Among the nearly 1,000 soldiers rescued from prisoner-of-war camps, more than 100 had served as tank soldiers and artillerymen. They were all organized into tank companies and artillery companies by Sokov, and the remaining soldiers were also enriched to three In an infantry battalion. However, despite this, if you want to defend a city as big as Kursk, the number of troops is still seriously insufficient.
After understanding this situation, Belgin suggested: "Comrade Brigade Commander, since the Front Army Headquarters asked us in the telegram what difficulties we have, you can reply that it is difficult for us to hold on to Kursk with our existing troops, and please ask for reinforcements to arrive as soon as possible. .”
"I don't think it's necessary." Regarding Belgin's proposal, Sokov said disapprovingly: "Comrade Political Commissar, the importance of Kursk, the superior leaders know better than you and I, they will never let such a city , fell into the hands of the enemy again, I think reinforcements from all walks of life will arrive here as quickly as possible."
"Comrade Brigadier, I think we have all overlooked one fact." Belgin's expression suddenly became serious: "Although it is only 550 kilometers from here to Moscow, there are many cities along the way that were occupied by the Germans. The reinforcements cannot pass directly. They must find a way to bypass these German-controlled areas. In this way, the time spent on the road will be greatly extended. Now all we can count on is the 7th Tank Tank sent by the Front Army Headquarters. military."
Belkin's words made Sokov suddenly dumbfounded. When he calculated the arrival time of the reinforcements, he indeed ignored the nearly 100 kilometers of German defense zones deep behind the enemy lines in Kursk and Moscow. Reinforcements sent from the base camp were unable to pass through these areas and could only pass through Yelets, then through the forest and swamp areas, approaching Kursk. If the reinforcements take this route, it will take four or five days at the earliest.
Sokov stared at the map spread out in front of him, thinking in his mind: The Germans know that Kursk is lost, and they will mobilize heavy troops to rush here as soon as possible. With their mobility, they will be at the gates of the city tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. According to his original idea, in the face of the German attack, the troops only needed to hold on for one day before reinforcements could arrive. But at this moment, it seems that we must hold on for more than three days before reinforcements arrive.
Belkin saw Sokov's difficulty and said to him: "Comrade Brigade Commander, there are currently only more than 1,400 people in the whole brigade. It is very difficult to block the enemy's attack."
"Yes, it is indeed difficult to hold Kursk." Sokov raised his head and looked at Belgin and said: "But we have no right to hand over this city to the Germans anymore, so we must find a way to hold it. "
Belkin has been working with Sokov for a long time. Hearing him speak in this tone, he guessed that he must have thought of some good idea, and quickly asked: "Comrade Brigade Commander, have you already thought of a good idea?"
"If the Germans want to seize this city, no matter which direction they come from, there will definitely be no shortage of troops. If we deploy our troops evenly around the city, the soldiers who are disadvantaged in terms of numbers and equipment will not be able to stop the enemy at all. attack." Sokov patted the map twice with his hand, and then said: "Therefore, I decided to deploy only a small number of security forces around the city, and place the main force inside the city. Once the enemy attacks in any direction, For the attack, the security forces will first rely on the fortifications outside the city to resist the German attack, while we will use ready-made transportation to transport the main force to the fighting area."
"This is a good idea." Sokov's idea made Belkin's eyes light up: "In addition to the large number of cars left by the German army, there are also many buses in the city. Once the battle starts, we can use These vehicles can quickly deliver troops to the combat area. Yes, yes, it is indeed a good method."
"But this method also has many shortcomings." Sokov sighed and said: "If the enemy attacks the city from two directions at the same time, we can only support it by dividing our troops, so that the defense force will be Looks weak."
After talking for a long time, we returned to the issue of insufficient troops. After a long sigh, Belkin took the initiative and said: "Comrade Brigadier, I think a recruitment station should be set up in the city immediately to recruit new soldiers from the residents."
Although the establishment of a recruitment station has been discussed for a long time, Sokov has not allowed anyone to set up a recruitment station because he was worried that the new recruits would dilute the combat effectiveness of the army after being incorporated into the army. In addition, he believed that reinforcements would arrive soon. . Hearing Belkin's old story mentioned again, he hesitated for a while, and finally nodded and said: "Okay, Comrade Political Commissar, I will leave it to you to take full responsibility for opening the recruitment station. Remember, you must have served as a militiaman or participated in Residents who have received military training can be drafted into the army first."
After Belkin left, Sokov called the communications company commander Maxim, handed him a telegram he had drafted, and ordered: "Second Lieutenant Maxim, immediately send this telegram to the front commander. Department. At the same time, send a message to Captain Brisky who is staying in the Tim area, asking him to break away from contact with the enemy as soon as possible and rush to Kursk to join the main force."
When it got dark, Belkin came back from outside with a tired look on his face. Before Sokov could speak, he reported to him first: "Comrade Brigadier, as soon as we opened several recruitment stations in the city, there were queues at the door. After the long queue, the residents' enthusiasm was very high. According to incomplete statistics, in just over four hours, we recruited more than 5,000 new soldiers."
"Five thousand recruits were recruited?" Although Sokov felt in his heart that Belkin would be able to recruit a lot of recruits. After all, Kursk has a population of about 200,000, but he heard that five thousand people were recruited. Sokov The husband was still shocked: "Have they all received military training?"
"Yes, Comrade Brigadier." Belkin nodded and said in a positive tone: "The vast majority of people have participated in the militia or received corresponding military training. After they are incorporated into the army, it only takes a short period of time to With the training, you can participate in formal battles."
"Great, this is really great." Sokov thought of the documentaries he watched in later generations. Many of the city residents who participated in the defense of Stalingrad only learned how to use guns after entering the positions, but they did not learn how to use guns at all. It did not affect their enthusiasm to defend the motherland. The Kursk residents participating today have to some extent participated in militia organizations or received military training, and they have formed combat effectiveness much faster. "With these more than 5,000 new soldiers, we are more certain to defend the city."
The two of them were talking when a noise suddenly came from outside: "I want to see the commander, I want to see the commander..." Sokov listened carefully and saw that several women were speaking, and he couldn't help but frown. He shouted toward the door: "Someone is coming!"
Following the shouting, Guard Company Commander Seryosha walked in: "Comrade Brigadier, what are your instructions?"
"What happened outside? Why is it so noisy?" Hearing the noise made by women outside, Sokov was worried that the soldiers below violated military discipline and the victim came here to complain, so he said to Seryosha with a straight face: " You go out and take a look and bring in the people who are making a lot of noise.”
After a while, Seryosha came in with two young girls wearing headscarves. Seryosha came to Sokov, raised his hand in salute, and said to him: "Report to Comrade Brigadier, these two girls want to see you, but our sentry did not let them in, and a quarrel broke out. "
Seeing the two girls coming, Sokov couldn't help but feel a little in his heart. He thought to himself that someone really violated military discipline, and they came to complain as victims, right? Thinking of this, he pretended to be calm and asked: "You two ladies, I wonder if there is anything I can do for you?"
A tall girl, after looking Sokov up and down, found that he was a bit too young, so she asked in a suspicious tone: "Are you the supreme commander here?"
"Yes, I am the supreme commander." Sokov replied truthfully; "All the troops in the city are under my command."
"Comrade Commander," the tall girl grabbed Sokov's hand and said excitedly, "I want to accuse you of someone."
The girl's words made Sokov tremble. He thought more and more that his subordinates must have violated military discipline. Otherwise, how could the girl use words like "accuse"? He pretended to be nonchalant and asked: "Girl, I don't know which of my subordinates offended you. Just tell me the truth, and I will punish him severely."
"This girl, your name is Zina, right?" Unexpectedly, Belkin, who was standing behind Sokov, stepped forward and said to the girl: "If I remember correctly, your name should be this." ,Right?"
The tall man looked at Belkin and said calmly: "Yes, you remembered correctly, my name is indeed Zina."
"I think the person you are planning to accuse is me, right?"
"Yes, it's you!"
The conversation between the two confused Sokov. If the girl wanted to accuse someone else, Sokov would never have the slightest doubt, but at this moment, the person she was accusing was actually Belgin, which was incredible. Sokov hurriedly interrupted and asked: "Can any of you tell me what is going on?"
Zina pointed her finger at Belkin and said angrily: "My friends and I wanted to sign up to join the army, but he rejected us mercilessly."
After hearing this, Sokov immediately understood that it was two girls who wanted to join the army, but were rejected by Belkin. They were not convinced, so they came to him specifically to seek justice. Sokov turned his face sideways and said to Belkin: "Comrade Political Commissar, I remember that the relevant departments once issued a general mobilization to girls across the Soviet Union, calling on them to take off Bragi, put on military uniforms, and use their youth and blood to defend the country. Country. Why did you reject their request to join the army?"
"Comrade Brigadier," Belkin explained to Sokov, "I once suggested that they join the health corps or join the air defense force, but they were rejected. They only wanted to fight on the frontier like male soldiers, face to face with the enemy. Fight. But you also know that I have no right to let my future mother die, so I rejected their request to join the army."
After figuring out what was going on, Sokov said to Zina: "Comrade Zina, I think Comrade Comrade Political Commissar did the right thing. There will be a big battle soon. We can't let untrained people die on the battlefield. , not to mention a few young girls. I will give you two choices now: one is to join the health team or the air defense force; the other is to go back and continue to be your common people."
"What if we don't choose either one?" Zina said disdainfully, "What if we have to join the combat force?"
"If you don't choose both, then no one in my defense zone will accept you into the army." In order to increase his persuasion, Sokov quoted what Belkin said: "You are Future mothers, your duty is to propagate life in Russia, not to die under the gunpoint of the enemy, I am responsible for your safety."
"Comrade Commander," another medium-sized girl saw that the two of them were becoming more and more tense, and quickly interjected: "Please forgive Zina for her recklessness. Her mother, sister and brother all died in the hands of the Germans. , she wanted to avenge her family, so she wanted to join the front-line combat force."
After the girl finished speaking, the room fell into silence. After a long time, Belgin said: "Comrade Zina, I understand your feelings. Many people have lost their loved ones in the war. But we have no right to let you take risks and treat you like male soldiers." On the most dangerous frontier."
Seeing the tragedy of Zina's family still failed to move the two commanders. After a moment of silence, the girl continued: "Comrade commander, Zina and I were shooting athletes before the war, and we can be considered as having undergone military training. Please, let us join the fighting force!”
"What, you used to be shooting athletes?" Sokov originally wanted to reject their request to join the army again, but when he heard that the two of them were shooting athletes, he immediately changed his mind. However, just to be on the safe side, he asked specifically: "Have you ever participated in a competition and received a ranking?"
"Of course we got the ranking," the girl heard Sokov's question and immediately realized that things had turned around, and said proudly: "We won the first two places in the shooting competition held in Kursk Oblast last May. name." She glanced at the angry Jina beside her and added, "Jina is the champion and I am the runner-up."
As soon as Sokov waited for the girl to finish speaking, he immediately asked: "Girl, what's your name?" When he learned that the two were the champion and runner-up in the shooting competition, he had already made up his mind to recruit them into the sniper team. Detachment.
"My name is Susanna." After the girl said her name, she asked Sokov nervously: "Comrade commander, can you accept us?"
"Seryozha," Sokov called his guard company commander over and ordered him: "Take them two to try the guns. If they are good at shooting, they can stay and be incorporated into the sniper squad of your company. .”
Seryosha was confused by Sokov's words: "Comrade Brigadier, but our company doesn't have a sniper team?"
"It will happen from now on," Sokov urged the other party: "Okay, Comrade Seryosha. Don't wait any longer, and hurry up and take Zina and Susanna to test the gun."
