Red Moscow

With Zhukov's promise, the problem of fighting for merit that Sokov was worried about was naturally solved.

After finishing the call with Zhukov, Sokov smiled and explained to Sameko: "Chief of Staff, immediately send a telegram to Colonel Chuvashov, saying that the superior intends to reorganize the two marine brigades and the infantry brigade into close combat units. Guard."

"Comrade Commander," Sameko hurriedly interrupted Sokov when he heard this: "It is said that the Supreme Command has deliberately stopped granting troops new guard division designations. I am worried that there will be changes. If I tell them this news now, if it cannot be fulfilled, I am worried that it will affect the morale and morale of the troops."

Sokov, who comes from the future, is very clear about the number of the Guards division of the Soviet Army. The last unit was the 129th Guards Division. Now it has been organized into the 97th Guards Division. There are still 30 divisions that can be used. There is nothing to worry about.

Sokov waved his hand at Sameko and said with a smile: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you are worrying too much. Since Marshal Zhukov has made a promise to us, this small matter must not bother him. You can follow my instructions." Command, telegraph Colonel Chuvashov with the good news."

"Okay." Sameko saw that Sokov was so stubborn and knew that it would be useless to persuade him, so he nodded and said helplessly, "I will immediately send a telegram to Colonel Chuvashov and send the good news to him." message to him."

"Also," Sokov stopped Sameko and told him, "The two marine brigades must have paid a heavy price after fighting for such a long time. If they don't replenish their forces, I'm afraid It cannot be extended.”

"Comrade Commander, nearly half of our troops have yet to go into battle." Hearing what Sokov said, Sameko quickly asked, "Which troops do you plan to send to reinforce them?"

"Since Lieutenant Colonel Uzakov's infantry brigade will merge with the marine brigade sooner or later, I think we should send the infantry brigade to reinforce Colonel Chuvashov and the others."

After Sokov finished speaking, Sameko said with a smile: "It's really interesting. There is a colonel and two lieutenant colonels among the three brigade commanders. After the merger, Colonel Chuvashov, who has the highest military rank, will undoubtedly be The best candidate for the division commander. The two lieutenant colonels Dobrushin and Uzakov can only serve as deputy division commanders and chiefs of staff."

"Comrade Chief of Staff, the position of division commander is not necessarily held by the person with the highest military rank, but by the person with the strongest command ability." Sokov said with a smile: "During the battle to liberate Belgorod, we Candidates for the new commander of the Guards Division can be determined based on the performance of the three brigade commanders."

Sokov promptly announced to Chuvashov and Dobrushin that the new Guards Division was about to be formed, and the conflict between the two brigade commanders was immediately resolved. Immediately it was men of the same unit, and it did not make much difference which brigade's flag was planted on top of the municipal building.

Knowing that the conflict between the two marine brigades had been resolved, Sokov couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Then, he ordered Chuvashov's troops and Major General Gritsenko's troops to hold on to the actual control area to prevent possible counterattacks by the Germans. At the same time, he gave orders to the 84th, 188th, and 254th Rifle Divisions to enter the battlefield through the gap opened by Chuvashov's troops and attack the south side of the city.

Although the three infantry divisions received Sokov's order and it was already evening when they entered the city, they managed to capture the two streets to the south of the city before dark and successfully gained a foothold.

After dark, after reading all the battle reports, Sokov looked down at the map for a while, and then said to Sameko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, judging from today's battle situation, the results we have achieved are very great. Not only has most of the area in the west of the city been occupied by our army, but even two streets in the south of the city have been seized.”

"Comrade Commander, although our progress is very good, the performance of our friendly forces is not satisfactory." Sameko looked at the map and said worriedly: "If they are unable to break through the German defenses for a long time, come over and join us. Convergence, I am afraid that after dawn tomorrow, we will be attacked by the German army from multiple directions at the same time."

Probably worried that Sokov would not understand what he meant, Sameko also pointed to the map and explained to him in detail: "Comrade commander, you see, the northernmost part of our controlled area is the 384th Infantry Division of Major General Gritsenko, In order to prevent them from reinforcing friendly forces in the northwest, the Germans may use armored divisions to carry out counterattacks. The Chuvashov Division, which is sticking to the city center, may be counterattacked from the east..."

While listening to Sameko's analysis, Sokov looked down at the map in front of him, thinking about what his chief of staff said. He realized that after today's battle, he would definitely attract the attention of the Germans. In order to defend the city, the other party would definitely gather heavy troops and launch a counterattack against him. His troops would face great pressure tomorrow.

Thinking of this, he regretted that he shouldn't have thrown all the troops except the 182nd Infantry Division into the battle in the city. After tapping lightly on the table with his fingers for a while, he raised his head and asked Sameko, "Comrade Chief of Staff, do you think the 182nd Infantry Division can fulfill their obligations as a reserve team?"

"Comrade Commander," Sameko said in surprise upon hearing Sokov's question, "Are you planning to send them into tomorrow's battle?"

"Today all our troops are basically in the city." Sokov pointed to the map and explained to Sameko: "If tomorrow the Germans really counterattack our troops from several directions as you have analyzed , I am afraid we will have to face the use of reserves."

"Comrade Commander, it's hard to say about this matter. I think it's better to call and ask Colonel Khokhlov to hear what he has to say."

Seeing that Sokov nodded in agreement, Sameko grabbed the telegram on the table, and after connecting to the headquarters of the 182nd Infantry Division, he asked straight to the point: "Colonel Khokhlov, Comrade Commander, let me ask you , if you put your troops into battle tomorrow, can you do it?"

Hearing Sameko's direct question, Khokhlov was silent for a while, and then replied: "Comrade Chief of Staff, our division's combat effectiveness has been severely diluted after replenishing troops. But if the superior is ready to let us participate in the battle, the offensive Probably not, but if you play defense, I think it shouldn't be a problem."

"Comrade Commander." After listening to Khokhlov's answer, Sameko quickly covered the microphone with his hand and reported to Sokov: "Colonel Khokhlov said that if his troops are assigned to defensive tasks, there should be no What a problem."

Since adding a group of old and weak soldiers to Khokhlov's troops, Sokov has basically excluded this army from the combat order. Now it is considering that if the German army launches a strong counterattack, the troops in the city do not have a reserve team, and it may be difficult to resist the enemy's counterattack, so they plan to call the reserve team. Knowing that Khokhlov's troops are capable of defensive tasks, the expression on Sokov's face became relaxed. He nodded and said with a smile: "Since there is no big problem with them being used for defense, let Khokhlov Get the troops ready. When the need arises, he needs to put his troops into battle in the shortest possible time."

As soon as the matter of the reserve team was dealt with here, Yakov rushed in from the outside in a hurry. As soon as he saw Sokov, he said dissatisfiedly, "Misha, I have something to ask you."

After calling Yakov to sit down, Sokov personally poured him a cup of hot tea, and then politely asked: "Yasha, if you have anything, just say it."

"Misha, I'm here to tell you that after today's overloaded transportation, most of the hovercraft will need major repairs before they can be put into use again."

"Ah!" Sameko heard Yakov say this, and couldn't help saying in surprise: "Colonel Yakov, can you continue to use it tomorrow? You know, we don't have enough means of transportation now. Without the help of hovercraft, We were unable to get the ammunition and supplies the troops needed into the city in time."

"General Sameko," Yakov politely replied to Sameko: "I just said that the hovercraft has exceeded its use limit in today's battle. If it continues to be used without major repairs, it will not be long before Scrapped."

In order to prevent Sameko from continuing to persuade himself, he also specifically emphasized: "The hovercraft is still in the testing stage. If it is scrapped because it exceeds the limit of use, I am worried that many people will be punished."

After hearing what Yakov said, Sameko immediately realized that his intention to continue transporting supplies by hovercraft tomorrow had failed, so he asked Sokov with a mournful face, "Comrade Commander, what should we do?"

"Isn't the bridge on the river already occupied by us?" Sokov replied blankly: "And the engineering troops have also erected a pontoon bridge on the river for vehicles to pass. Even without hovercraft, we can transport supplies into In the city, but the speed is relatively slow."

Yakov came here to look for Sokov, just to talk to him about the hovercraft. Now that the purpose of coming here has been achieved, he is not going to stay any longer, so he stands up and says to Sokov: "Misha, what should I say?" , I’ve finished talking, and I’m going back to urge everyone to start overhauling the hovercraft. If you have anything to do, just send someone to me, and I’ll be there in the shortest possible time.”

After seeing Yakov off, Sameko shook his head vigorously, and said with a wry smile: "Comrade Commander, everyone just got used to the speed of the hovercraft, but suddenly they can't use it again. Will everyone feel disappointed?"

"Disappointment is inevitable." Sokov said: "But we can't mess up just because the hovercraft can't be used. When we fought against the enemy before, there was no hovercraft, but our logistics supplies could still keep up in time. I believe that starting tomorrow, even without the hovercraft, our troops in the city will be able to get enough supplies."

When Sokov and Sameko were studying how to provide supplies for the troops in the city, they had already withdrawn to Kharkov's Hott and called Manstein: "Your Excellency, according to the report of my subordinates, Sokov Kov's troops have occupied parts of the west and south of the city, and our defenders in Belgorod are in danger of being cut off from their retreat."

After Manstein waited for Holt to finish speaking, he did not directly give the other party new instructions, but asked casually: "How is the progress of the Russian troops attacking from the northwest and north of Belgorod?"

"Your Excellency, Marshal," Hoth replied proudly when Manstein asked about the Soviet troops attacking from the northwest and north, "although their offensive was fierce, they pushed forward under the tenacious resistance of our army." The distance is very limited. I believe that a counterattack tomorrow will drive them out of the city."

"General Holt," Manstein said coldly after hearing Holt's words, "do you think your counterattack can really drive the Russians out of the city?"

What he said stopped Holt, and he didn't know how to answer Manstein for a while.

Manstein waited for a while, but did not hear Holt's answer, so he sneered: "General Holt, I don't know if you have considered that if you launch a counterattack against the Russians in the northwest and north, Sokov's troops will Attack from your rear, what will happen then?"

"Your Excellency the Marshal," Manstein's assumption made Holt break out in a cold sweat. He knew very well that the defenders of Belgorod were at a serious disadvantage in terms of equipment and soldiers. Moreover, there is such a monster as Sokov in the opponent's hand. If he continues to hold on, the chances of defending the city may not be high. Thinking of this, he tentatively asked Manstein: "What should we do next?"

"What can we do, what else can we do?" Manstein said angrily: "From the current situation, no matter how much we invest in defending Belgorod, it will only delay the fall of the city by a few days. That's all, it won't be of much help to our next battle in Kharkov."

Holt heard the implication from Manstein's words, and asked tentatively: "Your Excellency, Marshal, are you planning to let us abandon Belgorod, put all our troops in Kharkov, and fight against the Russians?" Is it a decisive battle?"

"That's right, that's what I meant." Now that Holt had guessed his intention, Manstein no longer concealed it, and he said truthfully: "Sokov's troops have gained a firm foothold in the city, even if he has to With the support of other friendly forces, he also has the ability to capture our entire city. Rather than expending troops in places where there is no chance of winning, it is better to pull out and consolidate Kharkov as soon as possible, and maybe have the opportunity to reverse the situation of the battle."

"Understood, Your Excellency the Marshal." After figuring out Manstein's intentions, Huot quickly replied: "I will immediately notify the defenders in the city and let them get ready to break out at dawn tomorrow. action."

"General Huot, you can't break out of the siege during the daytime." Manstein said on the phone: "Now the Russians have mastered the air supremacy on the battlefield. The troops would be bombarded indiscriminately by the Russians, causing heavy losses."

"Then when should we choose to break through?"

"Needless to say, of course it is now." Manstein continued: "Before the Russians recover, they must immediately carry out a breakout operation and withdraw their troops from Belgorod overnight."