Red Moscow

When Sokov put down the phone, he began to think about one incident: After the German army learned that Kursk was lost, although the German army sent troops to try to retake the city, it may be because of the scattered forces. Only two troops arrived. The 297th Infantry Division attacking the east of the city suffered a great loss and is now standing still; but the German army attacking the south of the city, although only one regiment in strength, is constantly attacking, trying to rush into the city from this direction.

Seeing Sokov sitting silently on his seat, Berkin handed him a cigarette, and then asked, "Comrade Brigadier, what are you thinking, so absorbed in your thoughts?"

Sokov raised his head and saw clearly that it was Belkin standing in front of him. After taking the cigarette in his hand, he said, "Comrade political commissar, I am thinking about how to deal with the enemy in the south of the city. Although their strength is small, But it’s either a sneak attack or a strong attack, which poses a great threat to us.”

"Yes, the enemy in the south of the city is a great threat to us." Belkin lit a match and helped Sokov light a cigarette: "Although the area from the river to the position is flooded by the river, but Waiting for the large German troops to arrive, they can easily pass through that area with their strength."

"Comrade Commissar," Sokov took two puffs of his cigarette, put the unfinished cigarette in the ashtray, looked at Belkin and said, "How about we carry out a counterattack in the south of the city?"

"Counterattack in the south of the city?" Sokov's words made Belgin deep in thought. After a long time, he shook his head and said, "Comrade Brigadier, I want to remind you that the flooded area not only hindered the Germans The offensive is also a big trouble for our army. Have you ever thought about letting our counterattack troops pass through the flooded area under enemy fire, and then row to the opposite side of the Tenebra River? What a huge price will be paid?"

"I've thought about it." Sokov nodded and said, "So our counterattack will be launched from other areas. Take a look," Sokov pushed the map on the table in front of Belgin, and said to him Said, "The German forces in the south of the city are limited. They cannot deploy troops along the banks of the Tenebra River. We can send a force to the upper reaches, cross the river from there, and then go to attack the German troops. Even if they cannot Annihilation, but also to find a way to drive them away from the city."

After reading the attack route set by Sokov, Belkin asked curiously: "Comrade Brigadier, which battalion do you plan to assign this task to?"

"At present, the second battalion of Captain Vasily is in charge of the defense in the south of the city. Before the warehouse area is handed over to friendly forces, some troops must stay behind, so they will not be allowed to participate in this counterattack." Sokov said to himself. : "As for Andre's third battalion, more than half of them suffered casualties in the defense battle in the east of the city, and they are currently resting, so they don't have to think about it; They are not yet familiar with it, and once a war starts, there may be some unexpected problems.”

After Sokov said everything he needed to say, Belkin guessed his true thoughts, and asked tentatively: "Comrade Brigadier, what do you mean, let the first battalion of Captain Vanya come here?" Carry out this mission?"

"That's right, that's how I thought about it." Sokov said, without waiting for Belkin to ask again, he took the initiative to say: "The first battalion is currently the unit with the largest number of veterans in the entire brigade. Let them carry out such a task." I'm more at ease with the daunting task."

"Since you are so optimistic about Vanya's troops, then I have no objection." Regarding Sokov's plan, Belkin agreed: "I think we should call Vanya now and assign tasks to him."

After more than half an hour, Vanya arrived at the brigade headquarters. Sokov didn't wait for the other party to salute, and said straight to the point: "Comrade Captain, I called you here because I have an important task for your battalion to complete."

From the occupation of Kursk to the present, the commanders and fighters of the first battalion have not participated in the battle. Seeing the comrades in the second and third battalions, waiting for the south and east of the city to fight the Germans in full swing, I was somewhat envious. So many squad leaders ran to find Vanya, hoping that he could talk to Sokov about assigning some combat missions to the first battalion.

Vanya was thinking about how to raise this matter with Sokov, when he heard that there was an important task to be entrusted to him, he was overjoyed and said excitedly: "Comrade Brigadier, if you have any tasks, just order them. On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the first battalion, I assure you that we will complete the tasks you have assigned."

"Come to the map," Sokov called Vanya to his side, pointed to the map on the table, and said to him, "Comrade Captain, we plan to launch a counterattack against the German army and drive the enemy from the south of the city." Walk."

"Comrade Brigadier," Vanya asked curiously after hearing what Sokov said, "Isn't the south of the city the second battalion's defense area? Are you planning to let us take over their defense?"

Sokov shook his head and said, "It's not for you to take over their defense, but for you to start from the north of the city, find a suitable place to cross the Tenebra River, and attack the enemy in the south of the city."

"Then what about our defense area?" Although the defense area of ​​the 73rd Infantry Brigade has shrunk a lot with the arrival of the tank army, the 1st Battalion is still responsible for the defense to the west of the city, so he heard that his troops will launch a surprise attack on the German army , can't help but worry about the next defense. "Which army will take over the defense?"

"The fourth battalion of Captain Briski will take over your defense after you leave the city." Sokov explained to Vanya: "After dark, you will lead the troops to cross the upper reaches of the Tenebra River. , quietly detoured to the vicinity of the German camp. Before dawn, attacked the enemy by surprise. Do you understand?"

"I don't understand." After Sukov finished speaking, Vanya asked in bewilderment: "Comrade Brigadier, after our battalion completes the task of crossing the river, it only takes an hour at most to reach the German camp. , we should launch an attack immediately to defeat this enemy in the shortest possible time."

Sokov didn't expect Vanya to question his order. He waited for the other party to finish speaking, and said, "Comrade Captain, the commanders and fighters have become exhausted after crossing the river and marching a long distance. If they are allowed to Time to attack, do you think they still have enough strength?"

Vanya only thought about leading the troops to the designated location, and immediately launched an attack, ignoring the fact that the commanders and fighters had already become exhausted after a long march. As soon as Sokov pointed it out, he immediately blushed and said, "Comrade Brigadier, I didn't think carefully, I..."

"Okay, you don't need to say any more." Sokov didn't wait for him to finish, and interrupted him: "I know you are eager to destroy the enemy, so you are a little eager for success. But Comrade Captain, it is wrong to do so , we can't simply ignore the physical condition of the commanders and fighters just for the pursuit of victory. The reason why I choose to launch the attack before dawn is because that time period is the most exhausting moment for people, and it is also the easiest to relax their vigilance. At this time Launching an attack can definitely catch the enemy by surprise."

"Understood, Comrade Brigadier." Vanya waited for Sokov to finish speaking, and then asked, "I wonder what kind of support we can get?"

"I will report this attack to the Front Army Command later," Sokov said, "I request the higher-ups to dispatch the air force to provide you with the necessary air cover. In this way, you don't have to worry about the enemy's artillery."

Hearing Sokov mention the artillery, Vanya suddenly asked on a whim: "Comrade Brigadier, with the support of the air force, I think we will have a chance to capture the enemy's artillery. I don't know how to deal with these artillery. Shall we blow them all up or find a way to bring them back?"

From the shelling that ended not long ago, Sokov deduced that the German artillery was all heavy artillery, and it was obviously unrealistic to transport it back. But if you stay, it will be cheaper for the Germans, so he told Vanya: "Blow up, blow up all of them. Since we can't bring these artillery back, then we can't make it cheaper for the Germans. You order these artillery pieces to be destroyed." Blow them all up."

After Vanya left the brigade headquarters, Sokov called Second Lieutenant Maxim, handed him the drafted telegram, and ordered: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, send this telegram to the Front Army Command immediately. It is urgent! "

After receiving the telegram, Ma Linin quickly browsed through the content, then hurried to Rokossovsky, and put the telegram just received in front of him. At the same time, he said softly: "Comrade Commander, this is a telegram from the 73rd Infantry Brigade. They plan to launch a counterattack against the enemy in the south of the city at dawn tomorrow. I hope we can provide them with the necessary air support."

"What, Sokov plans to launch a counterattack in the south of the city?" Rokossovsky couldn't help asking in surprise after hearing what Malinin said: "Are they planning to forcefully cross the Tnebra River under the German artillery fire?"

"It's not forced crossing, it's smuggling from other areas." Malinen quickly explained to Rokossovsky: "He intends to send a force to cross the Tenebra River from the upper reaches and counterattack the enemy on the right bank. Strive to wipe out or seriously injure the enemy."

When Rokossovsky heard Malinen's report, his first reaction was that Sokov planned to act recklessly, and he began to think about how to stop the other party's wrong approach. But when he saw Sokov's telegram, he nodded slightly, and then said: "From the perspective of Misha's battle plan, there is a great hope of success in the future. The factor that led to the failure of the battle was that the enemy used tanks and artillery to deal with it." Attacking troops, that would cause huge casualties to our army. But if there is air support, the enemy's tanks and artillery will not be able to exert their due power, and the resistance our troops will encounter when attacking will be greatly weakened. "

Rokosovsky basically wanted Malinin to call, but swallowed the words again. He personally called the air force commander and said bluntly: "Comrade General, after dawn tomorrow, dispatch two flying groups to the direction of Kursk."

Hearing what Rokossovsky said, the air force commander couldn't help asking curiously: "Comrade commander, does it mean that our army is in the direction of Kursk and is going to attack the enemy again?" I was thinking to myself: If it is a large-scale attack, I can send more planes over there. But if it's just a small-scale battle, you can send at most one squadron. Too many planes have been transferred, which will affect the competition for air supremacy with the enemy in the direction of Voronov.

From the tone of the air force commander's question, Rokossovsky guessed the other party's real thoughts: "Comrade general, although tomorrow's attack is only a small-scale attack, whether our army can win or not determines whether we can win." No hold Kursk. Understand?"

Although Rokossovsky did not say more, the Air Force Commander is also a smart person. He guessed that this attack must be extraordinary, otherwise Rokossovsky would not have called himself. Thinking of this, he quickly replied: "Understood, Comrade Commander, tomorrow morning, I will send two flying brigades to the direction of Kursk to provide the necessary air support for our army."

After confirming that the air force commander could dispatch two flying brigades to support the attack of Sokov's troops, Rokossovsky felt much more at ease. He called the director of the communications corps, Maximenko, and asked, "Comrade director, can the Front Army Command communicate directly with Kursk?"

"Yes, Comrade Commander." Maximenko nodded and replied: "We have a dedicated line that can communicate directly with Rotmistrov's headquarters."

"You can only talk to General Rotmistrov's headquarters?" When Maximenko said that he could talk to Kursk, Rokossovsky was still in ecstasy, but he heard clearly behind him. Then, my heart became cold: "So, you can't talk to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's 73rd Infantry Brigade?"

Maximenko nodded and replied affirmatively: "That's right, the communication between us and the infantry brigade is done through telegrams."

Rokossovsky waited for Maximenko to finish, sighed, and said helplessly: "Since this is the case, Comrade Director, immediately send a telegram to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Tell him that the Air Force will return tomorrow Rush to the combat area after dawn to provide the necessary air support for his troops. Let them do a good job in ground-air liaison to avoid accidental bombings."

Seeing that Maximenko had finished recording his order and was about to leave, Rokossovsky stopped him again and ordered: "Comrade Director, hurry up and build a few more lines to Kursk. So we can keep up to date with what's going on there. Understand?"

"Understood, Comrade Commander." Maximenko nodded and replied, "Please rest assured. We will be able to open a dedicated line with the infantry brigade in a maximum of two days."