Red Moscow

All he wanted was to pick up the ready-made Sokov, but he never dreamed that his troops would have another chance to go to the battlefield so soon.

After receiving the notification from Konev, Sokov hesitated for a moment and then asked: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, I would like to ask, can you add an artillery unit to us?"

Konev had already guessed that Sokov would definitely put forward conditions to himself after receiving the order. He thought that the other party would ask him to replenish soldiers and tanks, but he needed artillery instead. He asked a little puzzled, "Comrade Sokov, why do you need artillery?"

"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, as far as I know, the area where the fighting is most intense today is outside the city of Prokhorovka." Sokov explained to Konev: "If we are placed under the command of the Voronezh Front Army, I think Wa The first order given by General Tutin was to order our troops to move in the direction of Prokhorovka to assist the friendly forces to repel the enemy attacking outside the city of Prokhorovka. Since the attack is going to be carried out, if there is no artillery cover, simply Relying on infantry to attack, we will pay a huge price."

Regarding Sokov's request, Konev fell silent, because shortly after Vasilevsky called him, he received a call from Antonov on behalf of the Supreme Command, ordering Major General Ryzhov The 47th Army, the 3rd Guards Mechanized Army of Major General Obukhov, and the 1st Mechanized Army of Lieutenant General Solomatin's Tank Corps carried out a joint assault from the north, destroying the forces in the direction of Korocha and then Oskol. The enemy army group that came out of the river.

The battle these three armies will face will be extremely cruel, so Konev intends to assign all the artillery units directly under the Front Army to them. Unexpectedly, Sukov also proposed the need for artillery, which made him a little embarrassed . Give it, it is bound to weaken the attacking force in the north; don't give it, Sukov's troops are mainly infantry, but to deal with the German mechanized troops, it is bound to pay a heavy price.

"Comrade Sokov," Konev felt that this matter needs to be carefully considered, and he must not make a hasty decision, so he said with some hesitation: "As for the matter of artillery, I will discuss it with the other army leaders. An affirmative answer."

"Okay, Comrade Commander of the Front Army." Sokov knew that Konev's life is not easy now, and it may not be easy for him to get artillery from him. Since the other party took the initiative to say that he would consider it , that proves that there is still a glimmer of hope, so he nodded and said, "I am waiting for your reply."

As soon as Sokov put down the phone, he told Sameko: "Chief of Staff, call some division commanders and order them to come to the headquarters immediately for a meeting. We have a big battle to fight."

Now the 27th Army controls a large area south of the Pushol River. Except for the relatively bad situation in the 188th Division, the commanders and fighters in the rest of the area are basically in a state of doing nothing. After receiving the notification from Sameko, the division commanders immediately rushed to the headquarters as quickly as possible.

"Commanders," Sameko said to the crowd seeing that all the division commanders had arrived, "we have a meeting now."

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Colonel Shechtman, the commander of the 254th Division, who had hardly won any battles since the beginning of the campaign, asked impatiently, "Is it because we are preparing for a big battle by calling us for a meeting today?"

"You guessed right, Comrade Colonel." Sameko said to Shechtman with a smile: "The army does have a big move, and we want to take the initiative to launch an attack on the German army."

"Attack against the enemy?" Hearing this news, the happiest thing is Colonel Koida, the commander of the 188th Division. His troops have been stationed in the south for several days and have been fighting defensive battles, which makes him feel particularly Aggrieved. At this moment, when Sameko said that he was going to launch an attack, he immediately rushed to say: "This is really great. The Sixth Armored Division in front of us has been disabled. As long as we turn from defense to offense, it will only take a while to eliminate them." question."

"Colonel Koyda," Sukov interrupted as soon as he finished speaking, "We will not launch an attack on the German 6th and 18th Armored Divisions for the time being, so as not to stimulate the German 48th Armored Division in the northwest. Corps and 52nd Infantry Corps. Once they turn around and attack us, then we have to fight in two directions at the same time."

The division commanders who came to the meeting fell silent and listened quietly to what Sokov said: "Colonel Koida's 188th Division, Colonel Khokhlov's 182nd Division, and an infantry brigade and two naval Marine brigades, continue to stick to the existing positions. The 84th Brigade of Major General Fomenko and the 384th Brigade of Major General Gritsenko are responsible for the defense tasks from the Pusel River to the southern positions..."

Knowing that his troops had to stick to their current positions, Koyda couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. But after thinking about it, if Sokov really commanded the troops to launch an attack outside the city of Prokhorovka, the enemy from the northwest would definitely pounce on him, and then he would have to rely on himself and Colonel Khokhlov's troops. To block the enemy's attack and ensure that the offensive in the east goes well.

After Sokov explained which troops were holding their positions, he said to Shechtman: "Comrade Colonel, this time I plan to let your troops, under the cover of a tank brigade, attack the enemy outside Prokhorovka. Launch an attack. How about it, are you confident to complete the task?"

Shechtman knew that the German troops in the west of Prokhorovka were the Skeleton Division and Banner Guard Division who had suffered under Sokov, so he stood up and patted his chest and said, "Don't worry, Comrade Commander , dealing with two defeated generals is not a problem at all."

"Comrade Colonel," it is good to have confidence, but if you underestimate the enemy, it is easy to suffer a big loss. Sokov specially reminded the other party: "Although we annihilated the Imperial Division, we have also severely damaged the Skeleton Division and the Banner Guard Division. If you relax your vigilance because of this, you may suffer big losses."

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Shechtman said with some disapproval: "When fighting these enemies, we will definitely maintain sufficient vigilance."

Sokov found from the opponent's expression that he did not take the troops of the 2nd SS Panzer Army seriously. Regarding his underestimation of the enemy, Sokov understood that no matter how much he said, the opponent would probably not Take it to heart. After a short thought, he made a decisive decision: "In order to ensure the victory of the attack, I am going to act with the 354th Division."

As soon as Sokov's words came out, Sameko immediately panicked: "Comrade Commander, the fighting in the east is fierce. If you go, I'm afraid you will be in danger."

"It doesn't matter. It's not my first day on the battlefield. I know how to protect myself." Sokov waved his hands and said, "I believe that I can boost morale by going out in person."

Sameko had long been used to Sokov's character. Seeing that he had already made up his mind and knew that it would be useless to persuade him, he could only nod his head and said helplessly, "Okay, Comrade Commander, since you have already After making a decision, we must pay attention to protecting our own safety in the next battle."

"Comrade Commander," Seeing that Sokov decided to personally command the troops to attack the enemy outside the city of Prokhorovka, General Poluboyarov, the tank commander, got up and said, "I think if you want to use tanks, you can completely mobilize the regiment The 85th and 483rd Independent Tank Battalions directly under the corps. If I remember correctly, they have not participated in any battles and are still at full strength."

A word awakened the dreamer, Sokov only considered attacking the Skeleton Division and the Banner Guard Division, using tank troops, but forgot that there were two independent tank battalions in his direct troops. Now that Poluboyarov reminded him at this moment, he said smoothly: "General Poluboyarov, you are right, you can indeed use these two independent tank battalions to attack the enemy in the east this time. In this way, I don't have to disrupt the existing deployment of your army."

"Comrade Commander," Sameko reminded Sokov when General Poluboyarov suggested that Sokov use two separate tank battalions: "These two separate tank battalions will only have fifty tanks in total. Tanks. There are one-third of the old T-70 tanks. If they encounter a large number of German tanks, I am afraid they will suffer a lot.”

"Comrade Chief of Staff, you don't have to worry." Sokov thought to himself, as for the one or two hundred tanks of the Skeleton Division and the Banner Guard Division, it is estimated that more than half of them had been lost in the two days of fighting, and the rest were still left. In the battle with Rotmistrov's troops, it is estimated that they will not be able to deal with themselves. Even if the old tanks in the two tank battalions account for a considerable proportion, they are still sure of victory: "The enemy's armored forces are all Being dragged outside the city of Prokhorovka does not pose much threat to us."

Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch, and said to Colonel Shechtman: "Comrade Colonel, you rush back to the troops immediately and let the commanders and fighters make all preparations before departure. Before dark, we will launch an attack on the enemy." attack."

"Attack before dark?" Sokov's words made Shechtman confused: "Comrade Commander, if you attack before dark, the battle will not last long, and it will be dark. How can we fight then? ?”

"Comrade Colonel, don't forget that close combat and night combat are the strengths of our army." Sokov said proudly: "After dark, the enemy's tanks, planes and artillery will be useless, and our infantry will be able to fully Play to our strengths and beat the enemy dizzy."

In fact, there was no way for Sokov to order the troops to fight at night. The air support promised by the superior has not been fulfilled so far; and this time the enemy outside the city of Prokhorovka did not even have artillery. If the conventional offensive warfare is played, the final casualties will be very heavy. In order to avoid this situation, Sokov can only choose night combat and melee combat, which the Soviet army is best at.

After the meeting, while Shechtman went back to gather troops, Sokov sat at the table and waited for Konev's call. He thought to himself, if Konev could provide him with artillery, even if it was an artillery division or two self-propelled artillery regiments, then his attack on the Skeleton Division and the Banner Guard Division could be carried out two or three hours in advance. Try to resolve the battle before dark.

Don't look at these two elite SS divisions, they can harden one or two armies of the Soviet army, but as long as they meet their own nemesis, their combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced. Unexpectedly, as soon as his troops rushed, the defense line established by the German army would collapse in an instant.

After sitting for more than an hour, Konev's call did not come, but Shechtman's call came: "Comrade Commander, my troops have assembled and are ready to go at any time."

"Understood." Sokov said lightly: "Wait, I will notify you when it's time to leave."

Seeing Sokov's sad face, Lunev asked tentatively, "Comrade Commander, are you still waiting for General Konev's call?"

"Yes." Sokov naturally did not hide his true thoughts from his deputy: "With the assistance of artillery, our attack on the German army will be smoother."

"Comrade Commander, I have an idea, I don't know whether to say it or not."

"Comrade Military Commissioner, if you have any ideas, just say it."

"I look at the situation of the enemy and ourselves on the map. The enemies outside the city of Prokhorovka include not only the Skeleton Division and the Banner Guard Division, but also the Kenf Combat Group. The enemy's strength is not weak." Lunev pointed at the map. Said to Sokov: "I think you should deploy the second echelon again. Once you attack the Skeleton Division and the Banner Guard Division and are attacked by the Kenf Combat Group from the flank, our second echelon can rush up in time to help You defuse the crisis."

"It's not necessary." Sokov shook his head and said, "If the enemy wants to destroy us, he must first have a good set of teeth. Otherwise, not only will he not be able to eat us, but he may even break his front teeth."

Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch, feeling that it was getting late, and Konev's call was delayed, which proved that the other party's big concept could not provide him with artillery, so he stood up and said to Sameko: "Staff Commander, inform Colonel Shechtman and the two tank battalion commanders that it's time for us to set off."

As soon as the order was issued, the troops that had been on standby for a long time began to move towards Prokhorovka in the east. Colonel Shechtman, who was traveling with Sokov, asked Sokov tentatively: "Comrade Commander, will we not be discovered by the enemy if we push eastward with such fanfare?"

"Comrade Colonel," Sokov stared at Shechtman, and asked a little strangely: "The road leading to Prokhorovka is exposed to the sight of German scouts. What do you think we should do?" , can we completely avoid the eyes and ears of the German army? Now such a swaggering advance in the direction of Prokhorovka may disrupt the battle deployment of the German army headquarters, forcing them to draw part of their troops from the fighting area. Intercept us."