This time the troops were deployed, Sokov stayed at his headquarters for the first time, which surprised everyone. Even Zhukov, who called from Moscow, heard that the person speaking was Sokov,
He was also shocked and said with confusion: "Misha, according to your character, didn't you abandon the command post again and run to the forefront?"
"Comrade Marshal," hearing Zhukov's question, Sokov replied with a smile: "The base camp has just issued a new order. All commanders above the division level are not allowed to go to the front line without authorization."
"Is there such an order? How come I don't know about it?" Regardless of whether there is such an order, Sokov does not run around, and he feels much more at ease. He does not want a rising star to fall.
"But that's okay. You can only stay at the headquarters honestly and can't run around like an ordinary company commander. To be honest, you are still very young and you still have a long life ahead of you. I can't
I don’t want you to lose your life in vain because of your willfulness.”
Faced with Zhukov's criticism, Sokov readily accepted: "Comrade Marshal, your criticism is correct. As a commander, I should stick to my post at all times instead of abandoning the troops and running around."
Although he felt that Sokov was a little abnormal, Zhukov could not guess the reason. If he knew that the reason why Sokov did not run in front of all the troops this time was because he was worried that his life would be in danger, he would have scolded him long ago.
After a pause, he continued to ask: "How do you plan to deploy the troops arriving in the Prokhorovka area?"
Sokov thought that he had not had time to report his deployment to his superiors. In fact, he knew very well that even if he reported it to Konev, he would not care. Now that Zhukov asked, he quickly replied:
: "I divided the troops into three echelons. The first echelon is composed of the 84th Infantry Division of Major General Fomenko and the 4th Guards Tank Corps of General Polubyarov. They will be deployed on the left bank of the Pushor River.
"Colonel Koida's 188th Infantry Division is the second echelon, and Colonel Khokhlov's 182nd Infantry Division is the third echelon. They are deployed on the right bank of the Pushor River in turn."
"Misha," Zhukov reminded him after listening to Sokov's report: "Although there is a bridge on the Pushor River, the river is more than a hundred meters wide. Once the battle started, the enemy's air force blew up the bridge.
, how do you plan to mobilize the troops on both sides of the Taiwan Strait?"
"Comrade Marshal, I have considered all the issues you mentioned." Sokov explained to Zhukov: "I ordered the engineering battalion to set up pontoon bridges on the river. One of the pontoon bridges is specifically for the passage of armored troops."
"A pontoon bridge specifically for armored troops to pass through?" Zhukov heard something wrong from Sokov's words. "Then the other bridge is specifically for infantry to pass through?"
"As expected of Comrade Marshal, he guessed my intention right away." After flattering Zhukov without leaving a trace, Sokov continued: "You should have seen the weapons used in the battle to defend Stalingrad.
Simple pontoon bridge, workers tied empty oil drums together with ropes to build a pontoon bridge that can only be passed by infantry..."
Hearing Sokov's story, Zhukov remembered the scene he saw when he entered the city after the German Sixth Army was wiped out. There were many floating bridges like the one Sokov mentioned on the river outside the factory.
Although it can only be used by infantry, it is simple to set up, and skilled personnel can complete the erection of this pontoon bridge in only ten minutes.
"Well, that's very thoughtful." Zhukov nodded and said, "Even if the pontoon bridge used by infantry is blown up by enemy aircraft, it can be repaired in the shortest time, and it doesn't take much materials and time.
.”
After a pause, Zhukov then asked: "There are no decent fortifications along the Pushor River now, let alone anti-tank trenches. If you encounter an assault by German tanks, how do you plan to use it?"
"Comrade Marshal, although we cannot dig anti-tank trenches in front of our positions in a short period of time, we can lay minefields and combine them with rocket launchers to deal with German tank assaults. When necessary, our tank corps can also take the initiative to attack,
Have a tank battle with the enemy's armored forces."
"What you said makes sense, but when it comes to war, I don't know if you can do it." Zhukov said, "I'm just waiting to see how you perform."
"Please wait a moment, Comrade Marshal." Feeling that Zhukov was about to hang up the phone, Sokov quickly accelerated his speech and said, "I would like to ask when the battle in the Prokhorovka area will begin?"
"We and the German troops have all arrived in the Prokhorovka area one after another." When Zhukov heard this question, his expression suddenly became serious: "I can't say exactly when the battle will take place, but I can only tell you one thing.
Words: The war is about to break out. You must prepare for the battle as soon as possible."
Samyko waited for Sokov to put down the phone and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, are we really not digging anti-tank trenches in the Prokhorovka area?"
In his heart, Sokov wanted to dig a few Golan trenches there and let the Germans cry in front of the insurmountable anti-tank trenches. But this kind of good thing can only be thought of, but it is impossible to realize it. The amount of Golan trench work is too large
, even with the help of cranes, it would still take ten days and a half to complete. Nowadays, there is no rush to sharpen the gun before the battle.
"Ah, you really don't want to dig anti-tank trenches?" Samek asked with some disappointment.
"Yes, Comrade Chief of Staff, we will not dig anti-tank trenches, and the enemy will not give us the opportunity to dig trenches." Sokov said to Samyko: "Besides, anti-tank trenches can not only block enemy tanks, but also
It can also block our tanks. If the way forward is blocked by anti-tank trenches when the tank corps attacks, how will they cover the infantry assault?"
"Without anti-tank trenches, our infantry will be under great pressure once they encounter an enemy armored assault." Sokov said to Samyko: "Therefore, after ordering the first echelon to enter the position, we must seize the time to lay mines.
area, and establish several relocated anti-tank firepower points. Even if there are no anti-tank trenches, we can still rely on mines and rocket launchers to block enemy tanks."
If another commander had brazenly claimed that he could block enemy tanks without anti-tank trenches, Sameko would definitely think that the other commander was bragging. But he had seen the power of rocket launchers against tanks and knew that Soko
What the husband said was true, so he nodded and said: "Okay, Comrade Commander, I will immediately send a report to the first echelon and order them to lay minefields in front of the field fortifications they have built after arriving at the designated location.
, to prevent enemy tanks from approaching."
In the evening, the mechanized brigade of General Polubyarov's tank corps took the lead in arriving at the left bank of the Pushor River. After the troops arrived at the designated location, the brigade commander began to arrange for manpower to build simple field fortifications and bury them in front of the fortifications.
Anti-tank mines to prevent German tanks from approaching.
By nightfall, the troops had completed several 200-meter-long trenches and more than twenty half-buried shelters. Seeing that it was getting late, the brigade commander left a dozen sentries on duty to
The other commanders and soldiers rushed to sleep. According to his idea, the enemy's large forces had not arrived yet, and the enemy would not launch an attack for the time being.
At two o'clock in the morning, the brigade commander was awakened by a dull explosion. He sat up suddenly from the cot and listened to the movement outside. Not long after, he heard intensive gunfire coming from outside.
The sound, he soon recognized, was the sound of an assault rifle being fired. It seemed that the sentry was exchanging fire with the enemy.
He quickly got out of bed, bent over to put on his boots, and called up the chief of staff who was sleeping not far away: "Chief of staff, wake up quickly, there seems to be a fight outside."
The chief of staff, who was still sleepy at first, immediately became energetic when he heard that the troops and the enemy outside were at war. He rolled out of bed, and without even having time to put on his clothes and boots, he ran outside with his arms in his arms, saying "
He yelled: "Comrade Brigadier, I'm going to see what's going on outside."
The brigade commander was dressed neatly and when he came to the headquarters, he saw the chief of staff talking on the phone. He seemed to be asking the troops in the direction where the gunfire came from, trying to figure out what happened.
"Comrade Brigadier, we've got it all figured out." When the Chief of Staff put down the phone, he saw the Brigadier sitting opposite him and quickly reported to him: "There is a small German detachment with several motorcycles and two tanks.
Formed, probably trying to seize the bridge over the Pushor River, but accidentally broke into our minefield. The leading tank was blown up on the spot, alerting the nearby sentry, who immediately fired a warning shot
, and then opened fire on the enemy's motorcycle..."
After listening to the report, the brigade commander raised his hand to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and said thankfully: "Fortunately, the commander ordered our brigade to speed up the march and get here as soon as possible to set up defenses. If it had been a day later, the bridge on the river would not have been blocked.
The enemy controlled it, but it was blown up, and we could only stay on the other side and stare."
"Comrade Brigadier, after a battle, our commanders and fighters have completely wiped out this small team." The chief of staff said to the brigade commander: "Do we need to report the situation here to General Polubyarov?"
"It goes without saying, Comrade Chief of Staff, of course I have to report it." The brigade commander asked the Chief of Staff, "Can the phone work?"
"It works." The chief of staff nodded and said, "While the troops were building fortifications, I ordered the communications troops to set up communication lines with the rear in order to communicate with superiors."
After getting through to the military headquarters, the frightened brigade commander reported to General Polubyarov: "Comrade Commander, not long ago, the defense area of our brigade was attacked by the German army. After a battle, the incoming attack was eliminated.
The German squad destroyed a total of two tanks and motorcycles..."
"What, you were attacked by the German army?" Hearing the brigade commander's report, General Polubyarov was suddenly startled and broke into a cold sweat. If it hadn't been for the headquarters' repeated telegrams urging him to send a rapid force to Pushow
He was seizing the time to build fortifications on the left bank of the Er River, and he planned to wait until tomorrow afternoon before entering the designated location.
At this moment, hearing the report from the commander of the mechanized brigade, he asked cautiously: "Have you conducted reconnaissance to see if there are other German troops nearby?"
"Not yet, Comrade Commander." The brigade commander quickly replied: "Because it's too dark, we can't conduct an effective search nearby."
General Polubyarov looked outside the tent. There were no stars or moon in the sky outside. To be honest, it would not be very effective to conduct a search in this situation. Therefore, he could only change his mind and asked the brigade commander
Said: "Then order your soldiers to keep one eye open when sleeping, so that the enemy will not know when he touches you."
"Comrade Commander, don't worry." The brigade commander replied with a smile: "I have set up a lot of hidden sentries outside the position. As long as they detect the enemy's movement, they will immediately fire warning shots."
Since the mechanized brigade was attacked by the Germans, General Polubyarov felt that such important news must be reported to Sokov immediately, so he answered the phone from the headquarters: "I am General Polubyarov.
, please help me find Comrade Commander, I have important things to report to him."
The war was about to begin. In order not to delay the official meeting, Sokov ordered several camp beds to be set up in the corner of the headquarters for him, Samyko, Lunev and others to rest. Hearing the officer on duty say Polubo
General Yarov was looking for him, but Sokov didn't even bother to put on his boots. He walked straight to the table and took the phone from the watchman: "I'm still Sokov."
"Hello, Comrade Commander, I'm sorry to disturb your rest." General Polubyarov said apologetically on the phone: "But something very important has happened and needs to be reported to you immediately."
General Polubyarov's way of speaking made Sokov very disgusted. If he wanted to say anything, he would just say it directly and insisted on laying the groundwork in a roundabout way. So he said impatiently: "Comrade General, if there is nothing
For important things, I have to go back to sleep." After saying that, he deliberately yawned.
"That's right. Not long ago, the mechanized brigade deployed on the left bank of the Pushor River was attacked by the German army..."
"What, the mechanized brigade was attacked by the enemy?" Sokov asked nervously: "How is the situation? Have you repelled the enemy's attack?"
"The enemy who attacked the mechanized brigade was only a small force, with only two tanks and a few armored vehicles." General Polubyarov said cautiously: "According to our analysis, they may want to seize the bridge on the Pushor River.
, but unexpectedly, he accidentally broke into the minefield we laid. One tank was blown up on the spot, and the motorcycles of the remaining tanks were all destroyed in the fierce battle. In a word, the enemy attacked us sneakily.
The whole army has been destroyed."
"Well done, Comrade General." Sokov felt very relieved when he learned that the enemy who carried out the sneak attack had been completely wiped out. If he hadn't urged the other party to send people to repair the fortifications, it is estimated that the bridge on the Pushor River would have been destroyed at this moment.
It has been lost. Although he won the battle, Sokov was not complacent. Instead, he reminded General Polubyarov: "But we must not be proud. Let the soldiers be more vigilant to prevent the Germans from launching another sneak attack."