"Oh, killed a German convoy transporting ammunition?" This is not the first time Sokov has been on the battlefield. Naturally, he knows how big the movement will be when a convoy transporting ammunition is wiped out. As long as a truck explodes, the surrounding vehicles will be destroyed.
They will all be in trouble. As for the soldiers escorting the car, I am afraid they have been wiped out long ago. "Comrade Colonel, when this battle is over, you must remind me to award honors to Holor and his team."
When he learned that his subordinates could receive medals, Colonel Chuvashov naturally beamed: "Don't worry, Comrade Commander. Even if you don't let me remind you, I will apply for Sergeant Hollor and the others as soon as the battle is over.
Awarded."
Sokov's last call was to Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin. Sokov felt that since the other party was his old subordinate, it was already commonplace to carry out sabotage operations behind the enemy's rear, so he might put him last.
Maybe you can give yourself an unexpected surprise.
"Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin," Sokov asked straight to the point after the call was connected, "What kind of results did the small team you sent achieve?"
"Comrade Commander," Goryachkin said with some excitement after hearing Sokov's voice: "I just received a telegram from the squad and was about to report to you. Unexpectedly, your call came...
I called first."
After hearing what Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin said, Sokov immediately realized that his guess was correct. The small team sent by the other party had achieved considerable results, so he smiled and said: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, don't be so pretentious."
, tell me your situation quickly."
"The person in charge of commanding the small unit is Captain Grisa, the fourth company commander." Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin knew that Grisa was from the garrison platoon of Khimki and was one of Sokov's earliest subordinates. He had achieved
The results of the battle must satisfy Sokov: "They operated far away from the 658th Regiment's defense line. Although their number was a little small, the results they achieved were not small. They destroyed fifteen enemy tanks one after another, and fought with
An equal number of armored vehicles and trucks, and killed more than 200 enemies?"
If another team reported such a battle report, Sokov would definitely think that the other party was lying about the military situation. But since the team was led by Grisa himself, it seems reasonable to achieve such a record. But for the sake of safety
For the sake of safety, he asked cautiously: "Comrade Lieutenant Colonel, are the situations you reported true?"
"It's true, it's completely true." According to usual practice, when the troops achieve such results, they must conduct repeated verifications through several channels. However, Lieutenant Colonel Goryachkin believed that he would not
He lied to himself about the military situation, so he endorsed Grisa in front of Sokov: "Comrade Commander, I believe that the results reported by Captain Grisa are true. If you find anything wrong afterwards,
You can remove me from my position."
Sokov wrote the statistical results on paper and found that the best performance was Grisa's team; the second was Sergeant Hollor's team. He stared at the content on the paper and thought in his heart
I thought silently: It seemed that the tactics used by his subordinates who followed him for a longer period of time gradually became far different from the rigid tactics of the Soviet army in the past, causing great losses to those German commanders who thought they had mastered the Soviet tactics.
When he thought of the German commander, he could not help but think of the annihilated Imperial Division. Due to the appearance of his little butterfly, the 2nd SS Panzer Corps that participated in the attack on Prokhorovka lacked an important Imperial Division, making
The pressure on the defenders holding on to the city has been reduced a lot.
However, what worries Sokov is that because the German flag was not captured and the division commander Tansen was captured, even if the Imperial Division was basically wiped out, this unit would not be demobilized by the German high command. On the contrary, they
This army can also be reorganized in the shortest possible time.
"Comrade Colonel," Sokov raised his head. Seeing Koida staring at him intently, he couldn't help but ask him: "The Imperial Division was basically wiped out by us, but their division commander was not captured. Tell me.
, where will he go?"
"Comrade Commander, as far as I know, German commanders are very afraid of death." Koida said: "Take the division-level headquarters as an example. Our division commanders are generally placed very close to the front. The nearest
The enemy's command post, not to mention the division command, is usually more than ten or twenty kilometers away from the front line. I think Tansen, commander of the Imperial Division, must have seen that the situation was not good, so he
Escaped early."
"When he saw that the Imperial Division was in danger, it was entirely possible for him to escape early." Sokov frowned and said thoughtfully: "But where is he now?"
"I don't know." Although Koida is the division commander, his troops have not fought against the Imperial Division after all. It is basically impossible to find out Tansen's whereabouts. He answered cautiously: "Maybe
He must have been killed in the battle."
"The Imperial Division is an elite unit of the German army. It was annihilated by us twice in a row. Even if the person who served as the division commander had not fallen into our hands, he would have had a hard time." Sokov smiled faintly and said: "If I were Tan
If he doesn't, he might commit suicide out of shame so as not to be embarrassed when he returns to Berlin."
Sokov said this because he remembered that during the Battle of Kursk, the commander of the German 17th Armored Division, General Sengel Onder Etling, because the tanks in his division were defeated in the Prokhorovka Tank Battle
He suffered all his losses and felt ashamed for a moment. After reporting the situation to Manstein, he shot himself outside the command cabin.
The Imperial Division was the second largest among the SS divisions, second only to the Flag Guard Division, and could be said to be the face of the German army. However, they were almost wiped out twice, which made the top brass of the German army extremely embarrassed. In this way, even Tansen
Even if he escaped by chance, no one would look down upon him.
Sokov's guess was correct. On the day the Imperial Division was destroyed, Tansen fled back to Manstein's headquarters. Unexpectedly, after Manstein heard the news of Tansen's arrival from his subordinates, he just treated his adjutant lightly.
He said: "Commander Tansen must be tired. Find a place for him to rest. Remember, more sentries must be posted to ensure his safety."
The adjutant understood that Manstein's absence from Tansen was just to save face for the other party, so as to avoid the awkward meeting between the two parties. In addition, Manstein specifically mentioned that more people should be sent to protect Tansen's safety, which was a hint that he wanted to protect Tansen.
He was placed under house arrest and could not be allowed to leave before the high command in Berlin made a decision on punishment.
After Tansen found out that he was under house arrest, he immediately made a fuss and clamored to see Manstein. But his adjutant calmed down and said coldly: "Commander Tansen, the Marshal is deploying to attack Pulu
I don’t have time to see you about the matters in Horovka City. Just have a good rest here. If you need anything, you can tell the guards who protect you and they will provide you with the necessary help."
Tansen, who was under house arrest, was able to learn some things about the outside world from the soldiers who guarded him. He had already resigned himself to his fate and was planning to return to Berlin to face trial after the battle. Unexpectedly, he heard a voice at the door during the day.
Two guards chatted: "Have you heard? The troops of the Flag Guard Division have rushed into the city of Prokhorovka. The Russians in the city have suffered heavy losses and are retreating in a hurry."
"Really?" another guard exclaimed: "Does this mean that by tomorrow, the Flag Guard Division will be able to capture the city of Prokhorovka?"
"Tomorrow?!" the guard who spoke first said disdainfully: "As the Flag Guard Division rushed into the city, the Russians have fallen into chaos. Do you think they can survive until tomorrow under such circumstances? In my opinion, in the end
Soon after dark today, the Russians in Prokhorovka will be completely wiped out."
As a commander who has participated in many battles, Tansen naturally understands that there are many exaggerations in what these guards say. Coupled with some false information, the information spoken by these people is different from the actual situation.
There is a huge difference. But when I think about it, if my own troops were not completely wiped out, then there would be my own Imperial Division among the troops attacking Prokhorovka City at this moment.
Tansen thought that it was because the Führer trusted him that he made him the commander of the Imperial Division and mobilized elite troops from all aspects to reorganize the Imperial Division. Who would have thought that he would ruin this army within a short time of serving as the division. So.
As soon as he thought about it, Tansen felt that he was too embarrassed to go back to Berlin, so he began to look for things in the house, preparing to make a break.
When the guard guarding Tan Sen came to deliver food at dark, he was surprised to find Tan Sen hanging on the window frame. He quickly stepped forward and put the person down. When he checked his breathing, he found that he had been dead for a long time.
The guard felt that this was a big deal and quickly informed Manstein's adjutant. After the adjutant got the news, he hurried to the place where Tansen was under house arrest. Before entering, he angrily asked the guard: "What did he use to hang himself?"
"
"He tore up the sheets and twisted them into strips." The guard replied tremblingly, "He just used the sheets that he twisted into strips and hung them on the window frame."
"Idiots, you are a bunch of idiots." The adjutant continued to curse: "If he wants to hang himself, he will definitely make a big noise. Why didn't you hear it?"
"Mr. Officer," the guard replied, shaking his head hurriedly: "We didn't hear any movement outside the door."
The adjutant walked into the room and saw Tansen's body lying on the bed, with his hands folded on his chest. He looked around suddenly, as if he was sleeping. The adjutant stepped forward and first stretched out his hand to sniff, wishfully thinking that maybe the next moment
, Tansen will come back to life. The guard quickly said: "Mr. Officer, we have checked, he is really dead."
After confirming Tansen's death, the adjutant returned to Manstein's command cabin and reported to him: "Your Excellency, Marshal, I have an unfortunate incident that I need to report to you."
"What's going on?" Manstein asked curiously.
After the adjutant was silent for a moment, he said: "Master Tansen hanged himself with a sheet rolled into strips in the room where he was detained."
"What, Tansen hanged himself?" This bad news surprised Manstein. He asked in surprise: "Why did he hang himself suddenly? Did something happen?"
"Nothing should have happened." The adjutant replied in an uncertain tone: "I carefully asked the two guards who were guarding him. When Tansen committed suicide, there was no movement at all in the room..."
"I'm not asking you whether there was a big noise when he committed suicide." Manstein said impatiently, "I just want to find out what happened that was so serious that it prompted him to choose suicide."
After some thought, the adjutant said thoughtfully: "Your Excellency, Marshal, I talked to the two guards guarding them, and they didn't say anything to each other. They just occasionally mentioned that our army had advanced to Proho.
Things at Lovka."
"Oh, that's it." After hearing this, Manstein seemed to have guessed the reason for Tansen's suicide. He lit a cigar, took a puff, and said to the adjutant: "I think the reason for his suicide must be
It is related to the news that our army has advanced to the city of Prokhorovka."
Manstein's words confused the adjutant, and he asked puzzledly: "Marshal, I don't understand, is there any relationship between our army's advance to the city of Prokhorovka and the suicide of Division Commander Tansen?"
"Tansen is a face-saving person," Manstein sighed and said: "If he didn't know that other troops had advanced to the city of Prokhorovka, I'm afraid he wouldn't have made any drastic reaction. But he
But he heard the news that friendly forces were approaching the city, which hit him hard..."
"A big blow?" the adjutant asked curiously: "Marshal, why is this?"
"If his Imperial Division had not been annihilated, the troops attacking from behind Prokhorovka at this moment would not be two divisions but three divisions, and the Russian resistance would collapse faster." Manstein
Yin shook his head and said: "He probably thought that because of his mistakes, the troops were annihilated by the Russians, which weakened the force attacking Prokhorovka from the west. He couldn't think about it for a moment, so he chose to commit suicide.
.”
"Your Excellency, Marshal, it's already dark outside." After Manstein analyzed the cause of Tansen's death, the adjutant changed the subject in time: "Should our troops continue to attack, or should they stay in the occupied area and rest?"
"I would like to let the troops rest, but the Russians will choose to counterattack at night, so our attack cannot stop for a moment." Manstein said to his adjutant: "When they put all their energy on how to block
In the case of our army, they will not be able to spare the strength to fight back. In this way, our army can firmly grasp the initiative on the battlefield."
"Your Excellency, Marshal," the adjutant dared not object to the decision made by Manstein, but he still said cautiously: "Our troops are not familiar with the terrain in the city. If we continue to choose to attack at night, we will definitely be attacked by those familiar with the terrain.