Chapter 436 Adjustments
It took some more time to contact the Romanian commander.
If it was in the past, Manstein would usually hand over the command, at least the front-line command, to the corresponding German officer... This is not only for the needs of combat coordination, but also for the needs of the alliance.
But this time Manstein did not dare to do so.
The reason is that Sponek has an "anti-war" doctrine, and Manstein is worried that if the command is handed over to Sponek, the next step is that he will immediately order to stop the attack or make a show of coping.
Therefore, at this time the German Army and the Romanian Army in Feodosia are actually two parts that have no communication mechanism with each other, although they are both under the command of the 11th Army Command.
Sponek wanted to contact Agapia first through Manstein's headquarters, and only after the turnaround did he talk, which even required a translator.
"What's going on?!" Lieutenant General Sponek roared into the microphone: "Why are you attacking our defense line?"
"Do you think we want to attack?" Agapia was also furious: "Why don't you ask your subordinates, they shot to prevent us from retreating, is this what allies should do?"
"They can't do that!"
"Oh, is it? So my men who died under your guns are lying?"
…
"Gentlemen!" Manstein interrupted the quarrel between them: "Don't you realize that there is something wrong with this?"
"what is the problem?"
"Of course there is a problem, my soldiers are dying needlessly!"
Both parties are angry and think that the responsibility lies with the other party, so they refuse to give in to each other.
"There may be Russians among them!" Manstein said: "I mean, they may well have mixed in with the fleeing Romanian army, just like our Branfenburg troops, and then …Let's make each other think that the other side fired first!"
When Manstein said this, the two were stunned, because the possibility was indeed very high, otherwise no matter how the misunderstanding would not have expanded to the present level.
"So..." After a while, Sponek asked, "What should we do now?"
After thinking about it, Manstein said to Agapia: "Sorry, General Agapia, you know, we can't give up this line of defense, it means a lot to us!"
"What do you mean?" Agapia felt his scalp go numb.
"You know!" Manstein explained: "If the enemy sneaks into your army, it means that the enemy will use you to break through the defense line, and we can't tell the truth from the fake, I mean which is the enemy and which is the enemy. one of our own, and shoot at the enemy. So..."
"So you're going to shoot indiscriminately? No, General, you can't!"
"I have to do this!" Manstein said, and ordered Sponek: "Stop them from retreating, don't be soft!"
After speaking, Manstein hung up the phone.
At this time, Manstein already knew in his heart that Sponek was right. The troops who landed in Feodosia were definitely not an ordinary army... This is not only because of its amazing combat effectiveness, but also because of this strategy and tactics , Such a counterattack plan cannot be formulated by an ordinary person.
Thinking back, Manstein even found that he might have been fooled. For example, he discovered that a large number of fishing boats were heading to Feodosia.
If it was the past, it was indeed difficult for the Soviet army to land in this situation, especially in cold weather, and it was difficult for small boats with heavy loads to cross the shoal.
But after the Soviet army has an amphibious landing ship, it can greatly reduce the difficulty of landing, because it can carry supplies directly to the shore, without the need for soldiers to jump off the sea to transport supplies.
Now, Manstein can't even deal with the difficulty in front of him, because even the 46th Division's ruthless hands may still be useless.
Manstein paced around anxiously, then returned to the map on his desk, looked at it for a while, and asked the adjutant, "Which troops are there between Feodosia and Zhankoy?"
"The Romanian 8th Cavalry Brigade, followed by my 73rd Infantry Division!" the adjutant replied.
"Their location?"
"Here, and here!" The adjutant found two points on the map.
"Order the Romanian 8th Cavalry Brigade to garrison in place!" Manstein ordered: "Let them lay a large number of mines, especially anti-tank mines!"
"yes!"
"The 73rd Infantry Division returns to Zhankoy to garrison! No matter what, we must defend Zhankoy!"
"yes!"
"The 28th Infantry Division immediately reinforce Zhankoy!"
"yes!"
The 28th Infantry Division was the main division of the 54th Army that Manstein used to attack Sevastopol. The transfer of it to Zhankoy shows that Manstein has realized the seriousness of the problem.
Just as Manstein issued a series of orders to re-deploy, the battle of Feodosia entered a fever pitch.
Manstein's ideas and strategies were correct, and he ordered Sponek not to be soft and prevent the Romanian army from retreating.
Because only in this way can it be possible to hold the line of defense.
The problem is that the actual operation is not as easy as imagined... The German army was not soft on the Romanian soldiers, which directly caused the Romanian soldiers to be filled with righteous indignation, and one by one took up guns to launch a substantial attack on the German defense line.
Therefore, a strange scene appeared on the battlefield. The two armies that were supposed to be allies fought each other fiercely, while the Soviet army, which was the enemy, was watching the show while advancing in the rear.
There were many Soviet soldiers who didn't even understand what was going on.
"Did I miss something?" The actor asked as he advanced with his gun on guard: "Why did they fight together by themselves?"
The instructor knew what was going on, he glanced at Shulka, and said, "Don't doubt, this is just a plan of Comrade Captain, they were fooled!"
The soldiers couldn't help but "oh".
Although they still don't understand, it is enough to know that this is Shulka's plan.
The most intense fighting is the high ground on both sides.
The reason is that the Romanian soldiers are mountain troops. They have relevant combat experience and training, and they have a large number of troops, so they are actually comparable to the garrisoned German troops.
The Soviet Naval Infantry Brigade took advantage of this time to follow in groups.
But of course, they will not rush to charge, but wait until the top is about to fight before cleaning up the mess.
The 1st Guards Tank Brigade passed the road below the high ground without any obstacles, and slowly drove towards the defense line built by the German army behind the high ground.
(end of this chapter)