120 km northeast of Kiev, the city of Chernihiv on the banks of the Desna River. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

The convoy of the commander of the German Army's 1st Panzer Army, General Kleist, passed through the ruined city, crossed the pontoon bridge over the Gersena River south of the city, and headed for Nizhin, sixty kilometers to the south.

Poker face, usually refers to the behavior of a person who is silent and has no facial expression when he is dealt a card in a card game, regardless of whether it is good or bad, in order to make it impossible for the opponent to see through his face.

Admiral Kleist doesn't like to play cards, but he has a standard poker face.

General Kleist has an introverted personality, which is in stark contrast to the flamboyant Rommel.

In recent Wehrmacht bulletins, Rommel's name appears more frequently than the "Your Excellency the Brother-in-law" who fought on the Northern Front.

Rommel occupies Priluki・・・・・・

Rommel captures Lochvica・・・・・・

Rommel occupies the Lubne・・・・・・

Rommel teased the Russian steppe front・・・・・・

Until the recent news, Rommel and the Panzer Division of the Reichsal successfully joined forces on the banks of the Dnieper River, cutting through the Dnieper defense line of the Russian army in one fell swoop.

As for now, Rommel and his goal are the same, and the front of the army is directed at Priluki, closing the encirclement and encircling and annihilating the Central Front.

After meeting, with Rommel's character, he will definitely say strange things like you are too slow, seriously slowing down our marching process.

Thinking of the speed of his march, General Kleist felt a pang of worry.

According to the Wehrmacht Bulletin, Rommel was encircled and intercepted by the Russian steppe front behind enemy lines, while his 1st Panzer Army ran head-on into three mechanized corps.

The Eighteenth, Twenty-third, and Twenty-fourth Mechanized Corps, these three mechanized corps did not appear on the map until their own troops launched a southward campaign.

These three mechanized corps are not only new and cutting-edge units with complete strength, but also have the natural danger of the Desna River.

With a force of up to 3,000 tanks and a natural anti-tank trench in the Desna River, the three mechanized corps stubbornly withstood the attack of the 1st Panzer Army.

It was not until the German Army High Command transferred an armored corps from the 3rd Panzer Army and two heavy armored battalions 504 and 505 from the mainland that the 1st Panzer Army successively routed the three mechanized corps and crossed the Jesna River.

It's just that the itinerary of the 1st Panzer Army is already seriously lagging behind.

In a state of thought, Kleist's convoy arrived at its destination, the city of Nizhin.

"I heard that the airfield destroyed by General Rommel is southeast of the city of Nezhin, when shall we go to see it? Tanks fight planes, this is a rare scene. ”

In the front seat of the car, Kleist's adjutant said to the driver.

Kleist raised his eyebrows, and then remembered that the Wehrmacht bulletin mentioned that Rommel had destroyed a Soviet airfield during a series of combat operations behind enemy lines.

The staff of the propaganda department also hyped up that Rommel's destruction of the airfield would relieve a lot of air pressure on the 1st Panzer Army's southward movement.

Until the end, the propaganda department even described Rommel's sneak attack on this airfield as a decisive factor in the success of the First Panzer Army's second southward movement.

Will you die if you don't brag?

Full of resentment, Kleist entered Nirvana.

・・・・・・

Boryspil, twenty-five kilometers east of Kiev, the command of the Soviet Central Front.

The commander of the Central Front, Colonel-General Yevremov, was listening to the reports of his subordinates.

"In accordance with your order, the XVIII Mechanized Corps retreated to Ostair, the 23rd Mechanized Corps to Nosovka, the 24th Mechanized Corps to Zaporosh, and the 26th Army is rebuilding the line of defense on the line of Berezan and Yakhotern."

Yefremov's gaze followed the explanation of the chief of staff and circled around the map.

According to his orders, the above-mentioned troops, formed a defensive line, which just formed an arc facing east.

This arc of defense was connected with the defense line of the Central Front near the Dnieper to form an oval line of defense, which could cope with attacks from all sides.

"The two airfields inside the defense line need to be defended by sending more anti-aircraft guns, and our final retreat will depend on these two airfields."

After giving the order, Yefremov said to the adjutant beside him: "Have you written the telegram I asked you to draw up?" ”

The adjutant handed the written telegram to Yefremov.

Yefremov, after adjusting part of the telegram, said: "Send it to the Supreme High Command." ”

Half an hour later, Moscow.

"He said he didn't want to retreat, what exactly did he want to do?" Stalin shouted, shaking the telegram in his hand.

Looking at the angry lion Stalin, Marshal Shaposhnikov said: "Comrade General Secretary, you did not understand what Comrade Yevremov meant. He was going to sacrifice the Central Front to buy time for us to reorganize our defensive line. ”

Vasilevsky said: "Comrade Yefremov has another meaning, there are many infantry in the encirclement, there are six army groups composed of pure infantry alone, and if these infantry are in the plains, they take the initiative to attack the armored forces of the Germans, it is tantamount to a suicidal act, it is a completely fearless sacrifice, and it is of little effect. He wanted to organize these troops to fight defensive battles in villages and cities, so that they could inflict greater damage on the Germans and delay the Germans around the encirclement for a longer time. For the same infantry, the combat efficiency of offensive and defensive battles is not the same, especially in the face of a large number of armored forces of the surrounding German army. ”

"Comrade Yefremov did this, at least to delay the surrounding German Army Group of Northern Ukraine, the 1st Panzer Army, and the 2nd Panzer Army for quite some time before the Central Front was destroyed. As for the specific time, it depends on his conducting skills. Shaposhnikov said.

Vasilevsky continued: "At the end of the telegram, Comrade Yefremov said that he would live and die with the Central Front. I think he sent this telegram with the intention of death. ”

Shaposhnikov and Vasilevsky sang and harmonized, trying to get Stalin to choose the optimal solution for this complex situation.

Stalin's cold gaze swept over the two of them, and after a few seconds of silence, he suddenly said: "Not long ago, Comrade Rokossovsky of the steppe front said that the army was exhausted, the army headquarters was thrown in, the army group army was exhausted, the army headquarters was thrown in, the front army was exhausted, and he led the front army headquarters to throw it in. I am very touched by Comrade Rokossovsky's spirit of sacrifice, and today Comrade Yefremov will have to live and die with the Central Front, sacrificing themselves to buy us precious time. Sure enough, it was only during the war years that we could see who was a hero and who was a bad seed. ”

After a pause, Stalin then asked: "Do you support Comrade Yefremov's approach?" ”

"According to his explanation, holding on to the spot and delaying time is a better way than blindly breaking through." Shaposhnikov said.

"I think we should respect Comrade Yefremov's choice." Vasilevsky said

"Well, I also respect your judgment once, and this is the last time. Remember to organize the air force and try to provide air cover and material assistance to the Central Front. Stalin said.

After Stalin finished speaking, he dragged his heavy steps and left the operational command.

Yefremov's request was just a small butterfly on the Eastern Front that stirred its wings, but it caused a violent hurricane on the entire Ukrainian battlefield, the entire Eastern Front, and even the German military circles soon after, and triggered the biggest crisis in the life of a certain "brother-in-law".

At this time, this hurricane in the making was the first to affect the Soviet officers who were fighting in Ukraine.

At the command of the steppe front, Rokossovsky forcibly suppressed the joy in his heart and kept himself from shouting.

The latest order from the Supreme High Command that the Steppe Front retreat to the east, pull the front with the Bryansk Front in the north, and deploy along the line from Sumy to Kharkov.

Great, his own life was guaranteed, and no one held anyone accountable for the failure to hunt down Rommel.

Rokossovsky, having rejoiced in his heart, immediately asked the chief of staff to arrange the specifics of the retreat of the troops.

He himself dragged his adjutant into the lounge on the side and drafted a telegram, but the content of the telegram was to ask the steppe front army to hold out for a while longer, so as to buy more time for the comrades of the central front to retreat.

Later, Stalin was greatly moved by this telegram, and the surname Rokossovsky was deeply engraved in Stalin's heart.

On the left side of the steppe front, the commander of the South-Western Front, Colonel-General Kirponos, also received an order to retreat to the southeast of Donetsk and rebuild the defensive line.

At the Southern Front Headquarters, General Tyulenev received an order to divide the troops in half, to place the remnants of the 9th and 22nd Mechanized Corps under the command of the Southwestern Front, and to move south to the Ninth and 51st Armies to retreat to the Crimean Peninsula to continue resistance.