The loss of Dzhankoy caused panic among the German troops.

The next day, when reinforcements from both German directions arrived at Zhankoy, they launched a counteroffensive against Zhankoy under the unified command of Sponek.

The battle was fierce, and several divisions of German troops, under the cover of the artillery of the Air Force, repeatedly attacked Zhankoy, but the Soviets occupied Zhankoy without moving.

The 1st Guards Tank Brigade defended the city with tanks, rocket launchers and Bobosha under the cover of buildings, which could not be taken by ordinary troops and troop superiority, not to mention that the Soviet Air Force also went all out to reinforce Zhankoy, and at the same time, artillery, infantry, etc. also landed from the Sea of Azov in waves, and soon gained an advantage in troops.

"General!" Lieutenant General Sponek reported to Manstein on the phone: "I think we should retreat!" Now we are still attacking, but it is clear that the enemy is gathering strength! ”

"Stop them, Spenneck!" Manstein replied weakly: "Stop them no matter what!" ”

"Yes, General!" Lieutenant General Sponek replied: "But I have done my best!" ”

Manstein had to admit his defeat...... The loss of Zhankoy meant that the flanks of the exit from the Perekop Isthmus were exposed to the Soviet front.

As Lieutenant General Sponek said, the Soviets were gathering strength, and then, with a single charge, they would completely block the Isthmus of Perekop, which would completely encircle the tens of thousands of elite German troops who had invaded the Crimea.

But is it time to evacuate in a hurry?

It takes at least a day to get from Sevastopol to the isthmus.

This is still calculated based on the speed of the march, if it is alternately covering and fighting and retreating, I am afraid that it will take at least two to three days.

This was enough time for the Soviet troops to completely blockade the isthmus.

After some consideration, Manstein sent a secret telegram to Sponek instructing him to make some arrangements, and then ordered his troops to retreat.

Shulka on the other side didn't know any of this, and he was in a little trouble in Feodosia.

"Comrade Captain!" The commander of the engineer battalion, Nekrasov, reported to Shulka: "We were stopped outside the warehouse, and they asked us to show our passes!" ”

"Pass?"

"Yes, a pass to bring equipment into the warehouse!"

Shulka and the instructor glanced at each other, and without saying a word, walked in the direction of the warehouse.

Sure enough, an officer with the rank of major stopped in front of a group of sappers and shouted something.

"Comrade Major!" Shulka squeezed up and saluted the major: "It's an emergency, I hope you will let it go immediately, we need to transport it into the warehouse!" ”

"This can't be, Captain!" Without thinking, the Major replied, "You should be aware of this, unidentified people are not allowed to store personal belongings in warehouses, unless you have a pass or an order from your superiors. Otherwise, how do I know if you're transporting a truckload of explosives! ”

"Of course not, Major!" The instructor came up and introduced: "This is Comrade Shulka, the 'Breakout Hero'. I think his name is a testament to that, don't you say? ”

The Major turned his gaze to Shulka and asked, "Are you a 'breakout hero'?" ”

Shulka didn't speak, but took out his military ID and handed it over.

The Major flipped through his military ID, then handed it back to Shulka and said, "Sorry, Captain! We have the command ......"

"Can I make a call?" Shulka raised his head at the phone booth next to him.

"Of course!" The major replied: "But the telephone line has been blown up!" ”

This is true, the train station is often bombed by the enemy, and line interruptions are the norm.

Truth be told, the Major was not wrong to do this, because it was true that things of unknown origin should not be allowed into the warehouse.

So Shulka gave the order to the correspondent: "Contact the front command immediately!" ”

"Yes!" The correspondent answered and asked the communications team to deploy the radio station on the spot.

But the situation made Shulka angry and anxious...... There was no response from the command of the Front.

Shulka speculated that this was partly due to the inefficiency of the Mehris command, and on the other hand, a request from the battalion radio station for supplies to enter the warehouse was simply ignored by the staff officers, who even thought that such a telegram did not need to be sent to the front command at all.

Shulka looked at his watch, then at the slightly pale sky to the east, and paced back and forth in a hurry, but there was nothing he could do.

The instructor thought about it, invited the major aside, and whispered something, and then saw the major wave his hand and let him go.

Shulka was puzzled for a moment and asked the instructor, "How did you convince him?" ”

"It's easy!" The instructor replied: "Everyone knows that Comrade Mehris is obedient to you, and I only need to tell him this...... There's nothing that can't be solved! ”

Shulka smiled bitterly.

Orders and passes, or the hero of Shulka, are actually not as useful as the notoriety of Mehris, the "king of small reports".

Therefore, there is a saying that "it is better to offend a gentleman than to offend a villain", but I am afraid that this is the case.

But the major was also responsible, or rather curious, and he followed the crowd to transport the "things" on the flatbed truck into the underground warehouse, and then asked Shulka: "Can I know what it is, Comrade Captain?" ”

"I'm sorry, Major!" Shulka replied: "I can't tell you! ”

The major shrugged his shoulders and said it didn't matter.

After a while, the major lowered his voice and said: "Captain, if you have the opportunity, I hope you will introduce Comrade Mehris to him!" ”

"Okay, no problem!" Shulka replied dryly.

The major immediately became excited, and he said happily to Shulka: "My name is Yefimshi, Comrade Captain, and I am in charge of the logistics of the railway station. Anything needed, if anything...... All you have to do is tell the soldiers here, and they'll relay your request to my command right away! ”

"I know!"

"Goodbye, then, Comrade Captain!" The Major shook Shulka's hand excitedly: "It's nice to meet you, I'm sorry for what I did just now......

Looking at all this, feeling the flattery of the major, Shulka only felt a little desolate, because the power in his hands was not held by people like Zhukov and Katukov who had made meritorious deeds on the battlefield, but by incompetent people like Mehris.

Although Shulka didn't think it would be a good thing to get such power, such as working next to Mehris and even gaining his trust...... This is a supreme honor in the eyes of others, but for Shulka, it is more of a burden.