Shortly after leaving, a motorcycle rushed up from behind. When overtaking from the side, the staff officer sitting in the stand-alone waved desperately at the jeep Sokov was riding, indicating an emergency.
Sokov recognized the other party as the communications officer of the 354th Division and guessed that there might be some important telegram. He quickly ordered the driver to stop the car. As soon as the car stopped, Samoilov, who was sitting in the passenger seat, pushed open the car door and got out of the car and walked towards the officer who had just jumped out of the standby.
Sokov, who was sitting in the car, saw the two of them talking in a low voice, handed a telegram to Samoilov, then saluted and turned and left.
"Comrade Commander," Samoilov returned to the car and handed the telegram he had just received to Sokov: "It was a telegram from the Voronezh Front Command."
Sokov was not surprised at all when he learned that it was a telegram from the Voronezh Front Command. After all, his troops had been temporarily assigned to Vatujing's command, and it was only a matter of time to receive the orders he issued.
He received the telegram and came to his eyes to carefully browse the contents above. The order was very simple. The 69th Army was attacked by the German Flag Guard Division and the 7th Armored Division. Now the Kenfu combat cluster is also moving closer to the above two German troops, which has caused the army to face the danger of being encircled. He ordered Sokov to dispatch at least two infantry divisions and a tank brigade to launch an attack on the side and rear of the German Flag Guard Division to attract the attention of the German army and ensure that the 69th Army can safely transfer to the next line of defense.
"Samoilov," Sokov ordered Samoilov after reading the telegram: "Go and call Colonel Shechtmann over."
After Samoilov left, Sokov pushed the door and got out of the car, stood beside the car, looked over the roof, and looked at the moving infantry queue, thinking, and began to think: How to fight the next battle? Do you really have to attack the Flag Guard Division first?
Shechtmann, who received the notice, soon came over from the front by car. The one who appeared with him was Colonel Bilin, a political commissar of the division. After the two stood in front of them, Sokov handed over the telegram in his hand and asked, "Col. Shechtmann, after reading this telegram, tell me what you think!"
Before the troops set off, Sokov told Shechtman that the target of the attack was Simon's Skeleton Division. After he finished reading the telegram, he couldn't help but hesitate. He asked Sokov tentatively: "Comrade Commander, what should we do next? Should we attack the Flag Guard Division according to the orders of our superiors?"
"We only have one division's strength, so it is definitely not enough to attack the Flag Guard Division." Colonel Bilin echoed on the side: "Or, we will stop advancing for the time being and wait for other troops to arrive before moving forward."
"What, Comrade Political Commissar." Sokov looked at Billy and said with surprise: "Do you think we cannot deal with the German flag guard division with the strength of a division?"
Hearing Sokov's question, Bilin replied in a panic: "Comrade Commander, you should know that the combat effectiveness of the German SS division is very strong, and one division is enough to fight against our army. Now we only have one division's troops, and we have to take the initiative to attack the enemy. I am worried that we will suffer a loss..."
Sokov noticed that when Bilin spoke, Shechtman remained silent. It seemed that he agreed with Bilin's opinion, hoping that Sokov could mobilize more troops to participate in the attack on the flag guard division. After seeing through the other party's ideas, Sokov poured cold water on the two: "Sorry, two colonels. In the battle outside Prokolovka, the only force I can use is your division, plus the tank battalions directly under the army. There will be no reinforcements anymore."
Sokov's words shocked the two of them. Shektman quickly reminded Sokov: "Comrade Commander, with this little force, I am worried that the entire army will be destroyed."
"Why, are you so unconfident in your own warriors?" Sokov looked at the two of them and said with a smile: "Don't you want to create a miracle and use a division to defeat an enemy SS?" After he finished speaking, seeing that the two of them were still frowning, he added in time, "You know, this is a good opportunity to be recorded in history. Are you really going to miss it?"
Originally, the two were still thinking about how to persuade Sokov to draw more troops to attack the German Flag Guard Division. But at this moment, hearing that his troops had the opportunity to create history, his attitude immediately turned 180 degrees. Billy said excitedly: "Comrade Commander, if we defeat the Flag Guard Division, can we really go down in history?"
"This is natural." Sokov knew the Russians very well, and knew that they were a nation that valued honor. In order to obtain honor, they could even sacrifice their precious lives without hesitation. "I promise you that when the battle outside Prokorovka ends, you and your troops will receive great honors, and the results they have achieved will be recorded in history by future generations."
Shechtmann straightened his back and said with a serious expression: "Comrade Commander, please give orders. Even if we have all our divisions, we will defeat the German flag guard division."
"Wait." Seeing that Shechtman had confidence in defeating the enemy, Sokov was not anxious: "We will not fight the flag guard division for the time being."
"What, don't you fight the flag guard division?" Shechtmann and Billing looked at each other and saw shock in their eyes. He turned to Sokov and asked, "Then which army do we fight against?"
"According to the original plan, we will first fight the German skeleton division." Sokov kept thinking in his mind that among the enemies outside Prokholovka, the weakest one is Simon's skeleton division. If they annihilate them first and then turn around to attack the Flag Guard Division, his troops will no longer be alone. Rotemistrov used the troops to deal with the Skeleton Division, and he can help him attack the Flag Guard Division together. "When you defeat the Skeleton Division, turn around to deal with the Flag Guard Division."
"Fight against the Skeleton Division first, then against the Flag Guard Division?" Sokov's words made Shechtman's heart suddenly feel cold. He originally wanted to use the sacrifice of the entire division to exchange for the victory of destroying the Flag Guard Division, but now he heard that he had to fight the Skeleton Division first and then against the Flag Guard Division, and his mind suddenly became blank.
Seeing Shechtmann's stunned look, Sokov smiled faintly and then said, "Comrade Colonel, did you think that this is an unfinished task when you hear that we are going to deal with the two SSs?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Bilin took a step forward and said to Sokov in front of Shechtmann: "Please be honest, we have already struggled to deal with a German SS. We have to deal with two at the same time, even if we fight all the troops, we may not be able to complete this task."
"Don't worry, two colonels." In order not to put the two of them on their backs, Sokov reached out to Samoilov to ask for the map, spread it on the hood of the jeep, and then said to the two colonels: "Look, the Skeleton Division confronted General Rotemistrov's tank 18th Army near the October Farm northwest of Prokhorovka City. After fierce battle, their troops had been severely weakened, and only a few troops were scattered in several scattered positions.
My plan is to concentrate all the troops and launch an assault on Simon's division command. If he can capture him alive again, it is certainly a good thing; even if he cannot be captured alive, if the division command of the Skeleton Division is destroyed, the enemy will fall into chaos because he loses unified command. At this time, we can make breakthroughs on the scattered enemies."
Sokov pointed to the map and told the two of them about his combat plan: "... After defeating the German Skeleton Division, we nodded and went south to attack the Flag Guard Division. When we attacked the Flag Guard Division, the troops that had originally confronted the Skeleton Division could free up their hands to assist us in the attack."
After Sokov explained, the two frowned and unfolded. They found themselves in a misunderstanding, thinking that fighting the Skeleton Division first and then the Flag Guard Division would cause insufficient troops. They completely forgot that once they defeated the Skeleton Division, those troops that were originally entangled by the Skeleton Division would be freed to assist themselves in the next battle.
Looking at the backs of the two colonels leaving, Sokov felt that his plan was still a bit risky. If his troops launched an attack, the troops confronting the Skeleton Division chose to watch the situation, then in a melee, the combat reduction of the 354th Division would be very terrifying. Therefore, we must communicate with General Rotemistrov in advance to let him understand his next action and take timely cooperation measures.
Sokov quickly lay on the hood, drafted a telegram, and then ordered Samoilov: "Comrade Lieutenant, ask the radio operator to send this telegram to General Rotmistrov."
After receiving the telegram, Samoilov did not leave immediately, but stood there and asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, do I need to wait for his call back?"
"No," Sokov waved his hand at Samoilov and said, "If General Rotmistrov calls back, the communications consultant will send it to me."
After Samoilov sent the telegram to the radio operator, the jeep re-loaded. Samoilov knew the contents of the telegram, and he turned halfway and asked Sokov with some concern: "Comrade Commander, what should we do if General Rotemistrov receives your telegram and does not allow his troops to cooperate?"
"What else can we do?" Sokov knew that what Samoilov said might be completely there. He shrugged his shoulders and spread his hands: "If General Rotmistrov is unwilling to let his troops cooperate, we can only rely on our own strength to destroy the command of the Skeleton Division. Next, we can only rely on ourselves to fight the Flag Guard Division's battle."
Fortunately, what Sokov was worried about did not happen. Just as his car was about to reach the offensive position, the communications officer rushed up from behind again on a motorcycle and sent him a call from Rotmistrov.
Rotmistrov's call back was simple, saying that once Sokov's troops launched an attack on the Skeleton Division and deployed to the north of the 252.2 highland, the 18th Tank Army would also attack the enemy in the front at the same time to restrain the enemy's forces and ensure the smooth attack of Sokov's troops.
However, at the end of the telegram, Rotmistrov also specifically asked Sokov: "Does this report to General Vatujing?"
After seeing Rotemstrov's notes, Sokov smiled faintly, then took out a pen and wrote briefly: "No need. It is not too late to report to General Vatujing after the Skeleton Division is annihilated by us."
After writing, he tore off the paper with the telegram content from the notebook, handed it to the communications consultant, and ordered him to say, "Send this call back to General Rotmistrov immediately."
When Sokov's jeep came to Shekhtman's temporary command, most of the troops had already entered the attack position. When Shekhtman saw Sokov's arrival, he asked nervously: "Comrade Commander, when will we start the attack?"
"How many troops have entered the attack position?"
"Two regiments have already launched attack positions." The Chief of Staff of the Division quickly replied: "The remaining regiment and artillery regiment will all enter the designated positions within half an hour."
"So, your division will have half an hour to be in place?" Sokov decisively issued an order after seeing the division chief nodding in recognition of his statement: "Two regiments are more than enough to deal with a German division command. Colonel Shechtmann immediately ordered a battalion of infantry to take tanks and attack the division command of the Skeleton Division. The main force of the division followed closely, and it is necessary to eliminate the division headquarters of the Skeleton Division in the shortest time."
"What about the artillery preparation before the attack?" The 354th Division had a 76.2mm cannon regiment. According to Shechtman's idea, before the attack, it had to use artillery fire to bombard the enemy's positions for at least ten minutes. At this moment, when he heard Sokov's order to attack directly, he quickly reminded him: "If artillery preparation is not carried out, the enemy's fortifications will become an obstacle to our attack."
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov naturally understood what the other party was thinking. These old commanders who had been in the army for more than ten or twenty years would feel uneasy before every attack without artillery fire. He quickly explained to the other party: "You only have one cannon regiment, and even if you cannon the enemy's position, it may be difficult to play any role. On the contrary, they would warn the enemy and tell them that we were going to attack their position.
If we don't have shelling, we will launch an attack directly, thinking that we will rest for a night and then launch an attack will be caught off guard by us. While they have no time to organize effective resistance, we can break through their current defense in the shortest time.
Okay, comrade Colonel, don’t look back and immediately order the troops to board the bus and attack. Be sure to completely eliminate the division headquarters of the Skeleton Division within one hour.”
"I understand, comrade Commander." After hearing Sokov's explanation, Shechtman finally understood Sokov's intentions and quickly straightened his body and replied: "I will immediately send a most elite battalion to let them attack the enemy's division headquarters on tanks, and must rush to the nearest German division headquarters in the shortest time."