The person who feels the most depressed today is none other than General Vatutin, the commander of the Voronezh Front. The Germans launched attacks to the north and south of Kursk at the same time. Rokossovsky, who stood firm in the north, successfully blocked
Model's Ninth Army was defeated. However, the German army opened a breakthrough on the southern front and continuously broke through three lines of defense in the Oboyan area.
Seeing Sokov's troops appear from the sky, they successfully blocked the enemy's detour to Kursk. The two armies assigned to him by his superiors also arrived in the Prokhorovka area and were fully capable of attacking.
This was a devastating blow to the German army.
But as soon as the two sides fought, the 2nd Tank Corps under the 5th Guards Tank Army fought with German tanks that were far inferior in number, but suffered huge casualties. If the 678th Heavy Artillery Regiment deployed nearby did not fire in time, I am afraid that
The losses of the tank corps will be even greater.
During the discussion at the headquarters, Deputy Commander Apanashenko pointed to the map and said to Vatutin: "Comrade Commander, I think there are many reasons for the failure of today's tank battle, but if it is deployed in Psho
If the 27th Group Army of Erhe could enter the position one day earlier, they could suddenly come out from the enemy's side when the tanks of the enemy and ours are fighting, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy, thus reducing the losses of our army."
Hearing Apanashenko's criticism of Sokov, Vatutin showed an embarrassed expression on his face. He knew very well that if Sokov's troops had not appeared in the Shumakovo area in time, they had blocked the German army.
The pace of advancing. Presumably by this time, the German forwards have reached the city of Kursk, but the troops holding on in the Oboyan area have also fallen into the encirclement of the German army. By then, the southern front troops may collapse.
.
"General Apanashenko," as soon as Apanashenko finished speaking, Military Commissar Khrushchev frowned and said: "As far as I know, Major General Sokov's troops immediately
Immediately advance towards the Pushor River as quickly as possible. One of the troops stationed on the left bank of the Pushor River that night and built a simple defensive position there.
Last night, some German troops captured the bridge on the Pushor River. After a tenacious battle, Sokov's troops have eliminated this group of enemies and completely crushed the enemy's conspiracy to cross the Pushor River."
"Comrade 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, everyone, if it weren't for the first
The troops of the 27th Group Army appeared in the Shumakovo area in time to block the enemy's march northward. I think the troops of the front army have been divided into several pieces at this time. As for the fact that they did not appear in the designated position in time, which caused us
I think this statement is completely irresponsible for today's defeat in the battle with German tanks."
Apanashenko never dreamed that he just criticized Sokov tactfully, and Khrushchev and Ivanov would say good things to him. He smiled bitterly, and then asked Vatutin:
"Comrade Commander, what do you think? Don't you think that if the 27th Army can reach the designated position earlier, the situation in the Prokhorovka area will become more powerful for our army?"
"Comrade Deputy Commander, what you said makes some sense." Vatutin stood in a neutral position and said impartially: "But they received the order relatively late, and they were able to arrive in such a short time.
, it’s already very difficult, we can’t be too harsh on them.”
Seeing that all the front army chiefs were speaking for Sokov, Apanashenko felt that he was isolated. He didn't have much affection for Sokov to begin with, and now he felt even more disgusted.
Seeing Apanashenko's thoughtful look, Vatutin asked curiously: "Comrade Deputy Commander, what are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about Sokov?" Apanashenko said with a sneer: "I don't deny that he has some abilities, but he doesn't do a good job in observing discipline. For example, his troops
Before entering Shumakovo, he didn't even say hello to us, and just drove a division of troops over. As a commander, doesn't he know that he can't make any decisions without getting orders from his superiors?
?"
"Comrade Deputy Commander," Ivanov retorted as soon as Apanashenko finished his words: "If you have to wait for orders from superiors before ordering troops to march into Shumakovo, then this person is not
Sokov. He has keen observation skills and can judge the Germans' next move based on some clues, and deploy troops according to the actual situation. In the past two years, every deployment he made was
It can be said that he knows things like a god. And our enemies basically implement their combat plans based on his analysis."
"Comrade Chief of Staff is right." Khrushchev said with a smile: "I once joked with him, saying that he must have installed bugs in the enemy's headquarters to be able to grasp the movements of the German army so accurately...
…”
It was originally a post-war summary meeting, but the topic somehow came up with Sokov. Both Khrushchev and Ivanov had always praised him highly, while Apanashenko praised Sokov.
My husband once offended me and found fault with some small issues.
As for Vatutin, he has been conciliating: "I think Sokov is a great commander although he is young. But since he is a young man, he will inevitably have shortcomings of one kind or another. We senior people
A commander cannot focus on his shortcomings, nor can he only see his advantages and applaud him unanimously."
"Okay, comrades, no matter what kind of person Major General Sokov is, we should not focus on him now." Vatutin tapped the map on the table with his fist and said:
"It's time to discuss how to hit the enemy hard in the Prokhorovka area tomorrow."
Hearing what Vatutin said, Ivanov remembered his responsibility and quickly pointed to the map and began to explain: "Because our 7th Guards Army kept attacking the German flanks, the enemy had to withdraw its troops.
Come to fight with our army. Now the only troops left by the German army to continue to advance northward are the 6th Armored Division, and our 69th Group Army is blocking them in front. If they want to continue to advance, they must pass through
A tough fight.”
Apanashenko spent the whole day wandering around the various units at the front and did not understand the overall war. After listening to Ivanov's words, he tentatively asked: "Then can we stop them?"
Seeing Apanashenko asking such unskilled questions, Ivanov looked at him with a strange look and continued. Therefore, Khrushchev who was present had just returned from Moscow not long ago and was not interested in what happened here.
If he did not understand the matter, it was necessary to give a detailed explanation so that he could accurately report it to Moscow.
"In today's battle, the 69th Group Army's 94th and 92nd Guards Divisions, as well as the 305th Infantry Division, severely damaged the German 6th Armored Division. By the end of the day, the number of tanks in the 6th Armored Division dropped from more than 100 to
47 vehicles. Obviously, due to the active actions of the 7th Guards Army, the enemy had to send the 7th and 19th Armored Divisions to deal with our army's attack. Once the help of these two armored divisions was lost, the German 7th Armored Division
The 6th Armored Division was unable to continue its advance.
Currently, the German 7th Armored Division on the right wing is busy dealing with our army's continuous attacks; while the 81st Guards Infantry Division and the 375th Infantry Division on the German left wing have chosen to take the initiative in order to avoid being encircled by the German army.
Withdrawal would make it possible for the German 19th Panzer Division to be used to attack northward tomorrow."
"The situation is very serious, comrades commanders." After listening to Ivanov's explanation, Khrushchev sighed heavily, looked around and asked: "What should we do to completely crush the German army's northward movement?"
What about the advancing conspiracy?”
"Comrade Khrushchev, the situation is worse than you imagine." Vatutin interrupted: "According to the intelligence we have, the German Second Armored Army is making a large-scale movement towards Prokhorovka. Don't
It seems that the Imperial Division has suffered a heavy blow from the 27th Group Army, but the remaining Flag Guard Division and Skeleton Division are still our formidable enemies."
As soon as Vatutin finished speaking, the phone on the table rang. Ivanov picked up the phone and put it to his ear and said loudly: "I am Lieutenant General Ivanov, Chief of Staff, where are you?
...What, you need a reserve team?...I understand, I will report this to Comrade Commander immediately!"
Having said this, Ivanov covered the microphone with his hand and said to Vatutin who was standing aside: "It was the call from Major General Kryuchenkin, commander of the 69th Group Army. He said that he wanted to block the German attack today.
, the only reserve infantry division, the 375th, has been put into battle, and I hope you can replenish their reserves."
"Reserve team?" Hearing what Ivanov said, Vatutin couldn't help but smile bitterly and said: "Where can I find a reserve team for him at this moment? Order him to hold the position resolutely and not to retreat even a step."
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Ivanov released his hand covering the microphone and said: "General Kryuchinkin, Comrade Commander said that we are only providing you with a reserve force now, and your task is to resolutely
We must hold our ground and not retreat even a step."
Faced with this kind of unhelpful and vague order, Kryuchinkin couldn't help but smile bitterly, but he still had to bite the bullet and replied: "Understood, Comrade Chief of Staff, we will definitely hold our position resolutely and not move a step."
Back off."
Seeing Kryuchinkin put down the phone, his chief of staff quickly asked: "Comrade Commander, how is the situation? How many reinforcements is the front army headquarters willing to give us?"
"Reinforcements?!" A smile uglier than crying appeared on Kryuchinkin's face: "There are no reinforcements, so our superiors ordered us to hold our position resolutely and not to retreat even one step."
"Without reinforcements, how can we hold on?" After hearing this, the military committee member of the group army was also very angry: "Today, in order to block the enemy's attack, we put all our last reserves into the battle. If the enemy increases the attack tomorrow,
What kind of force should we use to stop them?"
"Comrade Commander," seeing that the Military Commissar was also dissatisfied with this approach of his superiors, the Chief of Staff felt that he could present a plan he had in mind to everyone: "Comrade Commander, Comrade Military Commissar, I have a plan.
It’s a bold idea, I wonder if you want to hear it.”
"As long as we can hold our position, no matter how bold the idea is, I think we should listen to it." The military commissar said to the Chief of Staff: "Comrade Chief of Staff, whatever you think of, just say it. Even if you say it wrong, we will
I won’t blame you.”
"Although we can't get any support from the front army headquarters, we can consider asking for help from other troops!"
"Asking for help from other troops?" When the military committee member heard what the idea was, he was immediately discouraged: "The enemy is right in front of us. Everyone in the nearby troops is in danger, so how can they care about us?"
"Comrade Military Commissar, I am not talking about other troops in the front army." Seeing that the Military Commissar had misunderstood his idea, the Chief of Staff quickly explained to him: "But another magical unit."
"A magical army?" the military committee member asked in surprise: "Comrade Chief of Staff, which army are you talking about? Why have I never heard of it?"
"It's the 27th Army stationed on the banks of the Pushor River." The chief of staff pointed to the Pushor River on the map and said to the two of them quite proudly: "You know, a few days ago, they just annihilated the German Empire.
Division. Today, during the day, we captured the bridge over the Pushor River from the enemy and built the necessary fortifications on both sides of the river to resist possible attacks by the Germans. If we ask them for help, even if they only support one of us
Division, it can also stabilize our army's defense line."
"Asking for help from the 27th Army?" Kryuchinkin fell into deep contemplation regarding the chief of staff's proposal. He was weighing it over and over in his mind. If he really went behind Vatutin's back and asked Sokov for help, but
If you were rejected, would you feel embarrassed?
The chief of staff saw his hesitation and quickly volunteered: "Comrade Commander, let me contact General Sokov. Even if he refuses, this is my own decision and will not affect the 69th Army."
The image of a group army.”
"Comrade Commander, I think the Chief of Staff's proposal is a good one. If he comes forward, it won't matter even if it is rejected." The military commissar also echoed: "When our situation becomes more critical, you can personally ask Sokov
The general is asking for help. I think General Sokov will not refuse you out of consideration of the overall situation."
Seeing that his chief of staff and military commissar were in agreement, Klitschko thought he could give it a try. However, he put forward a different view on how to ask for help: "Ask General Sokov directly for help, and he was rejected."
The probability is too high. I know that he has a good relationship with General Golikov. If we can ask General Golikov to come forward, there may be hope of success."
"But hasn't General Golikov been idle since he was dismissed from the post of commander of the front army?" The chief of staff said cautiously: "Will General Sokov listen to what he said?"