Red Moscow

With the annihilation of the 255th Infantry Division of the German Army, the fighting near Belgorod temporarily subsided. Neither the Soviet Union nor the Germans took the initiative to launch an offensive, but seized the time to prepare for the battle.

Faced with the gathering of more and more Soviet troops and technical equipment outside the city, Hott, who had just returned to Belgorod, ordered all officers and soldiers to race against time to repair the fortifications, preparing to rely on the fortifications to resist possible Soviet attacks.

As for the Soviet army, it is mobilizing troops from different regions and rushing to the outskirts of Belgorod. As soon as the troops and technical equipment are assembled, a new attack on Belgorod will be launched immediately.

During this time, Sokov was not idle. While moving his troops to the west of Belgorod, he kept urging Yakov, hoping that he could send the weapons he needed as soon as possible.

When Yakov reported to Ustinov, he was worried that the other party would refuse. Unexpectedly, after listening to Yakov's report, Ustinov immediately said without hesitation: "Comrade Yakov, according to the original plan, we should report to the 1st, 2nd and 2nd guards on July 25th." The 3rd Division provides newly produced assault rifles. Since Sokov is in a hurry to use them, why not give these weapons to his group army first."

When Yakov came to Ustinov's office, he thought it would be great to help Sokov get 10,000 assault rifles. Unexpectedly, Ustinov directly gave 30,000 sticks as soon as he opened his mouth, which was beyond his expectation.

Just when Yakov was at a loss, Ustinov said again: "Yakov, I think Sokov needs new rockets in addition to assault rifles. How about it? He asked you How much?"

Yakov hurriedly replied: "He originally wanted two thousand new rockets and one hundred rocket launchers, but I refused."

"Why did you reject him?" Ustinov asked curiously: "You know, he asked you for these weapons and equipment to better fight the enemy."

"Comrade People's Commissar," Yakov said with a wry smile, "there are many troops who want to be equipped with new rockets. If I meet Sokov's request and provide them with two thousand new rockets, it means that we Quotas for other troops have to be cut. There are bound to be people who will be dissatisfied."

"Yakov, if anyone is dissatisfied with the number of weapons we have allocated to Sokov's troops, you can ask him to come to me." Ustinov said in a big package: "I will explain to them personally of."

Yakov didn't expect Ustinov to be so generous to Sokov's troops, he couldn't help being surprised and delighted, and quickly asked: "Comrade People's Commissar, what you mean is that I can meet Sokov's request. He offers two thousand new rockets?"

"No, where are two thousand pieces enough?" Ustinov waved his hands and said, "Our army will soon launch an attack on Belgorod, so as far as I know, Sokov's troops will be the first to attack." The main force, if they don't have enough siege weapons, it will be very difficult for them to liberate the city from the enemy."

"Then how many new rockets do you think should be provided to Sokov?"

"Five thousand pieces!" Ustinov opened his right hand and gestured to Yakov: "I think it is necessary to provide all the output of this more than one month to Sokov's troops to help them in the war. In the next battle, build even more brilliant feats."

"Comrade People's Commissar." Seeing that Ustinov was so optimistic about Sokov, Yakov asked in surprise: "Is that why you are so optimistic about Sokov?"

"Yakov, according to Sokov's consistent performance, I think he will have more dazzling performances in the battle to liberate Belgorod." Ustinov naturally had his reasons for doing so. As one of the members of the Supreme Command, he heard the bearded man say with his own ears: If anyone's troops capture Belgorod, he will order the salute to be fired on Red Square to celebrate.

Ustinov, as the People's Commissar in charge of the Weapons and Equipment Department, had no chance to go to the battlefield at all. However, if Sokov's troops relied on the weapons he provided to establish a brilliant record in the battle to liberate Belgorod, he would naturally be able to follow suit. It was precisely because of this consideration that he decisively decided that all kinds of new weapons should be given priority to Sukov's troops.

Yakov was afraid that Ustinov would repent, so he quickly took out his notebook and wrote down: "To provide Sokov's 27th Army with 30,000 assault rifles, 5,000 new rockets, and 100 rocket launchers." After finishing writing, he handed the notebook to Ustinov and said politely, "Comrade People's Commissar, please sign it."

As long as Ustinov signs it, the matter is a certainty. In the future, even if someone is jealous that Sokov has been assigned so many new weapons and brings the lawsuit to the Supreme Command, as long as he takes out this piece of paper with Ustinov in front of him, no matter how dissatisfied the other party is, he can only obediently Keep your mouth shut. If they make trouble again, they can be placed in the back row as much as possible when allocating weapons in the future. After all the troops are allocated, they can be considered last.

After Yakov got Ustinov's signature, he returned to his office excitedly. As soon as I sat down, I picked up the phone I was sitting on, dialed a number, and said to the operator: "Operator, pick me up the 27th Army of the Voronezh Front, and talk to the commander, Major General Sokov."

Although Yakov used a military line, he still waited for five or six minutes before getting through to Sokov's headquarters.

Sokov was convening a meeting of division commanders to discuss the details of capturing Belgorod. Hearing that the director of the communications corps said it was his call, he quickly got up and walked over to answer the phone: "I'm Sokov, are you Who?"

"Misha, it's me!" Yakov's excited voice came from the receiver: "I'm Yakov!"

"Yasha, it's you!" Knowing that the person who called him was Yakov, Sokov immediately thought that he had called him a few days ago, but up to now, he has not seen the surprise attack promised by the other party. Rifles, new rockets and bazookas. Now that the other party took the initiative to call, Sokov naturally wanted to ask about the whereabouts of these weapons and equipment: "I want to ask, when will the weapons and equipment you promised to our army be ready?"

"Misha, don't be in a hurry." Yakov said with a smile: "The purpose of my calling you today is to tell you that Comrade Ustinov promised to give you priority in resupplying."

"That's really great." Although Sokov knew very well in his heart that Yakov asked Ustinov to report to Ustinov, it was just a formality, as long as Yakov's proposal was not too excessive, Ustinov basically will agree. Now that he learned about the distribution of weapons and equipment, he got Ustinov's approval, and he quickly asked: "When will the weapons and equipment be delivered to us? You know, we may launch an attack on Belgorod at any time." Attack, if your weapons cannot be delivered in time, I can only let my soldiers attack the enemy with bare hands."

"Misha, in fact, I have long wanted to send the weapons to you." Yakov naturally would not tell Sokov, since Ustinov was not in the weapons and equipment department some time ago, and he had no right to directly send them to Sokov. After delivery, everything will be delayed until today to report to Ustinov. Fortunately, things went relatively smoothly. Not only did the other party easily agree to his proposal, but he even doubled the amount he needed. "However, Ustinov adjusted the quantity himself, and we had to review it again, which delayed the transportation time."

Unbeknownst to Sokov, Ustinov was trying to court him over the distribution of arms. Hearing Yakov say that Ustinov had personally modified the number of weapons supplied to him, he couldn't help but feel half cold, but he still bit the bullet and asked: "Yasha, don't go around in circles, just tell me the truth, People's Commissar How far have comrades reduced our number of weapons?"

"Cut? No, no, you made a mistake. It's not a cut, but an increase for you."

"What, the number of weapons has not been reduced, but instead has increased?"

"Yes." Yakov explained to Sokov, not to be fooled, "At first I thought that I could provide you with up to 10,000 assault rifles, 1,000 new rockets and 100 rocket launchers. But the People's Commissar heard After finishing my report, I generously increased the number of assault rifles and new rockets you have learned from the original 10,000 and 1,000 to 30,000 and 5,000."

"Ah, increase the number of assault rifles to 30,000, and the number of new rockets to 5,000?" The number Yakov reported shocked Sokov, and he asked cautiously: "Yasha, what did you say?" Is it all true?"

The division commanders sitting not far away are very familiar with assault rifles and new rockets. Before they came to the meeting, they had already thought in their minds that they must tell Sokov that the weapons of their troops had been depleted in the early battles, and they hoped that he could replenish them.

However, after the meeting started, as soon as Major General Fomenko, the commander of the 84th Infantry Division, asked a question, Sukov flatly refused: "Comrade General, I know that the assault rifles of each division are very serious. It is still unknown when we will replenish and when we will be able to replenish."

The division commanders are very clear that Sokov is telling the truth. The assault rifle is only installed by the 27th Army. Although the commanders and fighters of the other troops have heard of this weapon, they have never had the chance to see it. In addition, this weapon uses special bullets, and the production cycle is longer than other weapons, so it is really not easy to get supplements.

But now when I heard Sokov talking with others, he mentioned that his superiors would supply him with 30,000 assault rifles, and the commanders of the divisions began to feel a little nervous, secretly calculating how many assault rifles their troops could get from them. .

By the way, in addition to 30,000 assault rifles, there are also 5,000 new rockets. Distributed according to the number of five divisions and three brigades of the entire group army, each unit can be allocated almost 600 pieces. With so many new rockets, when attacking Belgorod, it is completely possible to cover the enemy with firepower in a local area, and blow up those stubborn enemies to nothing.

Sokov finished the phone call and returned to the meeting table. Seeing that all the commanders were looking at him, he immediately realized that the conversation between himself and Yakov had been heard by the commanders participating in the meeting. He asked with a smile, "Did you all hear the call I just had with Colonel Yakov?"

"I heard it!" Everyone replied in unison.

"Okay, since you have all heard it, then the rest of the matter will be easy." Sokov said to everyone: "I will discuss with the chief of staff later on how to distribute these weapons, and give each division and brigade Set a reasonable quota." As soon as he said this, he saw many people frowning, and immediately realized what the other party was worried about, so he added, "Don't worry, I will try my best to maintain justice, and I will never let Any army will suffer."

Sokov's words gave everyone a reassurance, and everyone stopped worrying about the distribution of weapons and equipment, and began to discuss some details of capturing Belgorod again.

"Comrade Commander," Sameko said to Sokov, pointing to the map, "there is a river in the west of Belgorod, with a width of 150 meters and a depth of about three meters. There is only one concrete bridge on the river. The bridge can pass, and the enemy has deployed heavy troops on both sides of the bridge, how can we send scouts to cross the river and go to the city to conduct reconnaissance?"

Before Sokov answered the phone, everyone was discussing this headache. Since the enemy kept using searchlights to shine on the river, no matter whether the scouts were rowing or swimming, it was difficult to escape being discovered by the German searchlights.

"Comrade Commander," Major General Gritsenko stood up and said to Sokov, "I think we can send several groups of reconnaissance teams to cross the river at the same time. Can break through the enemy's firepower network and successfully reach the opposite bank."

"No, Major General Gritsenko, this method of yours is not advisable." As soon as Gritsenko finished speaking, he was refuted by Sameko: "If we do this, not only will the reconnaissance team we send suffer heavy casualties. , and at the same time will expose our intentions, I think your method is unreliable."

"How about we make the scouts disguise themselves as Germans and find a way to pass out from the bridge?" The 188th Division commander Keida tentatively said: "You know, Comrade Commander has used the same method many times before. Cleverly deceived the enemy and successfully went deep behind enemy lines to carry out missions."

"The Germans know that we are going to attack Belgorod sooner or later, so the checks at each checkpoint are naturally very strict." Sokov shook his head and said, "Even if our commanders and fighters are disguised as German officers and soldiers, if we want to pass these checkpoints smoothly, Without being seen through by the Germans, I think it is basically impossible."