The person who feels the most depressed today is General Vatukin, the commander of the Voronezh Front. The Germans launched an attack on the north and south sides of Kursk at the same time. Rokosovsky, who was defending the north, successfully blocked Model's Ninth Army. However, the southern line was opened by the German army and broke through three lines of defense in the Oboyan area.

Seeing Sokov's troops appearing out of nowhere and successfully blocked the enemy's detour towards Kursk, the two armies assigned to him by his superiors also arrived in the Prokholovka area, and were fully capable of giving a devastating blow to the German army here.

But as soon as the two sides fought, the 2nd Tank Army, a subsidiary of the 5th Army of Guards Tanks, fought with German tanks that were far less than their own, but suffered huge casualties. If the 678th Heavy Artillery Regiment deployed nearby were not firing in time, the tank army would probably have suffered even greater losses.

When the headquarters held a discussion, Deputy Commander Apaneseko pointed to the map and said to Vatutin: "Comrade Commander, I think the failure of the tank battle today is of many reasons. However, if the 27th Army deployed on the Pushore River can enter the position one day earlier, they can suddenly come out from the enemy's side when the tanks between the enemy and us fight, causing heavy damage to the enemy, thereby reducing the losses of our army."

When Vatutin heard Apanathanko criticizing Sokov, he showed an awkward expression on his face. He knew very well that if Sokov's troops had not appeared in Shumakovo in time and blocked the German advancement. It was believed that at this time, the German vanguard had already arrived at the city of Kursk, but the troops that were standing in the Oboyan area were also trapped in the German encirclement, and the troops on the southern front would have the possibility of collapse.

"General Apanesesenko," as soon as Apanesesenko finished speaking, military commissioner Khrushchev frowned and said, "As far as I know, Major General Sokov's troops immediately advanced to the Pushore River as fast as possible after receiving the order. One of the troops entered the left bank of the Pushore River that night and built a simple defensive position there.

Last night, the German army captured the bridge on the Pushore River. After tenacious battles, the Sokov troops had eliminated the enemy and completely smeared the enemy's conspiracy to cross the Pushore River."

"Military Comrade is right." Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ivanov also had a good impression of Sokov. After hearing what Khrushchev said, he immediately echoed: "Think about it, if it were not for the 27th Army troops, which appeared in Shumakovo area in time to block the enemy's pace of going north, I think the front army troops had been divided into several pieces at this moment. As for the failure of our battle with German tanks today because they did not appear in the designated position in time, I think this statement is completely irresponsible."

Apanathenko never dreamed that he just criticized Sokov in a tactful way, and Khrushchev and Ivanov were both for him to speak nice things. He smiled bitterly and then asked Vatutin: "Comrade Commander, what do you think? Don't you think that if the 27th Army could reach its designated position earlier, the situation in Prokholovka became more powerful than our army?"

"Comrade Deputy Commander, what you said makes sense." Vatujing said unbiasedly, "But they received the orders relatively late. It is already very difficult to arrive in such a short time. We cannot be too demanding on them."

Seeing that all the leaders of the front were talking to Sokov, Apaneseko felt that he was isolated. He had no good feelings for Sokov, and at this time he felt a little disgusted.

Seeing Apaneseko's thoughtful look, Vatujing asked curiously: "Comrade Deputy Commander, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking of Sokov?" Apanashenko sneered, "I don't deny that he has some skills, but he has not done well in observing discipline. For example, his troops did not say hello to us before entering Shumakovo, and then drove a division's troops over. As a commander, don't he know that he can't make a decision without getting orders from his superiors?"

"Comrade Deputy Commander," As soon as Apanathenko finished speaking, Ivanov retorted: "If you have to wait until you receive an order from your superiors to order the troops to enter Shumakovo, then this person is not Sokov. He has Octavian observation ability, and can judge the Germans' next actions based on some clues, and deploy troops based on actual conditions. In the past two years, every deployment he made can be said to be as predictable as a god. And our enemies basically implement the combat plan according to his analysis."

"Comrade Chief of Staff is right." Khrushchev said with a smile: "I once joked with him that he must have installed a wiretap machine in the enemy's command to grasp the movements of the German army so accurately..."

It was originally a post-war summary meeting, but somehow the topic was involved in Sokov. Khrushchev and Ivanov have always praised him, while Apanashenko was nitpicking on some minor issues because Sokov had offended him.

As for Vatujing, he kept talking to him: "I think Sokov is young, but he is an amazing commander. But since he is a young man, there will inevitably be one or another. We senior commanders cannot focus on some of his shortcomings, nor can we only see his advantages and applaud them unanimously."

"Okay, comrades, no matter what kind of person Major General Sokov is, we should not focus on him now." Vatutin knocked on the map on the table with his fist and said, "It is better to discuss how to attack the enemy in the Prokholovka area tomorrow."

Hearing Vatutin say this, Ivanov remembered his responsibilities and quickly pointed to the map to explain: "Because our guards 7th Army constantly attacking the flanks of the German army, the enemy has to withdraw troops to fight our army. Now the only troops that the German army can continue to advance north are left with a 6th Armored Division, and our army's 69th Army is standing in front of them. If they want to continue to advance, they must go through a arduous battle."

Apanathenko spent all day wandering around the frontline troops and didn't know the overall war. After hearing Ivanov's words, he asked tentatively: "Can we stop them?"

Seeing Apaneseko asking such a lack of level, Ivanov looked at him with a strange look and then continued to say that, therefore, Khrushchev, who was present, had just returned from Moscow not long ago and did not know what happened here. It is necessary to give a detailed explanation so that he could report to Moscow accurately.

"In today's battle, the 94th and 92nd Guards Divisions of the 69th Army and the 305th Infantry Division severely damaged the 6th Armored Division. By the end of the day, the number of tanks of the 6th Armored Division dropped from more than 100 to 47. It is obvious that due to the active actions of the 7th Army of the Guards, the enemy had to send the 7th and 19th Armored Divisions to deal with our attacks. Once the help of these two armored divisions was lost, the 6th Armored Division of the German army was unable to continue advancing.

At present, the 7th Armored Division of the German Army on the right wing is busy dealing with our continuous attacks; the 81st Guard Infantry Division and the 375th Infantry Division of the German Army on the left wing have chosen to retreat actively in order to avoid being surrounded by the German army. This is to make the 19th Armored Division of the German Army, which may be used to attack north tomorrow."

"The situation is very serious, commanders, comrades." Khrushchev sighed heavily after listening to Ivanov's explanation, looked around and asked, "What should we do to completely crush the German army's conspiracy to advance north?"

"Comrade Khrushchev, the situation is worse than you think." Vatuting interrupted: "Based on the information we have, the German Second Armored Army is moving on a large scale towards Prokholovka. Although the Imperial Division has been hit hard by the 27th Army, the remaining Flag Guard Division and Skeleton Division are still our strong enemies."

As soon as Vatujin finished speaking, the phone ringing on the table rang. Ivanov picked up the microphone and put it in his ear, and said loudly: "I am Lieutenant General Ivanov, where are you?...What, do you need a reserve team?...I understand, I will report this to the commander immediately!"

Speaking of this, Ivanov covered the microphone with his hands and said to Vatujin standing aside: "It was Major General Kryuchenjin, the commander of the 69th Army. He said that in order to block the German attack today, he had put the only reserve 375th Division, the infantry division, into battle. I hope you can replenish their reserve squad."

"Reserve?" When Ivanov said this, Vatujing couldn't help but smile bitterly: "Where should I go to find a reserve for him at this moment. Order him to firmly defend the position and not be allowed to retreat at all."

"I understand, Comrade Commander." Ivanov released his hand covering the microphone and said, "General Krugenjin, Comrade Commander said, we are nothing more than providing you with a reserve team. Your task is to firmly defend the position and not be allowed to retreat at any step."

Faced with such an incompetent and vague order, Kryuqinjin couldn't help but smile bitterly, but he still gritted his teeth and replied: "I understand, Comrade Chief of Staff, we will definitely defend our position and not retreat at all."

Seeing Kryuqinjin put down the phone, his chief of staff quickly asked: "Comrade Commander, how is the situation? How many reinforcements are you willing to give to us?"

"Reinforcements?!" Kliuqinjin's face squeezed a grudge that was even worse than crying: "There is no reinforcements, and the superiors ordered us to firmly defend the position and not be allowed to retreat at all."

"Why do we still stand firm if there are no reinforcements?" After hearing this, the military committee member of the group army was also full of anger: "Today, in order to block the enemy's attack, we put all the final reserves into battle. If the enemy increases the attack tomorrow, what kind of force should we use to block them?"

"Comrade Commander," Seeing that the military committee member was also dissatisfied with the superior's behavior, the Chief of Staff felt that a plan he had considered in his heart could be taken out and said to everyone: "Comrade Commander, Comrade Military Committee, I have a bold idea, I wonder if you want to listen."

"As long as you can hold the position, no matter how bold the idea is, I think we should listen." The military commissioner said to the Chief of Staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, just say whatever you think. Even if you say it wrong, we won't blame you."

"Although we cannot get any support from the Front Command, we can consider asking for help from other troops!"

"Ceek for help from other troops?" The military committee member immediately became disgusted when he heard that this was his idea: "The enemy is right in front of him, and everyone in the nearby troops are in danger, so how can we care about us?"

"Comrade Military Commissioner, what I am talking about is not the other troops in the Front Army." Seeing that the Military Commissioner misunderstood his thoughts, the Chief of Staff quickly explained to him: "It's another magical force."

"Magic troops?" The military commissioner asked in surprise: "Comrade Chief of Staff, which unit are you talking about? Why have I never heard of it?"

"It is the 27th Army stationed on the banks of the Pushore River." The Chief of Staff pointed to the Pushore River on the map and said to the two of them proudly: "You know, a few days ago, they had just annihilated the German imperial division. Today, during the day, they seized the bridge on the Pushore River from the enemy and built necessary fortifications on both sides of the river to resist the possible attacks by the Germans. If we ask them for help, even if we only support one division, we can stabilize our defense line."

"Ceek the 27th Army?" Kryuchenjin fell into deep thought about the chief of staff's proposal. He repeatedly weighed his own opinions. If he really asked Sokov for help with Vatujing on his back, but if he was rejected, would he feel embarrassed?

The Chief of Staff saw his hesitation and immediately volunteered: "Comrade Commander, let me contact General Sokov. Even if he refused, this is my personal self-decision and will not affect the image of the 69th Army."

"Comrade Commander, I think the Chief of Staff's proposal is good. If he comes forward, it doesn't matter if he is rejected." The military committee member also echoed: "When our situation becomes more critical, you will ask General Sokov for help in person. I think General Sokov will not reject you for the sake of the overall situation."

Seeing that his chief of staff and military committee members agreed, Klitschko thought he could give it a try. However, on the issue of how to ask for help, he put forward a different view: "The chance of being rejected is too high when asking for help from General Sokov directly. I know that he and General Golikov have a good relationship. If we can ask General Golikov to come forward, there may be hope for success."
Chapter completed!