3 kilometers south of Roslavl
May 6, 1942
Vasilevskij coughed, somehow he had gotten a sore throat in the past couple days and it was aggravating him. Drawing a deep breath, allowing the humid summer air soothe his tortured throat, Vasilevskij turned away from the column of armor he was watching pass on its way southward and toward his aide, who was squatting and precariously balancing a bulky typewriter on his knees. Vasilevskij could not help but grin impishly at the sight before feeling sorry for the poor and no doubt tired man. Nevertheless, he would have to stay on duty until his compatriot came back from Roslavl, where Vasilevskij had sent him on an errand. Vasilevskij had been dictating an overall report for Stalin’s benefit of the past several days of general operations when he had turned to simply enjoy the spectacle of watching dozens of tanks and miscellaneous vehicles pass by the hill he was situated on. His presence drew cheers and ribald greetings from those who noticed him. Vasilevskij knew they were eager to go into battle and hoped to fulfill their wishes soon. But first, he had a report to dictate.
He had decided to dissect the report into three discrete segments for ease of reporting and reading. The first of these segments covered the events of May 3rd, the second May 4th and the third May 5th and 6th. Of these, the second segment would be by far the longest; May 4th was a very eventful day, more so than the two after it combined, whereas May 3rd would certainly be the shortest report. Vasilevskij smiled again, knowing that his aide would be glad of that. Vasilevskij coughed again, partially because of his throat but mostly to regain the young man’s attention. He was gratified to see the man’s head snap back to focus on him; he too had been watching the tanks.
“Read to me what you’ve already written, Pyotr.”
“Yes, sir. Quote: May 3rd witnessed only two events of any note. End quote.”
Vasilevskij nodded sagely. “Yes, very good. I will begin dictating again, are you ready to type?”
Pyotr nodded and Vasilevskij began, talking slowly so that he did not overwhelm his aide. “These two events occurred largely simultaneously, though separated by a great distance. Another battle for Suwalki began, augmenting its already confirmed, if dubious, distinction of being one of the most fought over towns in the border regions. The two mechanized corps of Timoshenko’s 1st Belarussian Front attacked two German panzer corps. These two mechanized corps were the 2nd under the command of Badanov and the 23rd under the command of Baranov V.I. Each consisted of two motorized rifle divisions and one mechanized rifle division. The two German corps consisted of two armored and one motorized infantry division each under the overall command of a Lieutenant General von Mackensen. Of these units, our two mechanized corps were fresh from the reserve whereas their German counterparts were exhausted from having been involved in constant battle already. Furthermore, each of the four armored divisions was estimated at having lost approximately ten percent of their full strength already in previous fighting, whereas their two motorized infantry divisions had already been hit even harder, one having lost nearly thirty percent strength and the other perhaps as much as forty percent. End. Did you get all of that, Pyotr?”
Pyotr’s fingers clumsily attempted to cover the entire keyboard as he furiously pounded it as quickly as he could. “Almost done, sir. There, I’m finished with that.”
“Good, I’ll continue now. The purpose of this attack was two-fold. Firstly, it would prevent the Germans from advancing to exploit the gap in our front that had been identified at the STAVKA meeting on the 2nd. Secondly, the reconquest of Suwalki would allow the 1st Belarussian Front to threaten the northern flank of the great German thrust, which is based in Lomza just to the south. End.”
Pyotr finished typing and then sighed, massaging his fingers.
Yet another battle for Suwalki.
“Are you ready to continue, Pyotr? Good, I’ll begin again now. The second event, occurring at the same time, was a German attack made in the Ukraine, in the area around Vinnitsa. The German commander was Field Marshal Ulex, and he commanded 27 divisions. This represented 9 German armored corps in the usual two armored and one motorized infantry division split. Ulex’s thrust was parallel to Knochenhauer’s thrust against Tolbukhin around Tarnopol, pushing northwards from Mogilevi Podolski against twenty-one defending divisions under the overall command of Field Marshal Koniev. Among the formations was his own 2nd Tank Army, as well as elements of the 2nd Ukrainian Front and perhaps some other formation. The situation is still very confused in that area. From these preliminary reports, it seems that the Germans are serious about turning northward and meeting up with their northern thrust. They are pivoting their forces on a wide front from an eastward axis to a northward axis. End. Do you have all that, Pyotr?”
“Almost, sir. All right, I have it all.”
“Good, I think I only have one more statement to make before it’s done.”
“I’m glad to hear it, sir.”
The battle for Vinnitsa and the German pivot northward.
Vasilevskij chuckled. “All right, here it goes. Of course, if the Germans continue their northward push, their mobile units will run straight into the Pripet Marshes. End.”