"Comrade Commander, the Germans' attack is too fierce. They have deployed large numbers of Armored Forces against our defensive line. Our frontline positions have now been torn open by the Germans. Vast numbers of German tanks are slaughtering our troops!" Lieutenant General Purkayev, chief of staff of the Russian Southwestern Front Army, reported with a face full of Panic.
General Kilponos, commander of the Southwestern Front, looked equally grim. Although they had long anticipated that they would likely be unable to withstand a fierce German offensive, only after the Germans truly launched their attack did they realize that the German military's formidable striking power was even greater than they had expected.
"Order every frontline unit to hold their positions to the death!" Lieutenant General Zheltov, the Political Commissar, ordered.
"Hold the positions to the death? Then even our last remaining troops will be swallowed whole by the Germans!" General Kilponos said.
"Then what should we do? Are we supposed to retreat?" Lieutenant General Zheltov frowned.
"If we retreat, I'm afraid the speed of our troops' withdrawal still won't match the German armored forces," Lieutenant General Purkayev said.
General Kilponos no longer knew what to do. If he ordered the troops to hold their positions, the final result would likely be the complete destruction of every unit by the Germans. If they retreated, the result would probably not be much different.
"Comrade Commander, why not leave behind part of the troops and have them find a way to hold back the German offensive? The rest can retreat toward Moscow. As long as we make it back to Moscow, we'll be safe," Lieutenant General Purkayev suggested.
The Southwestern Front now had only several hundred thousand men left. Facing the offensive of three million German military troops and Puppet Troops, they simply could