Red Moscow

Sokov heard a resentment from Marankin's tone, and quickly told him: "Major General Marankin, I think it is necessary to remind you: the defense line can be breached by the enemy, but you must stick to the two wings of the defense line." .”

"The defense line can be breached by the enemy, but you must stick to the two wings of the defense line?" After repeating these two awkward words of Sokov, Marankin suddenly realized that the position was breached by the enemy, which seemed to have been expected by Sokov. The other party must intend to use this matter to make a fuss.

After thinking about this point, Marankin couldn't help being lifted up, and quickly replied excitedly: "Understood, Comrade Commander, I promise to complete the task you entrusted to me."

Sokov naturally heard the change in Marankin's tone, and guessed that the other party might have understood his intentions, so he put down the phone with peace of mind, and prepared to issue a new combat order when the time was right.

Ten minutes later, the German army that broke through the first line of defense launched an attack on the line of defense of the 81st Guards Division after a short rally.

Marankin, who understood Sokov's combat intentions, gave orders to his commanders: Once the enemy's offensive is too strong, they should abandon the middle area as soon as possible and retreat to the left and right wings of the position.

Faced with such a strange order from Marankin, although the commanders did not understand it in their hearts, they carried it out very thoroughly. The troops holding on to the middle area retreated to both sides of the position in an orderly manner after organizing personnel to blow up several German tanks.

The German officers and soldiers who carried out the assault did not realize that the retreat of the Soviet army was planned and purposeful. They thought that the opponent was unable to withstand their powerful offensive and was forced to abandon their positions and retreat.

Seeing that the two blocking positions of the Soviet army were broken through one after another, although there were still many Soviet commanders and fighters in the positions who had not been eliminated, the German commander who was in charge of commanding the troops to attack believed that they had won the final victory. Immediately by wireless phone, he reported the breakthrough of the Soviet blocking position to Huot.

At the moment, Huot is being overwhelmed by the counterattack of the 6th Guards Army and the 1st Tank Army. Although the 11th and 17th Armored Divisions fought very tenaciously and effectively contained the Soviet counterattack, the ammunition and fuel of the troops were already in short supply and could not support much at all.

Just when Huot was about to ask Manstein to send a transport plane to drop fuel and ammunition for his troops, he unexpectedly received a call from the forward commander: "Your Excellency, Commander, I have good news for you. Our troops have successfully Break through the two lines of defense of the Russians and open the passage to Belgorod."

But regarding the report of his subordinates, Huot asked with suspicion: "General, are you really sure that the road to Belgorod has been opened by your troops?"

"Yes, Your Excellency, Commander." The front-line commander said in an affirmative tone: "Although the Russians on the two lines of defense have not been completely wiped out, I have already dug a 300-meter-wide breach in their line of defense. .”

"How many remaining Russian troops are there?" Holt asked cautiously.

"According to my observations, the Russians have about a few hundred remaining troops on each line of defense." The frontline commander said confidently: "Even if they counterattack, they will not be able to pose a threat to us at all."

"Good job, Mr. General." After receiving the affirmative reply from his subordinates, Huott immediately became excited like chicken blood: "If the main force of the group army can return to Belgorod smoothly, I will personally award you a Iron Cross."

After finishing the call with the front-line commander, Huot said to his chief of staff Melinzin: "Chief of staff, the road to Belgorod has been opened, and immediately order all troops to quickly pass through the Russians. position, return to Belgorod as soon as possible."

"What about General Balck's 11th Armored Division and General Etling's 17th Armored Division?" Melinzin reminded Holt cautiously: "They are now entangled by the Russian troops, and I am afraid it will not be so easy to get out."

"Chief of Staff, send a telegram to the two division commanders immediately." Huot is now thinking about how to preserve the main force of the armored army. For these two armored divisions, he can only give up hard-heartedly: "Let them use alternate cover methods, along the way. retreat along the road to the Belgorod line, and I will send troops to meet them at Yakovlevo."

After Holt's order was issued, all units except the 11th and 17th Armored Divisions rushed to the direction of the breakthrough blocking position as quickly as possible, trying to return to Belgorod through here.

Besides, after the front-line commander received Huot's order to clear the Soviet troops on the blocking position, he asked his subordinates to launch several attacks. However, due to the complicated terrain, the Soviet commanders and fighters on the two wings relied on fortifications to resist tenaciously. Both attacks ended in failure.

The front-line commander found that his troops could not eat up the remaining Soviet troops for a while, so he ordered the troops to deploy defenses on the left and right wings of the defense line to prevent possible Soviet counterattacks.

When the officers and soldiers of the Panzer Army were unable to open the road to the south for a long time, and when they learned that the Soviet army from the direction of Oboyan launched a counterattack, an atmosphere of panic spread in the army. Everyone was worried that if the Soviet army from the direction of Oboyan surrounded them, It is possible for him to become the second in the 6th Army and be surrounded by the Soviet army in the Kursk salient.

At this moment, after receiving the order from their superiors, knowing that the road to the south had been opened up, the German officers and soldiers couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. As soon as the order to move out was issued, all the troops rushed to the opened breakthrough, trying to get out of this dangerous area in the shortest possible time and return to Belgorod.

Although Sokov did not visit the battlefield in person this time, he knew the situation on the battlefield well through various reports. When he learned that the German army had begun to march southward, he knew that the final moment of counterattack had come, so he quickly called the director of the communications army, and said to him: "Comrade director of the communications army, immediately connect me to the 4th Guards Tank Corps, the artillery The 1st Division, the 2nd Artillery Division, the 84th, 254th and 384th Infantry Divisions, and the 46th Infantry Brigade, I will assign combat missions to them."

When the director of the communications corps was ordered to call the combat units named by Sokov, Lunev tentatively asked Sokov: "Comrade commander, are you launching a general attack on the enemy?"

"Yes, Comrade Military Commissar." Sokov frowned and looked at the map in front of him, and said with a wry smile, "It's just that the troops are a little less, but I don't think it will be a big problem to defeat Huot's troops."

Sameko also said with emotion: "Yes, our troops suffered huge casualties in the early battles. Now we can only use this force."

"By the way, hasn't the 384th Division been wiped out?" Lunev said from the side, "Why did they participate in the attack?"

"Comrade Military Commissar," Sameko said to Lunev with a smile: "Comrade Commander has considered this a long time ago, so he ordered Major General Gritsenko not to send the remaining A regiment goes into battle."

Not long after, the director of the Communication Corps reappeared in front of Sokov and reported to him: "Comrade Commander, the combat units you named are all connected, and you can issue combat orders to them at any time."

After the director of the communications corps finished speaking, he took a step back and winked at an operator following him. The telegraph operator quickly put the telephony machine in his arms on the table.

Sameko looked at Sokov and reminded him in a low voice: "Comrade commander, can we start the attack?"

Sokov nodded, then stood up, picked up the earphones and put them on his head, put the microphone close to his mouth, and said loudly: "comrades commanders, I am now issuing a general attack order: after one or ten minutes, attack the Hoth's Panzer Army launched a general attack.

2. The First Artillery Division and the Second Artillery Division, after a five-minute artillery attack on the German troops passing through the blocking position, then extended in the direction of Yakovlevo, so that the enemy could not build a defensive position there.

After the artillery fire was extended, Major General Poluboyarov's 4th Guards Tank Corps, as the main force of the whole army, covered the infantry to attack the retreating enemy.

3. After the general offensive is launched, the attack should be carried out continuously, without any reason to stop or ask for delay.

4. Ministries should do whatever it takes to complete their missions and automatically assist their neighbors to win.

Fifth, the commanders of all armies, divisions, and brigades must strictly enforce battlefield discipline and never tolerate the panicked elements who falter in battle and delay their fighters. "

After deploying a series of attack orders, Sokov officially announced: "Every department should start preparing!"

After putting down the earphone and microphone, Sokov raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead, sat down again, picked up the teacup in front of him, and took a few sips of tea.

Lunev saw Sokov's nervousness, so it's no wonder that if he can't consume a lot of Huot's vitality and let most of his main force return to Belgorod smoothly, for the next battle, will have adverse effects.

He reached out to take the teacup in Sokov's hand, carried it to the place where the samovar was placed, turned on the faucet under the samovar, filled the teacup with water, and walked back with it.

After putting the teacup in front of Sokov, he asked with a smile, "Comrade Commander, are you a little nervous?"

"A little bit." Sokov picked up the teacup that Lunev put in front of him, took another big sip, and said with a wry smile, "I have encountered battles of this scale before, but I have never been so nervous like today." .”

"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Lunev raised his hand and patted Sokov on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "I have confidence in your plan. Our all-out attack will definitely be a success."

…………

At this time, the German officers and soldiers, because they were in a hurry, several troops gathered together from different places.

But Huot didn't expect to arrange manpower to maintain traffic, causing the infantry division and armored division to squeeze together, moving slowly on the road like snails.

The blocking position of the Soviet army was broken through by the German army. Seeing the opened passage, many German officers and soldiers felt relaxed, thinking that they would not be blocked by the Soviet army again, and they could return to Belgorod smoothly.

But who would have thought that such relaxation would be fatal.

When people are tense and desperate for survival, due to the secretion of adrenal glands, all fear and fatigue will be ignored, so that people can exert their physical limits in the most critical time. But once he relaxes, the breath of the whole person will suddenly be vented, and the fear and fatigue will become more and more obvious.

Seeing that the passage back to Belgorod was opened, the combat awareness of the German officers and soldiers faded away. They just wanted to get out of this dangerous area as soon as possible and return to Belgorod as soon as possible.

When more than 200 various artillery pieces of the First Artillery Division and the Second Artillery Division opened fire violently, swarms of artillery shells drew arcs in the air and landed in the crowded German ranks to explode, blowing up the soldiers to pieces. Armored vehicles and trucks were blown up into piles of burning scrap iron.

If on other battlefields, German officers and soldiers were attacked by Soviet artillery fire, the first thing they thought of was to quickly find a place to hide, and then wait for the Soviet artillery to stop before occupying a defensive position to prevent the Soviet army from attacking them.

But at this time, the German officers and soldiers were all thinking about returning to Belgorod as soon as possible. When the artillery sounded, they immediately became wasps that exploded their nests and fled in all directions. All the attacks that came down wanted to leave this damn place quickly and return to Belgorod as soon as possible.

"Escape, you can survive by escaping here!" This idea is the true thought of most German officers and soldiers.

They dragged their weapons and jumped from one crater to another under the intensive artillery fire of the Soviet army, just wanting to escape from this death zone as soon as possible.

But what they never imagined in their dreams was that the Soviet artillery bombarded them for only five minutes, and then began to extend southward. They were quickly caught up by the artillery fire as they fled south, and fell in pieces under the artillery fire.

The artillery fire was extending to the south, and the tank army and the infantry divisions on the two wings, which had long been ready for battle, also entered the battle one after another. Those officers and soldiers who were lucky enough not to be killed by the shells and had no time to escape had just got up from the ground, and before they could figure out the situation, the Soviet tanks and infantry rushed in front of them.

As a result, these unlucky German officers and soldiers either became the souls of the dead under the tracks of Soviet tanks, or they were knocked down in pieces by the assault rifles of Soviet infantry. Fortunately, seeing that the situation was not good, some soldiers quickly raised their hands to surrender to the rushing Soviet soldiers, and they were lucky enough to save their lives.

Holt and his chief of staff retreated southward with the troops directly under them in a barrel cart. When they heard the sudden sound of gunfire ahead, they immediately realized that something was wrong, and quickly ordered the convoy to drive into the nearby forest.

After the convoy entered the forest, Huot climbed into an armored vehicle with the help of several soldiers. He stood in the vehicle and raised his binoculars to look into the distance.

In this way, Huot stood in the compartment of the armored vehicle, listening to the rumbling sound of the artillery in the distance, watching the artillery shells flying in the sky, and the soldiers dancing in the air after being blown away by the shells, his heart fell into an ice cellar.

Especially when he saw the artillery fire extending to the south and the Soviet tanks and infantry appeared on the battlefield, he immediately understood that he had fallen into Sokov's trap. It was nothing more than a trap for my own troops to break through the defense line set up by the opponent, and I foolishly got into it.

"Your Excellency, Commander!" Meilinjin also climbed into the armored vehicle, and he asked Holt loudly: "It seems that we have been trapped by the Russians. What should we do next? Should we retreat to the direction of Oboyan?"

"Chief of Staff," Holt put down the binoculars, looked at Mei Linjin and said, "Do you think I can still withdraw Oboyan?"

"Then what should we do?" Seeing the continuous artillery fire ahead, Mei Lin was in a hurry. Now, if he advances, he will die, and if he retreats, he will die. What should we do? We can't stay here as a prisoner, right? Because he was anxious, he thought so in his heart, and said it unconsciously.

"I will never be a prisoner." Holt has the arrogance of a German soldier. Even if he is at a disadvantage, he is not willing to admit defeat easily: "If the Russians really rush over at this time, I will shoot myself in the head gun, and will never be their prisoner."

"Your Excellency, Commander," Mei Linjin, the chief of staff, was in a panic at the moment, and he asked Holt anxiously, "Then what should we do? Come up with an idea quickly."

Holt looked at the surrounding environment and said to Meilinjin: "Chief of Staff, if we retreat southward, we will either be killed by Russian artillery fire or become their prisoners; and retreat in the direction of Oboyan. Same fate."

After a short pause, he said to Meilinjin: "The only way is to go west through the forest, take Bogatoye and Red Yaruga, and make a detour to Kharkov."

"However, Your Excellency, Commander." Although the route via Red Yaruga was considered before, it was rejected because the road conditions were not ideal and it was not suitable for large troops to pass through. Hearing Huot mention this route again at this moment, Mei Linjin quickly reminded him: "If we want to take this route, we have to pass through more than ten kilometers of forests and swamps, our tanks and armored vehicles can't pass through. "

Hearing what Meilinjin said, Huot gritted his teeth and made the most difficult decision: "Throw away all the tanks and armored vehicles, everyone turned west on foot, walked through forests and swamps, and jumped out of the Russian encirclement."

"Do we need to blow up all the tanks and armored vehicles, as well as the barrel cars we were riding in?" Meilinjin reminded Holt: "Even if we leave, we can't leave these things to the Russians."

"There is no time, my chief of staff." Huot was in a hurry to transfer, worried that if he blows up these discarded tanks, armored vehicles and barrel cars, he might expose his target, and even if he wanted to leave, he might not be able to leave. up. "If we blow up these vehicles, it will definitely alarm the Russians. If they find out about our whereabouts, we will not be able to get out."

"There are still a lot of wounded in the army. Taking them on the march may slow down our marching speed." Mei Linjin had an idea in mind to deal with these wounded, but it was too cruel, so he hesitated for a long time before tentatively Ask: "Will they be disposed of on the spot?"

Huot understood in his heart what Meilinjin said about the on-the-spot disposal, which was nothing more than shooting each wounded person in the back of the head and giving them a good time. But after he thought about it for a while, he shook his head and said, "Forget it, let's leave them to the Russians. I believe Sokov will never slaughter our prisoners at will. After all, compared with the SS, The discipline of our troops is fairly strict."

Not long after, all the vehicles and wounded were abandoned in place. Huot and Meilinjin led more than 200 German officers and soldiers into the vast forest. They planned to pass through the forest and swamp. region, return to Kharkov.