Red Moscow

"Two Marshals," Apanashenko waited for Vatutin to finish, then turned to Zhukov and Vasilevsky, and said to them, "I think you should be very clear. After the battle starts, once the 19th The commander of the armored division, seeing that the enemy on his right flank has not moved, will definitely leave only a small number of troops to watch, and draw the main force to reinforce the attacked right flank."

"That's right, that's true." Vasilevsky nodded, and asked the question in his heart again: "Then why don't the troops on the left wing of our army assist Sokov's troops in launching an attack?"

"Comrade Marshal, this is how I think about it." Apanashenko replied: "Once the left wing troops attack at the same time as Sokov's troops after the battle starts, the enemy will definitely resist desperately. When the time comes The battle in this area will fall into a stalemate.

But if only Sokov's troops are allowed to attack, while the troops on the left flank stand still, the enemy's vigilance can be relaxed. When the enemy transfers their right wing troops to the left wing, which is the right wing of our attacking side, the guards can launch a sudden attack on the enemy's empty defense. In this way, our army can easily break through the enemy's defense line. "

After listening to Apanashenko's proposal, Zhukov began to think about it. If the left-wing troops have been standing still at the beginning of the battle, it will give the Germans an illusion that this attack was initiated by Sokov's troops alone, and the left-wing troops should not be affiliated with him, so there is a high probability that they will not cooperate. his actions. Under such circumstances, the German commander would have misjudged. In order to block the offensive of Sokov's troops, he would transfer his troops from the right to support the left. At that time, the guards who stood still would be able to find suitable troops. The fighters decisively break through the enemy's defenses.

When Zhukov was considering whether Apanashenko's plan was feasible, Vatutin said: "Comrade Deputy Commander, I am worried that if the Guards Division on the left does not move, the enemy may attack Sokov's flank. Once the attacking troops If it is cut off by the enemy, then the attack may fail."

Regarding Vatutin's worries, Zhukov waved his hands and said confidently: "If you can't even protect your own flank, then you are not the Misha I know. That's the decision, Comrade Vatutin, You immediately inform the two generals Trufanov and Marankin that when Sokov's troops attack the 19th Armored Division, they must not hold out. They are not allowed to attack the enemy until they receive new combat orders. .”

"Do you need to notify General Sokov?" Vatutin asked cautiously: "After all, our arrangement will disrupt his original deployment."

"No need." Zhukov still shook his head and said, "I want to take this opportunity to see how he is able to adapt to the situation."

…………

After the bombardment, the commanders and fighters of the 188th and 384th Infantry Divisions took tanks from two tank brigades respectively and attacked the frontal German positions.

Sokov, who was staying in the command post, could not see the offensive scene with his own eyes, so he could only learn about the progress of the battle through the reports of his subordinates. He personally called Koida, the commander of the 188th Division, and asked straight to the point: "Comrade Colonel, has the 81st Guards Division on your left launched an attack on the enemy?"

The other party was silent for a moment, and then replied: "No, Comrade Commander. My observation post just reported to me that there is no movement of the friendly forces on the left flank to attack."

Sameko, who was standing next to Sokov, couldn't help but panic when he heard what Koida said: "Comrade Commander, if the friendly forces on the left wing don't take coordinated actions, the flank of the 188th Division that is advancing forward will have may be exposed to the enemy, at which point they risk being cut off."

Sokov didn't seem to hear what Sameko said, but continued to ask Koida: "Comrade Colonel, are you really sure that the 81st Guards Division on the left has no signs of action?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander, I can assure you." Koyda said convincingly: "The troops on the left wing did not move at all."

"Damn it," Sokov murmured softly when he heard this, "Didn't they receive an order to coordinate operations?"

"Comrade Commander," Sokov said in a low voice, but Keida could hear him clearly. He quickly asked tentatively, "Do you need me to contact General Marankin?"

"I don't think it's necessary to make contact." Sokov felt in his heart that since Zhukov had promised to let the left-wing troops cooperate with him, he would definitely not go back on his word. Maybe there was some reason that caused the original plan to change. Thinking of this, he said to Koida: "Comrade Colonel, in order to prevent your flanks from being attacked by the Germans, I now order that the 46th Infantry Brigade will connect to your original position; and the 62nd Marine Brigade will be responsible for the cover. Your left flank, avoid German attack."

After listening to Sokov's arrangement, Koyda immediately felt more at ease. With troops to take over his original defense zone and troops to cover his flanks, he could confidently and boldly advance deep into the enemy's defense. But when he thought of the left-wing allies who were standing still, he still asked a little unconvinced: "Comrade commander, don't you really plan to find out why the left-wing allies don't cooperate with our actions?"

"Comrade Colonel, if you can cooperate with us in fighting, I think General Marankin's troops have already been dispatched. Since they have been holding back for so long, they must have received some orders from their superiors." Sokov said into the microphone: "Your division The task is to continue to advance deep into the enemy's defense. At the same time as your division, there is also Major General Gritsenko's 384th Infantry Division. You can compare in battle to see who has achieved more brilliant results. "

As soon as Sokov put down the phone, Sameko hurriedly said: "Comrade Commander, I think we should ask the Front Army Command what's going on? Didn't it mean that the left-wing troops would cooperate with us in fighting? How to fight?" As soon as it was fired, they didn't make any movement?"

Although Sokov also wanted to call Zhukov to ask Zhukov, what is going on, and the joint operation that was agreed in advance, why didn't he even say hello to save Huang? But he thought about it again, since Zhukov didn't communicate with himself, it seems that he has higher-level considerations. Fortunately, the opposite side is only a heavily depleted armored division. Neither of the two artillery divisions could solve the other side, so I'd better take the initiative to let someone else take over and let someone who is capable take over my position.

"Comrade Chief of Staff," Sokov said to Sameko, "you must know that we are commanded by the command of the Front Army, not the other way around. Therefore, it is not necessary to account to us only for the decisions made by the superiors. We just need to do our part well. Could it be that without the cooperation of the friendly forces on the left wing, we can't destroy the 19th Armored Division?"

"Comrade Commander, what are you talking about?" Before Sameko could speak, Lunev's voice suddenly sounded at the door. As he walked towards the room, he asked curiously, "Can you tell me?"

When Sokov saw Lunev appearing in the headquarters, he couldn't help feeling flustered. Instead of fulfilling the other party's request, he couldn't wait to ask: "Comrade Military Commissioner, why are you back? Asiya, how is she?"

"The review has ended. I saw that they were very tired, so I arranged for them to go to rest."

"The review is over so soon?" Sokov asked with some confidence.

"Yes." Lunev walked to the table, put a cup of hot tea from the samovar, took a sip and continued, "The time when Asiya and the others were captured by the enemy has not exceeded 12 hours, so what's the problem?" ? The so-called review is nothing more than going through the procedures according to the regulations."

"Comrade Military Commissar." When he learned that the review of Asiya and others had been successfully concluded, Sokov finally put down a huge stone in his heart. He hurriedly stepped forward to hold Lunev's hand, and said gratefully: "Thank you!"

"This is my job, you're welcome." After Lunev finished speaking, he asked curiously again: "By the way, how is our attack going?"

Sameko looked at the battle report in his hand and replied: "From the current situation, our army is progressing very smoothly. Both divisions have broken through the first line of defense of the German army and are advancing towards the second line of defense. .”

Seeing that Sameko did not mention the friendly forces on the left, Lunev asked curiously: "The troops of General Trufanov and General Marankin on the left, are they progressing smoothly?"

Unexpectedly, there was silence to greet him, and Lunev asked puzzledly: "What's going on, haven't they broken through the enemy's defense yet?"

"It's not that they didn't break through the enemy's defenses, but they didn't take any action at all." Sameko said angrily: "Now we are fighting alone, alone against the German 19th Panzer Division."

"What's going on here?" Sameko's words confused Lunev: "Didn't they agree to fight together? How could they be so dishonest?"

Sokov was worried that if the two continued to talk, they would say something that would affect the unity, so he quickly interjected: "I think the reason why the friendly forces on the left wing did not act may be because they received orders from the front army headquarters, so they can only stick to it. out."

"An order from the Front Command?" Lunev was even more puzzled: "If we can defeat the 19th Armored Division in a short period of time, then we can turn around and attack the enemies outside Prokhorovka."

"Comrade Military Commissioner, I don't know exactly what the reason is." Sokov said with a wry smile, "But I believe in my troops and our commanders and fighters, and they will definitely be able to defeat the 19th Armored Division."

When Sokov's troops fought with the 19th Armored Division of the German Army, Zhukov, who was staying in the headquarters of the Front Army, also learned about the progress of the battle through special intelligence channels. After reading the battle report, he said to the people in front of him: "It seems that Misha's performance is stronger than I imagined. Without the support of friendly troops, he defeated the enemy of the 19th Armored Division. According to my opinion, Before dark, the enemy may be annihilated or driven from his existing territory."

"Comrade Marshal," at this moment, the person most worried about Sokov's troops in the Front Army Command is General Vatutin. He knows very well that once Sokov's attack fails, his strength will be damaged. . If the German army mobilizes troops from the direction of Oboyan to reinforce the enemy outside Prokhorovka, the defense line established by Sokov's troops is very easy to be destroyed. So he asked nervously: "Do you think General Sokov can win the final victory?"

Zhukov did not immediately answer Vatutin's question, but asked with a smile: "Comrade Vatutin, do you know about the Decembrist uprising?"

"Of course I know, Comrade Marshal." Vatutin asked in puzzlement, "But what does it have to do with whether General Sokov can win?"

Zhukov still didn't answer, but replied on his own: "Nicholas I commanded troops loyal to himself and confronted the insurgents at the Senate Square in the center of Petersburg. When he saw new guards entering When he was in the square, he thought he was coming to reinforce his own troops, so he went up to welcome them alone. Unexpectedly, the officer who led the team told him that he was loyal to Emperor Constantine and did not come to help him. After speaking, he took The troops went to the other side of the square to join the insurgents arrayed there.

When the officer led the troops to rendezvous with the rebel army, he reported to Kakhovsky, one of the leaders of the rebellion, that he had met Nikolai on the way here and rejected his solicitation. Kakhovsky was shocked when he heard this, and asked him why he didn't use the opportunity of being close to Nicholas to detain or kill him, so that the uprising would be successful. "

The history mentioned by Zhukov is very clear to everyone present. But Vatutin still didn't understand Zhukov's meaning: "Comrade Marshal, I still don't quite understand what you mean, can you explain more clearly?"

"If the officer more than a hundred years ago had decisively detained or killed Nikolai while he was surrounded by his troops, then the history of Russia would be rewritten." Zhukov smiled to everyone Said: "The reason why I mentioned this period of history is because I thought that if Misha's wife hadn't been captured by the enemy, I'm afraid Misha would not be able to do so until we completely defeated the enemy outside the city of Prokhorovka." Final assault on the 19th Armored Division."

After listening to Zhukov's comments, everyone finally understood why he mentioned the Decembrists inexplicably. Vasilevsky nodded and said: "Comrade Marshal, you are right. Sokov's wife was captured by the enemy, which completely angered him. I think he would have done it without the two artillery divisions we provided him. Will attack the enemy and win the final victory."

"As long as Misha wants to destroy the enemy, even without the two artillery divisions we entrusted to him, and without the cooperation of friendly forces." Zhukov echoed: "He is also capable of destroying the enemy. This can be seen from the many victories he has won." come out."