In the evening, after a fierce battle, the Soviet army finally drove the German troops away from the city of Prokhorovka. The repulsed German troops retreated towards Belgorod.
Sokov received a call from Zhukov. The marshal asked straight to the point on the phone: "Misha, where is your main force now?"
Sokov replied without thinking: "My main force is distributed in the Pushor River-Gleznoye area, forming a relatively loose defense zone."
Zhukov waited for Sokov to finish speaking, then looked at the map in front of him and said: "So, the west of the Prokhorovka area is under your control."
"Yes, Comrade Marshal." Sokov replied: "After annihilating the 19th Armored Division, the area to the west of the Prokhorovka area is under my control."
"Very good!" After Zhukov praised Sokov, he continued: "Misha, now the enemy outside Prokhorovka has been repulsed by our army and is retreating towards Belgorod. The German army south
The troops on the right wing of the line have already retreated, and the troops on the left wing will probably not be able to hold on for long and will also choose to retreat."
Sokov knew the elegant meaning after hearing the song. Before Zhukov finished speaking, he guessed the other party's intention: "Comrade Marshal, you want my troops to advance to Kochetovka and threaten the German army's retreat.
?"
"Yes, Misha, you are right." Seeing that Sokov had guessed his intention, Zhukov said happily: "Kochetovka is northwest of Griznoye, far away from Oboyan -
The Belgorod Highway is very close, and if your troops can occupy it, it will seriously threaten the enemy's retreat."
"Comrade Marshal," Sokov thought to himself. After these few days of fighting, his troops have suffered very heavy casualties. If they are allowed to continue fighting, they may not have much strength to participate in the next battle after the battle is over.
After coming down from the Battle of Kharkov. Therefore, he euphemistically proposed: "In our defense area, there are also General Malankin's 81st Guards Division and General Trufanov's tank troops. I think they can
Move forward to the Kochetovka area, threatening the German army's retreat and forcing Manstein to withdraw all his troops to the starting point of the attack."
"Misha, what's the matter with you?" Seeing Sokov's resistance to his orders, Zhukov suddenly got angry: "Are you worried that your troops will be exhausted in the battle and you will become a mere commander?"
Faced with Zhukov's doubts, Sokov did not dare to defend himself, because what the other party said was correct. Sokov was worried that his troops would be wiped out in the next battle. That would probably take a long time.
Come and make up for it, causing you to miss many opportunities to make achievements.
"Misha," Zhukov saw that Sokov was slow to speak, and realized that his words were too strong, so he slowed down and said, "I know that your current situation is not very good. If you continue to fight the German army, the troops will
It will lose most of its combat effectiveness. But I have a way to restore your troops' combat effectiveness in the shortest possible time."
After being scolded by Zhukov, Sokov was originally like an eggplant beaten by frost, but now when he heard Zhukov said that there was a way to replenish his troops, he suddenly cheered up like a chicken blood: "Comrade Marshal, you have
Is there any way to replenish my troops?"
"I can give you a suggestion, but how much troops you can add depends on your ability."
"Comrade Marshal, if you have any suggestions, please tell me quickly."
"Misha, as a commander, you should understand that in every large-scale battle like this, a large number of officers and soldiers from both sides will be captured." Zhukov said on the phone: "Not only did the Germans become our prisoners, but also
Some of our commanders and soldiers have become prisoners of the enemy.
I remember that your troops liberated prisoner-of-war camps many times, freed the commanders and fighters detained there, and used a considerable number of personnel to supplement your troops. Am I right?"
"You are right, Comrade Marshal." Seeing that Zhukov had said what was on his mind, Sokov said with embarrassment, "I do have this idea, but where can I find a German prisoner of war camp?"
?”
"This is your business." Zhukov said on the phone: "I have provided you with a plan to replenish troops. As for how to implement it and whether it can be implemented, it is your business."
After Sokov put down the phone, he glanced at the map, wondering where the Germans would imprison the commanders and fighters captured on the southern front of Kursk.
"Comrade Commander," Lunev saw that Sokov's eyes had not moved away from the map, and couldn't help but curiously asked: "What did Marshal Zhukov say to you on the phone?"
"Marshal said that our army has completely defeated the enemy outside Prokhorovka. The enemy who has suffered a defeat now is retreating to Belgorod." Sokov said without raising his head: "Marshal ordered
We immediately advanced towards Kochetovka, threatening the retreat of the German left wing and forcing Manstein to withdraw all his troops to the original starting point of the attack."
Lunev and Samyko were overjoyed when they heard that the German troops outside Prokhorovka had been defeated and were retreating towards Belgorod. Samyko even took the initiative to ask: "Comrade Commander, since
Marshal Zhukov ordered us to march forward to Kochetovka, but did he say when he would let those two divisions return to their posts?"
"No, he didn't mention it at all." When he mentioned the two divisions that were transferred to the outside of Prokhorovka, Sokov's heart was bleeding. He felt like a meat bun beating a dog. No, it should be
It was Liu Bei who borrowed money from Jingzhou and never returned it. He said with a grimace: "Comrade Marshal asked us to find our own way to solve the problem of the soldiers."
"Find a way to solve the problem of soldiers by yourself?" When Sokov answered the phone, Samyko was doing some work and did not hear the content of the conversation between the two. At this moment, he asked in surprise: "If the superiors don't give us more soldiers, what will happen to us when we arrive?"
Where can I find people to replenish the troops?"
"Comrade Chief of Staff, Marshal Zhukov said that in such a large-scale battle, many officers and soldiers from both sides will be captured." Sokov said in a dumbfounded voice: "He asked me to find a way to find the location of the prisoner of war camp.
Once the imprisoned commanders and fighters are rescued, won't there be enough troops to replenish the troops?"
"Prisoner of war camp?!" Lunev was stunned when he heard the word. Then he remembered that when he checked the information about Sokov in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, it was mentioned many times that Sokov liked to be detained in prisoner of war camps.
commanders and fighters to enrich his troops. In the past, he was very disdainful of Sokov's approach, but since he became Sokov's deputy, his ideas began to change. He felt that those who came from the prisoner of war camp
The commanders and fighters rescued from the battle were far better than the newly recruited recruits, and they were also highly loyal. They were completely trustworthy troops. "Although the battle only lasted for more than a week, I feel that the commanders and fighters captured on the southern front were at least
Thousands of people, but where will they be imprisoned by the Germans?"
"Yes, so many commanders and fighters were captured by the enemy. It is impossible for the enemy to take them with them. This will affect their advancement speed. I think the enemy will definitely imprison them somewhere." Sokov scratched the back of his head and said:
"But where will they be kept?"
"Could it be near Belgorod?" Samyko expressed his opinion: "After all, that is the starting point for the German attack."
"I don't think so." Before Sokov could speak, Lunev shook his head and said, "The terrain near Belgorod is relatively complicated and there is no suitable location for building a prisoner of war camp. The enemy will definitely detain our commanders and fighters there.
Other places.”
"Other places?" Samek asked rhetorically: "Comrade Military Commissar, where do you think it will be?"
"I don't know." Lunev answered simply. He turned to look at Sokov and asked: "Comrade Commander, can you imagine where the enemy will set up the prisoner of war camp?"
Seeing that Luniev had thrown the question to himself, Sokov stared at the map and said thoughtfully: "If I want to set up a prisoner of war camp, first of all, I must consider a location that is convenient for concealment, so that the enemy will not easily find it; secondly,
, prisoners of war and guards in prison camps consume a lot of supplies every day, so supplies are very important.
Judging from these two points, the German prisoner-of-war camp should be in a forest near a small city. This is both convenient for concealment and convenient for obtaining supplies from the city."
Regarding Sokov's analysis, Lunev and Samyko thought for a while and nodded in agreement: "Comrade Commander, you are right, the enemy may indeed set up a prisoner of war camp near a small city.
In the forest.”
Seeing that both of them agreed with his opinion, Sokov pointed to the map and said to them: "Look at it, I think the area that best meets the two characteristics I just mentioned is here in Yakovlevo. This small city
Located between Oboyan and Belgorod, it is an important supply transfer point. The enemy can hoard supplies in the city and set up prisoner-of-war camps in the forest outside the city."
After Samyko stared at that position carefully for a while, he nodded slowly and said: "Comrade Commander, what you said makes sense. There are many forest areas outside Yakovlevo. If the enemy takes prisoners of war,
The camp is set up in the forest, and it is difficult for our reconnaissance planes to detect it."
"Chief of Staff, immediately send five to eight reconnaissance teams in that direction to conduct intensive reconnaissance to find out whether the enemy has established a prisoner of war camp in the forest."
"Understood." Samyko nodded: "I immediately informed the director of the reconnaissance department and the director of the intelligence department and asked them to send reconnaissance teams to conduct intensive reconnaissance on Yakovlevo."
While Luniev was waiting for Samyko to call, he reminded Sokov: "Comrade Commander, there is something important that I think it is necessary to remind you."
"what's up?"
"Weapons." Lunev said with emphasis: "If the enemy really sets up a prisoner-of-war camp in Yakovlevo, and we successfully rescue these captured commanders and fighters, then we will face a shortage of weapons in the next step.
.”
"Comrade Military Commissar, you are right." If Lunev had not reminded him, Sokov would have almost forgotten that the troops lost not only soldiers, but also a considerable amount of weapons and ammunition, which must be replenished from the rear. He
Nodding to Lunev, "Thank you for the reminder. I will contact Colonel Yakov immediately and ask them to transport enough weapons and ammunition to us."
"Comrade Commander," Samyko returned to Sokov after arranging the reconnaissance mission for the Reconnaissance Division and the Intelligence Division, and asked him: "I have conveyed your order, what will we do next?"
What to do?”
"Comrade Marshal ordered our troops to advance to Kochetovka to threaten the retreat of the German troops on the left flank of the southern front and force them to withdraw from the Oboyan area." After briefly explaining his next step, Sokov asked
Samek: "Which division do you think will carry out this mission?"
"Comrade Commander, our 84th and 254th Infantry Divisions are currently unable to be reorganized outside Prokhorovka. The only ones that can be used are the 182nd, 188th and 384th Infantry Divisions, as well as one infantry brigade and two
Marine Brigade..."
"There are also two artillery divisions and a tank corps." Lunev added on the side.
"Comrade Military Commissar is right," Sokov continued: "As long as we capture Kochetovka, we can deploy artillery and tank corps there. When the enemy's left wing begins to retreat, artillery fire will be fired on them.
Bombardment and tank assault. Chief of Staff, please continue." His next words were directed at Sameko.
Samyko nodded and continued: "Colonel Khokhlov's 182nd Division has just added more than two thousand old and weak soldiers, and its combat effectiveness has been severely thinned. It is obviously not suitable for this task; Major General Gritsenko's 384th Division
, although they are the most complete units, they are too scattered and cannot be assembled in a short period of time, nor can they perform this task; the infantry brigade and the two marine brigades are not considered because their strength is too large.
not enough."
Sokov has always been very familiar with the troops in his group army. After listening to Samyko's crackling words, he added: "Chief of Staff, in this case, the only troops that can perform combat missions are the troops in the army.
Colonel Date’s 188th Division.”
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Samek nodded vigorously and replied, "That's what I mean."
Sokov thought of Koida's 188th Division, which resisted successive attacks from the Skeleton Division and the 6th Armored Division in Griznoye. The casualties of the troops were also very heavy. If they were allowed to perform this task, their strength would be too high.
A bit weak: "Chief of Staff, don't forget, Colonel Koida's troops fought fiercely in Griznoye for several days, and the troops suffered heavy casualties. Is it appropriate for them to perform this task?"
"Comrade Commander, as far as I know, the 188th Division still has more than 2,000 troops left and is fully capable of capturing Kochetovka." Although Samyko saw the displeasure on Sokov's face, he still
He mustered up the courage to say: "If they can't hold on, we can ask General Malankin's troops to support them."
The words awakened the man from his dream. Sokov was always obsessed with the heavy casualties of his troops. It would be very difficult for any division to perform this task. He completely forgot that there was an idle one in his own defense area.
Guards Division, although they and General Trufanov's tank troops suffered certain casualties in the final battle, there were still 3,000 to 4,000 people and 50 to 60 tanks, and with their
With assistance, there shouldn't be much of a problem in taking down Kochetovka.
At one o'clock in the morning, Koida's 188th Division and Malankin's 81st Guards Division launched an attack on Kochetovka at the same time. With the support of artillery fire and tanks, it only took them half an hour to successfully attack Kochetovka.
Captured Kochetovka.
Manstein was awakened from his sleep by his adjutant. After learning that Kochetovka was occupied by the Soviet army, he sat on the bedside in a daze for a long time. Finally, he weakly said to his adjutant: "Colonel Burke, you
Go and convey my order to have the troops staying in the Oboyan area break away from contact with the Russians after dawn and move along the road to Belgorod."