Though communications with Moscow were better, the news from the outside world was also confusing. One message announced, rather matter-of-factly, an increase of tension in Europe along the inner zonal border between East and West Germany. At first Boldin took this to be an escalation, but to what end he did not know. Following that message Boldin received his first warning orders. STAVKA wanted all Soviet and Cuban forces to prepare for withdrawal from Egypt to a line east of Tobruk. Not believing them, Boldin immediately asked for a confirmation of that order. To carry out that order meant that the Egyptian 1st Army, still encircled in Bardia, would be uncovered and free to join the advancing units of the Egyptian 2nd Army.
With only two understrength Cuban divisions, the four brigades of the 24th Tank Corps, and three weak Libyan battalions, Boldin would be faced by almost five Egyptian divisions. Even worse, the line he was supposed to occupy could not be defended. In short order Boldin's force would be outflanked and pinned against the sea, in much the same way he had trapped the Egyptian 1st Army. Believing he saw the situation better than STAVKA did in Moscow, Boldin waited to issue any withdrawal orders. Instead, he submitted two alternate plans to Moscow. The first called for a total withdrawal from Cyrenaica all the way back to Agedabia, where he could establish a viable defense. The distance would also stretch the Egyptian supply lines beyond their limit and wear out the combat units in the process. In effect, Boldin's recommendation was to retreat faster and further than the Egyptians could follow.
The second option was to stay in place and fight it out. One Cuban division, reinforced with the Libyan battalions, would be left to maintain the encirclement at Bardia. The second Cuban division would hold a line from the coast to Bir Sheferzen. The 24th Tank Corps, held back as a mobile reserve, would be used to counterattack any Egyptian penetration of the Cuban divisions or a flanking movement south of Bir Sheferzen. This plan meant, of course, keeping Soviet forces in Egypt.
While they waited for the response, Boldin did order the withdrawal of Soviet air defense, electronic warfare, and service support units from Sidi Barrani. Advisors still with Libyan units retreating from Egypt were also recalled. Those tasks, however, were easier said than done. Although the retreating forces were no longer plagued by brutal shellings from the American fleet, Egyptian destroyers and frigates had moved in to take their place. Requests to have the Soviet Mediterranean Squadron intervene and cover the withdrawal were denied. That left movement along the coastal road slow and still dangerous. With no control over the panicked mob of refugees that had once been three Libyan divisions, complete evacuation of Soviet personnel even to Halfaya was doubtful. In a follow-on message, Boldin informed Moscow that regardless of what decision was made, a large number of Soviet personnel would fall into the hands of the advancing Egyptians.
From out of the darkness a young staff officer came scurrying up to Boldin's small party. Instinctively he reached out to hand the chief of staff a message. Upon seeing Boldin, however, the staff officer paused, pulled the message back, and turned to Boldin. Then, pausing again, the officer looked back to the chief of staff while he prepared to offer the message directly to Boldin. Tired and depressed, Boldin simply reached out and grabbed the message from the staff officer's hand, crumbling the paper as he did so. As Boldin pulled at the edges of the message to straighten it out, his aide came up behind him, flicked on a flashlight, and pointed its beam over Boldin's shoulder onto the paper.
Boldin read, then reread the message. Everyone in the small circle stood motionless, almost not daring to breathe as they watched him and waited for his reaction. That response was not long in coming. Letting out a grunt, Boldin lowered the hand holding the message to his side and looked up at the sky. Boldin's aide extinguished his flashlight and quietly backed away. It was several minutes before Boldin moved, looking at the chief of staff as he offered the message to him. "Well, instead of reinforcements, spare parts, ammunition, and fuel, Moscow is sending us a new political commissar to make sure we retreat in accordance with STAVKA's orders."
The chief of staff took the message. Lighting it with his own flashlight, he read it. The first part of the message confirmed STAVKA's earlier message requiring the North African Front to establish a line of defense east of Tobruk. The next portion of the message set a time for when that deployment was to be completed. The final portion of the message announced that a representative from STAVKA, equal in rank to Boldin and with direct contact with STAVKA, would be arriving in Tobruk at 0800 hours that morning. Boldin, the message went on to say, was to give copies of all his orders to the STAVKA representative, provide him with transportation and communications facilities, and consult with him before issuing any orders. In effect, Boldin would no longer be in command.
By the time the chief of staff finished reading the message and looked up, Boldin had walked away from the group. Turning to the aide, the chief of staff asked where Boldin had gone. The aide only shrugged his shoulders. The chief of staff ordered the aide to find Boldin and stay with him, then turned to the staff officer who had come with the message. "Well, there is much to do."
As they began to head to the command-post vehicles, the staff officer asked if the message meant that General Boldin had been relieved of command. Unsure of what the future would bring, the chief told the officer that such things were not his concern. Stung by the chief of staff's response, the staff officer slowed his pace slightly and followed the chief of staff back to the vehicles.
Steadying his arms on the fender of one of his tanks, Lieutenant Colonel Anatol Vorishnov studied the British Challenger tank with his binoculars. With him was his deputy battalion commander and the company commander who commanded the T-80 tank they were standing next to. The T-80, like the Challenger, was sitting off to the side of the autobahn. It didn't block the traffic moving through the checkpoint, but it was situated so that it was very visible to everyone. Both tanks had their gun tubes leveled and aimed at each other. Neither was meant to stop any serious intrusion. Instead, they were showpieces for the Western media gathering around the British tank. By that evening, the image of a British tank confronting a Soviet tank in central Germany would be seen on the television in every living room and public gathering place in Western Europe. The message to the viewers would be clear: support of America and Egypt would mean the resurrection of the Iron Curtain.
Vorishnov had been with his battalion less than a month. The deployment from their garrison to positions on the East German side of the checkpoint was the first opportunity he had to move the entire battalion at once. Though he had hoped for better, the performance of his officers and soldiers had not been all bad. All but three of his tanks reached their assigned positions under their own power. Of the three that had broken down en route, two were already repaired and with the unit. Timetables had been met, and positions had been occupied in the darkness even though there had been no recon beforehand. This, in spite of the fact that the sector they were in belonged to another unit, more than made up for some of the sloppy load plans on several of the tanks.
Vorishnov and his deputy commander had been up well before daylight, walking the positions to check on camouflage. Once it became light, they went back through the positions, checking to ensure that there were no blind spots or dead spaces in their fields of fire. It was wrong to call the transition from night to day "sunrise." Although the sun no doubt was shining above the leaden gray clouds, no wanning rays penetrated. With the temperature hovering just below zero degrees centigrade, the clouds prepared to yield snow upon the positions Vorishnov was inspecting.