While Sokov and Malankin were studying how to hold on to the existing defense area, in the headquarters of the Voronezh Front, two marshals, two generals and two lieutenant generals were studying how to launch a counterattack outside Prokhorovka.
The first person to speak was Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Ivanov. He pointed to the map and introduced the current situation to everyone: "We are going to counterattack the German army outside Prokhorovka. This is not an easy task.
First of all, our original plan was for Rotmistrov’s 5th Guards Tank Army and General Katukov’s 1st Tank Army to jointly launch a counterattack against the enemy. But General Katukov’s
However, the troops were entangled by the enemy during the battle and were unable to participate in tomorrow's counterattack. In other words, the 5th Guards Tank Army could only complete the attack alone.
The problem we are facing now is that the original starting point for the attack has been captured by the Germans. The 2nd Tank Corps, which was originally scheduled to play an important role in this attack, suffered serious losses in the daytime battle, leaving less than
100 tanks, and the army's position is very scattered. It is impossible to regroup before tomorrow's counterattack. Therefore, they can only serve as the task of covering the flanks of the 5th Guards Tank Army and do not directly participate in the counterattack.
After consulting with Lieutenant General Rotmistrov, we finally decided to use the 18th and 29th Tank Corps to attack the German Flag Guard and Skeleton Division from the front, and use the 2nd Guards Tank Corps to attack the German right wing. We have 212 tanks.
The 5th Guards Mechanized Corps will serve as the general reserve, but when the war goes unfavorable, they will be put into battle.
At the same time, General Rotmistrov's deputy and deputy commander of the group army, General Trufanov, will lead a combat group of 100 tanks to the 69th Group Army on the left flank of our army to assist them in consolidating the existing defense line.
.”
After hearing this, Zhukov could only say a faint "Yeah", and then turned to Vasilevsky and asked: "Comrade Vasilevsky, what do you think of the latest combat plan of the Voronezh Front?"
"Comrade Marshal," Vasilevsky replied respectfully: "I think the plan is very good, and it will definitely crush the enemies gathered near Prokhorovka."
"Two comrades, marshals," Deputy Commander Apanashenko, whose presence in the headquarters has always been very low, said, "the enemy only has four or five divisions in the Prokhorovka area, and they have all been attacked to varying degrees.
Weakened. As for us, we have several group armies and have an absolute advantage in strength. No matter how strong the enemy's combat effectiveness is, we cannot defeat them one on one, but with two or even three divisions, we can always win. Therefore.
, I think tomorrow’s counterattack will definitely lead to victory.”
"Comrade Deputy Commander," Vatutin said. In the past few days, Vatutin fully realized the strength of the German army's combat effectiveness. He thought to himself, if it had not taken several months to build a solid position and the perfect structure built by the entire front army,
For the defense system, I am afraid that history will repeat itself in the defeat in March. Seeing Apanashenko's disapproval at this moment, he was worried that the opponent would make Zhukov and others unhappy, so he quickly came out and said: "As a commander,
, we must take the earliest situation into consideration when making plans. Although we have an advantage in terms of troops and equipment, we must not take it lightly when launching a counterattack against the enemy, otherwise we will easily suffer losses."
Apanashenko's tone really made Zhukov feel very unhappy. You know, from the outbreak of the war to now, Apanashenko has basically stayed in the Far East, far away from the war. Maybe he has done a good job in logistics,
But it does not mean that he is an excellent commander, because he has no experience fighting the Germans at all. If his ideas affect the commanders below and take the Germans lightly, they will definitely suffer big losses.
He wanted to say a few words, but when he saw Vatutin coming out to smooth things over, he turned to look at Rotmistrov, who was sitting next to him silently: "Comrade General, you will play the leading role on the battlefield tomorrow, but you
Troops, do you have anything to say?"
Hearing Zhukov call his name, Rotmistrov quickly stood up, straightened his back and replied: "Comrade Marshal, my troops are ready for all battles. They will give Germany a decisive victory in tomorrow's battle."
It’s a lesson a person will never forget.”
Zhukov was not interested at all in these clichés spoken by Rotmistrov. He frowned and asked: "Comrade General, can you tell me how much time it will take you to drive the enemy from Prokhorovka?"
Are you going to drive away?"
There is a reason for Zhukov to ask this. The counterattack on Highland 252.2 and the October Farm on the north side of the highland during the day did not drive the enemy away from the above-mentioned areas after paying huge casualties. Zhukov is worried about the counterattack launched during the day tomorrow.
, such a situation will also occur.
Rotmistrov saw Zhukov's frown and immediately realized the seriousness of the problem. He stared at the map on the wall and was seriously thinking about how his troops should move the enemy from Prokhorovka.
There will definitely not be much problem in driving away from the city, but it is hard to say how long it will take.
Seeing that Rotmistrov did not speak for a long time, Zhukov became a little unhappy: "Comrade General, what's going on? Didn't you hear what I was asking you?"
"Comrade Marshal," Rotmistrov quickly replied, "I'm thinking about it."
"Tell me," Zhukov asked, "how long will it take?"
"I think it will take at least three to five days to completely defeat the enemy outside Prokhorovka." Rotmistrov did not know Zhukov's true thoughts, so he could only say cautiously: "
This is our limit."
"In the enemy's rear, right here." Zhukov stood up and walked to the wall, picked up the explanation stick, tapped twice on the map, and said: "There are also Sokov's troops and a division of the 69th Group Army.
, it is precisely because of their presence that the enemy's 6th and 19th Armored Divisions did not appear outside Prokhorovka. If it takes you three to five days to drive the enemy out of Prokhorovka,
Let’s go, what should we do with these two troops?”
"Yes, General Rotmistrov." Vasilevsky waited for Zhukov to finish speaking and then agreed: "While these two troops were containing the enemy, they were also trapped in the encirclement of the German army and the outside world.
Contact is also interrupted. I think they may not be able to hold on for three to five days, so your attack speed must be faster."
Rotmistrov had long heard that Sokov had a relationship with Zhukov and others. Now that he heard Zhukov changing his ways to speak for Sokov, he realized that what he knew might not be rumors, at least.
Judging from the current situation, Zhukov was worried about Sokov's safety. He reorganized the vocabulary in his mind, and then said cautiously: "Comrade Marshal, I think if the war goes smoothly, we can do it within 48 hours."
inside, and drive the enemy away from Prokhorovka."
"Drive the enemy away within 48 hours?" Regarding the deadline proposed by Rotmistrov, Zhukov hesitated for a moment, then nodded and replied readily: "Okay, then I will give you 48 hours.
, I hope you won’t disappoint me.”
"Don't worry, Comrade Marshal." Rotmistrov said bravely, "We think we will drive the enemy away from the city within the specified time."
Zhukov nodded slightly, then waved his hand to Rotmistrov and said: "Comrade General, since the combat mission has been clarified, you should return to the army as soon as possible. Then carefully check the army's preparations for war, so as not to worry tomorrow
After the battle begins, if something unexpected happens, it will be too late to deal with it."