After Lunev accepted the mission, he personally visited the division commanders and explained to them clearly what role these rockets could play on the front line. After the other parties agreed with him, he proposed to distribute them to each division.
The rockets were collected and handed over to Khokhlov's 182nd Division for use.
Facing the order issued by Lunev, the commanders of each division did not dare to disobey the order, and quickly ordered the companies equipped with new rockets to turn in all the rockets.
After collecting all the new rockets, Runev personally led more than 20 trucks, loaded with thousands of new rockets, towards the Shumakovo area just to be on the safe side.
After driving all night, the convoy arrived at Shumakovo at dawn.
Seeing Lunev getting out of the car, a commander in the car quickly asked: "Comrade Military Commissar, where should we unload these rockets?"
"Don't be anxious, Comrade Major." Lunev waved his hand to the other party and said, "I will go see the commander first and listen to what he has to say, and then I will arrange for you to unload the truck."
When Runev walked into the headquarters, he happened to see Sokov with his back to the door, leaning over the map on the table, while Khokhlov, Shepilov and others stood on both sides of him.
Listen to him assign combat missions.
Lunev walked to a place two or three steps behind Sokov and stopped. After coughing slightly, he said: "Comrade Commander, I'm here!"
Sokov heard Lunev's voice, stood up straight, turned around, and asked with some surprise: "Comrade Military Commissar, why are you here?"
"Didn't you call the Chief of Staff yesterday and order him to collect a sufficient number of rockets from the troops that have not yet set off?" Lunev replied with a smile: "I am worried that these rockets are not safe on the road.
So I personally brought people to deliver them. Now the convoy is parked outside, and I don’t know where to unload these rockets?”
"Colonel Khokhlov," learned that the convoy transporting rockets was parked outside the headquarters. Sokov quickly ordered Khokhlov: "Immediately arrange for manpower to unload the rockets from the vehicle and secure them properly."
The division chief of staff knew that this matter was of great importance and did not dare to neglect it. He personally ran out to arrange for manpower to unload the truck.
After the division chief of staff left, Lunev curiously asked Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I heard that General Apanashenko has been here before?"
Sokov did not hide anything, but nodded: "Yes, I was here yesterday."
"What is he here for?" Lunev asked cautiously: "Is he ordering you to command the troops to carry out a counterattack?"
Seeing that Lunev actually knew about this, Sokov couldn't help but be surprised, but then he thought that since Lunev was from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, he must have his own information channels. Knowing this, he nodded: "That's right. He
I was ordered to put the 182nd Division into battle to counterattack the enemy who broke through in the direction of Oboyan, but I refused."
"Why do you refuse?"
"When you don't know the enemy's strength and equipment, you rashly attack the enemy." Sokov said angrily: "Such an attack will not have any results except casualties."
"Comrade Commander, when you were disobeying the order, didn't you think that you might be sent to a military court for this matter?"
"I never thought about it." Sokov shook his head, and then said decisively: "As long as my soldiers don't die in vain, even if I am sent to a military court, it doesn't matter."
"I think you asked the chief of staff to send all the rockets to Shumakovo. The situation here must be very bad." Lunev asked tentatively: "Do you really think the enemy will rush to us?
Here?"
When Sokov originally chose this defense area, he thought of the records in the history books: after the German army broke through the Soviet defense line and advanced 35 kilometers, it encountered the Soviet army's tenacious defense and was unable to continue to advance. That is,
He said that even if the German army broke through Oboyan's defense line, by the time they arrived here, they would be at the end of their game. Not to mention the elite troops under their command, even ordinary troops could still stop them.
"Yes, based on the current situation between the enemy and ourselves, after breaking through Oboyan, the enemy will definitely continue to advance north in order to rush to Kursk as soon as possible and use it as a starting point to attack Moscow, and our fortified area
, just blocking the path of the German army."
Sokov said he was confident, but Lunev was still uneasy: "Comrade Commander, how can we resist the German armored forces without the support of artillery, tanks and air force?"
"Comrade Military Commissar, you can rest assured on this." Seeing that Lunev was worried about the German armored forces, Sokov comforted him and said: "I guess you saw it when you came. The terrain here is complicated, and the roads on both sides are complicated.
There are hills on both sides, and the enemy cannot deploy large-scale mechanized troops here. Our troops can rely on the terrain and use rocket launchers to attack enemy tanks on the hills on both sides. In this way, the German tanks are eliminated, and they
Its combat effectiveness will be greatly reduced."
"Comrade Commander," political commissar Colonel Shepilov said: "Judging from today's fighting situation, friendly forces have been conducting uninterrupted counterattacks. They are constantly driving away enemies who have broken through their defense lines and retaking their own positions.
.”
After Sokov waited for Shepilov to finish speaking, he said calmly: "Comrade Colonel, you are right. The troops of the Voronezh Front are continuously launching counterattacks against the enemies who have broken through the defense line. However,
Their counterattack, apart from increasing the casualties of the troops, has no effect at all. Just watch, maybe they will appear near our position this evening, and then it will be a formal showdown between us and them
.”
Lunev believed Sokov's judgment very much in his heart. He said that the enemy would come, so the enemy would definitely come. He stared at the map in front of him and asked without raising his head: "Comrade Commander, stick to the first line
Which regiment is in the defense line?"
Colonel Khokhlov hurriedly replied: "Comrade Military Commissar, the troops currently holding the first line of defense are Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin's 546th Regiment..."
"Oh, it's Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin's 546th Regiment." Lunev nodded and said: "When your division was training, I went to inspect it twice and met this Goryachkin. Lieutenant Colonel Jin. In my impression, he is a commander with a very fighting spirit. I believe that under his command, all the commanders and fighters of the 546th Regiment will be able to block the German attack."
But Sokov was thinking about something else. After Lunev finished speaking, he asked Khokhlov: "Comrade Colonel, I wonder how many of the commanders I brought here are in this regiment?"
"Comrade Commander," Khokhlov smiled when he heard Sokov asked: "There is a battalion commander, three company commanders and several platoon commanders in the 546th Regiment. They are all you. The commanders you brought from the Sixth Army. The reason why the regiment has achieved remarkable results in training is inseparable from the commanders you brought."
Sokov was originally worried that the commanders and fighters of the 546th Regiment had not experienced actual combat. Even if they were well trained in peacetime, if they could achieve one-third of the training results on the battlefield, it would be considered very good. But I heard that in this There were so many old troops in the regiment, and he suddenly felt more at ease. Those were the backbone of the battle who had experienced hundreds of battles. With them in the army, he didn't have to worry at all.
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov said to Khokhlov: "According to my judgment, the German army may reach our first line of defense in the evening and immediately contact Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin. Once the enemy is discovered If there are any traces, report them to the headquarters immediately.”
In the evening, although it was still bright, the commanders and soldiers who stood on the first line of defense still found no trace of the enemy. In this case, the commanders and soldiers who had been nervous all day could not help but relax a little. Everyone They discussed in a low voice: "We have been waiting here all day, why haven't we seen the enemy yet?"
"Aren't there tens of thousands of friendly troops in front of us? How could their defense line be broken through by the Germans? I think it must be a mistake in the judgment of the superior leadership..."
"Don't talk nonsense." As soon as Sokov's remarks came out, he was stopped by the soldiers next to him: "The person who made this analysis is the commander himself, and his judgment has never been wrong. He said that the enemy is coming. , the enemy will definitely come, so stay on the position and no one is allowed to leave without permission."
Captain Zu Mingte, commander of the first battalion, saw that the soldiers looked a little tired, so he asked the regiment commander, Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin, for instructions: "Comrade regiment commander, judging from the current situation, we don't know when the enemy will appear. And. We keep all the soldiers in the trenches. Long-term tension will make people exhausted. I am worried that the enemy has not appeared yet and our soldiers are exhausted."
Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin asked: "Do you have any good ideas?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Zu Mingte replied: "We can leave a few observation posts and continue to monitor the enemy's movements. The rest of the commanders and fighters will return to their respective shelters to rest. When the enemy comes, let them come out to fight. It’s not too late either.”
Goryachkin considered that many positions were set up on hills with a wide field of vision. If the enemy really wanted to appear, it would probably be discovered by the observation post seven or eight kilometers away, and there would be enough time for the commanders and fighters to enter.
Combat position. Thinking of this, he nodded and agreed to Zu Mingte's proposal: "Okay, Comrade Captain, I will do as you say. Except for leaving a few observation posts, the rest of the commanders and soldiers should return to their respective shelters to rest."
As time passed, Sokov, who was staying at the division headquarters, became a little anxious. He wondered whether the records in the history books were wrong. Didn't the German army rush to the 35-kilometer-deep position of the Soviet army today?
Otherwise, how can we be sure that we haven't seen it yet?
Although he had just asked the division chief of staff not long ago, he couldn't help but ask again at this moment: "Comrade chief of staff, is there any news from the front?"
"No, Comrade Commander." The division chief of staff shook his head and replied, "There is no news."
"What the hell, why haven't you seen the enemy yet?" Sokov muttered quietly, raised his hand and looked at the time on his wrist, and found that it was already nine o'clock in the evening.
"Comrade Commander, don't be anxious." Seeing Sokov looking restless, Lunev comforted him and said: "Although it is already nine o'clock in the evening, the sun outside has not set yet. We are fighting in the summer.
The biggest advantage is that the days are long and the nights are short. It gets bright at three or four o'clock in the morning, but it doesn't get completely dark until eleven o'clock at night."
Lunev's words immediately made Sokov feel more at ease. Since it was not dark, the German attack would definitely not stop. Just because they did not show up at the moment did not mean that they would not show up again later. Thinking of this, he
He then ordered the chief of staff of the division: "Get in touch with Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin immediately and ask him to closely monitor the south. Once traces of the enemy are found, report to the division headquarters immediately."
Just when the division chief of staff agreed and was about to pick up the phone to convey Sokov's order to Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin, the phone on the table rang without warning. The division chief of staff hesitated for a moment.
He grabbed the microphone and said loudly: "I am the chief of staff of the division. Where are you?...What, you found German tanks there?...How many are there? Are there any infantry following behind?...".
Hearing the appearance of German tanks, Sokov's spirit was immediately lifted. He quickly pricked up his ears and listened carefully to the conversation between the division chief of staff and the other party, but what he heard was intermittent, which made him anxious. He finally waited for the division
The chief of staff put down the phone and asked quickly: "Comrade chief of staff, what's going on?"
"Comrade Commander," the division chief of staff straightened up and replied: "Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin reported that the observation post of the first battalion discovered traces of the German army. After careful confirmation, the enemy had a total of two tanks and five armored vehicles.
, are advancing towards the 1st Battalion’s defense area along the emergency road. The distance is now eight kilometers, and it will take at least 20 minutes to enter the 1st Battalion’s defense area.”
Although Sokov knew very well that his troops must be ready for battle at this moment, he still asked habitually: "Are all the troops ready for battle?"
"Yes." The division chief of staff replied affirmatively: "From the moment the enemy was confirmed, a combat alert has been issued to the troops, and now the commanders and soldiers are successively establishing defensive positions."
Knowing that the enemy was really coming, Khokhlov, who was still skeptical about Sokov, quickly asked Sokov for instructions: "Comrade Commander, since the enemy has appeared, we need to move the rockets that have just arrived.
Are all the ammunition given to the 546th Regiment for use?"
"No need, Comrade Colonel." Sokov shook his head and said with contempt: "There are only two tanks and five armored vehicles, which means that there are sixty or seventy enemies in total. With the equipment of your division, we can easily eliminate them."
They don't need any rockets."
"Oh I see."
"Today's battle is just the beginning, and a more cruel battle is yet to come." In order to give Khokhlov a clear understanding, Sokov reminded him: "Wait until the enemy attacks in large numbers before using new rockets."
It’s not too late. Our troops must be like a gate, blocking here firmly and absolutely not allowing the enemy to advance even one step."
"Don't worry, Comrade Commander." Khokhlov assured Sokov: "If we have so much equipment and can't stop the enemy's attack, it proves that I, the division commander, am incompetent. You
You can completely remove me from my post and send me to a military court, and then find a suitable person to replace me."
"Comrade Colonel, I hope I can lead you into Berlin and occupy the Reichstag, instead of sending any of you to a military court." Sokov said here, waving to Khokhlov,
Said: "Assign someone to check the phone line. Don't wait for the call to start later, only to find that the line is faulty. That will cause trouble."