Sokov followed Khokhlov and others to the division headquarters. Seeing the busy scene here, he couldn't help but nodded secretly. It seemed that Colonel Khokhlov did not relax while leading people to greet him.
work here.
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov took off his hat and put it on the table after sitting down at the table. He looked at Khokhlov and asked: "That comrade general didn't make things difficult for you, did he?"
"At first, he tried desperately to prevent us from building fortifications, but a communications staff officer accompanying him told him that he had just received the latest news that the leading German troops had rushed into Oboyan." Khokhlov explained to Sokov
Said: "Comrade General heard the news and stood here for a long time. Before leaving, let us improve the defenses here as soon as possible."
The division chief of staff continued: "If the German army had not rushed into Oboyan, I think General Apanashenko would still have stopped us from building fortifications."
"It makes sense for Comrade General to prevent us from building fortifications." Khokhlov continued: "According to the intelligence we have obtained, in order to prevent the German attack in the Kursk area, our friendly forces have carefully designed defenses.
The plan built several lines of defense with a defense depth of more than 150 kilometers. The entire defense system consisted of a large number of closely coordinated trenches, barbed wire, anti-tank firepower points, anti-tank trenches, and minefields. It was concentrated in the most likely direction of the German attack.
A large amount of troops and firepower. Theoretically, it is basically impossible for the enemy to break through such defenses."
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov immediately refuted Khokhlov's point of view: "No matter how strong the fortification is, it has its weaknesses. As long as the attacking side pays more attention, it will definitely be able to break through. The French horse
The Chino Line of Defense was considered impregnable, but it was of no use in the battle to defend France. The Germans knew that if they attacked this line of defense, the blitzkrieg might turn into a protracted tug-of-war, so they bypassed it.
They built a line of defense and easily invaded France, forcing France to surrender to them."
After hearing what Sokov said, everyone present fell silent. After a long time, Khokhlov carefully asked: "Comrade Commander, what do you think about the defense line we hastily built after the enemy broke through the friendly forces' defense line?"
, can it block the enemy?"
Sokov picked up the defense map on the table and pretended to read it. He knew very well that after breaking through the Oboyan defense line, the German army only advanced 35 kilometers into the Soviet defenses and was unable to move forward any further.
The defense area of the 182nd Division is exactly 35 kilometers away from Oboyan. By the time the German troops broke through the friendly positions and rushed here, they were already at the end of their efforts. Let alone a group army, even the 182nd Division was enough for the Germans to drink.
of.
After reading the defense map, Sokov put it on the table, nodded and said: "Colonel Khokhlov, your site selection is very correct. You cleverly combined the terrain with our fortifications, so that our commanders and soldiers can
Rely on the terrain and resolutely block the enemy who breaks through the friendly defense lines."
In order to understand the current situation, Sokov made a phone call to his headquarters and asked Samyko, who was staying there: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I would like to ask you if you can get in touch with the headquarters of the Voronezh Front Army.
, I want to know about the fighting situation there."
Although Sokov's location is less than 20 kilometers away from Vatutin's headquarters, which takes less than an hour by car, he still has to travel hundreds of kilometers in order to understand the opponent's situation.
Headquarters outside the country came to contact Vatutin.
After Samyko waited for Sokov to finish speaking, he quickly replied: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander, I will contact the Voronezh Front Army Headquarters immediately and will report the situation on the battlefield to you as soon as possible."
Samyko said that he would reply to Sokov soon, but to get in touch with the headquarters of the Voronezh Front, he had to go through the headquarters of the Steppe Front. After several twists and turns, he finally sent the telegram inquiring about the battlefield situation.
Sent to the headquarters of the Voronezh Front.
It took almost an hour before Sokov received a call from Samyko: "Comrade Commander, we understand everything. Yesterday afternoon, General Vatutin organized troops to launch a counterattack against the enemy and achieved some results.
Prevented the German army's attempt to advance towards Kursk.
But during the day, the friendly counterattack was frustrated and had to retreat to the starting point of the attack. Under such circumstances, the German army launched a fierce attack on our friendly forces. Although General Vatutin used all the front reserve forces,
Because the German attack was more violent than expected, unfortunately, after a series of fierce battles, the Germans broke through the second line of defense of the friendly forces and forcibly crossed the Pena River..."
When Samyko introduced the battlefield situation, Sokov kept looking for the names of places on the map and marked them one by one. After putting down the phone, Sokov said to Khokhlov and others with a serious expression.
Said: "Comrades, the situation is more serious than we imagined. The German vanguard has already crossed the Pena River. If they go well, it will only take two days at most before their tanks will appear in front of our positions."
"
"What, the enemy will rush to our defense area in just two days?" Khoklov said in surprise: "Comrade Commander, you know, the friendly forces have deployed powerful forces in front of us, how can we not stop it?
Where are the enemies?”
"What's impossible?" Sokov said with a straight face: "They are all new recruits who have been added to the army. Many of them have not even received basic military training. Such a unit can withstand the battle-hardened German army.
Troops?"
Khokhlov was silent for a long time, and finally asked Sokov cautiously: "Comrade Commander, if the Germans really rush to us, do you think we can stop them? Otherwise, let the other divisions speed up their march.
Speed up and get here to set up defenses?"
"Comrade Colonel, I have just said that your fortifications and terrain are cleverly combined, allowing our commanders to rely on the fortifications to block the enemy's attack." Sokov said to Khokhlov: "Where we are
The terrain is basically hilly, and the enemy cannot use armored forces on a large scale. As long as the Germans do not have the cover of tanks and artillery, their combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced."
"Our fortifications were built in a hurry." Khokhlov waited for Sokov to finish and asked tentatively: "Do you think it is necessary to pull up barbed wire and lay minefields overnight?"
"You came in a hurry and didn't bring much supplies." Sokov shook his head and said, "Even if you want to pull wires and lay minefields, I'm afraid the area you can control is limited. I think it's better to forget it and let the commanders and soldiers take care of themselves.
Let’s have a night’s rest. Starting tomorrow, we might start a fierce battle.”
A night of silence.
Early on the first day, an uninvited guest came to the headquarters.
Seeing the four general stars on the opponent's shoulders, Sokov immediately guessed that this short commander with black hair, Chinese character face, was General Apanashenko, known as the "Czar of the Far East."
Although Sokov was dissatisfied with him for obstructing the construction of his troops yesterday, the other party's military rank was much higher than his own, and he was one of the five generals before the war. He quickly stood up to salute him and reported in accordance with the order.
: "Hello, Comrade General. I am Major General Sokov, commander of the 27th Group Army. On behalf of all the commanders and soldiers, I welcome your arrival."
"You are Major General Sokov." Apanashenko nodded to Sokov and said lightly: "You look very young. I want to ask, with your qualifications and level, can you command tens of thousands of people?"
Troops?"
"Comrade General, I know that I am too young and have not yet entered a military academy. My commanding ability is indeed very poor. When my superiors appointed me as the commander of the group army, I was always uneasy." Sokov said with a smile: "I hope
Comrade General, when you have free time, you must give me more advice."
Apanashenko originally thought that someone like Sokov, who was young and in a high position, must have a sense of arrogance and might start a fight with him without even saying a few words. This is what he did on the phone yesterday.
. But when they met, Apanashchenko found that the other party was respectful to him and did not look domineering at all.
Sokov was respectful to himself, and Apanashenko couldn't get angry at him. He could only cough heavily, and then changed the subject and asked: "General Sokov, you must also know that the German army broke through our army.
The second line of defense and the forced crossing of the Pena River?"
"Yes, Comrade General. I have heard about this." Sokov nodded and replied: "I know that our friendly forces have shown due bravery and tenacity in the battle, but the intensity of the enemy's attack is far beyond
It exceeded our imagination, so we were forced to retreat in some areas, but I believe that it will not be long before our friendly forces will launch a counterattack and retake the areas occupied by the enemy..."
When Sokov said these words, he felt like he was getting goosebumps constantly. It was the first time that the defense line was broken through and the defenders had to retreat. He said it so freshly and unconventionally.
But Apanashenko's words to Sokov seemed to be very useful. "Comrade Sokov, it seems that you still have a clear understanding of your own abilities." Apanashenko smiled.
Said: "I have nothing to guide you, but I run around in various defense areas every day and am responsible for some liaison work. If you have anything to say to Comrade Vatutin, you can tell me and I will
Come and convey it to you."
Sokov remembered that Apanashenko died in the later stages of the Battle of Kursk, although many public information showed that he encountered a German air strike while commanding the battle at the front, and his headquarters was destroyed by a bomb. Unfortunately,
Sacrifice. But Sokov knew that this was not the actual situation. Instead, Apanashenko often rode a jeep between the headquarters and the front line. The Germans grasped the route of action and sent out air force bombings, which led to his sacrifice.
Although Sokov thought that the other party was an old-fashioned person, if he really had to watch him sacrifice, Sokov still couldn't bear it. After reorganizing some vocabulary in his mind, he said to Apanaschenko
Said: "Comrade General, now that the war has begun, I think you should stay at the headquarters to ensure your safety."
Apanashenko is an old-school commander. He feels that as a commander, he should stay in the most dangerous place in the battle, so as to boost morale. At this moment, after hearing Sokov's persuasion, he grinned and disagreed.
He said: "General Sokov, don't you know that if a commander stays where all soldiers can see him, it can stabilize the morale of the military and boost morale?"
Sokov originally wanted to persuade him, but he saw a strange major barging in from outside and said to Apanashenko in a panic: "Comrade, deputy commander of the front army, it's bad, something happened."
.”
"Comrade Major, as a commander, you must learn to be calm so as not to panic your soldiers." After teaching the major a lesson, Apanashenko calmly asked: "Now tell me,
What happened?"
"I just received a telegram from the front army headquarters." The major said in a panic: "Not long ago, the German army that crossed the Pena River broke through our army's third line of defense and is now advancing here."
"What, our third line of defense was also broken through by the German army?" Apanashenko asked in surprise: "Where is our reserve team? Why not block the breach opened by the German army as soon as possible?"
"Comrade Deputy Commander of the Front Army," after hearing Apanashenko's question, the major reminded him cautiously: "Our reserve team was exhausted in the counterattack the day before yesterday afternoon and yesterday morning, and now there is no
The extra troops can block the enemies rushing towards the depth of our defense."
"The enemy has broken through our defenses," Apanashenko muttered, walking back and forth in the room with his hands behind his back: "We must find a way to stop them, otherwise they can take the opportunity to rush towards Moscow. We will never tolerate this."
situation arises.”
Sokov did not speak, just stared at Apanashenko silently, trying to see what decision he would make. But unfortunately, apart from walking back and forth in the headquarters, Apanashenko
, did not express any opinions at all.
After an unknown amount of time, Apanashchenko finally stopped, looked at Sokov and asked: "General Sokov, how many troops do you have?"
"There is only one infantry division, about five thousand people." Sokov knew that the purpose of Apanashenko's question was to block the enemy, so after briefly answering the other party's question, Sokov remained silent.
silence.
"Five thousand people, although a little less, should be enough for counterattack." Apanashenko calculated silently in his mind for a moment, and then gave an order to Sokov: "Comrade Sokov, I am now
I order you to immediately organize your troops to counterattack the enemies who are charging deep into our defenses, and be sure to push them back."