When Sokov put down the phone, he began to think about an incident: after the German army learned that Kursk was lost, although it sent troops to try to recapture the city, it may be because of the dispersion of troops. So far, it has not been able to do anything.
Only two troops arrived. The 297th Infantry Division that attacked the east of the city suffered heavy losses and is now standing still; but the German troops attacking the south of the city, although they only have one regiment, are constantly attacking, trying to rush in from this direction.
Enter the city.
Seeing Sokov sitting silently, Belkin handed him a cigarette, and then asked: "Comrade Brigadier, what are you thinking about, so absorbed in your thoughts?"
Sokov raised his head and saw clearly that the person standing in front of him was Belkin. After taking the cigarette in his hand, he said: "Comrade Political Commissar, I am thinking about how to deal with the enemies in the south of the city. Although they do not have many troops,
But it’s either a sneak attack or a forceful attack, which poses a great threat to us.”
"Yes, the enemy in the south of the city poses a great threat to us." Belkin struck a match and helped Sokov light a cigarette: "Although the area from the river to the position is flooded by the river,
We have to wait for the large German troops to arrive. With their strength, they can pass through that area easily."
"Comrade Political Commissar," Sokov took two puffs of his cigarette, put out the unfinished cigarette in the ashtray, and looked at Belkin and said, "How about we launch a counterattack south of the city?"
"Carry out a counterattack in the south of the city?" Sokov's words made Belkin fall into deep 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 attack is also a big trouble for our army. Have you ever thought about letting our counterattack troops pass through the flooded area under the enemy's artillery fire, and then row to the opposite side of the Tenebra River?
What a huge price will be paid?"
"I have thought about it." Sokov nodded and said, "So our counterattack will be launched from other areas. You see," Sokov pushed the map on the table in front of Belkin and said to him
Said, "The German troops in the south of the city are limited. They cannot deploy troops along the Tenebra River. We can send a force to the upper reaches, cross the river from there, and then sneak attack the German positions. Even if they cannot be
To annihilate them all, we must also find a way to drive them away from the city."
After reading the attack route set by Sokov, Belkin asked curiously: "Comrade Brigadier, I wonder which battalion you plan to assign this task to complete?"
"The one currently responsible for the defense in the south of the city is Captain Vasily's Second Battalion. Before handing over the warehouse area 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, which suffered more than half of its casualties in the defense battle in the east of the city, and is currently resting and recuperating, they don't need to think about it; as for Briskey's fourth battalion, he just took over soon, and the commanders and fighters below him
We are not familiar with it yet, and once a war breaks out, I am afraid there will 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, do you want Captain Vanya's battalion to come?"
Carry out this mission?"
"Yes, that's what I thought about it." After Sokov said this, before Belkin asked again, he took the initiative and said: "The first battalion is currently the unit with the largest number of veterans in the entire brigade. Let them carry out such a
I feel more at ease with the difficult task."
"Since you are so optimistic about Vanya's troops, I have no objection." Regarding Sokov's plan, Belkin expressed his approval: "I think we should find Vanya now and assign him tasks."
More than half an hour later, 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 you.
Camp to complete.”
From the time they occupied Kursk to the present, the officers and men of the First Battalion have never participated in a battle. Seeing their comrades from the Second and Third Battalions fighting fiercely with the Germans in the south and east of the city, I felt somewhat envious. So many of them were
The squad and platoon leaders all ran to Vanya, hoping that he could talk to Sokov and assign some combat tasks to the 1st Battalion.
Vanya was just thinking about how to mention this to Sokov. When she heard that an important task was to be entrusted to her, she was overjoyed and said excitedly: "Comrade Brigade Commander, if you have any tasks, just give me your orders.
On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the First Battalion, I would like to assure you that we will complete the tasks assigned by you."
"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 Brigade Commander," after hearing what Sokov said, Vanya asked curiously: "Isn't the south of the city the defense area of the Second Battalion? Are you planning to let us take over their defense?"
Sokov shook his head and said: "I am not asking you to take over their defense, but I am asking you to start from the north of the city, find a suitable place to cross the Tenebra River, and sneak attack the enemies in the south of the city."
"What about our defense area?" Although with the arrival of the tank corps, the defense area of the 73rd Infantry Brigade has shrunk a lot, the 1st Battalion is still responsible for the defense in the west of the city, so he heard that his troops will carry out a sneak attack on the German army.
, couldn't help but worry about the next defense. "Which troop will take over the defense?"
"Captain Brisky's fourth battalion will take over your defense after you leave the city." Sokov told Vanya: "After dark, you will lead the troops to cross the river from the upper reaches of the Tenebra River.
, quietly detoured to the vicinity of the German camp, and launched a surprise attack on the enemy before dawn. Do you understand?"
"I don't understand." After Sokov finished speaking, Vanya asked in confusion: "Comrade Brigadier, after our battalion completes the task of crossing the river, it will only take an hour at most to reach the German camp.
, we should launch an attack immediately and defeat this enemy in the shortest possible time."
Sokov did not expect Vanya to question his order. After waiting for the other party to finish speaking, Sokov said: "Comrade Captain, the commanders and soldiers have become exhausted after completing the river crossing and long-distance march. If they are allowed to do this
It’s time to launch an attack, do you think they still have enough strength?”
Vanya just thought about leading the troops to the designated position and immediately launched an attack, ignoring the fact that the commanders and soldiers had already become exhausted after the long march. At this moment, when Sokov pointed it out, he suddenly blushed and said: "
Comrade Brigadier, it was my lack of thinking, I..."
"Okay, you don't have to say any more." Sokov didn't wait for him to finish, and interrupted what he was saying: "I know you are eager to destroy the enemy, so you are a little eager for success. But Comrade Captain, this is wrong.
, we cannot simply pursue victory and ignore the physical condition of the commanders and soldiers. The reason why I chose to launch the attack before dawn is because that time is when people are most tired and it is easiest to relax their vigilance. At this time
If you launch an attack, you can definitely catch the enemy off guard."
"I understand, Comrade Brigadier." Vanya waited for Sokov to finish and then asked, "I wonder what kind of support we can get?"
"I will report this attack to the front army headquarters later," Sokov said: "Request the superiors 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 artillery, Vanya suddenly asked on a whim: "Comrade Brigadier, if we have the support of the air force, I think we will have a chance to capture the enemy's artillery. I don't know what to do with these artillery then.
Should 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 they stayed, it would be equivalent to giving the Germans an advantage, so he ordered Vanya: "
Blow them up, blow them all up. Since we can't transport these artillery pieces back, we can't give the Germans any advantage. You order them to blow up all these artillery pieces."
After Vanya left the brigade headquarters, Sokov called Second Lieutenant Maxim, handed him the telegram he had drafted in his hand, and ordered: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, send this telegram to the front army headquarters immediately. It is extremely urgent!
"
After receiving the telegram, Malinin quickly browsed the contents, then hurriedly walked to Rokossovsky and placed the telegram he had 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. They hope that we can provide them with the necessary air support."
"What, Sokov plans to launch a counterattack south of the city?" Rokossovsky heard Malinin say this and couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Are they planning to forcefully cross the Tenebra River under German artillery fire?"
"It's not a forced crossing, it's a sneak crossing from other areas." Malinin quickly explained to Rokossovsky: "He plans to send a force to cross the Tenebra River from the upper reaches and launch a counterattack against the enemy forces on the right bank.
Strive to annihilate or severely injure the enemy."
When Rokossovsky heard Malinin's report, his first reaction was that Sokov was going 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 slightly
He nodded and then said: "Judging from Misha's battle plan, there is great hope for 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 the attacking troops, which 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."
Rokossovsky originally wanted Malinin to call, but he swallowed his words. He personally called the Air Force Commander and said bluntly: "Comrade General, after dawn tomorrow, two flying groups will be dispatched."
Head towards Kursk."
When the Air Force Commander heard what Rokossovsky said, he couldn't help but curiously asked: "Comrade Commander, are you saying that our army is going to attack the enemy again in the direction of Kursk?" When he asked this question, he was thinking
I'm thinking to myself: If it's a large-scale attack, I can send more planes there. But if it's just a small-scale battle, I can send at most one squadron. If too many planes are deployed, it will affect the enemy's contact with the enemy in the direction of Voronov.
Fight for air supremacy.
Rokossovsky guessed the air force commander’s true thoughts from the tone of his question: “Comrade General, although tomorrow’s attack will only be a small-scale attack, whether our army can win or not will determine whether it can win.
Do you want to defend Kursk? Do you understand?"
Although Rokossovsky did not say more, the Air Force Commander was also a smart man. He guessed that this attack must be extraordinary, otherwise Rokossovsky would not have called him personally.
Thinking of this, he quickly replied: "Understood, Comrade Commander, early tomorrow morning, I will send two flying groups to the direction of Kursk to provide necessary air support for our army."
After confirming that the Air Force Commander could dispatch two flying groups to support the attack of Sokov's troops, Rokossovsky felt much more at ease. He called the Director of Communications Corps Maximenko over and asked: "
Comrade Director, can the Front Army Headquarters 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 communicate with General Rotmistrov's headquarters?" When he heard Maximenko say that he could communicate with Kursk, Rokossovsky felt ecstatic in his heart, but he heard clearly what was behind him
Then, my heart went cold: "So, you can't communicate with Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's 73rd Infantry Brigade?"
Maximenko nodded and replied affirmatively: "That's right. The communication between us and the infantry brigade is all done through telegraphs."
Rokossovsky waited for Maximenko to finish, sighed, and said helplessly: "In this case, Comrade Director, immediately send a telegram to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Tell him that the Air Force will send a message to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov tomorrow.
Rush to the combat area after dawn to provide necessary air support for his troops. Let them do a good job in ground-air communication to avoid accidental bombings."
After seeing Maximenko record his orders and plan to leave, Rokossovsky stopped him again and ordered: "Comrade Director, we must seize the time to build more lines to Kursk.
This way we can keep abreast of the situation there. Do you understand?"
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Maximenko nodded and replied, "Don't worry. In two days at most, we will be able to open a dedicated telephone line with the infantry brigade."
