This new plan was adopted by the majority of the people, and Kirponos had no reason to reject it.

Therefore, Commander Kirponos finally decided to redivide the headquarters column in this small village and establish three battle groups: one vanguard battle group to clear the way for the front corps command headquarters, and two flank battle groups responsible for covering the flank security.

Chief of Staff Tupikov was in charge of the vanguard battle group, which was formed with a guard company as the core, and Chief of Operations Baglamiyan was ordered to command a company of the NKVD with the task of covering the entire column against enemy attacks from the flanks.

The other flank battle group is led by a battalion commander of the logistics unit with armed logistics personnel.

Among the two flank battle groups, this battle group of Bagramian can be regarded as a truly combat-effective team. Because he commanded a young team of 150 young men.

Before leaving, Bagramian silently patrolled the procession, studying the faces of the warriors. Everyone was tired, but fortunately, they were all young and relatively energetic.

Although Baghramyan also knew that these young men could rest even for a while, they did not have a minute, and they had to reach their combat positions before nightfall.

Baglamiyan was quick to explain the task to everyone and told them in advance that the situation would be difficult.

"But I believe that each of you will not disgrace the Red Army!" At the end of the presentation, Baglamiyan was encouraged.

But then, even he silently lowered his voice and gradually fell silent.

When he fell silent, a young soldier with a thin blackened strap on his head said, "Don't worry, Comrade General, we will not disappoint you. It's a pity that Moscow's approval has not come down yet, and everyone doesn't know, whether we are desperately trying to break through and go back now, is it the right choice? ”

This question made Baghramyan's heart sink in.

yes, what can you do if you break out. If Stalin did not approve of Kirponos's good intentions in the end, then the men who broke through would have died in another place, perhaps.

Didn't those Pavlov core commanders of the Western Front be sent to Siberia by Stalin's order?

If it weren't for the front-line officers of the Western Front who were forced to jump over the wall in a hurry, they would have surrendered to the Germans without stopping, and what was waiting for them would have been nothing more than a trip to Siberia without light.

"Sorry, I can't answer your question. But I can assure you that we are choosing now, at least responsibly! Baglamiyan said with sincere eyes looking directly at the young warrior who was asking the question.

The young man wanted to say something, but at this moment, a messenger suddenly rushed over to report the information: "A large fleet of German motorcycles has come from Mereha. After forcibly crossing the Mnoga River, it repelled the small detachments of our army that occupied those high grounds, and it was about to break through! The command column is now dangerous! ”

Bagramyan was then ordered to personally lead his own troops to storm the German army, capture the heights, and seize the bridge over the river.

His task suddenly changed, from flanking cover to the first echelon.

However, he was commanded by 150 young and strong soldiers with combat effectiveness, and Baglamiyan finally commanded his troops to break through the German blockade before dawn, and although he did not seize the bridge, he also took the high ground near the two bridges.

It's a pity that the large forces of the Southwestern Front Command, which were supposed to follow up, were divided behind.

The column of the headquarters of the Front, strongly blocked by the Germans, could not join up with Bagramyan's detachment, and the column had to march northward and force its way across the Mnoga River near the village of Voronki to a grove near the town of Dryukovshina.

There were more than 1,000 people in the column of the front headquarters, of which 800 were officers.

They were accompanied by Colonel-General Kirponos, a member of the Military Council of the Front, Burmystenko, a member of the Military Council, a member of the Military Council, a division commissar, Rykov, Dobegin, Danilov, Panyukhov, the commander of the 5th Army, Major General Potapov, a member of the Military Council of the Army, a division commissar Nikishev, a member of the Military Council, a brigade commissar, Major General Pisarevsky, chief of staff of the army, and other leading figures of the Soviet army.

It can be said that the essence of the entire Southwestern Front is in this wood.

The only thing that could be accompanied by the column into the woods was 6 armoured vehicles, 2 anti-tank guns and 5 quadruple anti-aircraft machine guns.

The grove is cut in half by a ravine. Vehicles and personnel were concentrated on the edge of the grove, and combat vehicles took up positions at the edge of the forest.

Unfortunately, this team has exposed weaknesses in its lack of organization. Only a small number of troops of the 5th Army Headquarters Guard took up the defenses, and many officers went to the town's farmhouses without permission to wash their faces, look for food, and rest.

And the Germans almost benefited from this, easily discovering the headquarters of the Southwestern Front, which had disappeared at night.

As soon as the morning fog cleared, scouts from Kirponos reported to him that German tanks were approaching from the east and northeast. Scouts from the southwest also said that German motorbikes and tanks were approaching in this direction.

After about 20 minutes, the Germans attacked the grove from three sides. The Germans were dispatched by first-class Leopard tanks, artillery and machine-gun fire, followed by submachine gunners.

In the thunderous sound of artillery and the clatter of machine guns, it was also mixed with the sparse firing of the two guns of the Soviet army, and there were pitiful few shots, and the Soviet army still had to cherish every shell, and the effect of resistance can be imagined.

The German motorized infantry, which arrived in a car, was also engaged in the battle.

They spread out in a skirmish line from the march and pounced on the grove under the cover of tank fire. When they reached the edge of the forest, the besieged men, led by Kirponos, Burmystenko, Rykov, Tupikov, Potapov and Pisarevsky, were able to hold on to their stubborn resistance.

Unfortunately, Kilponos couldn't change the situation by his own willpower. He was wounded in the leg, and several soldiers rushed to carry him to the spring at the bottom of the canyon. Subsequently, the commander of the army group, Potapov, who was seriously injured by shells, was also sent here.

At the same time, Potapov's chief of staff, General Pisarevsky, had already died on the battlefield.

A few minutes later, a mortar shell exploded next to Kirponos. Kirponos threw himself to the ground without saying a word, wounded in the chest and head, and died two minutes later.

Around Kirponos, generals Dobegin, Danilov and Panyukhov were also killed by the incoming shells.

Lieutenant Colonel Glebov, Chief of Staff Tupikov and his entourage did not die here, they were killed in a confrontation with the Germans in the Shumeikovo grove, 2 km from the Shumeikovo grove, next to the town of Ovtiev.

In this way, Zhukov's colleagues who remained in the Southwestern Front, and used to defend Ukraine, lost the best time to break through because of Stalin's stupid adherence to the order, and became a group of meaningless battlefield cannon fodder......