Red Moscow

When a German armored detachment rushed to the headquarters of the Guards Division by mistake, Marankin knew that the troops on his left wing had been defeated by the Germans, and he didn't even say hello to himself when he evacuated.

After discovering the traces of the enemy, Marankin immediately ordered his chief of staff: "Call the commander of the 238th Regiment and order him to command the troops to destroy the enemy who has rushed to the division headquarters. At the same time, build defenses on the left wing to prevent the enemy from attacking us. The line of defense was torn apart."

Taking advantage of the time when the chief of staff was in contact with the 238th regiment, Marankin dialed the phone number of the group army headquarters: "I am General Marankin, the commander of the Guards Division. Please help me find the commander to answer the phone."

Klitschko learned that Marankin was looking for him, and quickly took the microphone from the staff officer's hand: "I am Klitschko, General Marankin, how is the situation there?"

"Too bad, Comrade Commander." Marankin knew that the situation was critical at the moment, and he needed to race against time, so he didn't go around in circles with Klitschko, but said bluntly: "Our 107th Division on the left was defeated by the Germans and is retreating." I didn’t even greet me at the time. If the enemy’s tanks hadn’t rushed near my headquarters, I would not have known that the enemy’s defense line had been breached by the enemy.”

"What, the defense line of the 107th Division was broken through by the Germans?" Klitschko was stunned when he heard the news. Not long ago, he shot and killed the commander of the 6th Armored Division Huo Klitschko for Sokov's troops. Nadorf, rather complacent, felt that the German offensive today was nothing more than that. Then a few hours later, the situation suddenly took a turn for the worse, and the position of the left wing was actually broken by the Germans.

After a brief panic, he continued to ask: "What about your right wing? Isn't it occupied by the enemy?"

"No." Marankin replied simply, "General Sokov's troops are still stubbornly holding on to the right flank of our division, and have not allowed the German invaders to move forward."

Knowing that Sokov's troops were still standing firm, Klitschko couldn't help but secretly heaved a sigh of relief. He knew that Sokov's troops were good at defensive warfare. As long as they could hold their ground, even if some areas were broken by the Germans, they would still be able to slow down and obstruct the advance of the German army to Prokhorovka.

After putting down the phone, Klitschko said to his chief of staff: "Chief of staff, immediately contact the 305th Division that General Sokov intends to find out about their current situation."

The chief of staff promised and immediately asked the director of the communications army to connect to the division headquarters of the 305th division. But the other party soon told him with regret: "I'm sorry, Comrade Chief of Staff, I can't get through to the 305th division headquarters."

"What's going on?" Klitschko heard the director of the communications corps say this, and immediately asked with a straight face: "Is there a problem with the line?"

"Comrade Commander," the director of the communications corps quickly replied, "I have already sent someone to check the wiring. It should not be a problem with the wiring."

"It's not a problem with the line?" The words of the director of the communications corps made Klitschko feel ominous: "What do you mean, is the 305th division also repelled by the enemy?"

"It's hard to say." The director of the communications corps replied with some embarrassment: "We can only find out what's going on after the communications corps checks the lines."

"On the battlefield, every minute is precious." Klitschko waved his hand and said to the director of communications: "Since the phone cannot be reached, then call them and ask what's going on."

"Yes." Just when the director of the communications corps agreed and was about to leave, Klitschko stopped him again and said to him: "By the way, help me connect to General Sokov's headquarters. I want to talk to him about something." Sentence. The 305th Division is on his right flank, and he may be able to learn about the situation of the 305th Division from him."

Hearing what Klitschko said, the director of the Communication Corps tentatively asked: "Comrade Commander, shall we still use the radio to call the 305th Division?"

"The call goes on," Klitschko said. "I'm just saying that it's possible to get information about the 305th Division from General Sokov, or nothing, so the call to the 305th Division must go ahead."

At this time, Sokov was too busy to take care of himself. The 658 regiment deployed on the right wing was defeated, and the pressure he was under immediately increased. Koyda panicked and asked: "Comrade commander, what should we do? The defense line on the right wing has been breached by the enemy, and we are now facing enemies on both sides. If the guard division on the left wing cannot hold on, we may fall into the hands of the Germans." encirclement."

"Then what do you think about it?" Sokov didn't expect that the situation on the battlefield would suddenly take a turn for the worse, and he, who was originally in a favorable position, now faced the danger of being besieged on all sides. So after hearing what Keida said, he asked casually, "Are you planning to give up your position?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Koida did have the idea of ​​retreating, and was worried that he would not know how to speak. Hearing what Sokov said, he quickly echoed: "The German army used three divisions to fight against the enemy. We launched a fierce attack. Now that the 305th Division on the right wing has been defeated, I think the Guards Division on the left wing may not be able to last long. Why don't we give up our position and retreat, as long as we retreat to the Pushore River, we can fight with the 84th Division who stood there The divisions and tank corps converged and a new defense was rebuilt."

It would be a lie to say that Sokov was not moved by what Koida said. In any case, there are two divisions on both sides of the river, plus a tank army. Even if the German army uses the skeleton division and two armored divisions, their own troops can rely on the river bank fortifications to carry out orderly resistance. Wait for more troops rushed to the battlefield.

But after thinking about it, the German army's offensive is fierce. If they choose to retreat at this moment, it may turn the retreat into a rout. The troops that had lost their organizational structure fled to the Pushol River. Not only was it difficult to organize a decent resistance, but it would also affect the morale of other troops. After trying to understand this, Sokov shook his head and said: "No, Comrade Colonel, no matter how bad the situation is, we cannot retreat easily. Once we retreat, the Guards Division on the left wing, which is fighting fiercely with the enemy, will be caught The danger of the German encirclement. Once the Guards Division is wiped out by the enemy, the 69th Army's defense line will collapse."

"Comrade Commander, do you really think that the Guards can hold their ground?"

Sokov thought to himself that the Guards Division's current defensive frontage was only about two kilometers away. No matter how small the troops were, it would not be a big problem to block the German attack. But just to be on the safe side, he decided to call Marankin to find out their situation so that he could make a correct judgment.

Just when he was about to pick up the phone, the phone rang first. He picked it up and heard Klitschko's voice: "Is it General Sokov? I'm Klitschko."

"Hello, General Klitschko." Sokov guessed that the other party's call at this moment must be related to the defeat of the 305th Division. "You called me, is it related to the retreat of the 305th Division?"

Although Klitschko had long thought that the 305th Division was defeated by the German army, he was still very surprised when he heard the news from Sokov: "General Sokov, do you have any news about the 305th Division?"

Klitschko's words made Sokov stunned: "Why, General Klitschko, don't you know the news that the 305th Division was defeated by the German army?"

Hearing Sokov's question, Klitschko replied with some embarrassment: "General Sokov, our headquarters has lost contact with the 305th Division for a long time. If you have any news about them, please let me know. "

"General Klitschko, according to the information I have, the German Skeleton Division successfully broke through the 305th Division's line of defense and rushed to the second position." He did not hide anything from him, but said truthfully: "The 658th regiment I deployed there successfully repelled the enemy's first attack. But they did not block the enemy's subsequent second attack, Forced to abandon the positions they held."

From Sokov's narration, Klitschko realized the seriousness of the problem. Not only was his 305th Division defeated, but even the regiment that Sokov sent to help did not stop the enemy. He was silent for a long time, and then murmured: "So, my right-wing troops are finished."

Sokov frowned: "General Klitschko, so the situation of the troops on the left is not good either?"

"Yes," Klitschko said bluntly: "The 107th Division on the left flank was also defeated. Now the only troops holding the line of defense are your 188th Division and General Marankin's Guards Division."

Knowing that the guards on the left wing were still holding their ground, Sokov felt more at ease. Fortunately, there were still friendly troops fighting persistently, and his troops were not left alone, so it would be meaningful to continue to hold on. When he was about to tell Klitschko that his troops would continue to stand firm, he saw the worry written on Koida's face, he hesitated for a moment, and asked tentatively: "General Klitschko, I don't know How long can General Marankin and the others hold on?"

"I really don't know how long I can stick to it." Klitschko didn't draw a cake for Sokov, but said truthfully and helplessly: "But they will definitely stick to the last person and beat the last one." A bullet."

"Okay, General Klitschko." After listening to the other party's answer, Sokov immediately made his own promise: "As long as General Marankin's troops don't give up their positions, then my troops will stop it at all costs. enemy attack."

Seeing Sokov put down the phone, Koyda became a little anxious. He said quickly: "Comrade commander, my 562 regiment has been wiped out, and more than half of the 564 and 568 regiments have been lost. With this strength alone, we can stop the three German troops from attacking." Is it the division's strong attack?"