Red Moscow

Sokov knew very well in his heart that the Battle of Kursk was a watershed in the Soviet-German War. Before the battle, the German army held the strategic initiative and could independently choose the time and place to launch a strategic offensive; after the battle, the German army completely lost its strategic initiative and switched from a strategic offensive to a strategic defensive. Scale offense.

Knowing that this is a battle that must be won, Sokov still remains cautious. If he really lost the battle, the prestige he had not easily established in the army would be wiped out in an instant.

According to Sokov's plan, the 182nd Infantry Division, the vanguard of the entire army, should reach a place 30 kilometers north of Oboyan on the morning of July 6 and build fortifications there.

Unexpectedly, before dawn, Sokov was woken up by the staff officer on duty: "Comrade Commander, Colonel Khokhlov has made an emergency call. It seems that something happened."

When Sokov heard what the staff officer on duty said, his heart sank. He couldn't help but think to himself: Could it be that the German army's assault speed is far faster than in real history? Before Colonel Khokhlov and the others reached the designated position, Just encountered the enemy who rushed over? Thinking of this, he asked the staff while putting on his shoes, "Who else did you notify?"

"Before coming here, I had called the chief of staff and he said he would be at the command post soon."

Sokov knew that Sameko lived farther away from the command post. Even if he had received the notice in advance, he might not be able to reach the command post earlier than himself. After putting on his shoes, he waved his hand vigorously and said : "Go, let's go to the headquarters."

When he walked into the headquarters, Sokov saw the microphone on the table, so he quickly walked over to pick up the microphone, put it next to his ear, and said loudly, "I'm Sokov."

"Hello, Comrade Commander! This is Khokhlov."

"Comrade Colonel," Sokov asked sternly, "what happened?"

"Reporting to Comrade Commander, we have reached the area 30 kilometers north of Oboyan, and when we were preparing to build defensive fortifications, we were stopped..."

"What, was it blocked?" Sokov couldn't help being angry when he heard what Khokhlov said. He sent troops to reinforce him, but someone actually stopped his troops from building fortifications. He asked sharply: "Stop you from building Who is the man who fortified, and what right does he have to stop you?"

"It's me, I have the right to prevent you from building new defensive positions within our defense zone." Suddenly a strange voice came from the receiver: "You are the 27th Army Commander Sokov that the colonel said Major general?"

"Yes." Hearing the carefree tone of the other party, Sokov immediately realized that the other party might not have a simple background, so he asked tentatively, "May I ask who you are?"

"I am General Apanashenko, the deputy commander of the Voronezh Front Army." The person on the other end of the phone said sternly, "I want to ask you why you ordered the troops without authorization from our Ministry." Build new fortifications in our defense zone? I want to ask you, what do you want to do?"

"General Apanashenko?!" After repeating the name, Sokov immediately remembered the identity of the other party: one of the five generals of the Soviet Army before the war, and a veteran known as the "Far Eastern Czar" commander. He quickly straightened his body, and said respectfully into the microphone: "Hello, Comrade General, what instructions do you have?"

"Major General Sokov," Apanashenko asked impatiently, "you haven't answered my question yet, why did you send troops to build defenses in our defense zone without authorization from our ministry?" Fortification, what is your purpose in doing this?"

"Comrade General," although Apanashenko has been staying in the Far East since the outbreak of the war, he has no chance to participate in the formulation and execution of combat plans, and the tactics he has mastered are outdated in today's war, even in the Far East. Under his repeated requests, Stalin reluctantly arranged for him to be Vatutin's deputy, who was much younger than him, as the deputy commander of the Voronezh Front Army. But in any case, his military rank is much higher than that of Sokov. Sokov responded politely: "According to my analysis, the enemy may achieve a breakthrough in the Oboyan area. In order to prevent the enemy from rushing to Moscow, I definitely have It is necessary to build fortifications in the northern area of ​​Oboyan to prevent the enemy from attacking."

Unexpectedly, as soon as Sokov finished speaking, Apanashenko became angry: "General Sokov, who told you that the commanders and fighters of our heroic Voronezh Front Army cannot stop the enemy's attack? You know, you His remarks are very dangerous. To put it lightly, you are talking nonsense; to put it seriously, this is simply a defeatist argument."

Hearing Apanashenko's accusations against him, Sokov couldn't help but wryly smiled. He didn't know how to explain it so that the other party could realize the seriousness of the current situation. Just as he was organizing words in his mind, he suddenly heard Apanashenko say in a stern tone: "I order you to withdraw your troops immediately, otherwise I will report the matter to the Supreme Command, and the resulting You will be solely responsible for all the consequences that come.”

Apanashenko's words made Sokov angry. He didn't expect that he had worked out a battle plan to save the situation, and sent the most elite troops to the north of Oboyan to consolidate the defense. He would be criticized by others . If the other party was an ordinary commander, Sokov would have retorted a long time ago, but the person he was talking to was an old soldier with similar qualifications to Zhukov, so he chose to bear it until he was young. After taking two deep breaths, Trying to use a calm tone, I said to Apanashenko: "I'm sorry, Comrade General. I was the one who got the permission of General Konev, the commander of the front army, to build a fortification north of Oboyan. If you have any questions, Please communicate directly with General Konev."

"Major General Sokov," Apanashenko seemed particularly annoyed when he saw Sokov's evasive words, "Do you really want to disobey my order?"

"I'm sorry, Comrade General." Sokov replied neither humble nor humble: "Although your rank is higher than mine, you are not my immediate superior, so I have the right to disobey your orders. In order to prevent the enemy from defending our army Advance in depth, my troops are about to build new fortifications in the actual control area, I hope you will not stop them."

"On the contrary, on the contrary, you, a little major general, dare to disobey my order." Apanashenko said angrily: "I will report this matter to the Supreme Command and let them remove you Check it out."

Sokov was not worried about Apanashenko's threat at all: "Comrade General, if you feel the need to report to the Supreme Command, please go ahead. Not only how to say, my troops must be here today." In some areas, build new fortifications to resist possible German troops."

"You wait." Apanashenko said viciously: "I will soon let you know what the consequences of disobeying the orders of the superiors are. I hope you will not regret it then."