After a round of analysis, Manturov made a decision, "to order General Potapov to hold his position, stabilize the defensive line in the area of Lutsk-Troyanivka, and resist as much as possible the German 6th Army, as well as the German offensive in the north." Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

In addition, the 19th Mechanized Corps and the 45th and 195th Divisions were ordered to organize defenses in the area of Troyanivka-Salny to prevent the advance of the German Army Group Center to the south.

Comrades, do you think this is not feasible? ”

Kirponos, Pulkaev, and Bagramyan nodded their heads almost at the same time, because they thought exactly the same as Manturov, but the absent-minded Khrushchev still looked dumb and unmotivated.

"It seems that the four of us are on the same page." Chief of Operations Baglamyan said in Russian with an Armenian accent.

Pulkaev turned his fraternal gaze to the commander of the South-Western Front, Kirponos, "Comrade commander, hurry up and give orders." ”

Bagramyan quickly drafted an order, and Kirponos, Manturov, and Pulkaev all signed their names on the paperwork of the order.

Subsequently, the relevant forces began to move towards the designated areas, preparing to establish a defensive line in the Troyanivka-Sarne area and prevent the reinforcement of Army Group Center.

"Comrade Kirponos, how is the fighting situation in Lviv now?" Manturov asked Kirponos about the situation on the Lviv side.

Lviv is the largest city in the western Ukrainian region and the main industrial center of western Ukraine, with many large factories and a certain strategic position.

In addition, Lviv is also the cultural and educational center of western Ukraine, and is the center of Ukrainian national culture. The Old Town is home to many valuable buildings, now a World Heritage Site, as well as Ukraine's first university, the famous Lviv Theatre.

The loss of Lviv was not a problem, although it was an industrial center, it had little strategic value and did not produce important strategic materials. But how to say it, it is also a city of considerable scale, which can be said to be tasteless and a pity to abandon it.

If it can be defended, of course, it is best, but it is necessary to ensure that there are no street battles and that it is not seriously damaged by German artillery fire, otherwise the cultural heritage of the city will be destroyed and cultural losses will be brought about.

If it can't be held, then there is actually no problem, and withdrawing the army to the fortified area east of Lviv and defending on strong fortifications can reduce the casualties of the Soviet army, and at the same time cause greater casualties to the German army, which will be more conducive to the progress of the war.

"Now, the German 17th Army has concentrated four divisions and launched an attack in the direction of Lviv, and the 4th Mechanized Corps, the 41st and 112th Divisions of our army stubbornly resisted the defensive line in the area of Zukva and successfully launched a number of counter-assaults, inflicting considerable casualties on the enemy." Kirponos reported on the situation of the fighting on the Lviv side.

Manturov nodded in satisfaction, and then said: "Very good, but we must also prepare for retreat, we must not let the people live on the brink of war, let alone leave anything of value to the enemy." ”

"At the stand-up level, if Army Group Center continues to advance in Belarus, our northern flank will continue to be exposed to the south of Army Group Center, and our southern front will also be exposed to the northern flank of Germany's ally, Romania. At that time, if we continue to garrison on the side of Western Ukraine, there will be a danger of being surrounded by enemy forces.

When the time comes, we cannot afford not to retreat. ”

Out of nowhere, what Manturov thought was exactly the same as what Kirponos said, "yes, I think so too." So, Comrade Khrushchev, we must now prepare for the retreat, remove the industrial facilities in Lviv and let the people in the city retreat in stages. ”

Khrushchev came to his senses when he heard someone shouting his name, "What? Want to retreat? ”

"Yes," Manturov calmly explained to Khrushchev, who was the party secretary of Ukraine, "we cannot leave any valuable industrial equipment to the enemy, and we cannot allow the innocent people of Lviv to die because of the war."

Therefore, we must prepare for the retreat, withdraw the industrial equipment of Lviv to other industrial areas in the rear, and continue production, and arrange for the people and cadres of Lviv to evacuate vehicles, arrange new places of residence for them, and new jobs. ”

"Alright then, I'll ask the Politburo for instructions first."

………………………………………………………………………………………………

In the early morning of June 26, the German 46th Panzer Corps had already entered the territory of Ukraine and drove to Sarne, in front of the line of defense of the Southwestern Front.

This armored corps, which was part of the 2nd Panzer Regiment. This 2nd Panzer Group was the group army with the fastest progress and the best record in the early stage of the war, with three corps and 10 divisions under the command of General Heinz Guderian, the promoter of "blitzkrieg" warfare and an expert in armored warfare and mechanized warfare.

Their 46th Panzer Corps, consisting of one armored division and two motorized infantry divisions, was a highly mechanized corps with a total of 160 tanks and 50,000 troops, commanded by General Heinrich von Vikinghoof.

Both the 46th Panzer Corps and its commander von Vikinghoff were not familiar names to Manturov for the traverser.

But as soon as the "Großdeutsch Division" under the 46th Panzer Corps was mentioned, an invisible pressure immediately surged in Manturov's heart.

The "Greater Germany" motorized grenadier division is the most famous, honored, and elite divisional unit in the German Army, and is subordinate to the 46th Panzer Corps.

Throughout World War II, 84 members of the "Großdeutsch Division" were awarded the Knight's Cross, and the "Reich" division of the SS became the two divisions with the highest honors.

The division, from its formation until the end of the war, continued the tradition of recruiting only the best soldiers, recruiting outstanding young men from all over Germany.

Almost every German soldier was proud to serve in the Greater German Division. To become a member of the division, one must first excel in the rest of the German units and prove that he is the best of the best.

In the face of a "Great German Division", perhaps Manturov, the political commissar of the Southwestern Front, could still cope with it. Such an elite unit, although it has an absolute superiority in quality, is not an opponent of the Southwestern Front in terms of quantity.

However, in addition to the "Greater Germany" division, Manturov also had to face another ace unit of the German army this time - the "Reich Division" of the SS. (To be continued.) )