Two hours before dawn, the infantry and marine brigades arrived at Sokov's position.
After Sokov and the other three brigade commanders saluted him, he stepped forward to shake hands with them one by one and said with a smile: "You guys came just in time. In this way, we will have enough troops to hold our current position.
"
As soon as Colonel Chuvashov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he immediately said impatiently: "Comrade Commander, please give us an order. I assure you that our 84th Marine Brigade will fight to the last man.
We will never hand over our position to the Germans."
"You all come here to the map." Sokov called the three brigade commanders to the table, pointed to the map spread out on it, and said to them: "I plan to place all three of your brigades on the right wing of the 188th Division.
, Well, it’s right here.”
After Chuvashov glanced at the map, he couldn't help but frowned: "Comrade Commander, our defense area and the troops responsible for the Pushol River defense line are more than ten kilometers apart. With such a wide front, which force do you plan to send?"
Are the troops here to defend?"
"I have no intention of arranging troops for defense here." Sokov picked up a pencil, drew a circle on the defensive position, and said to everyone: "The task I give you is to hold the existing defense line for two days.
Above. Are you confident?"
Then after Sokov finished speaking, no one agreed to him. The three brigade commanders looked at each other, as if they had not yet woken up from the shock. After a while, Chuvashov said: "Comrade Commander, once we
We can shrink our troops for defense and create a defensive gap between us and the Pushor River defense line. The enemy can pass through here with great arrogance and head east to attack the city of Prokhorovka."
"Comrade Commander, in addition to the possibility mentioned by Colonel Chuvashov, there is a worse situation." Lieutenant Colonel Uzakov, commander of the infantry brigade, continued: "After the enemy passes through the gap between our defense lines,
They can circle back to our rear, form an encirclement on us, and completely cut off the connection between us and friendly forces. Once we are surrounded by the Germans and the supply line is interrupted, I really don't know how many days we can hold on."
Seeing that everyone still had doubts about his order, Sokov did not simply and rudely order the other party to carry out his order, but explained to them: "Comrade three brigade commanders, you also know that from our defense area to
The defense line of the Pushor River is more than ten kilometers away. If all three of your brigades are deployed in this area, it means that each of your brigades must be responsible for a five-kilometer defense front.
I won’t tell you how many troops you have left, but you should know it in your mind. Even if each brigade has 1,500 men, it can only deploy 300 men per kilometer. Tell me, without strong defenses
, can your small number of troops be able to withstand the attack of an enemy several times your size?"
The three of them thought about Sokov's words in their hearts, then shook their heads in unison, and replied awkwardly: "We can't hold it! If the defense front of each brigade is five kilometers, it means that every soldier is responsible for
A distance of three to four meters. As long as the Germans concentrate their forces on the attack, they can easily tear open our defense line."
Seeing that the three brigade commanders also realized the seriousness of the problem, Sokov nodded with a smile and continued: "Since we can't defend it, why should we waste our precious troops on these unimportant defense areas?"
"But, are we just going to watch the Germans swaggering towards the city of Prokhorovka from the gap in our defense line?" Chuvashov reminded Sokov again: "Once they and the German troops coming from other directions
Convergence, I'm worried that the city will be in danger of falling."
"Don't worry, Comrade Colonel." Sokov grinned and said: "As long as we still hold on to our position, the enemy will not be able to boldly launch an attack on Prokhorovka City. If necessary, we can still
Launch an attack on the enemy's rear, so that they cannot see each other from head to tail, and accelerate their rout."
Lieutenant Colonel Dobrushin, who had been silent for a long time, said: "Comrade Commander, I have an idea. This defensive front, which is more than ten kilometers wide, cannot be given to the enemy in vain. Should we do something?
?”
"Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, you are right." Sokov said: "Although we do not deploy large forces for defense in this area, we can leave some small units to deal with the enemy here."
Sokov's words made everyone's eyes brighten. Chuvasov's reaction was the fastest: "Comrade Commander, do you plan to deploy some anti-tank groups here to ambush the enemy's armored forces?"
"Colonel Chuvashov, you are right." Sokov gave the other party a thumbs up, and then said: "The rockets we are equipped with can attack enemy tanks, armored vehicles and other vehicles from a distance of a hundred meters.
Trucks. If we deploy several anti-tank teams in this area, can you tell us how much damage we can cause to the enemy?"
Chuvashov turned to look at the other two brigade commanders, then turned to Sokov and said: "Comrade Commander, I think our three brigades can dispatch at least ten anti-tank groups. Even if one group can only destroy
Two or three tanks, but when the numbers are added up, the enemy will lose twenty or thirty tanks..."
From Colonel Chuvashov's words, Sokov realized that the other party planned to use these anti-tank groups to compete with the enemy, and quickly raised his hand to interrupt what he was saying: "Comrade Colonel, I want to correct you. We
The anti-tank team sent to this area used guerrilla tactics of shooting one shot at a time to consume as many enemy tanks as possible instead of engaging in positional warfare with the enemy.
Therefore, when you dispatch anti-tank groups, each group must equip them with a firepower group of equal size to provide them with cover. Even if all the firepower groups are exhausted, you must do your best to protect the safety of the anti-tank groups.
"
Regarding Sokov's order, the three of them fell into confusion again. Koida, who was attending the meeting, saw that the three of them did not understand what Sokov meant, so he explained on the side: "Three comrade brigade commanders, could it be that
Don’t you understand what the commander means? The enemy’s blitzkrieg relies on a large number of tanks and armored vehicles. If our anti-tank fighters achieve great results and destroy a large number of their tanks and armored vehicles, then the enemy who loses the cover of tanks and armored vehicles will
, the combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced.
It would be a good thing if all the teams that went out to perform missions could come back. But if they are entangled by the enemy, priority must be given to letting the anti-tank team retreat, leaving the fire team to provide cover. As long as the anti-tank team is saved, then
In future wars, they will be able to destroy more enemy tanks."
"So that's it." After Koida's explanation, the three brigade commanders immediately understood what was going on. They all told Sokov that they would definitely send capable combat teams to cover the anti-tank teams to attack the enemy.
Armor.
…
Before daybreak, Joseph Dietrich's Flag Guard division moved into attack position.
Hausser was overjoyed when he learned that the Flag Guard Division had arrived. He quickly invited Dietrich to his command cabin and said earnestly: "General Dietrich, it's a pity that your troops arrived one day late, otherwise we would
The Russian defense line was torn to pieces long ago, and then it was successfully advanced to the city of Prokhorovka."
"Your Excellency, Commander," Dietrich said with an arrogant expression: "Although my troops arrived one day late, the results we achieved today can definitely exceed the cumulative results achieved by the Skeleton Division in two days."
If it were in the past, Max Simon would definitely have retorted when he heard Dietrich say this, but yesterday's confrontation with Sokov's troops completely knocked him out of temper. When he saw Hauser's worried eyes
Looking at himself, he quickly put a smile on his face and said to Dietrich: "Your Excellency, General, I wish you good luck and can rush into the city of Prokhorovka as soon as possible."
"My troops will definitely be the first to enter the city of Prokhorovka." On the way here, Dietrich learned a little bit about the hard battle that the Skeleton Division went through yesterday. He put a hand on Simon's shoulder.
On the way, he said in a sympathetic tone: "Yesterday you fought all day and worked hard. Today, follow us and move towards the city of Prokhorovka. We will help you clear out the enemies on the road ahead, so that you can
Able to move forward unimpeded.”
After yesterday's setback, Simon became confused about the future of the war. He felt that with his own strength, even if he wanted to break through the defense line of Sokov's troops, he would have to pay a huge price, and even if he won the final victory, it would be a one-sided victory.
A tragic victory. If he wins a few more times like this, his unit will basically be able to cancel its designation.
At this moment, when he heard Dietrich volunteering to open the way in front, he forced a smile on his face and said: "General Dietrich, on behalf of all the officers and soldiers of the Skeleton Division, I would like to thank you. I wish you smooth progress and a good morning."
Some arrived outside Prokhorovka and rushed into the city ahead of other troops."
Hausser was very happy to see Dietrich's eagerness for knowledge. Although he didn't like overstepping command, he still wanted to know whether the other party was preparing to organize an attack: "General Dietrich, can you tell me what you are going to do?"
Attack?"
"Your Excellency, Army Commander." Dietrich came to the map, pointed at the Soviet defense line above, and said to Hausser: "Before the attack, I plan to concentrate all artillery fire and bombard a certain part of the Russian defense line.
"Ten minutes after the bombardment begins, my tanks and armored vehicles will attack, and when they are still three to four hundred meters away from the Russian positions, the artillery will stop the bombardment."
Dietrich said triumphantly: "Although the shelling has stopped, even if the Russians in the position were not killed by our artillery fire, they were knocked unconscious. Before they could recover, our
The tanks were already at full power, running over their incomplete positions and continuing to rush forward; while some of the armored vehicles following behind would stop to let the infantrymen get out of the car to clear the trenches that were stunned by the bombing.
Russians with their heads turned..."
When Simon heard this, he couldn't help but raise his eyebrows, and thought to himself: Isn't this the tactic I used yesterday? I didn't succeed yesterday, can you use this tactic to break through the Russian defense?
You know, the Russian in front is our enemy Sokov, he is not that easy to deal with.
However, Simon then thought about it. After yesterday's fierce battle, a lot of the effective strength of Sokov's troops was consumed. With the few remaining troops in his hand, if he wanted to block the well-equipped and well-strength standard guard division, he would be defeated.
, it is basically impossible. Maybe today's assault by the Flag Guard Division will have huge results. He is even thinking about what to do with Sokov if he is captured alive.
When the sky just glowed with white light, the artillery of the Totenkopf Division and the 2nd SS Panzer Corps opened fire on the selected Soviet positions. Simon was curious as he watched the fire and smoke rising from the positions in the distance.
Asked Dietrich: "General Dietrich, why did you choose this breakthrough point?"
"After careful observation, I found that the terrain here is flat, which is very conducive to the maneuvering of armored forces, and the Russian defenses are relatively weak, making it the easiest position to break through." Dietrich explained: "So I concentrated all my efforts.
The artillery bombardment must tear a gap in the Russian position."
Ten minutes passed in a blink of an eye. The tanks of the armored regiment quickly rushed towards the Soviet position in a wedge-shaped battle formation, followed by more than 40 armored vehicles, and the 2nd Panzergrenadier Regiment followed far behind.
As soon as the attack began, Simon kept watching the advance of the armored forces through his binoculars. The tanks in front were firing on all cylinders, trying to rush into the Soviet defensive positions in the shortest possible time. When the tank at the front was charging
, there were still about 500 meters away from the Soviet trenches. The artillerymen in the rear were worried about accidental damage, so they stopped shelling.
Seeing the tanks of the Flag Guard Division gradually approaching the Soviet position, but there was still silence in the Soviet trenches, Simon couldn't help but frowned and murmured: "Strange, why is there no movement until now? Is it possible?
Have they not woken up from the shelling that just ended?"
Soon, the tank at the front rushed into the Soviet position where the smoke had not yet dispersed. However, the Soviet army still had no defense. They neither saw the launch of a rocket launcher that could destroy tanks from a long distance, nor heard it.
No sound of gunfire or explosions could be heard, and only the roar of engines from tanks and armored vehicles could be heard in the distance.
"General Dietrich, I feel something is wrong." Simon turned to Dietrich and said: "Your troops have rushed into the Russian position, but they must not have reacted. This is too abnormal.
I suspect they may have some conspiracy, you can remind your subordinates to be more careful."
