When Sokov put down the phone, he began to think about an incident: after the German army learned that Kursk was lost, although it sent troops to try to recapture the city, it may be because of the dispersion of troops. So far, it has not been able to do anything. Only two troops arrived. The 297th Infantry Division that attacked the east of the city suffered heavy losses and is now standing still; but the German troops attacking the south of the city, although they only have one regiment, are constantly attacking, trying to rush into the city from this direction.
Seeing Sokov sitting silently, Belkin handed him a cigarette, and then asked: "Comrade Brigadier, what are you thinking about, so absorbed in your thoughts?"
Sokov raised his head and saw clearly that the person standing in front of him was Belkin. After taking the cigarette in his hand, he said: "Comrade Political Commissar, I am thinking about how to deal with the enemies in the south of the city. Although they do not have many troops, But it’s either a sneak attack or a forceful attack, which poses a great threat to us.”
"Yes, the enemy in the south of the city poses a great threat to us." Belkin struck a match and helped Sokov light a cigarette: "Although the area from the river to the position is flooded by the river, We have to wait for the large German troops to arrive. With their strength, they can easily pass through that area."
"Comrade Political Commissar," Sokov took two puffs of his cigarette, put out the unfinished cigarette in the ashtray, and looked at Belgin and said, "How about we launch a counterattack south of the city?"
"Carry out a counterattack in the south of the city?" Sokov's words made Belkin fall into deep thought. After a long time, he shook his head and said: "Comrade Brigadier, I want to remind you that the flooded area not only hindered the Germans The attack is also a big trouble for our army. Have you ever thought about letting our counterattack troops pass through the flooded area under the enemy's artillery fire, and then row to the opposite side of the Tenebra River? What a huge price will be paid?"
"I have thought about it." Sokov nodded and said, "So our counterattack will be launched from other areas. Look," Sokov pushed the map on the table in front of Belkin and said to him Said, "The German troops in the south of the city are limited. They cannot deploy troops along the Tenebra River. We can send a force to the upper reaches, cross the river from there, and then sneak attack the German positions. Even if they cannot be To annihilate them all, we must also find a way to drive them away from the city."
After reading the attack route set by Sokov, Belkin asked curiously: "Comrade Brigadier, I wonder which battalion you plan to assign this task to complete?"
"Currently, Captain Vasily's second battalion is responsible for the defense in the south of the city. Before handing over the warehouse area to friendly forces, some troops must stay behind, so they will not be allowed to participate in this counterattack." Sokov said to himself. : "As for Andre's third battalion, which suffered more than half of its casualties in the defense battle in the east of the city, and is currently resting and recuperating, they don't need to think about it; as for Briskey's fourth battalion, he just took over soon, and he and the commanders and fighters below We are not familiar with it yet, and once a war breaks out, I am afraid there will be some unexpected problems.”
After Sokov said everything he needed to say, Belgin guessed his true thoughts and asked tentatively: "Comrade Brigadier, what do you mean, do you want Captain Vanya's battalion to come?" To carry out this mission?”
"Yes, that's how I thought about it." After Sokov said this, before Belkin asked again, he took the initiative and said: "The first battalion is currently the unit with the largest number of veterans in the entire brigade. Let them carry out such a I feel more at ease with the difficult task.”
"Since you are so optimistic about Vanya's troops, I have no objection." Regarding Sokov's plan, Belkin expressed his approval: "I think we should find Vanya now and assign him tasks."
After more than half an hour, Vanya arrived at the brigade headquarters. Sokov didn't wait for the other party to salute, and said straight to the point: "Comrade Captain, I called you here because I have an important task for your battalion to complete."
From the capture of Kursk to the present, the commanders and fighters of the first battalion have not participated in combat. Seeing the comrades of the Second and Third Battalions, waiting for the fierce fighting with the Germans in the south and east of the city, I felt a little envious in my heart. So many squad and platoon leaders ran to Vanya, hoping that he could talk to Sokov and assign some combat tasks to the first battalion.
Vanya was just thinking about how to mention this to Sokov. When he heard that he had an important task to complete, he was overjoyed and said excitedly: "Comrade Brigadier, if you have any tasks, just give me your orders. On behalf of all the commanders and fighters of the first battalion, I would like to assure you that we will complete the tasks assigned by you."
"Come to the map," Sokov called Vanya to his side, pointed to the map on the table, and said to him: "Comrade Captain, we plan to launch a counterattack against the German army and drive the enemy from the south of the city. Walk."
"Comrade Brigade Commander," after hearing what Sokov said, Vanya asked curiously: "Isn't the south of the city the defense area of the Second Battalion? Are you planning to let us take over their defense?"
Sokov shook his head and said: "I am not asking you to take over their defense, but I am asking you to set out from the north of the city, find a suitable place to cross the Tenebra River, and sneak attack the enemies in the south of the city."
"What about our defense area?" Although with the arrival of the tank corps, the defense area of the 73rd Infantry Brigade has shrunk a lot, the 1st Battalion is still responsible for the defense in the west of the city, so he heard that his troops will carry out a sneak attack on the German army. , can't help but worry about the next defense. "Which army will take over the defense?"
"Captain Brisky's fourth battalion will take over your defense after you leave the city." Sokov told Vanya: "After dark, you will lead the troops to cross the river from the upper reaches of the Tenebra River. , quietly detouring back to the German camp. Before dawn, attack the enemy unexpectedly. Do you understand?"
"I don't understand." After Sokov finished speaking, Vanya asked in confusion: "Comrade Brigade Commander, after our battalion completes the task of crossing the river, it will only take an hour at most to reach the German camp. , we should launch an attack immediately and defeat this enemy in the shortest possible time."
Sokov did not expect Vanya to question his order. He waited for the other party to finish speaking and then said: "Comrade Captain, the commanders and soldiers have become exhausted after completing the river crossing and long-distance march. If they are allowed to do this in this kind of situation, It’s time to launch an attack, do you think they still have enough strength?”
Vanya only thought about leading the troops to the designated position and immediately launched an attack, ignoring the fact that the commanders and soldiers had already become exhausted after a long march. When Sokov pointed it out, he immediately blushed and said: "Comrade Brigadier, it was my lack of consideration. I..."
"Okay, you don't have to say any more." Sokov interrupted him before he finished speaking: "I know you are eager to destroy the enemy, so you are a little eager for success. But Comrade Captain, this is wrong. , we cannot simply pursue victory and ignore the physical condition of the commanders and soldiers. The reason why I chose to launch the attack before dawn is because that time is when people are most tired and it is easiest to relax their vigilance. At this time By launching an attack, you can definitely catch the enemy off guard."
"I understand, Comrade Brigade Commander." Vanya waited for Sokov to finish and then asked, "I wonder what kind of support we can get?"
"I will report this attack to the front army headquarters later," Sokov said: "Request the superiors to dispatch the air force to provide you with the necessary air cover. In this way, you don't have to worry about the enemy's artillery."
Hearing Sokov mention artillery, Vanya suddenly asked on a whim: "Comrade Brigadier, if we have the support of the air force, I think we will have a chance to capture the enemy's artillery. I don't know what to do with these artillery then. Should we blow them all up or find a way to bring them back?"
From the shelling that ended not long ago, Sokov deduced that the German artillery was all heavy artillery, and it was obviously unrealistic to transport it back. But if he stayed, he would be giving the Germans an advantage, so he ordered Vanya: "Blow them up, blow them all up. Since we can't transport these artillery pieces back, we can't give them any advantage either. You order people to blow up these artillery pieces." Blow them all up.”
After Vanya left the brigade headquarters, Sokov called Second Lieutenant Maxim, handed him the telegram he had drafted in his hand, and ordered: "Comrade Second Lieutenant, send this telegram to the front headquarters immediately. It's urgent!" "
After receiving the telegram, Malinin quickly browsed the contents, then hurried to Rokossovsky and placed the just-received telegram in front of him. At the same time, he said softly: "Comrade Commander, this is a telegram from the 73rd Infantry Brigade. They plan to launch a counterattack against the enemy in the south of the city at dawn tomorrow. We hope that we can provide them with the necessary air support."
"What, Sokov plans to launch a counterattack south of the city?" Rokossovsky heard Malinin say this and couldn't help but asked in surprise: "Are they planning to forcefully cross the Tenebra River under German artillery fire?"
"It's not a forced crossing, it's a sneak crossing from other areas." Malinin quickly explained to Rokossovsky: "He plans to send a force to cross the Tenebra River from the upper reaches and launch a counterattack against the enemy forces on the right bank. Strive to annihilate or severely injure the enemy.”
When Rokossovsky heard Malinin's report, his first reaction was that Sokov was going to do something reckless, and he began to think about how to stop the other party from doing this wrong thing. But after he saw Sokov's telegram, he nodded slightly, and then said: "Judging from Misha's battle plan, there is great hope for success in the future. The factor that led to the failure of the battle was that the enemy used tanks and artillery to deal with it. Attacking the troops would cause huge casualties to our troops. But if there is air support, the enemy's tanks and artillery will not be able to exert their due power, and the resistance our troops will encounter when attacking will be greatly weakened. "
Rokossovsky originally wanted Malinin to call, but he swallowed the words. He personally called the Air Force Commander and said bluntly: "Comrade General, after dawn tomorrow, two flying groups will be dispatched to the direction of Kursk."
When the Air Force Commander heard what Rokossovsky said, he couldn't help but curiously asked: "Comrade Commander, are you saying that our army is going to attack the enemy again in the direction of Kursk?" When he asked this question, he was thinking I was thinking to myself: If it was a large-scale attack, I could send more planes there. But if it is just a small-scale battle, sending at most one squadron will be enough. Deploying too many aircraft will affect the fight for air supremacy with the enemy in the direction of Voronov.
Rokossovsky guessed the air force commander’s true thoughts from the tone of his question: “Comrade General, although tomorrow’s attack will only be a small-scale attack, whether our army can win or not will determine whether it can win. Do you want to defend Kursk? Do you understand?"
Although Rokossovsky did not say more, the Air Force Commander was also a smart man. He guessed that this attack must be extraordinary, otherwise Rokossovsky would not have called him personally. Thinking of this, he quickly replied: "Understood, Comrade Commander, early tomorrow morning, I will send two flying groups to the direction of Kursk to provide necessary air support for our army."
After confirming that the Air Force Commander could dispatch two flying groups to support the attack of Sokov's troops, Rokossovsky felt much more at ease. He called the Director of the Communications Corps Maximenko over and asked: "Comrade Director, can the Front Army Headquarters communicate directly with Kursk?"
"Yes, Comrade Commander." Maximenko nodded and replied: "We have a dedicated line that can communicate directly with Rotmistrov's headquarters."
"You can only communicate with General Rotmistrov's headquarters?" When he heard Maximenko say that he could communicate with Kursk, Rokossovsky felt ecstatic in his heart, but he heard what was behind him clearly. Then, my heart went cold: "So, you can't talk to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov's 73rd Infantry Brigade?"
Maximenko nodded and replied affirmatively: "That's right. The communication between us and the infantry brigade is all done through telegraphs."
Rokossovsky waited for Maximenko to finish, sighed, and said helplessly: "In this case, Comrade Director, immediately send a telegram to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov. Tell him that the Air Force will send a message to Lieutenant Colonel Sokov tomorrow. Rush to the combat area after dawn to provide necessary air support for his troops. Let them do a good job in ground-air communication to avoid accidental bombings."
After seeing Maximenko record his orders and prepare to leave, Rokossovsky stopped him again and ordered: "Comrade Director, we must seize the time to build more lines to Kursk. This way we can keep up to date with what’s going on there. Do you understand?”
"Understood, Comrade Commander." Maximenko nodded and replied, "Don't worry. In two days at most, we will be able to open a dedicated telephone line with the infantry brigade."
