Why did Konev come up with such an idea? You must know that in the eyes of many high-ranking generals of the Red Army, it is a question of whether Germany will come to Kursk or not, and if the enemy does not come, then you are not preparing in vain?

But Konev did not think so, in his opinion, regardless of whether the Germans would come to Kursk or not, he had to be ready to counterattack. When the Germans come, then resolutely destroy them; The Germans didn't come, so it was good to be prepared for a counterattack, as soon as Vasilevsky's side was tight, the troops he used to counterattack could immediately go to reinforcements, which was better than burning his eyebrows and then trying to find a way, right?

Coincidentally, Vasilevsky also thought the same, and when his troops arrived in Kharkov, he also made an active defensive configuration, and was also ready to eliminate the Guderian assault group near Kharkov. It's just that he is slightly different from Konev in that he didn't think that he would reinforce Konev, in his opinion, it could only be Konev to reinforce him.

Leave aside the combat preparations of these two military strategists, because it is not yet their turn to appear. Guderian's main forces were still storming Konotop, encircling the small city, and it was really difficult to get through.

But what made Guderian feel depressed was that the combat effectiveness of Panfilov and the 316th Infantry Division was unexpectedly strong, and from outside the city to the city, Guderian's troops were on the shelf and rushed and attacked. By the general rhythm, the Red Army would have been on its knees long ago. But these Red Army troops in front of them are different, one by one they are fearless, the regiment commander sacrifices the political commissar on top, the company commander dies in battle and the platoon commander takes over, and there are individual infantry squads that fight to the last man, all of them are stubbornly resisting.

Guderian's troops had to go through the positions of the Red Army little by little like a sieve, otherwise. Don't think about taking a step forward. In the heat of battle. The commanders of the three main regiments of the 316th Division sacrificed two. The other was also seriously injured. Three political commissars were also killed and wounded, and the chief of staff who was connected to the commander was also slightly injured and could not get out of the line of fire.

The main commanders at the company and regimental levels have all been so miserable, and the casualties at the battalion and company levels below are naturally even more staggering. Let's put it this way, on the fourth day of the outbreak of the battle, the entire 316 Division had been reduced by more than half, and even the cooks and the drivers of the automobile battalion took up arms and went to the front line.

However, the tragedy was tragic, but no one in the 316th Division thought about retreating, let alone surrendering. According to the supreme commander of the 316th Division, who survived the war, Vladimir. The statement of Lieutenant Colonel Konstantinovich: "All comrades are ready to sacrifice. We decided to defend the great Motherland with blood, and the enemy could only step on it from our corpses! ”

This is definitely not a joke, because of the battle, only about 500 men survived the division, of which two-thirds were seriously wounded, such as the Vladimir above. Lieutenant Colonel Konstantinovich, one eye, two legs and four fingers remained forever in Konotop.

After the battle, the officers and men of the division were awarded more than 30 titles of Hero of the Soviet Union and hundreds of Lenin medals, and almost one copy of the Order of the Red Banner was awarded to each of them. Among them, the commander of the division, Panfilov, was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin and the Order of the Golden Star, after the victory in the Great Patriotic War in 1945. Once again, he was posthumously awarded the Order of Victory.

Because Panfilov did show extraordinary bravery, he led the boys of the 316th Division like a lion to hold off the Germans at Konotop for 10 days. These ten days are the decisive ten days. Konev bought time to build positions, thus creating conditions for the complete annihilation of the Guderian assault group in the future.

On 27 April, the day of the final capture of Konotop, Panfilov crawled out of the foxhole as usual and patrolled the position with the last messenger. In fact, this can no longer be called a position, there are not many people left in the 316th Division, and more than 1,000 people are divided and surrounded by the Germans in various strongholds in the city. For example, Panfilov controlled the railway station.

By this time, the platforms and squares of the railway station were already under the control of the Germans, and Panfilov could only use the porous waiting room to maneuver with the enemy.

"The October Hotel was captured by the enemy, Lieutenant Colonel Makarov died!"

Panfilov's cloudy eyes didn't show much sadness, because he had heard too much bad news like this since the battle broke out, but this time he suddenly showed a sad expression. You must know that Lieutenant Colonel Makarov is not the highest rank and position among them, nor is he the closest to him. There is only one reason why Panfilov is so sad - Makarov's sacrifice and the fall of the October Hotel mean that this arduous defensive battle has reached its final moment.

Without the cover of the October Hotel, the railway station would face the enemy's fire, which meant that the remaining dozens of people would not be able to hold it at all.

"Division Commander, let's break through! There should still be our comrades in the north of the city, we can go there and continue the fight! ”

Panfilov smiled, but shook his head. Why did he hold on to the railway station, it was not to control the railway, and once the railway station was lost, the Germans could use the railway to move on. At that time, even if he continued to fight in the north of the city, it didn't make much sense.

So he opened his mouth and said in a hoarse voice: "Comrades, the last hour is coming. We must not give up on the train station, even if it is meaningful to hold on for even one more minute. I've already decided, I'm going to fight to the end here, and I'm going to fight the German devils! ”

Panfilov's decision was tantamount to a death sentence for everyone present, but, oddly enough, not a single one of them expressed dissatisfaction with his decision. In these days, Panfilov has already told the officers and men of the 316th Division with his practical actions: "I am the division commander, and I will take the lead and demonstrate." I will not abandon any comrade, but I will never give up my duty, I will fight with you, sweat and blood and even sacrifice with you! ”

The heavy artillery bombardment heralded the beginning of the final general offensive of the German army, and in order to destroy the will of the 316th Division to resist, the Germans used heavy weapons, including 150-mm infantry guns, which could be said to crush the 316th Division.

Under enemy fire, Panfilov took the lead. In the morning. Again and again repelled four German attacks. By half-past eleven in the morning, only the last five or six fighters were left with him.

"Valentin, light me a cigarette, this is the last one!"

Panfilov smiled dismally, not because he was pretending, but because he couldn't light a cigarette himself, his left hand had been blown off, and drops of blood were flowing down the gauze.

And Valentin's state is not very good. This young man had a broken leg and was basically incapacitated, but he refused to leave the line of fire, refused to leave his comrades, even if he could only rely on the trench to press bullets for his comrades, he was willing.

At the last moment, Panfilov and his boys did not give in, and after firing all the bullets, they smashed their weapons to pieces, resolutely leaving no booty for the enemy. Almost with fists, kicks, and teeth. In the end, only two people from Panfilov's division escaped due to fainting due to serious injuries. The rest of the soldiers and officers were all killed!

When the two surviving fighters told the final story of the 316th Division and Panfilov, the Politburo, the Military Commission and the entire Soviet Union were moved. Probably, Panfilov was not the highest-ranking general killed in the Great Patriotic War. He was not the most outstanding general in the Great Patriotic War, he was just a small division commander. But he used his actual actions to show the military might of the Soviet Red Army and show the whole world that the Soviet Red Army was invincible!

In recognition of the spirit of the 316th Division in fighting to the death, in May 1942, the Politburo and the Military Commission unanimously passed a resolution to immediately rebuild the 316th Division and award it the title of Guard, which later became the Eighth Guards Infantry Division. As for Panfilov, in order to forever remember the commander of the heroic division, the official title of the 8th Guards Infantry Division was the Panfilov Division, and the hero's hometown was renamed the city of Panfilov.

It was not surprising that Konotop eventually fell, since no one thought that one infantry division could hold off almost two army groups. Panfilov had done everything he could, and the next blood feud between them would have to be avenged by the brothers.

The fall of Konotop was a watershed, and the direction in which the German army would go affected the heart of the Military Commission. Of course, as mentioned earlier, the vast majority of people believe that the goal of the German army is Kharkov, so it is natural to think that the German army will attack in the direction of Sumy. The vigilance of the troops in charge of garrisoning Sumy was mentioned to the highest, and it could really be said that they were strictly guarded, waiting for the Germans to come up and knock on the door. After all, they had a heavy task on their shoulders, and they had to buy time for Vasilevsky's 37th Army, like Panfilov.

But what made Sumy's Red Army strange was that the Germans on the left did not come, and the Germans on the right did not come.

Guderian, of course, knew that his troops were fast, otherwise he would not have sent the 46th Panzer Corps in the direction of Kursk bypassing Konotop before the full capture of Konotop (yesterday's chapter was written incorrectly, it should have been the 46th Panzer Army). So by this time, the vanguard of the 46th Panzer Corps had already reached the Ligov line and was preparing to capture the small city.

"Ligov is under attack by a considerable number of German troops, the situation is urgent!"

When Konev received the news, he was taken aback. The attack on Ligov only shows one thing, the German army is really coming for Kursk!

At that time, Konev could not be calm, and immediately boarded a reconnaissance plane and flew to Ligov in person under the escort of fighters to see what was going on. He wanted to find out if it was a feint attack by the Germans, or if some immortal had guessed correctly.

Looking down from the air, Ligov is only a small piece, but on the outskirts of this small city, you can see the bustling flow of German tanks and vehicles.

"According to preliminary estimates, there is at least one tank division below!"

Konev shouted at the deputy commander of the army group, Grechko, who was also frowning at this time, the situation was too grim, and the German tank division would not run to Ligov for no reason, since they had already come, it showed that the goal of the German army was to go north rather than south.

"Immediately send a telegram to the Military Commissar and inform the Military Commissar that we have found a large number of enemy tanks in the Ligov direction!" Konev gave the order very resolutely, and then ordered: "Keep flying west!" ”

The reason why he continued to fly west was that Konev wanted to see how many troops the German army would have in the future. The reconnaissance plane went west along the railway line and flew to the border between Russia and Ukraine before turning back. Konev's face was rather ugly. He's made one thing clear. The main forces of the German army are coming to Kursk!

"Is the information accurate?" Tukhachevsky said he could not believe it.

With a heavy face, Yegorov threw a bundle of photographs on Tukhachevsky's desk. "Look for yourself, here are aerial reconnaissance photographs that show that the German 46th and 47th Panzer Corps are moving towards Ligov at high speed, and behind these two armies, at least two more infantry corps are also moving in the same direction!" ”

"This is not in line with military common sense! This is completely wrong! Tukhachevsky muttered, which shows how depressed the marshal is.

"Now we must immediately adjust the deployment, we must transfer the 37th Army back! It is difficult to hold off the enemy with just one army group of Konev! Egorov said heavily.

When Vasilevsky received the order to immediately go north to Kursk, the whole person was not good. He was almost as surprised as Tukhachevsky: "This doesn't make sense! Impossible! ”

There is nothing impossible in military affairs, and only those generals who are good at turning the impossible into possible can be called military strategists. Guderian was such a person, even if he himself was very dissatisfied with the avalanche operation.

"It's too slow! We're too slow! Guderian roared in the command: "According to the original plan, at this time we should have captured Kursk, and not in Ligov!" We have wasted too much time, this has given the Russians the opportunity to concentrate their forces, we are in danger! ”

Yes, Guderian's first thought was that something bad was a big deal, he seemed to be able to feel that there were groups of Russian troops gathering from the east, west, north and south, and his assault group would soon be encircled. And then it was wiped out in one fell swoop.

So, later in the day. Guderian again sent a telegram to the Chief of the General Staff, Halder, demanding that the operation be either cancelled or more reinforcements committed, for the strength of five corps alone would not be enough.

However, Guderian's request was flatly rejected, because in the opinion of the great Führer, the strength of five armies was sufficient, and he could not draw more support. And the Führer reprimanded Guderian again, believing that someone was too cowardly and too afraid of the enemy, and warned: "If I hear something like this, I will definitely remove you from office!" ”

Guderian was depressed, why couldn't he listen to him properly? Judging from all kinds of intelligence, because he wasted too much time in Konotop, his assault group has completely lost the suddenness of the assault, and as the Russian army readjusts its deployment, he will inevitably be hit by key blows if he is too alone, and it is not obvious that he will be surrounded and annihilated? Why is it so obvious that the damn mustache can't see it?

Guderian was going crazy, and he wrote to Hitler again, explaining the gravity of the situation again. So what did Guderian gain?

"Friedrich, are you here to replace me?" Guderian waited for a pair of red eyes to ask Paulus.

Paulus smiled bitterly, shook his head slowly, and replied, "No, Heinz, I'm here to be your chief of staff and make sure that you can carry out the Führer's plan to the letter. ”

Guderian laughed self-deprecatingly, "So what's the difference?" ”

It was clear that the mustache had had enough of Guderian's disobedience, so he sent a more obedient officer to ensure that his intentions were fully carried out, picking and choosing, and he chose Paulus.

Objectively speaking, Paulus's qualifications are problematic, before he had less experience in leading troops to fight, and more as a staff officer. Because he is good at that work, he is more satisfied with the mustache. Earlier, when the Red Army launched the Battle of Kiev to defeat the German 6th Army, the commander of the army, Field Marshal Walter von Reichenau, died of a heart attack at the most difficult moment of the campaign, and the vacancy was replaced by Paulus.

This time, after Guderian "dropped the chain", Hitler thought of the very obedient Paulus, and with Paulus's ability to be Guderian's chief of staff, he was fully qualified, and once Guderian continued to be disobedient, he could be replaced by Paulus.

All in all, Paulus hit the road in such a daze, and what he didn't expect was that it would be a point of no return!

Paulus's arrival made Guderian understand that he had no choice but to carry out the order to the letter, so he quickly ordered the 46th Panzer Army to storm Ligov, crush the small city, and move quickly in the direction of Kursk.

I have to say that Guderian's movements were still very fast, and the 46th Panzer Army did not take much effort to take the empty Ligov, and then went straight to the east and ran into Konev's 38th Army headlong, and the Battle of Kursk began!

In the early days of the campaign, neither the Germans nor the Red Army committed large forces, the Germans had about five corps and the Red Army had three. But as the campaign progressed, the scale grew day by day. Later in the campaign, the Germans again committed about four corps, while the Red Army threw in the 38th, 6th, and 5th armies for a total of nine corps.

In the area around Kursk, the nine armies of the German army fought against the twelve armies of the Red Army, and the two sides fought back and forth, and the sky was dark. And in this battle, a large number of excellent generals of the Red Army finally showed their talents, including Konev, Vasilevsky, Zhukov...... (To be continued......)

PS: Bow and thank you to Admiral Hood, holding the Polonzi and Comrade Juventus!