After receiving the order, Koida immediately ordered the observers of the division's artillery regiment to go to the area where the German 3rd Armored Division was assembled to conduct reconnaissance and provide shooting parameters for the artillery in the rear.
At dawn, just five minutes before the attack of General Sturm's 3rd Armored Division began, the Soviet artillery bombardment began.
The two artillery divisions led the artillery regiment of the 188th Division, with a total of 500 artillery pieces of various calibers, and shelled the enemy's gathering position at the same time. For a moment, the enemy's position was filled with thick smoke, and black smoke covered the sky.
Even the rising sun has become gray.
Sokov, who was far away in the rear command post, learned that the artillery was shelling the enemy's position, and asked Koida with some concern: "Comrade Colonel, what's going on over there with the enemy? Is there any counterattack?"
"No." Koida replied excitedly: "The enemy may have never dreamed that our army would suddenly launch an artillery bombardment at them. Now their position is shrouded in gunpowder smoke, and there is no way to fight back."
"Comrade Colonel," after learning that the enemy was suppressed by artillery fire and unable to fight back, Sokov suddenly had a bold idea in his mind: "How many troops do you have at your disposal now?"
"Comrade Commander," if Sokov had asked the same question a few hours ago, Koida might have laid an ambush, but now seeing that the enemy was beaten by friendly fire and unable to fight back, he answered truthfully: "
I still have more than 2,000 troops in hand, ready to go into battle at any time."
"Very good." Sokov remembered that General Polubyarov's tank army had only one mechanized brigade in addition to three tank brigades. It would be somewhat difficult to attack the German army with this small force. If there were Koida troops
With assistance, you can achieve greater results: "After the tank army launches an attack on the enemy, your troops will also join the battle and strive to exaggerate the results."
"Comrade Commander, don't worry." Koida assured Sokov: "Our division will definitely cooperate with the comrades of the Tank Corps to severely attack the Germans."
After the shelling, the first unit to launch the assault was General Polubyarov's 4th Guards Tank Corps. Sokov felt that this battle was of great importance, so he called the other party and asked straight to the point: "Comrade General,
, how are you preparing?"
"Comrade Commander, the three tank brigades are ready to go. They will launch an assault on the enemy's defense area as soon as the shelling stops." General Polubyarov said with some embarrassment after briefly reporting the situation: "
But we have too few infantry and only one mechanized brigade that is not fully staffed. It will be very difficult to completely cripple the enemy."
"General Polubyarov, after the bombardment stops, you just rush forward and don't worry about the strength of the troops." Sokov comforted Polubyarov and said: "I will find a way to provide support for you.
"
Samyko waited for Sokov to put down the phone and asked tentatively: "Comrade Commander, apart from the remnants of Colonel Koida's 188th Division, where can we find troops to cooperate with the tank army's operations? Do you plan to use the 384th Division?
With the 182nd Division?”
"The troops of the 384th Division are too scattered and cannot be assembled in one day." Sokov shook his head and said: "And the 182nd Division has just added a group of old and weak soldiers. The combat effectiveness of the unit has been greatly diluted, and it is not suitable to participate.
fighting."
"Then where can we find troops to cooperate with the tank army?" Sameko asked anxiously.
"Isn't there General Malankin's 81st Guards Division? Even if they suffer heavy casualties in the early stage, they can always gather one or two thousand troops. There is also General Trufanov's tank unit, which also has dozens of tanks.
Tanks." Sokov said with a smile: "We can ask them to join the battle and cooperate with our troops to attack the troops who are being shelled. Even if they don't agree, they can stick to the Kochetovka area and ensure that we
The army’s rear route is safe.”
Having said that, Sokov also felt that there were too few troops participating in the attack. Even though the enemies near Kochetovka were mute by artillery fire at the moment, behind them were the 48th and 52nd Armored Divisions.
Army, facing such a huge enemy, even if the entire army is here, it may not be their opponent, let alone fight against them.
After staring at the map for a while, Sokov raised his head and looked towards the communications area not far away. Seeing the director of the communications corps busy, he called him: "Comrade director of the communications corps, please come to my place."
Upon hearing Sokov's call, the gray-haired director of the communications corps quickly came to Sokov. He straightened his body and asked expressionlessly: "Comrade Commander, what are your instructions?"
"Can you get through to the headquarters of the First Tank Army?" Sokov asked tentatively: "I want to speak to General Katukov."
After thinking for a while, the director of the communications corps nodded vigorously and replied: "Yes, Comrade Commander. Although we do not have a direct telephone connection to the headquarters of the First Tank Army, I can connect them through other military lines.
’s headquarters.”
"Then act quickly, my Comrade Director of the Communications Corps." Sokov learned that he could speak directly to Katukov, so he urged the other party: "I have urgent matters and need to get in touch with General Katukov immediately.
"
When the director of the communications corps answered the phone, Sokov felt particularly uneasy. He knew that if he wanted to severely damage the German army in the direction of Oboyan, he would need the assistance of the First Tank Army. Even though he and Katukov were both group army commanders,
But someone else is a general, and he is just a minor general. Will he listen to his suggestion?
After a long wait, the director of the communications corps held the microphone and said to Sokov: "Comrade Commander, the phone number at the headquarters of the First Tank Army has been connected. General Katukov wants to talk to you online."
Sokov walked over, took the microphone from the hands of the director of the communications corps, smiled at him to express his gratitude, put the microphone to his ear, took a deep breath, and said respectfully: "Hello, General Katukov
!I am Sokov.”
"Hello, Misha." Katukov called Sokov's nickname and said with a smile: "I heard that your troops fought well. After annihilating the Skull Division outside Prokhorovka,
They also annihilated the 19th Armored Division in the Griznoye area and achieved a brilliant record."
"General Katukov, you are flattering me." Sokov knew that he wanted something from Katukov, so he lowered his stance: "Without the cooperation of you and other friendly forces, we would have achieved such results.
It’s simply impossible.”
After listening to Sokov's words, Katukov grinned slightly, and then asked: "Why do you think of calling me at this time? You know, there is no direct phone line between you and our headquarters.
.”
"General Katukov, I have something to ask you, so I ordered my communications director to find a way to connect your call through other military lines."
"Is there anything important?" Katukov guessed that Sokov had called him, so he said bluntly: "If I can help, I will definitely help."
"That's it, General Katukov. My troops captured Kochetovka before dawn." Sokov said: "Now I have used hundreds of artillery pieces from two artillery divisions and are shelling the attempt.
Recapture the German troops in Kochetovka. Once the bombardment is over, I will order an attack on the enemy..."
When Sokov mentioned Kochetovka, Katukov immediately found that location on the map and quickly judged Sokov’s intention: “So, you want to kill him severely.
Beat up the Germans and force them to retreat in the direction of Oboyan?”
"Yes, that's how I think about it." Seeing that Katukov had guessed his combat intentions, Sokov silently liked the opponent 32 times in his heart, and then continued: "With my current strength,
If you want to launch an assault on the enemy, you may not achieve much results, so I would like to ask you to send troops to launch a feint attack as soon as possible to contain the main force of the German army so that they cannot mobilize large troops for reinforcements in a short time."
"Misha." Katukov waited for Sokov to finish, then stared at the map for a while, and then said: "The troops closest to you are the 67th and 52nd Guards Divisions, but these two
If the division is not under my jurisdiction, I can't mobilize them..."
When he heard the number of the 67th Guards Division, Sokov's heart beat faster than expected. You must know that a few months ago, when this division was reorganized from the 304th Infantry Division into the Guards Division, it was under his command.
Yes, in the first battle to annihilate the Imperial Division, the division still achieved great feats.
Just as Sokov was thinking wildly, Katukov continued: "The only troops I can mobilize now are Krivoshein's Mechanized 3rd Army. I can order them to launch a feint attack to attract the Germans."
Pay attention so that the enemy does not dare to boldly transfer the main force to your combat area."
After ending the call with Katukov, Sokov breathed a sigh of relief and said to Samyko: "Comrade Chief of Staff, I have already agreed that when we launch an attack, General Katukov will order
General Rivoshein's 3rd Mechanized Army will launch a feint attack in the direction of Oboyan to contain the main force of the German army, preventing them from dispatching troops to reinforce the troops under attack in a short period of time."
Just when Sokov and Samyko were complacent, Lunev poured cold water on them: "Comrade Commander, I feel like you haven't considered something."
Sokov asked in surprise: "What happened?"
"Even if General Krivoshein's troops launch a diversionary attack in Oboyan, attracting the enemy's attention and making them afraid to mobilize larger troops for reinforcements." Lunev reminded Sokov: "But if they bombard us with artillery fire,
Where are the attacking troops? The flesh and blood of the soldiers cannot stop the enemy's steel and fire."
Luniev's words shocked Sokov. He immediately realized that he had thought of the problem too simply. Even if the German army could not withdraw troops to reinforce the troops under attack, it could still use artillery fire to suppress its attacking troops.
, I don’t know how many commanders and fighters will fall under enemy fire.
After thinking about the matter clearly, Sokov picked up the phone again and ordered the director of the communications corps to connect to the headquarters of the Steppe Front Army. As soon as he heard Konev's voice, he couldn't wait to say: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army,
I would like to ask for your help."
"Asking for my help?" Konev asked in confusion on the other end of the phone: "Comrade Sokov, tell me, how can I help you?"
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army, my troops are about to launch a fierce attack on the enemy in the Kochetovka area. But I am worried that they will be intercepted by enemy artillery fire during the attack." Sokov said urgently: "Therefore,
I hope you can provide air cover for my troops to deal with the enemy's artillery. Destroy wherever you find it. We must not let the enemy's artillery pose a threat to our offensive troops."
After hearing what Sokov said in one breath, Konev couldn't help but smile and shake his head, and then said into the microphone: "Comrade Sokov, why do I feel like your logistics minister, and I need to meet your requirements at any time?"
All requirements.”
"Comrade Commander of the Front Army," Sokov felt much more at ease when he heard that Konev was not angry. He continued: "Although my troops are temporarily assigned to the command of the Voronezh Front Army, I will always be your subordinate. If
If we can get the air support you provide, then we will be able to achieve greater results in the attack. At that time, not only will we gain honor, but you will also be able to stand straighter when you meet with other front commanders in the future.
"
"Okay, Comrade Sokov, please stop talking." Konev said, somewhat dumbfounded: "You tell me when you plan to launch an attack, and I will arrange the air force to provide you with air support as soon as possible."
Sokov raised his hand and looked at his watch and found that the artillery had been shelling the enemy for more than half an hour. He quickly said into the microphone: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, we plan to prepare for an hour of artillery fire on the enemy's area.
The artillery bombardment has been going on for forty minutes now, which means that in twenty minutes, our tanks and infantry will attack the enemy. We hope that the air force can arrive before our attack."
"What, the ground attack will be launched in twenty minutes?" Konev was still a little unhappy when he heard what Sokov said: "Why didn't you inform me earlier? You know, the fighter planes need to be refueled and loaded with ammunition.
It takes time. I think it will take at least an hour for the air force to arrive on the battlefield."
Knowing that it would take an hour for the Air Force to arrive on the battlefield, Sokov became a little anxious: "Comrade Commander of the Front Army, please think of a way. If the Air Force really has to wait an hour to arrive on the battlefield, I am afraid that my offensive force will
He had already suffered heavy casualties under German artillery fire."
"Okay, okay, stop complaining in front of me." Konev said angrily: "I can only order the air force to rush to the battlefield as quickly as possible, but it's up to you whether it can reduce your casualties.
It’s your own luck.”
After hanging up the phone, Konev raised his head and said to Chief of Staff Zakharov who was standing aside: "Comrade Chief of Staff, you immediately get in touch with the Air Force and order them to dispatch an aviation division to the Kochetovka area.
Assist the attack launched by Sokov's troops. As long as the German artillery positions on the ground are discovered, they will be destroyed cleanly. We must not let the enemy's artillery fire cause unnecessary casualties to our offensive troops."
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Zakharov nodded and replied: "I will call the commander of the Air Force Group and ask him to dispatch aircraft as soon as possible to assist Sokov's troops in the attack."