Red Moscow

Knowing that Zhukov planned to transfer all his troops to the Prokhorovka area, Sokov's mind went crazy, and he wished he could slap himself twice. If it weren't for his performance in the past two days that was too eye-catching, how could Zhukov suddenly have such an idea? My troops have been staying in Shumakovo, and when the fighting is almost done, I will go out to pick peaches and pick them up. Isn't it delicious?

"Comrade Marshal," Sokov replied with some embarrassment: "Now our army has a lot of troops in the Prokhorovka area. If our army group is transferred there, will it be too crowded and the troops cannot What about unfolding?"

"Then what do you think?" Zhukov unexpectedly did not get angry, but asked calmly: "Put an entire army group in Shumakovo, where there may be no more battles, don't you think it is a waste? ?"

"Comrade Marshal, don't be afraid of 10,000, just in case. Don't see the German army being driven across the Pena River by us. It will not threaten the safety of Shumakovo for the time being, but we can't relax our vigilance." Sokov said cautiously : "I think it is very necessary to place a unit in Shumakovo as a reserve team."

"Okay, since you said you want to keep a reserve team in Shumakovo, then keep the first division and three brigades that participated in the battle last night, and add another infantry division. This will be enough." Zhukov said involuntarily Said calmly: "The rest of the troops will be transferred to the Prokhorovka area. I believe that with your joining, we will be more confident in blocking the enemy's attack."

After hearing Zhukov's words, Sokov immediately burst into tears: You regard me as a fairy, thinking that wherever I am, the Germans will definitely not be able to break through the line of defense, right? There will soon be a tank battle in the Prokhorovka area. It is said that thousands of tanks will participate. His own tank army has gone, but it is not enough for the German armored forces to get in their teeth. So Sokov tried his best to avoid this incident. drudgery.

"Comrade Marshal, please listen to my sophistry... No, it's my explanation." Sokov said with a sad face: "My troops have become exhausted after a long march on foot. We haven't got enough time yet. Take a rest and hastily transfer them to the Prokhorovka area, which may affect the combat effectiveness of the troops."

"Comrade Sokov," Zhukov did not call Sokov by his nickname, but called him by his surname: "Since you say so, I can agree with you to stay where you are, but you have to promise me one condition."

Knowing that his troops could stay where they were, Sokov almost jumped up excitedly, thinking that I could agree to a hundred conditions, let alone one condition. He pretended to be calm and asked: "Comrade Marshal, what are the conditions?"

"You take the time to meet Marshal Manstein and tell him that our army is not ready for battle, and ask him to order his troops to stop attacking temporarily, and wait until your group army enters the Prokhorovka area before launching another attack. It's not too late to attack."

Hearing Zhukov's conditions, Sokov was dumbfounded and said to Marshal Zhukov, aren't you kidding me? If I can convince Manstein, will the Battle of Kursk still have to be fought? I just ordered him to surrender to the Soviet army. He smiled bitterly and said, "Comrade Marshal, are you kidding me?"

"You were the one who joked with me first." After Zhukov finished speaking, he asked bluntly, "Give me a word, when will your troops be able to enter the Prokhorovka area?"

After hearing Zhukov's words, Sokov completely gave up. He knew very well that not only what he said, but also that his troops would not be able to escape the battle in the Prokhorovka area. He gesticulated on the map with his hands for a while, measured the distance between Shumakovo and Prokhorovka, and finally said: "Comrade Marshal, it is about 80 kilometers from us to the Prokhorovka area. If you march on foot, it will take two days at the fastest. And the time required for the tank army to advance is similar."

"Two days, two days. Two days later, I want to see your troops appear in the north of the Prokhorovka area." After Zhukov gave this order, he asked casually, "Are there any difficulties?"

"There must be difficulties." Sokov thought that his large troops were marching in broad daylight. If there was no air force to provide air support, once they encountered German air strikes, the marching sequence of the troops might be disrupted. After thinking Finally, he said cautiously: "I still hope that you can provide us with the necessary air support, otherwise we will not be able to march in the daytime at all."

Seeing Sokov change his tone, Zhukov smiled, and then he asked, "Are you going to transfer those troops to the Prokhorovka area?"

"I plan to leave the 254th Infantry Division and two independent tank battalions to assist the 1st Division and 3rd Brigade in defending the Shumakovo area." Since going to the Prokhorovka area was inevitable, Sokov made serious arrangements The whereabouts of the troops: "The 84th, 182nd and 188th Infantry Divisions, as well as the 4th Guards Tank Army, will march in the direction of Prokhorovka after dawn tomorrow. In order to prevent being attacked by the Germans, I hope that Marshal Comrade can give us the necessary air support."

"Don't worry, Misha." Zhukov said vowedly: "I will send no less than one aviation division's air force to cover your transfer from Shumakovo to the Prokhorovka area."

When Sokov put down the phone, Sameko asked impatiently, "Comrade Commander, is the superior going to transfer us to the Prokhorovka area?"

"Yes," Sokov nodded, and said with a serious expression: "But this time we have not been provided with any means of transportation, that is to say, our soldiers can only walk slowly on their own two legs. to the Prokhorovka region."

"For a distance of 80 kilometers, even if you march 40 kilometers a day, it will take two days." Sameko said with some concern, "I wonder if I can make it in time?"

"It was completely in time," Sokov said to Sameko: "Shortly after our army marched towards Shumakovo, the headquarters put the 5th Guards Tank Army and the 5th Guards Army under the command of the Voronezh Front Army. The first order that General Vatutin gave after receiving these troops was to let them move towards Prokhorovka. According to my estimation, these troops will arrive in Prokhorovka one after another by tomorrow morning at the latest .”

"Comrade Commander, the Prokhorovka area already has our army's defense line, and there are many troops stationed there. Now we have added a tank army and a guard army. The troops standing there are enough. Why? Are you going to call us up too?"

"I once said before that the terrain in the Prokhorovka area is very conducive to the deployment of large-scale armored forces by the German army." Sokov said thoughtfully: "Don't think that a tank army was transferred there, but To stop the large-scale German armored forces, our army needs more tanks."

Sokov walked up to Poluboyarov: "Comrade General, please tell me truthfully, how many tanks are still available in your army?" , After a long march, there will be more or less some failures, which need to be repaired by maintenance personnel before they can be put into battle.

Hearing Sokov's question, Poluboyarov truthfully replied: "Comrade Commander, our army has three tank brigades and one motorized infantry brigade, with a total of 7,500 troops and 168 tanks and vehicles. Seventy-six guns of various calibers. But after a long march, we had less than a hundred tanks that could be put into battle."

"What, there are less than a hundred left?" Sokov asked in surprise, "Why did this happen?"

"Comrade commander, you do not know that many of the tanks equipped by our army were produced in 1941 and have participated in many battles, and there are more or less faults. After a long march , The failures of the tanks have been reflected one after another." Poluboyarov explained to Sokov: "Otherwise I would not have asked you for the 29 captured tanks."

"Comrade General," Sokov was very clear in his heart. Although his troops are equipped with a lot of bazookas, the best weapon for enemy tanks is still tanks. Facing the swarming torrent of steel, they must use Sufficient number of tanks to resist: "Order your maintenance technicians, you must eliminate the failure of the tanks in the shortest possible time. When you set off at dawn tomorrow, even if you can't dispatch all of them, you must at least ensure that 80% of the tanks can be sent to Proho Depart for the Lovka area."

With the transfer order issued, the troops began to get busy. The busiest was Colonel Khokhlov's 182nd Division, which was ordered to hand over defensive positions to Colonel Shechtman's 254th Division.

Sameko found a map of the Prokhorovka area and asked Sokov for instructions: "Comrade Commander, how do you plan to deploy our troops."

Sokov, who had already had a well-thought-out plan, pointed to the map and said to Sameko: "The three infantry divisions are divided into three echelons, and they are deployed in the north of the Prokhorovka area. Among them, the 84th division of Major General Fomenko is the first. The first echelon is deployed on the left bank of the Pusol River; Colonel Koyda’s 188th Division and Colonel Khokhlov’s 182nd Division, as the second and third echelons, are deployed on the right bank of the Pusol River.”

Sameko had no objection to Sokov placing Colonel Khokhlov's troops at the end of the entire defensive area. After all, when the Army Group troops entered Shumakovo, they were the first in the division to exchange fire with the Germans. And there were still quite a few casualties. Putting them behind just allowed them to use this time to rest and reorganize. More importantly, Sokov's wife Asiya is now working in the field hospital of the 182nd Division. This arrangement can keep her out of danger.

He just asked a question casually: "Comrade commander, where do you plan to place General Poluboyarov's tank army?"

"Just let them stay with Major General Fomenko's 84th Division." Sokov said: "This will also help our tanks sortie."

After dawn, Fomenko's 84th Division and General Poluboyarov's tank army set off at the same time. The infantry formed a four-way column and walked on the right side of the road, leaving the left side of the road to the tank army. tank.

Naturally, Sokov would not rush to the Prokhorovka area until all the troops were in place. He came early to a hill on the side of the road and watched the marching troops on the road below.

Samoilov, who was standing beside him, asked cautiously: "Comrade Commander, are we really going to the Prokhorovka area to fight the Germans?"

"Yes, Comrade Lieutenant, our troops went to the Prokhorovka area to teach the Germans." Sokov turned his head to look at Samoilov, and asked with a smile, "Why, are you scared?"

"Comrade commander, look at what you said. Anyway, I have been with you for such a long time, when did I run away?" Samoilov replied with a smile: "I just want to ask, how much time do you need?" How long will it take to smash the German offensive in the Prokhorovka area?"

Seeing that Samoilov had such confidence in himself, Sokov felt uncertain. Although he knew that the battle in the Prokhorovka area ended with the victory of the Soviet army, but now with his appearance, many things in history have gone wrong. Will this decisive battle end with the victory of the Soviet army? And the end, for him, is still an unknown.

Therefore, in the face of Samoilov's curiosity, he can only say euphemistically: "The final outcome of this battle must be that our army crushes the enemy's attack, but I really can't say how long it will take. , maybe two or three days, maybe it will take a week or even longer."

"Comrade Commander, I think we can not only smash the enemy's attack, but also achieve greater victories."

"Why?" Seeing Samoilov speak so confidently, Sokov couldn't help asking curiously.

"It's very simple. We have invested so many troops in the Prokhorovka area, and the superior ordered you to take the troops there for reinforcements." Samoilov said with a smile on his face, "I have known you for so long, and I have never seen you." I have never seen you lose a battle. I wonder if the enemy will retreat without a fight if they hear that you have appeared in the Prokhorovka region with troops?"

Sokov knew that Samoilov was flattering himself, but it still felt pretty good. He smiled and waved his hands, and said: "Comrade Lieutenant, you really think highly of me. I was just lucky and won a few victories. This battle in the Prokhorovka area will be better than your previous ones." More brutal than any battle I've ever seen."

While the two were talking, Sokov suddenly saw black smoke coming out of the rear of a tank, and then the body shook a few times before stopping in place. As soon as this tank stopped, the long line of tanks following it also stopped one by one.

Seeing this, Sokov couldn't help frowning, and told Samoilov: "Comrade Lieutenant, go over and have a look, what's the matter with that tank, why did it stop here?"