casualties when capturing Gorlovka and has now moved to the rear for rest and recuperation. After the change of deployment, the 10th Infantry Army will take over the 1st Guards Infantry Army and continue to fight.
"We received the latest report from the 10th Army Headquarters an hour ago," Kreizer could be said to be a very mature army commander. Knowing the location of his troops at any time was a skill he already possessed. Therefore, when Yuri asked, he answered without hesitation, "They have already attacked to a position less than 27 kilometers away from Stalino, and encountered stubborn resistance from the German army there."
Yuri nodded. With just a simple thought, he drew a battlefield situation map of the southern front in his mind.
